USA > Massachusetts > Barnstable County > Harwich > Town annual reports of the selectmen and overseers of the poor of the town of Harwich 1950 > Part 10
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This small turn-over of teachers has tended to make the present school year start, and continue to run, smoothly and efficiently. It is my hope that we can con- tinue to retain our teachers.
FINANCE
Although the total cost of our schools has continued to rise during the last few years, it is important for us to realize that the school enrollment has also increased rapidly, and that the net cost per child has leveled off at about $195. This figure compares favorably with the cost per child in the other 103 Massachusetts towns which have populations of less than 5000 and support a high school. It is impossible to predict at this time when the total cost of schools will reach a leveling off point. As long as our enrollment continues to increase and prices of our supplies continue to rise, just so long shall we be faced with in- creased school budgets.
The table below will show the per unit increased cost of three of our most commonly used types of paper :
Jan. 1943 Oct. 1946 Oct. 1947 April 1950 Dec. 1950
Arith. Paper
$.45 pkg. $.31 pkg. $.41 pkg.
White Comp. .40
Manila Comp. .25
$.20 pkg. $.36 pkg. .61 .375
.65 .50
.42 .31
.54 .47
You will note that these price changes correspond to the changes in prices of other commodities. The tendency to lower prices last spring has been reversed, and we have been warned to expect further advances.
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DRIVER EDUCATION
One of the major problems facing our country today is the alarming number of highway accidents, a substantial percentage of which are caused by reckless teen-age drivers. To combat this menace, driver education courses have been added to the curriculum in many high schools. This program is encouraged by the Registrar of Motor Vehicles and the State Automobile Dealers' Association. The instruction at Harwich High School is made possible by the fact that a dual-control car was contributed for the use of the schools by the Chase Chevrolet Company in 1949-50, and by the Manson Motor Sales Corporation in 1950-51.
Driver Education in Harwich is under the supervision of Mr. William Fish. The course consists of twenty hours in theory plus behind-the-wheel instruction. Last year, seventeen students from an entering class of 20 com- pleted the course, successfully passed their tests and re- ceived licenses. This year twenty students are taking the course and all will soon be ready to take their tests.
Driver Education teaches not only the mechanics of good driving, but stresses correct attitudes on the part of the driver. Research covering the few years since be- hind-the-wheel courses were started have shown that students who have this training tend to be better drivers than those who have not. At present, a ten-year study of an equal number of drivers with and without the train- ing is under way. When the study is completed and a year-by-year comparison of their accident records has been made, we shall be able to supply a more accurate analysis of the value of the program.
HEALTH
A primary objective in any educational system is the promotion of good health and of good health habits among its pupils. Harwich can well be proud of its progress in the field of health, and for an analysis of the work of the past year, I refer you to the reports of the school doctors and the school nurse.
One of the bright spots in our school health program is the dental clinic conducted by Dr. McIntosh. This pro- gram, sponsored by the District Nurses' Association and financed by a $1000 appropriation from the town, makes it possible for any child to have his teeth cared for free
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of charge. It is regrettable that more parents do not take advantage of this opportunity to have their children's teeth cared for during their school days. A great deal of trouble in later life could be prevented if the teeth were given careful attention during the critical growing period.
The extension of the elementary school health program under the direction of Dr. Norris Orchard is arousing a great deal of favorable comment. Each child is given a very thorough examination in the presence of his parents, thus making sure that parents understand the program and more particularly, the health problems of their own children. The parents are to be congratulated for their interest and cooperation in this important work. Many parents have come for this consultation at great incon- venience to themselves, but in every case have felt that the effort. was worthwhile. Another feature of this pro- gram is the installation of a new health record card which not only makes provision for the doctor's conclusions, but allows space for comment by the teachers and the nurse. The observations of these people who are in daily contact with the children are most helpful to the doctor.
Another extension of our health program is made pos- sible by the purchase of a pure-tone audiometer by the towns of Union No. 20. Until this year we have had to depend upon the county facilities for testing hearing, but now we have our own instrument which is used in turn by all the towns of this school union. Dr. Moore has been most helpful in setting up a training program for the teachers and nurses assigned to this duty. The audiometer together with the vision testing equipment which has been in use for some years, rounds out our program and insures a complete physical check-up for every child.
Another school project which directly affects the health of the children is the hot lunch program. Although this is now a familiar story to most, occasional comments come to our ears, indicating that not all people do understand the function of the program. Every lunch served in our schools must furnish 1/2 to 1/3 of the daily nutritional needs of the child and must contain minimum amounts of pro- tein, fats, and carbohydrates. One-half cup of fruit or vegetables and one-half pint of milk must be included with each meal. These standards are strictly enforced with spot checks from time to time, and parents can be assured that every meal served contains these elements in
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the correct proportions. Another feature of this program is that we take pride in the cleanliness and good sanita- tion practiced in our kitchens. It is a pleasure to report that in a recent test conducted by Dr. Moore's office, our dishes showed a very low bacteria count.
