Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-09-30
High School French Teaching.


1 note with surprise the defense put for
ward by Mr. George G. Hill Of the present
system of teaching French in the High
School without grammar. The defense is
| confession that it is done for the follow
| ing reason: The purpose of the teacher in
giving out the lesson chiefly that of
famlllarizing the pupils with the book as
also that they might by their unaided eff
forts, however crr de their results, overcome
that nervousness which almostl invariably
attends the first attack of a strange lam
| guage.' For such a reason the teacher on
the first day of school gives two full pages
| of French to green class without any
| 81 amman, any previous drill in the conjuga-
ton of any verb, or, indeed, enough infor-
| nation to enable the new pupil TO pick out
the parts of speech. -c
For instance. in the lesson in question oc-
| cured this sentence I'll ny a pas de quot"
Here is the scant information given by the
| gle ssary on each of these words, so that
| the readers of The Star can try 1t for
themselves: Il-he, it; n'y-not in glossary;
| a-has, see avoir; IL y--see y; y-there. to it.
| in it, to them; ia, there is there are;
pas-m, step; ne-pas, not; de-zof, from.
| with, in, for than: quOi-what. so
| The glossary does not say thatsny'' is a.
TO- OF know twS tpa pH
! when he turns to avoir he learns that 1t is
| the verb to have but as he has never con-
| jugated that verb, nor any other verb, he
| does not know what form of 1T "a is Nor
| does he find should he know enough to
| look, any place in the book full conjuga-e
| ton of the verb, simply few skeleton
| forms introduced into later lessons. Ana
inasn.uch as the High School pupils have
| had no drill in English grammar in the
pr oper sense although it has been nitro
duce into the lower grades many OF the
pupils In the French class in question would
be hopelesSly at sea in going at the matter
| as intelligently here indicated. =
| Now that the readers of The Star have
had a chance at this diomatic first-day
| French they will be interested to know that
the clause quoted is supposed to mean. liter
ally translated. you are welcome. Literal
| ly it says there is not of what. st-
| When the parents of Washington learn
| that there are fine French gramnars- n
as Fasauelle's-in which all these sW!il-
| culties are approached by easy stages max
ing the acquisition of the language, or 50
much of It as is ever acquired in school. a
pleasure and when they learn that for this
| sensible old-fashioned method their emil
dren are compelled to tread the Cifnfult
pa tn indicated by this new me thcd. IN
| Yolving the needless burning of mlcnlghs
oil when they should be in bed, perhaps
these parents will begin to look around 10
| see who is responsible, When the respons-
ible party is found let the query be put,
| Why is a grammar necessary in thu study
| of Latin. and not French!
Nav l plead the Importance of the sub
ject as an excuse for taking up c"llsteral
| matter In this connection? One year ago
young lady who came under my close
| observation graduated at the High School.
l
| Latin that with very few exceptions, she
| put in both her Saturdays and Sundays on
| the study. In my opinion her lessons were
| always twice as long as they Should nave
! heen and this fact seemed demonstra ted
| when at the end of the year her class was
! ! found five books Tor subdivisions anead OF
the remainder of the class unde' another
| teacher which had precisely the same
, | start
Is it any wonder she writes, in announc-
ing her intention of entering Chicago Uni
! varsity this wear: II shall under no cir
| cumstances take any more Latin. l haze
| the word I know all want to and more
about the fossilized ancient world, having
| received big enough a dose in Washington
was an excellent one so far as drill wenr
| Her great defect a lack of the sense
; of proportion and with no knowledge OF
! oyer-pressure and it's very grave conse-
: ouences to growing youth who are en-
pected to do more combining work involving
| close application than an adult clerk in the
| business world or a laborer in the streets
Seven or eight hours out of the twenty
, | four are considered enough in these last
| named cases. With school children twelve
| and even fourteen hours very common
| When this fact is brought home to teach.
| er the usual response is II don't want any
, | of my pupils to take an hour heul
| and a half to any lesson give" She never
explains what will happen when the pupi
reports without having mastered the leg
Y | son.
' Every one of the facts have given car
! | be investigated and their correctness dem
, | onstrated / have desire to appear as
: critic. My only hope is to put in sue
| cessful plea for overworked children un
2 | either suggestion or authority.
: c. w. CAMPBELL.