The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-12-30
BAD SELLERS.

Fault Lies in Teaching, Declares Writer. Logan D. Howell, in New York Times.
 Several papers last week were publishing and commenting on item of news from Northwestern University. In an examina- tton of freshmen there the authorities found what has been termed a disgraceful defi- ciency in spelling. The newspapers seem to think the conditions at Northwestern are Typical of the rising generation throughout the country, and the question 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 serious answer. 1t is a fact that in most schools nowadays be- ginners in reading. at the time when they ought to be laying 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 primer that contains the alphabet is an exception. Conse- quently teachers in higher schools find their pupils not only poor spoilers but some of 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 sen tences, progressive primary teachers now use one or more of some new modern meth ods. Chief among these is the Chinese method: The teacher points out any word whatever, and the child (who doesn't know B from a bulls footb is told to remember that word from its general appearance just as a Chinese child has to learn the words of his written language, which has al- phabet.
 It seems that the more irregular spelling of the first words presented to the beginner the better 1t is for he Chinese method One recent primer by prominent advocate of this way of teaching has in its first sentence five words containing the letter O, and in each word has different sound Tho words are, of, for, two, money. bought Ob- serve also that has a different sound each time fl occurs; that W is silent in 1.-two" :" and that ough is an unusual combination for the sound.
 The child in an old-fashioned school that could spell all these words correctly by the and 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 or any other words And the primer is but a type of many; they begin with words like baby and mamma (with two sounds of the letter al and pretty and Ht- tie (with e, y. and having the same sound and one silent.)
 Is it any wonder that children do not spell well when not only is no attempt made to teach t.em. but when they are thrown at orsce into all the Irregularities and incon- sistencies of English spelling2
 Another favorite method with leading modern teachers is the Jump-a and-run meth cd The children stand up on the floor and jump. Then the teacher shows them the zentence aI jump" The fact that they have just jumped Is expected to teach them that sentence 80 they will never forget 1t. Tn the same way they learn the phole prim- CT: ''I run" 'I play marbles, 'I catch 6 ball" etc, by doing all these things. q do not know how they would teach little girl to read who could not catch ball or
 There may be some old-time spoilers who 1 think that no such condition can really | exist in any school; that am exaggerating. For their benefit l will quote from the preface or instructions to teachers of two l of the most up-to-date primers. one states