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 1901-1905 > Part 8
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Support of schools, 4,500 00
School repairs and supplies, 500 00
Transportation of pupils, 450 00
Highways and sidewalks, 3,000 00
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Town officers, 900 00
Incidentals, 600 00
Superintendent of schools, 250 00
Tree warden,
50 00
Guide boards and signs,
150 00
Voted, to take up Article 6.
Voted, to accept list of jurors as revised by the selectmen, striking out the names of Henry Hartwell, E. H. Thayer, C. P. Howard, T. P. Snell, and L. A. Tower, and adding names of Jacob Atwood, F. L. Howard, Geo. T. Shaw, Chas. H. Egan, Chas. E. Leonard, and H. E. Weston.
Voted, to authorize the Treasurer in conjunction with the Selectmen, to borrow money in anticipation of taxes, to pay charges against the town.
Voted, to appropriate $100 for the observance of Memorial Day.
Voted, to pass Article 11.
Voted, to refer to the Superintendent of Streets the matter of petition for layout of Spring Street.
Voted, that taxes be due October 15 next, that six per cent. interest be charged after that date, and that taxes unpaid January 1, 1904, be collected by legal process.
Voted, that the matter of building a sidewalk from Elm Square to Ambrose Gaines' be left to the Superintendent of Streets.
Voted, that hereafter the polls be opened at six o'clock in the morning at all elections.
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Voted, to accept the provisions of Section 364, Chapter 11, of the Revised Laws, that official ballots be furnished by the town at election of town officers.
Voted, to authorize the selectmen to place street lights, where, in their opinion, needed, and that a sum not exceeding $300 be appropriated for the same.
The ballots for town officers having been sorted and counted, show the choice of the following named, viz :
SELECTMEN AND OVERSEERS OF THE POOR :
E. Bradford Wilbur, George F. Logue, Edwin H. Thayer.
ASSESSORS :
E. Bradford Wilbur, George F. Logue, Henry J. LeLacheur.
TOWN CLERK : Charles R. Packard.
TREASURER AND COLLECTOR : Frank L. Howard.
SCHOOL COMMITTEE FOR THREE YEARS :
E. B. Gurney, W. H. Bosworth
TRUSTEES PUBLIC LIBRARY FOR THREE YEARS :
Charlotte A. Williams, Ellis S. LeLacheur.
AUDITORS :
George S. Drake, Orvis F. Kinney.
TREE WARDEN : F. J. Vosmus.
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CONSTABLES :
Presson West, Lionel H. Adams, W. H. Bosworth, John J. White, J. E. Sawyer, Wm. L. Woodsworth.
Voted, that the sum of $500 be appropriated to continue the work of surveying real estate in the town.
Voted, that the Auditors be directed to prepare a report of the result of their examination of town officers' accounts, and have the same printed in annual town report.
Voted, that the moderator be paid $5 for his services.
Voted, that Wm. E. Cobbett is hereby appointed a committee to arrange for the observance of Memorial Day.
Voted, that the several sums voted and appropri- ated be assessed on the polls and estates of the town.
Voted that Mr. Cashman be excused from acting as constable.
Voted that the Assessors' tax list be published in the annual town report.
Voted to dissolve the meeting.
A true record,
Attest: CHAS. R. PACKARD,
Town Clerk.
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TOWN CLERK'S REPORT.
Marriages Registered in West Bridgewater in 1903.
Feb. 14. Ralph Lester Leach, of East Bridgewater, and Mabel Bates Raymond, of West Bridgewater.
Mar. 4. Kenneth Lively and Bessie P. Smith, of West Bridgewater.
Mar. 26. Bernard F. Gormley, of West Bridgewater, ank Susan Kinlock, of Brockton.
April 8. John F. Burton, of Braintree, and Bertha Rydell, of West Bridgewater.
April 22. Arthur H. Edwards, of Montreal, and Edna Francis Wilbur, of West Bridgewater.
April 28. Henry Carter and Emma G. Raymond, of West Bridgewater.
April 30. Daniel Francis Daley, of Bridgewater, and Annie Elizabeth Sullivan, of West Bridgewater.
April 29. C. Harry Winberg, of West Bridgewater, and Jennie D. Gifford, of Easton.
May 31, Ralph D. Forbes, of West Bridgewater, and Ethelyn White Poole, of East Bridge- water.
June 21. Manuel C. Pereira, of West Bridgewater, and Maria Jose Cabral, of Brockton.
