The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-11-06
THE COURSES OF STUDY
BASIS OF COUNTY SUPERINTENDENTS,
DISCUSSION YESTERDAY.
II. #. Moore, of Frankfort, Elected
President of the Association
Prof. l.. II. JOnes's Paper.

| Statehouse. The work was almost wholly
of technical character consisting of dis
cussions of various points about the courses
of study. In the afternoon the following
officers for the ensuing year were elected:
President-B. F. Moore, Frankfort.
| Vice President-T. M. Mott. Richmond.
| Secretary-NIiss Leva NJ. Foster, North
| Vernon.
Treasurer-H G. Woody, Kokomo
| Executive Committee-W. D. Kerlin. Mar
| Sarah T.. Campbell Anderson; r. e. Cali,
| Lawrenceburg; J. II. Tomlin, Shelbyville;
George A. Wilson, Greenfield; Edward
Boyle, Michigan City.
After the opening of the morning session
J. w. Carr, of Anderson, read report from
| the committee on arithmetic. Each member
of the committee had been assigned to one
grade and the committee had held no meet
ing, so that the report was simply col
lection of these individual views. After
| some discussion it was referred back to the
committee, so that it might endeavor to
| agree upon a general report.
The committee on history reported an
elaborate course Of study based upon the
following principles outlined in it's introduce
ton as follows:
THE oral presentation of Some of the
facts Of the history of the race in the low
er grades on the general plan suggested in
Kemp's Outline of Method in History
THAT the reading of history in story form
possible.
1.-THE observance of Historical Days as
| suggested in the outlines for grades l and
through all the grades as opportunity may
suggest and in a way adapted to the ad-
vancement of the pupils.
Tne correlation of the work in history
with the work in other subjects should be
largely left to the teacher in each grade
the size of the full committee and the diff
ficulty of securing sufficient opportunities
for consultation making it almost impos-
sibie for this to be adequately provided for
in the outline.
1.-THE fact that the work in each grade
was necessarily done by single individual
without much consultation with the other
members or the cOnSmittee may account
FOR ala apparent lack of unity in the pre-
sentation of the whole.
An attempt TO secure unity of style in
the whole would have been at the expense
or the unity of the work of the Individual
1T is perhaps unnecessary to add that the
outlines which follow are intended mainly
Tor the guidance of the teacher in her prep
aration for the work and that the amount
OF material it's character and the method
or It's preSenta ton to the pupils must be
largely d matter of wise discretion on her
part"
The report was discussed at some length.
superintendent Goss objected to the prom
lnence given to American history, almost
70 the exclusion of world history in the
primary grades Further discussion of the
report was postponed until this morning
Before the noon adjournment Prof L. II
Jones, formerly of this city. but now super
| intendent of the Cleveland public schools
was called upon and made brief talk He
of the public school system, that it was too
much like machine, was not justified by
the facts.
THE COURSE OF READING.
In the afternoon the committee on reading
reported through it's chairman, A E.
Humke. In the course Of it's report the COM
mittee said
The reading of the first year has two
results to accomplish:
Il. Mastery of the written and printed
TOMS of the root words of the vocabu-
larry.
20. The functioning of the written forms of
language in the child's mind; the power and
habit of associating thought and the writ
I'm vocabulary learning the child must
proceed from the words used in his oral
speech and in the direction of the texts in
which he is to be given his reading drills
In the growth of the association of
thought directly with written and printed
language the pupil must proceed from an
his oral speech. The child's oral express
sion of his thoughts concerning phenomena
OF interest to him shall constitute the mat
ter of his first reading lessons. These les
sons are most profitably based upon the
childs social life and upon his study of ma
ture and literature AS the pupils new
vocabulary and power of Interpretation
grow sufficient he may be carried over into
the reading of the lessons of the book, but
TO insure real reading of the new matter
the pupil must be prepared for 1t by a
previous mastery of its vocabulary and by
fbet TN bnough ft and feeling at the moment
OF the child's mental state. The last observa-
ton applies equally to the reading exercises
OF all grades"
The committee expressed the view that
the work of the second grade should be,
LOT the most part, training to acquire ready
pronunciation of words. Attention should be
given to the form of words. their relation to
previously studied words and their relation
to the thought of the sentence In the
recommendations for the succeeding grades
there was nothing particularly new The
report of the committee was accepted with
| very little discussion. T. NJ. Mott read the
| report for the committee on grammar 1t
| laid out an elaborate course of work for
the eight grades, based upon the following
general lines:
zone period daily during the first eight
years OF school shall be given to training in
English: The length of the daily period shall
De as follows; First and second years. Is
minutes; third and fourth years, 20 min
utes; NTH and sixth years, 25 minutes; sew
| enth and eighth years, 80 minutes.
during the hrst six years the work shall
| pc or TWO kinds: Composition, for training
| in language expression; constructive for
the OBJECTIVE study of the language with a
| view TO securing correct usage in punctua-
| ton, capitalization, selection of words, and
Arrangement of the sentence.
During the seventh and eighth years the
| sons per week; grammar, as the science of
| the language for furnishing an instrument
| or Interpretation and criticism, three les
sons a week.
IF the child is to secure control of the
| English language as an instrument for the
| expression of his thoughts, it is to be clearly
| comprehended (a) that the child must be
| Kept under the influence of good models of
| expression during the first years of school
life, when imitation is the chief motive prin-
ciple leading the mastery of all the arts
and (b) that every thought which is ex-
pressed orally or on paper, must be criti-
| cfsed. The fact that the child very fire.
| 9uently comes to school burGened with bad
forms of expression. which, by imitation
| ne has acquired at home or on the street
| makes 1T all the more necessary that eYerv-
| thing spoken or written at school shall be-
come part of the childS training i'm Eng
| fish. Criticism should always be given SO as
| to make the child feel that the teacher is a
| patient helper and not a petulant scold
| Otherwise the teacher will freeze up the
| springs of that spontaneity of expression
| which is to be directed but not controlled
much less prevented"
MR.. JONES'S PAPER.
L. III. Jones read an interesting paper at
the night meeting of the town and city SUI
perintendents. The paper was entitled
| THE Principles That Underlie the Forma-
ton of a Course of Study and Which Con-
| stitute the Canons of Criticism" Agricul-
tural Hall was filled with an interested au-
| dience of prominent instructors of the State,
who gave close and appreciative attention
| to Mr.. JOnes's solution of this problem.
Inc greater part of the paper was discus