stupid thing to entrust our public affairs to those to whom we would never dream of confiding our private business. Yet this is done, again and again, if that person's name appears under our own party emblem. We are indeed sorely in need of an awakening. "Self-satisfaction and self-contemplation are little calculated to promote that clear thinking and vigorous initiative that are essential to triumphant democracy."

We are warned against considering America a "huge corporation in which everyone participates in the dividends without reference to his part in earning them."

In other serious books of the hour. we find reference to that "something finely spiritual" which our forbears had, which we seem in great danger of losing..

Perhaps this war came opportunely to break our precipitate rush toward materialism, he says, and he hopes the

return of peace may restore some of the old enthusiasm for higher things. It may yet come, but at present there is great need of another William Morris to preach the gospel of usefulness or beauty in the things we squander money on, or a new Elbert Hubbard to scathingly condemn our "conspicuous waste.' Culture is still pursued rather frantically in some quarters, but more and more the value of our socalled educational systems is being questioned.

I would suggest to any other who realizes the need of a better understanding between nations, to read Her-man Hagadorn's "Faces in the Dawn.' Published before the war, there can be no suspicion of "looking backward" such as appears in other books claiming to picture Germany as she was, yet prejudiced by what has since been learned about her. Thus may we eventually come to deserve to be called "The Land Where Hatred Expires."

So far as the world in general is concerned, about nine-tenths of the boys and girls who go out of the high schools are judged by the English they speak. By this we do not mean so much that their speech is condemned or is getting worse as we do that it is natural to note the speech as an index

educational progress. Assuming that a fair per cent of the high school graduates speak good English and another per cent speak "slang," we wish to dismiss both of these groups in favor of those whose English is incorrectly spoken, or who speak at all only

with great difficulty. In this latter class we do not place the foreigner so much as the native-born American boy or girl who has not developed the ability to speak with any degree of fluency!

While the value of written English cannot be denied, the challenge that comes to the English teacher today is from the oral side. It has come from such sources as the Americanization movement and the observance of "Better American Speech Week," the latter being only a specific form of the former. The result of such movements is to stir up enthusiasm; most of the

work remains to be done. That much is to be done will be granted by every English teacher, except the few who may be satisfied with the present, o even with the past.

In considering the possibilities of the improvement of the oral speech, it must be admitted that too much can be expected of oral composition, espe cially as it is conducted in most schools. As it is not a substitute for written composition, it is now generally thought best not to have more. than one oral compostion out of four. This would mean that it would come about once a month, or about five times in a semester's work. Clearly this is not often enough to give much practice in speaking. Furthermore, as it is usually conducted, oral composition is too formal to give opportunity for speaking that is natural and fluent. Definite topics are assigned in advance and careful preparation made, going so far in many cases as the actual writ ing out and committing to memory of the speech. The result is that the class puts on a smooth program, but does not have much opportunity for real speech improvement. Much may be Much may be done to make the oral composition more spontaneous, but too much should not be expected of it, as it is, at best, rather infrequent and formal.

Perhaps the most natural place to look for improvement in oral English is the daily recitation. Here it is that good or bad habits of speech are formed and the teacher has a chance to observe from day to day the needs and progress of the pupil. The subject matter of the recitation is so familiar to the pupil that he can speak upon it in a natural, conversational style, which is more helpful in speech training than the more formal style of the usual oral composition. Frequently there are opportunities for topical recitations, which help the pupil to concentrate his mind on his thought and gain better control of his utterance. The fact, also, that so many pupils must be heard from during the recitation hour calls for terseness in the recitation,

which, in itself is a very desirable quality. If right habits of speech are insisted upon by the teacher from the first day, the boys and girls will become accustomed to speaking directly to the point and loud and distinctly enough to be heard by all in the class. Ease and fluency of speech will always be encouraged; at the same time, slovenliness of utterance and carelessness of forms will bring forth criticism from pupils as well as teacher. The pupil criticism should not, of course, be given in a spirit of conceited superiority but rather with sympathy and courtesy. This attitude of courtesy should be regarded as important by teachers and pupils alike, because we must not gain good English at the expense of good manners. This educational principle was well illustrated by this significant statement, made by former President Eliot to an entering freshman class at Harvard: "If we cannot make scholars out of all of you, we can at least make gentlemen." In this connection it might be mentioned, also, that Americans who have visited Oxford and other English schools have been favorably impressed with the fact that the study of the English language in England is considered very closely related to courtesy and good manners.

If the possibilities of oral English are to be realized, the work must be regarded by teachers and pupils as a feature and not as a filler. Soon after oral composition became the vogue in the schools, it was hailed by some teachers as a substitute for written and a relief from the drudgery of marking papers. The natural result of such an attitude was to make the oral composition perfunctory. No attempt at improvement was made and each composition was regarded merely as another one rather than a better one. Such work is still going on. It is unnecessary to go into the classroom to see it, for the evidence of an utter lack of interest is quite evident to any one who merely glances in through the glass in the door. Quite in contrast

with this is the right attitude of making oral work of every kind a feature of the recitation. If this is done, the class will look forward to it as a pleasure.

