Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1873-10-15
LETTERS FROM THE PEOPLE.
Sehool Rooks

Editor of Star,-we have a rage for book ma
ing. We have rage for book buying also.
they are correlative impulses.
But the question Of books in the aggregate Ia
not tne question 1 would cali attention to-.
HOOKS OF didacttc character need the consid-
Grafton OF parents and others, that in the dis
Pensations incident to this life the care and the
eaueauon OF the little folks are cast upon. Look
wei 10 nrst principles in this matter of books
and as In everything else the rest will take care
VI Itsen AZ Is common sense-it Is according to
experience and sound Judgment that an essay
TO communicate with the young should be char.
acterized by such forms Of expression as can be
comprehended by them. What's the sense in
taxing TO children fer their edi6catlon or
insuuction IN terms not understood by them I?
CONSIDER, on some festive occasion for the Young
the utter unhtress, the absurdity of some spea z,
er addressing them in the higher realm Of ora
tory, employing classic terms, attic idioms as
means Of communication with the audience of
little folks; of what avail would such an adj
etess De None; and the truth is all patent to
the commonest as well as the greatest mind
Now, We are multiplying books to instruct the
young at a marvellous rate professedly tn i'm
prove the instrumentalities for improving the
young, but In this matter we are making them
worse. The latest school books might as well
De IN creek as to be in the terms employed
Truly Truly, in some of the old editions of school
DOCKS there is but little chance for impro We
ment. What is being done now therefore, T.
such departure from the use of simple terms
10 those SO little used that 1.-the children of an
E Ia.e g19wth DO not understand them. Our
latest scfool books are examples of a seeming
sopnOmorlc ST aiming at 5er recondite and sounI-
ing terms minus sound sensible ideas Take as
demonstration of their statements. a grammar
now in use-for this book is now at hand-it il
the same with other branches of rudimental
study-a book to be used by a lad of -
TO IA years, and we have terms like the
Following under the head of ANALYSTS
predicate relation" "adiectiye relation -
"adverbial relation" "subject nominatiye'p
predicate verb, adjective modifer.D Ispre
dictate substantive" "predicate adiective, v
substantive clauses" "appositive explanatory
clauses, !" predicate explanatory clauses ;" "ex,
pressed antecedents." "compfex Sentences
"copulative-parts united in meaning.D stdis-
Junctive-parts united in form but separated in
meaning, "adversative-parts opposed in
meaning" "illative-parts related in the sense
OF consequence or reference" "parenthetic-
an extraneous clause between related partsn
Under the head of "analysis and parsing.n
md this: "Inyerted and elliptical construc-
These terms have culled from the hook on
opening 1t random, and with only a cursory ex-
animation. But here is enough. Does a lad
get an idea at all from these abstruse terms?
None. They confuSe him. The man who
wrote the book in question has not Judgment
sufficient to enable him to adapt himself or his
miserable products to any class or condition of
the human family.
Well, what must be the judgment concerning
the man, OF set of men, or board of education
or board of trustees, who select such books for
the instruction of children? STA.