USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1926 > Part 10
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Curriculum Changes
The modifications of the subject matter of the curriculum that have been made and the necessary text books introduced to carry out these changes have been in the general direction of presenting the subjects in a manner that will enable the pupils to understand more clearly the relation of the facts learned to real life-situations and thus to gain more rapidly the power to apply this knowledge to practical problems within their own experience and observation. This is sometimes called socializing education because it aims to make the pupil capable of functioning more successfully in his various relationships as a member of society. Social studies in grades seven, eight and nine include the subject matter of geography, history, and civics presented as a single subject setting forth how the human race lives in the world and adapts itself to its environment. We are using the outlines of Social Studies published by Professor Rugg of Columbia University. General Mathematics in a similar manner combines arithmetic, simple geometry, and algebra in the Junior High School.
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The Schorling-Clark textbooks are used in grades seven, eight, and nine. Pupils electing Business Practice, Manual Training, or Household Arts have practice in applied problems in the arithmetic appropriate to their course. The curriculum in geography in grades three, four, five, and six has been re-arranged and "Human Geography" published by the John C. Winston Company has been introduced. Carefully graded readers in variety are being introduced so that each pupil in the class will have a different book and exchange it when it is finished. A list of all books read at school, at the library, or at home, is kept by each pupil as he progresses through the grades. Silent reading is taught as preliminary to learning to study. The Zaner method of penmanship has been introduced. This is a scientific method and makes use of many devices for improving the pupils' work and accurately determining results. A new system of teaching music based on a unique plan of starting the work with beginners has been introduced. The development of the work in the higher grades also has many new and excellent features. The musical selections are carefully chosen and consist largely of standard music that has stood the test of long continued use rather than improvised selections merely for drills. It is the Progressive Music Series published by Silver Burdett & Company. New elementary histories have also been placed in grades four, five, and six. United States History is taken up in grades four and five and "The Story of Civilization" in the sixth grade. New text books in Hygiene have been introduced in grades three to six inclusive. The school nurse suggests the opening of an open-window room for the pupils who are mal- nourished particularly the children who attend the Southern Middlesex Health Camp and frequently "slump when the child returns to the home after a period of treatment at a sanatorium or camp." A room at the Center School is all fitted for an open-window class. In September when the Junior High School leaves the Highland building there will be rooms enough for elementary grades so that this room at the Center School could be taken for that purpose if a teacher is provided. Such a room could be ungraded and organized like the Opportunity School for individualized assignments. There were thirteen at the summer health camp but there are other children of the same type in the schools. Enough could be found probably to warrant the employment of a teacher's whole time.
I would call attention to the several important reports of principals and other supervisory officers. I would be glad to comment further on some of them and to outline what we hope to accomplish in the re-organiza- tion incidental to the opening of the new Junior High School building, but will reserve that for another time in order not to make this report too voluminous.
I feel that much important progressive work is being done in the different departments and I wish to thank all the teachers and others who have co-operated so heartily in a situation that requires creative effort and real devotedness to the cause of educational efficiency. I also wish to thank the School Committee for their generous consideration and co-operation.
Respectfully submitted,
ADELBERT L. SAFFORD, Supt.
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REPORT OF PRINCIPAL OF SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford,
Superintendent of Schools,
Reading, Mass.
Dear Sir :- I hereby submit my yearly report for the twelve months ending December 31, 1926.
We experienced this year the usual enrolment increase, that is, about twenty-five pupils. This increase is rather constant and should be reckon- ed with for several years to come. Next year, due to the withdrawal of the Freshman or ninth year from the Senior High School, the increase will probably not be as great. It is also possible that when the ninth year becomes the final year in the Junior High School that many pupils will consider their education complete after graduating from the Junior High School, and I fear that many parents, due to social or economic pressure, may feel the same way about the matter. It is to be hoped that this will not be the case.
Ever since it became evident that Reading was to be so fortunate as to have a regularly constituted three-year Junior High School the Principal of that institution and the Principal of the Senior High School have spent many hours planning and perfecting a continuous scheme which will bring about, they hope, a smooth, interlocking and happy working policy between the ninth and the tenth year of secondary education. It is not my province to go into the details underlying the Junior High School and doubtless these policies will be ably presented in the report of the Junior High School Principal, nevertheless it seems well to call your at- tention to the fact that colleges still require fifteen units of prepared work for entrance. Since the maximum of four units per year is all that can be reasonably expected from even the best students it, therefore, becomes evident that the burden of the ninth year college preparatory work will devolve upon the Junior High School. This may to a certain extent cramp the activities of that institution in its broader terms, but until the college accepts twelve units for entrance there must be a compromise in this matter. There are signs that the colleges may in the near future consider only the three years of preparatory work in the Senior High School as necessary for entrance. This of course would be ideal, for not only would it leave the Junior High School unhampered by the necessity for preparation for en- trance examinations, but it would also more definitely standardize the work in the Senior High School for those who wish to prepare for college.
