USA > Massachusetts > Plymouth County > West Bridgewater > Town annual reports of the selectmen, overseers of the poor, town clerk, and school committee of West Bridgewater for the year ending 1891-1900 > Part 18
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CHAS. R. PACKARD.
35
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
At the beginning of the school year of 1898 the following were members of the school committee :
MRS. M. K. CROSBY, MRS. C. H. COPELAND, for three years.
E. E. BROWN, W. H. BOSWORTH, for two years.
MRS. A. S. LELACHEUR, C. P. HOWARD, for one year.
The organization for the year was as follows :
A. S. LELACHEUR, Chairman.
M. K. CROSBY, Secretary.
W. H. BOSWORTH, C. P. HOWARD and E. E. BROWN, Committee on Repairs.
The schools were assigned as follows :
North to Mrs. Copeland.
Cochesett to E. E. Brown.
Centre to Mrs. LeLacheur. South to C. P. Howard.
East and Matfield to Mrs. Crosby.
Jerusalem to Mr. Bosworth.
To A. S. LeLacheur, M. K. Crosby and C. H. Copeland was assigned the approval of teachers selected to fill vacancies. M. K. Crosby was appointed agent for school supplies ..
L. A. Flagg, D. W. Gardner and C. H. Eagan were chosen to act as truant officers.
36
FINANCIAL REPORT. TEACHERS.
Miss G. A. Smith,
36 weeks,
$360.00
Miss E. A. Morrow,
36
66
500.00
Miss I. S. Wood,
36
360.00
Miss R. L. MacDonald,
36
499.96
Miss M. W. Haskell,
36
66
324.00
Miss W. A. Holmes,
36
432.00
Miss E. M. Dunn,
36
360.00
Miss M. A. Dewyer,
36
432.00
Miss A. M. Seyser,
36
360.00
Miss E. D. Loring, (3 weeks, 1897) 24 weeks,
240.00
Miss B. H. Dickerson,
15 weeks,
120.00
Miss A. M. Barnes, music,
119.00
Conveyance of music teacher,
52.50
$4,159.46
JANITORS.
Paid for Jerusalem,
$14.00
Cochesett,
26.00
Centre,
28.00
South,
14.00
East,
14.00
Matfield,
14.00
North,
14.00
$124.00
REFERENCE BOOKS AND APPARATUS.
Periodicals from E. W. Nutter, 1897,
$19.50
Periodicals from E. W. Nutter, 1898,
12.54
2 copies Youth's Companion,
3.75
Portfolio of Life, 2 copies,
10.00
Outlines of Nature Study, 9 copies, .
1.80
$47.59
.
66
37
FUEL.
Paid E. H. Lothrop, 7 tons white ash coal,
$42.00
H. Withington, labor,
18.00
L. E. Hayward, labor,
7.50
C. C. Thayer, 4 cords hard wood,
20.00
C. P. Howard, 1 cord pine, 52 hard (labor)
36.00
B. Copeland, 3 cords hard, 1 cord pine, (labor)
25.00
Wm. Penpraese, labor, 20.00
E. T. Snell, 1 cord pine, 12 cords oak, 11.50
S. H. Marshall, 5 cords hard, 1 cord soft,
29.00
Ernest Edlund, labor,
2.50
E. H. Thayer, 3 cords pine,
12.00
G. Ellis, labor,
18.00
C. G. Manley, 4 cords hard, 1 cord pine,
22.00
G. Lindsay, labor,
2.70
$266.20
TRANSPORTATION.
Paid L. A. Flagg, coach,
$160.40
Mrs. A. J. Edson, coach,
57.30
O. W. Fuller, coach,
61.12
$278.82
Paid for tickets on electric cars,
234.80
$513.62
EXPENDITURES.
Teachers' wages,
$4,159.46
Fuel,
266.20
Janitors,
124.00
Transportation ,
513.62
Reference books and periodicals,
47.59
$5,110.87
38
RECEIPTS.
Town grant,
$4,450.00
Income of Massachusetts school fund,
281.28
On account of district supervision,
152.76
$4.884.04
REPAIRS.
General Repairs and Incidentals.
