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ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01820 9541
GENEALOGY 974.102 B83S 1903
Annual Report
of the
Superintending
School Committee
and
Superintendent
with
Catalogue of Scholars.
BRUNSWICK, MAINE. 1903.
PRESS OF BRUNSWICK RECORD, BRUNSWICK, MAINE.
Annual Report
of the
Superintending
School Committee
and
Superintendent
with
Catalogue of Scholars.
BRUNSWICK, MAINE. 1903.
PRESS OF BRUNSWICK RECORD, BRUNSWICK, MAINE.
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2014
https://archive.org/details/annualreportofsu00brun 1
REPORT
OF THE
Superintending School Committee.
As the Superintendent of Schools has reported fully on the educational conditions of the past year, we shall confine what we have to say to the financial and business conditions, and shall need to say but little about them for they can be understood best by reading the detailed expenditures as given in the following pages.
It is especially gratifying, in view of the general desire of the taxpayers to keep from further increase of rates, to report that the total school expenses for the past year have been several hundred dollars less than the appropriation. There was, however, quite a large deficit brought over from last year, which has not been wiped out completely.
It will be seen from the figures that no extraordinary repairing was done to any of the school houses ; they did not need it. The two largest expenditures connected with re- pairs were for the fencing of the Center Street grounds and the moving of the school house from No. 9, Mere Point, to a place nearer the population center of the region. The for- mer was very much needed and the latter very strongly urged by those who would be better accommodated by the change. We know the new fence is a great improvement and hope the moving of the school house was wise. But our experience in this matter leads us to question seriously whether it is not better to leave the old school houses where
4
they are and build new ones in other localities if necessary.
It is not possible to tell what population changes time may bring, and, in addition, a school house located in the same place for many years has associations which should not be broken if possible to avoid it.
In reference to money needed for next year, we would say that we shall ask for the same amount that was appropri- ated and raised for the year just closing. We see no reason why, with that, we may not be able to keep everything run- ning as at present, and have sufficient surplus at the end to wipe out entirely past deficits. There are many desirable improvements we could make if we had more money, but we cannot help thinking that educationally things are very well with us, and that our best policy is to preserve and strengthen what we have until the financial outlook for the town is im- proved, before additional things are urged.
And this leads us to say that there is one black cloud in our financial horizon which is giving us some concern. It is the bill before the Legislature, following the recommendation of the Governor, providing that hereafter money be appor- tioned to the towns from the State school funds in proportion to attendance and not in proportion to school census as at present. If that bill passes it will reduce the amount Bruns- wick gets by about $1700. We cannot believe that the Leg- islature will pass the bill in its present form at least. If it does, the town will have to raise more money or our school system be a good deal crippled.
Acting in conjunction with the Superintendent some changes have been made in the teaching force, but in general there have been minor changes only. It has never been the policy of Brunswick to so conduct its school affairs that fre- quent changes of teachers in its most important schools should result. It has always believed that the school like the home, with which it should be in such close alliance, is strengthened by that intimate knowledge of conditions which maturity alone gives.
5
Together with all other departments of the town we re- joice in the prospect of the Curtis Memorial Library. Such a building cannot fail to have an important bearing upon the schools and we trust that in planning it the schools will be specially considered. We hope that it may contain a room designed especially for school use, where any teacher may take members of a class and show them the books which should be read and how to use them, and where others, not teachers, may help pupils in the same manner.
Finally, we ask that all will give careful attention to the report of the Superintendent who has worked so faithfully for the best interests of the Brunswick schools.
Respectfully submitted,
FRANKLIN C. ROBINSON, - Superintending School Committee.
EDWARD W. WHEELER, STEPHEN C. WHITMORE.
ANNUAL REPORT
of the
Superintendent of Schools.
The following report for the year 1902 is respectfully sub- mitted :
According to the school census of April 1, 1902, the num- ber of scholars in town between the ages of four and twenty- one years was 2,093 as against 2,128 for the previous year, a decrease of 35. In spite of this decrease the total enroll- ment in our schools has been larger than last year, viz., 1,176 as against 1,116, an increase of 60.
