USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1922 > Part 15
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
Some new departures this year in several subjects studied in the school call for a word of notice. Our printing press, which was men- tioned in last year's report, has roused the interest and activity of many
258
of our boys. This subject is included in the manual training depart- ment, and is taught by Mrs. Lucas. As her time for this work is very limited, only a few of our senior boys can be admitted to the print shop for a lesson during the school hours.
But all our boys know a good thing when they see it, and so many of them have managed to secure opportunity to work in the shop by staying after school. They are anxious to work till dark, and as much longer as they can persuade the teacher to remain with them. The value of this printing work to the individual cannot be overestimated. Not only does it teach him to spell, and to arrange all kinds of printed matter properly on the page, but the self-reliance that he gains, and the ability to plan ahead, are really large factors in his growth.
This press has proved very useful to the school. All the various printed forms used in our school are now done in our print shop, and every week the spelling lessons for both seniors and juniors are struck off by the boys in numbers sufficient to supply each individual in the school with a copy.
Our senior English department has received a new impetus this fall. Miss Hood, the head of the department has inaugurated a class paper, "The Broadcast." It is wholly in the hands of the senior pupils, and all the work upon it is done by them. A very modest periodical it is, but grows better with each issue. Every senior feels it to be a stimulus to better English work, for each one hopes that sometime something from his own pen may be selected for some coming issue. So far the paper has been printed outside the school, but the next, issue will be done here by our Highland Press, and then the boys and girls will feel that the paper is at last all their own work.
This year, by rearrangement of some other subjects, we have been able to offer the subject of drawing to all pupils of the Junior High School. Hitherto, the industrial and the household arts groups only took the subject. The change has proved a wise one, and the work along applied art lines is going on with very interesting results.
Of course a great school of our size will always have many crying needs, which cry much louder to the principal's ear than to that of the public at large. But there are two serious lacks in our building which have become so insistent in their appeal that I am going to mention them here. The first is the wretched condition of the settees with which our assembly hall is supplied. We have used them very constantly for twenty-six years, a very long time indeed for such use, and they are now so dilapidated that they are unfit for the children to occupy. We never know how soon one of them will break down and precipitate its occupants upon the floor. We have had to discard a number of them, thus removing from the hall seats for fifty students, and others are constantly falling to pieces. For this reason we are unable to assemble the entire school at any time for any purpose.
259
There is another need which is much felt at this time of the year. Out of the six rooms on the first floor of our building, only two are light- ed by electricity. On very dark days at this season of the year, the teachers in these unlighted rooms are obliged to suspend all work which calls for writing, reading from the board, or other use of the eyes. In this way much valuable time is wasted. If these four rooms were lighted we should find ourselves equipped for the darkest days.
This year the school received from the senior class, who were grad- uated in June, a very charming class gift. It is a large, handsome state flag of silk, suitably inscribed with names of the school and donors. We have hung it in the assembly hall, where it is much enjoyed by all who see it.
In closing, let me say that the school is doing today the best work in its history, and that the fact is due to the earnest work and faithful co-operation of our splendid corps of teachers. Reading is greatly fav- ored in having its young people of Junior High School age under the tutelage of such a body of wise and efficient workers.
Respectfully submitted,
ALICE BARROWS.
260
REPORT ON STANDARDS AND GUIDANCE
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford,
Supt. of Schools, Reading, Mass.
Dear Sir :-
At your request, I herewith submit, with pleasure, my third annual report of my work in "Standards and Guidance."
With the understanding that it is "our job" as teachers to make the individual pupil equal to the task he is trying to escape or so modify the task that he can perform it, or give him another which he can do with satisfaction." I am certain that the year 1922, has spelled SUCCESS or has given the RE-ASSURANCE of SUCCESS to the individual boys and girls of our public schools.
When school closed for the holidays on December, the twenty- second, 926 boys and girls from grades 1-6 knew, as well as their teach- ers knew, their own measure of successful attainment for the year ending 1922.
