TEXAS HIGH SCHOOLS ENGLISH ANNIE WEBB BLANTON State Superintendent of Public Instruction HALLIE JAMESON Supervisor of Public High Schools BULLETIN 145 JANUARY. 1922 ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATE OF TEXAS ^e:m^ TEXAS HIGH SCHOOLS ENGLISH ANNIE WEBB BLANTON State Superintendent of Public Instruction HALLIE JAMESON Supervisor of Public High Schools BULLETIN 145 JANUARY, 1922 ISSUED BY THE ^DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATE OF TEXAS A29-1000 Annie Webb Blanton, State Superintendent of Public Instruction THE STATE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION. TON, State Superintendent of DIVISION OF ADMINISTRATION S. M. N. Marks, First Assistant Superintendent Mary Jo Popplewell, Second Assistant Superintendent Mrs. Ella F. Little, Third Assistant Superintendent division of high school supervision Katherine Gray, Chief Supervisor Gordon Damon, Hallie Jaiieson, W. B. Mikesell, J. H. Wisely, Mrs. R. L. Bagsdale, Charles M. Rogers, Susan Miles division of rural schools L. D. Borden, Chief Supervisor W. H. Bowman, S. E. Clark. John T. Conn, W. E. James, T. A. Fisher, Guy T. McBride, J. S. Rasco, Carrie Bell Sterrett, Georgie Walker, Selby Attweli division of negro schools L. W. Rogers division of vocational education C. L. Davis, Di/rector of Agriculture J. H. Hinds, Assistant Director of Agriculture J. B. Rutland, Assistant Director of Agriculture Jessie Harris, Director of Home Economics Lillian Peek. Assistant Director of Home Economics N. S. HuNSDON, Director of Industrial Education Lizzie Barbour, Assistant Director of Industrial Education DIVISION OF STATISTICS Mrs. J. B. Gay, Statistician DIVISION of audits AND ACCOUNTS Amy V. Allen, Auditor Meta Huppertz, Assistant division of CERTIFICATION OF TEACHERS Al:m.\ Boothe, Certificate Clerk J. F. Oglesby, Assistant. DIVISION OF text BOOK ADMINISTRATION Minnie Lee Barrett, Director L. S. Thrift, A. S. Thweatt, 0. P. Basford, Randolph Warren, Anne Rutherford, Bob Henderson DIVISION of correspondence AND SUPPLIES Marguerite ^NIcHenry, Correspondence Clerk Waldo Green, Filing Clerk Anne McDonald, Kittie M. Shands, Royall Calder, Annie Steussy, Irma Johnson, ]\Iinnie Nowlin, Lola Kneip, M. M. Haberle, Mrs. M. Downing, T. Y. Collins Stenographers STATE BOARD OF EXAMINERS Emma Mitchell, Chairman Roberta Matthews J. R. Reid STATE BOARD OF EDUCATION Pat M. Neff, Governor, Chairman S. L. Staples, Secretary of State — — " •'ixnr^.' Saiith, Comptroller IASSAB^Webb Blanton, Secretary pec: , : JUN7 192-2 . . STATE INSTITUTIONS OF LEARNING UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS Austin, Texas R. E. Vinson, President E. J. Mathews, Registrar AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COLLEGE College Station, Texas W. B. BizzELL, Presidejit Chas. E. Feeley, Registrar COLLEGE OF INDUSTRIAL ARTS Denton, Texas F. M. Bkalley, President VValkeb King, Registrar SAM HOUSTON NORMAL INSTITUTE Huntsville, Texas H. F. Estill, President Bknnette Wallin, Secretary NORTH TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE Denton, Texas W. H. Bruce, President A. C. McGinnis, Registrar SOUTHWEST TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE San Marcos, Texas C. E. Evans, President C. E. Ferguson, Registrar WEST TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE Canyon, Texas J. A. Hill, President John L. Humphries, Secretary EAST TEXAS STATE NORMAL COLLEGE Commerce, Texas R. B. BiNNiON, President L. I. Smith, Secretary SUL ROSS NORMAL COLLEGE Alpine, Texas R. L. Marquis, President Viola Baker. Registrar GRUBBS VOCATIONAL COLLEGE Arlington, Texas W. B. BizzELL, President , M. L. Williams, Bean JOHN TARLETON AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE Stephen ville, Texas W. B. BizzELL, President J. Thomas Davis, Dean STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND Austin, Texas E. E. Bramlette, Superintendent and Secretary TEXAS SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF Austin, Texas Dr. F. B. Shufoed, Superintendent T. V. Archer, Registrar STATE ORPHANS' HOME Corsicana, Texas Odie Minatra, Superintendent Aaron Ferguson, Secretary TEXAS STATE TRAINING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS Gainesville, Texas Dr. Carrie Weaver Smith. Superintendent STATE JUVENILE TRAINING SCHOOL Gatesville. Texas J. W. Cantwell, Superintendent John E. McDonald, Accountant STATE SCHOOL FOR FEEBLE-MINDED Austin, Texas Dr. J. W. Bbadfield, Superintendent PRAIRIE VIEW STATE NORMAL AND INDUSTRIAL COLLEGE (For Colored Youth) Prairie View, Texas J. G. Osborne, President DEAF, DUIVIB AND BLIND INSTITUTE . FOR COLORED YOUTHS Austin, Texas R. E. L. Holland, Superintendent COMMITTEE ON CLASSIFIED AND ACCREDITED HIGH SCHOOLS FOR THE BIENNIUM ENDING JANUARY 1, 1921 Annie Webb Blanton, State Superintendent of Public Instruction, Chairman E. J. Mathews, University of Texas, Austin C. E. Fbiley, Agricultural and Mechanical College, College Station Walker King, College of Industrial Arts, Denton C. A. Nichols, Southern Methodist University, Dallas C. E. Evans, Southwest Texas State Normal College, San Marcos G. F. Winfield, Wesley College, Greenville B. B. Cobb, Superintendent City Schools, Waco A. L. Day, Superintendent City Schools, Commerce L. J. Beeey, Superintendent City Schools. Piano L. V. Stockaed, Principal Bryan Street High School, Dallas Nat Benton, Superintendent Nueces County Schools, Corpus Christi SUPERVISORS Katherine Gray, Chief Supervisor Gordon Damon, Chas. M. Rogers, Hallie Jameson, Susan Miles, W. B. Mikesell, J. H. Wisely Mrs. R. L. Ragsdale, PREFACE He was a little Italian boy from the eighth grade, and his black eyes were very earnest as he stood before his audience of a ninth gTade mathematics class, where he had been sent to make a four-minute ad- dress on "The Importance of Better Speech." It Avas Better Speech Week in the high school of a Texas coast town, and, as a part of the week's program, members of the English classes were to make four- minute talks in. the various classrooms of the school. To some of the students the task was not difficult. To this boy, the tongue of the members of this schoolroom was not that of his home, nor yet that which he knew on the streets ;' but there were principles expressed in his speech that every teacher of .voung Americans might well bear in mind and put into action. * * * "We must be same kind of Americans in our talk that we are in here" (pointing to his heart). * * * "The laws of our country are written in the English language. If we are to understand our laws, we must understand our language right. Our language must be kept just as pure as our flag is kept. A country that is worth sending our young men over the seas to die for, is worth learnino- the lansfuasfe of." CONTENTS Introduction 9 Outline by Grades 12 Written Composition 38 Oral Composition 47 Literature 57 The Situation in Texas 63 Suggested Library List 69 ENGLISH IN THE HIGH SCHOOLS INTRODUCTION In order to aid in the correlation of the work of the high schools of this state with that of the universities and with the work of other high schools, it is desirable that all of the high schools of Texas should folloAV the §ame outline of subject matter at as nearly the same time as possible. For the arrangement of the subject matter according to grades, the compiler of this bulletin has depended largely upon the Eeport of the National Committee on Eeorganization of English in the Secondary Schools, which report is published in full under the title of "Bulletin, 1917, No. 2, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Education, Wash- ington, D. C.," and which may be had by sending twenty cents to the above address. A copy of Bulletin, 1917, Xo. 3, should be on the desk of every teacher of English in Texas. In the use of this bulletin con- siderable adaptation of the "Work by Grades" was necessary, since many states have twelve grades in their public schools, while Texas has only eleven; but in so far as possible, the content of the course of each of the high school grades conforms to the accepted standards as set forth by the members of the famous committee appointed by the National Educational Association to reorganize the English course for the high schools of the United States. If this adapted course should be care- fully followed by all teachers of high school English in Texas, children will be able to transfer from one school to another Avith the mininnnn loss of progTess. An outline of the aims, material, and methods in English for each of the four grades of the High School may assist the English teachers of the state in correlating their courses with each other, and with life on the one hand, and the universities on the other, through some other method than by dividing the text book into a certain number of pages; for each course. The following outline of the various grades is care- fully adapted from the Worlc hy Grades of the "Report of the Com- mission on Composition." Adaptation for the composition work was worked out with Herri ck and Damon as the text, allowing for the eighth grade, Parts I, II, III, and IV, with a brief review of the prin- ciples of unity, coherence, variety, and emphasis of sentences, and with the omission of manv of the exercises of the first six chapters and of the longer exercises of some of the other chapters; for the ninth grade, the work includes a review of the first seven chapters, a reference to chapters on sentence structure when necessary, an intensive review of all the chapters on words, a review of punctuation, an intensive study of the chapter on letter-writing, and an intensive study of the paragraph, its structure, and its relation to the theme as a whole. The ninth grade teacher should take up for special study any subject of rhetoric and —10— composition in which the chiss is weak. It is quite possible for the ninth grade to cover the whole book, leaving for least emphasis those chapters or subjects in which the class seems to have attained an efficient working knowledge. Tenth and eleventh grade classes should use Herrick and Damon as a guide or as a reference book when ques- tions in composition and rhetoric arise. Thorough familiarity with the outline and index of the subject matter should make reference to any subject easy and convenient. Examine with the class the text book that is to be studied. It may not meet with your approval, but nothing is to be gained by destroying your pupils' confidence in the state adopted text book. You should, of course, supijlement the text wherever you deem this necessary, as it is the subject, and not a text that you are to teach. The outline of the Herrick and Damon text is particularly good, and may be used for lessons on outline. But its greatest value lies in its indexing of subject matter. The teacher of eighth grade classes may interest her young students in their text book by comparing it to a watch which falls into the hands of a small boy — or, indeed, of a grown boy. He looks at it from the outside for the first few days, and wonders a great deal about it as a whole. (The first _six chapters of Herrick and Damon are like the case of the watch.) When the boy's curiosity has gained the upper hand, he takes off the case and begins tinkering with what is inside. His method is wholly analytical. He is soon tearing it to pieces. The watch is so constructed that it falls, first into larger units of structure, then into smaller, and finally into particles. These units corresjDond to paragraphs, sentences, and words. As the paragraphs are ripped apart, their topic sentences, their lengths, their relation to the heading, etc., are discussed. The sentences ' are dis- cussed, the most common gTammatical errors are analyzed in the order of the parts of speech which go to make up the sentence, and the punc- tuation of the sentence is observed. Then the unit of the whole struc- ture is examined — the word. From page 221 to page 314, words are studied. There are strong words and weak words; words full of color and drah words; melodious words and harsh words; words of Latin 'Origin and Anglo-Saxon words; words with root, prefix, and suffix, and words of one syllable ; words that are spelled as they sound and words the spelling of which has little relation to sound; words that are reputa- ble and words that are out of repute ; words to be cultivated, and words Id be avoided. When the watch has been ripped entirely to pieces, the boy is con- fronted with the task of putting it together. He finds that he has many more pieces than he realized that he had when he was analyzing the watch. He must observe certain structural principles if he would build back to the finished product with which he began. The parts must be fastened together: each division must contain only the material belonging thereto. See Chapters 19, 20, 21, and 22. And when he has built the parts back together, he sees his watch in a different light. His synthetical method has taught him the vahie of structural principles. Accepting for each day's lesson what the turning of the next pages reveal, with no thought of fitting- the suliject of that lesson to the theme of composition as a whole or to the division of composition under which —11— it falls, is like groping down a dark passage — one can get no notion of the pathway ahead nor of the destination. Children are entirely capable of grasping the objective of a term's work, or of a book's con- tents, and valiant little workers they prove, too, as they take knotty objective after objective. Thorough familiarity with the outline of the text book should enable the teacher to use it as a guide, at the same time leaving herself free to use such supplementary work from other texts as may be necessary or wise. The review of the contents of this text book, or of any other, shows that the class must be called upon to begin to write long before it knows the principles of writing. If the text book is to be studied through the eighth and ninth grades, what are we to do in the first term of the eighth grade about the principles that are to be studied in the last term of the ninth grade, since, of course, a knowledge of all prin- ciples set forth in the text book is needed in the preparation of any theme ? The answer is, that the child must write his theme as he talks it, and the principles governing good writing must be observed in their most elementary form in the first term of the eighth grade. The most fre- quently needed principles of composition and rhetoric should receive drill in the eighth gTacle and the details of the outline should be filled in in the ninth, tenth and eleventh grades. A thorough knowledge of the outline and content of the text book is indispensable both to the teacher and student in order that any part of it may be used in any high school grade, whenever the work in composition demands special drill on any phase of the work. For instance : should a teacher find that her class is unusually weak in punctuation, 'she turns to pages 168-182 and uses her text book to aid the students to understand what she ex^^lains as she gives instruction in punctuation. If the class has the fault of using phrases or clauses as sentences, she turns to page 134 and gives a definite lesson on that weakness. ■ The purpose of the text is to aid the pupil in his actual work of writing. -The study of the principles set forth in the text is valueless, except as the knowledge of them is made a part of the child's liabits of oral and written expression. -12- COURSE OF STUDY BY GRADES EIGHTH GEADE. I. Gkammak. It is the opinion of the State Superintendent that the eighth grade is the place in the school course for the chief work of the teaching of grammar in a practical way. Below this grade, children are too young to comprehend fully the logical relations of the parts of the sentence. A thorough drill on grammar should be given in the eighth grade, and the subject should be reviewed in the other grades of the high school. A comprehensive outline follows, stressing the main points of grammar, for which the child has a practical use in his high school course. Drill in the analysis of the sentence is valuable for clearness of expression and for the study of literature. In this outline of grammar, the State Superintendent has collaborated with the State Supervisor of English. On the completion of the work of the eighth grade the students should have a working knowledge of the following principles and facts of grammar : A. The simple sentence, 1. Its logical or complete subject and logical or complete predi- cate. 2. Its simple or grammatical subject and predicate, namely, the subject noun or pronoun and the predicate verb. 3. Subject modifiers — the adjective and the adjective phrase. 