over those who came together. They were still boasting and quarreling, and they did not help each other lift the net. So the hunter lifted the net himself and crammed them into his basket. But the wise quail gathered his friends together and flew far away, for he knew that quarrels are the root of misfortune. GRADE IV TOWN AND CITY BY MABEL HILL INTRODUCTION FOR the Teacher: THE SONG OF THE BROAD-AXE WALT WHITMAN A great city is that which has the greatest men and women, If it be a few ragged huts it is still the greatest city in the whole world. The place where a great city stands is not the place of stretch'd wharves, docks, manufactures, deposits of produce merely, Nor the place of ceaseless salutes of new-comers or the anchor-lifters of the departing, Nor the place of the tallest and costliest buildings or shops selling goods from the rest of the earth, Nor the place of the best libraries and schools, nor the place where money is plentiest, Nor the place of the most numerous population. Where the city stands with the brawniest breed of orators and bards, Where the city stands that is belov'd by these, and loves them in return and understands them, Where no monuments exist to heroes but in the common words and deeds, Where thrift is in its place, and prudence is in its place, Where outside authority enters always after the precedence of inside authority, Where the citizen is always the head and ideal, and President, Mayor, Governor and what not, are agents for pay, Where children are taught to be laws to themselves, and to depend on themselves, Where equanimity is illustrated in affairs, Where speculations on the soul are encouraged, Where women walk in public processions in the streets the same as the men, Where they enter the public assembly and take places the same as the men; Where the city of the faithfulest friends stands, There the great city stands. The most important public question before us today is the unsolved question of how to develop a class of trained citizens who shall bring into political life such upright devotion and such a high degree of efficient service that our civic life will show the results. It behooves the teachers of the United States to begin the foundations of such a crusade with the children. The junior citizens of our country are the future citizens of the nation. Even in the fourth grade the pupils, boys and girls alike, are in touch with the daily activities of municipal life around them. As they come to school they see workmen employed by the municipal government busily engaged on some service for the good of all. What these men are doing, why they are doing it, what good comes from it, are questions to be considered. Even more important are the questions that follow: If good does come from such work, cannot all citizens be interested and helpful? If the grown-up citizens are interested, why should not the children be interested and helpful too? These are questions to be fostered in the class room, in order to bring about a vital and intelligent coöperation on the part of the pupils. As it is the spirit and not the letter that we are to develop in the lower grades, the actual study of government cannot be given as a branch of learning. But much will be gathered as basic knowledge of civic life if an informal succession of lessons be presented in the form of talks and stories, together with the study of pictures of civic life and poetry to stir local patriotism. SEPTEMBER: THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOME For the Teacher: THE COTTER'S SATURDAY NIGHT ROBERT BURNS At length his lonely cot appears in view, Th' expectant wee-things, toddlin', stacher thro', His clane hearth-stane, his thriftie wifie's smile, Does a' his weary carking cares beguile, Wi' joy unfeign'd brothers and sisters meet, The mother, wi' her needle an' her shears, Their master's an' their mistress's command They never sought in vain that sought the Lord aright! Suggestions for morning talks If you tell the boys and girls what children are doing in their homes in other towns and cities to serve the community you will quickly catch their interest. Stories read like fairy tales to them when the heroes are children children who have made their homes more beautiful, and thus bettered the community in which they live. Jane Andrews's "Seven Little Sisters," and "Ten Boys," will assist the teacher to bring before the pupils the helpfulness of children in the homes of other countries throughout the great epochs of his |