USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Newton > Town of Newton annual report 1882-1883 > Part 20
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The careful reports of the various subcommittees render it unnecessary to speak of the High School in detail; its crowded condition, however, is a reminder that at no distant period the question of increased accommodations will force itself upon your attention. The total enrollment for the first month of the school year just opened is 330, while the average whole number is such as to tax the present building to its utmost capacity; nor would the exclusion of all non- resident pupils relieve the pressure to any appreciable degree. A comparison of the relative size of the several classes shows that, of those who enter, the number rapidly diminishes at the close of the first year, amounting often to twenty-five per cent or more. Of those who fall out, many come with no expectation of completing the course, but to supplement the work of the grammar school by a few months in a higher grade. It is also reasonable to conclude that no in- considerable number living remote from the High School, on leaving the grammar schools desire to avail themselves of the same privilege, but are deterred by the difficulty and expense involved, and so termi- nate their school life. It may be well to consider whether, in view of the peculiar local relations of our school population to the High School, the wants
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of the class referred to may not be adequately pro- vided for in some sections by a post-graduate course in the grammar schools, and thus relieve the pressure in the High School without detriment to its 'regular classes.
I venture another suggestion in the same connec- tion. The apparatus for illustrating physical science is entirely inadequate to the demands of that depart- ment. Some articles are old and worn, some are superseded by improved patterns, and in many cases progress in science and in this line of manufacture has developed new contrivances, which we have never had. The liberal policy which has ever characterized your Board in providing for the schools will not suffer so important an interest to occupy a rear rank. But it is mere waste to provide costly apparatus and fail to provide suitable means for its care and preserva- tion. Every article, every map and globe, especially those in relief, a choice and rare collection of which is now the property of the High School, should have its place secure from accident and needless wear, and be restored to its place when not in actual use. These helps are in hands most competent for their care and their use, and it is safe to recommend first, more careful provision for safe keeping, and second, a small annual appropriation to be expended from time to time for articles most needed, until our facili- ties for illustration are commensurate with the rea- sonably large expectation of results.
COURSE OF STUDY.
Early in my official service the course of study in the primary and grammar schools became the subject
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of deliberate and careful consideration. The last printed form, bearing date 1880, while possessing some excellent features, had never represented the actual work of the schools. It seemed to lack the definiteness of outline necessary to secure in the work of the several grades that degree of harmony and uniformity which was essential. The natural result was a wide diversity of practice, tending to destroy the unity of the system. The first step towards a correction of the evil was, by a series of teachers' meetings, to discover the degree of diver- gence in the several lines of work; next by the apportionment of the several departments among the masters and principals to block out and commit to writing a course for each study in each grade repre- senting as nearly as possible the higher average pos- sibilities in the various schools and embodying the best results in the experience of our most successful teachers. The work had been carried to this point at the opening of the last school year. The third and last step which has since been in progress is by the practical test of actual use to so modify and fill up this outline as to make it a reflex of the work accomplished where conditions are favorable. This line of procedure has been adopted in the belief that no course of study arbitrarily marked out, however wisely conceived or skillfully formulated, can meet the varying wants of all. It must grow and so take shape amid diverse interests and tastes as to seem the development of each while in fact the joint pro- duct of all.
5
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ARITHMETIC.
In my second quarterly report, presented in March, 1882, referring to arithmetic, I was constrained to use the following language : -
" In view of the prominence which is given to this study, it is a significant and startling fact that so much is said, and justly too, of the incapacity of the youth in our public schools, and even graduated from them, to deal with the practical problems which pre- sent themselves in every-day life. It becomes more embarrassing when a comparison is instituted between the product of our schools twenty-five or thirty years ago and that of to-day, with the verdict un- qualifiedly in favor of the old methods. It may be more comforting, but not a whit more satisfactory, when we are led to feel that this state of things is not confined to one city or one state or one section, but that, for a score of years, there has been a dete- rioration in the rank and file of American youth in our public schools, both East and West, in their abil- ity to handle intelligently, promptly, and correctly practical questions involving number and quantity. Another significant fact is, that most who have the supervision of instruction or teach in the higher grades have long felt and deplored this state of things; but most significant of all is the fact that teachers in the lower grades are consciously em- barrassed by the weakness of their pupils in math- ematical reasoning. It is to be expected that teachers who receive pupils to the higher grades would read- ily detect any failure to strengthen the mind by proper training in the rudiments, but that this lack
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should be felt and lamented by the lower-grade teachers themselves, as is the case in Newton, is no less creditable to the teachers than indicative of a fault of long standing in the system.
