USA > Massachusetts > Essex County > Lynnfield > Town of Lynnfield, Essex County, Commonwealth of Massachusetts, annual report 1961-1970 > Part 39
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107
Future Trends
The citizens of Lynnfield are deeply grateful to Dr. John A. Redmond for his wisdom, judgment, and tact in such a confusing period in sustaining the basic strengths, while incorporating the most val- uable contributions of the new. The pattern of education in Lynnfield today fits the design which is developing for the future in schools across the country.
The excellent teachers, administrators, and materials for learning which are provided cannot give a student a good education; he must take advantage of these opportunities and achieve it for himself. Parents and the adult members of the community play a vital role. The community creates an intellec- tual climate by a good library and by consistent examples of responsible adult behavior, governed by truth and integrity.
In the home there must be intellectual compatibility. The school administration and faculty report a high correlation between the success of the student and real parental encouragement, interest, and love of learning. This is not necessarily measured by any earlier educational advantage of the parents.
Any adult who can read possesses the only requirement to become interested and informed in un- limited areas, and to discuss ideas and world affairs with his children. Such encouragement and com- munication within a home will help stimulate and motivate the student to want to acquire knowedge in a variety of subjects. This is not an easy task in a busy world in which the quotidian demands on a man's or woman's time are chiefly of a physical or material nature, but it is of paramount importance for the child.
If anyone has problems, questions, or suggestions concerning his educational system, he is welcome at the regular meetings of the School Committee which take place the first and third Monday of each month at 8:00 p.m. in the High School Library.
Lynnfield School Committee SHIRLEY T. NORTHRUP CARL F. VanBENNEKOM LOUIS D. SAVAGE, M.D. RICHARD D. MORROW, D.D.S. ROBERT W. DAVIS
46
Superintendent's Report
As your Superintendent, I present this report for the year 1964 with the hope that it will stimulate your interest in your schools, your concern with their problems and your pride in their achievements. The School Department is the agent of the community in the increasingly urgent task of education, and the community must be kept informed about the progress and costs of the educational program.
The increasing tax burden makes us all mindful of the need to seek the maximum educational re- turn for every dollar spent, and to that end we constantly review our goals, revise our methods, and evaluate the dividends on your educational investment.
Dr. John Mahoney, the founder of the Lincoln Filene Center at Tufts, once said,
"The most important business of the American public school is that of making good Amer- ican citizens. It may turn out scholars. It may produce successful men of business. It may educate for culture. It may make it possible for its graduates to make a better living. These and other things it may do and yet possibly fail. The real test of its accomplishment is the kind of citizen it furnishes the Republic. This is its excuse for being. That and that alone, primarily justifies its support from public funds."
We are trying to turn out scholars, to produce men and women who will be successful in business, and to educate for culture; but we try never to lose sight of our primary goal of training responsible citizens who will have the moral courage and integrity to rise above expediency and the hope of private gain, in both personal and public life.
There is no specific course of study, no single grade level where these essential qualifications for citizenship can be taught; but we cannot for this reason neglect consideration of them and merely hope that intellectual development will automatically bring about the moral qualities we believe urgent, even vital, for the survival of our democratic way of life. The spirit of responsibility, with honesty and con- sideration for others, must permeate the whole school system, and we try to develop it both in class- rooms and in extracurricular activities, by setting high ideals and demanding conformity to high stand- ards of individual and group behavior.
It is in this area of training for responsible citizenship that the schools most need the cooperation of the home. School and home must have the support of each other if our efforts are to achieve any notable degree of success.
Progress Encouraging
Academic progress during the year has been encouraging. In order to improve their professional competence, teachers participated in curriculum studies, regional and state conferences, workshops and extension courses. Several received grants for intensive summer programs in their special fields of study. In these ways, the staff has kept alert to the new instructional methods and materials.
As evidence of effective teaching, the results of the Science Research Associates Testing Program show Lynnfield pupils achieving extremely well.
The elementary principals' reports which follow explain our continuing progress in the major learning areas. Last year Dr. Santeusanio's report emphasized the reading phase of our language arts program. This year she explains the "outgo" aspect, the methods we are using to train children to speak and write effectively.
The social studies curriculum has been undergoing extensive study during this year and some re- visions are noted in Mr. Wolski's report.
Mr. Caswell has reported on some of the changes brought about by the introduction of the new mathematics program. We believe that use of the new method is being justified by our test results.
A committee of twelve elementary teachers under the direction of Mr. Bulley is carrying on a study of ways to improve our elementary science program. In his report Mr. Bulley points out some of the achievements in science which we now expect our pupils to have made by the time they have completed the sixth grade.
47
In other reports which follow will be found information on the work of special teachers in reading, music, art, and speech therapy.
