USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1881-1882 > Part 4
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teaching, the discipline and its effect, the general bearing and be- havior of the pupils in their intercourse with each other and with the teacher.
Examination includes the testing of pupils by oral and written examination on the work done in the class during each term. In- spection implies not only a critical examination of the details of every day school life, but also should carry with it a knowledge of schools and the best methods of instruction, in order that kindly suggestions and timely advice could be given to the teacher.
Many of the smaller towns have united and hired a superintend- ent, others have made arrangements by which the High school Principal is enabled to give a part of his time to the supervision of the lower grades. We believe the best interests of our schools would be enhauced by the latter plan. It could be accomplished without any additional expense.
If the Principal should spend only two or three hours a week in supervising the lower grades much good would be accomplished.
PARENTS.
Those persons who are the most thoroughly acquainted with our schools hold the highest opinion of them. They know their virtues as well as their faults. The unjust criticisms come from those who have either no knowledge or a very superficial knowledge of them. Therefore we earnestly desire that parents and friends of education would visit the schools, and see their children and teachers at work in the school room. It stimulates the children and encourages the teacher. Horace Mann went so far as to maintain the opinion : - " As the parents, so is the school."
DISCIPLINE.
Character is moulded more by feeling than thinking, especially is it true of children. There must be mutual love and respect be- tween pupils and teacher ; with that love should come that mag- netic force,-that indescribable, invisible something,-which draws the pupils to the teacher and creates order, interest, activity, cheer- fulness and the joy of conscious progress, and shows its effect in the growth of the child. Without this love and respect, except by fear and brute force, we' see disorder, listlessness, indolence, mis-
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chievousness and dislike of study. One is true discipline-self- government ; the other is the substitute of it-brute force.
Nothwithstanding the important element which love furnishes in discipline, there is danger of love degenerating into softness; there is an element of hardihood to be encouraged to meet life. Our children must have fortitude and a strength of mind and body, which can be secured only by habits of vigorous activity.
How much parents can aid in all this will be realized when we remember that the first five years of a child's life are at home and under only home training. These are maintained by many to be the most important years of a child's life. Obedience is, or ought to be, first taught at home.
ARITHMETIC.
This subject has received the special attention of the Committee during the past year, not because we think it the alpha and omega of all education, but because we deem it one of the important studies, and we found in our examinations that the pupils , were more deficient in this branch than in any of the others.
A child begins the study of numbers before he learns to read, and there is no reason why a child should not be taught the four fundamental principles of arithmetic when he first enters school. Caution should be used to carry on the combinations with numbers not over ten, and with the aid of objects. We believe improve- ment has been made during the past year.
The teachers have been consulted in relation to instruction in the metric system. We hope to report progress on this subject in our next report. It is not improbable, that the pupilsj attending school at the present time will live to see the metric system of weights and measures universally used in the United States. It has already been adopted by most of the civilized nations of the world.
TEACHERS.
