USA > Rhode Island > Annual report of the Board of Education : together with the Annual report of the Commissioner of Public Schools of Rhode Island, 1875 > Part 16
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If some people were as willing to expend money in the education of their children as they are in gratifying unnatural appetites for the curse of our nation, Rum, costing the lives of more than 50,000 of our coun- trymen annually, and millions of dollars, besides wrecking fair homes
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and causing wives and children to drink deep into the cup of sorrow, destitution and misery, what a school fund might be raised ! Economy is an excellent policy ; but true economy is expending money on all the children in this broad and happy country, in teaching them their debt to society, to keep above, and not to be contaminated with filthy habits and vile associations, and to play an honorable and useful part in the great drama of life. Be assured that such pupils will pay back, in some way, to you or your posterity, the debt they owe an hundred fold.
We have too many schools for the number of pupils. It is costing too much to educate a few. If a little economy with the school money could be practiced in this direction, we could have longer terms, and pay to our teachers better wages. In district No. 12, it is costing per average attendance to support a school about $52.75 a pupil for six months. In district No. 8, about $10.25 a pupil for the same time. Now is the former an economical use of the school money ? If we had six schools instead of twelve, we might with our present appropriation, maintain a school of eight months in each school year, and pay our teachers on an average $50 per month. Our schools would then num- ber on an average no more than 35 pupils. But with so few schools, perhaps all could not be accommodated. But, in my opinion, if those schools that do not have an average attendance of ten or more, would for the present be accommodated in some adjoining district, it would be more beneficial to all concerned.
In our small districts, the trustees are puzzled how to maintain a six months school with so small an amount of money as is appropriated for their use. It has been shown, that the town appropriation has been divided, one half equally among the several districts, and the other half according to their average attendance. This I consider perfectly fair.
However, some of the electors in small districts, are in favor of hav- ing the whole town appropriation equally divided. Suppose one dis- trict pays a tax on $90,000 ; and another, on $40,000 valuation. Would it be just for the small district, with but few pupils to educate, to receive an equal share of the school tax thus raised? One pays more than double the amount of tax, and has more than double the number of pupils to educate. If the larger districts had a surplus of money, in their appropriation, and but few pupils to educate, I should be favor- able to their rendering assistance to the smaller districts. But as the larger districts have barely enough to support their schools for the length of time required by law, I should object to cqual division .- WIL- LET H. ARNOLD, Supt.
HOPKINTON .- Our system of free schools is not yet perfected. And one of the great questions of the day is, how can they be made the best to secure the highest possible good. In this country, the common school underlies the very foundations of our republican institutions. On them the superstructure of all therewith connected must rest. The first requisite towards securing their designed good, is a proper appre- ciation of their importance, their utility, their adaptedness, their com- peteney, and their power. A correct public sentiment on those points
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is a necessity. Not until their full value is understood and appreciated, will their greatest good be obtained. Indifference, apathy, or neglect, in relation to them, is ruinous. Are children born to feed and pamper their bodies alone? Are they not born to a heritage of soul, of mind, of intellect? And yet parents too often seem to begrudge that which is expended for their children's higher nature. With less expense can a town educate its children at home than abroad, and if its public schools are what they might be, equally as well .--- S. S. GRISWOLD, Supt.
NORTH SMITHFIELD .--- Small Schools .--- We have several small schools in town ; one averaging only seven pupils for the year ; two averaging ten each, and two others averaging eleven and thirteen respectively. It costs as much ordinarily to support a small school as a large one. The teacher gives his time to the school, and it requires no more to in- struct thirty than it does ten ; while the advantages of rivalry and com- petition are wanting. If we compare district No. 6, (reporting the smallest attendance,) with district No. 2, (reporting the largest,) we find in the former, the maximum cost per scholar $38.88, and in the latter the minimum $15.14. If we remember that in the former district we have the minimum length of school year, twenty-four weeks, and in the latter, the maximum --- forty weeks --- to have continued the school in dis- trict No. 6, at the same rate, as long as it was continued in district No. 2, would have raised the cost per scholar to $64.80 ; thus showing that it actually cost four times as much to educate a scholar in the smallest school as in the largest, with the advantages necessarily much inferior. These comparisons might be further instituted with the same result. Now it is a grave question whether these small schools should be con- tinued at such great expense. The wisdom of the School Commis- sioner's recommendation in his last report is apparent --- the temporary suspension of small schools and the sending of their pupils to the near- est schools in adjoining districts. The objection that will be raised is the distance to be traveled ; but while the State is under obligation to provide every child with the best common school education at its com- mand, it is not feasible to build a school-house in every man's door- yard. It is the misfortune of some in every district to live upon the outskirts, while others reside under the shadow of the school-house. So in the matter of suspended schools, the distance should be con- sidered an evil to be endured, until it can be cured.
