USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1923 > Part 10
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"This predominance of the critical over the creative has usually pre- vailed in academic institutions. They are places where the great creative work of the past is told about; but seldom where the great creative work of the present is done. Pioneer spirits are sturdy individualists. They shun institutionalization. The function of glorifying the creative triumphs of the past to the youth of the present is a vastly useful one. But the stimulation of creative activity in youth is a function much more vital. Many of the world's greatest creators passed through the univer- sities of their time; but how many did their supreme work in or through institutions of learning ?
"Now and again a vigorous creative personality finds its way into a college faculty, a secondary school or a public school, and life abundant for all who come in contact' with it is the consequence, Ask any school- boy or schoolgirl to tell you about their various teachers, and see how quickly you get a description of one of these creative minds if the young- ster has been lucky enough to have one for instructor.
"The final examination question is whether to have examinations of any kind. And the final answer to this examination question is that if the instruction is given by a sufficiently creative mind, the test of the student's ability becomes not how much he has acquired, but with how much excel- lence he can create."
Repairs of Buildings
The high cost of labor and materials has tended to put off as long as possible not only new construction but repairs and general up-keep of buildings and grounds. All our buildings have been erected for considerable periods and increasingly require repairs and alterations.
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As the result of conversations between the representatives of the School Committee and the Town Finance Committee, sub-committes of the latter body were appointed last year to look over the several school buildings and report on needed repairs. Under the direction of Mr. Quimby of the sub-committee on School Houses and Property a list of special repairs with reliable estimates of cost have been prepared and presented to the Town Finance Committee together with the estimates for the annual School Budget. The estimated cost of these special repairs is about eleven thousand dollars. New heating and ventilation for the Center school was not included because accurate estimates of the cost could not be obtained without plans and specifications from a heating engineer.
With such a large amount of work needed it has been very difficult to keep the schools going without exceeding the amounts appropriated. During the past year we were compelled by the State Inspector of Build- ings to install smoke screens in the High School which finally cost about a thousand dollars above the estimate in the budget owing to required changes in method of construction. Also increased coal consumption and increased price of coal caused the estimates for fuel to be exceeded by a considerable amount. On this account some bills remained unpaid at the close of the financial year. Except for the extra cost of the smoke screens and fuel above the estimates there would have been sufficient funds to pay all bills and keep the schools going to the close of the year. At the time the bills which remain unpaid were contracted there seemed to be a sufficient balance to warrant their contraction but later fixed charges and fuel used up the balance and left a deficit. If there had not been such an urgent need for repairs in order to keep the schools running more leeway would have been allowed. The appropriation should not be exceeded of course even if the schools have to be closed ..
In Conclusion
I wish again to call attention to the several reports appended: The report of the Principal of the Senior High School, of the Agricultural Instructor, of the Principal of the Junior High School, of the Director of Standards and Guidance, of the Attendance Officer, of the School Nurse and Supervisors.
"The Health Work of the schools has been carried on with vigor during the past year and several important clinics held. Also, the pre- school clinic and dental clinic have been carried on by co-operating agencies during the year. Our thanks are due for the splendid co- operation of these assisting agencies including Parent-Teacher Associa- tions, Red Cross, Christmas Seal Committee, Reading Woman's Club Health Committee and many individuals who have given unsparingly of time and money to help the children.
I thank the School Committee and teachers for their generous con- sideration and helpful co-operation.
Respectfully submitted,
ADELBERT L. SAFFORD, Superintendent.
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REPORT OF PRINCIPAL OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford, Superintendent.
Dear Sir :- I have the honor to submit to you my third annual report for the high school.
It seems to me that the outstanding feature of the high school is its remarkable growth. The enrollment at the beginning of the year was 505, the largest number of pupils ever registered in the school. In the three years the attendance has increased by over one hundred pupils, which is a rather rapid rate of growth.
I would like to call to your attention the fact that Reading has a high school population entirely out of proportion to the size of the town. The number of pupils in the high school exceeds, in many cases, the high school population of towns almost twice the size of Reading. This is oftentimes not considered when the question of costs is under discussion. With a small town population, Reading is carrying the expense of a high school equal in numbers to that of the high schools of larger towns. That so large a number of pupils attend the upper school is a very creditable and desirable thing for the town, beyond a doubt, and I hope that such a condition may prevail always, for a large high school attendance surely ought finally to result in a larger group of citizens who possess a high level of education.
It may be of some interest to note the population of some of the towns near Reading, as well as the high school attendance of these towns:
School
Population 1920
Attendance
Wakefield
13,025
586
Stoneham
7,873
350
Reading
7,439
455
Methuen
15,189
358
Watertown
21,457
526
Waltham
30,195
680
Melrose
18,204
677
Belmont
10,749
423
These figures are taken from the 1922-23 report of the Department of Education.
