USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Westford > Town of Westford annual report 1908-1913 > Part 26
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8. Exercises leading to the desire to be thrifty and the way to accomplish the purposes of thrift.
9. Exercises to develop an inquiring mind.
10. Exercises to develop habits of personal cleanliness.
THE TEACHER'S PLACE IN THE COURSE.
When the teacher shall be filled with the spirit of these needs she will read into the course of study the truly vitalizing principles whose absence is so universally deplored and so justly. She will see that it is possible to learn many things from the efficient men and women of the community, and the school and home will co-operate to a degree heretofore thought impossible. There is no such thing as an elastic course of study ; but children are truly elastic. Note the fact that a dozen children having the same teacher for years, the same text-books, the same school environment and following the same course of study will develop a dozen individualities and a dozen different degrees of proficiency and efficiency.
CHANGES THAT MAY BE EXPECTED.
That the course of study may be remodelled to give definite direction to the demand for industrial and vocational activities, not only in Westford but all over Massachusetts, seems to be an assured fact. But at this writing it is too early to say just what will be recommended along these lines. It is safe to say that nothing will be proposed to narrow a child's selection of such opportunities as may be suited to his natural abilities. In a way, it is the hand, and the intelligent use of it, that differen- tiates the human from other animals and has made possible the
10
tremendous progress of the human race. The brain alone may conceive, but the hand must execute. It may be that the school has done its duty but partially toward the training of the hand. The school of the near future will demonstrate whether the school of the past has neglected an important duty.
DUTY OF PARENTS.
It is said that America means opportunity; but it is no less true that America is full of failures. Not to take the opportunity for self-improvement is to invite failure. The school, in spite of its shortcomings, has, in the past, proven to be the surest road to success. Parents who are indifferent to their children's attendance at school are morally responsible if those children prove dull and disinterested pupils and later fail of promotion; and that they become indifferent citizens is, in general, true; while they who obey the law through fear of it are scarcely less accountable to the community for acts of recklessness and violence that occasionally shock even our quietest and most peaceful towns. Parents share with school officials the responsibility of supervision to the extent that co-operation, cheerful and whole-souled, may reasonably be expected of them in the enforcement of all school laws.
SCHOOL SAVINGS BANKS.
It is a gratification to me to report that the W. C. T. U. has assumed the responsibility of collecting money from the pupils for deposit in a savings bank. The first collection was made February 8th in the William E. Frost School. I look to see the system a success in this school, and later to see it extended to the other schools of the town.
THE ACADEMY.
This institution is doing commendable work under the direction of Principal D. E. Coggeshall and his assistants, Misses Norris and Lawrence. A careful canvass of the parents of the
11
pupils of this schoool and of the seventh and eighth grades has disclosed the fact that a business course would be welcomed in the school. It was thought that an agricultural department would be the proper department for the school, but there seems to be no demand for it. A business course of four years' length, with a strong cultural foundation is what we propose, and we are now working on such a course with the idea that everything will be in readiness to begin in September, 1912. A specially trained teacher will be necessary, for if this course is to be a success it must enable our pupils to compete successfully with the pupils of the best commercial schools hereabouts. To satisfy me. it must do more than prepare for clerkships; it must create a spirit of business keenness, accuracy and integrity that may be applicable to the demands of any vocation whatsoever. This will be a severe test for any proposed business course, and will insure its proper correlation with the other cultural courses of this institution.
CAUSE OF LEAVING SCHOOL.
From reports submitted to me thirty-one pupils left the Westford schools last year. Of these, seventeen left on account of a change of residence, three by reason of illness, two because of failure to do the work, two to attend private schools, and seven to go to work. In other words, less than 11/2 percent of the pupils left school to go to work. It seems to be the intent in Westford to stay in school throughout the entire course, includ- ing the academy. This is in every way to be commended.
SPECIAL EXERCISE DAYS AND HOLIDAYS.