Someone may ask, "How did they know?" The answer :- "The pu- pil keeps his everyday class room record: he plays the game, 'Beat My Own Record': he knows how well he succeeded in standardized tests given during the year; he has also tried to contribute of his best to the general good of the school." The general mental test given proves that he has the ability to do the work of the grade to which he is assigned.
So now as I said last year "as we approach mid-years, after we have all worked together to solve the problems and to overcome the diffi. culties of each pupil, I feel confident that the percentage of non-pro- motion will be less than one per cent from grades 2-6, except in special cases, and that those promoted next June will have more than covered the minimum essentials and will enter the next grade with a strong foundation for the year's work." The plan is to move onward from year to year in a continuously progressive development.
In the Junior High School, I have given personal help to those who are low in some subject or subjects, and also have helped to re- store the good standing of any pupils absent because of illness.
Already from 1920-1922 special rapid advancement has been given to those who were superior to grade. This year we think that the age- grade problem is being solved by this careful diagnosis of the individ- ual in "fitting the work to the child" rather "than by fitting the child to the work."
261
Sometimes the problem of adjustment is not of age or mental abil- ity, but rather one of the situation and of the environment of the in- dividual. Success has been won by over 75 such special adjustments.
From Sept. 11 to Dec. 31 we have the following record, Grades 1-6 :-
Enrolled 494 boys; 432 girls; total-926.
Absent Sept. 11-17; entered later.
Entered Reading School from out of Town-100.
Left Reading Schools-46.
Transfers within the town (district to district)-36.
One hundred boys and girls have entered Reading Schools since September 11 below the Junior High School. Each teacher who has received these strangers has tried to make them "welcome." Not one has lost his grade, although many helpful suggestions, extra work and special attention has been given to each new comer by the teacher and by me. We find that the standards of the Reading curriculum measure up to any standards to grades from Maine to Carolina according to the advancement in grade of each pupil entered for our range of entrants this year has been between these states.
The especially large proposition in my work this year has been the testing of all the pupils above first grade through Junior High School in the standardized tests of Arithmetic. The Peet-Dearborn Progress Tests were used from fourth grade, on.
The results showed that the class room attainment was up to the requirement for each grade. There were weaknesses and we shall try to overcome these in our progress this year.
I also tested the 290 pupils of the Junior High School by the National Intelligence Test using two forms,-one to check the other. That test- ing revealed that the present Freshmen Class of the High School and that the present Senior Class of the Junior High School as whole class- es possessed high native ability, that the groups studying together Aca- demic, Commercial and General, were "homogeneous" and that each in- dividual through his own power and effort is able to work along side his fellows and carry his own load.
The Opportunity Room now in its third year of success under the able work of Miss Alda Parker has lrelped, to date, to solve the problem of adjustment for 40 different boys and girls.
Our first grades this year were carefully organized relative to the mental age of the child. Excellent progress has been made. An ex- act report of promotions for the year cannot be made at this time, because in two rooms there have been colds, mumps, and measles, thus causing a great deal of absence.
In closing, I wish to express my appreciation of the co-operation of the parents, of the never tiring interest of teachers in the welfare of their boys and girls. I often feel that if boys and girls measure up to
1
262
the ideals and ambitions of parents and teachers, the future of our country will be truly safe-guarded.
"Last year the army and navy received $857,000,000. whereas the to- tal appropriation for science, education, agriculture and industry was $59,000,000. and both army and navy are clamoring for more. Ninety- three cents of every dollar of United States money goes for war, past, present, or to come, and only one cent goes for education and the public health."
-
"We, as teachers shall have achieved a mighty work," says Dr. Dan- iel La Rue, "if each graduate can be brought to speak not of what 'they' are doing in the town, but of what 'we' are doing."
Your careful supervision and direction of my work, combined with your personal interest in and insight into the needs of the individual child help me to do my work and to understand clearly the purpose and aim for which it was undertaken in 1920.
