The Saline County journal. [volume] (Salina, Kan.) 1871-1893, 1879-11-06
A REVOLUTION IN QUINCY.

The town of Quincy, Mass, has in
the last few years effected a reform in
| primary education which it is possible
may serye a "A starting-point i'm the
reorganization Ofthe deplorable Amer
lean system. This reform, described
lii plain and practical manner in u
| pamphlet by Charles Francis Adams,
Jr., provides tina. children shall be ed
uclted, and not simply taught like 50
many parrots. In 1873 divers clever
and thoughtful citizens of the Quincy
school committee began to realize that
there was no ,perceptible progress in
their schools; that the majority of the
pupils who had finished the grammar
course neither spoke nor spelled their
own language perfectly, nor read nor
wrote it properly At the public ex-
aninations they appeared i'm their best
clothes, attended by their parents and
friends; the committee sat silent on
the platform, and "the teacher con-
Quoted the exercises over safe and IA
niiiar ground to a triumphant conclu-
sion in some peculiarly unnatural bit
of childish defamation" There were
nc tests of understanding and assimil-
ation-'the whole thing,n saws Mr..
Adams, twas sham" The Quincy
schools, in fact, were on the same dull
road on which more than nine-tenths
of the American schools are now pain
fully travelling. The pupils were taught
to repeat their lessons, not to under
stand and apply them. The Quincy
committee looked into the matter
thoroughly; excluding the instructors
from the work of the examinations,
they conducted it themselves, each
taking special branch of studies. The
result was the natural One-''thc
schools went to pieces" The \ and
Il grammar scholars, who could parse
and construe and correctly repeat the
rules of grammar, were found wholly
unahle TO write an ordinary letter;
they could neither follow any rule of
composition, nor apply the rules and
principles they had learned from their
grammar. Nor could they read with
out absurd bungiing any English book
Which they had not seen before. their
reading of familiar pieces in their own
Headers" being-glib enough. 1t was
''ail snlatter, veneering, and cram"
The teachers chief object was to see
his pupils pass . creditable examina-
ton, and in pursuing this object he
had turned them into prosperous col
lection of parrots.
The committee resolved that the
schools should not 60 Oh in this FASH
ion, and that the remedy should not
involve any increase of the taxpayers
burden. They were busy men, and
not able personally to conduct the
work of reformation. Accordingly
they determined to employ Il compe-
tent superintendent ; the town agreed,
and in $50 they engaged a man pecu-
LARRY lifted ior iheirpurpOse-onc who
had been teacher, and who, realizing
that he did not understand the science
ot teaching. mad gone To Germany and
studied IL. The committee approved
the plans he submitted To them, and
left him free To apply them in the pri-
marics. The theOry-tOo completely
adopted in this city, by the way-that
vast numbers Of children should he
taught as trains On railroads are run.
on a timetable systv;I, was emphatic
ally dismissed. The alphabet WAS no
longer taught: the little ones surround
ing their Young teacher AT the black
board, learned ;osrcai as they had be-
fore learned 10 speak, not by rule and
rote and by precedent, but all together
and by practice. Plays and various
physical exercises kept them from feel
ing their work to he irksome. 1t was
harder for the teacher, but it was also
pleasanter, and gave her pride in her
work. Tie four years trial of this
method has proven il "A complete sue
cess, and Won over even the most scot
fling of old fashioned teachers.
In the several grades of the grammar
schools, the committee provided that
their own ideas should be carried out
They declared against the multiplicity
ofstujies learned uncomprehcndingly,
which too often make of American
school life a ridiculous farce. They de-
mandcd that 10 children should he
given q thorough grounding i'm the Gle
ments of knowledge, instead of a SUI
periicial preparation for Il smooth eX
aminat!en. Grammar, reading, spell
ing-book, and copy-book were thrown
away, and reading at sight and writ
ing oil-hand took their place-the sew
en- studies taught before were reduced
to the three RS. Instruction i'm read
ing and writing, grammar and SPELL
ing, il history and geography, were
combined iii two Notwithstanding
and writing. "The old reader having
disappeared" says Nr. Adams. ''tlie
teacher was at liberty to put into the
hands of the class Biographies, or his
tories, or magazine articles, and, hav-
ing read them first, the scholars might
write of them aficrward, 10 show that
they understood them. Their attcn-
ton was thus secured, and the pen
being continually ia the hand, they
wrote as readily rs they spoke, and
spelling came with practice" The i'm
proge:nent in the schools was immense.
The pupils learned 10 read eXcellently
nj sight. They wrote quickly and
easily in the best grammatical way,
not having wasted precious time in
studying formulas. Four hundred on;
of 5vo gramnar-schooi children taken
rromiscuousiy from all the schools
showed results either excellent or sat-
is!actury. And all tool. the deepest
interest in their work. The revoiu-
ton was accomplished with admirable
siiccess and the cost TO the town AZ
the end was one-ifth less than when
it began.
The sooner that similar revolution
takes place in every town and city the
better. IL needs, of course, superin- |
tendcntS who are accomplished and |
active men, and teachers who are not |
too ignorant or lazy 10 come out of the |
comfortable rut of teaching by text |
books. Not only from the grammar |
schools, but from the normal schools, |
come graduates who are able 10 repeat |
on demand any rule in the grammar,
but cannot at the same time write |
properly an ordinary business letter. |
70 this fact probably many school |
superintendeuts can testify, certainly |
editors can do -. Great stress il laid |
upon the study OF GRAMMAR, and il IL
taught a. If il were aB end rather than \
a means. II -sureiy OF more inIpor-
lance a. the average American Ia
speak and write curTcctlythan to irlrse
a sentence az repeat "a rule: hat this i
Il ,!,rl which tiic teachers uf our much
Wanted lngriiinc system have mol YET
had The cieyeFIte~s Ia discover.