USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1867-1870 > Part 44
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ing should be without a musical instrument of some kind.
In May last, Mr. I. N. Metcalf resigned his place as musical teacher in our schools, to engage in more lucra- tive business. He had held this position six years ; and having entered upon his duties when this branch of edu- cation was looked upon with less favor than experience shows it to deserve, he was largely instrumental in securing for it the popular favor.
ANNUAL EXAMINATIONS.
At the end of the last school year in May, an examin- ation uniform in all schools of the same grade was held by the committee of each of the Grammar and Secon- dary schools. Printed lists of questions in each study were furnished. These questions accompany this report. In the Seconday schools answers were given orally and the rank of each scholar was ascertained approximately. In the Grammar schools the answers were written, and the rank determined with more accuracy. Besides this annual examination, upon which promotion should depend, others are held by the teachers themselves at the close of every term, and in some schools at the close of each half term. These examinations should be insist- ed on as far as possible. They show both to the teacher and to the pupils themselves what has really been learned ; for what a pupil can do at the end of five or six weeks, and not what he can do in a single recitation, is the true test of advancement. Indeed, every recita- tion should be an examination on what has preceded it. Thus will the pupil's mind be constantly expanded by glancing over a broad field, and not contracted by con- stant confinement to one small portion.
With these term and annual examinations, and with the Grammar masters to conduct them and advance
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pupils as they are fitted for promotion, much of the difficulty about these promotions, may, it is believed, be avoided.
LIBRARIES OF REFERENCE.
Besides the steps towards a better organization and grading of the schools, in the appointment of a master as the principal for the building, the inauguration of stated examinations for promotion, and the re-arrange- ment of the course of study, a library of reference books has been provided for each of the Grammar mas- ters. These originated in the gift of Geo. Jaques, Esq., to three of these schools. Others have been added by vote of this board. These libraries are now small, con- sisting of Chambers's or Appleton's Cyclopedia, a Gazet- teer, etc., but already they are increasing by the addition of numerous text books, other than those in use by the pupils. Each agent can deposit here copies of the book he is introducing. So numerous are these, that in them each subject may be found presented in every possible way. But the chief value of little libraries of this kind is in the habit of investigating, which they engender. Besides the knowledge acquired, and the mental development attained, how to make use of books, is an aim in schools.
CONCLUSION.
Within the past ten years the number of pupils belonging to our schools, has nearly doubled. Instead of seventy six teachers there are now one hundred and thirty-eight. About a dozen large brick school houses have been erected in the same period of time. All this indicates a large increase in population, and an attend- ant increase in the business of the city. New factories are springing up along the valley, spacious blocks of stores are rising on our principal streets, cheerful dwell-
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ings are dotting the landscape on all our borders, and public works are adding to our facilities for business activity and the enjoyment of a cultivated community. During this period, our nation has passed through that fearful struggle in which a gigantic wrong was slain- a wrong which was weakly tolerated at the first, through ignorance of its blighting tendency-and the country, freed from the deadly shade of that Upas trec, springs forth on a new career of material prosperity. Forget- ful of the past we rush forward in this busy hurrying age to new discoveries and new conquests. In the midst of this it is well to remember that only with the educa- tion of the people, is this prosperity possible-that in- telligence, not cannon, conquered the rebellion-and that virtue and wisdom alone can avoid such fatal mis- takes as the admission of slavery under the constitution.
Of the activities of our age and the achievements of the past year a recent writer has well said: "The face of man in this iron age is ever towards the future. Whatever failures or whatever successes follow human effort, they are to this generation as things of the past. Failure however disastrous, cannot dissuade man from another and repeated trial. Success, however magnifi- cent, cannot seduce him into repose and enjoyment. The electric cord which slipped from his hand and hid itself in the bed of the sea, weakened nothing of his grand purpose to unite the distant countries, making them throb with the pulses of a common life. And. we may be sure that the iron band which marries the oceans, and the canal which now completes the world's highway, will have no power to hold man's gaze even for a moment. The year which so greatly signalizes his victories is gone and its victories go with it. Another year has come, and man with unabated ardor and hope,
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springs forth to new tasks and even greater achieve- ments. No one may predict what this present year holds as the rewards of man's daring enterprise. No one dares to set limits to his activities nor say what his genius may not achieve. Here in this sphere of materi- al things we have boundless confidence in man.
