or a mind of strong calibre, but it
does not help one to understand an author or to appreciate a style.

Then, too, I would sweep away for all but boys of special classical
ability most kinds of composition. Fancy teaching a boy side by side
with the elements of German or French to compose German and French
verse, heroic, Alexandrine, or lyrical! The idea has only to be stated
to show its fatuity. I would teach boys to write Latin prose, because
it is a tough subject, and it initiates them into the process of
disentangling the real sense of the English copy. But I would abolish
all Latin verse composition, and all Greek composition of every kind
for mediocre boys. Not only would they learn the languages much faster,
but there would be a great deal of time saved as well. Then I would
abolish the absurd little lessons, with the parsing, and I would at all
hazards push on till they could read fluently.

Of course the above improvement of methods is sketched on the
hypothesis that both Greek and Latin are retained. Personally I would
retain Latin for most, but give up Greek altogether in the majority of
cases. I would teach all boys French thoroughly. I would try to make
them read and write it easily, and that should be the linguistic staple
of their education. Then I would teach them history, mainly modern
English history, and modern geography; a very little mathematics and
elementary science. Such boys would be, in my belief, well-educated;
and they would never be tempted to disbelieve in the usefulness of
their education.

When I propound these ideas, my colleagues talk of soft options, and of
education without muscle or nerve. My retort is that the majority of
boys educated on classical lines are models of intellectual debility as
it is. They are uninterested, cynical, and they cannot even read or
write the languages which they have been so carefully taught.

What I want is experiment of every kind; but my cautious friends say
that one would only get something a great deal worse. That I deny. I
maintain that it is impossible to have anything worse, and that the
majority of the boys we turn out are intellectually in so negative a
condition that any change would be an improvement.

But I effect nothing; nothing is attempted, nothing done. I do my
best--fortunately our system admits of that--to teach my private pupils
a little history, and I make them write essays. The results are
decidedly encouraging; but meanwhile