The library facilities in the elementary schools are of great concern and must be improved. Par- ent Teacher Associations and individual parent volunteers have assisted, but the basic problem is the need for more books. The classroom libraries serve a purpose but are not adequate for all needs. Since money for books is the most urgent need, we have increased this item in our 1965 budget.
New High School
At the secondary level our progress in 1964 has been affected by the housing situation. Double sessions for Grades VII and VIII through June, and double sessions for all grades from September through December, have created problems. Every effort has been made to minimize these and to give to students as full a schedule of classroom instruction as possible. These problems, fortunately, are temporary, and we look forward to the opening of the new high school in the fall of 1965. At that time we plan to move Grades IX through XII to the new building. Grades VII and VIII will remain in the present building, and some elementary classes will also be assigned there. This will for a time take care of the anticipated increase in enrollment in Grades I through VI.
Plans should be made, however, to provide additional elementary space by 1968, by which time it appears that the Junior High School building will no longer have space available for elementary pu- pils. Plans should be made immediately to acquire one or two sites for additional elementary schools. Studies have been made of possible additions to present elementary buildings, but even recognizing this possibility, further additional classroom space will eventually be required. It would be false economy to postpone action on these needs.
I call to your attention Mr. Macfarlane's report on high school program, and also that of Mr. Coughlin, the guidance director.
We have continued our program of home instruction. Through this program we serve two groups of boys and girls. Pupils who are so handicapped that they are unable to attend regular school sessions are taught four hours per week in their homes with the amount of actual study determined on an in- dividual basis.
The home instructor also visits the homes of those pupils who because of accident or illness are forced to remain at home for extended periods of time. Through this service, these students are enabled to keep up with much of their academic work.
The six-weeks' summer session this year served 235 pupils. At the elementary level, reading and arithmetic courses were offered; and for high school group, English, typewriting, and several courses in mathematics were given.
Adult Education
An innovation this year was the initiation of an adult education program. This program is designed to be self-supporting, as fees are charged for the courses. Classes are meeting for ten two-hour sessions. The instructors are well-qualified people, most of whom are from our high school staff. There was sufficient interest this year to hold classes in the following subjects: Shakespeare as an Entertainer, Beginning Typewriting, Beginning Oil Painting, Woodworking, Furniture Refinishing, Conversational French, Elementary Clothing and Rug Braiding and Hooking.
The General Laws of Massachusetts delegate to the School Committee of each town or city the legal responsibility for public education. Acting under specific laws, the School Committee is responsi- ble for such items as : Approval of curriculum and textbooks, selection of personnel, preparation of an- nual budget, maintenance and direction of use of all school property, health and safety of students, transportation, contracts, and approval of all bills.
In 1964, your School Committee was entrusted by you with responsibility for 2,374 students, 5 school buildings, a professional staff of 134, with 50 additional non-professional personnel and a total budget of approximately $1,300,000.
48
Progress of System
The Superintendent of Schools is the agent of the School Committee. He has no authority except that delegated to him by the School Committee, and by law certain responsibilities can not be dele- gated. Only the School Committee can hire or dismiss teachers. Only the School Committee can approve bills for payment.
Your Lynnfield schools are good today because capable School Committees have managed with judgment and foresight the Town's educational investment.
Those of us in school administration are constantly learning together how to do many things better than they have been done before. We recognize the importance of good teachers, and screen candidates carefully to provide at all times a well-qualified and dedicated staff. We are working always to push forward to a still higher level of educational excellence.
The addition of the new Senior High School to our physical plant will be an important instru- ment in the pursuit of our academic goals; and we view with confidence the challenges and problems of the years ahead.
Your Superintendent acknowledges with grateful appreciation the splendid support of the School Committee, the dedicated work of all school personnel, and the cooperation and assistance of all the other individuals, committees, and organizations in our community who have, by their personal efforts and contributions, shown their intense interest in the welfare of our boys and girls.
JOHN A. REDMOND Superintendent of Schools
-
D
BEATS WALKING - The High School bus fleet.
49
ELEMENTARY LANGUAGE ARTS DR. NANCY C. SANTEUSANIO Principal - Center School
The language program in the elementary grades is concerned with two major aspects : The outgo - or speaking and writing - as well as the intake or listening and thinking phase.
The speaking phase begins with dramatiza- tion of familiar stories, composing experience charts, making simple introductions, giving one's own name, address, and telephone number, and beginning to participate in small group discus- sion.
The speaking phase continues through the development of the ability to give an organized oral report often in the form of a pupil specialty in grades four, five, and six, or, in third grade, a junior pupil specialty.
The specialty program encompasses several phases of the language arts program : looking up and organizing resource material, preparing the report in outline or index card form, locating and making display materials, and then limiting the presentation of the specialty to ten minutes.