4. Predicate modifiers — the adverb and the adverbial phrase. 5. Essential or main parts of the predicate, including the predi- cate verb, the direct object, the indirect object, the subject complement (sometimes called predicate noun, pronoun, adjective, or attribute complement, or sub- jective complement), the objective complement (some- times called factitive object, or objective predicate, or object complement), the adverbial object (sometimes called adverbial noun), the subject of an infinitive and the object of a preposition. 6. The expletives it and there (sometimes called the anticipative subject). 7. The compound subject and compound predicate. 8. The phrase, classified as prepositional, participial, or infini- tive, according to form, and classified as substantive, adjectiA^e. or adverbial, according to use. B. The compound sentence. 1. Ability to separate it into independent clauses. 2. Its connectives — coordinating conjunctions. —13— C. The complex sentence. 1. The iudepeudent clause — complete or elliptical. 2. The flepeudent clause. a. Classification as to use. ( 1 ) KSubstantive clause. (2) Adjective clause. (3) Adverbial clause. (a) Of time. (b) Of place. (c) Of manner. (d) Of cause. ' (e) Of purpose. (f) Of result. (g) Of degree. D. Anah'sis. Drill in analyzing sentences containing these parts should be given until the child readily recognizes the parts, A mere definition without practical work is aseless in the teaching of grannnar. (See outline for analysis at close of the section on grammar.) E. Parts of speech. 1, The noun. (a) Number should be reviewed for the proper forms of plurals. (b) Gender should be reviewed for the proper forms of gender nourrs. (c) Case should be reviewed in order to give drill on the correct formation and use of the possessive case. (d) Common and proper nouns should be reviewed for drill in capitalization. (e) Collective nouns should receive attention principally with reference to the use of the singular or plural verb as the predicate of such nouns. (f) Abstract nouns should be taught — as distinguished from adjectives and as formed from adjectives. 2. The pronoun. (a) Case forms of personal, relative, and interrogative pronouns should receive drill, with reference to the proper use of such forms in the sentence. The possessive form with a verbal noun or gerund should receive drill. (b) Relative pronouns should be taught in their double iise — as connectives or introductive words of de- pendent clauses and as an essential part of the dependent clause — subject, object, etc. (c) Demonstratives should be explained and correct uses. of ill is, that, these, and those, both as pronouns and as adjectives should be taught. (d) Exercises should be given on the agreement of per- sonal and relative pronouns with the antecedent. —14— (e) The use of the relative pronoun in a dependent clause — it introduces a noun or adjective clause — serves as an introductory word to subordinate the clause, and in the dependent clause is an essential part of the clause — is used as a noun,, as the subject, object, subjective complement, objective of a preposition, etc.; it thus serves- two functions in the sentence. 3. The verb. (a) Classed according to use as transitive, intransitive,. and copulative, and active and passive forms of the transitive verb; classed according to form as regular and irregular. (b) Use as a predicate, both as a simple and a phrase form. (c) Drill on the principal parts of all commonly used verbs — with especial stress on the fact that the past tense must not be used with an auxiliary, and the past participle must not be used without an auxiliary verb. (d) Agreement of verb with its subject, with especial drill on the forms of the verb be which are used, respectively, with a singular and a plural subject and with collective nouns. (e) The relation of the verb to the verbal — namely — the verb asserts the action, state, or condition, — forms a predicate; while the verbal implies the- action, state, or condition, and is used as a noun,, an adjective,- or an adverb. 4. The verbal. (a) Simple infinitive — form with the prefix to, or before which the prefix to can be supplied; its simplest uses as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb; its subject, its object, and its subject complement — case of each. (b) The gerund — its use as a noun distinguishing it from the participle, which is used as an adjective; drill on its use as subject, object, subject com- plement, of a verb, and as object of a preposi- tion ; drill on the possessive case of a noun or pronoun before a gerund. (c) The participle — its use as an adjective modifier in the sentence; its objects or subject complement; its forms — present, past, and perfect; its use as- a part of a verb phrase. 5. Adjective. (a) Proper adjectives — for drill in capitalization. (b) Descriptive. —15— (c) Limiting — demonstrative and indefinite. Drill on jDroper uses of this, that, these and those as demonstrative adjectives, especially with such nouns as hind and sort. (d) Use as modiiier, subject complement, or objective complement. (e) Comparison. Drill on correct comparative and super- lative forms; use of the comparative degree with reference to two objects, and of the superlative degree with reference to more than two objects. (f) When to use an adjective and when an adverb after such verbs as tool-, feel, smell, taste, etc. When the verb is used to express action it is followed by an adverb showing hoiv the action is per- formed; as, "He looked carefully for the purse"; when the verb expresses condition or state, it is followed by an adjective; as, "He looks careful; I will trust him." Adverb. (a) Distinction between the use of the adjective and the adverb as a modifier, and drill on correct uses. (b) Formation of adverbs from adjectives. (c) Drill on use of double negatives, including not only such words as no, not, never, none, but also scarcely, hardly, hut, except, and only. (d) Use of the conjunctive adverb in a dependent clause — it introduces a noun, adjective, or adverbial clause, serves as a connective or introductory word to subordinate the clause, and in the clanse has the use of an adverb — performs two func- tions. Connectives — preposition and conjunction. (a) Preposition — introduces a phrase — connects its ob- ject with the word Avhich the phrase modifies; object of a preposition — its case. (b) Conjunction. (1) Coordinating — connects independent clauses or like parts of speech, or dependent clauses or phrases which have the same use in the sentence — drill on each use. (2) Subordinating — connects a dependent clause- with the word which the clause modifies ; distinction from the relative pronoun and the conjunctive adverb — the subordinat- ing conjunction is merely a connective— has only one function in the sentence — is not an essential part of the dependent clause ; as, "He waited nntil she came." The relative pronoun connects a depend- ent clause Avitli the word which the clause —16— modifies, and has the use of a nonn in the clause — jjerforms tivo functions; as, ''This is the man u-lioin he favors." The con- junctive adverh connects a dependent clause with the word .which the clause modifies, and has the use of an adverb in the clause — performs two functions; as, "This is the house where he lives." 8. Interjection. Independent in use; correct punctuation; exclamatory phrases. F. Outline for analysis ol; the sentence. 1. The simple sentence. (a) Introduction. (1) Logical subject. (2) Logical predicate. (3) Expletive (if any). (b) Analysis of the subject. (1) Grammatical subject (subject noun or pro- noun or its equivalent). (2) Modifiers of the subject noun or pronoun. (3) Analysis of phrase modifiers in the subject. (Analyze a phrase by giving its intro- ductory word, if any, its base word, and the modifiers of the base word.) (c) Analysis of the predicate. (1) Grammatical predicate (predicate verb) and its objects or other complements. (2) Modifiers of the verb. (3) Modifiers of each object or other complement of the verb. (4) Analysis of phrase modifiers in the predicate. 2. Analysis of the compound sentence. (a) Give the kind of sentence. (b) Separate the sentence into the independent clauses of which it is made ui>, and give the coordinating conjunctives which connect the clauses. (c) Analyze each independent clause as if it were a simple sentence. 3. Analysis of the complex sentence. (a) Give the kind of sentence. (b) Give the independent clause, or clauses. (c) Give each dependent clause, stating how it is used, and whether it has the use of a noun, an ad- jective, or an adverb. (d) Analyze the independent clause, treating the de])end- ent clauses as parts of the independent clause in the form of single noun, adjective, or adver])ial elements. —17— (e) Analyze each dependent clause as if it were a simple sentence. (f) Give the introductory word of the dependent clause showing whether it is a relative pronoun, a con- junctive adverb, or a subordinating conjunction, and whether it has a single or a double function in the sentence. II. Composition. A. Text: Composition and Ehetoric, Herrick and Damon, Parts I, II, III, and IV. Unit of Emphasis — The Sentence. B. Aims. 1. To develop the sentence sense. 2. To give broader interests and better knowledge of environ- ment. 3. To increase the pupil's powers of observation, organization, and expression, 4. To enlarge the vocabulary. 5. To eliminate errors in the spelling of common words. 6. To insure a working knowledge of the elementary and most used principles of grammar. 7. To teach the conventional form of the business letter and the social letter. 8. To make correct punctuation habitual. 9. To secure greater flexibility and variety of sentence structure. 10. To teach the general principles of paragraphing. 11. To arouse an intelligent interest in the structure of the whole composition and the coherence of its parts. C. Methods. 1. To develop the sentence sense. (a) In oral and written work keep before the pupils the conception of the sentence as a unit. Combat the common practice of making an oral composi- tion a series of statements linked with "ands.'' (b) To secure variety and ilexihUity in sentence structure, there should be abundant drill in sentence man- ipulation. This, as experience shows, is not only effective, but interesting, since it introduces an element of challenge or contest. This exercise may have various forms, such as — (1) Combining a number of brief statements into a single sentence. (2) Changing compound sentences into simple or complex ones. (3) Reshaping awkward sentences, especially such as contain unnecessary repetition. —18— (4) Punctuating many sentences, or repunctuat- ing faulty sentences. This is effective in showing the relationship of part to part, and supplements the grammar study, giv- ing it practical application. 2. As an aid to increasing the vocabulary, the dictionary should be frequently used. This may be supplemented by the study of word lists selected by the teacher from the books studied. Words derived from the same root may be listed, and their kinship traced. Words in memor- ized poems should receive such explanation and prac- tical drill that they may thereafter belong to the pupil's vocabulary. Particularly strong or expressive words en- countered in reading should be appreciated and appro- priated for his own use by the pupil. Graceful, pleas- ing phrasing of letters, invitations, or replies to invita- tions and speeches for special occasions, should form a part of the work in writing of compositions. 3. In all composition work in the high school, the pupil should be trained in making an outline of the composition be- fore writing, and in writing compositions from his own outlines. 4. As bad spelling is considered a mark of illiteracy, it is the duty of the school to make a determined effort to over- come this fault. The study of a spelling book does not always make good spellers. To send a pupil to the dic- tionary when he makes a mistake merely shows him how the word is spelled ; it does not teach him to spell it. His mistakes are due to the fact that he has a blurred or a wrong mental image of the word. To correct this it is necessary to make the right image familiar. When a pupil misspells a word, he should be required to pro- nounce it and write it slowly and carefully. Further- more, the word should be copied in a list kept by the pupil, and marked Words Which I Misspell, which the teacher should inspect from time to time, testing the pupil upon his list. It is an excellent plan to keep upon the blackboard lists of words that are commonly misspelled, changing the list once or twice a week. The pupils should learn to spell such common words as "all right" and "until" before they learn to spell such words as "phthisis." Drill should be centered u])on the words that investigation shows are frequently misspelled by the pupils of these years. The lists should be made up of the class list, gathered by the teacher from the written work, and the grade list, suggested by the work of Ayres and others. Classes in the commercial group will require a special and more extensive drill than other classes because of the tests to which they are likely soon to be put. Sub- —19— ject spelling should be carried on in history and other classes so as to prevent the misspelling of proper nouns and technical terms. Much of the recitation in spelling should be devoted to pre- senting the new words. Not more than three or four distinctly new and different words should be taken up in a single class period. These should be spoken, writ- ten, divided into syllables, used in sentences, and com- pared with similar and dissimilar words as to form, meaning, and use. Special attention should be called to the part of each word which is likely to be misspelled. The work should be reviewed several times at lengthen- ing intervals, of one day, two days, etc. By dint of such treatment pupils may be taught to spell correctly all the words they wish to use, and they should be re- quired to do this. The study of word structure and derivation, valuable in other ways, will supplement the work in spelling and should be systematically carried on. 5. The form of the hiisiness letter should receive painstaking attention, and the content of the business letter will be improved if a direct incentive is held before the students; m other words, if drill on business letters be made interesting as well as practical. Letters of application for positions are of personal interest to pupils. Teach- ers sometimes secure from business firms the loan of actual letters that concern business transactions. This is practical and of value to the students. 