English Class

Yesterday, we presented a dramatic comedy in which C.F. Hayes, the editor of the Creston Review newspaper, took issue with the teaching methods of Charles Brousson, principal at the Creston School. Hayes refers in particular to a report from the school inspector that states Brousson’s students are “backward in grammar and literature.”

So, for today’s daily dose of history, let’s see how we’d do! Here’s an example of a lesson that might be taught in an English class a century ago. Try teaching it to the people in your household.

First is memorisation. Try to learn the little verse, from Sir Walter Scott’s famous poem “The Lady of the Lake,” off by heart. If you’re teaching this lesson to your family members, how do you help them remember it? Have a contest – which of your “students” can say it the best? If you’ve got it now, try to recite it again tomorrow. Can you, and they, still remember it?

Next, go on to the story about Jack of Cornwall. Read it carefully, Remember, when this was taught in schools a hundred years ago, students would have been required to read it out loud in front of the whole class! The story continues on the second page of the textbook:

Now, close up the book (or stop looking at it on your screen)! Ask your students the questions in the “Exercise” part of the lesson. Can they answer all of them without looking back at the story?

Here’s the third part of the lesson: grammar and composition (writing). Have your students write out each of the sentences in Exercise II, using the correct capital letters. Write them out for yourself and compare! Do you all use the same ones?

Finally, have your students write out the story of Jack of Cornwall in their own words – without looking back at the story in the textbook! Make sure they’re using proper paragraphs and capitals.

Give your students a mark based on how well they did this lesson. Grade all four parts: memorisation, reading, grammar, and composition. Now, if you were teaching this class in front of the School Inspector, what kind of report do you think he or she would give you? Are your students “backwards,” like Mr. Brousson’s, or are they progressing well?