USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Reading > Town of Reading Massachusetts annual report 1931 > Part 10
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Home conditions in good or bad times are always a large fac- tor in the behavior of children in school. Indifferent and ignorant parents, broken homes, poverty, immorality-all these and other such causes contribute to problems at school. We have some homes in Reading where conditions are truly demoralizing and no one who knows about them wonders that the children do poorly in their studies and do not make good citizens of the schools in which they are placed. In some instances we are able to encourage and help these child- ren to do well in school in spite of their social handicaps, but in many instances we cannot provide material and spiritual comfort sufficient for them to "make the grade" and must ask assistance from local agencies, such as the Welfare Board, through the visitor, Miss Helen Brown, or we turn to the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, or the Children's Aid. Benevolent citizens also help us by providing clothing and sometimes homes where needed, but the majority of our citizens, being themselves good fathers and mothers, do not realize that in our midst we have some parents who
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are not as they are. They don't feel that they are "their brother's keeper" and do consider a "man's home is his castle" whether or not it is fit to live in. Parents who will not recognize that a child has criminal tendencies and check them; parents whose children are in the streets all the time and away from home when they should be under their supervision; parents who don't provide clean clothes, clean beds, and suitable food; parents who keep their children out of school unnecessarily, who send them on errands and make them tardy continually ; parents who won't get up to get breakfast; parents who even turn their children outdoors; parents who won't clean up impetigo, scabies, pediculosis; parents who lay all the faults of their children on the other parent; parents who leave their families when it is hard sledding-we have them all in Reading. Many of them are emotional or mental misfits themselves and find their lots and their children's lots harder on that account.
In the main Reading parents live solely to rear and educate their children. They keep them in school, well fed and clothed, if they go without themselves. The parents I have mentioned above actually do exist in Reading and the teachers are wrestling with their children, conscientiously trying to make something worthy of the material they have had passed to them and possibly taking a lot of blame for the poorly finished product. Not only the schools and the church must work with these children, as they do and always have done, but the citizens of the town must help these parents see that their children deserve better than they are receiving,-not material things especially, as it does not hurt anyone to go without luxuries; but clean, com -. fortable, and cheerful home conditions are possible in nearly every .. case I have mentioned and, if every child in Reading lived in such a home, I feel sure we would have very few serious problem cases in our schools.
Of persons in charge of children and deliberately keeping them from school we have practically none. Usually it is weakness on the part of parents which permits boys and girls to do as they themselves wish, rather than anything deliberate on the part of the parent. Oc- casionally a stubborn case of this nature has been encountered in the. last eight or nine years, but they are very rare. Consequently the attendance work in Reading is distinctly a social service and requires many home visits and letters, as well as conferences with both pu- pils and parents. Some of this has to be done in the evening, Sat- urdays, and occasionally Sundays. It most instances the parents are very co-operative when they really understand how necessary it is that their children attend school regularly and promptly and I have found my work congenial and interesting. I have enjoyed the co- operation of the local police, the Town Welfare, the Visiting Nurse, the S. P. C. C., the teachers especially, and our School Health De-
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partment, as well as of Miss Wadleigh and the School Committee. To you personally I owe much for the wise counsel and the encourage- ment I have received when things were going hard.
Respectfully submitted, ABIGAIL H. MINGO Supervisor of Attendance
Reading, Massachusetts, December 31, 1931.
REPORT OF THE MANAGER OF CAFETERIAS OF THE READING PUBLIC SCHOOLS, 1931
Mr. Adelbert L. Safford,
Superintendent of Schools, Reading, Massachusetts.
Dear Mr. Safford :
I herewith submit a brief report on the condition of the school cafeterias, located in the Senior High School, the Junior High School, and the Highland School.
The year 1931 has been successful financially, since all we ex- pect is to pay expenses, and we have done that. We finished the year with all bills paid and with a small balance and some goods on hand. We have kept our working force at a minimum in all the lunch rooms and have bought very carefully, as we have felt that at this time especially we must furnish wholesome and low-cost luncheons to the children, many of whose parents have received substantial re- ductions of income. Always, however, the best materials are used, so that with the economical and good cooks we have been able to secure, and fresh, high grade ingredients we have no hesitation in saying that our lunches give as good a lunch for the money as can be procured in any other school lunch room. Many people tell us that we give more and better food than most others.
Some of the equipment in the High School kitchen is antiquated and worn and I would like to see replacements and improvements there. The Highland School kitchen should have a new stove. Of course the Junior High School cafeteria is well equipped and will need nothing done there except perhaps a linoleum for the floor and the walls retinted.
