Arizona republican., 1921-12-08
Department of English at The Phoenix Union High School
 Includes Nearly Every Pupil

Not less important than the so- called practical English is the cul- tural aspect of the subject. Never before in the history of our country was there such an urgent need for the cultivation of the finer. more aestetic side of the natures of our young men and women. Modern business, the more undesirable type of motion pictures, the cheap, not to say vulgar, forms of social amuse- ment, the jazz music, all tend to coarsen the moral and aesthetic fibre of our young people. These things make the cultural task of the teacher of English the more difficult as well as the more important. Would that the parents of our pupils could realize fully how earnestly the teach CTS of our department are striving to inculcate an appreciation of the good, the beautiful, and of the things worth while; also that they might consider and try to lessen the odds against which we are working.
 Our course of study is rich in litera- ture that is both good and interest ing. Our pupils are constantly brought face to face with the artis- tic, and with works that possess high emotional appeal. This year we are making an effort to correlate music with those literary pieces in which the musical element is important. For this purpose the pupils, through small voluntary contributions, have furnished us with sufficient funds to purchase a small photograph and
 some records of distinctly artistic character. This, we hope. will serve the double purpose of giving the pu-
 pils a better understanding of the f rreSFf st1 ~ea- citation for good music.
 Another great objective of the work in English is the teaching of citizen ship. The ability to use and under stand English is an important pre-
 requisite of business efficiency and self support. To say that only a use full citizen is a good citizen is almost automatic. and certainly a reasonable command of the English language adds much to the usefulness of any young man or woman in the present. day business and political world.
 We believe that more intelligent voters can not but be the result of the reading and discussion of some of the great pieces of literature; more over through the club organizations of every one of the sixty class groups, and through the federation of these | clubs, some of the principles of self government and majority rule are 1 brought directly within the under 1 standing of the young people. Their essays. orations, and debates. pre- | pared for public occasions and in CO., operation in community, state, and national movements. all have a de- cided value in teaching citizenship. Literature offers excellent oppor- | e. A1 nd ! ing alive of the idealism of American | citizenship. Through the study ol | literary masterpieces the student has presented to him in the most inn pressive manner the ideal of shome | life, the ideal of community loyalty and that of national patriotism. This | idealism is precisely the thing that can not be inculcated by preachment | but without which education becomes a destructive rather than a con- structive force. The English depart
 ment in close cooperation with the l department of social science dis
 charges an important function in its effort to inculcate civic virtue.
 It is a fact worth considering that
 our pupils spend but 45 minutes five times per week under the direct con- trol of the teacher of English, anC
 but one-fourth of their time eacl
 school day under the control of th'
 school authorities. The conditions
 surrounding them the remainder O.
 the time may go far toward undoinl
 what has been accomplished in thu
 classroom. May we not expect ever greater cooperation than you hav'
 given us heretofore in this three-folC
 task of teaching practical English
 cultural appreciation, and American
 citizenship