COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS AND CONVERSATION LESSONS. 



silently the peculiarly bad expressions 

 and forms of statements of the whole 

 class, then plan your talking lesson in 

 which those who are not guilty of 

 those errors are allowed to lead. Then 

 let the child whom you consider most 

 likely to profit by hearing correct 

 expression from his mates give you 

 the necessary statement. If he use 

 correct forms, let another try. 



For instance, .suppose you have a 

 number of pupils who are inclined to 

 say '' The robin isn't so purty as the 

 bluejay." The reason for this is that 

 theparents of nearly all these pupils will 

 make the same error. If early in their 

 experience with you you are shocked by 

 their speech and let them know it, you 

 either lose their respect or make them 

 feel that they and their parents are 

 inferior beings with no right to speak. 



It will take a few minutes to speak 

 of something else that is pretty, and 

 let several of your pupils who speak 

 the word correctly give some state- 

 ments concerning pretty things. Then 

 caJl upon one of the offenders, without 

 his suspecting himself to be such, and 

 the probability is that he will say 

 "pretty," as you wish. But suppose 

 he fail, you must not think he does so 

 because of dullness, for he may say 

 * 'purty" for the sole reason that his 

 mates are listening and he fears they 

 may think he is trying to " put on 

 style." If you pass the matter in 

 silence that day you will find him 

 bolder or more acute the next day, and 

 he will speak the word correctly. In 

 this way he will seem to himself to 

 be teaching himself. Self-culture will 

 begin in him and the credit will be 

 yours. Another teacher would sup- 

 press that sort of language and compel 

 the boy to say the word right instanter. 

 But her pupils speak one language in 

 school and a different one in places 

 where they are more comfortable. 



Aim to set the child to correct- 

 ing his own speech by his own appar- 

 ent choice. A single error is easily 

 repressed, but the habit of looking 

 after one's own speech is not easily 

 acquired. It is easy to make a child 

 feel his inferiority to you, but it is a 

 great thing to inspire him to do the 

 good and wise and elegant things which 

 you are capable of doing in his presence. 



The process of unlearning words 

 has always been a failure with the 

 majority of pupils, and most of the 

 English speaking race are ashamed of 

 their inability to speak. Men most 

 eloquent and successful in business 

 conversation, who were by nature fitted 

 to thrill the world with tongue and 

 pen, have been confused and repressed 

 by this process till they believe them- 

 selves vastly inferior to others because 

 they cannot translate their thoughts 

 out of the terms of the street or count- 

 ing room into the^ language of the 

 grammar school, and so they never try 

 to fill the large places that would have 

 been open to them if they could but have 

 learned to think in terms which may 

 be spoken right out without fear 

 of opprobrium. 



Now since so much of our teaching 

 psychology and common sense have 

 shown to be radically wrong, let us 

 build up our language work on the 

 high plane of interest in real things, 

 expressing thought directly without 

 translation into fitter terms. Let the 

 thinking be done in terms suitable for 

 life. And use the color photograph to 

 to insure that enthusiasm necessary to 

 good thinking ; be guarded as to how 

 you deal with thoughts that come hot 

 from growing minds, repress never, 

 advise kindly, and know that by fol- 

 lowing the natural method in language 

 you are not ruining the speech powers 

 of your best pupils, as has been done 

 heretofore. 



IGl 



