USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Arlington > Town of Arlington annual report 1956 > Part 16
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Mental Growth - Language-To know his own nanie; to know his address and telephone number; to know his parents' names; to know his own age; to learn to speak distinctly; to learn to listen; to learn to ask questions; to learn to speak in sentences; to learn that pictures tell stories; to learn new words and meanings; to learn to create stories; to learn to dictate stories.
Reading Readiness - To develop eye and hand coordination; to learn to read from left to right; to learn to observe likenesses and differences; to learn to recognize rhyming sounds; to learn
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to recognize beginning and ending sounds; to learn picture se- quences; to learn to recognize that letters make words; to learn to recognize his own name.
Writing - To have a general recognition of letters; to learn to write his first name in manuscript using upper and lower case letters.
Number - To recognize numbers through ten; to learn to write numbers through ten; to learn number concepts through ten; to count by rote to 25; to increase number vocabulary; to begin to understand use and value of money; to learn to tell time.
Music - To learn to sing in a light clear voice; to learn to sing songs; to learn to respond to rhythm; to learn singing games and dances; to learn to create melodies.
Science - To learn more about the world in which the child lives; to observe and participate in simple experiments; to dis- cover how things grow; to learn how to care for pets.
Art -To learn the primary and secondary colors; to experi- ment with clay, crayon, paints and other media; to be aware that art is a means of self-expression.
As an adjunct to the in-service training program for teachers, the Arlington Public Schools, in cooperation with the Massachusetts Association for Mental Health, has been conducting a Mental Health Workshop for elementary and junior high teachers, adminis- trators and supervisors.
Six groups of 15 members each, meet with leaders to discuss everyday school situations which develop as teachers work with children. Teachers participating in the workshop receive credit for professional improvement, but the expense is borne by the teachers and the meetings take place after school hours. The present workshops will be followed by another 15 two-hour weekly series for secondary school teachers.
As another aspect of our Wednesday afternoon in-service pro- gram for elementary teachers, each grade met separately with the reading consultant. At these meetings current trends and research in the field of reading were discussed. We are always seeking new ways and means to increase a child's readability. All the researchi emphatically agreed that phonics were one necessary phase in growth in reading, but not the total picture. If children are to make real progress in reading, they must be taught to read with meaning. As a result of these in-service meetings, it was decided that our emphasis for the year would be placed on reading with meaning. This emphasis on meaning is consistent with the prepara- tion of children to become effective citizens. Passive acceptance of surface meaning is not enough. Children need to think as they read and it is the school's responsibility to develop wide, permanent carry-over interests in reading. This is not possible if children fail to understand what they are reading. As soon as children become aware of the fact that they will be questioned about the deeper meanings and underlying significances of the printed page, they will begin to think as they read. As the material increases in complexity, the questions become more and more analytical, so that children are required to become more and more discerning. Many purposes for reading in the classroom are developed to
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guide children in this skill for reading with meaning. Some of these various skills include reading to: find answers to specific questions; find the central thought of a selection; follow the sequence of related facts; enjoy the factors or story; find the most important points and supporting details: judge the validity of statements; draw valid conclusions; remember what is read; fol- low directions with reasonable speed and accuracy. In our constant effort to develop the mechanics of reading, our final aim is to make reading an experience that will enrich the child's life now and in the years to come. This goal will not be achieved unless we have taught the child the skill of reading with meaning. If the child is to mature in reading, provisions must be made for his growth in basic nieanings and understandings. At the end of the sixth grade, boys and girls should get more personal valnes from their reading. Their capacity for emotional response increases and they gain understandings of other people and their own problems.
With the opening of the Dallin and Thompson Schools, class sizes in the elementary grades, for the first time in many years, are at a level where considerable individual attention can be given by teachers to a large majority of our pupils. Exclusive of kinder- garten, only 9 of 129 elementary classrooms have an enrollment of more than 30 pupils. However, this ratio cannot be maintained for very long unless some relief is found for the increase in pupil population in the Indian Ridge section. In accordance with the recommendation made by the School Committee in 1953 to the Town Committee of Advanced Programming and Budgeting, the construction of an elementary school on the land on Pheasant Avenue, controlled by the School Committee, would solve the increased enrollment problem in the Peirce, Cutter and Bishop Schools. It would also locate a school in a central area which is rapidly growing and would solve the school housing and con- struction problem for the future.
Because of the inadequate libraries in the elementary schools, a joint committee composed of members of the Library Trustees, three members of the School Committee, the Superintendent and the Town Librarian, have undertaken the study of elementary school library facilities. Although the Arlington Public Library has been most cooperative in extending itself to the limit in pro- viding books and librarian service in our elementary schools, the fact remains that these services are now woefully inadequate in meeting the needs of our pupils. Recommendations made in the proposed budgets for 1957 of both the School Committee and the Library Trustees, should begin to fulfill some of our school library needs.
