Without doubt you have noticed evidence of the widespread interest of teachers in general semantics. It is indicated by the number of articles appearing in professional journals, the frequent references to it in textbooks, and the popularity of lectures and of courses dealing with the subject.

Successful teachers have always applied the principles of general semantics in their teaching methods, but too generally, the earliest opportunity for pupils to experience the benefits of a program of direct training has been at the college level. This question has been asked: If it were possible to adapt a system of semantic training for children, could it be given at the elementary level?

Our answer to this question is based on the results of experiments conducted in Chicago schools during a three-year period. Three hundred seventh- and eighth-grade pupils at the Nettelhorst School were taught a series of lessons adapted from the materials and methods that have proved so inspiring to Dr. Irving Lee’s classes in general semantics at Northwestern University. Our classes ranged in size from forty-two to forty-eight pupils each. The chronological ages ranged from 12.0 to 15.4, the I.Q.’s from 84 to 130, the standardized reading scores from 5.8 to 13.0+. There were also wide ranges in cultural and economic backgrounds.

In addition, student teachers used our general semantics course in other Chicago schools of different economic, cultural, and racial backgrounds. Experienced teachers, supervisors, and administrators who visited these classes, as well as the classes at Nettelhorst School, commented on the enthusiasm, the wide participation, the careful listening, and most important of all, the ability of the pupils to apply what they had learned to real-life situations.

The following paragraphs discuss some of our reasons for being so enthusiastic about teaching general semantics to our upper-grade pupils.

1. General semantics unified the areas of learning. Although we placed the subject in the curriculum under the language arts division, we found as the lessons developed that we were stimulating interest in science, social studies, mathematics, and the fine arts. A keen desire to participate in the discussions provided the pupils with a strong motivation for study in many fields. Pupils observed the relationship of their subject to their total learning. As one boy said, “It makes all your learning come together and add up.”

The applications of the lessons gave us an opportunity to work in human relations and in mental hygiene. We found also a place and a means for consideration of ethical and moral values.

Pupils were aware of the timeliness of this teaching. We did not have to justify this subject by saying, “It’s a requirement for the next grade,” or “You will appreciate this some day.” The pupils were eager for self-knowledge; they gathered round the place where we came to grips with the questions and problems that were part of their everyday life.

2. General semantics reached each pupil at his own level of experience. The pupil spoke of his own experiences when he contributed examples of real-life situations to his class. He read at his own reading level when seeking an illustration of some general semantics principle. Since there were activities and applications within the capacity of all, it was possible for each pupil to have the satisfaction of numerous successful experiences in communication. Enthusiastic participation was a criterion of the success of our lessons.

We had met a basic need of all children when a pupil had the feeling of being part of his group and of having something worth while to contribute. Some who had been rejected or who had been isolated by the group established a new relationship with their peers as they gained prestige through having an opportunity to report on some special interest or hobby. One uninterested boy, who was waiting for his sixteenth birthday so that he could drop out of school, was gradually drawn into the lessons until one day he approached his teacher with his little group of followers and asked, “Where can you get this stuff in high school and college?” For the first time we had reached him with what we had to offer. If a teacher is willing to pioneer. in general semantics teaching, and it is a new field, he will find his reward in numerous such reactions of pupils.

3. General semantics led to better pupil-teacher relationship. When the pupil learned how difficult it was to achieve effective communication and saw how frequently adults make semantic errors, he realized that conflict between himself and persons in authority might be due to misevaluations in thinking and speaking.

Through a sharing of common experiences in the class discussions, a better understanding and a spirit of co-operation developed. We learned more about our pupils’ backgrounds and standards in these discussions than we had learned in many of our tests or surveys. One pupil told of a visit backstage to meet Mary Garden; another in the same lesson found her example in her rat-infested home; and a third spoke of his afterschool job as a delivery boy. Only in this truly democratic atmosphere could these children share their experiences with the confidence that they would be respectfully considered by the group and understood by the teacher.

Each lesson was a new adventure in teacher-pupil relations; teacher and pupils were thinking together, laughing together, learning together, and with it all the teacher had the feeling that perhaps he was laying the foundation for a “togetherness” that our world needs so much today.

