School Documents and Test Administration Instructions, Student Rosters, Teacher Issues, Baghdadi Jewish Schools
View interactive document pageThese are archival documents from the Baghdadi Jewish community. The item includes fundraising letters for the establishment of the Jewish Lay Council’s School Relief Committee, invoices for construction materials for repairs and utilities; budget estimates, guides for school administrators, test administration instructions, student rosters, and documents pertaining to teachers and employment issues. Correspondence is in Arabic, English, and French, and comes from Switzerland, Bombay, England, and Shanghai. There is one birth certificate from 1946.
2298 10 November 933 Dear Dr. Rawitschek Ophthalmologist at Rima Khadoori Hospital The administration of the Ras al-Qarya Official School has requested us to arrange your visit to examine the eyes of the students and treat them. We hope you will do so at the earliest opportunity - and stay well ⟦illegible⟧ Vice President 62
His Excellency the President of the Respectable Israeli Lay Council Sir! There is a back-pay difference due to me from my salaries that I receive from the Community Fund, and this difference amounts to one dinar ⟦1/500⟧ and five hundred fils, so I request the order to whoever is concerned to pay this amount, and the matter is yours, Sir! Baghdad, 19 January 1924 Teacher at Ras al-Qarya School ⟦Daoud⟧ ⟦...⟧ Administration of the Lay Council - Baghdad: Number: 485 Date: 22 / 1 / 1924 File Number: 94 613
By the Director of the Ras al-Qarya Jewish School To His Excellency the President of the Jewish Lay Council, the Respected Greetings! At the present time, my marriage contract is taking place, and the financial situation of the girl's family with whom we have become related is very narrow, to the extent that despite our leniency and waiver of every amount and every customary grant from the family of the girl in such cases, they still cannot even manage the preparation of the girl alone. As such, I have taken it upon myself to handle most of the girl's preparations, in addition to the resulting expenses such as house rent, furnishing, utensils, wedding expenses, and the like. Therefore, I request the favor of assistance by fulfilling my request, which amounts to forty-two dinars, until the end of October 1924, which is approximately the end of the final holiday for this school year, so that I may be able to fulfill the duties imposed upon me. Please accept, sir, my utmost respect! Baghdad, June 7, 1924 Teacher at the Ras al-Qarya Jewish School ⟦signature⟧ Administration of Jewish Schools Baghdad Number 2476 Date 6/8/1924 File Number This teacher is among the best teachers in terms of ability, sincerity, and character, and deserves every assistance, especially in such a case. Please be so kind as to grant his request, and I recommend to the respected Council to pay his salary. Presented to His Excellency the Respected President 6/8/1924 ⟦signature⟧ Director of Ras al-Qarya School His salaries for the coming months only are to be advanced until September 924 ⟦signature⟧ 22 27
School Ras al-Qarya Amiri Elementary School Baghdad Number 27 Date 849/⟦...⟧ To the Honorable Secretary of the Lay Council of the Jewish Community In response to your letter No. 2345 dated July 24, 949 1- The number of teachers in our school is eight (including the school principal), excluding the teachers appointed by the community to teach the Hebrew language. 2- The number of classes is seven (six grades and one section). 3- The maximum number of students in one class is seventy. 4- The minimum number " " " " is 22. 5- The average number of students in the classes is 48. 6- The number of students in the school is 338. 7- The date of the school's founding is 949. 8- Since the school is an Amiri (government) school, it is not possible to estimate the annual expenditure per student, and I believe this item pertains to private schools only. Notes about the school 1- I believe that the academic progress of the school for this year was satisfactory, and the teaching proceeded according to the Ministry of Education curriculum and under the supervision and guidance of the school administration. I have noted below the final exam results for this year and mentioned the percentage of success, completion (re-exams), failure, and absence for your information. Grade | Successful | Completion | Failure | Absent | Total Students in Grade Sixth | 5 | 17 | 10 | " | 32 Fifth | 28 | 6 | 5 | " | 39 Fourth B | 12 | 8 | 11 | 6 | 37 " A | 35 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 44 Third | 41 | 12 | 7 | 6 | 66 Second | 36 | 6 | 26 | 2 | 70 First | 27 | 11 | 10 | 2 | 50