6. In teaching the social letter it has been found an incentive to have the pupils correspond with pupils of a similar grade in another tovra or district. The first letter is planned as a class exercise, the form, the stationery, the superscription all being carefully considered. Later let- ters may be written with little supervision. The desire of the pupil to do well will be an incentive for careful work, and the practice in composition may be quite as valuable as if done under the teacher's eye. Pupils re- ceiving particularly good letters may give them to the teacher to read to the class, and may report the teach- er's comment to the writer. 7. Pun-ctiiation, so far as it obeys the rules of grammar, should be taught as a part of the study of the grammatical structure of the sentence. The outline of topics in grammar provides automatically for certain drill in punctuation. Matters of punctuation that are purely or primarily rhetorical should be sparingly touched upon in the junior high school for the reason that the pupils are not yet capable of fine distinctions and may easily form the habit of overpunctuating, which is worse than no punctuating at all. Let the pupils realize that marks of punctuation are intended to help the —go- reader's eyes, to prevent his running expressions to- gether that should be noticed separately, and you have laid the foundation for an intelligent use of these symbols. The written work of the pupils will provide the matter for practice, and the teacher may supply exercises connected with the literature courses. An eighth grade boy was once asked, "What do you know about punc- tuation marks?" Promptly, though with no hint of impudence, he re- plied, "I don't use them." That same boy was keenly interested in this analogy of punctuation marks : You are a Boy Scout, hence you have been taught wigwagging. One fine day, you stand on a certain hill with your signalling instruments in your hands to wigwag a very important message to another scout out on a certain strategic point. You must get your message to him. The fate of your side in the approaching battle depends upon your sending your message in its exact form and upon his receiving every signal cor- rectly. Neither of you dares to stay visible for long. And there is no time to lose. Suppose he is not a skilled member of the signal corps ! Suppose he has been careless in the receiving of his training ! Many of the signals in the code are very similar; suppose he should mistake one for the other ! You are not afraid of your code of signals, for it is the universally accepted code of signals. The question is : will the man on yonder point understand the code ? You send your signal, careful of every character. Then you watch. Good ! Your message is repeated to you exactly. You are grateful for the code that has made it possible for people to speak to each other under such difficulties and across such a space. And you are grateful for a training so widespread that both you and the man on yon danger- ous hill could exchange your valuable information. You are a boy in the eighth grade, hence you are learning what other boys of the eighth grade in other ages and in other states have done. Mark Twain stands off on a hill that has — well, death and years and distance and a number of other things in between you and him, but because you can understand his code, he tells you charmingly of the adventures of a boy named Tom Sawyer, and his renegade companion, one Huck Finn. Robert Louis Stevenson tells you of a boy named Jim Hawkins and what he heard from the apple barrel, and you feel that you would not have wished to miss that story. Charles Dickens, from even a greater distance, tells vou about Oliver Twist and David Copper- field; and Macaulay tells you of a ,young fellow named Horatius who defended a bridge against a horde. On the ether hand, Boothe Tark- ington, still alive and writing stories, but very busy and far away, is tell- ing about Penrod Scofield and his new schemes — and all through a system of wigwags ! Punctuation is a system or code of wigwags. Punctuation groups thought, and signals how it is to be interpreted. Here is something of the code of signals that every man, woman, and child should be able to read accurately, or to send accurately, as the case should call for : —21— 1. The period signals that a complete thought is finished. Look out for a new thought ! 2. The semicolon signals that a complete thought is divided into phrases or clauses of equal weight; at least, the author is sigiialling to you that he considers them of equal value or weight. 3. The colon signals to you that an explanation is to follow of what has gone before. 4. The comma, with its seven (or twelve, according to the authority quoted) different signals, calls for more knowledge than does any other one character of the code. (Challenge the 3^oung signal corps man, and see how proficient he becomes in the shadings of its use!) The point is that punctuation is not to be taught as a set of rules to be memorized. The child's impulse in the lower grades is to use commas plentifully on all occasions. The later stages of the usual train- ing in punctuation marks is very apt to result in such a state of feeling toward punctuation marks as that expressed by the boy quoted above, who said, "I don't use them." Punctuation marks are a code of signals between reader and writer, often across abysses of space and time. The skillful writer is careful not to sidetrack the attention of his reader by giving superfluous signals ; and he is equally careful not to give any false signals. The skillful reader interprets every signal of his writer, and the more quickly the eye and mind can catch and apply the signal given, the more rapid and dependable is the interpretation of his message. D. Oral English. 1. Oral composition : The pupil should have practice in speak- ing from a prepared outline on narrative, descriptive, expository, or argumentative subjects. Subjects such as the following may be used to advantage : "How to Make "; Reproduction of (1) scenes from books; (2) Bible stories: (3) myths, fables; (4) scenes from early childhood; (5) descriptions of home, or of various buildings or scenes in the locality and other ele- mentary discussions of items of local or school interest; (6) presentation of news items. Emphasis should be laid on variety of sentence length, form, and structure, and directness of discourse should be encouraged. 2. Posture should be corrected to secure erectness and graceful pose. 3. The speech defects of individuals should be carefully tabu- lated and the proper exercises prescribed. 4. Oral reading for the proper grouping of words, with instruc- tion in management of voice in inflection and emphasis, should be given. 5. Pronunciation of words containing commonly misused sounds should receive drill ; as — (a) oi sounds; e. g., oil, voice, etc. (b) aw sounds; e. g., saw, draw, etc. —22— (c) ing endings. (d) other sounds misused in the locality. 6. Enim^cmtion of words that are eominonly slurred should be practiced; as in "had to" and in "would have/' etc. 7. Oral reading, with emphasis laid on smoothness and flow of sentence, is of value. 8. Memorized selections to be recited before the class should be assigned frequently. These may be either prose or poetry. Attention should be given to avoiding a sing- ing effect. ' 9 . Dram atim Hon. III. Literature. It is the intention of the Department of Education that the teachers of English in Texas may have all the freedom possible in the choice of classics that are read in their classes. Obviously, however, it would be inconsistent to say, "Choose anything you like." We can only say that if for some reason you wish to use for intensive study or for outside reading some books which are not listed, there is no objection to this, provided that, in the main, the classics listed are used. A. For intensive study. Group 1. (Select two.) 1. Arnold — Sohrab and Eustum. 2. Longfellow— Courtship of Miles Standish, Evangeline, Tales of a Wayside Inn. 3. Stories from the Iliad. 4. Scott — Lady of the Lake. 5. Macaulay — Lays of Ancient Rome. 6. Tennyson — Enoch Arden. 7. Whittier — Snow Bound. Group 2. Fiction. (Select two.) 1. Irving — Sketch Book (Selections). 2. Poe— Gold Bug. 3. Stevenson — Treasure Island. 4. Halleck and Barbour — Readings from Literature. 5. Ashmun — Prose Literature for Secondary Schools. 6. Thomas and Paul — Atlantic Prose and Poetry. 7. Law — Modern Short Stories. 8. Laselle — Short Stories of New America. 9. Van Dyke— Story of the Other Wi^e Man. 10. Dickens — Oliver Twist. 11. Dickens — David Copperfield. 12. Dickens — Christmas Carol. 13. ■ Scott — Ivanhoe. —23— 14. Swift— Gulliver's Travels. 15. Defoe — Robison Crusoe. 16. Ramsay — Stories of America. Group 3. Drama. (Select one.) 1. Maeterlinck— The Blue Bird. 2. Shakespeare— Twelfth Night. 3. Shakespeare — Merchant of Venice. 4. Shakespeare — Midsummer Night's Dream. Group Jf. Miscellansous. (Select one.) 1. Franklin — Autobiography. 2. Payne — Southern Literary Readings. 3. Old Testament Narratives. 4. Washington's Farewell Address. B. For outside reading. (Read four.) (Any of the selections above not used for intensive study may be included under their respective groups.) Group 1. Poetry. 1. Grray — Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard. 2. Pope — Rape of the Lock. 3. Scott — Lay of the Last Minstrel. Group 2. Fiction. 1. Twain — Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn. 2. Kipling — Jungle Books, I and II. 3. London— Call of the Wild, White Fang. 4. Bacheller — D'ri and I. 5. 0. Henry — Stories from Heart of the West. 6. White— Court of Boyville. 7. Wiggin — Rebecca of Sunnv Brook Farm. 8. Cable— Old Creole Days. Group 3. Short Stories. (Select two.) 1. Harris — Uncle Remus. 2. Page — In Ole Virginia. 3. Hawthorne— Twice Told Tales. 4. 0. Henry — Selections from Heart of the West. Group Jf. Memory Worl\ (As many as possible.) 1. Noyes — The Highwayman. 2, Emerson — The Rhodora, Concord Hymn. — 24— 3. Shakespeare — Portia's Speech on Mercy from the Merchant of Venice. 4. Longfellow — The Arrow and the Song. 5. Field— Little Boy Blue. 6. Foss — The House by the Side of the Road. 7. Riley — Little Orphant Annie. NINTH GRADE. I. Gkammar. A. First term. 1. General review by the Outline for Eighth Grade work. 2. Special study of complex and compound sentences, with analysis, until the pupil shows proficiency. 3. Elliptical sentences. 4. Classes of coordinating conjunctions. (1) Copulative — and, moreover, etc. (2) Adversative — but, nevertheless, etc. (3) Causal— therefore, accordingly, so, etc. (4) Alternative — or, nor, else, etc. 5. Classes of subordinating conjunctions : of time, cause, man- ner, purpose, result, and degree. 6. Special study of the dependent clause in its uses as a noun, an adjective, and an adverb. 7. The part of speech : Various uses of nouns ; substitutes for nouns; modes of the verb (indicative, imperative, and subjunctive) ; verb phrases; parts of troublesome verbs; building paradigms; words used now as one part of speech, now as another; expletives. B. Second term. 1. The sentence: Word order; agreement: variations by con- densation of clauses, or expansion of verbals and of phrases ; essential and nonessential clauses. 2. The parts of speech ; classes, forms and uses of pronouns ; an idea of person, number, and voice of verbs developed (paradigms of indicative mood built up by way of illus- tration). 3. Special study of the verbal, including the simple infinitive, the gerund, and the participle. II. CoMPOsiTioisr. A. Text: Composition and Rhetoric, Herrick and Damon. Review chapters on sentence structure, words, and punctuation. Study intensively paragraph structure. Complete the study of the text. Unit of emphasis — The paragraph. B. Aims. 1. In general, clearer and more logical thinking; more correct, more forceful expression. —25— 2. Particular emphasis sliould fall on the sentence and on the elaboration of the paragraph. 3. Pupils should learn how to handle typical problems of busi- ness correspondence related to ordinary experience, in- cluding letters, notes, and telegrams. 4. Pupils should also have the opportunity of forming right habits in the use of the newspaper. 5. Drill in punctuation should be continued. 6. Correct, direct business letters, and pleasing, well-written social letters should receive attention. C. Material. 1. For paragraph writing : Subjects familiar to the pupil which lend themselves to treatment by contrast, by com- parison, by example, by details, etc. Questions of civic interest and those concerning vocations are suitable ma- terial; also work in the shops or laboratories and topics taken from other subjects in the curriculum. 2. Themes based on literature, provided the exercises are of vital interest to the pupil and do not lead to literary criti- cisms and questions of technique. Problems of human conduct suggested by reading the classics furnish excel- lent material. For example: (a) Should Jean Val jean have revealed his identity? (b) Why Brutus failed. (c) Can the boy of today plan his life as Franklin did? (d) Gareth's ideals and the modern boy. (e) The de- velopment of the character of Silas Marner. 3. For dramatization : Conversation in real life revealing char- acter ; arguments carried on by conversation concerning familiar subjects ; chapters from books that lend them- selves easily to the dramatic form. 4. Incidents written up as news stories; brief editorials on ■ matters of student opinion ; advertisements, particularly if they can be put to use. 5. Class discussions of topics of current interest. 6. Spelling of words needed in themes; word building for in- crease of the vocabulary. 7. Some of the simpler letters of Stevenson, Dickens, Carroll, and Lincoln are stimulating examples of the informal letter. "The Lady of the Decoration" by Eice and "Pillars of Fire" by Ingram, and "A Student In Arms" by Hankey are examples of books written in the form of informal letters to home-people. D. Methods. 1. Pupils should be taught how to organize material by the use of notes and outlines. x4.nalysis of good paragraphs by contemporaries will help. 2. Pupils should also be taught how to test a paragraph as to its unity and point of view by summarizing it in a single sentence. This and the preceding suggestion apply par- — 26— ticularly to explanation, expression of opinion, and his- torical narrative. 3. Study sentences by examining them in typical paragraphs. Let the class see how a paragraph is divided into sen- tences — how the sentences succeed each other and are related to each other. 4. Assist to greater ease in handling sentences by much sen- tence manipulation. Let the class condense, combine, transpose, expand, divide sentences of various types; make sure that they recognize grammatical relationships. 5. Show how clearness may be obtained by the use of con- nectives; by correct placing of modifiers; by unmistak- able reference of pronouns; by correct sequence of tenses; by avoiding dangling participles; by omitting unnecessary words; by punctuation. 6. Speaking first and writing afterward is one way of insuring good organization and effective treatment of details. 7. Require each pupil to keep a list of words and expressions which he misuses or which he ought not to use at all, with correct equivalents. E. Oral English. 1. Oral Composition. Well pronounced sentences should be re- quired for all oral recitations. Use class conversations, stories, experience, reports, extemporaneous speeches, on subjects drawn from the literature study, correlated studies, school affairs, current events. Emphasis should be laid upon complete paragraphs and a coherent ar- rangement. 2. Oral Reading. Utterance should be related to thought through grouping, inflection, pauses, and emphasis. Portions of the prose and poetry used in literature study of the class are available. 