Los Angeles daily herald., 1888-07-19

is to be found in an adaptation of the literature
ia9iei hiie;1 mytn ana legend which sprapg rom
slight limitations in nationality or authorship
Literature of this sort makes the transition
from the primer to national literature. The
place. then, of literature in our common school
is in spiritualizing. letting the light
into the mind, inspiring and feeding the higher
forces of human nature.
Halsey, Superintendent of Public
Schools at Battle Creek, Mich, who read
paper upon the subject Of Practical
Children to Read" the text of which
was as follows:
SECOND PAPER.
PRACTICAL METHODS OF USING LITERATURE IN
TEACHING CHILDREN TO READ.
Methods are determined largely by the pro-
ductions selected for the reading exercise.
teristics. They should be literary classics, with
noteworthy merits of style that they may terve
for the development of literary style and the
struotive, giving Information as to fact or prin-
children. that they may arouse the enthu,
concentration of mind which is NECESSARY to
effective work. They should be caR July ar,
ranged, In progressive order, withS gradual
cult, that they may promote intellectual
growth. They should be, SO far as is possible,
entire works Of considerable length that they
may tell most largely in logical mental train
ing, develop the highest interest and give the
best preparation for the actual reading of life.-
The numbered readers, collections of extracts,
must be used to some extent. They can not be
thrown aside in the earlier days of the school
life; they may best be used for part OF each.
year in the higher grades. They give variety
and furnish the language and other aids which
the average teacher needs They should be used
with constant reference to the highest literary
study that is possible.
T,af oinin nU i'm n np WI nj fba g
fords may not wisely be closed with the con-
sderation of the masterpieces read in the class
Through these it should to the general consid-
Grafton of what may be denominated the litera-
ture of life, stories, novels. essays, poems
This will lead us into the direction of the out.
side reading of the pupils. Through the class
children may be introduced to the extensive
literatures of those subjects. Here the library
method of study, by which the pupils are sent.
to the classics in the several departments, may
well be employed. Accompanying the study of.
literary classics i'll the school-room, the supple.
mentary. consideration Of literary biography
and criticism and of photography will natur-
ally enter.
Most of the reading in class should follow
careful preparation on the part of the pupils.
This preparation will have to do with oral read.
ing and with silent reading with the under
standing of the thought and its rendering.
Good oral reading must be secured. Aside from
other manifest advantages, 1t furnishes the test
of proper thought reading In giving the ability
to read aloud properly we are fulfilling the
Distinct, forcible and natural tones will be Sc
cured if the work is fittingly done. Accuracy
in pronunciation and emphasis, and duency in
ing that is worthy will spring from knowledge
of the thought and an intellectual sympathy
with it, This only will make possible satisfac-
The child must understand what he reads
The teacher should bring to bear such tests as
will satisfy as to the pupils comprehension of
the authors meaning and will prove the
strength of the preparation of the lesson. 1t is
only thus that the reading exercise will be made
to promote mental growth and carry out the
second purpose of the class exercise, the one
which gives the chief warrant for the intrOduc.
tion and retention of reading in the school pro-
gramme. This purpose has to do with the de-
lent reading the thought of the printed page. A
proper preparation will involve the constant
use of the dictionary, the grammar, the hand
book of rhetoric the cyclop@dia and the atlas.
Aside from the reading after due preparation,
there should be great deal of reading at
pupils facility and readiness, confidence s in in
themselves and fitting preparation for the
impromptu reading throughout life:
The re reading ba Of the Pu mot be
already been stated, should be given, in the
class exercise and in more general ways in the
schooroom, to directing the pupils into the
world of good literature. The public library
will afford books for outside reading by pupils.
This general reading should be under careful
direction, with constant suggestions by the
teacher, to make sure that the reading is
properly done. Oral and written reports to the.
teacher and informal talks between teachers
and pupils concerning the books read are
serviceable. Here lies one of the highest duties
OF the ter cher. In the direction of this outside
reading II must be borne in mind that there are
are connected severaiIy with the reading for
discipline and mental growth, the reading for
knowledge and the reading for culture. The
important consideration is that of the purchase
and personal use of books. Children should be
encouraged to fol IN libraries of their own and
instructed as to what they should purchase for
their own collections, and how they should use
their literary possessions SO as to get the most
benefit from them.
The fundamental idea in the whole work
should be that the cultivation of the taste for
good reading Is, next to character building, the
highest Office of the school.
Miss Mary l.. Beecher, of Memphis,
next read a paper upon the practical
Value in Life of Taste for Good Read
ing" the text of which was as follows:
THIRD PAPER.
THE PRACTICAL VALUE OF A TASTE FOE GOOD
LITERATURE
Books are the ministers of angels good or
bad. Upon their white and senseless pages are
recorded thoughts and passions whose power
power dwell ing in the secret chambers OF the
inmOst soul. The influence of books is inn
measurable, reaching from the individual to
the nation. They teach us to speak, they teach
us to think, they teach us to feel. they teach us
to act; in short, they teach us to live, and they
should help us to die; for book to fulfill its
true mission, must not only suffice the mind,
but save the soul beside"
De Quincy divides all Literature into two
classes; the Literature of knowledge, that iR,
the expression of abstract thought alone,
whose function is ko!ely to teach, as Euclids
"Eements;''-and the Literature of Power the
expression of eternal truth born Of the union
of intellect and spirit in man, Esprit meaning
mans emotional nature) whose function is
both to teach and to move; 1t is the Literature
of Power we are to consider especially.
Body, mind and spirit grow by what they feed
upon. Books are our mental food, as much q
part of our daily bread, and as essential to our
mental and spiritual development, as the food
we eat is to our physical We must not over
healthy animal, as Herbert Spencer says. Let
us, then, look to our bodily food But shall we
care less for our minds and souls than for the
clay covering which clothes them? By no
means. Let us then feed our minds upon such
books as shall help us to think deeply, feel
nobly, act grandly in our several spheres how
ever cifcumscribed, remembering that the
smallest circle is as perfect as the largest
Likewise, let us strive to attain the power to re-
perception of the good, the beautiful and the
true; Schiller's "Ethical Trinity of the Ages"
The invention of the printing press, by multi
plying the number of volumes, has made the
task of selection most difficult, but all the
moro an imperative duty.
Books are the true Interpreters of life-of
ideal life, which we must ever seek to make
real. AS but small portion of life has to do
with earthly things, and as the few years in
ton for an Eternity of Life beyond the stars,
hooks to ha faithful intprnrafarc rnuct lift nc