Madison times. (Tallulah, Madison Parish, La.) 1884-1???, 1886-09-04
TEACHING THE YOUNG IDEA.
The silly Singing-Books that Find
Favor in Public schools.

Favor in Public schools.
Everybody knows that they teach
singing in the public schools all over
the country. and every parent has at
some time or other devoted a part Of
his income to the purchase of singing
books for his children. Of course it is
beneath the dignity of the head of a
family to look into these books himself,
so not one person in n thousand knows
any thing about the songs. But there
is just where the grown people miss
lots of fun. Some of the verses the
children sing are Us funny as anything
in a minstrel show, and reveal intrica-
cies of meter and weird phases of life
that would make the romancer of the
Arabian Knights hang his head in
shame.
Throughout Westminster county and
in most of the schools about New \ ork
the children use The Song Wave.
In a beautiful little ballad that infests
the book and has lodging-place on
page Is, the following touching appeal
appears:
wish the whole world was park,
With lee both in winter and summer,
q, would not ! skate like lark,
Astonishing every new coineri
The only regret one feels in reading
tn > is thaa the book is not ILLUSTRATED
with wood cuts. The picture of a lark
skating would be at least novel, and
would serve 10 inculcatc new and orig
ina ideas of natural history. Some of
the sentiments expressed i'll the other
verses of the song are almost equally
touching. For instance, it goes on to
say:
wish the whole world was school
And half Of the year was vacation.
Dear teacher, Id mind every rule,
Then visit my country relation.
wish the whole world was tree.
How nice il would be in hot weather!
'Twould shade us SO beautifully
And make us feel good altogether.
So through nine verses it runs. while
the children successfully wish that all
the world were wood, ball, book,
a brook. and gate.
A tile furthr oil, page 80 is devoted
to telling how much superior a black
cat is to an other kind of cat. 1t
recites at length the delights of sim
cere love for truly black cats. and con-
cludes with the following stanzas. The
chorus is omitted, as il sings only of
the virtues of cats in general, and does
not seem to do full Justice to the black
ones:
Some will choose the tortoise she'll
Others love the white so well;
Let them choose Of this or that
But give me the old black cat.
When the bows to make her run
Call the dogs and set them on;
Quicly put on my bat
And fly to save my old black cat
But The Song Wave" doesn't con,
fine itself TO cats or even to the broad
field of natural history. Hear its con.
tribution rs to boys:
When johnny Poole first went to school,
| He was but scarcely seven;
! He knew as well TO read and SPELL
As most Logs OF eleven.
Geography, too, comes in for a fan
share of poetic praise, and the gifted
authors tell in simple language how
Water and land upon the face
OF this round world We see;
The land is mans safe dwelling place,
But ships sail on the sea.
The youngest child, after learning al
about ships that way, would know at q
glance that something was wrong if {
big vessel came sailing down the stone
,iuvN ALI PUT tlsr SCHOOL house dUUI
SO every song teaches some new truth
Perhaps the only fault in the book j,
on page a, where the song writer
telling of his family, says:
A sister and five brothers were
! OF that our household band:
Though five remain yet one has gone
To try the spirit land.
There is plain intimation here tina
! the party merely meant TO try the spiri
land. and if he did not like il he coulC
return at will or 20 elsewhere. Just a.
fancy dictated. This is so evidently al
variance with the general experience
! that comment is unnecessary. If any
body believes that public school is
without fun. let him drop in some TIM,
when the children are singing.-Neu
York World.
TIE pIHLECT wOhAN