USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Acton > Town annual reports of Acton, Massachusetts 1906-1910 > Part 27
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plaint of a truant officer and conviction thereof, may, if a boy, be committed to a county truant school for not more than two years, and, if a girl, to the state industrial school for girls, unless such child is placed on probation as provided in section seven of this chapter.
Section 4. A child between seven and sixteen years of age who may be found wandering about in the streets or pub- lic places of any city or town having no lawful occupation. habitually not attending school, and growing up in idleness and ignorance, shall be deemed an habitual absentee, and. upon complaint by a truant officer or any other person and conviction thereof, may, if a boy, be committed to a county truant school for not more than two years or to the Lyman school for boys, and, if a girl, to the state industrial school for girls, unless such child is placed on probation as provided in section seven.
Section 5. A child under fourteen years of age who. persistently violates the reasonable regulations of the school which he attends, or otherwise persistently misbehaves therein, so as to render himself a fit subject for expulsion therefrom. shall be deemed to be an habitual school offender, and, upon complaint by a truant officer and conviction thereof, may, if a boy, be committed to a county truant school for not more than two years or to the Lyman school for boys, and, if a girl, to the state industrial school for girls, unless such child is placed on probation as provided in section seven.
Section 13. Truant officers shall inquire into all cases arising under the provision of sections one and six of chapter forty-four and sections three, four and five of this chapter, and may make complaints and serve legal processes issued under the provisions of this chapter. They shall have the oversight of children placed on probation under the provisions of section seven. A truant officer may apprehend and take to school, without a warrant, any truant or absentee found wan- dering about in the streets or public places thereof.
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Chapter 106.
Section 28. No child under the age of fourteen years and no child who is over fourteen and under sixteen years of age who does not have a certificate as required by the fol- lowing four sections certifying to the child's ability to read at sight and to write legibly simple sentences in the English language shall be employed in any factory, workshop or mer- cantile establishment. No child under the age of fourteen years shall be employed at work performed for wages or other compensation, to whomsoever payable, during the hours when the public schools of the city or town in which he resides are in session, or be employed at work before six o'clock in the morning or after seven o'clock in the evening.
Section 2. No certificate as provided for by sections twenty-nine or thirty-two inclusive of chapter one hundred and six of the Revised Laws shall be approved by any person for a minor under the age of sixteen years who intends to be employed in a factory, workshop or mercantile establishment, unless such person is satisfied that such minor is able to read at sight and to write legibly simple sentences in the English language.
Section 31. An age or schooling certificate shall not be approved unless satisfactory evidence is furnished by a cer- tificate of birth or baptism of such minor, or by the register of birth of such minor with a city or town clerk, that such minor is of the age stated in the certificate, except that other evidence, under oath, may be accepted in case the superin tendent or person authorized by the school committee, as pro- vided in the preceding section, decides that neither the cer- tificates of birth or baptism, nor the register of birth is avail- able for the purpose.
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ACTS OF 1906.
Chapter 499.
An Act Relative to the Illegal Employment of Minors and to the Duties of Truant Officers.
Be it enacted, etc., as follows :
Section 1. Whoever employs a minor under the age of sixteen years, and whoever procures or, having under his control a minor under such age, permits such minor to be employed in violation of the provisions of sections twenty- eight or twenty-nine of chapter one hundred and six of the Revised Laws, as amended by chapter two hundred and sixty- seven of the acts of the year nineteen hundred and five, shall for each offence be punished by a fine of not more than three hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment ; and whoever continues to employ a minor in violation of the provisions of either of said sections as so amended, after being notified thereof by a truant officer or by an inspector of factories and public buildings, shall for every day thereafter while such employment continues be punished by a fine of not less than twenty nor more than one hundred dollars, or by imprisonment for not more than six months.
