USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1892-1894 > Part 7
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High School.
At the close of the school year Mr. Fisher resigned as principal of the school in order to engage in another occu- pation than teaching. Mr. Fisher during the nine years that he occupied the position proved himself a teacher of ability and enthusiasm with a deep interest in the school. The vacancy was filled by the appointment of Mr. Ira W. Holt, the principal of the Natick High School. Miss Sim- mons at the same time resigned her position in the school, to the deep regret of the Committee and of all who have been acquainted with the unusual value of her work. Miss Gooding who had acceptably acted as substitute during Miss Simmons' two years' absence was elected in her place.
The school opened in September with eighty-five scholars, the largest number it has ever had. The course of study was at the same time considerably changed. Book-keeping, German, Geology, Mental Philosophy have been added to the branches previously taught and there has been to a lim- ited extent a re-arrangement in the order of taking up studies and in the amount of time devoted to each. It was found possible to make these changes without seriously in- terfering with scholars already in the school, the new course having been arranged so as to conflict as little as possible with the requirements of the old course. As now arranged
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there are four courses viz. : Two Years' Course, General Course, Academic Course and College Course.
Although more than ever hampered in its work by the insufficiency of the building, the school is in other respects in good condition, and with the near prospect of a new building, the outlook is promising for not only maintaining but extending its usefulness.
Changes of Teachers.
The changes at the High School have been already men- tioned. Miss Snelling, an efficient and valuable teacher, resigned her position at the Crosby School at the end of the school year. Miss Hattie A. Snell was appointed in her place. In May Miss Stella M. Grimes was appointed teacher of the fifth grade in the Russell School, a position which had been filled by substitute teachers since the resig- nation of Miss Fell at the end of the previous November. At the beginning of the new school year the increase in the first grade now comprising all the scholars in town of this grade - as explained in the Superintendent's report - necessitated its division. Mr. Freeman was placed in charge of one section and Miss Flanders,- formerly general assistant in the building - of the other. The sixth grade had to be divided also at this time between Miss Warren and Miss Fannie A. Manson. Miss Manson taught but one term, and Miss Ella J. Holmes has recently been appointed in her place. The number of scholars in the third primary grade was also too large for one teacher. Miss Margaret L. Martin was therefore made an assistant to Miss Day, and as soon as a room could be made ready in the Adams build- ing, in the middle of October, the class was divided, Miss Martin's division going to the Adams building.
At the Cutter School, one of the teachers was removed by death, Miss Brady's long illness reaching a fatal termination in May. In her the town has lost a good and faithful teacher, interested in her pupils' welfare and influencing
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them for good. Her sister, Miss Rose Brady, who had been acting as her substitute, was appointed in her place.
Miss Carter, a teacher of experience and efficiency, resigned in April as teacher of the fourth and fifth grades at the Locke School, and Miss Margaret Oakes was chosen to the position. Miss Elizabeth Van Derveer was appointed in February as teacher of the eighth and ninth grades in place of Miss Blake who resigned at the end of the preceding term.
Buildings and Repairs.
The most important action of the town during the year was in relation to a new school building. The condition of the High School called more than ever for relief and the Russell building also had every room occupied and one class left over which had to be put in the Adams building. The town, at a meeting held September 29, appointed a building committee to report, a definite plan for a new building. This committee brought before the town, at an adjourned meeting held November 14, a plan which met the unanimous ap- proval of the meeting. Comprising accommodations for high and upper grammar grades, the building will meet the needs of the schools and it may be confidently hoped that its completion will give opportunity for decided improve- ments in our school system.
At the Crosby School, the grounds have been properly graded and the plastering and blackboards repaired. This school-house is in fairly good condition for an old building. The growth of the east part of the town will, however, call before long for enlarged school accommodations.
At the Russell School, the smaller of the two boilers was found to have become so worn out and useless that it was removed during the spring vacation. Four new radiators were placed in the upper story in rooms and entries that were imperfectly heated. Except the addition of thirty new seats for the first grade no other alterations beside ordinary slight repairs have been made.
