USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > Plymouth > Town annual report of the officers of the town of Plymouth, Massachusetts for the year ending 1933 > Part 12
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It may be of interest to know how much the costs in certain schools have decreased. The Senior High School cost per pupil has dropped from $124.36 in 1930 to $94.09, a decrease of $30.27; in the Junior High School from $120.21 to $92.96, a decrease of $28.25; and in the combined larger elementary schools from $76.82 to $66.66, a decrease of $10.16.
The preceding data indicate the reductions which have been made during the past two years in the budget and in the per pupil costs. They should clear- ly demonstrate the fact that the School Department has made substantial economies above those of the state as a whole.
REDUCTION IN 1933 BUDGET
Last year's annual report explained how the budget was reduced approximately $20,000. This year a further similar reduction has been made by the fol- lowing means.
1. Salaries
All salaries of over $1000 which had been reduced 10% April 1, 1932, were effective for the full year of 1933. The regular automatic increases due in September were withheld. Beginning in September the payments of the teachers, school physician, school nurse and the superintendent, were placed on a twelve monthly basis instead of ten. For the four months in the fall term they received one twelfth instead of one tenth of their yearly salary. This
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meant a saving of approximately $10,000 for this year only.
2. Positions Eliminated
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Three positions were discontinued at the end of the school year in June. Owing to decreased numbers at the Hedge School in the primary grades one less teacher was needed. Miss Sampson, Principal of the Hedge School, took over the supervision of the Mt. Pleasant School, thus eliminating one principal. She has given unstintingly of her time and energies to both schools. The third position eliminated was at the Junior and Senior High Schools. When Miss Edith Newton resigned after ten years of excellent service, her position was not filled. Her two business training courses were taken over by the teacher of these subjects in the Senior High School. The principal took one class a day, and with a slight change in the other teacher reassignments the teach- ing force was reduced by one. These three changes reduced the budget nearly $4,500 on a yearly basis.
3. Tuition
In view of the fact that in September there were pupils in Ellisville to come to the Junior and Senior High Schools it was found practical to include pupils at Costello's Corner and Cedarville. The extra cost of transportation was less than the cost of tuition in Bourne. If this arrangement proves satisfactory it should be continued, as all pupils in that vicinity will then receive the full benefit of the Plymouth schools.
4. Supplies
The cost of school supplies was reduced $1,650 approximately over that of the previous year, and was kept at a minimum of less than three dollars
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per pupil, while the state average per child was $3.78. It will be impossible to maintain this low cost during the ensuing year as paper costs have greatly in- creased. Later costs must be higher due to excessive economy in text books.
5. Coal Costs
Reduction in coal costs have been made. This was due in part to the installation of vacu-drafts in several schools. These drafts permit a more complete combusion of the fuel, and are regulated by pressure control so that there is less waste of heat. They also permit the use of soft or buckwheat coal instead of egg coal; thereby the cost of installation was largely offset by this saving, making it possible for the School Department to substitute over 200 tons of buckwheat or soft coal for the egg size, thus saving approximately $1,000.
RESULT OF REDUCTIONS
Educational offerings have not been reduced, but the increase in class sizes by the reduction of teachers has decreased the opportunity for individual help on the part of many pupils. As stated last year, "Great care must be taken not to decrease seriously the ef- ficiency of the schools. No teacher, however willing and capable, can have the number of pupils in her classes increased and still give to that added number the same individual attention which can be given to the smaller number." When the town returns to better financial conditions there should be some de- crease in the class sizes for several teachers.
