STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, BRIDGEWATER. ALBERT G. BOYDEN, PRINCIPAL. This school is constantly striving to accomplish the purpose of the State normal school, which is to prepare teachers for the public schools of the State. The normal school has a distinctive atmosphere, spirit and method of work, determined by its call to develop the elements of qualification for teaching in student teachers. These elements are the personality which adapts him to teaching; the spirit of the teacher, which appreciates the responsibility of the work; a working knowledge of the laws of physical and mental development and the consequent principles of education; the scholarship requisite to direct wisely the study of the subjects in the school course; and skill in the art of teaching and training. The passing of the normal school" to higher achievement and better equipment is the natural condition of its life. 66 It may be helpful to glance at some factors of the sixty-three years of the life of this school. The school started with two teachers, the principal of the normal school and the principal of the model school. It now has fifteen teachers in the normal department and thirteen in the model school. The course of study at the beginning was arranged for one year of three terms, but during the first six years students were required to remain in the school only two terms, which need not be consecutive, and after the second term students were permitted to select their studies. The school now has five courses, each of which is to be taken consecutively: an elementary course arranged for two years, one for four years with electives, an intermediate course for three years with electives, a special course of one year for graduates of colleges and normal schools and for teachers of five years' experience who desire to extend their preparation for teaching, and a kindergarten course for two to three years. The model school at the beginning consisted of one class, of 30 to 40 pupils. It now includes the kindergarten and the nine grades below the high school, -468 pupils. The school has steadily gained the confidence of the public, as will be seen from the following facts: The average number of students admitted per year for the first decade was 58; for the second decade, 63; for the third, 57; for the fourth, 87; for the fifth, 93; for the sixth, 120; and for the last three years, 133. The average number of graduates per year for the first decade was 39; for the second decade, 49; for the third, 32; for the fourth, 44; for the fifth, 56; for the sixth, 78; for the last three years, 112. The third decade, which shows a decrease, was the period of the civil war. The steady increase in the number of students from an average attendance per term of 53 in the first decade to an average attendance per term of 274 in the last three years has caused frequent enlargement of the school buildings, and each extension has been followed by further increase in the number of students. Since the erection of the new school building in 1890,- which was enlarged by fifty per cent. in 1894,—and the erection of the new residence hall in 1895, the numbers have largely increased, notwithstanding the opening of four new normal schools in the State. The town of Bridgewater gave the school a home for the first three years of its life in the old town hall. Now the school plant, including seventeen acres of land and six buildings with their equipments, has a value of half a million dollars. To meet the demands of the public, the State normal school must keep up to date, along all the lines of its work, in the advantages and equipments which it offers prospective teachers. The assembly hall has been crowded the past year, and the residence halls could not accommodate all who desired rooms therein. More rooms for residence, and an infirmary, are needed. There has been no change of instructors during the year. The health of the school has been good, and its work has been vigorously prosecuted. The Legislature of 1903 generously appropriated $58,700 for the erection of a new gymnasium building, an electric plant and a coal shed. An engine and dynamo have been installed, which furnish excellent light in all the buildings and power to run electric lanterns for stereopticon projections in the class rooms and in the assembly hall. This plant greatly facilitates better work. The appropriation for the new gymnasium building is being expended. Plans have been secured with much care for a modern gymnasium. The building is in process of construction, and is to be completed Aug. 1, 1904. The erection of this building with its complete equipment will supply a large need in the life of the students, and will much improve the health and work of the school. Outlines in several studies have been revised and improved. Three class rooms and the assembly hall are now provided with projecting apparatus for the better study of the sciences, history and literature. Three new first-class electric lanterns with compound microscopic attachments, and other valuable pieces of apparatus, have been purchased for these studies. With this new apparatus superior pictures can be made upon the screen, which can be studied by the whole class at once, with economy of time and the enrichment of the courses of study. The assembly hall, stairways and class rooms are growing more beautiful each year by the addition of pictures or statuary presented to the school by the graduating classes. The benefit received by the normal students from their observation and practice in the model school is increasing each year by the more extended and careful practice and supervision in this work. The judgment formed of the student teacher's fitness for teaching by those in charge of this work is generally confirmed by his subsequent work in the public school. The life of the students in the residence halls, living together as one large family, is a potent element in their social evolution, and helpful to them in taking their places in life as teachers. "The Normal Club," an organization composed of the faculty and the students, holds a series of first-class entertainments - social, literary and musical once a fortnight through the year. The statistics of the school for the year ending Aug. 31, 1903, are as follows: 1. Number of students for the year, 274, - -29 men, 245 women; number in the entering class, 126,—11 men, 115 women; number of graduates for the year, 88, -7 men, 81 women; number receiving certificates for special courses, 13 women. 2. The whole number of students who have been members of the school is 5,156, — 1,318 men, 3,838 women. The number who have received certificates or diplomas is 3,428, - 884 men, 2,544 women; of whom 288 have graduated from the four years' course, - 148 men, 140 women. 3. Of the 274 members of the school for this year, Plymouth County sent 77; Bristol, 38; Middlesex, 37; Norfolk, 37; Essex, 15; Suffolk, 14; Hampden, 11; Worcester, 11; Barnstable, 10; Dukes, 3; Berkshire, 1; Hampshire, 1; Nantucket, 1; the State of New Hampshire, 8; Maine, 4; Vermont, 2; Connecticut, 1; New York, 1; Jamaica, W. I., 1; Syria, 1. Total from Massachusetts, 256, 13 counties and 91 towns being represented; other States and countries, 18. 4. The distribution of the students for the year was as follows: special courses, 19, 1 man, 18 women; four years' course, 47, 20 men, 27 women; intermediate course, 34, -4 men, 30 women; two years' course, 174, 4 men, 170 women. 5. The average age of those admitted was 20 years and 2 months; of special students, 27 years and 9 months; of students entering upon regular courses, 19 years and 2 months. 6. Of the 126 admitted, 4 came from colleges, 4 from normal and training schools, and 118 from high schools and academies; 20 had taught previous to coming. 7. The occupations of the fathers of those admitted were given as follows: artisans and mechanics, 26; farmers, 13; traders, 11; superintendents and foremen, 7; railroad employees, 5; salesmen, 3; bookkeepers and clerks, 3; engineers, 2; contractors, 2; professional men, 2; chemists, 2; manufacturer, mail carrier, pilot, policeman, night watchman, expressman, florist, coachman, inspector, laborer, proprietor, inside man, 1 each; retired, 4; not living, 28; not given, 6. 8. Of the 126 students admitted, Boston sent 11; Brockton, 10; Bridgewater, 8; Taunton, 7; Springfield, 5; Haverhill, Holbrook and Waltham, 4 each; Mansfield, Medford, Middleborough, Quincy and Somerville, 3 each; Andover, Chelsea, Fall River, Melrose, Milton, New Bedford, Randolph and Stoughton, 2 each; Abington, Acton, Ashland, Berkley, Bourne, Canton, Carver, East Bridgewater, Everett, Falmouth, Groton, Great Barrington, Hadley, Hudson, Hyde Park, Lawrence, Longmeadow, Marshfield, Medway, Nantucket, Newburyport, Northbridge, Plymouth, Reading, Rockland, Southbridge, Spencer, Walpole, Watertown, Wayland, Weymouth, Whitman and Winchester, 1 each; New Hampshire, 4; Maine, 3; Connecticut, 1; Vermont, 1. CAROLINE HAZARD, |