Section 2. Inspectors of factories and public buildings shall visit all factories, workshops and mercantile establish- ments within their respective districts, and ascertain whether any minors are employed therein contrary to the provisions of chapter one hundred and six of the Revised Laws and amendments thereof or additions thereto, or contrary to the provisions of this act, and shall enter complaint against whomever is found to have violated any of said provisions. Any inspector of factories and public buildings who know- ingly and wilfully violates any provisions of this section may be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars.
Section 3. A truant officer may apprehend and take to school, without a warrant, any minor under the age of six-
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teen years who is employed in any factory. workshop or mer- cantile establishment in violation of the provisions of sec- tions twenty-eight or twenty-nine of chapter one hundred and six of the Revised Laws, and of any amendments thereof or additions thereto, and such truant officer shall forthwith report to the police, district or municipal court or trial justice within whose judicial district the illegal employ- ment occurs, the evidence in his possession relating to the illegal employment of any child so apprehended, and shall make complaint against whomever the court or trial justice may direct. Any truant officer who knowingly and wilfully violates any provision of this section may be punished by a fine of not more than one hundred dollars for each offence.
Section 4. Inspectors of factories and public buildings, and truant officers may require that the age and schooling certificates and lists of minors who are employed in factories, workshops or mercantile establishments shall be produced for their inspection. A failure to produce to an inspector of factories and public buildings or to a truant officer an age and schooling certificate or list required by law shall be prima facie evidence of the illegal employment of any person whose age and schooling certificate is not produced or whose name is not so listed. A corporation or other employer or any agent or officer thereof, who retains an age and school- ing certificate in violation of the provisions of said certifi- cate shall be punished by a fine of not less than ten nor more than one hundred dollars.
Section 5. Police, district and municipal courts and trial justices shall have jurisdiction of offences arising under the provisions of this act. A summons or warrant issued by any such court or justice may be served, at the discretion of the court or magistrate, by an inspector of factories and public buildings, or by a truant officer, or by any officer qualified to serve criminal process.
Section 6. Section thirty-three of chapter one hundred and six of the Revised Laws, and all other acts and parts of acts inconsistent herewith, are hereby repealed. (Approved June 20, 1906).
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TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
To the Citizens of Acton :
There is again little necessity to add anything to the able report of the Superintendent regarding the condition of your schools, their present needs and some of their probable future requirements. A word added here, however, lest we fail to realize or lest realizing, we forget, may not be inappro- priate. Times change and with them manners. The schools of today are in many ways unlike those of yesterday and it is certain that the schools of tomorrow will be equally or per- haps in a greater degree unlike those with which we are now familiar.
The ever changing conditions and demands of society im- pose corresponding changes in courses of study and methods of instruction in the schools in order that the child may be equipped, when he shall enter that society, to fairly maintain himself in what is sometimes spoken of as the struggle of life. At present and for some time past. the question of affording to the children of the public schools a certain amount of in- dustrial training, that they, or a large proportion of them, may be the better fitted to meet successfully the conditions that will confront them in later life, has occupied the attention of states and municipalities as well as of manufacturers and that great body of men and women who are intimately associated with the work of education.
The Massachusetts State Board of Education has just been reorganized for the purpose mainly of ensuring a full
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and careful consideration of this question of industrial edu- cation.
It is a question well worthy also of the careful con- sideration of the parents and other citizens of this community.
The increase in the estimate for the support of high school is induced by the prospectively greater attendance at that school the coming year.
The increase in estimate for salary of Superintendent ($30) is made necessary by the action of the District Com- mittee in increasing the Superintendent's salary from $1500 to $1600. Of the amount appropriated for this purpose $375 is repaid by the state and that sum has been secured for the year 1908-1909.
The report of the truant officer is appended.
The School Committee of Acton. By CHAS. J. WILLIAMS. Chairman.
RECEIPTS AND EXPENDITURES ON ACCOUNT OF
SCHOOLS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1909-1910.
RECEIPTS.
