Spelling vs. Other Things

1901

The Labors of Teachers Being Added to Daily

Anna Stuart Wroe writes to the Baltimore Sun: "It seems to me if I were a public school teacher — which, thank the fates, I am not — the present vacation would be peculiarly blessed and blissful, inasmuch as it succeeds such weary, harassing and anxious terms as was never known in the history of our public schools. At least, the poor teachers have a short respite from the eternal prod, and their first waking thought in the morning need not be 'What next?' — until September.

"Every day something new is introduced to add to the labors of teachers and scholars, and, it appears to me, so much that could be dispensed with. Of course it is right and proper for children to learn all they can, but surely the line must be drawn somewhere, as it is manifestly impossible to learn everything. Why not cut out a few of the 'isms and ologies' and abstruse studies that are all right in a college course, but needless for the average public school pupil, and pay more attention to such common subjects as spelling, punctuation, grammar and plain English composition?

"I am a typewriter, and during the past 11 years have had in my office 51 girls from the public schools, most of them from the eighth grade, and some having attended the high school one year or more, and I speak whereof know when I say that 49 of the above could not write a letter from dictation correctly to save their lives — correctly so far as spelling, punctuation, capitalization and paragraphing are concerned. Not three of the 49 had the remotest idea of dividing a word according to its syllables, and only today an eighth grade girl wrote the word 'transpose' with 'tr' on one line and the balance of the word on the next. I am told that each teacher is a law unto herself in this matter. What else the 49 girls knew it is not my province to ascertain, but I think everybody will admit that the aforesaid 'common branches' are of more practical value, especially where girls are compelled to support themselves, than so many things now taught, and of which they may at best get but a smattering; so, if there is not time for all, for goodness' sake let them at least be taught enough grammar, spelling and punctuation to enable them to write a decent English letter."