The celebrated French philosopher and educator, Cousin, said .: " As the teacher, so is the school." This truism hasInever been refuted. We can build palatial school-houses, provide them with elegant furniture and valuable apparatus, have them kept neatly
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and comfortably, yet have very poor schools. If we have good teachers, we can have good schools with very few conveniences and meagre appliances of education. The soul and life of the school resides in the teacher. Upon him depends whether the influences emanating from the school-room will be transitory, or whether they will be felt by the pupil throughout his whole life. When Philip of Macedon brought his son (afterwards Alexander the Great) to be instructed by " that man who, considered in respect his intellect, was the most remarkable man that ever lived," he said to him these words : "I thank the Gods not so much that they have given me a son, as that he is born in the time of Aristotle, under whose instruction I hope the young Prince may become worthy of his high destiny." Was it the buildings and surround- ings, or Dr. Arnold's magnetic power and noble character, that made Rugby possible and "Tom Brown" a reality. Our late lamented President testified to the influence upon his career " of the venerable and honored Mark Hopkins, who, in the fullness of his powers, survives the eminent pupil to whom he was of in- estimable service." As so much depends on the ability of the teacher, how necessary it is that we should rightly consider the qualifications which he ought to possess. In order that we may be able to judge correctly, we must have a correct idea of educa- tion in its broadest sense-morally, mentally and physically. Edu- cation should draw out and develop the whole nature. Committees, in their examination of candidates, consider too often only the intellectual qualifications, which are very easily ascertained, but are only one of the indications of a good teacher. A person may possess encyclopediac knowledge, but have very poor faculty to impart the same. Dr. Arnold admirably said, when inquiring about a master, " I prefer activity of mind and an interest in his work to high scholarship, for the one may be acquired far more easily than the other." The teacher should possess a high moral character, reinforced by unlimited enthusiasm and love for his work. He must be able to impart and make that enthusiasm felt. He must be able to instruct and inspire his pupils to do, as well as to know (we all know better than we do); not only communicate knowl- edge, but what is worth more, the love of it. A teacher cannot
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form character, but can help the pupil in many ways to form his own character. Much of the school work must be self-help. Character implies self-government. Telling is not teaching. Any, body that can read can "hear the lessons," but very few can teach. A good teacher must always be a student; the pupils must draw from a mind of constant activity-
" For little way his learning reaches, Who reads no more than what he teaches."
It has been well said that "what is to be sought is skill in suggest- ing points of thought; in questioning so as to lead the understanding on the way, and in placing the subject of study in a variety of lights and relations which may interest different minds. The man who wishes to teach, and not merely hear lessons, must put himself in living sympathy with the learners, must detect their difficulties, and by his own superior knowledge supply the helps which con- tribute to the activity and interest of the mind." He will then feel the "luxury of teaching." Dr. Arnold's power was his intellectual energy, decision and uprightness. By his perfect integrity of char- acter he exerted a moral influence over his boys, not only while under his care and tutelage, but throughout their whole lives, urging them on to noble deeds and a true manhood. He taught the important lesson that
" Life is real, life is earnest." APPROPRIATIONS.
We recommend that the sum of $8,000 be raised for the main- tenance of schools, and $700 additional for incidental expenses. Attention is invited to the tables, etc., accompanying this report.
SUB-COMMITTEES.
HIGH SCHOOL-W. S. Parker and H. G. Kittredge.
FIRST GRAMMAR-H. G. Kittredge.
SECOND GRAMMAR-Dr. George E. Putney.
THIRD GRAMMAR-S. E. Parker.
UPPER MEDIUM-J. A. Bancroft.
LOWER MEDIUM-W. S. Parker.
UPPER PRIMARY-Edward F. Parker.
LOWER PRIMARY-W. S. Parker.
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WALNUT STREET SCHOOL-Dr. Putney. WOBURN STREET SCHOOL-J. A. Bancroft. LOWELL STREET SCHOOL-H. G. Kittredge. MAIN STREET SCHOOL-Edward F. Parker. HAVERHILL STREET SCHOOL-S. E. Parker. Respectfuly submitted.
WALTER S. PARKER," Chairman. HENRY G. KITTREDGE, STILLMAN E. PARKER, DR. GEORGE E. PUTNEY, EDWARD F. PARKER, JAMES A. BANCROFT,
School Committee of Reading.
ADOPTED IN SCHOOL COMMITTEE :
March 11, 1882.
APPENDIX.
GENERAL STATISTICS.
Population of Reading 3,181 Number of children between 5 and 15 years of age, May,
1881 519
Amount appropriated for instruction, fuel snd care of rooms. $8,000 00
Amount appropriated for incidentals.
700 00
Amount drawn from State School Fund
185 83
Amount received from other sources.
20 54
Total receipts. 8,906 37 Expended for instruction, fuel and care of
rooms.
$8,130 02
Expended for incidentals.
720 54
Expended for books, etc.
55 81
Total expenditures
$8,906 37
PUPILS.
Whole number of pupils enrolled during the year. 606
Average whole number (from returns of each term). 526
Average daily attendance 458
Per cent. of attendance (based upon average number enrolled), .87 Number enrolled during the year between 8 and 14 years of
age (compulsory school age). 320
Number of pupils admitted to High School. 42
Youngest pupil admitted, age 12 years G mos.
