Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-01
GOOD READERS.
Some Sensible Suggestions for the instruction
of Old and Young.
Chicago Herald,

of Old and Young
Chicago Herald.
Everybody has theories of education
nowadays, and the next generation or
two ought to grow into highly culti-
waited race, but the Importance of max
ing them good readers is being forgotten.
We educate children for their future
good; we give them accom- lishments to
render them attractive and agreeable to
the world of society; to develop their
minds for their own future
enjoyment, and. first of all things,
we teach them to read and
spell. How many of them, grown into
men and women, who would be ashamed
to spell badly, are able to read one para
graph, selected at random, so that every
word shall be pronounced correctly +,
every sentence given Understandings,
and the thought of the author instantly
seized and perfectly expressed, while the
voice, meantime, is so pleasantly modu
lated that the fact of the sound itself is
gratifying to the sense of hearing?
e, In the matter of pronunciation alone,
few grown persons can do this. do not
speak whereof / know not. The thing
was tried at a fashionable chit in the city
Out of ten attempts to pronounce cor
rectly all the words of a certain para
graph, none were successful, the presi-
dent of the chit himself making thirteen
mistakes, which was only about the aver
age number.
Make the attempt, each one for him
self, and see how many of the following
words you pronounce, either as Webster
or Worcester directs: Acclimated,
cement, pronunciation plebein, prece-
dence, finance, concaye, concentrate,
phial, fuchsia, vase, interest, etc. The
pronunciation classes which have been
the rage in the East have been public
benefit and matter of pleasant inter-
est. A few have been recently
organized in Chicago with much
success, and arrangements have been
effected for many more in the fall.
Everybody knows there are two ways
of reading to one rs self, and that one of
these is as much selfish benefit as read
ing aloud This is with both eyes and
lips; in Imagination, although no sound
is produced, the formation of each word
on the lips is made and the attention,
therefore, for the instant, so fixed upon
it that its meaning fully grasped. In the
other way there is such breatbless interest
ind the fact narrated that there seems
to be an overwhelming necessity to hurry
on for information g sake, and the eyes
alone turned automatically over the page,
and an outline Of meaning is grasped
without an idea of the words and phrase
ology used to express it. The habit of so
reading, skimIning over things, produces
in a very short time a poor memory.
When everything is poured into the mind
at such a rate that only a confused jun
BILE is produced, no wonder the memory
breaks down.
There is but one way to read seriously,
improvingly and not for the sole purpose
of passing away the hours. Read and
think at the same time. AS each page
is finished, close the book or turn over
the paper, concentrate the attention
and think over what has just been read.
If you can put the thoughts into words
and speak them aloud, two things
are bound to result: Improvement
of mind and improvement of
memory. Pleasure thus becomes
intellectually profitable. This should
ever be adopted in reading poetry for
the wore painting here is so beautifully
varied that ofttImes the meaning must
be searched for seriously, Outlines the
style itself renders the exquisite thought
OBSCURE. Inc pfactice OF menOrlZlnR
passages of poetry win soon become mere
play if reading, good reading, is always
done in this way. We cannot train the
body to our will unless we give it exer-
else; nor can we expect different results
in mind or memory.
The power OF concentrated attention,
it is claimed, is Tiore apparent in man
than in woman, and it cannot be denied
that this is the case. But the average
man trains his mind TO this end by hourly
practice; the average woman. perhaps
once month, attempts 70 concentrate
her thoughts on one subject.
If in these days Of culture we could all.
learn the definition of reading and know
exactlv what the phrase means when the
word preading'' is qualified By the. ad-
verb sswell, it would be Of untold
worth to US. A good memory is such a
help TO self improvement; good mind
well cultivated, such a treasure An in
tlividuai possessing ali three is a delight
s, self and 20 the WORLD