But how is it in other directions ? This world of ours is not an iron foundry, where man like a swarthy Titan works the hard material into cunning or monstrous forms. That is a dreary ignoble task in itself alone. Building giant ships, ironing the continents, scooping the earth for canals, tunnelling the mountains, flying above the clouds, delving and thinking amongst dead matter, is a stupid degrading thing, however startling be the achievements. The nation can not thus be regener- ated and ennobled ; society cannot thus be saved and purified, the world cannot thus be educated and redeemed ; nor can the individual be thus elevated and blest. Only as these material creations of human skill and genius are the means for nobler ends, instruments for the accomplishment of spiritual purposes, are they worthy of our admiration."
This spirit of the age is rife in Worcester. But along with the stores and the factories we have reared the school house-thus fostering the means by which alone the sure foundations of prosperity are laid. Nor are the public schools alone. By the wise generosity of its founder and our citizens, the Free Institute of Industrial Science has entered upon its broad field of usefulness, Minerva-like fully armned. On the hills that surround the city, stand the Academy, the Oread, the College of the Holy Cross, the Highland Military Academy and the Institute, like a cordon of forts, to defend us from the approach of ignorance.
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While such attention is given to education our welfare is secure. But this attention will not be given unless those who know its value make constant effort. Against the notion that learning is opposed to business-that mental culture is not useful in mechanics-that the college has no useful connections with the shop, those who know the value of the learning, the culture, and the college should wage unremitting war.
To you, gentleman, who have always been ready with such efficient counsel and aid, in the difficult duties of this office, and to the teachers of our schools who by their fidelity have rendered these schools so successful, and who by their cheerful support, have so effectually assisted me in every undertaking looking to the welfare of the children, I desire in closing to return sincere thanks.
Respectfully submitted,
A. P. MARBLE,
Worcester, Feb. 1870. Supt. Public Schools.
QUESTIONS FOR EXAMINATION.
The following questions were submitted to all the pupils of the grades indicated, at the aunual examination in . May last. In grades IV. and V., either oral or written answers were allowed ; written answers were required in the other grades.
It is expected that in future these annual examinations will to a large extent determine the annual promotions.
HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES
IX.
1. Name three Spanish discoverers, three English discoverers, and one Ital- lan discoverer.
2. Name three rebellions, and give the cause of each.
3. State some important acts of Washington previous to the Revolution.
4. Name the date and place of signing each of three important treaties of peace.
5. What do you know of the Louisiana purchase ?
6. Name three prominent United States officers engaged during the great rebellion, and the Confederate officers in command against whom each fought.
7. Name three important battle fields of the great rebellion in the Middle States, three in the States south of Virginia, and three in States west of the Mississippi river.
8. Name the several wars in which the United States have been engaged, and during whose administration did each occur ?
9. Most important events of Pierce's administration.
10. What States have been admitted to the Union since the admission of Wisconsin ?
ARITHMETIC.
IX.
1. Add forty-nine, and one hundred and five ten thousandths; one hundred and seven thousandths; one hundred and twenty-seven millionths; forty-eight ten thousandths.
2. What part of 2} tons is 201bs ?
3. Find the sum of 7-160 and .0875. Express the answer by a decimal, and by a common fraction in its lowest terms.
4. Bought a house for $15,000. For what must it be sold to gain 20 per cent. if I am to wait 6 months without interest, for my pay ; money being worth 6 per cent.
