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 21
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4. Certain other possible reasons which may be decided as legitimate by the teacher and superintendent as occasion arises.
FRANK O. JONES, Supt. of Schools,
East Bridgewater, West Bridgewater and Raynham.
NOTE When eight UNEXCUSED half-day absen es have been recorded against a pupil in one term of school, the teacher will notify the superintendent, and warn the parent or guardian of the pupil, that the limit prescribed by law is nearly reached. When no reason for an absence is given, such absence will be re- corded as unexcused.
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The attempt to call the attention of the people to the necessity for regular school attendance has not been in vain. While whooping cough and other diseases common to child- hood have depleted the ranks for a time in some sections, on the whole the teachers' monthly reports to the superintendent show a marked rise in percentage of attendance. Several of these reports this fall have registered a daily attendance for the month of over 99 per cent.
Another matter to which the superintendent has given recent attention is the preparation of a new monthly report card for the pupils. On this card, " effort " has been given an equal place with the regular subjects of study. While a pupil's standing in arithmetic, language, and geography is understood to have the most weight in deciding upon his promotion, I have instructed the teachers to take into con- sideration the effort made by each pupil and record it care- fully upon the card sent home to his parents.
Progressive educators agree with practical unanimity that the relative standing of a pupil as compared with other mem- bers of his class, does not constitute his true measure, but that he must be estimated by the individual effort which he puts forth. The old systems of ranking pupils as first, second, and third in the class, as an incentive, and of reckoning their at- tainments to the fraction of one per cent., have been discarded for more humane and rational methods.
As bearing upon this point, I will quote a passage from the current report of Superintendent Hervey of Pawtucket :
" Any system (of marking) that lays emphasis upon the absolute attainment of pupils, rather than upon the effort by which that attainment was reached, seems to be wrong in theory and harmful in practice. It is a matter of supreme indifference how much or how little John is supposed to know as compared with James. The vital thing to take account of is whether John with his individual endowment of talent and opportunity is living up to the full measure of his possi- bilities. * *
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" The bright boy, who learns with little effort, should not be given the occasion to feel that, though he has not done much to merit it, he is really a very superior person ; nor should the slow boy, when he reluctantly carries home his report, be forced to the conclusion that, though he has striven as never before to do his best, somehow there is something counted more worthy than faithful effort, and that he, through no fault of his own, has fallen short of it. A system of marking that lays the emphasis upon attainment rather than upon faithful effort can hardly fail to confuse ethical distinc- tions in the mind of the child and to discourage those who stand in great need of help."
The most careful consideration of the individual pupil is likewise required in settling questions of promotion. Suppose, in a grade, there are two pupils who have attained practically the same standing and have put forth essentially the same effort. Suppose, however, that one of these pupils is young for his grade and his lack of scholarship is the result of immaturity ; while the other is old for his grade, and his low standing is the result of slowness. Here, assuredly, is a call for recognition of the individual. Is it not for the advantage of the immature one to remain in the lower grade until he is able to grasp the work there to be accomplished ? On the other hand, are there not many instances wherein it would be better for the slow one, providing he displays the proper spirit and effort, to go on from grade to grade, absorbing what he can in the short period during which the majority of such pupils can be induced to attend school ?
These are difficult questions for the teacher to decide, and they demand that she study her individual pupils with discriminating care. It is in deciding these questions that the teacher displays her greatest interest in the welfare of the individual ; yet just here is the source of the most frequent and most bitter misunderstandings between parents and teachers. Often the teacher is doubtless at fault for not informing the parent of the first serious falling off on the part of the pupil in any subject. The monthly report card is not sufficient. The busy parent does not always stop to compare
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each month's record with the preceding one. His attention should be especially called to any record which shows a lack of proper effort on the part of his child. The parent being thus warned may be able to give the pupil the right incentive to better work. At all events, the news of his child's failure will not come as a disagreeable surprise at the close of the term.
On the other hand, though a child's failure may be due to idleness, lack of application or irregular attendance, his ex- planation to his parent is very naturally, yet perhaps unintentionally, colored by a desire for self-justification, and his teacher is censured for injustice and partiality. The parent too frequently accepts without further investigation, this one-sided account of the situation and immediately enters a complaint to the superintendent that the teacher is unfit for her position. How many times does the same threadbare cry come to the superintendent's ears : " The teacher is down on my child, and when this condition exists it is of no use for the child to try."
Does the parent never consider that, were a teacher so indiscreet as to allow her aversion for a child to affect her atti- tude toward him or to influence her judgment in matters of promotion, instead of insisting upon his presence in the same grade another year, she would hasten the departure of such a pupil by promoting him as rapidly as consistent with her authority ?
