USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1848/49-1855 > Part 35
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The idea, no doubt, often occurs, that a great amount of time is spent at School, and a comparatively small amount of knowledge is obtained. The same remark is as pertinent to a College education. If a School or College is doing its work well, the amount of knowl- edge acquired, in the common acceptation of the phrase, must be small. Because, in an education, the thing aimed at is not to load the memory with an affluent store of ideas, or an extensive accumu- lation of facts, but, rather, to furnish the mind with sufficient ele- mentary principles, afterwards to be combined and applied, and so to discipline the mind itself, that it shall be expert in the use of its own diversified powers and faculties. This process is necessarily a slow one, and as it goes on, it presents but little fruit to gratify the desire, or reward a precocious expectation. Addition, subtraction, multipli- cation and division, certainly have but few charms for the ardent imagination. But they are processes of incalculable value at the accountant's desk, in the office of the engineer, and in the study of the astronomer. The abstract relations of quantity presented in the letters of Algebra, are exceedingly uninviting, because they seem unmeaning. But when they are used in the solution of the highest questions in mechanical and physical science, the barrenness of the
77
beginning is as really lost sight of, as is the drudgery of learning our a b c, while we are reading Milton's Paradise Lost, or an impas- sioned speech of Lord Chatham. A just conception of this fact will serve to correct the unreflecting impatience which is sometimes man- ifested in regard to the slow progress made at School. And the more satisfied shall we be if it is also borne in mind, that while these elementary processes are gone through, a mental discipline is pro- ceeding which is of itself invaluable. A youth spends some precious months of time upon Euclid's Elements, and during the larger part of it he is burdened with the unanswerable inquiry which is continu- ally forcing itself upon him, to what good purpose is all this ? He never intends to be an engineer or a surveyor-but it may be a tradesman, a mechanic, or a lawyer. And, directly, in all his life he may never need to use a geometrical principle. But in whatever position he is in life, an orderly method in arranging his thoughts will be power-a faculty to follow out closely a process of reasoning, will give him efficiency and strength, and during all this apparently useless and tedious drudgery, his mind is insensibly acquiring the habit of viewing things in their connexion and dependence, and of resting upon a result only when the thing is clearly proved. For want of just such discipline, the waste of knowledge and the abuse of knowledge in the community are incredible. Men are imposed upon by unsupported theories, and declarations which do not present the form of a proof even. They hear lectures and addresses, and read without stint, and equally without profit, because the mind has never been disciplined to any method whatever. If, now, our Schools could accomplish only this one thing, the correct discipline of the mind, and the establishment of some efficient method in the use of its powers, they certainly would confer an essential benefit upon the community. In every system of education this should be the point aimed at, rather than varied and extensive acquisition. A diligent person, of good memory, might furnish his mind with a vast many more facts and ideas by reading, than are acquired in a strict system of study. A boy will spend five months in reading the commenta- ries of Cæsar. The History may be read in English' in about as . many hours. The same is true of almost every part of the classical course, and of much of the mathematical. The propositions in Le-
11
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gendre may all be committed to memory in a few days. The study of Ge- ometry, in which a clear perception of the several steps of the demon- stration is obtained, occupies months of patient toil. This arduous and exacting labor is highly remunerative. The powers of the mind which are severely tasked and forced to pursue and comprehend the orderly and logical development of a proposition, gain in strength and tension. It is a healthful and satisfying result to come out upon a truth settled and clear by means of the rigid and faultless steps of a demonstration. The vigor and discipline which the mind has, in the process, are worth more than the knowledge gained may ever be. While on the other hand, the easy reception of ideas poured in upon a passive mind, serves equally to encumber and enervate it. It is also of the highest importance that every part of study should be made disciplinary. The English course of study, including the math- ematical department, has its practical purpose. It is designed to prepare the lads of the School for the various business pursuits, and to make the young ladies competent English scholars for any sphere they may choose to fill. The mathematical studies are in their nature severely disciplinary. And though less so, yet the other parts of the English course may tend to the same result. If the mind is kept in an inquiring attitude, if the shades of meaning in words, the force of sentences, the philosophy of Grammar are constant subjects of atten- tion, if discrimination and discernment are cultivated as well as mem- ory and taste, the advantage will always be apparent in the end. The study of language may always be made profitable. Our own language, though less compact in its structure, and less perfect in its forms than the classical tongues, furnishes much more room for study than is usually devoted to it. The same may be said of the French language. It may, in a degree, subserve the same purposes for which the study of the ancient models is so deservedly prized. The structure of the language, the comparison of its idioms with our own, the selection of words and phrases which convey elegantly and exactly the ideas of the author to an English ear, are processes which afford the same kind of discipline to the mind as the study of Greek or Latin fur- nishes. There is an advantage in being able to read and speak a language which is so extensively spoken in various countries, and which is so widely a language of science. It is almost indispensable
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to an education. And yet, if the language is taught without a view to its effects upon the mind, to be derived from the study of it in a critical and philosophical method, it becomes a question whether the amount gained is not too dearly purchased. There are only two ways in which a foreign language is worthily acquired. One is, when we learn it colloquially, and so fall into its idioms and grammatical forms insensibly ; and the other, by a mastery of its grammar, and an intel- ligent comprehension of its idioms and vocabulary by a thorough process of writing and translating. The latter is the only one possi- ble in our Schools. It is true, that even a superficial knowledge of the French language may occasionally be found convenient. But it should be the aim of every School to do nothing superficially which can be done thoroughly, and in all cases thoroughness amply repays the additional care and labor.
