USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1912 > Part 11
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82 39.2
VIII
6
32
46
48 . 18
2
152
68 44.7
IX.
1
37
42
39
32
9
4
2
166
47 28.3
97 211|204 229 200 207 199 205 157 127
59
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5
2 1913
521 27.2
. .
. .
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The figures at the left of the black type tell the number of pupils who are of proper ages for the grades they are in. The other figures represent the number of pupils in each grade who are over age for the grade they are in. A similar table in last year's report shows 24.3% over age against 27.2% shown here. As the number of retardations was unusually small, the past year, the only conclusion to draw is that, of the large number of children who have come from other places into our schools, many are over age. An examination of the registers shows this to be the fact.
I realize that such a tabulation as this, while interesting, means little except to teachers, principals, and superintendent, who realize the seriousness of a condition which we are doing our utmost to improve.
It will be noted that 49 or 2.6% are three years or more retarded. In New Jersey a law has been enacted which requires municipali- ties to gather the children who are retarded three years or more
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into classes of not less than ten or more than fifteen, where they are given special assistance by teachers trained for work of this nature. The State allows $500 toward the support of each such class. Were such a statute in force in Massachusetts, we should be obliged to form three special classes for backward children such as I have suggested elsewhere in this report it would be wise to form.
CHARACTER OF THE PRESENT SCHOOL WORK.
Every one who reads magazines is aware of the criticism, more or less violent, which has been current during the past year. Educators do not condemn at wholesale the attitude of the critics or of the public toward the schools. They recognize it as a neces- sary feature of a rather general realization that the times are demanding a different type of school and of school work from that which has obtained in the past. It is inevitable that most of this violent criticism should come from people who know very little of schools first-hand but who feel competent to give de- structive criticism based largely upon their own experiences with the schools of twenty-five or more years ago. It is an unnecessary as well as futile endeavor to offer any defense of the public schools of today; unnecessary, because their true value is recognized and appreciated by those who really know them, and such only have the right to judge them; and futile, because those who misjudge them upon insufficient evidence can never be convinced that the changes which have taken place in the schools are justified or that the evils which they think they see, and may sometimes really see, are not appreciated by the schools. We have no quarrel with any one who feels that in many respects the schools are not accomplishing all that can be wished. Many entirely proper questions are asked:
"Did not the old schools do their work well? Do these changes, - this broadening of choices, this amplification and increase of subjects - necessarily mark real progress? Do they not rather mean that the school is diffusing itself through too wide a range of subjects, and that its influence is no longer concentrated on the stern and serious things of life, but is so diluted that no work is thoroughly done? Are we not exalting mere change as though it were necessarily important? The work of the world was well
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1
done by young people from our schools of the earlier day, and are we really bettering things?"
During the last quarter of a century the world has been changing very rapidly and it bids fair to change even more rapidly and radically in the next twenty-five years. The schools which did their work well twenty-five years ago would be in no way fitted for the present time, and the schools of twenty-five years hence will be radically different from the schools of today. The struggle for existence is more bitter; the unskilled man has less chance; the home training has become lax and inefficient; the church has not the grip on our young people that it once had; the greater proportion of our people work in factories and foundries, and our boys spend their out-of-school hours no longer at those fine schools of practical training - the farm, the store, the work bench, and the woodshed. With the coming of larger wages, our people no longer raise their own vegetables, or keep their own cows and hens; the store and milk men furnish them at low cost and little effort. Storekeepers hire men and women for clerks and bookkeepers and no longer depend on their sons and daughters to help in out-of-school hours; the carpenter and painter tend to the repairs; the coal and wood dealers deliver fuel ready to burn; and even in the country districts the traveling gasoline engine and circular saw drives up to the house in the morning, and when the boy comes home from school the woodpile is all sawed. Parents will tell you that it is more work to get the boy to do it, than it is to do it themselves, and it can be done so cheaply by the use of power that it is cheaper to hire it done than to do it themselves. Meanwhile the boys are loafing about the streets, post office, or drug store. And so, more and more, the burden of the whole training of boys and girls has been placed on the school, and the school is trying to make up for the de- ficiencies in training which the pupils in the old school had.
Civilization is growing more and more complex and the unrest accompanying all these changes is evident to any one who reads the papers. The world which a pupil enters on leaving school, is vastly different from the one which his father, or even his eldest brother, entered. We have come to recognize the fact that we must train the pupil for his work and also for his leisure. The demand is upon us to give children the kind of work and
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training which will function with their lives out of school. We have not succeeded to an extent of which we are altogether proud yet in these matters, but we have come to realize that our schools must be even more diversified than they are now, if they are to meet the needs of the future. We can no longer say on presenting a school program of studies, "Fit yourself to this program, or get out of school." We must fit the school to the needs of the pupil, and this does not make for weakness.
