Date of Award

4-1927

Degree Type

Bachelors Essay

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Education

First Advisor

James M. O'Gorman

Second Advisor

William M. Magee

Abstract

There are several reasons why our pupils have not learned 1 to talk well: 1. There has not been enough of oral language work, as a separate and distinct training, in the elementary school. 2. Oral work has not been utilized as much as it ought to be as an aid, and a preparation for, written work. A child who is to be taught to write well, must first be taught to talk well. 3. The other school subjects have not been utilized as effectively as they might be to develop power in oral composition. 4. The school has constantly to fight the bad influence o! the language environment in which many pupils spend their out-of-school hours. Take this actual case for an example: "It stands in the paper, you want to hire me a job. Here I am." "You go by grandma, ain't it?" 5. The school has made the mistake of thinking it can correct bad habits of speech by the application of the rules of grammar. The ability to talk correctly comes from practice and not from the study of rules. The speech of children (and of grown people) is full of errors because they have not formed the "habit" of talking correctly. There is a big difference between knowing how to do a thing and actually doing it. It is not knowledge we want. We want habit that will function in correct form with unfailing accuracy. To get this habit thoroughly rooted in a child's consciousness requires careful drill with attention, and constant repetition. Composition looks to the end to be attained or to the effect to be produced.

Comments

Submitted to the College of Liberal Arts of Marquette University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Philosophy, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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