USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > Town annual reports of Acton, Massachusetts 1906-1910 > Part 18
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The answer to the above question being in the negative renders it unnecessary to consider the second inquiry sub- mitted by your communication.
Very Truly Yours, (Signed) DANA MALONE,
Attorney-General.
At the same time that we were required to discontinue the use of the hall at South Acton as a school room we were notified that a heating and ventilating plant, together with
118
satisfactory sanitaries must be presently installed in the South schoolhouse, accordingly a contract was made early in June with the Fuller, Warren company and the plant in- stalled during the summer vacation.
In the spring a tract of land, containing about one acre, in the rear of and adjoining the South school-yard was pur- chased by a committee of the Town and has since been en- closed and cleared and partly graded.
When the State Board of Education is not engaged in the serious labor of collecting statistics, it not infrequently occupies itself in doing, or attempting to do, an injury to the public schools ; hence the fact that the Town was, this year, very near to losing temporarily at least, its proportion of the income of the Massachusetts school fund, amounting to about $1,100, and would have done so but for the good offices of the superintendent of schools.
The'detailed report of the superintendent of schools is commended to your attention.
The enrollment of pupils in the graded schools at the beginning of the school year, September, 1907, was as fol- lows : South schools, 137; West schools, 111; Center school, 86. For the high school : Concord, 36 ; West Ac- ton, 14.
The establishment of another school in South Acton, as well as the increase in salaries necessitated by the enhanced cost of living and by other causes, compels us to ask a larger appropriation for the common schools. The sum of $375 has been received from the State on account of salary of superintendent of schools.
It is, of course, impossible to present, at the present writing and pending actions by the Town, any estimate of the cost of support of the high school during the coming year. If the present arrangements were to be continued, the cost would be approximately $4,200. The report of the purchasing agent and of the truant officers are appended.
119
Estimates for the Support of Schools for the Fiscal Year, 1908-1909.
For common schools
$4,750 00
High school
School supplies
625 00
Transportation of pupils
1,360 00
Salary of superintendent of schools 480 00
Medical inspection of pupils.
100 00
$7,315 00
For the School Committee of Acton,
CHARLES J. WILLIAMS, Chairman.
Receipts and Expenditures on Account of Schools for the Fiscal Year, 1907-1908.
RECEIPTS.
Appropriation for common schools $4,100 00
Appropriation for high school
2,300 00
Appropriation for school supplies
625 00
Appropriation for transportation of pupils
1,360 00
Appropriation for salary of superintendent of schools 480 00
Appropriation for medical inspection of pupils.
100 00
Received from Massachusetts school fund.
1,079 98
Received from dog licenses
402 32
Received from trustees Lyman school
77 50
L.
$10,524 80
120
EXPENDITURES.
For common schools $5,864 06
High school
2,277 37
School supplies
618 04
Transportation of pupils
1,409 50
Salary of superintendent of schools
480 00
Medical inspection of pupils.
75 00
Transportation of high school pupils
264 10
$10,988 07
Overdraft
$463 27
121
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
To the School Committee :
Gentlemen : Herewith I submit my second annual report ; it is the 16th in the series of Superintendents' re- ports.
Our creed is this,-We believe that the object of teach- ing is to prepare boys and girls for life. Preparation for life must necessarily go beyond the acquisition of the old three R's. It must include an acquaintance with the world in which living will be done-acquaintance with the world's good art and good literature, with its good music, with its history and geography, with nature and with civic life. In so far as a boy or girl fails to get this acquaintance just so far will his life be dwarfed and narrowed. Unless he gets it in school it is a matter of chance if he ever gets it.
A still more important essential in this preparation for life is the awakening of the mind to realities. Things taught in the schools must be real : things presented vividly, and capable of being put to use outside school. Learning reached for and drawn in by the pupil will count for far more than learning crammed in by the teacher. Self activity should be the key note in all education. Indi- viduality must be fostered. Our work is to prepare pupils to live in a world outside of school, and we must hold fast to the idea that the primary object of our teaching is to enable the child to get along on his own responsibilities.
