Evening star., 1901-11-15
Complaint of OverwOrk in the Schools
To the Editor Of The Evening Star:

To the Editor Of The Evening Star:
The eight-hour law, which applies to
nearly all the laborers Of the District, and
the six and a half hours that measure the
daily stint of government employees are
supposed to indicate the endurance of
adults. What, then, is to be thought OF
school board regulations that require half
grown school children to work ten and
twelve hours a day, and this not being
enough permit rule to be enforced-1 will
not try to trace it's origin-that whenever
child misses a single word in a long
spelling lesson he is to be kept in to con
the lesson. Every time word is missed
a respelling twenty-five new words are
selected. If one Of these is missed another
list of twenty-five is furnished, and on
until the child has the privilege Of work
ing for two and even two hours and half
trying to become perfect speller by jumps.
Everybody who has ever reflected on the
subject knows that good spelling is mat
ter of slow growth, and every parent who
follows the school work of the children
knows that a child may study his spelling
until he is letter perfect the night before
and then go to school and slip up on some
syllable that can be spelled intelligently
two or three ways. On spelling lesson
this week the writer had the long list OF
words given out to him. He missed four.
and he doesn't consider himself a poor
speller by any means, not having occasion
to go to the dictionary sometimes for
months. On the same lesson the pupil
missed three, but he had looked over the
lesson. But that night before he went to
bed the pupil spelled every word accurately.
The next day he missed one Result, he
was deprived of an hour and half of his
little bit of outdoor time. The same thing
happened last week, and 1 am Informed
that 1T is a common thing for the major
portion Of the class to be kept in, some of
them for over two hours.
My children have to study five good hours
every day to keep up with the long and
hard lessons they bring home, and then to
have two more hours tackled onto their
days toll because they cannot become good
spoilers in a day, after years Of neglect
of the branch makes me somewhat intem-
perate in my indignation.
Why cannot little common sense be
mixed with their book learning by people
who are dealing in matters of education? ?
Why cannot spelling be made matter Of
recreation on Friday afternoons, turning
the school for an hour into a spelling bee
and introducing the element Of emulation
and pride of achievement along with fun
and laughter, thus giving tired young
brains rest?
three hours study is enough home work for
high school pupil, instead Of giving out
work for five and six hours, with the re-
mark that scholars are not expected to
study more than three hours. What will
happen il the pupils study but three hours
and then fail? They are then promptly
CONDITIONED and have to make up the
study by extra work. 1 know pupils that
study Friday afternoons and all day Satur-
day, reserving to themselves only Sundays
for recreation In addition to their regu-
lar studies, that task them to the utmost
every week or two they nave hard examina-
tions extra to prepare for.
Much of this hard work is made neces-
sary by inattention of those in authority to
details. For instance, do they know that
pupils are supposed to learn French with
out any grammar or other printed rules ex-
cept those volubly spouted by the French
teacher in oral instruction? II the child
hau the rules of grammar and syntax to
refer to and memorize half the hard work
| of learning such a foreign language would
disappear. In this connection let it be
borne in mind that Eng.ish grammar. not
having been taught in the lower grades
with any success, these pupils in French
are practically without any grammatical
| rudder. know girls studying French with
out grammar who do not know what a
neuter verb Is.
This whole system Of over pressure in
| these days Of advancement in learning and
knowledge Of child hygiene is inexcusable.
My boy came home today at 4:3O O'clock
from the high school, after being kept in
one hour and half for having missed a
single word in spelling. and hurried right
to his studies for the next day, without an
hour for play, and never stopped TIL bed
time. What can such tagged brain ac-
complish? What Is the effect ON the physi-
cal organization Of the child7
c. NJ. CAMPBELL.