The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-10-29
FURTHER HINTS TO TEACHERS.

Lie WOSG lmpoItaut VI OH soaSnAnS 40
the instruction of young children in the
elements of knowledge. The accuracy
and proftableness of ones acquaintance
with any subject depends very largely
upon his exact knowledge of its elements.
How often have we seen young men,
sometimes of excellent powers, turn
away in despair or disgust from the
higher mathematics or the most valuable
applications of Hebrew and Greek,
because they never really understood
algebraic addition and subtraction, or
never could conjugate verb and be sure
they were right. TO unlearn what was
once learned wrong, or to begin again
and work patiently through the long
neglected elements, is a task of grave
sdifHcnity, which only the highest class
Of students will efectually accomplish.
How seldom does grown man who
spells badly succeed in thoroughly cor.
recting the fault. We did once hear of q
young lady whose first letter to her
sweetheart had to pass under her older
sisters inspection for correction of the
dreadful spelling, and who, feeling the
extreme pressure f.the situation, went
tragaly to work and in few months
learned to spell correctly; but, having
had NO means of judging, we have
always felt skeptical as to the complete
ness Of her success. And besides the
fact that q knowledge of the elementary
branches forms the foundation of all
knowledge, there is something still more
Important. Young children in their fire
years at school form their mental hail.
az, toaH acquisition of knowledge, aid
no habits whatsoever are harder to cor
rect. They learn to be accurate or inac-
curate, superficial or thorough, honest in
recitation or dishonest, thoughtful as to
the nature and causes of things or con-
tent to recite lessons like q parrot; and
these good OF evil habits go with them
to gray hairs and the grave. Who shall
arouse the people of this enlightened"
age and country to appreciate the
Importance of elementary teaching, and
to select, respect and pay the elementary
teacher accordingly? Here is the real
difficulty. Normal schools do something
to stimulate the present teachers; but it
is only in proportion as a better educated
generation shall become the parents that
the evil in question will begin to be cor.
rected. 5
We.respectfully offer some brief hints
to elementary teachers.
English spelling is the hardest to learn
of all civilized languages, and becoming
harder for every succeeding generation,
since pronunciation is, constantly chang
ing, while the characters employed stand
fast. It is pitiful bondage to which
our children are subjected in acquiring
this great mass of nncouth orthography.
But there is one consolation, a child that
becomes really good speller of English
Can learn anything, you may be sure,
that depends upon mere accurate o5ser-
vation and recollection of facts. This
early drill is very encouraging to those
who have natural turn of mind for it,
though sometimes very disheartening to
others. It requires no small tact to give
proper stimulus and encouragement in
regard to it, andryet not utterly repel or
seriously dishearten the class of pupils
who can never become accurate spoilers,
and yet some OF, whom. may prove quite
intelligent in other respects. a teacher
who never had any trouble in learning
to spell will sometimes drive sensitive
pupil, who is otherwise constituted,
almost to desperation. Yet it will never
do to tell the school that accuracy in
spelling is matter of little importance; !;
so there must come in your tact. Spell.
ing should be learned not merely by
vocal recitation, but as largely as possi-
BILE by writing. Do you not know, 0
most accurate teacher, that when some
times just a little.a loss yourself, you
only need to write the word down in
both ways, and at once you determine
which is right? Let that experience
convince you that we learn spelling
largely by the eye. With the slate and
the blackboard and the pleasant little
juvenile Composition" you may add
greatly to the resul. of the regular spell
ing lessons. And in the reading lessons
how much might be done by marking
certain words with your pencil as the
pupil reads on, and then asking the class
to go back and look sharply at each of
those words. Many practical expedients
will suggest themselves from time to
time, if the teacher appreciates the diff
Guilty of the task, and wishes to relieve
and assist the poor suffering innocents
who are really toiling like oxen, badly
.yoked and up hill.
To read we'll is among the most charm.
ing of human accomplishments. 1t
obviously follows that high excellence in
that respect cannot be universal or even
general. But we are persuaded that a
large proportion of moderately intelli-
gent people could learn to read agreea.
bly, and not few to read 30 we'll as to
give very great pleasure to their friends.
The requisites to good reading are quick
apprehension of the thought, ready SYM
pathy with the sentiment, correct, easy
and musical enunciation, and for the rest
that subtle, underlined something which
we call personal magnetism, and which
acts in reading TO others as it does in
oratory. As to this last you can teach
only by practice, and by your own conta-
gions sympathies. But in all the other
respects there is no limit to the possible
instruction. Two things are of the
greatest Importance in child's reading
lessons; the matter read should be
thoroughly understood, and it should
awaken lively interest. The teacher
may regard these points in the selection
of reading lessons, and in the way of
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