The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1902-05-20
THOSE READERS.
American Book Company Defends the
Series Adopted

The following statement concerning
the Appleton readers recently adopted
by the state text book board has been
prepared by a representative of the
American Book company, the publish
ers of the book:
1.-The school text book commission Sc
lected the Appleton series Of readers for
use during the next five years because
it was the best series presented.
"First-It does not slavishly follow
any one m ethOd of teaching reading,
but 1t combines three approved meth
DDS, producing the much desired eclec-
tic system of teaching. Beginning with
the word method, it naturally and grad
ually separa tes the word into its sounds
and letters, thus combining the advan-
tages Of the word, phonlc and alphabet
methods.
Second. This series of readers does
not make the mistake Of attempting to
mark pbonics in the text but teaches
phonics by arranging the words whose
sounds are to be especially taught, in
columns preceding and succeeding the
text lessons. 1t is confusing and I'M
pedagogical to place diacritieal mark
ings in the text of any reader.
s.Third-The new words are introduced
in logical order and not too rapidly. 1t
is a mistake to cucumber the child's
mind with too many new words in any
given lesson or series of lessons. If
given too many, the mind becomes be-
wildered and frequently unable to dis
eliminate between the old forms already
learned, and the new ones which are at
tempted to be taught.
.'Fourth-The character of the selec-
tons is carefully graded to the age of
the child, both in matter selected and in
the simplicity and clearness OF the ex-
preston used. Thus each reader be-
comes the natural corollary of its pre-
decessOr in the series.
Fifth the more advanced books
of the series, the literary character of
the selections is of very high order
They are the product of the discrimina-
tive judgment of the scholarly commits
sioner Of education of the United States,
the Hon. ". T Harris.
.'Sixth-As might be expected from
the cOllaborative work of such men as
DR.. Harris, Mark Bailey and A J.
RichOff, the greatest care and attention
has been given to the moral side of the
child's nature-what is known as char
acter- building. Almost every lesson in
the series helps in this most important
function. and tends to develop in the
learner the graces of charity, generos-
ity, temperance, humanity, honesty, fru-
gality, patriotism, love of home. and
care for dumb bruteS. There are few
readers that are the equal of the APP
pleton series in the training of the
ethical man.
.seventh-It has been charged that
these readers are 'antiquated,' copy
right run out out of use etc, etc. 1t
it has been used for q long time; that
it has received the benefit of the criti-
cism of educators after long -cOntinued
and practical use in the school room.
Advantage has been taken of this criu-
cism until the series has become almost
perfect in all those little things such
as word analysis, pronunciation, dta-
critical marking and Illustration, which,
combined, make a good book. 1t Is
not true that the copyright has eX-
pired or is about to expire. Those who
make the charge of age against the
Appleton series Will Immediately there
after speak in praise of McC4uffeyy,
which is an older book than is Apple
ton, and is without question, one of
the best books on the market
"Eighth-The extensive use of this
reader by school men and teachers of
this country is the highest endorsement
that can be awarded books Several
hundreds Of thousands are sold an
nually, and it is commended in the most
emphatic terms by large number OF
the foremost educators of the United
| States.
zone of the leading educators of the
Chicago schools, has the following to
say of the Appleton readers:
g / have always liked them. It was
a case of love at first sight like
! them for their spith O. sense Previous
1 to their advent we had both the word
method and sentence method in teach
/ ing reading, and both without an al
| phabet.
. The word method has had its day,
! for the reason that it could not so far
without an alphabet The sentence
was faring no better, and for the same
reason. Without an alphabet there are
/ neither vOwels nor consOnantS; with
out vowels there is no vOcality; ana
without cOnsOnants and voWels there is
no tonality in words. All words were
dumped alike into the memory of d
/ child. The memory carried its burden
as long as it could, and then broke
down. It was played out and couldn /
| play any more.
'Appleton's First Reader, while re-
tanning the word and sentence M thods,
has restored to the schools the alpha
bet With the alphabet came the vo-
cality of vowels and tonality of words.
/ Appleton's First Reader introduces
| word study as a part of the process
| of learning to read; since learning to
/ read consists in learning words as SYM
| bOls, as well as learning to express
thought by means of words.
Word study makes its appeal to
| the law of association as an aid to
memory. See Lesson TX, page Il.
The child learns the tonality ack
| He soon gets tack, pack, crack, back
track whack, hack, etc, and he re
members them all by association with
less effort than he remembers am and
is.
He also learns the initial conso-
| nants, both name and function, almost
without effort. He also learns to spell