Educating by story-telling

They made him think of a song, and he looked about for paper upon which to write it. He asked the waiter to get him a piece, but the waiter could find nothing but a bill of fare. Schubert took that and wrote his melody, and when Shakespeare’s words were sung to it, the song sounded like this:

[At this point in the story run a record of “Hark, hark the lark.”]

Another time he was passing through a poor quarter of Vienna and heard a peasant serenading a girl. Schubert did not think the song a very pretty one, and he went home and wrote one that he liked better. This is how it sounds:

[Record of “The Serenade.”]

When Franz Schubert was a little child, he heard his father tell an old German story. It was called “The Erl King” and was about a witchlike creature who was supposed to take children from their parents. Franz always remembered it, and after he grew to manhood and read Goethe’s poem, “The Erl King,” a friend told him how the master came to write it. One wild winter night the poet was visiting in the home of a physician and a man came riding through the storm, seeking help for the child he had with him. The little fellow was delirious with fever and kept clinging to his father, crying and begging him not to let the Erl King take him away. The incident affected Goethe so deeply that he wrote the poem, and Schubert, hearing the story, was so touched by it that he composed wonderful music to go with the master’s words.

[Record of “The Erl King.”]

Another poem of Goethe’s that he read told of a wild rose growing on a heath. A boy saw the rose and said, “I will pluck you.” The rose said, “No, no. If you do I will prick you.” The foolish boy laughed and picked the rose, and it kept its word. This is the song Schubert made of the poem:

[Record of “Hedge Roses.”]

So you see that almost everything made Franz Schubert think of music. He wrote many, many songs and much other music, and although it is almost a hundred years since he died, his name and his works will live as long as men love melody. The greatest singers in the world use his songs over and over because rich and poor alike love them, and whenever singers want to be very sure of pleasing they sing some of the songs of him who was once a boy in old Vienna, Franz Schubert.

Sources of Material to Awaken an Appreciation of Music

Pictures to Use in Telling Musical Stories

CHAPTER TEN
Story-Telling to Awaken an Appreciation of Art

The child who is surrounded by good pictures from his earliest years grows to love good pictures, and gaudily colored, cheap ones have no charm for him. His taste has been formed for the fine and true, and nothing else will satisfy him. To behold a beautiful painting gives him pleasure, while to see a glaring chromo produces an unpleasant sensation. This is not because he is different by nature from one to whom masterpieces have no meaning, but because he has learned to know them.

Here again we have one of the striking differences between the average American and the average European. The Italian, French, Austrian, or German laborer sees masterpieces from infancy. His earliest recollection of religious worship is associated with them. Every continental town has its art gallery or picture exhibit, and on certain days there is no admission fee. The laborer avails himself of this opportunity. On Sunday, when he is free from toil, he makes a festival of the occasion and takes his family to some park or place of amusement, and very frequently the jaunt includes a trip to the picture gallery. Consequently, even the children of those lands have a knowledge of the masterpieces of art far surpassing that of the average adult American.

In most respects the Italian street gamin does not differ from the guttersnipe of our own land, but in one he is vastly his superior. He knows the free days at the galleries as well as he knows the alleys of his native town, and is a liberal patron of such places on those occasions. I once made the acquaintance of a little chap in Rome who was an excellent guide. He piloted me among the treasures of the Vatican with the ease and security that bespeaks thorough knowledge, for he had been there so often that he knew in just which rooms or alcoves to find his favorites. He knew much of the artists, too, of their lives and times, their discouragements and successes. Yet this Roman street boy was no exception to his class. Along the Piazza di Spagna, in fact, on any of the highways, are dozens like him, rich in knowledge of the statues and fountains that glorify the streets and parks of the Holy City. The names of Brunelleschi, Michelangelo, Fra Angelico, Giotto, and those other men who built or carved or painted with marvelous power, are fraught with meaning to them, and it is not strange that it should be so. Children in Italy have grown up among beautiful things. For centuries beauty has been almost a religion to this joy-loving, sun-loving race, and the country of the Apennines, as Francis Hopkinson Smith says, is the one place in the world where a song or a sunset is worth more than a soldo. Consequently, the Italians are a nation of art lovers. Each individual regards the masterpieces as his property, and the reason the Italian people hate the memory of Napoleon is not only that he conquered parts of their land, but that he robbed Italy of some of her art treasures. These were things they and their fathers had seen and loved, and they could not forgive the vandal who carried them away, even after the wound left by the victor had ceased to rankle.