As illustrations of the use or nonuse of the oral work as a feature, we will give two or three cases from our observation. In a certain third year literature class that was reading "The Tale of Two Cities," we noted that the teacher was using oral reading by the class as a filler. As soon as things would seem to lag, and they did lag frequently, he would call upon some one to read, and when the individual began to read, he would seem profoundly grateful. As a matter of fact, about all the method of teaching literature he seemed to have was to call upon a pupil to read and then to explain what he had read, with the slight variation of calling on someone else in the class when the pupil who was called upon was unable to answer the question. The reading was of very poor quality, consisting of nothing more than a mumbling of the text, and the attention of the class was poor, as might be expected, very few showing enough interest to listen to the reader or follow him in the book. One passage we remember especially was the burning of the chateau, a passage that gave an excellent opportunity for good reading, but it was droned off in the same low-level style. It is doubtful whether either pupils or class knew how poor the reading really was, for they had apparently become, accustomed to it, as people become used to bad air in crowded street cars or moving picture theatres.

In another class that we visited the pupils were asked to learn some wellknown American poem as the day's assignment. Just what the poem was we cannot say, as we were not able to get so much as one line distinctly, although we were tantalized frequently with a few words, but too few to give a real suggestion. Probably it was well that we did not find out what the poem was, for we might never have

cared for it, after it had been recited over and over in such an abominable way. During the fifteen or twenty minutes that we were in the room-that was all we could stand-the poem was recited six or seven times without the least sign of improvement or of interest to the class. It was purely an individual matter between pupil and teacher, to see whether the words had been faithfully memorized, without the slightest suggestion of making the reciting of the poem in the best possible way a feature of the work.

In striking contrast to these two cases, we give a third. It was a senior class in English literature. The selection was Gray's "Elegy." Most of the period had been given over to analysis and appreciation of the poem, in which the class seemed much interested. It was quite evident from the thermometer of class interest that the boys and girls were rising to the beauty of the. poem. As a climax to the recitation, a girl was called upon to read the "epitaph." She may have appreciated the confidence implied by the teacher's calling upon her. At any rate, she rose to her opportunity and read the passage with an intelligence and sympathy that created an impression upon the class that was little short of profound and we will never forget that reading. The reading itself was perhaps not so remarkable, as it was impromptu, but the way in which the pupil was brought into the recitation made it more effective than if it had been pre-arranged and studied. Suc1 opportunities and such performance do not come in every recitation, but they might come more often than they do. if the oral work were to be made a feature, as it should be, and not a filler. as it so often is.

Finally, a word might be said in favor of classes in expression, established for the definite purpose of im proving the oral speech. There was time when we would not have favored the plan, for expression and elocution were the same thing, to the teacher as

well as the class, and elocution meant such things as the public murder ( "The Charge of the Light Brigade.' Fortunately, pupils and teachers in: now be trusted to conduct expression along sane lines that produce really excellent results in speech improvement. We know of several teachers of expression in Indiana high schools. who are doing really wonderful work along these lines, and they are deserving of much praise and every possible encouragement. Whenever one of these sensible and substantial teachers of expression can be found, the school that finds her should count itself most fortunate and start the work immediately. The success of these teachers leads us to hope that the colleges and universities will provide training. in the teaching of expression for their graduates who expect to make the teaching of English a profession.

Thoughts on the Mid-Year Promotions

January is the month when most schools have a change of semesters. This is the time for marks by the teachers and remarks by the pupils.

It is usually easier to fail a pupil and leave him behind for some one else to teach than it is to teach him yourself. We know of one exception. A certain teacher had two classes in a subject. He failed about fifty per cent of each class. The principal took these failures, put them together in a class, and gave them to the teacher who failed them to teach. If we had to teach all of our failures the second time, wouldn't we teach more of them the first?

If separate marks are given in composition and literature, the separation does not mean much if one mark is divided or two marks are averaged. Any real separation means two distinct subjects.

The "hard marker" who calls a ninety an eighty fools himself into

BLOOMINGTON, IND.-"What Shall We Do With the Railroads," is the subject to be discussed by high school pupils in the contests of the State High School Discussion League, according to announcement just made by the Indiana University Extension League. Local contests will be held by each high school having a membership in the league not later than the third Friday in March. County contests will follow a week later and the district and state contests will be held here on the two successive Fridays.

District committeemen have been appointed for the contests. They are:

First district, W. V. Mangrum, Owensville; Second, A. W. Youngblood, Sullivan; Third, M. J. Abbott, Bedford; Fourth, G. M. Hopkins, North Vernon; Fifth, C. C. Cauble, Brazil; Sixth, Homer Hunke, Connersville; Seventh, W. M. Otto, Shortridge High School, Indianapolis;; Eighth, M. F. Worthman, Decatur; Ninth, W. R. Hough, Frankfort; Tenth, W. F. Neal, Brookston; Eleventh, C. J. Neighbours, Wabash; Twelfth, H. I. McKenney, Auburn, and Thirteenth, C. F. Miller, Nappa

nec.