One of the most unusual innovations in our elementary schools has been in the establishing of a complete weather station at the Parmenter School, donated by the Parent-Teacher Association. A series of lectures was given to the sixth grade by a parent who is a member of the United States Weather Bureau. Reading from the instruments are taken twice daily and recorded on government charts. Forecasts are made to the classrooms each day from the information gathered. The weather teams, composed of 6th grade pupils, are rotated each week, giving everyone in that grade an opportunity to participate. This weather station is a phase of a project called the Friends of Science. The purpose of this project is to introduce interested children to a wide variety of science activities. Speakers on any topic of science were invited from the
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parents of the school. Among the topics that will be presented are: the lunar eclipse; sub-zero temperatures; jet flight; elements of psychology; elements of anatomy and mathematics. This entire science project was organized and planned by two sixth grade teachers and a parent's committee. It is an excellent example of cooperation between the home and the school, and the use of community resources in our teaching program.
Arlington's oldest school building, the Russell School on Medford Street, which served the community since 1872, closed in June of this year. The Parent-Teacher Association sponsored a farewell party on June ninth, and several hundred former students and teachers gathered for the occasion. This three story building was, at one time, the only school in Arlington and served all grades. The Russell School was named for the Honorable James Russell who served on the School Committee from 1820-1841. It was he who gave to the town the land commonly known as Russell Park, which was used as the school playground.
THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOLS
The major problem in both junior high schools continues to be the over crowded conditions. In many cases, classes have been expanded to numbers greater than the physical standard class- room size of thirty-five. In one of the junior high schools, classes are conducted in the auditorium and cafeteria. This situation will exist until such time as the high school addition will permit the transfer of the ninth grade to the high school building.
Throughout the year, the faculties of the junior high schools have been engaged in revising the courses of study under the supervision of the respective heads of the department of the High School. With the exception of Mathematics and Social Studies, the courses of study have been completed and duplicated.
At the Junior High West, four different teacher workshops have been organized to study and make recommendations concern- ing major academic problems. One group is concerned with evaluat- ing a new comprehensive orientation program involving incoming seventh graders. A second group of teachers is making a survey of the method of handling discipline. A third group is studying various problems of a practical nature which a pupil meets as he goes through a school day and a fourth group is concerned with home study problems.
At the Junior High School East, a special study is in pro- gress of how and where instruction for all pupils on "How to Study" may be successfully implemented in the junior high pro- gram. Attempts at teaching this in the past to pupils have not been too successful, but the present study seems encouraging. It is expected that sufficient progress will be made so that an effective unit on "How to Study" will be offered to junior high school pupils beginning in September, 1957.
THE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
In the High School this year much emphasis is being placed upon the development of an effective general course. Each year about 45% of the Senior Class goes on to higher education from the college preparatory course. The content of this course is vir-
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tually dictated by the standard college entrance requirements. The Commercial Course offers three curricula for those who desire business training, and this concerns about 35% of the senior class. This leaves a challenge to the school to make the General Course for the remaining 20% as meaningful as possible, for it is from this group that the largest percentage of drop-outs come. General course pupils have individual programs made up with the assist- ance of the Guidance counselors from all the subjects available in the high school, dependent upon the ability and needs of the individual concerned.
The English Department was strengthened this year with the addition of a trained teacher in remedial reading. By special assignment, certain pupils who have reading difficulties meet in small groups with this teacher, and, although it is too soon to record results, it is felt that this program will be of great value for those pupils toward better scholarship.
Special notice should be made of the placing of one of our gifted students at Radcliffe College with advanced standing in Latin. This was made possible through the initiative and interest of Miss Rounds of the Latin Department, who tutored this student during her free time. As other unusual students present thein- selves, a similar program is planned in other study areas. This procedure for the present seems to be our only solution for the unusually gifted pupil.
The philosophy of encouraging student initiative and leader- ship has paid its dividends in many gratifying ways during this year. Once again, the Student Council raised sufficient money to invite a foreign student to attend Arlington High School for the vear. Under the auspices of the American Field Service, Miss Christian Nyqvist, a student from Stockholm, Sweden, was selected.
Another extra-curricula advance was the establishing of an Allied Youth Post at Arlington High School. This is a nation- wide organization whose purpose is to establish the fact that alcoholic drinking at the high school age is not acceptable or necessary. Nine students attended a National Convention of over 500 delegates from 45 states and Canada at Buck Hill Falls, Pennsylvania. Over 150 students are full-fledged members of the Arlington post.
VOCATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
Arlington Vocational High School graduated 41 in June 1956, 30 of whom went to work at the trade for which they received training. Three boys were employed at work allied to their trade, 7 enlisted in the armed forces while one went on for further education. Thirteen of the graduates had been in our Part-time Cooperative School and were employed at their trade on alternate weeks during most of their Senior year.
