Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1896-02-11
Some Public School Methods.

To the Editor OF The Evening Star:
In recent issue of The Star there APP
peared long article, in which was men
toned the steady deterioration of the eye
sight of pupils in our public schools as they
reached the higher grades. There was ex-
pressed a desire on the part of those in
authority to search out and remove the
causes of this unfortunate and alarming
state of affairs Allow me to suggest that
one of the useless causes may be this:
Children are required in some of our
schools, to my cer-ain knowledge, TO do
a great deal Of unnecessary writing. For
instance, words are given out to be carried
home and written five, ten or more times.
The pupil may be familiar with the spelling
of nearly quite the whole list, but no
matter, they must all be returned the next
day written the entire number OF times.
Last year my little daughter, aged eight
years brought home one evening ten (lo)
words to be written twenty-five timesl Al
though she could already spell nearly all
of them perfectly. / allowed the child to
write them five times, and 1 then sent with
them a polite note TO the teacher. assuming
there had been some mistake made in the
request. which required the child to write
two hundred and fifty words!
j made 1t a rule thereafter to see each
day for myself that my child knew how to
spell the words Of her lesson. Those she
missed she wrote five times and carried
them to her teacher. / protected my little
one in that way; but what about all the
children whose mothers are too busy or
too careless to intercede for them? 1t fs for
their sakes / am impelled TO write in this
way.
These children must, after spending the
day in school, Immediately sit down and
lend over their lists of words. or IL must
be done after nightfall by the light Of poor
lamps or Washington gas! Scores Of them
ell over this city are at this very moment
writing over and over words they already
know how to spell.
lr,.a nf tnaa lnr hos rf1ln
any pupil who accidentally drops anything
on the floor to write one word three hum
dred times
A little girl with whom 1 am acquainted
has been obliged to pay this penalty,
though she is only ten years old. She is
neal sighted, and is quiet and well-be-
haved child.
Such work is a strain en- both mind and
eyes, and is productive of careless pen
manship. Rules of this sort should arouse
the Indignation of every sensible per-
sen.
For many years the writer was engaged In
the education of the young and spent
much time and money In searching out and
following the most approved modern meth
DDS of teaching. While she has been highly
pleased with the fine system of schools
found In this city, and heartily appre-
ciates the faithful work done by the
teachers, yet she has been grfeved
to find some glaring faults. 1t is
rot an easy thing to always combine gentle
ness with firmness in an overcrowded
school room. But every teacher should
strive after this ideal in this high calling.
Many of our teachers are bearing 100
heavy burdens. The schools are so large
as to make Ii impossible for justice to be
done to all, and this is fruitful cause of
irritablity, wherever 1t may he found.
Teachers are required to go over too much
work in single year. The work laid down
for siX-year-old pupils is about what an
average seven or eight-year-old child would
do. The third grade work would do for
nne-year-old chiliren. / removed my child
from school last April for / thought IL too
much for little girl of eight years. So
she entered the third grade again this year.
| and IL the work continues as heavy through
all the grades We may repeat this plan
| every second or third year. In the first
| grade children are expected during the first
| year of school life to learn to recognize at
| sight nine hundred words, and be able to
| reproduce In writing five hundred words.
Is there not too much work crowded into
| ca CHI grade?
A FRIEND TO CHILDREN.