⟦illegible⟧ Percentage Success % 54 1/2 Completion % 19 1/2 Failure % 20 1/2 Absence % 5 1/2 We have exerted a great effort to reform the moral psychology in this school and encouraged monitoring inside and outside the school, and we employed all possible means to prevent student delinquency, and we believe these efforts have borne fruit to some extent.. 2- The current school building is absolutely unsuitable to be a complete primary school containing 6 classes ⟦10 - 12⟧ of course, due to the narrowness of the rooms and their area, and their lack of required health facilities, and therefore I recommend replacing this building with a wider and healthier one, and not making it only for four classes, or establishing a branch to which the first two classes are transferred, or keeping the fifth and sixth classes, and this is something I do not prefer given the strong desire existing towards this school But if it is impossible to implement my aforementioned suggestion, there is no choice but to keep the current building on the condition of: a- Rearranging the lighting of the eight rooms with electricity b- Obliging the lessor to complete the repairs he pledged to the school administration, which are painting the wooden sections entirely and the new pillars in the building's staircase, in addition to opening two windows in the room located near the building entrance on the alley, and renewing the broken tiles in the courtyard and all the rooms c- That the school's population does not exceed 280 students, distributed among the classes according to the capacity of the rooms In conclusion, I hope the esteemed council takes into consideration the poverty and need of most students of this school, so it does not withhold its approval for all the financial aid requested by the school administration for them to provide them with books, supplies, and clothes
To the Honorable President of the Jewish Community in Baghdad The Petition We, the undersigned in this petition, Menahem Nissim, Daoud Munshi, Reuben Koji, and Albert Haron, students in the sixth grade of the Ras al-Qarya Official Jewish School, during our attendance at the aforementioned school, one of the inspectors from the Ministry of Education came to inspect the school classes and saw the sixth grade overcrowded with students, so he ordered the transfer of six students from the mentioned class to the Bab al-Sheikh school, and it was our lot to be transferred from our original school to the Bab al-Sheikh school. Since our residences are far from the school we were recently transferred to and close to our original school, and secondly, since the al-Qarya school is purely Jewish, we used to have Saturdays off. Therefore, we request your mediation ⟦for our transfer⟧ to our original school. With our utmost respect. October 21, 1942 Menahem Nissim, Daoud Munshi, Reuben Koji, Albert Haron Presidency of the Jewish Community 1942 11/9/1942 Administrative. To be filed.
Directorate of Education of Baghdad District Number 4998 Date 5 February ⟦...⟧ 22 Tishrin Archive Subject Copy of the letter from the Headmaster of Ras al-Qarya School No. 7 dated 11/13/933 I have previously approached the respected Presidency of the Jewish Community, requesting their approval to restore the electric ⟦lighting⟧ in the school and pay its monthly costs, explaining to them the situation of the second and first grades, which are not ⟦...⟧ and the resulting harm to the students' eyesight. The administration of the Physical Council replied in its letter No. 2396 dated 10/10/933 that it agrees to pay only half of the monthly fee. The electric lamps needed by the school are four: in the first and second grades, in the treatment room, and in the Scout club. Since our use of these lights will be only when absolutely necessary, I do not believe the monthly expenditure will exceed 500 fils. Please approve the payment of the second half on the department's account. If you deem that impossible and the Physical Council insists on not agreeing - after your mediation - then I am in favor of transferring the students of the two mentioned grades to the community schools out of mercy for them and concern for their health. To the Presidency of the Jewish Community in Baghdad
By the Director of the Ras al-Qarya Israeli School To His Excellency, the Honorable President of the Israeli Lay Council After greetings! On June 7, 1924, I submitted a letter to your esteemed council in which I explained the duties incumbent upon me regarding my marriage contract, which has come due at this time. I have learned that it was decided to pay my salaries for the three months of vacation and the two accumulated months, provided that the aforementioned vacation salaries be paid during the week of the wedding, but I have not been informed of the time for paying the two accumulated months' salaries. Sir! Until now, I have not received anything from my requests for the occasion of the wedding, and the days have passed, time has become tight, and my affairs are stalled. I must pay the rent for the residence, and I must arrange the furniture, for it is completed and held at the carpenter's, and the clothes are finished and remain at the tailor's, and some other matters are stalled which space does not permit explaining. If you wish, I can bring the owners of these requests before you so that you may verify this. Therefore, I hope for your assistance and for an order to whoever is concerned to pay the two accumulated months' salaries and the remaining two months of the vacation, at the very least. The matter is yours, Sir! Baghdad, August 5, 1924 Teacher at Ras al-Qarya School ⟦illegible⟧ The Israeli Lay Council - Baghdad Number 2478 Date 6 / 8 / 924 File Number I present this to His Honorable Eminence the President, hoping for the favor of providing every possible assistance to this teacher, whom I see in a very critical and unenviable position. And your beautiful kindness 6 / 8 / 924 ⟦illegible⟧ Director of Ras al-Qarya School ⟦red ink mark⟧