In carrying out this creed certain lines of work have been attempted the past year which are, I believe, leading to the desired results. The work in arithmetic has been modified in the lower grades to introduce more comparison
122
and more individual thought. This work will be advanced by the introduction of new texts with the coming year, and a more decided improvement may be looked for with ad- ditional equipment in some schools in the line of measures, scales and weights-only a few rooms being now equipped for practical work. In one third grade a store has been fitted up with sand, blocks, and paper to represent merchan- dise, price lists, scale, measures, and toy money. The pupils are interested. They are learning real things ; they are learning arithmetic, too, they are learning it better than they ever did when it was taught abstractly and bore no relation to life. I am confident that one of the greatest needs of our schools today is the relating of all our arith- metic to life, so that figuring may follow, and grow out of actual business practice.
To make our geography more real the pupils are taking imaginary journeys and corresponding with pupils in different parts of the world. Each grade is at work upon some special industry connected with their grade work in the subject, collecting specimens, pictures, descriptions of processes in the manufacture of the raw material and map- ping the areas of production, routes of transportation and centers of manufacture. Sand modelling and the making of relief maps are giving excellent returns in making more definite the ideas of land and water forms.
The work in English in all grades seemed too technical and failed to produce the result which is to be desired, namely, a freedom of expression both in oral and written work. To remedy this the Guides to English and the Baker-Carpenter Readers were introduced. This step gives a wider range of material and offers an admirable scheme of correlation in the language work. The best preparation for writing is writing. Fluency comes first, correctness afterwards, and by giving abundant exercise in composition both oral and written, thus leading the child to see his own errors and correct them, we secure work which is greatly superior and far more lasting than by fur-
123
nishing outlines which must be followed, and returning blue pencilled papers. Throughout the work we strive to secure the closest correlation between the composition work and the lessons in literature, history, geography, nature study and personal experiences.
In several classes the "book plan" is being developed. The idea here is that the pupil will be more interested and so do better in a real thing than in a mere exercise. Special papers in history, literature, science and geography are written involving not only the material found in the school books, but bringing in matter gathered in library research, magazine articles and many other sources. These sketches are illustrated by drawings, pictures collected from maga- zines, original photographs, and many are embellished with decorative initial letters, and head and tail pieces. Appro- priate covers are designed, and many pupils have taken great pride in the finished result.
The work in music and drawing is now upon a thorough basis, and the results reflect the greatest credit upon the supervisors in those branches. The arrangement by which we secure the services of our supervisor of drawing is due to the enthusiasm of the man, and the helpful intercession of Mr. Frederic Burnham, the State Agent for the Industrial Arts. We have, I feel sure, established the value of good supervision and it is to be hoped that the Town may see its way clear to making such appropriation for the subject that we may be able to hold to the standard established. I invite your careful consideration of the reports herewith appended.
The improvements in the South school have greatly in- creased the efficiency of the service. The change in teachers whereby the entire force was new to the situation made it difficult to get underway, but the work is now proceeding in a satisfactory manner. The usual expense of board for the teachers has made it difficult to secure teachers. Three teachers engaged, accepted offer before the school opened at places where living was less expensive, thus a severe handi-
124
cap was placed upon us in securing a corps of teachers for the opening of the fall term.
The work of the intermediate grades is the least satis- factory, but improvement is beginning to manifest itself and in the majority of cases a satisfactory standard should be reached with the end of the year. The West school will suf- fer by reason of the epidemic of measles, which has seriously delayed the classes in their work ; many will undoubtedly be unable to make up the deficiency and will thus be forced to repeat the work. In view of this, I am considering the possibility of revision of the course of study to meet the semi-annual promotion idea.
