USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1875 Vol. 1 > Part 3
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
13
GENERAL REPORT.
the first principles of political economy and of the Constitution of the country. No one in our days can feel at ease in society without some considerable familiarity with English literature ; and, as our com- mercial transactions are almost as intimate with France and Germany as with the different portions of our own land, a young man can hardly hope to reach the highest opportunities of a business life without a sufficient training in their tongues to enable him, after a little practice, to communicate by letter or lip with the traders and bankers upon the other shore of the Atlantic, which is fast becom- ing simply an inland sea. In connection with what may be called the general and classical courses, with a limited three-years' course for such as cannot possi- bly remain longer, we have now a fully developed four-years' business course, from which, so far as intellectual and practical training is concerned, we may graduate accomplished young clerks, ready to enter a counting-room or a store, prepared for all the usual requisitions of commercial and mercantile life. It will be a loss to any lad to abridge this course unless health or insurmountable difficulties prevent its completion. No intelligent mind, glancing over the studies arranged for the different years of this course, can fail to see the pertinence and practical value of each branch, and the admirable and well- rounded intellectual training which the whole term will give.
As might be expected, the course is popular in the school. A number, larger than that of any of the other courses, of the pupils have entered upon it. A course of conversational lectures upon commercial,
14
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
mercantile, financial, political, and moral subjects, chiefly by our own citizens, and without expense, of a half-hour's duration, every other week during the winter, has been arranged. Many of the friends of education in the country are looking with much interest to the result of this somewhat new feature in public-school training.
The interesting closing exercises of the school last summer, which crowded the City Hall with specta- tors, and held them for many hours on one of the sultriest days of the season, gave good evidence of the intellectual development and maturity of the graduating class. Members of the committee previ- ously attended the recitations of the various classes, and became familiar both with the modes of the instructors and the proficiency of the scholars. The written examinations, however, continued through the year, offer the most absolute tests of actual scholarship. No examiners could fail to notice the efficient and honest work accomplished in the vari- ous branches studied, or to be impressed with the good discipline of the school, secured without vio- lence. Our young people, while submitting to the positive requisitions of the institution, are so well convinced of their justness, that its halls become scenes of pleasure as well as profit to them, and are gratefully remembered and revisited after they leave them.
The changes that have been made in the faculty of instruction have been few, and have added but slightly to the expense of the school. The two spe- cial teachers in German and French have been given up, because their places could be fully and profitably
15
GENERAL REPORT.
supplied by the regular teachers of the school. Mr. Kent, an accomplished graduate of Harvard, and formerly a pupil of the High School, has been added to the corps of instructors. Miss Worcester, who suc- ceeded to the position vacated by Miss Fox, has en- joyed rare opportunities during a residence abroad for cultivation in the French and German tongues, and has by permission of the Board spent the last six months in Berlin. She enters upon her duties with the opening of the new year. During her absence the chair of modern languages has been enriched by the instructions of Mr. Atwood, a very polished Ger- man teacher, who has for years devoted himself to the study of this language while himself a teacher of English in some of the leading families in Ber- lin.
There are many points that are still weak in our High-School work, and to them attention is now earnestly turned. Writing, reading especially, phys- iology, a knowledge of the house we live in, and how to keep it in good order, and history, are rudimental and important subjects. They are liable to be over- looked in the pressure and multiplicity of other things more ornamental but not more useful. The faithful and observing Principal is the first to notice any deficiencies of this character, and is taking effi- cient steps to give proper attention to these impor- tant branches. On the whole, we have much occa- sion for congratulation, and little for criticism, in the present condition of the Newton High School.
To afford an idea of the thoroughness of the work performed at the school, we append a specimen of
16
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
the test-questions which have been given to the various classes during the past term.
For the Committee,
B. K. PEIRCE, Chairman.
FIRST CLASS.
LATIN (Cicero).
I.
Give a brief account of the conspiracy of Catiline.
II.
Translate : -
A. Meministine . . . profugerunt. - In Catilinam, I., III.
B. Uno mehercule . . . fateatur. - Id., II., IV.
C. Ille erat . . . ferre poterat. - Id., III., VII.
A.
