The experience of a great poet will illustrate the point of view of the defender of myth, folk-lore and fairy tales. Wordsworth' says of himself "I used to brood over the stories of Enoch and Elijah, and almost to persuade myself that, whatever might become of others, I should be translated in something of the same way, to heaven. Many times while going to school have I grasped at a wall or tree to recall myself from this abyss of idealism to the reality. At that time I was afraid of such processes. In later periods of life I have deplored, as we have all reason to do, a subjugation of an opposite character, and have rejoiced over the remembrances, as expressed in the lines "Obstinate questionings Of sense and outward things, those first affections, Those shadowy recollections, Which, be they what they may, Are yet the fountain light of all our day, A nature as sensitive as that of Wordsworth can create its own myths but less fortunate spirits must feed upon the accumulated stories of the ages. Therefore many of us give ready assent to A Pagan suckled in a creed outworn, Or hear old Triton blow his wreathed horn." Finally, this last quotation affords a most practical reason for selecting, as reading materials for children, myths, etc. Such 7 Preface to Ode on Intimations of Immortality. reading offers one of the most effectives and natural introductions to the best literature, that of the past and that of the present. Mr. Brown would start with the present and look to the future; but the present is only an infant and one must know something of the child's antecedents in order to look to its future. Furthermore, while the child most likely does not re-live the culture epochs of the past in his growth to maturity, he does need to re-live the experience of the best of his predecessors. And of that experience myths, folk-lore and fairy tales record just the part that the early school-age of the child is fitted to enjoy and absorb. He will find, too, in later life, as others have done, that a critical examination of these stories, which in his childhood enchanted him, will contribute in no small way to an understanding of his total present environment. 8 Should one say "efficient" to be sure of approval from the "Moderns "? Moral Education in the Public Schools T SUSAN W. NORTON, STATE NORMAL SCHOOL, FIRST PAPER* HE development of character has stood for years as the recognized aim of education. No theory of education ignores it. It is discussed in It is discussed in every educational magazine. At every educational meeting, be it national, state, or local, it has been held up as the final aim of the teacher. Every teacher has at some time been thrilled with this high purpose of of her calling. Finding herself again within the four walls of the schoolroom, all the traditions of the past come thronging in upon her, and she falls back into the old routine of trying to cover a given amount of subject matter in a given amount of time. She hopes vaguely that this is in some way ministering to the character of her pupils. She does not see quite how it does, but it is the way that she has been taught, perhaps it is much better than the way she has been taught, and it ought to help to make the pupils better citizens. And so the teaching goes on. Our theories are good but our practices are not in line with our theories. We see the light shining far ahead, but what are the steps that will bring us to the light? How can we reach this high goal, the spiritual development of the child? Recently a new organization was effected at Washington, The Character Education Institution, its slogan being. "Character First in Education." Many educators in various parts of the country were at work in the preparation of a suitable code of morals for elementary and secondary schools. A prize was offered for the best code, and the prize code published in our magazines. For a year past, a committee of nine collaborators in each state has been trying to work out the best method of character education in public schools, and a considerable sum of money is to be To be followed by a second article in Education for April. awarded to the committee which has developed the best plan. These findings ought to be of far greater value than the efforts of previous years. All this has been a great help in holding steadily before the minds of the people or a part of the people, this vital phase of education, which too often has been allowed to slip into the background. It has doubtless emphasized the importance of moral education. A code of morals may be recognized as excellent by grown-ups. The adult may know that it would be extremely beneficial for every boy and girl to adopt such a code. To become effective, it must operate in the life of the boy or girl. How are these beautiful ideas to be "put across?" How are they to be made so attractive that the boy will voluntarily adopt them as his standard of living? A code can never be superimposed upon the youthful mind. The child will not accept it in that way. He does not like to be preached to. If you tell a story with a moral and begin to press home the moral, his antagonism is at once aroused. Yet every normal boy has standards by which he measures life. Why does a boy smoke? Not because he likes it. Even if it makes him sick, he persists. Why? Because he thinks it is manly. It is a part of his ideal of manliness. Punishment or external compulsion or restriction may limit or prohibit the smoking, at least in the presence of his elders, but the boy is not being morally benefited until his ideal of manliness is changed. So it is with everything in his life. The motive power of all action is the ideal. The problem then is, how can we so present the desirable qualities that the boy will see their beauty or attractiveness and build them into his ideal. This can be done by inductive lessons. In fact, it has been done in several schools with which the writer is familiar. It is true of children that they are singularly open-minded toward truth. Their conceptions of life have not become dwarfed and distorted by sordid experiences with the world. They have no false pride nor pet theories to defend. They are hampered by no prejudices. They will think straight to a conclusion with startling directness. They will state a profound truth with a simplicity and frankness that makes the teacher bow her head in reverence, thinking meekly of the words of the Master Teacher, "Of such is the kingdom of heaven." Children will affirm with conviction a truth that they would not accept if an adult attempted to impress it upon them. And when a truth has come to a youth as a result of his own thinking guided by the skillful questioning of a teacher, that truth be comes his. He accepts its authority and builds it into his ideal. It is not fully a part of him, however, until he begins to live it. Right here is the next great opportunity of the true teacher. Moral education consists of two distinct lines of activity: moral instruction and moral training. Furnishing materials with which the child may build his ideal is moral instruction only. Ideals not embodied in living become a curse. The child must be given opportunity to live his ideal. This is moral training. As our schools are at present organized, the training the children receive is immoral, rather than moral. This is not the teacher's fault, it is not the superintendent's fault, nor is it the fault of the School Board, nor of the community. It is the result of tradition. He may He may Before the child comes to school, he has had the idea instilled into his mind that the teacher is to make him behave. have absorbed it from his older brothers and sisters. have been told by his father or mother. At any rate when he enters school, he has the settled conviction that it is the teacher's business to make him learn and to make him behave. By natural inference it is therefore his business to be made to learn and to be made to behave. The teacher also has this understanding of her duties. The School Board has hired its teachers after careful inquiry concerning their power to discipline. This then, is the tacit but accepted understanding of all parties concerned; child, teacher, superintendent, School Board and community. Just how far can a child's moral education be carried when the conditions are such that he is trained to look to the forces without |