Class Book Gcpiglitl^?- COPYRIGHT DEPO&m «^ v^^ . / fs^ H^ ENGLISH PROBLEMS IN THE SOLVING For the Junior and Senior High Schools BY SARAH E. SIMONS, M. A. HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH, WASHINGTON, D. C. HIGH SCHOOLS SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY CHICAGO ' NEW YORK 1^3 Copyright, 1920 BY SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY ©CU571603 JUL -b 1320 ^\S I PREFACE This book grew out of a course of lectures on the teaching of English, delivered in the Summer Schools of Johns Hopkins University for the years 1918 and 1919. In response to the request from some of my stu- dents that our discussions of the problems confronting the English teacher should take on a more or less permanent form these lectures are now being pub- lished. Certain additional chapters are included because of the peculiar significance they hold for all teachers of English. It gives me great pleasure to state that they are the work of two of my Washington colleagues, Miss Emily F. Sleman and Miss Anne McColm, both teachers in the Central High School. I wish to ex- press to them here not only my great indebtedness for allowing their contributions to appear in this volume, but also my sincere appreciation of their very material aid in the organization of this book. My thanks are due to Mr. James Fleming Hosic, Mr. Samuel Thurber, and Mr. H. G. Paul for the privilege of quoting freely from their respective periodicals: The English Journal; The English Leaflet; and the Bulletin of the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. Sarah E. Simons TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. Preliminaries page The Junior High School 7 Definition and Aims . , I. Composition \V / II. Literature 15 Minimum Essentials for Junior High-School English 19 X The Separation of Composition and Literature 2%-^ The Problem of the Start 26 The Problem of the Assignment 34 The Problem of Correlation 37 Chapter II. Fundamentals The Problem of Grammar 42 The Problem of Punctuation 48 The Problem of SpeUing 56 The Problem of the Vocabulary 62 Chapter III. Oral and Written Expression The Problem of Better Speech , I. Oral English 71 II. PubHc Speaking 81 The Problem of Written Work 84- The Problem of the Letter 95 . The Problem of Theme Correcting 104 Measurement of Results 109 Chapter IV. Interpretation of Literature The Choice of Literature 112/ The Teaching of Literature 117 The Problem of Reading 130 Imitation a Means of Appreciation 139 Dramatization a Means of Appreciation 148 J 5 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter V. Some Special Problems page American Literature : 161 The Magazine 167 The World War and the EngUsh Class 173 The History of Literature 176 The Teaching of Poetry I. In the Junior High School 180 II. In the Senior High School 189 The Drama 197 Chapter VI. The Teaching of Certain Classics The Odyssey 202 Shakespeare 211 I. In the Junior High School 212 II. In the Senior High School 213 Burke 221 Bibliographical Hints and General Bibliography BibUographical Hints 231 BibUography General Method 233 The Teaching of English Composition 234 The Teaching of Literature 234 Periodicals 235 Index 237 CHAPTER ONE PRELIMINARIES The Junior High School. Definition and Aims. Minimum Essen- tials for Junior High-School English. The Separation of Composition and Literature. The Problem of the Start. The Problem of the Assignment. The Problem of Correlation. THE JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL The Junior High School is now an accepted fact in the organization of school systems all over the country. It has come into existence as a result of scientific study of the best means of adjusting the school to the physical and psychological development of the child. For the most part, this new scheme of organization has stressed economy of time, better mastery of sub- ject-matter through departmental teaching, early elec- tion, and subject promotion. In nearly every case in which the subject-matter of the junior high school has been discussed, little or nothing has been said under any of these heads regarding the teaching of English in the junior high school. Naturally enough, perhaps, in its beginnings the new school would be concerned with the two entirely new things which the system brought with it — the study of languages in the seventh and eighth grades and the introduction of vocational subjects. The fact that the teaching of English is con- tinuous from the first grade through the senior high school has, perhaps, made it seem unnecessary to make any changes in method. But this new arrangement does mean and should mean a re-examination of 8 ENGLISH PROBLEMS method and of choice of subject-matter in the teaching of English in the junior high school. Mr. Charles S. Pendleton says: "I beheve that it (the junior high school) has come to stay, and I be- lieve still further that it requires us to consider, not merely a new kind of teaching of English but two new kinds. "^ Certainly, if the difference in the physical, mental, and psychological equipment of the child is so divergent in the pre-adolescent age from that of the adolescent as to necessitate a reorganization of the whole school system, some very definite account of those differences must be taken in planning and teach- ing the course in English. Those of us who have taught in the four-year high-school course have always noticed the essential difference in the attitude and in- terests of the first-year pupils as compared with those of the upper years. We have felt, too, the difficulty in bridging over the gap between the grade-school prep- aration in English and the first year of high-school English. With the junior high school in operation we have the opportunity and the duty of planning more definitely to adapt the work in English to the particular needs of these three very important years in the junior high school. Before formulating a definite course for these three years let us see in general what our aim should be, and what advantages this new scheme of organization will bring to the teaching of English. To take up the second point first, it ought to mean the possibility of setting a standard of achievement at the end of the junior high-school course which will make the entrance preparation for the senior high school much more 1, From "The New Teacher of English" in the English Journal, Nov. 1917. PRELIMINARIES 9 uniform than was possible under the old system where the eighth-grade teacher, heavily burdened with ex- ecutive responsibilities, divided her teaching attention among many subjects. Then, too, in the old system of promotion on a general average it has often been the case that arithmetic or some other one subject has been a sort of criterion of passing, and pupils notably deficient in English have gone into the high school to become a drag upon the classes there. With sub- ject promotion no student may enter the senior high school without passing in English. The junior high school might then, first of all, solve the problem of the senior high school by making it possible for the senior high school to work out its aims upon a basis of uniform and adequate preparation. This is not, however, the only benefit which we may expect as a result of the successful working out of the junior high school nor the most important to be kept in mind; for the junior high school will be for many boys and girls the end of their formal school educa- tion. It therefore becomes a matter of the greatest importance that the pupil who leaves school as soon as he has passed the compulsory school age should be equipped to go out into life with as thorough training in English as it is possible to give him. The junior high school with its departmental teaching offers the opportunity of concentrating upon the training of the pupils in their use of the most important tool they will need — whether they go into the senior high school or into business — accurate and forceful English. For the junior high school itself what shall be the aims, the methods, and the results to be achieved? In the first place, junior high-school teaching will 10 ENGLISH PROBLEMS need experts with an equipment not inferior to that of senior high-school teachers. It will demand, per- haps, even more in pedagogical skill. There is no age more difficult than that which the junior high school houses — neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. In literature the work in the junior high school should be extensive rather than intensive. Much reading should be encouraged, and in the reading em- phasis should be placed upon the pupil's own response to what he reads without much conscious reflection upon the subject-matter, either for analysis or criti- cism. It is largely a matter of exposing the pupil at a time of great absorbing faculty to much that is good in order that his tastes may be guided and set in the right direction. Literary criticism and history are of little importance. In the senior high school, where the mind of the student is interested in relations, the reading of literature should be associated with a study of types and with the history of the period. The character of the literature should be largely narrative and biographical. Much supplementary reading should be done. The classes should constitute themselves into reading clubs, and if libraries are not easily accessible, the teacher should endeavor to get a loan collection of good books to have in the classroom for the use of pupils. Most of the classroom work in literature in the junior high school should be oral. Reading aloud, recitation of memorized portions, little dramatizations should constitute the work in litera- ture. The pupil in the junior high school is finding himself in literature. He cannot do so without much experience, and since wide reading is the only method PRELIMINARIES 11 of providing this experience, the assignment and direc- tion of supplementary reading become matters of paramount importance. Failing to do our duty in this respect, we shall leave the boys and girls a prey to the twenty-volume series of uninspired books that crowd the juvenile shelves. In composition, on the contrary, the work should be intensive, with accuracy as the aim. The pupil's work in the sentence should be as definite and as pains- taking as his excursions into literature are varied and care-free. For his future work in the senior high school he needs this fundamental basis. For his future life, if there is to be no senior high school for him, he needs still more to know how to use, orally and in writing, good, clear, forceful English so that he may communicate effectively with his fellow men. Emily F. Sleman BIBLIOGRAPHY Douglass, A. A. The Junior High School. Fifteenth Year Book of the National Society for the Study of Education, Part III (contains bibliogTaphy). Inglis, A. Principles of Secondary Education, Chapter VIL Library Leaflet: Certain, C. C. No. 5, May, 1919 (exhaustive bibliography). Teachers' College Record: Miles, W. R. "Comparison of Elementary and High Schools," May 1915. DEFINITION AND AIMS /. Composition The definition of language as ^Hhe vehicle of vocabulary for the conveyance of ideas" suggests, 12 ENGLISH PROBLEMS perhaps, the main aim in the teaching of composition. The function of language is communication. Mr. Leon- ard says that composition is not so much putting ideas together as it is ''putting them across."^ The power to make one's wants and desires known to his fellows implies a knowledge of symbols that are in general use for the expression of thought. Hence the purpose of teaching composition is to give the student such a command over these symbols as will enable him to make his wants and desires known to his fellows, with the least waste of effort and the greatest economic gain. Now what does ''the least waste of effort and the great- est economic gain" imply? What else than power to use language correctly and ability to express thought accurately? But we must not forget another function of language. It is a thought producer. Before we can communicate thoughts we must have formed thoughts to communicate. And language is a valuable aid in thought precipitation, in reducing ideas to a definite shape, nay, in actually producing ideas out of the vague nebula of our mental processes. Hence one of the aims in the study of the use of language, the study of composition, should be to stimulate thought getting, to crystallize thought. The pupil should economize your time and his and the time of all with whom he wishes to communicate. This he can do by knowing exactly what he wants to say before he says it. A request that has to be inter- preted falls flat; an exposition that needs to be ex- plained is unconvincing. Accuracy, first in the formu- 1. The English Leaflet, April. 1918. p. 2, PRELIMINARIES . 13 lation of thought and next in the expression of that thought, is the great desideratum. On this point a letter written by Adjutant General H. P. McCain to the President of the Penn- sylvania Military College, August 28, 1917, relative to the causes for the rejection of candidates for re- serve officers at the training camps, is pertinent. He says in part, ''Many men fail to measure up to the requirements set for our Officers Reserve because they have not been trained to appreciate the im- portance of accuracy in thinking. Too many schools are satisfied with an approximate answer to a question. Little or no incentive is given increased mental effort to coordinate one's ideas and present them clearly and unequivocally. Insistence upon decision in thought and expression should never be lost sight of. This requires eternal vigilance on the part of every teacher. It is next to impossible for military instructors to do much to counteract the negligence of schools in this regard. This again has cost many men their commis- sions at camp. Three months is too short a time in which to teach an incorrigible "beater-about-the-bush" that there is but one way to answer a question, oral or written, and that is ppsj.tiyely, clearly, and accurately. The form of the oral answer in our schools should be made an important consideration of instruction.'^ We teachers must resist the temptation to supple- ment or interpret the pupil's answer. The pupil must be held responsible for what he says; he must learn to stand on his ow^n feet, unsupported. Since the main function of language is communica- tion of thought, real situations and real people should 14 ENGLISH PROBLEMS offer the point of departure in language training. Self- expression, not re-expression of someone else's thought, should be the practice. Hence pupils should be led to talk and write to a real audience about things within their own experience with a definite purpose in mind to convince, to explain, to interest, or to amuse. Thus the letter becomes a very important item in the writ- ten composition course. . The point of view, then, in the teaching of English composition should be that of language as a tool, as a means to an end, the end being the intelligent and intelligible communication of thought by the employ- ment of symbols that are in general use. ^ The study of English composition should furnish the pupil with an effective instrument for intercourse with others whether that intercourse be oral or written. Hence the mechanics of oral speech for which we should strive are: (1) distinct and natural articulation, (2) correct pronunciation, and (3) a clear, well-managed voice; and the mechanics of written speech upon which we should insist are: (1) legible handwriting, (2) cor- rect spelling, (3) correct grammar and idiom (these to be required also in oral speech), and (4) intelligent punctuation. May we not then sum up the aims of the high-school course in composition as follows: 1. To fix the habit of correct use of the EngHsh language in speaking and writing by cultivating the pupil's ear and eye so that he shall be sensitive to mistakes; by stressing the importance of correct Eng- lish in social life ; and by emphasizing its market value in the business world. PRELIMINARIES 15 2. To fix the habit of accurate expression of thought so that the pupil will say just what he means in the clearest possible way, by developing the power of con- centration and the habit of thinking before speaking. And will not such aims consistently adhered to throughout the course give the community what it de- sires : a high-school graduate who, in the words of Mr. Charles S. Pendleton^ ''shall have learned, first, to stand on his feet and talk convincingly, conveying to other people effectively what he himself has thought and felt ; second, to write his message, and by means of the written word to convey powerfully to his audience whatever he has to say." For an admirable statement of aims in the teaching of English composition for both the junior and the senior high schools year by year see The Reorganiza- tion Bulletin, pages 30-38. //. Literature Now what aims shall we set before us in this task of teaching literature to high-school students? At what angle or angles shall we view literature for this purpose? Note Mr. Hosic's definition : "By litera-'' ture we shall mean, then, that species of idealization of human experience which employs language as its medium — poetry, plays, novels, essays. We recognize it not as something apart from life but as the very con- summation and fine-flowering of life. In a word, it is such an interpretation of life as enables us, through vicarious experience, to understand and appropriate 1. In his article in The English Journal for November, 1917, on "The New English Teacher." 16 ENGLISH PROBLEMS the higher and richer aspects of living."^ We want the human, not the ''booky," view as Mr. Chubb^ puts it, so that we may interpret the literature of the past in terms of the life of the present, of the life about us. To quote Mr. Pendleton again, we should aim to develop in the pupil the power ''in his leisure hours or other while to listen to the speech or read the writing of someone else, someone who is a master in the use of language, and to appreciate and enjoy what thus comes to him."^ For widening the experience of the child, for stimulating his imagination, for introducing him to far countries and strange peoples, and then again to things and people near and familiar — in a word, to reveal to him the human touch in what he reads — for these reasons we give our literature course, which in the junior high school resolves itself into a reading course. The aims in giving literature courses to our boys and girls may be roughly summed up as follows. The im- mediate aims are: (1) to keep alive and foster the constructive imagination of the child; (2) to arouse an interest in words, mere words, so that his vocabu- lary is constantly increasing ("the words assassin and- bedlam have been known to offer as much narrative interest as a short story," says Miss Morse, in The English Journal for June, 1919) ; (3) to give the pupil power to read silently, rapidly, and accurately; (4) to give him power to read aloud acceptably; (5) to create the desire to make use of reading as a tool for increasing knowledge. Ultimately it is hoped that 1. The English Leaflet, April, 1917. p. 9. 2. The Teaching of English, Chap. XX. 3. The English Journal, November, 1917. PRELIMINARIES 17 the course will broaden the vision, lift the horizon, enable the pupil to travel far and see much vicariously of other lands and times, and through such experiences to learn to see the beauty in the common things about him, to appreciate the near and close at hand. In the teaching of literature the avocational aim should be paramount. It is, indeed, ofTaFgreater im- portance than the vocational aim. Today, when the whole work-a-day world is rapidly coming to be planned on the eight-hour basis, it is imperative that we teach our children how to use their leisure time. And here the teacher of literature can do more than the teacher of any other subject. The pupil who leaves the junior high school with the power to take real pleasure in the reading of a good book carries a weapon of defense against many of the so-called pleasures of youth, pleasures which are of occasional value, it is true, but whose habitual indulgence makes them, indeed, but 'Vanity of vanities." May w^e not then summarize our aims as follows: 1. To teach the pupil how to get the thought from the printed page; how to interpret the author's meaning in terms of his own ex- perience; in a word, to read intelligently. 2. To develop the power to read aloud acceptably. 3. To create the reading habit. 4. To develop to a slight degree, at least, such an appreciation of literary values as will enable the pupil to discriminate somewhat between the worth-while and the worthless in litera- ture. 18 ENGLISH PROBLEMS 5. To create in the pupil the desire to use some of his leisure hours in the reading of good books. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Would yon consider the vocational aims in the teaching of literature to high-school students? If so, what and why? 2. If an elective course is given in journalism or the writing of the short stoiy, in the senior high school, show how the study of literature would help. Tell just what literature you would use in such courses. 3. Should immediate rather than remote aims dominate the course? * BIBLIOGRAPHY Brown, Rollo. How the French Boy Learns to Write. Denny, J. V. Johnston's High-School Education, "English," Chap. XI. Leonard, S. A. English Composition As a Social Problem. Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools, pp. 30-38, Bul- letin 1917, No. 2, Bureau of Education. (See also Bibli- ography on page 160 of Bulletin,) The English Leaflet: Leonard, A. W. "Themes for a Reading Public," April, 1918. Ward, C. H. "Defending Camelot," October, 1916. The English Journal: Mclntyre, Mrs. H. I. "Giving a Purpose to Students of High-School English," October, 1917. Osgood, C. G. "The Artistic Teaching of English," January, 1918. Pendleton, C. S. "The New English Teacher," November, 1917. Rapeer, L. W. "The Outside of the Cup," June, 1916. Thompson, Margaret. "The Task of the English Teacher," The Round Table, September, 1916. Waldo, Dorothy. "English for Peter," June, 1917. Ward, C. H. "We Must Not Be Enemies," The Rotlnd Table, February, 1916. PRELIMINARIES 19 MINIMUM ESSENTIALS FOR JUNIOR HIGH-SCHOOL ENGLISH What should be the minimum essentials in English Composition for promotion into the senior high school? What should the junior high school give the pupil after three years of study of the English language? The answer is brief. A knowledge of the sentence. If the child brings with him a keen sentence sense, a real working knowledge of the sentence, he will bring enou^. 'The sentence is the unit of most importance in all language teaching — in the teaching of grammar, of composition, and of literature," says Rollo Brown in his book, How the French Boy Learns to Write. A Yale professor of literature was recently asked what the college would like most stress put upon in the schools. "The sentence" was his- unqualified an- swer. The children, first, last, and all the time, must show an intelligent reaction to the sentence. So it is with the sentence that we must begin, and it is indeed often with the sentence that we should end. The sentence is the Alpha and Omega of all language work. The pupil should know the sentence from the angle of grammar, as a complete statement in which every word plays a definite part. He should know the sentence from the angle of com- position, as a unit^of thought used along with others of its kind to build up a larger thought than can be expressed by the small unit. He should understand that thought compels struc- ture; that the kind of sentence used in any given case will depend upon the kind of thought that is to be expressed. 20 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Hence the pupil should know the parts of speech as they function in the sentence, as they help along the thought of the sentence. He should know the phrase and the clause as they function in the sentence as parts of speech. He should know the use of necessary marks of punctuation whose only excuse for being is to help along the thought of the sentence. The knowledge of these things he should possess as his instrument for the fashioning of thought. These are the means which he should apply toward his end — the communication of ideas to his fellows. If the sentence is taught from the first not as an isolated unit, but in relation to other units of thought, the idea of the paragraph will be gained unconsciously, and more definite work in this larger unit of thought will come as a matter of course in the senior high school. The pupil will then be ready to understand the cumulation of sentences in building up a larger thought unit; the part of each sentence in develop- ing the paragraph thought; the idea of sentence con- trol of paragraph thought. In the matter of oral English it is desirable that the pupil when entering the senior high school should be able (1) to ask intelligent questions of the teacher or classmates about any subject which is under discus- sion; (2) to answer accurately and without help from the teacher any question (on which he is informed, of course) that is put to him by the teacher or his class- mates; and (3) to speak connectedly on some subject that interests him for two or three minutes. PRELIMINARIES 21 The pupil should be able to write in class at least two paragraphs or groups of related sentences about something within his own experience. He should be able to proof-read his work so that when it comes to his teacher it shall contain no glaring grammatical faults and no misspelled words. (He should be en- couraged to use the dictionary freely.) The pupil's handwriting should be legible. Now in spelling what shall the pupil bring with him? May we not at least ask for: 1. Desire to spell correctly. 2. Knowledge of how to use the dictionary. 3. Habit of using the dictionary. When the pupil enters the senior high-school litera- ture class he should bring with him the power to read to himself intelligently (silent reading) and the power to read to others intelligibly (oral reading). He should be able to read in a voice that is audible to the person farthest away from him; his word-endings should be clear-cut; run-together phrases such as "would uv/' ''had uv" should not grate upon our ear. He should be able to listen with interest to the reading of his teacher or classmates and to reproduce what he has heard ; he should have the desire to spend some of his leisure time in reading other books of the authors studied in his literature course. With such an equipment further work in the English course in both composition and literature will be a real pleasure to all concerned. 22 ENGLISH PROBLEMS BIBLIOGRAPHY The Reorganization Bulletin, pp. 114, 119, 123-128, 151. The English Journal: Fish, S. A. "What Should Pupils Know in English When They Enter High School?" March, 1914, Fontaine, M. B. "Articulation of English in the Elementaiy and High Schools," September, 1914. Randall, Julia. "My Bridge Approach," Vol. VI, p. 551. "Report of the Committee on the Economy of Time," Febru- ary, 1919. THE SEPARATION OF COMPOSITION AND LITERATURE How much time shall we give to the study of com- position? How much to literature? Effort to improve the pupil's expressional work both oral and written should be made in the teaching of every subject. Clear, accurate expression of thought should be insisted on in every class. Intelligent answers phrased in language which observes the rules of good usage should be re- quired by every teacher in the schools. We can never escape composition work; but definite study of Eng- lish composition as distinct from the study of English literature should occupy at least one half the time allotted to the English course. Recently many schools have been separating the English course into two parts, the study of composition and the study of literature, alternating the work in various ways by days, weeks, or semesters. In Washington, Detroit, Madison, and Chicago the semester plan has been adopted as the most satisfactory. It is in operation now and is working well both administratively and educationally. Reports from the schools that have PRELIMINARIES 23 adopted the separation plan of the study of Enghsh seem to prove the success of the experiment. No school that has adopted it has gone back to the old plan. "Failure to distinguish between the primary aims and values of the study of language per se, the study of literature for social ends, and the study of literature for individualistic ends, leads to confusion in the study of 'English' in the average secondary school," says Professor Inglis. "The teacher either fails to analyze the special values to be emphasized in the particular phase of work involved, or attempts to meet too many aims 'and to develop too many values at the same time."' Dr. Snedden, in "A Letter to a High-School Teacher of English" published in The English Leaflet, Novem- ber, 1914, deplores the fact that "under the head of English we seem now to include two secondary-school subjects of essentially different character and having unlike aims — namely, jormal English, and English literature. One result of this merging of two different subjects is that the means and methods of teaching one tend to deflect and neutralize those appropriate to the other. So evident has this become to me that were I responsible for the administration of a high school at the present time, I believe my first step would be to place the teaching of literature on the one hand, and on the other all that pertains to English expression, under charge of different teachers, who would probably be quite unlike each other in tempera- ment and interests. I should take this action in the 1. Principles of Secondary Educationj p. 445. 24 ENGLISH PROBLEMS expectation that each of these teachers would then develop methods appropriate to his subject, and that the teaching of each subject would as a result have a fairer opportunity for improvement than is now possible. I strongly believe that as a rule the same person cannot teach English expression on the one hand, and literature on the other, with satisfactory re- sults, because, from my point of view, English expres- sion and English literature for their effective teaching require methods of treatment, spirit of approach, and utilization of means which are fundamentally unlike, and even largely incompatible with each other." Professor J. Rose Colby's stand on the subject is shown by the title of her paper published in the Bulletin of the Illinois A. T. E., March 15, 1916. It reads: '^Shall the Courses in Composition and Litera- ture Be Divided? Yes." The course of study suggested in The Reorganiza- tion Bulletin for high-school English by the joint committee of the N. E. A. and N. C. T. E. assumes that the study will be divided. The reasons for sep- aration are summarized on page 129: (1) ^^Separation leads to the proper emphasis upon oral and written composition based on topics drawn from the personal life and observation of the pupils. (2) It obviates the difficulty of doing justice to the hard worker who is not brilliant in literature on the one hand, and the careless and dilatory but quick-witted reader of literature on the other. (3) It makes possible more appropriate aims and methods in the treatment of what are essen- tially different types of work. It prevents confusion of aims. The serious grind which is necessary for the \ PRELIMINARIES 25 mastery of the fundamentals of grammar and compo- sition is deadly when applied to the study of literature, whose ultimate purpose must be the establishment of ideals of life, good methods of reading, and the habit of turning to books for the proper enjoyment of leisure hours. Finally, (4) it makes possible cooperation on the part of all departments from the fact that the teacher of mathematics and the teacher of science will readily assist in establishing habits of careful and ac- curate expression, but can hardly be expected to sup- port, except through general attitude, the teaching of poetry and fiction." The separation of the course in English is surely the part of wisdom, but Dr. Snedden's contention that the teacher of composition should be a teacher of compo- sition only, never a teacher of literature, is open to question. Let the course in composition be a course in the art of expression; the course in literature, a course in the art of appreciation and of intelligent reading. Do not misunderstand. It is by no means intended that the composition course should make no use of literature. On the contrary, literary models should be freely used, but they should not be the ones studied in the literature class. Nor is it meant that the teacher of composition shall be deluged with papers. By far the greater amount of time and attention should be paid to oral expression. A composition course can be made one of the most vital, as it is one of the most profitable, courses in the curriculum. Nor is it proposed, on the other hand, that the course in literature shall neglect the formal side of the work. 26 • ENGLISH PROBLEMS In such a class attention must constantly be given to expression both oral and written. The pupil is to apply day by day the principles of good usage which he has learned in his composition course. But the main effort is to be expended in reading and inter- preting thoughts of great writers. And daily com- munion with what is best in our literature can but have an influence, unconscious though it be, on the pupil's own thought and his expression of that thought. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Show how separating- the study of English into the study of composition and the study of literature will aid in getting co- operation of teachers of other departments. 2. Discuss the wisdom or unwisdom of having one teacher teach composition only and another literiature only. BIBLIOGRAPHY Inglis, Alexander. Principles of Secondary Education, p. 445. Miller, E. L. Separating Composition from Literature. Snedden, D. Problems in Secondary Education, Chapter XV. Ward, C. H. What Is English? p. 27. The English Journal: McComb, E. K. Vol. VI, p. 69, February, 1917. Struble, J. R. "Round Table," Vol. VI, p. 473, September, 1917. Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools, pp. 128-130, Bulletin 1917. No. 2, Bureau of Education. Bulletin of Illinois A. T. E. : Colby, J. Rose. "Shall the Courses in Composition and Literature Be Divided? Yes," March 15, 1916. / THE PROBLEM OF THE START It is vital to the entire course to establish the right understanding at the outset between the pupil and the PRELIMINARIES 27 teacher. This matter of English composition in the junior high school should be looked upon as a new adventure upon which the pupils and the teacher are ^^mbark together. Lead the class to believe that there is to be good sport all the way, and there will be. The course is to be a course in the learning of how to talk and wTite rather than in the teaching of English. The factors in the problem are the teacher, the pupils, and the subject. The work is to be cooperative work in which each shares responsibility. Two of the factors are dynamic, the teacher and the pupil. They are to play together upon the third — the subject, and this will constitute the process of learning, which under this method will be a pleasant and a profitable ex- perience. Getting started right makes going on easy. It is of course essential that the teacher discover early in the game just what the pupils bring with them. For he must take the pupil where he finds him, assuming nothing, regretting nothing. A series of ^^don'ts" may be worth noticing at the outset: 1. Don't assume that the pupil knows much gram- mar — or anything else. 2. Don't chide the pupil for all those things that he ought to have known before he stepped upon the junior high-school threshold. 3. Don't scare the pupils into a state of non- response by a lecture on what they are ex- pected to do. Hence the following list of things to do at the start rnay be suggestive : 28 ENGLISH PROBLEMS 1. Make the children feel at home in their new ' environment. 2. Start with something new. Give the pupils something to do that is different, if possible, from what they have done before. 3. Start with the pupil where you find him. Throw away theories and face facts. The teacher should be familiar with the course in English in the grades below the junior high school. He should know what the aims and probable attainment of the course are. He should test for that attainment. It will require a certain amount of camouflage on the part of the teacher to make the discovery of what the pupil brings with him and at the same time to hold the interest of the class. Perhaps the next two suggestions may be helpful on this point. 4. Introduce the club idea. Tell the pupils the composition class is to be an English club. The purpose of the club will be to learn how to use the English language effectively in speech and in writing. Each member of the club is to try his best to entertain and to help the other members. Ask each club member, for instance, to bring into the club a short paragraph about some personal ex- perience of the vacation time written to interest or entertain the other members of the club. It is to be written for the club, to be read to the club. The pupil will thus have in mind his audience when preparing his work. PRELIMINARIES 29 On the following day, the first meeting of the club, the teacher will preside. He will call for the reading of paragraphs. Pupils will step forward and read. The class, under guidance of the teacher, will listen and comment. The comments will start with favor- able criticisms. These must be definite — not merely, 'It was good," '1 liked it," etc. The pupil must learn from the start to find out why ''it was good" or why he "liked it." Then pupils may prepare oral or written paragraphs based in other ways on their experience. They may tell about things they have done or made. The teacher, as a member of the club, should share responsibility w^ith the other members by giving of his own ex- perience. He might well be one of the first to enter- tain the club. 5. Socialize the class. The socialized class means the class in which, there is established within the group a real consciousness of kind; the children talk to an audience of their own kind; they are judged by their peers; the work is cooperative and democratic; the teacher is one of the group, yet always the leader, the director of activities, pointing the pupils ever forward. He is the power behind the throne, though the throne is sometimes but a pupil's desk. For in the socialized class- room one often finds a pupil presiding, calling on readers and volunteers for comments. But under this new classroom procedure the teacher must ever be on his guard lest liberty pass over into license. The fear of crushing buoyancy and spon- 30 ENGLISH PROBLEMS taneity may cause the teacher to refrain from inter- ference at the psychological moment. He may thus miss his opportunity to point the way and so fail in his mission. For first, last, and all the time the teacher must be the leader of the group, guiding, directing, controlling, though the process be camouflaged with the most consummate art. There is also the danger in this, as in any other classroom procedure, that the method, with pupils presiding and putting questions to their fellows, may become stereotyped. Hence the teacher must be ever alert, ready for a flank move or a change of front. Real socialization will make teaching more vital and dynamic than it has ever been. But a formalized shadow of the thing will defeat the purpose for which it was called into being. The socialized class is dynamic. Every person in the room is a participant in all the activities that are going on. And the teacher is always at the helm to direct the work, for we must never lose sight of the fact that it is our business to teach, to lead the pupils onward and upward toward our goal. Some progress in the mastery of English should be made each day. The teacher is still the essential factor in the problem of teaching. He is not eliminated yet, though some would say so. In conducting the socialized recitation, we must be ever alert lest we risk the criticism of Mr. Stratton in The Illinois Bulletin for March, 1919. He says: ''It may also be hinted that there is a pleasant system of innocuous education into which • so-called speech training easily fits. But for that anomalous kind of class, little more than a 'talk-fest' — whether it be PRELIMINARIES 31 designated 'self-expression' or 'socialized recitation,' or 'project' — no teacher is really necessary." A really socialized class will take a group pride in achieving results and in living up to standards set. Through this graup^jride we can work for the elimin- ation of errors in usage, in spelling, in oral form, in reading aloud or what not. In some graphic way the record of the group may be kept to show progress in learning to control errors. Charts can be made by pupils, or a large class chart by a member of the class which will show^ from week to week the status of the section in regard to certain prevailing faults. Group may be compared with group. Publicity and ambition are powerful spurs to accomplishing ends. For instance, graphic statements of this kind might be made as to the use of "and" in oral reports, as to certain types of grammatical errors — lack of agree- ment between subject and predicate; for example see the article, "Charting Errors," in The English Journal for April, 1919, by IMargaret Bell Merrill. An interesting study of the socialized vs. the academic method was published in The School Review for February, 1919. Mr. C. J. Thompson here re- ports that pupils in the socialized class progress faster and learn to eliminate mechanical errors more rapidly than those academically trained. Very soon the pupils must take stock of what they know in the way of correct usage. All the points they have learned should be listed. For this purpose of stock-taking the pupil should provide himself with a notebook which he may call his "stock-book." And he must be given to understand that he is to be held 32 ENGLISH PROBLEMS responsible from that moment on, throughout his course, for correct usage in each particular listed. He should also make a record of his weaknesses, and he should consult this list of what not to use every time he prepares an English assignment, either oral or written. He should work for elimination of faults from the very begmning. Both the stock-book and the personal record of weaknesses should be kept by every pupil throughout the course. The pupil should always he held responsible for what he has been taught. Hence, the teacher should never correct errors which the pupil, according to his own statement recorded m his stock-book, should not have made. Whether or not the course in English composition is to be considered a bore by the pupil depends largely on the start. 'It is, after all," says Mr. Cunningham, "a question of simple psychology. If the initial steps of the pupil's work in English are surrounded with associations of pleasure and success, a powerful momentum is thereby set up which will bid fair to carry him over the rougher places."^ The suggestions for the start in the composition class apply also to beginning the work in the literature class. The chief caution at the start of literature teaching is that the book selected for the introduction to junior high-school English should be of vital interest to all. The most universally interesting type to the pupils of this age is the short story. It is more easily handled than the longer tale. Hence it is strongly advised 1. The English Leaflet, February, 1916, p. 4, PRELIMINARIES 33 that the course should open with a good, live short story of the 0. Henry or Kipling or Richard Harding Davis type. Other suggestions about treating this type are given under the caption, 'The Teaching of Litera- ture," page 117.' FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Show how the junior high school will help to bridge the chasm now existing between the grades and the high school. 2. Give reasons for and against an English course which starts in the primaiy grades and ends with the last year of high school. 3. List the essentials in (a) English grammar and (b) English, and American literature that pupils should know at the end of the ninth year. 4. Plan (1) a composition course, (2) a grammar course, and (3) a reading course for the seventh, eighth, and ninth years as a unit of the English course. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chubb, P. The Teaching of English, Chap. XIV. Elson and Keck. Junior High School Literature (Three books). The Reorganization Bulletin, pp. 123-128. The English Journal: Foerster, Norman. "An Idea Course for Freshmen," Sep- tember, 1916. Hill, Murray G. "Another Word about Freshman English," April (R. T.), 1917. Leavitt, Charlotte M. "A Question of Preparedness," No- vember, 1917. Manchester, F. A. "Freshman English Once More, I," May, 1917. Manchester, F. A. "Freshman English Once More, II," June, 1917. The English Leaflet: Warner, Francis Lester. "The Emergency Assignment," October, 1917. 1. Many suitable stories for use in the Junior hi^h-school literature class are contained in the series, Junior High School Literature, by Elson and Keck, published by Scott, Foresman and Company. 