The high school problem remains in an unsatisfactory state. The course which we offer under the present condi- tions must be limited to a single line, so that upon going to Concord, the pupil finds his work definitely prescribed. This year the pupils entering the Concord high school were at a decided disadvantage, owing to the diverse lines of prepara- tion. We are now endeavoring to make the work meet the requirements of the Concord classical course. Since we are notified by the State Board that our action is illegal and that unless the Town furnishes a high school, we are liable to have the State fund money withheld, would it not be better to send all the high school pupils to Concord, thus opening to them the election of any course offered there ? The expense certainly would not be increased, and the legality of the ac- tion would remain unchanged.
If the Town is to furnish suitable quarters for a high school, I would call attention to the opportunities offered by the present law relating to the establisment of agricultural high schools, and to Senate Bill No. 44, which if passed will open the fund now available only upon acceptance of agri- cultural high schools to those offering courses in mechanic arts or domestic science. Would it not be to the advantage of the Town to offer such course to those who have not the taste for collegiate training ? Under this bill, one-half of equipment and maintenance is reimbursed by the State.
125
The subject of music as a compulsory study in the grades may not be clearly understood by many of our citi-
· zens. By the report of a committee of the State Board of Education in 1905, it was shown that 94.5 percent of all the schools in the State and 96.8 percent of all the pupils re- ceived systematic instruction in music. In the remaining places there is no systematic work because the scattered schools, mostly ungraded, make it impossible to secure pro- per supervision without too great an expense.
Every subject in the school curriculum should hold its place there, because of some general and obvious need ; it should render some recognizable service. Does music meet the conditions ? In the fullest sense music is a means of ex- pression ; it is the language of feeling. From its study we derive a developed sense of rhythm. The social results of this developed rhythmical sense are far reaching. It culti- vates a feeling for order, and regularity ; it helps to distin- guish between what is fitting and what is unfitting. With our prevailing condition of life there certainly is need to cul- tivate this power. Within its sphere, nothing that we can teach in our schools adds more to the joy of living, or con- tributes more powerfully to the creation of a refined social atmosphere than music.
Can anyone learn music ? All supervisors agree that anyone given proper instruction and opportunities can reach a degree of proficiency as great and with as much ease as in other branches of the curriculum. A further development is found in the sense of harmony. This sense is daily per- verted by the discordant noises of the street and by the dis- regard for natural beauties.
Again we find in the instruction in music, more perfect training of the ear, the eye, the hand and the voice. It has more than once been pointed out that civilized man in con- trast to the savage, tends to lose perceptive power. For the recovery of these neglected powers, music instruction rend- ers a peculiarly efficient service. It contributes a training of the perceptive senses without which, the other branches
126
can scarcely be taught to the full advantage. It must al- ways be one of the chief functions of music to minister to the social enjoyment.
The excessive cost of living in this locality renders it advisable to increase the salaries of our grade teachers. A maximum salary of $15 per week ought to be met easily by the Town, and placing the teachers upon a merit system, making salary increase and the maximum dependent upon professional growth rather than length of service, we should be able to secure excellent teachers and retain them for sev- eral years. This is a highly essential point. Education to- day is not merely the pouring in of facts. It is not so much what we teach as how we teach. Abstract knowledge · counts for little in life ; it is knowledge that is convertible into power that we want-ideas and ideals that shall be liv-
ing in character. To secure this, the teacher must do more than cover a prescribed amount of reading, writing, number and nature study imposed from without. To make of every child the biggest measure of a human being that his power and his possibilities allow, the teacher must identify herself with the real instincts and needs of the child. This cannot be done in the first year. - It takes time to get into the lives of children, and unless we can hope to hold our teachers for longer periods, we must expect to lose this most essential element in teaching.
In closing, I desire to thank all the teachers and the members of the committee for the cordial support which has been given me ; and in the future as in the past, I shall strive to give my best efforts to the service.
Respectfully submitted,
ARTHUR B. WEBBER,
Littleton, Mass., February 20, 1908.
127
Mr. A. B. Webber, Superintendent of Schools :
Dear Sir-It is with pleasure that I submit the follow- ing report of the condition of drawing for the schools of Ac- ton, Mass.
