The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-10-21
TWO ADDRESSES
BY MRS. M'RAE
Session of Wayne County
Teachers Association in
Richmond Yesterday.
NEW OFFICERS ELECTED
W.. D. COOK OF GREENSBORO,
NAMED AS PRESlDENT-OTHE
MATTERS CONNECTED WITH
THE SESSION.
(By Prof. W. A. Fiske.l

Teachers Institute was held. This
meeting, which was formerly held on
Friday and Saturday following
Thanksgiving, is now divided into two
separate meetings, one of which is
held the third Saturday in October,
the other in February. The pro-
gram for yesterdays meeting was ex-
ceptionally fine and was worthy the
time and attention of Richmond's ed
vocational people.
Prof E. E. Oldaker, superintendent
of the Centerville schools, and presi-
dent of the association, called the
meeting to order at 1000 a. M, and
introduced Rev. Alfred T. Ware, pas
tor of the East Main Street Friends
church, who conducted the devotional
exercises.
The addresses of the day were by
Mrs. Emma Mont McRae, professor
of English Literature in Purdue Uni
versity, and showed throughout, the
work of an artist, which Mrs. McRae
surely is in her line.
She is a rather large and dignified
woman, and as she stands straight,
and speaks out with a good, strong,
clear voice, without even note as
aid, one is made to feel that she is
thoroughly acquainted with the sub
jects she presents.
The speaker chose for her morning
subject 'Shakespeare's View of HUI
man Life She spoke in most en-
PERTAINING manner for an hour on this
subject and presented a splendid anal
ysis of this great English writer. 1t
is not so much the way Shakespeare
did his work that interests us, Mrs.
McRae said, as it. is that true life is
that he comes to US a great teacher,
portraying the philosophy OF life. He
reflects the finest life of the age OF
Elizabeth and Merrie England.
The speaker divided the life OF
Shakespeare into three periods. THE
first period, she said, covered his
youth, when his imagination was WV
id, and he dealt more with fantastic
notions, the lighter vein of thought,
and the music of the spheres, such
things as might be represented by
Midsummer Nights Dream, Two
Gentlemen of Verona" "As You Like
It." etc.
In the second period he lays aside
the fancies of youth and looks out up
on a broader life Here he furnishes
ho
England, and shows so forcibly the
depth of human suffering, IN every
case pointing out that the deed al
ways returns upon the doer, not only
so but upon others by association.
This was not the spirit of the Eliza
bethan age, and in this respect,
Shakespeare was living far beyond
his time.
The third period shows Shakes
peare an retrospective being. HIS
thoughts were turned within, and he
felt that .1the times were out OF
Joint" and that his own life was not
Just what it should be.
Afternoon Address.
The afternoon address, for which
the speaker selected as her subject,
sThe Child Among Books, should
have been heard by every mother IN
Richmond Mrs. McRae thinks the
attention of both teacher and parent
should be turned to the best me ans
adonted to get the child to use books
RI tbe greatest advantage; that the
teacher should not only teach books,
hut above all should teach children
how to use books, so that when they
get out in the great school OF life
they will not be helpless. They
should be trained to become investi-
gators in books, and while reading
hooks Understandings, should not fail
as so many do, to get the real glst OF
the subject. The speaker said that
while the number of books Is legion
vet there will never be too many
books of the first class sort, and that
it is the business of the teacher and
narent as well, to give that training
that will bring the child always In
contact with the few best books.
Some characteristics of books that
most appeal to childhood were given.
The first of these is adventure the
child wants adventure because he is
living in a world Of imagination and
his imaginative powers must be re-
spected and cultivated.
A second characteristic is pathos.
It should not be that pathos that
would cause him to become acquaint-
ed with the gruesome, but that which
would bring out in him the finer quail
tiles Of feeling
Humor is another important char
acteristic of children's books, while a
fourth is courage. A book contain
ing a story of courageous deeds will
bring lasting value to the growing
child in the way of upbuilding char
acter. Then, as a fifth characteristic
children's books should have that
quality of cleanliness and uplifting
which will enable them TO hold high
head and possess a feeling that they
are better in every way. The great
est test of the value Of a book is that
its reading makes US better and Gre
ates within us a lasting desire to be-
come better. If we may enable the
child to gather little here and there
nf