Oldest
16
7
Average age of pupils admitted 14
66 4
73
TEACHERS.
Number of male teachers employed 1
Number of female teachers employed .. 16
Average wages per month of female teachers. $37 50
Number of teachers who have attended normal schools. 9 Number of teachers who have graduated from normal schools S
NAMES OF PUPILS GRADUATED FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL, JUNE, 1881.
Edea R. Beers,
Helen G. Brown,
Hattie M. Chase,
Sylvinia F. Moulton,
Agnes H. Forbes,
Susan R. Nichols,
Mary E. Freeman,
Emma W. Rich,
Mary A. Graves,
Catherine C. Wight,
Jennie D. Harnden,
George A. Vermille,
Lydia A. Holden,
Charles L. Walker,
Althea M. Howard,
John E. Walker,
Fannie A. LaClair,
Willie A. Weston.
ROLL OF HONOR.
Giving the names of those who have been neither absent nor tardy since March, 1881, and the schools to which they belong. HIGH SCHOOL
+Martha E. Babb,
** Hattie E. Damon, ¿M. Alice Emerson, ** Annie C. Lawrence, §Annie M. Moulton,
Mary A. Bancroft, ** Emma M. Damon,
Abbie J Eames,
Charles A. Norris, Frank S. Vermille.
FIRST GRAMMAR.
Frank Norris (not absent-tardy once). SECOND GRAMMAR. Annie M. Vermille, Nellie Riordan (not absent-tardy once). George Dow,
THIRD GRAMMAR.
Charles Damon,
Mamie Vermille,
*Everett Skinner, +Kirke Sanborn.
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May L. Temple,
UNION STREET UPPER MEDIUM. *Henry W. Jones. UNION STREET LOWER MEDIUM. Eben G. Beard. UNION STREET UPPER PRIMARY. Wilfred Bancroft. WOBURN STREET GRAMMAR. *Lucy Roby. WALNUT STREET GRAMMAR. Delia Converse. 4 LOWELL STREET MIXED. *Nathaniel G. Hill. HAVERHILL STREET MIXED. Willie H. Killam.
* Neither absent nor tardy in two years.
t Neither absent nor tardy in three years.
# Neither absent nor tardy in four years.
** Neither absent nor tardy in five years. § Neither absent nor tardy in six years.
Table Showing Salaries, Attendance and Number of Visitors.
NAMES OF SCHOOLS.
Teachers now Employed.
Salary now Paid.
Ist Term ....
2d Term ..
3d Term.
|Ist Term.
2d Term.
3d Term.
over 15 years.
Pupils during year
under 5 years.
Pupils during year
High School.
151 ..
Miss Mary L. Stinchfield, Ist Assistant ...
12 00 per week.
87
98
33
85
96
87
67
First Grammar
139.
Miss Jennie R. Barrus ...
13 00
do
41
32
42
30
29
9
Second Grammar.
120 ..
Miss Harriet R. Morse ..
12 00
do
23
31
32
22
30
31
4
Third Grammar ..
114 ..
Miss Alice M. Barrows.
12 00
do
27
29
28
25
26
24
Woburn Street Grammar
90.
Miss Clara J. Coney.
12 00
do
30
33
31
27
29
27
Walnut Street Grammar
70 ..
Miss Sarah M. Pearson.
8 00
do
25
2.2
23
20
16
17
Upper Medium.
123 .. Miss Evelyn S. Foster.
10 00
do
28
33
33
25
32
25
Lower Medium
Mrs. Alice Emerson.
9 00
do
33
35
36
31
32
28
Union Street Upper Primary.
228. . Mrs. Sarah A. Goodridge.
10 00
do
58
52
54
51
46
41
...
Union Street Lower Primary ...
210. . [Miss F. M. Stebbins ..
10 00
do
54
48
48
43
38
31
1
76 ..
Miss Martha F. Davis
6 00
do
38
37
30
32
27
26
..
41 ..
ĮMiss Vestina P. Converse ..
6 00
do
30
31
28
29
33
21
2
Lowell Street Mixed ..