Directorate Ras al-Qarya Amiri Elementary School Baghdad Number: 5 Date: 22 / 10 / ⟦1944⟧ To His Eminence, the Respected Head of the Community Greetings and respect, thereafter: It is not hidden from Your Eminence that a not insignificant portion of the students of this school have emerged, and these, naturally, lack financial assistance to enable them to complete their studies by meeting their necessary needs for books, supplies, and clothing. Since I personally am ignorant of the students' financial capabilities, I see it as very appropriate to determine the number of those in need of assistance, the type of their needs, and consequently the amount of money required to be spent on them by a committee chosen by the esteemed Council. This committee shall perform the duty of purchasing, spending, and distribution without this administration having any involvement beyond assistance and guidance. This is an opinion I have formed; its endorsement or lack thereof is dependent on Your Eminence and contingent upon the approval of the esteemed Council, which adopted a principle at the end of the school year regarding its duty one of its respected members regarding a student he found loitering in the streets and markets considering it a job he performs for his livelihood, being forced to leave his school. Please accept my thanks in advance. ⟦signature⟧ School Principal Presidency of the Israelite Community Incoming Number: 2514 Date: 24 / 10 / 944 ⟦illegible⟧ And a committee is formed under the chairmanship of Saleh Qassab and the membership of Chalabi ⟦illegible⟧ 24 / 10 / 944
⟦2079⟧ 19 November 934 Aid for Poor Students ⟦The Respected Gentleman⟧ Director of Ras al-Qarya Official Primary School in Baghdad Reference to your letter to His Excellency the Head of the Community No. 5 dated 22 / 10 / 934 Our Corporal Council decided in its session held on 18 / 11 / 934 to disburse the amount of ten dinars to be spent on poor students of your school through the knowledge of the virtuous Saleh Effendi Faraj Hayyim - and may you remain ⟦illegible⟧ The President A copy of it to the virtuous notable Saleh Effendi Faraj Hayyim with the amount to kindly complete this task ⟦62⟧
⟦2756⟧ 13 December 934 The Honorable Mr. Mahmoud Al-Sayyid Muhammad Al-Ani Owner of the Ras Al-Qarya Official School Building, Respected After greetings and respect Since the Ministry of Education has officially requested this department to restore the electrical current, and you had promised to carry out the necessary procedure for its restoration, but that has not been completed yet it was necessary to notify you to take the necessary action and consult with the Secretary of the Community Administration and reach an understanding with him in this regard; ⟦line⟧ ⟦illegible⟧ The President
Directorate Ras al-Qarya Amiri Primary School Baghdad Number: Date: 19 / 11 / ⟦9⟧ To the Honorable Chairman of the Council The school is in dire need of the medical supplies listed below due to the occurrence of sudden cases requiring urgent medical first aid, especially during scouting trips and tours, so I hope you will kindly instruct those concerned to provide us with a sufficient amount of them, and we thank you in advance. ⟦signature⟧ School Principal 1 - Tincture of iodine 2 - Ointment for wounds 3 - Cotton 4 - Large and small bandages 5 - Ammonia 6 - Quinine 7 - Aspirin tablets 8 - Laxative pills I visited the school on 24 / 11 / 944 and informed the principal that the Council believes such materials should be requested from the Department of Education. However, since there was an urgent need, the Director of Baghdad Area Schools assisted in priority, and we were informed that the Department of Education will provide all schools with such materials. Accordingly, it is to be filed on the 24th of it. ⟦signature⟧ Number 2526 Date 22 / 11 / 944 File Number 64
Directorate Ras al-Qarya Primary Amiri School Baghdad Number: 26 Date: 4 / 2 / 945 To His Eminence the Head of the Community, the Respected After greetings. The esteemed Lay Council has previously approved the price of twenty-six school suits for the poor of this school on the occasion of winter, and the making of these clothes was entrusted to the secretary of the community, Shalom Qawi the tailor, on the understanding that he would complete them by January 15, 945 but he has only delivered nine suits to us, which has deprived us of the intended benefit from them. Please take swift measures to compel the tailor to deliver the remainder of them, and to your Highness thanks and gratitude. ⟦illegible⟧ School Principal Filed ⟦illegible⟧ 2 / 2 / 25
