Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-04-18
German Complete in Six Weeks.


been called TO an article in the Sacramento
Bee of the 18th inst, rejecting upon the
teaching-past, present and prospectiye-of
German in the city public schools The
miraculous article in question, or rather
that article of revelations, written with the
becoming childlike and bland simplicity OF
truth wide Bret Harte's . Truthful James. y
l have perused and much do | admire,
among other gear, it's warlille head and
front Of " German Club" For, possessing
myself, like the fair writer of said fairly
fancy article. q half-pennyworth Tor, If she
better like it, - twenty or thirty dollars
worth, smattering Of German, | needs
must like 1.-THE people, the language, and
their clubs; of which latter, at this par
ticular moment, | recall with delight the
stout variety of Zicgcnhoincr!
But, seriously, I" Nit der D3tmmheit kemp
fen Goetter selbst rergebcnsr' a discussion,
therefore, of the six weeks bantling,
yclcpt Natural Method" a Ia Perry nurse
ry must defer till the fair writer's knowl
edge of German-in which language, ac
cording to her article, the fifty prominent
people ladies' and gentlemen, three min
istefs among the number" by the way,
charging nothing for my advice, the fair
writer aforesaid should have rather taken
six months course by the unnatural method
in English have laid the groundwork for
practical knowledge" (whatever that may
mean)-till her further acquaintance with
German may have raised, on that cunning
groundwork, little superstucture which
will enable her to know how little she
knows, and teach her modesty, and prevent
her, in future, to NEEDLE with things that
lie beyond her depth, for truly fools rush
in where angels fear 10 tread. Till then,
no discussion!
But there has some wild phraseologiz-
ing" been perpetrated ny my fair friend,
which. while simply and delightfully."-
amusing to those cOnyersant with the diff
other circles, produce erroneous impress
sions. One or two Of these clustering
spurts permit me to notice. In the first in
stance our modern textbooks III language
modern and even ancient languages
! follow ii rational (the Perry Seminary says
unnatural" y method, eschewing techni-
cal grammar completely; and when and
| where the study of language vas ever
! prosecuted with copy-book, as my fair
| friend will have it-unless it be in the fer
| tile fields of her dubbed imaginatiOn-I
cannot tell.
Next, several hours a day" (rather IL
definite, fair friend | will assume but
| two, "for six weeks" given to the study of
German, should, even under teacher de-
| ficient in professional training for, astound-
/ ing as it does sound, my fair friend dis
| tinctly states that professional teachers only
| follow unnatural methods), lead to the ac-
| QUESTION of considerable knowledge. Nov,
a two years course of German, in our Gram
mar schools, counting The minutes and hours,
| Is e11ti,ulcnt 10 a SIX weeks course of two
| hours day, not to take into consideration
the inestimabic value of consecutive, day
| after day recurring lessons, which feature
| the Grammar schools are not enjoying.
For the highly fatterinS compliment OF
placing the intellect and working capacity
ana incentive to study of fourth grade p,gils
Oh o par with that of "the fifty prominent
| people, ladies' and gentlemen, three min
listers among the number. who. after six
weeks natural coursing in German, enter
tain themselves with the narration oil
stories and general conversation IN German
| won't old Munchausen feel vexed) for this
exceeding flattery, in the name of my fourth
grade pupils hereby extend my heartfelt
sympathy to my fair friend and writer
trusting that the remaining forty-nine OF
the class may feel thereat as duly elated as
those pupils Of mine.
| In conclusion, | desire to add, that in nv
mind there is no doubt whatever that after
a two years course equivalent, in time, to
| aforementioned six weeks, notwithstand
! ing all the obvious drawbacks of thirty
minute lessons to young children, in classes
numbering forty and fifty, the knowledge
of my fourth grade pupils will fairly COM
pare, nay III intrinsic eGi,tc, surpass that oi
the natural courser. MAX LIPowITz,
| Sacramento April 49, 1885. Teacher