The practical question is, 'What has caused the present condition and what is the remedy?' I feel no hesitation in expressing it as my opinion, reached not hastily and not without considerable opportunity for observing, that our present unsatisfactory results are chiefly due to the ill repute into which mental arithmetic has fallen; and, however justifiable may have been the action in discarding much that was good to rid ourselves of admitted abuses, the only rational remedy lies in the reinstatement of mental arithmetic as a staple exercise in all grades of our primary and grammar schools, and in giving it such prominence as will force pupils in arithmetic to learn to reason. It does not seem advisable or necessary to introduce, at this stage, a special text-book, but much may be done with the books on our list or readily accessible by teachers to stimulate activity in that direction."
The view thus presented was promptly indorsed by your Board in the supply of such aids as seemed need- ful, and the result is already manifest in the improved quality of our work. There may be danger of expect- ing too much until the mental fibre has gained strength and toughness by habitual exercise, but there is the opposite danger, - and, in the present reaction from Puritanic austerity, one of the most threatening, - of trying to nourish a healthy growing intellect on too diluted aliment. Nothing is so grateful to the young, rejoicing in the possession of new-found resources, as
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the discovery of a new power. The bounding physi- cal life is not content with the tame service of practi- cal utility ; the waste of its energy is the natural food of its exuberance. So, in intellectual training, a too rigid adherence to the severely practical may fail to call into play and so dwarf many a power whose de- velopment is essential to mental symmetry. Child- hood eagerly grapples with difficulties within its power of mastery, and this desire must be fed and strength- ened or there is, at best, but a sickly growth. The opinion is gaining currency in educational circles that the range of topics in arithmetic is far too wide for the time allowed in our grammar schools; if so, it jus- tifies the hope of realizing, through reform, a more thorough understanding of its essential principles ; but, bethat as it may, the interests of a comprehensive system no less than the exigencies of practical life demand a more intelligent facility in handling its ever- varying problems.
DRAWING.
The department of drawing has continued under the efficient management of Mrs. Emma F. Bowler, who has still further developed and matured the plan referred to in the report of the Special Committee presented last year. Previous to the organization for another year, however, Mrs. Bowler's resignation was presented and accepted, much to the regret of those familiar with her long and successful labors in behalf of the schools. It only falls within the scope of this survey to advert to the status of the department as found by her successor, Miss Adeline V. Pond, and presented in the following: -
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
REPORT.
The facts of the following report have been obtained in part from the regular teachers of the primary and grammar classes, in part from the special teacher who preceded me, and in part from my own observations.
PRIMARY SCHOOLS.
Simple instruction has been given in forms and their names, in memory drawing, dictation drawing, and design. Considerable time has been devoted to ruling and measuring as features of in- dustrial art education, a foot-rule being put into the hands of each pupil. This foot-rule, however, has been found too cumbrous for the small fingers, and for the present will be generally set aside ; it will be occasionally used to keep the child in mind of the common division into inches.
In grades 1 and 2 the work has been almost wholly slate work, and will continue so to be. In class, the work has been either upon slates or upon paper, or upon both, according to the grading of the pupils.
