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Practical Exercises in English By: Huber Gray Buehler (1864-1924) |
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BY HUBER GRAY BUEHLER MASTER IN ENGLISH IN THE HOTCHKISS SCHOOL ARRANGED FOR USE WITH
ADAMS SHERMAN HILL'S
"FOUNDATIONS OF RHETORIC" NEW YORK CINCINNATI CHICAGO
AMERICAN BOOK COMPANY Copyright, 1895, by Harper & Brothers
All rights reserved.
W.P. 17 PREFACE
The art of using one's native tongue correctly and forcibly is acquired
for the most part through imitation and practice, and is not so much a
matter of knowledge as of habit. As regards English, then, the first duty
of our schools is to set before pupils excellent models, and, in all
departments of school work, to keep a watchful eye on the innumerable acts
of expression, oral and written, which go to form habit. Since, however,
pupils come to school with many of their habits of expression already
formed on bad models, our schools must give some attention to the special
work of pointing out common errors of speech, and of leading pupils to
convert knowledge of these errors into new and correct habits of
expression. This is the branch of English teaching in which this little
book hopes to be useful. All the "Exercises in English" with which I am acquainted consist chiefly
of "sentences to be corrected." To such exercises there are grave
objections. If, on the one hand, the fault in the given sentence is not
seen at a glance, the pupil is likely, as experience has shown, to pass it
by and to change something that is not wrong. If, on the other hand, the
fault is obvious, the exercise has no value in the formation of habit.
Take, for example, two "sentences for correction" which I select at random
from one of the most widely used books of its class: "I knew it was him,"
and "Sit the plates on the table." A pupil of any wit will at once see
that the mistakes must be in "him" and "sit," and knowing that the
alternatives are "he" and "set," he will at once correct the sentences
without knowing, perhaps, why one form is wrong, the other right. He has
not gained anything valuable; he has simply "slid" through his exercise.
Moreover, such "sentences for correction" violate a fundamental principle
of teaching English by setting before the impressionable minds of pupils
bad models. Finally, such exercises are unnatural, because the habit which
we hope to form in our pupils is not the habit of correcting mistakes, but
the habit of avoiding them. Correct English is largely a matter of correct choice between two or more
forms of expression, and in this book an attempt has been made, as a
glance at the pages will show, to throw the exercises, whenever possible,
into a form consistent with this truth. Though a pupil may change "who"
to "whom" without knowing why, he cannot repeatedly choose correctly
between these forms without strengthening his own habit of correct
expression. This book has been prepared primarily as a companion to Professor A.S.
Hill's "Foundations of Rhetoric," in answer to the request of many
teachers for exercises to use with that admirable work.[1] Without the
friendly encouragement of Professor Hill the task would not have been
undertaken, and to him above all others I am indebted for assistance in
completing it. He has permitted me to draw freely on his published works;
he has provided me with advance sheets of the revised edition of
"Principles of Rhetoric;" he has put at my disposal much useful material
gleaned from his own experience; he has read the manuscript and proofs,
and, without assuming any responsibility for shortcomings, he has
suggested many improvements. I am also indebted to Mr. E.G. Coy,
Headmaster of the Hotchkiss School, for many valuable suggestions, and to
my colleague, Mr. J.E. Barss, for assistance in the proof reading. The quotations from "The Century Dictionary" are made under an arrangement
with the owners of the copyright of that work. I am also indebted to
Professor Barrett Wendell, Messrs. Houghton, Mifflin & Co., and Messrs.
Macmillan & Co. for permission to use brief quotations from their works... Continue reading book >>
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