Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1909-11-04
NUMBERING THE LANGUAGE
why the Majority Are So t'ngrammat-
icni IN Srccch-Sot because Of the
Schools, hut In spite OF the
Schools.

Schools.
(From the New Bedford Standard.)
Complaint is made that the schools
not only do not teach spelling, but that
they fail TO tesch children how 10 talk
srn mrnaticallv, and a contemporary OBJ
serves: yet how foolish to expect that
these little cheap affairs will be attend
Ell to that were old In 1850, a lot OF
schools are now out for the unusual and
the striking that will arouse comment,
and the bread and butter of education
Is being dropped out o. the menu in
many places" which the same is un-
nitisated nonsense. beyond being unfair
In about every aspect. What the bread
and butter Of educ,tlon" may he, we do
not pretend to guess. but it Is altogether
unreasoneble 70 charge that the teach
er. In the public schools do not attempt
their level hest to teach the children
how to talk srammatically.
Four or Ave days ago, an inhabitant Of
this city met bevv Of high school girls
on their way home after the ending Of
the days session. They were talking In
the strident voice which is unfortunately
the habit OF large numbers Of the young
women OF this generation. and the pass
erby could not avoid hearing a scrap Of
the conversation. One OF the brightest
looking OF the lot was accounting the
number and magnitude OF the tasks which
had been laid upon her by exacting
| teachers. winding UP with the mention
OF "a composition, too and the irpet-
uous query Amt II AWFUL While
the man Is possibly none too careful as
TO the grammatical accuracy Of his own
| speech, he WAS visibly disturbed that an
intelligent appearing girl-a Junior per-
haps-not ten minutes out OF the high
school room. should lapse in her speech
like that. It might be- argued that she
| was justified-that the writing OF COM
position Is truly awful" and that the
question was couched in appropriately
vigorous words However that may be,
crernarlans frown on the 'ain't" and
rhctoricians condemn the awful" And
we have no hesitation in affirming that
II any one OF the twenty odd teachers
through whose hands the girl had pass
ed since she entered tine public schools
| had hoard her say "Ain't 1t awful" she
would have been corrected and admon-
| ished and IL there was time would have
| been told why the question was not
allowable and what the proper form
| should have been. IT is not In any man
| ner likely that she ever heard a teacher
| on duty say "Aint II awful7" and the
| probability Is that in her own school,
| room talk she would nstinctively avoid
the expression. School is a constant bat
| tie with incorrect forms OF spcech-and
an unequal battle too.
Now this high school girl once out
| side the schoolroom lapsed into Amt
II awf,ii:" and very likely the doubling
| OF her negatives and an Indifference to
| the agreement Of number and person in
| her nouns and verbs. ms naturally as
| she breathcd. And why? because Of
the vocal atmosphere Of everyday life.
| Irnquestionab bly, her father and mother
! said ''aint" every time they had a
| chance. and her brothers brought ''ain't'
| In from the streets and tho vaudeville
shows, and she heard people who knew
perfectly we'll tho error. saving "ain't'
every chance they had except when on
dress parade. What chance have the
| injuncticns OF a school teacher. limited
20 five days in week, forty weeks in
year. against the continual impact Of
| such an inaccuracy on an trnpress!onable
| ear: So il Is with scores Of other un-
gro mmatical constructions, used con-
| stantly even by very Intelligent persons
| They are not because Of the schools
| nor for any lack OF the schools, but in
| spite of the schools and II the entire
time OF those institutions We're given to
| grammar. to the exclusion Of everything
else, the case would not he much differ
| emit Could the school teachers have
the children isolated from all other in
| nuences from six TO sixteen. there would
be little criticism ~ ungrammatical
| speech. As it is. tho speech Of most
| Of US is formed chiefly by associations
| outside tho schoolroon. md many Of
those associations conduce to anything but
| accuracy.
| We recall a lawyer OF ennence whose
written address and formal speeches
were models Of grammatical accuracy.
| Somehow and somewhere he had learn
ed how 10 use tho English languages with
absolute precision and correctness, 10
some extent. at any rate, in school and
college, But carried away by the inter
est and excitement of an impromptu
| speech, especially when he became deep
| ~ Interested, the rules of English gram
| mar would often suffer terribly. II
was not that he didn't know. nor that
ne had not been properly taught-but
that unconsciously he lapsed into forms
OF speech which had been impressed on
his mind outside the schools He was
striking illustration of how teaching,
ana even knowledge, go down in defeat
before the persistent influence or bad ex-
ample. There is no doubt that ingram
NAUTICAL and inelegant speech abound to
oepiorable extent, But for the most part
.h's Is on account Of forces against which
.ne puorc schools are tremendously
n"no'oapred-and instead of blaming
."e" 'hey ought to he praised because
.neS nave succeeded in doing something
toward keeping talk from being worse