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
In the grammar classes, suitably graded instruction has been given in the following subjects : -
1. Freehand drawing.
2. Geometrical drawing.
3. Model drawing.
4. Memory drawing.
5. Dictation drawing.
6. Design drawing.
1. Excellent work has been done in making bold, broad copies of good subjects.
2. A good degree of attention has been paid to geometrical work. The object has been to give the pupil not only practice in the use of instruments but also general skill and accuracy.
6. I am informed by the special teacher who preceded me that in certain grades the feature of design has been somewhat neglected. This subject I regard as an important one, not because of the practi- cal knowledge of decoration it may give a child, but rather because of its general educational value. The subject of design, properly taught, compels pupils to construct, to arrange, to analyze, to remodel ; to draw with brains, - not graphite.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
More attention than formerly will be given to the subject of working drawings. It is needless to say that the times demand a practical industrial art education.
If, in the change from blank books to text books, there may be a loss of breadth and boldness in freehand copying, it is hoped that this loss will be more than counterbalanced by a gain in the prac- tical value of the things taught.
In the grammar grades, the pupils' work is chiefly in drawing books ; but in these grades, as in all others, the use of the black- board is to be encouraged.
HIGH SCHOOL.
During the past year the programme was as follows : -
Fourth Class.
Model drawing ; parallel perspective ; design ; historic orna- ment.
Third Class.
Charcoal shading ; angular perspective ; design ; historic orna- ment.
Second Class.
Modelling [in clay ; oblique perspective ; harmony of color ; wash drawing ; design.
First Class.
Twelve third-grade certificate drawings ; a résumé of the three years' work.
During the present year, suitably graded [iustruction in simple projections will be given ; but the programme will remain materi- ally unchanged.
In closing, permit me to speak gratefully of the strong interest Newton's teachers and pupils manifest in the study of drawing, - a study that every educator regards as of greatest value, not for itself alone, but for " its effects and manifold results."
Respectfully submitted by ADELINE V. POND, Special Teacher in Drawing.
AUBURNDALE, Oct. 15, 1883.
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
MANUAL TRAINING.
The growing demand for more of the practical ele- ment in public instruction has found recognition dur- ing the past year by the adoption of a scheme for the introduction of sewing, which is sufficiently set forth by the following circular issued by the committee on that department : -
SEWING IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS.
The attention of parents is called to the fact that at the beginning of the next school year, September, 1883, sewing will be introduced as part of the regular course of instruction for girls in the fourth, fifth, sixth, and other grades in the public schools of the city of Newton.
The authority for its introduction is found in the State law of 1876, which runs as follows : -
" Sewing shall be taught in any city or town in all the public schools in which the school committee of such city or town shall deem it expedient."
By vote of the School Committee of Newton in 1882, instruction in sewing has been deemed expedient, a Standing Committee of the Board on Sewing has been appointed, and two teachers of sewing, Mrs. E. L. Bond, of Newton Centre, and Miss J. Grant, of Newton, have been elected.
The Committee on Sewing have arranged the following schedule of hours for instruction in the different schools : -
Bigelow, 10.30 A. M. and 2 P. M., Mondays and Thursdays.
Adams, 9 A. M. Mondays and Thursdays.
Claflin, 10.30 A M. Mondays and Thursdays.
Franklin, 9 A. M. Mondays and Thursdays.
Jackson, 9 A. M. Tuesdays and Fridays. Pierce, 9 A. M. Tuesdays and Fridays.
Davis, 10.30 A. M. Tuesdays and Fridays.
Williams, 2 P. M. Tuesdays and Fridays.
Prospect, 2 P. M., Tuesdays and Fridays.
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Hyde, 2 P. M. Mondays and 9 A. M. Wednesdays.
Hamilton, 2 r. M. Wednesdays.
Mason, 3 r. M. Mondays, 10.30 A. M., 2 P. M. Wednesdays, 2 P. M. Thursdays.
The committee have adopted the following regulations for the department of sewing in the public schools : -
1. Two lessons per week shall be given to each member of a sewing class. A sewing class shall be composed of one or more grades of the grammar-school girls. The number of members of a class shall be regulated by the committee from time to time. These lessons in sewing shall not be encroached upon by other school work without consent of the Sewing Committee.