5. Bought flour for cash at $10 per barrel, and sold it immediately on 4 months credit at $12.24 per barrel. What do I gain per cent. ?
6. What is the square root of .001024?
7. How many yards of carpeting 27 inches wide will carpet a room 10 ft. long and 13 ft 6 in. wide ?
8. What is the cube root of 74.0SS ?
9. The avails of a note discounted at a bank for 5 months at 6 per cent. were $2000. What was the face of the note ?
10. A person being asked the time of day, replied that 1-5 of the time passed from noon equalled 1-3 of the time to midnight. What was the time ?
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MENTAL.
1. Five mnen bought a horse for sixty-three dollars, and paid two dollars a week for keeping hin; at the end of cight weeks they sold him for fifty-four dollars ; how much did each man lose by the bargain ?
2. If 2 pipes of a certain size will empty a cistern in 6 hours, in how long a time will 3 pipes of the same size empty it ?
3. A man sold a cow for 21 dollars, which was only 7 tenths of what she cost him ; how much did she cost him ? When he bought her, he paid for her with eloth at S dollars a yard ; how many yards of cloth did he give ?
4. 3 sevenths of 28 is 2 eighths of how many times 7.
5. If it take 1 yard and 3 sevenths of a yard of cloth to make 1 pair of pan- taloons, and 2 yards and 4 sevenths for a coat; how many yards would it take to make 3 pairs of pantaloons and 3 coats.
6. If 1 horse consume 3 and 1 seventh bushels of oats in 2 days, how much would 2 horses consume in 5 days ?
". A man bought a quantity of flour for 53 and 2 sevenths dollars, and sold it for 9 eighths of what it cost him ; how much did he gain ?
8. There is a cistern having a pipe which will fill it in 2 fifths of an hour; how many times would the pipe fill the cistern in 3 and 2 fifths hours ?
9. How many times is 1 and 4 sevenths contained in 9 and 3 sevenths.
10. If a quarter of wheat affords 00 ten-penny loaves, how many eight pen- ny loaves may be obtained from it ?
VIII.
1. Divide 17280 by .00144.
2. How many square ft. in the floor, ceiling, and four walls of a room that is 18 ft. 6' long, 15 ft. 9' wide, and S ft. 4' high.
3. When it is noon at St. Paul's longitude 93 deg. 5' west, it is at Bangor 1 h. 37 min. 12 sec. P. M., what is the longitude of Bangor ?
4. When cloth is bought at $1.20 per yd. and sold at 1.00 per yd. how much per cent. is the loss ?
5. What is the interest of $96.84 from Nov. 27, 1849, to July 3, 1852, at 7} per cent. ?
6. What is the compound interest on $200 for 2 yrs. 6 m. compounding the interest semi-annually ? 6 per cent.
7. A has a note for $450 payable June 21, 1863; what is the worth of the note to-day, May 12. 1863, money being worth S per cent. per annum.
8. A broker receives $8341.50 cents, which includes a sum to be invested in railroad shares at $100 each, and his brokerage at } per cent. How many shares can he purchase, and how much is his brokerage?
9. For what amount payable in 90 days must a note be given to a bank, dis- counting at 6 per cent. to obtain 989.50?
10. How long will it take $300 to double itself at 7 per cent. simple interest ?
MENTAL.
1. How many cents in 1-6 of a dime ?
2. If S bushels of grain will last 7 horses 5 days, how long will 16 bushels last 4 horses ?
3. If 7 horses consume 16 tons of hay a year, how many tons do 5 horses consume ?
4. A and B can do a piece of work in 15 days, and B alone in 24 days; how long would it take A alone ?
5. A cistern has 3 pipes; the first will fill it in 2 hours. the second in 3 hours, and the third in 6 hours, how long will it take them all to fill it ?
6. 3 men hired a pasture for $60, A puts in 4 oxen, B 3 oxen, and C 5 oxen ; how much ought each to pay ?
