,J'of human nature, and who, by his industry, foresight, and adaptability to different personalities, is able to make the best use of his knowledge. Such is the man who is familiar with the legiti- mate "tricks" of his trade. It is he who reaches the highest success in any line, whose force is felt not only in his own particular profession, but carries The Teaching of Shorthand 6i the influence of his forcefulness into all branches of human activity. But, back of this familiarity with human nature, there must be a wider and deeper knowledge — knowledge of the thou- sands of details, small in themselves, but which go to make up the whole. It is the faculty for going into the very heart of a thing and studying it analyt- ically, the faculty that enables a Kipling to write with equally profound knowl- edge of the freaks of a locomotive, or still greater freaks of human sentiment; that enables a J. Pierpont Morgan to so arrange his forces as to bring about financial combinations that are stag- gering in their magnitude; that enables a Marconi to send electric impulses across the sea by methods hitherto undreamt of. The shorthand teacher usually has but little to do with the business man- agement of the school with which he is associated; but whether he has any 62 The Teaching of Shorthand word in the business management or not, he can make himself of more value to his employer by familiarizing him- self with all the phases of the school management, in order that he may be able to understand the school's policy and become an effective factor in its success. MASTERY OF THE SUBJECT First of all, it goes without saying, he should be master of the theory and technique of the art which he teaches. This is an indispensable trick. Noth- ing carries conviction so quickly, or is the source of greater inspiration to his students, than evidence that the teacher can do what he teaches. The teacher who gives a practical demonstration of his ability to perform the feats which he asks of his pupils, has done more perhaps to gain the confidence of his students than he could by any other means. There is such a wide The Teaching of Shorthand 63 difference between the theory of any- art and the appHcation of the theory to practical work that it seems to me this is a point that should receive a great deal of earnest attention from the teacher. Methods of execution in writing can only be taught by practical illustration. One may have an almost perfect conception of how a thing should be done, and yet not be able to do it until he has seen it done. Such knowledge does not come from a mere conception that this or that thing can be done; it comes only after infinitely patient toil. But, in illustrating a point, the teacher should not allow his own expertness in execution to become so apparent as to discourage his students. He should endeavor to keep his execution within the bounds of the capacity of his students; it should be an illustration of the methods of movements rather than a demonstration of the speed at 64 The Teaching of Shorthand which such movements may be made, otherwise the effect may be opposite from that which he desires. If he can create the impression upon the students that it is all very simple, and that by a little extra effort they can do as well, he will unconsciously develop in them a feeling of power that will have the most beneficial effect. RESOURCEFULNESS NECESSARY AT TIMES While all this is true, it sometimes happens that through circumstances a teacher is thrown into new surroundings and finds himself in a position where his only salvation is his ingenuity and ability to adapt himself to the new conditions. In such circumstances, I believe it is perfectly justifiable to take advantage of whatever tricks he may be able to devise in order to carry out his work successfully. To illustrate: I recently visited a school where the The Teaching of Shorthand 65 teacher had been obliged to make a change of systems a few weeks pre- viously. As I entered the classroom he was placing a shorthand exercise on the board for transcription. He held the text-book in his hand, and appeared to be composing the exercise as he wrote. I was very much im- pressed with the ease with which he executed the outlines, considering the time he had devoted to the system he was using. The only pauses appeared to be those caused by hesitancy in com- posing the sentences, but which were in reality caused by his efforts to grasp fully the import of the outlines. Upon investigation, I found that he had col- lected exercises bearing on each lesson from another teacher and pasted them in his book following the lessons. This man possessed resourcefulness, and to my mind he was perfectly justified in employing such an expedient. His pre- vious experience made him capable of 66 The Teaching of Shorthand imparting instruction; the fact that he reaUzed his somewhat imperfect knowledge of the instrument he was using, aroused him to use all his re- sourcefulness to make his instruction eflFective, and that it was effective was attested by the interest and confidence of his students. If the teacher had not used this "trick," his students would very quickly have detected his weakness, lost confidence in his ability, and become discouraged. PERSONAL INTEREST IN STUDENTS A very important point is for the teacher to take a personal interest in the progress of each student, but this must be done without creating any suspicion of partiality. Only by a con- stant study of the peculiarities of each student, in order that he may give him such encouragement as he needs and point out tactfully the errors of his ways in such a