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10 "IWR WINNETKA WEEKLY TALK, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 15, 1923 Talks About Our Winnetka Schools By CARLETON W. WASHBURNE, Superintendent, Winnetka Public Schools. LANGUAGE AND GRAMMAR Training in punctuation and capi- talization constitutes the formal side of language work in the lower grades. As the children reach seventh and eighth grade some rudimentary know- ledge of English grammar is given for the purpose of helping children to correct any defects in their own speech and to give them a reasonable intelligence in regard to the structure of our language. Advanced formal grammar is given to all children who expect to take any foreign language in the high school. This last course is not required for graduation, but is taken by children in order to help them with their high school foreign language work. Statistical investigations have shown that the most commonly used punctu- ation mark is the period, and that knowledge of where to put periods is very frequently lacking even in adults. With children the developing of the sentence is a long hard pull. How to tell what words begin with capital letters, when to use commas, when to use periods, when to use question marks and exclamation marks, how to write informal letters and business letters, how to write invitations and acceptances and re- grets, the correct way of writing the title of a book--these and many other things which seem to us adults com- monplace have to be developed and _ constantly reviewed with the little children. Learns to Punctuate The method by which we do part of the training and all of the testing in formal language is this: A child is given a paragraph in which every kind of punctuation or captalization' which he has learned up to date is omitted. He copies the paragraph, capitalizing it and punctuating it correctly. If he makes a mistake, he is referred back immediately to spec- jal practice on the thing he missed. Every test is a review of everything the child has had up to date. Each grade's work begins with a review of the entire previous grade's work. Through this means we are striving to give children a sensitiveness to wrongly punctuated and capitalized material and a knowledge of how to correct it. We are not 100 per cent successful in our effort. In spite of reviews and constant training, children graduate from our eighth grade who still make mistakes in punctuation and capital- ization. It is true that they must have: turned in many 100 per cent papers be- fore they were promoted from any grade to the next, and before they were graduated from the eighth grade. But in spite of this some of them slip back and do sloppy work. Difficult Subject It has long been a complaint of the universities that even four years of English in the high school fails to de- velop the ability to write: simple, straightforward English, rightly cap- italized and punctuated. No subject is so hard to teach effectively and per- manently as correct English compo- sition. We do not feel that we have solved this problem. We can only say that we recognize the problem and that through the requiring of many written compositions, through giving a great deal of oral work in our social- ized periods, and through specific training in carefully prepared practice exercises and tests in formal language, we are struggling toward the solution of the problem. Grammar is a subject concerning which much controversy exists. It was originally introduced into the schools for two reasons: First, be- cause Latin was the universal lan- guage of learning and required a thorough knowledge of grammar for its understanding. And second, be- cause the study of grammar was sup- posed to be good mental discipline. Latin is no longer a universal lan- guage; and it has been proved that the type of mental discipline given by the study of grammar is relatively useless for any other purpose. People now speak of grammar as an aid to English. Unfortunately, there is no scientific evidence that a know- ledge of grammar does make people use better English. We have in Win- netka, however, selected on the basis of investigations carried out elsewhere, those bits of grammatical knowledge which are necessary to the correction of most commonly made errors in speech. These we are teaching thorouchly. Furthermore, we have in the absence of any investigation as- sumed that probably most intelligent people know something of the parts of speech in the English language and their functions. We are consequently giving our children training in the knowledge of these parts of speech. Course in Formal Grammar Finally, even if Latin is not a uni- versal language, many of our children study it in high school. They also study other foreign languages. We do not believe that English grammar should be taught for the sake of this foreign lan. nage work. We believe that the grammar of Latin or French or Spanish or German can be taught more effectually in «direct connection with those languages in high school than in elementary school in connec- tion with a language as 'irregular as English. Nevertheless, high schools have always expected the: elementary school graduates to know 'a certain amount of formal grammar, and we are not willing that graduates of the Winnetka schools should be at a dis- advantage as compared with gradu- ates of other elementary schools. We therefore offer an advanced course in formal grammar in the eighth grade. This course is based upon the outline furnished to us by the teachers of the New Trier High school, and is the same outline as followed by the Wil- mette, Kenilworth, and Glencoe schools. This course is optional and not required for graduation but almost every child takes it and gets thorough drill in this useless material before leaving us. "A MAN OF ACTION" COMMUNITY PICTURE Not since "Officer 666" has there been produced for lovers of snappy comedy-drama a picture compara- able with the latest Thomas H. Ince ntirthful melo-dramatic farce, "A Man of Action," to be shown at Community House Friday evening, December 17. Douglas Mclean as Bruce Mac- Allister, a "Poor Little Rich Boy," who gets more "action" in twenty- four exciting hours than he ever dreamed of, was never funnier. Mar- guerite de la: Motte as his spirited fiancee, and Raymond Hatton as "Hoppy," bent on the invention of a "noiseless explosive," head a strong supporting cast. Another unique comedy characterization is "The Deacon," who has a decided penchant for carving "secret exits and .en- trances" mot only down in his own dive, "The Chat Mort" on San Fran- cisco's picturesque Barbary Coast, but also in the MacAllister mansion on Nob Hill, where he goes, with a band of crooks, to steal a half million dol- lars in diamonds. "Something -doing every second" is the record of "The Man of Action," which sets a new standard for com- edy-drama. The situations of the story, an original by Bradley King, are as novel as they are funny. There! will 'be two shows, one at 7.15 and another at 8:45 o'clock. Give Practical and Useful CHRISTMAS GIFTS We offer the following su ggestions: Electric Irons Electric Toasters Electric Percolators Electric Waffle Irons Electric Heating Pads Electric Curling Irons Electric Table Lamps Electric Heaters Electric Flashlights Electric Wreaths Electric Sewing Machines Sewing Machine Motors Electric Xmas Tree Outfits Electric Trains Electric Vacuum Cleaners Electric Washing Machines Electric Ironing Machines North Shore Elect ric Shop 554 Center St. JOHN C. WELTER, Prop. Ph. 44 "If Electrical and Good We Sell It" Open Every Evening Until Xmas [er PepaL yi 777 Al AnTi-oxiD CHAINS dyn Skokie Lae Lh PANTS 1.25 2= ri ANTI-SKID a= CHAINS 75.00 PR. Duy Your WINTER LOUIPMENT Now! 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