An Increased appropriation .- Your Committee have not overstepped the limits assigned them in the matter of expenditure, but have an un- expended balance remaining. They believe that in public as well as in private matters, expenses should always be less than income. But had more funds been at their disposal, they see how they could have been judiciously expended, and that too, where the cause of education suf- fors detriment, because it is so stinted in its means.
Schools have been obliged to curtail the length of the school year below their wishes, since their apportionment of money would not allow them to continue the schools longer .- CALVIN R. FITTS, Supt.
School Expenses .- The attention of the trustees of the several districts is again called to the following resolution :
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Resolved, That each school district in the town, be allowed a sum not exceeding fifty dollars per year, to be expended for fuel, light repairs on school-houses, and small, necessary articles of furniture for the school rooms .- School Committee.
SCITUATE .- But little money is left unexpended. This fact should have its influence upon the appropriation for next year .- School Com- mittee.
TIVERTON .- The committee are impressed with the importance of lengthening our school terms. In general, children are not under in- struction for so long a portion of the year as was formerly the case, nor for so long a time as is needful for their proper advancement.
The amount expended for fuel varies much in different districts. We . suggest that the town appropriate for schools the same sum as hereto- fore, and that each district raise by special tax such a sum for fuel as . may be necessary .- School Committee.
WARREN .- A large appropriation is asked for the ensuing year. The appropriation for the past year has been very nearly expended, leaving bills nnpaid to a very considerable amount .- School Committee.
WOONSOCKET .- An act in relation to public schools in Woonsocket, enacted at the January Session, 1873, conferring " all the powers and duties relating to public schools appertaining, belonging to, or which school districts are entitled to exercise in the town of Woonsocket upon the school committee, and the town vote authorizing the committee to expend " the sum of $15,000 under the direction of the school com- mittee," the disbursement of the same for the support of the schools, was and has been by orders on the town treasurer for each separate contract, which orders have been duly numbered and recorded in a book kept for that purpose. By reason of the change in the law, the com- mittee thought this action more simple, and that it answered the purpose better than by a division of the school money according to chapter 53 of the General Statutes. The prime object of the committee was to give to each school and district all the aid that could be afforded ; and I be- lieve all will concede the fact that at no time under school management have better facilities been provided for the schools than during the past year.
I find, on examination of the expense of the school district system. where the money appropriated is divided according to law, that it costs several thousand dollars per year more than when the schools are managed by the school committee, for when the school committee draw orders for each separate bill, no more is taken from the treasury than what is actually expended ; while in the district system, all the money divided is usually drawn, and no balance left in the town treasury, as there is under the system adopted the last year, and every contract and bill is audited by the school committee, and a record made of the same. This method is more systematic ; and by comparison, much less expensive than by the district system .- N. T. VERRY, Clerk School Committee.
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FREE LIBRARIES.
EAST GREENWICH .- The Committee again call your attention to the benefits derived from the Free Library, and believe that all the citizens of the town should feel an interest in it to the extent of granting a mod- erate appropriation of money to aid its support and insure its continu- ance .- JAMES H ELDREDGE, Chairman.
LINCOLN .- Your Committee would suggest the propriety and advan- tage of establishing a library in every district-to be kept in the school house and under the control of the teacher.
The benefits of such libraries will be seen at a glance. Not only shall the scholars, but the parents may have access to the books, and thus much good may be accomplished. If the teachers of the various districts would take this matter into serious consideration and set to work with an earnest purpose, there can be no doubt but that they would succeed. Make a start-no matter how small it may be-and it will most surely grow and in time become a permanent institution, bestowing invaluable benefits .- School Committee.
NEWPORT .-- Honor to Christopher Townsend, a benefactor of the city, who established and now largely sustains the " People's Free Library," its influence bringing a higher intelligence and broader culture to the people. The advantages it offers to teachers and students are invalua- ble. His sister, Miss Ellen Townsend, has shown her devotion to every philanthropic enterprise, both by liberal offerings and personal presence. Comprehending the terrible evil of uneducated children, she offered to this city a farm, ample in area, delightfully situated and of material value, upon which to erect buildings for the accommodation of the habit- ual truant, who should there be taught either mechanical trades, or the tilling of the soil, hoping thereby to engender habits of usefulness. Un- wise counsels defeated her plan and her liberal offer .- THOS. COGGES- HALL, Chairman.
GRAMMAR SCHOOLS.
PAWTUCKET .- During the past year the Grammar room in the school building on Grove Street has been divided equally, thereby forming a second Grammar department. Experience has already proved the wis- dom of this step .- PHANUEL E. BISHOP, M. D., Supt.