67. . | Miss Cora M. Prescott ..
9 00
do
28
24
29
23
17
23
.
42 ..
6 00
do
10
10
10
10
9
8
..
Haverhill Street Mixed ..
73 ..
Miss L. A. Wakefield ..
6 00
do
15
10
11
13
9
9
2
Totals ..
1,698
530
525
522
478 470
427
80
5
Number of Pupils.
Average Attendance.
Number of Visitors.
E. P. Fitts, Principal
$1200 00 per year.
( Miss Cora Adama, 2d Assistant.
9 00
do
154 ..
Woburn Street Primary ..
Walnut Street Primary.
Main Street Mixed.
Miss Elia F. Wakefield ..
....
-
..
Expenses of Schools,
INSTRUCTION.
Paid for teaching High School. $1,913 75
First Grammar 494 00
Second Grammar 456 00
Third Grammar
456 00
Woburn Street Grammar
438 00
Walnut Street Grammar.
304 00
Upper Medium
380 00
Lower Medium 354 00
Union Street Upper Primary. 380 00
Union Street Lower Primary . 356 00
Woburn Street Primary. -
258 30
Walnut Street Primary 228 00
Lowell Street Mixed 330 00
Main Street Mixed 228 00
Haverhill Street Mixed 228 00
Instruction in Music.
340 00
-$7,144 05
JANITORS.
Paid for care of Centre School Buildings. $ 318 00
Woburn Street School Buildings. 55 40
Walnut Street School Buildings- 51 50
Lowell Street School Buildings. 31 25
Main Street School Buildings. .. 28 50
Haverhill Street School Buildings 28 50
- -$513 15
Amount carried forward,
$7,657 20
.
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Amount brought forward, $7,627 20
FUEL.
Paid Wendell Bancroft for coal $ 267 00
J. C. Gleason for coal 13 75
.J. L. Parker for wood 130 20
E. F. Parker for wood.
7 50
George Beasley for wood
14 00
Labor on wood. 40 37
$472 82
Total amount expended $8,130 02
Receipts : -
Appropriation .
$8,000 00
Drawn from School Ennd. 130 02
-- $8,130 02
STATE SCHOOL FUND.
Balance, March, 1881. $ 161 66
Received from Treasurer of Commonwealth. 200 65
$362 31
Expended for books, etc., on incidental account 55 81
for tuition.
130 02
Amount remaining unexpended 176 48
$362 31
TUITION OF NON-RESIDENTS.
Balance, March, 1881
$7 90
Tuition
6 00
$13 90
Paid into Treasury incidental account. -
$13 90
INCIDENTAL SCHOOL EXPENSES.
Paid W H. Twombly, printing $34 00
Cummings' Express fees, 1880-'81. 18 00
Lang's Express fees .. 90
Daniel L. Barnard, labor.
1 00
J. L. Hammett, sundries
16 25
-
Amount carried forward,
$70 15
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Paid N. W. Broad, labor and material. 101 45 Marshall & Sparrell, tickets for High School graduating exercises. 1 25
D. Lathrop & Co., books .. 12 60
George L. Perry, sundries 10 64
Citizens" Gas Light Company, gas for High School . 5 60
Old"South Parish, use of church.