The total attendance and averages for the whole town for the three terms of 1902 are as follows:
WINTER TERM : Total attendance, 822 Average 685
SPRING TERM: Total attendance, 876 Average 726 FALL TERM: Total attendance, 898 Average 729
This shows an average attendance of 82 2-5 per cent., as against the 82 per cent. of last year.
General Survey.
The work of the past year, to speak of our school system as a whole, has been steady and excellent. The increase in enrollment, already given in the aggregate, has been largest in the lowest primary grades. If the pressure should con- tinue to increase, more room will soon be imperatively nec- essary. In two at least of the higher classes the numbers are
7
already too large for thoroughly efficient work. This ex- cessive demand upon the teacher is relieved to some extent by the employment of a pupil teacher.
The stability and steady progress of our schools is owing in no small degree to the comparative permanence of the teaching force. A new broom does not always sweep clean. Experience is one of the chief factors in a teacher's efficiency. At the beginning of the current school year, the vacancy in the high school staff caused by the resignation of Elbert B. Holmes, A. B., was filled by the reappointment of Miss Mary W. Sandford, who had served for many years in the same position; the vacancy in the third grammar grade made by the transfer of Miss Helen L. Varney to the new supervisor- ship of Music and Drawing was filled by the promotion of Miss Florence M. Lincoln from the Bath Street school; at Bath Street Miss Mary E. Parker was promoted to the vacant principalship, Miss Belle H. Smith to the place of first assistant, and Miss Eleanor S. Dunlap was brought in from a rural school to take the place of second assistant. At the Center Street, Pleasant Street, and Union Street schools no changes have been made in the corps of teachers. It will be seen, too, that all the changes in the grades below the high school were promotions.
One of the best indications of life and vigor in our school work is the fact that many of our teachers are far from satis- fied with the results they have thus far been able to obtain, and are seeking for better text books, more fruitful methods, and more light generally upon the problems of the school- room. This spirit is contagious, and as long as it is cherished by the majority of the teachers, there is no fear that the work will go backward.
Saturday Sessions.
For many years the Brunswick schools have had Saturday forenoon sessions with Wednesday afternoon as a half holi- day. But as it is now the generally established custom to
-
8
have school for five full days and a whole holiday on Saturday, and as many of the teachers, parents and pupils are desirous that this schedule be adopted here, it was decided by the Superintending School Committee to try the change as an experiment for the Fall term, and at the end of that term it was thought best to continue the ex- periment for the Winter. Actual trial for a school year will probably show conclusively whether it is wise to make the present arrangement permanent.
In the high school the dropping of Saturday sessions in- cluded the provision that afternoon sessions be held daily from 2.30 to 4 o'clock, but that all pupils who gain a stand- ing of 75 per cent. in all their studies be excused from at- tendance in the afternoon. This requirement has resulted in a sudden advance in the average scholarship of the school. A considerable number of scholars, in their desire to evade the afternoon session and have control of their time, have been stimulated out of their listlessness, and are doing much better work, while those whose proper attention to study can be secured only by regular hours under a teacher's super- vision are saved from much waste of time and are helped to get more out of their school course. This requirement may cause inconvenience and possibly hardship in a few cases, but its effect upon the school as a whole is undoubtedly ben- eficial. A brief statement in figures will make this clearer. In the Fall of 1901 about 65 per cent. of the pupils in the high school fell below the grade of 75 per cent. in one or more studies; in the Fall of 1902 the percentage that fell be- low that figure was reduced to 44. This is an extraordinary change to bring about in a single year, and in the judgment of the teachers the improvement is owing chiefly to the after- noon session.
Music and Drawing.