1. Futurus esset. - Why subjunctive ?
2. In ante diem V. Kalendas. - What is the uncorrupted form ?
3. Sui conservandi. - Number and reference of sui.
B.
1. Mood of conceperit ? And why ?
2. Composition of parricida, veneficus, mehercule.
3. Compare familiarissime, and give the principal parts of fateatur.
c.
1. Synopsis of audebat throughout the indicative.
2. Rule for the case of consilio.
3. Inflect the imperative active of delectos.
4. Inflect aliquid in the singular.
17
MORAL PHILOSOPHY.
MORAL PHILOSOPHY.
I.
What reasons have we for believing that the human will is free ?
II.
State and answer the objections to the freedom of the will.
III.
State and illustrate the distinction between absolute and rela- tive right.
IV.
What is conscience ? Illustrate its functions.
V.
Under what circumstances is society justified in limiting the right of the individual to liberty and life ?
VI.
Give a summary of the section on veracity.
MENTAL PHILOSOPHY.
I.
What are the grounds for thinking that the essence of mind and the essence of matter are not the same ?
II.
State and illustrate the distinction between sensation and per- ception.
III.
Do we see an object to be solid, or infer it to be so ? Prove by reference to the stereoscope the correctness of your view.
IV.
Explain how the knowledge given by one sense may be gained by another.
18
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
V.
Explain the process by which a general notion is obtained from an individual one.
VI.
State and illustrate the most important laws of association.
VII.
Show that the belief in memory is original, and not founded on experience.
VIII.
In what ways may the memory be improved ?
IX.
State and illustrate the distinction between attention and re- flection.
X.
Mention the ways in which the power of attention may be improved.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Shakspeare's Julius Cæsar).
I.
The story of the play.
II.
The characters of Brutus, Cassius, and Portia. (Give your own ideas, not what you have heard or read.)
III.
Act I., Scene 2. - Explain the following passage : -
" If it be aught toward the general good, Set honor in one eye, and death i' th' other, And I will look on both indifferently : For, let the gods so speed me, as I love The name of honor more than I fear death."
19
SECOND CLASS.
IV.
Act II., Scenes 1, 2, and 3. - Explain the bracketed words and expressions in the following : -
1. For if thou [path, thy native semblance on ].
2. Like wrath in death and [envy] afterwards.
3. It may be these [apparent] prodigies.
4. Caius Ligarius [doth bear Cæsar hard].
5. The abuse of greatness is when it disjoins [remorse] from power.
6. Enjoy the [honey-heavy] dew of slumber.
7. [Swear] priests and cowards and men [cautelous].
8. She dreamed [to-night] she saw my statua.
9. The gods do this [in] shame of cowardice.
10. Cæsar [should] be a beast without a heart.
v.
1. Give from the play instances of double negative, of double superlative, and of the use of one part of speech for another.
2. " Brutus, thou sleep'st." - Why thou ?
3. " If thou beest not immortal, look about you." - Why the charge from thou to you ?
SECOND CLASS. LATIN (Virgil). I.
Write a short biography of Virgil. What are his principal works ? What is an epic poem ? Define hexameter verse.
II.
Translate Æneid, I., 560-578.
III.
Write out 570 and 571, marking the quantities over every vowel in the verse.
Account for the following quantities : ¿ in his and pariter, first and second e in considere, 572; first and second i in mihi, third i in discrimine, 574; e in adforet, o in litora, 576.
20
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
IV.
1. Rule for the case of vultum, 561.
2. Principal parts of solvite, 562.
3. Composition of cogunt, and principal parts of the simple verb, 563.
4. Rule for the mood of nesciat, 565.
5. Kind of a verb gestamus, 567.
6. Explain lines 567 and 568.
7. Derivation of Hesperiam and Saturnia, 569.
V.
1. Give the principal parts of vultis, and inflect the tense, 572.
2. Account for the case of urbem, 573.
3. Composition of discrimine, 574.
4. Why is agetur singular number ?
5. Account for the mood of adforet, 576.
6. Composition of equidem.
7. Situation of Libya, 577.
PHYSIOLOGY.
