The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1905-01-21
WHAT ABOUT OUR ENGLISH?


w composition today, there seem to be two classes
onythe public which says the study sighted and the
educators who say time being spent language
work than before The students Themselves
out of the controversy. They happen to be merely
the grist between the upper and the neither milestone
1.-THE study of English is receiving twenty times the
attention today that it received fifty years ago. said
DR.. Cyrus Northrop recently.
81 alarming signs of illiteracy,' said DR.. G.
M Jordan "People talk and write better English now
than they have talked and written. They study
language more; more English is taught''
These two men, foremost educators in the state
and in Minneapolis know what their teachers trying
to do in the study of English composition Yet neither
of them probably, show in black and white what
they actually accomplishing do the files Of the
Journal Junior for the past years.
For the past five years, the Journal Junior has
ceived average of 1000 papers week during the
school year, written by pupils in the public schools of
the northwest The papers during the vacation
average slightly less. This $4,000 papers in
school year alone representing the language work
dren in the public schools not only from the city of Min
neapos and the state Of Minnesota, but from Wisconsin,
Iowa. Illinois, Nebraska North and South Dakota Mon
tana, and far west Washington and California.
The reading of eighty thousand papers forty weeks
gives much wider view of what teachers
plishng under varying state currcuums than could pos
sibly to the highest educators in those
tions.
From the weekly budget of two thousand papers not
than 100 be printed, for lack of space. Now
what do the files of The Journal Junior show?
In 1893, the work good surprisingly good to all
concerned
In 1899, the work was better in a marked degree
In 1900, there was greater percentage of the pa
pers that mered publication but crowded out for
lack Of space.
In 1901, 1902, 1903 the standard year by year
until today the language work done by the schools which
to The Journal Junior per than
it was in 1898.
The files show in their columns to any one who cares
to read
The editor knows it in much convincing way.
From 1885, when the department opened to the chill
dren of the northwest and the publication begun
the Journal Junior separate supplement- until 1902
less editing had to be done by the editor
= to make the papers sufficiently presentable.
In the fall of 1902 the work generally of such
high order that the rule made that the choice for
prizes would go to the which required editing
and for publication those which needed the least
The papers printed far during the school year
1904O5 practically unedited and represent work
originally done by the writer's In of the Fifth
Grade papers, punctuation and spelling corrected
but the composition-the thought and the manner Of
expression-s the children s
Judged by the files alone Of The Journal Junior fo
the past years. the teachers of Minneapolis
northwest have Enthusiastically been doing their whole
In the way OF Ensh composition and what IS shown by
the files does not begin to tell the story the editor
The Journal Junior knows it from the thousands anc
thousands Of papers that have been rejected.
The Journal Junior is not claiming the credit for th
inspiring state of AFFAIRS but that has been factor il
the raising of the standard in English composition
within its territory amply shown by the testimonial
printed elsewhere written by teachers and supernten
DENTS who have used Journal Junior topics
and know whereof they speak.
WHAT THE JOURNAL JUNIOR WORK DOES
T HELPS the teacher in English composition WORT
1t offers composition subject every week that dc
mands original thought.
If topic asks for expression Of opinion, it AWAY
asks whys' and paper that does not that que
ton is rejected Hence, child is led to for him
self, since he must go further than statement
his preference
The four prizes a week offer incentive to write