The report of last year emphasized the importance of add- ing to our teaching force a special teacher of Music and
9
Drawing in order to put instruction in these subjects upon a substantial and permanent basis, and the town at its annual meeting approved this recommendation by voting for an increase of $400 in the appropriation for common schools so as to provide the salary of the new teacher. Miss Helen L. Varney was appointed to this new position, and entered upon her duties at the opening of the school year in Septem- ber. It is still too early to expect much in the way of re- sults, and the detailed account and estimate of the work will necessarily come later. It is sufficient to say at this time that the work in both Music and Drawing is now well organ- ized, is proceeding in accordance with a definite plan, and has already made an effective appeal to the interest of a large majority of the pupils. It is expected that before the close of the present school year arrangements will be made to show the public what the schools are doing in these departments.
The Evening School.
The Evening school opened November 11, and closed February 6. There were four sessions the first week and three per week thereafter. The corps of teachers consisted of M. J. Shaughnessy, principal, and the following assistants: Misses Mary E. Parker, and Belle H. Smith, Mrs. Abbie F. Minard, and Messrs. C. F. Grant and C. T. Harper, all of whom served in the same capacity last year. The value of experience in the special conditions which the evening school imposes has been shown by a considerable increase in effi- ciency. In part, however, the better work of this year is accounted for by the smaller number of pupils.
To avoid the overcrowding at the beginning which last year seriously interfered with the progress of the work, it was deemed best to require a small money deposit from each pupil as a guaranty of good faith. The amount was one dollar for male, and fifty cents for female, pupils, and there was an understanding that the money should be refunded at
10
the end of the term, if attendance and deportment had been satisfactory. There is no reason to believe that anyone who has an earnest desire to learn was debarred by this require- ment, and it had the desired effect of preventing the con- fusion of last year. Within fifteen minutes after the ringing of the bell for the first session, the school was thoroughly organized, and the scholars busily at work.
There were seventy-six names enrolled, but as four of the pupils were present less than ten sessions, the total attend- ance is reported as seventy-two. The average attendance was fifty-nine, or 82 per cent, while last year the percentage was only 60. It will be seen from this that the percentage of attendance at the evening school for this year is almost identical with that of the day schools which has shown but slight variations for several years. It is pleasant to report that every teacher in the school had an intelligent grasp of the situation, and spared no effort to get the largest returns from the time expended. There is probably no point in our school work where the same amount of money contributes so much toward the development of good citizenship.
The Rural Schools.
In the year 1901 there were five districts in which the average attendance was below the legal minimum, viz., Nos. 1, 5, 6, 9, and 15, and at the last March meeting the town voted to leave the continuance of the schools in these dis- tricts to the discretion of the school committee. Schools have been maintained throughout the year in all of these districts except No. 5, where there was a school for the spring term only. At the opening of the fall term cheap transportation by the new electric road made it advisable to bring the pupils from No. 5 to the village schools. In Dis- tricts No. 1 and 15 the average attendance has been above eight; in No. 6 the average falls slightly below, but there will probably be nine scholars to provide for next term; in No. 9 there was no school until the fall, when, although
11
there were thirteen pupils enrolled, the average attendance was only seven, owing to the fact that several of the scholars did not enter the school until the term was half over. The returns from this district for the winter term will probably show a higher average. In Districts No. 3 and 4 the average attendance for the past year has been less than eight, but in No. 4 the total enrollment has recently increased to twelve, so that, barring an unexpected change of conditions, the school in No. 4 ought to be continued. In general it is recommended that the maintenance of schools in doubtful districts be left to the discretion of the Superintending School Committee, because, as the recent past has shown, it is impossible to foresee what the conditions of a district may be three months hence.
It is an interesting fact that the rural districts contribute twenty-five pupils to the high school, or nearly 30 per cent of the whole number. The most of these are doing excellent work. This shows that our rural population no less than the residents of the village have a vital interest in the main- tenance of a good high school. Besides the direct advantage of making high school training easily accessible, there is another way in which the rural communities are benefitted. To a large extent the teaching in the outside schools is done by high school graduates, and a high school in the town that is well equipped and efficient will furnish a constant supply of material for the development of successful teachers. The improvement of our school system progresses from the top downwards, and increased efficiency in high school work will mean in the long run better teaching in the rural schools, or, in other words, better opportunities for the boys and girls outside the village to secure an education.