manner as not to The Teaching of Shorthand 6j antagonize him, can the teacher hope to attain this end. The element of personal interest in his students is a potent one in influencing the success of the teacher as well as that of the student. It is a "trick" that can be acquired only by painstaking care, and requires the exercise of rare dis- crimination, self-control, and a strong sense of justice. It is an art that should be cultivated assiduously. The school proprietor can get students to the school. The success of the stu- dent is then practically in the teacher's hands, and the fitness of the teacher for the position which he holds will depend upon how well the pupil accom- plishes his task. The teacher should bring every influence to bear to make the progress of the student so sure and thorough that when he leaves, whether it be in six months or a year, he will be quaHfied to discharge his duties cred- itably to himself and to the institution 68 The Teaching of Shorthand where he received his training. While the teacher is employed primarily to "teach," there is much more to be taught than the mere art of shorthand writing. He should make a study of the defects in the training of his stu- dents, and try as far as possible to correct them. Anything that would tend to lessen the student's chances for success, such as lack of taste in dress, untidiness, pecuHar mannerisms, etc., may be corrected by occasional general talks on such subjects, and in extreme cases by tactful confidential talks. It is manifestly impossible for teachers handling large classes to re- member the name of each student at all times — although it will be surprising to those who have not tried it how quickly the faculty can be acquired — but it is a habit that the teacher should acquire as early in his experience as possible. There is hardly anything more displeasing to the student than The Teaching of Shorthand 69 for his teacher to neglect to address him by name. SECURING THE ATTENTION OF STUDENTS The art of holding the attention of the student while presenting the lesson; of repeating the explanations, if need be, in different language, until they have been thoroughly impressed on the mind of the student, is a subject that will require much earnest study on the part of the teacher. At this point the teacher will have full opportunity to exercise whatever ingenuity and resourcefulness he may possess, because methods of presenta- tion that would appeal quickly and effectively to one class of students, might have exactly the opposite effect on others. The teacher should make a careful study of the personnel of his classes, and adopt methods that will comprehend the various mental capa- bili'ties of his students, if possible. A 70 The Teaching of Shorthand mistake many inexperienced teachers make is to adapt their methods to a few of the bright pupils of one class, to the utter confusion of the less intel- lectual students. THE TEACHER SHOULD BE SUPERIOR TO THE TEXT-BOOK Another point at which many teachers fail is in making their own instruction subordinate to that of the text-book. The difference between such instruc- tion and real instruction is just the difference that distinguishes the written play from the acted play. In the former the whole mass of words is life- less, except to the highly imaginative; in the latter art, environment, and the living words of the actors make a lasting impression. THE USE OF THE BLACKBOARD Perhaps nothing marks the differ- ence between the experienced teacher The Teaching of Shorthand 71 and the novice more than the method of using the blackboard, and I would name the intelHgent use of the black- board as one of the greatest tricks in our trade. From the position that he assumes before the board, the inex- perienced teacher often appears to be- lieve that his pupils can see through him, I mean in the literal sense. But in our profession the art of "side- stepping'' is just as important as it is in the noble art of self-defense. The experienced teacher after writing the outlines on the board will step aside in an easy, natural manner so that students in all parts of the room may have a clear view of the board. The young teacher is very apt to write his outlines so small and faint that they cannot be seen by any except those who are close at hand. The knack of re- taining proportion of outline while writ- ing large on the board is a trick that requires considerable practice. 72 The Teaching of Shorthand KEEPING "just AHEAD " OF STUDENTS The inexperienced teacher is fre- quently inclined to "show off" by writing very rapidly on the board, to the utter bewilderment of his students. This may impress them with a due appreciation of his ability as a writer of shorthand, but it has a most dis- couraging effect on the student who contrasts his snail-like execution with that of the teacher. On the other hand, the teacher who has, through long training and experience, mastered the method of handling blackboard work, will write just a little ahead of his pupils — enough to make them feel that with a little effort they could do as well — but he will always be just ahead of his pupils. GENIALITY — AND DISCIPLINE The teacher should possess a genial and amiable disposition, but he should The Teaching of Shorthand 73 not allow the discipline of his room to become lax in his efforts to be good natured, nor should he allow students to get the idea that the acquisition of a business education is anything but a serious matter. He should glow with such a warmth of good-will as to be a constant incentive to his students to emulate his example. He must put vim and enthusiasm into his