34 ENGLISH PROBLEMS THE PROBLEM OF THE ASSIGNMENT Supervised Study The problem of the assignment is really the problem of supervised study. Knowing how to study is the con- dition which determines, perhaps, more than any other factor what the high-school course will mean to the pupil. The prerequisite of the course in English com- position is that the pupil shall know how to prepare his lesson with the minimum expenditure of vital force. Hence the need of teaching the pupil how to study — a need which is best met by the introduction of supervised study. What is the true aim of supervised study? It is not merely to help pupils to prepare lessons. By no means is it this. Its function is rather to point the way, to create a habit, to show the pupil how to study alone, to make him independent, not dependent. This last danger of making the pupil lean too much on others should, of course, be realized, realized that it may be avoided. Study, scientifically directed or super- vised, will tend to strengthen the pupil; will develop a sense of responsibility; in a word will make the pupil grow day by day in the power that will finally eman- cipate him. It is suggested that a part of every class period in all years be devoted, first, to a careful assign- ment of work for preparation, and then to an illustra- tion of how to prepare the assignment. Studying with the pupils in the years of junior high-school work will bring far better results and develop far more power than merely hearing the recitation can ever do. Under PRELIMINARIES 35 the teacher's guidance the pupil is taught how to ask and how to answer questions about the work. First of all the pupil should learn how to use a book. He should understand the make-up of a book ; the title page, the table of contents, the index. Such questions as the following may be put to the class. What does each one of these parts give? Why should you know the exact title of the hook you are studying? Why should you know the name of the publisher? What does the table of contents tell you about the book? What is the purpose of an index? Let pupils learn the exact titles of the books they are using in school in all their classes. Never be satis- fied with an approximation. Accuracy must be in- sisted on. From the very first require the pupil to cite, exactly, authorities whom he quotes in his special topic work. Then, in the course of time in answer to the question, ''Where did you read this or that?" the familiar reply, ''I don't know the name of the writer, but it was a blue book, not very thick," will be heard no more. Let the teacher talk the lesson over with the class. Let him read aloud a paragraph in the assignment. The pupils may give it a title. What is it all about? What question has the author answered? What ques- tion do you want to ask about it? Here is a good chance for the pupil to learn how to ask a question. The teacher must insist on accuracy and clearness. Pupils will acquire the art if slouchiness in phrasing questions is not countenanced, if only intelligent ques- tions are held worthy of reply, 3() ENGLISH PROBLEMS The plan of the mdeterminate assignment as it is operating in the Wisconsin scheme is interesting. The assignment is not hmited, is not fixed, but is by no means indefinite or vague. Pupils know where they are to start and how they are to proceed. They get this knowledge from the careful supervision of their study. But they may go as, far as they wish to go. The boundary of tomorrow is never set. Thus no limit is fixed to the pupil's accomplishment; no check is put on the efforts of any individual in the class. Under the eye of the teacher the pupils start work in class to be continued at home, the amount done being deter- mined by the power of each individual. A report is made the next day by each child. Every member of the group knows hoio much every other member of the group is doing. Publicity is a great incentive to ambition. This method induces each child to develop to the full his native ability. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT «> 1. Discuss the value of spending- part of every class period in studying with the pupils. 2. Discuss the importance of insisting' on accuracy in question and answer. 3. Compare the relative value of a study period with the teacher and n formal recitation period. BTBLIOGRAPHY Bagley, W. C. The Educative Process, Chap. XXI. Colvin, S. S. An Introduction to High-School Teaching, Chap. XVIII. PRELIMINARIES BIBLIOGRAPHY (Continued) (9 Earhart, L. B. Teaching Children to Study, Chap. VII. Hall-Quest, A. L. Supervised Studij, "Literature," Chap. XV; "Composition," Chap. IX. Sandwick, Richard L. How to Study and What to Study, pp. 97-109. The Reorganization Bulletin, p. 72. The English Leaflet: Holland, Dorothy. "Supei-vised Study," April, 1919. The English Journal: Morse, Katherine. "An Experiment in Supervised Study," June, 1919. The School Beview: Bun-, A. W. "Directed Study," February, 1919. THE PROBLEM OF CORRELATION 'The English of the entire school is the business of the entire school," declares Mr. Thomas in The Teaching of English. And Mr. Hosic says, ''All teachers of all subjects should insist on clear expres- sion of thought." Mr. Miller, Principal of the North Western High School of Detroit, goes so far as to main- tain that only a teacher of English should hold the position of principal of a high school. Then, he says, we may be sure of the cooperation of the other depart- ments in upholding good usage. Every teacher of English in every school in our country would be glad to make of these words a mighty chorus. The business of the school is, indeed, to establish a standard in essential matters of English usage, and having established this standard, to see to 38 ENGLISH PROBLEMS it that the pupil adopts it and uses it in his school life, in every class, in every social hour together, in all extra school activities. The habit of correct speech — not stiff or formal — but correct as to essentials, should be formed during the high-school course. It can be if there is active, interested cooperation among all concerned. The pupil first of all must be a dynamic not a passive agent. The teachers of other subjects and the principal of the school must work together with the English teacher for the establishment of right standards of speech and written expression. Convince the student that correct usage has a market value in his other studies and he will really try to form the habit of speaking correctly. For this habit will be formed only if the pupil is expected to express himself clearly and correctly in all subjects and by all teachers. Correct English is not a thing apart, for the English period merely ; it should be a part, an essential part, of all the work in school. Until the pupil comes to realize the practical importance of correct expres- sion he will be careless. But when he is required to watch his speech not one period during the day but five; when he finds that his work is not acceptable in any subject unless expressed in good language; when, in a word, he finds that correct usage has a market value in all his school work, then he will set about acquiring the habit of using good English. Cor- rect speech, not every now and then but every time that the pupil opens his lips while within the four walls of the schoolhouse, must be insisted upon if we would help the pupil to form the habit of correct usage. PRELIMINARIES 39 The following minimum requirements for English form are being put into practice in some high schools. Minimum Requirements for English Form in All Recitations OEAL 1. Position Stand properly. 2. Voice Enunciate clearly. Pronounce correctly. (Say — going, not goin' ; and, not an'; kept, not kep'.) 3. Language Speak grammatically. (Say — he doesn't, not he don't; every one of the pupils is here, not are here.) (Say — John, brother of Richard, ascended the throne, not John, etc., he ascended the throne.) Avoid the and, so, and ivhy habits. 4. Thought Answer directly. Answer completely. WRITTEN 1. Make papers neat. Avoid blots, scratches, soiling, or rumpling. 2. Write legibly. 3. Spell correctly. 4. Write in sentences — not in a. Fragments. b. Statements unconnected except by the comma (the Central High School is large, it has nearly twenty-five hundred pupils). (For further requirements as to language and thought, see directions for oral work above.) 40 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Teachers in all subjects realize how little power pupils display in asking and in answering questions. How many pupils ask intelligent questions? How many give accurate answers? Here is a matter in which all teachers are agreed that pupils need training. Let the teachers get to- gether on this point. Let them all decide to work for accuracy. Let them demand exact answers to ques- tions. Let them not be satisfied with approximations. And above all let them agree to make the pupil stand on his own feet. Let them stop supplementing the pupil's work, finishing his sentences, and repeating his answer in better form to the class. Hold the pupil responsible to the class. If all teachers would adopt a uniform procedure in this matter of the recitation, the power of the pupil to express himself accurately and correctly would develop rapidly. And the burden of the teacher grows lighter as the pupil's power in- creases. Make this matter of the question and answer the entering wedge for the earnest cooperation of all the departments in the high school. By working with the English teacher, the teacher of other subjects will come to see that, after all, the English class is but the work-shop where the tools that are to be manipulated in the work of every other subject are sharpened for use. What the English teacher wants is that the teacher of the other subject shall not allow these tools to rust but shall see to it that the edge is kept keen. An understanding is all that is needed for a close, persistent, effective cooperation in the work of all the teachers in the school. PRELIMINARIES 41 FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. How can the teacher of English composition make the work vital to the teacher of science? 2. Suggest ways of correlating the work in English with the work in history. Give definite illustrations. 3. With what subject in the cuiTiculum would you correlate the study of Burns? Burke's Speech on Conciliation? Huxley's Essays? Illustrate how the correlation might be made in each case. Mention other cases. 4. Discuss the cooperation of other departments as an aid in the teaching of composition. BIBLIOGRAPHY Johnson, H. S. The Modern High School, Chapters XXV, XXVI. Thomas, C. S. The Teaching of English in the Secondary Schools, Chapter VI. The Reorganization Bulletin, pp. 130-139. See also BibliogTaphy, p. 172. The School Review: Hosic, J. F. "Cooperation in Teaching English," Vol, 21, p. 598. CHAPTER TWO FUNDAMENTALS The Problem of Grammar. The Problem of Punctuation. The Problem of Spelling. The Problem of Vocabulary. THE PROBLEM OF GRAMMAR Grammar is the weak spot in our English courses and consequently it is the point of attack by critics. Our method of teaching English grammar in the grades is the crux of the whole matter. If we could spend the time that is now used or rather misused in trying to explain conflicting statements of grammarians, in hopelessly attempting to harmonize nomenclature — if we could spend this time in teaching the essentials of grammar from the point of view of use, our pupil- product would be far better than it is today. The course of study in the grades requires the teach- ing of the subject of grammar. The subject is touched upon in all the language books used from the fifth grade on. Terms and definitions denoting the same thing change from year to year and from text to text. If the variation were one of intensity or emphasis all would be well. But what shall we do when the key- board itself changes? If "a" were ''a" all the way through and ''b"' were ^'b/' well and good. But when "a." becomes *'b" in one year, "c" in another, and perhaps ^'d" later on, how can we straighten out these things in the child's mind? For example: In the sentence, John has a top, the word top is called by some 43 FUNDAMENTALS 43 grammarians an object; by others an object comple- ment. In the sentence, John is a good boy, the word boy is varyingly designated as attribute complement, subject complement, predicate noun, and predicate nominative. And in the sentence, They elected John captain of the team, captain is called objective com- plement by Buehler; in apposition by Kerl; predicate object under indirect object by Brubacher and Snyder; complementary object under direct object by Scott and Buck; factitive object by Meikeljohn; objective predicate by Ward. The pupils, caught in this maze of terms, fail to get anywhere in the subject. Indeed the study of grammar per se in the grades is neither more nor less than an economic waste. Between the years 1906 and 1911 committees rep- resenting the most famous language associations, not only in America but in England and France as well, worked on the simplification and standardization of the terminology of the grammar of English and of foreign tongues. Finally in July, 1911 a joint com- mittee was appointed by the N. E. A., the Modern Language Association, and the American Philological Association to standardize the terminology of the gram- mar of the English language. And our hopes were high. But the report given out in 1914 was at best a compromise. The situation was improved slightly, to be sure. The atmosphere was cleared somewhat. But the terminology was not simplified to any degree, and while English grammars and compo- sition books issued since the publication of the report have introduced, at least in a footnote, the new terminology, no appreciable relief has come. A course 44 ENGLISH PROBLEMS in English usage would be far better in our elementary schools than a , course in formal grammar. Words, phrases, and clauses should be taught from the point of view of usage, as they function in the expression of thought. It is from the point of view of the part each word or group of words plays in the expression of the thought that the attack should be made. The sentence is the unit of thought at the beginning, the middle, and the end of grade-school language work. And with the sentence mastered, how easy is all the rest! The problem of grammar is a junior high-school problem, and the point of departure in all three years of the study is the sentence. The sentence is the basis of all language work. If the sentence-sense is created and made a part of the pupil's assets, we might almost say that the royal road to English teaching is dis- covered. For out of the sentence grouped with other sentences grows the paragraph, and out of the grouping of paragraphs, the theme, the story, the book. Develop the idea of service in teaching the parts of the sentence, all words pulling together to get one thought across. And then convince the pupil that word-groups, the phrase and the clause, serve merely as single parts of speech with one end, one aim, one goal, namely, to develop the sentence-thought. Thus simplified, the sentence idea should become easy of acquisition. The essentials of grammar should be taught as they are needed. And only those points in grammar which will function in the speech of the pupils should be taught. Fine distinctions between gerund, participle, verbal, and infinitive, for example, should not be FUNDAMENTALS 45 touched upon. Sentences may be analyzed for thought, but formal diagramming, while having perhaps a '^puz- zle" interest is, generally speaking, a waste of time. The few things taught, however, should become the pupiFs own. He should be held responsible, absolutely, for these essentials. If each year in his school life the pupil could appropriate certain fundamentals, and the next year could start with these as an apperceptive basis for new points, progress would be steady and consistent. And that is what we should aim for. Let us then teach fewer points in grammar, but let us teach them thoroughly, and above all let us hold the pupil responsible all the time. The grammar of usage is the grammar to give our children — not only in the junior but also in the senior high school. In the following words Mr. Chubb sums up the central idea in grammar preparation of the student for the high school. ''It is," he says, ''the develop- ment of the sentence as a thought unit, and the treat- ment of words and the machinery of written expres- sion as functional elements of the sentence. New parts of speech, new sentence-forms, and new devices are considered as they come into view with the devel- opment of mental faculty and with the need of new symbols and modes of expression to keep pace with it."^ Roughly speaking, the following grammar program is suggested for the junior high school: 1. Clinch the sentence-sense through approaching the problem of grammar from the point of view of 1. The Teaching of English, p. 225. 46 ENGLISH PROBLEMS service, words and word-groups serving only to help along the thought. 2. Teach the sentence as a whole, a complete unit though of varying degrees of complexity. 3. Teach the sentence in its parts: the two basic elements, subject and predicate. These are the master parts; all other parts serve them. 4. Teach the ^'other parts": single words, word- groups, the phrase and clause used as single words (parts of speech). Teach connectives as they func- tion in complex and compound sentences. 5. Teach laws of service: agreement of subject noun or pronoun and verb, agreement of pronoun and ante- cedent. If the word serves the noun or pronoun, it partakes of the nature of an adjective and so must take the adjective form (e.g., slow not slowly). If it serves the verb, it is an adverb and must take the adverbial form. To be of immediate service, words should be placed near the words they serve. 6. Teach certain usages: noun usage, matters of case; verb usage, principal parts of irregular verbs; pronoun usage, inflection. Have we omitted much? Perhaps. But we sin- cerely believe that the cardinal principle of all teach- ing today should be thoroughness — a narrowing of the essential requisites, a getting down to fundamentals. And there are many with us in this belief. After suggesting some such scheme for grammar work in his book, What Is English?, Mr. Ward says (p. 93), "Does it sound like a program of easy incomplete- ness? It would be quite the contrary. For it is harder to be thorough in a few fundamentals than to hurry FUNDAMENTALS 47 through a thousand non-essentials; more complete to know all of something than to know only a little about some things." And he insists that we must always ask what words do in order to keep before us the vision of better sentences. Let the grammar slogan be then, "What does the word do in the sentence?" FOR FURTHER STUDY 1. Give a resume of Mr. Ward's idea of essentials in grammar. 2. Work out the grammar program for the junior high school. 3. Discuss the grammar of use versus the gTammar of classifi- cation for the high-school student. 4. Show how the idea of service in relation to words, phrases, and clauses in the sentence will help develop the sentence sense. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chubb, P. The Teaching of English, Chapter XII, pp. 204-232. ^^^rapp, Philip. Modern English, Its Growth and Present Use. Leonard, S. A. English Composition As a Social Problem, Chapter IV. Stewart, C. D. Essays on the Spot, "The Study of Grammar." Thomas, C. S. The Teaching of English in the Secondary ■^ Schools, Chapter III. Ward, C. H. What Is English? Chapters IV and V. The English Journal: Betz, A. and Marshall, E. "Grammar Based on Errors," September, 1916. Clay, M. E. "Grammar for the Grammarless" (R. T.), May, 1918. Cowan, Harold E. "Suicide English" (R. T.), November, 1917. Fairchild, A. R. H. "The Verb and the Adjective in Poetry," May, 1916. Lasher, George S. "Roast Beef Instead of Hash," De- cember, 1917. Leonard, S. A. "Old Purist Junk," May, 1918. Park, C. W. "A Study in the Teaching of the Mothe. Tongue," May, 1916. Wilson, Emma J. "Shall We Abolish Grammar?" May, 1917. 48 ENGLISH PROBLEMS THE PROBLEM OF PUNCTUATION "Punctuation is not a matter of mechanical correct- ness; it is an art," says Mr. George Summey in his Modern Punctuation: Its Utilities and Conventions. How many teachers of Enghsh agree with him? It used to be the fashion to look upon the comma lightly, and to regard the erratic appearances of the period in a sheaf of composition papers with a kindly tolerance. We heard a great deal about the necessity of preserv- ing the child's spontaneity in expression, about the deadening effect of too much mechanical drill, etc. That day is gone forever. Punctuation has come into its own. And why this new respect for a subject once thought undeserving of serious consideration? Be- cause we have at last realized how essential logical punctuation is to clear thinking, accurate expression, and good sentence structure; and also because the business world and the college will no longer tolerate a vague and inaccurate use of English. Granted that teachers of English in general are alive to the importance of punctuation, the big problem remains: How are we to induce our pupils to punc- tuate? We do not need to be told by the colleges and the world at large that they are sadly deficient in this necessary practice. Three reasons for this deficiency immediately present themselves: (1) failure to realize the importance of punctuation, (2) ignorance of grammar and the construction of sentences, and (3) insufficient drill. The first of these obstacles is the natural result of the practice from which we are emerg- ing, of neglecting the formal side of composition from fear of destroying the spirit. If we have underesti- FUNDAMENTALS 49 mated the importance of the subject, logically our pupils have underestimated it also. They have felt that punctuation did not particularly matter, espe- cially if a composition showed a lively fancy and a telling phrase or two. Is there a teacher who has not been confronted with the question, asked in tones of pained surprise, ''What! Was this paper marked down just because I left out a few commas and periods?" That pupil has not grasped the fact that logical punctuation means clear thinking. We shall get what- ever we demand. Indifference will vanish when we demand from pupils accuracy and intelligence in fol- lowing current usage in punctuation as well as in the other matters of expression. A distressing ignorance of such fundamental things as grammar and sentence structure is a far too common condition. Punc- tuation, grammar, and sentence structure are so bound up together that punctuation, at least, should never be taught separately, or as a thing in itself. Mr. C. H. Ward, who has written with refreshing saneness on the subject, says that the teaching of punctuation must begin with the teaching of grammar. Obviously, the study of the sentence involves the study of the accompanying rules of punctuation. Indeed, punctua- tion is so essential a part of the sentence that it can be made an aid to better sentence construction. How- ever, in the writer's opinion, based on long years of struggle with this problem, it is the third item in the list which accounts for most of the sins against punctuation — insufficient drill. We have been too afraid of deadening our work. We have needed the time for the one thousand other things which the 50 ENGLISPI PROBLEMS English Department must attend to! We have, in short, failed to establish as habits the application of the few rules of punctuation essential to clearness and accuracy of expression. This is the key to the solu- tion of the problem of inducing our pupils to punc- tuate. Give them the right point of view. Stress the importance of punctuation as a means of clarifying thought. Make clear the fact that its function is to separate ideas not closely connected, and to show the degree of relation between them. Remember the in- terdependence of punctuation, grammar, and sentence structure. Select a few rules for practice in a given period, and drill upon those few until their applica- tion becomes automatic. Certain minimum standards in form for each year should be agreed upon, and those principles estab- lished as habits. The Head of the Massachusetts State Normal School, John J. Mahoney, gives .the fol- lowing principles to be mastered by the end of the seventh year: 1. End punctuation: period, exclamation point, and interrogation point. 2. The comma in simple direct quotations. 3. The comma in letter headings. He makes one addition to the list for the eighth year, namely, 4. The comma after an adverbial clause coming before the subject. Sterling Andrus Leonard gives the following list: 1. End punctuation. 2. The comma in the series. FUNDAMENTALS 51 3. The comma setting off grammatically inde- pendent words and phrases. 4. The comma in the compound sentence with conjunction. However, these lists can be only suggestive. The situation that confronts the teacher of a group of ninth- grade pupils has nothing to do with a theoretical list. It will be found usually that pupils have been taught certain rules for the comma, but that they do not apply them. An examination of a typical set of com- positions wull reveal the usual errors: no end period, members of a series not separated, independent clauses of a series not separated, and various miscellaneous mistakes. The selection of the rules for practice will depend on the needs of the class, according to the preparation they have had. Pupils are interested in discovering from their own papers what they most need practice on, and in making up a list together for drill. Sometimes this list may be amended or con- firmed by an examination of current literature — maga- zine articles, editorials, short stories, etc. — to discover the three or four rules that are observed most fre- quently, and that are therefore most useful in the ex- pression of thought. Obviously, care must be taken to suggest for examination only those magazines and newspapers that maintain a high standard of English, and to limit the search to one point, the comma, as that is likely to need attention first. The greatest hindrance to success is the temptation to try to establish too many rules in a given time. Three or four ^'punctua- tion habits" clearly and firmly fixed in a year would be a reasonable accomplishment. One thing is fatal to 52 ENGLISH PROBLEMS success — to accept anything less than one hundred per cent achievement. The trouble is that we have been content with an approximate result. Only if we de- mand perfection shall we get it. One of the most helpful devices in teaching punctua- tion is dictation. The value lies in the fact that the pupil catches the words in their natural thought groups. The dictation should consist of complete, in- teresting paragraphs, not isolated or detached sen- tences. The selection should not be too long, and the words and ideas should be within the pupils' grasp. If the passages are chosen from books and articles that appeal to the class, the work becomes a pleasure. The writings of Kipling, Ian Hay, Booth Tarkington, John Muir, and Dr. Grenfell furnish excellent material. Dictation is of course only a mechanical device, but it is useful in clinching forms. In the French schools, where the children are taught to use their own lan- guage with real skill and even beauty, dictation is con- sidered a valuable aid. The relation between oral and written punctuation should be stressed. This is sometimes brought out naturally by the attempt of one pupil to read the com- position of another. Failure to get the thought is frequently the result of inadequate punctuation, and the pupils are quick to see this fact. Much of the drill for breaking up the ^'and'^ and ^'so" habits and estab- lishing the end-of-the-sentence habit should be done orally, and the commas should be required in this work as well as the periods. In a socialized class — and all classes are socialized now-a-days — much can be accomplished by pupil cor- FUNDAMENTALS 53 rection of written work. Attention should be focused on the one or two principles under drill, however, and not diverted to other matters. If it is the comma-in- the-series habit that the class is attempting to estab- lish, let them look only for the occurrence of a series of words, phrases, or clauses, and make sure of the commas, especially of the one before the '^and." Group competition may arouse interest at the moment when the drill threatens to become monotonous. Graphs for the respective groups showing their progress is a stimulating way of keeping the record. The most valuable aid of all is the cooperation of the teachers of other subjects. Their own work is always pressing, but if the requests from the English Department are sufficiently definite, they may find it possible to take their share of the responsibility for the good English of the pupils. Cards should be sent to the other teachers of a class stating the punctua- tion habits the class is trying to establish, and asking that those specific points receive attention in their classrooms also. Few new principles should be given in the ninth year. The rules for the comma, however, should now be grouped according to the two underlying principles governing its use: (1) to set off, as in the case of parenthetical words, participial modifiers, etc.; and (2) to separate, as in the case of the series, appositives, etc. This is the time to teach the one use of the semi- colon which is necessary at this stage of the pupiFs growth in sentence structure — that is, to separate statements grammatically independent while closely related in thought. The distinction between restric- 54 ENGLISH PROBLEMS tive and non-restrictive modij&ers is so difficult that it will not be mastered in the ninth year, but it should be begun there, and continued and developed through the next two years. A helpful device is to teach that certain conjunctions invariably add non-restrictive clauses: though, although, so, so that, and so; for, as, and since when showing a reason. The committee of teachers of English appointed by the National Educa- tion Association to report on the Economy of Time ad- vises teaching the distinction between conjunctions proper {as, for, but, etc.) which require commas, and independent adverbs (then, nevertheless, etc.) which require semicolons or periods. In the tenth year the point on which most practice is needed will probably be the matter of restrictive and non-restrictive elements. The use of the semicolon presents little difficulty if the sentence sense has been developed, but, of course, practice is necessary before it becomes instinctive. There will be a few troublesome comma rules, or rules which could not be attended to in the ninth year. At this time the composition work may demand a knowledge of the colon in the only modern use in the sentence remaining — to introduce. To fix firmly these four or five matters is enough for one year. If the aims of the ninth and tenth years are actually accomplished, there should be less necessity for drill in the last two years of the high school. It should be possible at this time to present a broader idea of the function of punctuation. The possibilities latent in the semicolon and the comma in giving another turn to the thought — a delicate shade of emphasis — are FUNDAMENTALS 55 not beyond the grasp of an intelligent class. Neither is the fact that certain questions of pointing in the sen- tence can be settled only with reference to the meaning and movement of the paragraph. A study of the finer shades of the art of punctuation obviously belongs to college, not to the high school, but as much of the theory can be given as the needs and capacity of the class demand. Whatever principles are taught, we should keep in mind the caution of the psychologists, that calling at- tention to a form before we are ready to give full, unremitting attention to its establishment can prob- ably have no other result than confusion and repres- sion. Present a principle only when its need is clearly evident, then ^'attend" to it — drill on it until it is estab- lished. To quote Mr. Leonard again, ^^Attack that is not prepared, concentrated, and determined has little chance for success." Teachers may conserve their energy and that of their pupils by avoiding wasted effort. Usage changes in punctuation as well as in other matters. Certain rules found in textbooks still in use in many schools are no longer observed in actual practice. Modern preference favors the use of the fewest and the least obtrusive marks that will do the required work. Re- cent manuals and the best current literature should be consulted frequently and systematically to gain a precise knowledge of the contemporary code of punc- tuation. This elimination of dead material will make more practicable the plan of concentration upon a few rules each year and their establishment as matters of habit. And this achievement, the fixing of correct 56 ENGLISH PROBLEMS habits in the matter, is the vital thing in the teaching of punctuation. ^ ^^^^ ^^^^^^^ FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss Ward's views on punctuation in his book, What Is English?, Chapters VI, VII, VIII. 2. What uses of the comma would you suggest as most im- portant ? 3. How and when would "ou deal with restrictive and non- restrictive clauses? BIBLIOGRAPHY Klein, W. L. Why We Punctuate. Leonard, S. A. English Composition As a Social Problem, p. 126. Mahoney, John J. Standards in English. Summey, George, Jr. Modern Punctuation: Its Utilities and Conventions. Ward, C. H. What Is English?, Chapters VI, VII, VIII. Manuals since 1900 (in the order of their publication) ; De Vinne, Orcutt, Teall, Klein, McCraeken and Sandison, Manly and Powell (revised in 1919). The last named is a combination of academic and typographical authority. The English Journal: Routh, James. "Three Rules for the Comma," Januaiy, 1917 ; "Report of the Committee on the Economy of Time," February, 1919. THE PROBLEM OF SPELLING In the matters of spelling and form we must con- sistently require accuracy and refuse approximations; we must insist upon uniformity and conformity with the best usage. Here are points in which we must dis- courage individuahty ; here we may not allow the con- structive imagination of the child to have sway. Sureness of touch in the spelling of all words used by the pupils must be demanded. FUNDAMENTALS 57 But the question is how to get ttiis sureness of touch? First of all, we must arouse in the pupil the desire for this sureness of touch. It would be pleasant in- deed if the pupil brought with him a genuine desire to spell correctly. But if he does not, we must set about creating this desire on the spot. One effective way of doing this is through an appeal to group pride. By working on the individual through the group of which he is a member much may be done to develop in the pupil a spelling conscience to which he must hold himself accountable because of his relation to the group, because of his responsibility in upholding standards of the group. This is the appeal made by a teacher describing his experiment in a recent Eng- lish Leaflet, and we have his testimony that it ac- complished results. He calls his device the "Spelling Team." I quote his account at length. '*Every teacher, now and then, has to meet and cope with a class of almost hopeless spellers. If those could only be caught in a perfectly wild state and taught their letters one at a time, it would be easier. But when they arrive at high school they do know some words already, and at others they are content to guess. The problem is to make every member of the class discontented with this guesswork. Select about fifty of the worst words ; terms like seize, siege, occasionally, necessary, disappear, irresistible, describe, persever- ance, and parallel. Give out the set, take the rating of each student, and assign the list for part of the next day's study. Announce the fact that the very same list will be written every day as an introduction 58 ENGLISH PROBLEMS to the regular recitation, until not one mistake is made by a single member of the group. As long as one student misspells one word, the entire class goes on and on forever spelling that same set of words. The score is announced on the spot, publicly. Under these con- ditions it becomes unpopular to guess. The class be- gins to take an appreciative pride in its star spellers, and to coach between times those few who always delay the wheels of progress. When at last these words are mastered by the whole team, the class is re- warded with an additional fifty. Sometimes another . section is studying the same lists of words with a spell- ing contest in view. Of course the only way in which this plan is different from regulation spelling lessons is the fact that the whole class is brought up to the level of the best before the list is considered learned at all. After this season of grinding toil, every boy feels keenly the difference between knowing a word and guessing at it, and the best spellers, upon whom this proceeding is almost an imposition, are the first to an- nounce that at last they are absolutely sure about the spelling of the slippery principles and principals, weird, and yield, and the various assortments of stationery." There is no doubt that our spelling tests have been too long. We have tried to teach too many words. Let us, as Professor Jones says, "cease to worry about the 3000 words and make a bloodthirsty attack upon the 300." Intensive work is the only work that counts in the teaching of spelling. Mr. Ward in his book, What Is English?, gives a most excellent exposition of this method. ("Intensive Spelling," Chap. III.) Often the spelling lessons should resolve themselves FUNDAMENTALS 59 into dictionary work. The pupils should study in class with the teacher the Revised International Webster: its make-up; its contents; rules for pronunciation; derivations ; the biographical dictionary ; the gazetteer. Encourage the use of the dictionary. Always have words about which there is any doubt looked up at the moment of discussion, not later. Frequently it is very much worth while to test the pupil's knowledge of spelling by the dictation of short paragraphs, instead of by the isolated word list. In such a test the pupil comes to realize the close rela- tionship of spoken and written English and the use of knowing how to spell. Dictation exercises are of great value, also, in helping the pupil to master the sentence and the theory of punctuation. In all such exercises the pupil must be alert; he must give close attention and a ready response. Rollo Brown in his book, How the French Boy Learns to Write, tells us that dictation exercises play a very important part in the French boy's education, and are considered one of the best means of teaching accuracy and concentration. We could use this method in our schools to advantage far more than we do. It is possible to vitalize the spelling work by every now and then turning the spelling period into a period of classroom study of interesting words, their deriva- tion, original meaning, derived meanings, their syno- nyms, and antonyms. It is possible, indeed, in this way to get up a real interest in words from the point of view of their varying uses. They will all be inter- ested in a study of the pun, a play upon words, also in the different pictures allied words bring up. For 60 ENGLISH PROBLEMS instance: ask the pupils what pictures the following words bring to them: walked; strode; ambled; stalked; marched; or, another group: talked; conversed; dis- cussed; chatted; chattered; explained; debated. Ask them to suggest lists. They will be much interested in doing so. A very desirable way of finding out how to group the class by spelling ability is to try out the list of words to be assigned before they are studied. Then those who make no mistakes are not to have those words on their list for study. For as Mr. Sherwin Cody says in his 1007o Speller, ^Tt is dangerous to study con- sciously words of which the correct spelling is already habitual, since valuable unconscious mental habits are likely to be upset, and only wrong spelling will be learned. Much bad spelling is actually taught in school, which is an evil in itself, to say nothing of the inefficient waste of time." (p. 3.) The teaching of spelling is far too mechanical. The usual task as- signed pupils of writing, correctly, misspelled words twenty or thirty times has little value as a rule. The pupil writes automatically with his eye and mind any- where but on the subject. Unless the pupil is active instead of passive, the drill is useless. The misspelled word should always be corrected by the pupil, but the exercise might be varied by having the pupil bring in two or three sentences in which the word is correctly spelled, or the word may be written as many times as the pupil can find synonyms. The dictionary habit will do more than all else to weaken what Havelock Ellis calls "the creative vitality" our pupils show in spelling. Mere mechanical remedies for correction FUNDAMENTALS 61 of misspelled words such as writing the word over many times often prove of no more value than in the case of the little boy who stayed after school to learn "I have gone." He wrote it forty times, then left this message for the teacher. "I have wrote this fort\ times and have went home." Finally, we should dis- tinguish between the reading vocabulary of the child and his practical vocabulary. Teach him to spell the new words he learns in his reading that he will prob- ably incorporate into his own vocabulary, written and spoken. These he must learn to spell. The others may be neglected for the time being. In the subject of spelling the pupil should by all means keep a stock-book. He should make a list of words formerly difficult but now mastered. He should also list his special weaknesses. And as soon as one of these enemies is conquered, he should transfer it to his stock-in-trade. Such lists conscientiously kept will aid greatly in solving the spelling problem for the in- dividual. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss Ward's treatment of the subject, "Intensive Spell- ing." 2. Discuss the value of dictionary work in the spelling lesson. 3. Suggest ways of impressing upon the student the necessity for correct spelling. 4. In what ways may dictation exercises be made of value in the spelling lesson? BIBLIOGRAPHY Ayers, Leonard P. A Measuring Scale for Ability in Spelling, Russell Sage Foundation, 1915. Suzzallo, Heniy. The Teaching of Spelling. Ward, C. H. What Is English ? Chapter III, "Intensive Spell- ing." The Reorganization Bulletin, p. 167. 62 ENGLISH PROBLEMS The English Journal: Clark, Hazel E. "From the Green Primer to the Brown/* February, 1916. Lester, J. A. "Teaching Freshmen to Spell," June, 1916. Lester, J. A. "Delimitation of the Spelling Problem," June, 1917, Lester, J. A. "An Unfenced Corner of the Spelling Field," June, 1919. Parsons, E. W. "A Word on Spelling," December. 1917 (R. T.). Ward, C. H. "A Bottomless Pond," May, 1916 (R. T.). THE PROBLEM OF THE VOCABULARY Someone has said that misunderstandings arise from three causes: (1) using the same word in different senses, (2) using different words in the same sense, and (3) using words with no sense. If we classify our pupils on this basis, we may rest assured that we shall always have the last class with us, just as in life they are ubiquitous. We can, however, give some training to develop in our pupils a feeling for words and a sense of responsibility for their use, and thus lessen the num- bers in classes one and two. How shall we develop in our pupils this feeling for words? In some way we must make them realize that words are living things, each with its own personality, each having its own function. Every child should know something of the history of his language. This he can get in a general way from the introductory accounts in the dictionary. The teacher may supplement what he finds there by giving specific examples of the interesting things that have happened to words in the course of their lives, and thus impress the pupil with the dynamic character of language. Words and Their Ways in English Speech, by Greenough and Kittredge, and Modern FUNDAMENTALS 63 English, by George Philip Krapp, afford many ex- amples of the way in which language has developed, and the strange vicissitudes through which many words have passed. In connection with the history of the language there is, of course, the opportunity for the study of the derivation of words. This matter of etymology is not one to be handled carelessly. There is a great deal of false etymology resulting from super- ficial analysis of words. Even Ruskin did not escape this pitfall, when he derived 'Svife" from ''weaver" and drew many sentimental conclusions from an etymology which is absolutely false. The relation of the study of etymology to the forma- tion of vocabulary is well stated by Dr. Krapp. ''Since the English vocabulary is derived from so many differ- ent sources, it will be readily seen that the study of etymology, which is the study of the origin and history of words, is one of peculiar interest to those w^hose native speech is English. It is not always, nor indeed generally, necessary to know the etymology of a word in order to use it correctly. Words mean today exactly the ideas which they convey from one person to an- other, and any forcible attempt to make their present use conform to their etymological meaning is pedantic and vain Nevertheless, as one's knowledge of the history and origin of one's vocabulary increases, in the same degree one's use of words will grow in defiiiite- ness and certainty of meaning and in richness of con- tent." Impress the pupils with the importance of shades of meaning. These will often stand out more clearly if the history is known. But it is usage after all that is most important. Too 64 ENGLISH PROBLEMS much of our work in vocabulary has been theoretical rather than practical. It is, of course, desirable for the pupil to understand what constitutes good usage, but it is not enough that he shall recite glibly the mean- ing in national, reputable, and present use. He should be constantly in the business of enlarging and enriching his own vocabulary. His attention should be called to his usage of the words he finds in his own reading, the conversation of others, the lectures he hears, and the textbooks that he studies, rather than to the correction of selected lists of improprieties, barbarisms, and solecisms that he may never be guilty of. The work should be constructive, not negative. Instead of learn- ing that technical words are not in good use in ordinary speech, he should learn from his other subjects just when and how^ to use technical words properly. Drill on definitions, definitions that define. Play games in which the same word is used in various ways. Make lists of words that function as different parts of speech, as noun and verb, for instance. Interest the pupil in synonyms. Encourage him to keep lists of the new words he discovers in his readings. Let him become intimate wuth the dictionary; let him discover its shortcomings as well as its usefulness. It is not perhaps necessary that he should emulate Robert Browning who, it has been said, read and digested Johnson's English Dictionary as soon as he had defi- nitely decided to enter upon a life devoted to litera- ture. Systematic study of the dictionary may, how- ever, be of great value. A pupil may learn from its study, for one thing, that the fact that a word ap- pears in the dictionary does not necessarily justify his FUNDAMENTALS 65 use of it. It may be marked "obsolete," or "collo- quial/' or "local," or "vulgar," and these terms will guide him when he is in doubt. The dictionary should be a constant friend in the recitation period. Do not postpone the disputed meaning until the next day. Let the pupil turn at once to the dictionary and make a report then and there to the class of what he finds. Words are interesting, and pupils will readily dis- cover this fact if led to the study of words in a dynamic way. List new words that have come into the language because of the war and because of recent inventions. Have word matches based on these ideas. Let pupils once really feel the vitality of words, and all will be clear sailing. Discourage the use of "words, words, words." Encourage the use of the right word in the right place. Nothing will combat the pupil's use of slang or his use of one word to express a thousand meanings like this direct attack upon his vocabulary. It is because the pupil's word-hoard is so meager that he indulges so freely in slang. "Avoid slang" is of no pedagogic value unless the student is shown where- in he may express the same ideas with equal force. Slang is a weed that must be eliminated, but we must not leave the pupil speechless. Flowers must be planted and grown in his garden of expression to take the place of the weeds which grow only too readily. Show him that slang is due largely to his paucity of language and partly to the tendency of the modern American to clip his words by way of making short cuts. Impress boys and girls with the fact that it pays to give time and thought to expression. Lack of thought results in the indiscriminate use of nice, grand, 66 ENGLISH PROBLEMS awful, etc. Hurry accounts for ''Doc," ''gym," "exam," etc. Slang that is drawn from associations that are low and vulgar is more easily combated than the types mentioned. Slang which is the spontaneous expression of some forceful comparison may be dealt with leniently, for ''language is fossil poetry," and many an expression which was once considered slang has acquired a permanent foothold in good society. To speak of "growing flowers" in the pupil's vocabu- lary is perhaps an unfortunate expression. It brings to mind another enemy of good expression that is due largely to affectation and insincerity, "fine writing" — the use of too many words. We are all familiar with the padded composition, the composition that is evidently not an effort to express something but an effort to impress someone, usually the teacher. Bar- rett Wendell says of freshman college themes, "On an average, I venture to assert, one-half of the words in any such composition can be stricken out without the loss of a shade of meaning. What is more, the process of excision is apt to result in a surprisingly idiomatic precision of style." In developing a wide vocabulary we should therefore guard against this danger of encouraging a kind of insincere and euphuis- tic English. Striving for the big word is another re- sult of affectation as well as attempting to use too many words. In that connection, simplicity is the ideal. Dr. Krapp sums it up in this way, "Never use a long word when a shorter one will do as well." Arouse in the pupil the desire to increase his vocabulary. Let him go about the acquisition of new words deliberately and consciously. And let him FUNDAMENTALS t)7 make use of his new words in his written work and oral speech. The only test of vocabulary is in the oral and written use of words. Too often we are apt to measure the extent of our own vocabularies by what we read, feeling that we possess the author's vocabu- lary because we understand his meaning. While wide reading is most certainly one of the best and surest means of enlarging the vocabulary, it remains for prac- tice in expression to turn that reading into real use, and to prove whether or not we have an army of words that w^ill leap to our bidding when we need them. Otherwise the greatest of bookworms may be the least articulate of speech. ''Giving the meaning" of unfamiliar words in the text, in response to the teacher's question, is not helping the pupil to enlarge his vocabulary. Active and specific drill in the busi- ness of forming a vocabulary must be carried on. Let the pupil select new words from his reading and de- liberately practice them in use. No attempt should be made to have the pupil acquire all the new words that he meets. Instead, he should aim to fix a few words at a time, and those of course should be se- lected that he can use naturally — words that are not outside of his experience. Just here nothing could be more stimulating than the reading of Professor Palmer's Self -Cultivation in English, and of parts of Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies. We all know that the effective use of words comes only through the intelli- gent appreciation of words. And while we cannot be- stow upon the pupil the gift of the ''right w^ord," we can develop in him a feeling for words, a genuine word sense. 