Ann Arbor Public Schools

To the Botffil of Edueation of the Ann Arbor : (KNTI.KMEX - As ;1 p;irt (li 1I1V cillicial dutiea I herewith Bubmit to you my twenty-tbird Annual Report of the schools onder your care. The iirst item of Buch a report naturally concerns the facts of attendance; and as helping to interpret someof these facts two censúa items of the city artliere introduced. Populatíon of the school district, estimated, 10,000. School population between 5 and 20 years, 8,036. STATI8TH 8 OF TIIi: SI [IOOL8. i" f S - z .. t 5 ITEMS. l II 'H . = ■ -2 - - -■- 5 - - o - a C H Eurolluii-nt. exclusive of transfers, Boys 887 276 646 1209 Cürls [78 ll7 ïotals T:;7 548 1024 2306 ATerage number belong ■ ; 1910 A VI: t] 11"' Numberof men teachi i 8 Numbei ol woi _ is ai is Kumb .__ Number ol ühool Bession 1 19 Average days a ach pupil 151 161 161 Lpita for iuatrac: i 16.S7 ( 081 dentale „ 3.80 3.80 3.80 3.80 hools per c-ii'itii _ :)■", l'.I.O) M..V. -20.17 The above tableshowsa total ncrease of 1 1 inenrollmentoverthal of tbeprecedingyear. Ofthis increase 112 were in the primary grades, 7 in the grammar grades, and 32 in the High School. In the lirst grade l'I7 hadnot previously been in any school, ;ml of these ll" were only Bve years of a The increase in the Primary Department for the paat two years, amounting to 2'.j], nis made unusual, demanda apon our school accomodations. Excent mie room in the ."ith ward, nut available, every schoolroom in the city, besides one rented room, lias beenoccupied, wliile some ■;' them have been too much crowded all the year. By employing cadel assistants in such rooms the classes have been carried through with reasonable success. It is evident that the addition to the first trard building was decided apon none too soon. It is au honor for any papil (as it is also for liis teacher; to maintain au unbroken attendance for a whole year: henee we print annually the names of such pupila as have been neither absent nor tardy duritig the p reeed ing year. That list is as followa : Lewis Allmendinger, Christian Allmendinger, Perry Biggs, Barbara Burt, Paal Cheever, Henry Gelston, Cornelia Coch, Louise Law, William L. Mack, Roger Morris, Carrie Schaffer, (ieorge Schaffer, Louise Weinman, I.. 1'. Etay Willonghby. For inn years - Rose .nilress, Minnie Caldwell, Emilie Kberbach, Victor E. Kurtz, Olaaf (i. l'eterson, John Smoote, Anna i. Shannon, Pauline Wurster. ■'■ tix iimr - Edward K. Muehlig. IIGHTB OBADB. Erwin Brown, William Engelhard, Emily Graf, Pora M. Tice, Emily Weinman. - ars - Sidney Martin, (scar Weitbrecht. ÍIE8T WABD s. ilool.. Olga Bessinger, John Btirkhar.lt, Mark Cheever, Pearl Cady, Annie Ehnis, Harold Ho we, Rudolph Kiesselbach, Mary Bcott, Austin Scott, Irvin.ir Schli l'ri'. Fannie Ceisselbach. 8BC0ND WABD SCHOOL. Ruth Allmendinger, Minnie Behncke, ihirry ('olí', Rose Fischer, Eruest Frey, Badolpb Glatzel, Adele Glatzel, Arthnr iakle, AngUBt Kowalski, Emily Lutz, Helena Mayer, Annie Martin, Charlotte Walker. ■'.■ ,■, ,„■,,,■,, Joseph Fischer, Emily Kauske, Louisa Causka, Lydia SchK ne Sinke. TI1IKII MUI SCHOOI.. Carrie Ilnn hlield, Martin Adanischeck. ■:tii vu;i bc H.. William Barleson, Effie Godl Anna Hafer, fthel Orr, Ralph Perrine, JohnSteeb, Stephen Schaible, Iaaphine Balyer, Oscar Wall Wurster. Por i Alice Schau. riFTB tt'ABD SCHOOL. Rosa Brown, Simeón Carson, Frank Sharpe, MiWred Ware. Fortwoy, Hattie Carson. When we notice thai the schools furaiahed 2263 cases oí tardinesa during the year, we are naturally somewhat startled, although the nnmber does nol amount I rage of one tor each pupil. More than half the number arred in the High School. Th due largely to the Eact that, ),, pupila prepare their lessons at home, tbeir attendance a marked at every nion. Tardinesa is often characteristic, perhapa hereditaiy, in a family; and a cluster of guch lamines Bometimea patronize the same school. ïho evil seems sometini' pidemic in a school, and if nol put under a rigorous (uarautine it will often materially lessen the Bchool's efficiency, dndoubtedly, too, thert' is a wide difference in teachers: e. g. in one room of more than SO pupila there was but a single fase of tardiuess, whilo 11 another room of fewer pupils there were more than 100 cases. The result of the year's work as gbown by promotions in the grammar and primary gradea is given in tabular forin : í i i ITEMS! : fi O .. ? H 1. Nuniin-r In classes 't -lo-r o) ] year 118 708 HM 2. Nutnber imperfeetly classified- n lafi .;. Numl.rr promoted uncondltlou'ly 3U2668 865 I. Nu: ted condltloaally. 