Here in America we have not had the opportunity of the average European, but already we have made a beginning, and we now possess a number of art galleries that deserve the name. At the present time these are found only in the large cities, but they are helping to form national standards. Meanwhile every worker with children ought to try to lead those intrusted to his care to a knowledge and appreciation of great pictures.

It is not enough to place reproductions of masterpieces in schools and homes and say nothing about them. If children are to have an appreciation of them, they must be led to see their beauty, to understand what they mean, to have some idea of the infinite patience and labor that made their creation possible. The child of an artistic bent will observe and study them without aid or guidance and unconsciously grow into loving them, because beauty in any form attracts him as a magnet draws a bar of steel. But teachers and parents do not work solely with budding genius, and in the great scheme of human advancement it may mean as much for many average children to appreciate and love art, as for one who is gifted to reach immortal heights of achievement. The average child must be led and directed. His interest must be aroused before we can hope to mold his taste as we would have it molded. He must be taught to see that a Gainsborough is more beautiful than an advertising chromo, that a face by Raphael is the expression of an inspiration that is almost divine. Only through an association that gives pleasure will he come to see and appreciate, and here again story-telling can work wonders, because through it we can intensify a child’s delight in a picture.

In the field of art the biographical tale is of immeasurable value, for the story of an artist’s life, illustrated by reproductions of his works, can be made the pathway to appreciation.

In establishing standards of art appreciation, as well as those of music, we must not lose sight of the story interests of childhood, because many a picture that is a great artistic achievement is not suitable to present to little children. The “Venus and Cupid” of Velasquez is a glorious masterpiece, but we cannot expect little folk to admire it any more than we can expect those in the rhythmic period to listen to a King Arthur story and ask to hear it again. As the little child does not know Venus and Cupid, a portrayal of them means nothing to him. But he does know horses and dogs and cats. He knows other children and babies and mothers, and therefore he enjoys pictures of animal and child life and will be interested in hearing about their portrayers.

Sir Joshua Reynolds is an excellent artist to begin with, because his best work is built around themes dear to the heart of childhood. His “Age of Innocence,” “Infant Samuel,” “Robinetta,” “Heads of Angels,” “Simplicity,” and “The Strawberry Girl” are ideal works to present to the small child, and this painter’s early years make a charming story.

Sir Edwin Landseer is another artist with whom we can acquaint little children, through the following works: “Uncle Tom and His Wife for Sale,” “Low Life and High Life,” “Dignity and Impudence,” “A Distinguished Member of the Humane Society,” “The Sick Monkey,” “King Charles Spaniels,” and many other paintings, all of which will be loved by children because they love the subjects.

Rosa Bonheur and her paintings should be used in this period. Children are especially fond of “The Horse Fair,” “Coming from the Fair,” “Brittany Sheep,” “Highland Cattle,” and “A Norman Sire.” In fact, everything this painter created, like all the work of Landseer, is fraught with interest to the child, because she was solely a portrayer of animal life.

An artist of whom little folk have been taught almost nothing is Gainsborough. Usually we think of him only as a portrait painter, because in America his likenesses of women are better known than his other pictures. But it is a mistake to associate him only with “the dashing, smashing hats worn by the Duchess of Devonshire.” Until recently only Americans who had traveled in England had an opportunity of seeing or knowing the greater part of this artist’s other work, because the British copyright law protected much of it in such a way that cheap prints could not be made. Now, however, it is possible to get good reproductions of these long-protected Gainsboroughs at a very reasonable price. Most valuable of the works of this artist to use with little children are the following: “The Market Cart,” “The Watering Place,” “Two Dogs,” “Rustic Children,” and “Study of an Old Horse.”