68 ENGLISH PROBLE The importance of word use can be brought home to the pupils in the high school through their work in debate. Here, better than anywhere else, will it be possible for the pupil to realize the importance of care- ful, accurate definition and exact use of words. No more important study in the whole English course can be found than the careful analysis of ''terms" in a proposition for debate. Often the analysis develops the point that opponents are in accord and that there is no room for argument. Think how much time and energy in later life will be saved if the pupil in his school days acquires the habit of close analysis of words and accurate use of the mother tongue. The effects are far-reaching and oftentimes extend to vital things. Words are but names. If it is true, as has been said, that the junior high school is the place par excellence for the teaching of narrative, here indeed is an op- portunity for enriching the vocabulary. The pupil is at home in the field of action ; he is at the age when he delights to do things, and still more to read and to see in the moving picture-play rapid-fire action. But when he comes to give his account of the story he has read, the "movie" he has seen, or the adventure he has participated in, how small is his stock of verbs and how colorless! Here is the chance to let him learn the names of many kinds of action not to be fully de- scribed by went and did and saw. Interest him in the naming of actions through the use of a variety of verbs. He will find that it will take more than his usual vocabulary to characterize all the movements of a Douglas Fairbanks. He is at the age when his natural FUNDAMENTALS 09 curiosity as to the names of things is still keen. ''What is it?" is the question he asks, and a name satisfies. Interest him in the naming of colors and shapes through the use of a variety of adjectives, and when he comes to the senior high school, he may apply that same interest in the identification of ideas. The development of a clear, adequate, and forceful vocabulary has a very definite connection with the ''Better Speech Movement." Although this nation- wide movement for better speech is largely directed toward better enunciation, better pronunciation, and the elimination of gross grammatical errors, it has also for one of its aims the elimination of slang. Then, too, the relation of vocabulary work to reading and oral recitation must be constantly borne in mind. Lee Bassett in his Handbook of Oral Reading says, "The monotonous and 'sing-song' reading so often heard in the classroom and elsewhere is due largely to this heavy-eyed glimpsing and perfunctory voicing of words without definite knowledge of what they mean." The connection between constructive vocabulary work and spelling is obvious. // the spelling of each new word with its pronunciation could be fixed at the time of learning the new word, there would be no spelling problem. _ .. _ ^^ Emily F. Sleman FOR FURTHER TPIOUGHT 1. How will you present the principle suggested by the expres- sion, "A word is Iniown by tlie company it keeps'' ? 2. Why should we distinguish betsveen the reading and the speaking vocabulary of the pupil? 70 ENGLISH PROBLEMS 3. Suggest some devices for stimulating an interest in the adding of new words to the vocabulary. 4. Discuss the value of dictation as a means of increasing the vocabulary. BIBLIOGRAPHY Greenough and Kittredge. Words and Their Ways in English Speech. Krapp, Philip. Modern English^ Its Growth and Present Use. Lewis, W. D. Knowing and Using Words. Palmer, G. H. Self-CuUivation in English. Ruskin, J. Sesame and Lilies. The English Journal: Dobie, Frank. "Words, Words, Words, My Lord." January, 1919, CHAPTER THREE ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION The Problem of Better Speech. The Problem of Written Work. The Problem of the Letter. The Problem of Theme Correct- ing. Measurement of Results. THE PROBLEM OF BETTER SPEECH /. Oral English In viewing the subject of teaching Enghsh compo- sition let us look first at oral English. This is the natural order, for long before we have written language, we have oral speech; long before we have a written literature we have the bard, the scop, the gleeman, carrying the legend and song of the heroes of camp and field from court to court, and passing down the story by word of mouth from generation to generation. Moreover, the pupil today is called upon to talk far oftener than he is called upon to write. Says Mr. Clarence Stratton, Chairman of the Committee on American Speech of the National Council of Teachers of English: "The most ordinary relations of life de- mand speech. Dozens of careers depend upon language use. Responsibility and ability come with mastery of speaking. The teacher's product is examined, tested, judged, by every word that comes from the lips of every student." First of all, then, we should attend to the speech of our children. It is generally agreed that the study of oral Eng- lish should develop power in the pupil (1) to answer questions accurately; (2) to converse agreeably; (3) 71 72 ENGLISH PROBLEMS to present a case; (4) to read aloud intelligently and intelligibly. To produce these results, oral English should be presented under two aspects: (1) the mechanics of speech; (2) the practice of speech. For several years we have all been reading much and learning much about the American voice. Already, attempts are being made in the schools for definite training of the voice. This training should start in the very first grade, where, of course, it should be in- formal, but it should be organized into a definite course by the time the pupil reaches the junior high school, where through correlation with other departments of study much may be done. In the mechanics of speech both the junior and the senior high-school teacher should attend to the fol- lowing : (In these two points the Eng- lish teacher should co- operate with the physical training department.) (Correlate here with the music department.) (Correlation with the physical training department.) (Definite drill on run-together words such as would have, by and by; and word end- ings such as ing, ed, t.) (Persistent practice on words commonly mispronounced — such as drowned, at- tacked, length, height.) 1. Posture 2. Breathing 3. Vocalization 4. Articulation 5. Enunciation 6. Pronunciation ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 73 Not until we have voice work in the school curriculum can we hope for any perceptible improvement in our much berated American speech. Hear what Adjutant General McCain has to say on the subject in relation to the failure of students in the training camps to qualify for the Officers Reserve. "A great number of men have failed at camp because of inability to articulate clearly. ]\iany men disquali- fied by this handicap might have become officers under their country's flag had they been properly trained in school and college . . . It is hoped, therefore, that more emphasis will be placed upon the basic principles of elocution in the training of our youth. Great im- provement could be wrought by instructors in our schools and colleges, regardless of the subject, insisting that all answers be given in a loud, clear, well-rounded voice, which, of course, necessitates the opening of the mouth and free movement of the lips." Let us follow this wholesome advice and give definite work in training the speech of our pupils. In the matter of Practice we may consider oral Eng- lish under the following heads: 1. The question and answer. ^ 2. The informal talk. 3. The special topic report. 4. The debate. 5. Oral reading. 6. Recitation of memorized passages, prose and poetry. 7. Dramatics. In every year of both junior and senior high school there should be practice of the character indicated by 74 ENGLISH PROBLEMS each one of these heads, the emphasis varying with the maturity of the student. Back of the power of adequate expression is the power of thinking. Thought should control all ex- pression. The expression must be made to fit the thought. The pupil must be trained to speak with his mind on the subject. Perhaps the most striking example of the weakness of our pupils in concentration is shown by their inability to ask intelligent questions and to give accurate answers. I quote again from the Adjutant General's letter: ''Many men have not been trained to appreciate the importance of accuracy in thinking. Too many schools are satisfied with an ap- proximate answer to questions. Little or no incentive is given increased mental effort to coordinate one's ideas and present them clearly and unequivocally." Here, at last, is a point of departure for cooperative work in all departments of study in the high school. Here, at least, all teachers can get together and agree to demand exact, and to refuse approximate, answers to questions. We teachers are ever too ready to help a pupil out, to repeat and expand the pupil's answer, to do the work for him. Let us insist that before a pupil speaks he must think out what he is going to say. A discussion that gets anywhere presupposes thought clothed respectably at least. An intelligent question presupposes exact knowledge of what the questioner wants to say. Much practice should be given pupils in asking questions about the subject under discussion in a recitation period. Let us not be satisfied until the pupil has made his question perfectly clear, and we will find that the teacher's standard for ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 75 the pupil has at last become the pupil's own. In the informal talk and special topic report, the question and answer may become a feature of class activity. A word or two now about these two aspects of oral English. How shall we keep our audience attentive, alert, active during the short talk or more formal report of special pupils? Let the speaker quiz the class as to points he has made; let members of the audience ask the speaker questions about certain things touched upon that were of particular interest or that were not understood. Establish this habit of cross-fire attack upon thought and the expression of thought, and the passive group of pupils so familiar to us all will become a diminishing quantity. Every pupil should be ready to come forward and speak to the class for a minute or two at any time. As a means of developing desire and ability to do this, informal talks should be assigned for preparation at home. These may be based on interest- ing facts read in the newspaper or magazine, happen- ings about the school or on the playground, experi- ments and processes performed and observed in the laboratory, the shop, or the work-room. Occasionally the lantern-slide talk prepared by a group of pupils is of interest to the class, and every little while the class may become a story-telling club. Let pupils preside and conduct the meeting and cast votes for the best stories. The best stories might be told to a larger group of pupils — in the assembly hall, perhaps. In the upper years of the senior high school the special topic becomes a feature of the English work. Every pupil in the class is to do library work at the 76 ENGLISH PROBLEMS school library or at the public library, the same to take shape in the form of an oral report or debate. The report or speech should never be read. It is well, how- ever, for the pupil to make use of outline notes made on small cards which are held in the hand during the presentation of the speech. It is said that this is President Wilson's method of delivering his addresses. The topics and assignments should be announced early in the semester, and it is hardly wise to have a report given under two weeks from the date of assignment. The teacher should give the pupils specific references for the work and hold conferences with the pupils when necessary. Often the group method of treatment of the special topic works well. A group of pupils is given one topic to develop. A leader of the group is selected. He divides the subject and apportions the work and sets a time for report to the class. On special topic day the class may again become a club with a pupil as chairman, presiding. He is responsible for the program, conducts the meeting, presents the speakers, and leads the discussion. Pupils should prepare speeches for all occasions of school life, for the football supper, the baseball championship; for urging support of school interests, the school paper, the literary society, the debating club. It would be well for the teacher to read to the class some good after-dinner speeches, for instance, Mark Twain's ''New England Weather," and certain speeches of Depew. These are suggestive and will give the pupil a standard. Real occasions, if possible, should furnish the motive for the preparation of the speeches. ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 77 Class debates on topics of school or current interest should be held in every section, and every member should have a turn at this work. Let the class resolve itself into a debating society on these occasions with a pupil-chairman presiding. The chairman conducts the meeting, introduces the speakers, appoints judges, and recognizes speakers in the informal discussion of the question after the debate is over. Oral reading by the pupils should form a part of every English period whether it be labeled Composi- tion or Literature. Such reading should sometimes be sight reading but more often the reading of passages that have been prepared at home. The test of the read- ing should be the listening class. While one pupil is reading, the other pupils are listening, not following the page with the eye. Books should be closed, and the ear alone be used to test the reading. The follow- ing quotation from The English Leaflet for Novem- ber, 1914, emphasizes this point: ^^'How shall we, as Dr. Snedden suggests, invent devices to teach the art of intelligent hearing? Since his manuscript went to press, one or two schemes have been tried, with just enough success to lure on the experimenter. A class was met with this challenge — Can you listen? Can you rely on yourself to register accurately? Can you compel an uninteresting speaker to be heard by you? Can you force the remarks of a wandering lecturer into orderly thought in your own mind? Are you capable of protracted listening? Prove it. 'The preparation of the class for two days was con- 1. The Enf/lish Leaflet (contributed), November, 1914. 78 ENGLISH PROBLEMS fined to written work in order that the recitation time might be given over to the listening test. Each mem- ber of the class selected a book from his own library, chose a page for reading aloud, and prepared a set of nine searching questions based on the details of the passage. These questions he asked after reading the page to the class. Rapid questioning, no raising of hands, brisk calling on the unwary, a stern demand for accuracy made the occasion one of shocking nervous tension but of revelation ! Listening was no quiescent state, but a constructive process. One period brought striking increase in alertness. Nine cruel questions be- fore you and no time to invent answers — who would doze? The oral reading improved; for a group that is going to be catechized insists on audible speech. A pedagogical 'We aren't hearing' cannot compare in effectiveness with the insistent demands from the rear. There was the wildest variety of selection, ranging from Roger Ascham and Sir Francis to Elbert Hub- bard and Booth Tarkington. 'The only enduring worth of this experiment is its illuminating power. The line between effective and lazy listening is visibly if crudely drawn. With his limitations clearly defined and his spirit of conquest aroused, each student may consider the next sermon or lecture that he hears, not a leisured interim, but a challenge." The recitation of passages learned from selections studied is excellent practice. It is advisable to commit to memory prose as well as poetry. Speaking contests may occasionally be held. I was present at such a con- test held in an English class last year. The pupils ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 79 had been studying President Wilson's war speeches, and at the end of their study they proposed to com- mit to memory a speech and dehver it. The best among the speakers were chosen to deliver their speeches on Flag^Day before the whole school. Much interest was evoked by the contest, and the work was as good as any I have ever heard in oral English. The pupils paid close attention to articulation, enunciation, word endings, voice production; and the practice thus gained was of inestimable value. The delivery of original speeches on Liberty Bonds and War Savings Stamps in this same way worked the same result. In- directly the War thus helped the cause of oral Eng- lish in the schools. Presentation of scenes from plays studied in the Literature class, and of original dramatizations of parts of stories read gives splendid practice in oral English. Because of the natural interest in '^acting out" situa- tions, results which fail to be precipitated from our best efforts in all other oral exercises are actually ob- tainable in this form of oral practice. Perhaps the most practical reason for stressing oral English in the composition course is that, in the words of Lord Bacon, conference maketh a ready man. Practice in speaking before his classmates is invaluable to the pupil both now and later on. It develops the ability to think quickly, and to express thought con- vincingly with poise and self-possession, while stand- ing and facing an audience. And in these days of the rule of democracy not many pupils after leaving school will escape the call to speak to their fellow-men. Should not preparation for such emergencies now be made in the secondary school? 80 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Before closing this discussion, a troublesome de- tail in the oral English work should be mentioned. We are all confronted with the and habit. What shall we do to break up this habit? Induce the pupil to make a conscious effort to overcome this fault. Tell him to stop short a second or two whenever the tempta- tion comes. The over-use of the and in oral reports is really a time-seeking process. When the pupil does not know what to say next, he says and. If he will think before he speaks, much of his desire to use the word will disappear. , It is worth while, also, to have the pupil make a list of words that may be substituted for and, that may be used as bridges connecting his chain of thought. And then let the pupil make a conscious effort to substitute these new words for the old, familiar friend. If the pupil pursues this practice diligently, it will not be long before he will show some facility in the use of these "other" words. And after a while such usage will become unconscious and natural. This plan has been tried out successfully in more than one instance. Another detail. Shall we interrupt the pupil when he is ''speaking his speech"? The notion has long prevailed that interruption would embarrass the speaker, cause him to lose the thread of his thought, utterly destroy spontaneity. And there is something in this. But we must never lose sight of the main purpose of our stud}^ — progress in the art of speaking correctly. We dare not pass over errors. It is our business to teach. And so, at times, it may become necessary to interrupt with tact. And we must remem- ber that pupils are to learn something each day about ORAL AND WRTTTEX EXPRESSION 81 correct speech. Attention must be called to errors. Correction must be made if the course is to lead to- ward our goal. Mere talking will get nowhere. Talk- ing to a purpose and with a purpose is a different story. //. Public Speaking Shall our high schools give courses in public speak- ing? Before that question can be answered it would be well to consider the purpose of speech-training in a public high school. What, at bottom, is the aim of such training? Is it not, after all, to give our pupils such command of their speaking ability that they can say what they want to say directly and effectively just when they want to say it? The basic aim then is to give power of free communication of thought through the medium of the organs of speech. What then will be first necessary, even to approximate such an end? Certainly, knowledge of how to use those organs effectively. Therefore, as before stated, some training in voice-making and using is essential. This need not be — it must not be — highly technical. But much practice should be given in tone-work and enunciation. Such work should be eminently practical. Remember that the power of speech is originally ac- quired through imitation. And just so, good oral Eng- lish must become a habit through imitation. Did not Hamlet say, "Speak the speech as I pronounced it to you, trippingly, on the tongue"? Imitation of a model is a way — one might almost say the way — of acquiring power in spoken English. And who is to be the model? The regular teacher of English or a special instructor? x 82 ENGLISH PROBLEMS There is, of course, much to be said on both sides, but the logic of the situation points to the regular teacher. For so, the teaching of English and the teaching of speech are not divorced. Do we dare risk a separa- tion? Not while we contend that the teaching of correct English by practice should be a part of the teaching of every subject in the curriculum. Sep- aration would easily weaken our case. Every high- school pupil should get definite, daily drill in the technic of speech. And all of us must be ever on guard to insist upon exact, not slovenly, mechanics in speech drill. Cooperation of every member of the teaching body on the one hand, and of the pupils on the other, is what we must strive for. Better Speech Week must become the Better Speech Daily. It must be issued every twenty-four hours, a Daily, not an Extra. The more often speech rallies can be held now, the better. For interest must not be spasmodic in this great aim of teaching English. Better speech must become habitual, automatic. When the Better Speech Week has become Better Speech, Day by Day, not the occasional but the usual proceeding, will not the teacher of every subject in the school curriculum suddenly realize that his burden is lessened by half? Will not every graduate of our high schools realize then that his chances of success, whether he enter college or the world, are increased fourfold? To teach our pupils to express themselves in good, clear, accurate English informally, in conversation with one another in the classroom and outside, is then the basic aim of an oral English course. A supplementary aim, as before stated, should be to give the pupil ex- ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 83 perience in speaking before his fellows in the class- room and in the auditorium. Methods of oral English procedure in the classroom have already been dis- cussed. Some training there needs must be in adapting the voice-power of the pupil to the larger audience. But our present socialized recitations are fast eradicat- ing the timid or self-conscious individual. Such a specimen will soon be a rara avis among us. Hence no special work is necessary in this direction. All things considered, then, training in oral English is best left with the regular teacher of English. Far better is it, even if the teacher must perchance take a summer course in oral English, than to call for outside aid and thus weaken the stand of the English teacher and divorce the aims of the course. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Suggest devices to teach tlie art of intelligent listening. 2. Discuss the value of having* jjupils close their books while one of their number reads aloud to the class. 3. Suggest ways and means of testing the listening class. 4. Discuss voice training in the high school. Should the effort be to train for the impromptu occasion which will come into the Ufe of every pupil or for more formal speech or oration? How much technical voice training should be given high-school students'? Should the work be done in connection with the English class or independently? Should there be a director of public speaking? 5. Discuss the use of the club idea as a means of socializing the English class. 6. Discuss methods of socialization as suggested by Mr. Gaston in his article, "Social Procedure in the English Classroom," TJie English Journal, January, 1919. 7. Refute the statements made by Mr. Gaston. 8. Work out a Better Speech Week for your classes. S4 ENGLISH PROBLEMS BIBLIOGRAPHY Crumpton, C. E. The Problem of Better Speecli. Guide for American Speech Week. Lewis, C. H. American Speech. The English Journal: . Crumpton, Claudia E. "A NatioD-Wide Speecli Week," May, 1919. Drummond, Alex M. 'Tlays for the Time." Editorial, "The Speech Campaig-n," September, 1919. The Illinois Bulletin: Andrews, W. E. "A Study of the Oral Response in the High-School Classroom," Februaiy. 1919. Bear, Olive M. "Better Speech "Week in Decatur," Febru- ary, 1919. Paul, H. G. "Better Oral English," April, 1919. Rawlins, Cora M. "E very-day Problems in Spoken English," January, 1919. Stratton, Clarence M. "Speaking of Speech," March, 1919. THE PROBLEM OF WRITTEN WORK If, first of all, in a composition course we must watch the speech of our pupils, surely next, we must watch their written words. Written English should go hand in hand with oral. Much oral practice can but help the written work. By no means, however, should the written theme be worked over in class orally and then reduced to writing. Such a process is deadening. It will produce a stereotyped written product of no interest to anyone. But often the oral work may be- come the basis for the written work. It may suggest allied subjects. Now let us examine the why, the how, the what, and the where of written work in the high-school English course. Why should we ask students of composition to writo at all? The answer is obvious. To prepare them for ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 85 the emergency which every now and then confronts them of bemg obhged to communicate their thoughts about a given subject to another person in writing. The instrument of such communication is usually the letter. Hence, letter-writing practice should form the major part of written composition work in the secondary schools. However, there are other occasions in the life of the pupil that call for written expression of thought, and there will be occasions later on. It is the duty of the English teacher to prepare the pupil for such occasions. The pupil is required by teachers of other subjects to write reports of work done from time to time, and to take examinations in those sub- jects. Prepare the boy and girl to meet this situation now, and they will be able to face other responsibili- ties later on as they meet them. For example: In the course of his school life the pupil will be asked to expound principles in mathematics and science; to explain processes in the laboratory, the shop, and the workroom; to give the story of a period in history or of a great man's life; to describe plants and animals in biology; to defend policies of governments past and present; to make idiomatic translations from a foreign tongue into English. They will be asked to answer questions in tests given in all their subjects of study. That is why the teacher of composition should see to it that the pupil learns to express himself in writing which shall be intelligent, discriminating, and correct, whether the thought to be expressed requires him to tell a story, to make a picture, to explain, or to con- vince. For what is language after all, but a tool? It is a means to an end. When we shall be able to con- 86 ENGLISH PROBLEMS vince the teachers in other departments in the high- school curriculum that the English composition course exists mainly for their sakes it will not be long before we shall have the whole-hearted cooperation of the entire school in working for improvement in the use of the mother tongue in both speech and writing. Last of all, the pupil should be asked to write because, in the words of Lord Bacon, "Writing maketh an exact man." No exercise is more helpful in developing ac- curacy than writing out one's thought. By all means, every little while let the pupil put his thought to the acid test of wTiting it out. As Mr. Hitchcock says, "Ink and white paper are fearful detectives which lay bare in ruthless fashion faults which escape notice altogether in the rose-tinted half-light of rapid conver- sation." Hence in the composition class pupils must write as well as talk. In this connection the revolutionary view Nicholas Murray Butler expressed in an address delivered before the Association of Preparatory Schools of the Middle States and Maryland in the fall of 1918 might be noted. He regards the daily theme as a plague of which w^e must rid ourselves and holds that English composition should be taught through reading rather than through writing. In reply one might ask a ques- tion or two. Is not writing an art? Has not every art its own technic? Can technic in any art be ac- quired except through practice? Will hearing the greatest musicians interpret the works of the masters make an artist of the hearer? The pupil writes, then, in order to communicate his thoughts to others, and the teacher of composition ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 87 should give the pupil much practice in this method of thought communication. But he should 7iot ask the pupil to write unless he has something to communicate and someone to whom he wishes to express his thought. Only when the pupil feels that there is for his effort a real occasion, a real purpose, a real motive will he do his best. Thoughts, even the thoughts of a pupil in the English composition class, like any other com- modity must be produced for the purpose of consump- tion. There should be a consumer other than the fire or the w^aste-paper basket for the themes our pupils write. That consumer is the pupil's audience; that audience is naturally made up of his classmates. The class is the theme writer's reading public, as Mr. S. A. Leonard has so well said in The English Leaflet for April, 1918, The pupil should write for his audience, expecting a definite reaction from his audience. Then the work becomes dynamic and of real developing power. Occasionally, his audience may be enlarged, as when he writes for the school magazine or prepares a paper for the entertainment or instruction of the whole school in the assembly hall, or when the members of one section challenge those of another group to debate a given subject. Now hoiu shall we' give the pupil such command of the language as will enable him to use it accurately and even fluently in his written work in other classes and on other occasions than on the oft-dreaded one of theme day in the English class? Surely not by having his theme work in the composition class based wholly or even largely on topics suggested by other depart- ments of the school, though these are of value once in 88 ENGLISH PROBLEMS a while. How shall we develop the habit of clear, accurate written expression, so that the pupil's written reaction to a given situation shall be spontaneous, ready, easy, and correct? This can be accomplished only through a thorough vitalization of the subject of theme-writing, and this in turn can be accomplished only by intelligent motivation of subjects to which the pupils are asked to react in writing. What shall our pupils write about, then? It is a commonplace to say that subjects for themes should be chosen from the pupil's own experience, that the pupil should write about what he knows. We must expand the definition of experience, however, to em- brace imaginary, as well as real, experience. It should include the dream life as well as the real life of the child. But the selection of theme topics is not an easy job. As Mr. Suzzallo says, "The largest single problem with which the teacher has to deal today is that of getting adequate motivation into the composition period."^ A composition is never a re-statement of facts gleaned from hearing or reading. It is rather a re- compounding of these elements based on the ex- perience real or imagined of the pupil. It is a chemical union, not a mechanical mixture. Stories and poems may serve as points of departure. But they should be made to function in the life of the student. For example, after a pupil has read and enjoyed such a story as Stickeen, instead of asking him to tell the story in his own words, use the incident as a stimula- , . — — — — 1. "Introduction" to English Composition As a Social Problem, Leonard. ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 89 tion of the pupil's constructive faculty. Let him write the story of some remarkable dog that he himself has owned, or let him make up a dog story based on an incident about which he has heard his father or other person talk. If the class is reading Chaucer's Prologue, let the assignment be a trip of up-to-date tourists to visit some point of interest in the pupil's own locality. For example, if the pupil lives in Washington, to Mt. Vernon; if he'lives in New York, to Grant's tomb, or up the Hudson to Tarrytown. When reading Addison and Steele, let the pupils write a Spectator Paper on some modern fad or foible. When studying Concilia- tion with America, introduce Burke to President Wilson in a Houseboat on the Styx and let them dis- cuss some topic of the day — and so on and on. School and class interests and happenings offer a fertile field for theme topics: the last football game or track meet; reasons for joining the dramatic associa- tion or debating club ; a report of the school assembly ; appeals for support of school enterprises, such as the school paper, the annual lunch, the spring play; reasons for the last defeat or winning the championship, etc. At other times it is well to use the community wel- fare motive in theme writing. Let the pupils write a paragraph on such topics as Vacant Lot Gardens, Cleaning Up the Alleys of Our City, Danger of Scatter- ing Papers After a Picnic, Necessity of Putting Out Campfires Before Breaking Camp. And where shall the writing of high-school themes be done? As a rule, in the classroom, under the eye of the teacher. This procedure, of course, necessitates short themes, but for secondary work the short unit 90 ENGLISH PROBLEMS will yield far better results than the long one. One advantage of class writing is that the teacher then is sure of 100% genuineness in the pupil's product — correction of errors in such cases deals with the pupil's own mistakes, not with those of his helpers. Only rarely in the upper classes should long themes be as- signed. Much practice on the sentence in relation should be given in the junior high school and in the first year of the senior high school. Indeed such practice should continue throughout the course. If our pupils go out from our high schools with a keenly developed sen- tence-sense they will be equipped with a powerful in- strument for explaining, persuading, and convincing others to think as they think in any of the social rela- tions of life, and they will have an effective weapon for the attack on social problems which is to be made in the language of the written brief or of the oral debate. Hence, in the language of aviation, they must be given thorough ground training before they are allowed the privilege of flight. For this ground training a good exercise is the ex- pansion of a topic sentence into a paragraph. This may be done sometimes as an impromptu exercise ; at other times it -may be prepared at home and worked out in class without notes. But it should be done often. This leads us to a consideration of two questions. How often shall pupils write? What shall we do with their themes? The answer to the first question de- pends upon the answer to the second. What shall we do with pupils' themes? They should be read aloud in class. The pupil understands that he ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 91 is writing for an audience. His work is not complete, then, until he knows the reaction of his audience. The theme is produced for the consumer, and the legitimate consumer is the class, as before stated. Also, publicity is a powerful stimulus to- effort and ambition. Pub- licity and emulation will make for progress in theme writing. Reading aloud is a splendid test of the written prod- uct as to definiteness. Here is another reason why themes should be read to the class. A sentence that must be read twice (granting that the reading is intel- ligent) before its meaning is grasped needs reconstruc- tion. President Wilson tells us that the best training in English he ever had came from his father, to whom he read aloud everything he wrote up to the time of his death in 1903. He was intolerant of vagueness. His original way of giving advice on this point is well worth remembering. "Don't shoot at your meaning with bird shot and hit the whole country side; shoot with a rifle and hit the thing you have to say." That is exactly it. "Hit the thing you are going to say. Practice until your aim goes straight to the mark. Have in mind your mark." This we must urge our pupils to do. Hence the reading of themes is a vital matter. It will be impossible, of course, to correct every bit of writing that every pupil does. The teacher knows this, and he should frankly say so to the pupils. But if we follow the method of correction suggested later on, it is not necessary, indeed it is not advisable that every theme should pass under the teacher's eye. How- ever, the short paragraphs written in class should be read aloud — all of them. Five or six may then be 92 ENGLISH PROBLEMS selected for correction each day. This selection is usually made by the teacher ; at other times the teacher may allow the pupils the privilege of asking that their themes be chosen. Of course, the pupils are not to know beforehand whose themes are to be selected. The same boy's theme may be chosen on three consecutive days. Thus the pupils will be held up to their best effort and will not grow careless. Now, how often shall the pupils write? We all know that much practice makes the master. A technic in written or oral expression can be acquired only through constant drill as is the case in the study of music or art. It is through writing or speaking that we learn to write or speak, just as it is through play- ing or drawing that we learn to play or draw. What shall we say then? How often shall the pupil write? As often as possible. A little practice outside of school every day is advised. For this purpose the pupil might keep a school diary in which he records the events of the day in his classes, in assembly, at recess, on the way to and from school, at home. Of course, there must be occasional reading of Leaves from My Diary or the work will not function properly. But how often shall the pupil write for class con- sumption? As often as is compatible with social treat- ment of the product by class and teacher. This may be once a week or it may be oftener. In other words, an important factor in determining the frequency of written work is the number of pupils under the teacher's instruction. It goes without saying that an- other factor is the need of the individual for such practice. Certain members of a class always need more ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 93 practice in writing than other members. Why not give them written w^ork oftener than their companions who need it less? This, it would seem, is the only common- sense method of procedure in the theme class. The composition classroom should become the language workshop, the laboratory for resolving thoughts into sentences and themes. Here pupils and teachers should work together, each for all and all for each. The teacher should be one of the group — partici- pating in all the activities even to the extent of occa- sionally contributing a theme. 'Tf a particularly difficult moment arrives in any composition course," says Mr. Leonard, '^a sudden in- crease of interest will be gained if the teacher promises to have a theme written at the time when the rest are due, said theme to be shuffled with the rest and criticized among the others, incognito. Or, after read- ing a set, let the teacher announce the fact that among the essays just criticized was one of his own. Few things stimulate a group of students more powerfully than the consciousness that the teacher is still study- ing — a notion usually quite remote from their concep- tion of the functions of the instructor. In the under- graduate estimation, the teacher has learned, has writ- ten, has translated, and is now a director and inventor of toil, a corrector of sentence-structure, and an officer of the law. I shall never forget what a deep impres- sion was made once upon a time, when the teacher of our Vergil class read us a metrical translation of his own. He explained that since he had asked us to write one, he thought it only fair to get into the work him- self. It takes talent and courage and character to do 94 ENGLISH PROBLEMS that. As teachers, we hate to read our own writings to our classes, some of us because we never write, and the rest because we think that they will think that we think ourselves model literary workmen; which we must rise to explain that we aren't! But the fact remains that there is no more effective way to rouse a fine type of comradeship over the daily task than to do one, now an,d then, oneself." To sum up. The following points are to be noted in a consideration of theme writing in the secondary school : 1. Themes should be written for the purpose of communicating thought. 2. They should be written for a particular audience, usually the class. 3. They should be read to the audience. 4. They should be written with a definite aim. 5. They should be intelligently motivated. 6. They should be brief. 7. They should usually be written in class. 