Lawrence High School - Lawrencian Yearbook (Falmouth, MA)

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10 The Lawrencian lish curriculum. Thus the English taught just before the influence of Horace Mann was almost wholly English grammar — and this was not taught too well. Part II. One idea, then one ideal of Horace Mann that affected the English curriculum. Quotation, (1) (the idea) “The common school is the greatest dis- covery ever made by man.” Quotation, (2) (the ideal) “All the blind, then, and all the ignorant — that is, all the children, — must be educated up to the point of perceiv- ing and admitting truth, and acting according to its mandates.” These two quotations show, I be- lieve, quite plainly what Mann’s philosophy of education was. Horace Mann was interested in individual- ism, or, as the quotation states, the education of “All the children.” Part III. Methods of teaching English that resulted from the phil- osophy of education advanced by Mann. Descriptions of six courses are to follow which show Mann’s notion of individualism. Type I. Core course with vari- ations. A core course assumes a required minimum which each class must cover. To the slower group, the classics are given in small helpings, teachers allowing long periods for digestion. The normal group has supplementary activities plus the classics. The superior group does all the work covered by the first two classes and then carries out certain interests of their own. The grammar mater ial is treated in like manner. The slower group receives much drill. The mediocre carry out the standard course. The superior add such topics as “niceties of ex- pression.” Type II. Multiple-reading pro- gram. Many of the western cities are following a plan known as multiple reading; reading revolving about a definite topic chosen by the pupils. Individualism is shown by the fact that instead of buying one book for forty pupils, four books for forty pupils are bought, the pupils read- ing in groups of ten. Type III. Electives and remedial works. The elective courses are open to superior pupils as a rule. Electives permit a pupil development toward a certain goal. Remedial courses are plentiful. These classes serve as aids to weak students. Thus a person failing in grammar but who has successfully completed his literature work may take a remedial course in grammar and finish school without a failure. Type IV. Modified Content Course. This course is again in favor of the weaker students. Grades seven through nine often contain slower pupils. This slow group forms a sep- arate class. During the three years covered by grades seven through nine they are taught little English grammar. The tenth grade is im- portant. The pupils cram all the grammar contained in years seven through nine in the tenth year. They are then capable of complet- ing the high school course without faulty knowledge. Type V. Seminars for Superior Pupils. A seminar hour usually is reserved once a week for spurring individual interest in news-writing, modern poetry, and the like. Superior stu- dents who become preoccupied with courses introduced in the seminar hour may be excused from regular