work; all his acts must be so businesslike that his students will unconsciously acquire the habit. He must cultivate his mem- ory so that he will be relentless in getting the work he requires of his students. He should be very careful, however, in deciding upon a policy, to be sure that he can carry it out. Work started by a teacher, and afterwards abandoned, will create a feeling of distrust in his ability. A moderate amount of work thor- oughly accomplished each day will be far more effective than a large amount 74 ^^^ Teaching of Shorthand imperfectly gone over. Students are very quick to detect imperfections in a teacher's character, and weak points in his methods, and he must therefore constantly strive to make his work as strong as possible. The teacher should impress upon his pupils the advantage of thorough preparation, and show them the folly of leaving school before they are competent to fill the best positions. I beHeve that the teacher in advocating a long course is rendering the student the greatest possible service, as well as doing his full duty by his employers and to the commercial community. Business men nowadays make such exacting requirements of stenographers that it is imperative that the school expecting to keep in the front rank should so qualify its students that they can enter upon their duties without having to go through a long course of "breaking in." It will require rare judgment on the The Teaching of Shorthand 75 part of the teacher to effect this result without creating the suspicion that he is working solely for his employer's interests. KEEPING UP-TO-DATE The wide-awake teacher will keep fully alive to the methods pursued by business houses in the handling of correspondence. Methods change con- stantly, and the teacher who would attain the great success, and enlarge his influence in his profession, must keep up-to-date in his methods. He can do this by keeping in close touch with his former students who have gone out into the business world, and by reading the shorthand magazines. And while he is making a study of these methods, he should not forget the hun- dreds of ambitious teachers who, per- haps, may not be so fortunately situated for studying methods, and give them the benefit of his experience through ^S The Teaching of Shorthand this Association and the shorthand magazines. DIFFERENCES IN SCHOOL CONDITIONS It has often occurred to me that in all the meetings of this Association which I have attended, there has never been any reference made to the differ- ences existing between the methods of conducting a day school and a night school in a large city. These are im- portant considerations, and personally I should like to hear them discussed. When I visit a school in a small town, I always envy the shorthand teacher the class of students he has under his charge. They are generally earnest and ambitious, and are willing to devote con- siderable time to practice outside school hours. The city student, as a rule, is not so thorough in his work, and it is a severe drain upon the teacher's energies to keep him sufficiently interested to perform the work assigned to him. The Teaching of Shorthand 77 DAY SCHOOL AND NIGHT SCHOOL The same difference exists between the day school and the night school in a large city. In the day school the students are usually very young, and as they have no idea of the value of time, it is imperative that the teacher should be constantly on the alert. In the night school the students are older, and as they are employed during the day, they are accustomed to strict dis- cipline and continuous labor. As they have taken up the study of choice, and have not been sent by their parents, they are liable to discontinue the study at any time unless they are kept in- terested and believe they are making satisfactory progress. Night school work has always had a fascination for me, perhaps because of my desire to help those who are trying to help themselves. I believe that the methods employed in the night school 78 The Teaching of Shorthand should differ materially from those of the day school. As the night school students are employed in the business hours, they know a great deal about office routine, business terms and forms, and consequently they require less in- struction in these things. They can apply their shorthand and typewriting more readily on that account, but as they are at work all day, it is abso- lutely essential that they should be kept interested and wide-awake. Less copying work should therefore be as- signed to them, and they should be given a great deal more blackboard and dictation work. As they have already acquired businesslike habits of deportment, the teacher can assume toward them a more genial attitude than is possible in the day school. This adaptability to the varying needs of the day and night school is one of the tricks I would require above all others in a teacher in my employ. The Teaching of Shorthand 79 THE ELEMENT OF HUMOR At the convention of this Associa- tion last year, we had with us a teacher who was unquestionably a master of his profession, but who has now passed away — Mr. Benjamin Stanley Banks. I believe that his death has been a distinct loss to our profession, and that his place cannot be adequately filled. Recently one of his pupils, who is now in charge of the shorthand department of a large commercial school, told me that Mr. Banks was fully alive to the importance of keeping his students interested in their work by novel meth- ods of instruction. He said that in dictation work he frequently relieved the monotony by the introduction of impromptu talks on various subjects