Special Method in the Reading of Complete English Classics Part 12

The study of these literary masterpieces, the choicest of the world, while it offers a broad perspective of history, also enters deep into the psychology of children and their periods of growth and change. What a study for the teacher!

Suppose now that a wise selection of the best products for school use had been made. The books for each grade would respond not only to the ability but to the characteristic temper and mental status of children at that age. The books would arouse the full compa.s.s of the children's mental power, their emotional as well as intellectual capacities, their sympathy, interest, and feeling. The teacher who is about to undertake the training of these children may not know much about children of that age. How can she best put herself into an att.i.tude by which she can meet and understand the children on their own ground? Not simply their intellectual ability and standing, but, better still, their impulses and sympathies, their motives and hearts? Most people, as they reach maturity and advance in years, have a tendency to grow away from their childhood. Their purposes have changed from those of childhood to those of mature life. They are no longer interested in the things that interest children. Such things seem trivial and even incomprehensible to them.

Now the person who is preparing to be a teacher should grow back into his childhood. Without losing the dignity or purpose of mature life, he should allow the memories and sympathies of childhood to revive. The insight which comes from companions.h.i.+p and sympathy with children he needs in order to guide them with tact and wisdom.

The literature which belongs to any age of childhood is perhaps the best key to the spirit and disposition of that period. The fact that it is of permanent worth makes it a fit instrument with which the teacher may reawaken the dormant experiences and memories of that period in his own life. The teacher who finds it impossible to reawaken his interest in the literature that goes home to the hearts of children has _prima facie_ evidence that he is not qualified to stimulate and guide their mental movements. The human element in letters is the source of its deep and lasting power; the human element in children is the centre of their educative life, and he who disregards this and thinks only of intellectual exercises is a poor machine. The literature which children appreciate and love is the key to their soul life. It has power to stimulate teacher and pupil alike, and is therefore a common ground where they may both stand and look into each other's faces with sympathy.

This is not so much the statement of a theory as a direct inference from many observations. It has been observed repeatedly, in different schools under many teachers, that the "Lady of the Lake," "Vision of Sir Launfal," "Sleepy Hollow," or "Merchant of Venice" have had an astonis.h.i.+ng power to bring teacher and children into near and cherished companions.h.i.+p. It is not possible to express the profound lessons of life that children get from the poets. In the prelude to Whittier's "Among the Hills," what a picture is drawn of the coa.r.s.e, hard lot of parents and children in an ungarnished home, "so pinched and bare and comfortless," while the poem itself, a view of that home among the hills which thrift and taste and love have made,--

"Invites the eye to see and heart to feel The beauty and the joy within their reach; Home and home loves and the beat.i.tudes Of nature free to all."

To study such poetry in its effect upon children is a monopoly of the rich educational opportunity which falls naturally into the hands of teachers. Psychology, as derived from text-books, is apt to be cold and formal; that which springs from the contact of young minds with the fountains of song lives and breathes. If a teacher desires to fit herself for primary instruction, she can do nothing so well calculated to bring herself _en rapport_ with little children as to read the nursery rhymes, the fairy tales, fables, and early myths. They bring her along a charming road into the realm of childlike fancies and sympathies, which were almost faded from her memory. The same door is opened through well-selected literature to the hearts of children in intermediate and grammar grades.

The sense of humor is cultivated in literature better than elsewhere. In fact, no other study contains much material of humorous quality. A quick sense of it is deemed by many of the best judges an indispensable quality in teachers. Not that a teacher needs to be a diverting story-teller or entertainer, if only he has an indulgent patience and kindly sympathy for those who enjoy telling stories. There is a certain hearty, wholesome social spirit in the enjoyment of humor which diffuses itself like sunlight through a school. It contains an element of kindliness, humanity, and good fellows.h.i.+p which lubricates all the machinery and takes away unnecessary stiffness and gravity in conduct.

Best of all it is a sort of mental balance-wheel for the teacher, which enables him to see the ludicrous phases of his own behavior, should he be inclined to run to foolish extremes in various directions. Much of our best literature abounds in humorous elements. Lowell, Holmes, Shakespeare, and Irving are spontaneously rich in this quality of ore, and it is just as well perhaps to cultivate our appreciation in these richer veins as in shallow and unproductive ones elsewhere.

Schlegel says of Shakespeare, his "comic talent is equally wonderful with that he has shown in the pathetic and tragic; it stands at an equal elevation and possesses equal extent and profundity.... Not only has he delineated many kinds of folly, but even of sheer stupidity he has contrived to give a most diverting and entertaining picture."

The inability to appreciate the ludicrous and farcical, and especially of witty conceits, is felt to be a mark of dulness and heaviness, and in dealing with children and young people a versatile perception of the humorous is very helpful. Many of the pupils possess this quality of humor in a marked degree, and the teacher should at least have sufficient insight to appreciate this peculiar bent of mind and turn of wit.