Most of the pupil specialties are curriculum- related. In the simplest sense a specialty is a re- port, both oral and visual, prepared over an ex- tended period of time on a topic related to the content being studied in the classroom. The teach- er, together with the pupils, sets up a block-style date calendar showing pupil specialty assignments and the date each one is to be given. This is a long-term assignment, allowing four to six weeks of preparation time. The child works on his spe- cialty at school when his work has been com- pleted, and at home for homework.
The teacher meets with the children who are working on the specialty program several times each week. A great deal of guidance and help is given to the pupil as he begins to work on his specialty. The teacher carefully follows the pupil's individual progress and directs the first group of specialties very closely. Most students give one specialty per year, while the more able prepare as many as two or, in a few instances, three specialties during the year.
Following the specialty or oral report, there is a five to ten minute questioning period of the reporter by the members of the class. This is a most important session, because it is here that the student is taught how to ask questions that bring
out in more detail the reporter's specialized know- ledge. The reporter is taught not to try to answer questions that he does not know how to answer, but rather to state that he does not know. The class secretary is responsible for compiling a list of all unanswered questions to be given to the reporter after the questioning period.
LIBRARY SESSION at Center School.
At the conclusion of the questioning period, the class is divided into groups of three, four or five pupils with one pupil acting as secretary. The groups are presented with questions by the teacher and are asked to discuss the questions while the secretary records the group findings. Questions and problems such as these tie together the pupil specialty and the curriculum.
Lynnfield teachers believe that motivation is the key to success in writing. First children are helped to think through small group brainstorm- ing sessions, for children cannot write of things about which they have no thoughts. When each child is motivated through small-group discussion of ideas, usually he picks up his pencil and be- gins to write. The teachers in Lynnfield elemen- tary schools have found that small-group discus- sing and sharing of ideas, prior to writing, pro- duces the greatest motivation and enables all children in the group to express, as well as to get ideas for their composition. As one teacher remarked, "Children seem to know what to say when they plan together first." Yet each story is entirely different, because each child writes for himself.
The teachers feel that success in writing is the key. They try to cut down the red-pencil cor- rection technique and substitute proofreading. Of- quick to find another's. Therefore, the students reread their compositions in pairs and make the
50
necessary corrections immediately. The teacher is "on the spot," moving from one pair of stu- dents to another, giving guidance and direction in the proofreading.
The needed grammar and mechanics are taught as a result of the composition writing, for. often the child whose mechanics are poor is the one whose thoughts, ideas, and vocabulary are far ahead of his writing skills. No longer does each boy and girl have to go through the language book at the same pace. Some children need to spend many weeks on correct usage, while others are ready for the more advanced skills of sen- tence structure. Upon completion of a job sheet, the pupil takes a qualifying test so that his teacher can determine whether the skill has been mastered.
Throughout the language program the teach- er makes a conscious effort to achieve balance between the outgo and intake, between the speak- ing-and-writing and the listening-and-thinking phases of language. With this thought in mind, each teacher attempts to use a combination of approaches and a number of motivational tech- niques in the teaching of language in the elemen- tary school.
ELEMENTARY SOCIAL STUDIES CHARLES A. WOLSKI Principal - South School
Progress in the realm of technology has pre- sented numerous challenges to our schools. It is against this background of change and challenge that those who work with the children of a demo- cratic society strive to provide the educational
BRANCH OF STUDY - Elementary oral report on trees.
experiences which will most effectively prepare the children for conditions which exist today, and which are anticipated for the future.
To assure that the children derive as much benefit as possible from their organized instruc- tion, constant vigilance must be exercised over the present curriculum and methods of instruction. Each area of the curriculum is carefully evalu- ated and revised when necessary. During the past year an intensive examination of the social studies curriculum has been made.
Social studies in the schools are expected to do three things. First, they are supposed to teach the student about human behavior. The student is to learn about widely varying systems of cul- tural organizations so that his own narrow ex- perience will be broadened and deepened. It is indeed a shrinking world! Our adults of the fu- ture must be acquainted with all the other peoples of the world. The greater the experience gained through social studies, the better prepared the student will be to make intelligent decisions later in life.
The second goal of social studies is to give the student knowledge about the cultural history of mankind, the traditions of his country, and the present world in which he lives. Thus he should know about the American democratic tradition and the documents in which this tradition is ex- pressed, so that he can understand the values and aims of his own society.
Thirdly, social studies should inculcate cer- tain attitudes and skills.
With these aims in mind, the Elementary Social Studies Committee under the direction of this writer, met regularly to revise this portion of the curriculum.
