Special Method in Primary Reading and Oral Work with Stories Part 8

G.o.ds and Heroes (Francillon).

A successful effort to cover the whole field of Greek mythology in the story form. Ginn & Co.

The Tanglewood Tales (Nathaniel Hawthorne).

A continuation of the Wonder Book.

Heroes of Asgard.

Stories of Norse mythology; simple and attractive.

Macmillan & Co.

The Story of Ulysses (Agnes S. Cook).

An account of the adventures of Ulysses, told in connected narrative, in language easily comprehended by children in the third and fourth grades. Public School Publis.h.i.+ng Co., Bloomington, Ill.

Old Norse Stories (Bradish).

Stories for reference and sight reading. American Book Co.

Norse Stories (Mabie).

An excellent rendering of the old stories. Dodd, Mead, & Co.

Myths of Northern Lands (Guerber). American Book Co.

The Age of Fable (Bulfinch). Lee and Shepard.

Readings in Folk Lore (Skinner). American Book Co.

National Epics (Rabb). A. C. McClurg & Co.

Cla.s.sic Myths (Gayley). Ginn & Co.

Bryant's Odyssey. Complete poetic translation. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

Bryant's Iliad. Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

Butcher and Lang's prose translation of the Odyssey. The Macmillan Co.

The Odyssey of Homer (Palmer). Houghton, Mifflin, & Co.

A prose translation.

Myths and Myth Makers (Fiske).

Moral Instruction of Children (Felix Adler).

Chapter X. D. Appleton & Co.

THE BIBLE STORIES

The stories of early Bible history have been much used in all European lands, and in America, for the instruction of children. Among Jews and Christians everywhere, and even among Mohammedans, these stories have been extensively used. They include the simple accounts of the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph and his brethren, Moses, Joshua, Samson, Samuel, and David. It may be seen at a glance that no more famous stories than these could be selected from the history of any country in the world. They stand preeminent as graphic descriptions of the modes of life which prevailed in the early period of civilized races. The old patriarchs lived in what is usually called the pastoral age, when men dwelt in tents and moved about from place to place with their flocks in search of pasture. The patriarch at the head of the family, and even of a whole tribe, is the father, ruler, priest, and judge for the little community over which he presides. In his person there is a simple union of all the important powers of the later Hebrew state. The dignity and authority which centre in the person of Abraham, together with a marked gravity and strength of character, lend a distinct grandeur to his personality, so that he has been recognized in all ages as one of the great figures in the history of the world; the foremost of the old patriarchs,--the father of the faithful. A similar respect and dignity attaches to all these old Bible characters, and in the case of Moses, rises to a supreme height, while in David the warrior, statesman, and poet are united in one of the most p.r.o.nounced and pleasing characters in the world's history. These old stories are also unparalleled in the simplicity and transparent clearness with which the life of the pastoral age is depicted. Human nature comes out in a series of pictures most striking and individual, and yet unmistakably true to life and reality. And yet while this life was so small in its compa.s.s, it is almost wholly free from narrowness and provincialism. The universal qualities of human nature, common to men in all ages and countries, stand out with a clearness which even little children can grasp. The story of Joseph and his brethren is probably the finest story that was ever written for children from eight to ten years of age. The characters involved in this family history are striking and impressive, and the strength of the family virtues and affections has never been set forth with greater simplicity and power.

The heroic qualities which appear in the old Bible stories, especially in Moses, Samson, and David, would bear a favorable comparison with the men of the heroic age in all countries. Strength of character combined with faith in high ideals, pursued with unwavering resolution, is a peculiar merit of these narratives. The heroes of the Hebrew race should be compared, later on, with the most renowned heroes of England, Scotland, Germany, and Greece, and even of America, for they have common qualities which have like merit as educative materials for the young.

This early literature of the Bible stories will be found to contain a large part of the universal thought of the world, that is, of the masterly ideas which, because of their superior truth and excellence, have gradually worked their way as controlling principles into the life of all modern nations. It need hardly be said that these stories have a peculiar charm and attractiveness for children. The simplicity of a patriarchal age, the strong interest in persons of heroic quality, the descriptions of early childhood, the heroic deeds of bold and high-spirited youth,--these things command the unfaltering interest of children, and at the same time give their lives a touch of moral strength and idealism which is of the highest promise.

The oral treatment of these stories in the third or fourth year of school is the only mode of bringing them before the children in their full power, and they are well adapted to easy oral narrative and discussion. The language is the genuine, simple, powerful old English, and the teacher should become thoroughly saturated with these simple words and modes of thought. The dramatic element is also not lacking in many parts, and can be well executed in the cla.s.sroom. Many opportunities will be furnished to the children for drawing pictures ill.u.s.trating the stories. Many of the most famous masterpieces of painting and sculpture represent the persons and scenes of these tales.