The Physical Council School Inspection - First Report Al-Karam School 26 / 10 / 1933 Top Secret Mr. Vice President Yesterday I visited Al-Karam School for inspection, and after reviewing some information that interested me from the principal, I began touring the classrooms. The fact that most of the teachers in this school are not fit for teaching at all alerted me to discuss an important issue here that I wish to bring to Your Excellency's attention. Many believe that the preparatory and primary classes do not require competent teachers, and that teachers like those in this school - for example - are fit for teaching in preparatory and primary classes at the very least. What is educationally established, and what I have verified ⟦...⟧ practically during my inspection, is that teachers of primary and preparatory classes, besides the fact that they should not be less competent than other teachers, must be specially trained on how to teach children basic principles in a way that does not make them hate studying nor exhaust their small minds, and should also be consistent with modern theories that have emerged regarding the education and upbringing of children. Such teachers are completely non-existent in our schools, and not only that, but the teachers who handle teaching children in the preparatory classes of this school (Al-Karam) I can call (illiterate), as knowing how to read and write poorly, stripped even of their origins and rules and the simplest information in language or science, is nothing but illiteracy itself. I happened to listen to the teacher Rubin Effendi Yehuda as he was writing words on the board which the students were reading before him, and among these words were: Shajarun, Wa'dun, Shahbun, etc.. These words and their like do not exist in the language nor do they have meaning, but they are imprinted in the mind of the young child and become rooted in this erroneous form. I do not know what trouble the teacher of primary or secondary classes will face when he finds the student pronouncing the word Shajar like this: Shajarun, and Wa'd like this: Wa'dun, and Shahb like this: Shahbun.. In any case, I brought this to the teacher's attention and assigned one of the teachers to guide him. The second example I give to Your Excellency as evidence for my opinion is what I found in another preparatory class regarding the children's total distraction from their teacher, who was Harun Effendi. This teacher, although he is in fact better than some other teachers, cannot claim that he has ever received the principles of teaching children and how to attract them to listen to lessons and how to pour the information he wants to teach them into moral tales, for example, or humorous stories with sound meaning. Every two children were busy talking, laughing, or fighting while the teacher was turned away from them in despair, teaching a single student the Hebrew alphabet written on the board. A year ago, I visited a similar class in the Ras al-Qarya official school and found the children interested (1) (2)
3 with their teacher, they catch his words with an activity and joy I have never found here, and the reason is known, which is that the latter has been trained in the Teachers' College on teaching children in a new way. The third example is this behavior acted out by the teacher Samon Effendi Mizrahi, for this teacher, due to his ignorance of the meaning of the necessity of gradual progression for the child in receiving primary information, has alerted the students of the first primary grade to the necessity of buying the second part of the book "Al-Qira'ah Al-Rashidah," so they actually bought it, while in the past year they did not complete the first part of it, not even half of it. He also alerted the second-grade students to buy the third part of this book, while they did not complete in the past year more than 35 pages of the second part. It is not hidden from Your Excellency that every lesson of these primary books is important and the student cannot pass through it without mastering it completely. Leaving out one lesson, for example, means depriving the student of learning the types of Hamzas, the Shadda, or the Tanween, or the weak letters, for example. I have alerted the Director to that, and he excused himself by saying that the teacher acted without his knowledge, and I made him understand that the fact that the students had bought the books is not a sufficient reason for committing such a mistake, so he promised me that he would remedy that. <u>Writing</u> The curriculum has been organized as it should be, and the Director still remains demanding the creation of a position for writing in the school. Since the Council - excuse me Your Excellency if I say - has hurried in appointing this Director who knows nothing of the language in which the lessons are taught in the school, he must bear the consequences whatever they may be, and the Director is undoubtedly excused if he persists in requesting a clerk for the school, as without that, matters cannot be managed at all. Although there is a vacancy in the number of lessons that resulted from the transfer of teacher Naji Effendi Sa'at to deliver 14 lessons in the school, this vacancy occurred among the teachers who are of no use, and the school's clerical matters remained completely stalled. Therefore, I hope Your Excellency will look into the matter of