There has been some question about the price of the milk we are serving. I wish to say that we are receiving Grade A milk, which is guaranteed fresh and of a high butter fat content. The price was agreed upon for the year and we cannot change it now. No doubt before long milk will take a jump in price, but I don't feel that we
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can ask for better service or better milk than we are getting at the present time. The fact that there is a milk war on does not concern us much. I am planning to serve a milk chocolate drink in the High School cafeteria before long which will cost the same as the milk at the counter and which will give in addition to a rich milk the richness of the chocolate. While the milk question is being settled those who wish may try this other drink at the same price. If this drink is liked by the High School pupils, we may try it at the other cafeterias.
So far as I can see now, we will continue in 1932 the policies followed in 1931, with reference of course to any suggestions that we may receive from time to time from interested persons.
Respectfully submitted, ABIGAIL H. MINGO Manager of Cafeterias.
Reading, Massachusetts, December 31, 1931.
REPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF RESEARCH AND ELE- MENTARY SUPERVISION
Superintendent of schools, Mr. A. L. Safford, and Members of the School Committee :
I present herewith a partial resume of the work of the Depart- ment of Research and Elementary Supervision for the year ending December 31, 1931.
The testing program with its resulting remedial work, individual adjustments, promotions, grading, and ability grouping was handled by the department in the usual way. Emphasis this year has been placed on Curriculum Revision and an organized Supervisory program in the first six grades.
The latter includes a Unitary arrangement of subject matter in all grades, a program of primary social studies, setting up new time allotments and establishing uniform, definite requirements in each of the first six grades.
Curriculum Revision
Early in 1930 I gave out in teachers meeting a bulletin to the teachers of Grades V-VI appointing committees including all the teachers in curriculum revision with the following outline for our goals.
1. Meet together frequently and discuss plans for teaching subject.
2. Set up main objectives.
3. Outline the material to be covered.
4. Divide the outline into Units of Work.
5. Define Minimum Essentials of course for the Average group.
6. Suggest what can be accepted as enrichment material.
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7. What projects, extra work, suggestions for original contributions may be accepted for the highest level of each unit, graded as I.
8. Make out :
1. General Assignments, weekly-monthly.
2. Specific Assignments for one to three days or short space of time.
Up to June 1930 we had accomplished the first three points including an outline of work in each subject. We were therefore ready in the fall to divide the outline into "Units" and adopted the Morrison technique. We were very fortunate to have the benefit of Dr. Wilson's course to give us the necessary theory and directions for formulating and teaching our units of subject matter. Up to Jan. 1, 1932, we have completed the following courses of study, others are still under revision.
Reading: Grade I, a division of the year's work into Five Units to serve not only as a guide for teaching, but also as a basis for promotion.
Grade I-VI accepted the simplified Baltimore goals for grade requirements and adopted the Bolenius revised basal methods, Grades I-III and Winston readers as basal for Grades IV-V-VI.
Arithmetic : Established in spiral formation a complete course of study Grades I to VI. The arithmetic course of study has been divided into Units of Work by Mrs. Wilcox in Grade V, and by Miss Bauer in Grade VI. Both teachers have done a very careful piece of work, complete with references, model examples, tests, and guide sheets.
Language : Miss Quillen has completed an excellent course of study in units for sixth grade. Mrs. Potter has Grade V outlined ready for unitary arrangement.
We are considering an enrichment of primary language by a new workbook series and possibly a new basal text for grades three and four.
Geography and History : Miss Gamble and Mrs. Potter have worked out a unitary development of topics in Grade V Geography which promises to be of great value both as a teaching aid and a study guide for the pupils. This course will be ready for use as soon as the necessary reference library is procured.
Miss Allard in Grade V has completed an excellent unitary out- line of work in history complete with outline, tests and work sheets according to the Morrison technique. She followed Miss Kelty's general plan for the History of the United States in Grade V and has done much careful research into all outstanding courses for this grade. Miss Grace has Grade VI outline now under revision.
Social Studies in Primary Grades : Last year we became very much interested in teaching the social studies through the child's own activities in Grades I to VI.
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Our purpose in this work is to combine and correlate informa- tions in history, legends, geographical facts, health and safety teach- ing, and citizenship into one unit or series of units based on the children's own experiences.