FEDERAL AID IN EDUCATION
During the late fall a project known as the C.W.A. (Civil Works Administration) was launched by the
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Federal Government. Under this head the town could . put to work men on the welfare or soldier's relief and unemployed persons registering at the Federal Em- ployment Bureau. The School Department at once recommended painting the exterior of the Mt. Pleas- ant, Cornish and Hedge schools, several classrooms, corridors and basements, the relaying of four old floors at the Knapp School, and repairing the port- able, the reshingling of parts of the roofs at the Senior High School and Burton School, and repairs to stair treads together with some grading at the Junior High. The labor cost paid by the federal gov- ernment amounted to $3,409.35, the cost of paint and building materials was $2,244.84, which was financed out of the regular school appropriation. Some of the above work was not completed until after January 1. Other repair work will be considered at the beginning of the new calendar year.
In December a project under the F.E.R.A. (Federal Emergency Relief Administration) was planned by the federal authorities and the State Board of Edu- cation "to provide constructive employment for un- employed persons in need of relief and competent to teach and to provide a constructive program in edu- cation and recreation for numerous interested per- sons." The activities are of four types: (1) general adult and occupational education other than Ameri- canization work, (2) recreation including indoor and outdoor games and activities, (3) a pre-school center for children from needy homes especially, (4) home- making workers, who will do home visiting and con- duct group meetings in better food planning and buy- ing, and in renovation of garments.
Plans are being formulated for next year to carry into effect some of the above projects. The extent is very limited as the total weekly salary is less than fifty dollars, and as the supply of local properly quali- fied unemployed persons is also limited.
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NEW PROBLEMS IN EDUCATION
During the past year some very astounding things have happened. The summer was characterized by the advance into the foreground of certain problems which have been accumulating for a number of years with little or no realization upon the part of the general public of their full significance to social changes. These problems are closely linked with in- dustrial changes. For some years new inventions have been throwing thousands out of employment. For some time many believed that these would return to their work again, little realizing the permanence of this change, and that these would never re-enter industry under old conditions. Citizens have been dis- quieted by the realization that while there is an abundance of materials and sufficient means of trans- porting them to the consuming public, there has been no demand for the goods because of the inability of the unemployed or those on small salaries to pay for them-not even the bare necessities of life.
During the past summer there came not only an official cognizance of these facts, but the launching of a plan to face them. This program, the N.R.A. is a project to distribute the wealth of the country to the end that those who have the ability to earn will have the ability to pay. With this in view two pro- visions have been made as follows: first, that boys and girls under sixteen years of age shall not be employed in industry in such a way as to affect their schooling; second, that every person employed be limited in the number of hours of work. This elimi- nation of boys and girls from industry and the de- crease in hours of labor with its accompanying in- crease in hours of recreation and leisure has brought to the schools certain new problems.
The first serious problem we find in our schools is the large number of boys and girls who, under former conditions, were employed in industry. In 1926 there were 142 work certificates for children between 14
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and 16 years of age, the past year only 14, chiefly home permits, and for work as domestics in homes. Only 160 certificates were issued between the ages of 16 and 21 the past year, while in 1926 there were 353. These pupils under sixteen, and many others over sixteen, are in schools to stay, and will never go back to industry to any great extent. Surely they ought not to go back as long as able bodied men and women are being kept idle and supported by the town. More- over, the salary schedule for the sixteen year old is the same as that for the nineteen and twenty year old. so that industry will naturally take the older and permit the younger to stay in school. They bring to the schools a problem, for many cannot be reached by the usual educational method nor by the usual sub- ject content. Schools must, therefor, reorganize their curricula, the content of the subjects taught and the methods of approach, to meet the needs of a large group of non-intellectually minded boys and girls, who with proper training will become exceedingly worthy citizens. It is not a new problem, but what certainly once seemed a temporary condition will un- doubtedly be permanent. It will take the continued combined efforts of all interested in these problems to solve them.
The development of a trade education along such lines as auto mechanics, machinery, carpentry, elec- tricity in all its forms including radios, millinery and cooking in their commercial phases, would give val- uable vocational training for many. The instructional expense for such would be borne by the state and fed- eral governments providing the town furnished the facilities. The present High School could well be adapted for these types of work when new quarters are provided for the upper grades. Such an arrange- ment would reduce the costs to the town of secondary education.