A systematic and logical course in the principles of free- hand, mechanical and decorative drawing are now in vogue in these schools.
The course in drawing is planned upon definite prin- ciples to meet the mental condition of pupils according to grade. These principles as far as possible are to be demon- strated in original constructions in wood and metal for the development of hand skill and creative power.
It is at this point that I desire the co-operation of par- ents as well as teachers, for the fact remains that unless we encourage and allow the pupil to work out these problems for himself, to a very great extent, will have the tendency to weaken his natural powers, and the subject matter, instead of having the dignity of a study, will be but another toy in the school course to tickle the fancy of pupils, teachers, and parents.
In view of the results attained in these schools during the fall term, I anticipate no trouble in this direction. It is the exception in these schools that good, sound, definite pro- gress has not been attained. In some of the schools excep- tional progress has been demonstrated and I cannot speak too highly of the teachers' and pupils' work.
In closing, I desire to thank the superintendent, teachers and pupils in their efforts to maintain a high ideal for this department.
Respectfully submitted,
W. L. ADAMS,
Supervisor of Drawing.
128
To the Superintendent and School Committee :
Gentlemen-The musical work of the schools has progressed in a most encouraging way during the year.
Not only have the pupils been taught independence of thought musically, by use of the Weaver slips, and the fun- damentals, such as scale and note song singing, tune, rhythm, accent, etc., but they have also been instructed in the art of chorus singing under the direction of the teacher or super- visor.
To know how to respond to the baton of the director is very essential to those who are to use the knowledge gained in the schools in adult choruses in later years.
The response of the children in all the middle and upper grades has been most gratifying, as has also the interest and co-operation of the teachers.
To work with the children has been a pleasure to the supervisor and judging by his reception the pleasure has been mutual.
Much has been accomplished in laying a foundation for better and more effective work another year.
My thanks are due to the superintendent and committee for unfailing courtesy and co-operation in the matter of supplies, etc.
Hoping for even better things musically for the children of Acton in coming years, I am
Yours sincerely,
EDWIN N. C. BARNES.
March 6, 1908.
129
ROLL OF HONOR, 1907.
For Three Terms.
Harold Coolidge
Helen Robbins
Hazel Hoit
For Two Terms.
Mary Benere
Ida Mekkelsen
Helen Bezanson
Walter Morse
Roger Brown
Florence Prentiss
Robert Cheney
Russel Quimby
Earle Farrar
Hazel Robbins
Raymond Farrar
Muriel Sleep
Frances Foley
Nellie Shuyski
Elizabeth Harris
Lena Stanley
Natalie Leach
Fred Swett
Pauline Mead
Varnum Tuttle
Bertha Mekkelsen
Grace Welsh
For One Term.
Irma Brown
James Kinsley
Florence Cheney
Theron Lowdon
Willie Clifton
Hazel Manley
Elizabeth Dailey
Loren Mekkelsen
Marie Davis Alice Evans
Herbert Merriam
Merritt Farrar
Patrick Foley
Margaret Moair
Ebba Fredrikson
Lauretta Moore
Gunar Fredrikson
Thelma MacGregor Aleada McNeil
Lena J. O'Connell
130
Ella Fredrikson
Hardy Payson
Ruth E. French
Roland Pipeman
Ralph Gates
Everett Reed
Lillian Gilmore
Kenneth Reed
Frank Greenough
Harold Richardson
Edith Greer
Florence Schnair Harriet Schnair
Isabel Greer
Ethel Griswold
Richard Schnair
Georgianna Griswold
Morris Shuyski
Ruth Hall Maud Harris
Wanda Shuyski
Ray Harris
.
Raymond Hayes
Mary Smiley Alta Teele Richard White
Una Holden
Samuel Williams
Francis Hopps
Helen Wood
Allen Hoit
Florence Worden
131
STATISTICS FROM SEPTEMBER, 1906, TO JUNE, 1907.