to be reported by the students, and he made it an invariable rule to dictate an extract from Mark Twain, Max Adler, or some other humorist as the 8o The Teaching of Shorthand last exercise of the day. In order that the students might go away laughing and in good spirits. While this method would not at all times be advisable, it seems to me that a good feeling in- spired by such a course, would occasion- ally be very beneficial in relieving the monotony of a hard day's work. IMPORTANCE OF WELL-DIRECTED ENERGY In closing I desire to mention that which in any line of business counts for more, perhaps, with one exception — brains — than any other, and that is, well-directed energy. To a teacher, energy is as indispensable as a mastery of the subject he teaches. A teacher using mediocre or even inferior meth- ods, who backs up his work with snap and energy, will accomplish creditable results where a more brilliant man with less energy would prove a failure. The successful teacher must be able to create '^:. The Teaching of Shorthand 8 1 an atmosphere of energetic action that will arouse his pupils to put forth their best efforts. But he must learn to judge between apparent energy and actual energy. Nothing is more absurd than a man rushing hither and thither, sputtering and fuming, in the belief that he is accomplishing something. It is the escaping steam that makes the noise. A teacher may possess a vast storehouse of energy and yet fail to accomplish results because of his inability to direct his energy in the proper channels. The teacher must be the adviser and guardian spirit of his pupil, and it should be his constant care to see that each day marks a distinct step on Hfe's road, and that, above all, the stu- dent can never say, "I came out by the same door wherein I entered." EFFICIENT STENOGRAPHERS WHAT SHOULD THEIR ATTAINMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS BE WHEN THEY GRADUATE FROM THE SCHOOL Read before the New England Business College Association WooNsocKET, Rhode Island 1910 EFFICIENT STENOGRAPHERS THE word "efficient," as commonly used, is such an elastic term that perhaps Webster's view of it may help us in formulating a standard of com- parison in the present discussion. His definition of "efficient'* is: "Causing effects; producing results; not inac- tive, slack or incapable; characterized by energetic and useful activity." In order to understand fully the con- ditions which confront the stenographer who would be classed among the "effi- cient," let us consider for a moment the present-day demands. DEMAND CONSTANTLY INCREASING As American business has grown in complexity, under the influence of ex- pansion, from trade of a purely local nature to that of world-wide extent, 86 The Teaching of Shorthand the demands laid upon stenographers have also increased in complexity, and the efficient stenographer of to-day must include in his equipment far more than was required ten or even five years ago. And it may be men- tioned in passing that while expan- sion of trade was inevitable to a people imbued with the spirit of enterprise as Americans are, yet it has been greatly facilitated and hastened through the instrumentality of modern short- hand and the typewriter. Business men of executive ability and imagina- tion have been able to multiply them- selves through the aid of these twin arts, and to handle to-day a volume of business that would have been impos- sible with the old-time methods. THE STENOGRAPHER NO LONGER A FAD Business men were quick to appre- ciate the value of the stenographer, The Teaching of Shorthand 87 and have been responsible for his de- velopment from a sort of ** luxury'* or "fad" into one of the most efficient aids in a modern business organization. The stenographer of to-day is not occu- pied wholly with typing out the letters which the firm sends to the outside world, though of course this comprises a large part of his daily work, but the inter-house correspondence, in which the heads of this business dictate orders and instructions to its various branches, and to its traveling sales force, calls for a technical knowledge of the busi- ness that goes far outside the mere business of writing shorthand and typing it on the machine. A large part of these instructions are made up from form books; they require a checking and following up and a collecting of material that lays upon the stenog- rapher duties calling for ability of a different kind from that of merely following orders. As the stenographer's 88 The Teaching of Shorthand ability to grasp details from a few meager instructions increases, his im- portance and value to the firm also increases. THE EFFICIENT STENOGRAPHER ALSO A CORRESPONDENT The really efficient stenographer in modern business to-day can handle a great deal of the correspondence from a few directions from his employer. He becomes acquainted with the policy of the house, studies his employer's way of handling problems through corre- spondence, is able to give the personal touch to the firm's correspondence that the head of the firm himself would give. His work becomes truly "character- ized by energetic and useful activity." He must be acquainted with the new card records, filing systems, and office practice generally, and this involves a far more intricate knowledge than is commonly supposed. The Teaching of Shorthand 89 KEEPING STEP WITH PROGRESS Recent economic influences have brought about also vast changes in the methods of record keeping and in handHng the transactions of business, with which the efficient stenographer must be thoroughly familiar, because they require his services. Typewriter