Transfer of Teachers
It is evident that when the three year Junior High School becomes operative and thus automatically reduces the number of pupils in the Senior High School by the number in the Freshman Class, the staff of the Senior High School will be reduced. The number of subjects taught in the High
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School rather than the number of students withdrawn must be the index for estimating the size of the staff. As the groups in the Senior High School go on from the ninth to the twelfth year their size decreases and the per capita teacher requirement becomes greater. In addition to this, the upper grades have a greater diversification of subjects. By a proper manipulation of the curriculum five teachers can be transferred from the Senior High School staff to that of the Junior High School. The present Senior High School staff is composed of well trained and experienced teachers, and they should be a valuable addition to the Junior High School staff.
Tests and Examinations
An idea that is now rather widely distributed among the educational circles of the United States is that old type essay examinations are not true tests of the pupil's knowledge of facts and his ability to apply these facts in a creative way. This idea has led to the development of the so-called new type examination. The new-type examination differs from the old type in that it has a relatively large number of key questions to be answered in a few words, while the old type examination requires long explanatory written answers to a relatively small number of questions. Some educators of authority feel that the new-type tests are no improve- ment over the old-type tests in that they do not allow for creative thought on the part of the pupil. These tests, however, have met with such success in many high schools of good standing that we have incorporated them into our plan of work. It is the belief of the writer, based on some three years of checking and observation, that the new-type examination deserves a place in our school along side of the old type. The one is an accom- paniment for the other, and a certain stimulating effect is produced in both teacher and pupil in their combined use. One of the marked results of the combined test is the fact that these tests have brought out in many instances the judgment of the teacher in regard to the pupil's rating and ability.
The younger teachers find these new-type tests even more useful than the experienced teacher because they themselves lack experience in writing examinations. Many of the new-type examinations are on the market and can be purchased at a relatively small cost, the advantage of purchas- ing them being that in the first place they are made out by experts in their subject, and secondly they are unbiased. Some of our more experi- enced teachers are able to make out their own new-type examinations. We have devoted some of our teachers' conferences to this matter and will continue to study along this line as indiviuals and in groups.
Preparation and College
As this paper is being written the reports regarding grades received by the Reading High School students in attendance at the various colleges are coming in. In many instances these reports are extremely good, and in no case is failure reported. Preparation for college was pointed out in detail last year. Preparation for college is a co-operative effort between
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the pupil and the teacher. We are indeed fortunate to have a corps of teachers who are thoroughly familiar with the college entrance require- ments and who are able, because of their interest and experience, to vary the instruction to suit the individual needs of the pupil. They devote a great deal of outside time to the coaching of pupils for these entrance examinations. This coaching is necessary if a high standard of entrance is to be maintained for four years is hardly a sufficient time without this extra work to prepare for the modern examinations. On the other hand, many of our pupils who have sufficient ability to do college grade work fail to get ready for college because they will not sacrifice the necessary time to preparation. Home work is regularly assigned to every class in the High School except in Drawing, Manual Training and Typewriting. Naturally the teachers have no control over the time of the pupil after he leaves the school and it is only through the thorough-going co-operation of the parent who sees to it that a proper place is provided at home for undisturbed study that good daily preparation can be accomplished. It is the parent and only the parent who can' see to it that the student devotes to his home work a sufficient amount of time to master it. Sufficient time for one pupil may not be half enough for another. One National Survey gives the following estimate based on many thousand cases of the amount of time required for lesson preparation. For each of the languages 11/2 hours, for Latin somewhat more time, History 1 hour, Mathematics 1/2 hour to 34 hour. It will thus be seen that the minimum time for preparation is three hours per day. In most cases this minimum is not sufficient if perfect daily work is to be the result, and as has been intimated, perfect daily work is the basis of proper college preparation.