Teachers are expected to devote a reasonable amount of time in preparation for all patriotic exercises. Other Special Exercise periods are for study and explanations suitable to the occasion. Each teacher above grade four should devote a full hour each term to an investigation of local history, local interests and local improvement plans. The English division of the
12
academy should visit, by consent of the owners, the mills located in town; the civil government class should attend town meeting ; the normal school preparatory students should visit the Lowell Normal School; and the class in chemistry should inspect the Lowell Textile School. Once a year the seniors might arrange to attend a good Shakespeare play in Boston with one or more of the teachers. Other trips could profitably be taken, in groups, for the purpose of widening the outlook of boys and girls whose futures are to be spent in activities now either unknown or but dimly comprehended. Especially should those who take the business course in the academy be encouraged to study the business methods and the equipment of nearby industrial and commercial plants and make their reports a feature of the course.
MISCELLANEOUS.
In the spring, by courtesy of Gilchrist & Co. of Boston, several hundred catalpa trees were furnished the pupils of Westford free. Your Superintendent distributed these trees in season for planting Arbor Day. I express the hope that each Arbor Day may see the planting of a tree by every pupil in the public schools of Westford. It is a most unselfish act-the planting of a tree to furnish grateful shade to future generations.
At Forge Village the grounds used by the Cameron School have been shaped and leveled and seeded. In addition, the Abbot Worsted Company has put in a splendid base ball field back of the building, and installed swings, teeter-board, and a merry-go-round. The delight of the school children in using these pieces of apparatus expresses their appreciation, to which I add mine, of the generosity of the Abbot Worsted Company.
PUBLIC LIBRARY-SCHOOL CIRCULATION.
J. V. Fletcher Library, Feb. 1, 1912.
Volumes circulated through Frost School. 507
Volumes circulated through Forge Village School 533
13
Volumes circulated through Parkerville School 236 Volumes circulated through Graniteville School (May-Feb) 225
1501
Children's books borrowed at Library building 3752
Entire circulation of Children's department . 5253
CONCLUSION.
I call your attention to tables appearing elsewhere in this report pertaining to matters that may better be summarized than described.
Thanking you for your helpfulness during the year, I ask for its continuance; and promise, for myself. as close attention to the needs of your schools as the time given to them will permit.
Respectfully submitted.
FRANK H. HILL.
Westford. Feb. 12. 1912. Superintendent of Schools.
14
REPORT OF WESTFORD ACADEMY.
Mr. Frank H. Hill, Superintendent of Schools:
My dear Mr. Hill :- I hereby present the report of Westford Academy for 1911-12.
We have enrolled fifty-two pupils in Westford Academy this year. The attendance has averaged 92.5 percent. I think that you will agree with me that the attendance ought to be much better. Regular attendance is absolutely necessary if the best results are to be obtained, and young men and young women should be taught to realize the value of faithful attend- ance to duty.
The progress made in the scholastic activities of Westford Academy has been particularly good this year ; due very largely, I think, to the fact that the school has retained all three of last year's teachers. At the beginning of the year the teachers and pupils understood the methods used by the present administra- tion and no time was lost in getting into the condition to work. Again, the discipline of the school has been much better this year than last; due also, to the fact that there has been no change in the teaching force.
The ability of the pupils of the school to express themselves well before an audience has been noticeably lacking. With this in mind, it was thought wise to require work of each pupil in public speaking. The last period, Friday afternoons, is being devoted to rhetoricals. The work done has been fair. The debates have proved most satisfactory and beneficial.
In athletics the boys' efforts this year have been in base ball and basket ball only. A committee of young men appointed by the chairman of the Athletic Association met with a similar committee from Littleton High School and arranged for a joint Littleton and Westford Base Ball Team. This ought to give a fairly strong team and may prove to be a good solution of the difficulty found in all of the smaller high schools to get a base ball team that is worthy of the name. For basket ball a league has been formed. The league consists of an Academy Team, a
15
Boy Scout Team, and a team made up of other young men of the town. The league promises to be a source of sport for the winter months.
The prospects for a change in the efforts of the academy are now good. A course in commercial work in all probability will be offered next year. This course will be a four-year course of thorough business training. Westford Academy will then, in my judgment, be much better fitted to the needs of the community which it serves.
When this change is made other slight changes ought to be made. The high school should be essentially a school of developing and training, where young men and women are to be taught the dignity of self-government, self-control and self- direction, and this cannot be done with short periods of recitations and a crowded curriculum. I believe a plan can be worked out that will include the commercial course and a college preparatory course that will rectify some slight mistakes that are now in use. This plan will, I believe, better meet the newer college requirements, and, at the same time, make the school better adapted to its environment. There is a wider difference in high schools today than existed a few years ago ; for that high school is now counted the best which best serves the particular needs of its own locality.