Murillo is an ideal painter to introduce to the little child, because his childhood story is as fascinating as his creations are glorious. Children never tire of hearing about this joyous little Spanish boy, and of the time when he transformed the family picture, turning the halo of the Christ-child into a gorgeous sombrero, and making a dog of the sheep. As they laugh or sympathize with the wonder child of Seville and feel something of the charm of life in that old city, its street children, immortalized on canvas by its most illustrious son, become comrades because little Bartolome sometimes played with them and big Bartolome painted them. There is a long list of this master’s works from which to choose, but the following are particularly enjoyed: “Mother and Child,” “The Adoration of the Shepherds,” “St. John and the Lamb,” “The Melon Eaters,” “The Dice Players,” “Beggar Boys,” “The Good Shepherd,” “The Marriage of St. Catherine,” and “The Immaculate Conception.” No attempt should be made to interpret the two last-named pictures. Familiarize little people with them and lead them to see their beauty, but waive all idea of religious symbolism until years bring maturity of thought and the child makes his own interpretation.

All Madonna pictures are interesting to little children, so by all means acquaint them with Raphael, the king. Let them drink in the beauty of “The Sistine Madonna,” “The Madonna of the Chair,” “The Madonna of the Goldfinch,” and as many others as can be obtained. The story of Raphael belongs more properly in the intermediate period than in the very early one, because so little is known of this painter’s life before he began his career. Just tell the children of the little boy who lived in far-away Urbino long, long ago. His mother died when he was a wee little fellow, and he lived alone with his father, who was very kind to him. Instead of playing much, as the other children did, he loved to sit and listen to stories about saints and good people who lived before his time. He loved to draw pictures, too, and when he grew to be a man he became a wonderful painter.

Closely following Raphael may come Correggio, through his “Holy Night,” “Repose in Egypt,” and “Cherubs.”

Van Dyck, too, may be made familiar to little children. From his works choose “Children of Charles I” and several details from this picture—“Baby Stuart,” “Charles II,” and “Henrietta.” But present first the complete picture, so that when “Baby Stuart” is seen the children will know that it is only part of a painting. Many a grown person does not realize that it is a detail from another work, and this fact should be understood by every child who sees the royal baby. Other works by this artist suitable to introduce to tiny people are “The Repose in Egypt,” “Madonna and Child,” and “The Donators.”

There are many painters whose pictures will be enjoyed by children of from five to eight, and the teacher or parent who knows art and art literature can choose for himself, keeping always in mind the story interests. To those who have little or no knowledge of art, yet who want to lead children along this path, the following list will be helpful:

Artists and Paintings That Can Be Presented to Young Children through the Story-Telling Method

Children of the intermediate period enjoy the works of the great landscape painters, Claude Lorrain, Corot, Breton, and others who portrayed the woods and fields, especially when they know something of the childhood of these men. In this period, too, they should become better acquainted with some of the artists they have already met. Add to the interest previously created in Raphael by taking up such works as “Madonna of the Fish,” “Madonna of the Well,” and “Madonna of the Diadem.” In telling the story of his life use Ouida’s beautiful tale, “The Child of Urbino,” which is so exquisitely told that there is nothing lovelier in literature. Show the children his portrait of himself, his “St. Catherine,” “St. Cecilia,” “St. John in the Desert,” “Peter and John at the Beautiful Gate,” and “The Miraculous Draught of Fishes.”

Add to the interest already created in Rubens by taking up his “Portrait of Himself,” “The Flight of Lot,” and the paintings illustrating the life of Maria de’ Medici.

Pictures representing the Crucifixion, the Descent from the Cross, and the Entombment, no matter how glorious they may be as works of art, should not be presented to children. They are too highly religious for children’s understanding, and the tragedy portrayed in them should not enter into childhood. The Madonnas and Holy Families may be used freely, because they portray dear and familiar characters and are saturated with an atmosphere of happiness that gladdens the child.

