Union County courier. [volume] (Elk Point, Union County, D.T. [S.D.]) 187?-1913, 1888-11-14
SCHOOL EXHIBITION.
supplementary Reading In Public
Schools.


supplementary b Rssialns In Public
The means generally resorted te
at the present time for raising ad
ditional school funds are school en-
tertainments. While the giving o
a school entertainment is not an un'
mixed good, it is neither an un
mixed evil. BY this means the diff
fidence natural to pupils is, in q Ger.
tain degree, overcome. 1t is no,
the purpose Of this article to illus
trate the benefits arising from giving
school entertainments, nor to con.
trovert the possible attending evils.
Surely, all understand that in the
successful conduct of school there
are certain demands that require
money for the carrying out of spe-
cial ends, and the failure to accom-
plish these ends very materially inn
pairs the efficiency of the school.
The object now in view is to begin
the foundation of working library
for each grade, suited to the needs
of the pupils in the various grades.
If few books can be placed in
each room to supplement the direct
work Of that room, the leisure time
of the pupils can be utilized, addi-
tional interest can be excited, habits
of investigation can be formed, and
in the widened scope of the work,
the individuality of the pupils can
find treer play, and the narrowing
effects arising from holding the pu-
pill to the limited range Of a single
textbook can be overcome in the
larger, freer life. A taste for good
reading is not formed by not begin
ming early enough; too much time
is spent in talking and too little in
practice. The only effective way is
to put books in the hands of the
pupil and encourage him to read
them. This takes money, Of course,
but so does every other good thing.
If nothing is done for the pupil at
that particular stage OF his second
life when he is acquiring the power
to read and feels the strength he
possesses, except to give him the adj
vice "to read good books" advice
unpracticable since he has
little inherited taste for reading and
a limited library from which to
draw, it is readily seen that this adj
vice comes to nothing. The issue
Of supplementary reading in its
present abundance and excellence
by the great publishing houses of
this country is a significant and
cheering sign. In the expenditure
Of this money, aside from the end
of cultivating a sound
Taste as respects books, it is pro-
posed to enlarge the pupils vocabu-
AIRY and assist him in gaining an
Easy familiarity with words TO
his end it is proposed to purchase
good books for the lower grades, in
sufficient abundance, if possible, to
permit the pupil to take books
nome. The pupil who has finished
,ne second or third reader is in po-
'ition to take another good book
argely by himself and enjoy it, The
ense Of easy mastery prompts him
o read more and more, and the
ratification ofthat new and delis ht-
Ill consciousness Of power is one
,reat step in his after success. What
! child needs most. after he has
aimed some control over words and
heir use, is practice. Wide and
opious practice will produce good
eaders, and spoilers as well. The
rouble with primary reading in
aany schools is that not enough is
one in this direction. The oppor-
unity for self-teaching is taken
way from the pupil by the fact
hat his material at home is not of
he right kind or that he has not
ad sufficient pains taken with him.
t seems strange that greater atten-
on is not paid to this matter since
applies in this direction are cheap.
uch books will do a vast deal of
bod. They furnish an enjoyment
the most substantial kind. A
tile money thus expended goes a
reat ways, and the reflection that
e now have it in our power to in
ease by much the happiness and
roft of nearly all our pupils, goes {
+ in overwhelming the petty per-
textiles that assail the school-mas- i
RS llfe-nay more assure us that
this way many Of these little
ouhles are removed altogether, and
the fuller life of tomorrow the
iff, mechanical, repressive work of !
'-day disappears. To secure these t
enetits arising from supplementary ]
aiding and to impart new life
I'd zeal to school-room work, and
bring a more wholesome inf1u- G
ice to bear directly upon the pu-
i, it has been decided to give
hool entertainment in the near flu
ire. If sickness on the part Of pu-
Is does not prevent, the entertain |
ent will be given on the evening !
Thanksgiving. An adj
ission fee will be charged, and the
roceeds devoted to purchasing ex-
a reading matter for the third and I
urth reader grades. We hope this
ep in school work will meet with |,
'e hearty approval and support of
'ery school patron in this commu-
lty. Z