15 00
Old South Sabbath School, use of piano, 1879-'80-'81. 9 00
F. J. Bancroft, tuning piano. 1 50
New England School Furnishing Company, bell . 1 25
William Ware & Co., sundries 8 33
G. W. Atkinson, sundries. 4 70
S. E. Parker, traveling expenses 5 00
S. R. Roby, labor.
6 18
D. P. Babb, labor.
1 25
Danniel Appleton & Co., sundries
3 50
A. G. Whitcomb, desks, etc. 36 25
E. Davies, Cyclopedia. 12 00
H. G. Kittredge, cash for sundries 13 64
R. P. Burgess, labor and material. 20 40
Elizabeth Gordey, cleaning school-rooms. . 5 00
Moses E. Nichols, labor and material 8 96
A. D. Albe, ink wells. 34 50
A. W. Danforth, books 21 30
W. H. Willis, books. 4 15
George E. Stevens, furnace and fixtures. 202 20
F. E. Brooks, cleaning windows
3 00
E. F. Parker, sundries 11 94
J. B. Plummer & Co., sundries 5 75
J. C. Cook, setting glass. 2 00
A. S. Richardson, labor. 3 50
Garfield & Co., slating black-boards S4 95
Amount carried forward,
$724 99
79
Amount brought forward, $724 99
Paid Garfield & Co., slating blackboards, 1880 .. . 12 55
Warren Parker, repairs 3 18
J. N. Nichols, repairs. 70
H. P. Pratt, cleaning Old South Church for exhibition 3 00
S. M. Hall, repairs
50
Wendell Bancroft, repairs
S 00
Parker & Stone, sundries
2 88
Bessie Duley, book.
25
Titus & Stevens, repairs of stove
75
T. Littlefield, sundry supplies and repairs. 9 60
George O. Batchelder, rent of Main Street School lot. 5 00
Mrs. George O. Batchelder, cleaning for schools 3 00
Total amount expended $776 35
Receipts : -
Appropriation. $700 00
From sale of old junk . 6 14
From tuition of non-residents
13 90
Drawn from school-fund
55 81
For setting glass 50
$776 35
TOWN WARRANT.
COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS. MIDDLESEX SS.
To either of the Constables of the Town of Reading,
GREETING : In the name of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts you are hereby required to notify and warn the inhabi- tants of the town of Reading, qualified to vote in elec- tions and town affairs, to meet in Lyceum Hall, in said Reading, on Monday, the third day of April, A. D., 1882, at nine o'clock in the forenoon, to act on the fol- lowing articles, viz .:
ARTICLE 1. To choose a Moderator to preside at said meeting.
ART. 2. To hear and act on the report of the Au- ditors, Treasurer, Collectors, Selectmen, Assessors, Overseers of the Poor, School Committee, Road Com- missioners, Engineers of the Fire Department, Trus- tees of the Public Library and Trustees of the Ceme- tery.
ART. 3. To choose a Town Clerk, Selectmen, As- sessors, Overseers of the Poor, Treasurer, Collector, two School Committee for three years, one School Com- mittee for one year, one Road Commissioner for three years, and all other necessary town officers.
ART. 4. To see if the town will raise and appropriate the sum of five hundred dollars for the purpose of lay- ing concrete sidewalks the ensuing year, provided the abutters pay one half the expense of laying the same.
ART. 5. To see if the town will raise and appropri- ate the sum of five hundred dollars for the improve- ment of the common, or what they will do in relation thereto.
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ART. 6. To take a vote, as provided in Chapter 54 of the Statutes of 1881, on the question of granting licenses for the sale of intoxicating liquors the ensuing year. In this vote the check list will be used and the ballots will be " yes " or "no," in answer to the ques- tion : "Shall licenses be granted for the sale of intoxi- cating liquors in this town? "
ART. 7. To see if the town will release to Eben Beard, the real estate at the southwest corner of Pleas- ant and John Streets, now occupied by him, or what action shall be taken in relation thereto.
ART. 8. To see what provisions and arrangements the town will make concerning truant children and ab- sentees from school as required by law.
ART. 9. To see if the town will accept from Sabri- na Nichols one hundred dollars in trust; the income to be applied to taking care of Jonathan Baldwin's lot, No. 359, in the Reading Cemetery.
ART. 10. To see if the town will remove the pump at the junction of Main and Ash Streets; the same not being a public necessity, and is dangerous to public travel.
ART. 11. To see if the town will instruct the engi- neers to dispose of Engine No. 3, and also the Engine House.
ART. 12. To see if the town will lower the Walnut Street School House to a proper level with the street, or what they will do in relation thereto.
ART. 13. To see if the town will instruct the Road Commissioners to use the gravel remaining in the Wal- nut Street school yard, upon the highways.
ART. 14. To see if the town will comply with the request of the Secretary of the Commonwealth, in send- ing to his office the balance of the old journals of the House of Representatives now in the town clerk's of- fice.