We began our study of this work in teachers' meetings at which the subject supervisors and several teachers contributed and Miss Joslyn, Lynn supervisor, gave us a lantern-slide talk on the Lynn Activity Program of Social Studies. Several teachers reported on visits to Lynn and to Providence. All teachers were left free to work out their own interpretation of any activity they wished to, checking it as to worth in subject-matter value and time valued by the following Activity Analysis Sheet sent out by the Supervisor :
Activity Analysis Sheet Reading Schools
1. Unit of Work.
2. Activity Involved.
3. Outcomes of Learning.
a. Subject Knowledges.
b. Specific Skills.
4. Social Values.
a. Attitudes.
b. Appreciations.
5. Time Values.
6. Special Interests and Results Noted.
In the fall a set of citizenship readers was introduced to serve as a basis for the Social Studies program and a series of topics to develop in each grade. I appointed Grade Committees who would meet together and discuss methods for carrying out the topics selected for their grade.
The whole idea of Social Studies taught through projects or child-activities is to allow the child to really see, experience and do something and thus make the informations more real to him.
There is nothing particularly new in the idea of teaching sev- eral subjects through one Unit of Work, but it is the first time we have tried to organize the work under one head and have each grade attempt it in a uniform manner. Besides the Social subjects, Penmanship and Drawing and Language become a part of every activity.
A well-planned activity unit will save the teacher much time which can be applied to the fundamental subjects.
The Primary teachers have shown much interest and a good professional attitude toward this new work and the suggestions by the supervisor. They have been very patient in attending teachers' meet- ings and have contributed many helpful suggestions of their own. Any success in this program or any other is dependent upon the
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teachers themselves; the supervisor can only organize, suggest and advise.
For the benefit of the teachers in Grades I to IV, I listed in as brief a form as possible what courses of study, texts, etc., we are expected to follow and the requirements for each grade. Because this outline contains the topics of the social study programs, and meets innumerable requests from outside, I herewith submit the outline :
Course of Study Requirements Reading Public Schools Grades 1 to VI Grade I
Reading: Course of Study for the Reading Schools Grade I Requirements : Courtis-Smith Series I; Bolenius Primer, "Tom and Betty" with workbook for same. Courtis-Smith Series II. (Two primers and One First Reader).
Arithmetic: Clark-Otis-Hatton: First Steps in Teaching Num- ber. Games and Informal Number first half year. See C. O. H. num- ber objectives pages 4 and 5 Part I.
Language: Manchester Course of Study in English Grade I. Correlate with Activity or Social Studies Program.
Citizenship : "Home" Citizenship Reader by Lippincott Co. Basis of Social Studies for Grade I.
Social Studies Program: Texts : Teachers' Guide to Child De- velopment U. S. Office of Education (1930) Bul. No. 26; The Social Studies In The Primary Grades, Storm; The Activities Curriculum, Stevens. Topics : Meaning of the holidays; Children of Other Lands ; Home Life; Farm Life; Milk Unit; Playhouse; Dolls; Toy Making; Study of Pets and Animals. Parties for Mothers, Little Brothers and Sisters.
Nature Study: Child's own surroundings : Suggestions : Study of Birds; Study of Flowers; Study of Native Wild Animals.
Health and Safety: Part of Social Studies Program. Text : The Safety Hill of Health, Loomis and Shaw.
Grade Il
Reading : Requirements : 2 basal readers, 1 supplemental; 1 pleasure. Baltimore Course of Study. Texts : Bolenius First Reader "Animal Friends" with workbook for same. Fact and Story, Bunny Rabbit's Diary; Laidlaw readers and other standard texts for Sup- plemental. Library table for Pleasure Reading. Bolenius Second Reader "Happy Days" to be completed in Grade III.
Arithmetic: Clarke-Otis-Hatton First Steps in Teaching Num- ber. Part II page 82. Follow closely.
Language : Manchester Course in English Grade II. Correlate with Social Studies Program. A Primary Language Workbook. Mac- Millan.
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Spelling: Growth In Spelling Book I. Thorndike and Wolfarth. Citizenship: "City and Home," Citizenship Reader. Lippincott. Basis of Social Studies Program. "School Days" Book II Citizenship Reader optional for Grade II. Required in Grade III.
Social Studies Program: Texts: See Grade I. Topics : Com- munity Life, Play City, Public Buildings, Marketing, Grocery Store, Post Office. Study of Indian Life. Eskimo Life. History Legends. Geographical Facts.
Nature Study: Child's own surroundings. Nature Activity Reader Book I, Little Brown Co.