companies have added new attachments to their machines which make them far more useful, but which also make necessary more knowl- edge and greater technical skill on the part of the stenographer. Brief as are these references, they give an idea of the complexity of the commercial stenographer's need for special knowl- edge to enable him to render efficient service. THE GENERAL STENOGRAPHER The problem is far more complex and difficult in the case of the general 90 The Teaching of Shorthand stenographer, who in addition to these qualifications must also have a knowl- edge of a very wide variety of topics outside, and I might say what would be considered almost foreign to his profession by those not understanding the varied nature of his work. For example, the general stenographer is called upon to do work for the manu- facturer, the attorney, the chemist, the physicist, the college professor, the pro- moter, the physician, the litterateur, the playwright, the mining engineer, and a multitude of other professional men. To perform this service effi- ciently, he must have a knowledge of the terms and phrases used in these various professions, and his knowledge must be more than superficial. THE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE BEGINNER What should the stenographer's at- tainments and quaHfications be when he is graduated from the school.? The The Teaching of Shorthand 91 work of the stenographer is distinctly- technical, and therefore in order that his work may produce results, that he may be efficient, the first in importance of his qualifications should be a thor- ough training in his technical subjects — shorthand, typewriting, and English. THE IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH Before the student of stenography can become really efficient in his tech- \nical subjects he must have a solid educational foundation upon which to build. His efficiency as a stenographer is based upon a good working knowledge of the English language. The writer of shorthand merely takes "notes," and does not attempt to take dicta- tion as it appears in print. Necessarily the punctuation, the capitalization, the spelling, the paragraphing, the sub- heads must be supplied from the ste- nographer's knowledge of language, and his grasp of the subject; and his effi- 92 The Teaching of Shorthand ciency is increased exactly in propor- tion to the accuracy of his knowledge along these lines. Hence it can be seen that a thorough understanding of grammar and English composition is an indispensable factor in the stenog- rapher's equipment. The student of stenography, however, will find that the work in stenography can be made a great help in learning English. WORD STUDY Along with the English, the stenog- rapher must have a thorough training in spelling, and particularly in the meaning and use of words. This is generally a weak point in the average stenographer's education — a lack of knowledge of the use of words. To be efficient, the stenographer needs a high school education, and if he has more than this all the better. Naturally such a stenographer can be entrusted with a great deal of the detail work of The Teaching of Shorthand 93 the correspondence and will be accord- ingly more valuable. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE INVALUABLE He should know commercial arith- metic, commercial law, have a general knowledge of history and of literature, and be a reader of good current liter- ature, in addition to the education already mentioned. In fact, no knowl- edge that an ordinarily well-educated person possesses can very well be dis- pensed with in the stenographer's equip- ment. Since perhaps nine out of ten stenographers are engaged in busi- ness, it is evident that the more he knows about business, its methods, its phraseology, the more efficient he becomes. ACCURACY MORE IMPORTANT THAN SPEED When we come to the technical sub- jects of shorthand and typewriting. 94 'T'he Teaching of Shorthand nothing less than a very high degree of proficiency will meet present-day demands. In shorthand great speed is not so much needed as accuracy. A speed of one hundred words a minute on matter of ordinary difficulty is suffi- cient for the average office position. But the notes taken at this rate should be so legible that the stenographer can utilize his full typewriting speed in transcribing. He cannot be called an efficient stenographer until he can ac- complish this. Great stress should therefore be laid upon reading abiHty. THE INFLUENCE OF TOUCH TYPEWRITING The development of typewriting dur- ing the last few years has been ex- traordinary. Since the introduction of touch typewriting both speed and accuracy have been increased in a wonderful degree. An accurate knowl- edge of what a really capable type- The Teaching of Shorthand 95 writer operator can accomplish has set the typewriting standard higher every year, and the operator to be really efficient nowadays has to pro- duce a very high class of work. The typewritten page is what the employer sees; it must be accurate. He also takes note of time; the typewriting must be done with speed. The operator to fulfill these requirements must stay in school long enough and get the necessary training to meet the new demand. The variety of the type- writer operator's work also is constantly enlarging. He must show skill in every branch of his work. He must be familiar with tabulating devices, the adding machine typewriter, and the various other devices which have re- cently been added to the machine. THE INFLUENCE OF LOCAL CONDITIONS The locaHty in which the stenog- rapher is to work should also be con- 96 The