The following list will aid those who are not connoisseurs:

Artists and Paintings for Children of the Intermediate Period

There is a twofold reason for introducing children to such painters as Millet, Breton, and Jacques. Besides giving them a knowledge of the works of the artists in question and adding to their appreciation of the beautiful, it will dignify labor in their eyes to learn that it inspired these great creators. If leaders of the “back to the land” movement would make free use of the art of the world among children, if during the years when impressions made are deep and lasting they would tell stories and show pictures that have been inspired by toilers in the fields, a sentiment would be created that would tell in results, because of boys and girls having learned to respect those who till the soil and work with their hands.

Artists and Paintings That Lead to Appreciation of the Beautiful and to Respect for Labor

When children reach the period during which they crave the heroic, when they are eager for the great epic stories, give them the great paintings that portray epic and mythological subjects. The following list contains names of artists and works that children in this stage will enjoy:

Artists and Paintings for the Heroic and Epic Periods

General Bibliography of Art Story Material

Sources for Moderate-Priced Reproductions of Masterpieces

CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dramatization

Contemporaneous with what may be termed a renaissance in story-telling is a strong sentiment in favor of dramatization. Child leaders have observed that children dramatize spontaneously, and that after they have heard a tale they often play it without suggestion from an older person. They impersonate the characters, crudely perhaps, but they represent the action and portray the story as they understand it.

This they do because the dramatic instinct is a universal instinct. We are all born imitators, and we like to experience the feelings and experiences of others. That is why the little girl impersonates her mother and takes delight in dressing in grown-up attire and playing lady. It is what actuates the boy to play Indian or soldier or fireman. He wants to live through the experiences of Indians and soldiers and firemen; so he goes into the world of make-believe and acts the part. During that time he is a larger and a different personality. He is not a little boy who must go to bed before he wants to, and must stay inside the yard when he longs to be out on the highway; he is a grown man in a uniform dashing along on an engine; he is a mighty chief in feathers and war paint, leading his tribe against the enemy or speaking words of wisdom around the council fire.

There was a time when this sort of play was believed to be of no value beyond that of a romp that helped to stretch the muscles, but today there is a very different attitude toward it. Close observation of children and a more general knowledge of psychology have brought educators to realize that imitative play is a big factor in mental development. As the boy impersonates a fireman or Indian he must choose movements in keeping with the part and reject those not in keeping with it. He must select and evaluate, and in doing this he is acquiring a power of discrimination that will be of great value to him later.

The childhood of many famous men of the past was distinguished by an unusual amount of imitative play, a free expression of the dramatic instinct. Goethe, in his memories, speaks lovingly of his early years thus:

Continuing, he tells of the tales he heard, and what they meant to him as he played them:

What Goethe learned through acting tales his mother told him, the child of today is learning as he dramatizes stories, although not always in as great a measure as was learned by the author of Faust and Werther. But he is learning according to his ability and within his limitations. When he has played the part, the laws involved in it become fixed principles with him, and a big step is taken in the direction of his moral training. Because of a growing recognition of this truth the present strong interest in dramatization in schools is becoming general throughout the country. Teachers are beginning to realize that they can give no more eloquent sermon on truthtelling than to tell the story of “The Boy Who Cried Wolf,” and then let the children dramatize it. There is no more effective means of giving a lesson in contentment than presenting the tale of the pig who thought his life hard and leading the boys and girls to play it.

Therefore it follows that dramatization should be encouraged, and to be most far-reaching in its results, it should be done by means of story-telling, because by proceeding from the story to the action the child creates the play and makes it his own.

There are many books of plays for children, carefully written and adapted to their interests in word, style, and theme. But such plays do not mean as much to the child as those he makes for himself. They are not as much his own, and consequently they contribute less toward his growth and development.