" WOONSOCKET .--- It has not as yet been possible to assign to the differ- ent Grammar Schools precisely the same work. The different schools do not at present admit of precisely the same classification. It has been necessary to admit to the Globe and Bernon Grammar Schools lower
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classes, because of the pressure from below. The last promotion at the beginning of this term, was especially to be regretted in the Globe, as it compelled Mr. Robbins to form a new class at a time when unnsual attention ought to be given to the graduating class. However, as no proper room could be procured, and the pupils in the Primary numbered eighty-four, relief must be found in unseasonable promotion. An effort was made early in the year to so shape the work of the Grammar de- partment that its first classes should be well prepared at the end of the Summer Term to enter the High School. The prospect is now exceed- ingly encouraging of being able to promote at least twenty-five consider- ably better prepared than were the promotions last year.
It is to be regretted, notwithstanding, that the proficiency in grammar is not greater. The study of our language is receiving more attention by educators throughout the land, and language lessons are being every- where introduced into the most elementary instruction.
The opinion that some foreign language must be studied in order to enable one to distinguish the refinements and elegances of construction, is ridiculous. Taste, accuracy, precision, and every attribute of a good style, may as well be cultivated by the study of the English tongue as by any other. Almost every school exercise should in some way be made tributary to a better knowledge of the resources of the common medium of thought. Grammar has been introduced now one year earlier than heretofore, but it should at least be taught orally as soon as the pupil enters the Grammar department.
During the past year monthly written examinations have been estab- lished with most excellent results. Where recitations are conducted alto- gether orally, in order to save time, the answers are allowed to be frag- mentary and imperfect ; and before one is aware, a habit of inexactness has been acquired. The written examination is a correction of this. It also necessitates the learning of the subject rather than the look. To pre- pare for a written examination requires that the knowledge be assimi- lated. Language which is not understood will quickly pass out of the mind. Furthermore, such examinations cultivate the powers of compo- sition and the facility of written statement, which is no mean accom- plishment.
The teachers in this department have, during the year, made special effort to improve the penmanship, and the results have been manifest, in the neatness and skill with which much of the work has been executed. Messrs. Payson, Dunton and Scribner, have recently put upon the desks of the teachers a most excellent little book entitled a " Manual of Pen- manship," in which the theory and all the elements and principles of good writing are set forth, using which, a teacher of good sense ought to have abundant success.
There ought to be, in this connection, some mention made of the sub- ject of Morals and Manners. By many it is feared that reverence is be- coming a lost virtue, and yet childhood or youth is never, and can never be, beautiful without it. Deference and respect are in no wise servile, on the contrary, they bear witness to a noble spirit. The young soldier reveres the old general. The pupil should respect the teacher. The graces of courtesy, good breeding, and politeness, have especial appro-
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priateness in the school.room, and should be diligently cultivated .--- CHAS. J. WHITE, Supt.
HIGH SCHOOL.
BRISTOL .- High School Exhibition .- The exhibition of the High School, which took place in the hall of the new building, which is well arranged for all such purposes, was very creditable to both teachers and scholars.
All the exercises were interesting, well conceived and well performed. The classes in gymnastics were especially popular, and were repeatedly applauded, by an audience of between six and seven hundred persons.
The net proceeds of the exhibition have been expended in the purchase of a microscope, a globe, Prescott's Conquest of Mexico, for the school library, and some necessary apparatus. A fine organ has also been bought for the use of the school, which will be found especially valuable during the singing exercises .- R. S. ANDREWS, Supt.
BURRILLVILLE .- Something has been said, I believe, in former years, concerning the necessity of having a school of a higher grade than at present exists. Enough, it is believed, to make a successful High School annually seek those facilities for an advanced education which are of- fered away from this town. Would not this number remain at home, if the advantages which they desire could be enjoyed within the town? Having these, would also obviate the necessity which some families feel for removing to other places where there are alluring opportunities for acquiring more knowledge than can be gained in any school now among us. A desire for such a course of study as a well conducted high school would offer, and the ability to prosecute it, are alike honorable. Both of these, I think, are already ours. Shall we have the needed school as an evidence of the growth of the town, and a guarantee of its future pros- perity ? " If any community finds itself able to increase its school priv- ileges, and does so, it is a voluntary action creditable to its enterprise and intelligence."-WM. FITz. Supt.
NEWPORT .- The Rogers High School springs, in a certain sense, from an old Newport school. There are many who remember, and some still living, who attended the classical school kept by the father of William S. Rogers, in the early years of the present century. This school se- cured a good degree of eminence, attracting many pupils from distant parts of the country. On its roll were the names of several from the South and elsewhere, who attained, in after life, high rank as statesmen and scholars.
The school was opened on Monday, September 8th, 1873. The studies assigned for the last year of the course were in advance of those which had been pursued in the High School, and eight High School graduates, upon application, were admitted, and formed the senior class.