Most of us remember the old days of schoolhouse fights, district fights, Fourth of July frolics, and bad breaches of discipline which were very common. This is a point not often appreciated by those who hark back to the "good old days of the three R's." The labor disturbances of the past year, however, have impressed upon the schools the need of instilling into the minds of the children a greater respect for law and for the rights of others. The nation and its institutions are very different from the same ones that existed a dozen years ago. The lot of the unskilled workman is harder, while the condition of the skilled laborer is far better. The practical working of the law of elimination of the unfit gives new responsibilities to the community to see that through the schools there shall be few or none unfit. Success is higher up the ladder now than it was even a dozen years ago, yet, because schools are not well adapted to the changed con- ditions, the crowd about the bottom of the ladder increases every year. With these conditions in mind, the organization of the schools of the future will be a difficult task.
So far the efforts of educators to fit pupils for life more success- fully, and to reduce the number of unfit, have resulted in many new types of school. A partial list of these includes: special schools for backward children, special schools for gifted children, open-air schools for anæmic and tubercular children, schools for non-promoted children (vacation schools), summer academic schools, trade schools for boys and trade schools for girls, and industrial schools. In addition to these there are evening schools giving varied programs - academic, vocational, industrial.
Is our Town called upon to furnish any of the types of school in the above list? As the Town grows in size, there will doubtless · be a demand for other educational opportunities beside that of the ordinary day schools. At present the efficiency of the system
1
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would be increased by the formation of a class for backward and defective children. This would relieve the teachers of one of the greatest trials and drawbacks which they are obliged to suffer - that of having in their rooms one or more children who are mentally too deficient to do much of the ordinary school work, but who are not sufficiently deficient to be accepted in a school for feeble-minded. Courses in household arts, including dress- making and millinery for girls, and advanced courses in manual training for boys should be added to the curriculum of the ninth grade and High School. Schools for vocational and industrial training are very expensive, and while in these times opportunities for such training are imperative, it is not obligatory for the Town to furnish such training because of the following law:
CHAPTER 471, ACTS OF 1911.
SECTION 7. 1. Any resident of any city or town in Massachu- setts which does not maintain an approved independent industrial, agricultural or household arts school, offering the type of training which he desires, may make application for admission to such a school maintained by another city or town. The Board of Educa- tion, whose decision shall be final, may approve or disapprove such application. In making such a decision, the Board of Educa- tion shall take into consideration the opportunities for free voca- tional training in the community in which the applicant resides; the financial status of the community; the age, sex, preparation, aptitude and previous record of the applicant; and all other relevant circumstances.
2. The city or town in which the person resides, who has been admitted as above provided, to an approved independent industrial agricultural or household arts school maintained by another city or town, shall pay such tuition fee as may be fixed by the Board of Education; and the Commonwealth shall reimburse such city or town, as provided for in this act. If any city or town neglects or refuses to pay for such tuition, it shall be liable there- for in an action of contract to the city or town, or cities and towns, maintaining the school which the pupil, with the approval of the said Board, attended.
Several State-aided schools have been established which are near enough for students in Arlington to attend. It will probably
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be found that the varying needs of the residents of Arlington to whom this form of instruction appeals, can be met effectively and economically through the schools which these larger munici- palities have established. Following is a list of such schools near enough to the Town to be available:
BOSTON EVENING INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL: Machine drawing, architectural drawing, applied design, auto body design, machine shop, forging, pattern making, free-hand drawing, interior decorat- ing, plumbing, classes for firemen, engineers and janitors.
BOSTON TRADE SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS: Dressmaking, millinery, cloth power machines, straw power machines.
CAMBRIDGE EVENING INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL: Machine shop, pattern making, blacksmithing, mechanical, architectural and free-hand drawing, millinery, sewing.
NEWTON DAY INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL: Machine work, wood- working, electricity, printing.
NEWTON EVENING INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL: Shop mathematics, machine drawing, architectural drawing, machine shop practice, cooking, sewing, dressmaking.
SOMERVILLE INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL. (Boys.) Machine shop, carpentry, cabinet making, pattern making.
SOMERVILLE TRADE SCHOOLS FOR GIRLS: Millinery, dress- making, cooking, academic work, drawing, salesmanship.
EVERETT EVENING INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
WATERTOWN EVENING INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL.
BOSTON INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR BOYS (day and evening).
A few pupils from Arlington are now attending one or another of these schools and there is no doubt, as people come to know of the opportunities offered, that the number will increase and will furnish a new item of expense. The tuition varies from four dollars to twenty-four dollars a month. For each pupil attending the Boston Industrial School for Boys, twenty-four dollars a month must be paid. As half the tuition is refunded to the Town by the State the net cost to the Town will be one hundred and twenty dollars, which is about double the amount it costs for each pupil in our High School.
