Newton High School - Newtonian Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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In the long-hair crises he received sev- eral complaints from downtown hair- dressers. I don't think we would ever call a hairdresser in town and tell him how to cut somebody's hair, says How- land the philosopher. Mr. Howland believes that an ad- ministrator does not necessarily have to have a doctorate, be forty years of age, and study at the Sorbonnef' He believes that many teachers think the role of the administrator is to make things smooth for the teacher and get out of his way. I think this is true, but I don't think it's enough, he says. c'Administrators should try to lead when they 'cang they should lead both educationally and ethically. Mr. Howland was the antithesis of the typical future administrator in school. Instead of hacking around or flunking out, he graduated second highest in a class of 222, was editor of both the year- book and the school newspaper, and was president of the National Honor Society. As a senior in high school he wanted to be either a lecturer or a private detective. Some people around here think I'm a de- tective, and not too privatef' Mr. How- land went on to say. As Director of Newton Technical High School, Mr. Orrin Brawn is probably the most unassuming administrator you will End in the Newton Public Schools. Try- ing to get Mr. Brawn to talk about him- self is like trying to get Willie White-Card to pay up 56.50 on his overdue reserve book in the library. One student termed him: a heck of a nice guy. That's not as simple a compliment as it might sound, for it includes understanding, patience, friendliness, and a great deal of compas- sion for all people, but especially boys in Tech High. Mr. Brawn's job parallels that of Mr. Mechemis in the regular high school, but he enjoys more personal contact with his students than Mr. Mechem does, and thus, he is in many ways more of a housemaster than a principal. He is di- rectly in charge of all eight departments of Tech High-Automobile, Electrical, Electronics, Drafting, Machine, Mill Car- pentry, Printing, and Sheet Metal - and it is his responsibility to coordinate the work of all the departments and relate them to non-trade courses such as Eng- lish, social studies, mathematics, and sci- ence. Mr. Brawn feels strongly that the relatively high quality of Newton's voca- tional training cannot be allowed to re- main static. He belives that Tech High must continue to improve in the coming years and extend the various alternatives open to vocational students. At the same time he recognizes the pressing need to Wvif ,.., W E if Q 1, i 5 - x ,,,wxv . Mr. Richard Howland Assistant Principal integrate Tech High more fully into the rest of the high school. In general, the housemasters are prob- ably closer to students than any other group of administrators. When the house- plan was first put into operation in 1960, Newton High had grown so large that many students found themselves un- known, unwanted, and unloved in the huge, factory-like atmosphere. This feel- ing of alienation created three problems: first, all kinds of severe, emotional com- plexes aroseg second, there was a marked increase in the number of Newton mothers being rejected annually by their progenyg third, there was a tremendous decrease in delinquency-breaking the rules ceased to be any fun, since there was no chance of being caught. Thus it was decided that a housemaster would be created to go along with each house, his specific function being quite logically to love each of his students and increase juvenile delinquency. As two of the new housemasters were women. one of the first questions to arise was whether they should be called housemasters also. This question was quickly resolved when one budding faculty member stood up and said: Well, if the men are technically ui 15.

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and a host of other fateful activities. The office of Assistant Principal serves as clearing-house for information, a nerve- center for the total school, and a liason between administration, students, and fa- culty. Mr. Howland might well be called the Leonardo da Vinci of Newton High School. He is nominal director of all clubs and advisors, himself advisor to the Student Council. He is in charge of Orange Shield and the non-food service operation of our rather limited cafeter- ia, as he terms it. He must manage and be responsible for all student funds - the bursar is directly responsible to him. He is coordinator of data processing, and as such, the man directly responsible for IBM report cards, or what is sometimes referred to as Howland's Follyf' He makes up final exam schedules and gets out all special bulletins. He is director of the lost-and-found, Chairman of the United Fund Drive for Newton High per- sonnel, liason between the school and W Q- -- . ! Y I . gg, e' the Newton police, and shares graduation responsibilities with Mr. Gradone. On top of all that, he listens to all complaints, whether they be from stu- dents, faculty, parents, or disinterested observers, serves as a confidential agent for anyone wishing a sturdy shoulder to cry upon, accepts compliments on behalf of the school with grace, takes on major disciplinary problems, and at last, but by no means least, serves as principal when Mr. Mechem is called away. I have a very broad job status, Mr. Howland says. With a position as complex as that, many of us would go crazy almost im- mediately, but Mr. Howland relishes the work and all the glamorous situations he ends up in. As Assistant Bomb Ofiicer he used to spend sleepless nights wondering what he would do if he ever had to decide whether a bomb threat was real or not, but now he feels confident he would make the right decision. It's the kind of mis- take you can only make once, he says with an obviously blase gesture of his wrist. He gets his greatest pleasure from the personal contact of communication with people which he has as a go-between for administration and students. Sometimes he gets the feeling he must please every- one, even when he knows he canlt do it.

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Mr. Graham Easson, Adams House masters of the house, why couldn't the women be . . CThis particular teacher sat down rather abmptlyj. Each house- master-in addition to his own native talent- was provided with an oflice Ceither cramped or dimly-litj, three chairs and a desk, a secretary and an aide, a bunch of noisy kids, and his own boys' lavatory which he could police at will. He was told to get to know his students, direct his faculty, and administrate his house. That was all he was told, purpose- ly. Thus, each housemaster was able to a large extent to define his own job, and to bring his own particular talents to bear where they would be most effective, and all succeeding housemasters tended to mold their jobs to themselves, rather than allowing their jobs to mold them. Although their jobs are basically sim- ilar, each of our present housemasters - Mr. Easson, Miss Ryan, Mr. Batchelder, Mr. Adams, Mr. Gradone, and Miss Johnson - reflect this image of individu- ality. They are a group with highly differ- ent backgrounds. Mr. Batchelder was in the South Pacific with the U.S. Navy at 17 Lndeveioping ulcers J. Mr. Adams wanted to be a professional baseball play- 16 - K er. Mr. Easson just wanted to be a manf' Miss Ryan was an actress for sev- eral years Cof course she still isJ, Miss Johnson wanted to be a nurse. Although they all approach their jobs with dedica- tion and a strong personal feeling for the student, they have varying perspectives and styles of operation. Mr. Adams is especially interested in giving his students as much responsibility as they can man- age, Mr. Easson places emphasis on free- ing both faculty and students from en- tangling red-tape, Mr. Gradone goes out in the halls to chat with students, Miss Johnson holds an orientation tea for the sophomores each fall. All of the housemasters have taken on duties outside their regular responsibili- ties, both within and without the school. Mr. Gradone handles graduation with Mr. Howland, and is involved in both the Boy Scouts and the Babe Ruth League. Mr. Batchelder is president-elect of the Na- tional Education Association. Miss Ryan still enjoys work in dramatics. They appreciate the complexity of their jobs. All of them find the work never- ending, especially the purely administra- tive side. As Mr. Batchelder said: In this job you are involved with everything from flowerpots to God? And Mr. Easson, in Miss Helen Ryan, Bacon House . . 5 1 . 0' KJ ' A 5----wi O