Teaching of Shorthand sidered in the problem of efficiency. His knowledge should be adapted to local conditions. For example, the city of Schenectady is an electrical center, and the stenographer working there, of necessity, must be familiar with the terms and phrases used in the electrical industry if he comes in contact with correspondence of this nature. Chicago is a big railroad and packing-house center, requiring a knowledge of these two industries; and in Washington, civil service and governmental terms are common. The stenographer in these places must be familiar with these lines. PLAIN COMMON SENSE NEEDED There are various other qualities that need to be emphasized. One of the rarest of qualities among both young men and women entering busi- ness is plain common sense. Business is an occupation in which the ability to The Teaching of Shorthand 97 think, and to put two and two together, is more valuable than any other trait. And yet this ability is the rarest to find. As Elbert Hubbard said: We are all down on the time book for eight dollars a day, but one reason why some receive less in their pay envelopes is because the cash is held back to pay some- one else for looking after them, laying out the work, and holding them to their tasks. I know lots of men who pay seven dollars a day for supervision. The less super- vision, the more pay; the more supervision, the less pay. There should be a new study added to the curriculum of all schools pre- paring young men and women for business — a study that will develop common sense. GRADUATION TESTS DELUSIVE Considerable diversity of opinion ex- ists as to what the graduation test in the technical subjects of a steno- 98 The Teaching of Shorthand graphic course should be. Gradua- tion tests at best are delusive. Some of the poorest stenographers I know could pass the average graduation test without the slightest difficulty when it comes to speed in typewriting and in shorthand. The average school holds the student to, say, one hundred words a minute in shorthand and thirty-five words a minute transcribing speed. Generally the matter selected is from business letters, and the ordinary busi- ness letter, as we know, is not difficult. A fairer test would be the above figures applied to a newspaper article or an editorial article from a newspaper or magazine, for the reason that the stenographer never knows what line of business he may be engaged in, and his shorthand examination should be on all-round matter which will test his ability to write ordinarily hard new matter. The Teaching of Shorthand 99 Summary To sum up the technical qualifica- tions the efficient stenographer should have: 1. A thorough knowledge of English — an ability to write a businesslike letter in businesslike English. 2. A knowledge of words which will enable him to substitute the right word when the wrong one is used by his employer. 3. A working knowledge of spelling, punc- tuation, paragraphing, and good style in iirrangement. 4. A shorthand speed of not less than 100 words a minute on ordinarily difficult matter. 5. An ability to read his notes fluently and accurately. 6. A transcribing speed of at least thirty- five words a minute in typewriting, and a knowledge of the mechanics and mechan- ical devices of his machine. 7. A working familiarity with the cul- tural studies ordinarily included in a com- mercial high school course. loo The Teaching of Shorthand Of the general qualifications the fol- lowing are indispensable: 1. Common sense. 2. An ambition to give service instead of merely to draw salary. 3. The ability to keep the affairs of the business to himself. 4. A desire to climb higher; to make his work merit promotion. 5. Faith in his work and a desire to learn all there is to know about the business. 6. Honesty and loyalty. When the stenographer possesses all these qualities his work will "cause effects" that will be eminently satis- factory to him and to his employer; his work will be "characterized by energetic and useful activity"; and he can truly call himself an "efficient" stenographer. THE APPLICATION OF MODERN EFFICIENCY PRINCIPLES TO THE TEACHING OF SHORTHAND An Address to the "Gregg Shorthand Round Table," AT THE Eastern Commercial Teachers' Association April 21, 1916 THE APPLICATION OF MODERN EFFICIENCY PRINCIPLES TO THE TEACHING OF SHORTHAND IN the brief time allotted to me I cannot do more than outline what I beHeve to be the next step forward in teaching our special subject. In order to gain your attention I am going to make a bold statement at the very outset. It is this: I believe that the efficiency of most shorthand depart- ments could be increased from twenty- five to fifty per cent by the adoption of the methods I am about to suggest. All I can hope to do within the time limit is to give you a skeleton of the plan, but I hope that what I have to say will be sufficient to induce you to reflect upon it, to investigate, and to experiment with it. I04 The Teaching of Shorthand The plan is the application to the teaching of shorthand of what is known in business as scientific management, or efficiency principles. It is well known that the work of many of the great industries and factories has been revo- lutionized by the work of Frederick Taylor, Frank Gilbreth, Harrington Emerson, and other efficiency engineers. I believe that a similar revolution can be effected in teaching shorthand through the adaptation of efficiency principles to our classroom work. Let me trace the steps taken by the efficiency engineer in the study of any problem. He first studies the material to be handled by the workmen, and the methods adopted in