8. They should be written as often as is com- patible with intelligent treatment by the teacher and the social group for whom they are produced. 9. They should be written more often by some members of the class than by others. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Show how the introduction of tlie ehib idea will vitalize the written work. 2. Discuss the importance of the audience factor in assigning written work. ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 95 3. Discuss the short versus the long' theme for high-school classes. 4. How can the composition class be socialized f BIBLIOGRAPHY Klapper, P. The Teach'mg of English, Chapter VIII. Leonard, Sterling' Andrus. English Composition As a Social Problem. Thomas, C. S. The Teaching of English in the Secondary School, (^hapter IV. Ward, C. H. What Is English? Chapter IX. The English Journal: Maiiin, H. 0. "Composition in the Open," February, 1917. McDonald, L. H. "Preparation for Assignment of Compo- sition Subjects," April, 1916. McDonald, L. H. "A Method in Assigning Theme Subjects," November, 1917. Parkinson, Laura D. "Variety in Composition Assignment," June, 1918. Scott, Frank W. "The Relation of Composition to the Rest of the Curriculum," October, 1918. Smith, M. E. "Those Long Themes," May, 1916. The English Leaflet: Haworth, I. M. "A Possible Outline for a Course in Freshman Composition," May, 1917. Jenness, Mary E. "Cooperative Fiction," December, 1916. Leonard, Arthur W. "Themes for a Reading Public," April, 1918. Shute, Katherine H. "An Effort to Secure Sincerity in Composition," December, 1918. Ward, C. H. "Defending Camelot," October, 1916. The Illinois Bulletin: Fox, Fred Gates. "Keeping Alive in Composition," January, 1919. THE PROBLEM OF THE LETTER Since the only real demand for writing in the life of the high-school student outside of school is in connec- tion with the writing of letters to friends and relatives. 06 ENGLISH PROBLEMS it is all important that his high-school English com- position course should help him to acquire in some small degree the art of letter writing. Letter writing is an art and should be so presented to the pupil. Hence the most intelligent as well as the most interest- ing point of departure in a letter-writing course is to read to the class a number of letters written by famous men and women: the letters of Lewis Carroll, Robert Louis Stevenson, Thomas Henry Huxley, Louisa M. Alcott, for example. After hearing these letters read and talking about them, the pupils may be asked to write letters of their own. The following points should be insisted upon: (1)' the letter should be interesting; (2) it should be courteous; (3) it should be adapted to the one to whom it is written. The purpose for which the friendly or social letter is written should be clearly impressed upon the pupils. They should understand that the friendly letter is written for the purpose of communicating with those who are not near at hand, in just the same way as if they were present. It takes the place of a call, a visit, or a social half hour. Hence the writer must make himself interesting and agreeable. He should write as if he were talking intimately with his friend. He should never give the impression that he is writing in a hurry, or from a sense of duty. Much of the com- position work may be thrown into the form of the letter. But never should the letter form be used as the mere framework of the exercise. Content as well as form must be adapted to the letter-idea. And it can be done and done acceptably. ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 97 We can formulate three types of the friendly letter which pupils should practice until they gain a measure of proficiency. First, there is the "Thank you," the '^Bread-and-Butter" type of letter; next, there is the ''Story" letter; and then, the letter of directions, ex- planations, or excuse. The pupils should write letters and write them often. Perhaps in this way the habit of letter writing may be established, and the American youth may lose some of his inherited dislike for this method of communi- cating thought. As far as possible, real occasions should furnish the motives to letter writing. The pupil may write a letter to a friend out of town, in- viting him to the spring games, the school play, the inter-high-school debate. He must realize that it is his duty in such a letter to make the one to whom he is writing feel that the trip will be worth while. Again, he may write to a pupil who is out of school on account of illness, recounting school news that would interest the sick pupil. Many other events in the school life of the pupil may be made to serve the purpose of letter writing. Letters may also be written by members of one school to members of another school when there is anything of imiuediate interest which cannot be con- veniently communicated orally. They may be written by the school children of one city to the school children of another city. During the war _/iany letters were written by American boys and girls to the school children of France in reply to letters sent to them. In all such exercises, however, the desire of the pupil to write or not to write should be the determining factor. 98 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Otherwise the letter will be valueless, both as a com- position exercise and as a social act. In letter-writing exercises, the imagination of the writer may be appealed to with advantage. And what- ever can develop the imagination of our boys and girls is of great educational worth. For instance, imperson- ating a character in the story or poem which the pupils are studying, and writing a letter to another person in the book, is an interesting adventure. And the marvel is that almost always the local color is consistently observed by the pupil. He lives in the times of his character, and the language he uses is the language of those times, quite naturally, just as a matter of course. Give the pupil a definite situation; let him see clearly with his mind's eye all the factors in the case; then test his reaction. For instance, ask the pupils to write a letter to a small boy, telling him about something that would interest him in a way that he will understand. The following is an illustra- tion of this method: 1652 Park Road Washington, D. C. January 15, 1920 Dear Harry, I know you will have a good laugh when you read what happened to us the other night. Mother had gone out, leaving Sis, Dan, and me alone. Dan undressed in the living room by the fire and went across the hall to go to bed. No sooner had he passed the door, than he gave a bloodcurdling scream and came back, looking as if he had seen a ghost. That was enough for Sis and me. We jumped up, got behind the table, and began to scream at the top of our lungs. As nobody came to our aid, I ran out into the yard and met the man who lives next door ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 99 hurrying to us bareheaded, holding a big pistol in his. hand. Then we calmed down long enough to ask Dan what he had seen, and he tearfully informed us that there was a big black cat in the hall! Now wouldn't you like to know what poor Mr. Man-next-door thought? Lovingly, May Here are two good story letters written by school girls : * 114 Pennington Avenue Passaic, New Jersey February 15, 1920 Dear Margery, They say I'm getting too old to play with dolls now, but I don't mind what anyone thinks, for I have seen the play "Raeketty-Packetty House," and it's wonderful ! Do you remem- ber how we used to pretend that our dolls would come to life at night when we were all asleep and have a good time just as we did? Well, Mrs. Burnett, the lady who wrote the play, must have done the same thing when she was a little girl, for do you know, every single doll in the play comes to life. But first I must begin at the very beginning and tell you all about the whole play. You see there was a little girl who had an old doll-house full of the loveliest, old-fashioned, ragged dolls in the world. But a great princess was coming to see her, and so the little girl's mother bought her a brand new doll-house with dolls in it all dressed up like kings and queens and lords and ladies. The little girl called her new toy "Tidy Castle," and the old one just "Racketty-Packetty House" because it was all falling to pieces. The little girl's nurse wanted to bum "Racketty-Packetty House" so that the princess would not see 100 ENGLISH PROBLEMS it. But a good fairy queen, whose name was Silverbell, hid it behind the door, and saved it from the nurse. The strange thing was that the princess found the shabby old doll-house and liked it much better than the brand new "Tidy Castle." When it was night, all the dolls came to life. I could fill sheets of paper telling you about their antics — ^how Peter Piper from "Racketty-Packetty House" fell in love with the beautiful Lady Patsy of "Tidy Castle"; how everybody in "Tidy Castle" got sick, and the "Racketty-Packetties" had to come over and put poultices on their heads till all the pain had gone; how haughty all the Castle dolls were except pretty Lady Patsy; and oh, a lot of other things about them! But everything came out all right with the help of Queen Silverbell and Peter Piper and Lady Patsy — but Margery, do go and see the play for yourself ! Your friend, Annette Washington, D. C. November 5, 1919 Dear Anna, I do not want to write you anything else about Central High School; I suppose you are already tired of hearing me sing its praises. Let me tell you, then, about a little school of my very own. The sessions in this school are held twice a week at the home of my two little pupils, Jack and Sarah Clark. I teach them Russian and call them Vanya and Sara. Vanya is seven and a half years old and Sara is five. Now don't be surprised! Little tots as they are, they are learning to speak and even to read and write Russian, while I am learning to teach children. As I said, I am only learning to teach them, and I find it difficult. On the one hand, it is easier to teach a foreign language to children than to grown-ups, because they repeat the words and imitate the accent more readily. On the other hand, ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 101 they are hard to deal with. I have to keep them constantly interested; otlierwise they simply refuse to learn anything. It would be absurd for me to give them a vocabulaiy to learn by heart, when they cannot sit still and study, read, or write for more than ten minutes. Therefore, I spend most of the lesson playing Russian games with them. Here, for instance, is one of our games: several objects are placed on the table, a pencil, a blotter, a toy Hallowe'en pumpkin, a shell. I name the things in Russian. Then Vanya and Sara shut their eyes, while I take away one object. When I have hidden it, they open their eyes and trj'- to name in Russian, as quickly as they can, the missing thing. If Sara names the thing first, it is her turn to hide something, tvhile Vanya and I close our ej^es. There is another game, which you must know, if you remember how we played in the Alexandrovsky Park, years ago. It is the game of King. Vanya sits down on the sofa, surrounds him- self with cushions, and folds his arms majestically. Sara and I go out in the next room where he cannot see us, and dance there. Then we present ourselves before the King with bows, and hold the following conversation in Russian : ''Good day. King!" "Good day, children. Where have you been?" ''In the parlor." "What were you doing?" We go through the motions of dancing. "You danced!" and His Majesty jumps up and rushes madly after us, amidst shrieks of laughter. If he catches Sara, she succeeds him to the throne; if he catches me, I am Queen. And so on. This game is the children's favorite, and it is useful, too, because it gives them opportunity to learn verbs which, in any language, are much harder to learn than other parts of speech. Tliey are bright little things, and seem to enjoy these lesson*. On the whole, my school is interesting, I think. Don't you, Anna? With love to Lucy and Bernard, I am Yours affectionately, Eugenia 102 ENGLISH PROBLEMS A correct form for heading, salutation, and com- plimentary close should be chosen by the class and should thereafter be adhered to. No letter should be accepted by the teacher which falls below 100% in the matter of form. A standard business form should also be adopted by all departments of the school and insisted upon in all business communications. In this case again 100% correctness only must be accepted. School interests may furnish the motivation for much business letter practice. For instance, correspondence with football, baseball, and basketball teams arranging dates and other details of games ; challenges sent to other schools for debate, and further correspondence concerning the question, the judges, the choice of sides, and other mat- ters. Such correspondence furnishes many occasions for practice. Wherever possible, let the pupils deal with real situations in their practice in business correspondence as well as social letter writing. By all means, in a letter-writing course let the pupil study the necessary postal instructions. He should understand the classification of mail matter into first class, second class, and third class; he should learn postal rates, domestic and foreign; he should know what countries belong to the Postal Union; he should understand the rural free delivery system; the parcel post. He should be given practice in the classroom in wrapping packages for mailing; he should learn how to address and stamp such packages; he should under- stand where he must place Christmas and Red Cross stamps. He should be impressed with the necessity of early mailing at Christmas time, All this knowl- ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 103 edge he can find in pamphlets issued by the local post office department. These pamphlets may be had on demand. It is advised that every student in every high school possess himself of one of these. And finally, let us never forget that a letter-writing course is a failure unless it actually gives the pupil the habit of addressing all mail matter in a clear, legible hand, with absolute accuracy in the matter of the address of both sender and receiver. Twelve million pieces of mail went to the Dead Letter Office during the year 1915 because of errors of the public. Let us do our bit in reducing this number. Let us help to educate the public in this respect. Then, indeed, we can feel that our letter-writing course has not been in vain. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss the relative amount of time that should be devoted to letter writing in the high-school composition class. 2. Discuss ways and means of vitalizing the study of letter writing. 3. Discuss the part that accuracy plays in a course in letter writing. 4. Make a list of postal regulations that should be taught in such a course. 5. Enumerate the essential facts that should be taught about mailing packages. 6. How can practice in letter writing grow out of the study of literature ? BIBLIOGRAPHY Dye, C. Letters and Letter Writing. Goldwasser, I. E. Method and Methods in the Teaching of English (Chapter on Letters). 104 ENGLISH PROBLEMS The English Journal : Aydelotte, Frank. "By Means of Letters," March, 1917. Bidwell, Alice T. "A Course in Letter Writing," Novem- ber, 1913. Bridgman, Walter R. "A Competition in Letter Writing," December, 1913. Clapp, J. M. "The Better Business Letters Movement," April, 1918. Phillips, M. A. "Real Business Correspondence," February, 1918. Piatt, Frank R. "An Inter-Class Letter- Writing Contest," R. T., October, 1914. "Report of the Committee on the Economy of Time," Feb- ruary, 1919. Harper's Magazine: Eitel, E. H. "A Poet and His Child Friends," December, 1917. "A Poet's Letters to Children" (J. W. Riley), May, 1918. Collections of Letters : Benham, A. R. Specimen Letters. Briggs, T. H. A Laboratory Mammal of Letters. Center, S. S. Selected Letters. V^Cook, G. S. Specimen Letters. Coult, M. Letters from Many Pens. Dye, C. Letters and Letter Writing. Feuss, C. M. Selected English Letters. Greenlaw, E. Familiar Letters. Roosevelt, T. R. Letters to His Children. THE PROBLEM OF THEME CORRECTING Pupil-responsibility is the keynote to the effective correction of written work. As before suggested, the pupil should take stock of his assets from time to time. ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 105 In his stock-book he should keep a list of points he has learned; he should also keep a list of his habitual mistakes. Let him acquire the habit of consulting both of these lists before preparing any exercise. Hold him strictly accountable for what he has learned, and encourage him to make heroic efforts to reduce the list of his peculiar misusages. The pupil's paper when passed in should be correct as far as his study has gone. All careless mistakes are to be discovered and corrected by the pupil before he turns in his paper. Hence he should always be allowed time for careful re-reading or rather proof-reading of his theme before passing it in. Mistakes are often thus discovered and remedied. In the event of any careless errors in spelling, grammar, or sentence structure appearing in the finished product, let them remain untouched by the teacher, who promptly returns the paper. It is then the pupil's business to discover and correct such errors immediately. Only when he realizes that we are thoroughly in earnest about holding him re- sponsible will he become active in the elimination of his faults. Carelessness must not be tolerated. A serious attitude toward his work must be demanded by the teacher. And we teachers must stop doing the pupil's work for him. The practice of giving every theme two marks, one for form and one for content or matter, has been found productive of results. This is especially true if the pupil is held to 100% in form before the theme as a whole is rated satisfactory. By ^'form," of course, is meant the observance of those formal principles of 106 ENGLISH PROBLEMS writing which the pupil, under his own statement in his stock-book, is bound to respect. Until we insist on more than an approximation of the correct form we may not hope to develop in our pupils that feeling for accuracy which is so important a part of the modern man's equipment. What we in- sist upon getting from our pupils we will get. Now and then class criticism of themes is profitable. A theme-correcting day is set. As many papers as possible are read and discussed by the class, the criticism being led and supervised by the teacher. Those pupils whose papers are corrected in class are checked off the teacher's notebook. On the next cor- responding day another group of pupils comes under class criticism, and so on until the work of each pupil is discussed in class. But the conference method of correction is by far the most effective of all. One conference period with a pupil about his work is worth twenty red-inked or blue-penciled themes returned to him. The confer- ence period is indeed an integral part of the composi- tion course. Hence, conference days should be held every little while. Of course, in a large class it is im- possible to see everyone during a conference period. But a substitute is suggested. Divide the class into groups; appoint the brighter pupils as teacher assist- ants. Let them go over the work of the slower pupils with the pupils, bringing, of course, any debated point to headquarters for settlement. The conference, in some form, is the only method of theme correcting that really makes an impression, that ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 107 is really worth while; it establishes the right relation between pupil and teacher. The pupil feels that he is an individual to the teacher, that the teacher knows him from his fellows. His good points are appre- ciated and his failings pointed out. The human touch, possible only under the conference system, clothes the subject with new interest for the pupil and incites him to greater effort. An interesting form of the conference method of correcting themes has been adopted by the University High School in Madison, Wisconsin. Themes are cor- rected entirely by means of the individual conference. The teacher waits until he has collected from four to six themes of a certain individual. Then he goes over these carefully, noticing especially habitual misusages. On his record sheets he enters the peculiar failings of this pupil; then he calls him for the conference. The pupil is shown his papers and, where possible, is led to discover his errors. He is told in what respects he needs to watch himself and is then sent away to correct his errors. He is instructed to bring a short but exact report of the conference at his next summons. If at the next conference the pupil repeats the same mis- takes, the teacher refuses to correct the theme. In- stead, he returns the work for re-writing. The danger of this scheme is that the pupil may lose interest in his theme before the conference period is called. The sooner the paper is discussed after it has been written the greater will be the good derived from the con- ference. 108 ENGLISH PROBLEMS FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Compare the "red ink" method of correcting themes with the personal conference. 2. Discuss prevision versus revision in pupils' theme work. 3. Give arguments for and against pupil correction of themes. 4. When is cooperative work by the class of most value in theme correcting? 5. Devise a group system of theme correcting. 6. How far should the teacher go in indicating errors in the written Avork handed in? 7. Discuss the value of having the pupil proof-read his theme before handing it in. BIBLIOGRAPHY Thorndike, E. L. Education, A First Book, pages 214-219. The English Journal: Cope, Pauline. "A Second Experiment in Correcting Eng- lish," February, 1916. Cross, Allen. "Weighing the Scales" (A summary of the various methods), Vol. VI, p. 183, March, 1917. Cutler, F. W. "More Uses of the Conference," Round Table, November, 1916. Leonard, S. A. "Correction and Criticism of Composition Work," November, 1916. McCarty, Lucy S. "The Game of Correct English," Febru- ary, 1919. Orr, C. I. "A Revolt and Its Consecfuences," November, 1914. Pafford, Hai-vey E. "Grading Composition," Round Table, April, 1916. Routh, James. "A Method of Grading English Composi- tion," May, 1916. Thompson, Stitli. "Notebook System of Tlieme Correction," January, 1917. Walker, Francis I. "The Laboratoi-y System in English," September, 1917. ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 100 The English Leaflet: Hitchcock, Alfred M. "A Composition on Red Ink" (Re- printed from No. 72), Maj^ 1919. MEASUREMENT OF RESULTS This is the age of scientific method, the age of exact measurement, and this method is being tried out in education as well as in other fields. The attempt is being made to establish a fixed standard of measure- ment in the matter of English themes, and then to apply the measurement to pupils' products. This has been done in a number of experiments. Various scales have been used for weighing and considering pupils' work. But the fact remains that not yet has there been found a satisfactorily uniform standard. And the reason lies in the nature of the case. Appreciation of another's thought is an entirely individual matter. No two estimates will ever be exactly the same on the same theme. . Literature, even that produced by our girls and boys, is an art product, and must be judged by the canons of art. We can, however, agree upon erecting a standard for certain points, and we can in- sist that that standard should be 100% correct and allow of no variation. Pupils should be taught essen- tials; they should be held responsible for a few things at a time, but they should be held responsible for 100% correctness in those things. Mark each composition on two points, form and content. If we demand that the form shall be per- fect, we shall get perfect form. For what we con- 110 ENGLISH PROBLEMS sistently and persistently demand of our pupils, that we get. As to content, there must be intelligent thought behind the phrase, or the phrase, be it ever so neat, is worthless. The pupil must become habituated to the idea that thought controls structure and that the structure must be judged by the thought-com- pelling expression in just the way given. A fine fitness must be felt by the writer and the reader alike be- tween the thought and its expression. This would do much to rid us of the fine frenzy we so often find" between the two. The standard for form should be correctness in the mechanics of expression, spelling, grammar, idiom; the standard for the content should be good judgment and pure taste in fitting the word to the thought. With these aims in view, is it not pos- sible to establish a standard of measurement which will be satisfactory alike to writer and reader and which will make possible greater uniformity in the judgment of various readers of the same theme? FOR FURTHER THOUGHT • 1. Give Miss Parker^s argument on the subject of measuring composition work. 2. Give Mr. Courtis's defense of the scheme. 3. "VMiat is Mr. Ward's contention? 4. What is your own conviction ? (For discussion of these topics, see Bibliography below.) ORAL AND WRITTEN EXPRESSION 111 BIBLIOGRAPHY The English Journal: Courtis, S. A. "The Uses of the Hillegas Scale," April, 1919. (Answer to Miss Parker, below.) A measure of admin- istrative work, not of teaching. Sizing up of one's own efforts compared with others. Gunther, Charles. "My Experience with the Hillegas Scale," November, 1919. Parker, Flora E. "The Value of Measurements," April, 1919. Ward, C. H. "The Scale Illusion," Vol. VI, p. 221. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, New York City: Trabue, M. R. "Supplementing the Hillegas Scale for Eng- lish Composition." CHAPTER FOUR INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE The Choice of Literature. The Teaching of Literature. The Problem of Reading. Imitation a Means of Appreciation. Dramatization a Means of Appreciation. THE CHOICE OF LITERATURE What are the factors that are to be considered in choosing books for junior and senior high-school study and reading? The problem is a psychological one. It is all-important that we catch the interest of the student at the beginning of his course in literature, for only through interest shall we be able to establish the reading habit which is so essential an asset in the life of the pupil after a little while, and which will help him to use, not misuse, his leisure moments now as they come into his life from day to day. The psychology of the high-school student then must be understood by the planner of a literature course. First, the desires of the student must be studied; his natural bent must be discovered. Next, the question of interest must be considered. Has the book the power to rouse the interest in the pupil at his particular stage of development? Content or subject matter is of paramount im- portance — more so than literary style in the begin- ning. Does the content appeal to the student? Is it within his range of experience? Or can it function vicariously in the life of the student? 112 IXTEKPKETATION OF LITERATURE 113 Test the book next for its human element. The boy or girl of this age demands the genuine human touch in what he or she reads. These are the points to be considered in the litera- ture through which we make our approach, the books which are to serve as our point of departure. Then we must w^eigh the character needs and the culture needs of our students and select with these needs in mind. While we may use the pupil's desire as a point of attack, we should certainly lead up to the study of the great and the beautiful in the w^orld of literary art. The pupil's taste is crude and needs cul- tivating. The future is to be thought of, something above and beyond the immediate wishes of the pupil. As the Committee on Reorganization of Secondary English says: ''No man is higher than his ideals. Human beings grow unconsciously in the direction of that which they admire. Teachers of English must, then, consciously work to raise the pupils' standards of what is true and fine in men and women. The literature lesson must furnish the material out of which may be created worthy ^nd lasting ideals of life and conduct." Mr. Chubb suggests an excellent device for dis- covering our pupils' tastes. , Let the first writing of the class be a paragraph on ''My Book Shelf." Some of the papers will doubtless be very brief. Many will re- veal a motley array, but all will be illuminating — if not positively, then negatively. The tastes of our pupils differ widely. Here is John, caring not at all for poetry, but reading, nay devouring, the Scientific American; Alice is sensitive to sound and loves the 114 ENGLISH PROBLEMS rhythm of verse; Will loves animals; and Tom over yonder is never happy unless making things with his hands. What shall we do about it? The answer is obvious. Offer various kinds of literature for consumption by the class. Should all be forced to read all kinds? Yes, to a certain extent. This choice of literature should be a matter of cooperation and compromise, of give and take between pupils and teacher. By all means let pupils have a voice in the selection. Let them even suggest names of books. Votes may be cast, and the rule of the majority be put into effect in certain cases. But the teacher should always have the power of veto and of independent selection whenever he considers it necessary. For the work must be developing work; it must lead to a pushing on of the frontier. Hence we should not stand with those who would leave abso- lute choice in the hancls of the pupils, nor should we advocate with Mr. John B. Opdycke a system of Literature a la carte instead of our present table d'hote, although we could introduce in the menu of the latter many entrees suited to the individual tastes of the pupils. Complete socialization of the choice of literature would keep the study on a low plane. And we must constantly enlarge our boundaries. What literature shall we teach, then? (1) Because of the pupil's interest in the life about him, and tn the immediate rather than the remote past, books to be read and studied by high-school pupils at the begin- ning of their course should be chosen largely from the literary product of the nineteenth century and after. Says Professor Tilden: 'T believe that if we are to INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 115 save the older literature and make it a force in the life of the present, we must reverse our method of teaching the oldest first, and, using modern literature as a stepping stone, lead the student to appreciate the literature of his own life, and through that the literature of the life of other times." (2) Be- cause literature is still in the making, let us not ex- clude the magazine and the contemporary short story. Mr. Cunningham in The English Leaflet for Februai^y, 19 IG, makes a strong plea for the use of the short story. He says: ^The short story, long recognized as a separate type of fiction, should be given a valid and dignified place in the reading course of our secondary schools. The other types of literature should be studied just as thoroughly as heretofore; in addition, the short story should receive its due credit, not as a minor and rather negligible offshoot of the novel, but as a distinct and living type, and a type, moreover, which has a special fitness for the work of the sec- ondary-school English course. Let us, at least, belong to our age." Some modern writers we must, indeed, include lest we impose upon our pupils the idea that all "real authors" are long since dead — the idea so naively expressed by a little boy in a letter to James Whitcomb Riley, when he said: "I tell you what, Mr. Riley, I was surprised to learn that you was living, because I thought all poets was dead!" (3) Because the American boy should understand the American ideal and the American spirit as they are reflected in the literary output of his own country, let us include American writers. (4) Because, in the words of Pro- fessor Dewey, '^It may be said that an education which 116 nXGLISH PROBLEMS does not succeed in making poetry a resource in the business of life as well as in its leisure, has something the matter with it — or else the poetry is artificial;''^ poetry should be read and studied in every year of the course. Wisdom should, to be sure, be exercised in the choice. The narrative poem of stirring appeal is the type for high-school students. (5) Because the adolescent with his love of adventure and action, and his supreme confidence in himself is peculiarly ready to appreciate the Elizabethan epoch which bubbles over with the spirit of youth, the age of Elizabeth as reflected in the plays of the master dramatist of all time should be viewed again and again throughout the course. At least one of Shakespeare's plays should form a unit of study in each year of the high-school literature course. (6) Because of the universal wor- ship of the hero ''writ large," the big deeds of the heroes of other days and lands recorded in the epics of their native countries should be included : the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Aeneid, and Bible stories, for instance. (7) Because it is our business to establish and develop standards of taste, the classics must form the back- bone of the course. Can we not draw up a course of reading and study based on these seven principles? FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss the use of varied types in the literature class. 2. Name the principles of choice in selecting books for the literature class. 3. Suggest a course based on these principles. 4. Suggest a literature program for the junior high school. 1. Democracy and Education, page 282. INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 117 BIBLIOGRAPHY Chubb, P. The Teaching of English. Chapter XIV. Smith, C. A. What Can Literature Do for Me? Thomas, C. S. The Teaching of English in the Secondary School. Chapter VII. The English Journal: \ Clark, Fannie M. "Teaching Children to Choose," March, 1920. Hull, A. M. "New Classics for Old," October, 1917. McCain, Rea. "The Fear of the Present," November, 1916. Sperlin, 0. B. "What Literature Shall We Teachf' May, 1918. The English Leaflet: Cunningham, W. H. "The Possibilities of the Short Stoiy," February, 1916. THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE How shall we teach literature to our boys and girls in both junior and senior high school so that the sub- ject shall become of really vital moment to them? As to ways and means, the use of the club idea and the group method of cooperative work in solving prob- lems as they arise from day to day are advised. 'The spirit of club life and the spirit of all composition and literature work, wherever possible, must be social in nature. 'Having an audience' is a stock phrase of everyone interested in making composition and litera- ture vital,'' says Mr. Webster.^ Pupils should always read and talk to ''an audience," usually their class- mates ; and their audience should be a real, participat- ing audience, following with the listening ear, never with the eye on the text, and ever ready to comment, criticize, and question.-^ Extensive rather than intensive study with as much work only in the text as is neces- sary for intelligent reading should be made. Don't "worry the text," as someone phrases it. There should 1. The English Leaflet, "Oral English," January. 191S. 118 ENGLISH PROBLEMS be much reading in the modern as well as in the classic writers; encouragement of free and spontaneous ex- pression of impressions gained from reading; variety in the selections chosen for study, in order to kindle the interest of all. Create ''atmosphere" in the English classroom by having: a choice collection of books and current periodicals on the reading table for supple- mentary work; a victrola for giving the pupils the privilege from time to time of hearing the living voice in a famous lyric or noted oration; a lantern or projectoscope for the projection of pictures as aids in background study; and, if possible, movable chairs and a raised platform so that at a moment's notice the place may be adapted to the presentation of im- promptu dramatizations. If you cannot have these things, make shift as well as you can through in- tensified appeal to the pupil's imagination. Memorizing passages from the books read should play an important part in any course in literature. And accuracy in quotation and citation should be in- sisted on. I quote on this point Miss Warner of Mt. Holyoke College: "Nothing develops literary tone more swiftly than a sharp lookout for significant phrases; and nothing gives greater value to literary study than the habit of retaining in memory or in notebook these little characteristic scraps of artistic language. Students should memorize more than they do, and they are easily encouraged to commit to mem- ory short sentences, striking epithets, and brief pas- sages rich with meaning. A literary work is not ade- quately read unless fragments of its language are singing in their minds. Involuntary memorizing oc- INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 119 curs more frequently with most people than they guess until someone suggests that they try to recall a few of the author's precise words; and the habit is easily cultivated. One of the most interesting sets of sentences for memorizing was chosen by a certain class of sophomore boys who were studying Palmer's Odyssey; and of all the notable sentences chosen, the most immediately popular was the remark of the dis- creet Telemachus, 'One's dinner at the proper time is no bad thing!' " The pupil's interest and enthusiasm must be aroused at the very outset of his literature course. The inadvisability of beginning the cour^ with a dif- ficult selection is obvious, and for our purposes in the junior high-school course all long stories, even such as Ivanhoe and The Last of the Mohicans, come under the classification, '^'difiicult." Undoubtedly it is wiser to begin the study with work on the short story. "To arouse initial enthusiasm," says Mr. Cunningham, "no type of literature is more apt than the judiciously se- lected short story; for it is rapid, direct, vivid, and brief enough so that the lightly swerving attention of the young pupil is neither tempted to stray nor be lulled to sleep .... Again, the short story is admirably adapted for practice in reading aloud in the classroom. The vigor of the short story, the compact style, the abundance of dialogue, the colloquial flow of sentences, all aid in piquing and maintaining the in- terest of the pupils and in furnishing a much more varied test of power than the reading of an ordinary essay or poem. With what naive delight, for example, would pupils read one of Jacob's sailor stories; with 120 ENGLISH PROBLEMS what apathy would they drone out The House of the Seven Gables or even The Idylls of the King." The short story offers an excellent field for dramati- zation by the pupils, and we all know from experience that there is no more potent device for socializing and vitalizing literature than dramatization. The short story makes a fine point of attack in our literature classes. There should be another bridge connecting our eighth and ninth years besides the bridge of sighs. Why not build that bridge of short stories, as Mr. Cunningham suggests? The short story is the form of literature with which our boys and girls of today are' most familiar. And their reading taste should be trained so that they will learn to distinguish between the mediocre, the really good, and the palpably bad fiction, a mixture of which is served us every month by' magazines in good standing. Indeed the short story is so peculiarly adapted to arouse the interest of the student of secondary-school age that we may go so far as to maintain that some- thing should be done with this type in each of the years of both the junior and the senior high-school course in literature, preferably at the beginning of each year's work. Shakespeare and the short story should be ever with us in our high-school study of literature. The short story is an excellent instrument for kindling interest in the literature class if the study is made a thoroughly social one. And the best method of doing this is through cooperative class fiction. An experiment of this kind can be made in any of the years of high school, junior or senior. The results, of INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 121 course, will vary with the maturity of the students, but the interest will be there wherever it is tried. Such an experiment was made by Mary E. Jenness in the Concord High School and described at length by her in The English Leaflet for December, 1916, under the title ''Cooperative Fiction." Her account is so full of workable and dynamic suggestions that no apology need be made for quoting it at length. '•'The place to study the craft of story-making is still where Jack London studied it — in the magazines. Bring in your copy of the Century some Monday morning and read the beginning of a Penrod adven- ture. After the first three paragraphs, stop and jot down on the board the actual information given so far ; talk it over ; call for a seven-minute written guess as to the rest of the story. If necessary, read on fur- ther, answ^er a question or two to start the game. After half a dozen of their forecasts have been read, read then the ending and give the class the rest of the period to work out the whole story. They cannot help learning something about the first two essentials of story-writing — a crisp, packed beginning, and a pointed close Penrod is a hardy perennial. x^lmost anything might happen to him. What did happen next? They all want to know, for to their minds a really good writer should never slam the door on a favorite character. There must be another in- cident somewhere! They want to know what' hap- pened to Penrod, and to a limited extent some of them do know. He is indigenous. Everybody knows him, only most of us never tried taking notes on him be- fore. Out of their first half-dozen suggestions, take 122 ENGLISH PROBLEMS the best as the assignment for the next day ; they will ferret their neighborhood for material. ^Tenrod may have as many adventures as the class wants. Only make it clear that the next hero will be for them to choose. Perhaps a week from Monday they are ready to bring books out of which a hero may be bodily lifted for their purposes. Has anybody read anything of Owen Johnson's? Not the Tenjiessee Shad! Bring him. Exit Penrod of the grimy grin. Enter the Lank Intellect of Lawrenceville. Then, for a guess, it will be one of Ralph Paine's hard, clean fighters, who 'never knows when he is beaten.' "So far this has all been cooperative thinking on the commonest principles of story-writing. When they are ready for more, announce the first meeting of the Cooperative Fiction Club. Elect — not appoint — a committee on plots and a critic committee. Tomor- row all the stories will be handed to this committee before the school. The committee will consult at once, and bring the best three to read to the class, which will then vote which one it wants to continue. The critic committee may change weekly if you will, but the story will have to be restrained or it will go on for- ever. The epic instinct has awakened. Remember there were twelve labors of Hercules, twenty-four books of the Iliad. ''If the scheme gets this far, anything will work. A story^from your college monthly, a clever cartoon, even a bulletin heading will suffice to start cerebration in the plot committee. "Cooperative fiction in the classroom rests soundly on normal pleasure of high-school age ; pupils of aver- INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 123 age ability do like to pool their findings, to follow a moving goal, to add their one word more to adven- ture together, to find themselves. The test of the method is that the best pupils rapidly outgrow it, but at least the school has insisted that they share their gifts and make definite contribution. And so shall the duller ones — they who make up in the classroom full nine and twenty of any company — gain their due glory of self-expression by continuing their variations of a common theme, down the road to a communal Canterbury." An all-important subject of study in every literature course should be the book. And this study should come early in the junior high-school course. Pupils should be taught from first to last in their literature courses to respect and reverence the book, the ma- terial basis of their course in literature, the only medium through which they can commune with the great minds of the past, or can learn the thoughts of men and women of their own time that are worth recording in permanent form. The teacher might start this study by a short talk on the evolution of the book, designed to kindle the pupiFs interest in the subject so that special reports shall be forthcoming on such topics as The Material Shape of Literature Before the Invention of Printing ; The Influence of the Invention of Printing on Literature; The Book from Caxton's Press; The Modern Printing Press; The Making of a Book Today. A reproduction of the series of mural paintings on 'The Evolution of the Book" in the Library of Con- gress at Washington is given in the Handbook of the 124 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Library. A pupil might obtain one of these books and make the pictures referred to the basis for another special report. Then definite study should be made of the make-up of a book as it comes from the press today, of its parts, title page, table of contents, index, and the pur- pose of each part. Each pupil should be required to know the exact title and the names of the author and publisher of every book he studies or reads; and ac- curacy should be insisted upon in each detail. Pupils should be led to appreciate the significance of the manufactured product, the book, and to handle with care their own books. They should certainly be taught how to use books in their supplementary work and how to quote from books and articles in their special topic and debate work. Successful teaching, no matter what the subject, places responsibility upon the pupils. Why does the overburdened teacher insist on carrying the responsi- bility of the result of his teaching as well as the process? That burden should rest on the shoulders of the students. We all have moments of depression caused by the indifference of the class reaction. From the following scheme adopted by a teacher at just such a moment in her teaching experience, some of us may catch the gleam. This is what she writes in The English Leaflet: " Tomorrow we'll take three hundred more lines in Comus, but I'm not going to question you — you're to question each other. One of you will be called up to read a passage, and after the reading, the rest of you INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 125 are to ask such questions as will bring out the mean- ing of the passage as a whole and the meaning of the separate words and phrases in particular. Be able to explain the allusions, of course; but don't forget such questions as these: Does Comus really change his costume? Or is the change supposedly wrought by a supernatural means? And each of you, because you may be the reader — and hence the teacher — will have to master all these varied details. Write out your questions for this first day at least — perhaps we shall not do that tomorrow. And remember it's just as much your business as a non-reader to ask these ques- tions as it is your business as a reader to answer questions, '^Next day everyone was on the qui vive. Paul Briton came before the class and read the first desig- nated passage, while the rest of the members sat eager, with closed books, gathering new ideas from Briton's sympathetic interpretation and storing up the ques- tions which they were to fling forth when time for the assault arrived. The assault began the moment the reader came to the end. Almost simultaneously the class arose, and at once Briton — standing erect before his mates — called upon Leonard, who put his question, which was promptly answered. Immediately Briton called upon someone else. He answered the question put to him, and at once called upon a third student. And thus he stood answering the various questions that assailed him. Some he disposed of with a single word; others required fuller explanation. One he could not answer, but he got the information from a volunteer. No one lagged. Everyone said his say. 126 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Naturally there were some disagreements, but these were quickly settled — generally without the teacher's interference. "Always, however, the sensitive teacher knows when to step into the breach, when to interpose the right word, when to quit hearing a recitation and to do con- structive teaching. 