Gloucester County Democrat. (Woodbury, N.J.) 1878-1932, 1904-04-28

die Of the year. il very diligent, can fire.
quently pass to the ninth grade at the close
of the term. To counteract this disadyan-
tage Of only yearly promotion in the eighth
and high school grades we give the pupils
the privilege Of promotion by subjects;
therefore, not confning the pupils to the
studies Of single grade. Strong pupils
are also permitted to take more than the
work Of a grade, and weak ones may confine
their efforts to few subjects only.
During the last two years we have found
ourselves justified in promoting very strong
pupils directly from the seventh grade to
the high school. This can be done because
nearly every branch is taught on the
spiral plan. Nearly all pupils so promo
ted have shown themselves equal to the
task without oyerburdening
In view of the facts as stated above, our
system Of promotion seems common-sense
rational, effective; though the system inn
poses a vastly increased amount Of work on
the Principal and the teachers, reverting
to the annual promotion would be sheer
folly.
Before passing let it be observed that
this exceeding larger number Of boys and
girls in the grammar and high school grades
as compared with the first half-year of i99-
100, presents very different problem in
management and discipline The pupils
are fewef and younger in the primary
tgrades, the matter Of management is less
Of a task; the number in the grammar
and high school grades, nearly twice as
great the management vastly more difficult
by reason of numbers only. The rule is
/ that the more difficult to discipline leave
school first. In nearly doubling the num-
Der of pupils in the upper grades without
corresponding increase along the whole line
4 of the grades, the number of pupils inclin-
ed to act according to their own selfish de
sires and mere whims instead Of being gov
erned BY the wiser judgment of the teacher,
is mors than doubled. The foregoing ac-
counts for the fact that the burden Of dis
cipllne has been shifted in large measure
from the shoulders of the primary teachers
to those of the grammar and high school
teachers.
Some one might urge that the standard
of the grade work has been lowered. Tie
/ proof that this is not the case is found in
the fact that pupils coming from the graded
schools, of Philadelphia and Camden invar-
iably cannot pass to higher grade than
that from which they came. Moreover, to
disprove any such assertion, you are respect
fully referred to report to the Board
under date of February 13, 1904, where our
gradework is compared with the same work
of standard grades Of three representative
cities.
The changes in the course Of study have
also been marked along the lines Of methods
Of presentation to the pupils, content, and
matter OF electives in the high school.
In the mid-year Of 1s99-190O, the sub
iect Of drawing was introduced in, all the
grades While this has added to the num-
|. ber of studies, it has not added materially
to the burden of the pupil because of the
aid the work has given in readily acquiring
knowledge of the other branches,
The system in the teaching of reading in
the primary grades has been changed from
the Pollard to the Ward System This
change not only gives the pupil an in
orooca1 ,,<sxry.r, IN -, s,.,,vaA <1, n -
Vith less expenditure of the childs energy,
but permits the introduction Of supple
mentafy reading in the form Of child liter
ature FewssbOOks published, if any, can
be used in conjunction with tbes Pollard
system.
/ The study Of English classics ss'uSss@ell
nigh an unknown factor Since Sept, 80,
the following classics have been gradually
introduced, and are part Of the regular
course.
Longfellow's Hiawatha Fifth Grade
burroughs Birds & Bees, and Sharp
Eyes. ..8.,.. Sixth Grade
Longfellow's Children's Hour, Paul Re-
we're. .......1... Sixth Grade
Hawthorne's Wonder Book Seventh Grade
Whittier's snowbound and Songs Of Ia
Dor ... Seventh Grade
Cooper's Last Of the Mohicans, Eighth Grade
Longfellow's Evangeline Eighth Grade
Shakespeare's Merchant OF Venice,
......s..... ....... Ninth Grade
Eliot's Silas Mariner ~. Ninth Grade
scott's Lady Of the Lake . Ninth Grade
The Coverly Papers (AddisOn & Steele)
.........s.s....... ..., Tenth Grade
Goldsmith's s Vicar Of Wakefield, Tenth Grade
Millions Minor Poems. Tenth Grade
Scott's Ivanhoe Eleventh Grade
Shakespeare's Macbeth ~. Eleventh Grade
Carlyle's Essay on Burns Eleventh Grade
Colridge's Rime Of the Ancient Mariner,