It is a question of no small importance, and one which cannot without difficulty be satisfactorily answered, namely, to what extent should a public High School be a Classical School ? This question involves the more specific inquiries, on what principle should it be decided whether it is best for a scholar to study the ancient langua- ges, and within what limits should the attention to these studies be restricted ?
In general, it may be said that the wisdom of the early friends of sound learning, in the Commonwealth, was manifested in making am- ple provisions for instruction in the ancient languages, at the public cost, and the same wisdom has prompted a continuance of these gen- erous appropriations. It is due from the community to all its sons, that an avenue should be opened to the poorest, as well as the rich- est, by which they may, if they will, reach the highest elevations in literature and science. So long as it is true, that the most brilliant lights which adorn the country have arisen from deep obscurity, it is the soundest policy to furnish all means and inducements needful to sustain and encourage youthful genius. Classical studies have been, and still will be, indispensable to the broadest enlargement, the high- est discipline, and most refined cultivation of the intellect. And if we are to train up such men from every level in society, men who are to wield the powers of language, and so control the thought and action of the nation, our youth must have a free opportunity of begin-
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ning that process of culture which will fit them for the highest intel- lectual eminence. But it is clear that only a small proportion of the pupils in our public Schools will avail themselves of any higher tui- tion. They complete their education at School, and enter at once upon active life. The arguments which prove the necessity of clas- sical studies to finished scholarship, will not avail in settling the question for those who are very soon to relinquish literary pursuits. In respect to this large class of scholars who enter the High School, some positions may be taken with a degree of confidence, which bear upon the decision of this question.
1. It is not wise to enter upon the study of the dead languages, so as to prevent a full attention to other necessary branches in a good common education.
It must be evident to all who think much upon this subject, that to a fitness for the ordinary pursuits of life, the advantage gained by a limited knowledge of Latin and Greek is no compensation for a deficiency in a knowledge of Arithmetic and Algebra, the structure and power of our own language, and the history of our own country, and the Geography, both physical and descriptive, of the earth. If to these we add the elements of Natural Philosophy, Chemistry and Astronomy, we have a wide field both for attainment and discipline. If the French language and Geometry are also studied, and these several branches are thoroughly acquired, it can hardly be doubted that these attainments confer substantial benefits, which claim for them the decided priority over a limited course in the Latin or the Greek languages.
2. It is not desirable to commence the study of the classics very young. On this subject very great differences of opinion are enter- tained. Some argue that it is best to commence with them very early-and others, that they should be deferred till the mind has acquired more strength and a nicer discernment.
If a language is to be learned colloquially, one language can be acquired in childhood with as much readiness as another. This is not to the point. The study of the classics in our Schools is a study of the Grammar of language. Our early classes are drilled upon the construction of sentences in an idiom which differs very widely from anything with which they are familiar. The task is a severe trial.
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It demands a discrimination and discernment to which the mind comes only by long exercise. It requires a higher philosophy than children attain. And therefore the early years devoted to Latin and Greek are pre-eminently years of drudgery and joyless toil. It will be found by experiment that the mind more easily observes the relations of quantity, than the abstract relations of language. And if so, it is certainly a wiser process to devote the first years of study to Arith- metic, and the more practical branches, than to the study of the niceties of a dead language. Many a hopeless waste of time has been occasioned, and a distaste for learning contracted, by the unpro- ductive effort to attain a knowledge of Latin at too early a period. The exquisite polish of Cicero, and the delicate beauties of Virgil, are, for the most part, imperceptible, until, by previous development, the mind has become accustomed to notice and compare the more abstract rela- tions.