During this school year, the Ford Motor Company contributed to the Auto Shop a new '56 eight cylinder motor which is to be set up for use in our related class room. The Machine department has acquired two new lathes, one with complete accessories from the Massachusetts State Agency for Surplus Property. A DoAll bandsaw was also purchased and it is planned, over several years,, to gradually replace some of the older machine tools that were obtained from the State as Surplus Property.
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PUPIL PERSONNEL SERVICES
Since last year, the Arlington Public Schools has added an Elementary School Adjustment Counselor to its staff. Because this position is rather unique in public schools, a detailed statement follows as to how this individual operates in our program. It is the function of the elementary counselor to deal with the many types of unusual behavior that invariably arise when a large group of children attend school. One child may be aggressive towards other children and disobedient to the teacher; another child may daydream in the classroom and not do any work in spite of good or even high intelligence; and a third one may exhibit temper tantrums whenever he fails or when the slightest demands are made on him.
A thorough study of the individual child is usually needed to find out just why the child behaves in such an unacceptable manner. Usually the teacher and the principal have already had one or more interviews with the child's mother to enlist her help. In a great many cases such cooperation between school personnel and mother helps the teacher to understand why Johnny iniis- behaves. However, when such interviews do not throw any further light on the problem, the Adjustment Counselor is asked for further suggestions.
The method which this Adjustment Counselor has used to understand the underlying causes of problem children is the technique of the clinical psychologist. To ask a child why he hits other children, why he consistently disobeys, why he daydreams, will not be of any avail because the child does not know. The causes of his misbehavior are nearly always unconscious, and, in the few cases where the child has some dim awareness of the reasons, he would be afraid to admit them. These children usually think of themselves as "bad children" as they may often be called by exasperated adults.
Projective tests have been called the X-rays of the mind; they are the tools of the clinical psychologist to ascertain the unconscious thoughts, feelings and attitudes of children and adults. By telling stories to vaguely drawn pictures, which could mean a variety of things, the subject indicates what he thinks are the most important features of these pictures. By interpreting irregular shapes of inkblots, the child reveals how much fantasy and how much sense of reality he has, and most of all, how he handles his emotions when he is confronted with a new and fearful situation. Drawings and doll play are also used, especially for the young child, to find out how he feels about school, his playmates, his family, and other aspects of his environment.
Such a diagnostic testing and interview session takes five to six hours and is usually distributed over two or three mornings. Most children enjoy these informal testing situations. Although some have to overcome the initial uneasiness of the new experi- ence, many want to come back to "play more games" with the counselor. The child is frequently praised in order to involve his whole personality in the tasks asked of him. The more secure and relaxed, the more will the child feel free to talk about himself, and the more energy will he have available for good work. Under such favorable conditions, a disturbed child's I.Q. may some- times be considerably higher than under the usual less personal
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testing situation in the classroom. Children who remain shy and unresponsive after hours of friendly conversation and play, reveal in this way that they suffer from serious anxieties.
After the interview, the counselor prepares a comprehensive report on his findings and discusses with teacher and mother what would be the best steps to take. If the psychological find- ings indicate that the child's difficulty might be of a physical or organic nature, a referral to the Children's Hospital, or a private physician, or a neurologist is suggested to the parents. If the child's difficulty seems to have a deep-seated emotional basis, the child is referred to a Child Guidance Clinic. A psychological re- port of the adjustment counselor usually speeds the long pro- cess of waiting for an appointment at sonie of these clinics. How- ever, if the chid's behavior is of a less serious nature and needs. primarily, a deeper understanding of the causes of his atypical behavior, then the adjustment counselor tries to work out the difficulty with the child, the teacher and the mother. Whenever possible, the mother is referred to the Family Society to be helped toward a better understanding of the close relationship between a mother's attitude and her child's behavior. Sometimes other members of the family, the father, or the brothers and sisters, are also involved.
A fully employed adjustment counselor can take care of about 50 children a year for a thorough psychological study, if. she also takes over a share of the therapeutic work. Some children take, of course, much more time than others. Children with school phobia and pre-delinquent children have been the type of cases that have taken an unusually large amount of the adjustment counselor's time. Some mothers and teachers keep in touch with the counselor to report on progress or lack of it, and this follow- up contact is very important, but time-consuming. It would be desirable if an additional adjustment counselor could be added to the team. Then one could spend most of her time with diagnos- tic and play therapy work with the children as well as conferences with teachers, for which there is now not sufficient time, and the other could concentrate on the counseling of mothers and make the contacts with the various children's agencies and clinics.
During the year of 1956, the Division of Pupil Personnel Services set up a second Special Class located at the Crosby School, servicing the three East Arlington elementary schools. The additional special class enables the system to reach youngsters in need of this type of education at an earlier age. This helps to reduce the personality and social problems which may arise when these pupils meet with constant frustration in the regular primary grades.
