Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1882-08-04
EDUcAHONll DEPARTMENT.
Conducted by J. II. Terry, Principal of Mineral
Point Public Shoots.
Reading i'm School.

Reading i'm School.
Ofall knowledge and mental train
ing, however, reading is in our day
the principal means, and reading
aloud intelligently the unmistakable
if not the only sign. Yet this, which
was so common when the present
generation OF mature men were
boys, is just what our highly and
scientifically educated educators
are most incapable or most neglect
full of teaching. And yet the means
by which children were made intel
hgent and ineligible readers 35 or 40
years ago were not so recondite SIS
to be beyond attainment and
use by a teacher of moderate abil-
tiles and acquirment who set him.
self earnestly to his work. As l
remember it this is the way in
which we were taught to read with
pleasure to ourselves and with at
least satisfaction to our hearers.
Boys of not more than seven to nine
years were exercised in defining
words from an abridged dictionary.
The word was spelled and defined
milton from memory, and then the
teachers asked questions which
tested the pupils comprehension Of
the definition that he had given,
and the members of the class never
more than a dozen or fourteen in
number, were encouraged to give in
their own language their notion of
the word and distinguish it from so
called synonyms. AS to the amount
of knowledge thus gained it was
very ittle-little, at least, in COM
parison with the value of this exer-
else as education, that is, of mental
training, which was very great. This
same class read aloud every day,
and the books that they read were
of sufficient interest to read them of
themselves, The class was called
up before the teacher, ranged itself
=" dressed" as the soldiers say-in
a line. At signal they all bowed
together a profound bow, and if this
was done wardly by the class
as a whole, or by any individual,
the process was repeated and instruc-
ton given by the teacher, with ex-
ample. No bobbing of heads was
allowed, no awkward position of
the arms and hands, or of the legs
and feet was passed over unnoticed.
A decorous bow from a boy to his
master or elder was matter of
minor morals. When the reading
began all the class were obliged to
follow the reader, each in his own
book F.; for any pupil was liable to DC
called upon to take up the recitation,
even at an unfinished sentence, and
60 on with it and if he hesitated in
such manner as to show that his
eye and mind were not with the
readers, the effect upon his mark
account was the same as if he HIM
self had failed in reading. If the
reading of any sentence did not
show a just apprehension of its
meaning the reader was stopped,
and the sentence was passed through
the class for better expression of
its sense. Whether this was Oh
tanned from the pupils or not, the
teacher then explained the sense, or
gave some information the want of
which had caused the failure, and
repetition of both reading-the bad
and the good-showed by contrast
and by comment why the one was
bad and the other good. Words
were explained ; if they were COM
pound they were analysed the diff
ferent shades of meaning which
words have in different connections
were remarked upon, and the sub
ject of the essay, the narration or
the poem which formed the lesson
for the day was explained. The de-
livery of the voice was attended to
not in any pretentious, artificial, elo-
cutionary way, but with such regard
for pleasant speech as was dictated !
by common sense aud good breeding.
The young readers were not allowed !
to hang their heads either over their =,
bosoms or their shoulders, but were
made TO stand up stralght, throw
back their shoulders and lift their |
heads well up, SO that if their eyes
were taken from their books they !
would look man straight in the
face. Only in this position can the :
voice be well delivered. The slight ,
est mispronunciation was, of course,
observed and corrected, and not |
only so, but bad annunciation was !
checked, and all slovenly mumbling
was reprehended and as far as posi- ,
BILE reformed. Yet with all this |
there was constant caution against
prim, pedantic, and even conscious
mode of reading. The end sought
was an intelligent, natural and staple
delivery of every sentence.-Richard
Grant White.