USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester > Town annual reports of the several departments for the fiscal year ending December 31, 1886 > Part 21
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343
SCHOOLS .- SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
it, to read from any particular version, or to take any personal part in the reading "; and that they shall not " direct to be pur- chased or used in the public schools, school-books calculated to favor the tenets of any particular sect of Christians"; and in part this error is traceable to the reiterated assertions of certain religionists, a few years ago, that the public schools are godless.
That the teacher is prohibited from teaching in the public schools the religion of his " particular sect of Christians " is evi- dent from the above quotations. The teaching of religion in its broad and catholic sense however, is a different affair ; and that it is the Christian religion and not Brahminism which the legisla- ture has in mind, is apparent both from the history of our coun- try from the first, and from the very expression "sect of Christians," used in the statute. Nothing is said about any " sect of Brahmins " for example.
The obligation of teachers in this regard rests upon a two-fold basis: First, That the reading of the Bible daily in all public schools is enjoined by statute. Now this book is the recognized exponent of Christianity whose principles it enunciates. As such it was first introduced ; and as such, we must assume in the absence of evidence to the contrary, its use is continued. To be sure "written note or oral comment" is prohibited; but this is only to prevent the teacher from giving his own bias to the teach- ing and imparting to the text the flavor of his own opinions. This is no more than might properly be insisted upon with other text-books and in other studies. For example : civil govern- ment is a proper subject for school instruction at a fitting age. Our republican institutions are founded upon certain well- established principles universally recognized. But the applica- tion of these principles gives rise to differences of opinion. Hence political parties. Now the teacher may have his own opinions, but it is aside from his duty when giving instruction in government, to inculcate them; and if he were to attempt to proselyte his pupils and indoctrinate them with the views of a political party, he would find a public sentiment in opposition, having all the force of law though not enacted in the form of a statute. Political Economy is likewise a science proper to be
344
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 41.
taught in advanced public schools. Its principles are set forth usually by able writers in the text-books in use. But in this science the community is divided between free trade and protec- tion. Now it is not within the province of a teacher to become an advocate for either party. It is rather his duty, if he dis- cusses the question at all, to place before his pupils the strongest arguments of the best writers on both sides. If he were to advocate free trade in a community whose interests strongly favored protection, or if he were zealously to uphold protection in a society dependent upon free trade, or again if he were to argue strenuously for either before pupils whose parents are divided on the question, the impropriety of his conduct would soon be made as apparent to him as if there were a law upon the statute book forbidding the teaching of either free trade or pro- tection. Yet no one will deny because there are certain restric- tions in each case, that both civil government and political econo- my may properly and profitably be taught in public schools.
No more do the legal restrictions upon the use of the bible in school imply that religion is not to be taught.
But the restriction does seem to imply that it is the elementary and fundamental principles of religion which ought to engage the attention of the teacher. This instruction should be so con- fined because, in the first place, this field contains much more than can be thoroughly cultivated ; and in the second place because there is little, if any, controversy concerning these fundamental principles which will be partly enumerated further on. It is not in the elementary principles of political economy, of government, that any controversy arises ; it is in the theoreti- cal and practical application of the principles of governments and of political economy that men divide themselves into parties. It is not in the fundamental rules of arithmetic and the multipli- cation table, that men differ in their conceptions, but in the more etherial regions of abstract calculations; where for example, we come across zero divided by zero, and infinity by infinity, from different directions and with apparently contradictory results. And in like manner, it is not questions of duty to oneself, to his fellow-men, and to God, which divide men, so much as the more
345
SCHOOLS .- SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
abstract ethical questions which relate to matters less demon- strable.
Boys when they become voters, in a majority of cases perhaps, affiliate with the same political party as their fathers. This is to be expected, because their minds are usually prejudiced in youth. They hear the arguments of one side urged with the persistency of strong conviction. They become imbued with party spirit. In like manner, but much more strongly, children usually imbibe the religious views of their parents. Indeed, it is one of the car- dinal principles of most religious sects, that this particular sect alone, possesses the genuine unadulterated truth ; that all others are tainted more or less with errors more or less fatal ; and, hence, that it is a religious duty to instil into the minds of their children a firm conviction of the truth as they understand it.
