New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-07

and unusual denomins tors" said he: Til and ss.
ness in real life"
PRUNING ARITHMETIC
1t would seem that Professor McAIurry would
throw out nearly all of the arithmetic taught
IN the grades. But i'm place of 1t he would have
great deal of drill those parts of it in common.
everyday use.
lie would have hygiene taught; not anatomy or
physiology, but only useful practical facts relating
time teaching the child the OF the body but
a good deaf in mpressinS on him the need OF
"A great deal Of time is wasted in teaching spell
language. There is no sense IN that Neither is
how to spell every word in his reading lesson
heard my little girl reading lesson IN the second
'woodchuek'' 'orioie.' Whittier and pantaloons'
There was no reason at ali why she could not un-
derstsnd those words and learn to know them by
sight. but it would have been almost Impossible for
read far more dificult words than he can learn to
spell lie VII learn to spe ony SuG j4; worqS as me
the child spell correctly such WORDS he uses in
his thoughts he viii learn spell them for himself.
AS for grammar. more boys and girls have oee e
driven out of the SIXTH seventh and eighth grades
by disgust at grammar than by any other STUDY.
relation of the contents OF that study the facts
of life. Now. don't see what relation mode has 70
Indicative imperative, had serious times with al
OF them in my youth pa M ~ reaon to
the facts of my life They tell YOU that ANYBODY
These Children in the grades might respond that
few Of them have any idea Of becoming sG d airs
become scholars take up the science Of grammar mar
conjugatons had lots of trouble with those things
wnen was fhd and have t hgsn r s4f to
to my later life Yet there Is some grammar that at
pick out the subject and predicate instantly in
eHery sentence If he can he may not know WHst
sentence teaches him the structure of LANGUAGE
should thoroughly the
speech. and the comparison of adjectives and ad-
learn to express his thoughts correctly There
mar in the last two or three grades than the
science Of biology: Enough nature study is given
animals with interest and intelligence, Enough
grammar should be given him to enable ere him Wo to
may be desirable. but we haven't time between six
The crowding has become unbearable. If You dis
agree with ne, what are you going to leave out:
of something useless? And yet would add little
ting great deal of dry useless grammar one
could add a little rhetoric which would make the
language a great deal more. The trouble is we
and others as higher. The science of grammar is
no non more elementaTy than rhetoric or many other
TOO MANY DATES
''In history learn too many explorers. too many
dates, and especially too many Thank
heaven they don't teach those four Colonial wars
they did when I a boy, But could
pToftably leave ont the study Of the Civil War in
detail I have mastered the whole Civil War one
year. and the year had to do it all over again.
| Those things actually not reviewed often
enough In real life to be kept fresh in the minds
of educated persons. The of the Civil War.
| the results Of the Civil War. those should be
| taught the child thoroughly He will grasp them
| and remember them. But why burden his mind
with dates of battles and details OF campaigns {?
| Every one of you knows that he will only forget
| them. And there is all that time wasted. War
out of all proportion TO its relation history. If
| we cut lot of useless United States history
we could teach the child little useful world his
tory, not names of battles and geneaogies of kings
| system for instance, or the Reforma tion-those
! things had immense influence life to-day.
| Understanding them throws a flood OF light on
| modern life.
| study all the ctvicS taught in all the schools Of
| America to-day and not understand your duties
| citizen lota the better. How does it help
child TO know his duties as Il citizen to learn by
value does the salary of the Controller have his
future life? What mental discipline has II afforded
/ him 10 memOrize 1t? CivcS, taught in our
schools to-day is practically worthless. and the
history and civics that light up and explain
modern life, and let the rest go.
II would never make any child take the time to
memorize the location of capitals He look up
| Asia, Africa Europe and South America once. and
then let the child absorb all the OF his knowl-
| edge OF them out OF geographical readers which
are better than any geography. because they
of reading. Teach child enough geography TO
enable him to read the modern newspaper and mag
azne ntelligently. That isn't very much but it's
enough