School
Grades
Enrollment
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Percent Attendance
Boys | Between
Girls |5 and 15
Between
Girls |7 and 14
Boys
Girls
Center Primary
I .- III.
34
32.90
29.30|89.06
11 13
23 12
13
12 0
0
Center Grammar
VII .- IX.
22
20.90
17.88 85.1
11
8
7
7
2|
1
South Primary
I .- III.
52
49.90
44.10 89.5
24
28
14
17
0| 0
South Intermediate
IV .- VI.
48
40.04
35.83 88.8
30
18
30
18
0 0
South Grammar
VII .- IX.
27
23.04
19.75|85.7
16
11
12
10 0| 0
West Primary
I .- III.
43
40.80
35.30 86.4
21
22
11
14 01 0
West Intermediate
IV .- VI.
40
38.20
33.40 87.48
10
30
9
29 0| 0
West Grammar
VII .- IX.
27
21.40
18.10|82.1
12
15
11
12 0| 0
High
X .- XIII.
41
37.68
35.31 93.4
3
11
2
2|12|15
Totals
363 331.26 292. 67 85.3
151 178 116 137|14 16
7
16
0
0
Center Intermediate IV .- VI.
29
25.40
23.70 93.3
Over 15
Boys
132
STATISTICS FOR 1907-1908.
School
Grades
Enrollment
Average Membership
Average Attendance
Percent Attendance
Number between
Number between
7 and 14
Center Primary
I .- III.
27
25.2
23.0
91.5
27
15
0
Center Intermediate IV .- VI.
33
32.9
31.3
95.0
33
33
0
Center Grammar VII .- IX.
23
22.7
21.8
95.9
21
21
2
South Lower Primary I .- II.
33
28.4
24.6
85.1
33
11
0
South Upper Primary III .- IV.
41
36.3
33.1
91.5
41
41
0
South Intermediate
V .- VI.
32
30.0
27.6
92.1
32
29
0
South Grammar
VII .- IX.
37
32.2
29.9
92.8
33
28
4
West Primary
I .- III.
42
38.2
31.9
83.3
42
25
0
West Intermediate
IV .- VI.
38
34.6
29.8
85.3
38
38
0
West Grammar
VII .- IX.
31
26.7
21.7
80.1
31
31
0
High
X.
14
13.5
-
12.7
94.1
5
9
0
Totals
351
320.7
267.4
83.3
336
281
6
Number over 15
5 and 15
LIST OF TEACHERS, 1907-1908.
School
Teacher
Appointed
Educated
Home Address
Center Primary
Martha F. Smith
1902
Center Intermediate
Ella L. Miller
1899
Framingham Normal
Acton North Acton Woburn
Center Grammar
Minnie Gamble
1905
Woburn Training
South Primary
Pauline D. Berthold
1907
Gorham Normal
Needham South Acton
South Upper Primary
Julia L. McCarthy
1906
Fitchburg Normal
South Intermediate South Grammar
Edith Guins
1907
Gloucester Training
South Acton Gloucester West Acton
West Primary
Harriet H. Gardner
1889
Ayer
West Intermediate
Jennie E. Stowell
1907
Fitchburg Normal
South Acton
West Grammar
Mollie O. Freeman
1907
Gorham Normal
Portland, Me.
High
Alice J. MacIntyre
1906
Boston University
Lawrence
133
Margaret D. Quimby 1907
Fitchburg Normal
134
Graduation Exercises of the Acton High School, at Town Hall, Acton, Mass., Thursday Evening, June 20, 1907, at 7.45 O'clock.
1. March Orchestra
2. Selection-The Miller's Wooing. Faning
Chorus
3. Invocation
Rev. T. M. Miles
4. Selection-The Heavens are Telling Hayden
Chorus
5. Address-"'Expansion"
Henry Goodwin Smith
6. Overture-The Bridal Rose. Lavalle
Orchestra
7. Selection-Columbia Beloved. Dovizetti Chorus
8. Presentation of Diplomas Superintendent A. B. Webber
9. Selection-Bridal Chorus. . Cowen
Chorus
10. March-The Chief Executive. . Heagney
Orchestra
135
"Virtute non Verbis." "By Virtue not by Words."