I.
State the composition of the bones.
II.
Describe fully the lacteal system of absorption of chyle.
III. 1
Siate the composition and function of the bile.
IV.
Mention the substances composing the liquid portion of the blood.
V.
What and where are the capillaries ? Changes in the blood while passing through them.
VI.
By what means is the cavity of the chest enlarged during inspiration ?
21
SECOND CLASS.
VII.
Name the three parts of the process of nutrition.
VIII.
Define nerve, ganglion, cerebrum, solar plexus, reflex action.
IX.
Mention the coats and humors of the eyeball.
X.
What means should be taken to secure healthy respiration ?
FRENCH (Magill's Reader).
I.
1. §166. Translate from A Genappe to la grande armée inclusive.
2. Where is Quatre-Bras ? Who was Blucher ?
3. Give the principal parts of fuir and pris.
4. Why is the past indefinite used in this extract, instead of the present perfect ?
5. Inflect s'élancèrent.
6. Show by spelling how hélas should be pronounced.
II.
Translate the following sentences into French : -
1. As soon as he had finished relating his troubles, he asked assistance of them.
2. He has forbidden me to speak to my brother.
3. I cannot think of it without shuddering.
4. Too many masters serve only to perplex the mind.
PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY.
I.
Describe the arrangement of the land masses on the globe.
II.
What has the indentation of the coast line of Europe to do with its civilization ?
III.
State the distinction between a plateau and a plain.
22
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
IV.
What is the position, structure, and altitude of the Rocky Mountains ?
v.
What is the origin of valleys in plains ? Describe their formation.
VI.
What is the general form of continents, and what makes them take that form ?
VII.
Mention the eight general laws of continental relief.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Pope's Rape of the Lock).
I.
Give an abstract of the poem.
II.
a. What is meant by the machinery of a poem ?
b. What machinery is employed in the poem under considera- tion ?
III.
" Here thou, great [Anna], whom [three realms] obey, Dost sometimes counsel take - and sometimes tea."
a. Explain the enclosed words.
b. What figure of rhetoric in the last line ?
IV. " At [ombre] singly to decide their doom." " First Ariel perched upon a [matadore ]."
Derivation and meaning of the enclosed words.
V. " Fear the just gods, and think of Scylla's fate !" " She dearly pays for Nisus' injured hair."
What is the story to which allusion is made ?
VI.
Explain enclosed parts in the following : -
a. "Steel could [the labor of the gods ] destroy, And strike to dust the imperial towers of Troy."
23
THIRD CLASS.
b. "Nor half so fixed [the Trojan could remain, While Anna begged and Dido raged in vain]."
c. "So, when bold Homer makes the gods engage, 1
And heavenly breasts with human passions rage : 'Gainst [Pallas, Mars ; Latona, Hermes] armes."
d. "Not fierce [Othello] in so loud a strain
[Roared for the handkerchief ] that caused his pain."
VII.
Sylphs, gnomes, nymphs, and salamanders : distinguish.
THIRD CLASS.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Tennyson's Elaine).
I.
Write a short biographical notice of the author of Elaine. Mention three of his other poems.
II.
Explain the enclosed words and expressions in the following :
1. And there they lay till all their bones were bleached, And [lichened into color with the crags].
2. The [tale] of diamonds for his destined boon.
3. [He is all fault who has no fault at all.]
4. Charge at the head of all his [Table Round].
5. Till [rathe] she rose.
6. Robed in red [samite ].
7. [And faith unfaithful kept him falsely true.]
8. Bid call the [ghostly] man.
9. No surer than our [falcon] yesterday, [Who] lost the [hern ] we slipped him at.
10. But Lancelot, [when they glanced at Guinevere, Suddenly speaking of the wordless man].
III.
1. Derivation and meaning of the following words : -
(a) Pagan, (b) Concourse, (c) Rival, (d) Skeleton, (e) Oriel.