7. 4-3 of 30 is 5-9 of how many ninths of 45 ?
S. Two men start from New York and travel in opposite directions, one at the rate of 44 miles an hour, the other at the rate of 63 miles an hour ; how far apart will they be at the end of 6 hours ?
9. John has 26 cents worth of marbles, 3-5 of the number of which arc worth 8 to a cent, 3-10, 2 to a cent, and the remainder 1 cent apiece ; how many had he ?
10. What cost 1-9 of a hogshead of molasses at § of a dollar a gallon ?
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VII.
1. Find the least common multiple of 6, 8, 12. 18, 24, 131, 137 ?
2. How many cubic feet in a box that is 62 ft. long, 5g ft. wide and 34 ft deep ?
3. If 22 yds. of cloth cost $7.70; what will 3-5 of 5-6 of a yd. cost ?
4. How many dozen bottles containing 12 pints each are required to bottle 63 gallons of wine?
5. Multiply .4786 by .124.
6. Divide 1728 by .0144.
7. Reduce .6543 of a mile to furlongs, etc.
S. How many pounds of coffee at 152 cents, can be bought for $8.40.
9. What is the reciprocal of a fraction, and how is it obtained ?
10. Add 7-160 to .057 giving the result in the form of a decimal.
MENTAL.
1. How many yds. of flannel 1} yds. wide will be sufficient to line 20 yds of camlet that is & yds. wide ?
2. What is , and } of } of 10?
3. If a bushel of corn cost 5-6 of a dollar, how many bushels can be bought for $113?
4. At 1-12 of a dollar a quart, what part of a bushel of walnuts can be bought for $23 ?
5. 84 is 2 of how many times } of 22?
6. 3 of 16 is 6-7 of how many times 2-5 of 15 ?
7. If one man can cut 13 cords of wood in a day, how long will it take 3 men to cut the same ?
8. ¿ of 4 of 24 is 2 of what number ?
9. 4-5 of a pole is above ground, and 3 feet is { of the part in the ground, what is the length of the pole ?
10. If $1} will pay 1 man for a day's work, how many men will $63 pay ?
VI.
1. By buying a cargo of coal at $6 per ton and selling it at $8 per ton, I gained $198. How much did I pay for it ?
2. If S melons cost $1, what will 3744 melons cost ?
3. Find the number of minutes in one solar year.
4. Reduce 7 m. 7 fur. 9 ch. 3 rd. 21 li. to links.
5. Find the common measure of 72, 120, 144, 168, and 48.
6. Find the least common multiple of 6, 8, 12, 18, 24, 131, 137.
7. Divide 161 :- 42.
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8. What is g of 30 of 35 35 of 14 49.
9. Paid $6 9-16 for 82 bushels of potatoes. What shall I pay for 27} bushels ?
10. How many cubic feet in a box that is 62 ft. long, 5 7-8 ft. wide, and 3} ft. deep.
MENTAL.
1. What number added to 3 of 31 will make 25?
2. 1-5-1-3-1-2 are how much less than 2?
3. At 64 cents a pound, what cost 9 pounds of rice ?
4. How much can be earned in a year at $11 5-3 a month ?
5. Sold a hogshead of molasses for $36 which was 9-S of what it cost. What did it cost ?
6. A pole stands 3-5 in the water, } of the remainder in the mud, and 4 feet above the water. What is the length of the pole ?
7. 64 is 8 9 of how many times 12?
8. If' 12 is 5-6 of some number, what is 3 of the same number ?
9. 2 of 44 is 3-5 of how many sevenths of 35 ?
10. At ¿ of a dollar a day, how long will it take a man to earn $9
V.
1. Define Arithmetic and numeration.
2. Read 471,654,769,853,670. 11
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3. Write 40,340,487,509.
