The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-05-27

How can their examples fail 10 inspire
70 ennoole. to awaken emulet ton? His
tory has also another distinct value
the training of the moral judgment
Real historical characters are not al
noble nor good, and While one ma,
furnish subject for emulation. an
otner may be an example TO b.
avoided. This sense of moral discrim
nation is aroused at a very early age
and upon the correct training of il
alone depends much in the future life
of thee individual History is largely
instrumental in developing in the child
the relation of man TO man in al
stages of The worlds growth. The per-
sonaiity of the individual child mus
be brought into sympathetic relation
with the men and women behind his
torlc deeds and artistic expressions OF
life. In the teaching of the history OF
the revolution ii children can be made
to share the thoughts of Washington
or better, if they can feel as a common
soldier felt during that terrible winter
at Valley Forge, they will realize that
the deeds of which they read were af-
ter all done by human beings like our
selves.
Music, in spite of all that has been
said or may be said about its being
merely a sensuous stimulent, is of high
moral value in the school ROOM 1t
tends to unite all parts of this small
community in harmony, bringing at
least in posture and occupation each
individual in accord with all others.
/ While it is stimulating the emotions.
the awakening of all moral faculties is
! dependent more or less upon the Stlm-
uli furnished to the emotions.
But it is pre-eminently the study of
/ literature to which we must turn for
/ the best material to be used in the
! cultivation of the moral nature. There
is a legend which tells Of two spirits,
/ the one a demon the other an angel,
that accompany every human being
through life and walk invisibly at his
side, the one represents our bad self
the other our better self. The moral
: service which the best literature rem
I ders US is to make the invisible angel
visible.
BY all these means-by the culture
of the intellect, the taste and the feel
ings. by his daily dealings with the
young, in work and play-the teacher
helps to create in them certain moral
habits. Why then should not these
habits suffice? What need is there for
specific moral instruction and what is
the relation of moral instruction to the
habits thus engendered? The function
Of moral instruction is to clinch
the habits. The function Of
moral instruction is to explicate in
the intellect the laws of duty which
underlie the habits. The value of such
intellectual statements is that they
give a rational UNDERMINING TO moral
practice, and further that they permit
the moral rules to be applied TO new
cases not heretofore brought within
the scoDe of habit This instruction,
when given in the form Of didactic
talk is as I have said, Of doubtful
beneht-at least its success has never
yet been demonstrated. When il is con-
veyed to the mind of the child through
the medium of literature adapted for
that purpose II is likely TO be pro-
foundly beneficial.
Nothing written for this purpose has
ever aoproaei fed in moral effect nor
enrolling a 81 refining influence the
German fairy. tales-the Marchen. They
are as new s1day as they We're when
the race was IN its infancy. Filled with
beautiful myths OF the real childhood
OF man they appeal especially TO chill
dren. Stripped of their superstitlons,
and having eliminated from them those
parts which changing conditions nave
made immoral today, they furnish
more effectual because more
acceptable. moral teaching than
any one source. Embodied in charm
ing story. filed often with the most
beautiful descriptions. we find some
great moral lesson which, without COM
ment or explanation. lodges itself in
The mind of the child, to remain for
ever there A child may have had im-
pressed upon it in many WAYS the ne
cessitv of implicit obedience to. its
parents. vet there is nothing which i'm
presses that duty more clearly than
the story so dear to every child heart
Of Little Red Riding Hood If fairy
stories are to be used with good effect.
- col Il -
children. not read. Here as elsewhere
the ability to teach, very little depends
on the ability 10 know great deal
Although nothing in our modern lit !
erature has reached so high point /
of ethical value some of the writings
for children of our present day writers, /
notably Field and Riley. come nearer TO /
them in effect than is evident SUPER /
fcisllv. while Longfellow's Hiawatha is (
more akin to them in form.
It has been said that their chief at /
traction is due to their representing the 1
child as living in brotherly fellowship |
with nature and al creatures. Trees,
flowers. animals wild and tame. and |
even the Stars are represented as the /
comrades of children. The value of the |
AIarchen is that they stimulate the |
broken communion of human life with
life universal as in beasts, fishes, trees
and flowers and that incidentally-but
all the more powerfully on that ac-
quicken the moral sentl-
nent Let us avail ourselves freely
Of the treasures thus placed at our dis
posal. Let US welcome the fairy story
INTO our primary course of moral in
struction that with its gentle bands
woven of morning mist and morning
glory il may help to lead our children
INTO the bright realms of the ideal"
I have divided the literature especial
V adapted into three gToups-the fairy
story preferably those embodying Ger
nan myths, the fable, a judicious Sc I.
ection only. and stories from the He
Drew. Greek and classics. The reason
which assigns 10 the fairy story the
irst place, is purely pedagogical one.
BY so placing them we have g logical
md progressive order-first stories
which introduce the moral incidentally
,niy-then those which bring out the
moral separately with nothing to dis
ract attention from it--then those
which teach a large number of lessons
n one-thus requiring more extended
md advanced thought. The reason for
his arrangement is obvious.
Much might be said in regard TO the
methods to be employed in teaching
morals by these means, but time will
lot hermit. Valuable suggestions Will
,e found in the writings of the authors
eferred to first. And a careful study
4 the vital principles which has kept
live through all these centuries the
literature to which l have called your
5tentiOn viii suggest the practical .
ses.
The education of the future must be
ased on character building. II must
enter all the energies on making
rcsd. tolerant. liberal. justice-loving. !
are and honest manhood and woman !