The natural way is for the child to hear the story and then act it. Therefore every story-teller should have in his possession a number of tales with dramatic possibilities. He should tell one of these vividly and dramatically, using much dialogue, and then, while it is still fresh in the minds of the children, encourage them to play it. It is well to use the published plays also, because there are many excellent ones, but the narrator should read them over, get the plot, and tell the story, before putting them into the hands of the children.

Shall dialogue be dictated by the story-teller and the children drilled in their parts? No. Conversation used in telling the tale will suggest to the children what to say, and they will make up their own parts. They must be led and directed, but help from the teacher or leader should be given in such a way that the children feel they are making the play themselves. Help them by questions that will lead them to think and act instead of telling them what to do and say.

Suppose “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” is to be dramatized. After the story has been told, say to the children, “Do you want to play it?” Of course they will want to. Then, by questioning, lead them to constructive effort.

How many people shall we need? Immediately the answers will come, and as the different characters are named make a list, thus getting the cast. Who can be the mayor, members of the council, the piper, rats, mothers and fathers, lame boy, etc.?

There will be two divisions, those who are forward, eager to take a prominent part, and the shy, retiring ones who will not offer. This latter group must not be ignored, and to draw its members into the work requires much tact. Sometimes when it is impossible to get a child to take a speaking part, he can be encouraged to be one of a group of “supers,” as they are called on the professional stage, because although he lacks the confidence necessary to make him lift his voice, his diffidence vanishes in doing pantomime with a number of other children. He will be a rat or a citizen when he cannot be coaxed or driven into being the piper, and after many pantomime performances he gains the confidence in himself that enables him to take a speaking part.

One of the difficulties incident to dramatization in the schoolroom is that the same children always clamor to take the star parts, and sometimes sulk if not permitted to do so, or sneer at the efforts of others. This situation must be met as any other problem in discipline is met, by skill on the part of the teacher and by inculcating a sense of fairness and courtesy that holds selfishness in check. Lead the child to see that what gives him pleasure gives some one else pleasure also, and that it is the right of each member of the class to experience that pleasure. Once the boy or girl realizes that well-bred people are considerate and do not deride the efforts of others, no matter how imperfect their achievement may be, the dramatization period loses its greatest bugbear and shy children do not hesitate to take part because of fear that they will be laughed at. This result cannot be brought about instantly, but persistence and tact will finally accomplish it.

Do not be discouraged because it seems that some of the shy or less capable children will never take a speaking part. Sometimes even after they perform in pantomime they still hang back and will speak only in chorus. But this last is at least a step in the desired direction. Keep working them in groups, and gradually from group speaking they will advance to individual speaking. Sometimes this process is slow and discouraging, but the teacher should remember that mental development is never a mushroom growth, and that great achievement is not wrought in a day. The marble block yields so slowly to the shaping of the sculptor’s chisel that sometimes it seems it never will take the form he visions for it, but ceaseless effort always brings results. So it is with the teacher in molding human material. Results are sure to come if persistence and patience are unflagging and faith is deep and strong. It is worth much for a shy, self-conscious child to grow to the point where he can lose himself in the rôle of a play, and no matter how crudely he does it, he should be encouraged and given frequent opportunities to express himself, because as a means of self-development his crude performance is of as much value as the artistic one of the talented child, although it may be less enjoyable to spectators.

With little children especially, it is desirable to use some play whose cast will include every member of the class. It gives the eager child a chance to be “in it,” as children say, and makes it easier to draw the diffident child to participate, because he wants to do what all the others are doing. “The Pied Piper” is ideal for this, because of the flexibility of groups. There can be enough rats, parents, children, or council members to include twenty or forty children, and the larger the groups the more intense the interest.

After the cast is decided upon, plan the scenes, again by questioning the children. What is the first thing to be done and where is it done? Thus, by question and suggestion, work up the lines. In other words, have the children create the parts themselves and they will play them spontaneously. The production may not be highly artistic, but it will have greater educational value than one worked out by an adult and merely acted by the children. After it has been created in this way it may be put into finished permanent form. Little children may practice it until they memorize the lines, while those in the grammar grades may write parts, thus making a play that can be used many times. This sort of work is very valuable, and may form a composition or language exercise that will be enjoyed by the class.