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SCHOOL COMMITTEE'S REPORT.
At the Locke School, the outhouses have been thoroughly repaired. New seats have been placed in Miss Evans' room.
As the Adams building had not been occupied by schools for many years considerable work in cleaning, painting, etc., had to be done to prepare a room for the primary school now established there.
No important repairs were necessary at the Cutter School .. Considerable trouble and expense has been caused by the malicious breaking of windows in the building on several occasions.
The full report of the Superintendent of Schools makes it unnecessary to extend this report to greater length. The Committee believe that the changes introduced this year are for the good of the schools, and that the results will be found beneficial to the scholars and satisfactory to the town.
Approved by the Board.
JAMES P. PARMENTER, Chairman.
JANUARY, 1893.
REPORT
OF THE
SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS.
To the School Committee of Arlington :
GENTLEMEN : The first annual report which I have the honor of submitting to you covers only about seven months of service.
When I began work, May 15, 1892, I found 827 pupils attending the public schools of Arlington. They were accommodated in four buildings, as follows :
Cotting High School, Academy street, 55; Russell School, Grammar and Primary, Medford street, 395 ; Crosby School, Primary, Winter street, 98; Cutter School, Grammar and Primary, Arlington avenue, 137; Locke School, Grammar and Primary, Park avenue, 142.
In general the organization and grading seemed to be good, but a close examination of the situation showed that the Locke and Cutter schools were laboring under serious disadvantages. At the Locke School, Miss Copeland had three classes, grammar grades, studying a variety of sub- jects, in one room. It was necessary for her, counting five recitations for each class, to hear fifteen recitations every school day (five and a half hours). Although it was possi- ble occasionally to combine two classes for instruction, little time could be saved in this way, and there were cir- cumstances peculiar to the school which prevented any such adjustment. Miss Van Derveer's room, primary, was
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crowded, making it impossible for her to give each pupil that individual attention which the youngest pupils should receive.
At the Cutter School the same conditions existed in the primary room, Miss DeBlois's, and similar conditions in the upper grammar grades, Mr. Soule's room, though he had smaller classes than Miss Copeland.
To remedy these defects it had been suggested that all the first class grammar pupils in town should be brought to the Russell School, where special attention could be given them by the principal and his assistant, and more interest awakened in home study and in advanced lines of work, preparatory to the High School course.
After a careful consideration of various plans, you de- cided, wisely, I think, to have the first grammar class attend school at the Russell building from 8 to 12.30 each day and to so classify the Cutter and Locke Schools that no teacher in town should have more than two classes or be responsible for more than two years of work.
At the Russell School the crowded condition of the low- est primary room and the fifth and sixth grammar rooms suggested the necessity of forming two new classes by mak- ing parallel grades. Hence arrangements were made to open the unoccupied room, and to have two fourth grammar and two sixth grammar classes. When the fall term opened every room in the Russell building was occupied, and still the lowest primary class numbered 76 pupils. Arrange- ments were therefore made to give Miss Day an assistant, and one of the rooms in the Adams building was fitted up for the accommodation of the lowest division of her class.
These changes in the classification of the Russell School suggested the advisability of making a few more, to remedy certain defects in organization which were manifest to the superintendent soon after he began to inspect the schools. The average age of pupils in the upper grammar classes seemed high and a careful analysis of the facts showed plainly that it would be safe to make the plan of promotions
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at the Russell School more flexible in order to give pupils who were ready to do extra work a fairer chance to cover the nine years' course in seven or eight years. Some change seemed necessary, so a decided change was made. Twelve pupils were promoted to the first grammar class, their places filled by special promotions from the class below, and so on through several classes, the basis of promotion in each case being special ability or faithfulness proven by the recitations and written examinations of the previous year. These changes, we believe, have been beneficial, not only to the pupils promoted but to all classes in the Russell build- ing. " The wall of partition," separating each class is not broken down but lowered at various points so that it may be more easily scaled at any time by pupils who are willing to work faithfully, diligently and persistently. It is our pur- pose to prepare for and make more special promotions next year. They encourage and stimulate individual effort and are an effective antidote for that "hard and fast," " cast iron " plan of classification which develops the mechanism of our educational system at the expense of the child's individ- uality. These are the only important changes which have been made in school organization during the past year.
