The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1874-11-26

! orthography 10 too generally taught by
oral exercises, and the eonsesseuse 10, that
cad spelling is the rule and It's opposite the
exception. Examination spers prove tie
truth Of thi, seemingly uneharisab,e as.e.-
ton; the manuscripts Of eac.,e7s who have
| graduated at colleges and norusal schools
sustain the statement quite we'll as those
Of applicants who have had fewer adyas-
tages. / cbce gave a second grade certScate
~ a teacher whose scholarship was respect
able in most things, but whose paper on
grammar contained nineteen Hisspelled
words. The acknow Iedgrentis made in 20
boa,tful spirit. An applicant examined here
sbs fall, holding second ayode certificate
isrsed in another county, nsisspefled TWEEN
ty-ihyee words in list Of forty; residen.
teacher boiling certificate If the rniid
g'as- -isspelied but two words 10 the same
list. A lady 10 the sopthern part Of the
state SRI n-c y written application for q
position in one Of our schools, and stated
that she ZELDA eeeond grace certificate; III.
word certificate was zpisspelled tw ice in be1
letter. A communication lately received
from a gentleman vito rasi6ss ID asother
county contains a like apyheatic. end the
statement that the writer is se4spetent to
obtain . certificate Il the shire grades 4
MINORITY Of all the teachers employed in
THIS eosoty msspey words a Their own Sc
lesion III tbs business Communications
which hey write, when the dictionary ID not
as band; and scrutiny n the e1smina.
ton questions ~h sh they wEitc Oh bla.k
boards, and wbics, aye t., bc .a,s,~ cred by
their pupils, often diseiosee errors IN syell.
ng althoLsb the s.hoels are supplied with
dictionaries. The copies WHICH t.a.hers
write Tor imlta ton by their pupils furnish
ABUNDANT proof of the charge made in this
paragraph. Every tea ohtr Lsc.s tblt ch1
dren leMsrin. to write often drpart from the
or biography Of the copy; bot these depar..
ur.s are soL,et,ues taken with deliberate
purpose and result not from careiessness
but conviction De'icacy has doubtless.
withheld the publishers # the SpencermD
and other systems of pesnans.,p irem
basins on this fact an arsun 'ur favorable to
the wider introduction of their nopy-bOoks;
yet, it is reason ,nure potent th.n many
arguments subtilized to exhibit the srDeri-
GRITTY of some given system over all othe, l..
In oral spelling mistakes are nos always
noticed by the teacher though his gaze
may be fixed upon the book; scholars are
sometimes directed to go up" when they
ought TO 20 ore remove nearer to The foo;
Of the class. Oral recitation in spelling
usually fails in the folowin. respects:
| tl.) The close attention of every pupil
in the class i. nos secured; hence, pupi!
may spell correctly the words given him
and yet neglecr to observe carefully the
spelling OF his classmates.
(2) 1t affords no Guaranty that any
member of the class has thoroughly learn
Ell the whole lesson. The very words
which a particular pupil cinuot spell may
be assigned to other IN ,mbcrs of tie class
and disposed Of while lie is ina:tentive, or
unable to perceive the approved or.hog-
raphy because it has been stated rapidly
OF stinctly or because of noise in the
room.
e. The drill is insufficient. The puI ils
who miss wcId he,r it spelled correctly
by one who, perhaps, steps above them:
but they are scid3m req iirel to correct
their errors. The minis of the ambitio IA
ones are more cnsrossai by the m prt.f -
ton Of rupcrse1irc or iii trying to cprj C
turo tie right cum ',inatioR Of letters than in
listening, and the 1ullarI merely makes Il
guess AMI feels no fur,h.r Concern when
the word has passed.
% The pupil prepares for the rccta-
tion by studying the forms of words, i. e,
by employing the sense Of sight; in the
recitation the work is tested by the sense
t'of hearing.
(5.) 1t is only in the school-room that
oral spelling is practic.d; when pupils
leave school their knowledge of the sub
1ect is estimated by the degree Of accuracy
with which they write words. Written
exercises are preferable because they in
SIRE what is needed in all ,bc particulars
aboye enumerated if the tencher is compe-
tent and careful in inspecting the work.
II fal.
written or printed a few monosyllable.
should not be exhibited to a,ImirHs visitors
AMI then returned without inspection by
the teacher and the necessary corrections
being made; nor can it be deemed less than
disgrace for the Teacher to return list, writ
ten by pupils AMI allow numerous errors to
pas. annoticed Word-analysis has been
combined with the subject Of orthosrap ply
in the institute and examinations OF this
year. The spelling books in common use
contain lists asl definitions Of prefixes,
suthxes and familiar roots; and these lists,
Supplemented by the dictionary, can be
ttadied and taught with profit
\ IN "'ASu sSho'!s Is the laycr-
lie study of the older pupils ami the one
most favored by the patrons If the impor-
lance of stu iy i. common sur.tc to its utili
ty arithmetic deserves high place in tie
popular regard. District officers OCCASION
ally call at my Office to look at the papers
OF teachers before engaging their services.
and the papers on arithmetic are read with
more interest than any others. Arithmetic.
| grammar, and that elastic branch known as
general information constitute the 5.sis on
/ which an examiner estimate Of the aver
age teachers mental caliber must m.ialy
rest. If. in the examination of an appli-
cant for third-grade certificate. | we're re-
| stricted 10 single subject and required 10
Judge from that cxa minarion. as nearly as
| possible, his power of mind and ability to
teach, should make arithmetic the subject
OF inquiry. Better selections might be
made If the object were to determine the
degree OF general culture, but none with
in The range defined cal Better test the DOW
er Of thought, Of close, logical reasoning and
rlgid, ultimate analyst; Of reaching BY sure