4. General semantics improved the emotional climate of the classroom. The teacher who applied semantic techniques in his teaching stimulated and enlivened instruction in all subjects through the use of multisensory devices: activities, trips, firsthand experiences, and audio-visual aids.

If the teacher applied general semantics principles to his own thinking, he was likely to avoid snap judgments, cynicism, arrogance, and easy generalizations. He. was aware of differences, change, and multiple-causations. His freedom from the tensions caused by misevaluations proved the most important factor in freeing the pupils from tension.

Our pupils reflected the attitude of the parents toward the school and its program, and we knew that establishing favorable public relations tended to result in a happier classroom. The handbook, It Starts in the Classroom, published by the National Education Association, Department of Classroom Teachers, presents many applications of general semantics principles for achieving good home and community relations.

5. General semantics altered pupil behavior. Students who had this training asked more questions. They also listened more attentively. They evaluated their sources of information more carefully. Because of a new motivation, they read more widely and with greater interest.

General semantics provided the teacher with a way of talking to pupils when counseling them. Pupils seemed to examine their motives and conduct in a new light, and this self-scrutiny often led to changes in behavior.

The pupil was taught that these lessons had little value if they were regarded as so many facts to be learned. He learned that the lessons were successful only if they went more than skin-deep, that they were successful only if he applied this new learning in other classrooms, on the playground, on the street, and in his home.

6. General semantics stimulated wide, critical reading. The reading lists given in this book were compiled from pupil reports and are available in class readers and in school library books. They represent a wide range of interests and reading abilities.

About midway through the course, we introduced the reading to find evidence of, or illustration for, a theory. The pupils were asked to read for examples of “allness” or “statements of inference” or “failure to date” in their Junior Scholastic or Current Events papers or in daily newspapers. A pupil who found such an example reported it to the class, and the class read it to verify his finding. After a few weeks of such training, the pupils extended this procedure to library books. Students seemed to read with more care when preparing for a panel discussion of how the people in their particular books showed patterns of evaluations that led to misunderstandings or to agreements.

7. General semantics motivated written expression. We did no writing in these classes until the pupils expressed a need for it. At first many students in our classes of from forty-two to forty-eight pupils were very shy about speaking to the group. About midway through the course that shyness disappeared. Then often, after each class, we heard the complaint, “I had something to say, but I didn’t have a chance to say it.” Discussions were continued around the teacher’s desk and in the halls, and sometimes even into another classroom. We decided that a bulletin board, where we could post written applications of the lessons we had studied, would give everyone a chance to express himself. It would also provide stimulating reading material for our spare time. The stories that the pupils wrote proved to be interesting, revealing views of their personalities and backgrounds.

8. General semantics emphasized maturity rather than competition. The pupils became keenly interested in their own individual growth, and, as a result, they developed insight into their own problems. They often expressed pleasure when they discovered that they were able to understand and to overcome some block to their progress.

When the pressure of competition was removed, each pupil seemed to enjoy and to encourage the progress of other pupils; they did not show concern when their achievements were surpassed by other’s achievements.

This interest in self-improvement and the harmonious interpupil relationship fostered by the principles of general semantics made for a happier classroom for both pupil and teacher.

How Much Time Is Required for the Course?

We covered the work in this book in about seventy class periods by using one English period a week. This extended the course from seventh grade through eighth grade. Below is a listing of the scope of work that we found could be covered most efficiently by each grade using one period a week.

Seventh grade — Lessons 1 through 8

Eighth grade — Review of Lessons 1 through 8 and Lessons 9 through 16

If, however, you find that the lessons must be given in a one-year period, you may accelerate the course, or you may choose those lessons which you feel will be most valuable to your pupils. In either case, we urge you to give the pupils adequate time to assimilate this new learning.

Even though our experiments were at the elementary level, teachers have reported that an intensive program of daily lessons for three or four weeks at the beginning of high-school science, mathematics, and social studies courses proved highly satisfactory.

The time allotted will depend on whether semantics is being taught as a unit in the language arts program or whether it is being taught as an introductory discipline for science, mathematics, social studies, or ethics.