Statistics.
At present, January 1, 1893, there are in the public schools of Arlington 959 children, accommodated and classi- fied as follows :
COTTING HIGH SCHOOL 86 ; first class 9, second 10, third 25.
RUSSELL SCHOOL 502; first Grammar (two rooms) 60, second 40, third 37, fourth (two rooms) 71, fifth 41, sixth (two rooms) 87.
First Primary 44, second 40, third (two rooms) 82.
LOCKE SCHOOL 129; second and third Grammar 27, fourth and fifth 26, sixth Grammar and first Primary 38, second and third Primary 38.
ยท CUTTER SCHOOL 138; second and third Grammar 15,
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fourth and fifth Grammar 33, sixth Grammar and first Pri- mary 42, second and third Primary 48,
CROSBY SCHOOL 101 ; first and second Primary 58, third Primary 43.
It may be noted that the whole number in actual attend- ance January 1, 1893 (959), is 132 larger than on the first day of June, 1892. The increase has been largest at the High and Russell Schools.
The whole number of children registered during the year is, of course, much larger than the actual whole number who have attended school in town during the year, because many names are repeated on the school registers by different teachers, as pupils pass from one room to another, by trans- fer or promotion. This number is sometimes given as the whole number of children attending school, but it is ob- viously too large, because every pupil transferred from one school to another is counted twice.
It is given for each class in the statistical table appended to this report.
We present here a summary of the remaining statistics given in that table.
The number of different pupils attending school in town during the year has been 1127.
Every pupil who has attended school in Arlington during the year begin- ning January 1, 1892, and ending January 1, 1893, is counted in this num- ber. It includes some who have come and gone,-the floating population- some who have left school to work or on account of sickness, all who have graduated from the High School during the year, and those attending school at present.
The number over 15 years of age has been '148
The number under 5 years of age has been 8
The number between 8 and 14 years of age has been 971
The average number attending this year has been 918
This is smaller than the present number (959), because the whole num- ber of pupils during the first half of the year was much smaller than during the last six months.
The average daily attendance has been 832
The ratio of daily attendance has been 90
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
The average daily attendance is much smaller than the present number in attendance, because so many new pupils have entered school since September 1, and because the at- tendance in various rooms during the first half of the school year was irregular and inconstant, on account of sickness and other causes noted in the statistical table. We wish that every parent who has been accustomed to allow his children to leave school at irregular periods, for a longer or shorter time, could look over the record books of the teachers, as I have lately, and see how large a majority of those who are dragging along in the upper classes discour- aged and uninterested are there, in that condition, altogether, because their previous course of study has been broken up and disjointed by an occasional absence of two or three days and sometimes even of a week or fortnight; not generally on account of sickness, but for pleasure or some slight profit pecuniarily. No ordinary pecuniary gain can compensate a pupil for time lost in the lower grades of our grammar schools, because much of the interest and inspiration of the advanced work and all in it that makes for utility in after life depends upon the thorough and systematic instruction of the preceding two or three years. Knowledge, interest, enthusiasm and a habit of punctuality-these are gained by attending school every day while the schools are in session. With vacations and holidays as frequent as at present, it only needs the exercise of a little care and attention on the part of parents to remedy what has become a very serious evil in. Arlington. Let us take care.
Administration and Work.
Most of the time not given to details of business con- nected with my office has been spent in visiting schools. Some one of the schools being in session each school day continuously from 8 A. M. to 3.30 P. M., it is possible for the Superintendent to visit each school at least once a fortnight.
