Abilene High School - Orange and Brown Yearbook (Abilene, KS)

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course. Outside reading is encouraged by the offer of extra credit for such read- ing, and written reports-or reviews of books so read-are required. In the main, it is a broad and general view of the field of literature which the fourth year student of English gains. He has the opportunity in this course, through a view of the world movements which have written themselves in literature, to classi- fy and assimilate his reading in the earlier years of his course, as well as to add to it. And no less is the opportunity for greater power of expression afforded in the broad and still more vital themes suggested. Department of Modern Language Why should my boy or girl learn to speak and read a foreign language? Is there any sense in it? The same question has had to be answered of late for every subject taught in our schools excepting the three R's. Oh yes, we say, we will admit spelling is useful. We can't read or write without it, and furthermore a man is rather ignor- ant if he doesn't know where New York, Washington and San Francisco are. And we believe that the history of our nation is also a beneficial and profitable subject of study. Oh, do we? Aren't we admitting a little too much? All the sane and sound reasons for this study can be repeated as sane and sound reasons for the study of the history of any other nation on earth. We all admit these reasons and we will not repeat them here. The one that could not be stated for another land is that we want to know the history of the United States because it is our nation. Well, if we are interested in the history because it is ours, we will be just slightly less interested in England's because the English are our first cousins and only a little less interested in Germany's because the Germans are our second cousins, be- ing also of the Teutonic race. The human mind will never be content to know merely useful things. The tendency to investigate and discover is instinctive. Those of us who are calling loudly for practical or vocational education admit the benefits of studying United States history. Why? Largely because we have studied it. If we hadn't, we would- n't know it is beneficial. But see to what that brings us. Are the subjects we have studied the only practical subjects? Again, is there any one of us who would willingly part with any portion of his knowledge, no matter how obtained? No, we are never content with our present fund of information, no one ever wishes to stoll learning. The mind thrives on exercise just as truly and literally as the body does and just as surely degenerates without it. And any study that gives occasion for healthful exercise of mental faculties, no matter what its content, is bound to be practical, We can no more hope to develop mental proportion, symmetry and grace, by means of a very limited course of study than we can hope to develop a perfect body by means of one sort of physical exercise. The latter case is very dif- ficult to picture but it calls to mind the mediaeval Huns, ugly beyond description, stunted and misshapen, as a consequence of practically living on horseback. The first reason then for studying a modern language is the same we would give for studying anything-we like it, it interests us. It is a field that offers it- self where we can satisfy natural human interest. Second, it offers a new field of study, a new line of growth to the High School pupil, and so affords variety, which is as essential to proper mental as to proper phy- sical growth. Third, we have no use for prejudice, have we? We want to know facts. How can we lose our prejudices against peoples, how can a true knowledge Of them be better gained than by learning to speak their language, to be able to talk to them if occasion offers, to read what they think instead of what others say they think? HOW can we better come to sympathize with them and respect them than by reading their noblest literature, or how as Well 1201116 to feel that they are 3 P90910 With very, very SEVENTEEN

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' CHAPEL the four classes of discourse: narration, description, exposition, and argumentation. ln themes, oral and written. he relates stories of his own experience or of his imagi- nation, and presents the results of investigations he has made, in language as clear, as vigorous, and as effective as he can command. Clear seeing and vivid reproduc- tion are encouraged in description, and logical thinking and clear expression go hand in hand in argumentation. The Junior needs also to grasp the elementary princi- ples of the art of short story writing. But not only is the third year student trained in further self-expression but his acquaintance with English literature is extended. Such selections from Dickens, Scott, Thoreau, Huxley, Shakespeare and others as reveal the life and thought of certain epochs, or present the problems of all life, thus furnishing a stimulus to vigorous thinking and expression, are studied in class. Outside reading of three books each semester is required. These are to be chosen from a list comprising the best works of fiction, poetry, essays, biography and travel. lf the Junior reads, from the list, five books in addition to those required, during the semester, he is given five extra points of credit. Finally, with a sufficient glance at the history of literature to enable him to surround his reading with the proper atmosphere, the third year student has com- pleted the required course in English. SENIOR ENGLISH The student of Senior English elects the course. In his fourth year's Work the history of English and American literature and much illustrative reading are corre- lated. The lecture method is pursued in part, that the Senior may have some ex- perience in note taking. Special time is devoted to the study of the novel as an art form, and some works of fiction are more or less analytically studied Both Written and oral reports on topics most closely related to the thought and art of the authors studied, and on those opened up by class discussions are an essential part of the SIXTEEN

