English High School - Blue and Blue / Record Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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VpemtioH Fenway ' ' The chronology of the English High School building reads as follows: Derne Street Building, 1821 - 1824; Pinckney Street, 1824 - 1844; Bedford Street, 1844 - 1880; Montgomery Street, 1880 - 1954. In the classrooms in all these buildings brilliant and effective teaching has been done. Educational leadership of the highest quality has been evinced by Head Masters eminent among American educators. No school in the nation has ever had a more loyal or distinguished body of alumni. The effective organization of E. H. S. men has for one hundred years been a vital and constructive force in the effort of the school to build the sturdy American character on which our country depends. Business, industry, the professions, the arts and sciences, civil and military life respect the contributions of our school through its graduates. Now, with Operation Fenway a fact, what of the future of the school? The purposes to which the school is dedicated are the continuing and abiding purposes so well expressed seventy-three years ago by the Reverend Phillips Brooks, speaking at the dedication of the Montgomery Street Building. ... The boys of a hundred years hence, like the boys to today, will be taught here to be faithful to the deep pur- poses of knowledge, will be trained to conscientious study, to the love of knowledge, to justice and generosity, to res- pect for themselves, and obedi- ence to authority, and honor for man, and reverence for God.

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Our School To the alumni of English High School, there will always be an English v hether in actuality or in our memories. The school is the oldest public high school in the country. Rich in tradition, it has long ago proved its worth to the city of Boston. The whole idea of creating such a school was conceived in the minds of forward — looking men back in 1820. Upon the recommendation of a commit- tee appointed to study plans for a preparatory school, the English Classical School was established to provide further education for boys not going to col- lege. Three years later the institution became English High School. In 1821, one hundred twenty pupils were admitted by examinations to the school on Derne Street. This building was made of brick with stone trimmings. When the school was first occupied, the third floor had been hastily furnished with benches and desks of bare pine. The teacher ' s table which was made of the same material, stood near the fireplace, the only means of heating. The first head master of English High, George Emerson, appealed to the boys ' gen- erosity, reason, and sense of honor in maintaining discipline. A list of early prescribed studies included intellectual arithmetic, elements of arts and sciences, natural philosophy, and forensics as well as many more common subjects. The school moved to Pinckney Street in 1824, where it stayed until 1844. The new school on Bedford Street had been erected for English High and Latin School. With the number of students increasing, temporary quarters were secured on Harrison Avenue, Mason Street, and South Street. During this time English High School gained a widespread reputation for its high standard of scholarship. English High was not under one roof again until in 1881, when it moved to the new building on Montgomery Street. The enrollment increased sharply from three hundred seventy-five to seven hundred sixty. This was a finishing school for boys intending to enter business, and to this end the school curricula had been directed. Latin School occupied half of the Montgomery Street build- ing until 1922, when it moved. There were many empty seats when the building first opened, but in 1909 and 1911 annexes were necessary to accomodate the overflow of pupils. The educational facilities of English have progressed with the times. Military drill was started in 1863. Later the departmental system was initiated, in which one teacher taught the same subject to several different classes. This was a needed improvement over the old method, in which one teacher taught a division practically all the subjects. The courses of instruction expanded until they included all the ordinary subjects with the exception of Greek. In 1901, the school committee authorized the elective system. At the present time the school is preparing to move to the building formerly occupied by the High School of Commerce. The location of English High School building will always be less important than the principles for which the school was established. It is dedicated to the recognition that mental training is necessary for the achieving of success. Roger Dow, ' 54

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Sditorial The year of 1954 proved to be a memorable year in the long history of E. H. S. Not one, but two outstanding events occured during our final year, and I am sure that both will be long remembered, especially by the graduating class. We are the last class to graduate from the present buildings on Mont- gom.ery and Dartmouth Streets. EHS has been offered and has accepted the building formerly occupied by the High School of Commerce. Located at the Fens, these new accommodations, built considerably later than our present home, offer far better facilities than the ones that our superior teaching staff hove been accustomed to and impeded by. Everybody looks forward to the great migration next fall. The second event, although cf no less importance, is the retirement of our headmaster, Mr. Walter Downey. Mr. Downey has been devoted to education for 48 years; for 32 years he has been headmaster of EHS. Under his outstanding leadership and through his efforts, he has brought glory and prestige to EHS. Although we all believe that Mr. Downey could conceivcbly odd more years of service to his splendid record, we all agree that he has done more than his share. It is high time that another man shoulder this responsibility. Let us now extend to the teachers and future graduates our best wishes, knowing that with new buildings and a new headmaster, EHS will enter a new era of achievement. J. Richard Kennedy, ' 54 — Editor