St. Tammany farmer., 1916-04-01

WOTQ9 S0OulO Dc IeQoAtoO over AAa
over in diuerent combinations.
Now, tae New EaucaIion Reader
contains SIX hundred Woras. Among
the most interesting are such ptosy
llteless objects as tan, apple, mat.
DIN, rill, rear. vat and BRINK: and
sucn amusing experiences as to all.
tear, TAIL, chat, grill. The caitdven
have fathers and mothers out nc
papa or mamma or grandma. The
oirds "trilI'; tae boys hall" eacn
otner instead OF calnng; pace ln-
stead OF walk; dWeu rather taan
ave in homes; and worst OF all rend
rheir clothes ana SINK aome! VI
all the six hundred words, none are
OF particular interest to children;
scarcely one hundred are tamlnar
and many are not in common use
even among adults. Taey were uo1
chosen with q thought to the chlla.
out according to tae arrangement Of
the letters OF which they are com
posed.
= From a study Of the vocabulary
it is not hard to guess taat the lit
erary style OF the book Is the aIfect-
ed, unnatural one OF an adult try
ing to express himself in monosyl-
laoles. 1t is mechanical. stiited,
veroose, and exceedingly tiresome.
There is no caild-ta4k at all, but
preachy moralizlng, 9. g., "All moth
ers like good girls" and such illit-
erative gems as kate ate q date, .
and '.Hark! Mark, to the lark in the
park"
keading has been defined as the
Act Of the mind in getting thought
by means of written or printed words
arranged in sentences Merely pro-
nouncing words correctly and readi-
ly. is not reading. A caild learns to
read by associating the written or
printed word with the idea for Which
it stands. and in no other way. But
the New Education Reader has his
to say, in its preface: It is only
through knowledge Of the 'elemen-
tary sounds and the conventional re-
lations OF letters that children are
able to combine letters into words
and in turn to use these units OF
thought" Just the same, know
from experience that q child may fail
to learn the simplest word after
weeks of painstaking drill ON the
elementary sounds and convention
al relations of its letters. while he
will learn q long word like cucumber
in ono lesson, without even knowing
that it has elementary sounds or
letters. That Is because he has
seen. tasted, handled. and smelled
cucumber. and the word calls up q
series Of pictures from the vine in
the garden to the dish OF salad on
the dinner table. This phonic sys-
tenn requires q mechanical, nerve-ex-
hausting interest-killing drtll-a
constant hammering on words that
have no meaning, awaken no inter
est. and convey no meaning to the
child. The result 10 one Of the most
pernicious reading habits q child
can. form, that Of ''uttering" words
without perceiving their sense.
Having expressed my opinion OF
the New Education Reader. | will
tell why / prefer the Wheel Primer.
It has large. clear print. one GEN.
tence to the line, the simplest para
graphing, and lessons in solid blocks
unbroken by pictures. The pictures
suggest stories and experiences OF
child life and are of the highest ar
tistic merit. The lessons deal with
home life. pets, play. and expert
ences of the child told in his own
words and style. The first word
mamma-is the first spoken by the
child. the representative Of the OBJ
ject longest known and best loved.
Rabbits, pigs, chickens, ponies, etc.
which are the uvest subjects to
child, appeal to his Imagination by
in the most approved child fashion.
being made to talk, play, and act
in the most approved child fashion.
The vocabulary contains two hun
dred and fifty words large per
cent name and action-most of which
are already familiar to the child, and
are repeated over and over in differ
ent combinations, thus doing away
with mechanical and deadening word
drill.
;. One Of the strongest points in
favor Of this book is the help 1t gives