In visiting schools it is not his purpose to discover petty
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
faults. He tries to ascertain indirectly by quiet observation what, first of all, is the spirit and tone of each school, what attitude of mind the children sustain toward knowledge and ignorance, industry and indolence, in connection with the manifest results attained by their daily work; for the ethical atmosphere of the school-room has more to do with mental development than tasks assigned or lessons recited.
Another purpose must govern the number, time and length of his visits to each school ; namely, to ascertain ex- actly what the character of the instruction is, for while it is partly true that the teacher makes the school, it is altogether true that good teaching makes a good school. Troublesome cases of discipline, confirmed cases of truancy, irregularity of attendance, and kindred evils are not commonly found where the instruction is really good, that is, simple, interest- ing, thorough and practical.
The third aim of wise supervision, as I understand it, is to broaden the work of the public schools. People who labor in the midst of a busy, bustling, hustling world can hardly realize how surely the tendencies of school-room life are opposed to those of the world of affairs. The narrow- ing influences of the school-room may be no worse than the superficial and distracting tendencies of worldly life, but they are contrary the one to the other, and if no attempt is made to reconcile them, how can our schools be expected to fit boys and girls for the push and rush of business life? It is possible, I believe, for the school superintendent, stand- ing as it were between the school-room and the busy world, to introduce into all the schools under his charge incidentally, but continuously and persistently, by suggestion, conversa- tion or examination, such vitalizing elements as will counter- act the predominating influences of method and routine.
The fourth purpose I try to keep in mind while exercising my prerogative as inspector and director, is to secure unity of aim and method among the teachers. For lack of this, there has been a great waste of time and effort in public school work, especially where schools are closely graded.
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
Miss A is quite sure to give special attention to one line of work, Miss B to another, and so on, while both may be em- ploying methods which counteract each other. Is such work economical? In any other sphere of labor, except school teaching, would a sensible man expect a fair return for money invested if his workmen were doing each a part of the work without reference to what others were doing to complete the whole? Yet it is not advisable to try to secure mechanical uniformity in teaching, for teaching is not a trade but an art- the highest of all arts. A superin- tendent of schools cannot organize and unify his work by issuing arbitrary directions to be followed exactly.
" In this respect his work is radically different from that of a superintendent of a manufacturing industry. Educa- tional work must be directed by directing the thinking of the teachers who do the teaching. They must be led to comprehend clearly the principles on which the work is based and thus to view and criticise the details of methods and devices in the light of such principles. The most valu- able, and, at the same time the most responsible part of the superintendent's work is to lead (or train, if necessary) the teachers, whose work he is directing, to do their own think- ing."*
In a system of schools the trend of thought among all teachers should be about the same, but each teacher should be led to think in lines not narrow as her school-room but broad as the whole work.
All progress, all changes in methods of teaching, all unity of purpose and economizing of time and labor becomes val- uable and comes to stay when it comes as the outgrowth of an intelligent apprehension of the principles of education.
The two means I have employed to direct and organize, to unify and improve our educational work have been :
1. Teachers' Meetings, where lessons have been given on the principles and methods of teaching ; and
*From Report of Superintendent T. M. Balliet, Springfield, Mass.
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
2. Personal Observation and Criticism in Special Lines of Work.
Teachers' meetings have been held nearly every week, generally on Wednesday from 4 to 5 o'clock, and although every teacher was not required to be present at every meet- ing few teachers have been absent from any meeting without a good excuse.
We have considered in particular three lines of work, - reading, writing, and geography. Very little, if anything, has been said to or by the teachers about any other subjects of study. This is according to the plan which I presented to you and which was accepted by you at the time of my election, namely, improvements will be attempted in one or two branches of study at a time. All changes are to be made slowly and carefully. No results shall be required until sufficient time has been given to produce them. On account of the faithfulness and efficiency of the teachers it is possible for me to report already some improve- ment in reading. At the beginning of the fall term I examined every pupil, in the primary and grammar schools, in this subject, that I might have some criterion from which to measure progress. Examinations were also given in writing in June, and the specimens of penmanship taken at that time have been kept for comparison.