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THE HIGH SCHOOL.
At this time, when the question of a new High School building is in the public mind, the growth of the High School may be a pertinent topic of discussion. Our High School has increased 247, or 161%, in seven years. This is relatively much faster than the population and much faster than the grade schools. Since September the average membership has been 467. Almost 20% of the school population is in the High School. It is doubtful if any town in the State much exceeds this per cent. Of the cities, Melrose and Newburyport lead with 20%, eight others have 15% or over, while the twenty-three other cities have per cents running as low as 9%. The relative number of pupils in the elementary and High School materially affects the average cost per pupil, because the number of pupils per teacher is about three fifths as great and the salaries of High School teachers are higher. In general it may be said that a pupil in the High School costs the Town more than twice as much as a pupil in the ele- mentary school. This accounts for the increase which will be noted in the table of "expenditures and average cost per pupil" appended to this report. The introduction of a strong commercial course, the enlarging of a number of courses, the increase in choice of subjects allowed in the various courses, changes in method of marking, and minor changes in organization account somewhat for this phenomenal growth. But the greater reason is a larger appreciation of, and desire for, more education on the part of parents. Parents who are poor in purse now wish to give their children better opportunities than they themselves have enjoyed. Occasionally we find people who assert, or with an interesting display of figures try to prove, that the amount of money spent on the comparatively small number in the High School is dis- proportionately larger than any educational returns can possibly justify. While realizing that pursuing the subject of the value of educational returns purely along financial lines is a narrow way of viewing the subject, it may be interesting to draw some in- ferences as to the money value of a High School education. The following table, prepared by the Massachusetts State Bureau of Education as one of the tabulated results of an investigation of State industrial conditions, made by an expert whose researches included a very large number of cases in shops, mills, and factories throughout the State, is of particular interest.
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A
OF CHILDREN WHO LEFT SCHOOL AT 14 YEARS OF AGE.
Weekly Earnings at 14.
$4.00
Weekly Earnings at 15. 4.50
Weekly Earnings at 16. 5.00
Weekly Earnings at 17. 6.00
Weekly Earnings at 18
7.00
Weekly Earnings at 19.
8.50
Weekly Earnings at 20.
9.50
Weekly Earnings at 21.
9.50
Weekly Earnings at 22.
11.75
Weekly Earnings at 23
11.75
Weekly Earnings at 24.
12.00
Weekly Earnings at 25.
12.75
Total amount earned in twelve years $5,722.50
B
OF CHILDREN WHO LEFT SCHOOL AT 18 YEARS OF AGE Four Years spent in Higher Education.
Weekly Earnings at 18.
$10.00
Weekly Earnings at 19.
11.75
Weekly Earnings at 20. 15.00
Weekly Earnings at 21 .
16.00
Weekly Earnings at 22
20.00
Weekly Earnings at 23
21.00
Weekly Earnings at 24.
23.00
Weekly Earnings at 25
31.00
.
Total amount earned in eight years $7,387.55
From the above table one gathers that the additional four years spent after fourteen in higher education endow a man at the age of twenty-five with an increased earning capacity of $949 a year more than the man who left school at fourteen. This increased earning capacity is practically equivalent to a cash investment of twenty thousand dollars in high grade annuities, payable quarterly. Reflection on this table would seem to furnish sufficient argument to convince any one of the value of a High School course. We
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must not forget, however, that there are finer, broader, and deeper views of determining educational values than by economic statis- tics alone. The report of the principal of the High School which is appended is deserving of a careful reading.
GRADE I.
The adoption of one session for first grade children which went into effect last year proved even more successful than we an- ticipated. The first year of school for five-year-old children is a period of adjustment. The child has devoted all his interests up to this time to play. The adjustment of the little mind and body from the broad realm of play to one of quiet application to tasks is not an easy matter. To do this for five hours a day is too much of a strain, and teachers found that the last part of the day was practically valueless as far as activities on the part of the child were concerned. The remarkable thing is that most of the teachers have been able to accomplish almost if not quite as much in one session as formerly was done in two. One reason for this is that teachers have been able to call back for special help in the afternoons pupils who need individual attention. Beside this work the teachers of the first grade are required to help, during the afternoon sessions, pupils of the second and third grades who need extra drill or instruction to keep up with the class. This has been a great aid to the children and to the teachers of the other grades and has resulted in a much smaller number of children having to repeat the work of the first three grades than in past years. We hope to do even better with this arrangement this year, now that we see its possibilities.
WRITING.