2. Why does the poem begin with what took place after the time at which the story begins ?
24
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
(Swinton's Word Book.)
I.
Define (a) Primitive, (b) Derivative, (c) Prefix, (d) Suffix, (e) Analysis.
II.
Analyze and define the following: -
(a) Bedew, (b) Ashore, (c) Renew, (d) Uncrown, (e) Displease.
III.
Analyze and define the following : -
(a) Drunkard, (b) Bakery, (c) Boyish, (d) Lambkin, (e) Ban- ishment.
IV.
1. Give two derivatives of blame, with their opposites.
2. Give two synonymes of blame, with the distinction in the meaning.
V.
From what is king derived ? Give four derivatives of king, with their meanings.
LATIN (Cæsar B. G.).
Translate : -
A. Interim quotidie . . . adesse dicere. - I., XVI.
B. Tum demum . . . præstare debeant. - I., XVII.
A.
1. Why is esset subjunctive ?
2. Rule for the case of Eduos and frumentum.
3. What is the subject of flagitare ? Give the rule.
4. Give all the participles of posita est.
5. Rule for the case of frumento.
6. Modern name of the Arar.
7. Principal parts of subvexerat.
8. Inflect the present indicative of nolebat.
9. Imperative second person singular of ducere and dicere.
10. Subject of adesse.
11. Inflect conferri in the present indicative passive.
25
THIRD CLASS.
B.
1. Give the active infinitives of proponit.
2. Compare plurimum.
3. Rule for the mood of valeat and possint.
4. Synopsis of tacuerat in the subjunctive.
FRENCH (Magill's Grammar and Reader).
I.
Translate into English, and answer the questions : -
1. Je voudrais, de tout mon cœur, vous obliger dans cette affaire.
2. Il se défit de la fausse opinion qu'il avait conçue de leur mérite.
3. Que ces superbes descriptions plussent en tout temps.
4. Accroissons, tous les jours, notre réputation par de nou- veaux actes de courage.
5. Vous écririez mieux, si vous étiez plus attentif.
6. Give the principal parts of voudrais.
7. Why is conçue feminine ?
i
8. Give the principal parts of plussent.
9. Principal parts of accroissons.
10. Why not du instead of de courage ?
II.
Translate into French the following sentences : -
1. France is a beautiful country.
2. Have you seen the master of the house ?
3. He goes to the city on Thursdays.
4. The Cotton States will be very poor after this war.
5. My neighbor is a worthy man, and his son is a brave man.
NATURAL PHILOSOPHY.
I.
Describe the process of making a thermometer. -
II.
Explain the principle involved in the sucker.
26
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
III.
State and illustrate the law of the wheel and axle.
IV.
Explain by means of a figure the lifting pump.
V.
Find the specific gravity of a piece of ivory that weighs 16 ounces in air, and loses 82 ounces when weighed in water.
VI.
Name the properties of the solar spectrum, and account for the colors of the spectrum.
VII.
Show by a figure why objects look larger when seen through a convex lens, and smaller when seen through a concave lens.
GEOMETRY.
Demonstrate the following theorems : -
1. Straight lines bisecting the adjacent angles of a parallelo- gram are perpendicular to each other.
2. The sum of the lines drawn from a point within a triangle to the extremities of one of the sides is less than the sum of the other two sides.
3. If there are two sets of quantities in proportion, their prod- ucts or quotients, term by term, will be in proportion.
4. The area of a trapezoid is equal to half the product of its altitude, and the sum of its parallel sides.
5. The square described on the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle is equivalent to the sum of the squares described on the other two sides.
FOURTH CLASS.
FRENCH (Magill's Grammar and Reader).
I.
Translate the following into English, and answer the ques- tions : -
1. Le général américain est brave et courageux.
2. Votre chien est plus grand, plus gros, et plus vieux que le nôtre.
27
FOURTH CLASS.
3. J'ai perdu plus de dix francs.
4. Donnez-moi de bon pain et de bon beurre, de bonne viande et de bonne moutarde, de bons œufs, et de bonnes pommes.
5. La lune est la cause des eclipses de soleil.
6. Plural of général. Give the rule.
Plural of courageux. Give the rule.