Respectfully submitted,
FANNIE C. WHITTEMORE,
Standards and Guidance.
December 31, 1922.
263
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF DRAWING
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford, Reading, Mass.
Dear Sir :-
At your request, I herewith submit my first annual report of the Drawing Department.
Consciously or unconsciously we do not escape the need or use of art principles for a single day. Art, then, is not for "the few" but for "the many." It is not held that the training of the public schools will produce artists, but it is held that it will raise the standards of taste throughout the community. Therefore, I am trying to keep the art training in the schools of Reading as practical as possible, touching closely the needs of the community and aiming to cultivate taste and help the students to apply that taste, to the homes, to their dress and in later years to their business. The work is so planned that very creditable results can be achieved even by those of modest ability.
Four main divisions of art study are covered. Representation, De- sign, Construction, and Art Appreciation. The courses in many cases, begin in the first grade and continue through the High School. Many of the problems are governed by the local conditions: correlation with other subjects, different mediums and material available and the plant life of the town.
Through September and October in all the grades, time is devoted to the drawing of plant forms, because they present the problems of graphic representation in their simplest form; because they are every- where available, and because the children like them and therefore draw from them with enthusiasm. In the first grade we present the simple grasses, sedges, flowers and berries,-in the upper grades the more dif- ficult specimens. Colors are then recorded in their minds; positions: vertical, horizontal, and oblique lines; also characteristic hues, values, sizes and shapes. Pencil, crayon, chalk, ink and water color are the mediums used according to the grade.
In November and December the three lower grades turn their at- tention to the drawing of boys and girls in different positions placed in simple backgrounds to make a picture. The pictures tell stories. Toys and animals add to their interest, helping them to develop the memory, imagination and ability to express their observations and ex- periences.
In the higher grades the time is devoted to drawing objects of still life, helping the pupils to recognize perspective. Books, vases, tumblers, Japanese lanterns and other objects are chosen because they
264
present either the foreshortened degrees or the ellipse. Later the theory of parallel and angular perspective is introduced, finding its way into picture study and landscape composition. This with lettering offers many suggestions for Xmas cards, calendars and other holiday gifts.
Design takes up the time through January and February. The lit- tle folks concentrate on simple borders using vertical, horizontal, slant- ing and curved lines, also geometric shapes. By a series of drill lessons they become aware of the circle, square, triangle and ablong. The meaning of balance, alternation, sequence, radiation and other prin- ciples of design, are introduced. It is hoped that the pupils will see and feel the difference between order and disorder and develop the love of order. These borders are later applied to constructed problems. Their attention is turned also to applied art, such as vases, wall paper, car- pets and articles of dress, where examples of such borders may be found.
In the upper classes the design is taken up in a more elaborate form. Design is an arrangement of masses having rhythm, balance, and harmony. The masses or spottings may be taken from natural forms as flowers, birds, butterflies and seashells and conventionalized, or the abstract fortuitous figures may be used. The units of design are then made and repeated for borders, inclosed decorations, square or circular, or continuous surface patterns. All these are applied to practical ar- ticles-such as boxes, luncheon sets, book covers. In the high school the designs are made with the intention of adapting them to leather tooling, to stenciling, or to wood cutting. Poster, card, bookplate and cover designing involves lettering, a sense of margins, monograms and a well-related separation of parts.
The ability to letter with precision, clearness, and ease is required of every pupil from the fourth grade up. This in turn calls for accur- ate measuring,-in the third grade the one inch measurement is taught, in the fourth grade the one half measurement, in the fifth the one fourth, in the sixth the one eighth, and in the upper grades still smaller measurements.
The construction in the first grade is worked out in the form of miniature furniture for doll houses. Electric cars, autos, wagons, churches, houses, boats, windmills and other objects are studied and constructed in the second and third grades; boxes and simple booklets in the fifth and sixth grades, involving measuring, designing and let- tering. Constructive thinking and ability in folding and cutting is the chief aim.
