Gloucester County Democrat., 1909-04-22
TEACHERS ASSOCIATION.
Continued from Fourth Page.l

=
maintain, is chief essential. Here
/ may suggest that the entire first year
has been, by necessity, devoted to the
mastery and understanding of difficult
terms and expressions. ] take var
lance with him who says that by de-
voting SO much time to the meaning
| of words, the effect of the whole is
obscured. The entire effect must not
be obscured, confess, but the details
which make up the whole must not
be disregarded. insist on the mean
ings of words; | require constant use
of the dictionary; I ask for the inter-
probation of all difficult expressions
even though, as some tell us, this is
not the modern method I admit |
am old fashioned enough for that. But
| try to impress the effect of the
whole as we'll. Discussions on char
acters, plot constructions, theories,
axioms, doctrines and the like make
us broad minded as we'll as arouse
our interest.
Perhaps the most discouraging part
of the English course is the work in
rhetoric. To interest children, es-
pecially those with no very fertile
minds in the principles of unity and
conference, we admit, is a hard task.
| Nevertheless, it must be dones Compe
/ titiOn, If aroused, | have discovered,
/ solves the problem of securing inter-
est and attention. A mastery of prin-
ciples and the success in the applica-
| tion of them is a great satisfaction to
a pupil. Resort to other text books
than my own proves very efficient
instrument
The composition work can,if plan
ned and managed properly, be made
the most enjoyable part of the course
More depends on the subjects assign
4 ed or chosen than first thought
might suggest. There are some teach
ers who base their composition themes
entirely on the classics. This meth
cd undoubtedly must prove tiresome
and uninteresting for the pupils. 1t
i has proven itself for me, that an en-
tire breaking away from the classics
! for the Friday composition is bet
ter plan. The aim of all compost
tion work primarily is to induce the
child to put his own thoughts into
writing, and consequently to encour-
! age the best style for these thoughts.
1t is more satisfactory for him to
write out some of his own personal ex-
| periences occasionally than it is to
constantly rack his brain for char
acter sketches and the like There
| fore, / believe in assigning subjects
| free from the classics which we have
been reading. Let it here be under
stood that classic themes are neces-
sary and must be required in the reg
| ular work on the classics.
Furthermore, in our work on COM
! position we are greatly hampered by
the limits placed around us. Nara
tion and description form the first
years work, exposition the second, ar
gumentation the third, and a combina-
tion of all, the fourth according to
our course of study. Is it natural for
the pupil when he starts out to write
| to limit himself to narration only?
Is it not far more likely, that if allow
ed his freedom, he would unite some,
| if not all of these divisions of compo-
sition? Why not allow him this free
dom for some time at least, and then
gradually specialize on narration or
description as the case may be?
| There is no branch of study for
| which a greater dislike can be culti-
waited than composition In great
kmany cases this attitude seems to
| have been inherited. Therefore the
most tactful management is necessary
Thru the medium of thought which is
| the first requisite for all work in
| composition, the boy can invariably
be appealed to. He must be made
1 and helped to think. He must be
aided in the logical arrangement of
his thoughts. Gradually he takes de-
/ light in thinking for himself and aims
to surpass his classmates in logical
composition. Again, in order to be
successful, the teacher must resign
| himself to his fate. He must correct
minutely each composition. The aver
age pupil is not so stupid as not to
notice how much attention the teacher
pays to his work. Interest begets in
terest ,and the more of it the teacher
shows, the more the pupil cultivates.
Public and private criticism must be
resorted to with discretion. A criti-
cal spirit developed in the student
| body is an invaluable aid.
As a conclusion, it is fitting that a
! few general facts, which are funda-
mentally necessary for good, success
/ full English work be produced. It is
| absolutely necessary and of the great
est Importance that the teacher have
/ perfect control of her pupils. | main
tain discipline as the basis of success
for any work in any recitation. This
may seem too self-evident and too
commonplace suggestion to warrant
any special notice. If we only knew,
4 however, how much of our energy has
been wasted, how much of our val
liable instruction given for nothing,
merely because we failed from the be-
ginning to gain the attention of our
hearers. The dreary looks, the list
less pose, and that attitude which is
ever alert for mischief are speedily re-
placed by the tactful teacher Too
many thoughts are lost because the
pupil doesn't care and more often be-
cause he realizes and knows that he
isn't made to care.
A necessity just as fundamental as
the preceding for successful work in
English involves the best and most
complete preparation on the part OF
the teacher. 1t will not suffice that