We have concluded that the writing in the schools, while legible and neat, does not have enough movement, vitality, or individuality. It is often pretty writing rather than good writing. The outward form has been emphasized rather than the process that should be used. Good, well-established habits of writing have not been formed. Only enthusiasm and energetic and untiring leadership on the part of the instructors will teach writing in the elementary schools as well as it is now taught in the business colleges. Good writing must be made interesting and attractive
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to the children, by precept and by example. It is especially true in this subject that "example teaches more than precept."
In order to establish practical, automatic writing throughout the schools it is necessary that the grade teachers themselves become proficient in writing in the proper form and with the proper forearm movement. Unsystematic, careless, and slipshod writing on the part of teachers is bound to be reflected in the writing of the pupils. With these facts in mind, we employed Miss Helen S. Carleton, a supervisor of long experience, to give a series of ten lessons to the teachers last spring. Some of the teachers were already finished writers because of work done with the Palmer system in other places. Many of the others made wonder- ful improvement through the instruction given, together with long hours of practice outside of school hours. This year Miss Carleton has been employed one day a week to supervise the work of the teachers and pupils in all of the primary and grammar schools. Much enthusiasm has been aroused and the work has been attacked with interest and vigor. The forms of the letters and the degree of slant differ little from those already learned by the pupils, so the emphasis is laid on the movement rather than on form. The muscular arm movement writing, so called, has so far justified its practicability and usefulness with business men, bookkeepers, and others having much writing to do, that we feel sure it has come to stay. The results in the short time since September have been satisfactory generally and in some classes remarkable. In another year we expect to see a great improvement in the penmanship of the children.
PLAYGROUND.
As stated by your chairman, the playground has been improved by the addition of a commodious grandstand and by the grading of a part of the field. The interest of the citizens in the boys and their recreations is shown by the fact that about four hundred men subscribed to the grandstand fund. No other proof is needed of the belief of the citizens in the value of a playground.
The substantial progress of the public playground movement in this country is well set forth in the annual report of H. S. Braucher, Secretary of the Playground and Recreation Associa- tion of America. He shows that during the year forty cities
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have opened supervised playgrounds for the first time. Nearly three million dollars was expended during the year for the ad- ministration of playgrounds, and in twenty cities bond issues to the amount of four and a half million dollars were authorized for recreation purposes. Forty-eight more cities opened their schoolhouses as recreation centers during the year.
An editorial in a Boston paper on this report says, "There is a valuable lesson in that part of the report which shows the worth- lessness of public playgrounds without adequate organization and oversight. In several places playgrounds which lacked instructors and play leaders had to be closed as public nuisances. Such instances discredit the whole playground movement. If the thing is worth doing at all, it is worth doing thoroughly, and happily most cities are going at the matter in a business-like way."
Some provision for a playground instructor who shall be present every afternoon and Saturday when the boys gather on the park for recreation should be made for this year, if the object for which the playground was given is to be attained.
VACATION SCHOOLS.
We can confidently look forward to the time when we shall see all-year schools in most places. Cleveland was the pioneer city to inaugurate such a plan, and last summer Newark tried the experiment of organizing in two schools classes for work during twelve weeks, in the summer. This made a school year for those two schools of forty-eight weeks, allowing a two weeks' vacation in summer, one week at Easter, and one at Christmas. The Superintendent reports that the experiment was successful and that the results obtained were excellent. That many children, unable to go away during the summer, prefer to go to school rather than spend the time in idleness and mischief, has been shown by our experiments with vacation schools. Last year, much to the regret of parents and children in the Russell district, there was no vacation school in the Russell building. This was due to the fact that there were no funds available for carrying on the work.
In the Locke and Crosby districts there were schools opened for five weeks each, beginning July 8. The funds for the support of these schools were furnished by the School Associations, the
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money having been raised largely through entertainments given by the children, lectures, etc.
In the Locke School there were three teachers and the work in- cluded academic work for non-promoted and conditioned children, basketry, cane-seating, embroidery, and playground activities. There was an exhibition of the work at the close of the term which was largely attended. Some representative of the Locke School Association visited the school almost every day and their reports furnish interesting reading. The Association has planned to raise money to continue the school next summer.
At the Crosby School the work was similar to that in the Locke. Here were four teachers employed every morning from nine to twelve o'clock. The attendance was good and the work accom- plished commendable. The Crosby School District Association secured the use of the lot adjoining the school yard for a playground and the Civic Committee of the Woman's Club contributed $150 to pay for a playground director and to provide a limited amount of playground apparatus. - This was a great boon to the district, and the citizens were greatly gratified with the results of this feature, which was carried on in connection with the vacation school. It is planned to continue the work next summer and a series of entertainments has been planned by the Crosby School Association, the proceeds of which shall go towards the summer school.
It is greatly to the credit of the people of Arlington that, once convinced a thing is for the good of the children, they will, as individuals, provide the means for its accomplishment, if the Town cannot.
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