EDUCATIONAL CURIOSITIES.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 302, 15 September 1908, Page 4

EDUCATIONAL CURIOSITIES.

■ 6 - PHENOMENON AND PRODIGY. i.The headmaster of a't-suburban school, following "his" ushal 'custom'- before composition 'practipOj^placfd^three'subjects on tho blackboard recently,' and allowed the class to make a'-selection of-'a'ny"'orie-'of 'the three. , Tlie class was .'s'tandaird two, and contained a now scholar, who professed to bo writing a composition about "A Penny," and submittedthe following literary effort ,to tho 'lioad.mastcr,:— ; *'■"" ''*' "^Composition—A Penny, A penny is .: S wing "dong goucd axedeg ligado dueng ' tpiieg'd' to 'gotwed axofurd deougo pedtg ; tanod. enld -was-'oxayed. It auncg < exoy (ncgomed) goten jamcg '.;'v,(ncg-medo t0).." .cv.-,. [fjho peculiar jumble of words jvas not Esand was, not Welsh, and to dato no- ■ oody 'has been-.'nblo.-to make sense of the .youthful penman's,.effort..,-".. Tho headmaster Jwasjynterested. .scholar, who, when ho jcame to the ,scliopl,,;prpfes|sed to be in the i second standard, into which class the master ■.placed him on '.trial; .having no evidence to. ;go;,ph other'.tlian, tho boy's; word. On being -questioned after- his startling composition, tho! boy showed that' ho knew tho form of letters well,'arid c'oiild'copy excellently, but of writing a sensible' 'Cofnbination of letters lie vvas''■•quite" incapable. " 'Further inquiry I elicited the • information "that had been to school, before, but had never risen to the dignity of a standard. Against the above is . told a talo of brilliant progress at a city school. A Jewish . boy of Continental parentage, and aged thirteen, years,'was sent to tho Clyde Quay School in February of tho present year. Tlio boy did not know a word of English at that time, but could talk and .write. Hebrew and German ;flupntly.i : ; Thqj.youth' was placed under an assistant- ma'stor 'at the school, -who had .sonio knowledge"^of' German, and tho pupil, displaying a phenomenal aptness for learning, in a littlo over five months has passed the first, second, and third standards. The last pass was secured about four weeks ago, and was one of the" best passes in tlio standard. ' Mr. W. T. Grundy, headmaster of tho school, states ;th<tii,'lie has never, in tlio whole of his experience,' known such an instance of rapid progress. The State school duties do not absorb all the energies of the youthful student. During tho past few months he lias been studying Sanskrit under an Oriental scholar,, and is said to bo making remarkable headway inSthat.