3. Delivery of Memorized Selections. Practice in conveying an author's thought to an audience, and securing and hold- ing the attention of an audience should be given. At- tention should be paid to the rate of utterance, force, pitch, and quality of voice. 4. Posture and Action. Instruction and practice in posture and action in connection with delivery of selections and dramatization should be given. 5. Pronunciation. Instruction should be given in syllabifica- tion and accent, and in classification of common errors. Drill in difficult vowels and words commonly mispro- nounced should receive attention. 6. Training the Ear. This may be given by calling attention to pleasant and unpleasant effects in connection with work in phonetics, pronounciation, voice culture, oral reading, and speaking. —27— • 7. Cultivation of the Voice. This should include continued exercises for resonance and range of voice, which can be carried on in connection with work in phonetics, reading, and oral composition. 8. Dramatization. This should include analysis of character, relation of one character to another, interpretation of character, discussion of stage business, dramatization of scenes from Silas Marner, Browning-'s poems, Shakes- peare's plays, or other literature that is studied by the class. F. Study of versification. 1. In this grade the pupil should be taught in a practical way the different forms of poetic feet, and should have drill * in distinguishing them, one from another. 2. This should be followed by a study of the forms of the poetic line and classification of the line and foot. 3. Study of the various forms of the stanza in common use should be succeeded by exercises in scansion, continued until the class can scan and classify the most common forms of verse. 4. This work should be followed by exercises in writing verse. The teacher will sometimes be astonished to find that some pupils whose prose "WTiting is poor are capable of producing acceptable verse. Exercises in verse virriting train the pupil in taste and in appreciation of poetry. III. Literature. A. For intensive study. Group 1. Poetry. (Select two.) 1. Byron — Prison of Chillon. 2. Coleridge — Ancient Mariner. 3. Lowell — Vision of Sir Launfal. 4. Goldsmith — Deserted Village. 5. Tennyson — Gareth and Lynette and simpler Idylls, Group 2. Fiction. (Select two.) 1. Goldsmith — Vicar of Wakefield. 2. Dickens— Tale of Two Cities. 3. Eliot — Silas Marner. 4. Scott — Quentin Durward. 5. Addison and Steele — Sir Roger de Coverly Papers. 6. Hawthorne — The House of the Seven Gables. , —28— Group 3. Short Stories. (Select two.) 1. Hale— The Man Without a Country. 2. 0. Henry — Eoads of Destiny. 3. Hawthorne — The Ambitious Guest. 4. Poe— Fall of the House of Usher. Group 4- Drama. (Select two.) 1. Shakespeare — Julius Caesar. 2. Shakespeare — As You Like It. Group 5. Essays and Addresses. (Select two.) 1. Woodrow Wilson — Selected War addresses from Democracy Tod/iy by G-auss. 2. Lewis — Voices of Our Leaders. 3. Hubbard — Message to Garcia. 4. Washington — Farewell Address. B. For outside reading. (Select four.) 1. Allen — Flute and Violin. 2. Hughes — Tom Browm's School Days. 3. Blackmore — Lorna Doone. 4. Lytton — Last Days of Pompeii. 5. Eeade — The Cloister and the Hearth. 6. Eoosevelt — Hunting Trips of a Ranchman, Strenuous Life. 7. Barrie — The Little Minister. 8. Stevenson — Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. 9. Hugo — Les Miserables. 10. Boswell — Life of Johnson. 11. Porter— Scottish Chiefs. 12. Wallace — Prince of India; Ben Hur. Poetry. (Memorize six.) 1. Bryant— To a Waterfowl. 2. Holmes — The Chambered Nautilus. 3. Kipling — Recessional. 4. Lanier — Song of the Chattahoochee. 5. Tennyson — Bugle Song, Charge of the Light Brigade. 6. Taylor — Song of the Camp. 7. McCrae — Flanders Fields. 8. Gilmer — Rouge Banquet. 9. Service — Rhymes of a Red Cross Man. 10. Markham— the Man With the Hoe. —39— TENTH GRADE. I. Gkammae. A. Eeview grammatical principles in connection with sentence struc- ture, punctuation, and the correct use of words. II. Composition. A. Text: Composition and Rhetoric, Herrick and Damon. To be used as a guide or reference book when questions in composi- tion and rhetoric arise. Unit of emphasis — The Composition as a Whole. B. Aims. 1. To make the use of words more mature and more accurate. 2. To secure a i>olish of diction. 3. To extend knowledge of organization of subject matter. 4. To develop power to gatlier new material — in short, to do elementary research work. 5. To develop ease and directness in oral or written exposition. 6. To gain some knowledge of the technique of the short story. C. Material. 1. For short themes, expository descriptions of natural phe- nomena and mechanisms ; plans of cities ; discussions of colleges; informal arguments for and against certain vocations. 2. For long themes, material on science, manufacturing, com- merce, or biography gathered from current books and periodicals and from observation. 3. Class study of prose, such as the best articles in the World's Work and Review of Reviews in order to develop the idea of logical construction. 4. Class study of examples of social letters by recog-nized authors. 5. Six weeks' review of technical grammar at the beginning of the second term. Use the outlines previously .given, and devote especial attention to sentence analysis, with a view to a clear knowledge on the pupil's part of the essential parts of the sentence and of the common forms of compound and complex sentences. D. Methods. 1. Speaking, writing, reading good examples, and rewriting is a good sequence of activities. 2. Have class exercises in the organization of material. 3. Let members of the class report progress and exchange readings and clippings and bibliography. 4. Let pupils bond in outlines, in advance, to be criticized be- fore writing some of their papers. 5. Pupils should learn how to consult library catalogues and periodical indexes such as the Reader's Guide, how to —30— file notes and keep a card index, and how to revise manuscript. 6. There should be much testing of the pupils' work as to clear- ness through unity and coherence. 7. In teaching the short story, the plot should be laid in the environment of the pupil so that he writes about real experiences. A pupil who has lived on the plains can give well the atmosphere of the country and the people of that section; if a boy has s|>ent a summer on the coast, he will probably like to make such scenes the setting for his story. Teachers should be careful not to accept as original, stories whose setting the student has taken from some professional writer or from picture shows. It is well to remember that all short stories need not be love stories; that there are dramatic situa- tions in every-day life, which, if told naturally and simply, can alwaj^s find appreciative audiences. This is an excellent opportunity to cultivate in students an appreciation of the story element of their own com- munity; to lead them to appreciate the nobility of many a quiet, unobtrusive character in their own town or country, to realize that all struggles toward something higher and better, whether by animal, by the human family, or by the community, make stories that the human family will always be interested in. Children's sense of humor usually needs directing, if it is to de- velop into a habit or attitude of seeing the bright side and the humorous incidents of every-day living. Pupils should be taught that an excellent test of a person's character is what amuses him, and to distinguish be- tween real humor and what is merely sharp or coarse. They should receive training in condemning as not amusing whatever may wound the feeling of others. The teacher of the short story has excellent opportunity for material for her short stories in the lives and the happenings of the community about her when she is directing and maturing ideals of her students. Poe's technique of the short story* should be taught here, and its principles applied to several standard stories. Heyd- rick's "Types of the Short Story" is an excellent book to put into the hands of the class. Cuttings from stories or novels can be made to conform to the require- ments of the short story, and they make excellent oral discourses before the class : — for instance, from "Tom Sawyer" take the scene of Tom and Becky Thatcher^s love story at the schoolhouse during the noon hour; write an introduction, cut out all details that do not go to make the cutting unified, and, if necessary, write the *See Poe's review of Hawthorne's "Twice Told Tales," or see page 260 of Payne's "History of American Literature." —31— conclusion. Cuttings from other stories, with introduc- tion, body, and conclusion, all directly aimed at one unified effect, afford a very good drill for teaching the technique of the short story, for teaching unity and coherence of any composition, and for teaching the ap- preciation of dramatic situations and effects that are interesting though not necessarily highly dramatic. Plots may be given outright to the pupil. The ability to make the reader "see" the story should be the aim of the writer. E. Oral English. 1. Oral Composition. Extemporaneous speaking on topics as- signed in advance and impromptu speaking on questions of school and local interest should be given, as well as instruction in speech organization. In debate, instruc- tion should be given as to (a) Statement of the ques- tion, (b) Definition of the terms, (c) Distinction be- tween assertion and proof, (d) The nature of evidence. Debating between members of the class, divided into teams, on questions of local interest and simple ques- tions of State or National interest should occur several times during the year. 2. Public SpeaJiing. While the class will furnish the audience for much of the speaking practice, public occasions should be arranged for, where those preparing them- selves for work that calls for public speech will have opportunity, after careful preparation, of speaking in public. 3. Vocabulary. Emphasis should be laid upon the importance of extending the vocabulary by looking up words not well understood, by keeping a notebook for desirable words, and by the study of synonyms, antonyms, and idioms. 4. Oral Reading and Delivery of Memorized Selections. Selec- tions should be studied for the appropriate interpreta- tion of the various literary types ; the lyric, the dramatic monologue, the essay, etc. The- literature studied in this grade will be found available for exercises. 5. Physical Response or Action. Instruction should be given in appropriate bodily response to thought by gestures. Kinds of gestures, their use and abuse, should be dis- cussed. Exercises should be given for spontaneous re- sponse, 6. Dramatization. The simple dramatization of scenes from the literature studied in this grade should receive prac- tice. The study of Shakespearean dramas should be folloAved by the presentation of important scenes by the members of the class. The study of the contemporary drama, with discussions, should receive attention. The —32— presentation by a selected cast of classical and popular dramas will give valuable training and arouse local interest. F. Study of Versification. The pupil should review the work of the previous grade, and should study the most commonly used forms of lines and stanzas in his literature courses. Practice in scansion should be given until he can readily scan and classify the common types of such stanzas as occur in his courses in literature. Verse writing should be continued. III. Literature. A. For intensive study. Group 1. Poetry. 1. American poems in connection with American literature. Gems from the poetry should be memorized. Many readings of the poems should make the memory work easy and pleasant. 2. English Poems — Palgrave's Golden Treasury II (selections). The skillful teacher will not lose the opportunity to show the connection between contemporary English and American literature. Group 2. Essays, Biograpliies, Debates. (Select two.) 1. Emerson — Friendship, Character, Self-Reliance. 2. Lamb — Selections from Essays of Elia. 3. Macaulay — Life of Johnson. 4. Riis — ]\Taking of An American. 5. Wilson — Inaugural Address. Group 3. Fiction. (Select two.) ; 1. Eliot — Silas Marner, Adam Bede. ; 2. Holmes — Autocrat of the Breakfast Table. 3. Howells — Rise of Silas Lapham. 4. Hawthorne — The House of the Seven Gables. 5. Ruskin — Sesame and Lilies. 6. Thackeray — Vanity Fair. 7. Dana — Two Years Before the Mast. Group Jf. Drama. (Select two.) 1. Shakespeare — Macbeth. 2. Shakespeare — Romeo and Juliet. 3. Shakespeare— Twelfth Night. 4. Shakespeare — Henry V. —33— Group 5. Short Stones. (Select two.) 1. 0. Henry — (Selections — numbers). 2. Poe — Prose Tales (selections). 3. Kipling— The Light that Failed, Plain Tales from the Hills. 4. Maupassant — The Necklace. 5. Hawthorne— The Ambitious Guest, The Great Stone Face. 6. Irving — Sketch Book (selections). 7. Harte — Tennessee's Partner, Luck of Roaring Camp. 8. Twain — The Celebrated Frog of Calaveras County. 9. Heydrick — Types of the Short Story. B. For outside reading. Fiction. (Read four.) Any of the list under Group 2 that are not read intensively may be included in this list. 1. Eliot — Eomola. 2. H. H. Jackson — Eamona. 3. Hawthorne — The Scarlet Letter. 4. Twain — Innocents Abroad, Pudd'n Head Wilson. 5. Porter — Thaddeus of Warsaw. 6. Hugo — Les Miserables. ' Anthologies. 1. Three Centuries of Prose and Poetry — Newcomer-Andrews- Hall. 2. Readings from American Literature — Calhoun and Mac- Alarney. 3. Selections from American Literature — Payne. Other Reference Boohs. 1. Chief American Poets — Page. 2. A Study of the Types, of Literature— Rich (Century Com- pany). 3. Southern Life in Southern Literature— Fulton (Ginn and Company). 4. Southern Prose and Poetry— Mims and Payne (Scribner). 5. Little Book of Modern Verse, I and II— Rittenhouse (Houoh- ton-Mifflin). 6. Types of the Short Story- Heydrick (Scott-Foresman). 7. Selections from the World's Greatest Short Stories— Cody (McClung and Company). 8. Short Stories of America— Edited by Robert L. Ramsay (Houghton-Mifflin). —34^ ELEVENTH GEADE. I. Grammar. A. In the last term of the t^eiiior year, a brief review of grammar should * be given, with praetie(3 in sentence analysis. II. Composition. A. Text: Composition and Khetoric, Herrick and Damon. To be used as a guide or reference book when questions in composi- tion and rhetoric arise. Unit of emphasis — The Composition as a Whole. B. Aims. 1. To give experience in collecting and organizing material for themes of some length — 1500 words or more; to teach the use of the expository outline for this jDurpose; to show how to secure interest and appropriate emphasis. 2. To give practice in debating and parliamentary usage. 3. To extend and fix knowledge of the principles of paragraph structure and sentence structure. 4. To continue to build upon the work of Grade X in such ways as may be possible and necessary. 5. To utilize special interests of |)articular classes where con- ditions permit. C. Material. 1. Current events, magazine articles, topics developed by obser- vation and library work, questions for informal debate, biography, general reading. 2. In special courses: (a) Short stories; (b) dramatizations and verse making; (c) debating; (d) newspaper writ- ing; (e) economic and industrial interests; (f) com- mercial correspondence. D. Methods. 1. Local history may furnish much material for dramatization, as may also any dramatic incident in history. 2. For the Avork in debating, wide reading on subjects of na- tional importance should be required. These subjects should be of present interest and should not be too difficult or involve too much detail. 