Appropriation for common schools $4.835 00
Appropriation for high school 3,600 00
Appropriation for school supplies 625 00
Appropriation for transportation of pu- pils 1.360
Appropriation for salary of Superinten-
(lent 480 00
Appropriation for medical inspection of pupils 100 00
Received from Mass. School Fund 1.127 80
Received from dog licenses 373 25
Received from tuition, state 85 09
$12,586 14
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EXPENDITURES.
For common schools $5,939 97
For high school
3,873 37
For school supplies 462 97
For transportation of pupils
1,419 50
For salary of Superintendent 500 00
For medical inspection of pupils
78 50
$12,274 31
Unexpended balance
$311 83
ESTIMATES FOR THE SUPPORT OF SCHOOLS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR 1910-1911.
For common schools $4,750 00
For high school 4,200 00
For school supplies 625 00
For transportation of pupils 1,360 00
For salary of Superintendent 510 00
For medical inspection of pupils
100 00
$11,545 00
SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
Gentlemen of the Committee :
I have the honor of submitting to you, as Superintendent of Schools of this town, my fourth annual report, it being the 18th in the series of superintendents' reports.
We are fortunate in having secured efficient successors for the places made vacant by the resignations of Sadie R. Whitney and Pauline Berthold at the South School, and of
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Mary O. Freeman at the West. Miss Hurlbutt, who succeeded Miss Whitney, resigned in January to accept a better position in Ayer. We are very fortunate in securing Miss Elizabeth Paine, a Smith College girl of several years' experience, who has entered upon her duties in a way which promises a marked (legree of success.
Aside from delinquent attendance the schools are in good condition, showing a considerable improvement in the spirit of work over last year. The attendance is very irregular and parents seem to allow their children to remain at home for very trifling ailments and often for no reasonable cause. Tardi- ness is especially marked in our schools and drastic measures seem necessary unless the home comes to a proper realization of the necessity for prompt, regular attendance.
The work of the Freshman class in the High School has been greatly handicapped by the absence of the regular teacher. If the arrangement with Concord is to continue I should ad- vise the discontinuance of that class and its fusion with Con- cord from the start.
For some time objections to the present system of mark- ing have been urged. At the last meeting of the Massachu- setts Superintendents' Association the matter was freely dis- cussed and the result was a strong plea for a change in the system. The system now in vogue presents several objection- able features :
1. No teacher can hope to mark all pupils with absolute accuracy. The teacher who depends upon her general im- pressions and records the marks of each pupil once a week will frequently be deceived. A pupil who makes a poor recita- tion just before the time for marks to be recorded will re- ceive a lower mark than he deserves; on the other hand the pupil who is generally poor, but who makes a good recitation just before the time for recording the marks will be apt to be marked higher than he deserves. Teachers who, in the effort to avoid the possibility of such errors, record their marks after each recitation, place an impassable barrier be- tween themselves and their pupils. The habit of noting crit-
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ically every imperfection, marking coldly every error may tend to make an accurate marking machine, but it precludes the teacher's doing the kind of work our best teachers desire to do; it cuts off all chance of her giving hope, encouragement or inspiration to her pupils.
2. A pupil's success in his studies depends upon two factors : (a) Natural ability and (b) Effort. A pupil fortu- nate enough to be born with a superior mind should not bear the conviction forced upon him by the marking system that he is better and more worthy than his less gifted associates. Nor, on the other hand, should a pupil of medium ability be made to feel that he is less highly esteemed because of condi- tions wholly beyond his control. Both should be taught in every way possible that to use one's powers faithfully, be they great or small, for worthy ends is the only honor, and to fail to use them is the only disgrace. The present system of mark- ing makes it extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make these truths clear to the child's mind.
3. The present system opens the door to petty jealousies among children, leads to misunderstandings between children and teachers, and between parents and teachers. It is prob .. able that more than half of all the friction between parents and teachers, and between pupils and teachers can be traced to the report card.