The household and costume appreciation courses call for plenty of illustrative material, good and bad. The pupils usually supply these and are led to discriminate between them. Here, experience in select- ing according to principles is more important than drawing on paper. The lessons are carried out by the use of a scrap or note book, placing in them illustrative examples, labelled good or bad, accompanied by nótes.
265
In the discussion of these problems the pupils see for themselves that art is not merely a subject to be studied in the studio or museum, but that it exists in good form or bad in all their surroundings, and that they must continually display their taste in the commonest af- fairs of life.
It is a pleasure to work with the children of Reading and I am sure the Drawing Department will grow in excellence since all the teachers are giving such fine, genuine co-operation. Miss Emerson, our Junior High School assistant in drawing has proven her interest in the work by completing a Saturday morning course in drawing, given by Miss Cleaves of Boston who is one of the best instructors in art in the state.
At this time may I thank you, Mr. Safford for your kind advice and interest in the work.
Respectfully submitted,
M. ADELINE LAHAISE.
266
REPORT OF ATTENDANCE OFFICER
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford,
Supt. of Schools, Reading, Mass.
Dear Sir :-
Herewith is submitted the report of the Attendance Officer for the year just completed. Since the present officer has had charge of this work only from the first of October, the report will necessarily be brief and touch but lightly upon the work of Mr. Hutchinson, who resigned at the end of the school year in June, 1922. On account of illness, Mr. Hutchinson was unable to attend fully to his duties for some weeks before his resignation and on numerous occasions we received valuable assistance from the Police Department in following up absentees and truants. The latter were not many and the different principals cared for their own problems so far as possible. We thank them and the po- lice for their helpful co-operation on these and later occasions. When school began in September, Mr. Safford undertook the task of round- ing up those who for one reason or another were out of school. No de- tailed record of this was made, but when in October the duty fell upon the present officer, a card index of pupils looked up and visited in their homes was started. From the first of October to the last day of De- cember one hundred twenty-five personal visits have been made to the homes of pupils and their parents informed of absences, lack of prompt- ness, (tardiness), failures in studies due to these causes, and other be- haviour problems. In only a few instances have we found parents un- responsive, but in many cases of lack of interest on the part of the children we have felt that the fault lay largely in the home manage- ment. We have had occasion but once to swear out a warrant for tru- ancy, and the case was settled without the appearance of the boy in court because, when he found the School Department meant to press the matter, he decided to go voluntarily to a vocational school in a neigh- boring city rather than be sent to a truant school until he was of age to leave school and go to work. In this case the parents were extremely pleasant to deal with and helped in every way to bring the boy to his senses. In regard to other cases of non-attendance or irregular attend- ance we have found that some times illness of the child, or another mem- ber of the family, lack of proper clothing, unsanitary living conditions, and such causes contributed to the delinquency. On the whole we feel that Reading has comparatively little cause for complaint in this respect, as nearly all the children of school age in the town are at present in school and the majority seem to stay in school as long as possible for them to do so.
267
School certificates have been issued according to the law to boys and girls under twenty-one who have left school to go to work, or who work during vacations and at other times when schools are not in ses- sion. We have found that some firms in Reading are lax in that they either do not demand these certificates when minors come to them for employment or fail to send back these certificates promptly when these minors leave their employ. If, in all cases of minors seeking employ- ment, employers would require the certificates on hand before giving employment, we should have a better check upon the issuance of certifi- cates. Then, if certificates could be returned as soon as minors leave employment, there would be less confusion in regard to the status of the minors themselves. It seems hardly necessary to add that in case of failure to demand a certificate or failure to return a certificate there is a definite law being broken and a penalty attached. The School De- partment wishes to co-operate with firms in the town, but has a duty to enforce the law on these matters.