'The device we have outlined is based upon the soundest of pedagogical principles — develop the pupil by giving him responsibility. Under the workings of the device no one knew when he would be called upon to be the teacher and answer the fusillade of varied questions. There was then no escape. Nor was there escape as a questioner either — for sins of omission were easily noted and quickly chalked. Not many stu- dents will shrink from responsibility when such re- sponsibility is wisely imposed and where failure brings immediate exposure. In dealing with corporations we have learned that personal responsibility and publicity lessen graft; in education we may learn that they lessen idleness and languorous dawdling." An inter- esting scheme, and one well worth trying, to be sure. Another rather unique experiment in vitalizing high- school literature is recorded by Miss Warner in The English Leaflet for November, 1917. "It was suggested by a discussion in a class of high- school boys studying Macbeth, There's no art to find the mind's construction in the face.' 'Isn't there?' they inquired. One boy insisted that even in a photo- graph one could guess at general social distinctions, traits, and the professional standing of the subject. Regardless of counter arguments, both as to this point INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 127 and the proper interpretation of Duncan's statement, a committee was at once appointed to collect a set of striking faces photographed clearly, and to submit them to the class for study. We made this the basis of the theme for the week. Many of the pictures were found in the magazines and in the brown picture sup- plements of the New York papers. The committee an- nounced that in its collection were the following types of people: a great business man, a duchess, a minis- ter, a professional crook, a college president, an ex- plorer, a noted criminal, a baseball celebrity, a news- paper man, an English peer, and artists and w^orkers of all descriptions. Each member of the class was in honor bound to select a subject whom he did not recognize, and to write his most detailed analysis for the next day's theme. The design of the character readings was not so much to guess the profession of the person under speculation as to disclose whatever traits were suggested by the face, and to reflect the personal impression produced by it. Free consultation with friends was allowable, so long as the persons con- sulted did not know too much. Next day the themes and pictures were examined in class with an open dis- V cussion of each analysis before the identity of the ,.>^hotograph was disclosed. ^The same experiment was tried later with pictures brought in by various students who wanted to test the results with faces of more noted people, still un- known to many in the class. Certain of the pictures were of Forbes-Robertson, Tagore, Mrs. Browning, Jane Addams, Marshall Field, Bronson Alcott, Dr. Seelye, Daniel Webster, Irvin Cobb, Whistler's Car- 128 ENGLISH PROBLEMS lyle, James Whitcomb Riley, and Alexander's portrait of Walt Whitman. This last mentioned was included until it appeared that Walt was being regularly or- dained into the ministry, whereupon I took the liberty of substituting Dr. Lyman Abbott as a more conven- tional representative of the cloth. After various ex- periments in different classes it became clear that the ideal selection should comprise mainly those people whose biographies are available, as the discussions sent many to the library to hunt up their favorite charac- ters either in Who's Who or in their own works. One boy read Stevenson's life and letters and many of his writings in an attempt to support a conviction that Stevenson's face had all the traits of a somewhat stagy but deep-dyed villain's. Finally he brought to class that wistful paragraph in The Inland Voyage where R. L. S. asks why it is that all officials at every port on his travels take him invariably for a suspicious character, and cast him into noisome dungeons as a spy, or at least a refugee from justice. Shakespeare, it seemed, was right about some minds' construction, after all." If we cf n get our pupils to realize that literature is as Mr. Sihith puts it : "A new pair of eyes — dozens of pairs — with which to see things you never dreamed of, and what is still better perhaps, to see things dif- ferently," then surely we shall have achieved our pur- pose. For what mortal does not want to see more of life and things? Surely not the youth of today. Perhaps indeed the use of this "new" pair of eyes or these dozens of pairs would bring about reform in the use of his original pair. Through appreciating litera- INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 129 ture he might become more observant of the life about him, might indeed see things steadily and see them whole, not piecemeal, but in their true relations. Dramatization of scenes from the classics read and studied and imitation of an author's method here and there along the road as means of vitalizing the work of the literature class are treated separately under their respective headings. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss the literature class as an English club. 2. Discuss the avoeational aim in the teaching of literature. 3. Discuss dramatization as an aid in the teaching of litera- ture. 4. Plan a laboratory course for the literature class. 5. Should the course in literature for the business high school be the same as for the academic high school? Give reasons. 6. How should the literature course for a rural high school differ from that of a city high school? 7. Discuss at least two waj^s of testing the appreciation in the literature class. 8. Discuss the literature program for the junior high school as to (1) aims, (2) methods of teaching. BIBLIOGRAPHY Bolenius, E. M. Teaching Literature in the Grammar Grades and the High School. Chubb, P. The Teaching of English, "Versification," Chapter XVIII. Dewey, J. Democracy and Education, "Poetry," p. 282. Fairchild, A. H. R. The Teaching of Poetry in the High School. Thomas, C. S. The TeacMng of English in the Secondary Schools. The English Journal: Aikin, W. M. "Types in the Study of Literature," April, 1917. Barbe, W. "Literature, the Teacher, and the Teens," June, 1917. 130 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Clay, M. E. "The Hat Box in Literature," December, 1916. Driggs, H. R. "Seeing Classics as Wholes," January, 1918. Hinchman, W. S. "Reading Clubs Instead of Literature Classes," February, 1917. Humphreys, W. R. '"The Literary Study of the Bible," April, 1917. Johnson, R. I. "The School and the Library," April, 1917. Osgood, C. G. "The Artistic Teaching of English," January, 1918. THE PROBLEM OF READING The chief and basic purpose of teaching reading is to give the child a tool for work. This tool or in- strument is the most important one for use in the whole educative process. Develop in the child, first, ease and facility in reading. And for our purpose here the definition of the activity we call reading is getting the thought jrom the printed page. As long as this thought-getting process is labored there can be no joy in reading. As it becomes easier and easier through constant practice, the desire will gradually be aroused for more reading. If we can arouse in him the desire to read further in all lines of his school activ- ities, he will practically be able to educate himself. The relation of grammar to reading is not often dwelt upon. Always the relation between grammar and composition is noted. Grammar helps the child to express his thoughts, it is said, but what about reading and grammar? Grammar properly taught, from the point of view of function, is a great aid in helping the pupil to get the thought from the printed page. One writer has recently summed up the prob- lem of English in the junior high school as the prob- INTERPRETATION OF LJTb^RATURE 131 lem of reading. Teach our children how to read — how to get the author's thought — and then you may have little to do in teaching them how to study. Hence, let us summon to our side all the aids possible in teaching this fundamental of the curriculum. Reading writ large throughout! "The values to be derived from the reading and study of literature [Mr. Hosic tells us] are of three kinds, namely: training, recreation, and socialization. By reading poetry, plays, novels, and essays boys and girls should learn how to read them. This means the formation of a number of important habits, such as that of inquiring continually as to the purpose which the author is serving, that of observing the structure he employs, that of exercising the imagination, and that of reflecting upon the significance of words and events. Such training will necessarily yield several worthy by-products, among which are increased fa- cility in speech and writing, and an accumulation of more or less miscellaneous knowledge. "The second value, that of recreation, is a legitimate aim of school w^ork, for life is made up of leisure and labor, often labor that there may be leisure, though the implication that labor must needs be repugnant is unwarranted. Turning to good books for enjoy- ment is a habit formed by enjoyable — not effortless — reading. Whether this enjoyment can involve the per- ception of technical skill depends upon the maturity and experience of the reader. Pupils from tw^elve to sixteen should not be expected to have much power of critical appreciation. Nevertheless, they should be developing informally standards of taste. 132 ENGLISH PROBLEMS 'The third value mentioned, that of sociahzation, requires delicate discrimination. It may easily be confused with the merely didactic and thus suggest the use of insincere and poorly written books and of a hortatory manner of teaching. Whatever makes for a better understanding, a greater disposition to cooper- ate, and a more effective type of organization in a group tends to socialize. Now good literature does disseminate knowledge of the common life; it does cultivate sympathy; it does set up ideals; and it does awaken motives. Art is the embodiment of ideas in forms that are socially contagious; it does not per- form its real service when it becomes a mere 'develop- ment of technical skill and a badge of class difference.' It should rather quicken the spirit and awaken an interest in those around us. Through the arch of ex- perience .... the reader of books may catch a glimpse of that untraveled world whose margin fades forever and forever.' " And Professor John Erskine declares that we are all under the moral obligation to be intelligent. Hence we teachers are under the moral obligation to make our pupils intelligent. A Course in General Intelli- gence ! How many of us know of such a course in any high school? The means of disseminating intelligence are by discussion and reading. It is the English teacher's function to take charge of both these ac- tivities. He is supposed to be able to give expert opinion on both of these points. The subject of read- ing is the special field of the teacher of literature. It is he then who is, in the last analysis, responsible for the awakening of intelligence in the pupil's brain. INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 133 The basic needs of the pupil in every high-school course of study are: (1) ability to read intelligently and (2) ability to express thought accurately. Hence we indorse unreservedly Miss Dixon's statement that the aim of the course in oral English should be, '^to aid and supplement the student's work in every branch of work he is pursuing." The English teacher thus be- comes the champion of every course in the curriculum. When the teachers of other subjects come to view the English problem in this light, cooperation is a fore- gone conclusion, and victory for the better speech cam- paign is assured. But how shall we induce our high-school pupil to read? That is a question in these days of moving- picture distractions. First we must open to the pupil the treasures found in books; we must make him feel what he is missing if he does not read, and we must somehow inoculate him with the germ of reading. This we will never do by a minute word by word examination of the text or by spending several weeks upon a brief poem or a short story. Later on, the teacher may, if he chooses, chase "A panting' syllable through time and space, Start it at home and hunt it in the dark To Gaul, to Greece, and into Noah's ark," but not while trying to cultivate a taste for reading. At first, especially, when getting the pupil started on his reading career, we must read with the pupil; we must read much with him, and we must read much to him. It is often a good plan to start a story and read until the pupil's interest is at a high pitch ; then stop. He will find ways and means of finishing that story, 134 ENGLISH PROBLEMS you may rest assured. It is in this way only that the reading habit will be acquired by the student. Make him ivant to read. For this reason it is suggested that the literature course in the junior high school and in the first year of the senior high school should be- come a reading course. ^' The aim of the teacher should be to teach the pupil to read intelligently. To this end daily reading lessons to last half the English period are recommended. Exercises in oral reading prepared at home, in silent reading unprepared at home, and in sight reading aloud should be given. The teacher should drill the pupils in proper phrasing, which is just as important in reading as in music. Just as in music the test of mastery of a composition is the student's performance of it, so in literature the test of appreciation of a masterpiece is the pupil's vocal rendering of it. "Poetry, especially," says Pro- fessor Rose Colby, "should be appreciated as directly as possible through its own language and not through a resolution of that language into the language of prose." The pupil should hear good reading; hence the teacher should be ever ready to read for the class. The poor readers should not be allowed to bore the class. They should read only a few sentences — and re- read these after listening to the teacher's rendering. A passage should never be left poorly read. By so doing great risk is run of killing instead of quickening a love of literature. The teacher is the last resort. Always, when necessary, he should read the passage himself. Thus a pleasant impression is left. Not much technical work should be done with the voice, but cooperation with the music department of INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 135 the school should result in the working together of the English and music departments on simple exercises in vocalization. Short drills on these should be given daily and also drills to secure clear enunciation, the proper pronunciation of word endings, and the avoid- ance of running together certain word groupings such as "would have," ''by and by," etc. These exercises if persisted in should give the pupil such command of his vocal organs as will make his voice distinctly audible and pleasing even to the sensitive ear. The pupil should be held to account in the matter of posture, about which he has learned in his physical training work. He should step forward and face his audience when reading, and the test of his reading should be, not once or twice but always, the listening class. The class should sit with their books closed during the reading and follow the thought of the reader by the ear, never by the eye. Much practice should be given in silent reading, which should be tested for both accuracy and rapidity. Often texts studied in other subjects may be used as material for this exercise. Pupils should be shown that the kind of reading they do depends on the pur- pose for which they are reading. Long ago Lord Bacon laid down the method. ''Some books are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be chewed and digested: that is, some books are to be read only in parts; others to be read, but not curi- ^ ously ; and some few to be read wholly with diligence and attention." In a word, the pupil should be taught the art of skipping on the one hand, and on tlio other he should 136 ENGLISH PROBLEMS be trained in the process of "weighing and consider- ing." This can be done only by means of supervised study or rather cooperative study by pupils and teacher. The teacher must show the pupil how to ac- quire the art of reading for. various purposes, and it will not be done in a week either. But it is very much worth while and will be a great economic gain later on if in the first year of his high-school work the pupil can acquire the art of reading intelligently, which means reading with various degrees of intensity, all depending on the purpose which is to be achieved by the reading. Outside Reading If we can create in the pupil a taste for reading, the problem of outside reading will practically solve itself. That such a taste is largely non-existent is shown by the survey recently made in the junior and senior high schools of Decatur, Illinois, which is probably typical of what prevails in most other school communities. For this investigation 800 students in the senior high school and 225 in the eighth grade were questioned. One-fourth of the high-school pupils reported that they did not read the daily papers, not even during the war; one hundred and one pupils read no maga- zines; the others reported a total of 178 different pub- lications; three hundred and eighty-three pupils had read no books during the semester not required by the teachers. The report goes on to state that the most remarkable thing about the list is the titles which do not appear. Dickens had but four voluntary readers; Hawthorne, two; Scott, two; Kipling, one; Bulwer Lytton, one; Cooper, two; Victor Hugo, two; Barrie, INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 137 one; Milton, one; Tennyson, one; Kingsley, one; Shakespeare, one; Stevenson, none; George Eliot none. These children certainly had not learned to love books. The course in outside reading may be cooperative work. First, the purpose of the outside reading should be distinctly formulated. Then, the class may be di- vided into groups, and each group may submit a list. The lists may be discussed, written on the blackboard, and compared. Then, it is usually wise to make a com- promise, compiling the final list by choosing from both teacher's and pupils' selections. By all means start with books pupils really want to read; then try a book the teacher wants the pupil to read. In some schools credit is given for outside reading, the amount varying with the character and length of the book read. But best results come when the outside reading is spontaneous, when pupils read and read and read be- cause they want to read. The most effective form of report on the outside reading is the oral report, the avowed purpose of which is to make those who have not read the book under discussion want to do so, to excite the interest of those ignorant of the book to the point of ignition. Re- ports may sometimes be given by groups, each group discussing various phases of a particular book. The report may take one of several forms: the telling of the tale; the estimate of characters; the discussion of striking scenes or situations ; the acting out of selected scenes ; the dramatization of the climax. In every case there should be included the reading of illustrative 138 ENGLISH PROBLEMS passages from the book. For it is the living work of the author that will get across where interpretations and evaluations fail. In some of our classes the pupil has kept personal notebooks of his outside reading. In these he jots down a significant phrase, his own re- action to a situation, his personal expression of opinion. The pupil is not required to hand in these books but is encouraged to read from them every now and then, and interesting reading they make, indeed. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Make an examination of the reading lists for the junior high school as given in the Reorganization pamphlet. What is your comment? 2. Suggest ways of testing the listening class. 3. Mention wa3^s and means of vitalizing reports on outside reading. 4. Discuss the group method of assignment of and reporting on outside reading. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brandes, George. On Reading. Briggs and Coft'man. Beading in the Public Schools. Clark, S. H. How to 'Teach Reading. Colby, J. Rose. Literature and Life in the School. Laing, Mary E. Reading: A Manual for Teachers. AVard, C. H. What Is English? Chapter X. Wilson, Martha. Books for High Schools (American Library Association Publication Board). Beading for Pleasure and Profit (a list of certain books which young people find entertaining). Published by the Free Public Library, New- ark, N. J. The English Journal: Englemau, J. 0. "Outside Reading," January, 1917. Miles, Dudley. "Socializing Outside Reading," VI, p. 330, January, 1917. Pence, R. W. "Chats About Books," December, 1917. The Reorganization Bulletin^ pp. 99-102. List jniblished by the N. 0, T. E, INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 139 IMITATION A MEANS OF APPRECIATION Imitative writing will prove a vitalizing, energizing exercise in both composition and literature classes. Long ago Plato recognized the potency of the imitative instinct and dealt at length with it in his educational scheme. But it is only within the past few years that definite use has been made of the principle of imitation in our educative process. Since M. Tarde's masterly formulation of the laws of imitation, the attention of educators has been drawn more and more to its study, until today the important role it plays in education is generally recognized. Says Professor Dewey in Democracy and Education (p. 43), ^'Imitation of means of accomplishment is an intelligent act. It involves close observation and ju- dicious selection of what will enable one to do better something which he already is trying to do. Used for a purpose, the imitative instinct may, like any other in- stinct, become a factor in the development of effective action." In the teaching of English, indeed, it is of para- mount importance. The child at work or play is al- ways copying a model. Wordsworth's lines are familiar : "Behold the child among his new-born blisses, A six years' darling of a pigmy size ! See, where 'mid work of his own hand he lies, Fretted by sallies of his mother's kisses. With light upon him from his father's eyes ! See, at his feet some little plan or chart. Some fragment of his dream of human life, Shaped by himself Avith newly-learned art; A wedding or a festival, A mourning or a funeral; 140 ENGLISH PROBLEMS And this hath now his heart, And unto this he frames his song; Then will he fit his tongue To dialogues of business, love, or strife; But it will not be long Ere this be laid aside, And with new joy and pride The little actor cons another part ; Filling from time to time his 'humorous stage' With all the Persons down to palsied Age, That life brings with her in her equipage ; As if his whole vocation Were endless imitation." Conscious, rational imitation is a necessary act of all learning; it is the preliminary step to invention or creation. And it is this conscious, deliberate, rational imitation that is of greatest educative value. Technic in music and the plastic arts is acquired through modeling after the masters. Why should not this method be used by teachers of English? To those who object to the use of imitation in English com- position as deadly to originality of expression we would say, "Man cannot create something out of nothing, or form without a model." Moreover, imi- tation is a 7neans, not an end. Our end is their end; power of self-expression, not servile reproduction. We maintain that imitation of a master is a means of gain- ing power of self-expression, not of inducing self-re- pression. To imitate is not the way to write, but it is one of the ways to learn to write. "To reproduce in your own words" is to develop little linguistic power, but to produce "after the master" is to cause assimila- tion of the new so that it becomes part of the pupiFs linguistic hoard. Imitation is a thought-compelling. INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 141 dynamic exercise. It is a preliminary step to creation. Mr. Jaspar Newton Deahl, in his interesting mono- graph, Imitation in Education, makes a plea for the use of imitation by teachers as a valuable means of se- curing mind growth, and Mr. Percival Chubb, in his illuminatmg book, The Teaching of English, vigor- ously urges the use of imitation in the teaching of English composition. Listen to his words: *The imi- tative tendency and power of the child is, whether he realizes it or not, the supreme instrument in the teacher's power. . . . Through it more than any reasoning or other power, the child learns to lisp and speak, learns the higher uses of language, learns to write well, to form a style, to borrow, to take fire, to admire and fathom and interpret the work of the masters." The testimony and experience of many of our mas- ters of style as to the soundness of the imitative method of learning to write certainly furnish eminent authority for using this device in teaching pupils the art of writing. The words of Stevenson are familiar to all: ^'Whenever I read a book or a passage that particularly pleased me, in which a thing was said or an effect rendered with propriety, in which there was either some conspicuous force or some happy distinction in the style, I must sit down at once and set myself to ape and follow it. I was unsuccessful, and I knew it; and tried again, and was again unsuccessful and always unsuccessful; but at least in these vain bouts I got some practice in rhythm, in harmony, in construction, and the cooperation of parts. I have thus played the sedulous ape to Hazlitt, to Lamb, to 142 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Wordsworth, to Sir Thomas Browne, to Defoe, to Hawthorne, to Montaigne, to Baudelaire, and to Ober- mann. This, like it or not, is the way to learn to write; whether I have profited or not, that is the way. It was so Keats learned, and there was never a finer temperament for literature than Keats; it was so, if we could trace it out, that all men have learned; and that is why a revival of letters is always accompanied or heralded by a cast-back to earlier and fresher models. Perhaps I hear someone cry out, *But that is not the way to be original.' It is not; nor is there a way but to be born so. Nor yet, if you are born original, is there anything in this training that shall clip the wings of your originality. There can be none more original than Montaigne, neither could any be more unlike Cicero; yet no craftsman can fail to see how much the one must have tried in his time to imitate the other. Burns is the very type of a prime force in letters; he was of all men the most imitative. Shakespeare himself, the imperial, proceeds directly from a school." Mr. Miller, Principal of the North Western High School of Detroit, defending the use of imitation in learning to write, quotes this last sentence of Steven- son's and continues, ''By judiciously imitating sporting Kyd on the one hand and on the other studying the cadences of 'Marlowe's mighty line,' he (Shake- speare) learned to steer from grave to gay, from lively to severe, in a fashion which overjoyed all his con- temporaries except Greene, who expressed his grief by calling the predatory William 'an upstart crow beau- tified with our feathers.' It was true. It is also true INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 143 that Wilhelm Tell and Becket remind one in countless ways of Macbeth and Hamlet. Theocritus taught Milton the plan of Lycidas, Virgil the art of writing bucolics, and Tennyson the melodies of (Enone, The influence of Demosthenes is clear enough in the Areopagitica ; and the plan of Burke's Conciliation is essentially the same as that of Cicero's Manilian Law. The more I wonder the less I can imagine,' wrote Francis Jeffrey to Thomas B. Macaulay, 'where you picked up that style.' If he had in- vestigated a little more and wondered a little less, he would have found the answer in Demosthenes and Cicero, in Thucydides and Tacitus, in Homer and Dante, in the King James Bible, in Milton, Addison, and Burke. Macaulay's sentence struc- ture has been aped with some success by John Richard Green, John Churton Collins, John Bach McMaster, James B. Angell, and Sir George Otto Trevelyan, not to mention several hundreds of less skillful disciples, while the admirable construction of his frameworks and clearness of his paragraph structures have in- fluenced many other imitators, including Francis Parkman and John Fiske. Even Thomas Carlyle con- fesses that he got his style by imitating his father's speech. Did Irving learn nothing from Addison, Bryant from Wordsworth, Lowell from Tennyson, Whittier from Burns, or Holmes from Pope? Think of Burns's obligation to Spenser, Pope, and Fergusson. Indeed, the only poets I am accustomed to think of as not being imitators are Homer and Kipling. But has not the latter imitated Will Carle ton and Bret Harte? And does not he somewhere sing of the former: 144 ENGLISH PROBLEMS 'When 'Omer smote 'is bloomin' lyre, 'Wd 'eard men sing by land and sea ; And wot 'e thought 'e might require *E went and took, the same as me.* '* It would be easy to expand this catalogue, but it is needless. The conclusion is irresistible. The way to learn to write is to use models. But it will be objected that although that is all very well in theory, in practice it will not work. These men were geniuses. They assimilated their models. The models will assimilate the average student. The answer to this is that they do not assimilate the average student, provided they are wisely graded to fit his capacity. It is granted that he cannot imitate as wholes Macbeth, Carlyle's Burns, Ivanhoe, Silas Marner, or most of the other classics that are in our reading lists. To ask him to try to do this would be foolish. But he can imitate fragments even of these, and there is a whole world of material, outside of these, which may be used as the basis for exercises that are at once profitable and delightful. From our experience in the use of conscious, de- liberate, rational imitation of literary masterpieces as one method of teaching composition we may sum- marize the benefits to the pupil somewhat roughly as follows : 1. It gives new zest to the theme work; the attack of the pupil becomes vigorous; the very effort neces- sary to attain the definite end counts for much in forming the habit of working actively, in shaking off the indifference the pupil so often brings to his task. 2. The pupil must work with his eye on the object. INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 145 Necessarily this helps to form habits of close observa- tion, to develop accuracy of expression, to enrich the vocabulary, to rouse a craftsman-like pleasure in the work itself. 3. It stimulates and strengthens the imagination. 4. It aids interpretation and appreciation of the masterpiece. The success of the pupil's imitation is often the measure of his appreciation. 5. It gratifies the pupil's instinct for construction. He looks upon his product as an achievement. Ambi- tion is roused, pride stimulated when he feels he can do something. 6. It promotes rather than retards individuality. The good or even indifferent imitation is to the stu- dent at this particular stage a creation. This becomes an aid to invention, for power to copy more than one style will necessarily result in power to combine and assimilate, and ultimately in power to invent a style of one's own. Illustrations of imitative work by pupils: PRAIRIE TWILIGHT Low dips the broad-browed sun, his crimson trail. Back flinging, lights with plumes of flame the sky, And high overhead the circling bullbats cry Their low, wild notes, and crying, e'er bewail The thought that days must end and nights prevail. Across the plain the munnuring nightwinds sigh, And coyotes flaunt their challenge, shrill and high, While from the east the purple shadows sail. I see the hand of Him who set the stars And all the suns to sing their way tlirough space, And feel the Love that fashions and unbars The souls of all this erring human race. In this deep calm of soft, descending night My spirit reaches upward to the Light. 146 ENGLISH PROBLEMS ON LAMB (Imitation of Lamb's Style) No, gentle reader, the above title does not refer to that dish which so often graces our Sabbath festal board; it refers to that little gentleman who lived in the last century, Charles Lamb, bookkeeper and essayist. All day long he wrote dry figures in musty books ; but at night he was about his self-imposed task of writing his deliciously humorous, fantastically imaginative essays. There is something about the works of most writers that gives one a sense of inferiority, but there is nothing of the sort in those of Lamb. His works are like the discourse of a friend during a cozy evening chat; there is nothing of the man of letters, of the pedant, about him. In fact, they are the words of a friend ; for to Lamb is given the sacred boon of friendship, friendship with the whole world. I say is, for Lamb is alive ; that part of him which can never die he poured forth upon the written pages of his essays, and it speaks to us eveiy time we pick up the book. He will never die as long as the English language is read, or there is a translation of his essays extant. The world is better, cleaner, for having once held Lamb. All who love books, love him, and not least among them is myself, the Lyon w^ho hopes to, some day, lie down with — the Lamb. JACK AND JILL ( REVISED) The mighty quest of Jack, the direful spring Of all his woes, heavenly Goddess, sing! The mighty quest which caused the youth to fall, And suffer grievous pain, and loudly bawl! Declare, Muse, in what ill-fated hour Befell the doom, from what offended power? The motlier of the youth did vainly bail, But got no drop of water from her pail. "Most noble Jack, and thou too, lovely Jill, Now take this pail and go to yonder hill; And there do thou the mighty god implore That he will water give, for we need more." He heard her words, and with a mighty spring He left the portal, whilst the maid did bring The wooden pail, in which the gift to bear If from the fav'ring power there came a share. With eager steps they went along their way, INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 147 And when they reached the hill, thus did Ihej^ pray : "0 heavenly one, pray lend a favoring ear, And give, most gracious power, cool water clear; In times gone past thou'st aided Jack and Jill, Grant now our prayer, if 'tis thy sovereign will." The prayer was heard, the fav'ring god attends, And with his arm his mighty bow he bends; An arrow Hew, the earth was rent in twain, The crystal waters flowed, and flowed again. Then swift the youth and maiden filled their pail, And turned their footsteps downward to the dale. With joyful hearts they went along their way. (Between them did the bucket gently sway.) Meanwhile high up in heaven Jove's consort fair Looked down with jealous eyes upon the pair; And as they swiftlj' went their downward way. Thus did she to the king of heaven praj^ : "Almighty Jove, thou wieldest sovereign pow'r; Cause yonder merry j'outh to rue the hour When from my peacock's nest the eggs he stole; Pray let him slip, and down this steep hill roll." The father heard, and bent his awful head, Called forth his winged messenger, and said, "Son of Maia, wing thy vcay below; Approach the hill from whence the waters flow; Bring dire mishap to j'onder careless boj' — Let him be jiunished for his former joy." He spoke, and turned his mighty head away, While Maia's son to earth sped on his way. Invisible to them, the god did place A stone right in their way, to staj'- their pace. Now careless Jack approached with sprightly tread, But tripped, and quickly rolled upon his head; And little Jill, with mighty efforts brave, Did try, but fell ere she the pail could save. But quick recovering from this dreadful plight. She ran, right swift of pace, with all her might. And brought some rescuing heroes to the hill Where poor Jack lay, unconscious, white, and still. Plim in their arms the^^ bore, so limp and white, And brought him to the city in this plight. 148 ENGLISH PROBLEMS The kindly matrons gathered round the lad, And ^vrung• their hands, and sighed, "Alas ! too bad !" However, 'mongst that mighty throng were some Who, knowing what was best, said, "Take him home." Then toward his home did they the boy bear. And round his body wept, and tore their hair. At length their tears were stayed, they turned away, And went, some back to work, and some to play. Thus ceased the tears that o'er his fall were shed. And Jack quite calmly rested in his bed. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chubb, P. The Teaching of English, "Versification/' Chapter XVIII; also page 31. Dewey, J. Democracy and Education, page 43. Pedagogical Seminary: i Simons, S. E. "Imitative Writing in the High School," De- cember, 1910. The English Journal: Frank, Maude M. "Dramatization of High-School Classics," December, 1912; "Ballad Writing in the High School," June, 1914. DRAMATIZATION A MEANS OF APPRECIATION Primitive man and the child are essentially dramatic. Experiences in the life of the race are acted out by the bard as he sings of the deeds of the great men of the tribe, or by the braves as they circle in the war-dance round the camp fire. Just so the child by gesture and look and pose acts out his own experiences. Says Professor Grosse : 'The peculiar feature of the drama is the representation of an event simultaneously by speech and mimicry. In this sense nearly every primitive tale is a drama, for the teller is not simply relating history, but he enlivens his words with ap- propriate intonations and gestures. . . . Children INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 149 and primitive peoples are unable to make any narration without accompanying it with the appropriate de- meanor and play of gesture.'' The impulse to im- personate animate or inanimate objects — it is imma- terial which — is second nature to the young of all races and cultures. Mr. Brander IMatthews in his Study of the Drama, cites two amusing illustrations of this impulse from the play of American children. The first is the case of three little boys "playing automobile.'' The eldest was the chauffeur, the next was the machine itself, while the baby in the rear represented the lingering odor of gasoline. The other anecdote describes the "offering up of Isaac" by two little children, a boy and a girl, aged respectively three and four years. "They were found in the ruins of an old house," says Mr. Matthews, "and in a sad voice the boy explained that they were offering up little Isaac. A broken toy was Isaac. A brick under a bush was the ram. They told how they had built a fire under Isaac, admitting at once that the fire was only make-believe. And when they were asked Who v/as Abraham?' the little girl promptly answered, We was.' " Many of the games of our children are indeed neither more nor less than crude dramas imitating the life of grown-ups. The children of the older civilizations of China and Japan, as well as the children of the American Indian, the Eskimo, and the Bushman of Australia, delight in impersonating the hero of their special tradition and in imitating in their play the life about them. The con- structive imagination is the glory of childhood. The .150 ENGLISH PROBLEMS province of make-believe is the particular territory of the child. Dramatic presentation as a vehicle for instruction was utilized as far back as the history of culture ex- tends. The pagan priest and the Christian Church father seized upon the love of the dramatic innate in human nature and made it serve their special ends. Through the dramatic appeal each taught his own peculiar cult or religion. The Bacchic festival of song and dance was the expression of the worship of Bacchus, and the Mystery and the Miracle play taught the sacred stories of Christ and the saints. The re- ligious idea yielded gradually to the popular desire for amusement; the holy day became the holiday. There has been incidental use of the drama as a means of instruction in the schools ever since there have been schools. In England, companies of boy actors were at an early date connected with the great public schools. Among them w^ere the famous "Boys of the Grammar School at Westminster," and the "Children of Paul's.'