3. For the work in exposition, a nucleus of interest for tlie long expository theme should be in the mind of the ]>upil. He learns a little about radium. His curiosity is aroused. By using the Reader's Guide he finds that he may learn almost all there is known about this interest- ing subject. A boy in the fourth year has made a gas engine. His interest in engines is keen enough to lead him to find out about marine engines. Economic ques- tions concernins: certain vocations are good material. —35— The problem in the above cases will be to make the subjects interesting to an ordinary audience. 4. For the work in advertising, analyze good advertising in newspajjers and magazines and write advertisements for school activities — athletic contests, plays, social events — and for salable articles made in the school. 5. For journalism, study the writing of editorials for school publications, study the "news story,'' and the applica- tion of its principles in the reporting of school activi- ties — athletics, social events, etc. 6. For verse writing, material should be confined to very simple ' themes which school life furnishes. Occasionally a pupil is found who may be encouraged to express genuine feeling in the lyric form. 7. Note to the teacher : From the first of this year, particular vigilance should be exercised towards the student who is weak in the fundamentals of English composition and rhetoric. If he is persistently weak or careless in the matters of spelling, punctuation, penmamship, cap- italization, sentence and paragraph structure, and choice and correctness of words and phrases, he should be warned from the first of the year that he will not be allowed to graduate unless he attains a ivorhing Tcnoivledge of these principles. By the time he reaches this year's course, correct use of such fundamentals should have become habitual. Any child who is ham- pered by a deficiency in the fundamentals is unlikely to accomjjlish satisfactory results in eleventh grade work. E. Oral English. 1. Oral Composition. Debating should be continued, as in the tenth grade, with the emphasis upon a logical develop- ment of the thought, the presentation of satisfactory evidence, and interesting delivery. This should include planning speeches for particular occasions; e. g., social occasions, introduction of speakers, after-dinner talks, gift presentations, business occasions, explaining a business proposition, soliciting cooperation, making a law3'er's plea, etc. An effective plan in debate is to divide the class into groups of fours ; place on the blackboard a list of live subjects for debate, and permit each group to choose a subject; let members of each group draw, respectively, for the affirmative and the negative side, placing two on each side ; each group should then outline its debate with the teacher's assistance, and, following the outline, work out the debate carefully; each group should then give its debate before the class, the class voting at the close as to which side had won. —36— Other effective exercises result from the organization of the class into city councils, moot courts, or legislative bodies, with debates on subjects commonly brought before such bodies. 2. Orations. The memorizing and delivery of carefully pre- pared compositions on important themes from political or industrial life, or from literature. Instruction in choosing subjects and illustrations within the experience of the audience. Consideration of the elements of in- terest and how to avoid digression and tediousness. Re- lation between speaker and audience. 3. Vocabulary. Continued emphasis should be placed upon the necessity of acquiring an ample vocabulary. 4. Parliamentary Practice. Instruction and practice in parlia- mentary procedure should be given. 5. Public Addresses. The ability to address an audience ef- fectively and to make an acceptable speech for school occasions should be developed. The ability to preside satisfactorily at meetings of a class or club is of im- portance, and pujDils should have practice at such meet- ings. 6. Oral Reading and Delivering Memorized Selections should be continued. Aside from the literature prescribed for this grade, the great orations and poems furnish ma- terial for interpretation. 7. Dramatization. The reading and discussion of some of the best of the contemporary dramas, with a view to presentation of one or more of these by a selected cast. F. Study of Versification. A review should be given of the work of previous grades. Exercises in scansion, in the classification of feet, lines, and stanzas, and in verse writing should be con- tinued. III. Literature. A. For intensive study. Group 1. Poetry. The anthology should afford the material for the intensive study of poetry. The teacher should be very careful of her daily preparation, for poetry, when taught this way, can yield much by way of pleasure and profit. Memory work should be frequent. Group 2. Drama. (Select two.) 1. Shakespeare — Macbeth or Hamlet. 2. Shakespeare — Midsummer Night's Dream. 3. Yeats — The Land of Heart's Desire, The Hour Glass. —37— Group 3. Essays and Speeches. (Select two.) 1. Carlyle — Essay on Burns. 2. Lamb — Dissertation on Roast Pig, Dream Children. 3. Macauiay — Life of Johnson. 4. Ruskin — Sesame and Lilies. 5. Burke — Speech on Conciliation. B. For outside reading. Ficiion. (Read four.) 1. Austen — Pride and Prejudice. 3. Barrie — Margaret Ogilvy. 3. Galsworthy — The Patrician. 4. Eliot— Mill on the Floss, Romola. 5. Mrs. Graskill — Cranford. 6. Kingsley — Westward Ho. 7. Thackeray — Henry Esmond. 8. Bronte — Jane Eyre. 9. Kipling — Kim. 10. De Morgan — Joseph Vance. Biography. (Read two.) 1. Boswell — Life of Samuel Johnson. 3. Bryce — Studies in Contemporary Biography. 3. Chesterton — Life of Dickens. 4. Stevenson — Letters. Drama. (Read One.) 1. Galsworthy — Justice. 3. Kennedy — The Servant in the House. 3. Yeats— The Land of Heart's Desire. —38- WRITTEN COMPOSITION SOURCE OF THEMES. 1. From Liieraiure. The subject matter of the themes of students of small-town high schools is ai>t to be narrow in range and lacking in polish of diction: on the other hand, the themes show a keenness of observation and an intensity of apj^reciation of the interesting, which is not characteristic of the students in cities. Such schools are apt to produce classes of eager readers, and the libraries often show certain volumes that have been literally read to pieces. These children have an unusual ability to project themselves into the thoughts, ])roblems and situations of the characters of the books which they read. The wise teacher of the small- town high school should take advantage of this fact. She should make great efforts toward enlarging her library. She should order largely of standard books of fiction, an excellent list of which may be found on pages 22-30, Bulletin 91, of the State Department of Education. She should carefully assign suitable books to certain students, selecting at first books sufficiently simple to render reading a pleasure to the pupil, yet striving gradually to advance him in his taste for good litera- ture. Sometimes she may resort to telling the story of the first few pages, or any pages that will excite the pupils' curiosity. Let her be sure that for this jnirpose she is a good story teller, and an adroit one. By careful selections, noting the effect of each offering to the reading taste of the pupil, she may gradually raise her standard and make of her pupils eager readers. Any boy or girl likes to talk about, or even to write about, the book he has enjoyed. Its liumorous situations, its ethical problems, its de- scriptions, its narrative elements, its characters, its conversations may form excellent material for both oral and written composition. It is a scarcely disputable conclusion that people who read a great deal have, a large vocabiilary, an ability to give out their thoughts in complete consecutive sentences, and a power to organize their thoughts for clear presentation. In short they acquire a style of their own. They borrow from their many associates of the book shelves. As Euskin said, they have been in good com])any. and their language shows the effect of good company. There will be members of almost every high school class wlio are capable of sotting out consciously to acquire a style from, their favorite authors. This was Benjamin Franklin's method of disciplining him- self in composition, and it has been followed by many writers. After reading a selection from a favorite author, he practiced shutting his book and reproducing the subject matter and the style. We can imagine his progress in ])olisli of diction and in clearness and force of sentence structure. The teachers of English in every town ;ind osjiecially the large towns have a new enemy to combat in the growing tendency of the public to —39— accept the i)icture show version of our great stories instead of the more time-absorbing book version. Children's appetites for stories are being satisfied by picture sliows — and this means that teachers' struggles to make writing an easy, natural habit in tlie men and women of the future must be a still more ditficult problem than in the past. Greater efforts must be made to cultivate in our students the habit of reading good books. 2. The Student's Own Experience. The actual experience of the average boy or girl, if required to be told for the sake of the experience alone, is not likely to be interesting to him- self or to the reader. Eead the innumerable themes on "Our Picnic Saturday" or "A Fishing Trip" assigned each year and see if an inter- esting variance will occur once in fifty themes. But assign to the same student some more specific theme subject, such as "The Biggest Fish Ever Caught in My County," and you will find, probably, in the lines of such a narrative, more of the student's observations about fishing and fisherfnen than will be develoj)ed in several pages of "A Fishing Trip." It behooves the teacher to bend unusual efforts toward selecting definite and interesting theme subjects whi'ch will arouse the pupil's interest and lead him to select from his experience what may prove interesting in the telling. In the last pages of Thomas's "English in the Secondary School" (Houghton, Miftlin Co. of Boston) is an excellent list of sug- gestive subjects for high school boys and girls. 3. Current Happenings. Every high school boy and girl' should be trained to become familiar with the world's work. Current magazines and the newspapers supply the source of themes on topics of the day. The healthy interest mani- fested by the average American boy and girl in state, national and world events, inventions, progress, etc., makes this source of material valuable in composition work. Jf. Branches of Study Offered in the High School. History, the sciences, vocational subjects, etc. offer material for many excellent themes. A warning should be sounded here to teachers who often assign biographies as subjects for written themes. Such subjects usually re- sult in compositions which are little more than compilations, and the temptation to the pupil to take the material solidly from the original source is scarcely fair. These and short stories taken from the smaller magazines are often blue-pencilled by the English supervisors, with the label, "Drawn too heavily from original source." It is well to teach the students what plagiarism means, and it is well for the teacher to realize that to accept such M-ork is to discourage honesty and originality. Biographies, however, make excellent theme subjects for oral composi- tions, as do also short stories of standard writers, these being used merely for practice in oral expression and command of language. INTEREST IN THE SUBJECT. Whatever the source, the subject matter should be full of interesting possibilities and should be adapted to the ability of the student. The raising of the standard of the subject matter as the class progresses depends upon the generalship of the teacher. The most inarticulate man can be made to talk on a subject that interests him sufficiently, and the most illiterate person becomes eloquent when fired with a subject of strong personal appeal. There was once a boy in a certain Texas schoolroom who had spent the seven years of his school life as a drag to his classes. He was nimble enough in mischief and in the invention of amusing contrivances to engage the attention of all the hapless students about him. His eyes and his fingers were quick, but it was only when a teacher or a parent was standing over him that a text-book claimed his attenfion. Then heaven sent him a real teacher. One day she heard in the room a metallic, methodical ticking, to which she listened intently and which she then traced to its source. The boy had installed dry-celled batteries in his desk and had connected them with fine copper wires to the desk of every boy or girl in the room who had also set up dry-celled batteries. A bent iron rod from an old buggy shaft served as the connection, and a crude code of remarkably faint clicks set up telegraphic communications all over the room. When the . teacher was sure that she knew the source of the clicks, she walked back to the boy's desk and asked to be shown the contrivance. The boy sullenly exposed it, little by little. She was astounded, but he was more — she Avas appreciative. "Who taught you how to make these connections?" she asked. "Nobody"; the voice was still sullen. "But," exclaimed the teacher, "this is splendid ! Why, I doubt if the boys in the ninth grade could do better than this, and here you are in the fifth grade. Explain your telegraph system to me and to the children." It was the boy's first sustained oral composition. The teacher, watch- ing him through appraising eyes, realized the force of his short, clear sentences, and his straight drive toward his climax. His composition M^as trim, concise, direct, and — unconscious ! "Excellent !" she exclaimed, and she meant more than the boy could guess. "What else can you make?" The boy's face glowed. He could make innumerable things. And he could tell her well how he had made them. Hadn't he been "mak- ing things" since ho could remeniber, and hadn't he suffered enough for them ! "Won't you write down for my little brother in L exactly how you have done these things?" she asked him the next day. Then came his trouble. He had refused to learn any of the laws of making one's thoughts clear on paper, and the task was all Imt over- powering; but she had completely Avon his heart, and he felt that he must make his explanations clear and presentable to her little brother. She hunted up all the simple experiments in physics that she knew, and she enlisted friends to help her to find others. Then she placed the directions for these experiments in the boy's hands. Alas, he was —41— again in the slough of despond; })e was a very poor reader. Again she spurred him on with a concrete incentive: how could be ever hope to get very far with his inventions if he could not read what great men had written about them, and if he could not write out his own opinions and discoveries about them ? He must soon reach the high school classes where he could learn the principles governing the contrivances that he loved so much. The interest that that teacher took in the boy's home surroundings (where the father assured her that he had "half beaten Jim to death trying to make him leave off them fool inventions and 'tend to his lessons"), her faithful standing by him in his belated effort to reach the high school, her encouraging of his undeniable genius in his high school days and through the time he later spent in a technical school, and the part that that very genius played