June 30. Henry C. Kinney, of West Bridgewater, and Genevieve L. Adams, of East Bridgewater.
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Sept. 30. Feremus Dupuis and Angeline ·Benoit, of West Bridgewater.
Oct. 7. Carlton B. Holmes, of West Bridgewater, and Katharine Howard Dunham, of East Whitman.
Oct. 27. Harry T. Howard, of West Bridgewater, and Ellen M. Metcalf, of Brockton.
Oct. 28. Thomas H. Gorman, Jr., of Bridgewater, and Mary S. Hennessey, of West Bridge- water.
Nov. 4. Walter Herbert Boynton, of Boston, and Anna L. N. Hayden, of West Bridge- water.
Nov. 11. At Providence, R. I., Antonio de Paiva and Marie da Ponte, of West Bridge- water.
Nov. 26. Terence Duggan, of Bridgewater, and Margaret Mary Walsh, of West Bridge- water.
Dec. 3. James Diamond, of Easton, and Jane (Leary) Kent, of West Bridgewater.
Dec. 23. At Providence, R. I., Frank H. Redman and Frances R. Pratt, of West Bridgewater.
BIRTHS RECORDED IN WEST BRIDGEWATER IN THE YEAR 1903.
Date.
Name of Child.
Sex.
Names of Parents.
1900, May 5
Otis Minot Shirley Stone
Male
Frank Edward Simono
Male
George H. Stone & Joanna Kehoe Charles E. Simono & Annie Benoit Christopher Read & Maud M. Sabin
I90I, May Nov. II
8
Elizabeth Ellen Read
Female
I 902, Mar. 15
Linda Allard Webber
Female
Arthur A. Webber & Lucy Florence Raymond
Aug. 12 Aug. 19 Sept. 17
Annie Perkins Hatch
Female
Frank P. Hatch & Marcia E. Stewart Edmund Copeland & May Alice Hartwell
Nov. 2
Beatrice May Congdon
Female
Female
Nov. 1
Alice Beatrice O'Fallon
Male
Fred T. Congdon & Ida A. Wood Michael O'Fallon & Ellen J. Duane Robert C. Pike & Alice May Snow Frederic E. Foye & Annie M. Ryder
1903, Jan. 4
Jan. 23
Donald Ryder Foye
Male Female Female
Theodore F. Wentworth & Dora York
Feb. I4
- Nasanento Joseph Andrea Mourzzi
Female
Alexander Nasanento & Anna Gomez Andrea Mourzzi & Guideta Aguda Thomas Cosgrove & Bridget Keany
50
April
John Francis Gormley
Male
Bernard F. Gormley & Susan Kinloch
April 7
Helen Keith Fairbanks
Female
Lester M. Fairbanks & Jennie Louise Keith Habib Bassons & Rosia Beyloni Harry S. Hall & Lizzie A. Emerson
June 16 June 20
Hattie Eldora Young Mary L. Lewis
Female
July 19
Charles d'Andrada l Marion d'Andrada { twins Roger Scott McClintock
Male
William E. McClintock & Jennie Rogers Charles E. Gardner & Lulu Bernice Penpraese
Aug. I2 George Edward Gardner Everett Raynard Austin
Male
Aug. 25 Aug. 26 Charles H. Carter
Male
Sept: 4 Mary Bridget Boland
Female
Sept. 10 William Edward Madden
Male
Oct. I Howard Baylies Taylor
Male
Oct. 6
Winthrop Brown Alger
Male
Oct. 8 Adele Marie Holbrook
Female
Nov. 7
Enus Campanini Gladys Mav Brvant
Female
Female
James R. Young & Cora Cynthia Vosmus Manuel M. Lewis & Eva A. Hunt Benton Adams Stetson & Adella Mabel Lyons
July 17
Dorothy Marie Stetson
Female
Male Female
Manuel d'Andrada & Isabella Amila
July 19
Hector H. Bassons
Male
April 19 May 9
Helen Packard Hall
Male
Patrick Cosgrove
Male
Feb. I5 Mar. 4
Emma Francis Wentworth
twins
Feb. 10
Alice Beatrice Wentworth
Female
Harry Austin Ripley & Jennie Louise Johnson -
Louise Howard Ripley
Frank Edmund Copeland
Male
Carroll Snow Pike
Feb. IO
Female
Female
Aug. 4
Male
Nov. 18
William W. Austin & Margaret M. Raymond Henry E. Carter & Emma G. Raymond James Boland & Catherine Quinlan William A. Madden & Katie A. Nash Henry F. Taylor & Anna Koehlke George W. Alger & Corelli C .: Brown James R. Holbrook & Adele Rutledge Edmonston Robert Campanini & Angelina Voltre Charles O. Bryant & Myra George Eastman
C
DEATHS RECORDED IN WEST BRIDGEWATER IN THE YEAR 1903.
