Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1871-09-27

The Action OF the Board Of EdueatfOn
Sustained BY an Experienced
Teacher

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Editors AppeaS4Much has been said
and written of late upon the exclusion
of grammar from our primary schools
yet so little do the public seem to under
stand the action of the officers Of public
institutions, and 80 gross are the misrep-
resentatlons based uponit that we claim
your Indulgence in making a few brief
statements in reply.
It Is to be regretted that so well-knoWn
and accomplished a scholar should have
felt 1t necessary 20, protest against the SC
ton of the Board Of Education in
reference to the use OF q primary gram
mar; yet we fee sure his words had not
so wide q significance as has been attached
to them by many who know nothing Of
graded schools. Intelligent educators are
aware that this is no new issue, and it
seems almost superfous to write upon q
subject which has been so ably
discussed in our educational journals
lor the last ten years; yet for the
benefit of those who have not looked into
the matter, we viii briefly examine its
practical bearings In our own schools.
Grammar is the science of language; we
cannot lsarn the concrete from the alb
strsct; let as then teach the language
first, afterwArd the grammar. The VOcab-
ulary of our language, all rich and varied
as it is, its idioms and its history, hidden
fossil-dke within Its own words-these are
not learned through grammar, but rather
form a basis upon which that study may
be commenced.
Take the simplest work upon grammar,
and what abstruse and abstract ideas we
find presented for the consideration Of the
young mind. Geography is easily under
stood by the youngest pupil. Its lakes
and rivers, It's mountains, hills and val
leys are seen every day from his window,
met with on his journeys, and pictured
in his books. Arithmetic has its
tangible application in the affairs of every
day life, but grsmmer is a mere abstrsc-
ton, its simplest definition invoking
mental processes for which the minds Of
young children are wholly untitled.
Some value m as a disciplinary
study, but why make that only q diseip-
line which might subserve 81 much higher
a purpose?
Now let us examine u course of study.
The child is taught his own language from
the time of bis entrance to our schools,
Commencing with the alphabet, he learns
the elementary sounds of GU V~ernscular;
already familiar with 1t in practice, he
finds no contradictions In its sign-lan-
gusge. The first step is the most difficult
ofall, for both teacher and pupil. Inertia,
once overcome, q gentle force will keep the
ball, rolling, provided we are asked to
climb no grammatical steps. Spelling
~-- ~ ~ AA9 ACAk ShOEoa aAA
arithmetic is early commenced, and
serves the double purpose of developing
the mental powers and providing material
for future use, both in and out of the
school-room. These, with writing, are
steadily pursued, and geography is intro
duced, more, perhaps, as g means Of re-
Taxation and entertainment, than for any
present value 1t may possess.
Now, when do we commence the study
Of grammar from the text booE2 As soon
as the pHpa is able TO give an Intelligent
Gnst1eT TO such a question as this: What
tOiH be the cost of Al pounds of coffee at so
cents per PoURd$ Now, we insist upon it.,
that no child whose mind is untitled for
such q mental process as this is ready for
the study Of grammar.
All the efforts which have been made to
simplify this study, have resulted in fail
ure. Clark, with his diagrams, may, after
infinite labor, make an automa'ical gram
mar, but not an intelligent one. Greene, |
excellent as is his intermediate grammar.
has failed in his attempts at simplifca
ton, and is often vague, Rnd sometimes
inaccurate. While Brown furnishes the
pupil with too large a supply of false
syntsX, Bullion, than whom few better
writers are to be found, also fails some
times. Witness the definition of " per-
son" written professedly for beginners:
- he relation of a noun or pronoun to
what Is said in dicussion This is both
obscure and inaccurate. Similar examples
might be multiplied, but enough has been
said for our present purpose, which is to
show the wisdom of that policy, which,
while neglecting no essential branch of
.study-takes up each in such a sequence
is deemed the best and most logical.
believe that two years of oral instruc-
lion in the third and fourth grades, two
yesrs Of Corel's digest in the grammar
and three years Of reviews in
analysis, etc, in the high school, makes up
grammatical course amply sufficient for
The common student, and one which can
not fail to commend itself to every
unbiased mind. IOTA,