The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1909-12-01
BAD sPEILERs.
Fault IAes I'm Vogue of Teaching
Words Without Regard tn Letters.
Uogan ID. Howell in the New York
Times.)

Several papers last week were pub
fishing and commenting on an item
OF news from Northwestern Univer-
sity. In an examination of freshmen
there the authorities found what has
been termed disgraceful deficiency
In spelling. The newspapers seem to
think the conditions at Northwestern
are typical of the rising generation
throughout the country. and the ques-
tion Is asked: "Is spelling no longer
taught?"
This question may not be serious,
being intended to imply that spelling
is poorly taught. But. to give a Sc
rious answer. II Is a fact that In most
schools nowadays beginners In read
Ing. at the time when they ought to
be laying a foundation for spelling,
are not taught this subject at all.
On the contrary. the learner Is
taught to try to read without regard
to the individual, letters Of the words,
and a primer that contains the alpha
bet Is an exception. Consequently
teachers In higher schools and their
pupils are not only poor spoilers. but
some Of them are unable to use a die
tionsry by reason of not knowing the
order of the letters.
Instead of the old-fashioned way of
first learning the alphabet, then
words through their spelling. and last
the reading Of sentences. progressive
primary teachers now use one or
more Of some new modern methods.
Chief among these Is the Chinese
method: The teacher points out any
word whatever. ard the child (who
doesn't know b from a bulls foot) is
told TO remember that word from its
general appearance. just as a Chinese
child has to learn the words xof his
written language. which has no al
phabet.
Ii seems that the more irregular
spelling OF the first words presented
to the -bes1npeS- tsse better Il l. for
the Chinese method. One recent
primer by q prominent advocate OF
this way Of teaching has In Its first
sentence Ave words containing the
letter o. and In each word has a
different sound. The words are. of.
for. two. money. bought. Observe
also that has a different sound each
time II occurs: that W Is silent In
"two" and that ough is an unusual
combination for the aw sound.
The child In an old-fashioned
school that could spell all these words
correctly by the end OF the term
would be doing well. But these words
occur In the very first lesson In the
book: the pupil is not taught to spell
these OF any other words. And this
primer Is but type Of many; they
begin with words like baby and man.
ma with two sounds of the letter az
and pretty and little. with e, y. and
silently.
Is II any wonder that children do
not spell well when not only is no at
tempt made to teach them, but when
they are thrown at once into all the
Irregularities and lnconsiste ncies of
English spelling?
Another favorite method with lead
Ing modern teachers Is the jump
and-run method. The children stand
mp on the floor and jump. Then the
teacher shows them the sentence: IL
jump" The fact that they have just
jumped Is expected to teach them
that sentence so they will never for
get IL. In the same way they learn
the whole primer: IL run" "I play
marbles" II catch ball" ETC., by
doing all hese things. U do not
know how they would teach little
girl to read who could not catch a
ball or shoot marbles).
There may be some old-time SPELL
ers who think that no such condition
can really exist Ia any school: that I
am exaggerating. For their benefit
i Will quote from the prefarce. or in
structions TO teachers. OF two Of tho
most up-to-date primers: One states
that the book "is written from the
standpoint Of images not words
III the mind Of the child is CEN
tered upon the thought he will learn
the written word unconsciously as ne
learns the spoken word"
All modern primers pooh-pooh the
alphabet, and one authority gravely
declares:
I'm short time the pupils will ac-
qulre the names of the letters of the