^ "The influences which pro- duced these (companies)," says Alexander F. Chamber- lain, "survives and flourishes today in the fondness of high-school pupils and university students for dramatic performances." Neither was the drama entirely neglected in the early American schools, if we may judge by a curious old volume by one Charles Stearns, preceptor of the Liberal School at Lincoln, Massachu- setts, entitled Dramatic Dialogues for Use in the Schools, published in 1798. The author of this volume insists upon the pedagogical and ethical value of dra- matic presentation. In the Introduction he says: INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 151 "The rudest nymphs and swains by practicing on rhetoric will soon acquire polite manners, for they will often personate the most polite character. And though the surly majesty of some male despots among us may envy the graces of rhetoric to women, because they feel themselves already outdone by women in every other excellence; yet it is certain that a clear, genteel manner of expressing themselves is a vast advantage to women in forming that important alliance which is to last through life." Each play or dramatic dialogue included in the volume is intended to teach some vir- tue, as is plainly indicated on the title page, for in- stance: The Woman oj Honor (goodness of heart and veracity of speech) ; The Mother of a Family (patience) ; The Gamester (mildness of temper) ; The Male Coquette (absurdity of lying and hypocrisy) ; Roncesvalles (self government). Not until today, however, under the teachings of the new psychology, has any attempt been made to use the dramatic instinct of the child in a definite, systematic way as an aid in the teaching of English literature. We now recognize that the child's instincts and innate tendencies are to be reckoned w^ith, that they may indeed serve as guides or as points of de- parture in our educative process. At the high-school age the dramatic and the imitative instincts are still vital forces in the life of the boy and girl. Dramatiza- tion, which appeals to both the dramatic and the imi- tative instincts, is therefore an excellent device for the teaching of literature. In its power to rouse interest, to stir the imagination, to create illusion, to induce ap- preciation of the masterpiece, and thus to quicken a 152 ENGLISH PROBLEMS love for literature, dramatization has no equal. For literature is life, the life of other times and peoples — real or fantastic — and life is action. Whatever helps the boy to visualize the life of other days will help him to vitalize the people of those days. Dramatization makes the past, present ; the then,- now ; gives us a mimic world ; actually turns literature into life. Hence the dramatic appeal is perhaps the most compelling in the teaching of certain types of masterpieces. The dramatization of any bit of literature ''is the best pos- sible return which the children can make of their literary training and at the same time the best pos- sible means of securing their appreciation of the story they use," says Porter Lander MacClintock in Litera- ture in the Elementary School. Much is being done today in the way of dramatic treatment of literature in the elementary school, but much remains yet to do. The custom of having the child act out his little songs and stories in the first few grades is rather widespread. But as he progresses from grade to grade, less and less dramatic work is done, until, when he reaches the high school, there is scarcely any systematic attempt to relate such work to the study of literature. It is true that many high schools have dramatic associations and give creditable performances during the year for the purpose of en- tertainment, but it is also true that very few high schools are doing dramatic work in connection with the study of literature. The notable exception of the Ethical Culture School of New York City, of course, comes to mind, and there are certain public high schools scattered here and there over the United INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 153 States where something is being done along this line. Just now, however, we need an organized correlation of the dramatic and the literary in our English courses. Such correlation is not only possible but is most ef- fective in the teaching of English. President G. Stan- ley Hall of Clark University says: "A recent writer de- mands a theater in every high school, where young people should be encouraged to read and sometimes act parts, and to assume in fancy the roles of the charac- ters of great men." While we can hardly hope for "a . theater in every high school'^ as yet, still, even out of very crude conditions, ways and means may be de- vised for making both possible and effective, dramatic presentations of scenes from the literature studied. Dramatization allows vicarious living. We learn through experience. Life gives some of us few experi- ences. Literature gives all. Through dramatic inter- pretation of literature the pupil gets vicarious experi- ence. He actually lives at other times and in other places and personalities. Life broadens out before him. He learns to appreciate. The following scenes are suggested for classroom dramatization, chosen here and there from the classics suitable for junior and senior high-school students. Many of these have already been tried out with a meas- ure of success. For instance, in American literature: a scene in which Captain John Smith and Pocahontas are picturesque figures; a meeting between Mme. Winthrop and her suitor Samuel Sewall based on his . Diary entries ; a dramatization of Irving's The Advert- ^ ture of My Aunt in which the unique procession mar- shaled by "My Aunt" in search of the burglar always J 54 ENGLISH PROBLEMS provokes a laugh; scenes from The Last of the Mo- hicans, Little Women, Ramona, Colonel Carter of Cartersville; the short stories of Poe, Hawthorne, Davis, and Henry. In English literature scenes from various novels — Silas Marner, Treasure Islaiid, A Tale of Two Cities, Ivanhoe, Henry Esmond, and from the Iliad, the Odyssey, the Idijlls of the King, and Sohrah and Rustum — may be chosen. Dramatization of certain Bible stories is also sug- gested as being of special interest to junior high-school students. Take the story of David and Goliath, for in- stance. One method of procedure is first to read the story aloud. Then let the class offer suggestions as to work- ing it out. The class under the direction of the teacher might develop it in some such way as the following: DAVID AND GOLIATH Dramatize the story in five scenes. The characters will be: The army of the Philistines The army of Israel David Goliath Jesse, David's father Eliab, David's eldest brother Saul, King of Israel Scene I The armies are assembled. Let the class divide and group themselves on either side of Mie room. What will represent the valley between the armies? Goliath appears and gives his challenge. Tlien he and his army retire. There is great confusion among the Israelites. Let the class make up the conversation of two or three of the Israelites showing their fear of Goliath. INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 155 Scene II This scene occurs between David and his father. David^s father sends him to the Israelites. Pupils invent the conversation. Scene III The two armies are in battle array. David arrives at the trench of the Israelites. Goliath challenges the Israelites again. David inquires of his brethren, ''What shall be done to the man that killeth this Philistine'?" They tell him. David's brother Eliab rebukes liim for coming. David replies. Certain men go out to report to the King what David has said. Scene IV David appears before Saul. He offers to kill Goliath. Saul approves. He gives David armor. David accepts it. Then he puts it on. Wliat does he choose? How is he armed? Scene V The contest occurs between David and Goliath in the presence of the armies. The class works out the scene. This cooperative dramatic method vitalizes the study and offers a good start. At first a dramatization may be entirely worked out by the class as in the illus- tration just given. At other times it may be begun by the class and finished by various groups of pupils. In no case, however, should the teacher fail to have these dramatic bits performed in the classroom, for actual presentation before the pupils of scenes from literature, perhaps more than any other device, kindles interest and aids appreciation. 156 ENGLISH PROBLEMS An interesting adaptation of the dramatic method for the purpose of visualizing the poetry read in the senior high school is offered in the following treatment of Milton's U Allegro and II Penseroso. It consists of a series of tableaux presented simultaneously with the reading of the passages which are thus visualized. MILTON'S L'ALLEGRO AND IL PENSEROSO The Reader, dressed in cap and gown to impersonate the young Milton, stands far to one side of the stage, so that he in no way becomes a part of the stage picture. UAllegro Tableau I Banishment of Melancholy The stage presents a spring landscape. Melancholy, clad in somber robes, enters and moves about as if seeking a safe retreat during the reading of the opening lines. At the conclusion Melancholy disappears. Reading (lines 1 through 10). Tableau II Summons of Mirth As Melancholy disappears, Mirth comes tripping in followed by her companions, Jest, Jollity, Quips, Cranks, Wiles, Nods, Becks, Smiles, Sport, Laughter, and Liberty, appropriately gowned in Greek robes, flowers garlanded about them. At the closing lines, Come, and trip it, as you go, On the light fantastic toe; And in thy right hand lead with thee The mountain-nymph, sweet Liberty, Mirth takes Liberty by the hand and leads in a merry dance. (Music) Reading (lines 11 through 36). Tableau III Country Dance on the Green As the curtain rises, many girls and boys come trooping in, dressed in picturesque country fashion. One or two have violins INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 157 on which they are playing a merry tune. They form for dancing, and as the lines are read, go through the figures of a country dance. Reading (lines 91 through 99). Tableau IV Fireside Scene A merry group of country lads and lasses is seated about a blazing fireplace, cracking nuts, drinking ale, and telling tales. Reading (lines 100 through 116). Tableau V L'Ailegro The scene is a spring landscape. L' Allegro is discovered alone, seated on a rustic bench listening, entranced, to music, as the con- cluding lines of the poem are read. Reading (lines 135 through poem). II Penseroso Tableau I Banishment of Joys The scene presents an autumn landscape. Several girls gaily dressed enter and frolic about the stage during the reading. All rush madly out as the last line is read. Reading (lines 1 through 10). Tableau II Summons of Melancholy As the lines for this tableau are read. Melancholy, arrayed in soft, clinging robes of somber hue, enters ^'with even step, and musing gait." She is followed by her companions. Peace, Quiet, Leisure, Fast, and Contemplation. They join in a stately march, which they execute with much grace to slow music. Reading (lines 11 through 54: omitting 17 through 22 and 25 through 30). Tableau III Fireside Scene II Penseroso, dressed as a medieval student, sits on a rude bench before a grate fire, which has almost died out. An open book is on his lap, but he is lost in contemplation and gazes at the flickering logs as the lines are read. Reading (lines 73 through 84). 158 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Tableau IV II Penseroso II Penseroso. garbed in monastic robe, prayer book in hand, paces back and fortli with measured tread, while solemn music is softly played. Reading' (lines 155 through poem). Would not some such treatment be a fitting climax to the study of these poems? Would it not offer a welcome relief from the cut and dried parallel outlines of the poems with which we have all been familiar for lo! these many years? Other classics to which some such treatment might be applied are: Chaucer's Prologue; Longfellow's Tales of a Wayside Inn; the Iliad; and the Odyssey. When the dramatization is written out, the exercise becomes of value in the composition class as well as in the literature hour. Pupils in the upper classes may be occasionally re- quired to invent scenes similar in type to those selected from the classroom work, based on themes of interest to the school. This might lead to the production of a class play, ultimately supplanting the time-worn histories and prophecies under which we have all suf- fered. This classroom dramatization of school classics serves as an excellent preparation for the school festival or pageant which should be a feature of each year's work in both junior and senior high school. Subjects for the school pageant may be drawn from the literature studied or from history. Or the festival may be seasonal, taking for its theme the advent of spring or of autumn. The object of the festival, pageant, or dramatization which is based on the classics is to aid \ INTERPRETATION OF LITERATURE 159 the interpretation of literature; the purpose of the historical pageant is to carry over to the present the ideals of the past, to arouse patriotism and civic pride ; the aim of the seasonal festival is to stir the imagina- tion of the child, to bring him closer to nature, to show the meaning of life and death in the recurrent cycle of the seasons. For details and suggestions concerning the prepara- tion and presentation of the school festival see Mr. Chubb's book, Festivals and Plays, in which, undoubt- edly, he and his collaborators have said the last word on the subject. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss dramatization as a ni'eans of vitalizing the English class. 2. Discuss dramatization as a test of appreciation. 3. Work out the dramatization of Jacob and Esau. 4. Suggest other Bible stories for dramatization. 5. Make a list of scenes from the novels and poems read in the literature class that are suitable for dramatization. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chubb, P. Festivals and Plays in Schools and Elsewhere, Johnson, Gertrude E. Choosing a Play. Miller, Eliza])eth E. The Draynatization of Bible Stories. Simons, S. E., and Orr, C. I. Dramatization. Woodbury, S. E. Dramatization. The English Journal: Bair, F. H. ''The Bible, the Greeks, and Oral English," April, 1918. Drummond, A. ]\L "Plays for the Time," Vol. VIII, page 419 ; "An Adventure in Dramatics," Vol. VIII, page 623. Storm, lola (Mrs.). "The Eighth-Grade Play," April 1918. Pendelton, Charles S. "Teaching the Bible in the Junior High School," December, 1918. 160 ENGLISH PROBLEMS The Illinois Bulletin: Widger, H. De F. "People of the State of Illinois vs. The Four Verb Brothers, Messrs. Be, Do, See, and Go," December, 1918. Wood, Charlotte R. "High-School Dramatization," May, 1919. The Drama League Monthly: Bohn, W. E. "Teaching Drama in the High School," Sep- tember, 1917. Stratton, C. "Play Production in the High School," Sep- tember, 1917. Thompson, Gene. "Drama in the High School," September, 1918. A List of Plays for Secondary Schools and Colleges of the Drama League of America and Committee on Plays for Schools and Colleges of the K C. T. E. (1916). CHAPTER FIVE SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS American Literature. The Magazine. The "World War and the English Class. The History of Literature. The Teaching of Poetry. The Drama. AMERICAN LITERATURE There are at least three good reasons why the study of American literature should be a part of every senior high-school English course. First, patriotism demands the study of the native literature. The American boy should indeed be aware of the achievements of his countrymen in letters as well as in war, in government, in industry ; and an ac- quaintance with the writings of American authors will stimulate race-pride in a new direction. Second, the independent reading of the pupil makes a study of American literature almost imperative. For the high-school student's interest is emphatically in the present-day author, and his reading is chiefly from contemporary productions — mostly American, which he gets through the magazines. Hence he needs di- rection and guidance in this field as much as anywhere. Third, general culture will not allow neglect of American literature in the high school. Fragments from Whittier, Longfellow, Lowell, Hawthorne, Irving. Holmes, and perhaps Cooper are in the possession of the pupil when he enters the senior high school: he may get something more in a desultory fashion 161 162 ENGLISH PROBLEMS of Irving, of Hawthorne, of American poets during his course there; it is yery doubtful if many ever get anything more in college. The college graduate's lamentable ignorance of the literature of his own peo- ple, as shown in teachers' examinations, would seem to uphold this last statement. Frequently Longfellow, Lowell, Hawthorne were mere names absolutely de- void of association of any kind. The high school, therefore, is the place to give the pupil a definite,' well-ordered course in American literature. There the knowledge which the pupil brings with him should be systematized and brought into relation with the rest of the product of American literature. Mr. Percy Boynton, in The Nation for May 4, 1916, says: ^To foster in a whole generation some clear recognition of other qualities in America than its big- ness, and of other distinctions between past and pres- ent than that they are far apart, is to contribute toward the consciousness of a national individuality which is the first essential of national life." And he believes that American literature studied in its en- tirety can do this thing. A big aim for the study, a big achievement from the study — certainly, the high- est justification for its place in the curriculum. The purpose of a high-school course in American literature should be to give a fair view of what has been done and is still being done in the domain of American letters, and to stimulate, through illustrative reading, further study and appreciation of American authors. Representative writers of each period may be studied through illustrations from their works. The main facts in the lives of the writers are to be given ; the SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 163 historical background should be pictured ; the relation between the life of the times and the literature re- sulting, noted. The character of such work is ex- tensive rather than intensive. The pupils must, from the nature of the case, make use of the library. And the mere handling of many books is valuable training. A splendid opportunity is also offered for the prepara- tion of special topics. Such a course gives frequent chance for oral reading, which is indeed the most ef- fective means of inducing appreciation of the author under consideration. Says Professor Rose Colby in Literature and Life in the School, 'The best response to be secured by the teacher from the student in the work on any bit of literature is the fullest interpreta- tive vocal rendering of it." Present-day wTiters should be stressed because of the pupil's interest in the living author, and also because he should be led to see that literature is still in the making. Let our literature be studied as the expression of the American spirit. Since the distinctive contribution of America to world literature is the short story, this might serve as the point of departure. Begin with the short story. Read stories typical of the New England spirit — stories of Mary E. Wilkins-Freeman and Sarah Orne Jewett; of the South — F. Hopkinson Smith, Joel Chandler Harris ; of the middle west — Mark Twain ; of the far west — Bret Harte. Read those of 0. Henry, Zona Gale, Jack London, Booth Tarkington, and Richard Harding Davis for the type of American life each presents. Follow this study with the reading of Hawthorne, Poe, and Irving. Emphasize the literary product of the great New England group of writers of 164 ENGLISH PROBLEMS the middle and later nineteenth century through read- ing representative works of Emerson, Thoreau, Long- fellow, Holmes, Lowell, Whittier, and some of the lesser lights. The literature of the South as expressing the southern ideal of life and beauty should be gained through reading Lanier, Harris, and F. Hopkinson Smith. Reading should be the basis of this work in class and out. Certain longer books should be read at home and reported on in class; for instance, Be7i Hur, Hugh Wynne, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Margery Daw, Silas Lapham, Little Women, Colonel Carter of Cartersville, The Story of Daisy Miller, The Trail of the Lonesome Pine, Ramona, The Call of the Wild. A study of American patriotic prose might be made by discussing President Wilson's War Message and other recent speeches and then reading public utter- ances of other contemporary statesmen, Roosevelt, Root, Taft. From these glance backward — Lincoln, Grady, Webster, Franklin, Washington should be read. It is advisable to introduce the pupils to American contemporary verse. War poems found in periodicals offer a point of attack here. Says Mr. H. E. Fowler in his article on "American Literature for American Schools" published in The English Journal for Decem- ber, 1917, "One of the most promising signs in the literary trend of the present is our revival of interest in poetry, evidence of the idealism which we hope will some day triumph over our national selfishness. Van Dyke, INIoody, Lindsay, Sterling, Robinson, Masters, Frost — no longer are these names familiar only to the elect. Publishers and public librarians tell us there SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 165 is a growing demand for the modern poets, not only on the part of the initiated, but by all classes of readers. If this renascence of American poetry is to do its part in checking our pernicious materialism, we must en- courage acquaintance with our living poets." And the interest has grown since Mr. Fowler wrote these words. The war has stimulated, beyond estimating, interest in the living voice of our poets. The very early period in our literary history should be given the pupils through lectures and readings by the teacher. It may be well to clinch the study here by assigning special topics, covering the most im- portant personalities in their relation to the times and to the part their work plays in the development of literary art in America. And perhaps as a pleasant ending to the course, a brief study might be made of the contemporary Amer- ican drama. Group work here is suggested, various groups working on various plays and presenting through their leaders scenes of their choice to the class. Certain plays of Middleton, Clyde Fitch, Moody, Mackaye, Peabody-Marks, Kennedy, Belasco, Augus- tus Thomas, Edward Sheldon will yield results for this study. Indeed a reading of some of the modern moralities, such as Every Woman, Loyalty, Experience, may serve as a stimulus for individual or class produc- tion of an original morality. Such was the case in a class in the Western High School of Washington several years ago, and The English Journal published one of the same kind. As already intimated, the course in American litera- ture in the high school should be largely a reading 166 ENGLISH PROBLEMS course, with enough background and atmosphere to place personahties in their proper periods. Pupils are advised to keep notebooks, which should be highly in- dividualistic in character, recording the reading done and the personal reaction of the reader to any par- ticular work, and containing clippings and pictures of interest to the pupil. Such a course may be made indeed most profitable and pleasant. It may be a one-year or a one-semester course. It may be placed in the tenth or in the twelfth year. Naturally, methods of instruction vary according to the maturity of the student when taking up the study. In the twelfth year, of course, pupils are older, and their reaction to the study is more mature. They can get far more from such authors as Thoreau and Emer- son than can the boy or girl of the tenth year; they can read more deeply into their motives and ideals. And, too, the twelfth year gives a chance in most high schools for correlation with work in American history which is generally placed in the last year of the senior high school. On the other hand, the first year of the senior high school is a fine place for a one-semester course in ex- tensive reading, and that is what the American Litera- ture high-school course should be. Such a course is absolutely new in the experience of the pupil and there- fore lures him on and on, and the practice in reading broadly which the course offers will stand the pupil in good stead in his next two years of work in the Eng- lish class. But chief of all reasons for placing the work in the tenth year is that by so doing many more of our young people are "exposed" to the course than by de- SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 167 ferring the study until the last year of the senior high school. For patriotic as well as cultural reasons a.s many of our young people as possible should know what their countrymen and countrywomen have done and are still doing in the realm of English letters. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Outline a one-semester course in American literature for tenth-year pupils. 2. Outline a one-semester course in American literature for twelfth-3^ear pupils. 3. How should they differ? 4. Plan a course in American patriotism based on the utter- ances of our public men from James Otis to President Wilson. 5. Make a selection of the poems of patriotism in American literary history including the present-day writers. 6. Classify the recent war literature of America for school use. 7. Suggest a list of American poems induced by the World War suitable for memory work in the American literature class. BIBLIOGRAPHY The English Journal: Fowler, H. E. "American Literature for American Schools/' December, 1917. Parsons, E. D. The English Teacher and Patriotism," March, 1919. Stephenson, Xellie A. "Required American Literature," November, 1915; "English in the Light of the War" (R. T.), April, 1918. THE MAGAZINE The study of American literature offers a good intro- duction to the study of the magazine. 'There is the great field of periodical literature, covering every 168 ENGLISH PROBLEMS human interest and wielding immeasurable power in shaping American thought," says Mr. Fowler, "Our definition of literature must be broad enough to in- clude the magazine .... and though we istretch the term ^literature' to the limit, let us include the daily- paper," he adds. Conditions in the literary life of America certainly justify it, for, as Professor Barrett Wendell says, "The illustrated monthly magazines which circulate by hundreds of thousands, and go from one end of the country to the other, provide the ordi- nary American citizen of today with his nearest ap- proach to literature." The modern magazine does, in- deed, dominate the literary life of the average Amer- ican today. He has time for a casual glance at the daily news and the morning editorial at his breakfast or on his way to business. Ten or fifteen minutes can be spared now and then in the evening or on Sunday or a holiday for a short story or a striking article in some monthly or weekly. But he has neither time nor in- clination for much continuous reading of longer tales or elaborated treatises. Besides, the cooperation of the economic idea of division of labor with the educational ideal of specialization has made it possible for the magazine to furnish an intellectual diet suited to all tastes. Moreover, our greatest writers of short stories and poems are those whose work has appeared or is still appearing in our magazines. Indeed the history of the American magazine is the history of American litera- ture. Periodical literature preceded or rather pro- duced an American literature, for it was the magazine that created the audience for the author. As Henry Mills Alden says, "The catholicity of magazines and SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 169 their hospitality to young writers have done more than all other influences to build up our literature.'^ Again, many of the masterpieces of American literature first found a reading public through the magazine. Bryant's 'Thanatopsis" and 'To a Water Fowl" appeared in the North American Review; Halleck's "Marco Bozzaris" and Bryant's "Death of the Flowers" were published in the New York Review; Poe's "Raven" was first published in the New York Mirror; Long- fellow's "Psalm of Life" came out in the Knicker- booker Magazine; Holmes's first two installments of the Autocrat of the Breakfast Table were published in the New England Magazine, the later ones in the At- lantic Monthly; Whitman's first literary success "Death in a School Room" came out in the Democratic Review; Lowell's first series of Biglow Papers was published in the Boston Courier; E. E. Hales's The Man Without a Couyitry in the Atlantic Monthly; Howells's Venetian Life in the Boston Advertiser; and these are but a few instances. And today all of our war poems and much of the other literature pro- duced by the war are appearing in current periodicals. The editorial history of American magazines dis- closed the following interesting facts: Franklin, in 1741, started the General Magazine, which ran for six months; Charles Brockden Brown established the Literary Magazine, which lived for five years ; Richard Henry Dana, Edward Everett, James Russell Lowell, and Charles Eliot Norton were successive editors of the North American Review, founded in 1815, whose purpose was "the cultivation of literature and the dis- cussion of philosophy" ; the Knickerbocker was known 170 ENGLISH PROBLEMS as Irving's magazine from the fact that he was its chief contributor; Poe was editor of the Southern Literary Messenger, then of the Gentleman's Magazine, which afterwards became Graham's, the most popular periodical between the years 1840 and 1850 and to which Longfellow, Lowell, and Whittier sent their ma- terial; Margaret Fuller, Emerson, and George Ripley conducted the Dial; Nathaniel Parker Willis, the most picturesque figure in ante-bellum periodical literature, was editor of Peter Parley's Token and the Mirror, and established in 1839 the New York Corsair, "a Gazette of Literature, Art, Dramatic Criticism, Fashion, and Novelty." The Atlantic Monthly num- bers among its editors many famous writers, from James Russell Lowell to Bliss Perry, until recently its distinguished editor. And up to the time of his death William Dean Howells occupied the Easy Chair of Harper's Monthly. The magazine adapts itself to the rush and hurry of American life; it fits in with our scheme of things. The ftiagazine — which may be picked up and thrown down at will — has forced to the shelf the book which requires leisure and quiet concentration, especially the book that has stood the test of ages. We still have our libraries fitted out with the five-foot shelf, but the books too often remain on the shelf, w^hile our study tables are strewn with magazines of all sorts and colors. The magazine is today most emphatically playing a part in the history of American literature which threatens to become the leading role. It has truly served a noble purpose in American letters. Through its efforts literature has been democratized; the read- SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 171 ing public has been enormously increased. The devel- opment of literature extensively through the impulse given it by the magazine is beyond measure. But has literature lost or is it losing intensively because of its widened scope? Does our great and growing de- pendence on periodical literature signify danger ahead? Must our literature in order to arouse interest present a constantly changing moving-picture show? Shall we lose our power to appreciate and enjoy sustained efforts through over-indulgence in the short story and brief magazine article? x\re we, indeed, already miss- ing something of sweetness and light because of con- stant catering to the prevailing magazine taste of the reading public? Today it is said 'Sve lack the leisure to grow wise," but surely these questions must make us pause, must furnish food for thought, must induce us to sound a note of warning to the coming genera- tion. Are we not, therefore, justified in treating the magazine seriously in our high-school English course? Can we not, perhaps, thus help the pupil to resist the lure of the by-paths and hold to the broad highway of real literature? For introducing magazine study the device of sending pupils on a search through attic and cellar for bound volumes of old magazines to discover stories and articles by our well-known authors of today works well. They thus discover first hand that the magazine was the vehicle for the first expression of thoughts of many of our famous men and women of today. They can apply this discovery to current numbers of the magazine and by inference can conclude that some at least of the contributors of today will be standard writers of 172 ENGLISH PROBLEMS tomorrow. Thus they will find out for themselves that literature is still in the making. Many high schools are using the Literary Digest, the Independent, the Outlook, the World's Work as regular texts in their classes. One day a week is usually devoted to a discussion of the current news. Often the class is divided into groups. Each group chooses a certain topic or class of topics to be reported on and selects a leader. These leaders arrange their group programs and are in turn responsible to the class chair- man, who is elected by vote of the class. Sometimes several pupils are unassigned to any group but are con- sidered members at large. They are responsible for the informal discussion which follows each report. But all members are supposed to participate actively in every phase of the work, and the success or failure of the chairman is measured largely by the number of intelligent questions that are asked about the reports, and points that are spontaneously contributed to the discussion. It has been found by experiment that these "digest" days are one of the most interesting features of the course. And they have accomplished much in giving the pupil no little power to face his audience and talk to the point for two or three minutes, to answer ques- tions accurately, and to ask questions intelligently. And one of the most valuable by-products of such a course is that through it the pupil learns how to read the press for a purpose; and surely in these days of multiple sheets we need to be able to get the gist of a newspaper or magazine article almost at a glance. To- day when all are interested in every issue of the press, SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 173 we need more than ever before a course which shall tram our pupils to be intelligent and ready readers. Is not, therefore, a study of current periodical literature an indispensable part of all high-school English work? FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss the use of the newspaper in the English class. 2. Discuss the current periodical as an aid in socialization of the class. 3. Discuss the value of group work on magazine day. 4. Outline a course in contemporary writers for a fourth-year class. BIBLIOGRAPHY The English Journal: Abbott, Allan. "A High-School Course in Contemporary Literature," September, 1913. Bowman, James C. "The Use of the Magazine in English/' May, 1916. Dimorier, W. E. "Newspaper Week," Vol. YI, p. 170. Edgerton, F. W. "A Recent Experiment with Magazine Literature," May, 1912. Fowler, H. E. "American Literature for American Schools," December, 1917. Moe, Maurice W. "Magazine Poetry in the Classroom," October, 1915. Simons, S. E. "American Literature and the Modern Maga- zine in the High Scliool," June, 1913. The English Leaflet: Cunningham, W. H. "The Possibilities of the Short Story," Februaiy, 1916. THE WORLD WAR AND THE ENGLISH CLASS The study of current periodicals in our English classes during the World War meant nothing more nor less than the discussion of war problems and war literature. And their continued study means and 174 ENGLISH PROBLEMS will mean for a long time to come a study of the post-war problems, of all the social, economic, and political legacies left by that great upheaval. Things will never be just the same even in our English classes. Much of our composition work was motivated by events of the war; our classes were socialized through this bond of interest. Our pupils have acquired the habit of bringing world events to class as material for oral and written discussion, and the teacher who can lack for live subjects for themes today is scarcely to be found. The reading of pupils was given a new direction dur- ing the war. Interest in public men induced reading of their speeches, reading that was done with keen interest. That interest we have now to work with. And that interest will not die — it should not be allowed to die. Let us cultivate it and produce classes of readers as our graduates — readers of the best that is being written today on public questions and public life. The interest aroused in war poetry may be used as a point of departure for the poetry of other days and other men. Pedagogically speaking, the benefit of the World War to our English course is beyond measuring. But alone and beyond all this, the effect of studying the war with our pupils was seen in the development of patriotism and in the establishment of a right under- standing of conditions. The patriotic stir caused by the reading of some of the President's speeches in a certain class composed of German-born boys was in- deed remarkable. And this v/ork must go on. The testimony of many English teachers was that the study SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 175 of public speeches made during the war and the study of war literature, j&ction and poetry, had not only vitalized the composition classes, given training in the direct and accurate use of the English language, opened the eyes of the pupils to the fact that literature is still in the making, thrown new interest into the literature of the past — but that it had rendered a positive national service in developing the patriotism of our students, a service than which none could be higher at the present crisis in the history of America and the world. This development came about through making the boys and girls aware of the facts. We have not a theory confronting us now but a situation, and that situation must be understood in all its aspects. The youth of today, who will be responsible for the government of tomorrow, must be taught these things if we would be governed aright. It is our solemn duty as educators to see to it that no one escapes. We might almost declare that the whole duty of the school-man today is to give our boys and girls a sane, sound course in Democracy as it is being worked out by America for the world. This is not the task of the history teacher alone but inheres in the work of all of us today. And we English teachers have really a great opportunity before us. Let us not hesitate to make the most of it! . FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss the use in the English class of President "Wilson's speeches concerning the war. 2. Make a list of war fiction that you would suggest for outside reading. 3. Make a list of war jDoems, English and American, that you might use with a senior high-school class; in a junior high-school class. 176 ENGLISH PROBLEMS 4. Outline a brief course in World War literature I'or the Eng- lish class. Ways and means of using it. 5. Suggest a new Peace Day Program for bcth junior and senior high schools. 6. Suggest programs for the celebration of Allies' Day in both junior and senior high schools. BIBLIOGRAPHY Tl\3 English Journal: Abbott, Allan. "The English Teacher and the World War," January, 1918. Hai-vey, P. Casper. "Wliat the War Has Done for Me," June, 1918 (R. T.). Hunt, C. W. "The Child and the Book in War Times," October, 1918. Ross, Florence. "An Experiment," March, 1918 (R. T.). Ward, C. H. "The English Teacher's Opportunity," June, 1918. The English Leaflet: de Mille, A. B. "A Selected List of War Books for Boys and Girls," January, 1919 (p. 7). THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE Educators are grouped into two camps on the sub- ject of the teaching of the history of Hterature in the high school. Members of the one advocate first and foremost in the literature class of the upper high-school years the orderly teaching of the history of literature as a subject per se. Members of the other would dis- pense with such a course as a cut and dried substitute which teaches about books instead of giving the books themselves as matter for study. Is not a middle ground the one to choose? The high- school graduate should certainly be familiar with the SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 177 general trend of the development of the history of hterature in both England and America. He should know the great names ; he should be able to place them in their proper periods. The pupils should know some- thing of the spirit of the times that produced this or that literary genius. They should come to know that the literature of a period is determined by the economic and social life of the times. But the only way they can find this out is to study the art product of the author in its relation to the age which called it forth. Hence, the history of literature or the study of the lives of authors should never be viewed as a thing apart from the writings of the men and women who reflect their times in this manner. A good collection of repre- sentative selections from the writings of the great is an indispensable basis for the high-school study of the history of literature. This can be used in connection with a brief literary history and the two studied to- gether. Further outside readings can be made in the case of the really great writers. Only the noted contributors to our literature should be studied in the high school. Touch only the high points. A list of red-letter authors might be made and followed. Minor writers should be passed over. Definite instruction in the method of using history of literature texts should be given. Indeed, at the be- ginning of the study of the history of literature, the English class might well resolve itself into a super- vised study period. Pupils must be led to get essentials and to disregard non-essentials. And such a method of study cannot be cultivated over night. Hence, prolonged class study 178 ENGLISH PROBLEMS with the teacher is necessary. Pupils must be exposed to the method, and the exposure must be a good, long time-exposure before the camera will register much that is of moment. In special topic reports on the lives of the great authors, lead the pupil to look for striking, unique characteristics of the men and women under examination. It is the distinctive feature that we can remember. Look for this. This will stick, whereas the dry-as-dust biography giving date and place of birth, education, works, will utterly fail to excite the pupil's gray matter into even a receptive state. The very early periods in both American and Eng- lish literature might well be covered thus. Class study and illustrative readings with the teacher will be found profitable here. Care should be taken later to make all the assignments in the text and of illustrations definite. Pupils should be taught how and what to skip. Liter- ary maps are indispensable for such a course. And the supplementary classroom described by Mr. Allan Abbott in The Reorganization Bulletin (page 114) would be an invaluable aid in visualizing periods and works studied. INIr. Abbott suggests a library class- room, not assigned to regular classes but available for occasional use by any class. This room should be fitted out with movable seats, a small stage, a victrola, and a refiectoscope. When the class period of any par- ticular class is to be devoted to dramatization exercises or lantern-slide talks by pupils, the class could con- veniently meet in this room. It is not hard to see how such an equipment would serve as a determining factor in making vital the literary data taught. SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 179 The course may be taken up chronologically or it may be followed through a study of types — the essay, the lyric, the epic, the novel, the drama, the short story. It may start with the present and look back- ward toward beginnings, or it may follow the evolu- tionary idea. Ways and means are varied and many. In such a course four things should be noted: 1. It is all-important that the start should be just right. This can be accomplished only through much cooperative work with the teacher in the class period. 2. The teaching of isolated dates and facts is wasted time. 3. The vitalization of the study of the lives of authors can be accomplished only by the use of illustrative material. 4. Some time should be given to the study of present-day writers. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Should the study of the histoiy of literature in the high school be merely incidental'? 2. Discuss the relative value of teaching the history of litera- ture chronologically or by the de^•elopment of types. 3. Why should the study of illustrative material be carried on simultaneously with the study of biography? 4. How should liistory become the background for the study of the history of literature*? 5. Make lists of English dramas, novels, and poems which illu- minate the history of the times in which they were produced. 6. Discuss the advisability of starting the study with present- day writers and then looking backward. 7. Should the author's life be studied before or after his book is read by the class? Give reasons. 180 ENGLISH PROBLEMS BIBLIOGRAPHY 21ie English Journal: Aiken, W. M. "Types in the Study of Literature," April, 1917. Barnes, W. "Anthologies in the High School," April, 1919. Hinehman, W. S. "The Fringes of Literature," April, 1917. Lodor, E. "Shall We Teach the History of Literature in the High School?" Vol. VI, p. 601. Pound, Louise. "What the History of Literature Is," Sep- tember, 1918. THE TEACHING OF POETRY /. In the Junior High School Poetry is given a very definite place in the senior high-school course of study. It should have the same consideration in the junior high school. The problem of teaching it is everywhere the same, especially as to aim, but there will be differences of emphasis, method, and selection. Rightly taught, the value of poetry in education cannot be too strongly stated. By what other means can so much be done to train and stimulate the intellectual, the esthetic, and the moral activities of the human spirit? What greater thing can we do for our children than to create or develop in them a love of beauty? To bring the minds of pupils under the influence of beauty is to bring them under the reign of law. It is to give them a resource against dull materialism, and a weapon of defense in the spiritual encounters that life brings. 'Toetry is the first and last of all knowledge — it is as immortal as the heart of man." It is a transcript of life. To know- poetry is to know life, and to know life is to be educated in the truest sense of the word. If we accept Addison's statement that the great func- tion of poetry is to awaken, stimulate, or change human SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 181 feeling, then it is clear that the response to a poem must be emotional. The true lover of poetry will know what poetry has done for him, and will base Ms aims in teaching it on that experience. They may be stated as follows: (1) appreciation and enjoyment of the individual poem, (2) comprehension of its meaning, (3) sympathetic response to its emotional appeal, and (4) enjoyment of the beauty of its dic- tion, form, and style. This emphasis upon the emo- tional aspect of poetry must not be construed to mean neglect of the intellectual side of the work, nor blind- ness to the necessity for hard work. Teachers, how- ever, must ^ guard against emphasizing the jact ele- ment in poetry rather than the value element, and must realize that neither historical, geographical, nor philological research is of the essence of poetry. -' Teaching poetry to children should be the easiest and most delightful task imaginable. Most children have a natural love for it. They instinctively have the poetic attitude. They fall into a singsong tone or chanty in their games. They make up rimes, often of mean- ingless syllables, enchanted by the repetition of a sound. Not all children are — like the poet — of imagi- nation all compact, but most children have some imagination to begin with, and are capable of growth in this direction. The land of make-believe is known to all of them. These natural aptitudes determine the method of teaching poetry to girls and boys of the seventh, eighth, and ninth years, and the selection of the poems to be read and studied. Every child loves stories, and few outgrow that love; narrative poetry therefore should predominate in the junior high school. Much of the poetry of 182 ENGLISH PROBLEMS American writers will be familiar to the pupils of junior high-school age, but certain poems are peculiarly ap- propriate to this stage of development — Whitman's ^'0 Captain! My Captain!", for example, and the patriotic poems of Lowell and Longfellow, Miller's "Columbus," and Holmes's "The Chambered Nautilus." The love of adventure is strong in boys of twelve and thirteen. They will enjoy Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome, with their tales of heroic deeds ; the old ballads of Robin Hood, "Sir Patrick Spens," and "The Hunt- ing of the Cheviot"; Scott's Marviion and The Lady of the Lake; Arnold's "Sohrab and Rustum"; Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade" and "The Revenge"; Browning's "An Incident of the French Camp"; Noyes's "The Highwayman"; and Kipling's "Gunga Din." The storehouse from which to choose is a rich one. Short descriptive poems are not beyond the ap- preciative capacity of junior high-school pupils and are valuable for developing the imagination. Many pupils do not visualize readily ; some get no mental image at all from a poetic line. Such pupils need help by question and suggestion and time. They must not be hurried. Several of the stanzas in Tennyson's "The Lady of Shalott" give little pictures so sharply out- lined that it would be a very dull mind indeed that could not visualize them. But one line in the follow- ing stanza needs time for. the picture to form : "On either side the river lie Long fields of barley and of rye That clothe the wold and meet the sky; And thro' the field the road runs by To many-towered Camelot" SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 183 All is clear until we come to "many-towered Camelot." There the teacher must pause and draw out or build up a picture of the ancient city climbing the hill, with its many towers. "And up and down the people go, Gazing where the lilies blow Round an island there below. The Island of Shalott." By questions, set them to thinking who and what these people are and how they look. Then read Tenny- son's account of them in stanzas 6, 7, and 8. After the discussion read the stanza through again so that the final impression will be unified. Lanier's 'The Song of the Chattahoochee" appeals to the eye and the ear both. In Wordsworth's ''Daffodils," "Fluttering and dancing in the breeze," gives a picture full of color and motion. It makes a charming contrast to the sea picture in Masefield's "Cardigan Bay" — the gold of the daffodils and the green of the sea. There is motion in both poems — "Clean, green, windy billows notching out the sky." Masefield's "West Wind" should be in- cluded in this list, and the many vivid pictures in Coleridge's "The Ancient Mariner." The study of a poem should always be begun in class and often finished there. Since appreciation of the masterpiece is emotional, not intellectual, the mood of the class must be in key with the emotional tone of the poem. Introductory or explanatory material may be assigned for home study, or, preferably, given by the teacher. The setting made clear, and all obstacles in the form of unknown words or strange expressions removed, the teacher should read the poem to the class. 