Telephone.
In accordance with the terms of a contract made by the town with the N. E. Telephone and Telegraph Company, the schools of the town are entitled to the use of a telephone at a
12
nominal rental. The instrument has been located in the high school building, as that is the place where it will be of most good to the largest number.
Co-operation of Parents.
Most parents want good schools, and want their children to go to school, but they seldom do anything directly to help make good schools. They delegate the whole matter to school officials and teachers, and manifest their interest in the outcome by attending the closing exercises, sometimes at least, when their own children take part. The parent, to be sure, emerges in times of special stress, as when friction arises between teacher and pupil, but this spasmodic partici- pation in school affairs does not exhaust the possibilities of parental influence. Who knows what might be accomplished if, I will not say all, but if a majority of the more intelligent parents in a community should keep in close touch with the schools; should personally inspect them from time to time, should take pains to get acquainted with the teachers and confer with them about school work, and in this way prepare themselves for intelligent criticism of methods and results? Such a course would promote a better understanding between the school and the home, and enable them to work harmoni- ously together. It would tend to foster in the pupils a permanent attitude of good will toward school and teachers that would go far toward determining their conduct in school and the quality of their work. Another important result would be likely to appear. Such co-operation would probably stimulate parents to a more careful oversight of the pupil's life out of school hours, and to a wholesome restraint upon the tendency towards late hours and social dissipation, from the weakening and distracting effects of which Brunswick is not free. There is certainly a need of something to bring all the educational forces of the community into active co-opera- tion and keep educational interests under intelligent discus- sion. The parents by united action could put upon the
13
superintendent the pressure of an intelligent demand for better schools, as the superintendent in turn can put pressure upon the teachers; and as teachers respond to the reasonable demands of the superintendent, so the superintendent must respond to the reasonable demands of the community, or give place to some one who will.
Manual Training.
There was a time, and that not so very long ago, when ed- ucation meant book-learning. When school privileges were meagre, when there were few books in the home and no public libraries, and the, school year was bounded by the Winter months, it was natural and necessary that all available time should be spent in grounding the pupils thoroughly in the three R's, in giving them the mastery of the tools in the edu- cational workshop. The three R's are just as necessary as . ever, but the average child spends several times as many weeks in school as his predecessors of one hundred years ago, and it is probable that less time is now required in mastering the rudiments. There are subjects enough presented in books to fill up all the time and more. But in the judgment of the best educators it is not wise, in the present conditions, to limit school training to books. The child needs to learn to do things. Brain power is increased and the mental life enriched by the training of eye, ear, and hand. The training of the eye in the study of natural objects and in drawing, the training of the ear in elocution and music, and the training of the hand in drawing and in the use of all sorts of tools, not only enable the pupil to use eye, ear, and hand to better advantage, but this training reacts favorably upon all the mental processes; it helps the pupil to understand better what he reads, and so enables him to make more rapid progress in the acquisition of knowledge; it shows him, too, how knowledge can be put to practical use, and thus stimulates his desire to obtain it. A reasonable amount of time devoted to drawing, music, and manual training is not time wasted, for
14
the accomplishment along intellectual lines, as repeated ex- periments have proved, need not be one whit diminished, while at the same time the pupil has been pleasantly em- ployed in learning to do something-a capacity of far greater value than mere knowledge.