appointing a clerk for the school who is a high school diploma holder to teach the lessons that will become vacant after Naji Effendi Sa'at returns to his position in King Faisal School, and who knows bookkeeping - as there is no one in the school who knows bookkeeping - and is also proficient in editing. If this employee costs the budget what it cannot afford, I confirm that the situation of the school now helps in promoting one of the incompetent teachers without any defect occurring. In any case, I hope to draw Your Excellency's attention to the fact that keeping the writing position vacant is much better than appointing "Mish'al," who is the person I learned there are efforts being made to appoint to this position, even for a very meager wage. This person is not distinguished from the teachers I described as illiterate except for good handwriting. If the Council accepts him in this position, it will have added a new name to the names of the teachers who I can say are a complete burden on the schools, besides the fact that the school's correspondence will remain stalled because the aforementioned is a zero in this regard. In any case, the matter is up to Your Excellency; (2) (4) (5) (6) ⟦illegible signature⟧ The Secretary 1- I see the necessity of completing the necessary measures for the promotion of ⟦illegible⟧ 2- ⟦illegible⟧ is completed 3- The remedy of the mistake must be ensured 4- I will discuss the writing to the lawyer I agree 5- Implementation completed
The Physical Council School Inspection 26 / 10 / 1933 The Second Report Al-Karam School Mr. Vice President I also visited Al-Karam School today and noticed the following: 1) Severe accumulation of dust on the classroom doors and glass. 2) Abundance of filth and scattered paper scraps inside the classrooms. 3) Lack of cleanliness in the school in general. 4) Lack of cleanliness of the students in general. 5) Foul odor emanating from the toilets and the filthiness of the toilet room floor and its location in general. 6) There is an old toilet with a closed door that emits a very foul odor. I request you to kindly alert the principal to: 1) Pressure the servants regarding the necessity of taking care of the school's cleanliness in a serious manner. Since I have understood from the principal that one of the servants is always busy accompanying the young students home, I request alerting him to the necessity of ordering the servant to leave this duty and devote himself to service only in the event that it affects the cleanliness of the school in this way. 2) Alert the principal to the necessity of spraying the toilet area with carbolic acid permanently and washing the floor daily. 3) Seal the neglected toilet with bricks and get rid of its odor by any other method. This is for your Excellency's command. ⟦illegible⟧ The Secretary Write to the principal regarding all of that. ⟦illegible⟧
2256 30 October 933 Directorate of Al-Karam School You will find enclosed a copy of the report submitted to us by the secretary regarding your school and accordingly we draw the attention of your directorate to the necessity of taking care of the school's cleanliness in a serious manner and implementing everything required in the mentioned report immediately. ⟦Luay⟧ Vice President 117
The Lay Council School Inspection October 31, 1933 The Third Report Masouda Salman School Secret My Honorable Mr. Vice President Yesterday and the day before yesterday, I visited the Masouda Salman School for inspection, and below are some observations and opinions that I hope will be taken into consideration: The Principal and School Administration I do not exaggerate if I say that discipline in this school is almost non-existent and order is not established. Whatever excuse the principal gives that the school is at the beginning of the academic year, it is an excuse that has no justification, especially since there are principals who sent for me to inspect, indicating that the school is fully prepared. The delay in organizing the school until now indicates nothing but the confusion of the administration. Below are some examples of that: (1) Keeping the daily statistics of the number of absent and present students has not started yet. students (2) The administration has not yet taken disciplinary measures against students who are late for school hours. (3) A significant amount of chaos and noise generally prevails in the school at the end of a lesson and the beginning of the next. chaos and noise. (4) Some classes are in complete chaos during the lessons of some teachers. (5) The cleanliness of the students in this school is not pleasing to the observer because the school administration has not yet begun to monitor cleanliness seriously. (6) It happened that I visited the sixth grade during an Arabic grammar lesson and found that they do not possess knowledge in this language equal to the level of knowledge of the fourth grade in schools others. As for their teacher in previous years, it was Yusuf Effendi Dahan, and I do not blame him as much as I blame the community administration. It is the administration that left the schools without monitoring and without holding the negligent