184 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Much of the beauty of the poem is lost if the ear does not get the rhythm, the tone values, and the harmonies of sound. Another reason for this plan is that the poetic form, with its contractions, its inversions, and its imagery often baffles the boy or girl trying to get the thought, and the result is discouragement and a distaste for poetry. The younger the class, the more necessary it is that they should hear the poem read. According to Professor Corson, Mr. Fairchild, Pro- fessor Alphonso Smith, and other successful teachers, nothing is of more value in the study of poetry in the high school than good reading. The ability to read poetry agreeably and sympathetically should be a part of the equipment of every teacher of English. Let the pupils read when they can read well enough so that the class enjoys hearing them, but never allow an ex- quisite line to be marred by a blundering and in- sensitive reader. After the reading come questions and discussion with the aim of finding out if the poem 1 has been understood, and if the mental images are '; correct. The study will involve more than one re- \ reading of a difficult or beautiful passage, for the final i impression should be of the poem itself and not of some contributory material. A poem should never be regarded as affording material for other kinds of study. The simpler poems like the old ballads need very little explanation, provided the background has been pre- pared. "The Ancient Mariner'' needs more interpreta- tion. The effect of the poem can easily be destroyed, however, by too much insistence on the "ethical les- son." Coleridge has made it very plain in two simple stanzas. Before reading Tennyson's "The Revenge," SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 185 the teacher should read to the class extracts from Sir Walter Raleigh's account of the incident. This gives an opportunity to explain some of the terms which might make difficulty — pinnace, galleon, Inquisition, etc., so that the poem can be read without interrup- tion. If the story is clear to the class, little need be said of the fine idealism of the poem — the "lesson" is obvious, and it is a strange thing if the pupils do not thrill at the mere reading of it. A very good place for Arnold's "Sohrab and Rus- tum" is in the ninth year, after the reading of the Odyssey. Pupils are familiar with the characteristics of the epic, and will turn easily from tales of Greek heroes to those of Persian. The story of Rustum's marriage to the Tartar princess and the circumstances of Sohrab's birth should be explained to the class. The story can be told in such a way as to bring out the Eastern setting. Familiarize the class with the names of the principal characters. Then begin to read the poem to them. Pause after the second stanza to see that the pictures of the Tartar camp with the "black tents clustering like bee-hives," and Peran- Wisa's tent — "A dome of laths, and o'er it felts were spread," all so different from anything within the range of their experience, are clear and correct. The poetic atmosphere suggested by the opening lines must be felt by the class — the gray of early morning — the broad river — the fog rising from it — the stillness of it all — for that same note is struck, only more deeply, at the close — cold, darkness, fog, and the majestic river flowing toward the sea. 186 ENGLISH PROBLEMS The story opens simply. Sohrab's request is granted, and the hosts are drawn up on opposite sides to hear the herald's message. The description of the Tartar tribes need not be dwelt upon at length — if at all. The sole purpose of the passage is to give "local color/' and the class will get it from hearing the lines. The challenge is given, and Rustum is implored to answer it. His grievance against the King, his final decision to meet the new champion, but in disguise, and his reasons for refusing to fight under his own name must be understood, for any lack of clearness at this point will be fatal. It is hardly necessary to say that there should be no interruptions to the read- ing after the point where Sohrab and Rustum meet. The story grows more intense with every line, and the artistic effect of the combat with its tragic climax would be ruined by explanatory comments. Acquainted through the Odyssey with Homer's use of the simile, classes will be interested in discovering the homeric similes in this poem. Some pupils will be struck by the idea of fate expressed by Sohrab. All will be moved by his courage and generosity, and by his love for his father. The story lends itself well to dramatization — Sohrab's plea to Peran-Wisa, the chal- lenge to the Persians, the scene in Rustum's tent, the dialogue between Sohrab and Rustum before the fight — all sharply dramatic. The little play might open and close with the descriptive passages of the plain and the Oxus river. By this means much memorizing would be done, for the lines should be used as they were written whenever possible. There is opportunity for imitative writing, too, where it is necessary to make SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 187 connecting links. This poem, so sure in its appeal, should always find a place in the course. Outlining, paraphrasing, and reproduction of poems have done much to destroy appreciation of poetry. If an outline seems advisable in any particular class, let it be oral and informal. As for paraphrasing, it not only has no value in this connection, but does positive harm. Professor Corson says that poetry should be apprehended as directly as possible through its own language. Nothing should be done to dull the im- pression of a poetic passage as it was written — for its beauty consists in choice of words and arrangement as well as in thought. Memorizing should be done constantly, but this must not be made a hated task, nor need it be. Begin this work in class. Read a favorite passage once or twice, making sure that the thought and images are clear ("a pinnace, like a fluttered bird" — What does the pupil see?). Then call on someone to repeat the passage. That pupil may need assistance, but the next one will probably be able to give it perfectly, and the class will be charmed to see how easily the thing may be done. Give them all the aids afforded by the passage, observing the rime arrangement, steps in the development of the thought or story, the out- line of a picture, etc. If the habit of memorizing good poetry is formed in the junior high school, a wonderful foundation has been laid for further reading. Should there be any study of poetic form in the junior high school? Very little, and that dependent on the course. If in the ninth year there is much reading of ballads, if the course includes some such 188 ENGLISH PROBLEMS collection as Gayley and Flaherty's Poetry of the People, for instance, a study of the ballad form would have interest if followed up by imitative work. Many pupils take delight in attempting original ballads, and there is real value in such attempts, and occasionally real merit in their production. The ultimate value, of course, is in the deepening of interest in the ballads themselves. As to diction, that should be emphasized from the beginning, but delicately and tactfully at first, never in a formal way. The very name ''diction" has some- thing forbidding about it. Children are never too young to love a word for its own sake — its sound, or its suggestion, or for some mysterious charm it has for them. And poetic diction, being simple and con- crete, is not so far removed from the diction of their everyday life as one might think at first. It pays to dwell on magical words and felicitous phrases till their beauty and force sink in. Substitute a commonplace expression for some exquisitely right word in a line of poetry, and see if the pupils do not instantly feel the loss. It is possible to do much more with this element of poetry in the senior high school. There the study of poetic diction does much to develop appreciation. If it is objected that with this method of teaching poetry the teacher, not the pupil, does the work, the answer is that that fact is unimportant. The aim is not to make the pupils work. Poetry is not the ma- terial for drill — and moreover, there is ample oppor- tunity for work in the study of poetry later on. The aim is to make pupils like poetry so well that it shall be, in later years, a resource in the business of life SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 189 as well as in its leisure. And anything that is in- spirational is educational in the broadest sense. Arlo Bates says that the most important office of literature in the school as in life is to minister to delight and to enthusiasm. That this is not the universal result of our efforts is a melancholy fact. The principal of a certain high school had occasion to reprove two small boys in the entering class for plastering a portrait of Milton with tiny wads of paper, shot with skill and accuracy at the tempting target. The teacher in charge of the study hall had reported them as having "desecrated Milton's portrait." "What made you choose Alilton's portrait?" said the principal, fixing the culprits with a stern eye, "Have you anything against him?" "Oh, no, sir," they cried, glad to be clear of that par- ticular crime, "We haven't had him yet!" One laughs, but what an arraignment! //. In the Senior High School Perhaps the most important aspect of the study of poetry in the first year of the senior high school is the selection. This is a critical time in the educational life of many a pupil — especially of many a boy. What shall we give him that will hold his uncertain interest? His intolerance of anything which does not meet his approval is so whole-souled that it is useless to try to force him in any direction. Love stories he will not have. He no longer cares so warmly for mere adven- ture. But he is interested in large questions of right and wrong, in patriotism, and in standards of conduct. He will like Byron's "Prisoner of Chillon," and he will 190 ENGLISH PROBLEMS not be ashamed of the wave of sympathy that sweeps his soul. Kipling's *lf" will interest him, and Vachel Lindsay's "Abraham Lincoln Walks at Midnight," R. W. Gilder's fine sonnet, "On the Life Mask of Abra- ham Lincoln/' several of Tennyson's Idylls of the King — "The Passing of Arthur" and "Gareth and Lynette," for example. In the latter the love theme can be touched very lightly, and the interest centered on the qualities of courage, generosity, and knightly courtesy — Gareth's self-control and good manners in the face of Lynette's very trying conduct. The sea poetry of Masefield and Kipling, and Service's Rhymes, of a Red Cross Man are almost sure to win enjoyment. A new field opens up for study in the eleventh and twelfth years — the richest of all, but the most diffi- cult to deal with. How shall lyric poetry be taught? What is the approach? The method? How share with our pupils this beautiful definition of poetry? The magic light that springs From tlie deep soul of things When, called by their true name, Their essence is set free; The Avord, illuminate, Showing tlie soul's estate, Baring the hearts of men : Poetry ! — Annie L. Laney Shall there be a formal preparation for the lyric? A lining up of the poems already familiar to the class under the heads, "objective poetry" and "subjective poetry," with the distinguishing characteristics of each class? A division of lyric poetry into classes — the song, the ode, the elegy, the sonnet? All this is use- ful knowledge, and a legitimate part of the intellectual SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 191 possession of a high-school graduate. He would be bold indeed who prescribes arbitrarily the one method sure to succeed. One can suggest, however, supported by the tests of experience. Keeping in view the aim of true appreciation, which involves comprehension and enjoyment, one feels that the first enthusiasm of the class in taking up something new should be spent on the thing itself, and not on study about the thing. Begin with the poetry, then. Begin with Burns. One can hardly fail there. Even the most prosaic soul, who has never been "attended by the vision splendid" will read Burns. 'To a Mouse" and "To a Mountain Daisy" lead easily to the discussion of Burns's fond- ness for animals, flowers, and all out-of-door life, and to his sympathy with man. The introduction to his songs should be musical. Any musical talent in the class should be utiHzed, and good victrola records when available. Through further reading and discussion of Burns's poetry lead the class to discover the personal element in the lyric. Formulate a definition: A lyric is a poem that expresses personal feeling, sentiment, or emotion. They will see that this expression must be sincere to be effective, and that the beauty of a lyric depends on the nobility of the theme, and the intensity and spontaneity of expression. "The Sohtary Reaper," "To a Cuckoo," "The Ode to Duty," and certain of the sonnets such as "London in 1802," and "The World Is Too Much with Us" make a good introduction to Wordsworth. Byron's poetry always appeals to pupils of this age, and though they may tire later of his egotism and passionate defiances, a liking for his poetry at this stage of their develop- 192 ENGLISH PROBLEMS ment helps to strengthen their liking for poetry in general. 'The Ocean" and ''Night on Lake Leman" are favorites. Shelley and Keats are not for all minds, perhaps, and the teacher should feel his way carefully. Begin with a reading of Shelley's "The Cloud.'' The music of the lines and the comparative simplicity of the ideas will nearly always carry it into the pupils' af- fections. "The Ode to the West Wind" is within their grasp, too, and they will read Shelley's prayer with understanding and sympathy. With Keats the prepr aration has to be made skillfully. Begin with the ex- quisite "Ode on a Grecian Urn." Linger over the title. The average boy, who has probably never observed an urn of any kind, reads it with nothing in his mind. Pictures would be helpful at this moment. Some de- scription of a Grecian urn is necessary with its proces- sion of figures and symbolical scenes. When the idea of the subject is clear, read the poem through to the class. They will get something from that first read- ing, but, of course, there will be questions, and so the study will begin. The diction in this poem is so simple that it presents no difficulties, but the pupils will need help with the ideas. Perhaps to some the line, "Heard melodies are sweet, but those unheard are sweeter," will never be anything but a mystery. To others it will be a revelation. Keats should never be forced upon any class of high-school age, but it is worth while to give pupils the opportunity of becoming acquainted with his poetry. The poem appended, written by a high-school boy in imitation of the "Od€ on a Grecian Urn," shows what Keats can mean to some. SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 193 ODE TO AN INDIAN ARROW-HEAD Thou cold and silent messenger of death, Thou courier, swift as Mercury in flight, Fearless destroyer, snuffing mortal breath As lightly as a candle in the night; On what a fearful errand wert thou bent? What message called thee forth to cleave the air, More quickly than the wind to reach thy goal? Against the kingly roebuck wert thou sent? Perchance to end the flight of timid hare, Or rob some human mansion of its soul? Brave oaks, ye sturdy sentries of the wood That guard the spot, ye know the aAvesome tale And willingly would tell me if ye could, The hidden thoughts that make your branches quail, 'Twas down this path there came a wary tread; Behind yon bank the stealthy watch was made. While everj^ woodland songster ceased to sing. — Unwitting enemy, beware yon shade! — Alas, too late, and lifeless sinks his head, His heart has felt the stone-tipped arrow's sting. Or was it in some savage Waterloo, Where fought the painted braves of many tribes, You rushed in vain against the men who knew To call the lightning down, by magic bribes? You looked from out the quiver and beheld A warlike council circled round the fire; And darkly scowling wrath was on each face. You heard the beating tom-toms Avhich impelled The mystic war dance, roused the vengeful ire Of warriors, to protect their falling race. The morning breaks ; what shadowy forms are these That silently the leafy pathway tread, And waiting, crouch behind the sheltering trees? Ah, 'twas the sun upon an arrow-head. — Approaching comes the tramp of many feet; A curdling war-whoop leaps from hill to slioi-e; Then swift and true the flint-tip takes its flight. But swifter yet, there comes the leaden sleet. The thunder rolls, the lightning flashes bi-iglit; — The hand that sent thee draws the string no moic. 194 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Ah, roughly chipped arrow-head of stone, Thou piece of nature's very element, Imbedded in a mossy bank alone And harmless, with thy deadly impulse spent, Thy task as mortal messenger is done; No more thou givest vent to human wrath Or fliest to arrest some beating heart. The magic streak of fire thy place has won; The tribes no longer take the blood-stained path; So rest in peaceful quiet where thou art. The war has produced some fine lyrics, which should not be neglected. Rupert Brooke's ''Sonnets of 1914," McCrae's 'In Flanders Fields," W. M. Letts's "The Spires of Oxford" are only a few of the best known poems to be found in every collection of war verse. With some classes these lyrics of today make the most happy beginning for the study of lyric poetry. Milton's descriptive lyrics, "L' Allegro" and 'Tl Pen- seroso," require more study than most short poems be- cause of their wealth of mythological and literary allu- sions, but this study should never be allowed to assume the importance of the end in view, and one should keep in mind these sentences from the report of the commit- tee on the Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools, page 73 : "Poetry, especially the lyric, should be less exhaustively studied than other types (of litera- ture). Close analytical treatmicnt and a painstaking mastery of notes are ruinous to its spirit and sensuous appeal." The first interest of the class will center in the series of pictures in the two poems. The proces- sion of figures should be described — Sport, wrinkled Care, Laughter holding both his sides, etc. Some boy who is clever with his pencil will illustrate this passage and the companion passage in 'Tl Penseroso" ; SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 195 or a series of tableaux may be given with reading of the lines. Pictures and lantern slides are valuable for giving pupils a background for the study of the nature poetry of England. The concrete thing is but an aid — a starting-point for fuller visualization. The lines — ''Russet lawns and fallows gray" and "Towers and battlements it sees Bosomed high in tufted trees" will be meaningless without some knowledge of the characteristic aspects of an English landscape. In discussing the thought in the two poems, it should be made clear that they are practically, two divisions of a single poem, depicting the enjoyments of a man in contrasting moods. Pupils do not always see this fact, for one reason because they do not, at first, realize that the Melancholy banished from ''L' Allegro" is not at all the 'Tensive Nun" welcomed in "II Penseroso." At this point the story of Milton's life at Horton should be brought in. Pupils will see that the poems are an ex- pression of the young Milton's tastes, ideals, and ambi- tions. Beauty and suggestiveness of diction are a striking feature of Milton's poetry. Macaulay says that each epithet is the text for a paragraph, so rich is it in associ- ations. Imagination travels far, stirred by such ex- pressions as ''iron tears," ''storied window^s," "richly dight/' "civil-suited morn"; and lines and passages should be read and lingered over until they have sunk into the consciousness of the pupils. Another element of beauty is the harmony between thought and form in these poems. The opening lines 196 ENGLISH PROBLEMS in "L'Allegro'^ illustrate this quality. The tone of the passage is one of gloom and stern vigor. The banished mood is 'loathed," and is consigned to a fearful place. How do meter and diction contribute to this impres- sion? The meter is irregular, with the occasional sub- stitution of a trochee for the initial iambus of a line, or the omission of the opening unaccented syllable. There is an alternation of short and long lines. The words are long — contrast with the monosyllables in the body of the poem — and there is a preponderance of heavy vowel and consonant sounds — long o's, and b's and d's. The whole effect of the sounds is slow and heavy. This contrast with the light and tripping effect of the succeeding lines is most artistic. It is hardly necessary to repeat that nothing will make this mastery of verse clear but hearing the poems read musically and sympathetically. Mr. Albert Walker says in his excellent school edition of the minor poems: ''No bet- ter exercise for training the ear to a perception of the finer harmonies of verse can be found than to read the lines of 'L' Allegro' and 'II Penseroso' metrically, with the attention directed toward detecting the subtle adaptation of the movement to the varying shades of feeling expressed by the poet." ^^^^ ^^^^^^ BIBLIOGRAPHY Bates, Arlo. Talks on the Teaching of Literature (Chap. VIII). Bolenius, Emma. The Teaching of Literature in the Grammar Grades and High School. Eastman, Max. The Enjoyment of Poetry. Fairehild, A. H. R. The Teaching of Poetry in the High School. Newbolt, Henry. A New Study of English Poetry. The English Journal: Davis, Ada L. "Preparing Seniors for Palgrave," June, 1915. SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 197 The English Leaflet: Abrams, Jeanette F. "Published Airs for Songs in The Golden Treasury," February, 1919. THE DRAMA A course in the drama for high-school pupils should be primarily a reading course, with the aim of intro- ducing the great world dramatists, and it should be given in the last year. It is rarely necessary to develop an interest in plays and acting. It is already there and only needs guidance. An acquaintance with good plays will do much to raise the standard of taste in the class, so that in their selection of school plays they will not be content with the usual commonplace and sentimental trash. It is not too much to hope that the schools may help in time to bring about a demand on the part of the American public for better plays in our theaters. If it is not possible to offer an entire course in the drama, the work may be given as a part of the regular English course. Organize the class into a drama club, and give one recitation period a week, or one in two weeks, to the club meeting. Let the club resolve itself into groups of three or four, each group to be respon- sible for a program. Give a list of plays from which the selection may be made for class presentation, and then give the class a free hand. All details involved in arranging dates and programs for the various groups can be managed by the club president or chairman so that the teacher's time is kept free for conferences. The most enjoyable as well as the most desirable kind of program is the actual production of the plays, 198 ENGLISH PROBLEMS but that is obviously impossible because of the time limitation, and the lack of training among the pupils. It is encouraging to realize, however, how much may- be done in spite of these handicaps. If conditions do not permit giving the whole play, one or two scenes can be presented, the story having been summarized pre- viously for the class by one of the group presenting the program. In selecting the scenes to be given, the pupils are getting incidentally some knowledge of dra- matic construction, for they should always be asked to justify their choice. In some plays a scene will be chosen for its exposition of the plot, in others for its presentation of character, or because it gives atmos- phere, or sets forth the ideas of the author. The absence of scenery and appropriate costumes is no more a drawback than it was in Shakespearean times. The inability of pupils to use their voices and to enunciate with anything like distinctness, however, is a serious obstacle to the success of the work. The wittiest lines are easily killed by a poor delivery, and the whole point of a scene is lost if the dialogue does not "get across.'^ In schools where there is a flourish- ing dramatic club, or where there is a general course in public speaking this difficulty may not arise, but in too many schools the English class affords the only opportunity for training pupils to speak clearly and correctly. Obviously, the lines of the play must be read so that they can be understood, and so that every shade of meaning is caught; and certain elementary principles of acting and stage directions must be made familiar to the class if they are going to do anything effective. The proportion of time and effort to be SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 199 given to this side of the work is an individual problem with every teacher, and need not be discussed here. As far as possible, though, let the pupils themselves do the coaching. In nearly every class there will be sev- eral who have had enough experience to enable them to help others ; moreover, this is the kind of thing that makes the socialization of the English class an actu- ality. However, the course under discussion is not a course in dramatics, but a course in the reading of plays, and there are many ways of conducting the work. Certain plays are most effectively presented by one pupil, who gives the theme, summarizes the plot, and reads bits of the dialogue to illustrate and point his explanations. "The Pigeon," by Galsworthy, lends itself to this kind of treatment. Sometimes the best approach to a play is through the author and his ideas, but as a general rule the play itself is the thing from the beginning. Several of Barrie's plays are ideal for launching the project. The plots involve nothing of the unpleasant, are never commonplace, and are not over the heads of young people. Whoever has felt the delicate charm of Barrie's plays will be less tolerant of the dull and the vulgar ever after. 'The Admirable Crichton," "Qual- ity Street," and "What Every Woman Knows" head the list. Of his recent one-act plays, "The Old Lady Shows Her Medals" is perhaps the best for school use. The one-act play is a most welcome development in the drama, and its advantages for this purpose are obvious. Of Dunsany's one-act plays, "The Gods of the Mountain" and "The Lost Hat" should be on the list. A suggestive list for the course follows: 200 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Barrie^ Sir James: The Admirable Crichton; Quality Street; What Every Woman Knows; The Little Minister; Dear Brutus; A Kiss for Cinderella; The One-Act Plays. Benavente, Jacinto: The Prince Who Kneio Everything in Books. Bennet and Knobloeh: Milestones. Drinkwater, Jolm: Abraham Lincoln. Dunsany, Lord: All of the plays published under the title of Five Plays; A Night at an Inn. France, Anatole: The Man Who Married a Dumb Wife. Galsworthy, John : Justice; Strife; The Silver Box; The Pigeon. Gates, Eleanor, H. : The Poor Little Rich Girl. Gregory, Lady: Spreading the News, and other comedies; The Gaol Gate. Mackaye, Percy: A Thousand Years Ago; Sanctuary ; George Washington. Maeterlinck, Maurice: The Bluebird; The Burgomaster of Stile- monde. Marks, J. P. The Piper; The Wolf of Gubbio. Rostand, Edmund: Cyrano de Bergerac; L'Aiglon; The Romancers. Shaw, George Bernard: You Never Can Tell; Caesar and Cleopatra. Synge, J. M. : Riders to the Sea. Tarkington, Booth, and Wilson, Harry Leon: The Gibson Up- right. Yeats, W. B. : The Land of Llearfs Desire. Zang-will, Israel: The Melting Pot. Before the Irish plays are given, some explanation should be made of the Celtic Renaissance, and of the work of the Irish dramatists and the thing they were trying to do. Some of the groups will need help in selecting a play, and will w^elcome the informal con- ference with the teacher. The importance of these conferences cannot be overestimated, for it is in the conference that the most valuable teaching may be SOME SPECIAL PROBLEMS 201 done. The following books will be useful to teacher and pupils for general suggestion : How to See a Play, by Richard Burton; The Play of Today, by Elizabeth Hunt; The Voice and Spiritual Education, by Profes- sor Corson ; and with some classes Another Book 07i the Theater, by George Jean Nathan. The last named con- tains parodies and burlesques of the cheaper forms of modern entertainments, and is commended to the dis- cretion of the teacher. What results may be expected from such a course? In the first place, pupils will read more widely than if certain books on the list are prescribed. In the second place they get a wider acquaintance with plays through the class work in conjunction with their own reading. And finally, many of them who have never been fond of books acquire the taste for reading plays. Anne McCohn CHAPTER SIX THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS The Odyssey. Shakespeare. Burke. THE ODYSSEY If the junior high school is to study intensively some one piece of literature, what can be found that is best suited to the needs and interests of the boys and girls at that stage of their development? All would agree, I think, that it should be narrative in form rather than expository or wholly descriptive. It should be imaginative, full of human interest, varied in its appeal. The emphasis must be upon deeds rather than thoughts ; the characters should be simple and direct — no subtleties of the modern problem story; the style should be clear and beautiful. Palmer's translation of Homer's Odyssey more than meets all these require- ments. It has the charm of narrative — the thrill of the super-adventure ; it has the charm of novelty — to many it is an introduction to the fascinating world of hero and myth; it has the charm of beauty — of color and music so wonderfully carried over into prose by Mr. Palmer — and, in addition to these, a knowledge of the story and the life that it reveals is an important acqui- sition as a matter of general education. A wonderful feast you say to set before boys and girls. But what if they do not seem to enjoy it? Per- haps the very wealth of the material which the Odyssey offers is in the beginning a stumbling block to its full 202 THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 203 enjoyment by the pupils. Here, more than in any other piece of literature, is the start important. Do not permit your students to be overwhelmed at the outset and perhaps prejudiced against the story by the strangeness of names and subject matter and form. Help them a great deal at the beginning. Go with them step by step into the realm and spirit of the epic romance. It is a long step back from the practical world of today in its superficial aspects, but a shorter step than we realize in the fanciful realm of the child's imagination. Are the great and thrilling adventures of Odysseus absurdities to the skeptical youth of today? Why, then, does his mind so willingly accept the impos- sible achievements of two immature boy scouts of twelve years, who, alone and unarmed, round up and turn over to the authorities a band of notoriously dangerous criminals — or, winging their way across the ocean in an airplane of their own manufacture, dis- cover the diabolical plot of the German submarine, a discovery which saves the whole American navy. The deeds of the great Odysseus are not unimaginable; nothing is impossible to the spirit of youth. All that is difficult is the strange atmosphere, with beauty and inspiration substituted for the crude art and manufac- tured thrills of the serial escapades. The approach to the actual study of the Odyssey will differ, does differ, among teachers who have been emi- nently successful in awakening in their pupils a real pleasure in the book. It may seem advisable to some to begin the actual work in the book at some other chapter than the first — the ninth, for instance — com- ing back later to the first chapter. Others feel that the 204 * ENGLISH PROBLEMS work gains by omitting some chapters altogether. The following suggestions are therefore meant to indicate just one possible method of approach, and they assume that the whole book is to be read in the order in which the story was originally told. At the outset, recommend that the students who find it possible to do so, purchase copies of some good standard mythology, Bulfinch's Age of Fable, or Gay- ley's Classic Myths. Have some copies of these on your desk or conveniently located in the library where they may be easily consulted by students who do not own copies. Before any assignments of work are made, read over with the pupils the pages in the introduction which tell of the Trojan War, so that the relation of the Odyssey to the Iliad is understood at the beginning. Tell them about the Trojan War, and see if you are not frequently interrupted by those in the class who would like to contribute some stories from it that they know. There are always those who know the familiar story of the golden apple, and this will lead to a discussion of the participation of gods in the affairs of men and to a review of any scattering knowledge they may have of Greek gods and goddesses. Let the first recita- tions be given over to the telling of stories about the Trojan War and its heroes, and about the character- istic appearances and attributes of the great Olympian deities. Pictures will do much to make this work vivid, and good prints are easily obtainable. The keep- ing of notebooks into which the children may put pic- tures as well as interesting items about the story or related myths will stimulate interest. At this time let the teacher give some simple account of the Greek THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 205 myths of creation and point out by means of the map the ancient Greek's conception of the limits of the physical world. The first chapter should be read aloud in class, interpretation by the teacher clearing up every difficulty as it comes. Much of the reading at first should be done by the teacher. This will give the pronunciation of many new names and will accustom the pupils to the style of the prose, which, at first, on account of its inverted sentence, may be a source of difficulty to them. Refer them to the pronouncing vocabulary at the back for the fixing of their pronunci- ation and the spelling of proper names. If in the first chapter we can lay the ghost of terror that is roused by confronting so many proper nouns of a strange com- position, if we can familiarize them with the form of the inverted sentence and other marked stylistic fea- tures, and if, above all, we can vitalize the action of the opening pages, the rest is comparatively plain sailing. A very successful means of getting the pupils early into the atmosphere of the book has been suggested by Miss Emma Bolenius in her '^Council of the Gods," worked out in her book Oral English. The assembly which Telemachus calls (Chapter II) should always be dramatized — not by elaborate costuming nor indeed by much acting, but by the reading of parts as one after another aligns himself for or against the young Tele- machus, who finds himself confronted with great re- sponsibilities and a divided allegiance. It will often happen that pupils will unconsciously memorize much of the parts assigned to them to read. Later on, pupils may give more carefully prepared dramatizations.^ In T. For dramatized scenes from the Odyssey see Dramatization, Simons and Orr. 200 ENGLISH PKOBLEMS addition to this unconscious memorizing — for phrases of the Odyssey on account of their rhythm and repe- tition will stick — definite memory assignments should be given, especially in the early chapters. This will do more than anything else to obviate their diffi- culties in reading. Let them learn the beautiful words, "Saying this, under her feet she bound her beautiful sandals, immortal, made of gold, which carry her over the flood and over the boundless land swift as a breath of wind. She took her ponderous spear, tipped with sharp bronze, thick, long, and strong, with which she vanquishes the ranks of men — of heroes, even — when this daughter of a mighty sire is roused against them. Then she went dashing down the ridges of Olympus and in the land of Ithaca stood at Odysseus' gate, on the threshold of his court.'' As they listen again and again to this and similar pas- sages, the inverted sentence, the use of epithet, the placing of adjective after the verb and the paren- thetical interruption — all these they will unconsciously adapt themselves to, and not only will they find their reading much simpler, but in some cases, a certain unconscious imitation will be discernible in their writ- ten work. Other passages should be memorized, espe- ially those that Homer often repeats. "Now water for the hands a servant brought in a beautiful pitcher made of gold and poured it out over a silver basin for their washing," etc. With an understanding of the situation in Ithaca and upon Olympus, Chapters III and IV may be read more rapidly, and as Telemachus's experiences are told the attention of the pupils may be drawn to the many THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 207 strange customs of the early Greeks: their forms of hospitality, their religious sacrifices to the gods, their superstitions, and the varying stages of civilization to be found in different parts of Greece at that time. Telemachus's delight at the wealth of the house of Menelaus and his interest in Menelaus's account of his travels in the East will throw light upon the history of the times. The teacher may point out how recent archeological discoveries have established as histoncal fact many of the interesting details of this pre-historic story. But the interest of the student will naturally remain with Telemachus in his search for his father and his own safe return. Historical references and a study of the customs of the times should be incidental and should not be made burdensome to the extent of killing the interest in the story. The stay of Odysseus with the Phaeacians, his meet- ing with Nausicaa, and his account of his adventures will carry themselves with the pupils. They will be interested in the enthusiasm which the Greek youths had for athletic games, and they will see that the love of the dance — ^'the merry young men always wanting to go to the dance wearing fresh clothes," is as old as the Phaeacians. While following the adventures of Odysseus and tracing his course upon the map, it may be well to let the pupils do a little constructive work in imagination. Let them suppose that Odysseus had other adventures in addition to those which he de- scribes, and let them in the telling of these supple- mentary adventures use, as far as possible, the lan- guage of the Odyssey. They may try specifically to use the inverted sentence, the epithet, the Homeric 208 ENGLISH PROBLEMS simile, repetition, etc., but in the main they will adopt these forms unconsciously if they have mem- orized much and have had much reading aloud. The following example of imitative writing based on the Odyssey shows to what extent it is possible for pupils to catch the spirit as well as the phrasing of Palmer's translation. ODYSSEUS^S STAY AT ATHENE'S ISLAND After leaving the wooded island of Ogygia, wily Odysseus sailed for seven days and seven nights without mishap. But on the morn of the eighth day, earth-shaking Poseidon raised a great storm, gloomj^ and grievous to behold. Four days and nights it raged, and then came a breathless calm. Soon the early, rosy- fingered Dawn appeared, and hardy Odysseus and his men came in sight of a rugged island. Far-seen it was, and high were the sky-stretching pines upon it. NoAV the goddess, clear-eyed Athene, resolved to show worthy Odysseus that he had found favor with a heavenly immortal, and so she formed her plans. Upon reaching the rugged cliffs Odysseus left the ship and spoke to his men thus : "I go to seek the palace of the goddess, clear-eyed Athene, who has promised in a dream, which I had last night when all was black, to show to me a picture of my dear wife, Penelope, my infant son, Telemachus, and my revered father, high-born Laertes. Stay you here by our swift black ship.'' So he spoke, and they did not disobey. Worthy Odysseus passed through the woods, moving with rapid stride, until he came to a high-roofed palace, most beautiful to behold. Here the goddess, clear-eyed Athene, dwelt when not in council on high Olympus. As when a woman waits, joyful and expectant, to see her beloved husband as he returns to his native land from the cruel wars — so did royal Odysseus wait to see the phantom forms of his beloved ones. Soon before him glided the form of heedful Penelope. Resolve in her heart there was, never to succumb to the evil wishes of the suitors. Next came his father, high-born Laertes. Meanly-clad he was, with farm implements in his hands. As hardy Odysseus gazed upon this picture, his heart THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 209 was filled with sorrow, and down his cheeks he let the big tears fall. Third and last came princely Telemachus. No longer a child he was, but a man tall and stout to behold, and hardy Odysseus was glad in his heart to have such a son. Then raising his voice he prayed aloud: "0 gi'eat father Zeus, son of Kronos, and you, goddess, clear-eyed Athene, hear this, my suppliant prayer : Allow me to return to my high-roofed hall and native land that I may protect my aged father, guide my son in the ways 'of wisdom, and bring trouble upon the haughty suitors. This, father Zeus, highest above all rulers, and you, goddess, clear-eyed Athene, grant me, and I will offer up the choicest of my flocks when I reach my native land." So he prayed. And leaving the stately palace he came to his red-cheeked ship and set sail. * There may be some in the class who will be inter- ested in trying to turn some especially beautiful parts of the prose translation into blank verse. That part of the story which deals with Odysseus's return from Phaeacia to Ithaca should be read rapidly with only enough question and comment to keep the thread of the story clear. The pupil will be anxious to hasten on to the part in the story where Odysseus metes out to the suitors the doom that was prophe- sied for them. In the intensive study of any piece of literature allowance must be made for a possible drop in the sustained interest of the pupils after a number of weeks. For this reason if the early work has been done carefully enough to assure a clear understanding of the story in its various relations, the latter part may — in fact, should — always go more quickly, and details should be omitted that are not essential, in order that the interest in the book may not die out before the end is reached. It is hardly ever possible nor even desirable to give the same painstaking at- 210 ENGLISH PROBLEMS tention to every part of even the greatest master- piece. Other elements must enter into our calcula- tion, and in the case of the Odyssey, we must at all odds clear ourselves of the charge of killing the charm of a great story by too great insistence upon detail. How shall we relate the study of the Odyssey to the life of the boy and girl in the junior high school? How shall we link the present with the past? The past is the present so far as fundamental human nature is concerned, and bravery, resourcefulness, endurance, faithfulness are still ideals to be cherished — ideals that have been realized in the recent war. If the pupils in the Odyssey class are studying ancient history there is a splendid opportunity for correlation with their his- tory work. If they are not studying ancient history, the Odyssey is of even greater value to them because it will supply them with many important facts of his- torical value from one of the greatest of source books. Perhaps a study of the Odyssey may lead the pupil to look about him and see to what an extraordinary ex- tent modern American life is dependent upon Greek tradition. Even the advertisements of business con- cerns imply a knowledge on the part of the public of Greek mythology. Otherwise why do we have the Ajax tire, the Hercules Explosive Co., the Titan Trucks, etc.? It might be interesting to let the pupils glance through the back of any magazine to see to what extent we have adopted the terminology of the Greeks. The finest buildings in America, especially the pub- lic buildings, are, with few exceptions, modeled along the lines of Greek architecture; the decorations in many show the Greek influence. All literature after THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 211 the Greeks is profoundly affected by this great epic literature. The pupils' appreciation of Milton, of Tennyson, of Keats will depend largely upon how much of the rich poetical lore of the past has been brought to them through their study of the Odyssey. Not only is much of the poetry that the pupil will read saturated wdth Greek myth and story, but even the newspapers of today, in both article and cartoon, constantly reveal the dependence of English thought and expression upon the ancient Greeks. When Senator Poindexter says that the constitution for the League of Nations was presented to the world only after it had been long discussed and finally completed, when ^'it came forth full panoplied as though born from the head of Jove," the allusion and the picture are quite outside the vision of one who is unfamiliar with Greek mythology. ^^^^ -p g^^^^^ BIBLIOGRAPHY Bolenius, Emma. The Teaching of Oral English, Chapter VII. Bulfinch, Thomas. Age of Fable. Gayley, Charles M. Classic Myths. Guerber, H. A. Myths of Greece and Rome. Gulick, Charles B. Life of the Ancient Greeks. Keller, Albert G. Homeric Society. Simons, Sarah E. and Oit, Clem I. Dramatization. SHAKESPEARE A college professor recently said, with an air of pride, that he did not even touch upon Shakespeare in his course on the development of the English drama. 