handling it. Through "motion studies" and "time studies" he sets a standard to be attained, based upon the performance of the best workman. He improves even the performance of the best work- man by suggestions based on his obser- The Teaching of Shorthand 105 vations. He then proceeds to bring all of the workmen up to that standard by the elimination of unnecessary or time-wasting motions in the perform- ance of the workto be done. Let me explain how this was applied to brick- laying. A Lesson from Bricklaying Bricklaying is one of the oldest of trades. Although practiced by millions of men, there has been little or no change in the materials or the manner of doing the work in centuries. An efficiency engineer, Mr. Frank Gilbreth, applied the principles of scientific management to bricklaying with remarkable results. His investigation showed that in laying bricks under standard conditions, the bricklayer made eighteen motions. Applying scientific principles to the problem, Mr. Gilbreth succeeded in reducing the number of motions to five, with the result that the average per man, per hour, which had been 120 bricks, was increased to 350 bricks. Let us consider what the traditional way of laying bricks is. The bricks are dumped lo6 The Teaching of Shorthand out in a pile, the bricklayer stoops down and picks up a brick out of the pile, examines it, taps it, and if it is a trimmed brick, finds which end should be placed outward, and proceeds to place it in position. Here you have a number of complicated move- ments. In applying scientific management, Mr. Gilbreth studied the exact position which each of the feet of the bricklayer should occupy with relation to the wall, the mortar box, and the pile of bricks, and so made it unnecessary for him to take a step or two toward the pile of bricks and back again each time a brick was laid. He studied the best height for the mortar box and the brick pile, and then designed a scaffold with a table, upon which all of the materials are placed, so as to keep the bricks, the mortar, the man, and the wall in their proper relative positions. These scaflFolds are adjusted for all of the bricklayers as the wall grows in height, by a laborer espe- cially detailed for this purpose. By this means, the bricklayer is saved the effort of stooping down to the level of his feet for each brick and each trowel full of mortar, and then straightening up again. Think of the waste of effort that has gone on The Teaching of Shorthand 107 through all these years with each brick- layer lowering his body down and raising it again every time a brick, weighing about five pounds, is laid in the wall, and this each bricklayer did about one thousand times a day! The bricks, too, are care- fully sorted by a laborer with their best edge on a simple wooden frame, so as to enable him to take hold of each brick in the quickest time and in the most advan- tageous position. In this way, the brick- layer avoids having to turn the brick over on end to examine it before laying it, and saves, too, the time taken in deciding which is the best edge and end to place upon the outside of the wall. In most cases, he saves the time taken in disentangling the brick from a disorderly pile on the scaffold. We have all seen bricklayers tap each brick several times with the handle of the trowel as it is pilaced on its bed of mortar so as to secure the right thickness for the joint. Mr. Gilbreth found that by tempering the mor- tar just right, the bricks could be readily bedded to the proper depth by a down- ward pressure of the hand with which they were laid. This will give you an idea of how scien- io8 The Teaching of Shorthand tific management is arrived at and applied. It is by intense analysis and study of each movement of the workman and by elim- inating one after another all unnecessary movements, and substituting fast for slow movements. It requires very close study of every minute element which in any way affects the speed of the workman. Another important feature of scientific management is this: that each workman is treated as an individual, and his work is carefully planned for him in advance. He knows just what he has to do, and how much he has to do per day. Just as in the traditional method of bricklaying, the increase in the height of a wall being built was dependent upon the slowest workman, so, under the traditional methods of shorthand instruction, the progress of the stu- dents is regulated by that of the slowest student in the class. This is true of theory work and it is true of dictation work, which must be governed by the slowest student. The Teaching of Shorthand 109 In the study of shorthand, what is the object to be accomplished? It is the recording of words as rapidly as possible. The material, then, with which the student deals is words; the tools with which he handles that ma- terial are shorthand characters. The first point, then, to be considered Is the nature of the material to be handled — words. Unlike bricks, words are not standardized as to size, appear- ance or frequency of use. A recent monograph issued by the Russell Sage Foundation entitled "A Measuring Scale for Ability in Spelling," by Leonard P. Ay res, states that ten words {the, and, of, tOy I, a, in, that, you, for), with their repetitions, constitute more than one-fourth of all the words we write; and that fifty words, with their repeti- tions, constitute about one-half of all the words we write. Recent investigations of various dic- tation books made in our own office no The Teaching of Shorthand have shown that more than ninety per cent of all the words used in ordinary- dictation are written