The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1901-02-11

pamphlet will illustrate another. and
nearly as mischievous. error 3fr Glenn
/ ems remarks:
The chapter headed Analysis shows Us :lp
( Jhe pupils IN our public schools not merely
} loaded up with those Snowy facts about geo
@rapty. mathematics and 50 On. and left in thai
! in@3a1i!ete state no, there's machinery Col
1 clarifying and expanding their minds They
are required to take poems md an4lyze them. di-
! ont their common sense. REFUGE them To Stats
! tics and reproduce them a luminous prose
translation which shall tell YOU al glance " hat
3 Dc Here i stanza from The Lady OF the
! LAKE. followed by the pupils impressive eX
/ PLANTATION Of it:
Alone Int with unahated zeal
! The h7rscnau piled with ScourCc and steel,
For iaded nov and spent yyith toll
Embossed with foam ami dark with soil.
While every gasp with sul- Le drew
The llrorlng stag strained fIE IN view
'-Thc man Who rode on the horse performed the
whip and an Instrument made Of steel alone with
strong ardoT not diminishing, for being tired from
the time passed with hard labor ovc~woraed with
anger ana ignorant with WEAKNESS. while every
breath for labor he drew with cries fulI Of sorrow
The Young deer made imperfect who worked hard
Uttered IN sight.
There IS no eXaggeratio about this.
| though II might seem as if there were.
Almost any public school teacher can fur
nish samples of the same thing. There is
no more ridiculous thing done in our
schools than the forcing of children Of
from ten to fourteen years of age to '.eIu-
ci3ate" passages of poetry Ike that
quoted above, II the first place. Scott.
Byron. and Shakespeare wrote for mature
minds. not for infants: and in the second
place. the older poets often used phrases
which are obsolete nowadays, and Of no
possible use TO the child Moreover, one
Of the hardest things in the world. even
for an adult IS to take a passage from
The Lady of the Lake" or "ChiIde Har-
old" and put il into even passable prose
English; and when the thing is done it is
not worth the dong. Poetry was meant to
be read by those who love and understand
it. not to be forced on the uncomprehend-
ing brain of one who does not; and it VIII
be a wonder if hundreds and thousands of
children today do not acquire a distinct
and ineradicabIe distaste for Tennyson and
Scott, through hearing the most charming
works Of these authors mauIed. dissected,
and -.Grn piecemeaI IN such ways as the
above There is no sense nor propriety in
it. Children often read. for pleasure.
poetry which IS miles above their compre-
hension and this does them no harm,
though it is well if they can have explana-
tion of its meaning from some person
who thoroughly appreciates the author
But the appreciation Of literature is q
thing which cannot be hammered into any
body, least Of all grammar school pupils
The best way TO inculcate a love for it
would probably be to establish good school
libraries, allow the pupils to take home
books, encourage them to talk over what
they read, unofieiaIly, and read to them
now and then. Such analysis as produced
the sample Of nonsense quoted above ought
TO be Instantly banished from every school
in she land. 1t IS funny enough 10 read.
hut not half so funny in its consequences
CT bewIlderment, craTaming, loss Of appre-
citation Of good literature, and omission
Of the training in practical matters which
ought 20 take UP the whole Of the school
hours OF every child under fifteen