accountable. Not only that, but it often rewarded the latter without knowing, and then it is the one that appointed a principal for the school who does not know the official language of instruction in it, otherwise he would have known the location of the weakness and remedied it by whatever means. On this occasion, I hope Your Excellency will take interest in the future in the matter of selecting principals and do not allow room for the appointment of any principal who is less capable than the best teacher in the schools. I assure Your Excellency that the state of our schools would not have reached this level of backwardness and chaos if some of its principals were other than its current principals. I am not speaking haphazardly; this opinion has become a conviction for me after my long work in this administration and my constant contact with the interests of the schools. Furniture Ledger I requested the furniture ledger, but the administration apologized that it was not ready due to the need to reorganize it anew. ⟦illegible⟧ Administrative Matters Note ⟦illegible⟧ Why not ⟦illegible⟧ to the Principal
2 On the occasion of the school's separation from the Al-Karam branch Sports and Anthems I am not here in a position to elaborate on the subject of our schools' delay in these two aspects, for this is what I will submit a report on soon, God willing. But what I hope you will take urgent measures regarding is that the students of this school have not yet received a single lesson in sports and anthems, as the administration has assigned these two subjects to Salim Effendi Ephraim, and he has not yet begun teaching them. He informed me that he will refuse to teach them, and I am a witness that Salim Effendi is unable to take them upon himself, and I support him in this refusal. The administration has assigned him 37 lessons and general supervision. It is no secret to Your Excellency that sports teachers must visit the Teachers' Training College continuously to learn the new Swedish athletic movements, and they must follow other schools to learn modern anthems. Accordingly, a sports teacher in public schools is not assigned more than 24 lessons per week, even if he is a permanent teacher. Therefore, it is impossible for the aforementioned Salim Effendi to teach more than 32 lessons, so how can he when he has been assigned 37 lessons and general supervision as well? This is in addition to his natural inability to perform this duty. Accordingly, I suggest: (1) Reducing the number of the aforementioned person's lessons to 32 and assigning the remaining five lessons to a new teacher, and if the budget does not allow, then to the principal himself. (2) Exempting Salim Effendi from the duty of general supervision and abolishing this position entirely. What is followed in public primary schools and in the Rachel Shahmoon School is assigning teachers to supervision by rotation. The insistence of our school principals on creating this position is nothing but evidence of their inability or their tendency toward dependency <del>⟦illegible⟧</del>. General supervision is entirely an administrative duty. If you take these two measures, it will be possible for the aforementioned Salim Effendi to teach sports, even if in a deficient manner, until measures are taken to reform sports in schools generally. Hebrew and English Curriculum A matter of utmost importance has caught my attention, which is the lack of a unified curriculum for teaching Hebrew and English in our schools. Every teacher has adopted a specific curriculum for himself and decided on his own to teach specific books that may coincide by chance or not with the curriculum and textbooks in other schools. It is truly a cause for deep regret that chaos and confusion have reached such an extent, and the harm of this matter is not hidden from Your Excellency's keen insight. Students who graduate from the school are not at the same level, and this is not fair at all. Furthermore, the teacher is not held responsible for a specific curriculum, and moving from one school to another causes the student problems in these two languages. Accordingly, I suggest: (1) Auditing the English language study curriculum currently applied in the primary section. When? How many lessons in the school? Supervision Who is he? Clarification
3 Agreed from Shamash School by a specialized committee, then reporting it to all our other schools 2) Forming a committee chaired by His Eminence the Head of the Community and the membership of both the Hebrew teacher at Shamash School and the Hebrew teacher at the Alliance schools to develop a special curriculum for the Hebrew language and to determine the names of the books (after taking the opinions of other Hebrew teachers in the schools) and putting the decisions of this committee into effect immediately after the approval of the esteemed Council In any case, the matter is up to your Excellency ⟦signature⟧ The Secretary