The high school is designed for the many, for all the boys and girls who have completed the grammar school. When the high school draws to it all such pupils, and holds them and stimulates them to put forth their best efforts and helps them to find themselves-all of which is possible-then it fulfils its mission.
In closing this report, I desire to express my appreciation of the good work of the teachers and their loyalty and tireless labor for the good of the school and the pupils. Also, I wish to thank the Superintendent and School Committee for their co-operation and constant support.
Respectfully submitted,
DEXTER E. COGGESHALL, Principal.
16
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF DRAWING.
Superintendent F. H. Hill :
Dear Sir:
I herewith submit the report for the Supervisor of Drawing for the Town of Westford, Mass.
During the past year time has been spent on Nature Study as a means of creating a love for the beauties of nature, and as a step towards design. This work has been followed through in designs which have been applied to various useful articles, planned and executed by the pupils themselves. In the applica- tion of the designs to the various articles, the principles of color harmony, taught in the fall term, were brought into play and used in the practical working out of the problem. The above was the burden of the work for the spring term of last year, following my last report.
For some unknown reason, teachers as a whole have come to look upon drawing as an easy subject; upon the drawing period as a time in which to make pretty things which will do to hang upon the wall at exhibition time, and which do not require a great amount of preparation. Teachers like the sub- ject when it is of this character. The pupils like it because they get a result that it pleasing to them, easily and without any expenditure of mental energy. For this reason it is easy to teach, thereby pleasing the teacher. Such work as, tricks of folding, cutting, or washing in color upon a wet paper and then dabbing in other colors, before the first is dry, and letting the whole mix as fate may decide, has produced, when mounted upon an appropriate mat, many pretty results. But, what good are these results? Have they a market value? Has the pupil acquired a knowledge which will be of any practical use to him ? Has the pupil even been required to think for himself? If we must have that kind of drawing in our schools, I for one say, "Out with it." The time might better be spent on some other study.
However, I believe that the subject has a very sound and practical educational value, when taught properly, and with
17
the right point of view, or aim in mind. Drawing should and can be taught so as to stimulate the pupils to higher ideals, so as to create in the minds of the pupils a preference for all that is good in color and design, together with the power to discrim- inate understandingly, between that which is good and that which is not, in these things. This applies, not only to pictures and vases, but more practically to the furnishing of the home, with its carpets, rugs, draperies, pictures, and furniture; to the choice of colors, material, and design of an entire costume. This does not mean a desire to ape the rich, but instead, it means the wish and power to make the best of what one has. Good taste in these things is not necessarily costly. To continue ; drawing should and can be taught so as to give the pupils skill of hand. or the power to make things. In the making of any one thing, if the work is properly taught, the pupils plan and reason out the construction of the object, thereby gaining the power to think and reason for themselves. In other words, they become resourceful.
What kind of employees do business men want in their employ ? The kind that must be told just how and when to do a thing. and more than that, be told it each time it is done, or each time the problem is in the slightest degree different ? or do they want the kind that is resourceful, and once understanding the principles governing the problem. or work, are able to go ahead on all problems that involve these or similar principles ? To develop in the pupils the power to do these things, are some of the aims of the drawing course as planned for your schools, and if there is no pretty work to hang upon the wall at exhibition time. or to take home, we have done something at least for the future welfare of the pupils.
The establishing of a vocabulary of terms and forms, and the drawing of simple objects for control of the hand, are the first steps toward these aims, and are taken up in the lower grades. This. I believe, when properly done, forms the best possible foundation for the pupils' future work. Naturally, discipline of any kind is not particularly interesting for pupils of the age which we find in these grades. Since the subject as
18
outlined for these grades, is no more interesting to the pupils than the reading, writing, or number work, it is just as hard to teach, and requires, on the part of the teacher, just as much and as careful preparation as any other subject, a most potent reason why teachers do not like drawing.
The work for the fall term in the lower grades has been, and will continue to be throughout the remainder of the school year, the establishing of a working vocabulary of terms and forms and gaining control of the hand.
