The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-07-16
TALK ON READING
Continued from First Page

are not strong enough. But they can /
be assisted The child cannot grasp |
every image or the whole story at /
once. 1t should not be expected Of /
him. In reading to the children do /
not read Z whole story, chapter by /
chapter. Very few books were ever /
written that would be wholly inter- /
esting to the child. Only that is good
literature which presents a beautiful !
image to the child.
Col Parker condemned the practice
of spending three or four months on
a reading book which the child is able
to learn by heart in two or three read
ings He said that for the child to be
forced to read, TO recite exactly as the
teacher does destroys the personality
of the child. On the subject Of good
reading matter he said that by read /
ing great literature some new images
are formed each time it is read. The
idea of the school is an ideal com
munity. each pupil participating in the
exercises. If beautiful images are pre-
scented to the child he will have a de-
sire TO present images to others. Pro-
nunciatiOn is a matter of imitation,
voice is an individual expression.
Col. Parker saidsthat what the child
can do easily and spontaneously is
the standard of what he should be
taught. The old adage children obey
your parents" should be reversed TO
read parents obey your children, that
is obey the demands of their nature
and govern your treatment of them
accordingly Most teaching has dead
form. Spelling is making the form Of
the word. The form must be re-
tanned. The child will write rapidly
and easily if the image is correctly
formed. Oral spelling is much harder
than written spelling. 1t is vastly
easier for the HaWaiians to learn the
English written language than the
oral. Col. Parker advised that child
rem must write under the impulse Of
thought. When words are pronounced
children form a mental image of the
word which may or may not be cor
rect If it is not correct this may pre-
vent the child from learning it cor
rectly. All praise should be For effort
and not for result. One child may
make a noble effort, but by haredity
may be unable to produce good results.
For this reason his effort may be in
finitely better than that of child
who, by heredity perhaps, can produce
a good result easily. 1t is better for
the child never to learn writing at all
than to learn and cripple the body.
In the Old-faShiOned writing a dafOrm-
ity was produced. Writing must be
rapid in order to follow image growth.
The product of rapidity and ease is
smooth line There is no educat1ve
result to a slow writing. Col. Parker
said he had nothing to say against
forms of writing, all he looked for IS
ease and grace and the good results
produced. He said that in all schools
there must be no specific rule or order
of instruction. The special needs OF
! the individual pupils will determine
! the method to be pursued.
| Mrs Parker said in part: Each mode
| of expression has it's particular place
and function. No mode can take the
exact place of another, all are neces-
! sary. The prominence which is given
to one or another mode is simply the
prominence which we give to it be-
cause we are the most FAMILIAR with
it. Gesture and the natural voice play
a most prominent part in development.
| The average child cannot speak for
two years, yet the parent is LeldOm at
a loss to understand what the thoughts
and desires of the child have been all
the time. A free and full expression
of the thought develops the thought.
ANY restriction of expression restricts
the thought itself. Mrs. Parker said
that it was her belief that the child
rem were forced to read too early
Reading is only valuable when the
thought can be taken at a glance from
the printed page.
The body takes the emotion from
the thought. The body that can tall
is the most wonderful machine. Laci
of development of the body affects tn
nerve centers of the body. Peopl'
lose much by not cuItivating expires
need tel
= his audience his feeling. The body, tn
face express the feeling. A child ha
expression instinctively. Always hav
something pretty and beautiful for tn
child, something dramatic, If possible
You will open the beauty to you
+ children by seeing the beauty your
self
/ From to 10 o'clock last evenin
r a reception to Col. and Mrs. Parke
a rand Miss Allen was held in the H1gl
= school building Many Of the mem
= bers of the Summer school have eX
e messed a desire to meet these prOmi
e npDt educators from Chicago, but Their
- has been no opportunity before las
evening for general introduction, a
l. the time at the sessions in Progress
t. hall has been necessarily limited {
the lectures. Fully 300 people met las
evening. These included the teach
ars in attendance at the Summer schOC
and many interested in school work.
| Inspector General Townsend an
Mrs Townsend introduced the teach
ers and their friends to the guests c
the evening in the main school room
- The room was prettily decorated wit
palms and ferns and American an
Hawaiian flags. During the evenin
there were songs by the Misses KanC
no and an impromptu chorus of He
waiian teachers Mr.. Yardney CAV
a violin solo accompanied by Mis-
CIymer. and Miss Ada Gertz playe
III piano solos Refreshments of il
ly cream. coffee and lemonade WEI
Ia served.
W
- The Higher Courts.