A brief retrospect will make plain the profitableness of cla.s.sics to the teacher. They show a deep perspective into the spirit and inner workings of history. The social life and insight developed by the study of literature give tact and judgment to understand and respect the many-sided individualities found in every school. The teacher's own moral and aesthetic and religious ideals are constantly lifted and strengthened by the study of cla.s.sics. Such reading is a recreation and relief even in hours of weariness and solitude. It is an expansive spiritual power rather than a burden. Literary artists are also a standing ill.u.s.tration of the graphic, spirited manner of handling subjects. Finally, this rich and varied realm of cla.s.sic thought and expression is the doorway by which we enter again into the moods and impulses and fancies of childhood. We thus revive our own youth and fit ourselves for a quick and appreciative perception of children's needs.

It is the best kind of child study.

A few of the books which are suggestive, and ill.u.s.trate the value of literature for teachers, and in some cases even lay out lines of profitable and stimulative reading, are as follows:--

Newell Dwight Hillis. Great Books and Life Teachers. (Fleming H.

Revell Co.)

George Willis Cooke. Poets and Problems. (Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.)

The Schoolmaster in Literature. (The American Book Co.)

Representative Essays. (G. P. Putnam's Sons.)

Hamilton Wright Mabie. Books and Culture. (Dodd, Mead, & Co.)

James Baldwin. The Book Lover. (A. C. McClurg & Co.)

The Schoolmaster in Comedy and Satire. (The American Book Co.)

Emerson's Essays.

Schlegel's Dramatic Art and Literature. (Bohn's Libraries.)

Ruskin's Sesame and Lilies, and Seven Lamps of Architecture.

Thomas Wentworth Higginson, Book and Heart. (Harper & Brothers.)

Carlyle's Heroes and Hero-Wors.h.i.+p.

Counsel upon the Reading of Books. Van d.y.k.e. (Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.)

Literary and General Essays. Charles Kingsley. (Macmillan & Co.)

CHAPTER VII

LIST OF BOOKS

The following list of books, arranged according to grades, is designed to supply the children of the five grades, from the fourth to the eighth inclusive, with excellent reading matter in the form of complete masterpieces of American and English literature. It includes, besides the books for regular reading lessons, a large list of collateral and closely related works for the children and also for teachers.

The books of these lists contain a rich and varied fund of finest culture material, first of all for the teacher, and, through her spirit and enthusiasm, for the children.

Besides the general discussions of these books in the preceding chapters, a few additional explanations are necessary to make plain the grounds upon which this particular selection and arrangement of books is based. The whole purpose of the preceding chapters is to throw light upon this list, and to qualify the teacher for an intelligent and efficient use of these books as school readers.

1. The books apportioned to each grade or year are divided into three series. The first series is carefully selected to serve as regular reading-books for that grade. Almost without exception they are complete works, or collections of complete poems, stories, etc. Many of them are very familiar and have been much used in the schools. The number of books for each grade is large, so as to have room for choice and adaptation to each cla.s.s.

The second series consists of closely related collateral readings derived from a much wider range of books in literature, history, and science. Many of these books of the second list are not so strictly masterpieces of literature, but of a secondary rank as prose renderings of the great poems, myths, and stories of other languages, also American and European history stories. These materials are well adapted for the reference studies and home readings of children. They all deal with interesting and worthy subjects of thought in a superior style. Many of these books, however, are great and permanent works of literature. They are materials, also, which the teacher should be familiar with. They should be constantly referred to and discussed in connection with the first series. It is quite probable that some teachers will prefer books of the second series for regular reading in the place of some suggested in the first series.

The third series consists of books for teachers, including great works of literature, history, and science, which will enrich the teacher's knowledge and contribute to a broader enthusiasm and culture. The writings of some of the great essayists, as Ruskin, Carlyle, Emerson, Kingsley, Motley, Lowell, Huxley, Macaulay, and others, are peculiarly fit to broaden the teacher's horizon and enn.o.ble his purpose. Some of the best poems and novels suitable for advanced study are mentioned.

There are also books which deal in a comprehensive and critical, but sympathetic, way with important literary topics, as the myths and great epics, the age of chivalry, and the lives of the most eminent writers.

Some of the best works of biography and history are also suggested for teachers, and a number of the best professional and pedagogical books for teachers, dealing with literature, reading, and child study.

2. This list of books is of course tentative. There are other literary works as good, perhaps, but not a few difficulties stand in the way of the best selection. A few of the best materials are scattered in books not available for school purposes. Some of the finest of our longer cla.s.sics have not been tested much in school use. There is, however, an abundance of choice English works, complete, well printed and bound, in cheap, schoolbook form. The chief difficulty, after all, is in selecting and arranging the best of an abundant and varied collection of excellent literature. This inspiring problem lies but partly solved at the threshold of every teacher's work. It requires extensive knowledge of literature and experience in its use in cla.s.ses. A masterpiece may be read in several grades, and teachers will differ in judging its true place. Schools and cla.s.ses differ also in their capacity and previous preparation for cla.s.sic readings, so that no course of reading will fit all schools, or, perhaps, any two schools. Many princ.i.p.als will prefer to use the books one or two grades lower, or higher, than here indicated. Every teacher should use such a list according to his best individual judgment as based upon the needs of his school. This list was discussed and partly made out in conference with a number of experienced superintendents, and much variety of opinion was expressed as to the best grade for the use of a number of the selections.