A feature which should be given some attention is that the growth of the school population has long since outdistanced a proportionate in- crease in the teaching force. If the fundamental fact of school adminis- tration, that a new teacher should be added for every twenty-five new pupils, is kept in mind, it can be seen readily that one added teacher for
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one hundred new pupils hardly meets the situation. A growth of such pro- portions calls for four new teachers, and the lack of such additional teachers, no doubt, accounts for the growth in the number of classes in which there are more pupils than can be handled satisfactorily.
For purposes of comparison, I am offering a table in which is shown the number of pupils in the high schools and the number of full time teachers, as taken from the 1923 state department report :-
High School
Attendance
Teachers
Wakefield
586
28
Stoneham
350
14
Reading
455
17
Methuen
322
12
Watertown
526
22
Waltham
680
35
Melrose
677
33
Belmont
423
21
In 1921 there were but two classes with thirty pupils. This year there are eighteen classes with thirty or more pupils, and four classes of over forty pupils. I need not enlarge upon the fact that no teacher can ob- tain desired results with such swollen classes. These classes too often resolve themselves into periods requiring more time for discipline than for teaching. There is no remedy, in my mind, but an increase in the number of teachers.
It is sometimes asked as to how Reading compares with other schools in the number of pupils who try the college board examinations. In order to answer this I am offering a list taken from the last annual report of the college board :-
School
Attendance
Number
Wakefield
586
38
Stoneham
350
9
Reading
455
66
Methuen
322
23
Watertown
526
57
Waltham
680
66
Melrose
677
101
Medford
1308
69
It seems from this list that Reading is sending a very large number of pupils to take the college board examinations.
The tutoring plan which was put into effect last year has been en- larged and systematized this year, and is giving splendid results. Out of the number of pupils who have been aided by the tutoring over fifty percent have obtained passing grades, and in this way the efficiency of the school has been increased and the cost, due to failures, decreased. I have every reason to believe that with time and attention the tutor- ing plan will be one of the outstanding features of the high school.
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I believe that the teaching force of the high school is doing work that is far above the average, and I would like to commend their work in calling it to your attention. At the last deficiency report there were one hundred and sixty (160) one subject failures. The number of sub- jects taken by the pupils is approximately two thousand. This leaves what I consider to be a very low rate of failure, very nearly eight per- cent. It seems to me that this is food for the few who feel that the school has a high rate of failure, and is a record which I believe is very praiseworthy.
It would perhaps be well to call your attention that in the last two years forty-six pupils have gone to college from the high school. While this number is, of course, a very small number, yet the present year seems to indicate that the increase in the number of college candidates will be large. Of course, it would be absurd to think of organizing 480 pupils in the school on a college basis of preparation in order to meet the needs of twenty or twenty-five pupils, yet the fact that the pupils who have gone to college have done so well shows that the welfare of this small group is not being neglected.
It ought to be of great interest to note that of the forty-six pupils who attended college in the last two years, only two failed to remain, and one of these has returned and is now successful, so that finally only one pupil out of forty-six has not made good. This seems to prove that if the pupil wishes to take advantage of the training offered in the high school he may fit himself properly for college. The school surely ought not to be held responsible for the boy who fails to take advantage of his opportunities-that is his loss, and for such a loss the school ought to be in no way held accountable.
The activities of the school are in a very healthy condition. The athletics are being very wisely and successfully guided, and the athletic account shows a balance at the present time. The Round-Up has the largest subscription list it has ever had, and this list includes very near- ly two hundred alumni. The paper is in a very live condition. The dehating activities are very successful and I see no reason why they should not continue to be so. There is no question but that the senior activities will be as well carried out as formerly, and the high school orchestra is beginning to become a considerable factor among the acti- vities of the pupils. The student council is growing more and more to be a guiding medium for a bigger and better school spirit, and it exer- cises a considerable influence over the traffic and fire squads.
It is almost imperative that something be done toward increasing the seating capacity of the gymnasium. When about five hundred pupils attempt to occupy a space built for two hundred it produces a milling that is not good for the moral or physical well-being of the pupils, and in this way the good of the athletics are almost negatived. I rec- ommend this situation very earnestly to your attention, with the hope that it may be remedied in the near future.
148
It seems necessary also to consider the departmentalizing of the mathematics. At the present time there are four teachers handling this work and I believe it would add to the efficiency of the school if these subjects could be organized along more closely co-ordinated lines. I hope that this may be done next year.