In a majority of failures with respect to promotion, the trouble may be traced to the pupil. He has either neglected to give his lessons proper attention, or he has been unable to accomplish the work in the required time. In either case the teacher is not at fault. With her manifold duties as in- structor, manager, and guide of her many children of many minds, she cannot with justice spend her whole time watching the inattentive ones, nor can she always furnish impetus for the slow ones. It is for the teacher's interest to give her pupils as high a record as possible ; as another superintendent puts it :
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" If any mistake is made it will probably be in giving too high a mark."
At the same time, the teacher is in the most favorable position to render competent judgment upon the school work of the pupil, and almost never does a case arise wherein both the superintendent and parents cannot safely abide by the teacher's decision.
The failure of a pupil, however, is not the sole cause of misunderstanding between parents and teachers. Punish- ment is a fruitful source of trouble. Here also there is a tendency on the part of some parents to place implicit faith in the biased reports of the child, and without investigation to arraign the teacher for hasty or vindictive action.
It is true that a teacher frequently uses more severity than parents have felt it necessary to employ at home with the same child ; but again the numbers in charge and the nature of the teacher's work render imperative more circumspect behavior and more implicit obedience on the part of the pupil than is often demanded in the home. The teacher, on the other hand, may not have made a study of the particular child in question. An early conference with the parents might have disclosed certain peculiarities of the pupil by reason of which he needed special attention and training.
In the foregoing I have manifested the desire that attention shall be given, as far as practicable, to the individual pupils, and the belief that successful endeavor in this direction demands a closer relation between teachers and parents. As I have said so often in talks with parents, the school and home must co-operate if the best is to be done for the children. By becoming familiar with the school, by observing the work his child does there, and the way he does it, by exchanging views with the teacher as to the especial needs and possibilities of . the child, the parent will do his part to bring about the desired co-operation and will render the teacher invaluable aid in her study and training of the individual.
A topic to which I wish to give due space, is the course of
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study for the ninth grade. The suggestions offered are the re- sult of nearly two years of careful observation of the present course. As it now stands, this course requires little else than a thorough review in the common branches, which have already been completed in the eighth grade. A year's review, taking up practically the same subject matter as has just been covered, with few changes of books or methods may pall upon the best of pupils, and result in a lack of real stimulation at just the time when the awakening of desire for higher and more accurate knowledge is most important. Entering the high school after a year of desultory study, he encounters extreme difficulty in acquiring the intensity of application necessary for the new work.
Much has been said, and with good reason, concerning the "gap," which exists in so many school systems, between the highest grammar grade and the first year in the high school. One of the principal excuses of the ninth grade for being, is to bridge this gap between the elementary and the secondary school. Our ninth grade course, in its present form, fails to accomplish this purpose.
I believe thoroughly in review; but such review should add to repetition the fixing in mind of principles already studied, by the application of these principles to new subjects. Thus, not only would interest in matter previously studied be sustained and the immediate object of review be accomplished. but also there would be awakened a desire to pursue the new subject further. The transition to the high school would be easy and natural, and the pupil's entrance to that institution would be practically assured. The studies of the first high school year having been taken up in an elementary way in the grammar school, the pupil would not be confronted by the difficulties of an entirely new sphere of work.
I therefore recommend that arithmetic be reviewed by an application of its principles to book-keeping, elementary algebra, and concrete geometry. Physical geography, I would merge into the natural sciences, giving topical work
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in elementary geology, physics and chemistry. Political geography and United States history, I would combine in elementary civics. Believing that technical grammar requires some work beyond that done in the eighth grade, I would devote part of the time of the ninth grade to a careful study of that subject, giving especial attention to the construction of the sentence, with an extensive use of the diagram for written analysis. I would apply the principles of grammar in. composition and in literature, giving much time to com- position, not neglecting frequent daily themes which should receive careful correction and special individual attention.
Such changes in the ninth grade course, as I have sug- gested, I hope may be carried into effect next September.
As an additional means conducing to a natural transition between the grammar and high school, I suggest a slight change in the closing exercises of the ninth grade. When these are made formal graduating exercises, as at the close of the high school or college, is there not a tendency on the part of the pupil to feel that he has finished his necessary education, and that anything beyond savors of luxury ? Moreover, with no greater development than it is possible for children to acquire in the elementary schools, is there not danger that these exercises shall become rather pretentious? I believe in conditions which will make the pupil feel that in entering the high school, he is merely passing from the ninth to the tenth grade - that there is no real stopping point before high school graduation and only a nominal one then. Furthermore, if the graduating exercises have but a tinge of pretentiousness, there is unquestionable danger of producing in the children who participate a very unhealthful condition of the mind.
I suggest, therefore, that the exercises be made more general for the school, giving the ninth grade, of course, a major part on the program, and that the members of this grade receive certificates of promotion to the first year of the high school.