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ART. 15. To see if the town will erect and maintain a sufficient number of bulletin boards to accommodate the requirements of the town, or what they will do in relation thereto.
ART. 16. To see if the town will authorize the Se- lectmen to transfer any unexpended balance which may not be needed for the object for which it was appropri- ated to any other for which the appropriation is insuf- ficient.
ART. 17. To see if the town will authorize the Treasurer, under the direction of the Selectmen, to pay notes owed by the town and negotiate others of the same amounts when it can be done at a lower rate of interest.
ART. 18. To see if the town will employ a night watch the ensuing year, or what they will do in re- lation thereto.
ART. 19. To see if the town will raise and appropri- ate the sum of six hundred dollars for the widening of Ash Street, as required by the order of the County Commissioners, and appropriate such sum in addition as may be required.
ART. 20. To see if the town will raise and appro- priate the sum of six hundred dollars for the purpose of removing the ledge on Main Street, opposite the es- tate of the late Newton Bancroft, or what they will do in relation thereto.
ART. 21. To see if the town will build a cistern at the corner of Lowell Street and Bancroft Avenue, and also at or near the corner of Summer Avenue and Wal- nut Street.
ART. 22. To see if the town will erect and maintain street lights at the corner of Parker and John Streets, John and Union, High and Green, Minot and Wash- ington, Main and Avon, Summer Avenue and Mineral, and also on Summer Avenue at a point two hundred and
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fifty feet south of Mineral Street, and how much money they will raise and appropriate therefor.
ART. 23. To see if the town will raise and appro- priate the sum of one hundred and twenty-five dollars for the purchase of a new flag and topmast, and for re- pairing and painting the flagstaff.
ART. 24. To determine how much money the town will raise for schools, incidental school expenses, for re- pairing highways and bridges, for the Fire Depart- ment, for the support of the poor, for lighting and care of street lights, for salaries of town officers, for military aid, printing, abatement of taxes, town office, and mis- cellaneous expenses for the ensuing year.
ART .. 25. To determine how much money the town will raise and appropriate for the improvement of the Cemetery the ensuing year.
ART. 26. To determine how much money the town will raise for the repair and decoration of soldiers' graves the ensuing year.
ART. 27. To determine how much money the town will raise and appropriate for the Public Library the ensuing year.
ART. 28. To determine how much money the town will raise and appropriate for the Old South Clock the ensuing year.
ART. 29. To determine how much money the town will raise and appropriate for the payment of interest on the town debt the ensuing year.
ART. 30. To determine how much money the town will raise and appropriate for the payment of the town debt the ensuing year.
ART. 31. To hear and act upon the report of the committee chosen at the last annual town meeting to investigate the matter of a new engine house for Eagle Engine No. 4, and also the needs of the Hook & Ladder Company.
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ART 32. To see if the town will erect a town building in accordance with the suggestions of the com- mittee named in article 31, and how much money they will raise and appropriate therefor, or what they will do in relation thereto.
ART. 33. To see what action the town will take in regard to the payment of a note of fifteen thousand dollars due Maria L. Delabarre, January 1, 1883.
ART. 34. To see if the town will authorize their Treasurer to hire money under the direction of the Se- lectmen, in anticipation of taxes.
ART. 35. To see what instructions the town will give their Assessors and Collector.
ART. 36. To hear and act on a list of Jurors pie- pared by the Selectmen.
ART. 37. To hear and act on the report of the Road Commissioners in relation to guideposts.
ART. 38. To see if the town will accept the report of the Road Commissioners, on naming the street on the easterly side of the Common leading from Pleasant street past the residence of C. D. Wright, Esq., and Lu- cius Turner, to Salem street, or what they will do in re- lation thereto.
Hereof fail not, and make due return of this warrant, with your doings therein, to the Town Clerk, at or be- fore the time appointed for said meeting.
Given under our hands, this twenty-third day of March, A.D., 1882.
JAMES REID, Selectmen
WILLIAM J. HOLDEN, of
JOSEPH L. PRATT, Reading.
A true copy. - Attest :
WILLIAM L. CROWE,
Constable.
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