The Physical Council School Inspection November 9, 1933 The Fourth Report on the National School Secret His Excellency the Honorable Vice President I visited the National School several times during the past week, and the following are some of my observations about it: 1) The cleanliness and organization of the school have completely satisfied me, but I hope you will kindly alert the principal to the necessity of increasing care for the cleanliness of the students, especially the students of the primary classes, as an average of four or five students in each of these classes are dirty, with soiled hands and long fingernails. 2) You have alerted me to look into whether the schools are implementing the Council's instructions in the required manner, and I found that this school has executed the orders as they should be. 3) The level of the teachers in this school is not bad now, and the following are my observations about some of the teachers: a) Abd al-Sattar Effendi: This teacher gives 12 lessons in mathematics in the final classes of the school. I do not wish here to address the ability of the mentioned teacher in mathematics, as it is well known; however, I nevertheless request consideration for removing him from next year's budget for the following reasons: 1) Because he is a mobile teacher. 2) Because there is now a mathematics teacher in the school appointed by the Council at the beginning of this year, who is Sabri Effendi Murad. This teacher is competent to teach the school's mathematics and will be at the end of the current year even more competent after spending a full year teaching this subject. 3) His weak eyesight prevents him from maintaining class discipline. 4) Because he receives an amount of 4.500 Dinars for 12 lessons, and this amount is double what the venerable Council allocates for high school graduates. b) Sabri Effendi Murad: He is the teacher appointed by the venerable Council to teach mathematics in the school. Although I knew of his ability in this subject before now, I have also found him successful in teaching; therefore, I recommend his confirmation after the conclusion of the probationary period. 4) Teachers of the preparatory classes - I do not wish here to repeat what I have previously mentioned regarding these teachers, but I found it appropriate to add now another example from which Your Excellency may know the extent of the decline in the level of these teachers. It happened that when I visited the second grade B, I ⟦and⟧ found ⟦that⟧ the floor of the room was polluted with spit. When I alerted the nearest student to that and rebuked him, he answered in the hearing of the teacher that the doer was the teacher himself. I related this to the principal and asked him to alert the teacher to that in an indirect way. 5) The school yard - The school yard at the present time is not suitable for games. In one corner of it is a staircase to the second floor, and in another corner is a garden. As for the staircase, there is no way to remove it in any form. As for the garden, it is small and of no use, besides costing the school water fees; therefore, I suggest removing it and merging it into the school yard. In any case, the matter is for Your Excellency. The Secretary ⟦signature⟧ ⟦illegible text on left margin⟧ ⟦illegible text on right margin⟧ ⟦illegible text at bottom right⟧
24 -- November 10, 1933 Directorate of the National School We provide below a copy of the first and fifth paragraphs of the report dated 11/9/1933 submitted by the secretary of the community administration who inspected your school. The First Paragraph The cleanliness and organization of the school have completely satisfied me, however I hope you will kindly alert the director to the necessity of increasing care for the cleanliness of the students, especially the students of the primary classes among them, as an average of a quarter or a fifth of the students in each of these classes are dirty, with soiled hands and long fingernails. The Fifth Paragraph The school yard: The school yard at the present time is not suitable for games. In one corner there is a staircase to the second floor and in another corner a garden. As for the staircase, there is no way to remove it in any form, as for the garden, it is small and of no use except that it costs the school water fees, and therefore I suggest removing it and merging it into the school yard. 1- To carry out what was requested in the first paragraph seriously. 2- To remove the garden as soon as possible and inform us of the result. ⟦illegible⟧ Vice President 9
The National School WATANIYAH SCHOOL Date: 12 November 934 Baghdad 193 Number: 111 No. His Excellency the President of the Respected Physical Council After greetings Reference to your letter numbered 2400 and dated the 10th of it We thank the Inspector for his remarks, and no doubt he agrees with us that we have previously exerted a great effort until the cleanliness of the school reached its current state and we will exert more effort so that the school is at the required level of cleanliness in the future. As for the garden located in the school, we will modify it during the first school holiday in order to pave the place it was occupying. Please accept our highest respect. ⟦illegible⟧ School Director H Administration of the Physical Council in Baghdad Number 2446 Date 24 / 11 / 34 File Number 9 Form No. 7 - 500 - 1 - 1933