7. Give the feminine form of vieux.
Compare grand.
8. Why de (3) instead of que? Show by spelling how dix is pronounced when before a consonant, when before a vowel, and when alone.
9. What is de (4) called ? and what does it denote ?
The formation of the feminine of bon comes under what rule ?
10. Gender of soleil. Suppose it were du soleil, instead of de soleil : how would you render it ?
II.
Translate into French : -
1. Two hundred and twelve men.
2. Eighty-one horses.
3. Some happy sisters.
4. A mouse and a clock.
5. A book as good as mine.
BOTANY.
1. Define a flower, a perfect flower, a complete flower, a regular flower, a symmetrical flower, a naked flower, a solitary flower, an axillary flower, a diœcious flower, a monœcious flower.
2. Give the structure of the stamen.
3. Name the parts of the blade of the leaf.
4. What are excurrent trunks, and how are they formed ?
5. Name and give examples of the principal special forms of leaves.
ALGEBRA.
1. From 4 a2 x - (2 abc - 4 bc +8d) subtract 8 abc - (4 a2 x -2d) + abc.
2. Multiply x2 + xy + y2 by x2 - xy + y2.
28
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
3. Divide 3 a4 - 8 a2 62 + 3 a2 c2 + 564_362 c2 by a2 - 62.
4. Reduce (a2 -2 ab +62) (a2-62) (a +b) (a4-14) (a2-+- 2 ab +b2) to its simplest form by inspection.
5. From x-a+ take 2 x + -.
a2 -12 x (a -b)
6. Divide a2 + 2 ab + 62 by
(a +b)2
3
7. Divide V-64 a8 72 by (- 2 a2 bc8)5.
6
S. Subtract (a - 26)5 from (a + 26)5. Use the Binomial Theorem.
9. In a mixture of wine and cider, one half of the whole, plus twenty-five gallons, was wine; and one-third part, minus five gallons, was cider : how many gallons were there of each ?
10. Solve the equations tions 2 +7y=9
y 7 -+7 x=51.
ENGLISH LANGUAGE (Parker's Exercises).
I.
In what respect are the following sentences faulty ? Correct each, and give the rule : -
1. The lady was sewing with a Roman nose.
2. We rested beneath the umbrageous foliage of a shady oak, and then resumed our journey anew.
3. The farmer went to his neighbor, and told him that his cattle were in his field.
4. Such a sight was enough to dumbfounder an ordinary man.
5. When I made some à propos remarks upon his conduct, he began to quiz me.
6. "Let go the halyards," shouted the captain : "haul up the clew-lines, lay aloft, and furl the sail."
II.
1. Define " allusion," and give an example.
2. Define " metaphor," and give an example.
3. Define "hyperbole," and give an example.
29
GENERAL COURSE.
III.
1. Make a plan of a description of the Newton High School- house.
2. Write out the description according to the plan.
Correct the errors in the following sentences, and give the rules : -
1. The man came tuesday and will remain during the winter.
2. The All Powerful god commands us to worship him, and not to bow down to Gods of wood and stone.
3. I am unable to inform you where i shall be next Summer.
4. said my brother " see that payment is immediately made."
5. we have lately published a work called high Life below stairs.
6. P P Norton m d L L D ..
7. The author dreads the critic the miser the thief the crimi- nal the magistrate and everybody public opinion
8. Lend lend your wings i mount i fly
9. Books and study only teach the proper use of books.
10. The ancients feared death we thanks to christianity fear only dying.
The courses of study at the High School are as follows :
GENERAL COURSE.
FIRST YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, 3; Natural Philosophy, 3; Music, 1; Drawing, 2; Latin, 3; * French, 3 ; * Algebra, 3 ;* Zoöl- ogy, 2 .*
SECOND TERM.
English Language, 3; Natural Philosophy, or Botany, 3; Music, 1; Drawing, 2; Latin, 3 ;* French, 3 ;* Alge- bra, 3 ; * Mineralogy, 2 .*
SECOND YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, 3; Chemistry, 3; Music, 1; Draw- ing, 2; Latin, 3 ;* French, 3; * Geometry, 2 ; * Geology, 2 .*
* Elective Studies.
