Newton High School - Newtonian Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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Drill Team - 1886 .rs-cf. f J was rj' gs jiri! Qmmal sillflfllil January 2811, 1881 NEWTON IIB! 80H00la. . n t--.-:sn ri- n- n-nn. l-- Quai!-ul With the end of the Civil War came the enrollment of many more boys freed from military service. Nevertheless, the School Board, considering high school an important part of one's education, objected that many students were thrust by their parents into the herce battles of life before they had time to practice in the armor which they must use in order to become successful. At the same time, the officials offered a stiff entrance examination in an attempt to establish high standards for the students. Their success was mirrored by the high acceptance rate at Harvard College, the destination of almost every student in the Boston area. A new, general course of instruction was introduced in 1867. German, French, and many practical subjects, previously found only in commercial school, were offered to the growing student body. Half the conscripts for the Union Army had been ex- empted because of ill health or physical disability, and the concern over the condition of the nation's youth was as great then as it is today, Therefore, many people were pleased to note the addition of a physical education course to the program. Of these new courses, the School Committee said, We cannot justifiably lower the standard of education here to be secured, but we can give it breadth. There were, of course, many sharply contested issues in the development of the new school. In 1871, entrance examina- tions were discontinued. The superintendent of schools, Hiram H. Walker, complained that, lf anything, the quantity of the last entering class was rather at the expense of quality, The problem was partly solved by the introduction of examina- tions into the elementary school programs. While many students walked from such places as Newton Highlands, some rode the train to Newtonville. Even these students walked home after school because of the irregular train schedules. Still, many parents expressed apprehension over the bad effect which the trains had on the students. Chil- dren often walked idly about the train yards, disregarding their studies. Others rode the few miles to school, and their parents feared they would become lazy. Today, many parents are concerned that their children always drive or ride the bus to and from school, reminding one of the universal controversies over transportation. 1910 'I9

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May Day Procession 5 I 1 F, we :ag It may not be surprising to note that most students had little time to spend in the train yards. School, homework, outside activities, and church or family recreation filled the days of most students. The extent of extra-curricular activities was outstanding even in the 1870's. In 1873, an exhibition from the Newton schools at the World's Fair in Vienna won a Diploma of Merit . By that time, the high school had four major courses of study: the Classical Course, expanded to meet the new en- trance requirements of Harvard College, the Business Course, which offered vocational studies, the General Course, a mixture of classical and practical studies, and the Technology Course, a three-year, general course with emphasis on mathematics. Also in 1875, the adult education courses were introduced into the high school program. Evening classes in freehand and industrial drawing were offered to members of the com- munity. In 1876, the familiar knock of overcrowdedness was heard at the door, and the school committee proposed a noble en- largement to the original building. The resulting appearance prompted this passage in The Kingk Handbook of Newton: Less than half a mile from the R.R. station, on Walnut Street, rises the Newton High School, a spacious and com- modious structure . . , Pleasant lawns extend around the building, and during the school hours the walls are lined with tall bicycles, on which the boys come to the scene of their studies . . . The situation of the school, on the broad and quiet Walnut Street, close to the park-like Clafiin domain, is particularly advantageous, and every morning of the educa- tional year, the lads and lasses of Newton are seen wending their way hither by scores, or those from the remoter villages coming by barges or by R.R. trains.