Roseburg review. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 1885-1920, 1885-12-18
OF IssrRucTIoN No.o

Ii the mistakes of the past are to be
made the stepping stones to future sue
cess, it is time to begin to mend. Or
biography should no longer be counted
among the 'last arts" in the schools of
Douglas county. 1t is questioned
whether any moro profitable course can
be taken, than that all the schools of
Douglas Co. High school and acad-
emies included, be required to spend
one year entirely upon reading, spelling
and other spelling-book lessons, with,
perhaps mental arithmetic. The peo-
pie who cheerfully pay taxes to secure
the benefits of the schools which they
fail to receive, are tired of this miser-
able sham work. If no other method
will accomplish it, let the trustees ar
range for every school an order of ex-
ercises, that shall include reading, two
exercises in spelling, and some other
exercise in photography for every day
i'll the term, and insist on its being
strictly followed; including also-an-
other thing tkat the schools have .pro-
gressed" out Ola daily lesson on the
elementary sounds Of the English Ian
guage, pune and in combination. The
hurried, indistinct, and inarticulate
manner Of reading and reciting in 4ome
of the schools should be corrected by a
daily exercise upon articulation and
enunciation. That some one of the
many "eharts" for the teaching of these
sounds be provided for each school aud
the teacher required to use. them can
not be tco strongly urged.
In the study of grammar the schools
seem not to haye made that progress
that one has right to expect. AS q
mental exercise analysis may he made
profitable for a limited part of the term
and the diagram method used for drill
and exercise with advantage occasion
ally; but they can never supply the
place of "parsing" in imparting crit
ical knowledge of the relation and uses
of language. Teachers and scholars
likethe analysis because 1t saves labor.
In ether words, it is continuation Of
the lazy method of teaching, of which
word memorizing is the beginning, as
it disposes of words in groups and
classes as clements instead of requiring
complete analysis of each one AS in
''parsing.'
Mental arithmetic is being too much
neglected in schools. In carrying on
calculations in mental arithmetic, a
lack of readiness and accuracy in the
pupil is painfully apparent. 1t is
enough to make the ghost of Warren
Colburn sweat to see scholars multi
plying by eleven and twelve, using
each figure of the multiplier separately
and dividing by the same numbers by
long division, while the teacher looks
on approvingly and never for mo.
ment think that three fourths Of the
figures might be saved.
Defamation and Composition, hard
ly receive the attention they ought.
There should be one half day every two
weeks of the term, devoted to exer-
cises of this kind. 1t is quite common
to have such exercises only on exami
nation day, when much of the time
needed for reading, spelling, and other
studies is occupied by recitations of
pieces committed by the scholars. It
would not be just to say that these OK
ercises ara always used to cover defects
in instruction in the studies pursued
by taking so much of the time that the
examinations have to be hurried and
superficial, but it is time for trustees
to stop being hoodwinked by such lit
tie devices and dispenee with the or
namental fixings on examination day
when matters of more Importance
must be neglected to hear them.
System and p,omptness in forming
into classes is necessary but to strike
a bell four times, each stroke requiring
a change of position both on coming to
and leaving a class seems rather to
much Of good thing. So much
machinery yyasfns tirne ard to,<ls ~