For the first few months we read and dis- cussed the current literature on social studies pro- grams in elementary schools, including curriculum outlines from other school systems. We then evalu- ated our own program to determine its strengths and weaknesses. We considered areas which need- ed more attention, and incorporated these into ten a child who cannot find his own mistakes is our revised curriculum. A brief summary of ma- terial now covered at the different grade levels is given below :
Grade One: School Life, Home, Community Helpers, Explorers and Discoverers. Men and Women Who Loved Their Country.
51
AUDIO VISUALS - All right, who's got the answer?
Grade Two: Comparison of three different communities : Rural, Farming, Suburban, Lynn- field; Urban, Boston. Transportation and Com- munication.
Grade Three: Our State: Massachusetts. Comparative study of - Communities Within the United States. Biographies of Great Americans.
Grade Four: World geography with in-depth study of such countries as Japan, Brazil, Norway, Switzerland, and one African nation.
Grade Five: History and Geography of the United States.
Grade Six: Prehistory to the Renaissance, Geography of Europe. In-depth study of Russia --- contrasting with American Democracy. Study of one other modern European country Spain, Ger- many, or England.
ELEMENTARY MATHEMATICS GEORGE C. CASWELL Principal - Summer Street School
In 1963, after some pilot programs in the new mathematics had been tried at various grade levels, it was agreed that the materials developed by the Educational Research Council of Greater Cleveland would best meet our need. These ma- terials were purchased for the first four elemen- tary grades. In 1964, this program was extended to include the fifth and sixth grades.
As we have worked with this new mathe- matics program in the elementary school, four significant changes have been noted. First of all, mathematics for the elementary school child is viewed as a combination of several mathematical sciences, each contributing to the child's compe- tency with number. Mere memorization has been replaced by reasoning and by a study of principles and logic. Geometry is also integrated into the mathematics program. Finding unknown quan- tities, a simple algebraic skill, is introduced as
52
soon as simple addition is taught. The structure of the number system is an important part of modern mathematics, and the elementary school children are taught understandings of it, includ- ing the decimal system of notation through work with other number bases.
The second change which has been noted is a more careful use of quantitative vocabulary. Terms which carry definite meanings are used with greater care to replace those which have been found to be inadequate or even inaccurate. For example, consider the subtraction process. Sub- traction actually performs three mathematical jobs: Finding the remainder (take away), find- ing the difference (comparison), and finding the missing addend. Calling subtraction simply 'take away' could prevent children from achieving a more complete understanding of the subtraction process.
The third change noted is that there is an increased emphasis on the computational opera- tions. Computation was for a long time a process of following mechanical steps, the steps some- times completely detached from meaning and the procedures almost totally dependent upon memo- rized responses. If mathematics is going to be more than a set of memorized procedures, children must be given the principles upon which these procedures have been established.
How children are given the principles upon which these procedures have been established leads us to the fourth change which has been brought about by the new mathematics program. We have given the responsibility for learning back to the children. While nobody would wish to discredit the lecture-demonstration technique of teaching, its exclusive use hardly leads to cre- ative teaching or learning. Using the newer ma- terials, teachers now confront pupils with ideas and the learner is allowed to explore these ideas, to express opinions about them, and to evaluate other's contributions. When children are allowed to discover, try out, and puzzle over problems, math becomes an intensely absorbing experience. Once basic understanding has been achieved, skill reinforcement by the individual pupil is essential for mastery, which means that practice in basic skills is still a very necessary part of the learning pattern.
Our new program seems to hold forth much promise. We feel the program will give the child- ren the skills, concepts, and language necessary for mastery of the more difficult topics in the secondary school. Teachers and pupils are finding today's mathematics program more interesting, more stimulating, and more meaningful.
THE
geof Tyrants (6.50-5) the who seized power. To Some of these men were
WORLD
F
EMT
EXPERIMENTERS in Elementary Science.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL SCIENCE GILBERT F. BULLEY
Principal - Huckleberry Hill School
In Lynnfield the science curriculum is being studied by twelve teachers who represent the thinking of all the elementary schools. The teach- ers and the science coordinator will meet through- out the year making plans to strengthen the cur- riculum through the science in-service course. The quality of science instruction at any level is de- termined largely by the capability of the class- room teacher. In-service training has been one approach to the problem of increasing teaching competence.
As teachers We are forever asking questions, and as interested citizens this might be a question that you would ask: What is science in the ele- mentary school? One could begin by saying that the term science means the same at any level. In one sense, it is a body of information and prin- ciples that help us understand the world around us - from atoms to stars, from microscopic wa- ter life to man. In another sense, science may be regarded as methods (and there are many) of discovery, the methods by which new information is uncovered, new principles arrived at, old prin- ciples modified or discarded. It is characteristic of science that it starts with a perplexing prob- lem, proceeds with the trying of different meth-
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.