Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1912-07-13
ENDORSE SYSTEM
Leading Educators Favor Teach
ing Shorthand & Typewriting.
East Jordan, Mich, July

Editor OF the Herald,
Dear Sir
In>view OF the fact that the propFie-
~ OF teaching shorthand in our city
high school has recently been a sub
ject of discussion in the public press
and in the annual school meeting al
SO, | beg TO submit some opinions OF
eminent educators as To the value
and benefit of the subject referred TO
from the educational standpoint. It.
has been stated that the "stenography
aud typewriting have no proper
place in public school work, Neither
is part of general education. ~ The
only use made OF these branches Is
private ggin." 1t is not the purpose
uf the writer TO engage in controversy
on this subject, but purely to show
that there are eminent teachers who
believe that shorthand may very pro-
fitabiy be studied for benefits that
come within the scope of the term
general education" These QUOTA
lions are taken from volume en-
titled High School Education" aud
edited by Prof. Charles Hughes john
son, Dean OF the School Of Education
of the University OF Kansas, and
Numbering among its contributors
twenty three other noted teachers.
These transcripts may be found in
Chapter MIL. page 296-40S. written
by Selby A. Moran Of Ann Arbor.
Shnud the objection be made To these
opinions that they are those or teach
ers and are therefore liable to he pre-
JUDGED in favor OF the subject. it can
be more truly said that the opposite
is true. Teachers are potorionsly
conservative as a class and suspicious
of anything in the nature Of so called
''fadS. " Prof. Moran has this tu say
on this pont,-''SchOoInen have been
unable TO resist the growing opposi-
ton on the part of business men who
believed that our high schools were
not giving the kind of training need
ed by the large majority Of pupils.
~ So strong did the demand become
that schoolmen gradually yielded, Of
ten against their judgmept,and intro
duced business courses. The move
ment is gradually overcoming every
kind of opposition and is receiving
the most hearty approval of the pub
lie" After stating that 'stenogranhv,
viewed from the commercial stand
point" is included in high school
courses TO fit young people to learn
better salary" and TO give them d
.'deinite knowledge OF. the details of
business. Prof, Moran proceeds ~
say, -''Stenograpv. when properly
Taught and thoroughly mastered, has
even greater value, considered from a
purely educational standpoint. To
become even a moderately successful
steuographer che must have training
along several lines, each one OF which
has large educ atiopal value. These
are as follows: ~ IL coWpels one u
think quickly and accurately, 1t is
Of great value TO any one To be thor
oughly awakened mentally aud to
have acquired power TO think clearly
(2) The inability Of the average high
school aud college student 10 hear all
that he should hear aud hear it ac-
curately is really appalling. Stenog-
raphy, more than any other study,
will very largely overcome this almost
universal weakness. t3l Mastering
the technic Of memOrizing is an es-
pecially important feature which re-
suits from the thorough training ui
this subject. l do not know of any
other subject which affords an
equally valuable and specific training.
(4) The most important mental train
ing resulting directly from this study
is the development of ability TO con-
centrate the whole mind upon the
work in hand"
Prof. William A Hadlcy recently
said; THE teachers of the fourth
year pupils in the Boston High School