The Washington times., 1914-11-01

about which Mr.. ThurSton is in
SiStent. Likewise literature, he as
SertS, should be impaired TO tn,
pupil as an Interpretation of tn,
pital, pulsing life about him, dnt
not as a thing apart.
BY ]. R. HILDEBRAND.
Recall the days when you plodded
through weighty volumes of dry as
dust classics" when you struggled
nightly with the subtleties and nice
ties of Murray's grammar, when you
went to sleep over collateral read
ing when you looked upon gradua-
ton day as a blessed relief from the
tyranny of books and a return to
life. Then listen to Superintendent
ThUrston's outline of English as it
now is being taught, and wish you
were young again!
With Percival Chubb, most Of us
are crying for deliverance from the
's.lences of print" he said Lit
erature is being enlivened more and
more by dramatization. Literature
also is being taught as an interpre-
tation of life"
To teach a pupil to express himself
orally, before he is put to writing
his thought: to teach simple, fluent
and pleasing expression in writing
before the cumbersome machinery of
grammar is revealed; to dwell at
first on the paragraph, as the
thought unit, rather than on lengthy
essays and compositions to write
about things known rather than on
abstract themes these are a few of
the factors which tend to vitalize
English courses.
English Taught as Tool.
Speaking before the English Teach
ers' journal Club recently, Mr..
Thurston touched upon some of these
points. Today he amplified Them.
Many of these tendencies, he said,
already have found a place in the
curriculum of Washington schools.
There has come about a general
recognition of the universal use OF
English" he explained. 1T is the
zone study that must run from the
top to the bottom of our educational
system. 1t is related to ali nther
studies, for, unless a pupil can ex-
press what he knows the teacher
has no gauge of his knowledge in
as we'll as in life, and as such the
pupil must early learn TO handle 1t
deftly."
Emphasis now is laid on oral Eng
lish because such a sequence follows
the normal development of a child.
l.
taught to read. Likewise educators
now believe the ability to talk clear
ly and fluently is the best prepara-
ton for succinct and logical writing.
Therefore, storytelling and general
narrative work is encouraged in
schools.
1T is strange that iii grammar,
ful studies, there should be the
widest variety of opinions" Mr..
Thurston said The teaching Of
this subject is one of the moot
problems OF the day. One group
would develop a strong technical
knowledge of grammar in the grades.
Another group would teach only es-
sentials of grammar at first, and de-
lay extended consideration of the
subject until the eighth grade. Our
Washington schools tend toward the
latter plan. Our teachers encourage
4 use OF simple an0 correct LnSIlSi,
and encourage expression. Later
the technical points Of grammar
may he taught, and may be better
understood for this other training.
Oral Expression First.
I'm other words grommar now is
regarded as a tool. not as an end in
itself. Our object is not to make
Erammarians, but to turn out pupils
able to express themselves orally, or
on PAPER.
Then there is the general effort
TO vitslize literature, first by drama
tization. and then by impressing
upon the child that literature, after
all. is an Interpretation of life. Per
cival Chubb phrases this point we'll
when he referred, in a recent article,
to the blight OF literary bookish-
rfess.
He deplores the passing of the
folk song. the ballad, the union of
song and dance, and all the social
phases Of literature. Instead Of
these we now think only of litera-
ture as stretches of printed pages.
But there now is reaction
against this feeling. and we are hav-
ing more and more Installations of
characters and incidents. That is
the meaning OF the growth of drama
tic entertainments In our schools.
Of the new attention to folk dancing,
OF rhythm work, Of pantomime. and