in the great war, are all another story; but it is an ever recurring fact that any real teacher can find some subject about which any boy can both talk and write inter- estedly. With natural inclinations as the base of operations, the scope of subjects that can be attempted fruitfully depends in a large measure upon the teacher. Let the teacher always remember this: Excepting the first three years of the baby^s life, there is no period in the life of the human being where the curve of development is greater than during the four years of the high school period. What this will Ix; depends upon the teacher. The raw material is in every high scliool rootn in Texas. THE GRADING OF THEMES. "Reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man, and writing an exact man." — Bacon. Perhaps the most fractious thorn-in-the-side questions in th(! teaching of English are: (1) Is there any way to do away with the grading of papers? (2) How many papers should be graded? (3) How may the burden of grading papers be minimized ? There are notable members of Texas educational circles who say that it is necessary to grade only a few papers out of each set of themes handed in; that the emphasis of composition should be oral composi- tion ; hence, so much theme work is not necessary. The Committee on the Reorganization of English in the Secondary High Schools, in making its report to the N. E. A., failed to make any set stipulations concerning these troublesome questions. For several years in the Texas State Department of Education it has been the opinion of those in charge of the English section that not less than one short written theme each week should be required of the eighth and ninth grades, and not less than one longer theme once in two weeks should be required of the tenth and eleventh grades. A careful exami- nation of the bulletins of the English departments of the various states over the United States shows this requirement to be about the standard minimum. The ser-ond question above, How many papers should be graded ? seems to find its answer in the opinions of many experirmced English teachers: It is harmful to require from pupils written paj-Kjrs fhat the teacher does not read and does not discuss with them afterward. Any —42— experienced teacher knows tlie jisychologieal result on the chikl of hand- ing in papers from which he receives no report; his next work is pro- portionately careless. Is there any way to do away with the grading of papers? To this question, a negative reply must be given, if the teacher desires to achieve results worth while. But there are ways of minimizing the drudgery of paper grading. It is a recognized fact that excellent results are obtainable from oral composition. Oral and written English are complementary, each to the other. The writing of compositions aids the child in the ability to speak in clear, correct, effective English, and the pupil who expresses his thoughts readily in speech is likely to show ability in writing. Oral composition cannot displace the weekly written theme ; but oral work aids in the development of the pupil and thus lessens the drudgery of reading work that is lacking in interest. Well-prepared outlines result in themes more easily graded than are the "take-my-pen-in-hand" papers. While at least half of the written themes should be carefully marked and returned to the pupil, much drudgery can be avoided by merely reading and grading the others, without marking the errors or writing upon them the teacher's criticisms. In reading these, the teacher selects a few of the best and a few of the poorest papers which are read to the class and criticisms invited. From some of the papers, paragraphs or sentences are cut. These are handed to pupils who ])lace them upon the blackboard for detailed criticism and improvement. Care is taken not to reveal the names of the writers whose work may excite adverse criticism of the class, and the teacher must show that what is expected is not condemnation, but constructive suggestions. Good work should receive generous praise, and the names of those who have won praise should be given to the class, as a reward of effort. The teacher should try to weed out certain general errors through blanket instruction, and she can vigorously insist that those errors shall not reappear with each paper. We learn to write by writing, and each high school student in the high schools of Texas has a right to individvial instructioii in the matter of written composition, throughout every year that he will attend the high school. No other subject in the curriculum battles constantly with such adverse currents as does English. We are forced to admit that of all subjects taught, it is the most important, since all other subjects must be communicated through the medium of English ; and yet we give less time to the teaching of English than to the teaching of any other subject. It is the opinion of the writer of this bulletin that the reason for this disproportionate allowance of time to the subject of English is found in the fact that so few superintendents and principals teach English or have taught this subject. Let us examine the amount of time which the teacher must devote to English. The maximum number of students per day that a school credited with the fourth unit in English may assign to any one teacher is 185. This means that each English teacher must grade 125 themes a week, or 25 themes or the equivalent every day. An expert grader —43— may peiha|)s dispose of a theme in each four minutes. This means that 100 minutes or two and one-fourth periods each da}' must be spent in intensive work, in addition to what is required of the other teachers in the school. Moreover, it is usually the English teacher who has charge of the debating societies, the school papers, and any class plays or other entertainments which are given. No allowance is made for any of these things when the duties of the various teachers are assigned at the beginning of each term. The English teacher is given as many duties of supervision as is any other teacher in the school. Every period finds her busy with school routine, five periods being devoted to her actual classroom work. She spends her free period in consultation, and the end of each day finds her with 100 extra minutes of exacting work before her, after the school hours are finished, in addition to the work of preparing for each day's recitations. It is not only the teacher who suffers from this kind of division of labor, for she can do no more than use the time at her disposal, but it is the high school English classes. The business men's persistent query, "What is the matter with the students of high school English classes when they come to us ?" receives much of its answer in this one state- ment : Not enough time is given to the teachers of English, in schools of more than 75 English students. No subject in the curriculum needs the individual allotment of time and the laboratory method of handling subject matter as does English; yet no other subject in the curriculum is taught as collectively and as generally as is English. The writer offers to young or inexperienced teachers of English a combination of observed methods which she hopes may be of some serv- ice, since it offers effective teaching possibilities, and adds to the pre- ceding suggestions as to minimizing 'the burden of theme grading. Note. — This suggestion for gTading them.es is offered to the over- crowded teacher. At least it is better than to allow themes to pile up ungraded. This plan, as are all good plans, is effective only when it is a part of an organization of subject matter which extends through grade after grade systematically. At first, attempts at this plan will very likely seem a failure, since the learning of English is a process of growth. The teacher of English in a certain school meets her ninth grade English class on "theme day." "Theme days" for that class are always a certain day of the week — say Tuesday. The subject of the theme has been carefully assigned, perhaps has even been used for oral themes, by two or three members of the class. When the class is assembled, the themes are collected and so re- distributed that no child has his own theme. The pupils busily begin to read the themes before them, pencil in hand. They may underscore or call attention to any error which they see in the theme in their hands. The teacher begins by calling for misspelled words. Hands are raised and words found incorrect in the papers are reported correctly spelled, and correctly written on the board, in a clear handwriting. That will be the "black list" for several davs. 11 The teacher then quickl}^ reviews the form of the paper: (1) It must be written in ink, (2) the heading must be on the first line, every word beginning with a capital letter, and the second line is skipped, (3) right and left hand margins are observed, and paragraph indentions must be clear, (4) the general appearance of the paper must be neat, (5) handwriting must be legible. Hands raised over the room call for the privilege of speaking and a few papers are criticized and discussed in regard to the items just men- tioned. Any student who is attentive is able to judge the correctness of the paper before him by the discussion of the class. Without attempting in any measure to exhaust the number of mis- takes in the items above, the teacher swings into the next items of criticism : Paragraph Structure: The topic sentence of each paragraph is lightly underlined, or if the topic is not stated, a light line the length of the margin indicates it. If material not on the topic appears in a paragraph, the unit is questioned. Sentence Structure: If an incomplete sentence appears, that is, if a phrase or a clause is used as a sentence, the criticism, S^, appears in the margin. If more than one thought occurs in the sentence, S, is placed in the margin. Six or seven of the questioned sentences are put on the board, and the help of the class enlisted in the recasting of them. This affords excellent opportunity for the class to see long, disconnected sentences changed into closely knit complex or periodic sentences. The teacher must impress the fact that we do not want every sentence to be a complex or a periodic sentence; but that complex and periodic sen- tences are the most forceful sustained sentences, and that they are the most difficult of all sentences to learn to make. This exercise affords an opportunity to use the child^s own material. It also affords an excel- lent opportunity for her to teach the proper position of phrases with regard to the words which they modify and of relative clauses to their antecedents. It may also furnish material for exercises in punctuation. It gives an opportunity to show how whole clauses or phrases may be condensed, or perhaps expressed by one choice word. It is an excellent chance to point out meaningless words and phrases, and to show the value of variety in sentence length and structure. Punctuation: Deliberately, the teacher goes down the list of punc- tuation marks, calling for violations of the most outstanding u.ses of the signals. 8he has taught those signals, one by one, painstakingly and carefully, and now she ex]>ects to find results in practice. 1. The period. At the close of all declarative and imperatiA'^e sentences. She should ask for examples of failure to place period at end of sentences or after all abbreviations. She will follow this by ask- ing questions about the following uses, as sho\Mi in the compositions: 2. Question marks and exclamation points. 3. Capitalization. 4. The semicolon. 5. The colon. 6. The comma. (1) Case of address. (3) Series of words, phrases, or clauses. (3) Direct quotations. (4) Phrases, or clauses, or sometimes words, preceding sub- jects. (5) Long independent clauses of compound sentences. (6) JSTon-restrictive clauses of compound sentences. (7) Independent elements. (8) Words, phrases, or clauses in apposition. (9) Dates. 7. Quotations (direct and indirect). 8. The apostrophe. 9. The dash. 10. Italics (foreign words). 11. Brackets. Content. — (It is a very good plan to give two grades on each theme — one for form and one for content. By this plan the child who hands in a neat paper with nothing in it can be made to see wherein she is lacking, and the boy who thinks vigorously but who does not pay proper attention to details of form can be showoi what stands between him and satisfactory work. The final grade on the paper is not an average of these two grades, unless each is a passing grade.) The teacher, when she has completed the review on the form of the pajjer, asks for extracts from papers which are unusually good in con- tent. She has taught her students to appreciate a particularly happy choice of a word or a phrase; a clever dialogue; a flash of humor; a dramatic situation; a good characterization; a forceful description; a direct narration; a striking climax; a skillful summary or ending. It is not necessary for the entire paper to be read in order for the class to see what the grader of that paper has gleaned as its best points or its point that is worthy of the time of the class. This method is valuable because it holds before the class an incentive to offer at least one paragraph which is worth reading, it teaches the students to appreciate the good points in each other's attempts at ex- pression, and it trains the students to appreciate the above-named points in literature, without discouraging them about their own and each oth- er's efforts. The teacher may then call for the themes which any students consider are worth the time of the class to hear. After the reading of each such theme, the reader is challenged to tell why the theme he read is par- ticularly good. He defends his Judgment, and the class discusses his statements. Perhaps he has read a whole theme because he wanted to make evident one particular quality which he thought unusually excel- lent. The class may judge whether or not he was right. The author of such a theme or part of a theme should feel encouragement and satis- faction, and the teacher should so manipulate recitations that different authors even the most backward authors, should have read at various times some contributions, if only a sentence or two, provided that such contributions are really worthy. — i6— It will be seen that in such a lesson on themes as has been outlined above, practically the whole subject of composition and rhetoric is re- viewed in its most elementary working princi])les. Such a lesson can be conducted in less than forty-five minutes only after many weeks of training of the students to see the things they are looking for. The graders mark lightly with pencil the errors that they find and that afternoon the teacher, with that set of jjapers fresh in her mind, reads them and calls for her ]3oints of revision, returning the themes the next day, calling for consultations where necessary, and on the next com- position day asks to see the revisions that have been made. The speed and dispatch of such a recitation depend upon the energy and skill of the teacher, as does also its value to the pupil. The advantages of such training are fourfold : It helps the teacher actually to read every paper that is handed in; it trains the students to know what will be demanded of his theme ; it offers an incentive to him to do his best, both as to subject matter and as to expression, and it gives him a standard with which to compare his oral and written dis- course long aiter high school days are forgotten. METHODS OF EEVISION OF THEMES. The question often arises : When shall the entire theme be required to be rewritten, and when may only parts of it be required? Much depends upon the length of the theme, and much