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The following circular, which is nearly the same as that issued at the opening of the school, indicates the arrangement of the courses :-
Rogers High School .- Rogers High School, generously endowed by the late William Sanford Rogers, of Boston, was opened in Newport, R. I., on Monday, Sept. 8th, 1873.
An elegant building has been erected for the accommodation of the school. The sum of thirty thousand dollars has been contributed toward the expenses of this building by the city of Newport. in consideration of the fact, that tuition in all departments of the Institution will be forever free to the young people of Newport. No pains have been spared to adapt the building perfectly to its uses, and it is believed that it offers facilities unsurpassed in institutions of the kind.
The building has a central and beautiful location, commanding one of the finest water views in America.
Frederick W. Tilton, A. M., late Principal of Phillips Academy, An- dover, has been elected Head Master, and an ample corps of superior instructors has been already appointed to assist him.
The object of the school will be three-fold : Those who desire it will receive a thorough preparation for college. The course in the classical department is adapted to the requirements of all American colleges, in- cluding the new course of preparation for Harvard, recently announced. Young ladies who desire to present themselves for examination for the Harvard certificates, can receive the necessary instruction.
A thorough course in mathematics and the sciences, with laboratory practice, will be given to those looking forward to scientific pursuits.
A general course of higher English, classical, scientific and mathemat- ical studies is opened to persons of either sex, who do not wish one of the special courses above mentioned.
The study of modern languages is a required part of each of the three courses.
The trustees of the school are Rev. Thatcher Thayer, D. D., of New- port, and William Minot, Esq., of Boston.
The executive committee is the school board of the city of Newport, Thomas Coggeshall, Esq., chairman ; Thomas H. Clarke, Esq., secre- tary.
It is the aim of the trustees, the executive committee, and the in- struetors, to form a school second in no respect to any of its grade in the country.
The course of study in each department embraces four years. Stu- dents fitting for Troy Polytechnic Institute, Sheffield or Lawrence Scien- tific School, or the School of Technology, will require but a partial course. A student may enter, at any time, an existing class for which he is qualified. A thorough knowledge of the common English branches is an absolute essential for admission. The school year of forty weeks is divided into four terms.
Should a limited number of students from abroad desire to enter any one of the departments, they will be received, if qualified. They will be under the general oversight of their instructors. Tuition for each term, including modern languages, use of laboratory, and instruction in vocal music, will be fifteen dollars, payable in advance.
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The general course, to which attention is called in the circular, em- braces the following subjects :- Four years of science, including elemen- tary anatomy and physiology ; natural philosophy ; general and analyti- cal chemistry, with the advantages of laboratory practice ; astronomy ; mineralogy and botany ; four years of Latin ; four years of French, with exercises during three years, conducted entirely in French, by a native teacher ; two years of German ; two years of mathematics, including algebra, geometry, and trigonometry Carefully arranged courses are provided in book-keeping, ancient and physical geography, ancient and modern history, English literature, mental philosophy, moral philoso- phy and political economy. Instruction is given through the course in drawing, elocution and vocal music, with frequent exercises in compo- sition.
The classical course includes a large part of the above, with such ad- ditional work in the Latin and Greek classics and mathematics, as shall secure the most thorough preparation for any American college.
The advantages of the school have been freely offered to all persons of the requisite attainments, who, while prevented for any reason from taking a complete course, have desired to pursue particular studies. The opportunities thus offered have met a hearty response .- F. W. TILTON, Head Master.
SCITUATE .- Deprived of High Schools sustained by the public money. the existence of Lapham Institute is a great blessing to this town and other towns in this part of the State. It fits some for college and other higher schools, it serves to qualify others for the better performance of the practical duties of life, and it exerts an influence in various ways to raise the standard of education. A large proportion of those who have taught in the town during the year, have received instruction at this school. No pains should be spared to secure for it the patronage to which it is entitled .- J. M. BREWSTER, Supt.
SOUTH KINGSTOWN .- One year ago we could not reconcile it to our sense of duty to say or do nothing in reference to the High School for our town. We then saw the great need of it, for the purpose of giving to our larger schools the means for more completely grading them ; as well as affording the facilities of a higher education for those who would otherwise be sent abroad, or who are worthy of it, and would otherwise remain destitute of it. We are glad to report that since the question has been agitated, the Hon. Rowland G. Hazard-whose fame for his patronage of institutions of higher icarning, is as wide as the civilized world-has made the liberal offer to the town to erect a high school building, to furnish it with proper apparatus, and to give the grounds upon which it is erected, upon the condition that sufficient funds, inclu- ding income of the Robinson fund, may be raised by the town, or other- wise, to support the teachers of the school. The special committee ap- pointed to arrange the whole matter in detail, have the subject now under consideration. The difficulty which was anticipated when the suggestion first occurred to us still remains unsolved, and that is, that our township is so large that it is no easy matter to locate it in such a place as to render it acceptable to a large majority of the voters of the town. We
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