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much the same ideals as ours. Ignorance was never known to foster kindly feeling or confidence-just the contrary. Fourth, a foreign language is just difficult enough for the High School pupil to make it a prized posession. A silver cup won by close contesting in athletics is highly valued, whereas the receipt of the same cup as a gift would bring absolutely no pleasure. The ancient Greeks devoted much time to the study of grammar, giv- ing it the formidable title of logic. It is not a subject made up of words and rules to be committed, as is often supposed, but is systematic, reasonable and logi- cal, calling for fine distinctions and subtle discriminations. It is worthy of the time of a student and is necessarily the frame work of any language whatsoever. Last, a modern foreign language is not merely an abstract, intellectual posses- sion. lt is tangible, usable. We have the pleasure of expression, the pleasure of actual employment of our new faculty. Theodore Roosevelt says every reasonably intelligent youth of today should be able to read and understand at least one for- eign tongue-that it requires only average intelligence to do so and that the mental benefits doubly repay the time and effort spent. The pleasure and benefits then would seem to warrant the study of German. There is the satisfaction of natural human curiosity and interestg there is the men- tal proportion resulting from variety: there is the healthful, stimulating mental aC- tivity of a reasonably difficult subject, the enjoyment of actually speaking as the people of another nation speak, the pleasure of putting our knowledge into practice? and the knowledge of the history, customs and literature of a foreign people, the knowledge which destroys narrowness and prejudice. lt is for such knowledge that we study. Whatever more immediate and selfish reasons there may be, We must admit we hope to obtain them by virtue of being able to think clearly, honestly and logically. FIRST YEAR' GERMAN The scope of first year German depends largely upon the place it is assigned in the course of study. ln our school it is a Freshman subject and as such it should be as concrete as possible. The pupil requires a knowledge of the use of cases, the formation and use of tenses, declension of nouns and adjectives, comparison of ad- jectives and adverbs, relative pronouns, effects of inseparable verb-prefixes, uses of verbs with separable prefixes, general and special uses of modal auxiliaries, the formation of the subjunctive mode and such uses as may be briefly, clearly and logically stated. These things cannot be learned without also learning the different orders of words in German sentences. One hundred to one hundred and twenty-five pages of simple German prose, legends, stories, history and biography are read. Some idiomatic, conversational prose, four or five simple poems, and a number of German songs are committed to memory. The average pupil has a speaking vocab- ulary of 200 to 250 words, acquired from vocabularies in the texts and made familiar by 'tconversation drills -discussions of weather, local happenings, retelling of anecdotes, questions and answers on assigned reading. The number of words a pupil understands when reading or knows on hearing far exceeds the number he can actually use in speaking. This is inevitable. 'Two much is expected of modern language instruction by a majority of people, at least from the first year of instruction. Our recitations average perhaps forty minutes in length. That cannot be spent in conversation in the foreign language except at the cost of ignoring all prepared work. So that is not to be considered. These discussions of assigned work cannot be limited entirely to German either, un- der present circumstances. The average pupilys understanding of grammar is such that he must be instructed thoroughly and in detail on simple parts of speech, tenses and modes before there is any foundation for acquiring a new language. To try to do this in the foreign language in 40 minutes per day is an absurd waste of time. Furthermore the time is past when a child learns a new language naturally. Time is too precious to spend in learning by imitation. To ignore at the outset this gen- eral lack of knowledge of grammar in an attempt to gain a greater vocabulary .for conversational purposes is to build a showy but unsound structure. The fact that more time is essential in this work is being recognized and a plan is coming into EIGHTEEN