Morning journal and courier., 1886-11-01
Bad Spelling.


A recent writer, commenting upon the
proneness to bad spelling on the part of
young women who apply for situations in
Boston, for various kinds of service, ssys:
''The proportion of good spoilers, even among
the graduates of our grammar schools, is
about one-fourth; the remaining three
fourths have all the way from one six mis-
spelled words in their short letters of appli-
cation, and these usually simple words in
common use." This the writer attributes to
''lack of teaching" in the schools.
To our mind teachers should be exonerated
from all blame, and the spelling book writers
be made to bear it. 1t is. not because of g.
lack of teaching that our school turn out so
large proportion of bad spoilers, boys as
well girls, but is owing to the mistaken
method of imparting instruction in this neces-
sary educational branch i'll our common
schools. The modern ''spelling- book is in
fault Instead of classifying words i'll columns
according to their photography, in past
days, there is decided change in the wrong
direction in these books. 'Spelling is
gift," say some. Well, if so, may not our
natural gifts be enhanced by judicious train
ing? Spelling is, it will be said, "a matter
OF memory alone" If simply a trick of
memory, a routine, why not give memory
an opportunity to carry out her perfect
work, by arranging in their proper columns
words of similar orthography, leaving to
other books their classifcation-the diction-
ary, for instance.
Examining modern 'fspeller," the ear is
panied by the lack of rhythm displayed
upon its pages. For instance, upon one
page of this book the word 'ish" is found;
then follow various words relating to fish
ing and fish culture; no rhythm whatever
to please the ear, or uniformity to attract
the eve. ''Fish, fishes, fin, head, tale, scales,
The child masters ''fsh" and fin" By the
time ''fin,;' is learned the poor "6sh' has
sunk beneath the waves of forgetfulness,
and the heads and tails are about all
that are retained in the mind of the child
by this mode of misplacing words, AS spelling
lessons.
Now look at the old method, where the
words arranged in columns had, perhaps, no
| affinity, save in the matter of euphonlous
classification, ''6sh, "dish, f." wish, take,
| s'make," ''cake," etc., etc. Now this
method pleased the ear and the eye well,
and SO was better adapted to his powers of
! memory than is the present conglomeration
| of words, tangie of monosyllable, and
polysyllable, in which the evertaxed brain of
the poor little speller becomes inextri
cablv involved, so that his early experience
remains a sorrow and vexation to his whole
life long.
Look back, father and mother, twenty,
thirty or forty years, you able, and
YOU will find poor spoilers decidedly in the
minority Children almost taught themselv
es to spell in those days; they just ran down
rapidly column after column without
thought of Specification or classification,
sssanctiication, - ratification and ''amplifea-
tion," etc. What did they care for the mean
ing of these words which used to rattle along
SO easilys They were simply spelling lessons,
SO many words to spell and nothing more,
and the children spelled them then, and as
men and women they can spell them to-day.
Those old columns stand in the memory yet,
with the stateliness and uniformity of we'll
trained soldiers. After these words were
committed to memory-which is usually true
to its trust when well treated-there came,
of course, their derivation and significance,
but spelling was spelling in those days, not
dictionary and reading and spelling book
knowledge combined.
Perhaps it would not be bad move for
| parents to search their garrets, where their
| old ''Spe1lers'' have been too long relegated,
| and place these old books in the hands OF
their children, who are learning to become bad
spoilers every day by the mistaken method, or
rather lack of method, which obtains in most
| of our schools.