Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1882-05-03
Che freemau.
ComnOSiiiOn Writing.

The practice of writing short stories and
compositions, not once in two or four
weeks. but cUcry dog. is fraught with such
abundant results for good in every school
where it has been thoroughly tried that TO
neglect this exercise or pass over ii by
spending only an hour or less each week
OF fortnight is to deprive pupils of one OF
the most fruitful sources Of improvement
that can come within the school room.
some teachers object to such frequent ex
orcises because of the vast amount of work
necessary to correct the papers. t .ey
recognize the Importance of requiring
their pupils to compose often, but the
labor of correcting twenty or thirty
snarled papers q day is damper on their
enthusiasm. The result is that this most
vital branch of education is neglected day
after day and year after year.
To make goud writers two things are
necessary-constant crcreiss in sOriting
and Intelligent crit6ci8ns Either alone
will he OF little use, but together they
produce surprising results.
The following, taken partially from. q
western school paper, is SUBSTANTIALLY lh'
plan used by good teachers everywhere.
with such notifications, Of course. a
experience and tact may suggest: i
guire from five to ten to 90 to tic black
b mrd and all the others to write at then
desks on states or paper, as mag he con-
nient When all ore ready say to them
th,t you want each one to write n shurl
40 Y. and Civ Just five minutes TO do il
in; and as tho most difficult part Of the
work is to make up their minds what TO
wrue about you will do that for them
Then repeat some such expression rs this ::
"Just then the carriage was overturned
and the horse commenced TO run" or,
" As We nearcd the water the boat came
in sight around the point" and tell all ,r
write it and see how much they can I'D
TO it in five minutes.
The expression you have used presents
TO each one vivid mental picture, and BY
The time they have written it they will bt
ready to 60 on till the time is up.
After this occupy as much time as you
can afford in criticisinG, in spri. Of kind
mass, the work on the blackboard. In
this way every person in The room will
have the benefits to be derived from aiding
in the correction OF the exercises on the
board, the teacher, meantime, giving
reasons fer changes and making such re-
marks as may bo necessary.
Suppose exercises similar to this were
to be given with tho same regularity that
lessons in geography and arithmetic are.
from the primary grade though tho high
school, and what would be the result?
Would there not be a facility. accuracy
aud versatility of expression which would
hn far moro valuable to tho pupil than the
powcr to srapplc with mathematical
puzzles? Skill in literary composition
must be cultivated SO that the ability to
execute must keep pace with tho develop
ment OF the literary taste. Because this
is not done young people become thor
oughly discouraged; they find their efforts
crude and uncouth while their taste is
quite sensitive and accurate.
Win our readers try this exercise, moi
once or twice, but make it a part Of every
days work week after week, and see if it
IIoes not pay and pay well?