The Indianapolis journal., 1890-08-17
TEACHING ENGLISH.
The "Curriculums" of the Public Schools
Need Revision.

The .Curriculums" of the Public Schools
Need Revision.
Boston Courier.
Every body knows the old-time system of
having compositions" once a fortnight.
and everybody recognizes perfectly well
that 1t resulted in absolutely nothing save
certain amount of discomfort at the time
or the part of the pupil. and an ingrained
only high and well-nigh unattaina-
BILE, but thoroughly detestable as well.
That is the one thing which the old
system thoroughly accomplished. Of late
years English has had what educators are
accustomed to speak of with SNUG glibness
but any body who knows how poor are the
results knows how little this phrase really
means. TO be conspicuous In curriculum
seldom means anything but having n spread
eagle place In annual reports and being
much talked about.
The average boy who comes out of the
public school seldom knows enough to
write an intelligent and respectable letter.
unless it has been his good fortune to have
a good deal OF training at home. Girls are
a little better because they are both duller
and quicker than boys during their school
years. AS rule they are more receptive
in the line Of an instruction re-
or SO original in the application of
what they learn to life OF SO original in
their observation. Teachers do not as a
rule know how to teach English, and the
trouble lies chiefly in two things. In the
first place the Importance of the knowl-
edee is SO little appreciated that the teach
er is not given time to do anything worth
WHILE and in the second place, the only way
to teach English Is to let the pupil learn it
himself.
The practical method of teaching children
to write is to make them write. Not to make
them write once a month or once a week.
but every day. AS soon as the child Is old
enough it should be given a blank book.
in which it should be told to set down
should be III the way OF journal so far
that it should be confined to the relation
of what the child sees and hears.
The exercise of the fancy should at
least be repressed until tho pupil has ac-
quired q reasonably good style with q fair
working acquaintance with orthography,
punctuation and paragraphing. the last be-
ing one OF the important things which most
should be given for this work, say the first
half hour IN the morning, and the teacher
should be relieved of about &c per cent. of
the idiOtic mathematical work now re-
qnired in the way of averages and
all the rest of the utterly valueless
stuff of the reports. so that there would be
time to correct and critlcise these books.
The only way to learn to write Englishi is to
write. and write. and write; and it is neces-
sary that the child should not only have his
do enough of it to. have the
criticisms mean something to him.
and TO learn to avoid the faults
shown him. The first requisite is prac-
tical. ordinary composition, the writing of
English which come in the way of the uu-
professional person to do. Is fuency, and
next to this is accuracy. The former is, on
the whole. of more practical value than the
latter, however unwise it might be to tell
this to a pupil.
The truth is, that there is general fe ell
ing that while most things must be learned,
composition comes by the grace of nature,
and that not only the poet, but every
sort of wOrd-use must be born, and that,
therefore. 1T is idle to waste any time in
endeavOring to make n writer. It is
folly to waste breath in disputing such a
proposition. but 1t IS certainly time that it
was practically disputed by the arrange
ment of the work in our schools. The eur
riculums" of the public schools have long
conformed to the popular failacy. and it is
well that the results have been brought to
public attention.