Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1885-12-19
To the Teachers of Uur Schools.
To the Standard.

To the Standard.
In my last communication l re-
marked thatteachers should every
effort in their power to make what
they teach practical. l will now give
you few examples to show you how
the teaching of English grammar
may be made more practical than it
is generally made in our schools.
In the last verse of the tenth chap
ter of Revelation, there are four nouns,
all separated by conjunction, and
they are also separated by commas.
Call the attention of your pupils to
this, or to a similar example, and see
if they can tell why the comma is
used, when they are taught in their
grammar to omit the comma when a
conjunction is used. In Acts 2, %,
there are three nouns separated by
conjunctions, and, in some editions,
they are separated by commas, and
in some they are not separated by
commas. Mention thisto your pupils
and see if they can tell whether it is
correct, or incorrect, to use commas
in this verse. Tell them to examine
all the bibles and testaments which
they can find at home, and they will
find that there is a difference in the
punctuation of many verses.
In Mat. 10, %, some editions have
a comma after the pronoun "me,"
others have comma after the noun
Regeneration" Which editions are
correct has been a subject Of contro-
versy among commentators. Require
your advanced pupils to give you a
written statement of their own Opin-
ion concerning the punctuation ofthis
verse.
In Acts 9, "a, the word "Lord'' oc-
ours twice; but it is printed in differ
ent type. See if your pupils can ex-
plain why the type is different.
Similar examples can be found in
nearly all our reading books, but 1
have selected examples from the bible
that all may have an opportunity to
examine them.
The last word but one in the book
of Acts is spelled exactly in accord
ance with a rule in grammar. See if
your pupils can apply the rule, and
tell why the word is correctly spelled,
In Rom. /, %, there is word which
is incorrectly spelled by the same rule
of grammar; see if your pupils can
find the word, spell it correctly, and
give the rule.
In Mat. II, 8, see if your pupils can
tell what principle of grammar is il
Illustrated by the word "kings."
This is a common sense view of the
matter. If a surveyor wishes to teach
his son to survey correctly, he would
require him to study the rules care
fully, and then he would take him
into the field and require him to see
how the rules are applied. The cadets
in the Naval Academy at Annapolis
study the rules pertaining to Nautical
Astronomy, and at night they observe
the stars and see if they can correctly
calculate the longitude of the city Of
Annapolis.
Teachers should, occasionally, cut g
slip from newspaper, paste it up in
the school-room, and see if their pu
pills can understand it. Here is one
from a late New York paper:
"The Foreign Exchange market
was quiet and dull, but rates were
firm. On Friday the posted rates
were advanced &c. on the pound, tC
$4.83I and$4.S6. Actual business wa:
done at $4.S2l@4.82i for 60-day bills
$4.843@4.S5 for demand, $.4S54@4.85!
for cable transfers, and $4.Sl@4.8ll
for commercial bills" lg. ..I
Here is a practical example, anC
one which is often mentioned among
men who loan money. See if you
pupils can give full and lucid illus
tration of it on the board:
A borrows of b 800 for one year a
six per cent. At the end of six months
unexpectedly gets $50 from friend
Is it best for A to pay this money t
b, and have it endorsed on his note
or loan it to some prompt man at ST.
per cent? 1t is understood that thi
prompt man" will promptly pa!
the fifty dollars, that A may have
to aid him in paying B.
In the article on Foreign Exchange
see if your pupils can tell why tn
value of a pound is not the same as
is in the arithmetic, also why cabl
transfers are higher than 6O-day bill
or commercial bills.
J. P. CLARK.