4. The mark is far too often made so prominent in the child's mind that the real thing for which it stands is entirely shut from view and the pupil comes to work for marks rather than for an education. The "A" becomes the only conscious aim of the child's endeavor. Accumulation of facts rather than power to do becomes the sole object of his effort. No worthy work can be done in pursuit of so unworthy an end. To use a mark as a threat or a bribe is to do an injustice. To appeal to pride and fear so largely during the formative years of a child's life is to cut off all chance of instilling in the minds of the future citizens of our republic the high sense of duty which our schools should engender.
5. Experience has shown clearly that children whose
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natural and wholesome appetites have never been perverted by a false taste for marks, do not need them. Nowhere in school do we find such eager, enthusiastic workers as in the grades where marks are unknown, and nowhere do we find the lack of these qualities in so marked a degree as in the upper grades where marks have been longest in use.
6. The last objection is not urged primarily out of con- sideration for the teachers, but out of consideration for the pupils. The mere mechanical effort of posting up marks and making out report cards under our present system consumes. an enormous amount of valuable time and strength which might better be used for the benefit of the children.
For the past year a new system of marking has been tried at the Frost school in Westford Center. This system is essen- tially as follows :
1. Marks are recorded in scholarship once a month. This record is to be kept as entirely private and should not be shown to the pupil.
2. Once a month a report card is issued showing (a), Statistics of attendance, sessions absent, times tardy, times. dismissed; (b), List of studies pursued ; (c), a plain simple statement by the teacher in regard to the work of the pupil.
3. In addition to the regular report sent home once a month a special report is sent home the moment a pupil falls below a proper standing in any subject. In this way the par- ent is kept informed immediately of any deficiency.
4. Much of the written work in all subjects is kept on file and may be sent home frequently for inspection or parents may see upon visiting the school, the character of the work done and note the improvement month by month.
The new system has worked so well that I would rec- ommend that it be adopted for the schools of this town.
The problem of training for future citizenship would seen to be well met by the development of organized play. This line of work is especially needed in such a community as ours because so many of our children have no opportunity at home . for real play. Joseph Lee, "the father of public playgrounds"
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writes very tersely and instructively on this matter as follows : "Why have playgrounds? Why? Why does a flower need the light? The child needs a playground because his growth is through activity, through whose specific forms of activity which his nature has prescribed; and because, ac- cordingly, he will never grow up-or will grow up stunted and perverted-if he is denied those opportunities and objects to which his vital, instinctive and formative activities relate."
"The thing that needs most to be understood about play is that it is not a luxury but a necessity. It is not simply some- thing that a child likes to have; it is something that he must have if he is ever to grow up. It is more than an essential part of his education ; it is a part of the law of his growth, of the process by which he becomes a man at all."
"Is play a necessity? Yes, if the boy lives and is a whole boy. If he is above ground and the best part of him has not been starved quite out of him, play there is bound to be if not in one form then in another."
"Does it pay? Volumes of testimony could be cited to show that playgrounds greatly cut down the amount of juvenile law-breaking. Doctors will testify to the necessity of play to health and growth, and to its essential importance as a means of fighting the great white plague."
"These are pecuniary benefits of no mean order even if we confine ourselves to the money side of the question. And. then besides, children are worth something in themselves."
That attention to school yard play may aid in the disci- pline of the school is unquestioned. In one school, the record for the year before organized play was introduced showed 281 cases of truancy and 99 cases of corporal punishment. The school yard had been covered with loam which made it unfit for play in damp weather. The chief role of the principal under such conditions quite naturally and easily fell into that of policemen. By covering the yard used for play with a mix- ture of broken stone and sand it was made fit for use. A wooden frame containing four pairs of rings and two hor- izontal bars were erected. From time to time other pieces of
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apparatus were added until the equipment included punching bags, medicine bags, basket balls, shot, skittles, a jumping and vaulting pole, and a race track.
