The daily star-mirror. (Moscow, Idaho) 1911-1939, 1916-02-04

to read intelligently and with pleasure
to themselves at least Secondly, il
should create taste for good litera-
tuTe and thirdly, it should create per-
manent interest which will cause them
to read the best literature throughout
alone, no matter how thorough mol
how good the books, will not accom-
pljsh these ends. Carefully selected
and graded supplementary material
must be provided and the home must
cooperate with the school, Only good
selections will be assigned in school
but the school has little or no con-
troll over pupils general reading. In
most homes will be found some maya
zines and papers, and probably some
books too. They can purchase others
with their spending money from the
newsstands and can draw from the
) public library. Most pupils will read
and should be encouraged to do so but
their reading should be directed No
one is born with a literary taste al
though generations of cultured ances-
tors may help, There must be train
ing, and the benefits of this training
will be reaped while they are still
children as we'll as when they are
grown up The quality of their school
work will be improved. Any teacher
will tell you that it does not take
many weeks work with class before
she can pick out the pupils who read
outside of school. Those who read
good material get more out of their
lessons because they have broader
range of ideas, and can make COMPARE
sons and draw illustrations from their
general reading which throw light on
their text books, and have more origin
atty and imagination. A child fond of
reading is pretty sure to like school,
A principal of large city grammar
school says that about every other
day he meets parent whose boy is
troublesome and tired of school, and
four times out of five that boy does
not like to read AS he says, it is
an iteresting coincidence to say the
least On the other hand, any teacher
can tell about cases where boys and
girls have lost interest in their studies
and became iistless, disorderly and
= In inf Of
bad books
Then, in the work of character
building, book heroes will do more
than talks and entreaties by fathers
and mothers In the words of Walter
Fields, Let your boy escape for
time from the meanness of the boy
across the street, and let him roam
the woods with Hiawatha, sail the seas
with Sindbad, build stockades with
Grusoe fight dragons with Jason, joust
with Galahad; let him play at quits
with Odysseus, and at football with
Tom Brown. These are playmates
who will never quarrel with him nor
bully him, but from whom he will
learn to be brave, self reliant, manly,
quick to do for others, and to set with
his face toward the light Tell me
what company thou keepest and |
will tell thee what thou art says the
old Spanish proverb. The child that
lives on terms of intimacy with SUCH
heroes as these can not fail to, be
strong and brave" 1t is said that the
reading of the Life of Washington
gave Lincoln inspiration that start
ed him on the road to the White
House. Garfield from early youth was
a reader of good books. In short, 1t
is doubtful if any one prominent IN
professional life was not greatly in
fuenced' by good books. The child
is a. natural hero worshipper Give
him heroes such as those just men
toned or he will find some IN the
bully of the street or in the boWery
toughs and clever cracksmen of news
stand literature Juvenile courts in
cities have continual proof of the
criminal producing Of such literature
as wild West Weekly Buffalo Bill
Stories" Diamond Dick Weekly" etc. /
Revolvers and bowie knives are found
on the person of juvenile offenders,
and in the office of the superintendent
of compulsory education, Chicago, is a
revolver to which a card is attached |
bearing these words: Death to Sole |
Cohen, 401 W. Taylor street, shot by |
Abe Abrams, 13 years of age, while
playing Jessie James in Mrs. Cohen's
Kitchen, January 4, 1904"
Hence, since children will read, the
only way to keep them from reading
bad books is to give them plenty OF
good ones Moreover, our efforts in
helping to give children good reading
habits would be we'll worth while II
only for the sheer pleasure reading
gives them as children and as grown
ups. Take the invalid, young or old,
the conyalescent, those living in lone
on