The second serious problem that confronts us as a nation is that of the right use of leisure. In this very
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thing which might seem a blessing lurks a hidden danger to civilization that constitutes a second chal- lenge to our schools. Rome dissipated its resources and powers in "riotous living" and was destroyed. Greece, on the contrary, had a philosophy for leisure -a development of its cultural background and the physical fitness of its youth. When these were for- gotten, Greece, too, perished. Hitherto America has had no real program for leisure. Schools must build one into the youth of today, the citizens of tomorrow.
How will the youth of the country spend their leisure ? In saloons, beer gardens or schools? On the streets and in pool rooms or in games and activities for the masses? Will the rich and "would be rich" go to greater extremes in gambling and questionable practices ? Will society condone attempts of persons of ill-repute to capitalize their nefarious life?
What are some of the alternatives?
The development of instrumental music, of chorus and glee clubs and of art clubs is excellent. Music and art must be developed more fully as these sub- jects contribute decidedly to the worthy use of leisure. When these develop into such organizations as Mr. Brini's Junior Civic Orchestra or the Men's Glee Club, it is excellent.
Physical education is another exceedingly valuable form of training, which is probably more severely criticised by the unthinking public than any other phase of our educational program. The question which Mr. Average Citizen must answer is: Is it better to have literally scores of youth playing games in all parts of the town with hundreds of others, young and old, watching the clean sports or the same hanging about street corners, in pool rooms or beer gardens with their accompanying immoral dangers ? The cost of this activity is cheap insurance against many of the evils of the latter. The public must real- ize the value of physical education as it pertains not
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only to the development of a pupil's physical fitness but as it contributes to worthy use of leisure.
Each and every subject must be analyzed anew from the viewpoint of its contribution to leisure. Surely English with its broad range must play an important part in creating tastes for good literature in newspaper, magazine and book form, as well as improving one's ability to express himself clearly and forcefully in written and oral language. Social studies take on new significance in that every one must be a student of local, state, national and world issues. Sciences bring untold opportunities for the discovery and exploration of interests. Nature study with its flowers and birds should contribute marked- ly to worthy use of leisure. Increased leisure should permit the father and mother to beautify their home by putting into practice the ideals and training secured from their studies in household and manual arts. Other subjects, perhaps, have less to contribute but each may be enriched by the thoughtful teacher. Some thought aroused, some interest developed in any subject by some skillful teacher may even lead to a hobby or avocation in later life as distinguished from a vocation.
"Hall discovered aluminum playing as a hobby. Thorndike worked out much of his psychology on animals as a hobby. Anthony van Leeuwenhoek made microscopes as an avocation and, through them, made his contribution to the world of science. William Robert Hook made discoveries of the cell; Gregor Johann Mendel, a priest and a teacher of mathematics, worked out the laws of heredity; and Tony Sarg fash- ions his marionettes as hobbies. Lawrence Pearsall Jacks made a hobby of architecture, even to the burn- ing of the bricks for his house. Mrs. Jacks learned weaving. Albert Michelson sketched, worked in wa- ter colors, played the violin. Copernicus was a great painter."
"President Franklin Roosevelt collects stamps,
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while Mrs. Roosevelt is interested in a furniture fac- tory. The list is endless. College professors turn to wood carving, cooking, or playing musical instru- ments. Lawyers take up gardening, making scrap- books, fixing old furniture, or collecting rare first editions. Doctors spend their leisure time sketching, sculpturing, or working in a garden. Business men turn to fashioning wheels, photography, soap carv- ing, or sketching sunsets. A sheep herder carves trees, tents, and horses from vegetables. The woman in the home paints furniture, weaves, or collects pot- tery. The variety of hobbies is infinite. Men and women who cannot master craftsmanship can have a hobby of serving the group. Thousands of men vol- unteer their time as Scout leaders; a hundred college men act as volunteer leaders at the Boys' Club, New York City; others run camps, promote playgrounds, plant trees by the highway, or work to preserve rare bits of scenery so that they may be saved for poster- ity. The hobby is a guaranteed antidote for spec- tatoris. The man or woman who says, "Let me have just one hour. Here is what I want to do," is in no danger."