It is interesting to note that during the past school year, the percentage of attendance at the new elementary school was the highest in ten years, and was 3% above the ave- rage for the ten-year period. Perhaps it is too much to claim that the new school is entirely responsible for this improvement, but it would seem that the new building makes school more attractive to children and that the steady change of air makes it less likely that contagious diseases will spread.
In closing this section of my report, I should like to pay tribute to our school nurse, Miss Adelyn Peabody, who has been carrying out her work so quietly and efficiently that we sometimes forget how important her program is. Her great interest and understanding of the children has been a great help to doctors, to teachers, and to the ad- ministration.
MISCELLANEOUS
1. Course of Study Work. The program started last year under the supervision of Mrs. Knight has been con- tinued. A course of study in English in grades one through six has been completed and is now in the hands of the teachers. While our long range objective is to develop courses of study in all parts of the curriculum and thus insure coordination throughout the grades, the incidental values derived from working together and with Mrs. Knight is of inestimable value. Sugges- tions for motivating and presenting various phases of the work are presented at each meeting.
2. Libraries. We have continued the practice of budget- ing $500 for the school libraries, and this investment is beginning to pay dividends. It should be realized that this sum represents only $1 per child, and that it will take several years to build up the libraries to really satisfactory standards. Mrs. Doane has been most help- ful in welcoming the pupils to Brooks Library and explaining the library to them.
3. Nature Study. We have continued the program offered
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by the Audubon Society again this year. The sixth grade pupils look forward to Mr. Levy's visits, and the course does much in developing an interest and respect for the world of nature.
4. Handwriting. The Rinehart System has been continued at the elementary level. Teachers and parents are agreed that this system has improved the children's writing.
5. Report Cards. I call your attention to Mrs. Nickerson's report for an explanation of the new report cards adopted this year for the elementary school. I should like to emphasize that a great deal of study and thought was devoted to the development of this card. Hundreds of different cards were studied by the teachers of Union No. 20 and the card which was de- veloped was the result of the combined opinion of all the teachers. This card was used last year in grades 1-3 with apparent success, some improvements were made, and it is being tried in grades 1-6 this year. The purpose of any rank card is to give the parent a clean understanding of his child's progress in all phases of the school program, including his develop- ment in those very important characteristics which we group under "citizenship." We feel that it is a mis- take to grade elementary children with the usual A, B, C, etc., because :
1. It gives the parent no indication whether the child is working up to his capacity, and
2. It tends to develop competition for marks which is not beneficial at this age.
It is true that the old method worked well for the child of high mental capacity, but we do not believe that any child who works up to his capacity should be penalized with low marks. We shall welcome constructive criticism of this card throughout the year, and shall be glad to change any part of it if the change will improve the card as a conveyor of information to the parents.
CONCLUSION
In concluding my fourth annual report, I wish to express my appreciation to the members of the School Committee, the townspeople, principals, and teachers for their support and cooperation over the last four years. With cooperation
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we have accomplished a great deal in building a splendid physical plant and in improving the educational methods in that plant. As long as this cooperative spirit is main- tained, we shall continue to make progress in this most important of work-education.
Respectfully submitted,
HERBERT E. HOYT.
REPORT OF THE HIGH SCHOOL PRINCIPAL Paul A. Morris
It is a source of satisfaction to review the report I made a year ago and discover the statements made in it are still true. A restatement of some of its points, and more emphasis placed on some others, makes it apply accu- rately to our school today.
For a town of our population we have one of the out- standing small schools in the Commonwealth. A school is measured by certain educational criteria, such as physi- cal plant, furnishings, courses offered, textbooks used, training and experience of teachers, percentages of drop- outs and graduates, percentages of graduates continuing educational pursuits, etc. Measured by these standards Harwich stands well. Even by the much publicized ques- tionnaire of Life Magazine, little Harwich rates as an average school in the entire nation, and on the questions over which we in the school have control, we rate a high average.
Every once in a while we find the same old rumor run- ning around that graduates of our school cannot go to college without going to prep school. I would like to state very clearly that the rumor is not true. Not only is it a fact that our graduate can go to college, but also it is a fact that they do go to college without going to prep school. Of the twenty-six graduates in the class of 1950, eleven took the college course, and twelve have continued their education in institutions of higher learning.