Date.
Names of Persons Deceased,
Cause of Death.
Place of Birth.
Names of Parents.
Y
M
D
1902.
Charles E. Simono
23
5
Typhoid Fever
Rochester, N. Y.
Charles Simono & Hannah F. Blake
New Boston, N.H David R. Clark & Rebecca Wilkins
Mar.
5
James Ryan
65
General Debility
Ireland
Mar.
9
Mary Lambert Julia S. Howard
82
5
II
Old Age
April
4
Mary C. Silva
II
18
Convulsions
W. Bridgewater Frankfort, N. Y. W. Bridgewater Easton
Antone J. Silva & Mary C. Carey Charles Thayer & Myra Bryant
May
22
Henry Whitman Leach
76
4
4
Nephritis & Cysti.
W. Bridgewater Brockton,
Ambrose Leach & Hannah Howard
May
25
Helen F. Cobb
IO
3
Pleuro Pneumonia
21
E. Bridgewater
June
2
Etta R. Hopkins
50
June
29
Mary P. Ericson
37
5
19
Aug.
4
Mary E. Leach
56
5
9
Aug.
5
Henrietta Hathaway
75
6
19
Sept. 23
Susan Alice Hayward
53
6
28
Brockton Sweden
Oct.
6
E. Francis Washburn
74
9
23
Nov.
I
Lucy Thomas Churchill 76
6 19
Nov. 23
E. Davis Battles
79
6
I
Cancer Duodenum Phthisis
W. Bridgewater W. Bridgewater Brockton
Thomas Ryan & Catherine O'Neil Abraham Thompson & Polly Sampson Daniel & Aurelia Mason
51
May
18
Eldora W. Southworth
60
5
2
Suicide
May
27
Flora F. Hayward
32
IO
Phthisis Pulmalis Neurasthenia Phthisis
Mt. Desert, Me. Halifax
William Bosworth & Nancy Fuller Unite K. Leach & Abigail Leonard Unknown
Abijah Holmes & Susannah Wade August Wenhoff & Ann M. Swanson Jonathan Copeland & Hannah S. Reed Thomas Howard & Lucy Foster. John Battles & Milicent Porter
Jan. I
Francis A. Howard
79
IO
23
Old Age
Heart Failure
47
2
April 12
George F. Cobb & Mary Doyle Caleb T. Keene & Emeline F. Fuller Henry & Etta Brown
Sept. 26
Albion Wenhoff
19
Valv. Dis. of Heart Perf. Typh'd Ulcer Oedema
Cerebral hemor'ge Disease of Liver
Bridgewater E. Bridgewater
Sept. 29 1903.
Age.
52
REPORT OF THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
At the beginning of the school year of 1903, the following were members of the school committee :
Mrs. A. S. LELACHEUR, C. P. HOWARD, for two years.
MRS. M. K. CROSBY, MRS. C. H. COPELAND, for one year.
E. B. GURNEY, W. H. BOSWORTH, for three years. The organization for the year was as follows :
A. S. LELACHEUR, Chairman.
M. K. CROSBY, Secretary.
W. H. BOSWORTH, C. P. HOWARD, E. B. GURNEY, and M. K. CROSBY, Committee on repairs.
The schools were assigned as follows :
North to Mrs. Copeland.
Cochesett to E. B. Gurney.
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 select- ed to fill vacancies.
M. K. Crosby was appointed agent for school supplies.
W. H. Bosworth, D. R. Simmons and R. J. Fuller were chosen truant officers.
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FINANCIAL REPORT.
TEACHERS.
Paid Miss E. A. Morrow,
36 weeks
$500 00
Miss R. L. McDonald,
36
66
499 99
Miss W. A. Holmes,
21
252 00
Miss M. A. Dewyer,
36
66
468 00
Miss E. Randall,
36
360 00
Miss L. G. Reed,
36
66
386 00
Miss E. A. Lavalette,
36
360 00
Miss A. E. Hennessy,
36
266 00
Miss G. E. Downing,
33
6
342 00
Miss A. R. Reynolds,
21
6
210 00
Miss F. L. Beckwith,
15
165 00
Miss B. W. C. Fuller,
15
135 00
Miss C. Hardy,
14
140 00
Miss L. Williams,
10
66
40 00
Mr. H. C. Dunham,
2
22 00
Miss M. S. Jones, Music,
9 months, 205 55
Miss L. Newman, drawing,
9
102 00
Conveyance of music teacher,
61 87
$4,515 39
JANITORS.
