Years ago a little girl ran down a country road to meet the light wagon
returning from town with the purpose of climbing into the back and so
getting a ride. Without turning, the wise elder brother spoke from the
driver's seat: "I wouldn't undertake that if I were you." And over his
shoulder a breathless but dignified voice answered, "But I have already
undertooken it!"
A similar answer might reasonably be expected from the library to any
well-meant but tardy advice from the school-side in regard to the
vitalization of the relation between the school and the library. It has
already been accomplished, and comparatively small thanks are due to the
school for its doing.
Graded lists of books, special lists of materials for occasions, library
league work, the establishment of school branch libraries, all these
have been the work of the library in a much larger measure than of the
school.
However, there are many teachers who share the library's buoyant faith
in the blessing which books bring. These have been first to appreciate
all which the library has offered them. They have accepted all that has
been offered them and asked for more. They have circulated library books
through their own schools, sometimes at considerable cost and trouble to
themselves, and for years have done all in their power to make their
pupils wise and discriminating patrons of the library. That the children
of their care and love might have life and have it more abundantly--that
is why they have done these things.
These teachers are comparatively few.
That it is any function of the school to give joy to its children is an
idea of slow growth. A child's school-time is usually thought of as
preparation for living and not as living itself. Hence the rebuke of the
teacher to the child who interrupts the "nature-lesson" to blow the
thistle-down which waves over his head, or to watch the bee which booms
against the window-pane, or the hawk which floats lazily against the
blue sky. Life is such a wild, wilful, irregular thing. Quietude,
prudent inaction, is so much safer.
So with books. It is the old search for life, life, more abundant
life--for knowledge of it, for entrance into it--which sends the child
to the fairy-story, the boy to the tale of adventure, the young girl to
the story of romance, the older man and woman to the realistic novel.
And it is the instinctive feeling of the teacher and parent that life is
a dangerous force and difficult of control which has made school and
home look askance upon reading which the child finds too enjoyable.
There is another feeling or belief which lies back of our doubt of work
or study or reading which is too enjoyable. It is in regard to the part
which love of ease plays in human enjoyment. Love of ease is strong in
human nature, and the man who tries to get his knowledge of human life
mainly through the novel has indeed sought a short-cut to his end which
will bring him but a short distance on his way. This is not the time nor
place for the discussion of the value of fiction, but undoubtedly we are
inclined to believe that man's indolence is a strong factor in man's
enjoyment of certain lines of reading, and indolence is a bad thing.
Therefore, we distrust the value of such reading. Whether we like or
dislike it, however, we are obliged to admit that fiction is a permanent
form of literature, that our children will read it, and that the
question for us to settle is shall it be good or poor.
What, then, has the teacher to do? Two things: To _be_ the atmosphere
from which the child breathes in love for and delight in good books.
This is first. All things in the way of learning are possible after
this. Second, to be the pupil's guide and director in what may be called
his "laboratory practice" with books.
The Autocrat, mellowest of men of ideas, once suggested that every
college and university should have a professorship of books. The
Autocrat was an ingrained aristocrat, although one most mild and kind.
The true democratic idea is that a professorship of books should be
established in every school-room.
But how shall the blind lead the blind? How shall the teacher who
herself never has learned to know, to enjoy, and to choose good books
guide others to do so?
The library is a storehouse of great thought, an unfailing source of
healthful recreation, but also the library is the mine in which the
practical man and woman, the lawyer, the machinist, the scientist, the
teacher, must dig deep for information, if he is to keep near the head
in his own line of work.
So far, as I have said before, nearly all organized effort to teach the
teachers along these lines has come from the library. Certain normal
school and college librarians have done much, but to a large extent the
work has been on sufferance. Odds and ends of the students' time and
attention have been given to it.
The desirable thing is that the study of juvenile literature and the use
of the library shall take equal rank with other studies in the
preparation of prospective teachers; that the normal school, the
pedagogical department of the college and university, the teachers'
summer-school and institute, shall recognize this subject in their
curricula.
The practical side of library use--its use for information--is easily
seen by the public, and schools for teachers can quite readily be
induced to make room for the course of study suggested.
In the Cleveland City Normal Training School an attempt to carry out
such a course of study has been made. A term's work is given in juvenile
literature and the use of the library. Moreover, this subject is placed
upon an equality with the philosophy of teaching, history of education
and psychology.
As yet the work is not thoroughly organized. We feel, however, that some
things of value have been already accomplished.
In a twelve-weeks' term a class of 116 prospective teachers (the junior
class of the school) have taken notes on a series of talks on reference
books. They have learned something of the comparative value of various
standard encyclopædias, gazetteers, dictionaries and indexes, and they
have been sent to the public library a half-day at a time to do work
which required the use of these.
For instance, a study of the life of Robert Louis Stevenson was made for
the purpose of giving a talk on the subject to fifth-grade pupils. The
students were required to look up all the available material in the
library, looking not only in the printed and card catalogs for
individual and collective biography, but in the various
indexes--Poole's, the Annual, the Cumulative--for magazine articles.
They were required to select the four or five articles found most
valuable and to estimate their comparative value for the purpose in
hand, making definite statements of the points of value. They were
required to make careful and well-worded notes from the best material
available, either books or periodicals, always giving the source, and to
read these notes in class subject to the criticism of their instructor
and school mates. And, lastly, they were required to write the story of
Stevenson's life as they would tell it to the children.
Careful instruction in the use of the printed and card catalogs and of
indexes had preceded this assignment. We were fortunate in possessing
quite a large number of issues of the Cumulative index unbound. It was
thus possible to place one of these in the hands of each student during
instruction on the subject. This was a considerable aid.
There was too much work with the less-used ready-reference books. Next
year the number will be largely reduced.
A study of fairy stories was made. An attempt was made to find a
philosophical basis for the love of children for fairy stories. An
attempt was made to discriminate between the good and the bad fairy
story. Felix Adler's "Moral instruction of children" was helpful here,
but the study of the fairy stories at first hand is still more helpful.
The following books were read by the whole class:
(1) Alcott's "Little Women." Lessons were given on reading it with the
children.
(2) Mara L. Pratt's "History stories," vol. 3.
(3) Eggleston's "First lessons in American history." The Pratt and
Eggleston books were read in succession for the purpose of contrasting
them. A yet better contrast would have been Baldwin's "Fifty famous
stories."
(4) Frau Spyri's "Heidi." Some of our girls read this story in the
original German but most in the translation published by Ginn & Co. It
is a charming story of a breezy little maiden whose home was in the
Swiss Alps, and one of the rather scarce desirable books for the fourth
grade.
(5) Mrs. Burnett's "Sara Crewe." This was read as a type of the "child
novel" and for the sake of a study of the charms, dangers and benefits
of this class of books.
(6) Howard Pyle's "Men of iron" was read as a study of the worthy
historical story.
The following outline was given the students as an aid in judging the
books read:
_Outline to aid in estimating a juvenile book_.
1. Written when? By whom? For children or adults? [e.g., "Robinson
Crusoe" and "Gulliver's travels" were written for adults.] If for
children, of what age? (Consider both manner and matter.)
2. Essential purpose of the book: Recreative? Instructive? Moral? Is
the recreation afforded wholesome? The instruction reliable? The
moral lessons sound?