Graduates.
CLASSICAL COURSE
Ethel May Griswold, Harold Vernon Symonds, Ethel Elizabeth Thompson.
ENGLISH COURSE.
Ralph Waldo Piper.
Colors : Cardinal and White.
Class Flower : The Carnation.
136
School Census of 1907.
Number of boys between the ages of 5 and 15 151
Number of girls between the ages of 5 and 15. 189
Total 340
Number of boys between the ages of 7 and 14. 105
Number of girls between the ages of 7 and 14.
144
Total 249
Number of male illiterate minors over 14 years. - Number of female illiterate minors over 14 years. 2
Total 2
137
TRUANT OFFICERS' REPORT
For the Year Ending March 1, 1908.
To the School Committee of Acton, Mass. :
The Truant Officers submit their sixth annual report to the School Committee for the year ending March 1, 1908. The Truant Officers submit the following list of pupils looked up for the year, the cause of their absence, and if truants, the number that have been returned to school :
Whole number of pupils looked up. 15
Cause of absence C. S.
S. S.
W. S.
Sickness
3
0
4
Kept at home by parents
2
2
0
Returned to school
5
6
4
Reported truants
0
4
0
Yours respectfully,
C. G. TURNER, THOMAS SCANLON, MOSES A. REED,
Truant Officers.
138
DEPARTMENT OF SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
Report of the Purchasing Agent.
To the School Committee :
The following report of the expense account of this de- partment for the financial year ending March 1, 1908, is re- spectfully submitted :
J. L. Hammett Co.
Feb. 14. 6 packages sandpaper disks. $ 75
2 boxes Adam's pegs, No 475 32
$1 07
Mar. 16. 1 dozen Mem. books, No. 1,4301/2 .... $2 25
April 5. 10 packages No. 3 practice paper .... $3 00
10 packages No. 1 gray drawing pa- per, 6x9 3 20
1 pound No 120 rubber erasers. 55
5 packages blotters, 6x8 1 50
1 dozen quarts Treasury ink. 2 50
$9 75
April 24. 10 dozen No 140 note-books $2 70
4 boxes B1 water colors. 96'
4 No. 6 brushes 20
1 gross Dennison hooks, No. 25. 27
$4 13
139
May 6. 12 boxes Dennison hooks, No. 25 $3 24
12 boxes Niagara clips 1 44
2 No. 56 call bells. 1 12
$5 80
Sept. 4. 2 pounds No. 120 rubber erasers $1 10
6 boxes toy money .
72
15 packages white drawing paper, 8x101/2 6 75
20 packages white drawing paper, 6×9 5 00
10 packages No. 1 gray drawing pa- per, 6x9 3 20
25 packages No. 19 examination paper, 7 50
15 packages No. 25 hectograph paper, 5 25
40 packages No.3 white practice paper,
8 00
10 packages No 1 white practice paper,
2 00
5 packages blotters, 6x8 1 50
550 No. 140 note-books 12 38
500 No. 12 spelling blanks 4 50
10 gross No. 800 pencils. 9 50
5 dozen No. 30 rulers. 1 00
2 pounds No. 120 rubber erasers. 1 10 . .. 1 dozen bottles Treasury mucilage .. 40
$69 90
Sept. 19. 1 dozen quarts Treasury ink. $2 50
Sept. 24. 400 report envelopes. $2 00
10 dozen Gem B. B. erasers 4 17
2 Gem pencil sharpeners 6 00
4 Congdon pitch pipes.
1 50
6 dozen No. 23 primary rulers 75
1 gross No. 1,407 penholders. 1 00
1 dozen bottles purple hectograph ink 1 80
140
1 box No. 314 Estabrook pens 56
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