Paid Janitor at Centre,
$200 00
Janitor service at other Schools,
146 75
$346 75
TUITION.
Easton High School, 4 terms
$48 00
Brockton High School, 2 terms,
40 00
$88 00
54
TRANSPORTATION.
Paid D. R. Simmons, coach, $285 47
W. B. Kingman, carriage.
43 88
Electric car tickets, 178 75 J. S. Jones, carriage, 8 40
$516 50
REFERENCE BOOKS, CHARTS, ETC.
Music chart, Silver, Burdett & Co., 8 33
E. W. Nutter, periodicals, 13 80
Youth's Companion, 1 80
$23 93
FUEL.
Paid E. H. Thayer, 5 cords hard, 2 pine, labor, 47 00
Cutting trees and housing, 4 75
Ira Pratt, labor on wood, 3 00
Henry Carter, labor on wood,
3 25
B. Copeland, 3 1-2 cords hard, labor, 21 00
E. T. Snell, 6 cords hard, 1-2 pine, 32 00
H. J. LeLacheur, 1 cord 7 ft. hard, 10 31
C. P. Howard, 91-2 cords hard, 1 pine, labor, 54 50
C. P. Howard, 4 1-2 cords short, 31 50
C. E. Phillips, labor on wood, 22 00
A. Manley, carting wood to centre, 1 50
A. Manley, 3 cords oak, 1-2 pine, labor, 22 25
S. H. Marshall, 6 cords hard, 1 pine, 37 25
Phillip Fay, labor on wood, 18 00
E. L. Lothrop, 27 tons white ash coal, 182 25
$490 56
55
EXPENDITURES.
Teachers' wages,
$4,515 39
Fuel,
490 56
Janitor service,
346 75
Transportation,
516 50
Maps, reference books, etc.,
23 93
Tuition at Easton High School,
48 00
Tuition at Brockton High School,
40 00
$5,981 13
RECEIPTS.
Town grant, $5,450 00
Income of Massachusetts school fund, 344 76
On account of district supervision,
166 67
On account of state wards,
76 00
Tuition of pupil, East,
18 00
From Howard trustees, music,
17 00
$6,072 43
MASSACHUSETTS SCHOOL FUND.
Received from fund,
$344 76
Paid for maps and charts,
8 33
Reference books, etc.,
15 60
Tuition at Brockton High School,
40 00
Tuition at Easton High School,
48 00
Instruction in music,
130 83
Instruction in drawing,
102 00
$344 76
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REPAIRS AND FURNISHINGS.
Paid C. M. Shaw, stock and labor, stoves, etc., $31 55 G. W. Allen Co., stove, North, 9 00
J. M. Howard & Son, stock and furnishings, 8 86 W. H. Bosworth, stock, team and labor, 23 26
E. H. Thayer, stock and labor, 22 05
J. W. Foye, stock and labor,
8 20
Wm. A. Cole, stock and labor, closet and desks, 26 82
Howard, Clark & Co., teacher's desk, Cochesett primary, 16 50
Chandler Co., 42 desks and chairs, Cochesett primary, 134 40
90 ft. hyloplate blackboard, Cochesett grammar, 11 25
Small repairs and furnishings, 27 89
$319 78
INCIDENTALS.
Paid D. R. Simmons, truant service, 2 00
R. J. Fuller, teachers and incidentals, 1902-3, 25 45 Advertising, Brockton Times and Enter- prise, 3 22
Expense for diplomas, 6 25
Freight, express and postage,
9 25
M. K. Crosby, clerk of school committee, 10 00
Team for committee meetings and sup- plies, $5 77
$61 94
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SCHOOL SUPPLIES.
Paid the J. L. Hammett Co., general supplies, $121 05 E. E. Babb & Co., text-book supplies, 57 64
Ginn & Co., geographies, copy books, 146 83
Silver, Burdett & Co., text books, 18 04
Houghton, Mifflin & Co., readers, 77
$344 33
Repairs, furnishings, incidentals, Cost of school supplies,
$381 72
344 33
Total,
$726 05
Town grant for repairs and supplies,
$500 00
Sale of text-books and supplies,
3 22
Bought postage stamps,
3 22
CALENDAR FOR 1904.