The great heroes of Christian art have exhausted their skill in these representations, which are now being furnished to the schools by the large publis.h.i.+ng houses. Even the costumes and modes of life are thus brought home to the children in the most realistic yet artistic way.

An acquaintance with such early stories of Hebrew history is an introduction to some of the finest literature of the English language.

First, that dealing with the Hebrew scriptures themselves, as the books of Moses, the psalms of David, and second, a number of the great poems of English masters, as the "Burial of Moses" and Milton's "Samson Agonistes." In short, we may say that these stories are the key to a large part of our best English thought.

Adler, in his "Moral Instruction of Children," says: "The narrative of the Bible is fairly saturated with the moral spirit; the moral issues are everywhere in the forefront. Duty, guilt, and its punishment, the conflict of conscience with inclination, are the leading themes. The Hebrew people seem to have been endowed with what may be called 'a moral genius,' and especially did they emphasize the filial and fraternal duties to an extent hardly equalled elsewhere. Now it is precisely these duties that must be impressed upon young children, and hence the biblical stories present us with the very material we require. They cannot, in this respect, be replaced; there is no other literature in the world that offers what is equal to them in value for the particular object we now have in view."

If we could only contemplate the patriarchal stories as a part of the great literature of the world, on account of its typical yet realistic portraiture of men and women, we might use this material as we use the very best derived from other sources. Mr. Adler remarks that "this typical quality in Homer's portraiture has been one secret of its universal impressiveness. The Homeric outlines are in each case brilliantly distinct, while they leave to the reader a certain liberty of private conception, and he can fill them in to satisfy his own ideal.

We may add that this is just as true of the Bible as of Homer. The biblical narrative, too, depicts a few essential traits of human nature, and refrains from multiplying minor traits which might interfere with the main effect. The Bible, too, draws its figures in outline, and leaves every age free to fill them in so as to satisfy its own ideal."

Moreover, their use is not a matter of experiment. For hundreds of years they have held the first place in the best homes and schools of Germany, England, and America, and their educative influence has been profoundly felt in all Christian nations.

We have several editions of the stories adapted from the Bible for school use. In the Bible itself they are not found in the simple, connected form that makes them available for school use. One of the best editions for school is that published by Houghton, Mifflin, & Co., called, "Old Testament Stories in Scriptural Language." A free and somewhat original rendering of the stories is given by Baldwin in his "Old Stories of the East," published by the American Book Co. Both of these books have been extensively used in the schools of this country.

The oral treatment of the Bible stories in the schools has not been common in this country, but it has all the merits described by us in the chapter on oral instruction. In fourth and fifth grades these books may serve well for exercises in reading.

In a great many schools of this country they can be used and are used without giving offence to anybody, and where this is true, they well deserve recognition in our school course because of their superior presentation of some of the great universal ideas of our civilization.

BOOKS FOR TEACHERS OF BIBLE LITERATURE

The Modern Reader's Bible, twenty-one volumes (Richard Moulton).

The Macmillan Co.

Children's Series. Old Testament and New Testament Stories.

In two volumes. The Macmillan Co.

Stories from the Bible (Church). The Macmillan Co.

Story of the Chosen People (Guerber). The American Book Co.

The Literary Study of the Bible (Moulton). D. C. Heath & Co.

STORIES OF ROBIN HOOD

In the latter part of third grade or beginning of fourth, the stories of Robin Hood are likely to prove exhilarating to children.

These stories of the bold, manly, good-natured outlaw, with his band of trusty men in Sherwood Forest, have been famous throughout England these five hundred years, and the stories themselves, and the ballads accompanying them, are a genuine part of the treasures of the older English literature. They have been worked by Howard Pyle into the stout, hearty English style which is so appropriate to the rendering of the deeds of this st.u.r.dy English yeoman and his band.

Their careless life and woodland sports under the Greenwood Tree, and their merry adventures and shooting matches, have been the delight of many a generation of English children. But even their woodland sports were a severe and rugged training in hardy endurance and manly spirit.

Pyle says well in his preface: "For honest purposes manfully followed and hard knocks courageously endured must always interest the wholesome boy; while nature is so closely akin to man in the golden days of his green youth that tales of the Greenwood, where the leaves rustle and the birds sing, and all the air is full of sweet savors of growing things, must ever have a potent charm for the fresh imagination of childhood."

One phase of this training, as manifested in the stories, is not only the ability to take hard knocks and keep a stiff upper lip, as the old saying goes, but to master chagrin and anger and endure fun and gibes at one's own expense; indeed, even with aching bones and buzzing ears, to join in the merriment over one's own discomfiture. This is an unusual accompaniment of even good stories, which makes them truly wholesome.