The Washington bee., 1911-05-13

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! A composition is a group OF related
sentences. expressing many thoughts
on one thing The idiot IS void OF
| that sense which enables one to COM
! pose logically, naturally, and orderly.
| We shall deal with the average type
of child who has passed through
! grades one, two and three the fourth
grade child
/ Thinking a vague idea out into its
natural nd logical divisions, and ar
ranging -hese divisions in an orderly
way is called planning I. We must
arouse in the child desire for Ian
Z guage expression. ?. We must lead
/ him to see that some modes of ex-
! preston are preferable to others; that
/ there is a standard of good English.
3. Through judicious praise and re-
/ proof, together with such other ad-
ventitious aids as the classroom af-
/ fords, we must create in him a strong
! desire and control his criticism of
others 1t may be that criticism, like
! charity, begins at home, but it doesn't
! We see beauty in others before we
reach the age of intrOsDectiOn, and
| look for It in ourselves. s. We must
! direct his criticism of his own work,
and help him to make it impartial
/ o. We must see that he has OppOr-
tunity to exercise his power of self
criticism. After directing and con-
! trolling we must be ready TO step
aside and let him wrestle with his
! problems, not obtruding Our opinions
till he turns for a decision when he
| gets into difficulties too great for him
! to handle.
Familiarize yourself with the exact
| value and use of words. Learn the
| correct spelling, meaning and pronun-
| citation of every new word. The child
| of tender years meets with numerous
difficulties in his composition, both
| oral and written.
I. Too Much in One Sentence.
Tell me one thing about beans, etc.
How would you say that? Teacher
| must not permit herself to understand
any communication COuched in bad
English. 1t must be remembered that
the teaching of composition, more
than that Of any other subject, IS in
fluenCed by the neighbOrhOOd. Chill
dren from homes where good English
IS the rule may be trained to express
/ thought in their own language. But
there are portions of the city where
the aim must be to train children to
! express thought in the teachers Ian
guage
In some districts the mistakes are
matters of articulation, in others of
pronunciation, in others of grammar,
! and still others we find fearful and
! wonderful mingling of all three with
some new and indescribable elements
| thrown in
2. Some Familiar Expressions Heard.
1 Dis for this; seed him, sawd him,
! for saw him; this here book, for this
/ book; dem for those, them there
/ kinds. for those kinds; done went, for
have been.
! The stories told for reproduction
should include all the subjects in the
/ course Of study so that the child may
! form the habit of correct speech in
/ connection with each and every one
: Of his daily activities When a topic
Is assigned, make it definite, that a
! clear-cut idea may be formed by the
! dOer
/ Most compositions are too long.
The subjects are not well developed
| or within experience of the pupils.
/ The teacher is crank about the ap-
pearance of the papers Teacher ex-
poets a style more polished than that
of which pupil is capable. We are
dealing with human beings and not
machines.
Not the length of the composition,
but the quality you must stress.
! Avoid universally Of expression, and
cultivate individuality. Frequently
the teacher is so particular about the
appearance of the DaDer, that the
child feels the strain Of a divided in
terest, and his spontaneity of express
| sion suffers. The aim of composition
period Is the production of language.
Penmanship IS secondary, and should
be so regarded
Let the pupil draw his pencil
through a word, and substitute the
one he thinks preferable Why not
let him correct his mistake the instant
he perceives the error? Avoid en-
closing the rejected word IN paren-
theses. Does James gain much
| through recOpying his composition
with its corrections? No. Letters
may be copied occasionally to empha-
size the fact that courtesy demands
! that correspondence be neat in ap-
pearance. Why waste time beautify-
ing something destined for the waste
basket?
The average child in the fourth
| grade loses himself in a compound and
a complex sentence. Lead him to use
{ the dependent clause through your
question. When a model IS presented
for study. it should be III the hands of
each pupil, The fourth grade may use
models for penmanship as well as
for English Let pupils copy models.
Select beautiful gems and well-mean-
ing expressions from literature as
models to be copied. Imitation IS
a natural process, and IS not weak,
but strong, as a method We initiate
each other The child will initiate
sounds made by the pet animals and
others. Why not carry him back to
his natural sphere? See Guide Book
to English for models
1t IS better to encourage the child
rem TO ask questions than to tell him
unasked. As a rule the teacher
| shouldn't point out mistakes Ask
the child a few questions that will
open his eyes to some glaring mac
CuraCies, when you perceive any in