The Attendance Officer has one serious difficulty and that is the size of the territory to be covered when looking up stray boys and girls. Reading is large in area and it is impossible to walk and make many visits in a day.
The School Nurse and the Director of Standards and Guidance find the same trouble in making their rounds. If an automobile could be furnished for the use of the School Department, it could be easily man- aged so that all three might use it daily.
Respectfully submitted,
ABIGAIL H. MINGO, Attendance Officer.
Reading, Massachusetts December 31, 1922.
268
REPORT OF SCHOOL NURSE
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford,
Superintendent of Schools,
Reading, Mass.
Dear Sir:
I herewith submit my second annual report as school nurse in Reading:
Number of visits to schools 265
Number of visits to homes 444
Children attending dental clinic 742
Children accompanied to doctor 2
Children accompanied to dispensary 76
Miscellaneous visits 123
Number of cases discharged, cured or corrected:
Dental 240
Ocular 17
Surgical 12
Medical 10
Number excluded because of contagion 59
/ Number discharged to other agencies 7
Time spent in schools 564 hrs.
Number of inspections of children 14,296
Talks to pupils in class 135
Classes conducted 62
Inspection of building and premises 56
School Work.
No important changes have been made in the regular routine of the work. Each school has been visited once a week for the purpose of in- specting for general cleanliness, contagion, pediculosis, sanitary condi- tions and for the purpose of instructing the children in health habits.
In spite of the fact that the dental clinic has been in operation since October 1921, the number of carious teeth found remains comparatively high. The number reported for the year being 411; of these 244 have received treatment at the school clinic and many more at the offices of the local dentists. There are still many parents who do not realize to what extent the general health of the child is dependent on oral hy- giene but seem to consider the presence of decayed teeth in their child's
269
mouth a matter of small account. Several years ago Prof. Osler stated "There is not a single thing more important in the range of hygiene than the hygiene of the mouth."
The number of tonsil cases shows a decrease of 88; with sixty-six children operated upon during the year.
The medical inspection of our schools has never included, except in selected cases, an examination of the heart and lungs. This sort of examination is not only desirable but essential if prevention is to be our slogan.
In the schools a greater effort has been made to correlate the health work with the other school subjects. This has been made possible by the co-operation of the teachers who have not only been ready to carry on any plan suggested but many of them have invented ways and means of getting health education across to the children. To this end daily health records have been kept, cleanliness contests have been carried on, posters and booklets have been made and health games and songs have been learned. Classes in Home Nursing and Mothercraft have been carried on through the year at the Grouard House.
Follow Up Work in the Home
Four hundred and forty-four home visits have been made (a) to urge the correction of physical defects such as defective vision and hearing, defective teeth, diseased tonsils, adenoids, swollen glands, mal- nutrition, etc.
(b) to follow up exclusions to see that the instructions of the school physician are carried out.
(c) to investigate absences for (1) illness (2) cases other than tru- ancy.
(d) to instruct the families in (1) hygiene (2) keeping the quar- antine laws.
The matter of transportation in home visiting presents a serious problem. As the homes visited are widely scattered and in many cases the families live on the outskirts of the town, very often more time is spent in getting to and from the cases than would be required to make several visits near by.
Dental Clinic
Mention should be made of the splendid work which is being done by Dr. Bates at the Red Cross Dental Clinic. It is the plan of the clinic to have the children return periodically by way of prophylaxis and the number of cases who have returned after six months or more and have required only an examination and cleaning or small amount of work done has been very gratifying. A report of the cases treated at the clinic follows:
Examinations 237; Extractions 339; Prophylaxis 236; Treatments 41; Fillings 795; Total 1648.
270
Other Agencies
We are again indebted to the Reading Tuberculosis Committee for supplying milk to underweight needy children in the schools and for other material aid; to the Reading Red Cross for free dental treatment in cases where the parents were unable to pay and to the Parent-Teachers Association in the Lowell and Prospect Street Schools for their interest and co-operation in health matters.
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.