Paid J. M. Whiting, labor and stock,
$13.37
L. Richmond & Co., labor and stock, 13.36
Isam Mitchell, stock, (Centre)
26.26
S. D. Bartlett, labor and stock,
35.15
J. L. Fairbanks, furnace and labor, (Centre) 137.80
J. L. Fairbanks, sink, labor on stoves and stock,
24.58
W. L. Wedger, steel ceiling, (Cochesett)
39.78
Wm. Cole, labor, (Cochesett)
19.04
C. P. Howard, grading at 4 schools,
26.02
Expense for diplomas,
3.65
Jarvis Burrill, printing,
12.39
Pump at Jerusalem, ·
5.70
D. W. Gardner, constable service,
2.75
C. H. Eagan, constable service,
1.00
Footwear for A. E. Cobbett's children,
3.30
4 pairs shoes for Arthur Packard's children,
4.40
Expenses of Supt. G. C. Howard, 1897,
8.20
Express and postage for supplies, etc., 9.01
Incidentals and furnishings,
3.83
$389.59
Small Repairs, Furnishings and Cleaning.
Jerusalem,
$5.68
Cochesett, 19.25
Centre, 10.57
1
1.
39
East,
6.64
Matfield,
5.22
North,
4.65
South,
4.65
$56.66
SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
Paid J. L. Hammett & Co., readers and histories,
$12.75
J. L. Hammett & Co., general supplies, 67.80
Silver, Burdett & Co., music readers, 16.00
Silver, Burdett & Co., Ward's Rational readers, 48.74 E. E. Babb & Co., text books, 22.14
E. E. Babb & Co., general supplies,
29.15
University Publishing Co., readers,
31.52
Ginn & Co., arithmetics and geographies,
16.77
Macmillan Co., grammars,
7.50
Leach, Shewell & Co., physiologies,
10.00
Express for supplies,
3.00
$265.37
Whole amount of repairs,
446.25
Cost of school supplies,
265.37
Total,
$711.62
Sale of text books.
3.00
Town grant for repairs and supplies,
500.00
$503.00
New Supplies on Hand Dec. 31, 1898.
Readers, geographies, arithmetics, etc.,
44.96
Paper, copy books and general supplies,
17.69
$62.65
40
Inventory of stock, Jan. 1, 1898,
$50.96
Amount drawn from treasury, 262.37
Inventory of new stock, Dec. 31. 1898,
62.65
Supplies furnished schools,
250.68
The average membership in the schools for the year has been 261.29 and the cost of supplies furnished by the town has been $250.68, or 96 cents per scholar.
The school census for May 1, 1898, gave 291 children in town between the ages of five and fifteen years. Of these 260 were in the common schools, 7 (over 14 years) at work, 7 sick, 14 young and not yet in school and 3 out for other reasons.
Miss Laughton, principal of the Howard school, speaks very favorably of the earnest and satisfactory work of our town pupils in the High School department.
The last class admitted, which is the first from the recently established ninth grade of our grammar schools, shows a thor- ough preparation secured in that grade.
The number of pupils attending the High School in the Fall term was 14.
CALENDAR FOR 1899.
WINTER TERM, January 9 to March 24, 1899. Eleven weeks. Vacation, two weeks.
SPRING TERM, April 10 to June 16. Ten weeks.
Vacation, thirteen weeks.
FALL TERM, September 11 to December 22. Fifteen weeks. Recess. Thanksgiving week after Wednesday.
Vacation, two weeks.
WINTER TERM, 1900 Jannary 8.
Changes may be made in this to accommodate different schools.
The report or our present Superintendent, Mr. Frank O. Jones, who has been in charge of our schools since the first
.
41
·
of last March, will give the impressions of an unprejudiced observer and offer suggestions to help in bringing the schools into harmony with educational progress.
We trust that the citizens of our town will manifest a cordial co-operation with Mr. Jones, as they have always towards his predecessors.
Receipts from the State School Fund were nearly $100 less than in 1887. ·
The cost of conveyance for pupils exceeded the appropria- tion for that purpose, but tickets to the amount of $42.48 re- mained at the close of the year, for use on the electric roads. Twenty-three pupils received tickets-8 of these from Mat- field-requiring 4 tickets daily : 8 of the other 15 pupils re- ceived tickets for use only in bad weather.
One book of 100 tickets will, with proper use, suffice for the year, as there is usually much good walking in winter.
Some of the improvements proposed for the grammar build- ing at the Centre were deferred until another year; but in view of the urgent need of better accommodations the com- mittee decided to put in a furnace, and finish off a girls' cloak room in the basement. The increased convenience and com- fort fully justify this expenditure.
It became necessary to repair the shattered ceiling in the primary room at Cochesett, and this was replaced by a steel ceiling which, with the attendant labor, increased our repair account considerably.
That the pupils at the Centre Grammar school may sit as healthfully and comfortably as those of Cochesett we ask for a special grant of $300 for new desks, and a floor to which these can be firmly fastened.