Another method is to have the various members suggest lines to be spoken by the different characters and choose the best for the play. Sometimes a child who does little in the usual composition work and never gets a high mark, will suggest an excellent line or sentence, and to have it go into the play is a tremendous joy to him, especially if he doubts his own ability. Another plan that makes the class interest keen, is for each member to plan or write a scene, and without the members knowing the authorship of the various papers, have them read, and select the best by vote, whereupon the name of the writer is revealed. This method can be used in writing parts for one character or for all the characters, and in several other ways that will be of much value to the children.

Of course the teacher or leader must be the guiding spirit, because a well-built, correctly proportioned plot is necessary. But her suggestion should be chiefly by way of question, leaving the children to feel that they, and not the instructor, are doing the work, although in reality the teacher’s judgment is the foundation upon which the structure stands, and she must use it in building the play just as she uses it in telling the story.

For little people there are many stories with dramatic possibilities, some of which may be acted wholly in pantomime, some with combined pantomime and spoken parts, and others entirely of spoken parts. In working with foreign children it is well to begin with pantomime plays, as the child who knows he cannot express himself easily in English will always balk at taking a speaking part. Some of Æsop’s fables lend themselves particularly well to pantomime, especially “The Lion and the Mouse,” “The Fox and the Grapes,” “The Dog and His Shadow,” and “The Hare and the Tortoise.” The Dramatic Festival, by Craig, and Festivals and Plays, by Chubb, give valuable suggestions for pantomime work, as well as a list of plays adapted to it, and the worker with older children will also find these books to be excellent guides.

There is an equally large amount of material for dramatic work with older children. Hiawatha never fails to delight fourth and fifth grade boys and girls. Robin Hood in dramatic form is loved even more than in story, as are some of the exploits of King Arthur and his knights and of Pwyll, the hero of the Mabinogion. Any of these tales may be carried out simply or may be worked into elaborate performances with costumes and stage settings. If the latter be the choice, much pleasure and useful experience will come to the children through making the properties. Any boy who can whittle can fashion spears and swords, and gold and silver paper is wonderfully effective in supplying glitter. Does a knight need colored hose to be in keeping with his doublet? Let him borrow a pair of his mother’s or sister’s white ones and coat them with blackboard crayon of the desired hue. One laundering will make them spotless again, and there is no outlay of money for something that must be discarded at the end of the performance. Helmets, shields, and pilgrim hats can be made by the manual-training boys, and girls in the domestic-science class will enjoy sewing the costumes.

The teacher in the ungraded school is particularly fortunate in opportunities for this kind of work, because she can correlate it with other subjects in ways that workers in schools using the departmental system cannot do. One country teacher had her eighth-grade history class give a pageant portraying the French exploration in the Mississippi Valley. The class devoted a term to the preparation; the subject was made the nucleus of their reading, language, history, and manual work, and the results were most gratifying. Boys who never had written a readable paper did some astonishingly good work in composition because of their interest in the play and their desire to contribute to it, and the standard of class scholarship was raised, to say nothing of the joy the children derived from it.

Many other historical subjects are equally rich in possibilities. The Spanish exploration in Florida, the Dutch in New York, the Spanish settlement of California, the framing and adoption of the Declaration of Independence, John Smith and Pocahontas, Ponce de Leon seeking the fountain of youth, the story of Columbus, and many similar themes afford good opportunities for class play-making and correlation of school subjects.

Sometimes a picture will suggest an entire scene in a dramatization, or even an entire play; the following are especially good for this purpose:

Those wishing to make a specialty of dramatization will find the following books helpful:

The following are excellent stories for dramatic work with little children, and are included in so many books that they are available to every teacher:

Many others will be found in the list of story collections for children in the rhythmic period, and in the bibliography on the following page.

Bibliography of Material for Dramatization

For Primary Grade Children

For Intermediate Grade Children

For Grammar Grade Children