Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1909-12-28
NEW YORK WOMAN
TODAYS SPEAKER
Ada Van Stone Harris Addresses
Teachers on Teaching
Of English"
THE FUNDAMENTAL ART.
It Is Necessary Not Alone for Com
munication, but Is Essential TO
Thought Itself.

The feature of this mornings session
of the state teachers convention was
the lecture by Miss Ada Van Stone
Harris, assistant superintendent of the
schools of Rochester. N. Y. on The
Teaching OF English. or the Culture of
the Language Arts" Miss Harris is
recognized throughout the country as
an able director in the school room,
and an authority on the subject which
she treated upon this morning
The auditorium of the Assembly hall
was again filed with attentive teach
ers when President briggs called the
gathering To order shortly after 10
o'clock Invocation was offered by Rev.
William Thurston Brown. OF the Uni
tartan church, after which A. ]. Kes-
seiberg rendered a baritone solo and
was recalled for an encore.
President briggs expressed his pleas
ure in introducing to the assembly OF
Utah teachers Miss Harris. who had
Travelled long way to address them
Miss Harris acknowledged the intro
GuctIon by saying it was real pleas
ure for her to stand before an in
telligeut body of men and women en-
gagged in the occupation OF training
The coming citizenship OF the country
She spoke In part as follows.
Language is the fundamental. univer-
sal art. 1t is not only necessary for
the efficient communication of ideas
among men; IL is essential to thought
Itself In all its higher or human phas-
es.
In our discussion of instruction In
the English language, il is necessary to
difrerentiate carefully its two chief
phases, what we commonly call Ian
guagc Study" and grammar
The language lesson deals with the
art OF expression in words, while gram
mar treats of the science OF language.
Both are important subjects and es
sential to anything approaching a
good education But they are not
The same subject and their confusion
has vitiated much of the instruction In
language given in the elementary
schools
They have. however. very Intimate
relations and when child Is mature
enough TO comprehend the scientific
classification and nomenclature OF
grammar, the grammatical terms be- |
come very handy" helps In his pursuit !
of the art of verbal expression. and |
later the two subjects become mutual |
ly necessary. Grammar is the science !
OF language. II includes the body of
CLASSIFIED knowledge pertaining to the |
laws of speech. Obviously, the posses
sion of this knowledge Will facilitate
exact and correct expression. A genu
inc art of speech must rest back upon
known laws. In other words grammar
Is the basis of rhetoric.
This relation furnishes an adequate |
reason for the study of grammar. The
science is justified by Its function. But
knowledge of the science does not |
convey skill In the art. Nor Is 1t nee
essary for the beginner in an art to |
know as a preliminary all the laws of |
the art. That is, there Is a vast differ |
ence between the establishment of an |
art on sure foundations. or even its |
use by mature and competent artist,
and its practise in elementary forms A |
child does not need to understand the
physical laws of sound and harmony