WINTER TERM, January 4 to March 18, 1904. Eleven weeks.
Vacation, two weeks.
SPRING TERM, April 4 to June 10. Ten weeks.
Vacation, twelve weeks.
FALL TERM, September 6 to December 16. Fifteen weeks.
Recess. Thanksgiving week, after Wednesday.
Vacation, two weeks.
WINTER TERM, 1905, January 2.
Changes may be made in this to accommodate different schools.
58
The resignation of Mr. R. J. Fuller from the superin- tendency of our school union brought upon the com- mittees of the union the unwelcome task of selecting his successor.
We were fortunate in securing for this position Mr. Edgar H. Grout, who brings to his work a successful experience of several years in a similar school union.
His report will give his view of our schools and their needs, present and prospective.
It is with much satisfaction that we can show so few changes in our corps of excellent teachers.
The resignation of Miss W. A. Holmes at the Cen- tre Primary school, after many years of faithful and successful service in our town, was reluctantly accept- ed at the close of the school year in June.
Miss L. G. Reed from the North school accepted our offer of the position thus vacated, and has carried on the school most creditably without an assistant,
Our estimates of necessary school expenses for 19.04 call for an increase in two or three departments.
The school house at Jerusalem must be shingled this year, and the new building at the Centre should be painted. $50 additional will probably be needed for conveyance of pupils.
If the citizens most interested could see that it would be for the advantage of the schools and the town to bring together all of the highest grades, there might be considerable saving of expense. $75 will en- able us to enlarge the Matfield lot.
When Matfield school was established, a proper amount of land on the West of the building could not be obtained, and the present boundary on that side comes to the street directly in front of the building.
59
We can now purchase a strip sufficient to give a good frontage upon Matfield street, with the consent of the town.
The fuel bill for this year includes much that was used at the new building last winter, as well as the supply for this winter.
At Cochesett unusual expense has been incurred by providing the lower room with modern furniture, and making in the upper entry a supply closet for common use of the two schools, at a total expense of about $190.
An exchange of the badly worn geographies then in use, for a revised edition, was made in 1902, in order to secure the advantageous terms offered by the publishers at that time, and the bills for these books have been paid this year.
The Howard trustees have introduced music into the high school, and will compensate our town for ser- vice from our valued teacher in this department.
There should be chosen at the annual meeting of the town, two members of the school committee for three years, and one for two years to complete Mr. Gurney's term.
We recommend the following appropriations :
For the support of schools, $4,500 00
repairs and incidentals. 250 00
text-books and supplies, 250 00
conveyance of pupils,
500 00
enlarging the Matfield lot,
75 00
shingling and painting, 200 00
Towards superintendent's salary.
250 00
Respectfully submitted,
A. S. LELACHEUR,
M. K. CROSBY, School
C. H. COPELAND,
W. H. BOSWORTH,
Committee.
C. P. HOWARD,
60
TWELFTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
To the School Committee of West Bridgewater, Mass.
It gives me pleasure to submit to you and to the citizens of West Bridgewater, my first annual report as Superintendent of Schools for your town.
It is my purpose in this report to present to you a brief statement of the present condition of the schools in general, together with such recommendations as seem necessary for progress in our educational system.
One of the first duties of a superintendent in coming to a new field is to become acquainted as soon as possible with the teachers and with the work of the several schools under his supervision. With this end in view, I have visited each school as often as was consistent with the needs of the other schools, and in this way, I have tried to familiarize myself with existing conditions, and with the practical working of a new course of study. Upon the observations made during the visits, I have the criticisms and recom- mendations found in the following pages of this report.
Reference to the table given in appendix A. shows that the per cent. of attendance for the year ending June, 1903, is 92.35, and varies but little from that for the preceding year. Consider-
ATTENDANCE. ing the amount of sickness that gener- ally prevails among school children, especially during the winter months, this record is very commendable, and shows a laudable interest on the part of the parents, many of whom are making no small sacrifice to give their children better educational advantages than they themselves enjoyed.
