The evening times., 1897-12-28
FAIRY STORIES
TOLD IN SCHOOL
An Innovation That Pleases
Boys and Girls.
Started by Sister Lily in England.
1t Has Quickly Made Its
Way Here.

Dy Iafries, OF prlnceSscS VINO were released
from Z, " ers and enchantment; Of brown
les and goblins and hob goblins and all
/ the troop Of weird little people in and
out OF mythology -tiicse are the things
that tue children III the Milwaukee public
schools may be learning about in o little
time, says a Milw aukee paper, and they
are largely one OF the features OF the
mission sctools Of this city. Other chill
dren in othe schools notably in Washing
ton and Baltimore are, too, hearing about
them, following the examples OF the Iitti-
London schoociiildren,
In West Lordon Sister Lily, of the Hugh
Price Hughes Mission, started tie plan.
She began with story cling to the mission
children for IN hour a week-ahd the
first day she told them a fairy story.
Her immediate popularity among the ciiil-
dren suggest ed to her that she make the
story telling a regular exercise, AMI later
she made it a medium for telling the
children Of tile fairy children about whom
stories are education. She began with the
..snow White" and 'Three Bears and
Golden Hair stories: she went on through
the Hans Andersen and Grimm tales, and
then she began On the Wagner stories and
Greek mythology. She has been here
and explained how she did It, and why,
and the idea has been very promptly
taken up.
The suggestion to be followed in Mil
waukee is that the Woman's School Alli-
mace take up the matter and get permtssi III
to use a committee OF their own nuinJ-r.
especially appointed for the purpose. TO
have two lessons OF half an hour each every
week, for the introduction OF the exercise
using the best known Greek and Roman
myths, the Wagner stories, and the stories
of the '.Iiiad'' and odyssey" Inter st
in the ma tier has been awakened in dAer
parts OF the State, as is evidenced by The
subject of one OF the papers at The t'an-
ing teachers convention, which is The
Place OF Mythology in the Educati IN Of
Children to be read 10y Miss Victoria
James, of Eau Claire. The paper buds
fair to call forth some lively discussion,
since there are many opposed to the .nno-
walton. butth subject is to te wellpres.nted
and argued for by one who has had Il good
,ieal of e. perience and no small success
in the teaching OF children.
In this city the idea has been adopted by
the Mission Kindergarten, the Sunshine
Mission and mission school people gen
orally, aud the playground committees
have found 1t in their province. They have
made the exercise occupy an hour week,
or sometimes two hours, and member of
the committee, especially preparing her
self goes once every week TO the school Sc
Iected and tells stories. TWO are usually
told 10 Il at time, and questions are asked
after each one. and the first few minutes
are given to a review OF the stories Of the
week before. IL is practical way OF
teaching mythology, and its reasons are
set forth this way in one of the committees
report:
1T stimulates the Imagination, which
the routine work of the primary and lower
and intermediate grades is not planned TO
do; 1t ays foundat ton for figures when the
children CoEle to composition age. 1t
aids them ir expression. by means of the
weekly reviews II familiarizes them with
the truths which are reached by rational
izing upon the myths. 1t gives them ele
ments Of history and philosophy
All this is claimed for the introduction Of
the princirIe les Of mythology in the
mission schools, but that it will not be
long confined To the mission schools is
prophesied by the discussion which has
arisen ard which advocates that the exer-
else b. taken up as in the general public
schools.
However, in spite OF all these purposes,
the main one is to interest, and 81 to bring
in from the streets children who have no
other interest in the schools.
In fact, we would mean the committee"
sa id one OF the members OF the Milwa ukee
Alliance in discussing the question. ito
be a Sort Of supplementary truancy com-
mittec, and do what the committee cannot
always accomplish-give the children al
interest other than telling them that they
ought TO go to school, or that they will be
made to CO."
Nearly all the members or the alliance
who have talked about the matter have
found themselves in favor of 1t. for one or
more or the reasons suggested by the New
York committees report. Most OF them.
reason or bringing the children into the
school and placing them under inf luences
which could not reach them in any other
way
The exercise would not be called mythol-
ogy. The name would. 1t isreared. have 1p-
posite to the desired effect. 1t would be
called simply storytelling. 1t is also sug
gested that on the days when the story
telling is dcne each child be allowed 10
bring friend of prescribed age, who does
not go to any school. to share his seat
with him and hear the stories. too.