The growth of the work in office practise is interesting. The school was able to place about twenty girls in desirable positions, and had calls for more of its graduates, but these calls could not be filled. That there should be such a demand for the graduates of the high school who have been trained in commercial work, surely speaks well for the teachers of the business subjects. While, in general, it is difficult to carry on the work of the office training class because of the conditions under which the pupils must work, yet the results obtained are reward enough for the trouble and inconveniences that arise in the carrying out of the plans. I believe Reading High School is developing a very high reputa- tion for its work in the commercial subjects.
Once more, may I call to your attention that I believe the teachers of the high school are doing a very splendid piece of work, both in the class room and in the sharing of the responsibilities of the student activities. If the true test of a good teacher is the result that is ob- tained from mediocre material, then I would like especially to commend some of the teachers who obtain splendid results with large classes of little better than average minds.
Thanking you for your helpful and sympathetic co-operation, as well as your advice in many matters connected with the school, I am,
Sincerely,
E. V. ATWOOD, Principal.
,
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REPORT OF INSTRUCTOR OF AGRICULTURE
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford, Superintendent of Schools,
Reading, Massachusetts.
Dear Sir :- Complying with your request I herewith submit my an- nual report. When the course in Agriculture was introduced some eight years ago, those who had studied the situation saw a crying need for more trained farmers. The war proved completely that their views were correct, just as it had been in the care of trade training. We need more food producers. Industry is a very strong competitor of Agriculture and one hope for overcoming a too large handicap in this direction is to provide training for those boys and girls interested in and suited for life on the farm.
Between 1910 and 1920 sixteen per cent was added to the population of the United States. At this rate the population doubles in forty-four (44) years. Thus in 1964 at the present rate of increase our population will be about two hundred and fourteen million, (214,000,000.). Accord- ing to Professor East of Harvard College, men of the present generation will see the United States peopled beyond the maximum agricultural possibilities, if and when the above population number is reached: quot- ing Professor East on this subject. "We have been regaling ourselves by dreaming about agricultural miracles, which would set everything right. Let us awaken to realities, and examine the old art of agriculture as we actually find it. After all, the brightest ray of hope for an in- creasing return per unit area is from efficient application of the best methods of crop rotation, tillage, protection, harvesting and marketing, made possible by increasing the amount of man-power used. There is no royal road to raising turnips."
"From the statistical results coming out of the mill we reach five conclusions :
1. The people in the United States revelled in cheap food in the past because low-priced land was so plentiful they could be satisfied with whatever returns were obtained by the hasty inefficient methods of culture made possible by the powerful tools of industry.
2. The reserve of virgin soil approached an end in quantity, or, what amounts to the same thing, decreased markedly in quality between 1890 and 1900. Since that time there have been diminishing returns in agriculture in the sense that a given amount of capital and of labor has produced constantly less and less.
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3. Better methods of agriculture will allow enhanced production per unit area amounting to at least 50 per cent over the current amount, but this will only come about through an increased use of man-power.
4. All increase will be temporary, and even current production can- not be maintained, unless the essential elements of soil fertility are con- served by every method possible.
5. If comfort and satisfaction on the farm are not equivalent on the average to what is obtained in other walks of life, if agriculture is to be at the mercy of powerful industrial labor-unions directed by nar- row, scheming opportunists, or stifled by the short-sighted greed of capital this machine-made civilization of ours will shortly burst, like a tree which is rotten at the heart."
Professor East's theory then, is that in 1964 we will be facing a tremendous food shortage such as has been experienced in Europe and Asia. If this is only one half correct it is plain to see that the time to act in the direction of a more adequate food supply is now while we yet have time. To meet this situation we must train the coming generation to become producers and conservers of all natural resources, especially minerals, forests and foods. Our boys of today who will be the men of tomorrow must learn to take a business-like technical interest in farm- ing. Good agricultural theory grounded in experiment is the best guide and control of practice in agriculture. This theory puts a certain def- inite quantity and quality of technical skill into the minds and bodies of our youths.
Professor Haskell, Director of the Massachusetts Experiment Sta- tion, cities the following changes in Massachusetts Agriculture over a thirty year period :
1. Fewer farmers and fewer farms.
2. Relative prosperity replaces grinding poverty.
3. Machinery used to a much greater degree than was thought pos- sible.
4. Farming becoming more difficult.
a. Market standards higher.
Illustration : Unregulated milk production of past years, compared to the present.
b. Fertility problems more difficult.
c. Insect enemies and plant and animal diseases increased in numbers.
d. Competition with the factory has brought about a materially shorter working day (opinion only).
Net results: A premium on brains rather than brawn, as compared to the earlier agriculture.