The reason we have a good school is because we have an excellent teaching staff. Our teachers are conscientious men and women, well skilled for their work, who unite as a team to accomplish the educational aims to which we
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aspire. We have no internal dissention nor jealousy, but rather mutual helpfulness with a cooperative spirit which often goes over and above the call of duty to get things done as we want to have them done in Harwich. I have recently made a study of the continuity of instruction in the departments of our school. I find that it has been to our advantage to keep our experienced teachers. Do you realize that since Miss Farnsworth completed her sixteen years of work with us, that we have had seven different English teachers. Do you know that since our work in Home Economics started fourteen years ago, we have had ten different teachers. The school cannot do its best for children that way. We should make our work situation as attractive as that in any part of the state, so that our good teachers will stay with us.
A public high school exists for two purposes : First, to teach the basic fundamentals of American education on the high school level; and second, to teach democratic citi- zenship.
In carrying out our first objective, notice that the edu- cational procedures should be at the high school level. The school is not a penal institution, nor is it a welfare organ- ization; a tutorial school; or a glorified baby-sitting plan. It has a level of normality-normal children, normal in- telligence, application, instruction, situations, give nor- mal results. The evidence of this is very apparent, by the normal type of person in town, and the records of those who have gone on to further training, and have left us.
Our second objective; that of teaching democratic citi- zenship, imposes four services on schools.
The first and greatest task is to provide an enlightened citizenry in order that self-government may work. To be long-lived, Republics must invest in education. It has suc- ceeded. Our more perfect union has established justice and domestic tranquility, and received the blessings of liberty.
The second service is to create and maintain national unity. Unity has been created out of diversity, nationalism out of particularism. Americans have a peoples common language with which to voice a peoples common heritage.
The third service imposed on the public school is what is known as Americanism. Millions of immigrants have poured into America. No other people has ever absorbed such large or varied stocks so rapidly. Those millions have
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become American in language, in ways of life and thought, in citizenship, because of the public school.
The fourth service has been to teach to "live and learn equality"; all being subject to the same educational pro- cesses and the same disciplines. On the playground and the athletic field, the same code has ruled, with the reward of honor and applause heartfully given to the achieve- ments to which all could aspire equally.
In conclusion, I want to express appreciation to all those citizens, who, through their interest in our work and problems, have helped us to carry on.
REPORT OF THE HARWICH ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Ethalene B. Nickerson, Principal
In this, my annual report, I wish to present a brief explanation of our new rank cards, and also to enter a plea for the return of our remedial room and the addition of more classrooms.
At the opening of school in September, we found an in- crease in our membership of twenty-five children. This made it necessary to operate two first, two second, two third, and two sixth grades. This left us a fifth grade of forty-eight and a fourth grade of forty-three pupils. All our classrooms were taken, so the only way to care for the over-flow was to use our remedial room for a combina- tion fourth and fifth grade.
We all know that the extent and rate of development in children vary. This may be observed in the home where one child walks at eight months and another at twelve months. A similar variation is seen in talking, so it is understandable that the mental growth of children varies similarly. It is because of this variation in mental de- velopment that many of our children need help outside the regular classroom. I personally give as much time as possible to this remedial work, but that is far from suffi- cient. To meet this need in September, 1951, we should be provided with this room where children can progress at their own educational level. Provision should also be made for our crowded fourth and fifth grades.
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During the past two years, the elementary teachers of Union No. 20 have worked on two projects. Once each month we have met with Mrs. Melvin C. Knight to study and plan a course in English for the first six grades. Those meetings have been very successful, and this year the same group is meeting to study and discuss other subjects in the curriculum.
Our second project was the study of modern report cards. More and more educators are convinced that ele- mentary teachers have no way of obtaining the hard, cold facts necessary to rate a small child A, B, C, etc. We know that the child's work is satisfactory or not satisfactory. We know whether he is working up to his capacity and whether there is improvement in his work. With the com- bined agreement of all the teachers in the four towns, we drew up a card which was used last year in the first three grades. This card was received with favorable comments by the parents. You will see that the different subjects are broken down in ranking. We felt that the parent should know the point in each subject where the child is weak or strong. Below the scholarship record is found an ex- planation of the symbol used in ranking. As the citizen- ship of a child has a very noticeable influence on his work, we felt it would be well to place a Citizenship Record with an explanatory note on the back of the card. This year this type of report card is an experiment as far as the upper grades are concerned. If, by the end of the year, the parents have found it unsatisfactory, Mr. Hoyt will be glad to hear any criticism and make any practical revision.
REPORT OF THE GUIDANCE DIRECTOR David O. Lynch
How long have children and young people been recog- nized as individuals ? How much information concerning human variations has been accumulated ? A quick survey over the past 2500 years provides a brief, but convincing answer.