Now there is no inherent necessity that a boy should belong to the same political party as his father. The questions at issue change from time to time. Parties represent other principles often while retaining the old name. New conditions frequently require a different application, so that the very father, whose teachings the boy has accepted, would perhaps join the opposite party, if living in the next generation.' Better opportunities, moreover, and wider knowledge may make the son at maturity, a wiser man than the father; and he would then show the high- est respect and reverence for his father's sincerity, not by adher- ing to the errors, but by abandoning them as his honest parent, he may assume, would have done if similarly placed. It is by acting upon this principle that progress is possible. On any other principle we should still be the subjects of a monarchy ; and we should travel in stage-coaches.
No more is there any inherent necessity, that every child should embrace the religion of his father, just as his father held it. This assumption, though it is common enough, puts a bar to all advance in knowledge of religious truth. And though it may be said and admitted, that truth is eternal and unchangeable, it cannot be denied that men's views of that truth, and their expres- sion of it, have changed and advanced from age to age. Abra- ham moved out from the land of his ancestors, and introduced a
346
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 41.
new worship. Moses roused the majority and left Egypt. Paul departed from the teachings of Gamaliel-the theological school to which his confiding parents had intrusted him-and embraced a new phase of religion. St. Augustine was converted ; Martin Luther changed his views ; Cardinal Manning and Dr. Newman were once Protestants ; John Wesley was inspired with a new spirit ; Roger Williams did not agree with his brother Puritans ; and Ellery B. Channing and Theodore Parker saw truth, as they thought, in a new light. What is true of these great beacons in the world's religious history, must be true to some extent, in the little spheres of the whole multitude of thoughtful men, in all time.
It should not be assumed therefore - certainly not by public school teachers - that their own particular views, or any partic- ular set of religious views, are to be inculcated by them. But if religion is not a myth and a fiction, there must be some broad, common ground on which humanity may meet. The argument which proves that there is no such common ground, overthrows the Christian religion.
But in this commonwealth we are not left to the fate to which such an argument would consign us, for the obligation of teachers in this regard rests, Secondly, on the Statute. By order of the school board, the following has been printed to be posted in every school-room, to be read by every pupil and every teacher, with only such restrictions as to written note or oral comment, as the good sense of the teacher may dictate :-
" COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS.
" Public Statutes, Chapter 44, Section 15.
"It shall be the duty of . all instructors of youth, to exert their best endeavors to impress on the minds of children and youth committed to their care and instruction the principles of piety and justice and a sacred regard to truth ; love of their country, humanity, and universal benevolence ; sobriety, indus- try, and frugality ; chastity, moderation, and temperance ; and those other virtues which are the ornament of human society and the basis upon which a republican constitution is founded; and it
-
347
SCHOOLS .- SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
shall be the duty of such instructors to endeavor to lead their pupils, as their ages and capacities will admit, into a clear under- standing of the tendency of the above mentioned virtues to pre- serve and perfect a republican constitution and secure the bless- ings of liberty as well as to promote their future happiness, and also to point out to them the evil tendency of the opposite vices."
In this statute is embodied the fundamental principle referred to above. And what is piety, whose principles it is in this stat- nte made the first duty of the teacher to inculcate ? " Piety. The filial sentiment felt by man to God, the Father of all; a sense of dependence upon the Supreme Being, producing habit- ual reverence, and a disposition to know and obey his laws ; godliness, devotion, religion." This, for our duty towards God. As to the duty towards one's neighbor, justice ; " the practice of rendering to every man his due." As to the duty to oneself, in- dustry, chastity, temperance, &c.
It is not necessary to specify all that is implied in this compre- hensive statute. If there is any thing belonging to religion, except mere dogmatism and theological speculation, which is not embraced in the statute, it would be exceedingly interesting to have it pointed out. It is not of course to be expected, that the teaching of religion in the broad sense contemplated by the statute and practiced more or less faithfully for more than two hundred years, in this commonwealth, will be satisfactory to any " particular sect of Christians," who are chiefly intent upon propa- gating their own creed; but with the law and the practice such as it has been and is, it is difficult to see how any one can properly call the public schools godless.