In the intermediate grades the work becomes more difficult as the pupils' ability and knowledge advance. The vocabulary is gradually enlarged and the reasoning power increased, until, when the grammar grades are reached, the work is quite difficult and may involve many principles of color, design, representation, construction, and technique or the method of working out the problem. With the foregoing aims in mind, the pupils of the grammar grades have, besides other things, worked out problems in costume design, and interior decoration. The various color harmonies are taken up in the grades, suiting the difficulty of the problem to the acquired knowledge of the grade. All grades have done some construction work and will do more. In the upper grades, working drawings have been studied for an understanding of their use, value, and construction.
At the present time the subject is free-hand printing, and in connection with this the pupils will study the principles governing page design, or spacing. They will discriminate between good and poorly arranged advertisements and pages of printed matter. It is to be hoped that they will apply these principles of good spacing to all their written work, and in so doing, improve greatly the tone of the written work.
Following the work in printing will come the study of the various forms of perspective, according to the grade. This work, besides giving the pupils the power to represent various objects, and in doing so, gaining a new form of expression, offers an excellent opportunity for the training of the eye to judge distances and proportions. Here is where the early training in control of the hand shows, in proving the ability of the pupil
19
to make the hand do what the mind dictates, i. e., draw. a line of a certain length. For the spring term, nature study will be taken up for its bearing on design and decoration.
For the present school year I feel that I can justly say that some advance has been made. The advance has not been as strongly marked as I had wished, but it gives good grounds for expecting better work to follow.
In closing, I wish to thank all those who have helped to advance the work.
Respectfully submitted,
F. W. BRACKETT. Jan. 17. 1912.
20
REPORT OF SUPERVISOR OF MUSIC.
Mr. F. Hill, Superintendent of Schools :
Dear Sir:
I herewith submit my third music report for the Westford schools.
As a whole I am gratified with the gain we are making. In some rooms I presume I am the only one who can detect any improvement. Very often conditions change and then, of necessity, the room makes quite a stride ahead, or the reverse may be the case. These conditions are due to one of two causes. We may change a teacher, or it may be that all our best voices in one room leave by promotion or otherwise, and a great many of the poorer voices will arrive in one room, poor often through lack of proper training in the lower grades, good also thanks to proper training.
The supervisor can do nothing without a competent grade teacher, the importance of this is not always appreciated by the school committees or superintendent. She need not of necessity be a musician, but she must be capable of taking directions and following them. . Sometimes a grade teacher cannot see far enough ahead to take in the supervisor's aim. Because of this, directions are omitted and failure to accomplish the work is wondered at, by the grade teacher only.
In two rooms where the work in music is the poorest, are examples of the two greatest faults in grade teachers. Lack of ear training and failure in demanding attention from the class, the one unavoidable, I cannot say the same for the other.
The training in music that the normal school graduate received has been very superficial, but I am glad to say that each year more is being done with this branch.
Music is nearly if not the only subject taught in the public schools in which a thorough training may not be had free of expense in this country. The question of founding such a school
21
where a thorough musical training may be obtained without cost has been agitated. Until such a school is established, the greatest care should be exercised to give to the child the best within our power in one of the important subjects in the school curriculum of the present day.
In Westford as everywhere else we have schools that are doing splendid work in music, and others which are not satisfac- tory. On the whole I feel that we have made a gain this year in tone quality and the work of each grade is of a more advanced standard than last year.
I thank the superintendent for his co-operation in the work and the teachers who work so faithfully to accomplish the desired results.
Respectfully submitted, MARY B. RAYNES, Supervisor of Music.
REPORT OF MEDICAL INSPECTOR.
Gentlemen of the Committee :
I have the honor of submitting to you as Medical Inspector my annual report for the past year.
I have visited the several schools and have made one general examination of all the children, and various other examinations and inspections at either the notification of teacher, super- intendent, or local committee, these various examinations making a total of about 450 single inspections.
During these inspections I have encountered :
Two cases of ringworm of scalp.
One case of ringworm of body.
Twelve cases of adenoids.
Two of chorea. Eighteen of scabies.
Numerous cases of head-lice.
22
In this year we had an invasion of pertussis (whooping- cough), at two different intervals at the Parkerville school- house which necessitated considerable absence in that district.
