Lawrence High School - Lawrencian Yearbook (Falmouth, MA)

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Lawrence High School 9 Hand in hand with mathematics go the natural sciences. Any of the sciences studied by high school pu- pils taken without mathematics would be like an automobile without wheels. When Horace Mann was president cf Antioch College, he let the na- tural sciences play a prominent part in each pupil’s curriculum. The sciences were, to his way of think- ing, a necessity for the growth and safety of a democracy. If Mann and other educators had not reduced the arts to an even basis with the sci- ences, instead of leaving the arts above them, it is very possible t’rat today we would be without tele- phone, telegraph, radio, airplane, automobile, and steam train. W hat do these contribute to the growth and safety of a democracy? In cur representative form of gov- ernment, it is necessary for our legislators to sound out the voters’ opinions on proposed laws. With the help cf the telegraph, the tele- phone, and the radio, legislators do this much more quickly than form- erly. In Lawrence High School, one subject a year for the four years is scientific. First there is general sci- ence, then biology, the science of growing things; then chemistry; and last and foremost, physics. Although cur courses are necessarily incom- plete, they give a scientific basis for all pupils who take them and may awake a lively interest in the pupils who are scientifically minded. In closing let us look back over the sciences as Mann thought they should be. He thought that mathe- matics should be connected and should be used for solving practical problems. Also he thought science should be an important part of a student’s curriculum. It is interest- ing to see that these ideas have in- fluenced the teaching in our own high school. Eugene F. Lawrence HONOR ESSAY ENGLISH I am going to trace for you changes in the methods of present- ing English that arose from Mann’s educational philosophy. To accomp- lish this, I have divided the essay into three parts. Part I shows the methods of teaching English prior to the time of Horace Mann. Part II points out one idea, then one ideal ol ' Horace Mann that affected the English curriculums. Part III en- deavors to show changes in the methods of teaching English that resulted from the philosophy of edu- cation advanced by Mann. Part I. Methods of teaching Eng- lish prior to the time of Horace Mann. Defoe and Benjamin Franklin both advanced views in regard to English courses in the academies. The views propounded were ex- cellent. The advances they planned were: (1) Masterpieces were to be taught for their beauty as well as for criticisms. (2) Composition was to form the students’ own English style. (3) Oral reading was given as preparatory to enable the pupil to express his opinions in the pres- ence of others. Many obstacles hindered the completion of these ideals. Lack cf tradition, apparatus, and atmosphere caused the major- ity cf teachers to surrender the noble ideals brought forward. Ex- pression of the new interest in Eng- lish was shown by the publication of numerous text books on English grammar. These grammar text- books became the core of the Eng-

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10 The Lawrencian lish curriculum. Thus the English taught just before the influence of Horace Mann was almost wholly English grammar — and this was not taught too well. Part II. One idea, then one ideal of Horace Mann that affected the English curriculum. Quotation, (1) (the idea) “The common school is the greatest dis- covery ever made by man.” Quotation, (2) (the ideal) “All the blind, then, and all the ignorant — that is, all the children, — must be educated up to the point of perceiv- ing and admitting truth, and acting according to its mandates.” These two quotations show, I be- lieve, quite plainly what Mann’s philosophy of education was. Horace Mann was interested in individual- ism, or, as the quotation states, the education of “All the children.” Part III. Methods of teaching English that resulted from the phil- osophy of education advanced by Mann. Descriptions of six courses are to follow which show Mann’s notion of individualism. Type I. Core course with vari- ations. A core course assumes a required minimum which each class must cover. To the slower group, the classics are given in small helpings, teachers allowing long periods for digestion. The normal group has supplementary activities plus the classics. The superior group does all the work covered by the first two classes and then carries out certain interests of their own. The grammar mater ial is treated in like manner. The slower group receives much drill. The mediocre carry out the standard course. The superior add such topics as “niceties of ex- pression.” Type II. Multiple-reading pro- gram. Many of the western cities are following a plan known as multiple reading; reading revolving about a definite topic chosen by the pupils. Individualism is shown by the fact that instead of buying one book for forty pupils, four books for forty pupils are bought, the pupils read- ing in groups of ten. Type III. Electives and remedial works. The elective courses are open to superior pupils as a rule. Electives permit a pupil development toward a certain goal. Remedial courses are plentiful. These classes serve as aids to weak students. Thus a person failing in grammar but who has successfully completed his literature work may take a remedial course in grammar and finish school without a failure. Type IV. Modified Content Course. This course is again in favor of the weaker students. Grades seven through nine often contain slower pupils. This slow group forms a sep- arate class. During the three years covered by grades seven through nine they are taught little English grammar. The tenth grade is im- portant. The pupils cram all the grammar contained in years seven through nine in the tenth year. They are then capable of complet- ing the high school course without faulty knowledge. Type V. Seminars for Superior Pupils. A seminar hour usually is reserved once a week for spurring individual interest in news-writing, modern poetry, and the like. Superior stu- dents who become preoccupied with courses introduced in the seminar hour may be excused from regular