The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1889-08-15
HOW TO TEACH LANGUAGE.

son, 8. c.
HOW TO TEACH LANGUAGE.
| I never saw grammar studied in an
ideal manner but once ) a, well educated
| young man once calas to ask advice OF
me as to what he had better turn hia
hand to, to getafliving. He had helped
edit q paper, had written stories, fot
which he. had been we'll tenumerated,
and yet had never studied grammar.
Having Lost his position as clerk in q
| commission house, he wished to mske
use, Of his literary attainments in some
work more agreeable to his literary
tastes. I advised him to take
q country s;hool and. follow up the
| profession Of teaching. He protested
that he could not pass q written exami.
nation ID grammar, as he had never
studied it. I lent him grammar, and
told MIN he might sit In my school
| room, al a visitor, for one week and read
the book, and ]. would converse with him
on any ofsthe topics he did not under.
stand. He read several hours per day
until the book was carefully read
through, when be said, in a laconic way,
"I see nothing in that which wants
explanation" I questioned him, and
found he MAS ready at every point.
From this instance and similar ones, I
conclude that grammar is q science
which needs more of mature mind aud
less of cramming, for comprehension.
Language seems nothing more nor
less To me than an affection to dodge the
word ".Literature.n The best results I
have ever had in language we're results I
did not seek. 5..sss,
Language fof iahguage's sake means
nothing more nor less than trying TO get
children to say something for the sake Of
talking, rather than to say something
because they. have something to say. It
seems to me that life is altogether zoo
precious to waste very much on the
show" thing is done. The point iu,
the "what" is done, and not the show"
When children read to get "point"
instead Of a "manner," they will get the
manner and the point too. It is far
more important that they should have
the idea than that they should express it.
It is far better to express a large idea,
even badly, than to express small idea
well. "The horse runs" Well, what if
it doess What has that to do with build.
ing up child's aspirations to be or do
good? "The farmer. sows his seed.h'
ashe passed on her Nay slngiDgthe songs
Of former years, ? "I hope they will
accept this proposition" "He will
return very soon"-are all well.made
sentences from Wells grammar. But
.That have such sentences to do with the
development Of 8 child's interest in the
gseat humanity that lies about him? ?
Grammar, and language, too, as taught
to young children who are to 60 out and
do hard work in the world, is all bosh
and an imposition, except as it involves
that sort of thought which is to wake up
q child's imagination so.that he may see
and love the beautiful and the good or,
the Ghought which shall call forth his
reasoning powers concerning the impor;
.tant things with which he!must grapple !;
or, the thought which shall set him on
the search for the wonders in nature.
Here is q sentence from an essay
which one Of my pupils, at the Jones
School, wrote for me:
by hearing something read from the
book, called Prae and !, I learned how
to intertain myself when alone, by look
ing into the sky and imagining myself
building castles in Spain, and 7 learned
something that never knew before, for
when 1 went out and looked up into the
sky I saw clouds (ss green as grass) the
color of Paris Green, and the sun was
Just setting and the reflection of the SUMS
rays on the clouds made them look like
gold"
I hold that it is far more important
that the girl has learned to entertain"
herself by observing the colcrs in the
sky, than that abe should have expressed
the thought correctly.
ri am inclined to believe I like the
. Golden Age somewhat better for mythol.
ogy knowledge"
mythology knowledge" is certainly
better than fine sentence not having
any "Golden Age" back oft. That the
child can compare "Golden Age" with
aWonder Book" as better source Of
certain phases of mythology knowl-
edge" speaks more for the quality Of her
thought than any number of we'll made,
detached sentences having no relation to
each other. In those few words she has
handled two we'll written classics.
"I was very much interested in The
Sad Little Prince because it teaches US
that we are not so unhappy but there are
some one unbappier."
This sentence would surely be much
"unhappier' if it came from the dry
bones 5of Language" instead of an
aroused sympathy.
"Horthorn is my fayorite author"
The boy who wrote this sentence has
read one volume of Hawthorne's works
and several volumes by other authors.
He has made choice. 1t is worth a
great deal to boy to have ar idea of
selecting favorite. He who has "Hor.
thorn" for favorite is on the royal high.
way to geod Language"
UTfT had S40 To spend for books to q