OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. 397 appeal for the instruction of the pupils in our Indian schools in those native industries which have entered so largely into the occupation and life of their parents and ancestors. It is earnestly recommended that the teaching of native industries be introduced at schools where practicable, varymg the instruction according to the distinctive arts of the tribes represented. It is also respectfully recommended that at such schools native instructors be.employed who are capable of teaching these arts in their native pur~ty. Aside from the economic importance of reservin the native arts, there is a natural feeling among weurnsK e rs of t% e Indian which deprecates deprivin his descendants of much that has been a distinctive feature of his former life. TEACHING INTJIAN CHILDREN TO SPEAE ENGLISH Teaching the Indian chiId to is the first and most important step in his training, has been made to assist teachers in acquiring and hold the interest of the pupils and give them in as short a time as possible a su5cient command of the language to enable them to carry on an ordinary conversation. When in the field, it was noticed that both methods of teaching and results attained varied greatly. At some schools the pupils acquired a working familiarity with the language within a few months, although they could not speak a word of Eng-lish on entering, while at other schools a year, and m some cases two and even three years, were required. to enable them to understand and speak sufficient English for ordinary purposes. It was found that the most successful teachers worked objectively alto ether, using articles with which the pupils were f a d a r and gra f ually bringing them to associate the Engllsh name of the object, spoken and wntten, with the object itself; many teachers, however, were adhering too closely to text-books. To secure the general adoption of methods which had produced specially good results a pamphlet was repared embodying detailed descriptions of successf$ objective met io'd s and contamin a number of sample le?sous m which t e a c h English was come f ated with agriculture, sewmg, etc. The following. g rief extract is quoted: Tho Offira ia eqwrially desimus that strong elfons bo put fonh to l~arod l the Indian schnol clldllrert .slr.ak Engli*lt in asshon n tinlaa.3 posit,ld. IT* inelwe a lewsa~t~pIlkes scms that hn\e arrut~~n~l~smhoedd rcsulr* in e nurnlwr of srh6ul.i. Thee a n i ntended urincinells ~~ .. ~~~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ - r - ~ ~ ~-~ --" ~~ ~ ~ ~ ~ to serve as guides and he1 s to temhehenin ireparing thedaily lessons, and should be skpli-fied or modified to meet tRe needs of tho respmtive classes. The attention of teachers was still further called to the importance of objective methods by the publication of these outlines in the Indian school pa ers and by educational journals widely read in the Indian service, w%ch advocated the adoption of similar methods in the ub lic schools in teaching non-English speaking pupils to speak En&h Superintendents and teachers have also been urged to study the home life and individual characteristics of the pupils, applying the knowledge gained in arousing their latent faculties and endeavoring to adapt the methodsof instruction to meet their special needs. The introduction of improved methods of teaching English has met with hearty support from the teachers. |