The great majority of the population of Cleveland will spell only as they write letters, receipts, and simple memoranda.  They do not need to spell a wide vocabulary with complete accuracy.  On the other hand, there are classes of people to whom a high degree of spelling accuracy covering a fairly wide vocabulary is an indispensable vocational necessity:  clerks, copyists, stenographers, correspondents, compositors, proof-readers, etc.  These people need an intensive specialized training in spelling that is not needed by the mass of the population.  Such specialized vocational training should be taken care of by the Cleveland schools, but it should not be forced upon all simply because the few need it.  The attempt to bring all to the high level needed by the few, and the failure to reach this level, is responsible for the justifiable criticism of the schools that those few who need to spell unusually well are imperfectly trained.

The spelling practice should continue through the high school.  It is only necessary for teachers to refuse to accept written work that contains any misspelled word to force upon students the habit of watchfulness over every word written.  The High School of Commerce is to be commended for making spelling a required portion of the training.  The course needs to be more closely knit with composition and business letter-writing.

HANDWRITING

Cleveland gives a considerably larger proportion of time to handwriting than the average of the 50 cities.

Table 5.—­Time given to handwriting
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| Hours per year | Per cent of grade time
|-----------------------|------------------------
Grade | Cleveland | 50 cities | Cleveland | 50 cities
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1 | 47 | 50 | 6.5 | 6.7
2 | 63 | 60 | 7.2 | 6.7
3 | 63 | 52 | 7.2 | 5.7
4 | 63 | 53 | 7.2 | 5.5
5 | 67 | 50 | 6.4 | 5.1
6 | 47 | 47 | 5.4 | 4.8
7 | 47 | 39 | 5.4 | 3.9
8 | 32 | 37 | 3.6 | 3.7
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Total | 419 | 388 | 6.1 | 5.1
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The curriculum of handwriting resolves itself mainly into questions of method, and of standards to be achieved in each of the grades.  These matters are treated intensively in the section of the survey report entitled “Measuring the Work of the Public Schools.”

LANGUAGE, COMPOSITION, GRAMMAR

The schools devote about the usual amount of time to training for the correct use of the mother tongue.  Most of the time in intermediate and grammar grades is devoted to English grammar.  Composition receives only minor attention.