depends upon the nature of the errors. If the fault lies in the unity of the para- graph, the entire paragraph should be recast. If the fault lies in the connectives, or the "hooks and eyes" of sentences and paragraphs, per- haps the pupil can get the same benefit from, changing these alone that he would receive from a complete rewriting of the paragraph. If the error is in sentence structure, the weak sentences should be completely recast. If the error is in spelling, the misspelled words, if there are not too many of them, may be corrected on some parallel space. Errors in punctuation are apt to be so closely interwoven with sentence structure that the same rules apply to correction : revise the whole sentence, un- less the punctuation marks can be inserted without disturbing the order of the sentence. The object nf the revision of his theme by the pupil is to prevent his repeating a like error. The teacher must hold this object steadily in her mind, and use her omti judgment about how best to attain her objective. The readers of the papers sul)iiiitted to flic State Dcjiartmcnt for the accrediting of English report that teachers often require their students to copy the errors of a theme, and then to write the correction opposite each error. Such a method has the psychological disadvantage of fixing the incorrect version as firmly on the mind of the student as the correct version, thereby leaving him to be confused afterwards as to which is preferable. Perhaps a better way would be to write only tlie correct version on a clear sheet, opposite the error. —47- ORAL COMPOSITION "The general purpose of teaching oral expression in the schools is to make possible in the lives of the people an accurate, forceful, living si^eech, which shall be adequate for ordinary intercourse and capable of expressing the thoughts and emotions of men and women in other rela- tions in life." — Report on Committee on Oral Expression, Bulletin 1912, No. 2, Bureau of Education. The immediate aims of teaching oral expression are summed up by the above named committee under the ability: (1) To answer questions intelligently and fully; (2) To converse agreeably; (3) To collect and organize material for oral discourse; (4) To present effectively in a natural environment material already organized ; (5) To join courteously and pertinently in informal discussion; (6) To read aloud in such a way as to present the writer^s thought and spirit; and (7) For those who have or hope to develop, qualities of leadership, the ability to address an audience, or to conduct a public meeting. Activities in Oral Expression. — The activities that lead to the ac- complishment of these aims may be broadly grouped under training in : 1. Mechanics of Oral Expression, such as breathing, vocalization, posture and gesture, and phonetics. 2. Oral Reading. — Oral reading can profitably be employed at all stages in the elementary and the high school. Reading that endeavors to be natural and expressive will benefit all branches of English study. The choicest passages from great fiction, poetry, oratory, and drama make good material for these exercises. 3. Recitation and Declamation. — Memorizing and reciting good passages from literature, gives large meaning and interest to the study of great poetry and prose. Care should be taken to avoid encouraging an artificial delivery. 4. Dramatics. — (a) In the study of Shakespeare, teachers often employ the dramatic method of having the plays acted in whole or in part by the class, and in the study of dramatic poetry and prose fiction by dramatizing scenes and acting them. (b) Class plays. 5. Conversation. 6. Extern pora neons Speech. — Talks in which the thought has been carefully prepared and in which the thought as well as the language and form of address are given attention and criticism by the class should be arranged for, especially in the later years of the his-h school course. Among the different projects that may be successfully employed for such exercises are: Roport« upon current topics, relation of personal —48— experience, story telling, speeches of presiding officers, after-dinner speeches, and reports upon supplementary reading, etc. To make this work of the largest value the principles of logical arrangement should be insisted on throughout. 7. Debate. — Instruction and practice in debating can be made of large value in teaching English. It gives occasion for intense mental effort in analysis and encourages effective expression as do few other exercises. Debates organized by class teams with uncommitted argu- ments, before the school or club and occasionally in public, if carefully supervised by competent teachers, are of value. Care should be taken to secure accurate information, clear thinking, natural expression, and a reasonable attitude toward opponents. The social value of this exer- cise, with its lessons of mutual dependence and helpfulness, is an im- portant by-product. 8. The Formal Address or Oration was once used extensively as a rhetorical exercise and for the commencement program, but has given way to a considerable extent to the less formal speech. It is still use- ful, however, as a supplement to the other form, especially when occa- sions can be utilized that will give a special significance to the utterance. National and State holidays, birtlidays of poets and famous men, or other special occasion, afford suitable opportunities for such exercises. This form of exercise should come late in the course and should be care- fully supervised to secure dignified treatment of worthy themes. The author is leaving a full discussion of the subject of oral expression to be read from the Eeport of the Committee on Oral Expression, since a lengthy quotation, however valuable, from an available source is obviously unnecessary in this bulletin. She will attempt to discuss only the two following phases of oral expression : (1) The time to be devoted to oral expression in the classroom. (2) The organization or principles of arrangement of oral discourse. Time. A review of "The Immediate Aims of Teaching Oral Expres- sion" in the paragraph quoted above will show us that Aims (1), (4), and (5) fall directly within the duties of every teacher of the high school, and can in no measure fall as a responsibility of the English teacher alone. Every teacher in the high school should require students reciting to him "to answer questions intelligently and fully." "To present effectively in natural environment material already organized" pertains as much to the recitation in history or mathematics, or vocational subjects, or the sciences as it does to the English recitation. The pertinent point is that the students should be required to present such material effectively, in correct English, and with attention to preserving its organization. Only then does it become directed oral English. "To join courteously and pertinently in informal discussions" is an ability which must be developed by the efforts of every tfeacher whom the students meet during a day in school. Aims (2), (3), (6), and (7) are pritnarily duties of the teacher of English. Number fi, "To read aloud in such a way as to present the writer's thought and spirit," is a part of the study of literature. Num- ber 7, "For those who have,, or hope to develop, qualities of leadc-rship, the ability to address an audience, or to conduct a public meeting" there —49— should be, if possible, a class in public speaking. In the smaller classes where individual attention is possible, those who have forensic ability will soon show their talent, and the teacher should never lose an oppor- tunity to push them forward in school societies, school meetings, church gatherings, and municipal affairs. The development of such students should extend, as quickly as possible, beyond the limits of the English classroom. Number 3, "To converse agreeably" is an important art, and while all of the work in composition aids in developing this power in the pupil, it cannot be developed in the schoolroom alone. Special exercises such as oral and ^vritten dialogue, and informal talks with the class will be found helpful. Aim No. (3), "To collect and organize material for oral discourse" is the one of the seven aims under discussion which really opens up the question of how much time should be devoted to oral composition in the English classroom, and when such compositions should occur. We have already seen that both the aims and the activities encompassed in the term oral expression include all the students' conversation all the day — not only in the schoolroom, but outside as well, the only difference being that in the schoolroom the oral expression should be directed oral ex- pression. The teacher who would teach oral composition — the principles gov- erning the organization of thought and its delivery in the simplest, most straightforward, effective wa}^ — realizes (1) she must enlist the assistance of the pupils' home influences, (2) she must have the sympa- thetic assistance of the other teachers whom the child meets during his day in school, and (3) she must make her objective clear to the child himself. She realizes that to her falls the duty of teaching the prin- ciples governing the organization and the delivery of thought, but that the other teachers, the parents, and the child himself must help her to put into constant execution the principles that she teaches. (1) Home Influences. Efforts at correcting habits of bad grammar must never cease, since outside influences forming such habits are constantly at work. The author offers extract from an article ^vritten by L. W. Eader, Director of Vocational Education, St. Louis, Missouri, which was published in the Bulletin of the Illinois Association of Teachers of English, November 1, 1919, which offers some excellent suggestions to every teacher of English : "* * * The teachers, after several years of united effort in trying to raise the standard of speech, concluded that this standard could be raised only by helpful influences outside the classroom. With this com- mon purpose in mind we began a campaign for soliciting the cooperation of the home and of companions in this important task. "In order to get the desired results, we realized that in most cases these companions of our children must not only be instructed in the correct use of English, but must be given most direct suggestions for correcting and checking up speech ; and in giving such directions, our print shop was made a great factor. We sent into each home such simple instructions as would, first, help the parent, and, second, help —50— the home companions to assist us in our efforts to improve speech. In- stead of placing a cultural value upon correct speech to insure greater cooperation^ we have emphasized the commercial value. During last year we sent into every home of our district, printed notes pointing out in a clear manner, methods and means by which the home may assist us in a great work. Eight of these notes were prepared and used as teachers saw their needs. Other schools will no doubt find entirely different conditions demanding different methods of attack. "These leaflets were sent home at any time and in any number, when- ever the teachers felt language conditions justified. Leaflet No. 1 was sometimes sent into the homes of pupils of the eighth grade. Leaflet No. 8 is used in any of the intermediate grades when the stage of the child's development calls for spoken speech in one or more paragraphs. Note 1. "To Parents : Columbia School. "The use of good language is not only evidence of a good education on the part of your boy or girl, but it also means, in this day of sharp competition in the business world, dollars and cents for the boy or girl who can face an employer and use accurate and concise speech, "Good language is the result of habit. Habit comes as the result of practice. "Your child is under the influence of the teacher but one-eighth of the time during a year. During this brief time the school can do little in forming habits of correct speech, unless the home cooperate with the school. This we kindly ask you to do. "We are now attempting to fix the habit of using: 1. I saw you instead of I seen you. 2. I have no pencil I ain't got no pencil, 3. Give me a book Gimme a book. 4. I came to school I come to school. 5. I did it I done it. 6. We ate the apple We et the apple. 7. My pencil is broken My pencil is broke. 8. She can get it She can git it. 9. It was I It was me. 0. He and I play Me and him play. "The home can do little in helping the school teach spelling, writing, or arithmetic, but in fixing the habit of correct speech the school can do little at this early age without the cooperation of the home. En- courage your child to use the correct form as given above. In this you can cooperate with the school and help us to help your child. We ask your assistance. Note 2. "To Parents: Columbia School. "Of all institutions engaged in the education of the child, the home is by far the strongest factor in the formation of habit. The church and the school do a great work in supplementing the training in habit- formation by the home, yet it still remains the function of the home to —51— plant, cultivate, and bring to maturity such cardinal virtues, as obedience, industry, courtesy, promi^tness, etc. "Ask the successful business men when and where they acquired these habits, and most of them will tell you that these virtues or habits are the results of early home training. All the efforts of other institutions to develop good habits independently of the influence of a healthy- minded home, are imperfect substitutes. "Good language is a habit. It must be mastered by practice, not by rule. Correct use of language for a few hours each day of but five days in a week, while the language of the child is unsupervised during a much longer period, has failed to develop this habit, as all teachers will testify. "The purpose of this note is to give the home an opportunity of cooperating in a most effective way with the school in trying to fix habits of correct speech. "We are making a special effort to have children use: 1. Just instead of Jist. 2. Catch (C c Ketch. 3. He threw the ball a i He throwed the ball. 4. I let him have it a i I left him have it. 5. May I have the book? a I Can I have the book? 6. I knew it a i I knowed it. 7. My father said a I My father he said. 8. Let me see it a ( Lemme see it. 9. You were afraid a I You were scared. 10. I'm not thinking 'a i I ain't thinkin'. "A little encouragement from you as to the value of correct speech, will greatly influence your child in fixing this habit.