3. The books chosen for each grade are designed to be a suitable combination of prose and poetry, of short and long selections from history, science, and letters. Variety in subject-matter and style is required in each grade, although certain strong individual characteristics are expected to appear in the literature of each year's work. Many of the shorter poems fit in well with longer masterpieces in prose and verse. Some of the epics, myths, and historical episodes are told in both prose and verse. The children may well meet and study them in both forms. If from four to six larger masterpieces could be read each year, and these could bring out the style and quality of so many authors, if a number of suitable shorter pieces could be read and related to the former, the many-sided influence of literature would prove each year effective. Literature is the broadest of all subjects, both as a basis of culture and for the unification of the varied studies. It touches every phase of experience and knowledge along its higher levels, and overlooks the whole field of life from the standpoint of the seer and poet. The cla.s.sic readings should aim at the completeness, variety, and elevation of thought which literature alone can give. Every year's literature should open the gates to meadow and woodland, to park and fruitful fields, into rich and shaded valleys, and up to free and sunny hilltops and mountains.

4. The list of books for each year includes two or three books of miscellaneous collections of cla.s.sics in prose and verse. Many of the selections are short and some fragmentary. Such are the three volumes of "Open Sesame," the "Golden Treasury of Songs and Lyrics," "Children's Treasury of English Song," and "Book of Golden Deeds." In each of the books named is found a variety of material suited perhaps to two or three grades. In most of the books just named it is not intended in our plan that all the selections should be read through in succession. It will be better for the teacher to select from those collections such choice poems, stories, etc., as will enrich and supplement the longer cla.s.sics, and give that added variety so needful. Many of the finest poems in our language are short, and should not be omitted from our school course. They should be read and some of them memorized by the children. It would be well if the teacher had in each grade one or two sets of such books of choice miscellaneous materials from which to select occasional reading. The regular readers used by the children would consist of the longer masterpieces, which would be supplemented by the shorter selections. In this way greater unity and variety might be achieved within the limits of each grade.

5. Information books and supplementary readers in history, geography, and natural science have been excluded, in the main, from our lists. The test of literary excellence has been applied to most of the books chosen. De Quincey's distinction between the literature of knowledge and that of power is our line of demarkation. It seems to us probable that the future will call for a still more stringent adherence to this principle of selection. Information readers are good and necessary in their place in geography, history, and natural science; but they are not good enough to take the place of cla.s.sics in reading lessons. The only exceptions to the rule of cla.s.sics are the prose renderings of the old cla.s.sics, as the "Story of the Odyssey," and the biographical stories from history. Both these have so much of interest and stimulus for the young that they seem to harmonize with our plan. But criticism may yet expose their inadequacy.

It is our plan, in brief, to limit the reading work mainly to the choice masterpieces of the best authors, and to render these studies as fruitful as possible in spiritual power. If supplementary readings are used at all, let them be those which will strengthen the influence of the cla.s.sics.

It has been our plan to collect in the Special Method Books devoted to geography, history, and natural science, a full list of the supplementary readers and information books in those subjects.

6. In our list, however, is included quite a number of cla.s.sic renderings of science and nature topics. Such are "Wake Robin," "Birds and Bees," "A Hunting of the Deer," etc., "Sharp Eyes" etc., "Succession of Forest Trees," "Up and Down the Brooks," "Water Babies," "The Foot-path Way," "Madam How and Lady Why," "Wilderness Ways," "In Bird Land," and many others.

These books, however, belong to the literature of power. They look at nature through the eyes of poet and artist and enthusiast. They are not cold, matter-of-fact delineations. They unfold the aesthetic and human side of nature, the divinity of flower and tree. These books are the communings of the soul with nature, and are closely related in spirit to the poems of nature in Bryant, Wordsworth, Tennyson, and other poets.

There has been a chasm between them and our text-books in science which needs bridging over. Now that science is beginning to be taught objectively, experimentally, and inductively, there will be much less of a hiatus at this stage, because there is so much that is powerfully stimulating in nature study.

7. Some books are named twice in the lists, first as books of reference, or in the teacher's lists, and in a later grade for the use of children in regular reading. We have been especially careful in selecting appropriate books in the first list for each grade adapted to the age of the children. These books for regular reading must be used by every child, so that they should be fitted to the average ability. The reference books for collateral reading in the second series of each grade may be more difficult in some cases, as they will be used, in part, only by the stronger pupils.

There are certain groups of kindred books, like the Greek myths, that are distributed through three or more grades. It is not expected that any child will use all of these books, as several of them may deal with the same story, like the "Iliad" or "Odyssey." It seemed best to include all the important renderings of these stories, and leave the teacher to choose among them for his cla.s.s.