We recommend the following appropriations :
For the support of schools,
$4,000.00
repairs and incidentals, 300.00
text-books and supplies, 200.00
conveyance of pupils,
450.00
new desks and floor at Centre,
300.00
42
At the annual meeting it will be necessary to choose two members for three years.
Respectfully submitted,
A. S. LELACHEUR, M. K. CROSBY, C. H. COPELAND, W. H. BOSWORTH, C. P. HOWARD,
School
Committee.
E. E. BROWN,
43
REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
To the School Committee of the Town of West Bridgewater :
I herewith submit my first annual report as Superintendent of Schools of the town of West Bridgewater. It is also the seventh of the series of annual reports since the formation of this union district. Through this report I shall try to de- scribe the educational affairs as they have existed in the town of West Bridgewater during the past year, and to set forth the future needs of the schools.
The following statistics will be of value for comparison with those of previous years.
Number of schools, 9
Number of teachers required, 10
Number of teachers employed during year, 11
Number of pupils in town between the ages of 5 and 15 years, as shown by the census of
May, 1898,
291
May, 1897, 263
May, 1896, 261
Number of children in town between the ages of 8 and
14 years, May 1st, 163
Number of pupils enrolled on school registers during year, 330 Number of pupils enrolled between the ages of 8 and 14 years, 196
Number of pupils enrolled over 15 years,
4
Average membership,
261.029
Center Grammar, 51.388
North,
25.738
Center Primary, 31.054
South, 22.55
Cochesett Grammar, 28.216 East, 19.64
Cochesett Primary, 21.75
Matfield,
40.733
Jerusalem, 20.32
Average attendance,
242.55
Center Grammar
48.062
North,
23.62
Center Primary,
29.304
South,
18.67
Cocheset Grammar,
26.65
East,
18.2
Cochesett Primary,
20.03
Matfield,
38.222
Jerusalem,
19.8
Per cent. of attendance,
.929
Center Grammar,
.935
North,
.917
Center Primary, .943
South,
.83
Cochesett Grammar,
.944
East,
.93
Cochesett Primary,
.92
Matfield,
.946
Jerusalem,
.974
Per cent. of attendance, 1897,
.912
THE YEAR'S WORK.
Coming into the district as I did, after the year was well begun, I studied existing conditions to find where the most attention was needed. My predecessor, in accordance with his views derived from several years of experience with your schools, had just arranged a course of study which, in its fundamental points, I have not changed, for it assuredly de- serves a fair trial. I have endeavored, however, to enrich this course by re-arousing in the schools an interest in both nature study and drawing.
Inasmuch as it is claimed that nature study had its origin in the town of West Bridgewater, it is pathetic that this val- uable subject should have been allowed to fall into neglect and finally to lose its place in the regular curriculum. The value of education lies not in the ability of the one who re- ceives it to retain an encyclopædic knowledge of the unre- lated facts ; but, in the ability of the scholar to see everything concerning him and his environment in its right relations, to know the principles of life's problems, in short, to make the most of himself. While arithmetic, language, and geography are essential subjects for study, it is exceedingly important
45
that the pupil's powers of observation be developed that he may appreciate the works of nature, their beauty, their rela- tion and usefulness to man. If he learns to observe and know the every-day forms of nature about him, his interest will be kept alive, his sympathies will be broadened, and his life will mean more to him. The value of nature study, as it is taught in schools to-day, lies largely in its capacity for developing these powers of observation. It is this elementary work which leads up to the understanding of the higher sciences . and aids the pupil to find the relations of the facts and to ap- ply the principles of those sciences. Some pupils find it diffi- cult to retain book learning, and gradually grow to dislike school work. They can, however, learn to tell the direction of the wind, the signs of the weather, the character of frost, dew, and other natural phenomena, the kinds of plants and their uses, and the many things taken up in the study of nature. They can understand these objects which they can see and touch, and the impressions of which they can join to those impressions gained from their own former experience. They quickly recognize that here is something practical, something that will help them in their every-day life. There are many of us lacking this form of early instruction, who, upon taking up some new science, feel our inability to asso- ciate the new facts which are presented to us, with those of our early experiences in ordinary life. We find the new snb- ject difficult because we cannot readily see these relations be- tween the new and the old. Then we realize that, if, in our childhood, some teacher had taken pains to cultivate our pow- ers of observation and association, our capacity for knowledge and the enjoyment of it, would have been immeasurably en- larged.