3. It may also be considered undesirable to enter upon a classical course, if it is the design of the scholar to devote but a short time to the study. No amount of actual knowledge, in any department of learning, is in itself to be despised. But even worthy knowledge may, in comparison with what might otherwise be attained, be ac- quired at too great a cost. While it is conceded that a thorough knowledge of either Latin or Greek is an invaluable acquisition, a superficial knowledge is of but trifling value. The time spent in mas- tering the Grammar, and in reading the Latin lessons and Cæsar, if the study is to be dropped there, can hardly be found profitable, when it is remembered that the same time might avail so much in other departments in which a beginning had already been made. It is true, that as a discipline, hardly any study exceeds this. It has a most happy effect in training the mind to notice the value and force of expressions, the beauty of the forms in which ideas are clothed, and to the use of exact and appropriate language. It furnishes an insight into the derivation, and so introduces us to the history of words, which is both profitable and pleasant. But these manifest advantages do not unfold themselves in their fullness without a much more protracted application to classical studies than is pre-supposed in these remarks.
4 .. The study of the learned languages is desirable whenever it
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can be pursued thoroughly, and to a sufficient extent. If it be granted that one of the prominent things to be aimed at in educa- tion, is to furnish the mind with a facility for acquiring with precision the ideas conveyed in language, and, in turn, of expressing thought precisely and forcibly in language, it will be admitted that classical studies are worthy of a high regard. The experience of all cultiva- ted nations in modern times, shows that finished and elegant scholar- ship is reared upon the basis of classical learning. The models of antiquity possess a solid beauty, and a substantial grandeur, which exert a happy influence upon the mind. It is not merely the fresh- ness of thought, as we receive it from those distant fountains, but the structure of the language, the nice diction, the finished and compre- hensive forms of expression in which the ideas are clothed, that render the language so useful a study. It is certain that the discipline gained, in an extensive classical course, will be of the most healthful character. It will impart a vigor and impulse to the scholar, as well as give a polish to all his other attainments. Language is to a classi- cal student what it can never be to one who has had no exercise in detecting the nice shades of sense in the most perfect of tongues, and endeavoring to utter, in our own, the same thought with undi- minished beauty and force. The process compels to a clearer under- standing, not merely of idiom and construction, but of words them- selves, and therefore of thought, of which words are only the clothing. Our public Schools furnish sufficient instruction in the ancient lan- guages to make the study desirable to a very considerable class, who cannot enjoy the advantages of a liberal education. If they are to be- come teachers even of an English Academy, it is an acquisition indis- pensable to a fitness for the highest position in the profession. And if the privileges of School are only intended for the enlargement, cultivation, and training of the mind, that it may be more fit for intellectual enjoyment, and to adorn society in any station, these studies will not be in vain.
It should however be remarked, that whether classical studies are to be limited to a School education, or whether they are to be prose- cuted through a College course, the pleasure and advantage of them depend very much, it may be said almost entirely, upon the thorough- ness with which they are learned. No slight mischief is done to the
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interests of good learning, to say nothing of the grievous evil in- flicted upon individual scholars, by a superficial and loose training. In order that one may derive from Latin and Greek the full measure of possible benefit, from the very beginning, the utmost exactness and precision should be practised. Slovenly habits at the outset, lead to an unsatisfactory, halting, slipshod progress throughout, or compel the unhappy victim to an amount of needless toil which dis- heartens all but the most courageous aspirants. The School is, after all, the time and place to fix the type of scholarship. A severity and continuance of drilling is possible here, which College rarely affords. And therefore we should be most cautious against the indulgence of covetousness in the time devoted to a preparation for College. There is altogether too much eagerness to get through School days, and rise to the higher level of College life. It is one of the unpardona- ble hindrances to American scholarship. We cannot expect to emu- late either the elegance or the fullness of classical attainment which England or the continent of Europe present, until we guard against this waste. A foundation is laid in classical learning before entering an English University, which, we may safely say, exceeds the average attainments of our graduates. More than double the time is spent upon Latin and Greek, in some of the German Gymnasia, than our most liberal course requires. And the defect is to be remedied by a longer and more thorough training in preparatory Schools. The fit- ting age for entering College is settled differently by different persons. The general fault is, that our youth go to College too young. Their preparation is too limited, and their minds are too immature, and as yet not sufficiently developed, to grasp the higher studies which de- mand their attention. Very many young men of excellent promise, come very far short of the benefit of a liberal education, from attempt-, ing to do what their minds do not readily appreciate. To master the course at Harvard or at Yale, so as to be accomplished in the several branches, requires very diligent application and well disciplined fac- ulties. Instead of hurrying forward, with a partial and superficial knowledge of elementary subjects, the sounder policy is to keep back, and go more slowly and surely, and rise by safe and gradual steps to the higher range of College studies. This would increase the real value of College to a degree which will more than compensate for the
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supposed loss of time. And on this view, it would hardly seem ad- visable, in ordinary cases, to enter College younger than at eighteen years of age. Upon an average, nearly two years longer would be required in School, and those years, well spent, would in many in- stances give another and higher color and tone, to the literary char- acter of the individual, through his whole life.
