The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1903-05-23
TEACHERS in the seventh and
eighth grades in the Minneapolis
schools are supposed to teach
technical grammar and give adj

S EACHERS in the seventh and
eighth grades in the Minneapolis
schools are supposed to teach
technical grammar and give adj
vanced lessons in language. The
strength and weakness Of these two lines
OF work arc creditable to the text book in
use and to the teachers. No definite pur-
pose appears to pervade all the schools
from a course of study. observed good
teaching Of technical grammar by those
who judiciously omitted the strained at
tempts Of the author to impress dis
coyery Those who adhere to the plain
unduestioned facts Of English infection
make progress. Those who are dazed by
the learned efforts Of the text book author
usually succeed In befogging the pupils
as they are befogged by the author. No
author has written and no firm has pub
lished an infallible guide to the acquire
rnent Of power to write and speak the
English language. Too many authors as
sumo that there Is a. royal road. by rule
to the requirement Of English. The
fundamental principle that English is
learned by using and speaking English
Is overlooked. The old way was very
good, to a limit. Nouns. pronouns, ETC..
it Is well to know, but no one uses a
noun or a verb correctly because he
knows 1t is one. The absolute rules that
govern English forms Of speech are few.
The rules made by authors that do not
apply are many. Great freedom must be
permitted In form, In selection of words
and even in their use. q Why do many of
the best paid writer's and speakers use
'shalr' and will almost simultaneously?
I do not mean that nouns and verbs need
not agree in number and person, but that
q verb Is not necessarily classified as pure
or impure. One must know the forms OF
irregular verbs, but one should not waste
time by injecting regular verbs. If the
non-essentials Of infection were extracted
from English grammars the books would
be much improved and much reduced in
size. i
Grammar and Language.
Following are some sample papers in
the language exercises:
B. seventh grade, forty papers. A
weekly story; fourteen marked good, -
one very good. ~"
THE LITTLE LOAF.
Once when their was great famine in til.
land, a rich man asked twenty of the poorest chill
dren to come to his house on a certain day. The
day came and the eager children crowded in the
hall, waited for the to appear. He soor
came and leading the children to another room
showed to them basket, and said: s.Chndren
this basket has twenty loaves in it. You may
each take one and return for another tomorrow ,
The children rushed forward and struggled and
qunrreled for the largest loaf When all thu
loaves were gone except small one, little
girl named Gretchen, who had patiently waitet
till the other children had taken their loaves
took 1T, kissed the mans hand and went home t,
her mother. When her mother cut the loaf ope1
bright pieces Of gold and silver ratified and fel
on the table.
Her mother told Gretchen to take the none,
back to the man. When Gretchen told the MAJ
her message, he said: II gave that money t
you because you waited so patiently and took tn
1oaf