The Washington times., 1915-03-30
At L, GIRL KNOWS
I EIGHT LANGUAGES
Began With Latin in Cradle and
Now Is Teacher in Mothers
School.

NEW YORK, March p.-Rocked in
the cradle to the iambic pentameters
of Virgil reciting Tennysons Crossing
the Bar before her first birthday, Win
fired Sackville Stoner, at twelve has
list Of accomplishments which has
caused it to be said of her: The typi-
cal college graduate knows less and
can do less than this girl knows and
can do
Winifreds accomplishments include
eight languages. the violin and plano,
verses in several tongues. q working
knowledge of most sciences twenty ety.
mology notebooks, and conquests at
ing. and she can also drive an auto
mobile.
Winifred's father is in charge OF
the United States Marine Hospital at
Pittsburgh. The tweive-ycarsold
Natural Educational school at Pitts
burgh, attended by children of the
rich. There are about twenty-five
schools throughout this country and
in Paris. Berlin. Rome. and Brussels,
where the methods that trained this
girl are used to teach other children.
What are those methods?
Teach In Jingles.
Teach polysyllables. IL necessary. to
the child in the cardle.' said Mrs.
Stoner, her mother.
Languages should be taught chill
dren before they are twelve, and
taught by ear only, without any gram
mar" Mrs. Stoner continued. Gram
mars and spelling books ought to be
burned. ] would select French, Ger
man. Latin, and Esperanto besides
English to teach the growing child.
1T is important to teach facts in
jingles. Suppose you are going to
teach small children something about
Tasmania. They all twirl their globes
till they find it, near Australia. Then
they sing:
"To Tasmania We will go, We will go
we will go;
There we'll find no trace of snow, trace
of snow, trace of snow
! And then you go on TO the next fact
| forming Il jingle on that
Il guarantee to teach any norma
child to read. spell, punctuate. use good
English (but not GRAMMAR, and mem
| orize all through the typewriter. When
child carefully spells out words from
book on the typewriter he never for
gets how to spell them.
The next principle is expression in
stead of repression. Let the child ex.
press all he finds out; don't try to stuff
knowledge into him. Schools for moth
ers are more needed than schools fol
children. And older children can teach
! younger children better than can grow
persons. That is why my daughter IL
so good at teaching smaller young
| sters."
Play As An End.
You believe in making everything a!
easy as possible--everything, at least
having to do with the acquisition o
knowledgc?" Mrs. Stoner was asked
She answered with an epigram:
Yes, work Is for an end. but play /
the end itself"
Mrs. Stoner insists that her system
is applicable to the public schools, al
though she would have no teacher in
structing more than ten pupils--the ruI
i'm her own schools. She Is enthusiast
over Jacques Dalcroza and his Ecu
rhythmic system" but is on record n
opposition to DR.. Montessori on severa
points. One of these is fairy stories
which DR.: Montessori bans and Mrs
Stoner believes in.
THE Indians are more sensible tha,
We" says Mrs Stoner They ham
their Graded babies in trees where the
can see and hear things and we pu
them in dark rooms"
Never talk baby talk to the child
is making him learn two languages,
child in a natural education school /
always rewarded by golden stars paste
after his name on the class roll Th
watchwords of the schools are 'self-con
troll and Joyous service"
All tho time Mrs. Winifred Sackvill
Stoner, daughter of Lord Sackvill
natural education by which she raise'
her daughter Winifrcd. jr.. was reading
volume after. volume Of the "Rook o
Is nowledgc. Just once did Winifred
lr., abate her rapid absorption Of Worl
facts.