The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1910-06-14

uIdJ SpctfftLS ouN =
never Dondered on how difficult 1t Is
70 teach. Listen to an
..The teacher should first write the
word then perform the action, iettlng
tho child discover the meaning from
the action" Now, the ordinary man
would suppose that every child knows
what it means to run before he goes
to school.
One woman states hat her book lis
written from the standpoint OF
images, not words whatever that
means: and she goes on: II the mind
of the child is conferred upon the
thought. he will learn the written
word as unconSclOuSiy as he iedfffS
the spoken word
All modern primers p~ooh-pooh the
hab and one authority gravely
declares: In a short time. (using
the Chinese methOd) n pupils VIII
acquire the names OF the letters IN
tu;tiyely. and will then be prepared to
90 ahead without difficulty. and with
ont help on the part Of the teacher"
II is this attempt at letting children
learn without thought" by intuition,
and without help on the part Of the
teacher" that has resulted in the con-
ditions noted in your editorial.
The question perhaps arises: are
children instructed by the Chinese
method ever taught to spell? h an
swer is, according to an eminent au-
thority:
when the children show a DISPOSE
ton to analyZe the sentences. and
discover for themselves that they are
composed Of words, they are a
for a spelling lesson" This is the first
intimatio I've ever had that chill
dren do not know that they are using
words when they speak But from
the spelling of many that come to
high school. / know that they have
never shown "a disposition TO
analyZe."
have gone thu into detail, for
among many teachers there exists a
contempt of spelling to a degree that
would hardly be believed in North
Carolina. These teachers are strong
on the thought" nothing else mat
tiers: they say the children will learn
to spell when they get older, But
the teacher Of higher grades Xpec
children to know how to spell before
they come to them; consequently. Il
large number of pupils never learn
spelling.
This fad, fortunately. has never
taken possession Of North Carolina.
and | believe the de~plOrable results
in spelling obtained by the Cornell
professor could not be duplicated at
any college in North Carolina. For.
whatever may be the shortcomings
Of the North Carolina elementary
SCfltOlS. II Is 81 ldCl THAI optiiiho civ
reading are better taught there thar
in many more wealthy northern com
munities. The older generations OF
North C~arolinians were brought up
on the Blue Back Speller. which
classifies words according to their
sounds. From the standpoint of mod
ern education, much fault can be
found with the DC Blue Back; but
no other textbook ever fulfilled its
so we'll; and the one purpose
of that book was to produce good
spoilers.
Beginners in the North Carolina
schools are still taught the spelling OF
words classified according to their
sounds; it is even a better classifica-
ton for young children than that OF
the old Blue Back. / refer to Teach
ers' Bulletin Number 1, prepared by
Mr.. Charles L. Coon, when in Super
~intendent JOyner'S office, and now
supplied to all elementary teachers
for q guide in teaching reading and
spelling. AS far as my knowledge goes,
this is the best manual or the teach
ing Of reading ever published: and as
long as the schools of North Carolina
follow it. they need not fear COM
p~arison in spelling with other schools
anywhere.
LOGAN D. HOWELL.
New York, May %, 1910.