For the reason that some of the pupils attend out of town
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high schools, and others allow the grammar school course to complete their education when, apparently, they might pursue higher studies, I am forced to believe that not all our citizens appreciate the privileges open to their children in the High School as conducted at Howard Seminary. Because of this connection with the Seminary the pupils of the High School have the advantage of a large corps of teachers and superior applicances such as it is impossible for the ordinary county high school to maintain. I hope that these facts may receive the earnest consideration of all prospective high school patrons in the town of West Bridgewater.
In my last report, I suggested a plan for better grading in the schools, and in this connection mentioned a probable necessity, in the near future, for additional accomodations at the Center Grammar School. The unexpected numbers entering that school this fall made this necessity an immediate one, and extra seats were provided until all available room was occupied. Judging from the apparent tendency toward thicker population along the electric lines, the attendance may be expected to increase year by year. I, therefore, beg to call your attention to the fact that another fall more pupils may ask for admittance than can be taken in the present building. Though in mere anticipation of these numbers, is it too early to recommend that an addition to the Center School be built or some other steps be taken to provide more room before the opening of the next school year ?
As the numbers at the Center increase, the numbers in the outlying schools appear gradually to diminish. This decrease may eventually necessitate the closing of one or two schools.
In an article upon rural schools in a recent issue of The Outlook, it is pointed out that a number of States in different parts of the Union are improving their school systems, and at the same time lessening the expense of maintaining them by consolidation of schools and conveyance of pupils. As I stated in my report a year ago, this consolidation simplifies administration and makes possible better grading, better
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appliances and better instruction. The money which is used for the maintenance of one of these small schools will more than pay for the conveyance of its pupils, so that the amount saved may be used toward securing better accommodations and improvements in the central building, which would be impracticable in the smaller rural school-house.
To quote from the article mentioned above :
" It has been urged in almost every State of the Union by the State Superintendents, and for years by our United States Commissioner of Education, that the abolition of the weak schools is of vital importance, not only to the community, but to the Nation; that the mistake is made in most States of carrying the school to the pupils instead of the pupils to the school. Massachusetts has demonstrated for twenty-five years the advantage of consolidation of the rural schools."
Before closing, I wish to express my appreciation of the interest which many of the teachers have taken in school-room decoration. The inexpensive prints of photographs and of works of art, used so much in these decorations, not only make the rooms attractive, but they bring an atmosphere of culture. The children are thus made familiar with the faces of famous persons, with noted places, and with masterpieces of painting and sculpture; their mental world becomes wonderfully enlarged, and more than this, there is awakened and stimu- lated in them a refining love for the beautiful.
In conclusion, I desire to acknowledge my indebtedness to all my associates in the work, and especially to thank the members of the Committee for their cordial support.
Respectfully submitted, FRANK O. JONES,
Superintendent of Schools.
East Bridgewater, Jan. 27, 1900.
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REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF MUSIC.
To the School Committee of the Town of West Bridgewater :
In summing up the musical results for the year, three essentials must be considered : first, quality of tone ; second, ability to read; third, artistic interpretation. If the pupils have gained in purity of tone, in ability to read in the various keys, and, from an artistic standpoint, are better able to interpret a song, then can it be said they have surely ad- vanced musically.
I find that good progress along these lines has been made the past year. The value of the study of music is being appreciated more and more by both teachers and pupils. I kuow this by the added interest shown.
I wish to emphasize the importance of musical work in the Primary grades. It is here to a great degree that the child gains his love for music ; especially is this true if he has but little at home. He gains this by means of the rote song ; and also, I hold, by the power gained to read his own little exercises and songs. By necessity, on account of the plurality of grades in many of our schools, the little one has had to gain much of his musical knowledge by his natural power of absorption. I think this is educationally right up to a certain point, but beyond this the mind is not stimulated musically .. We all appreciate and love that for which we struggle. If the music work could be graded somewhat after the manner of the other work in school, the pupils would graduate better equipped musically, and with a deeper love and appreciation for the best.
A teacher need not of necessity be an artist in song to pro- duce good musical results in her school. To the teacher who is naturally musical, this work comes easier; but no one need
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feel she is incapable of teaching music. It is the application of modern educational methods to the music lesson that is one of the greatest factors in producing good results in our schools.
The pupils in the grammar schools have at all times shown a willingness to cooperate with the director, and satisfactory results have followed.
I desire to express my hearty appreciation of the readiness on the part of the teachers to carry out any and all plans that have been presented. Only by uuity of action can har- mony reign, and music serve its true purpose.
Respectfully submitted,
ANNIE M. BARNES,
Supervisor of Music.
Printed for the Town by C. A. Hack & Son Taunton, Massachusetts
4732 21117
3 1611 00143 0856
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