The object of the Christian Brothers in issuing a new series of Readers
is to place in the hands of the teachers and pupils of our Catholic
schools a set of books embodying the matter and methods best suited to
their needs. The matter has been written or chosen with a view to
interest and instruct, to cultivate a taste for the best literature, to
build up a strong moral character and to imbue our children with an
intelligent love of Faith and Country. The methods are those approved by
the most experienced and progressive teachers of reading in Europe and
America.
These Readers have also been specially designed to elicit thought and
facilitate literary composition. In furtherance of this idea, class
talks, word study, the structure of sentences, drills on certain correct
forms of expression, the proper arrangement of ideas, explanation of
phrases and literary expressions, oral and written reproductions of
narrations and descriptions, and exercises in original composition, all
receive the attention which their importance demands. Thus will the
pupils, while learning to read and from their earliest years, acquire
that readiness in grasping the thoughts of others and that fluency in
expressing their own, which are so essential to a good English
education.
In teaching the art of Reading as well as that of Composition, the
principle of order should in a great measure determine the value of the
methods to be employed. In the acquisition of knowledge, the child
instinctively follows the order of nature. This order is first,
_observation_; second, _thought_; third, _expression_. It becomes the
duty of the teacher, consequently, to lead the child to observe
_accurately_, to think _clearly_, and to express his thoughts
_correctly_. And text-books are useful only in so far as they supply the
teacher with the material and the system best calculated to accomplish
such results.
It is therefore hoped that the present new series of Readers, having
been planned in accordance with the principle just enunciated, will
prove a valuable adjunct in our Catholic schools.
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