* "The attitude of the home was most encouraging and the improve- ment of speech soon noticeable. Parents and older companions took delight in cooperating, and the speech of the playground soon showed the results of this influence. "Teachers were asked to list responses received from the different homes. The following list will show what was done with the leaflets: 646 Eesponses. Tacked on wall 126—20% Used in playing school 87 — 13% Over dining table 54 — 8% In child's private room 78 — 12% On glass of cupboard 42 — 7% Eeceived correction from parent 63 — 9'% Parents took charge of 45 — 6% Used in games 27 — 4% Read to parents 24 — 4% *Space permits the quoting of only two of the letters sent out. —52— Hung in kitchen 18 — 3% Fastened to electric liglit 15 — 3% 579 Lost 66—10% 645 Cursed teacher for not doing her work 1 646 "L. W. Rader, "Director of Vocational Education, St. Louis, Mo." (2) The Assistance of ihe Other Teachei's of the Same Faculty. The Committee on Classified and Accredited High Schools of Texas has recognized the English teaches' need of assistance in the forming of the habits of correct speech, and is urging attention to English in other classrooms by making the following recommendation: "The supervisor of English may examine the material submitted in any sub- ject from any high school, and if the fundamentals of English are not observed throughout the exhibit, may request the English Department of that school to resubmit material from the Ejiglish classes to deter- mine whether or not affiliation in English may be retained." This recommendation throws upon the superintendent of the school the re- sponsibility of seeing that the oral and written English of every class- room is up to the proper standards. (3) Tlte Help of the Child Himself. The third factor of assistance which the teacher must have is the child himself. He must see and appreciate the objective toward which he is striving. His pride must be aroused, his skill must be challenged, his ambitions fired, his vision broadened. The child will improve when he acquires the desire to speak correctly. Orgianized Oral Discourse. Now we come to the second phase of oral expression which the author will attempt to discuss : organized oral discourse. The curriculum of the high school English classes is very full. Oral English is at this tim.e enjoying a rush of popularity and exploitation wliich swings the pendulum to the farthest length from the classicists. It has some unquestioned merits, but it has assumed such proportions that it has all but ousted attention to formal grammar and indeed to any other kind of grammar, and just now in the English classrooms of Texas it holds the unchallenged championship of time-killer. Work in oral English should not merely be an opportunity for idle talk; it should be planned, systematic, organized. Without criticism, the writer M^ould like to describe two recitations rn' oral comp'Osition; both of which are typical of what may be found in different schoolrooms of Texas : —53— Number 1. It is "Literary Digest Day" in all the English classes throughout a certain school. At the beginning of the class hour under observation, the teacher takes her place at the back of the class, and with register in hand, calls upon each member of the class in turn to recite a topic from the Literary Digest. Each member of the class has searched diligently through the magazine for the simplest topic, with the result that there is nothing new to the audience in what any child has to say. The object of the recitation seems to be to reproduce as faithfully as possible the content of the chosen topic from the magazine, which the speaker very often holds in her hand and frequently refers to as "it said." The topic was organized and digested for the speaker in the magazine, hence none of the child's power of organization is exer- cised. There is none of the quick thinking so necessary to be developed in the ready speaker; there is no ingenuity or initiative or vividness of presentation called for. And there is not the incentive of telling a new thing to an interested audience and enjoying the power of persuading them to see it as the speaker sees it. This is an oral recitation, but it is not oral discourse. It has the value of training the class to read the Literary Digest, and it teaches the child to face an audience and tell something that he knows. Kumber 2. The speaker faces his audience, preferably with something they have not read. He has been taught that his discourse mvst he or- ganized; hence he presents his subiect matter in terms of (1) Subject, (2) Introduction, (3) Points of Persuasion, and (4) Conclusion. The skeleton on which he hangs his material may show through, but the fail- ing it not a bad one at this stage. Without superfluous words or particles of words, or gi'unts, he announces his subject or he plunges into the heart of his subject with his first sentence, thereby giving his subject in the first part of the introduction. The points witli which lie clearly and completely outlines his subject matter are welded together logically. He drives straight toward his climax with force and uses all his arts of persuasion with the details under each point to clinch it in the minds of his hearers before leaving it for the next point. His conclusion is a terse summary of his points, with perhaps a bit of his art of persuasion in the cast of his final sentence. He went before his audience with a definite purpose : he intended to make them see a picture as he saw it, or to grasp a news item as he grasped it, or to think upon, some de- batable subject as he thought, or to tell a story so that his hearers felt the same emotions that he experienced. Every point that he advanced or reviewed was a direct blow toward his objective, and every word that he used was a definite movement in that direction. ^M^ien his last sen- tence was closed, he sat down. After the four or five oral discourses prepared for the recitation, the class was asked for criticisms. It is needless to say that the petty things did not claim most of the time, though both the hearers and the speak- ers realized that every slip in grammar, every disjointed sentence, every stumble limped over with a superfluous particle, such as "well-er," etc., cost the speaker the force and charm that should have been his. The organization and content of the subject matter, the speaker's force of delivery, his power over his hearers, the strength of his climax, the conciseness of his summary, claimed most of the comments. —Si- lt is an excellent exercise to require the class to outline one of the discourses given. This should be done in the class, and it is a very good exercise for each speaker to receive the outlines of his discourse, and criticize them either at that recitation or at one in the near future. A few oral themes at different recitations are much better than de- voting the whole period to one oral theme after another, unless there is the variety which can come only with individual composition. The writer once saw this oral recitation in a Texas school in a second year class : The teacher announced at the beginning of the recitation that the audience in that classroom is apt to be requested to imagine itself any one of a number of j^ersonalities : a board of trustees, a chamber of commerce in session, a municipal gathering, rooters on baseball bleach- ers, a ladies' aid society, or "most anything." On this particular day we were prospective buyers of real estate. One by one the members of the class came before us and tried to sell us real estate. And excellent salesmen some of them proved to be. Each talk had been thoroughly prepared, the teacher having admonished her class at the assignment of the lesson : "When you go into the presence of a busy man, especially if you are asking a favor, have what you intend to say clearly in mind; say it in a pleasing, courteous way, and then leave !" Another interesting recitation in oral discourse in a Texas town was as follows : The teacher, without previous notice, announced four or five subjects, among them being the following: Keeping up ivith the Joneses, Loyalty to the Home Team, Thrift Stamps in Peace Time,- Honor on Examinations, My Home Town versus That of Bingville.' Each student might choose his subject from those given, make his out- line, and. deliver his "speech" when called upon. Six minutes were given for the preparation, and jiencils and pads were in demand. Then the teacher assigned various points for criticism to different members of the class. Some of the students were to watch for superfluous par- ticles, like "well," and "er." Different pupils were to watch for errors in grammar, for the strength of the outline, for the force of the con- clusion, for the value of the details given under each point, for the effect of the introduction, for the interest of the speaker, for the effect of the speech upon the audience. Then the speakers began. As expected, the speeches had a snap, a purpose, and a result not often found in a ninth grade schoolroom. The business men of that town had a practice of using these students for four-minute talks on any subject of public interest. Here, it may be said that the four-minute talks of the business men during the war might well be taken as the model for all short, or even sustained, speeches. Those men seized time from crowds gathered for other purposes, hence they must (1) have something to sa}^ (2) say it with sledge-hammer blows, (3) say it so that the message would stick, and (4) get out of the way. Teachers of oral composition in English classrooms may well remem- ber that: 1. The force of logical, clear, organized thought will aid in improv- ing sentence structure. 2. The pride in delivering an oral discourse that gri])s, interests, or —65— persuades its hearers, will be a great factor in overcoming the speaker's habits of bad grammar. 3. Instruction in oral English should always be positive — never negative. 4. If a child really has something to say, he will want to say it; and if he wants to say it, he can be trained to be interested in how to say it well. 5. Conviction of worthy opinions, high emotions over some story, keen interest in some exposition, will usually mean eloquence of oral discourse, whether the speaker be a famous orator or whether he be the dumbest daily toiler. 6. Any oral theme or oral c(^nposition that is not organized before- hand, and that does not follow the lines of previous organization, if impromptu, is a waste of the time of an English class. 7. If the skeleton of the organization shows through the theme work of the eighth and ninth grades, let it do so. The habit of plan- ning work must be formed, and improvement will follow practice. The more securely the framework for oral composition is built, the less attention it will demand at later periods. Below is given a sug- gested outline for oral themes : A. Subject. B. Introduction. C. Points. (a) etc. (b) Any details Avhich may make the listener or the reader see more clearly the point under discussion. (a) The "points" should be as closely welded (b) together as possible, and the points should etc. cover no more space than is absolutely neces- sary. The choosing of the "points" and the arranging of them, step by step, is the great- est art of the builder. (a) The details should follow one upon the (b) other with a direct purpose. Every detail is etc. a link in the chain, and there should be no loose links which lead nowhere, hanging to the chain of details. D. Summary. Conclusion. A snappy renaming of "points," either outright or in mean- ing, and whatever ingenuity of closing the speaker is capable of. —56— BETTER SPEECH WEEK. "Better Speech Week" campaign was first launched by the club women of Milwaukee, Wisconsin ; it is now carried on under the auspices of the club women of the nation, who are asking for the cooperation especially of the teachers to make the setting aside of a week in each November as Better Speech Week a national institution. The teachers of Texas, and especially the English teachers, are urged to concentrate u]>on this week as the one in which better speech steps to the front of the stage in our schools and proves his worth to our young citizens of tomorrow. Through the organization of the club women in all their undertakings, and through organization among our- selves, we should be able to make froi* year to year great improvement in our national speech. Let the English teacher of each school in Texas feel it incumbent upon herself to see that Better Speech Weel: in her town and school is in results the best in the country. Usually the newspapers, the business houses, the moving picture shows, the men's and women's clubs, and the children themselves will cooperate in any program planned. Posters, parades, plays, four-minute speeches, etc., are means of spreading the propaganda. Some helpful suggestions for Better Speech programs may be obtained as follows : "Daily Lessons in English," by C. R. Rounds, State Normal School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (10 cents per copy if ordered in lots of ten from the author.) "Guide to American Speech Week," Crumpton. Obtain from James Hosic, National Council of Teachers of English, 506 W. Sixty-ninth Street, Chicago, 25 cents per copy. Posters, slogans, etc., may be obtained from American Speech Com- mittee, Chicago Woman's Club, 410 S. Michigan Avenue, Chicago. Plays for Better Speech Movement: "The Magic Voice," Prang Co., 1923 Calumet Avenue, Chicago, 111.,, 50 cents. "Good English Program," March Brothers, Lebanon, Ohio, 25 cents. "Downfall of Poor Speech,/' March Brothers, Lebanon, Ohio, 25 cents. —57- LITERATURE GENERAL PRINCIPLES TO BE CONSIDERED IN FORMING A COURSE IN LITERATURE. There are certain fuudameiital principles, a consideration of which will help in the formation of high school courses in Hterature. The general aims of literature teaching apply to all schools, even the most practical, but to attain them, var3dng means must be emploj^ed to meet varying conditions. In the past the course of study has been shaped solely for the academic curriculum, and has presupposed no variety in needs, tastes, or mental background. On the contrary, the greatest diversity exists; consequently, different types of literature should be stressed in different types of schools, and the treatment should vary to suit the conditions. 1. In a purely academic or classical curriculum the course in litera- ture may with safety be made more frankly literary than in any other type. The student may be encouraged to linger more in the past; to learn the facts of literary history and to read to know what the world has produced that is fine and lasting. He may be led to a conscious exami- nation of literary types, and may be introduced more definitely to the study of literature as an art. We need give less attention with him to contemporary writers. He has definitely entered upon a prolonged course of studies, and it may be taken for granted that he will get, somewhere along the way, a good deal of modern literature that students going directly from high school to practical life must get early if they are to receive it at all; moreover, we may with some confidence rely on his classroom work to form standards of taste that will make him at the end of his high school course a safe guide for himself in the field of contemporary literature. 2. The course in literature for vocational and technical curricula must never lose sight of the fact that its reason for being is its inspira- tional value. It may present any literature that the pupils can grasp which is full of power to stimulate by reason of its broad human interest. Students in such curricula will usually profit more by the study of literature that is objective and positive than that which is more delicate and imaginative. 3. The rural school presents still other problems. In general, the development of the country boy and girl, both mental and spiritual, is slower than that of young people in cities and large towns. The coun- try furnishes little community life; therefore many opportunities for entertainment and instruction are lacking that city children enjoy. The home life, with its long hours of labor, offers little to stimulate mental growth beyond the narrow range of family interests. Books are hard to get ; libraries are poorly developed, if they exist at all ; magazines and newspapers are beyond the reach of many; the country grammar school, too, is usually far less thorough and stimulating than that of the city. As a result, the high school can coimt on practically no founda- tion for culture, but must build often from the bottom u]). Where such —58— 1.50. Williams, J. L. Adventures of a freshman. N. Y. Scribner. $1.25. Wister, Owen. The Virginian. N. Y. Macmillan. $1.50. I LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 019 744 635 3 ^ I