1874-1875 School Committee Report

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i i• e101I,' the school is now constituted the course must be contracted, year, until the college class becomes a permanent feature of And it ,seems to be necessary that all the-scholars should the school The preparation for this class alone demands ` pursue the same studies. great care and more time than for either of the other classes, We know that in former years the work has been done by and in most of our High Schools the principal does little else . two teachers, and we need not go very far Back to find it than attend to the work of the college classes. Thus it will _ done by one but this is a weak argument, for we can recall be aeon that we are to have the work of five classes, and the time when it was not done at all, and we suspect that possibly, another year, of six, so that relief must come from much of the time since the school was established it has not some direction: 'If not in the manner above suggested, we been done well. see no better way to do than to give up all college classes, We are not willing to sit down contented and say that we and raise the standard of admission so as to have only three ` have done well enough in the past and.are doing well enough classes in the school, requiring the work of the first year to now. We are not doing well enough if we can do better, be done in the lower schools. and we trust the people will encourage the committee in all Some of the above-mentioned schools are no larger than reasonable efforts for improvement. ours; one,at least,not so large; but it must be remembered Lest it may seem that we have too enlarged ideas for our that .it makes little difference whether we have twenty school, we ask you to consider what is done for other.High scholars more or less in a school of this grade, the work Schools about us. 1 l depending on the number of classes rather than on the In Waltham they employ five teachers, a principal sub- number of pupils.. But the employment of another teacher master, and three assistants. necessitates furnishing a room for her in-the school building. In Woburn four,—principal, sub-master, and two as We have at other tithes called attention to the room now sistants. used for a recitation room. It is approached by a long flight In Watertown three, —principal and two assistants. of narrow winding stairs, and when reached is gloomy and In Stoneham three, —principal and two assistants. uncomfortable. The ante-room for the girls.is also on this, In Arlington three,—principal and two assistants. floor, and we are confident that much of the fatigue com. In Melrose three,=principal and.two assistants. plained of by them is the result of rapidly ascending these In Winchester three,--principal and two assistants. stairs, many times per day. The boys' ante-room is about In Medford three,—principal,sub-master,and one assistant, six feet square, and does not afford sufficient space for the In addition to the above. there, are employed in most of coats and caps of those now in the school. these schools special instructors in music and drawing. We have no accommodations whatever for the large class We must not omit to add that for the first time in the his- expected at, the beginning of the next school year. We to of the school we have a fine class of eight fitting for have no place for our apparatus, and no room for chediicai college. This class is a credit to the town, and we must not manipulations and philosophical experiments. fail to encourage them and to afford them every facility for We think, then,that better accommodations are demanded thorough_preparation,. At the beginning of another year it for the school, even if another teacher is not employed. , is hoped another class will be formed, and so on from year to We suggest that ,additions be made to the-present build-