No information is given on the printing of this 1889 edition printed in London. Henry J. Barker was lecturer on English Language and Literature to Pupil Teachers under the London School Board. Barker's text examines the study of the English language as interpreted by young students. Some of the chapters were previously published in Longman's Magazine as "Studies of Elementary School Life." The chapters contain anecdotes and commentary on the student whose writing is featured in that chapter, a selection of writing by that student, and further commentary on the writing itself. The purpose of the text seems to be amusement for the reader, perhaps at the expense of the "specimens" in the text. The Schultz Archive includes the complete text (pages 86-87 are missing), and the scans are good quality, except some highlighter obscures text throughout.