Instruction in music and drawing is already provided. Manual training is in my judgment the improvement to be urged next. The need of manual training has been pro- duced by the revolution in industrial life. The factory sys- tem of production now prevails. Only a short time ago the household or neighborhood system was in vogue. Only three generations ago almost every household was an industrial center where all the typical forms of occupation were carried on. To the child of that period, as has been said, "the entire industrial process stood revealed, from the production of the raw materials on the farm till the finished article was actually put to use." In this process every member of the household had some part to perform as soon as age and strength allowed. Here was a system of education in constant operation which produced a class of men and women who knew how to do things. Today the industrial center is no longer the farmer's kitchen, nor in any considerable degree the village shop, but the great factory with its hundreds of operatives. By this industrial revolution the children of today have been deprived of the benefits of the old time training, and have been given no substitute for it. In the cities and large towns the choice must be made between manual training and retrogression and degeneracy. It is not necessary for the schools to produce full fledged carpenters and blacksmiths, but they ought to make it possible for the children upon whom the burdens of our industrial and political life will soon fall to gain that knowledge of material things, natural laws, and industrial processes which comes from close personal contact under competent guidance, so that they may go out into the world equipped with the power of attention, the disciplined judgment, and the industrious disposition
15
which are wrought into the fibre of the child who is given a fair chance to see how things are done and is allowed to take part in the doing. The necessity here in Brunswick for introducing manual training into the school course is immedi- ate and urgent. Our present system overworks the abstract, theoretical side, the memorizing of facts and the discipline of books, and slights the practical side, the training and occupations which bring book knowledge into connection with life and make it vital and productive.
As a step in the direction of manual training, and with the hope of stirring up interest which shall lead eventually to a town appropriation for this purpose, the following plan has recently been put into operation. The village teachers de- vote one afternoon of each week to hand work, the kind varying with the abilities and tastes of the different teachers. Besides this work in which each teacher shares, a part of the unused basement of the high school building has been made into a work shop and equipped with tables, benches and tools. Here the boys of the first and second classes of the grammar school spend one afternoon per week in mechanical drawing and woodwork under the oversight of Mr. George Reed. Up to the present time no draught has been made upon the school funds for this purpose. But the work can- not be continued long, unless the town, or some generous individual, furnishes the means. We have available space enough and a moderate equipment. All the boys in the grammar school can now have a course in manual training if the salary of an instructor is provided. If the town, in view of the present high rate of taxation and the uncertainty as to the amount of school money to be received in future from the state, considers it unwise to make an appropriation for this purpose this year, is there not some public-spirited individual who is willing to put a little money where it will do a great deal of good? The benefit of such an act to the boys of Brunswick could not be computed in money.
FRANK E. WOODRUFF, Superintendent.
FINANCIAL STATEMENT.
SALARIES
Paid Teachers of Village Schools from February 1,1902, to Feb- ruary 1, 1903.
High School.
Charles Fish,
$1400 00
Elbert B. Holmes,
333 31
Mary W. Sandford,
222 21
Carrie N. Potter,
500 00
Edna M. Chandler,
277 76
Mary Fish,
222 20
Annabel Stetson,
410 00
$3,365 48
Harvey M. Doughty, janitor,
200 00
$3,565 48
Common Schools.
Annette F. Merryman,
$720 00
Bird M. Albee,
500 00
Helen L. Varney,
450 00
Mynee E. Owen,
400 00
Annabel Stetson,
90 00
L. Frances Jordan,
425 00
Florence M. Lincoln,
400 00
Mary E. Parker,
320 00
Belle H. Smith,
238 00
Alice S. Dunning,
360 00
Florence M. Allen,
288 00
17
Laura B. Reed,
$252 00
Lizzie P. Toothaker,
360 00
Aimee Stetson,
252 00
Martha L. Gahan,
360 00
Frances Parker,
288 00
Evelyn Stetson,
192 00
Eleanor Dunlap,
80 00
Lilla G. Varney,
64 00
Selina Thompson,
40 00
Annie Ulmer,
32 00
Belle Baker,
62 63
Bertha Melcher,
29 99
Alice Knight,
44 00
Etta Strout,
18 00
$6,265 62
Salaries Paid Janitors.
Harvey M. Doughty,
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