Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-12-27

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! That a teacher OF English was not re-
sponsible Tor pupils grammar, and
claimed that environment had q great
deal 70 do with a students English. He
said he had asked great many II his
pupils how many books they had read
through and 10 nearly every case found
they only read their school books II
we surround children with plenty OF
good books said the speaker land
create within them a love for literature.
then they viii have an Incentive TO excel
in English
We must impress the student with
self-conscience aud the pupil must be-
made a self-cr.tlc, he must watch his
verb as he would his ueckte Watch
his English as De does his toilet Cor
rect him when he makes mistake
This Of course must boz done judlc.0usly
and In manner not TO discourage him.
We must remember what Us right and
what Is wrong"
Prof u. j. MacEwan. who was also
10 discuss Miss Goddard's paper being
unable TO De present. sent In
a written discussion which was
read by Miss Maud Heron
The paper said. THE fact that COLI
lcge instructors crtclse high school
instruction 90 English and that high
school instructors critiUlsr grade Boz.
struction. and that there results from
this criticism q lack 0t organization in
English work from common school 10
college does not seem 90 me 90 help al
all toward answering the question. To
what extent Us instruction IN the com,
mon schools defectiye2'
Common school instructors-or any
Others-who do not now consider
knowledge OF English as fundamental,
ought IN my opinion TO be relegatcl 90
one of the institutions at ProvO-uot
purely educational Taking Miss God.
dard's standards English as fuuda.
mental tu the cessfu pursuit OF
other studies, and demanding that at
the close of the 9Th grade the pupil
shall be able 10 speak. read spell,
write, compose. and interpret English.
II must be- granted that these are TO
some extent defects In English lnstruc.
ton.
II am inclined 20 think the worst de.
feet is IN reading and I'm the oral reel.
tatou students seem 90 have acquired
the habit Of using words In writing
and rcciting with no adequate knOwl.
edge OF what these words stand for
Reading thus degeneratcs TO mere
mechanical process OF utterlug sue,
cession Of sounds and too often this
Is not done Wcll-h0w can it be n II
is not done intelIigently. The knowl,
edge thus gained from what is read IL
Chat vague kind of knowledge. which
Is not knowledge at an, but at best.
mere Impressions supported by dim,
disconnected ideas'-hardly a hint at
eXaCtions In perception. No awakening
Of the critical faculty II In this way
there are additions 10 the pupils stock
OF words there Is none Co his stock OF
understood things IN ideas No added
material for mental growth.
THE meaning Of words comes from
immediate association with the object.
The boy who explained Homers line
They drank the purple wine unstlnted
ana with unbounded waste, as mean,
ing: They unbuckled their belts as
they drank failed to recognize some
symbols and 10 interpret others. So
the boy who read.
Some In their bowels (bowlsl mingled
the wine and water The boy who
hearing that a well kept hen lays on an
average $50 eggs In a year defined
average az something a hen lays eggs
on, He didn't use his dictionary, While
the boy who spoke OF the Pilgrim
fathers crossing the ocean IN a frail
capillary, relied entirely on the diction-
ary-probably 20th century edition
Failing to interpret means no accumu-
laNon Of vocabulary /. e., a real disable
stock Of words.
Il believe the failure 10 read IN the
broad sense of the term, Is due quite
as much 10 the character OF the reading
books as TO any lack Of skill In the
teacher. During the earlier years OF
school life the pupils chief business
must be the acquisition Of a vocabulary |
OF common words. A movement IN the |
right direction Is the substitution for |
readers Of English classics Of estab- |
lishcd worth attractive, con- |
tinuous matter adapted 10 age and |
grade, and read for the intellect and |
also pleasure.
Let me suggest In closing that COM |
mon school teachers Of English win find |
great help I'm. Dr. Stanley Halls How |
90 Teach Reading 2jc, Dr. HInsdale's /
Teaching the Language Arts Apple |
toms. 81 90. Dr. S $. Laurle's, Lectures /
on Linguistic Method $780,
Prof Van Colt then announced that /
the Pyppr-W Whitney Spencer Ensign .
quartet would favor the convention .
with one Of their choice selections. /
when these gentlemen appeared on the 1
platform a round Of applause went up l
from the audience They We're greeted .
with such a demonstration 81 approval .
at the close OF the first song that they .
were forced 10 give two encores In or
der to satisfy their hearers.
TECHNICAL GRAMMAR.
Prof. Howard r. briggs was then
10 speak upon the subject.
Technical grammar ln ms relation 10
language teaching Said he. Let US
come 10 an understanding first as 20
what ground our terms coyer-gram-
mar is the science Of language. Techni-
cal grammar is commonly thought Of
as that science dealt with In all rs nice
tles-a discussion Of grammatical prin.
ciples apart from their application.
Technical grammar Is certainly not
practical grammar OF necessity child
must have his early language lesson
taught emphatically He is unable 70
the why's and wherefOres az
first Formal grammar | maintain. is
ready Tor his technical study Of his
mother tongue, he must have a great
deal Of language material and language
power on hand. Literature. too--there
is an abundance 81 it-and every child
should have Il. Let them see IL. hear
Il, and feel H. Let the pupils express
themselves also, that Is The time. II
aver. 10 unloose both tongue and pen.
IS the dronc Of compost
lion and should be- avoided"
Many other valuable points were
raised by Prof briggs. after which a
general discussion was INDUCED In by |
Prof Stewart Of the University Of Utah. |
Prof Marshall of the same institution.
Prof Paul OF the Latter-day Saints |
College Prof. Gillian OF the Salt Lake
High school and Miss Alice Reynolds
II the Brigham Young Academy at
Provo. Much OF the discussion was as
10 the efficacy Of dlagraming IN the
eachlng of English The morning ses-
lion adjourned al 1916 90 meet In the
afternoon IN the Nigh School rooms.