The results secured were remarkable. Truancy dropped to thirty-three cases. Corporal punishment was essentially discarded. The tone of the school was raised; teachers were brought into closer touch with the children, and by increasing their knowledge of them strengthened their influence over them.
The effect of play upon school work in general is worthy of mention. There is a close inter-dependence of the muscu- lar and nervous systems. In the development of the race the nervous system has advanced as the muscular system has ad- vanced, and the same is apparently true of the individual. There can be no well balanced development of the nervous system without a corresponding development of the muscular system.
Teachers who have regularly made use of games in the middle of the session are unanimous in saying that the games revived the children, gave an added zest to their study and made them more quiet and responsive. Tests of the amount and accuracy of work done after the afternoon games show a decided gain in favor of the use of games.
In view of such testimony is it not wise to plan for the equipment of our school grounds, and the instituting of organ- ized play under the direction of the teachers? In a small hamlet in Ohio, of 250 inhabitants, the committee has voted $160 for the equipment of the school grounds for play. Can we not do as much for our children ?
The compulsory eye and ear tests for this year show the following results :
Number of pupils examined-325.
Number with defective sight-39. Per cent .- 12
Number with defective hearing-13. Per cent .- 4.
The response to the notices sent to parents has not been as good as it should be. That defective eyesight, enlarged tonsils, or adenoids are responsible for much of the retardation
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of pupils, is an established fact. To require a child to do what he is unable to do by reason of physical defects is cruelty. The results in those places where proper examinations have been made show most alarming conditions. In New York City, in a school for so-called incorrigibles-the truants, the idle, the stupid, the troublesome-150 in number, all were found on examination to be physically defective. One hundred thirty- seven had adenoids, or enlarged tonsils, or both. These were operated upon and in six months seventy-six of the eighty- one operated upon first, were reexamined and without ex- ception it was found that they had been promoted and were doing well in their advanced grades.
Parents should give immediate attention to the physical condition of their children and give every possible aid to the schools in following the suggestions of the teachers and the medical inspectors.
The problem of a closer union between the home and the school is an important one with us. Very few parents have visited the school to see what their children are doing, and still fewer have sought to establish friendly relations with the teachers and thus aid them in a better understanding of the children. Every parent should make strenuous efforts to come into personal touch with the teacher, and lend the heart- iest support to our efforts to lead the child to appreciate the value of strict application to his school work. Our aim is to train our pupils to study by themselves, to look up material connected with their lessons from other sources than their regular text-books, thus putting them in touch with the widest fields of education. The teacher is not in school to carry the children, but to train them to right habits of thought, and to establish power to observe, to reason, and to work effectively. The chief end of the school is not acquisition of knowledge, but the power to think and act along right lines. Thus, by forming good habits we seek to build up a strong character, to make citizens who shall be worthy of the name of Amer- icans.
Obedience is the first essential in all school life. It is not
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for the pupil to question what the teacher says. His business is to act promptly and graciously. If having given prompt obedience he feels aggrieved, no teacher will refuse to explain the necessity for the command when such explanation is sought in a polite manner. It is here the home can come to the teacher's aid most effectively. Let the pupil be im- bued with the idea that the teacher's word is law and must be obeyed. Let the parents get in close touch with the teacher and this attitude will become easier.
The work in music and drawing is progressing in a very satisfactory manner. The reports of our supervisors are appended. I would urge the extension of manual work. Sewing for the girls and basketry or wood-work for the boys of the upper grades should find a place in the curri- culum. This is a line which the children need and which towns of less size and wealth than ours are establishing. It is to be hoped that the necessary funds will be appropriated.
Teachers' meetings are being held monthly for the dis- cussion of educational matters. Superintendent Paull, of Pepperell, spoke in January upon the "Teacher as Student," and Superintendent Briggs. of Chelmsford, in February upon "Moral Education." The reading circle is at work upon "Teaching Children to Study."
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