Due to these changing demands of society upon it, Agriculture has become a very desirable and remunerative vocation and one into which it is well to induce our best minds. A community must either pay for
151
the cost of training labor or pay the much greater cost of inefficiency of labor. I here include Mr. Herbert Hoover's letter to Mr. J. C. Wright, Director of the Federal Board of Vocational Education. Dr. Mr. Wright :-
My attention has been called to comments in the press on the in- creasing cost of education, and more particularly of vocational education in our public schools. Expenditures in the States last year under the Federal Vocational Education Act amounted to less than $15,000,000, or approximately 15 cents per capita. Of this amount States and local communities contributed in round numbers $11,000,000, and the Federal Government $4,000,000. Thus the States and local communities contri- buted 11 cents and the Federal Government 4 cents per capita of popula- tion for the promotion of vocational education under this act. This cost can not be regarded as constituting a serious financial burden upon the community. It is approximately the cost of a medium sized battleship. Certain indirect costs of this form of education can not be accurately estimated, but in the aggregate they are relatively to our wealth and population insignificant. If vocational education is worth while, certain- ly as a nation we can afford the price of such education. Our only con- cern is to know that it is worth while. If it is, expenditure on account of such education is in the nature of an investment which will yield large dividends from year to year through the progressive increase of labor skill and industrial efficiency.
As a member of the Federal Board for Vocational Education, I have for the past two years been brought into close contact with those who are administering the Federal Vocational Education Act, providing for co-operation of the Federal Government with the States in the promo -. tion of vocational education in our public schools.
The essential purpose of this act is to extend public school education to provide for the needs of our youth who do not enter our higher tech- nical and professional educational institutions. We are accustomed to large expenditures for the maintenance of these higher educational in- stitutions. In some of our State universities the cost of providing edu- cation for the professions runs well into the thousands of dollars per student graduated. Vocational training for the commoner wage earning pursuits and skilled trades is equally as essential as is training for the professions. The humblest worker equally with the youth who proposes to enter the professions, has a right to the sort of training he needs for the occupation by which he proposes to earn his livelihood and support his family, and through which he will render his service to the com- munity in getting the community's work done. For him the cost of vocational training is relatively small, and is in fact a cost in appear- ance only since the result of his training will be increase in efficiency and economy in production during the life period of his economic pro- ductivity.
We in this country believe that education in general pays for itself and is worth while, and if this is true of any sort of education it is cer- tainly true of vocational education-that it pays for itself. That is the acid test, particularly of vocational education-that it shall pay for it- self. If it does not, it is not vocational education at all.
Men of affairs the country over are being impressed with the fact that the cost of training labor in the job is one of the great industrial costs, but they know that the cost of inefficiency and lack of training is much greater, and that labor must be trained whatever the cost. If they or the community do not provide such training they can not com- pete with the foreign producer whose labor is vocationally trained at public expense, nor can we as a nation adequately supply our own needs
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for the product of labor, if we neglect to provide for the training of labor.
The cost of providing this training is just as properly a charge upon the public revenue as any other form of education. In the inter- ests of labor itself such training can not be devolved upon the em- ployer. Organized labor is perfectly right in insisting that vocational · education shall be under public supervision and control, so that the · interests and welfare of the worker as well as of the employer will be taken fairly into account. The cost of such training certainly should not be put upon the individual worker unless we are prepared to aban- don our traditional policy of providing free education and equality of . opportunity for our youth. We can not in fairness continue to provide specialized education free to the few who propose to enter the profes- sions, while denying education to the many for the commoner vocations. A community must pay either for the cost of training labor or for the much greater cost of inefficiency of labor, and inefficiency of labor means inevitably general industrial and commercial inefficiency.
Further it may be noted that in so far as the products of American labor come into competition with the products of foreign labor, either in our domestic market or in foreign markets, unemployment for Amer- ican labor is bound to develop in proportion as foreign labor is better trained and more efficient. No American employer can hold his markets and continue to employ labor, if his labor is relatively unskilled or if his costs for training labor greatly exceed those of his foreign com- petitors.
Every important foreign country, European and American, is pro- viding for the vocational training of its citizens. Some of these coun- tries are developing programs which contemplate very large expenditures of public money. They are relying in a large measure upon vocational training in their effort to master the commerce of the world in com- petition with the United States. Several of these countries have during the past two years sent delegations to this country to investigate and report upon our system of vocational education. Such delegations have come also from Japan, China, India, and Australia.
Can we expect to maintain our commercial standing in the world's markets if we neglect to train our labor, and if we permit other coun- tries to take over the competitive advantages that superior vocational training will give them?
Having taken the lead in vocational education, we certainly shall not now permit ourselves to slip back because of a notion of false economy. I have been thinking particularly of the service rendered by vocational education in the broad fields of industry and commerce, but the social and economic value of such education is of course equally great in other fields. There is, in fact no better economy than the economy of ade- quate training for the pursuits of agriculture, commerce, industry, and the home. Our youth must enter into these pursuits, and it is on all counts in the public interest that they be well trained for them.
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