4. A owes B $176, C $8796, D $549, E $27, F $1111, G $5, H 8469, and I $46,- 978; how much does he owe ?
5. Columbus discovered America A. D. 1492; how many years have since elapsed ?
6. What is the value of 3 cords of wood at $6 per cord, 752 barrels of flour at $12 per barrel, 1000 bushels of potatoes, at $1 per bushel, 10 oxen at $200 per pair, and 5 horses at $125 per pair ?
7. What is the quotient and how obtained ?
8. Divide 386,427 by 5287.
9. If S melons cost $1 what will 3744 cost ?
10. How many cords of wood at $12 per cord, can be bought for 82 barrels of apples at $5 per barrel ?
MENTAL.
1. 7 times 6 and 4 sixths of 6 are how many ?
2. 4 tenths of 30 is 2 thirds of how many times 3?
3. If 3 bushels of cranberries cost $12, what part of $16 will one bushel cost ?
4. If 3 pounds of cheese cost 42 cents what will 6 pounds cost ?
5. 4 times 12 are how many times 3 of 8?
6. When oranges are 5 cents apiece, and pineapples 10 cents apiecc, how many oranges will cost as much as 6 pineapples ?
7. How many times 5+2 in 21? In 35?
8. How many times 9 less 4 in 63 less 8 ?
9. For 40 apples, how many melons can be purchased at the rate of 8 apples for one melon ?
10. 3 boys had given them 75 nuts ; Robert receiving 20, William 2 times as many as Robert lacking 15, and John the remainder; how many did John receive ?
MENTAL. IV.
1. Charles gave 30 cents for a book, 10 cents for a pencil, 25 for a slate. What was the cost of the whole ?
2. 5+7+6+9+5+2-10-4+3-20, are how many?
3. If you can earn 20 cents one day and spend 15 cents, and the next day earn 30 cents and spend 25 cents, how many cents would you have left ?
4. Bought 6 cords of wood at 8 dollars a cord, and handed in payment 5 ten- dollar bills; how much change should be received back ?
5. 32 are how many times, 8, 4, 6, 3?
6. 8 times 11 -+ 12, less 30 are how many ?
7. 7 times 5 + 9 - 6 - 8 - 10, are how many ?
8. 9 times 6 +6 -20 : 10 ×4 ++4, are how many ?
9. 26+4-10:2++5+7+3, are how many ?
10. 54-14-10 :6 × 5, are how many ?
GEOGRAPHY. IX.
1. In what part of the world is the point of no latitude and no longitude, (reckoning longitude from Greenwich ?)
2. What is the width in degrees of cach temperate zonc ?
3. How can we determine, by a map, the line or ridge of high land, called a water-shed, which divides a country iuto opposite slopes ?
4. What are the two principal water-sheds of the United States ?
5. On what parallel of latitude is the northern boundary of New York, from lake Champlain to the river St. Lawrence ?
6. What parallel forms the northern boundary of Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi ?
7. What four States border on Lake Michigan ?
S. How is Alabama bounded ?
9. What river flows into the northern extremity of the Gulf of California ?
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10. What country occupies the north-western extremity of South America ?
11. What country of South America has no sea coast ?
12. What three great rivers of Europe rise in the Alps and where does each of them empty ?
13. What mountain range passes through the whole length of Italy ?
14. What countries occupy the Scandinavian peninsula ?
15. What strait separates England from France ?
16. What three peninsulas on the southern border of Europe ?
17. What other continent has also three large peninsulas on its southern border, and what are their names ?
18. What is the general direction of peninsulas in any continent ?
19. What gulf in the north-western part of the Red Sea ?
20. What country of Africa borders on the strait of Gibraltar ?
VIII.
1. Name and locate the zones.
2. What is the latitude and longitude of Worcester?
3. Give the extent and area of the United States ?
4. How do the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of North America compare in respect to climate ?
ɔ̃. Why is the Mississippi river more useful for navigation than the Maken- zie ?