71 76 147 ó. Extra promotions 18 '.' 29 6. Nuinber returnedto alowergr&de y 10 lí Of these in regular classes, nearly92 per cent. were promoted. Observation through a series of years shows ihat niiii-d'iitlis of regular class enrolmenl may lic taken as the standard proportion of those pro ted to higher grades Erom year to year. The large uumber in "Primary" rooms, styled in the table "imperfeetly classified," perhaps needs explanation. Thisnumber is made up mainly of first year pupila who attend school quite irregularly, sometimos staying oul altogether during the winter moni and who are therefore unable to travi the ground marked oul forthe lst grade classes. I'raclically, theu, quite a per cent. of this grade fail of promotion and remain in the grade another j Varioua schemes have been devised to meet the difficulty. Iu some scl Is the Lal grade extends theoretically two yeara ; in others a süb-clasa is uaaintained, preparatory to the flrsi grade proper; in others thia sub-claaa is i kindergarten annex a very happy arrangement, abating the ei The Columbian year has been eventful for sein .is as for all intereste and i uts in the country, mural, intellectual and material. It was ushered i Oct. 21, 1892, by a general aational celebration led hy the public schools. Each of our schools had ita own exercises, participated in by all the pupils, in accordance with a program issued by a national coinmittce. All these rxercises . reattended, and in part directed, by members of the G. A. R. En High School addresses were made also by Mayor Doty and ('ui. il. S. Dean The exerciaes throughout were not only pleasing but appropriate in the day and did something towards inculcating in the pupils sentiincnts of patriotism, whose importance oor schools too meagerly recosmize. As tn special features ni grade work, I think 1 may fairly mention first the attentiou given to Nature studies. Probably it would be impossible to frame a program lor this subject which could be uniformly folio wed i:i the sohools, as has been done in most other suhjeets. The work is t liverse of application; ui material is difflcuH to obtain ; pupila of the saine grade are not litted by previous training to m m the same lincs : and teachers are not equipped equatyy well to take up the same course of animal, mineral, or plant observation. And it is doubtful f there would be much special gaiu in such uniformity; for the end to reached is ability ti see and comp e [inssessionof definite knowledge. Sotne guidelines, how i v, are Qsgeintial., We have therefore marked out a course of Nature Btudy sufBciently fnll in scope, and quite flexible in its application to different grades, but still altogelber tentative and not sufficiently tested to be put into print. It may be said, huwever, tliat subject matter, topics and details have heen grouped and graded under such heads as " animal,'' " vegetalls" "the earth," "the heavenu," and nu flxed order oí treatment is ini upon. Xo teacher, therefore, ik e,l hesitate to enter upOU somc phase of the work. Moei of OUT teachers are becoming duly interested in this work, and pupils here and there .-'re developLng a gratifying aptitude in keennessof observation. One of the greatest difficulties in the presentation of Nature stuiiies is the paucity of suitable Uelps in the way of manuals for teachers. Books for children upon these topics are rapidiy multiplying, but many of them viólate psychological principies. They entertain and nieasuralily instruct, hut do nut nerease the pupils' power of observation. Nature studies, to be such, must be at rTrst hand. Children, to make head'way hero, must be brought face to face with Nature's phenomena. thinga to be studied ; and must learn to use i them both eyes and hands in discovering facts and relations. '1'1" quesüon: Can books on seience be used as reading hooks in the Bchools with the purpose of teaching Nature alongwith the reading? Our answer must be : What"i Bcience, or scientific facts is gained bv such means must come nto the tnind through the imagination rather than thesenses. But this, for a child, is reversing Nature's method. The child must not only begin his ötal life through Bense actiylty, but all his initial knowledge of any seience to be most effective in mind growth must co through thesenses. Readings on scientifto facts may well supplement obeervational Btudy, but as tbe gpteway to Natare'a museum, such books for children must be refected. These