K\3 u-tA e J ISE UMUMT v or 1*6 ■»niyFR*!TY 9? M l 199!* KANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY, LAWRENCE. Suggestions to Superintendents and Principals of High. Schools concerning the Requirements in English, for Admission to the Latin English, or to the General Lan- guage Course. 1890 . SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING THE REQUIREMENTS IN ENGLISH. For admission to the Latin English or to the General Language Course, the requirements in English are: Lockwood’s Lessons in Eng- lish; reading of the seven classics suggested in Lockwood’s Lessons; Rhetoric (A. S. Hill, Book I, or D. J. Hill); Lounsbury’s English Lan- guage, Part I; reading of ten classics. Equivalents for the above course will be accepted, but in such cases a careful outline of the work done must be presented by the student when applying for admission. Teachers are recommended to read the Introduction to Lockwood’s Lessons, and to follow as far as possible the plan of work there sug- gested. Inasmuch as but one other language besides English is re- quired for admission to these courses, it is expected that much time will be devoted to the preparation in English. At least two full years of daily recitations will be requisite to accomplish properly the work above outlined. A high degree of attainment in English will be necessary in the case of students applying for admission to these courses. No student should be permitted to undertake the work outlined above until he has mastered the essentials of English Grammar. During the first year of the study of Lockwood’s Lessons there should be if possible daily practice in writing. If classes are so large as to render this impracticable, there should be at least three written exer- cises a week. These exercises should be carefully corrected, and re- turned to the pupil, that he may see what his faults are, and thus be able to rectify them. Constant practice in composition will be neces- sary to render the course successful. During the first year of the High School work teachers are recom- mended to read with their classes the selections from Irving, cf. Lock- wood’s Introduction, XII. The teacher should see that the pupil grasps and retains the story, and that he has clearly in mind an outline of what he has read. Every allusion and obscure point should be explained and dwelt upon until the student is thoroughly familiar with his text. The use of the dictionary should be insisted upon. While it would be of advantage to read all of the indicated classics in the class-room, this will of course be impossible. Enough can be done, however, to show the pupil how such reading should be carried on. Pupils should be required to give reports in class of all works read out of the class-room. All outside reading should be tested by essays upon subjects selected from the works read. After the elements of Rhetoric are mastered, rhetorical analysis should be begun. The subjects of Purity, Propriety, Precision, and Figures, should be carefully illustrated in connection with the works read. In the first year of the study of Lockwood’s Lessons, one work should be read in class. The teacher should discuss in addition to the story, the more important characters involved. This must of course be some- what general, but enough should be done to make the student see the leading traits of every character, and the relations which the characters bear to each other. During the second term, the reading should be made still more crit- ical, with especial regard to structure. The meaning of idioms, the choice and use of words, the construction and relations of sentences, the nature of the paragraph, should all be considered. This work must be carefully done, that the student may continue his reading privately with advantage. In the first term of the second year of the study of Lockwood’s Les- sons, a poem should be made the subject of class-room study. Gold- smith’s Traveller , or Deserted Village , is suggested as being admirably adapted for this purpose. Poetry offers much greater opportunity for analysis and criticism than prose. The language of the poem should be paraphrased, and the author’s meaning fully brought out, the peculi- arities of poetical style explained, and the function of figures of speech carefully illustrated. The habit of memorizing choice extracts should be insisted upon. It is believed that the above hints, if put into practice, will increase very greatly the interest in technical study, and fully prepare a student to enter with profit upon the advanced work of the University. In connection with the study of Lounsbury, it will be found of value to bring before the class the works of various authors, and to determine in a general way the origin and history of words used. The ten classics to be read, apart from those suggested in Lockwood’s Lessons, may be selected from the following list. Equivalents will be accepted; but in such cases the student must present a written state- ment of what he has read, with the reason for varying from the course. 1. Shakspere’s Merchant of Venice. 2. Shakspere’s Julius Caesar. 3. Shakspere’s As You Like It. 4. Goldsmith’s Vicar of Wakefield. 5. Goldsmith’s Traveller, and Deserted Village. 6. Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. 7. Lamb’s Tales from Shakspere. 8. Addison’s Sir Roger de Coverley. 9. Scott’s Ivanhoe. 10. Scott’s Kenilworth. 11. Scott’s Marmion. 12. Hawthorne’s House of the Seven Gables. 13. Hawthorne’s Marble Faun. 14. Dickens’s Tale of Two Cities. 15. Macaulay’s Essays on Milton and Dryden. 16. Keats’ Eve of St. Agnes. 17. Irving’s Bracebridge Hall. 18. Johnson’s Lives of Swift and Gray. 19. Johnson’s Lives of Addison and Pope. 20. Milton’s Comus. Teachers will find the following books useful in their own prepara- tion for the work of this course: Genung’s Practical Rhetoric. (Boston, Ginn & Co. Price $1.40.) Genung’s Handbook of Rhetorical Analysis. (Boston, Ginn & Co. Price $1.25.) Trench on the Study of Words, 20th edition. (New York, Macmillan & Co. Price $1.) Skeat’s Etymological Dictionary, American edition. (New York, Macmillan & Co. Price $2.50.) Marsh’s Lectures on the English Language. (New York, Charles Scribner’s Sons. Price $3.50.) Hodgson’s Errors in the Use of English. (New York, D. Appleton & Co. Price $1.50.) Strang’s Exercises in English. (Boston, D. C. Heath & Co. Price 35 cents.) Correspondence relating to the details of this work is cordially in- vited. CHARLES G. DUNLAP, Professor of English Language and Literature . rv.i&P* 3 -'** *****