Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1895-02-07

Il perpetual harvest or good. OF ODeG
! ence. of intelligence. which like tn
! sun and dew, blesses all :"
schools. intelligence, help, progress
! neighborhood, country, heaven-thes
+ are the rungs of the ladder up whic
] our teachers climb to glory and immol
tality.''
FEW WORDS AB.UT BOOKS.
There is no more important subjec
before us at this time than that Of pro
viding libraries for the schools in tn
rural districts and In the smaller vii
liages of the state.
10 impart useful knowledge and t.
inform the child Of the sources o
knowledge, are two ends to be kept il
mind by the teacher. In both respects
the textbook alone is insufticient.ln or
der to bring the textbook within reach
of the parents means, most authors
have reduced it TO mere epitome: &
compendium. embracing only certain
facts or general truths.
Intelligent teaching is not conten,
with this. Geography and biography
must both be studied in connection
with history. Travels, the lives of
! eminent explorers. the commercial val
! ne Of country, must be connected
with its geography.
With physical geography the child
| studies the contour of the continent,
! the supplies Of fuel and of building ma
| terial, the mineral resources, and the
products which constitute the wealth
Of agricultural states.
These are but few Of the manv lines
| hi ,,i l,a r. L
by the pupil. aided and directed by the
teacher. 1t is impossible to do this
without books Of reference. They need
not be expensive nor many. but thew
should be carefully selected with regard
to The present wants of the school,
1t is one of the greatest benefits aris-
ing from the use of reference books.
that they enable the teacher to guide
and control the reading of the pupil
without lessening his enthusiasm. He
is made to feel that he is. in degree.
Independent of his teacher; and this
feeling acts as stimulus. increasing
with every step of his progress.
The pupil thinks. reasons, investi-
gates, compares, draws his own impress
siOns. makes his own deductions. IF. in
addition to this, he is required to state
the results in his own language. he com
petes the circle of activities. Patience,
work and time are now the only ele-
ments needed to make the child a
scholar as well as pupil
There is another argument too
weighty to be passed over. Character
forms itself; it is thing of inward
growth We can aid its right forma-
ton bv instilling ideas OF honor and
We can strengthen charac-
ter by counteracting the bad influences
which environ it; but we cannot create
character.
The world does not need men of gen
JUS so much as it needs men of sense
not so much great men whom it is fash
Ionable to admire as GOd-fearinG men.
with clean hands and clear heads. whom |
it is safe to follow.
1t is one aim of the school to develop |
in the pupils. That |
it fails to do this is the most serious |
cnarge of the day. The enemies of the |
public school system regard this as the |
point, and are massiDg their |
forces against it. 1t does not avail |
an vthing that these charges are. in a |
measure. untrue. The main charge.
that we fail to make our teachings reach |
out into the bones of the pupils, is |
true.
The school library promises to fur
nish the missing link between the !
school and the home The book, in the |
hands of the child. carries or the work
of the school in more attractive form.
or silently repeats the same lessons
Of virtue and morality which the child |
% q hn <>ft l,o 1;,,;,,
We cannot Over-estimate the infiu-
ence OF books upon the ehild's mind.
GOldsmith's Vicar of Wakefield gave
tone to the intellectual development of
Goethe. Irving. when boy, read with
easerness Robinson Crusoe, and after
wards Chaucer and Spenser. William
Writ read in the library of a Presby
terrain minister with whom he studied.
and Whittier read Shakespeare by
stealth, when at work in the fields of
his fathers farm.
Economy can be parcticed in many
Buildings less snowy and
will answer every purpose,
put in those things which underlie the
and moral salvation of the
;hiid. economy is sin.
We cannot escape the conclusion that
he school library is as much part of
he necessary equipment of the school
Is the seat. the blackboard, or any part
If the apparatus.
The utmost care is necessary in the
'hoice of books for school library.
{ will not do to select them at random
rom publishers catalogue. Make
circumstances are to be taken into &C
count A school in the midst of an
community requires a diff
erent class of books from one in which
he pupils nave already formed taste
or reading. The country school re-
Inires different class from the graded '
choo of the city or village. No one
hould attempt to select books for
library unless he is acquainted with the
ctual wants and the present condition :
/ the school.
Reference books may be purchased
ew at time. with regard to the sub
ects in which pupils are most inter {
sted. dictionary. the large one if
osslble, is indispensable. The una 6
ridged dictionary is, in itself, mine !
f knowledge, which it is always for '
he pupils benefit to explore. The I
,oung Folks Cyclopedia of Common t
Kings, The Young Folks Cyclopedia 1
I Persons and Places. a volume of