It is the duty of the schools, therefore, to develop throughout all the grades a variety of interests and abilities which will carry over not only for a voca- tion but for an avocation or other form of profitable use of leisure. No teacher can be truly suuccessful who does not so analyze his subject and each pupil's interests.
It may seem trite to say that the schools must pre- pare the children of today not for the life of today, but for the life of the tomorrow of two years, five years or twenty years ahead; herein is the basis of our changed and ever changing problem in education. In this lies the challenge to the real teacher of today, who can no longer think in the terms of yesterday. Teachers should no longer be retained in any system if they have not caught a glimpse of the tremendous
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upheaval that is going on in society not in terms of dollars and cents or salaries, but in terms of social readjustments.
Schools cannot go backward but must expand to meet the new demands of the new social order. As Mr. Frank Wright, Deputy Commissioner of Educa- tion stated in a recent radio address, "Restricted or denied educational opportunities for youth now means increased custodial and correctional care by the State in the future. Failure to provide opportunities for health and recreation for youth today means greater institutional expenditure by the State tomorrow. Un- realized possibilities in character training in the schools of the present will take a heavy toll from the wealth of the nation in the years that lie ahead. The cost of ignorance in a democratic society is always greater than the cost of education. In the end, in one form or another, we shall have to pay the bill for what we need. Ours is the decision as to whether we shall make the expenditure now in the form of good schools, adequate playgrounds, and essential health service for children, or pay later in the form of correctional and institutional care at a cost much greater."
SPECIAL DEPARTMENTS
The work of the so-called special departments has been of a high standard and progressing along con- servative lines in keeping with the best of modern trends.
Physical Education
Mrs. Beatrice E. Garvin, who supervises the train- ing in the elementary grades and the Senior High School girls reports as follows :
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"The elementary physical education program has been planned with two aims in mind this past year : 1. To develop in children a healthy, wholesome per- sonality. 2. To include small group activities which will contribute ultimately in the problem of com- munity recreation. In the development of a well adjusted personality it is essential that we teach chil- dren the control of their emotions, the ability to co- operate. Very definitely the lower six grades have learned to play quietly and happily, to do to the best of their ability the new games and skills presented, to respond to the situations that must be met with in play. In adjusting the program to educate the child to take part in future community recreation it is rec- ognized that children must be taught to play ; taught what to play, to understand the game before much satisfaction is gained; actually to participate in a game to fully enjoy it; to acquire skill in youth. More lessons in which each team is busy with an in- dividual game are used to develop small group activi- ties and to give a varied number of stunts which appeal to various children."
"Each room has a posture chart on which the child's improvement in standing, marching, exercise, and everyday posture is recorded. The percentages of all rooms in the tests is recorded that the various grades may compete in improvement, just as they compete in games. In the lower grades a small group is given help in acquiring the knowledge of just what "standing tall" means in adjusting body mechanics."
"Special stress is being made to give every High School girl who chooses to participate in the varied seasonal sports an equal chance to learn the game and skills connected with it, to make progressive individual improvement, to play on an intra-mural or class team and earn points toward the school let- ter. Track and baseball are played in the spring, tennis and hockey in the fall, basketball during the winter. Interscholastic competition has not been
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eliminated entirely, but the schedules are being shortened in favor of more intra-mural competition. There are sixty girls participating in the present basketball schedule, divided into three practice groups giving all an impartial chance to learn and enjoy the game."