It is within the design of the High School of this city, to give such an education as has been here briefly and imperfectly indicated. More than this ought not to be asked. Less than this should not satisfy us. And if the public have made so ample provision for the education of the youth of the city, this School should be the pride and cherished ornament of the community. Every citizen should feel himself charged to see that it is sustained by all help which can come to it through good wishes and hearty co-operation. It is the property and the privilege of all. Whatever advantages it affords, it offers them alike to citizens of every condition. With its munifi- cent appointments, its convenient rooms, its able and faithful teach- ers, its extended and various studies, it should enjoy both the confi- dence and patronage of the community, and it will be found that no institution of our city returns a more ample remuneration for any outlay of labor or of money.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
SETH SWEETSER, W. S. LINCOLN,
GEORGE BUSHNELL,
THOMAS MAGENNIS,
N. T. BENT,
JOHN C. NEWTON,
G. W. BENTLEY,
LEVI PIERCE,
SAMUEL BANISTER,
CALVIN E. PRATT,
JOHN H. BROOKS,
MOSES SPOONER,
C. M. BROOKS,
S. B. SWAIM,
School Committee.
JOHN A. DANA,
B. F. STOWELL,
GEORGE A. DRESSER,
W. A. WILLIAMS,
JOHN M. EARLE,
FRANKLIN HALL,
J. W. WETHERELL, W. W. RICE,
DAVID HIGGINS,
J. S. C. KNOWLTON, Pres't ex-officio.
At a meeting of the School Board of the City of Worcester, held Dec. 31, 1853, it was voted to appoint a Committee to prepare the Annual Report. Messrs. W. W. Rice, J. M. Earle, and John A. Dana, were appointed that Committee. A special meeting of the Board was held March 7, 1854, at which this Committee presented the foregoing Report, which was adopted.
APPENDIX.
Schools.
Teachers.
Teachers.
Salaries of
year. . .. . . during the
Whole No.
tendance.
Av'age at-
Visiting Committees.
George Capron,
Wm. E. Starr,
High School.
James M. Whiton, Jr.,
Louise C. Harwood,"
$1200 1000 600 400
154
Rev. Seth Sweetser, Rev. George Bushnell, 84 | Rev. Samuel B. Swaim, Jolın A. Dana, John W. Wetherell.
Thomas Grammar School .. ..
Caroline Parkinson,
250
Lois II. Wheeler,
300
Elizabeth L. Gird.
250
Rev. N. T. Bent, George A. Dresser, William A. Williams, William S. Lincoln, |William W. Rice, John M. Earle.
Thomas Secondary School. ..
Harriet M. Walker, Elizabetli 'H. Coe, Sarah Moore.
250
200
134
90
Rev. George Bushnell, Moses Spooner.
Front st. Grammar School ..
Adeliza Perry,
300
77
40
Rev. John F. Burbank, John C. Newton.
Charlotte N. Follett,
300
Ash st. Secondary School ...:
Mary E. Rice,
200
170
82
Rev. Seth Sweetser, George A. Dresser.
Mary W. Bigelow.
200
Nancy B. Jencks,
275
Summer st. Soc'ndary School. S. Jane Whiting,
200
194
90
Rev. S. B. Swaim, Rev. J. F. Burbank.
Caroline Hewett.
200
Pleasant st. Secon'ry School. |Mary S Turner,
200
192
96
Calvin E. Pratt, George W. Bentley.
Front st. East Primary
Sarah W. Clements, Sarah Thayer.
250
160
89
Rev. George Bushnell, John M. Earle,
Front st. West Primary
Caroline E. Clements.