In our modern carefulness about the consciences of other peo- ple, and in the reaction against the intolerance of former times, the question may arise whether we are not doing violence to the conscience of an unbeliever in Christianity and the Bible, by forcing this kind of instruction upon his children. The same question may be raised about any law upon the statute-book. There is always a minority who do not assent. Undoubtedly there is a colony of residents in Charlestown, who are opposed to enforcing, in certain cases at least, the penalty against theft,
348
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 41.
robbery, and other crimes. But the minority must yield to the wishes of the majority, in so far as is necessary for the public good ; otherwise our form of government could not continue ; and morality and virtue, in other words religion, is believed by the majority, as indicated by the statute, to be for the public good. In France, the recently adopted programme of studies for the public schools, includes instruction in religion like our own ; and that programme was made by men who are not themselves believers in the Christian religion. They saw the necessity for this kind of instruction, as a guide and restraint to the young, however much they themselves might deny its teachings in ma- ture years.
And if men of similar views in this country deny to the bible the special authority which most Christians claim for it, they can scarcely even then object to the teaching of the decalogue ; to the sublime and altruistic sentiments of the Sermon on the Mount ; nor to the gentle and civilizing influence of the life and words of Jesus as described in the new testament.
But the use of the bible in the public schools may be justified by other considerations than its religious influence. It is the oldest book in common use ; and it contains the most important part of the history of a very ancient people. Its extensive use among all classes of people, has done more than any other single influence towards the conservation of our language. No other bond has held so strongly together the English-speak- ing people. Again it contains some of the most sublime pas- sages ever written in our language ; the profoundest philosophy ; the most beautiful of poetic conceptions : "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion ?"
It is no answer, to say that the children can not appreciate all this, or that teachers can not make the best selections. Teachers can use this book as judiciously as they use the others ; and children will come to understand later what they do not comprehend at first. And here we come to the most weighty reason for the use of the bible in the schools out- side of the ethical reason, namely : It is interwoven in our literature, in warp and woof and almost every fibre.
349
SCHOOLS .- SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
Some years since a candidate under examination for a teacher, in answer to the question, who was Napoleon Bonaparte, said that he was an Englishman or a Spaniard, she was not sure which. Another had never heard of Shakespeare. This implies monu- mental ignorance. But what would be thought of any person who had not heard of Moses or Paul? The allusions in our literature to bible incidents, and the illustrations drawn from the scriptural narration, are thick as leaves in Vallombrosa ; and ignorance of these allusions implies ignorance of English, as dense as for a classical scholar not to know what is meant by Scylla and Charybdis. The only means of acquiring this familiarity, so far as the the public schools are concerned, is through the daily reading required by law.
If this brief discussion which contains nothing new, shall to any extent serve to correct the impression referred to above, that nothing like religion is allowed to be taught in the public schools, its aim will be accomplished. It is not designed to inaugurate a crusade of religious teaching, nor to greatly modify what is believed to be the common practice under the law.
There is another statute to which it may not be amiss to call attention here :-
Sec. 16 : Chap. 44, Public Statutes.
" The resident ministers of the gospel, the selectmen, and the school committee shall exert their influence and use their best endeavors that the youth of their towns shall regularly attend the schools established for their instruction."
As the preceding section has been printed to hang in the school-rooms, it might be useful to have this section printed to hang in the churches ; for it probably has not occurred to those clergymen who endeavor to dissuade the children of their con- gregation from attendance upon the " schools established for their instruction," if any do so, that they act in violation of the laws under which they live and by which they are protected.
350
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 41.
THE BANCROFT FUND.
George Bancroft the eminent historian, a native of Worcester and formerly a pupil in the public schools, has set apart the sum of $10,000 to establish a scholarship in memory of his father and mother, to be known as the Aaron and Lucretia Bancroft Fund. The money is held in trust by the city ; and its income amount- ing at the present time to about $400 is to be administered by a board of trustees, and by them awarded for not less than one nor more than four years to some needy and meritorious student, who may thus be enabled to pursue an advanced course of instruc- tion. Mr. George B. Churchill a graduate of the High School and a student in Amherst Colege is the present recipient of the fund.
No better monument could be erected to the memory of the Rev. Aaron Bancroft and his wife, who were so influential in moulding the early Worcester. Besides the money value of this generous gift to a needy student, the fund possesses a still greater value in the inspiration to be derived from the scholarly example of its founder.
THE CLARK UNIVERSITY.
Since this report was presented and before going through the press, Mr. Jonas G. Clark of this city has donated the munifi- cent sum of one million dollars to found the Clark University here.
Too much can not be said in praise of so generous a gift ; and the man who has amassed his fortune, and who is capable of so grand a conception as this gift indicates, may well be trusted to execute it in detail.
