The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1909-12-02

lOu Cdu bdhc youi SpellltB WoiuS
and use them for your writing
lesson, &c. These subjects be-
long together, aud for that rea-
son, I think they should be called
the Mother Tongue group. One
of these branches has assumed
the name of that group, and that
is language. think that this is
the most practical subject that
we teach IN the com mon schools;
but | know that we do not usual
ly look upon it as such. l sup
pose that the majority of US
would say that Arithmetic is the
most important. Is it all so i'm
portant9 Now, your mother,
like my mother; and your father,
like my father, spent lot OF time
in working fractions, percentage,
compound interest, allegations,
square root, ETC.; but have you
ever seen your mother take
pencil, go off and sit down work.
ing compound interest? No, of
course not; but does your father
use 1t? 0, yes, men use it. He
uses it, perhaps, to figure inter
est and lum ber, but all of the rest
Cf It Is forgotten IN few years
after they get out of school. Did
you ever see your mother go and
sit down and read a book? Read.
Why, we read always! That is
one of the most practical subjects
that is taught In the schools. Let
a young man write letter of ap-
p.icatlon and miss two words and
it will be Immediately turned
down. Let me tell you, that too
Is one of very much interest. I
wonder if you, teachers, really
teach writing and how many of
you really teach penmanship?
How many of you think you teach
it successfully so that your boys
and girls are writing a little bet
ter and are making progress in
this subject" l do not think we
are spending too much time IN
teaching penmanship, and yet 1t
is an intensely interesting and
practical subject. In the first
grade, pupils learn to read nine
hundred to a thousand words; 10
the first three grades, two thous
and words, and IN the next four
or five grades, they hardly learn
eight hundred words. What is
the reason of this First, the
matter of time which cannot be
helped; the second reason is, the
words are more difficult, and the
third is a lack Of interest on the
part of the teachers themselves.
There is not any subject taught
IN the public schools that Is more
important than reading. To my
mind, reading divides itself into
four heads: First, the word call.
ing or word naming; second, word
meaning. II is possible for the
child to be able to pronounce
words IN the dictionary, and yet
not be asle'to read single senten.
ces. Milton made his daughters
read Greek to him by the hour
every day, and yet they did not
understand a word OF it; likewise
there are children thai read Eng.
llsh right along just ss the daugh
ters of Milton read Greek. Don t
you think for a moment that the
child knows the word because he
can pronounce it. The last point
is thought getting. / would give
the children drill In getting these
and then have them give the
thoughtin the sentences and then
they are really able to read.
The last period of the SESSION
was taken by DR.. Woodruff, sub
ject--'Teaching of English.
Points made-"Do not give chll.
dren something to talk or write
about that they do not under
stand" "Have children observe"
"Practice correct vocal interpret
atlons."
TUESDAY AFTERNOON.
Song drill.
Prof. Pierce took the first Pc
riod. HIS subject was-Relation
uf the School to the Home" "
Some of the points brought out
we're: Parents fail to visit the
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