The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-05-23
THE SPELLING CLASS IN ACTION.
Great BOyish Achievements in schoOI
Recalled by "a NIiddIe-Aged Man.


"Our views as to what constitutes great
achievements. said the middle-aged man,
wary with our years. [ well remember the
time when 1 looked upon the boys who
and incompatibility without mistake with
wonder.
creased in number of syllables there We're
fewer and fewer words to the lesson. There
might be in the two-syllabled words les
sons whose columns of words reached
half or three-quarters of the way down the
page and with five or six columns across
the page. Those seven ana eight-syllabled
words were in short lessons, only seven or
eight words deep, and only two or three
columns across the page. But short as they
were. these short compact blocks of words
of many syllables presented to the younger
boys, who occasionally looked forward in
the spelling book at them, dlf1cultles that
seemed absolutely insurmo o, ana
spell these words out on exhibition days at
the close of a term, or on days when the
trustees paid the school visit, why IT
seemed the highest imaginable achieve
'tThis highest class, few in number, like
the long words in the book, would be
ranged in a row in front of the seats, be-
tween the seats and the teachers platform,
upon which sat the trustees. This spelling
was the elimination of the exercises, and
the whole school was interested, and every
one was anxious that the class should ac-
quit itself creditably and the younger pu-
pills like myself believed that the trustees
must be greatly impressed.
'Immateriality, comes from the teach
er. standing book in hand at one end OF the
platform, to the head of the class, who re-
peats the word and proceeds to spell 1t:
- Immateriality. I'm i'm, ma ma, lm-ma
tie tie. im-ma-te, ri ri. im-ma teri al al
im-ma-te-ri-al, j. im-ma-te-rt-al-l, t-y ty
immateriality.
He is prompt and confident, and loud
from start to, finish, but the whole school school
follows him breathlessly and feels easier
when he has finished
Indestrqstibility says the ro teagher +
looking at the t next t boy anf ne repeats 1t
Indestructibility I'm in, de Gle, indie,
s-t-r-u-c struc, in-destruc, ii Il, indie
struc-ti. bill, in-de-struc-ti-bil, !. indie
struc-ti-bil-i t-y ty, indestructibility.'
And so it rattIes along, every one prompt
and correct until the teacher gives out one
chap, who is fairly overcome by the pres
ence of the trustees and the general sol
emnity and high tension Of the whole oc-
casion. He founders and founders over 1t
hopelessly, with a faint and shrinking
voice. The teacher repeats the word,
enunciating the syllables separately, with
an almost painful distinctness, to impress
them upon the little chaps mind, but he
only founders the more. One of the trus-
tees looks stern the other two LOOK KIND
and sympathetic, and presently the stern
man comes around, too, but the youngster
breaks down utterly and the teacher gives
the word to the next boy and ne rattles
the word off boldly and glibly. And so it
goes round and round, till the words OF the
lesson are all given out. The little chap
who failed the first time comes up valiant
ly the second time, and spells his word
promptly and correctly. whereas all the
trustees. the stern one included, smile en-
couragingly.
From first to last, half dozen or more
words are bungled by one boy and another
but stiii the school feels that the class has
done very well, and as for me, being, a
small boy and only as far as the tWo-sylla-
HE words. | go home to tell my folks of
the wonderful deeds performed that day
by So-and-so of our school in the spelling
examination, and of the particularly ire
mendous feat of Wggles, the smallest boy
- In, v1iSc n