6. How does Maine compare in size with New York ?
7. Name the kinds of circles represented on the map.
8. What is the difference between foreign and domestic commerce ?
9. Name the largest, the smallest, the most populous, the greatest commer- cial, and the greatest manufacturing State.
10. What river of New England has the most improved water power ?
11. Name five of the largest cities in the world.
12. Where do we find the most luxuriant vegetation, and why ?
13. What is the latitude and longitude of Washington ?
14. What is the only Republic of Africa and what is its Capitol ?
15. What is said of the people of South America ?
16. Name the principal mountain ranges of Asia.
17. Name the river systems of the United States-tell which is the most important, and why ?
18. Name ten classes of articles that are manufactured in the United States.
19. Why is North America much better adapted to commerce than Africa ?
20. Name the minerals of the United States and tell where they are found.
VII.
1. What is meant by the Chinese Empire ?
2. Mention some of the peculiarities of the Chinese.
3. What is the capital of British India ?
4. Locate Turkey in Asia and for what are the Turks, Persians and Hindoos noted ?
5. Name five mountain chains in Europe and tell the highest peak.
6. Name five principal rivers of Europe.
7. Name the countries of Europe.
8. Locate and tell what you can of St. Petersburg.
9. Locate Venice and tell for what it is noted.
10. Name and locate five principal cities of Great Britain.
11. What is the climate of Great Britain compared with that of New Eng- land ? 12. What are the five great powers of Europe and which have constitu- tional governments ?
13. Describe the surface of Europe.
14. What is the position and size of Australia ?
15. Describe the natives of Australia.
16. What and in what countries are Calcutta, Indus, Tchad, Caspian and Mocha ?
17. Mention three peninsulas on the north and three on the south of Europe.
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18. What is meant by the latitude and longitude of a place ?
19. Why is it warmer in England at 52 degrees N. latitude than in the United States at 42 degrees N. ?
20. Mention the five largest cities in the United States.
VI.
1. What are the river systems of South America, and what are the plains of each called ?
2. Name all the countries on the west coast of South America, and tell the capital of each.
3. What are the exports of Paraguay ?
4. What is the government of Brazil?
5. Draw an outline of the east coast of South America, locate the mouth of the Amazon, Cape St. Roque, Rio Janerio.
6. Name the Barbary States.
7. What is the northern and the southern cape of Africa?
8. What are the three largest rivers of Africa-what is the source of the most important one ?
9. Bound Egypt and tell its capital. What remarkable works are found in Egypt ?
10. What is the government of Liberia ?
11. Name the principal mountain ranges of Asia.
12. What are the productions of China ?
13. What are Steppes ?
14. What two seas of Asia have no outlet ?
15. Draw an outline of the southern coast of Asia, locate the mouth of the Indus and the Ganges, locate Calcutta and Singapore.
16. What are Zones-name them-in which do you live ?
17. What are the poles and the polar circles ?
18. Bound Siberia. What is its climate ?
19. What is latitude, and how many degrees are there ?
20. Bound the Red Sea. V.
1. What proofs can you give that the earth is round ?
2. What are the tropics ? What are the polar circles ?
3. What are parallels ? What are meridians ?
4. What is a plateau ? What is a mountain range? Name one of each.
5. What are the natural divisions of land? Which one of these is Cuba; Nova Scotia ?
6. Name all the important bodies of water around North America.
7. What are the four largest of the West Indies ?
8. Of what three distinct parts does the surface of North America consist ?
9. What rivers and lakes belong to the St. Lawrence system ?
10. Where are capes Farewell, Hatteras, Mendicino?
11. What animals are found in the cold region of North America ?
12. How many States and Territories in the United States ?
13. What is the government of the United States? What is the highest officer called ?
14. What is the population of the United States ?
15. Tell all you can about New York City.
16. Mention the capitals of the New England States.
17. What are the two largest cities of Canada, and where are they situated ?
18. Name the countries of North America, with the capital of each.
19. What can you say about the city of Mexico ?
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