The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1913-11-29
TEACHERS OF COMPOSITION.

Robert W, Neal. professor of English
and Journalism at the Massachusetts
Agricultural College, asserts that the
teachers of composition in the schools
should be practical writer's, In the Eng
lish Leaflet, tho official publication of
the New England Association Of Teach
ers of English, Mr. Neal says;
"Writing in a cloister cosy corner is
not enough No matter how great the
teachers authority upon the theory OF
composition, he is lacking IN all around
qualification unless his theory has been
reinforced, confirmed, modified, illumi-
mated and revolutionized by personal
experience in doing writing that stands
the test Of use.
IF he has done no moro than to pre-
pare weekly report of school affairs
for his home paper, he is to that extent
better qualified to teach the problems
Of the art than is the teacher who new
er took pen in hand to reach and in
fuence the public.
"When he has realized the nnita~
tions set by space, the necessity OF
adapting substance and manner to defl-
mite classes OF readers, the difficulties
Of putting into articles that will be
acceptable to Tom, Dick and Harry and
their womenfolk the great or little
thoughts that stir his own intelligence
and spirit-then and then only can ho
impart the theory with that true au-
thority which comes from having
LIVED a thing, but comes never from
the mere STUDYING ABOUT 1T"
That there is much truth in what
Professor Neal says is obvious to all
newspaper editors and copyreaders, to
whom has been given the task of max
ing efficient. clear-writing reporters out
Of high school and college graduates.
In too many instances the city editor 5
task is divided into two parts; first,
to compel the unlearning of much of
what the student has learned and, sec
ond, TO teach the things he should have
learned and has not.
Teachers Of English, we shall not say
always but at least too frequently,
seem to forget that the purpose of the
written word is to express thought
clearly. Taleyrand said that speech
was invented to conceal thought, and
som etimcs one is inclined to believe
that some Of our teachers are disciples
OF that French genius.
When q boy or girl learns to describe
some thought or incident in unmistak-
able language so that the reader obtains
precisely the viewpoint OF the writer,
that boy or girl is writing clearly ano
well The boys powers Of observation
may be weak and his written statement
of what he has seen consequently in
but, nevertheless, what he
writes will still be clear exposition
of all that he has seen. We believe
that. generally speaking, there is too
little composition taught in the schools,
and by composition we mean, not the
lhSh. III buC
of which the boy sat down and wrote
a stilted story in a manner which he
thought would be pleasing to his teach
er. Rather pupils should be told some
incident or some incident should be
enacted before their eyes and they then
should be required to describe on pa
per what they have heard or seen. This
practice could not but be beneficial;
pupils would learn to express themselves
clearly and we'll and, unless spoiled
subsequently by someone who taught
them that highfalutin language was
good English, they would come to ma
turity with not only the capacity to
observe well, but also to describe clear
ly their thoughts and their observa-
tions.
What We have said is not bv way of
criticising teachers, particularly in the
city schools, where the course of study
is mapped out for them and, in conse-
quence, limitations put on the teach
crs that prevent the exercise of any in
dividuality on their part, and the de-
velopment of capacity latent in the
pupil.