I dwell at length upon this theme because there are some in the district, and among them even teachers of the schools, who hold that there is no time in these partly graded schools of ours to take up the study of nature. If there is time to teach geography, there should be time to teach elementary science,
46
and the live teacher will see numberless opportunities to cor- relate the study of nature with that of geography, and of language. Through this means but little extra time is taken while not only the object of nature study is being accom- plished, but also there is added to the regular subject an en- livening " many-sided " interest.
Drawing, as well as nature study, has been much neglected throughout the district, although the pupils of certain indi- vidual teachers have been doing excellent work in that sub- ject. The value of the study of drawing in training the hand and eye. in helping to a knowledge of form and proportion, and, as the work advances, in leading up to the appreciation of art, as well as its value in all branches requiring illustra- tion, is too well known to need further remarks here. During the school year, in the elementary grades, this study has been taken up in connection with the nature work as far as practi- - cable in accordance with the plan advocated by the State Su- pervisor of Drawing.
The work in music has been ably directed by Miss Barnes. I wish to call your careful attention to her report in which she has set forth the value of music as a factor in education.
I am in sympathy with the movement begun by my prede- cessor, by which standard literature, instead of the old-fash- ioned readers, is being placed in the hands of pupils above the fourth grade.
I believe that, through this means, an early taste for good literature is being developed which testifies to the wisdom of the plan.
The " Rational Method " in reading, which has been used with the beginners the past year, is, in my opinion, a marked success. I have been surprised at the ease with which the children taught by Mr. Ward's method have handled reading matter which, under the ordinary systems in reading, would have been considered far too difficult for pupils of their age and grade. This method is a happy combination of the word and phonetic systems. The word method alone demanded
47
a prodigious exercise of the memory, which was discouraging to the child ; the new system requires the learning only of a sufficient number of words for a ground-work to provide a key and to make the child self-reliant. In the old-time phon- etic system, the pupil found great difficulty in blending the many varied sounds into which words were divided ; in the new system, by means of "phonograms," as the phonetic parts of words are called, the words are less minutely divided and the blending of sounds is much more easily accomplished.
The scheme of term examinations, which I found in vogue in the district, had certain prominent faults which I have endeavored to modify. According to that system, the superintendent made out a uniform set of questions for the whole district, at the close of each term, upon the work laid out in- the course of study. This plan has elements both of strength and weakness: strength, in that it helps to secure and maintain uniformity in the work and consequent ease of supervision ; weakness, in that, like the centralized Regents' system of New York State, it tends toward dry-as-dust ma- chine instruction. The tendency is for the teacher to work with the one end in mind, that the children must answer that set of ten questions made out by the superintendent. She hesitates to teach anything outside of the text limited by a set number of pages prescribed by the course, and thus to broaden the general knowledge of the pupil, for she knows that her value to the superintendent is measured by the number of children who receive high marks in the test. She, therefore, tries to focus their attention upon those prescribed pages, and trains and drills in an effort to create little automatons who, upon the pressure of a certain spring, will stand forth and, in perfect unison, do the same phonographic act. The saving feature is that her plan does not always suc- ceed. Once in a while a child has an internal mechanism which she cannot reach and fashion like the others, and then come the strange answers which astonish and mystify the teacher. Too often, however, her plan does succeed-a
-
48
result which stifles all real interest in school work. It would be a less evil for one teacher to take up percentage while an- other with the same grade was teaching fractions, than to deaden the natural curiosity of the child by narrowing his vision to a few set pages ; a less evil to increase the work of the superintendent than to destroy the individuality of both teacher and pupil.
With a view to remedy in part this mechanical effect of the uniform examinations, and yet to maintain uniformity in the work, I instituted a plan which was tried for the first time at the close of the fall term. Each teacher was assigned certain subjects-for instance, one teacher was given geog- raphy and language for stated grades, and another, history and arithmetic, and so on-and asked to make out and send to the superintendent ten test questions in each of those bran- ches, so that, finally, the superintendent would have usually about six sets of ten questions each upon every subject for examination. From these sixty questions the superintendent chose ten, or twelve with a choice of ten, and distributed them to the teachers for their term examinations. Through the execution of this scheme in which so many take part in the test-making, questions of great variety in form result, and the tendency toward a stereotyped mode of questioning, to which a single examiner is liable, is largely obviated. As the teacher has a hand in shaping the tests, she feels that she may be a little more independent in her work through the term, and that she need not wholly restrain her own individ- uality nor that of her pupil.
The superintendent, likewise, has his part in the choice of questions ; and the fact that these lists from the several teachers pass through his hands, gives him an opportunity to gain a pretty accurate idea of the manner in which the teachers have handled the different subjects in the class room.