The general physical and hygienic aspect of the pupils as a whole has shown an improvement from year to year. This year shows quite a favorable change for the better in the parents' co-operation with the school physician for the general advantage and welfare of all the school children.
Respectfully submitted,
DR. CYRIL A. BLANEY.
23
TRUANT OFFICERS' REPORT.
WESTFORD, February 21, 1912.
To the School Committee of Westford:
Number of cases of truant children investigated 41 Number of cases brought to trial. 0
Respectfully submitted,
JOHN A. HEALY, JOHN A. SULLIVAN.
STATISTICS FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR 1910-1911.
SCHOOL
Grades
No. Different Pupils Enrolled. Boys Girls
Total Member- ship.
Average Member- ship.
Average Attend- ance.
¡Per Cent. Attend- ance.
Number between 5 and 15. Boys Girls
Number between 7 and 14. Boys Girls
Number over 15. Boys Girls
Cameron
I
24 22
40
30.27
27.63
91.00
22
18
9
8
0
0
II-III
17
25
37
32.02
30.30
94.57
14
16
14
15
1
1
IV-V
15
19
30
25.06
23.50
93.77
10
17
10
17
0
0
VI-VII-VIII
6
10
16
14.68
14.31
97.48
7
9
5
7
0
0
I-II
27
20
43
39.31
33.76
85.93
26
19
13
8
0
0
Wm. E. Frost .
.
III-IV
21
14
34
28.72
27.54
92.76
22
12
22
12
0
0
V-VI
20
22
42
36.55
34.22
93.62
19
22
19
22
0
0
VII-VIII
19
10
29
27.20
25.00
92.00
17
9
13
9
2
1
Sargent
I
19
12
29
26.90
22.60
84.20
16
15
6
6
0
0
24
II-III
17
16
30
30.00
26.61
89.90
19
14
16
14
0
0
IV-V
18
19
32
27.63
26.56
91.06
16
15
16
14
0
0
VI-VII-VIII
8
10
17
15.70
15.33
97.63
7
7
5
7
0
0
Nabnasset
I-III-IV-V
20
33
46
35.68
32.43
90.73
26
24
20
13
0
0
Parkerville
I-II-III-V-VI-VII- VIII
18
8
25
21.29
19.46
17
8
11
7
2
0
27
33
61
52.63
49.18
91.40 93.44
12
24
9
12
15
9
.
.
Total.
276
273
511
443.64
408.43
91.97
250
229
188
171
20
11
549
479
359
31
-
.
.
.
.
IX-X-XI-XII
Academy .
.
TEACHERS IN SERVICE FEBRUARY 1, 1912.
SCHOOL.
GRADE.
NAME OF TEACHER.
WHERE EDUCATED.
HOME ADDRESS.
Academy
IX-XII
D. E. Coggeshall
.
.
Tufts College
Westford, Mass.
Wm. E. Frost
VII-VIII
Clara Smith .
.
Dorchester High .
Westford, Mass.
Martha L. Grant
Mattic A. Crocker .
Gloucester Training Bridgewater Normal .
Brockton, Mass.
I-II
VI-VIII
Letitia V. Ward
Hyannis Normal .
Lowell Normal .
No. Chelmsford, Mass.
II-III
Abbie M. Blaisdell .
Lowell Normal .
Westford, Mass.
Sargent
.
I VII-VIII V-VI
Izzie Parker
Westford Academy
Graniteville, Mass.
Grace A. Stinson
Lowell Normal
Lowell, Mass. . Westford, Mass.
III-IV
Frances Bannister Mary A. Dunn
Lowell Normal
No. Chelmsford, Mass.
Nabnasset
I-IV
Lowell Normal .
Lowell, Mass. .
Parkerville
.
1-VIII
Boston University .
Dover, Mass.
Music Supervisor
Mary B. Raynes
School of Music
Chelmsford, Mass.
Drawing Supervisor .
F. Ward Brackett .
.
.
Campello, Mass.
.
Bertha H. Norris .
.
Westford Academy
Westford, Mass.
V-VI III-IV
Winifred Burnham
Essex, Mass. Forge Village, Mass.
25
IV-V
Mary A. Garvey
.
Lowell Normal .
.
Wamesit, Mass. .
Eva C. Pync
Westford Academy
I-II
Marietta E. O'Neil Evelyn D. Higgins .
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