views are expressed here hecause they are appliealile to some textbooks that are now used in our schools. What, then, is the best reading for intermedíate and grammar grades? It is safe to say that the school readers of the present period are superior to any that preceded them. But good as thêy are they are not the ideal reader for the youth of our schools. It is a modern educational discovery that the most Btimulating rcuding for the young is (1) complete productions, or entire books, and ,_) matter and style thal can be characterized asliteratnre- not somuch t m nks (or Information, as booksthat uplift, that inspiro the heroic, thal vitalize tlie moral, thal enlarge the horizon, that dignlfy the effort to reach a higher plañe. The best reader then for these grades cannot be made tip oí edited excerpta bowever excellent in quality. Let it rather be the best productions, complete, of the best authora thal have written for the young. Moreover, if there a a best way to cultívate a taste lor good literatnre, both reason and sume experience in our upper granimar grades seem tu justify the opinión that this is the one. Here then are two special objects towaiils whieh we pllght to ni 'e, viz. : the most approved type pf Nature studies for both Primary and Grammar grades, and the nmst suitable literary productions as reading matter for the Graminar grades. Nature Btudy in the Grammar Department i-p.lniinaies in the 8th grade where physiology and geology a i with text I ks. For severa] years gei as conflned to Parí I of Winchell's "Geológica! Excursions," which consista mainly in the Btudy cií rocks; Our lasses liave learned to distinguish, to □ame, and to know the constituent parta of all the rocks in this vicinity. Last year the class was permitted to ontinue the study over systeinatie or stratified geology. The result was better than re anticipated. The papers prepared al the close of the course with lrawings thowing stratifications, outiroppings, upheavals and cross-sections of important geológica! áreas, and ispecially the geological maps of eral states representing by colon. 1 papera the various out-cropping strata if each, wei ent evidence of I he succes, and value of the study. An attempt has also been made to inxease tlie valué of mathematica in tli grade. About half of the i " tlieiiretical parta í arithmetic was dropped aud elementary geometry put in ita place. It was believed that the plainer trutlis of geometry learned by observation through measurement, drawing, cutting, superposition and construction, ind as far as possible applied in the iommon afifaira of life wou ld lodg more fruitful series of mathematica] deaa in the mind than had been done iy theoretical arithmetic The work ' ias fullv justifled our expectations. Thai such a course is better guited to the average 8th grade mind than cube root and cempound proportion is no 1 to be questioned. [t is coming to be widely (and probably wiselyj accepted that the High School, in certain bram-lies, should open her facilities of instruction to such pupila of the upper grammar grades as to take a college course. In accordance with this opinión 1 recommend that under suitable restrictiona such pupils of the 8th grade be permitted to tak. Latín in the High School in oí an Mii grade study. In the resignation oí -Miss Alice Hunt Erom the supervisión of drawing the ; loses a faithful, talented, and nt instructor and director. The new appointee, Miss Minnie Pepple, comes to os with a good h story and i recommendations, and we have all confldence in her fitness forthe.position. As a closing word upon the grades, I may Buggesi that the work all along the line needs unifrixur. The whole course should be one and continuous- not sinijilv a succes,.; [ blocka pil ed one upon the other, sometimes without - 1 jointing, Imt rather a continuous streatn, ever broadening and deepening its channel and uniting all torces ínto one Btrong persistent current. To bring this about, each teacher should know, in BOme detail, w hat has troné before her own .made and what is to follow, to know what each part oí the C0U1 intended to'do, is capable of doing, to be able to üiake each part aid every other part witli which she is concerned, to make each Btudy bring its strength and its treasurea to the help of every other study, to discover and repair mistakes that have preceded her, to Strengthen weak spots, to anticípate and prepare for the exactions of the higher parta oí the course, and go help to briii: all