The Somerset herald. [volume] (Somerset, Pa.) 1870-1936, 1882-05-31
WHOLE NO. 1912.
METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.
BY A. c. HoLBERT.
CHAPTER VII.

CHAPTER VII.
Grammar is branch of the COM
mon school course, which / approach
with diffidence, the more SO because
many good educators ara going the
length of claiming that grammar
should not be taught in our public
schools at all. Imust confess that I
cannot agree with them. Many of
them would substitute for grammar
a series of Language Lessons" and
our friends the book-makers and
publishers, ever willing to accom-
modate, have already sent out
dozen or so treatises entitled Lam
lguage Lessons" l am as far as any
man from wishing to set the way Of
learning with thorns am firm
believer in the good old doctrine,
Laugh and grow fat" II l can
cause the smile of mirth to wreathe
the face that but now was bathed IN
tears, or the brow that was ''elothed
with thunder, l think / am render
ing God better service than IN en-
couraging the feeling OF SORROW. But
while believe this, / am not one OF
those who are agreed to banish the
study of grammar from our schools
Between a person who possesses a
knowledge OF grammar derived from
study and application of its prin-
ciples, and one who has never stud
led those principles, who has had
no experience in their application,
there can be no doubt whatever as
to the matter of excellence il COM
position. The great trouble is that
grammar is not studied. Men have
been trying and trying to find out
royal road" but such road does
not exist. Men have sought out
many inventions. Perhaps the ear
lest was the diagram system.
This was, as you all know, an at
tempt to furnish an easy mode Of
parsing by picturing off the various
parts OF the sentence. There are
half dozen or more different sys-
tens, and yet / cannot see that the
diagrams have done much for the
subject. When | was much young
er in the profession than now L
fought more than one hard battle in
favor of diagrams. Subsequent ex-
perience has convinced me that they
are but an auxiliary, and even as an
auxiliary are to be used with eau
ton. i took hold of school sew
erai years since in which was class
of young men and youI.s ladies, who
having enjoyed three consecutive
winters under the training of very
excellent teacher, thought th:.t they
knew all about gramii This
text book had been ClarA, and there
was not n member of that class that
could not diagram readily and cor
rectly, according to that author, any
example in the book, which is loud |
praise. After l had examined and |
found them very good, | asked them |
to turn to z certain page, saying that |
we would parse q few sentences. |
Strange as it may appear to you they |
were an utter failure in parsing. |
They knew nothing whatever of
agreement. government, etc. had a |
clear demonstration Of the fact that
one may be able to diagram a SEN
tence and utterly fail to parse it; but
| will stake whatever reputation |
may possess that the converse of this
proposition is not true; in other
words, I claim that any one who
can, un,lerstandingly, parse any
however difficult, can dia-
gram that sentence according to any
system OF diagrams on earth as soon
as he can know the leading princi-
pies Of that system.
Language Lessons" are useful
| admit. But I. for my part, utterly /
fail to discover the propriety of hay-
ing q child prepare a series OF exer-
cises, half Of them, or all Of them,
wrong, in order to tell him what is
right Every sentence must begin
with a capital letter" This is a pos
tive precept Is any one going to
remember it any longer because you
have corrected page of foolscap in
which he has violated the eordinance?
"Verbs agree with their subjects
in person and number" A boy will |
have clearer idea OF what is meant
if he has the paradigm this tongues
end than if you hammer him with
language lessons all winter, vainly
trying to makehim apprehend what
is meant by certain phraseology /
without eomp:ehending the phrase
olgy itself.
/ might extend this list, but il is \,
useless. How would | teach gram
mar? This is the question, and any !,
one WHO'S familiar with manuscripts
will tell you that how toteach gram
mar practically is most important
query. Manuscripts are prepared
in which may be found every con-
ceivable inaccuracy. Many Of the
cases of disputed meanings in legal
documents are based upon some VII
olation of the rules of grammar. A
point cost the United
States millions of dollars in revenue
before it was discovered. / know of
40 way of teaching grammar which 4
will avoid patient work. There are
a certain number of things to be I.
stored up in the memory. / know
Of no way Of avoiding it. There
are certain number of rules, and
paradigms, and forms, ETC., ETC., to be 1
learned. There is certain amount !
Of practice tn be gone through in
the application Of these things, and i
know of mo other name under 1
heaven given among men" whereby
il can be done than work. The
teacher may make the path slightly
smother in some places, but drill is [
the only thing that will make a /:
yrammarian conjoined with patient
work on the part Of the student. A
Having my class formed, my meth
ID is to spend some time in giving
hem an idea of the branch they are
about to take up, its importance and
its uze. Many a young pupil is dis
and disgusted with this
branch simply because he has no
idea Whatever Of its practical nature.
"a l. 4 - L.