The sun., 1897-01-15

facility, are able TO construct better sen
tences than those who are unfamiliar with
technical grammar, this subject might be
rightly placed among the essentials OF
school study. II, on the other hand, 1t
should be proved that the English employed
by those who have not studied technical
grammar is practically as good as
that employed by those who have had q
thorough grounding in the subject, then IL
could not be regarded as essential, but
would belong to the domain Of mental gym
nastics. In the latter case the question OF
introducing technical grammar into an ele-
mentary school course would be purely and
simply q problem Of relative values, I. C., a
question as to whether 1t would pay best to
devote some thirty-five minutes daily for
four or five years to grammar. or whether
more profit would be derived by giving this
time to matters Of Importance and interest
that are now crowded out.
As in language. so in arithmetic, the
question Of mental gymnastics plays con-
spicuous part. Facility In ciphering, mp
to . certain point, is demanded OF every in
dividual; but whatever is done In this
branch beyond what Is directly useful. such
as drill in arithmetical puzzles. must be re
garded as disciplinary in its nature. The
importance Of such questions OF relative
values becomes obvious when We consider
that thirty-five minutes a day Is equivalent
to an entire year out OF the eight years de-
voted to elementary education. DIR. RICE
estimates that by the exclusion OF merely
part OF the disciplinary studies, such as
advanced arithmetic, superfine penmanship,
o. kA Maid tn
and analysis. and the practice OF read
ing aloud simply with a view to orator
ical power, it might be possible TO save as
much as the equivalent Of two school years.
The subjects which, Of all, In his judgment,
should be subjected TO the most rigorous
test Of exclusion, are spelling and penman-
ship. He holds that every moment devoted
to these subjects beyond what is actually
needed, should be looked upon as wasted.
At present nearly one-fifth OF the available
time Is in some schools assigned TO these
two subjects, notwithstanding their lack OF
educational value. In determining the
| ground that should be covered in spelling,
| DR. RICE deems it needful simply to secure an
| agreement as TO where a line may be drawn
between words that the average individual
ought to be able to spell without referring
to dictionary, and those that might be
safely relegatcd to the latter. In penman-
ship IL would merely be necessary to define
what standards OF legibilty should be
deemed satisfactory; the over-attention to
penmanship for the purpose Of securing an
elegant chirography means the waste OF an
enormous amount OF time. So. too, In arith-
metic; IL would be we'll to make n careful
distinction between those features with
which everybody ought to be conversant
and the methods OF conducting the more
complicated calculations belonging TO
special lines OF business, which need TO be
mastered only by a specialist
We pass TO what DR.. RICE has to say con-
cerning the studies Of geography and his
tory in our elementary schools. He believes
that large elimination OF the cut-and-
dried facts which properly belong to books
Of reference is here indispensable. rs.
pecially does he condemn that phase OF
geography. as additionally taught, which
treats Of the location Of cities and towns
the boundaries OF States and countries. the
lens 9Th OF rivers, and the height Of noun
tains. 1t is not denied that the number OF
geographical facts which an individual Is
required to know in order that he
may take an intelligent interest in the
affairs of the world, is considerable, yet /,
Is very small when compared with the mum
Der which q child is compelled to memorize
under the ordinary system OF instruction
Indeed, DR.. RICE deems it no eSagGeratior
70 say that the traditional course in top
ographical geography might be short
ened by 20 or 80 per cent. without neglect
ing what is useful. There is at present
similar waste in the mechanical study
OF history. AS in geography, so her,
would the preparation OF list q
facts, limited to what is helpful anc
TO what an adult individual nigh
be reasonably expected to possess in tn,
form of ready knowledge. bring about al
enormous curtailment OF the work impose,
upon the memory. Just the historical
facts are that every educated person is ex
pected to know has never been determined
/ but il might be. Nor is there any doub
that by wise substitution of historical
ideas for cut-and-dried facts OF minor i'm
portance. history might be converted from
mechanical study into a most valuable ant
interesting one.
How are these changes to be made' VIII
is to decide where and how far the process
OF exclusion may be applied TO the existing
curriculum, In DIR. RICE's opinion tn
most rational mode Of bringing about n de
sirable improvement would be to place th
matter in the hands of committees to b
appointed, as he would suggest, by the Ma
tional Educational Association. He think
that, IL a committee OF some ten member
should he designated for each branch. an
the labor so divided that proper attentio
could be paid TO details, enough might b
accomplished in q year to clear the cours
OF elementary studies OF all matters whIc
are retained simply by tradition.