part into harmonious action for accomplisbing the i end that the schools have in VÍ6W. ltll.lt SCHOOL. The Hiah School continúes its accustomed prosperity. An enrollment of 7:;: is :;."i more than that oi the year preceding. From the animal catali we notice that this increase cónsisted nominally of resident pupils ; the fací is, however, that these pupils are principally of families who are making Ann Arbor their temperar , to educa children. This, in passing, is a most , imendable pi. and would be adopted more generally, methinkS, if paren ta could sec all the advantages of it. The High School has justbeen reeiamined by the üniversity authoritieB and lias been continued on the diploma list for the following three years. A considerable number of pupils from the Ilifjli School annually gain admission to the Üniversity without our eertifleate of recommendation. in some cases the practice works benefieently and justly, in others it encourages liasty and imperfect preparatlon aud subjects the High School . c ticism. It is an evil to he borne in patience for apparently there ia oo just way of preventing it. Tlie various departmenta of instruction in the school are all working harïnoniously and snccessfally. The pointe mos' aeeding readjastment and improvement aro in the line of science. Tlie treatuient of botany lias been mach improved dsring the past two yeare through the laboratory equipment and corresponding change in methods of insti'uctioii. ïiie old procedure of dolinition and elassitication ly t't. hook has tnvcntkay to more iuimediate study by observation oi all externa] features of plants for a knowledge of the primal facta of the science. lint wc are still too dependent on the text-book ; superficial analogiea and relations are to ' often the end of inveatigation, and herbariuma are too prominently the criteria of Bcholarship. Our next step must be a Enrther extensión of observation studies. And wii.it we Qeed for this work is the equipment of ; he Laboratory with a suitable number of compound microscopes. This will enable as to enter more fully into tli" mysteries of plant life, to discorer physiological relations and adaptatioiis. what may be called the comparaa natomy of plai This is the trend of modern mothods in the study of botanyj and hecause we cannot afford to be anywhere bul Brsl in respect to irood niethoda n all lines of instruction, itPbecomes ua to put our botany on the bes( footing that laborafacilii ies will secure. [Since the above was written, microscopes for botánica! instruction have heen purchased.) To many people our checnistry Beema e lingerfng among the antique methods because we have not furnished for it laboratory facilities. The insinuation has BOme foundation in the facts. A chemical laboratory in the High '1 baa not been thou isary because "f uur proximity liversity where facilities in all gradea oí laboratory practice are so abundaut. Xow, however, it Beema incumbent upon ua to inaugúrate the chemical laboratory aa a part of our science equipment. We eau hardly afford to srnd our pupila t.i other institntions for instruction that they have a right to expeel us to furnsh. At the opening of tlie Fall term the new chemical laboratory may be found complete for use on the third floor of the Higli School building. Both chemical and botánica] laboratories will lie in charge of Mr. Moutry. Puring this Colnmbian year all eyea are turned toward Chicago, where the bes) products of the world are gathered for insp( ctiQn and comparison. In such a displav education which has made possible all the rest, ought to lead the host. The High School corpa oí instructora deemed it important that a suitable representation of the school should be i. out owüig to a long continued uncertainty concerning proper provisión for displaying educational products at the Fair it was notuntil March last that anvthing was done. No special preparation was made for an exhibit of pupila' work in manuscript; but papers were selected niostly from regular examination mannscripts amounting to about 1,600 pages. These were bound in four volumes. Twenty note books of pupila' work in the phyaical laboratory and two complete iums were incladed. For mural display tliere were floor plans of the three stories of tlie High School building, each 32 in. x ;i; in. Óf photograpba there were :;!, "ach 8x 10 inches, made up of classes, l'aboratbry rQoma, tlie Library and pupils' black board work, grouped in three large frames; also a large One of the exterior of