About 450 B.C., Socrates was concerned with the nature of the individual and his place in social organization. Plato recognized the individual in his Republic. Quintilian, a Roman teacher, said "It is generally, and not without reason, regarded as an excellent quality in a master to
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observe accurately the difference of ability in those whom he has undertaken to instruct, and to ascertain in what direction the nature of each particularly inclines him; for there is in talent an incredible variety, and the forms of mind are not less varied than those of bodies."
Vitorrino da Feltre of Mautua, Italy, conducted a school in the 15th century. He ignored class differences and con- centrated on ability differences, adapting his teaching to individuals.
John Locke, 17th century English philosopher, recog- nized the importance of studying individual children. Rousseau, 18th century French philosopher, considered the use of children's native talents to guide instruction almost self-evident.
Francis Galton, an English scientist, made a study of 977 eminent men to determine if they had eminent fathers, brothers, and sons. He devised tests to determine differ- ences in the various senses. Binet, a Frenchman, brought forth the first intelligence scale in 1905. Terman, an Amer- ican, revised the scale and made it a basic instrument for studying individual differences in 1916.
Thus, the speculations of philosophers have slowly been confirmed by the scientists. Individuals do exist. We now know his general characteristics, specific traits, we have developed numerous methods for helping him achieve his own uniqueness.
Guidance is an attempt to put into educational practice a respect for the individual, his personality, his interests, his peculiar urges and ambitions. It is an attempt to de- velop an educational technique of working with individuals rather than loose groups or age classes.
We use the inventory folder on all grade levels to gather information relating to the individual in order to assist the teacher to acquire helpful information quickly. This year the sixth grade teachers took their completed folders to the Junior High School and met with the teachers there in an attempt to make the transition from the sixth to the seventh grade an easier task for the pupils. The experi- ment evidenced much value and will be continued in the future.
Standardized tests in reading, a 12 grade school achieve- ment test, scholastic capacity tests, mechanical aptitude, clerical aptitude, musical aptitude, art aptitude, manual dexterity, vocational interest inventories, personality in-
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ventories, and spatial relations aptitude are used to gather information about the individual and the results are placed in the pupil folders.
One or more counseling interviews are furnished for each high school pupil each year. The eighth graders are counseled before the selection of high school subjects. It is planned to send to the parents the recommendation of the guidance director so that all concerned will know what is best for the pupil.
Occupational information is still being gathered. As soon as it is possible to secure pupil clerical assistance, this practice will provide valuable office experience and much more information for our files. Career Day is planned for Chatham High School on March 14, 1951, and again we will have twenty or more specialists to furnish inspiration and information for our pupils.
Placements in further education and on jobs continues at a higher level than last year. Field trips are made with pupils to acquaint them with the facts not obtainable from printed material.
A follow-up study has been made of our 1949 high school graduates and we have learned that almost 100% have carried out plans made in high school and are well satisfied with the results. Our college preparation seems adequate but most of the college students say that typing should be required of all high school pupils planning a college career. Our commercial training is good enough for our pupils to pass Civil Service exams, but some graduates claim that business machine instruction would be very helpful. The social studies seem to need revitaliza- tion. There was a great deal of free comment added to the survey blanks which is hard to tabulate but most valuable when studied and acted upon by the teachers and administration.
Life adjustment classes are no longer under the admin- istration of the guidance director but are left to the dis- cretion of the high school principal. The activity in this area is under the scrutiny of the State Committee on Life Adjustment which is a part of the National Com- mittee.
The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation of the Depart- ment of Education has done some excellent work with our physically handicapped pupils. Mr. Wm. King of New Bed-
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ford is the representative for this area and he has been most conscientious in following out his duties.
The guidance attitude of the teachers is growing more intense. This is especially noticed when a teacher takes graduate work in guidance. More people, in and out of the schools, have accepted the idea that adequate education is individualized education and requires the information furnished by the Guidance Service. The cooperation of the teachers with the guidance activity is excellent. Pains- taking contributions to the individual folders and early referral of problems to the guidance director has resulted in a much more valuable program.
Parents are again invited to present their school prob- lem to the Guidance director. We can all work together to improve individual adjustment and the educational pro- gram.
REPORT OF THE ART SUPERVISOR
Each year in the town of Harwich proves to be a better one than the year before regarding interest and results on the part of the children of all grades in the field of Art. It is a happy experience for an adult to see children create. If a parent provides materials for them at home- i.e., crayons, paint, and paper, he will see the child create. From a blank sheet of paper (a difficult thing for anyone to face without an idea!) you will see a thought or idea evolve through the medium of crayon or paint.
The opportunity for parents interested in art at home seems to be unlimited with the many different media avail- able for creative expression.
As the children are older, and there is more time for art classes, other materials are available, such as clay, tempera, linoleum, construction paper, and oil and textile paint. Here, in the Junior and Senior High Schools, pupils make their own choices in materials, with perhaps a little outside stimulation for ideas.
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