Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1890-03-01

to kick or order them out, and noticed
that whenever q dog was chased out he
would take the longest road to get out,
and under as many seats as possible, in
order to receive as many kicks as posi-
BILE from the youthful owners Of the
other dogs.
could not SO organize q battalion Of
ten different gramlnars as to act in con-
cert on my grammar class Of twenty pu-
pills. So l put them all on the retired
list. and tried to teach this 80 called "sci-
ence" orally. chalked the rules on the
blackboard. us well rs the names of the
different parts of speech l made my
scholars commit these to memory, stand
ing, although will not argue that men,
DRY takes any stronger grip ON a thing
while the pupil stands. At last taught
few with good memories to ''parse p"
l worked hard with that grammar class,
and was very proud Of their proficiency
until found that after months of this
drilling they neither spoke nor wrote any
better English than before.
However, lost nothing by this ex-
perience, for it helped me to the convic-
ton that have held to ever since, that
the entire grammar system and method
does very little to make one habitually
use correct language, and that taste for
reading and constant association with
correct English speaking people does a
great deal. As for spending time in
"parsing," think it would he better to
use that force in learning the boy to shoe
horses and the girl to make bread. or let
the girl shoe the horses il she wants to
and the boy make the bread.
The labor Of teaching tho alphabet to
ten infants, calling them up once an
hour ''to say their letters" is. in my
estimation. greater than that of swing
ing a pick in the surface gold "diggings."
l have tried both, and infinitely prefer
the pick. 1t is not SO much work when
you are employed with thcE, as when
you are occupied with the other pupils.
Then these poor little alphabetical
cherubs' can do nothing but squirm on
their low benches, catch flies, pinch each
other. make and project spit balls and
hold up their hands for smother drink of
water. could not let them out of doors
to play in the sand. Where they should
have been, because the North American
parent would have considered himself
as dcfrauded Of part Of his infant 9
schooling were they not imprisoned the
whole TX hours. &E
Neither can you get child to studying
A or II orany other 1ettcr. There is not
an idea in. a or 3. During the two years
- o.V, int I L.
one child who never could get success
fully beyond +. Her parents questioned
my ability as n teacher. Some days she
would repeat the whole alphabet cor
rectly. would go home with load off
my mind. The next day her mind would
relapse into an alphabetical blank after
F. She grew to be an eyesore to NE
The sight Of her ut last made me sick.
held public examinations every six
months. and was careful to do all the
cxamnin: myself. An interlopcr among
the audience invited did Inc great dam
age On ono of these menorized perform;
anccs by asking Il simple arifhmetica1
question Of the show off geographical
boy. The urchin was brilliant in dealing
but his heal was one that mathematics
could not readily be injected into On
the other hand. my specimen grammar
ian was rs likely to describe an island as
body of land surrounded-by land as
by water. had no heart to find fault
with this poor b1rcfootcu urchin who.
when in class. was always trying to
stand on one leg, Ike u crane, and send
ing his right BIZ, toe on exploring scratch.
ing expeditions up his left trouser He
had been born and brought up in an in
land country, where no body of water
was to be seen save IN occasional fleetir 9
mud puddle: and what earthly concep-
ton could Ey form of the ocean and its
island:
But the parents who attended these
exhibitions of stuffed memories were
struck at the proficiency of the progeny,
and retired with tlie impression that
their children knew Il great deal because
they had rarroted off 81 mucl, that was
all Greek to them: and after had been
in this occupation a year would sit in
my empty Theological school house when
they had gone and try and convict my
self a. profound hunibug. and one.
too. compelled. in order to get living.
to encourage and foster y system which,
had SO much humbug il it.
The California school. were not then
graded" They We're conducted on the
"go rs you please" plan. sometimes 60
ing "s the teachers pleased, sometimes
as the parents pleased. sometimes MS the
pupils pleased. The parents of the youth
full brains WAS trying to develop into
future statesmen and presidents wanted
me to teach many things. One father
wished his son taught Latin. 1t is bring
ing extremes pretty near each other to
teach Latin and \ Is Cs. But I"taught"
the youn:. man Latin as was taught
many things at school. started hin,
committing 20 memory the Latin decien-
siora and couiuGa,ious. and then heard
hint "say his lesson" Ii he got any,
ching out of il don't Enow what it WIS.
except tough WORK. He never reached
any transactions q the classics. for sew
cral REASONS.
Another father WAS annoyed because
| exercised hi, sou nlatieln:tically il,
what in these DAYS. were ca!leI "yulplr