Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-10
.|LL|TERATE ADULT
LEARNS RAPIDLY
Can Be Taught to Read and
Write in Six Months
Period.


An illiterate adult actually can be
taught to read newspaper and write q
letter in six months, according to Mrs
Cora Wilson Stewart, founder of the
famous moonlight schools of the Ken
lucky mountains and member of the
technical committee of the National Ad-
visory Committee on Illiteracy.
] She insists she has seen it done many
times with special system devised for
the mountain illiterates. All that Is
necessary, she says. Is to have skilled
teacher and a class of normal inteli-
gence, win to learn and ordinary expert
ence in mastering other difficulties.
Other members Of the committee and
professional educators In general, while
admitting that q great deal can be
done IN Q short time with the proper
methods, are more conservative. For
about the only experience with anything
approaching scientific control the Amer
lean educators now must turn to China
where, owing to the difficulty of the
language, the problem of overcoming
illiteracy is vastly different.
Devised Simplifled Language.
In 1918 James Yen, Chinese gradu-
ate of Yale, was sent to France by the
Z. M. G. A. to find out what could be
done for the Chinese labor battalion,
attached to the various armies. He
found most Of his countrymen there
completely lliterate. and experimental
with them to devise ways Of overcoming
this.
This was an enormously greater prob
lem, educators point out, than would
have been the case with European
illiterateS, and DR.. Yen knew it. In
Chinese character stands for an idea
rather than sound, as does the Eu-
HI
thousands Of these characters to be
learned by heart before anybody can
prtend to read or write Chinese.
Experimenting with the laborers, Yen
devised q greatly simpltfied language
with only q thousand characters which
must be learned. When the war ended
he had his method on q working basis
and returned to China.
There he has been applying his
method ever since to groups Of Hitter
ates. The system requires four months
with classes for an hour anG a half
each day. His last report was for 1000
students in Shanghai from to 46 years
Of age. OF these 900 passed" This
Is about the only wholesale effort to
wipe out illiteracy by akspecial method
that is known-and teaching reading
and writing in English is very different
from doing the same thing even in q
! BESAtly SIIup1l0cQ C0lneSe.
But Mrs. Stewart, from personal ex-
perience, Is confident that six weeks
Is Sumcient to make an adult honestly
mot an illiterate"-able to do much
more than the simple requirements OF
the Federal census. Not only can per-
sons be given an incentive for further
learning in this time, she says, but be
sufficiently equipped to continue their
studies independently. 1t is doubtful,
she says, whether Abraham Lincoln
ever had much more actual schooling in
day when technical methods were
very crude as compared to the present.
With the method presented by Mrs.
Stewart, the teacher practically starts
at the top instead Of the bottom. The
pupil, she says, may be able to write
his name after single lesson. He
doesn't know what the letters mean.
That comes afterward. Starting at
the bottom 1t might require months for
grown man to progress this far, and
Sucn process. The same Is true with
reading. The pupil reads first and
learns how to read afterward. The
principle Is an extension, especially for
ADULTS, OF that now used In public
schools.
Adult Learns to Write Easily.
Special textbooks are devised adapted
TO the group being taught. The farmer
learns first the words for various farm
animals, agricultural implements and
crops and those used in his necessary
business transactions. The soldier flrst
learns the words applying to military
Ire ana the mechanic those applying to
his trade. In intensely reli,ious litter
ate communities, especially among the
women, much progress is made by
teaching the pupils first to read easy
passages from the Bible.
Learning to write, Mrs. Stewart says,
Is easier for an adult than a child be-
cause the former already has consider
able manual dexterity necessary to
learn living. Thus mountain woman
VINO Tor years has sewed on various
complicated quilt patterns simply
transfers this dexterity to following the
patterns OF letters with q pencil and
finds no special dif1culty. And the
principles underlying reading and writ
ing, often so hard for q child to grasp.
are comparatively simple for q man who
has learned to make his own way In
the world and support family. she
But there is little scientific data on
the time requirement, according to other
educators. The 21-lesson manual for
teachers Just issued by the National
ADVISORY Committee on Illiteracy, It was
pointed out. Is experimental and not ex-
pected to prove permanent.
That is exactly what we want to
md out" said DR.. c. r. Mann,
chairman Of the techniques sub
COMMITTEES. I'm few months we ex-
pect to prepare another manual which
will have . more scientific basis. Then
we may be able to say how much time
ordinarily should be required to teach
an adult to read and write. A good
deal depends, Of course. Cd the definition
Of hteracy."