Health: Part of Social Studies Program. Text: Building My House of Health-Lummis and Shaw.
Grade III
Reading: Minimum Requirements, Baltimore : 1 basal text, 2 supplementary. "Happy Days,"Bolenius Second Reader. "Door to Bookland," Bolenius Third Reader. Required Supplemental: Citizen- ship Readers and others.
Arithmetic: Follow Reading Course of Study in Arithmetic. Texts : Clark-Otis-Hatton. Modern-School Arithmetic Third Grade. Language: Manchester Course in English Grade III, Self-Helps in English, Book I, Wolfarth-Mahoney World Book Co.
Spelling : Growth In Spelling. Thorndike-Wolfarth.
Citizenship: School Days-Book II. Citizenship Readers. Good Citizens' Club-Book III, Book II and III.
Geography : Home Geography. Text : "Home Folks", Smith, Winston Co. Projects. Study of Social Types : Dutch, Swiss, Chinese, etc.
History: Local and Pioneer History. Stories of American Pio- neers. Heard-King, Winston Co. and others. Basis of project work. Topics : Study of Transportation.
Nature Study: Nature Activity Reader Books II-III.
Study of Months or other topics.
Health: Text: A Journey to Healthland-Andres.
Grade IV
Reading : Baltimore goals : Requirements : One Basal Fourth Reader, two Supplemental texts.
Winston "Facts and Fancies", Basal. Study Readers, Bolenius Fourth, Good Reading-Lewis and Rowland, Teamwork, Citizenship Reader, and other Supplemental.
Arithmetic : Clark-Otis-Hatton. Modern-School Arithmetic Fourth Grade. Follow Reading Arithmetic Course of Study. Language: Manchester Course in English. Self-Helps in Eng- lish. Wolfarth-Mahoney. Other supplemental texts and workbooks.
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Spelling : Growth In Spelling. Thorndike-Wolfarth.
Citizenship : Teamwork, Citizenship Reader-Lippincott. See History.
Geography: Human Georgraphy. Book I Part I. Peoples and Countries ; the Globe, Continents, Oceans. North America, United States (in part.)
History: Text: Following Columbus. Explorers, Discoveries. Projects correlate with Teamwork, Citizenship Reader. Topics : Study of Food; Clothing or Shelter in all lands. Industries of New England.
Nature Study: Nature Activity Reader Book III. Topics : Study- the Sky. See Library table for books on Science and Nature Study.
Health : Land of Health, Hallock and Winslow.
Time Allotments : Revising the time allotments for the Reading schools involved much study and many changes in order that it should compare more favorably with the standards given by the Bureau of Publications and Statistics and at the same time deal fairly with all the special subjects added to the curriculum in recent years without taking too much time from the necessary fundamentals.
The correlation of Social Studies, Health, Safety and Citizenship makes it possible for us to give more time to fundamentals than is required for standard. Several teachers have said that they have more time this year than ever before and the feeling of being crowded by too many subjects has been done away with.
When the time allotments were sent to the teachers for the first trial a survey and check on each teacher's program was made. A sample program for a three-group-room providing for seatwork as well as recitation is herewith presented with the time allotments. In each classroom in the Reading Schools, a revised Time-Allotment Schedule and the teacher's corrected program is required to be displayed at all times.
Time Allotments Reading Public Schools
I II
III
IV
V
VI
-
Subject
FUNDAMENTALS:
Reading
Basal text and Phonics
700
525
300
150
180
180
Literature and Citizenship
100
100
100
Arithmetic
60
150
250
250
220
220
Language and Story
40
100
100
150
200
200
Spelling
75
75
90
90
Penmanship
100
75
75
75 80
80
121
SOCIAL STUDIES :
Geography
100
180
120
120
History
155
155
Nature and Science
20
20
20
30
35
35
Citizenship
50
Cor
Read & Inc.
in
Hist
Activities
Health and Safety.