The polio epidemic of the fall of 1955 has made heavier demands on the Home Instruction program, necessitating the use of two part-time teachers at the secondary level. Special school programs and counseling have been arranged for these and other physically handicapped children whose schooling has been tem- porarily interrupted. In conjunction with our transportation pro- gram, we have been able to have two more polio convalescents attend the Boston Industrial School for Crippled Children where they can receive the specialized care and program which they require.
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The increase in the need for specialized schooling for the sight-saving, blind, crippled and mentally handicapped has taxed our own transportation facilities to the point where an additional part-time driver is being utilized. This driver, through the co- operation of the Town Manager, uses a car borrowed from another town department. The need for another car in our department is pointed up by the present transportation situation. Afternoon schedules are now so tight that a five minute traffic delay pre- vents the schedule from operating in a satisfactory manner.
The Home Instruction program would better serve the out- of-school group if it were increased from the minimum require- ment of two hours per week to three hours per week. None of our recent convalescents or permanently handicapped youngsters has ever been restricted by a physician to short hours of study. Except for the student of high ability, most pupils require more explanation of assignments than it is possible to give in two hours per week.
The High School Guidance Department is particularly con- cerned about the increasing number of good students who will be applying for entrance into the colleges in the next few years. As competition is keener, good preparation is more essential than it has ever been and every effort is being made to point out to our pupils the importance of maintaining a good high school record. These students must be made to realize that their col- lege admission's record is not made in just the year before high school graduation, but begins with the ninth grade.
The Guidance Department continued participation in the Youth Growth study of the Educational Testing Service. This study is planned to measure the effects of growth in the characteristics measured by the verbal and mathematical tests of the College Board Scholastic Aptitude Test. After each test during the past year, the counselors have received a report of our students' per- formances. These reports have been helpful to the counselors and have been valuable supplements to our own testing program.
In May, the Arlington High School gave the Advanced Place- ment Examinations of the College Entrance Examination Board. These examinations are offered to able students, who, after doing advanced college level work in high scohol, wish to demonstrate their readiness for courses more advanced than those usually studied in the freshman year.
In October, our senior group again took part in the Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test. As a result of last year's test, an Arlington High School boy was one of the national winners of the Sears-Roebuck Foundation Scholarships, and is now attending Amherst College. Three pupils this year qualified for Merit Scholar- ships. This is a larger number than qualify in most high schools throughout the country.
The class graduating in June, 1956, in addition to the Thomp- son Scholarships, was awarded more than $24,000. in scholarships from such colleges as Bryn Mawr, Tufts, Cornell, Brown, Harvard, Northeastern, Boston University, Simmons, Purdue, Barnard and Bates.
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Again this year, the job-placement bureau within the High School Guidance Department has been most active. During 1956, 678 pupils and graduates were placed on full-time and part-time jobs. A survey made on November 15 indicates that part-time employment is at the highest level it has been for the past five years. A total of 415 students, (32.5% of the school enrollment) are earning $7,531.29 a week. The average weekly earning is $18.15. Last year 52% of the students were working from eleven to twenty hours. This year, 63% of the students are working from twenty-one to thirty hours per week. The Assistant Principals are working closely with the Guidance Department to make certain that the students who are being placed on jobs are not jeopardizing their school or attendance records.
Career conferences have been continued during the school year to help students learn more about occupations from men and women actually engaged in various fields of work. These confer- ences have been held through the cooperation of professional and business men and women of Arlington, Greater Boston and North- eastern University. In addition to these conferences, the Arlington Rotary Club has initiated a program now in operation in which members in the various fields of work have offered to act as advisory groups to our students.
The speech correction program is concerned with pupils who have trouble communicating; pupils who are unusually self- conscious while speaking; or pupils whose speech peculiarity calls attention to itself. The types of difficulties found among pupils in our schools include; articulatory; voice, stuttering, de- layed speech, cleft palate, cerebral palsy, and various combina- tions of these. Referrals of speech handicapped pupils to the speech consultant are made by teachers who notice the need for speech therapy. Of the 346 referrals in September of 1956, 179 are new cases. Pupils referred in 1955 who have improved to a point where they no longer need speech correction number 95. A total of 564 cases have received speech help since September, 1954. Some of these, although not referred this year, require periodic follow-up. Every effort is made to give as much time as possible to the kindergartens where good speech habits may be readily substituted for the numerous bad ones, and to the special classes where the speech tool is so important. The speech consultant is establishing on the junior level, a speaking voice clinic for young people who display inadequate volume. The goal of the speech program is to provide speech improvement opportunity for all pupils. However, to be effective, an additional instructor is badly needed, but was not included in the budget for the coming year because of our many other needs. It is intended to request an additional speech therapist in the 1958 budget.
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