1870-1871 School Committee Report

Browse Search

10 11 hensive school system, it will be conceded that the prescribed An interesting Exhibition was held at the close of the school course, so far from including too much, really does not include year, which was attended by the friends of the school in such num- enough to satisfy the demands of all. The citizens of Lexington bers that the hall was quite too small to accommodate them. The have .provided generously for the training and culture of their chil graduating class.have completed the prescribed course of study with dren and youth; and especially in this school is every advantage much credit. offered to those who desire to become acquainted with the studies which belong to an academic course. Diplomas were presented to .. The number of pupils who enter this•school is perhaps suffici- FRANCEs AMANDA HUTCHMON, ently large, considering the population of the place; but it is T6ANNA HARRIET PAGE, greatly to' be regretted that so many are.willing to leave ;at any GERTRUDE PIERCE, stage in the course,thus depriving themselves of their only remain- EMMA EvA HowE WRIGHT, ing opportunity of study, and, at the same time, breaking up their ELLA ADELIA STONE, class, which, in some instances, is reduced from fifteen or more to HiRAM RoBERTS MILLS, two or three. Any school must suffer from such a disintegrating 'HERBERT AIwswoRTH TUTTLE, process as this. The hearty interest which the members of a class CHARLOTTE EvA BACON,(partial course.) naturally feel in one another is thus destroyed, the studies become less attractive, and the esprit.du corps is broken. The evil is not peculiar to this town. All New England and America suffers from the same cause. Much of the superficial ,� 1 knowledge with which,as a people,we are justly charged,is owing to that restless impatience of school life, and that unwillingness to keep the mind upon any subject long enough to master it, which GENERAL REMARKS.. characterize even the best of our literary institutions. - The school buildings are in a tolerably good condition. Some The haste to find manual. employment or an eligible mercantile repairs and improvements will doubtless be made during the next situation has led many a young man to regret, when it was too late, year, for which a.special appropriation has been made by the town. that he had not properly qualified himself, by mental discipline red. Let During the last year new blackboards, furnished by the American and thorough knowledge, for the position to which he as Tablet Company, were placed in most of the school-houses ; eight the remedy be applied where it belongs; and let our promising new globes were also purchased at an expense of $110, and it is and ambitious youth strive,even with personal sacrifice,if need be, to furnish themselves with that broad and liberal.culture which the hoped that the teachers will make frequent use of these in connec- age increasingly demands. I tion with the Geography lessons, especially in the younger classes. In such a study much can be done to supplement and illustrate A few new text-books have been tried during the year, not, however,with such success as to warrant their permanent introduc- the text-book, so that the terms and definitions, which are often tion. There have been classes in,Greek,and in English literature. unintelligible to children, may be fully explained. •A new wall-map of the United States has also been put in most Various general exercises have been conducted on Fridays with of the schools. This should be brought at once into daily use; advantageous results. The removal of the Town business from every scholar should be familiar, not only with the old historic the building used by the High School will be a decided advantage, sections of our country, but also with the recent territorial divi- as no further interruptions in the regular work of the school will be likely to occur. sions, with the new and thriving centres of population at the West,and with those great railway lines which are destined in a ti