the High School, one oí the I'.oard of Education, one of the High School teachers and one of the chapel. All these were in frames and covèred with lass. other exhibitB were doubtless more showy. What we attempted was a faithful representation of the High School in i(s everv day dress. AJthough out of logica! connection it tuaybeadded here that the Grammar and Primary gradea furnished 120 drawad photographs of the ward school buildings, all mounted on heavy cardboard for wall display. The amount of work done in the High School daring the past year may fairly he gathered from the following tal. Ie: Arilbmetic , ,m 7i )CS Algebra ' 1 218 176 394 Astronomy _ __ __ (o -w ,s4 Botany ... __ZIJZI ! Book-Keepiug ,1 ■; ■ s Chemlstry .____! 7s 26104 Commercial Law _ y y o "ili()ll _ '_" ;i L K(; Civil Government _ m Elocatlon .w sa 58 ',reic'' - - -. L 80 in Greek __ gg -■ Herman _ _ 7) -- i6l) 1 [eometry 1 I 96 Grammar ,,,, s., -■ Ueneml Hlstory, Anclent ..'. 54 m 124 (iein-ral Ilistory, Modern... """ 60 80 110 Enulisli Hlstory 24 22 4R Koman Htstory u , 4 areek Hl8tory.ZI 16 17 27 Literature, American .7 7 14 Uteratore, Engllgb j "_"' 44 29 7-5 rífi'S ""m '9 181 880 Olil KiiüliN 1 _ k on ■ rii.vsioiogy.. ::; 4? rnyaioal Qeography ■! Polltioal Boonomy„ " " ïi Tl V Hlietorlc " A Qn n Trigonometry IIIIIIIIIIIII 89 2Í1 The annual Junior Exhibition was given Friday evening, .March 17. The following speakers made up the programme: Winifred Beman, Walter ('uriis. Josephine Daniels, Ralph Farïiitiii, Genevieve ('. Mills, Lewia Mc. Candless, Marie Perry, Florence Snnderland, ('hinde Newton, Louise i'. W'riainaii, Florence K. Wettnore, Samuel II. Warriner. The exercises wen.' of more than usual inerit, indicating perhaps a strong senior class for the coming year. Tlic graduating exercises of theaenior class occurred Friday, June 23, at 10 o'clóck a. in. lint nine speakers participated in the literary part of the occasion. This limited number undoubtedly contributed to t!ic excellence of the speeches and ovidently received the hearty approval of the audience. A complete program in e of the day is given below. The armnal meeting mul banquet of the High School AJumni Association, held on the evening of the same day (Friday) were liberally attended and highly enjoyed. President . Cli Vlce-President tary Treasurer i ommltte, " Followingisa complete listof teachers for tlic coming yjeai : w.s. Perry Superinte HIGH SCHOOL. .1 G. Pattenglll. Principa! Grc-k and Latln Horatloe X. Chute Physlca Levl D. Tlnee ._ BIgber Mathematica : Lat 11 Mary E. Huilt Mather P.Joeelyn M "'m. v. Eagan EnglUh and Oíd En Taylor.Rhetorlc . i Literatura Carolyn 1!. Trueblood Eloci Sarah Whedon.: Enelish and Grammar Jabez Montgomery s-Clizn R. siiiidfrhuKl Hi itory and Polltlcal Ec inomy. GertrudeT. Breed I Latln Jesstca v. Penny Engllso and Hl Duraud '. Sprinarer Buelnesa Bran V. A. i isborne - Assl tant Phj slcal Utboi H. ('onrad iBBlstant Botanteal Laboratory. Kellle s. Lovlng Librarían GRAMMAE ANU PKIMARY DEPARTMENT8. CBNTEAI. l:ril.IiNu. Eliza C. F.iidrï. rrinctpal Elehth i Anna D. Robinson ■■ " Abbie A. Pond __ FIRST WAED SCHOOL. U. PlymptoD, Prncfoo..eventh Grade Kniily .T. Eldrldge Celia Ij. Burke ..sixth " Imine L. Bender Fiftli Mn Wall Lewis Fourth ' CarrleA. Wneeler Thlrd " Jennle M. Seelye Seeond " Maggle ï. McDlvlct Plrgt KECOND WAKD SCHOOL. Mary Mulliolland, Principal Fifth aud Sixth (ra. les Augusta W. Walter ..Fourth Elizabeth .(. Cowen Thlrd " Eniily Marsliko Seoond " Mellnda Mogk First " Bertha Ferrier First " Emlly Qundert Germán Til [P.D 'H-AED SCHOOL. Belle K. Kdson, Princinal Fifth and sjxth Grades Luretta P. Saunders.Third and Fourth " Emlly E. Lutz Seeond Grade Carrie P. Kranse First Eniily Gundert (ierman I II WARD SCHOOL. Annette L. Alles, Principal Seventh Grade Julia A. Howard Fifth and Sixth " Charlotte L. Millard ..Fourth " Gertrude F. Hamilton Third " Minna A. Drake Secoud " Eugenia Mogk First " FIFT1I WARD SCHOOL. Mattie E. Goodale, Vrinri,,,, I _. Fifth aud Fourth Gradea Jaennette 8. Weet Seeond and Third Anna L. Clinton First SIXTH WARD SCHOOL. Lulu c. Dowds Fifth and Sixth Grades Ella L. Wright Third and Fourth " Ijiiily .1. 1'urfleld Seeond " Mattie Cornwell, Princival, _. First " SPXCIAL TKACHERS. l.ucy K. Cole Music. Minnie Pepple Drawlng. I would i this report without expressing to tho Board my deep sense of their abidirrg support both in the administratioo of the schools and in the peculiar duties of each individual teacher. Respectfully submitted.