The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1906-10-13
THE INQUISITIvE CHILD.

Many parents and teachers. too, are
too apt to Snub the inQuisitive child,
True. the numerous things a child will
quiz one about If permitted to do so is
sometimes quite eXaSperating when
one is busy with his own affairs, vet
We should remember that the way to
learn is to investigate and We should
be ever ready to answer the inuuisl-
tive child, or, at least, to be patient
with him.
OF course. when child asks such
questions as these. viz: How many
nickles make muckleoo" How many
is many: How does sailor smoke
hornpipe?" Why can't rabbits add
and subtract as we'll as multiple" he
has strong inquisitiveness and should
be urged to desist. but when a boy
says: Please. do you think when
stout man is self-contained. he has
more room inside of himself to contain
himself than a thin man has?" We
should weigh the matter we'll and, if
possible. aid him in the solution of
his problem. Such boy will make a
losician some day If not too closely
restrained.
When child seems serious in his
cositations it gives his thinking cap
black eye to turn him down because
you are too busy to give ear to his
nonsense"
The wisdom OF children seems some
times incomprehensible and they
should be encouraged in thinking.
Some one has said: Reading
maketh a full many. talking a ready
man and writing an exact man"
Might we not add: Thinking makes
a wise man?
Our whole aim in the education of
children should be to get them to
think. Prof. Wisely has written new
grammar which he claims will cause
the student to think. Any student that
deEe.opes ones power TO think is bene-
neal. we become interested only when
interested only when we have son!e-
thing which the mind grasps. hence
the child who thinks enough to ask
questions should be encouraged in
stead OF snubbed. Unless the child
thinks he will have no questions to
ask
Invariably, when a child has done
wrong and is asked why he did so his
reply will be: Il didn't think"
Henceforth resolve to aid the child
all you c:n in developing his power to
think.
WHAT IS THE NATURAL ROUTE!
While waiting in the Office of city
superintendent OF schools recently for
his return. We picked up a copy of
Wisely's English Grammar and noticed
these comments:
Grammar should be treated separ-
10 t.
distinct science which should not be
taught below the sixth and seventh
grades"
On reading we found the plan of the
work is:
LIST. To deal with sentences as a
whole
end. To deal with classes of sem
fences.
Bird. The study of organic parts Of
the sentence.
4th and last after a study of nearly
200 pages.
Parts of speech. Teachers. what 90
you think of this arrangement? For
merly much time was wasted in teach
ing reading because we thought 1t
necessary that child know the alpha
bet before learning the word. Now
the child reads we'll before knowing
all of the individual letters that make
up word. So it was with writing.
The boy of thirty years ago practiced
on parts of letters caller principles,
there being four for the small and
three distinct principles fer the CAPT.
tai letters according to the Plat r.
Spencer system. Now the child learns
to write whole words and but little
attention if any is given to the prin-
ciples. elements of letter. Life is
too short to critically analyze SUBJ
divisions.
1t will be noticed that parts of
speech is the last subdivision of this
grammar.
In studying the natural development
OF language of the child from the
child's actual development from day to
day few years ago we noticed that
the action word was learned before
the name and that much ingenuity was
displayed by the child, often A dog
was called chow" after the action
word bark; gun was called bang"
water, milk. etc. called drink"
stove. candle or lamp was called
burn before the name word was
learned.
1t would seem that We have yet to
develop natural language course
compatible with childish lnclinations.