200
170
65
John A. Dana, B. F. Stowell.
Ash st. East Primary.
Eliza A. Pratt, Sarah M. Smith.
250
183
86
Thomas Magennis, Calvin M. Brooks.
Ash st. West Primary.
Nancy B. Thomas, Lucy H. Matthews.
250
200
82
John C. Newton, Levi Pierce.
Pleasant st. South Primary ..
Mary A. Lawrence.
200
124
86
John A. Dana, Levi Pierce.
Pleasant st. North Primary ..
Almira Shumway, Josephine Shumway.
250
146
80
Franklin Hall, Moses Spooner.
Main st. Primary
Sophia S. Banister, Susan M. Jencks.
250
148
79
George A. Dresser, Samuel Banister.
Summer st. South Primary ..
Mary A. Slater, Sarah Eaton.
250
179
79
Thomas Magennis, Levi Pierce.
Summer st. North Primary ..
Esther G. Chenery.
200
159
78
John H. Brooks, William S. Lincoln.
Pine st. Primary.
Lucy M. Newton, Sarah P. Cutter.
250
175
72
W. W. Rice, Samuel Banister.
Parkhurst District.
Laura M. Gage,
250
35
29
John A. Dana, C. E. Pratt.
12
37
Rev. David Higgins, Franklin Hall,
250
73
1000
Nancy Baker,
300
Sarah E. Stone,
300
395
202
Caleb B. Metcalf,
Maria II. Read,
275
200
200
Martha E. Burr,
250
200
200
Lydia Wilmarth,
250
200
200
200
250
200
86
Schools.
Teachers.
Teachers.
Salaries of
year. . . . . during the
Whole No.
tendance.
Av'age at-
Leesville District.
Ruth C. Thompson.
250
40
28
J. W. Wetherell, Franklin Hall.
New Worcester District.
Hester E. DeLand.
200
65
43 W. W. Rice, 50 J. M. Earle.
South Worcester District ....
Avaline Williams.
250
62
49
W. A. Williams, G. W. Bentley.
Blithewood District.
Henrietta M. Swift.
250
38
25
J. F. Burbank, S. Banister.
Pond District.
Mary E. Kinnie.
250
52
25
C. M. Brooks, Moses Spooner.
Adams Square District
Almira H. Fuller.
250
37
27
John H. Brooks, C. M. Brooks.
Northville District.
Abby Goodale.
250
44
27
J. H. Brooks, Franklin Hall.
Chamberlain District.
Mary J. Mack.
250
25
18
N. T. Bent, G. A. Dresser.
Providence st. District
Mary H. Williams.
250
60
45
B. F. Stowell, W. S. Lincoln.
Burncoat Plain District.
Sarah Jane Gleason.
250
40
25
Rev. David Higgins, G. W. Bentley.
Young Men's School.
Nathaniel Eddy.
67
45
Rev. J. F. Burbank, Thomas Magennis.
Evening Schools.
Nathaniel Eddy, O. P. Gilbert.
Rev. J. F. Burbank, J. C. Newton.
Reed District.
Not permanent.
30
27
G. A. Dresser, N. T. Bent.
Quinsigamond District
Not permanent.
58
41
C. E. Pratt, G. W. Bentley.
Tatnick District.
Not permanent.
78
65
Rev. S. B. Swaim, W. S. Lincoln.
3679 1976
Visiting Committees.
250
65
REPORT
OF THE
OVERSEERS OF THE POOR.
THE Board of Overseers of the Poor, for the year 1853, submit their annual
REPORT.
In administering the charities of the city, now necessarily large in amount, the overseers of the poor are forced to the exercise of a constant discretion. Cases arise almost daily in which urgent ap- peals are made to the sympathies of the board; and in which they are obliged to exercise a vigilant discrimination, lest in guard- ing the treasure confided to them from waste and abuse, they fail to render to the necessitous that assistance which their condition really demands ; and which our citizens, in the exercise of the humane sen- timents they are known to possess, expect will be bestowed. That the funds, placed at the disposal of the overseers, might be as judic- iously administered as possible, the board, at the commencement of the year, decided to appoint, at each of their monthly meetings, a committee of two of their members, who, in company with their clerk, should visit, when necessary, and investigate the claims of all applicants for aid ; and report thereon, in order that the board might act understandingly in disposing of their applications. It is believed that in this way such information was obtained as was necessary to a right decision ; and that from it proceeded much of that harmony that has characterized the proceedings of the board through its whole term of service.
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