Omaha daily bee., 1903-03-15
REDUCING BABEL TO ORDER
Confusion Of Tongues Strengthened Into
Good AnglO-Sa1On Speech
WORK or COSMOPOLITAN KINDERGARTEN
pRciac School of Omaha is DoIna =
Great Deal In Teaching Young
Foreigners the Education
of America.

''H'h@ - - WIN NNNAAS " AAN
average person to wonder by what method
the hundreds Of foreigners who annually
cons to this city to make their homes are
being sssimilsted With the life Of the com
munity or by what medium these foreign
speaking people attain a working knowledge
Of the English language. As a rule one
axes IL for granted that Il Is picked up by
association with others or that the chill
dren pick il up at school. Pick up we
say, little guessing that so far from this
careless method OF acquiring IL. hours and
weeks and months Of patient effort are each
year being expended upon the children Of
foreign parents by the teachers OF the pub
lie schools, and that through them the
great majority Of the adults become ia
miliar with the language.
Nowhere In the city is there a more in
teresting institution, nor profitable either.
from an economic standpoint, than the
public schools in the foreign ueighborhoods
where these future American citizens are
being Americanized; where representatives
Of almost every nation are being assimi-
lated to at least a working combination,
and all OF this. by the way. but Incidental
to the real function OF the school in which
the majority Of the class. children who have
alreadt mastered the language. must be
kept up to a certain standard and a GER
tain average equal to that of the other
schools Of the city that have in the main
comparatively well hammered and we'll
trained children TO begin with.
where the Foreigners swarm.
The best illustration OF this process OF
education is found at Pacific school,, at
Twelfth md Pacific streets, where a large
percentage OF the pupils are OF foreign
birth or Of foreign born parents. These
pupils enter the school at all ages and all
grades from all sorts Of conditions.
II Is truly a cosmopolitan assembly. for
practically every nation is or has been rep
resented there, from the dark-eyed orient
ais and the fair-faced natives Of the north
countries to the central and southern
Europeans, and even natives from the
islands OF the sea, in picturesque contrast
OF appearance, action and characteristics.
In the kindergarten alone are sixteen differ
ent nstionalities. while in the third grade.
with an enrolment Of forty. there are
thirteen. including natives of Russia, Rou-
mania, Cuba, Australia, Germany. Norway.
Italy, Bohemia, Denmark, Assyr.a, Eng
land. Sicily. ireland and Turkey. II not
infreQuently occurs that children coming
from different sections OF the came country
speak languages entirely different, while
in other cases il is impossible TO determine
their nationality, except through some sim
ilar.ty Of race. language or custom. for
where the parents are able to write. even
in their own language, they are some
times familiar with the name Of their ma
tive province only. and this lie indicated
on the information card.
A good share OF these children are un-
able TO speak or understand English and
are frequently so timid and shy that an
interpreter is Of little use, even II one
can be found who speaks their language.
Problems for tho Principal.
Fortunately for all concerned. the prin-
cipsl, Miss Margaret Mccarthy, speaks sew
eral languages ~iuently and has acquired
from experience a working knowledge OF
several others, which greatly facilitates
matters when a new pupil arrives. And the
arrival Of some Of these children, particu-
larry the little ones, is sometimes pathetic
indeed. One morning last week a little
girl came timidly TO the door. following
three little Roumanians, themselves speak
ing little English, but who had served TO
show her the way. The queer little group
was met by the principal, who Inquired
how the little stranger had come, and her
companions. knowing nothing OF her, the
inquiry was directed TO the child, who In
response rendered a much-soiled little note,
scravled by a hand evidently unused to
the Use Of the pencil. 1t read: Miss
Prineipal-This little girl wants to start
TO school. Please be good TO her; she
can't tank any American" she was re-
eeived and cordially. too. and now has a
place among the other bright-faced kinder
: gardeners.
Not less interesting than the children
themselves is the method by which they
are taught, and as a rule six months after
one OF these pupils enters the school he
has acquired 2 fair vocabulary and has read
through the primer, which. by the way. in
Cludes words that are harder than those
formerly found in the first readers. He
can not only read these words. but 10
familiar with their meaning Is well. The
first thing is TO familiarize them with the
words and regardless of age or sire the
primary chart, with its short names and
the corresponding object IL placed before
them. First the word IS spoken by the
teacher and then the object indicated. the
child repeating II after her. Then syIlables
and monosyliables are taken up and grad
ually he is taught the combination OF the
various words. finally learning to know
what they mean. or course this inability
TO real no matter whether the child has
ever attended school before or not. affects
almost every study excepting arithmetic,
and in this branch he is placed wherever
be can work.
Capacity Of the Children.
In speaking OF the progress OF these chill
dren Miss Mccarthy said: Il ind there is
a wide divergence Of intellect, 50 far as ma
: t~ionality Is concerned. The most stupid and
the very brightest OF q class may be Of the
same Truly remarkable progress Is made
by some OF them, there being a boy in the
school at present who entered Ave weeks
ago unable 10 speak, read or write a word
Of English. He has now read through the.
primer and is working in the first reader.
He is II years old. Another little Italian
Of 6 has read uhrOuRh several readers and
reads with remarkable accuracy from news
psperc.
Considerable difference is found 10 the
ability Of the children 10 retain what they
have learned. the quick. emotional natures
forgetting as easily as they grasp. while
the more stolid ones rarely forget.
Monday Is always the hard day. especially
among the Hide ones. for whore the parents
speak 10 English. much % forgotten even
during the two days. until the child be-
cone thoroughly familiar with the
language. The variety Of temperament Is
constantly in eyidence in the school room,
nothing escaping the quick ears and dark