A 'Plucking' Trap.
I have been shewn a little list of words the would-be school teaoher is expected to jot down haphazard, from dictation. The list is taken from the D Exam, for 189*. It consists of four-and-twenty jawbreakers, at least one-half of which are foreign words, pure and simple, or words of palpably foreign origin. Take 'icthyosaurus,' 'metempsychosis,' 'caoutchouc,* 'fricassee,' and 'paleontology,' for ex--1 - These are not English wordß at all. Then why introduce them into an examination in English for English teacherß? Their selection appears to point to a desire not to test the knowledge of the candidate so much as to trip the candidate up. I regard them as a trap for the • plucking ' of the unwary. No wonder we read of bo many aspirants for scholastic honours breaking down under the ordeal of examination, suiciding or going cranky. The whole thing is a farce. J-ne exam, system is badly in need of overhauling.
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Bibliographic details
Observer, Volume XIV, Issue 794, 17 March 1894, Page 2
Word Count
157A 'Plucking' Trap. Observer, Volume XIV, Issue 794, 17 March 1894, Page 2
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