'There is too much Shakespeare in our schools," he contended. "Give the boys and girls live stuff." 212 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Is not that just what we are trymg to do when we give the pupils in our schools Shakespeare? Cannot the study of Shakespeare be made ''live stuff" just as easily as the study of Shaw or Galsworthy? It is to be hoped that the nation-wide celebration of 1916 in honor of Shakespeare did quicken interest to a slight degree, at least, in things Shakespearean. Let us as- sume, at any rate, that it did, and let us do our Shakespearean bit in every one of the years of both junior and senior high school to develop in our pupils a love of Shakespeare. Reading and presentation in classroom or assembly hall of scenes from Shakespeare's plays can hardly fail to interest pupils. And why not make a Shake- spearean festival as well as the spring-meet a yearly event in the school annals? Many Shakespearean fetes were given in 1916 by schools all over the country. Have you heard of many Shakespearean festivals given by schools siiice 1916? One of the educational pur- poses of the widespread Shakespearean activity of the tercentenary was to quicken into life the study of Shakespeare. It is not too late yet. Do not let the spark of interest then aroused be extinguished. It is still smoldering and can be fanned into flame, if we teachers will do our part in helping to create and de- velop a love of the master dramatist. /. 1 71 the Junior High School According to Mr. Chubb, introductory work on Shakespeare in every year of the high school should consist of the teacher's reading the play aloud, with minimum comment, to the class. He quotes Professor THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 213 Corson as citing Sir Henry Taylor as authority for the statement that the reading of Shakespeare to boys and girls carries with it "sl deeper cultivation than anything else which can be done to cultivate them.'' Certainly in the junior high school the plays should be read aloud in class in character, the teacher often taking part. No text study should be made; much memoriz- ing should be done; and frequent classroom dramati- zations should be given during the course of the study. The teacher should play the part of dictionary and reference book, clearing up obscure passages and ex- plaining strange words and allusions. The object of the junior high-school Shakespeare study is to create a love of the poet and arouse a desire to learn the lines and act out the parts and finally to see the play acted when possible. This cannot be done by formal work. It can be done only by hearing the lines, learn- ing miany of them, and acting out scenes frequently. Stich procedure has brought results in certain schools; it is worth trying in all classes. The following plays are suggested for classroom study in the junior high school: in the seventh year, A Midsummer Night's Dream; in the eighth, Julius Caesar; and in the ninth, As You Like It. II. In the Senior High School No epoch is more dramatic than Shakespeare's epoch; no times lend themselves more readily to dramatization than the times of Elizabeth. Let the pupils read about the age, the theaters, the Mermaid Tavern, the tales of adventure brought back from the West. Let them become acquainted with the per- 214 ENGLISH PROBLEMS sonalities of the period. Then let them present these personalities before the class, under certain circum- stances, in various picturesque settings. Let them dramatize the age of Shakespeare, and you will give them aids which surely make 'live stuff" of the plays they read and study. We want the scenes and places in Shakespeare's life and plays to become living realities to the boys and girls. We want the pupils to become familiar with Stratford and London; with the Swan and the Globe ; with the manner of giving a play in Shakespeare's day; with the people among whom the poet moved; with the Mermaid Tavern and its frequenters; with the dress and architecture and ways of the age. The library cannot furnish too many illus- trated books, magazine articles, and lantern slides for our purposes. These will give the pupil the raw ma- terial for his dramatizations, will excite the impulse to the exercise of the creative faculty. Encourage the pupils in all years to dramatize freely scenes from the life and times of Shakespeare and to act these drama- tizations before their classmates. Let them all in imagination become citizens of Shakespeare's day and age. Apropos of the dramatization by the pupils of scenes from the life of Shakespeare a few possibilities are sug- gested: A domestic scene in Shakespeare's life at Stratford, in the early days; one in later life (see Howells's Seen and Unseen in Stratford for material) ; a meeting between Bacon and Shakespeare to show that Bacon would not have written Shakespeare's plays if he could have done so (see Howells's Seen and Unseen in Stratford and Noyes's Tales of the Mermaid THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 215 Tavern for material) ; a scene in London before the production of a certain play, ending with the dramatic summoning of the poet before Elizabeth to give a per- formance. For atmosphere here see Mrs. Louise Beecher Chancellor's The Players of London. Many books come to mind immediately from which matter might be culled for such purposes: Traill's Social England; Jenks's In the Days of Shakespeare; Symonds's Shakespeare's Predecessors in the English Drama; Lee's Life of William Shakespeare ; Wendell's William Shakespeare ; Collier's Memoirs of the Prin- cipal Actors in the Plays of Shakespeare ; Alexander's Autobiography of Shakespeare; Harris's The Wan Shakespeare and His Tragic Life; Johnson's Shake- speare and His Critics; Sherman's What Is Shake- speare? ; ,W^^ce's New Shakespearean Discoveries ; Beeching's William Shakespeare, Player, Playmaker, and Poet. The following dramatization based on Alfred Noyes's Tales of the Mermaid Tavern and Louise Beecher Chancellor's The Players of London is suggested for classroom production by pupil players: 1. Based on Tales of the Mermaid Tavern A. Prolog-iie (giving) 1. The Situation ) 2. The Description of Inn 3. The Description of Characters (This requires some cutting and a very slight readjustment of lines in the Introduction.) A dream — three hundred years ago Of London, City of the Clouds — A twisted street, a little narrow street, 21G ENGLISH PROBLEMS The rough wet cobbles gleaming far away Like opals, where it ended on the sky, And overhead the darkly smiling face Of that old wizard inn of raullioned panes And crazy beams and overhanging eaves. The Mermaid with its sign-bofird quaint, Where that white-breasted siren of the sea Curled her moon-silvered tail among such rocks As never in the merriest seaman's tale Broke the blue-bliss of fabulous lagoons Beyond the Spanish Main. And through the dream, Even as I stood and listened, came a sound Of clashing wine-cujis ; then a deep-voiced song Made the old tniibers of the Mermaid Inn Shake as a galleon shakes in a gale of wind When she rolls glorying through the Ocean-sea. And all at once there swaggered down the street A figure like foot-feathered Mercury — Tall, straight, and splendid as a sunset cloud Clad in a crimson doublet and trunk-hose, A rapier at his side; over his arm He swings a gorgeous murrey-colored cloak Of Ciprus velvet, caked and smeared with mud .... B. At the sign of the Mermaid Characters: Shakespeare; Bacon; Spenser; Mar- lowe; Ben Jonson; Michael Drayton. Scene: Shakespeare and Spenser discovered look- ing over the manuscript of the Faerie Queen; Jonson seated on the settle humming "Drink to me only with thine eyes," between sips of malmsey; Bacon seated comfortably before the fire. Purpose: to bring out Bacon's essentially prosaic nature. (Adapted from Black Bill's Honey Moon.) C. For the Sake of Robert Greene, Player. Characters: Ben Jonson; Kit Marlowe; Will Shakespeare ; Sir Walter Raleigh ; Master Rich- ard Bame, a Puritan; a Company of Players, THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 217 Scene: Jonson and Marlowe discovered discuss- ing Shakespeare^s Venus and Adonis, over their wine. Enter the Puritan, Bame. His intent is to cast reproach and ignominy on Rob- ert Greene because of the manner of his death. Enter, later, Shakespeare and the others. They all unite in playing a trick on Master Bame by wliich his silence is purchased and his true character revealed. Purpose : to show the loyalty of the Mermaid group one to the other, and especially to show the largeness of soul of Shakespeare. D. A May-Day Frolic at the Mermaid. Characters: the Morris Dancers; Sir Fool (Will Kemp, the Player) ; Friar Tuck (Ben Jon- son) ; Poets and Players. Scene: A gay procession of merry-makers dis- covered entering the Mermaid and taking pos- session. Their revels. Songs and dances. Purpose : to present a characteristic May-Day cele- bration of the age. (Adapted from A Com- panion of a Blile.) 1 r. Based on Mrs. Chancellor's The Players of London. The First Performance of Romeo and Juliet by Lord Hundson's Players. Act I. The Rehearsal Characters: Master Will Shakespeare; Philip Condell; the Two Burbages; Messenger; Other Players. Scene : Court yard in front of Philip Condell's loggings. Shakespeare discovered walking up and down im- patiently. Richard Burbage enters and informs Shakespeare that Philip Condell, who is to play the part of Juliet in the new play, Romeo and Juliet, which is to be performed before the Queen on the occasion of the 37th anniversary of her reign, is so ill that he cannot take part. Shakespeare orders Bur- bage to go up and bring him down, for he must play, he insists— and he dispatches a messenger to one John Florio, an Italian physician, for a healing 218 ENGLISH PROBLEMS potion. Burbage goes up and after a few minutes reappears carrying the sick boy in his arms. They give him wine, and he is quickly revived. The re- hearsal begins. Though somewhat puzzled as to cues, exits, and entrances Philip delivers his lines splendidly. The balcony scene is rehearsed. Comments are made by Shakespeare and the others. Philip is treated wit^li great care and put in a sedan chair; the procession of players then moves off to Whitehall, where they are to play before the Queen. Act IL Assembling of the Actors. Scene I: Assembling of the actors, in which Shakespeare questions Philip curiously and makes a discovery (Philip's twin sister has come in his stead). Place: anteroom before the great hall. The Earl of South- ampton arrives and joins in the conversation. The Players assemble one by one. Scene II: The End of the Play. The court is assembled, the epilogue delivered, and the Players file in procession before the Queen. She gives a word of commendation to them and commis- sions Master Will to write a comedy before the year is by, so that the tears shed over the sad tale of the lovers shall be forgot in laughter . . . laughter in- duced by Falstaff. Scene III. After the Play — the Discovery. The actors are seated around a table, feasting. Sud- denly Philip enters and denounces his sister for her act of joining the Players. As he reviles her, her Puritan lover enters, champions her act, and carries her off. Shakespeare makes peace. And what shall we do with the plays themselves? Why not reduce our text study of Shakespeare in the senior as well as in the junior high school to the minimum essential which is the sum of — one might THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 21 n almost say nothing — and let our pupils devote all their time to learning Shakespeare's lines and reciting them in character before their classmates? Let the teacher act as interpreter of difficult passages, and give freely to the pupils. If all the time usually given to careful exegesis of the text were devoted to memorizing beau- tiful passages from the plays, what a store of treasures for the future would be amassed! Is not the experi- ment worth trying? And then, as before suggested, a Shakespearean festival in the open might be cele- brated with song and dance and fairy revels, with pomp and antique pageantry. A remarkable thing happens in the case of pupils learning Shakespeare's lines. At first there is difficulty owing to the strangeness of blank verse. But once the pupils get the swing of it, Shakespeare does the rest. Shakespeare has done more for the actor than any other dramatist. This is the testimony of all teachers who have trained pupils for Shakespearean per- formances. The following list is suggested for study, which means class reading and classroom presentation: In the tenth year. Twelfth Night; in the eleventh, Henry V ; and in the twelfth year, Macbeth. The collateral reading may be assigned by groups, each group deciding to take a certain part of the play when only one play is required, certain plays and parts of plays when more plays than one are required. If the group prefers to report on a play that is not listed, it should be its privilege to do so. Each group should elect a leader who should be responsible for the report to the class. A part, at least, of such report should 220 ENGLISH PROBLEMS feature the acting of scenes or portions of scenes from the plays chosen before the pupils of the class. The explanation necessary for the understanding of the audience may be made by a Chorus. For sugges- tions here the pupils may be referred to the part of the Chorus in Henry V. They might, some of them, even essay blank verse for this activity. Dramatization by the pupils of scenes in the life and plays of Shakespeare will do more to visualize the age and to vitalize the man than anything else could do. The study of the plays by means of the "acting" method will make Shakespeare a living, breathing per- sonality in the experience of the student. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Suggest scenes from plays of Shakespeare suitable for classroom presentation. 2. Suggest scenes from the story of Shakespeare's life suitable for classroom dramatization. 3. Discuss the value of having the plays read aloud in class. 4. Make a list of scenes from various plays which might be knit together by prologue, chorus, and epilogue into an appropri- ate spring Shakespeare festival. BIBLIOGRAPHY Abbott, Allan. "School Productions of Shakespeare's Plays" in Shakespearean Studies. Chubb, P. The Teaching of English, page 287. Chubb, P., Editor. The Shakespeare Tercentenary, prepared by the Drama League of America. Gilmore, A. H. King Shakespeare, A Masque of Praise for the Shakespeare Tercentenary. Mackaye, P. Caliban, Shakespeare Tercentenary Celebration. Presented in New York. Simons, S. E. jX Shakespeare Festival Presented by the High Schools of Washington, D. C. THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 221 The English Journal: Booth, Julia E. The Teaching of Shakespeare, April, 1920. Brookins, Julia, L. C. ^'A Midsummer Night's Dream in the Junior High School," October, 1918. Graves, I. "A Plan for Reading A Midsummer Night's Dream/' June, 1915. FitzGerald, Ellen. ^'Shakespeare in the Elementary School," June, 1914. Stratton, C. "A Shakespeare Festival in Time of War," November, 1916. The Reorganization Bulletin, page 70. BURKE Burke has come into his own through the war. As Enghshmen and Americans, "descendants of EngUsh- men," stood shoulder to shoulder in the great war for liberty, we realized, as never before, what John Fiske meant when he said, "It is quite wrong and misleading, therefore, to remember the Revolutionary War as a struggle between the British people and the American people. It was a struggle between two hostile prin- ciples, each of which was represented in both coun- tries. In winning the good fight, our forefathers won a victory for England as well as for America." It is through a study of the words of Burke, "that foremost friend of America," that boys and girls may best understand what are those principles of liberty which our forefathers won for us, and which we as a nation and the other allied nations have been fighting to pre- serve for all peoples. Burke's Speech on Conciliation has become so sig- nificant in these days that an effort to bring it into line with the life of the times is unnecessary. It is the life 222 ENGLISH PROBLEMS of the time — the old struggle between autocracy and constitutional liberty. Would it be possible to sug- gest topics of more burning interest today than the relation of an empire to its colonies, the right of self- determination in small nations, the dangers of a policy of repression? And yet the vital interest in the speech may be killed if the approach and method are wrong. Burke is not easy reading for high-school students, and, in these days, when classes are socialized, and the study of literature is made attractive by every possible device of picture, pageant, and play, the problem of holding the attention of pupils to the long and arduous analysis of such abstract reading as Burke's speech, may offer some real difficulties. The very worst way in which to approach the speech is by beginning with an analytical outline of it. Never must it be forgotten that this was a delivered speech, at a crisis of affairs so intense that no period of our history can compare with it. That period the pupils should be acquainted with before they begin to read the speech. The situation in Europe can best be sketched briefly by the teacher. The pupils in the American history class will be easily able to con- tribute the essential facts of the development of a spirit of resistance in the colonies and the immediate causes leading to the Revolution. Not too much time should be spent on historical preliminaries. The essen- tial facts can be readily grouped under (1) the relation between England and the American colonies before 1760, (2) the change in England's policy at that time and the reasons for it, (3) the important events be- tween 1760 and Burke's Speech. The best way THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 223 to get the class into the spirit of the time is through class debates on the Stamp Act, the Boston Port Bill, and other questions of the time. In this way they will learn the necessary historical facts and get a feel- ing for the situation. Such debates at the beginning of the work will also serve the purpose of reviewing the form of the argumentative brief, and thus facilitate the analysis of the speech. A reading of Chatham's speech, ''On the Right to Tax America," will be helpful at this time, as will, also, parts of Burke's Speech on American Taxation. While the class is debating and studying the period, let them read the speech through once at home. They will not understand it all, but the main outlines will be clear, and as they begin to study more specifically they will be able to see the relation of each part to the pur- pose of the whole. Special topics on the Parliament of Burke's time, on the man and his period, will help to create interest. It will be helpful also at this time to call attention to certain differences between English and American forms of government, such as the un- written constitution of England as contrasted with our very definite document, the powers of the ministry and its relation to Parliament as contrasted with the rela- tions of our executive and law-making departments. When the study of the speech itself begins, do not make the mistake of outlining it to death. Much of it should be read aloud and made the subject of in- formal discussion. Since the pupils have read the speech as a whole, it is desirable to block out the main divisions before outlining in detail. Then choose cer- tain parts which are especially fine examples of Burke's 224 ENGLISH PROBLEMS analytical powers, and let the pupils work these out very carefully. These may be : a thorough analysis of such a paragraph of close thought as the discussion of the first cause of the fierce spirit of liberty; a short brief of the unit in which Burke establishes that it is impracticable and inexpedient to prosecute the spirit as criminal; his handling of the four examples; the analysis of Lord North's plan, etc. Burke's Speech offers more splendid opportunities for outlining than any other masterpiece. That is no reason why one should take all the opportunities offered at the ex- pense of crowding out other benefits which may be gained from a study of the speech. Do not make a long written brief of the whole speech. This tends to become mechanical, and in the end a mere feat of memory. Such an outline they may get from any text- book. "It is a weed that grows in any soil." Sub- stitute instead an oral brief for all except those units which you have selected for detailed work. In this way the students may give from day to day an outline of the main thoughts of the speech, in words that change as often as the analysis is given. This will focus their attention upon Burke's line of argument rather than upon any particular wording of it. If Burke's speech has a fault it is in its minuteness and subtlety. "He went on refining while they thought of dining." Let us see to it that the fault if it exists is corrected, not exaggerated by our methods of teaching. The mental pabulum which Burke's Speech offers is the best antidote for the grasshopper type of mind that nibbles at everything and understands nothing. To THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 225 inspire the student with an appreciation of the mas- terly skill of handling such a sustained and elaborate composition is to set for him a standard of unity in multiplicity that he can get nowhere else. For there is ''reigning throughout the whole a massive unity of design like that of a great cathedral, whatever may be the intricacy of its design." The pupil may learn to knpw the beauty of this great cathedral and to feel its inspiration if the aisles are lighted for him and his eyes are directed toward its great columns and arches as well as toward its inimitable traceries. To get the meaning of Burke there must be a very definite study of words. Frequent short vocabulary tests should be given at the beginning of recitation periods on new assignments. These tests should some- times be in the form of sentences using new or un- usual words in their correct meaning. Encourage the pupils when they are giving the oral brief to use Burke's own words in so far as they naturally suggest themselves. This will familiarize them unconsciously with their meaning, and thus through oral imitation improve their own vocabularies. Written imitations of Burke are easily practicable, especially of certain units that have marked stylistic qualities. A favorite paragraph for imitation is the one beginning, 'The proposition is peace.'^ Others which have been successfully imitated are those dealing with his objection to force and his comparison of his own plan with that of Lord North. The following imita- tion shows how the student has caught not only Burke's method of presentation but his manner and spirit as well. 226 ENGLISH PROBLEMS MISS LYDIA PINKHURST^S SPEECH ON MOVING HER RESOLUTION FOR GRANTING WOMAN THE RIGHT TO PROPOSE MARRIAGE IN LEAP YEAR Delivered in the House of Commons, January 10, 1980 Madam Speaker: I trust that notwithstanding the bills already in hand for "Limiting and Restricting the Privileges of Husbands/' for "In- creasing the Tax on Bachelors," and "Lowering the Tariff on Lace, Ribbons, and Cosmetics," you will hear patiently a few words I have to say before laying on the table a resolution of great and immediate importance. With these vast issues in hand you may deem it unwise to consider any new project and prefer that it be defeiTed to a later date. Being myself, like most of my sex, inclined to procrastination, I would gladly wait for a more favorable occasion, but. Madam, ten of the precious 366 days are already gone, and this is a leap-year proposition. Alas, another leap year will find us all four years older. Delay is impossible! The present is the time to act! Surely this is an awful subject, for upon it hangs the destiny of woman. Is my statement overdrawn ? No ! To woman mar- riage is destiny. Being myself unmarried, there may be some present who do not think me qualified to speak on this subject. If such there be, I proudly confess that I have declined no less than six proposals, and might have led on other men had I not desired to spare their feelings. Madam, I have unselfishly sacrificed myself that I might better serve my country. Will you not grant indulgence toward human frailty if I pause to wipe away a tear? When I first had the honor of a seat in this house, you were considering a bill "To Grant Women the Sole Right to Apply for Divorce." At that period I took pains to instruct myself in all matters pertaining to courtship, marriage, and divorce that I might better understand the subject. In this posture things stood until one week ago, when I re- ceived a letter from one of my constituents which so touched and grieved me that I nerved myself to speak. The pitiful appeal of this young girl read as follows: THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 227 "Dear Miss Pinkhurst: "I have known a young man for nearly five years. He is very good to me, and I think he loves me, but he has never spoken of marriage. He calls nearly every night, and people think we are engaged. I cannot ask him if he intends to marry me. What am I to do? "Your faithful constituent, Does not the plight of this poor girl stir you to anger f If this is the fate of the youth of the land, the fate of the girl possessed of every charm, what may we expect of those in whom wisdom and experience have supplanted beauty? Does not this terrifying aspect of the situation make it evident to a discern- ment even duller than yours that no pinched, occasional system will be adequate? I perceive by the expression of some ladies present that they ask, "Why not do as our mothers did?" What did our mothers do? Unfortunately there is a lack of statistics on this point. I have asked an aged widow how she brought about the crisis. She says, "I didn't have a real proposal. I just stepped on a snake when I was out walking with John." In addition to lier statement, I find in a back number of our great international publication, The Ladies Home Magazine, the following advice by one who signs herself, "An Experienced Sweetheart" : "I do not recommend any unwomanly tactics, quite the contrary. A look, a word, a touch, wall suffice if he is responsive; if not, there will be no harm done, for he will guess nothing." Excellent advice for our mothers, doubtless, but worse than use- less for us. We are no longer afraid of snakes. We have dis- sected them in the laboratory and preserved them in alcohol. Are we so credulous as to believe in the power of a look, a word, or a touch ? No ! With the present high cost of living the most beguiling look, the most endearing words, and the most sympa- thetic touch would be of no avail. Any plan which is to be received by us wdth favor, must be suited to the woman of today, to her great and marvelous advancement. Madam Speaker, I cannot prevail upon myself to hurry over this great consideration. Sixty-eight years ago no force under heaven would have been a power to persuade you that within the short period of the life of man w^e should rise to our present glory. All the sanguine credulity of youth would not have con- 228 ENGLISH PROBLEMS vinced us that woman who then served for little more than to amuse her husband, should some day rule him. Pardon me, if turning from such thoughts, I resume my argu- ment once more. My proposition is marriage. Not marriage through the medium of a matrimonial agency, not marriage to be hunted through the labyrinth of intricate and endless devices. It is simple marriage, proposed by the woman in an open and direct manner. Fortunately in framing my resolution I am not obliged to tax my own unproductive invention. I am not even obliged to go to the rich treasury of fiction for imaginary instances in which women have proposed. It is before me ; it is at my feet. I have here an ancient act of Parliament passed in the year 1288. "It is statut and ordaint that during the reign of his maist blessit Mageste for ilk yeare knowne as lepe yeare, ilke mayden of botbe highe and lowe estait shall hae liberte to bespeake ye man she likes, albeit he refuses to talk her to be his layful wyfe he shall be mulcted in ye sum ane pundes or less as his estait may be; except and awis gif he can make it appeare he is betrothed to ane other woman he shall be free." It was also an unwritten law of leap year that if a man should decline a proposal he should soften the disappointment by pre- senting to the unsuccessful suitor a silk dress. It is my purpose, Madam, to cast these same ancient laws into the language of our times. The resolution which I lay before you is: Resolved, That on every fourth year, known as leap year, any spinster shall be allowed to offer herself in marriage to the man she loves, and if he refuses to make her his lawful wife he shall present to her a silk dress, except it be publicly known that he is already engaged to another woman. With this law in effect any woman who cannot satisfy her affections may replenish her wardrobe. For the sake of the "great unasked," for the sake of that most miserable of all creatures, a bashful man, I implore you to look with favor upon this resolution. There should be much reading aloud of Burke, for the appeal of the speech will be lost unless it is accom- panied by the appropriate tone, whether it be biting irony or a high moral appeal. It is only by memorizing THE TEACHING OF CERTAIN CLASSICS 229 some of the beautiful and more emotional passages that the poetical quality of his prose and the cadences of his style can be fully appreciated. When boys and girls repeat that passage which is concluded with these words, ''Neither the perseverance of Holland, nor the activity of France, nor the dexterous and firm sagacity of English enterprise, ever carried this niost perilous mode of hardy industry to the extent to which it has been pushed by this most recent people," they not only respond to the rhythm of the lines, but thrill w^ith patriotic fervor to that high praise of American spirit. There is another side to the study of Burke which may, perhaps, be best touched upon incidentally, but which, especially in these days of reconstruction must not be overlooked — Burke's essentially high and noble ideals. Political conditions have changed, and yet the philosophical truths which he utters are universal in their application, and the high ideal to which he sum- mons the English people in his peroration is not un- like the words of our ow^n President when he strikes the keynote of idealism in behalf of the interests of all the peoples of the earth, small nations as well as great. ''Magnanimity in politics is not seldom the truest wis- dom," is a statement not without meaning today. Augustine Birrel has said, "Wordsworth has been called the high priest of Nature. Burke may be called the high priest of order — a lover of settled ways, of justice, of peace and security." Burke was not only a lover of law and order but a defender of the spirit of freedom, of liberty under the law — an invaluable ideal for young America in these times. Let it not be objected that Burke's Speech is too abstract or too far-removed in interest from the lives 230 ENGLISH PROBLEMS of boys and girls. If training in thoroughness, appre- ciation of order and beauty, and the recognition of high pohtical ideals and moral principles are desirable pedagogic results, the study of Burke may well be made not an ordeal but an inspiration. Emily F. Sleman BIBLIOGRAPHY GENERAL REFERENCES Fiske, John. The American Revolution, Volume I, pages 1-120. Hart, A. B. Essentials of American History, Period 1760-1775, Chapter IX, pages 135-164. Hart, A. B, The For^nation of the Union, Chapter III. Howard, George Elliott. Preliminaries of the Revolution, 1763- 1775. Lecky, William E. H. The American Revolution (edited by Woodbiim), pages 1-200. Van Tyne, C. H. The American Revolution, Chapter I. Ward, C. H. Burke's Speech on Conciliation, with Collateral Readings. SPECIAL DEBATE REFERENCES The Stamp Act: Hart's American History As Told by Contemporaries, Volume II, pages 394-411. Howard's Preliminaries, pages 103, 104, 115, 118, 124. Lecky's American Revolution, pages 87, 89, 105, 488, 489. The Revenue Controversy; Hart's American History As Told by Contemporaries, Volume II, pages 413-434. Hart's Essentials of American History, page 105. Howard's Preliminaries, pages 42-44, 48-49, 52-53. The Boston Port Bill : Burke's Speech on Conciliation, with Collateral Readings, edited by C. H. Ward. Hart's American History Told by Contemporaries, Volume II, pages 434-454. Howard's Preliminaries, pages 259-280. Lecky's American Revolullon, pages 163-168, 173-179. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL HINTS AND GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY BIBLIOGRAPHICAL HINTS Every teacher of English is urged to become a reader of each of the following current publications on the teaching of English: The English Journal, published monthly by the National Council of Teachers of Eng- lish under the editorship of Mr. James Fleming Hosic of Chicago; The English Leaflet, sl monthly published by the New England Association of Teachers of En- glish^ secretary- treasurer, Mr. A. B. de Mille of Mil- ton, Massachusetts; and the monthly Bulletin of the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, edited by H. G. Paul, Urbana, Illinois. There is no better text- book on the teaching of English than the files up to date of these three journals. No English teacher, in- deed, can afford to miss the live discussions they contain from month to month. The pamphlet. Reorganization of English in Sec- ondary Schools, compiled by a committee of the National Council of Teachers of English under the editorship of ]\Ir, Hosic and published by the Bureau of Education is, perhaps, the most helpful document yet issued for the teacher of English in planning courses and solving problems that arise from day to day. It can be procured by sending a request and twenty cents to the Superintendent of Public Docu- ments, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C. Certain recent books on the teaching of English 231 232 ENGLISH PROBLEMS should be especially noted. They are: What Is Eng- lish? by C. H. Ward; English Composition As a Social Problem by Sterling Andrus Leonard; The Teaching of English in the Secondary School by Charles Swain Thomas; The Teaching of Oral English and The Teaching of Literature in the Grammar Grades and High School, both by Emma Miller Bolenius. And the debt we owe to those pioneers in our sub- ject, Mr. Percival Chubb, Mr. George Rice Carpenter, Mr. Franklin T. Baker, and Mr. Fred Newton Scott should not be forgotten. No bibliography on the teaching of English is complete without reference to the texts of these authors: The Teaching of English by Percival Chubb and The Teaching of English by Carpenter, Baker, and Scott. They form the basis of all later discussions of the subject. FOR FURTHER THOUGHT 1. Discuss "accuracy first" as treated by Mr. Ward. 2. Discuss the "club idea" in the teaching of English as sug- gested by Mr. Leonard. 3. Sum up briefly the special contributions of (1) Leonard and (2) Ward to the subject of teaching English composition. 4. Contrast their methods and style of presenting a problem. 5. Sum up briefly the special contributions of (1) Bolenius and (2) Thomas to the subject of teaching literature. 6. Contrast their methods of presentation. 7. Make a brief appraisal of the pamphlet, Reorganization of English in Secondary Schools, BIBLIOGRAPHY GENERAL METHOD Brown, John Franklin. The American High School. The Mac- inillan Co. Colvin, Stephen S. An Introduction to High-School Teaching (Chapter XV^ "The Question as a Method of Instruction"; Chapter XVII, "Supervised Study"). The Learning Process. The Macmillan Co. Dean, Arthur. Our Schools in War Time and After. Ginn and Co. Dewej'^, J. Democracy and Education. The Macmillan Co. Emerson, Mabel I. The Ev>oliition of the Educational Ideal. Houghton Mifflin Co. Hall-Quest, A. L. Supervised Study. The Macmillan Co. Hollister, H. A. High-School Administration; High-School and Class Management. D. C. Heath and Co. Inglis, Alexander. Principles of Secoyidary Education (Chapter on "The Place of English in the Program of Studies"). Houghton Mifflin Co. Johnston, Charles H. The Modern High School (Chapter XI, "Supervised Study"; Chapter XIX, "Journalism"). High- School Education (Chapter VIII, "Socialized High School," and Chapter X, "English"). Charles Scribner's Sons. Judd, C. H. The Psychology of High-School Subjects . Ginn and Co. Kilpatriek, V. E. Departmental Teaching in Elementary Schools. The Macmillan Co. Palmer, G. H. The Ideal Teacher. Houghton Mifflin Co. Parker, S. C. Methods of Teaching in High Schools (Chapter " XX, "The Art of Questioning"; Chapter XVI, "Supervised. Study"; Chapter XXVI, "Cooperation in the. Teaching of ' English"). Ginn and Co. 233 234 ENGLISH PROBLEMS Pearson, Francis. The Vitalized School. The Maemillan Co. Puffer, J. Adams. Vocational Guidance. Rand, McNally & Co. Snedden, D. Problems of Secondary Education. Houghton Mifflin Co. THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH COMPOSITION Bolenius, E. M. The Teaching of Oral English. J. B. Lippincott Co. Brown, Rollo. Hoiv the French Boy Learns to Write. Harvard University Press. Campag-nac, E. T. Teaching of Composition. Houghton Mifflin Co. Carpenter, Baker, and Scott. The Teaching of English. Long- mans, Green, & Co. Chubb, Percival. The Teaching of English. The Maemillan Co. Colby, J. Rose. Shall the Courses in Composition and Literature Be Divided? Yes. Bulletin of Illinois A. T. E., March 15, 1916. Hosic, J. F. (Compiler). Reorganization of English in Secon- dary Schools. (Report by the National Joint Committee on English, N. E. A. and N. C. T. E.) Bulletin, 1917, No. 2, Department of Interior, Bureau of Education. Klapper, P. The Teaching of English in Elementary Schools. J). Appleton & Co. Leonard, S. A. English Composition As a Social Prohlem. Houghton Mifflin Co. Lewis, Calvin L. American Speech. Scott, Foresman and Co. Mahoney, J. J. Standards in English. World Book Co., Yonkers- on-the-Hudson. Thomas, Charles Swain. The Teaching of English in the Secon- dary School. Houghton Mifflin Co. Ward, C. H. What Is English? Scott, Foresman and Co. s THE TEACHING OF LITERATURE Bolenius, E. M. The Teaching of Literature in the Grammar Grades arid High School. Houghton Mifflin Co. Bates, Arlo. Talks on the Teaching of Literature. Houghton Mifflin Co. Carpenter, Baker, and Scott. The Teaching of English. Long- mans, Green & Co. y BIBLIOGRAPHY 235 Chubb, P. The Teaching of English. Festivals and Plays in School and Elsewhere. The Shakespeare Tercentenary. The Macniillan Co. Clarke, S. H. hiterpretation of the Printed Page. How to Teach Reading. Row, Peterson Co. Colbv, J. Rose. Literature and Life in the School. Houghton Mifflin Co. Corson, Hiram. The Voice and Spiritual Education; The Aims of Literary Study. The Macmillan Co. Fairchild, A. H. R. The Teaching of Poetry in the High School. Houghton Mifflin Co. Haliburton and Smith. Teaching Poetry in the Grades. Hough- ton Miffln Co. Hosic, J. F. (Compiler). Reorganisation of English in Secondary Schools. Bulletin, 1917, No. 2, Bureau of Education, Super- intendent of Public Documents, Government Printing Office. Smith, C. Alphonso. What Can Literature Do for Mef Double- day, Page and Co. Thomas, C. S. The Teaching of English in the Secondary School. Houghton Mifflin Co. Ward, C. H. Burke's Speech on Conciliation, with Collateral Readings. Scott, Foresman and Co. Woodberiy, G. E. Appreciation of Literature (Chapter on "First Principles"). The Baker Taylor Co. PERIODICALS The English Journal: Published by the National Council of Teachers of English, Chicago, Illinois. Editor, James Fleming Hosic. The English Leaflet: Published by the New England Association of Teachers of English, Boston, Massachusetts. A. B. de Mille. The High-School Journal: Published by the University of North Carolina. The Illinois Bulletin: Published by the Illinois Association of Teachers of English. H. G. Paul, Urbana, Illinois. The Chicago School Record: Published by the Chicago Public-School Teachers. INDEX Abbott, Allan, 178. Alden, Henry Mills, 168. American literature, 161<-167; necessity for study of, 161- 163; method of study, 163- 167. Assignment, the, 34-37. Bacon, Francis, 135. Better Speech, 71-83. Bibliography, junior high school, 11; definition and aims, 18; minimum essentials for junior highj-school English, 22; sep- aration of composition and literature, 26; the problem of the start, 33-34; supervised study, 37 ; correlation, 41 ; grammar, 47 ; punctuation, 56; spelling, 61-62; vocabu- lary, 70; better speech, 84; written work, 95; letter writ- ing, 104-105; correction, 108- 109; measurement of results, 111; choice of literature, 117; teaching of literature, 129-1.30; reading, I.'IS; imitation, 148; dramatization, 159^160; Ameri- can literature, 167 ; magazine, 173; World War, 176; history of literature, 180; teaching poetiy, 196-197; the drama, 20O, 201 ; teaching the Odyssey, 211; teaching of Sliakespeare, 221; teaching Burke, 2.30; hints, 231-232; general meth- ods, 232-234; teaching of Eng- lish composition, 234; teaching of literature, 234-235. Bolenius, Emma, 205. Book, the, make-up of, 35, 123, 124. Boynton, Percy, 162. Brown, Rollo, 19, 59. Burke, teaching of, 221-229; ap- proach to speech, 222; col- lateral reading, 223; method of analysis, 223-225; word- study, 225; imitative writing, 223-228; present significance, 228-230. Butler, Nicholas M., 86. Chancellor, Louise B., 215. Chubb, Percival, 16, 45, 113, 141, 212. Club idea, 28; in teaching litera>- ture, 117-123. Cody, Sherwin, 60. Colby, J. Rose, 24, 134, 163. Conference, the, 107-108. Correction of themes, 105-108; proof-reading, 105-106; mark- ing, 106, 110. Correlation, 37'-41. Corson, Hiram, 184. Cunningham, W. H., 32, 115, 119. Current events, in the English class, 167-175. 237 >38 INDEX Deahl, Jasper N., 141. Definition and aims, composition, 11-15; literature, 15-18. Dewey, John, 115, 139. Drama course, 197-201 ; method, reading, 197 ; suggestions, 198, 199; list of plays for reading, 200. Dramatization, 148-159; a means of appreciation, 148-153; sugt- gestions for, 153-159. Ellis, Havelock, 60. Erskine, John, 132. Fairchild, A. H. R., 184. Form, minimum requirements of, 39. Fowler, H. E., 165. Grammar, 42-47. Hall, G. Stanley, 153. History of literature, method of treating, 176-179. Hitchcock, Alfred, 86. Hosic, James F., 15, 37, 131. Imitative writing, an aid in teaching composition, 139-144; an aid in teaching literaure, 144-145; illustrations of, 145- 148; 193, 194; 208, 209; 226. Inglis, Alexander, 23. Jenness, Mary E., 121. Junior higli school, 7-11; mini- mum essentials in English, 19- 22; the start, 26-33. Leonard, S. A., 12, 50, 55, 87, 93. Letter- writing, 95-104; friendly, 96-102; business form, 102- 103; specimens, 98-102; postal instructions, 102-104. Literature, choice of, 112i-116; teaching of, 117-129; use of short story in, 119-123; de- vices for vitalizing, 124-129. MacCIintoek, Porter Lander, 152. Magazine, the, use in English class, 167-173. Mahoney, J. J., 50. Matthews, B., 149. McCain, H. P., 13, 73. Merrill, Margaret B., 31. Miller, Edwin, 37, 142. Morse, Katherine, 16. Noyes, Alfred, 215, 216. Odyssey, teaching of, 202-211; place, junior high, 202; ap- proach, 203-205; methods: memorizing, dramatization, im- itation, 205-209 ; example of imitative writing, 208, 209; value, 211. Opdycke, J. D., 114. Oral English. 71-81. Palmer, G. II.. 67. Pendleton, C. S., 8, 15, 16. Poetry, teaching of in junior high school, 180-189; aims, 181; kinds, 181-183; method, 183-185; Sohrah and Rustum, 185, 186; in senior high school. 189-196; lyric poetry, 190-192; pupil imitation of Keats, 193, 194; war lyrics, 194; L*Alle-' gro and Jl Penseroso, 194-196. INDEX 230 Public speaking, Sl-RP,. Punctuation, 4.S-5G. Supervised study, 34-35. Suzzalo, Henry, 88. Reading, 130-138; outside, 136- 138; reports on, 137-138. Separation of composition and literature, 22-26. Shakespeare, teaching of, 211- 220; in junior high school, 212, 213; in senior high school, 213-220; metliods, 214; refer- ences on the period, 215; sug- gested dramatizations, 215- 218; presentation of plays, 218-220. Smith, Alphonso, 184. Snedden, David, 23, 25, 77. W Socialized class, 20-32. 'Spelling, 56-61; team, 57-58; in- tensive, 58-59 ; vitalizing, 59- 60; stock-book, 61. Stevenson, R. L., 141. Stratton, Clarence, 31, 71. Sumraey, George, 48. Thomas, Charles S., 37. Thompson, C. J., 32. Vocabulary, 62-69 ; dictionar • study, 64-65: slang, 65-66; en- larging, 67. Walker, Albert, 190. Ward, C. H., 46, 49, 53. Warner, Frances L., 118, 126. Webster, E., 117. Wendell, Barrett, 66, 168. World War, in the English class. 173-175. Written work, 84-94; necessity for, 84-87; method, 87<-88; subject matter, 88-89 ; in the classroom, 89; audience for. 90-91; frequency, 92-93; sum- mary of ])oints to be con- sidered, 94. LRejL'?8