30
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
SECOND TERM.
English Language, 3; Chemistry or Astronomy, 3; Music, 1; Drawing, 2; Latin, 3; * French, 3; * Political Economy, 3; * Geometry, 2 .*
THIRD YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, 3 ; Physical Geography, 3; Music, 1; Drawing, 2; Latin, 3 ;* French, 3 ;* German, 3; * Trigonometry, 2; * History, 2 .*
SECOND TERM.
English Language, 3; Physiology, 3; Music, 1; Draw- ing, 2; Latin, 3; * French, 3; * German, 3; * Constitu- tion of United States, 3; * Surveying, 2 ;* History, 2 .*
FOURTH YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, 3; Mental Philosophy, 3; Music, 1; Drawing, 1 ;* Latin, 3 ;* German, 3 ;* Rhetoric, 2 ; * History, 3 .*
SECOND TERM.
English Language, 3; Moral Philosophy, 3; Music, 1; Drawing, 1 ;* Latin, 3 ;* German, 3 ;* Rhetoric, 2 *; History, 3 .*
Declamation and Composition throughout the course.
COLLEGE COURSE.
FIRST YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, Latin, Algebra, Music, Natural Philosophy,* French,* Drawing .*
SECOND TERM.
English Language, Latin, Algebra, Music, Natural Philosophy, or Botany,* French,* Drawing .*
* Elective Studies.
31
MERCANTILE COURSE.
SECOND YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, Latin, Greek, Geometry, Music, Chemistry,* French,* Drawing,* AdvancedAlgebra .*
SECOND TERM.
English Language, Latin, Greek, Geometry, Music, Chemistry or Astronomy,* French,* Drawing,* Advanced Algebra .*
THIRD YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
Latin, Greek, Music, French,* German,* Drawing,* English Language,* History,* Geography,* Advanced Geometry .*
SECOND TERM.
Same as first term.
FOURTH YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
Latin, Greek, Review of Algebra and Geometry, Music, English Language,* German,* Analytic Geometry,* Use of Logarithms,* Drawing .*
SECOND TERM.
Latin, Greek, Review of Geometry and Arithmetic, Music, English Language,* German,* Analytic Geometry,* Use of Logarithms,* Drawing .*
Declamation and Composition throughout the course.
MERCANTILE COURSE.
FIRST YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language (Study of English Composition, Declamation, Reading of English Authors), French, His- tory, Writing, Music. Other studies may be elected from the General Course.
* Elective Studies.
32
REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
SECOND TERM.
English Language (same as first term), French, History, Writing, Music, and Elective Studies.
SECOND YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, French, History, Commercial Geog- raphy, Writing, Music, Elective Studies.
SECOND TERM.
English Language, French, History, Commercial Geog- raphy, Political Economy, Writing, Music, Elective Studies.
THIRD YEAR. - FIRST TERM.
English Language, French, German, Commercial Arith- metic, Book-Keeping, Writing, Music, Physical Geography elective.
SECOND TERM.
English Language, French (including French Mercantile Correspondence), German, Commercial Arithmetic, Book- Keeping, Constitution of the United States, Writing, Music, Physiology elective.
That the study of Commercial Arithmetic and Book- Keeping may be entirely practical, the teachers who will have this department in charge will familiarize themselves not merely with text-book rules and forms, but with the actual work of some of the best business houses.
Scholars in the other courses will be admitted to the work of any year in the Commercial Course for which they are fitted; other studies at first being received as equivalents of those in the prescribed course.
Lectures on various topics suited to those preparing for business life will be given at stated times by competent gentlemen.
33
GRADUATES OF 1875.
Below are the names of the graduates of the Class of 1875: -
FOUR YEARS' COURSE.
CARRIE L. BOURNE, MARY E. TUFTS,
NELLIE N. COLE,
SARAH E. TUFTS,
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.