It is safe to assume, from what is known of the man, that he is not without a plan, and that his plan differs from what is seen in any existing institution. The opportunities he has had for examining and comparing institutions of learning, as well as other public enterprises, are probably much greater than most people are aware of; for he is a quiet man, who does not blow trumpets before him. He has visited many of the leading
351
SCHOOLS .- SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
colleges and universities in this country, and no doubt he has studied them more, unobserved. In his extensive travels in Europe he has probably become acquainted with the resem- blances and the differences among the English and the conti- nental universities. His business enterprises have spanned this continent from ocean to ocean and he has become, in a long and active though retiring life, fully acquainted in a large way with the American people-what they have and what they need. And his knowledge of nations and peoples is not confined to these two continents. Twenty years or more ago he traversed the Nile and made himself familiar with the spot where civiliza- tion had decayed almost before Rome had a beginning. What further opportunities of this kind he has had to fit him for the great undertaking upon which he now enters, may not all be known. In addition to all this Mr. Clark has a library filled with volumes which none but a scholarly man would ever collect.
Now when all this and more that might be said of the same sort is true, the men who step forward to flippantly show him how to build a university are likely to find them- selves surrounded, horse, foot, and dragoon, if they live to see what he has devised. Some one may say that a university can't be made ; it must take root and grow. Possibly Mr. Clark knows that ; and there is no reason to suppose that his plans do not take into account this truism-and most people do not count on the world's coming to an end right away. Some of our contemporaries volunteer the notion that it would have been better to endow some existing institution. No doubt this advice will be gratefully received; but the people who think so are not the ones who are making the gift. Some say that a million is a very large sum; but it is not enough to make a university to rival Harvard. Quite likely not. But it may be that no one intends to rival this ancient seat of learning. Education is a broad field, and there are more lines than one ; it is to be remembered that a single branch of natural science represents more to-day than the whole circle of sciences did when Harvard was founded. And the expression, "and per-
352
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 41.
haps more " in the paper already published, may have a very expansive meaning in this case. Again, the character of the men named as incorporators shows that no crude or ill-con- sidered experiments are here to be tried.
The influence of such an institution as this will become, can- not fail to affect favorably every institution of learning in the city. Already many excellent citizens have been attracted hither by the public schools and the other seats of learning which crown our surrounding hills ; and what is said by President Gilman of Johns Hopkins in his last report, that the institution has added directly to the material as well as the intellectual growth of Baltimore, will in a few years be true of Worcester by reason of the Clark University. In more ways than one then, the city will have cause for grateful remembrance of this latest and most princely gift from one of her citizens.
A. P. MARBLE.
Worcester, Jan., 1887.
SECRETARY'S REPORT.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT. RESOURCES.
Appropriation by City Council, Books sold,
$230,000 00
341 78
Materials sold and repairs,
40 62
Rents,
12 50
Tuition,
287 00
EXPENDITURES. I. INSTRUCTION.
Salaries of teachers,
$167,551 49
Salary of Superintendent,
3,041 67
Salary of Clerk,
1,066 68
Extra clerical labor,
335 00
Salaries of Truant Officers,
1,800 00
School books,
8,763 22
Stationery, ink, &c.,
1,604 34
Apparatus,
1,084 87
Printing and advertising,
724 42
Horse hire,
229 13
$186,200 82
II. CARE OF SCHOOL-HOUSES AND ORDINARY REPAIRS. Care of School-houses.
Fuel,
$8,770 65
Janitors,
8,728 54
Cleaning houses, yards, &c.,
1,429 23
Brooms, mats, pails, &c.,
919 27
Insurance,
924 03
City water,
1,520 75
Gas,
210 00
Rents,
1,146 30
Miscellaneous,
178 70
$230,681 90
$23,827 47
1
354
CITY DOCUMENT .- No. 41.
Ordinary Repairs.
