Technical English [editorial]

Title

Language

English

Year

1916

Rights

In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted

Fulltext

EDITORIAL 65 TECHNICAL ENGLISH. Attention has often been directed in the columns of this magazine to the urgent necessity for pupils in industrial work acquiring a vocabulary in English that shall be sufficiently comprehensive to allow them to describe adequately the operations they perform and the materials used. Less has been said and written relative to the qualifications of industrial teachers in the matter of technical English. In many instances it has perhaps been taken for granted that the industrial teacher was as proficient in this respect as in his specialty, though such an assumption has often proved to be erroneous. A large majority of the teachers in charge of industrial branches are subscribers to such publications as “The Modern Priscilla,” “The Manual Training and Vocational Education Magazine,” "Popular Mechanics,” and “The School Arts Magazine.” It should become a habit and practice with teachers taking such magazines not only to read them discriminatingly, but to read with the idea of building up their vocabularies. If the context does not make clear the meaning of a word, it should be looked up in the dictionary. Too much cannot be said in favor of the “dictionary habit.” Herbert Spencer, the famous English scientist, recommended the dictionary as the “university” open to all comers; the extensive vocabulary of the poet Browning was due in a great measure to his familiarity with the dictionary and his fine appreciation of the exact meaning of much of its contents. Recent editions of standard dictionaries are so replete with illustrations and quotations giving the proper use of all words, that the teacher who bungles in his speech, or fails to use aptly the word or phrase required to express his ideas clearly, runs the risk of suffering a loss in his personal prestige as a teacher. BEING USEFUL. Two of the main objects in school industrial work are to train pupils to become proficient with their hands, and to prepare them so that they may be better able to cooperate in the economic and industrial development of their country. This underlying purpose can be considerably strengthened if teachers and pupils

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