Another important factor connected with independent home prepara- tion is that the student becomes self-reliant and is thus able to develop to a higher plane in life. Many pupils can give the correct answer to mis- takes they have made if the mistakes are pointed out. These same students, however, fail to discover mistakes if left to themslves. This habit of dependence is one that the school must teach the pupil to over- come, and for this reason frequent tests are given. There is no one to help a student when he takes entrance examinations, and the colleges judge as much of the pupil's fitness for college work from the method and original- ity of attack as they do from the pupil's knowledge of the facts involved. It is the experience of the writer that in many cases pupils who have A grade minds and do B grade work are young pupils. They lack experience in life and their tendency to depend on mother's or teacher's heln when they encounter difficulties in their school work often hinders them from "carrying through."' It is essential for those who wish to successfully enter college and profit by their stay there that they be taught to grow in independence, self-direction and skill in study. Professor Frank W. Thomas of the State Teachers' College, Fresno, California, says "one great fact in our school system that furnishes both the necessity for proficiency in studying and the opportunity for acquiring it is the American plan of text book instruction."' It is the pupil's essential problem to find what he
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wants from the printed page, just as he will often need to do in later life. Even in the "project" type of instruction which is being used more and more in modern education, the ability of the pupil to accomplish in- telligently the incidental reading and study involved, is essential to success.
Block and Time Assignments
In several of our departments we are working with a Block and Time Assignment. That is, a block of work is assigned over a period of time and the student may progress as fast as he can, perfect work and under- standing being the only check to his progress. This system is not new to the Reading Schools, having been in operation in the Junior High School for some time. It is a system, however, that needs careful working out, and one in which the teaching technique must be perfectly developed. This system is being used in Mathematics and Commercial subjects. These subjects lend themselves more readily to this method. The results to date are satisfactory but the work has not been carried on for a sufficient length of time to warrant conclusive statements.
Music
It gives me pleasure to point out to you the splendid work that is being done by Mr. Woods, Director of Music. His pleasing personality, coupled with his ability to get pupils to enjoy music and his technical knowledge of the subject, has produced excellent results. It is to be hoped that next year more instruments and players will be available to augment the small but effective orchestra developed by Mr. Woods this year. We are now studying several schemes whereby instruments may be supplied to those who would like to learn to play them but who have not the means at hand to purchase them. Music has always had an important place in American education and Reading should continue to contribute her share by furthering this important subject in her schools.
Athletics
The High School athletic teams, both boys and girls, have had their share of victories in their competitive sports with other schools. These competitive games, however, are of an extra-curricular nature and a means to an end and not the end itself. These competitive games with other schools must not be confused with the true aim of athletics in secondary schools, which is, physical culture for all. To devote too much attention and time to the few that form a school team is no more justifiable than to devote a disproportionate amount of attention to the few pupils of highest scholarship with little care for the rest of the student body. We continue to bear in mind that we are not a training school for athletes, or for boys and girls who expect to make athletics their life work, but an institution which has for its object the development of the intellectual qualities of the mind and personality of the individual. A part of this development is through the physical development of the body for all the students. It is with the above objective in mind that our physical department is function-
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ing and functioning well, and because of this attitude an opportunity is given every child in the High School to round out his growing form in a proper and healthy manner.
Guidance and Help
It is the desire of the teachers and administration of the High School to keep all pupils who enter through the entire course of four years. This is not possible for several reasons. In the first place many pupils withdraw from the High School every year for no other reason than in- ability to become adjusted. These pupils might be retained longer in school if they could be helped to understand themselves and were provided with work which they could profitably do and through which they could develop such capacity as they may possess. This is not an easy task, but it is one upon which the entire personnel of the High School is work- ing, and one in which I am happy to say, progress is being made. Coun- selling and guidance in its various forms are resorted to as one means of adjustment. This is done not only in relation to studies and vocation but also in cases of personality mal-adjustment, inefficient habits of work and study, and emotional complications. We do not consider the child with reference to his intellect alone but consider him a personality that must be helped to grow properly.
Gifts
It gives me pleasure to make a public record of the beautiful gift of the Class of 1926. This gift, a State Flag of silk, is displayed in the hall opposite the silk United States Flag.
Respectfully submitted,
RUDOLF SUSSMANN, Principal.
REPORT OF AGRICULTURAL INSTRUCTOR, 1926
To Mr. Rudolf Sussmann,
Director of the Agricultural Department :
Dear Sir :- Reading is fast losing its right to be called a farming community. The specialist has appeared in agriculture just as in all other lines and no longer does one see a man trying to raise hay, hogs, cows, market crops, and hens on the same place. Instead he confines his activities to one branch of agriculture and sometimes to one single fruit, vegetable, or flower. This change is taking place here and has a direct bearing on the supervised work of this department. We try to give each boy an opportunity at as many kinds of work as possible in order that he
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may decide which he likes best. Consequently, there has been more shift- ing from job to job to obtain practice than would be needed on the old style farm. The boys have worked for a market gardener, a florist, a dairyman, or a poultry man until they found what they liked best and then have kept on with that line.
