The Pascagoula democrat-star. (Pascagoula, Miss.) 1878-1920, 1899-12-08
educational Column.
BY superintendent ID. ID. Cowan.

ed TO say in my last talk, and the Sc
q tence "but backed by you trustees al
patrons" is meaningless; perhaps I w
! IL a hurry to get of to my schools, b
Z it's all right anyway.
y l promised to talk this week abor
good reading and its advantages, and
want 10 say right here that / am n
z writing simply to see my name in prir
! l nav been elected by the good poop
: OF this county to look after their schoo
, Tor the next four years, and l am goir
to do everything in my power to mai
them better; and to succeed We must g,
our teachers to take great interest
! their work. The influence of goo
! teachers is felt in q n%eighborhood lon
after they have left.
GOOD READING.
, l want to call the attention OF teacher
to the extreme influence Of this art, an
insist that they find time for practicin
It DO We consider how rare an accom-
plishment good reading isf A goo
reader is o great acquisition in n house
hold, and can do much to charm and nd,
to the intelligence Of the home. One ma,
listen to q clear, easy, natural reader 10,
hours with great pleasure. Readin,
is a discipline in intelligence and taste
1t is q means Of culture. To teach is I,
learn, and to read aloud for others is I,
enlighten. to charm, to move your audi
tors and be enlightened, charmed ane
moved yourself.
The human voice il the most vivid
translator of human thought, and Is the
most supple, the most docile, the most el.
oquent Interpreter Of whatever il best
In reason. and in the heart Of man, and
you cannot fail to see that there ia a very
real connection between right thought
and right u~tterance. The art OF good
reading comes into use frequently, and
therefore should be sought
Reading depends upon the association
Of ideas, and to read aloud is to express
orally written ideas and thoughts 80 as
to be heard, understood and felt, .
The process of learning to read is like
that OF learning to talk, and the way of
teaching q child to read is, in many re-
spects, like the way by which he was
taught to talk. Children should be
taught to express their thoughts freely
and naturally.
Good reading depends on distinct ar
tlculation, intonation and expression.
syllable should be uttered clearly.
and especially every consonant. "Re-
member your consonants and forget
YOURSELF" Monotone should be dis.
Outraged, and children should be train
ed to read as they speak. Oral expires.
sion must not be neglected. Ask a pu-
pill to give an account OF what he has
read, and after doing this, ask him to
read 1T again and mark the difference.
know OF no better way than this to Sc
cure oral expression. This gives fluency
Ind confidence, and will have much ef-
[ect on the naturalness Of tone, and that
Is what We want.
Have reading contests frequently.
Teach a pupil to read one selection well.
md he Is apt to try to read the next
well. Select rotations will improve
pronunciation and expression. You can
never, never read well without the prop.
n expression. There is expression in a
logs bark and the bleat of o lost lamb.
Music depends on it, and how can we
'ead we'll and disregard it, 1t is simply
impossible. Read occasionally to your
,upils, and awaken their interest; give
hem a model for imitation, and also
how that reading is q means Of giving
nd receiving pleasure. The teacher
'hould be a good reader and try to bring
pupils near your own level. No
'ains that you take with yourself to in
'rease the power, the sweetness of your
voice will be wasted.
HOW TO TEACH READING.
Require your pupils to stand while
hey read. The reasons for this are
manifold, backed by the best authorities
not necessary to give here. If YOU
'niy have time to read only half the les
on, or even less, require every one to
cad 1t by paying strict attention, never
osing the place, and when one word is
and properly pronounced, the
Whole class will learn it. If / could not
old the attention of the whole class
vhile each one reads, l would resign nv
position and try some other vocation.
he habito OF each reading a verse or par
graph while the others look out the
window is inexcusable. Never help
long by pronouncing a word for the
eader until the of the class
re exhausted; say next, next, next, un-
II the word is pronounced properly by F..
lass or teacher, then impress this word.
SO on. Better to learn one word a 6
ay than none. Some words admit Of
lore than n pronunciation. Explain :
Ills. Also explain poetic license. Ex-
.ple:
Received but rocked not of i wound :
men locked his arms his fOeman round" D.,
Hain-again; pen-again; wind
etc. =.
Teach that fast reading is not necessa. !,
~ good reading. Teach that punctua- :
on IL grammatical DIVISIONS Of q sem n
nee, not merely marks at which we
'use long enough to count one, two,
lree, four, ETC., illustration: when q
~ walking slowly falls down, unless :
lrsued, he naturally takes more time
rise than II he were walking fast. If
Is running and falls, he rises quickly !
ID proceeds; shorter pauses Of course. |
On account Of want Of space and time
r this issue, the foregoing article will
concluded in the next paper.
Editor.