in accordance with the first ten lessons of our shorthand Manual. It follows from this that much greater attention should be given to these lessons than to the other lessons because exceptional rapidity in doing nine-tenths of the work to be done is of the utmost importance. It has been demonstrated, too, that if a student is drilled systematically and intelligently on the alphabetic characters and com- binations in the early lessons, and then given a great variety of actual dicta- tion practice on words, sentences, letters, and articles that may be written in accordance with the principles of these lessons, he is able to handle the less frequent material, the long and un- common words, with vastly increased facility. The Teaching of Shorthand iii A Lesson from Typewriting I have given you an illustration of the application of these principles to bricklay- ing. At this point I should like to direct your attention to the remarkable results that have been secured through the applica- tion of these principles to a subject that is closely allied to shorthand — typewriting. You will remember that but a few years ago the championship speed in typewriting was around 80 words a minute; to-day it is about 130 words a minute. It stayed around 80 words a minute until the typewriter com- panies became interested in the contests as an advertising feature of their machines, and placed experts in charge of the training of their best operators. Then the speed jumped to over 100 words a minute and every year it goes higher, being now far beyond what was believed humanly pos- sible a few years ago. Take the case of the girl who won the Novice Championship in Typewriting last November. Here was a girl who began the study of typewriting in the regular course at a high school thirteen months before the contest. She made the remarkable record 112 The Teaching of Shorthand of 114 words a minute, which is far in excess of the championship speeds some years ago. What is more striking about this record is this: that when she went to the office of the typewriter company in February she was writing not more than 35 words a minute. Two months later she wrote 78 words a minute in a contest at the Business Show in Boston. I have been assured by the gentleman under whose direction she was trained that the increase from 35 to 78 words a minute in less than two months was accomplished simply through the elimination of two bad habits in operating which she had acquired in school. Seven months later she won the Novice Contest at 114 words a minute. This was accomplished by the application of the efficiency principles I have already outlined, followed by intensive practice under the direction of a man who had made a special study of time studies and motion studies. Apply these principles to the study of shorthand and similar results will be achieved. We now come to the question of how the plan may be applied, how the stu- The Teaching of Shorthand 113 dent may be trained to the utmost facility in dealing with the common material, the frequent words and com- binations. I believe that the only way to do this is to give systematic short- hand penmanship drill in connection with the daily instruction on the theory. This should be supplemented by a drill in correct position, correct methods of handling the pen, the notebook, and the making of rapid transitions between words or phrases, and in turning the pages of the notebook. It is of the very greatest importance that correct habits be established at the beginning of the work. A Lesson from Penmanship Here I should like to direct your atten- tion to the great change that has taken place in the teaching of penmanship. Many of you will remember that a few years ago the copybook method of teaching the sub- ject was in almost universal use. To-day in the best schools — the schools that are 114 '^^^ Teaching of Shorthand getting the best results In teaching rapid business writing — it is conspicuous by its absence. The old copybook plan was to set an engraved copy and require the stu- dents to imitate it, writing the copy slowly and painfully in a circumscribed space. There was no freedom, no life to the work, and when the student attempted to write without a copy his penmanship became a miserable scrawl. It is a singular thing that while the copy- book method is almost universally con- demned by up-to-date teachers of ordinary penmanship, the copybook method of teach- ing shorthand is still being followed in most schools. I believe that as much of this train- ing as possible should be given in the form of dictation because this will accustom the student to the way in which he will apply his knowledge of shorthand in actual work. It will stim- ulate him to write quickly and unhes- itatingly. It is by putting the student under pressure that the best results are accomplished. The Teaching of Shorthand 115 In the early practice there is need of much repetition work, as it is from repetition that skill is acquired in any- thing. To be valuable this repetition work must be made interesting, and the way to make it interesting is to give it in the form of live, enthusiastic, inten- sive penmanship drills, supplemented by actual dictation. There is only one thing needed to effect this revolution in the teaching of shorthand, and that is a real appre- ciation of its value by teachers and then the determination to carry it into effect. Let me say that while there is no more interesting subject to teach than shorthand, the carrying out of the plan I have outlined will enhance the interest and pleasure of the work tenfold. 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