New-York tribune., 1901-09-22
PUBLIC SCHOOL READING.
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE OLDTIME
MISUNDERSTANDING WORDS
BY SIGHT.

mind will one day calculate how many cen
turies of ordinary evolution separate the dame
school, of the not very remote past from the
pedagogic system of to-day An observer VINO
recalls the time when those institutions were
far from uncommon would be ready to put IL
at any number of years that might be men
toned. The world jogging along compla-
gently satisfied that teach little children the
simple requirements were ability to hold pook
and to read when on sudden modern peda-
Eogics sprung into being, full grown. like Athene
from the head of Zeus. There were normal col
leges and strange doctrines that little ones
should be interested rather than raped over
the knuckles. and, last and most appalling to
the conservative mind these reformers rele-
gated a. b. ah, and b, o. bo, to the educational
lumber room declining airily to teach the alpha
bet any longer.
An alphabetless primary school. Strange
evolution of modern conoclasm. But it works
we'll and that no deny. If any part of
the path of the pupil is to disprove the dictum
that there is royal road to learning. it is the
very beginning Of the ascent No wonder the
children of to-day like to go to school The only
astonishing feature of the educational system
is the truant school.
Take for example, room full of children who
have been working for week. The little
seats are filled with diminutive learners. each
inspired with great desire to shine in the
world of learning. The teacher has talked with
them. made study of their different tempera-
ments and their interest by telling them
stories and holding forth the wonders Of this
unexplored country, which produces an mex
haUstible supply of stories. In the course of
these stories the teacher draws roughly a barn,
a fence a tree, and writes the words for cow"
"cat," wagon" Chickens" and on. At the
end Of a week she asks. pointing to the
chi ran toll bcr Ct
about it. Many small hands rise. and one child
comes out to take tn stick and say, The cow
is in the barn" Great is his triumph. lie has
remembered the appearance OF the word and
connected it with the STORY" of the
Others volunteer still further information re-
gardng the landscape. The cat is in the tree,
the chickens the fence. and the wagon is
the barn. All this interests them inn
mensely, and after week in school these small
students make not one mistake in fitting the
right story to the word pointed out to them.
1t may be added that Chickens" is no harder
than "cat" and that elephant" is a great ia
vorite with them. At the end Of a month the
children are reading such a story that Of
Goldenlocks and the three bears, of course in
simplifed form, like this: Three bears lived
in a wood They were good bears. one was a
big bear one was a middle sized bear one
was a little wee bear" And so on. None OF
the children can spell yet, know a letter
by name but they read this story without diff
ficulty. and recognize the words whenever met
Then comes spelling the most interesting part
Of the word to an observer. The letters are
still enshrouded in mystery. but "phonetics' are
In order in two three months. The system
varies slightly in the different schools but one
class is less typical on large cards
the teacher writes many words rhymng. begin
ming with different letters fear" hear"
near and cat" mat" rat" etc. The
sounds of the different letters are given them in
this fashion.
What is the sound the cat makes when she
is angry?' The class sounds "f"
What sound does the dog make when he is
angry The sound of ''r' follows.
And the trolley" The letter "v' is sounded
M is the sound the makes. M is the
sawmill sound. III" is the sound Fannie made
when she tired The wind makes the sound
of Wv" About all these sounds a story has
been told. and the members of the class revel
In "reminiscences as they purse up their lips.
They roll patroniZng eyes toward visitors who
Jont know why the cat f-f-ed who Fannie
FEAR" for instance, is known by sight, when
near" is shown the boy makes the sawmll
sound followed quickly by ear" and says
near triumphantly. Quick a flash the
child hesitates and thirty words