New Britain herald., 1917-10-02
HIGH SCHOOL ONCE
 MORE AT CAPACITY
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(Continued from First Page) signment of time there can be noth- ing more than chorus practice. Through the volunteer services of Miss Harvey, we are enabIed to have a very creditable orchestra. It would mean valuable addition ot our courses If the teaching force could be so increased as to make possible additional classes in music, including musical appreciation.
 "One matter is receiving our most serious attention, the working out of plan for supervised study. By our session arrangement, the teacher is given unusually lareg opportunity to find and meet the difficulties of his pupil. Whatever conclusions we may reach as to the best methods of super vised study, I am convinced of these truths, that the average pupil needs the personality of the teacher more in the preparation of lesson than in the recitation; that the assignment should be very definite and made with refer ence to the time available and to the varying abilities of the members of tho class; that the task should be so di- vided that the pupil may know and report at the close of the period how much of the task has been accom- plished; that in making assignmen ente the teacher should be guided as much by what he has observed in the study period as by what he has observed in the recitation.
 Our trade department has been part of the city system for little over year. Tn spite of the strong attrao- tion of lucrative offers in the shops. the enrolment is about that of a year ago.
 New Quarters Needed. We are still anxious about accom- ! modations. One year ago we had an enrolment of 1856. Today our en- rollment is 1866, an increase of 10. While our enrolment is slightly in- creased, the extending of our work by arranging for second year in the household arts course, for new classes in drawing and design and for the of- fering of Spanish in other than com- mercial courses, has made necessary the opening of new quarters. In the academic building we have now ab- solutely nothing in reserve for new l classes except the auditorium and front bases. Insofar as we alter thu auditorium seating for class work, wA diminish the capacity for assembly purposes The front basementS aro so far below the surface as to make them unsuitable for work of any con- siderable duration. No teacher should be asked to remain there for an en- tire half session, and a sharing of the undesirable quarters among three or four teachers would involve a con- fusion of work and seriously impair the efficiency of the school. Tn the vocational school MT. Wisel- fer for half the dav shares tho studio with Miss Holden. For tho general education of the pupils of the trade department, we have converted one of the stock rooms into recita- ton room. For MT. del Morals class in Spanish we have made permanent tho sliding partition in one of tho double rooms. We have one mora 1 double room which may be used in the same way and then we shall have
 exhausted the possibilities of this
 building.
 Undoubtedly it is the conditions brought on by the war that have this year made our problem one that we can solve. Should there be a return to peace by the beginning of another year, We shall probably be confronted by the situation which I anticipated in my previous report and to which
 
 tention. If the High school is to con- tinue to be a school of four grades. we should have additional accommo- dations,. at least temporary ones, by September, 1918.
 Would Transfer Open Air School.
 Tn my previous report I recom- mended the transfer of the open air, school to the roof of the vocational of {~3, school building between the other two. containing gymnasium and auditorium and the converting Of the south end of the academic building into 12 class rooms. Were this done. the subjects now given in the vocational building which require classroom study (Eng- fish, history and modern languages) might all be transferred to the aca- demic building, thus leaving the rooms in the vocational building for specif- cally commercial, household arts and trade work. There are already con- gestions in these subjects which call for relief, and if the open air school should be transferred as recommend ed some inside rooms might be re- quired for it's uses. The change would make a more logical arrange ment of rooms than the present one. The directors of the history depart ment and the department of modern languages would have all their work in one building; now the work of these departments is divided between two buildings.
 '"The year has been filled with man ifestations of goodwill and helpful ness on the part of my fellow teach CTS ard the clerical force; these man. ifestations involved a large amount Of hard work This prevailing spirit Is. of course, the basis of such success as we may have attained. The con.