A simple outline of work for the year, not a detailed course of study, was prepared and printed during the sum- mer vacation. To give the citizens some idea of what we are attempting in the three subjects (reading, writing and geography) which are receiving special attention, I reprint the following paragraphs,
Reading.
Two distinct lines of work are indicated here :
I. Train pupils to read at sight, Information Reading. Books will be furnished as rapidly as possible, in the different grades.
II. Train pupils to read repeatedly, carefully and thoughtfully, Literature. Standard selections - complete, not scraps - will be provided in each grade.
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
Teachers will be required to keep a list of the selections or books read in each line. They are also advised to keep a list of the words learned from day to day.
Steps III. and II. Primary.
Sight Reading from the blackboard, Reading Charts and books of First Reader grade. Drill Reading from Literary Selections furnished.
I. Primary.
Sight Reading from the blackboard, written or printed slips and books of Second Reader grade. Teach the Vocabulary given in "The Riverside Manual" and " The Riverside First Reader." Drill Reading from Scudder's Fables, Andersen's Stories, Hawthorne and Longfellow.
VI., V., and IV. Grammar.
Sight Reading from Science, Geographical and Biographical Readers and other books of Third Reader grade. Drill Reading from Hawthorne, Longfellow, Whittier, Burroughs and other standard authors.
1
` III., II., and I. Grammar.
Sight Reading : Biography, History, Travels and Science.
Drill Reading : American and English Literature.
Pupils will be examined in both Sight and Drill Reading.
Penmanship. Two Courses of Instruction Necessary.
1. GENERAL. Each child must be trained to copy carefully and neatly every word, phrase or sentence learned. In higher grades every exercise in writing may be a training in accuracy of eye, in steadiness and flexibility of hand, and in obedience and cleanliness.
2. SPECIAL. Special instruction should be given that the pupils may learn one thing at a time, and each thoroughly - the straight line, the correct slant, the connecting curve, the capital curve, etc.,- in a natural order based upon a proper classification of the script letters.
III. Primary.
Teach i, u, n, m, A, and T. Present each letter as a whole on the blackboard. Excite curiosity. Appeal to the imagination. Lead pupils to analyze each letter, unconsciously.
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SCHOOL SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
II. Primary.
Teach v, w, c, e, o, a, F, N, M. In teaching give large copy. Teach by comparison.
I. Primary.
Teach d, g, q, j, t, y, 1, b, I, J, H, K, P, B. Teach penholding without ink.
VI. Grammar.
Teach all the small letters and capitals. Practise movement exercises. Write on paper with ink.
V., IV., and III. Grammar.
Review carefully all the letters and use one copy book as a model.
Secure accuracy. and finish.
II. and I. Grammar.
Teach shading. Require rapid and free movement.
Methods and Directions. 1. Have pupils write a great deal always at the top of effort. 2. Give exercises to make the muscles strong and flexible. 3. Give exercises to make the muscles firm, obedient to the will. 4. Give special attention to the strengthening of the will. The will unlocks power and meas- ures the amount of energy it chooses to liberate. 5. Have pupils do a little and do it well. 6. Make all stimulation as far as pos- sible subjective. 7. Be sure that interest and pleasure attend all drill. 8. Require pupils to write lightly. 9. Require smooth- ness, accuracy and finish first, rapidity afterwards. 10. Teach and train unconsciously all you can. Use double lines = =
General Directions. 1. Carry forward each method steadfastly to the end. 2. Remember that " practice makes perfect." 3. Use slate and blackboard a great deal. Form not finish. 4. Teaching and training should be logically separate in the mind of the teacher, but carried forward simultaneously. The second is subordinate to the first, but one can never take the place of the other, or precede it altogether in time. 5. Do not allow the child to follow an ideal standard too soon. 6. Realize the true char- acter and importance of the work, Education and Training. The End of all Teaching and Training should be - To have pupils write well, not simply in a writing book, but anywhere.
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