Mr. John H. Smith, who supervises the Junior and Senior High boys reports as follows :
"The physical fitness of each pupil in the sixth and seventh grades was measured last spring using the Roger's Tests. The tests actually given include the following :
(a) medical examinations-to determine the need for modified programs to remedy heart de- fects, digestive deficiencies, hernia, malnutri- tion, nervousness and others.
(b) footprints - to determine the need for strengthening muscles of the feet or for other corrective procedures. Footprints were taken on the pedograph.
(c) strength tests - to determine the need for modified physical activity programs. These various strength tests indicate the degree of strength in the arms, legs and back of each pupil.
As a result of the composite score secured from all types of strength tests pupils are classified as those in superior condition, the A group; those in good condition, the B and C groups; and those who re- quire special attention, the D group. This latter group included pupils with footprint angles less than 20%. The number of pupils in the different groups in the sixth and seventh grades are tabulated as follows :
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CLASSIFICATION TABLE
Girls
Grade
Group A
Group B and
Group D
6
34
61
30
7
23
56
8
Boys
6
38
66
7
7
20
80
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A daily period devoted to corrective exercises for the feet and also to general bodily development for the D group, has been followed. The results of this program will be shown on the retest taken next spring."
"Twenty-four pupil leaders have successfully con- ducted the daily calisthenics period. A posture shield is awarded to the room showing the best results for the week.
The intra-mural program in soccer, touch football, basketball, track and baseball develops an enthusi- astic following and general participation. From ancient time, it has been realized that health is pro- moted by vigorus muscular activity. The only way properly to develop the circulatory and respiratory functions is through large muscle exercise and intra- mural games which gives vigorous muscular activity to all pupils participating.
Since the tasks of home life no longer exist, so far as they apply to furnishing children with stimulating physical activities, the physical education program must take up the work if the children are not to suffer.
The interest and enthusiasm displayed in all intra- mural games is not only a great educational force,
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but is also a great power for happy and successful living and growth."
Drawing
The art work at the Senior High School was some- what interrupted by the serious illness of Miss Vir- ginia Dowling, who had given excellent satisfaction for nearly three years. In her absence Miss Faith Stalker, elementary supervisor, assisted by Miss Jane Cooper, carried on her work. Miss Stalker reports as follows :
"Three aims of art instruction are to develop man- ual skill, increase the power of observation and by gaining ability in both of these ways, to arrive at appreciation. Appreciation will lead to more enjoy- ment and interest in a pupil's surroundings and to the exercise of better taste when he is called upon to make a choice.
Children who have a desire for graphic expression will draw or paint for their own pleasure, outside of school. We do not plan our instruction for these pupils, but we try to present a conservative course of activities in several mediums by which every pupil can accomplish something. It is not our policy to produce a few showy results for exhibition purposes but to give lessons that are within the abilities of all the members of a class. It is understood that no pupil's work is to be "touched up" by an adult hand.
During the past year we have tried to give some emphasis to nature study and to design. In the sixth grades we are correlating drawing with history by a series of plates of historic costume, ornament and ar- chitecture. At the Hedge School the sixth grades made a series of large crayon pictures on cloth to be used for wall-hangings in the rest room. In the Cornish District a set of large chalk landscape back- grounds were made to be used in connection with a program presenting units of study of life in different
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lands, which was presented at the Memorial Building. The contribution of the young artists was so much admired that these pictures were borrowed and shown at the public library.
In the Junior High School we have neither the time nor the working conveniences for the kind of drawing we should like to do. However, this year the 8A1 group, which is having two periods of drawing a week, is experimenting with marionettes. It is a problem with many sides; modelling, casting and painting the head, building and dressing the figure, designing scenery, writing the play and speaking the parts. A child who has shared in making a play has added to his ability to criticize the dramatic produc- tions of others. Because of the great increase in the time and in the money now spent in theatres, such projects have a value that is being recognized by ed- ucators.
Plymouth has some children who have skill and in- terest in art. May it not be possible that some of these will choose a vocation that will give them hap- piness in using these powers ?"
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