The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-10-08
sPELLrNG VS.. TR1GoNoMETRY.


A very instructive incident happened
within day or two in Chicago. 1t IL
illustrates very convincingly what utterly
false theories and practices have crept
the result of the great advancement
which we are told Is being made in
so-called scientific pedagogy
In all 191 students sought admission to
the Northwestern university at the open
ing OF that institution on Thursday last.
They represented 1O7 high schools, acade-
mics and other secondary schools. In
the list of institutions represented is in
clnded nearly every high school in Chi
cago and vicinity. Most of the students
brought diplomas. Of the 191 only tweny-
six passed the required examinations.
The failures were in all cases in funda-
mental knowledge of the English Ian
guage. The test was quite simple one,
and it must appear incredible to any in
telligent man or woman, who has not had
the advantage of the modern scientific"
school training how any young man or
woman passing through even the gram
mar school, could have failed to meet
the test successfully.
The errors were in spelling and pune
tuation. The errors in spelling ranged.
all the way up from one word to fifty
eight out of 80 words, the average of
errors being twenty eight out of the $50.
The words which the students were I'M
able to spell were such as proceed, ex
element, ammunition, dilapidated, SINH
larity, development, successful, appear
ance, temperance, dimfnutive and espe-
cially. They were asked to write and
capitalize correctly this sentence: 'few
high schools in the west give sufficient
attention to elementary english having
received pupil from the grammar school
many pupils assume that he knows how
to spell punctuate and capitalize COR
rectly" Only forty-three out of the 19t
could write the sentence correctly with
reference to spelling and punctuation.
The students who thus show so dis
gracefully are not to blame. They are all
bright young men and women. The sys-
tenn is to blame. 1t is In many respects
delusion and a snare, designed quite as
much to enable book publishers to sell
big bills of supplies to the schools as it
is to give good education to its victims.
The professor who fills the chair i'll
English in the Northwest tern university
puts the blame for the failure in spelling
on the primary schools, and for the fail
ure in capitalization and punctuation he
holds the grammar schools responsible.
These young people all had had more
or less training i'll Greek and Latin syn
tax They had worked hard on problems
in trigonometry and in getting some
knowledge of the natural sciences. They
were found proficient, too, in those
studies. But in the fundamental knowl-,
edge of English not many more than one
seventh of the number showed that they
had ever qualified in the grammar school.
Professional educators may be left to
settle among themselves how and why
such a disgraceful exhibition should be
made with reference to the high schools
of one of the chief cities of the country
1t is now becoming generally unders ,ood
that the radical defect indicated is con-
fined to no particular locality, but is
common to the entire so-called free
school system of the country.
1t is easy to say that the young men
and women who are the victims of this
wretched system will as time progresses
learn by experience how to spell and
punctuate and to use correct English
But that is just what they are not at
all likely to do. Except those
who adopt studious lives, OF pursuits
which involve writing. few of them will
ever know their own deficiencies, but will
go on through their private converse
ton and correspondence, unconsciousIy
making exhibition of their ignorance,
probably all their lives. Even if the
knowledge of their defective education
in this respect should come to them in
later life it is highly improbable that any
but the smallest fraction of them would
undertake to find a remedy where alone
1t can be found. by study of the ele-
mentary rules.
Whatever professional educators may
think about this state of affairs, it will
not be long, if 1t is allowed to
continue. until American parents
find a very complete remedy for
it. It's continuance is bringing the pub
lie school system into disrepute every
day among both the business and pro-
fessionaI classes of society.