Newton High School - Newtonian Yearbook (Newton, MA)

Page 20 text:

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

Page 19 text:

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.

Page 21 text:

'I .IA Miss Rachel Johnson, Riley House Mr Michael Gradone Palmer House a burst of Shakespearean ingenuity, term- ed it: this whole bloody business. Department heads as a group are the most influential administrative officers in the high schools, mainly because they control curriculum planning at both New- ton North and Newton South, and be- cause they are intimately involved with the respective faculty members whom they lead. A department head has a huge responsibility, since it is up to him whether a school stands or falls academ- ically. Department heads assist in choos- Mr. Richard Adams, Beals House