Page images
PDF
EPUB

RESOLUTIONS.

The following resolutions were then unanimously adopted, and a copy ordered to be engrossed and sent to Mrs. Philbrick:

Resolved, That the Schoolmasters' Club of Boston desire to place on record the following statement of their appreciation of the life and services of their late beloved associate, Dr. John D. Philbrick : —

He was a man of eminent ability. No one talent, indeed, over-shadowed all the rest; but his mind, well-rounded and evenly balanced, was one of remarkable force.

He had great power of application. From the beginning of his college course, almost to the day of his death, he was an incessant worker. For him no pains was too great, and no needed labor was too severe.

His life was given to the cause of education. His profession was chosen as early as his sophomore year in college, and seems to have been followed with his whole soul to the very end. In his view it was a high and holy calling, and worthy of the highest ambition of the noblest minds.

He studied education from the standpoint of history and philosophy. No man of the age in which he lived was better acquainted with the history of school systems, educational theories, and methods of teaching. His very conservatism resulted from his knowledge of limitations.

His integrity never faltered. Honesty, both intellectual and moral, was a native element in his character. Selfish aims and ambitions found no lodgment in his heart. failure to insincerity.

He preferred

He was generous and sympathetic. No man was quicker to detect merit in others, or more ready to give credit where it was due. Thousands of teachers have been cheered by his kind words of sympathy and wise counsel. He was a friend

to all who were honestly working for the schools.

good of public

Patient toward those who differed from him in opinion, he was possessed of the true Christian spirit of forgiveness toward his enemies. His later life was a constant exhibition of his conviction that it is better to suffer wrong than to do wrong. It was impossible to provoke him to the doing of an impolite act or the saying of an impolite word.

His life has been a grand success. Wherever public schools exist his influence is felt, and will long continue to be felt, for good. His mind was clear and strong; his character was round and full and sweet; and his life contributed in no small measure to the well being of the world in which he lived. May we cherish his memory and emulate his example.

THE SCHOOL COMMITTEE.

The following resolutions were offered at a meeting of the School Committee of Boston, February 9, 1886, by William C. Williamson, a member who had served on the old board of school committee, while Dr. Philbrick was superintendent. The resolutions were unanimously adopted by a rising vote:

Resolved, That the School Committee desire to place on record their deep and abiding sense of gratitude for the long and eminent service rendered in the cause of public education by John D. Philbrick, lately deceased. For twenty years he was superintendent of our schools. During that period his efforts were constant and untiring to enlarge their usefulness and powers, to raise their standard, and to keep them fully up to the requirements of advanced intelligence, and he left them in a better condition than when he entered upon his office, by reason of his labor, watchfulness, and forethought. He was in his profession an idealist, an enthusiast. "He was a

scholar, and a ripe and good one, exceeding wise, fair-spoken, and persuading"; but he was also a conservative, not too easily convinced of the soundness of new fashions in edu

cation; gifted with executive and practical skill, and with a personal influence which made him known throughout the schools. In his forty-five printed reports he has placed upon the files of this committee a lasting memorial of his learning, his good sense, and his sanguine hopes. These, with their wise suggestions drawn from his experience and observation of the progress of education at home and in foreign countries, will afford light upon many questions, and bear fruitful testimony to his ability and character for many years

to come.

PUBLIC MEMORIAL SERVICES.

At a meeting of the Boston Masters' Association, held March 2, 1886, a committee, consisting of Robert Swan, of the Winthrop School, Moses Merrill, Ph.D., of the Latin School, Larkin Dunton, LL.D., of the Normal School, C. Goodwin Clark, of the Gaston School, and George R. Marble, of the Chapman School, was appointed to arrange for holding a public memorial service in Boston, sometime the following autumn, in honor of Dr. John D. Philbrick.

This committee decided to invite Gilman H. Tucker of New York, Larkin Dunton of Boston, and Dr. Wm. T. Harris of Concord, Mass., to address the friends of the honored dead, at a meeting to be held the following autumn. All these gentlemen accepted the invitation.

The meeting was held, November 5, 1886, in the spacious hall of the Public Latin School building, on Warren avenue, Boston. The public schools of the city were dismissed on the occasion. Mr. Edwin P. Seaver, Superintendent of Schools, presided. The hall was

crowded with teachers, past and present members of the Boston School Committee, and other school men. The widow of the lamented dead and a large circle of intimate friends occupied seats reserved for them. Prayer was offered by Granville B. Putnam of the Franklin School. Mr. Seaver, on taking the chair, spoke as follows:

ADDRESS OF HON. EDWIN P. SEAVER.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We have met to-day, that we may testify our respect for the memory of one, the record of whose life-work fills a large place in the educational history of Boston, - John Dudley Philbrick. If one were to begin with the benefits of a mere physical or material kind for which the cause of education is indebted to Mr. Philbrick, there would be much to say of the convenient, cheerful, often beautiful schoolhouses, which adorn all parts of our city; but it is enough now to remember that the crowning glory of them all, this palatial building in which we are now assembled, is due more to his efforts than to those of any other one man. And yet benefits of this kind are among the least of his claims to remembrance. The visitor to St. Paul's Cathedral, in London, is reminded, by the inscription he reads over the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren, that if he would behold the great architect's monument he must look about him. But he who may hereafter look for Mr. Philbrick's monument will find it not in marble tablet or granite shaft that may mark his grave near

his country home, nor even in the palatial schoolhouses raised during his long administration, all around us, but in the common school system itself of the city of Boston, and in the vast influence which, through that system, he has exerted upon schools and scholars throughout this land.

The three characteristics of Mr. Philbrick which have impressed me most were his sound, practical wisdom, his steadfastness or courage in defence of his opinions, and his ardent professional enthusiasm. In his earlier years he was a reformer, and these characteristics made him successful. Later in life his position was more conservative; not, however, because he had surrendered his cherished convictions, or abated his enthusiasm, but rather because the later advances in educational methods were not fully trusted by him.

But others will speak of his character more fully than I have a right to speak now. It is for me to introduce to you speakers who have known him long and loved him well. Let me add but one word more. We say we have assembled to do honor to Mr. Philbrick's memory. How shall we truly do that? If all wish to honor his memory sincerely, in the manner in whichhe would most approve, we shall carry some of the inspiration of this hour into our daily duties, and dedicate ourselves anew to all that is high and noble in the great work which he loved so well.

The Superintendent then introduced the speakers whose addresses form the first three chapters of this

« PreviousContinue »