61
On the other hand there seems to be in many communities, a growing dislike for the regular school duties, a dislike that is frequently fostered and en- couraged, unconsciously, perhaps, by the attitude of the home toward the school. This attitude, some- times, though not frequently, I trust, takes the form of open criticism of a teacher and her methods, in the presence of children. Such criticism of necessity weakens the authority of the teacher and is frequently unjust, based as it too often is upon partial and un- trustworthy evidence. Again, outside duties and pleasures are allowed to distract the mind of the child and to make such inroads upon his physical strength that school work becomes a matter of secondary con- sideration. The pupil who comes to his classes un- refreshed by a good night's sleep, or with his mind full of thought, wholly foreign to the work of the school, is surely incapable of doing his best work, and to that extent at least is a hindrance to the class. Absence from a single recitation, from whatever cause, leaves its effect, not only upon the pupil himself, but upon the class as a whole; while habitual absence does much to render ineffective the efforts of even the best teachers.
There is grave danger, in our day of modern con- veniences, that the business of the school be over- looked, and that the coming generations shall lack something of the stamina and vigor characteristic of men and women inured to hardship and privation. Such, however, need not be the result of present methods if the real aim of education is carefully borne in mind. Herbert Spencer, in his treatise on educa- tion, says: "Education is the preparation for com-
62
plete living." Such preparation surely implies serious and earnest effort on the part of pupil as well as of teacher, if the school is to fulfill its mission; and is made possible only when the pupil sustains the right attitude to the work of the school; such an attitude, in fact, as he must sustain to the sterner duties of later years, if he hopes to become a successful competitor in the world of business, and to be honored and re- spected among men.
Of prime importance in any educational system is a corps of intelligent, cultured and sympathetic teachers. Fine buildings well equipped
TEACHERS. with modern appliances, are valuable as aids, but do not give character to the schools. As a town, we are fortunate in having a body of teachers thoroughly devoted to their work and to the interest of the pupils in their charge. Your generosity in the matter of salaries makes it possible for us to retain such teachers for a longer period of years than is the rule in many towns of about the same population as ours. Such generosity, moreover, is genuine economy, for in no other department of the town can we so poorly afford to pay for inefficient service. I would therefore recommend that it con- tinue to be the policy of the school board to recognize in substantial ways really efficient work on the part of our teachers.
It is gratifying to be able to report the schools as a whole in excellent condition. The spirit of the teachers deserves commendation, while CONDITION OF the attitude of the pupils toward their It THE SCHOOLS. work is in general encouraging.
has been my policy to foster whatever there was of good in our school system and to attempt
63
no radical changes either in methods or management. A comparison of one school with another would be manifestly unjust and wholly uncalled for; yet a care- ful observer could not fail to note that the work in some schools is superior, both in quality and quantity, to that done in others. It is also true that the work of any given school varies in these respects from year to year, such variation depending in part upon the teacher in charge and in part upon the pupils in at- tendance.
While anything like a rigid uniformity of work for our different schools would be difficult, if not well nigh impossible to obtain, and possibly harmful if obtained, yet it seems to me there should be an ap- proximation to such uniformity in order to simplify the work of supervision and to make it possible for pupils to move from one section of the town to another with comparatively little interruption in studies. I believe there should be a minimum amount of work for each pupil to accomplish in every subject in order to entitle him to promotion, but that opportunity should be afforded the stronger and brighter pupils to do work commensurate with their ability. To this ex- tent, at least, it has been my purpose to strive for greater uniformity in the work, having always in mind, however, the needs of individual pupils, and allowing, at the same time, ample opportunity for each teacher to impress her personality upon the school.
Under this head I would call attention to the
building at Jerusalem. The roof should be
REPAIRS AND
shingled, and the inside wood work needs painting. The room could
IMPROVEMENTS. also be made much more attractive by tinting the walls. The grammar building at the Centre needs to be painted. In some
64
of the outside schools the blackboards are worn so badly that they are of but little use. Instead of repair- ing these, I would recommend that they be replaced by natural slate boards. A small amount of money applied to this purpose each year would enable us in a short time to equip portions of all the schools with practically indestructible blackboards, upon which no repairs would be needed.
In this connection I wish to submit for consider- ation a plan of co-operation for beautifying our school grounds, making them more attractive, not alone to the pupils, but to citizens and visitors to the town as well. Fine buildings, well equipped and with beauti- ful surroundings, do not in themselves make an edu- cated man, but are valuable factors in the process, as well as a credit to the community at large. Such a plan should involve no additional expense to the school department or to the town as a whole, but should be made possible through the efforts of teach- . ers and pupils, ably seconded by men and women interested in the welfare of our schools, and in adding to the attractiveness of our town. The practical application of this plan would take shape in such im- provements as grading the grounds when necessary, planting trees and shrubs, and laying out flower plots and walks. Most of our school lots are large enough to allow this to be done and still reserve sufficient room for playground purposes.
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