I have felt that this shifting of supervised work gave a broader range and more general knowledge than that secured from the small project. Many of our boys come from the village and for most of these a small gar- den or poultry project is out of the question because there is no room for expansion. It is far better to work for a man who is doing things on a fair sized scale than to be content with a dozen hens or a quarter-acre garden.
The actual cash earned by the boys the past year is almost $1,000 more than what was earned the year previous. The membership has been larger this year also. We have lost fewer through the year and the present material seems equal to that of previous years if not better than any we have had for some time. I feel that the Agricultural Department has "earned its keep" this past year in its cash earnings, its help to the school and the community, and, most of all, in the impetus it gives to these boys who are not academic in their tastes but who find in this de- partment a chance to use their hands as well as their heads.
The department is always glad to co-operate with any persons wishing work done in gardening, pruning, or care of grounds, as we can put some good boys at their disposal.
I wish to thank you and Mr. Safford for your cordial co-operation and assistance this past year.
Respectfully submitted,
HERMON T. WHEELER, Instructor in Agriculture.
REPORT OF PRINCIPAL OF JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL, 1926
Mr. A. L. Safford,
Superintendent of Schools,
Reading, Mass.
Dear Sir :- I take pleasure in submitting my fourth annual report as Principal of the Highland School. In my report of last year, I stressed changes which were being made in class-room procedure and called particu- lar attention to the efforts of Miss Hood to place her English work upon an individual basis, by dividing the content of the eighth grade English into short period assignments, based upon three levels of achievement.
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During the past year, we have placed stress upon individualizing the work in the various school subjects. Seventh grade English work has been placed upon the individual assignment plan, but differing somewhat in the details with the plan used in the eighth grade. Because of the immaturity of the seventh grade pupils, and in order to introduce the idea of individual work, more gradually, the assignments are planned to cover a shorter period of time, and more attention is given to group exercises, such as oral reading, drills for correct usage and grammar exercises.
Considerable progress has been made in the Mathematics department. The content of the seventh grade material has been revised into small units of achievement. This enables each pupil to progress as rapidly as he is capable of progressing, and assures that each pupil will do all the work required at least for minimum essentials. The same general plan is being introduced this year in part of the eighth grade work. Although the Mathematic teachers who are using the individual method differ somewhat in their technique, yet, at the present time this is desirable. Gradually the experiences of these teachers will help formulate a more standardized plan of procedure.
Although the subject of Social Studies does not lend itself as easily as Mathematics or even English, to individualization of work, yet the plan is being used to some extent in that department with success. Each week's work is centered around units of instruction such as communication, or results of the Industrial Revolution, and each pupil's investigation of the topic is directed by required reading, suggestive references and questions to be answered. Each pupil's work is carefully checked by means of special reports and short tests. Group discussions are introduced from time to time and the contributions of each pupil given credit. Once a week a grade forum is held in which the entire class participates. The grade forum permits inter-group discussion and special reports. Lantern slides have been used to good advantage and even moving pictures have been used on one occasion. Grade forum work centers upon the subject of study for the week and in a way summarizes the week's achievements.
One of the best bits of strictly individual work is found in connection with the use of the Washburne Individual Speller which was introduced last year in the seventh and eighth grades. At the beginning of the year, the whole class is tested over all the words listed for that grade. Each pupil checks in his own book words which he fails to spell correctly in the initial testing. This list of words upon which he has failed constitutes his spelling list for the year. Each week each pupil is tested upon the words he has been studying during that week and allowed to temporarily drop from his list words which he spells correctly. In the middle of the year each pupil is again tested over all the words he has been studying for the half year. This process is repeated at the end of the year. A pupil is not permitted to drop a word from his initial list until he has spelled that word correctly at least twice, with a space of time intervening between the testing periods. This system assures, first, that each pupil will study only those words which he does not know how to spell, second, that each pupil
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will progress as rapidly as his efforts warrant. Third, it assures complete mastery of the words studied. The words contained in the Washburne Speller have been scientifically determined and it is considered one of the best lists published.
Excellent work of the individual method type is being done at the Opporunity School, housed at the Channell House. A detailed account of the work in this school has been made by Mrs. Carleton, who is in charge of the Opportunity School, and your attention is called to her report.
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