The Newberry herald and news. (Newberry, S.C.) 1884-1903, 1886-02-24
TEACHERS DEPARTMENT.


In oar is>ur o: ;ho 81 inst. we
promised t" p.:"r. Cox IT," considera-
,inu Of all voAc@ra-.i. a method Of
teaching beginners in the study of
English grammar how to speak cor
rcctly, Or rather low 20 acquire the
LUJt Of correct speccA. The text
books tell Us that the purpose of En-
gliSA GRAMMAR is to teach one to
speak and write the English language
correctly. The question pertinent
ins, here i, does English grammar
accomplish its purpose? Ifyou an
swcr aliirmatively, YOU should not
wish for more. If. however. you find
! that your pupils are habitually using
The language incorrectly, you must
return Z negative answer to the above
query. We feel quite safe in saying
that. however well one may succeed
in teaching the rules and the princi-
pies Of English grammar. very few
teachers ever impIant in their pupils
tie habit Of correct speech so firm Y,
as to insure them against frequent
errors in the use OF their mother
tongue.
If this position is at all tenable,
some remedy is surely needed.
As an experienced teacher, have
you not often found that . pupil
would invariably say 1t is me" and
at once tell YOU that the rcrJ TO BE
taxes til" S,nne cGSc after it us before II,
rhp7 jpN oro1dS refer to the Same per-
$o7 or thing? The pupil can even
explain this rule. if necessary. But,
in practice. he never uses It. Why?
Without doubt, because he las never
been in the huJH Of saying lit is L.
You teach the pupil the rule and ca
pert him to acquire the habit. Sup
pose YOU reverse your practice. En-
courage the pupil TO acquire the habit
Of correct speech first, and then to
learn the rules and principles.
He will then speak correctly from
the force OF habit, and will appreciate
the ~u!cS because he applies them.
Speaking correctly is concrete
grammar. Melnorizing rules, pars-
ing, and Investigating principles is
abstract grammar. Reading Black
stone, Kent, and Story, with an oc
cas:onal glance into the Supreme
coart decisions induces the young
barrister to regard himself as a
worthy inmate Of Lincoln's Inn.
When. however, he is to make out
his first case. be realizes that his ig-
0orance of clerical work is so great
rs justly to debar him from the privi-
icgeS Of the inner court. Witness,
on the other hand, the ease with
which lie prepares and presents his
case, who, during several years, was
The di,igent and faithful office.boy
fcr some practicing attorney. TO
our mind the analogy in the above
cases is complete. And ifpractice is
necessary in the latter, it is even
mere 50 in the former.
This. then, would be our method:
|.
when pupil las learned to read
with tDlcrahlc ease, he should be able
also to write lcgiblc hand. If you
use til" new method of teaching read
inr, as outlined So clearly in this
column quite recently, this will be
the case. If now you can form a
class OF six or q dozen such students,
you may begin at once TO teach them
70 speak and write the EngIi III lam
ouagc correctly. Very few children
have had sufficient experience to ap-
nrcciatc the fall Import ofthe r'Husc
thc force oih"JH. You should, there
fore. make them understand this, by
narrating and commenting on several
appropriate stories. Tell them that
the use o! incorrect language is q
hu-tful master from whom ii is al
most impossible to liberate ones self,
unless one begins his plans in early
life. Endeavor. by all means in your
power. to show them the ugliness of
the vulgar dialects and to make them
desire to possess the ability to use
their mother tongue in lis purity. If
this desire is not created and fire.
Q;cnty stimulated, what will be the
pupils motive in the study Of En-
@!isA grammar?
70 speak and write correctly. one
must know low to spell words, how
to pronounce words, and how to COM
lime wrrds into sentences. We do
not claim comprchensiveness for this
division Of the subject, but submit
that it embraces the essential first
steps. Correct spelling, Of course,
is necessary to correct writing. Or