On school-houses,
$7,788 35
Stoves and furnaces,
985 37
Steam heating apparatus,
556 98
Furniture,
1,081 94
$10,412 64
$34,240 11
Total ordinary expense,
$220,440 93
Less revenue,
628 90
Net ordinary expense,
$219,812 03
III. PERMANENT REPAIRS.
New Furniture,
$1,652 23
Windows, Belmont street,
329 97
Fire escapes, S. Worcester and Quinsigamond, 310 00
$2,292 20
IV. EVENING SCHOOLS.
Salaries of teachers,
$3,414 50
Janitors,
143 00
Gas,
169 74
Printing and advertising,
36 50
Books and stationery,
176 78
Oil, lamps, &c.,
6 76
Total,
$3,947 28
Less revenue,
53 00
Net cost of Evening Schools,
$3,894 28
Net cost of all Schools,
$225,998 51
Add amount to Sinking Fund,
4,001 49
Appropriation, Add revenue,
$230,000 00
681 90
Total as above,
$230,681 90
TABLE SHOWING THE LOCATION, SIZE AND VALUE OF THE SCHOOL-HOUSES AND SCHOOL-HOUSE LOTS BELONGING TO THE SCHOOL DEPARTMENT.
LOCATION.
Material.
Stories.
Size.
No.of School
Rooms.
Condition.
Estimated
Value.
Size of Lots,
sq. feet.
Estimated
Value per
Amount.
Total Value
of Houses
and Lots.
High' ..
.
Brick.
3
130 x 87
16
Good.
$125,000
31,672
$1.30
$41,173
$166,173
Belmont Street .
2
92 x 90
16
66
45,000
31,440
25
7,860
52,860
Dix Street .
.
2
96 x 60
11
30,000
24,000
25
6,000
36,000
Sunnyside
...... .
2
107 x 53
10
29,000
25,009
20
5,001
34,001
Winslow Street .....
2
94 x 94
10
26,500
34,858
25
8,715
35,215
Chandler Street ....
2
96 x 60
11
6
28,000
40,000
25
10,000
38,000
Woodland Street ..
2
69 x 41
4
2
5,500
7,188
60
4,313
9,813
Millbury Street. ....
2
78 x 62
9
24,000
52,664
10
5,266
29,266
Millbury Street .....
3
75 x 53
12
33,000
23,433
60
14,060
47,060
Thomas Street ..
.
2
62 × 50
9
6
20,000
9,487
1.30
2,333
32,333
Walnut Street .....
3
52 × 50
10
30,000
17,200
1.25
21,500
51,500
Oxford Street. ..... .
2
75 x 52
8
20,000
12,625
75
9,468
29,468
Sycamore Street ....
2
90 x 62
8
24,000
30,000
12/2
3,750
27,750
New Worcester .....
2
50 x 36
4
9,000
14,900
15
29,184
10
2,918
22,918
South Worcester ...
6
2
75 x 32
8
20,000
34,500
5
1,725
21,725
Quinsigamond ......
4
62 × 50
8
18,000
58,000
50
29,000
47,000
Providence Street ..
2
94 x 94
10
27,100
36,527
15
5,479
32,579
Gage Street ..
.
3
62 × 50
6
13,000
18,150
40
7,260
20,260
East Worcester .....
2
96 x 60
12
27,000
48,040
20
9,608
36,608
Lamartine Street ... Adriatic ...
3
62 x 51
6
15,000
. 25,000
10
2,500
17,500
Adriatic.
3
59 x 51
6
Good.
13,500
13,400
30
4,020
17,520
Ash Street ...
2
64 x 52
4
15,000
24,897
15
3,704
18,704
Wood.
2
46 x 24
2
Fair.
2,000
3,000
16,083
40
6,433
9,433
Brick.
2
62 × 50
4
Good.
12,000
12,555
40
5,022
17,022
Wood.
2
38 x 28
2
Fair.
2,000
11,000
10
1,100
3,100
Brick. ..
1
73 × 30
2
5,500
34,875
500
6,000
Tatnuck ...
.
1
30 x 25
1
Old
300
5,050
75
375
Wood. 66
1
36 x 28
1
Good.
1,500
43,560
100
1,600
Brick.
1
40 x 32
1
Old.
200
14,000
200
400
Bloomingdale ...
1
40 x 33
2
Good.
4,500
22,360
300
3,100
Burncoat Plain .. ·
1
40 x 32
1
Fair.
1,600
20,300
300
1,900
North Pond .... Chamberlain. . .
·
1
38 x 22
1
1,200
21,780
100
1,300
Lake View ...
...
2
46 x 32
2
6,600
29,440
100
6,700
Valley Fails ..
....
1
37 x 33
1
Good.
2,300
30,000
300
2,600
Greendale
.
Total .. .
49
279
$774,950
24.96 acres.
$252,560
$1,027,510
2
2
96 × 60
12
30,000
40,670
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