2. The regular teacher of the grade, or in case two or more grades are united, one of the regular teachers shall have charge of the dicipline of the class, shall see that the work is distributed promptly at the beginning of the sewing hour, shall assist in keep- ing each scholar diligently occupied, and shall keep a record of the marks received by each scholar for proficiency and diligence.
3. The parents are requested to provide material for their children to work upon, and, as far as possible, to cut and baste the garments at home ; but. in any case where it is not so provided, the sewing teacher will be expected to have work on hand to supply this need, that there may be no excuse for an unoccupied hour, and that time may not be wasted in sending home for work.
4. Each scholar shall come provided with needle, thread, and thimble.
5. The sewing teacher shall make all preparation for the instruc- tion before the sewing hour, so that she may give her whole atten- tion during that hour to the oversight and direction of the scholars.
Any fitting that requires time should be laid aside to be attended to out of the sewing hour, and other work supplied in its place.
6. The sewing teacher shall provide that each girl shall thoroughly learn the different varieties of work, and shall promote her from one kind to another as rapidly as she is able to advance from the simpler kinds to those more difficult, passing from plain sewing to mending. darning, fine stitching, button-hole making, and other difficult work.
7. With the consent of the committee, the sewing teacher may receive charitable work from individuals or societies, to be made
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up by the children when not furnished with proper work from home ; and these garments, when finished, shall be returned to the indi- vidual or society supplying them.
8. No scholar shall take a piece of work home until it has been finished and approved by the sewing teacher.
9. At the discretion of the committee there may be an exhibi- tion of the pupils' work once each year, to which parents and friends may be invited
10. The sewing teacher shall keep a record of the garments finished and shall report to the committee every quarter the gen- eral condition of the sewing in each school.
A. AMELIA SMEAD. ) EMILY W. HYDE, Committee. G. W. SHINN.
It will be observed that the above plan has refer- ence to girls only; meanwhile, " What shall be done with the boys?" is a problem, and one which clamors for immediate solution. To make the project sym- metrical and perfectly adapted to mixed schools, as all in our system are. the occupation should be man- ual or industrial, and it should be of like special in- terest to boys as sewing is to girls. The first and most natural suggestion is a practical acquaintance with tools and the materials upon which tools are used. . Whatever may be the sphere of a boy's activ- ity, he will constantly encounter the hard facts in- volved in the laws which govern wood and iron and stone, and a limited acquaintance with these laws is at once a source of interest and means of culture, and cannot fail to be serviceable in active life. The prac- tical difficulty is one of mode and extent. While it may not be wise or practicable to train in the rudi- ments of any handicraft, there are facts to learn and points to gain in the material realm which will render
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
any boy wiser, stronger, and more useful. Every substance wrought into objects of use or beauty, with quality, change, and combination; every imple- ment which fashions or adorns, its structure, adap- tations, and uses; every process of production or manufacture, with its reasons, its history, and its de- velopment,-will furnish matter for practical instruc- tion most acceptable to the inquisitive nature of a boy, and whose extent and variety are adequate to every capacity and every taste.
A popular error concerning this industrial feature is that its end is merely to furnish a resource to those who need it. However important this may be, it would hardly justify its general introduction, except as optional. But this narrow view fails to appre- hend one of its chief claims to a place in the course of elementary instruction,- its value as an educational appliance. There is the deftness of touch, the skill of manipulation, the want of which is so often felt in ordinary school work; the natural wish of the pupil to be useful in a practical way, to do something or make something which shall be of intrinsic value; the latent desire to render a service to some one, to relieve want, or minister to necessities; there is the apathy which comes of inability to see the use of all this brain work and the alienation begotten by a sus- picion that teachers have little interest in anything outside of books; there is the discouragement which settles like a pall upon young spirits at the discovery and reluctant acknowledgment, even to self, of mental inferiority; there is also the glimpse of the essential unity and dignity of all human endeavor for worthy ends, with the sympathy and charity which it begets,
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORI .
- all these things and more are suggested at sight of a class striving, under kindly guidance, for profi- ciency in a line of effort which soothes nerve and spirit and goes far to compensate for those inequali- ties which are developed on a purely intellectual plane.
But want of time is urged as an objection to the introduction of any addition to an already over- crowded programme. The requirements for grade and department are not absolute, but shift with every modification of plan or theory. If manual training is entitled to attention in the public schools, it has its place and time, and it remains for those whose busi- ness it is to discover what has usurped its place and is occupying its time. It is to be remembered, how- ever, that the allotment of a certain portion of time to manual industry does not necessarily imply the reduction of brain work in a corresponding ratio. Success in manual occupation involves mental train- ing, and progress in study is determined by the nature of conditions as well as by the element of time. Unless there is such an adjustment of physi- cal to mental exercise, of relaxation to labor, as to render every power most vigorous and elastic, there is waste somewhere, and increase of work even, with change, may repair the waste. Indeed it is claimed, by those whose experience qualifies them to judge, that the loss to regular work, in time, is fully com- pensated by the awakened energy and increase of intelligent interest which attend the introduction of this feature. But there is no occasion for specula- tion; it has already entered upon a stage of experi- ment in our schools and awaits the verdict of the future.
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REPORT OF SCHOOL COMMITTEE.
NO RECESS.
In accordance with a general desire which found expression in numerous requests from every quarter, your Board passed an order at the regular meeting in February to suspend, for one month, the regulation fixing the forenoon recess and hour of dismissal in the grammar grades, for the purpose of testing the plan of abolishing the general recess and dismissing, at 11.30 instead of 12 o'clock. The experiment has found such general favor and there has been such manifest unwillingness to return to the old arrange- ment, that your action has been repeated from month to month during the remainder of the year.
The change is an important one, and, in view of the time-honored custom which it displaces, little short of revolutionary; your cautious procedure, therefore, is wise and well timed. Elsewhere the innovation is violently assailed and as valiantly de- fended.
The chief considerations adduced in its favor are, V.first, those bearing upon the pupil; unbroken study hours and more time out of school, freedom from out- door exposure, rough play and bodily injury, protec- tion from vulgar associates and moral contamination ; second, those bearing upon home convenience; the half-hour before noon, enabling children of laborers to carry dinners without encroaching upon school time, an increase of interval between sessions, mak- ing the services of children available at home, to the relief of parents; third, those bearing upon the school; relief from the confusion, distraction, and loss of time incident to recess, diminution of occa-
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SUPERINTENDENT'S REPORT.
sions for discipline, improvement in attendance and punctuality.
Over against these are the denunciations of oppo- nents, who claim that children are robbed of needed recreation, and that the disregard of physical laws involved in a protracted session will result in life- long weakness and suffering.
As usual in heated controversies, the truth lies somewhere between the two extremes. Some of the objections to a general recess are entitled to little consideration. The claim that good manners and pure morals are incompatible with the promiscuous association during school hours, if pressed to its logical issue, would abolish public schools altogether. The cloister theory has had its day; the nineteenth century is too far gone for its revival, and least of all can it flourish in a republic. Dangers there are and must be in the free intercourse of all classes, but greater dangers in their separation. If children can- not associate with reasonable safety amid all the checks and safeguards of a public school, it is diffi- cult to see where such association can commence without peril.
The extreme views of the advocates of the general recess, also, seem hardly justifiable in the light of facts. If a continuous session of two and a half hours involved such a ruthless violation of natural laws as is claimed, we should probably detect some signs of it in the increased number of individual recesses, es- pecially when the public mind is on the alert for criti- cism and special pains are taken in school to interpose no obstacles. The fact is, however, that, where pupils have had time to adjust their habits to the change,
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