Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1875-03-12
From the Comet and Advertis
A FEAST OF SCRAPS.

| oUT pubic SCHOOlS, W III tllClI llldHN OK
cellences, have some weak points. The
authors,-the term comprising compilers,
contriyers and creators,-ofours school text
books, with much that is sensible, do some
very foolish things, Teachers, among many
commendable and profitable profession
al ideas, hold to some things that appear
absurd to unframed and unprejudiced
common sense. We have been led into
this train of remark, by an examination Of
several school readers, regularly adopted
by Boards" as text books to teach and
to practice reading, constantly used by
teachers from the Primer through all the
grades of First, Second, Third, Fourth,
Fifth and Sixth. and in some series, with
several books between these "intermedi-
ate and after them supplementary"
| The census reports give us the number
of people who can read; the quarterly re-
ports of the teachers and the statistics
published by the educational authorities
of the State inform us how many of our
children are studying reading. What is
reading in the view of these reports? 1t
is the power of pronouncing words at
sight, or at the best. of pronouncing SEN
tencc5 with measured intervals of time be-
tween certain words. and with an eleva-
tion or depression of the voice at the end
of the sentence as may be prescribed by
the rule of elocution supposed to govern
the especial case. We may not expect the
statistics to 90 deeper than this and tell
us what is read, nor how many of our
children can read aloud piece of classical
English literature. or could recognize a
piece of good English literature, nor how
many have been trained to discriminate
between what is worth reading and what
IS worthless.
What do they read We may learn this
from the teachers and school boards. Ask
the question, and the answer will be the
aforesaid First, Second. Third. Fourth,
Fifth, or Sixth Readers, and the refrain
will only be varied by the name of the
compiler. whether it he White, or Brown.
or Jones, or Green. Now let us take up
one of these books at random-and when
we have examined one we have the mea-
sure of all. 1t is IS Sixth Reader.
used in the highest classes, and therefore
the choicest. As soon as we open it we
see its fragmentary character. The story,
the sketch, the allegory. the select para
graphs. are followed by their kindred
through five hundred pages. And the
"
who have no recognition as masters in Ii
terature. who do not draw water from the
pure fountains of undefiled English, very
respectable writers and sometimes worthy
persons. but models neither of thought,
composition nor style. Occasionally we
find short poem, or prose extract from
one of the great masters, which stirs the
blood and quickens the thought. The boy
will read with zest the fragment The
( Trial OF Warren Hastings" Macaulay' s
living words seize hold of his imagination,
and he longs for the whole history. but
having turned leaf. he finds the fragment
broken off and The Diamond Merchant
or = he Search after Happiness" does yio-
lence TO his imagination and feelings.
: Our children are fed on scraps, and scraps
generally, if not positively unwholesome,
not in the slightest degree nutritious.
This reading leads to nothing. There is
nothing behind it or ahead of it. In it
self il has no value, and it brings no in
spiration for something beyond it. This
fragmentary character of the reading books
stands in the way, and bars the develop
ment Of the child's mind, and the capacity
tor recognizing and appreciating good Ii
terature. To this feast of scraps, the Sun
day School novel supplies the dessert, and
the consequence is we are bringing up a
generation of readers who have not the re-
motest conception OF the purpose of read
ing. of what to read. nor of what priceless
treasures the range of good English liter
allure affords. See to it, parents and teac-
hers, that we do not also bring up gener-
alton weak in thought, aimless in purpose
and careless in princiDlc
Now we think our children should have
some better mental food than these scraps
If the crumb The Parting of Marmion and
Douglas" takes hold upon the imagina
tion of our boy, wakes him up, puts fire
f into his brain, we want him to have the
: whole leaf of Sir Walter Scott's poems
that the effect may be strong and perma
nent. The way we read now the crumb il
all he will get, and he will never ascer
: tain through the instrumentality of th'
school or the school book that there is
, loaf from which this came The Barme
cide's feast was preferable to this: consist
. ing of notions and viands. it was pre-
: tense like this feast, but it did not give
delusiyc appeasing Of the appetite, mol
prevent it from enjoying the substantial
and luxurious food when it came. AS h(
friend, and be not ashamed for thou art
hungry, and | know thou art suffering
from the violence of hunger. Eat, beg
of thee, for hungry man thou seemest tC
have but poor appetite" !" while Shacabac
knew there was no food there; so we say
to our boys and gils, but make them believe
that the dry, liteless scraps is rich mental
food. and chide them if nature call out
within them that they have no appetite
Now if there is public school teacher
who has courage enough to throw away
the Browns, Jones and Robinson's Fifth
and Sixth Readers, and let his advanced
>, classes read Paradise Lost, or Rasselas, OF
Macaulays Essays, or some first class his
torian, mot Goodrich We beg you) from
the copy he may own or can borrow, toI
two or three terms. we would like to hear
his report of the effect such a course would
have upon the minds of his pupils. And
if there is a Sunday school teacher or su-
perintendent who believes it is absolutely
necessary for children to read fictitious
writing, who will substitute for the aver
age Sunday School library book, Ivanhoe
Dombey & Son, or the Leather stocking
books, we believe he will strengthen, rath-
er than enervate as he is doing now, the
mental and moral constitution Of his chill
dren. And if there is parent who feels
sufficient interest in the right training OF
whether they can read aloud some selection
from an English master, or will test wheth-
er they can discriminate between worthy