20
20
20
30
65
65
Projects and
30
30
Correlate
Activities
with Social Studies
SPECIAL SUBJECTS:
Art and Drawing
60
60
60
60
80
80
Music
75
75
75
75
75
75
Household and Manual Arts
60
60
Physical Education
75
75
75
75
125
125
Recess-Relaxation
125
125
125
125 Lunch
150
Opening Exercises
50
50
50
50
75
75
Supervised Study
50
50
Unassigned or
Assembly
Free Time
20
20
45
4.5
Totals
1425
1425
1425
1425
1800
1800
Center School A Three-Group Room
Time
Teacher Activity & Recitation of Pupils
Time Totals
Pupil Seatwork Program per week
8:45- 9:00
Correct Spelling, Library Period, Check Work Books Inspect. Devotions, Flag Salute Op. E :. 50
9:10- 9:30 Reading C
9:30- 9:50 Reading B
Written Arith, B & A Read C 100 Wr. Arith. C Gates-Huber Wk. Bks. A. Read B 100 25
9:50- 9:55 Relaxa'n Serve Milk
9:55-10:15 Reading A
B & C C. S. Series 11, Read story, follow Read A 100
10:15-10:20 Recess 10:20-10:35 Physical Education
directions at end of same 25
75
10:35-10:55 Language & Spelling
100
10:55-11:05 Arithmetic C
11:05-11:15
Arithmetic B
B & A Written Spelling When finished Spelling C Arith. 50 C & A Written Spelling each class goes on B Arith. 50
9:00-9:10 Opening Exercises,
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11:15-11:25 Arithmetic A
B & C Written Spelling with his particular Silent Reading, has Lib- rary privilege, or does follow-up work, Arith.
11:25-11:45 Nature Health Liter- ature Check Work Books
NOON HOUR 100
1.15-1:30
Correct numbers, check work, lib- rary, or seat work
1:30- - 1:45 Reading C
B & A follow directions from board or hectographed 75
1:45- . 2:00 Reading B
copies Silent Reading. Based on Bolenius or Citiz. 75
2:00- 2:15 Reading A
A & C continue Silent Reading Seatwork. 75
2:15- : 2:30 Recess
75
2:30- 2:45 Music
2:45- 3:00 Penmanship
3:00- ยท 3:30 Drawing : Mon. Thurs. Citizenship: Tues. Wed .; Activity, Friday 150
75
75
Total 1425
Testing and Promotion Statistics : The testing program has beer carried out as in past years. No tests have been given except when the results were actually needed for remedial work or promotion basis.
The Stanford Achievement tests came out higher in the spring of 1931 than ever before in the history of our testing.
Grade VI was within one point of the highest norm and Grade V higher than ever before. Grade IV, which in previous years has been our highest grade, suffered a slight drop because of the unprepared 3 1-2 group. Grade III went over the top three or four points also Grade II (Grade 1 1-2 not included in the statistics, but regarded as Grade 1, advanced).
Grade I was our special pride and joy. It tested 2 points over the norm and 5 points over what it has ever been before.
All promotions were supervised by the Research Director as in previous years. We made a special effort to send on as few unpre- pared pupils as possible, those few were marked "on trial".
Over 1200 children were promoted individually in the first six grades last spring, and in no case was there a conflict of opinion among the teacher, principal and director. Our promotion policy gives the child every possible chance of attaining a new classroom situa- tion every year, at the same time we do not approve of sending a child on to a new grade of work before he has mastered the old.
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We now promote grade I pupils on the basis of the Units of Work covered and do not allow anyone to be rated as Grade II be- fore they have satisfactorily completed the Courtis-Smith Series I and II and Bolenius Primer and workbook.
The first three grades are the most important in a child's life. It is there that he receives the tools of reading and number, and if he fails to master them he is handicapped the rest of his life. One read- ing specialist has said that if a child does not learn to read by the time he is eight years old he may never learn because no one will ever take the time to teach him. That is why we have classes of spe- cial instruction and remedial classes.
Our aim in the elementary grades is to send a well prepared, ma- ture, and dependable group to the Junior High School. At the same time standards are not our only aim, the welfare of the individual child comes first always.
Report Cards : The new report cards in the Intermediate grades and Special Classes are not the best we hope to achieve, but will serve us for this year at least. The "Notices to Parents" are to be sent out at any time when a teacher wishes to call parental attention to any deficiency in a child's work and conduct. These notices will serve in Grades I-II-III in place of formal report cards.
Opportunity or Classes for Special Instruction: We have had some very gratifying results from our Opportunity Schools this past year. Because of the many children who make straight grades after the special instuction they receive there, I prefer to refer to these schools as Classes for Special Instruction.
It is a great privilege for pupils to attend these classes where the instruction is nearly that of high-class, private tutoring and every possible opportunity for progress is offered to each individual child.
Reading has provided generously for every class of a typical child except the Hard-of-Hearing. May I make a third plea in behalf of these children for the attention of the school committee to their problem, involving the services of a part-time lip-reading teacher and very little additional expense.
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