St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1896-01-09
HOW TO USE GERMAN
RULES FOR TEACHING In FOREIGN
LANGUAGES IN PUBLIC
SCHOOLS.
ONLY ONE HOUR IN ANY DAY
ALLOWED FOR CLASSES CONDUCT
ED IN THE PUPILS VERNAC-
ULAR.
ENGLISH MUST BE THE MEDIUM
Of Ordinary Teaching, According to
the State Observation-Disclosures
guage Teaching.

Superintendent of Public instruction
w. w. Pendergast has made decision
on the teaching in public schools in
the German that is more clean cut than
any previous Interpretation of the law
that has yet been placed before the
educational institutions of the state.
The explanation is made at the request
of Supt. c. A. Boston, of st. James,
and is in the nature of letter to him.
as follows:
Your letter of the 9Th inst, relating to the
teaching Of German in District No. 80, in
your county, is at hand After an extended
conference with the attorney general, l give
his view follows:
First, the law provides that a teacher may
at any time use any language that is the YER
nacular of any pupil to teach the meaning OF
English words. Second, teachers may give
instruction in such language not to exceed one
hour in each day, provided the trustees of the
district have expressed themselves unani-
mously in favor thereof.
Under the second proviso above the ques-
ton arises whether it should be construed as
meaning that teacher may for one hour
each day give instruction in the study of the
German language, or the French, or any in
Struction in arithmetic, geography and other
studies or other studies usually carried on in
schools. 1t would be absurd to limit the
teaching of language as language to one
hour each day, as probably school pro-
gramme provides for such teaching for that
length of time. The second proviso must,
therefore, be held to mean that teacher
may teach any or all subjects for time not
to exceed one hour each day in any language
that is the vernacular Of any pupil. 1t should
be noted, however, that such instruction must
not be carried on for a time to exceed one
hour each day. For example, if the school is
held for four and half hours per day, ex-
elusive Of intermissions, three and half
hours must be devoted to teaching the various
branches with the exclusive use of the En-
glish language. The remaining hour may,
provided the entire board is In favor of it, be
devoted to teaching in foreign language.
Attorney General Cole in commenting upon
this subject, says as follows: 1.-The objects
of the law furnish an answer quite as con-
elusive as any language could have afforded.
The stability and permanence of govern
like ours depend mainly upon the wide
spread dissemination of education and intelli-
gence among the people, and the system of
this desirable end is att.lined but the forma-
ton of citizens who shall become identified
with the prosperity of the state, familiar with
its laws and institutions, and interested in
their preservation, can only be obtained by a
system of instruction in the language in
which those laws framed and the gov
eminent administered. 1t is the policy of the
government to eradicate as far as possible all
national differences and to merge all classes
of citizens in one, having similar habits of
thought the same interest in the welfare Of
the state, and using the same language If
each class of foreigners, upon settling in the
country, were to be taught at the public ex,
pense in their native language and allowed
to remain in ignorance of the English, the
knowledge thus impaired, however useful to
the student, would be useless to the state,
and they would necessarily remain in ignor-
ance of those matters chiefly in which alone
the public interests require that they shall
be instructed w. w. Pendergast
Superintendent Public instruction.