I realize that the plan as outlined does away but in part with the objections to uniform examinations here-in-before stated. In the ideal system, the teacher, subject of course to sugges-
49
tions from the superintendent, would do her own work in her own way and give her own examinations when she thought they were necessary; but existing circumstances seem to make it preferable for the present, though the system is open to serious criticism, to have the examinations chiefly under the individual control of the superintendent. One reason for this is the fact that the conditions governing the three towns of the district are greatly varied, making unification of the work important in order that the duties of supervision may be simplified. Another reason, not applying, however, to this town, is the frequent change of teachers, due to an insufficient appropriation for salaries. These changes render it impossi- ble to depend upon the teachers to sustain effectively a policy initiated by the superintendent. In this town, at least, where valuable services on the part of the teachers receive sub- stantial recognition, in consequence of which, a tenure of office of more than ordinary length exists, I hope, at no dis- tant time, to have so thorough an understanding with the teachers that, with their co-operation, I may carry out a defi- nite policy without the deadening influence of centralized ex- aminations.
Up to the present time, teachers' meetings have been held as often as seemed practicable, and I hope to make them of more frequent occurrence in the future. Besides discussing general plans and methods, I have endeavored to add interest to the meetings and to give an opportunity for increased efficiency on the part of the teaching force by conducting a course in professional reading.
RECOMMENDATIONS.
As an important measure for the future improvement of your schools, I wish to recommend a better system of grading. The Cochesett Grammar School contains at present four grades. The amount of labor to be performed in teaching the four upper grades where there is so much written work to be
50
examined, is far too great for one teacher. This condition of affairs may be corrected with but little difficulty. A good suggestion has been made, that the ninth grade be transported to the Center Grammar School where there are two teachers to handle five grades. The coach which carries the children from Jerusalem to Cochesett could easily continue its route to the Center, so that no extra conveyance would be needed. Unless some unforseen objection should arise, this plan could be put into execution immediately.
The time is coming, however, in the near future, when a more radical change will be necessary. I will outline for your consideration a plan for lessening the number of grades in the outlying schools, and I hope to make plain to you the growing necessity for such a measure. Apparently, the only feasible arrangement is to convey the children of the sixth grade from the outlying districts to the Center. There are now twelve of these pupils-and it is not probable that they will average less than that in the future-who, together with the ninth grade from Cochesett, now numbering six, would make eighteen to be added to the fifty-five pupils already in the Center Grammar. Since this total would overcrowd the building as at present arranged, and since better results could be obtained from further consolidation, I recommend that, as soon as the necessary funds can be appropriated, accommodations for more pupils be made at the Center Gram- mar School. This could be done with no very large expendi- ture by raising the roof of the building and thus gaining space for a room above the present one. An intermediate department could be maintained in one room and a grammar department in the other. Then, if it seemed best, still another grade from the outer districts could be carried to the Center. In order that no primary teacher should have more than four grades, the fifth grade of the Cochesett Primary could pass to the grammar room, and the eighth as well as the ninth grade of the grammar department could be conveyed to the Center. Thus each primary school would contain four grades, and
51
none of the upper departments would contain more than three. The electric cars and the coach now employed would furnish all necessary conveyance except for the pupils from the East School, for whom another coach would be required. If this plan should leave too few pupils in any outlying school, the building could be closed and all the pupils, according to loca- tion, taken either to the Center or Cochesett. Consolidation of schools is going on rapidly in many of the progressive country towns of the state. It simplifies the administration of the schools and makes it possible to secure better instruc- tion. The money which is used for the maintenance of a school will more than pay for the transportation of its pupils, so that the amount saved may be used toward securing better central accommodations, or in lengthening the school year. I do not expect that all these changes can take place immedi- ately. By carrying the plan into effect gradually, however, your schools would be on a basis for steady improvement. That a teacher can give better instruction to four grades than to six, is a self-evident truth.
There is another reason of rapidly growing importance why the teachers should be placed in charge of fewer grades. To keep pace with educational advancement throughout the country, in a short time our system of promotions must undergo a decided change. A protest is going up from pro- gressive educators, against the " lock step " scheme of grading and promoting. Under the present system of promoting but once a year, a bright pupil may be ever so capable of advanc- ing faster than his class, yet the leap from one grade to the next is too great for him. On the other hand, if a pupil is rather dull and cannot keep up with his class, or if for illness or other reason he is necessarily absent for a time, he must drop back a full year to the class below. Thus no allowance is made for the differing capacities of the children. The bright pupil is held back and made to " mark time "; the dull pupil is pushed ahead faster than he should go. The former is injured by idleness ; the latter by lack of thoroughness.
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