American Notes-Editorial

We once had the privilege of attending the Sunday forenoon service at a fashionable metropolitan church where a distinguished British pastor and preacher had been announced as the minister for the day,this being his first and only contemplated appearance in that part of the land where we were then living. The event was heralded as a great opportunity, and a very large congregation packed the edifice to its capacity, while not a few unfortunates were unable to get in at all. Once in, the scene was impressive. The crowd was dense and respectful, the service of worship was reverent, the music inspiring, the elite of the metropolis were there in beautiful and appropriate garments of the period. There was a hush of expectancy as the pastor rose to introduce his distinguished guest; and then, there was an almost audible impression of surprise and of disappointment on the part of the congregation.

Before them was a man of slight build, with an enigmatic countenance, with averted gaze, with low brow and scanty gray hair; and when he began to speak his voice was high-pitched and unmelodious. For a moment it seemed as though the audience was on the point of rising, en masse, to leave the audience room. But this was for only a moment. Immediately something gripped them. The speaker was praying. The man and his Maker were being revealed. The real personality of this distinguished servant of God was in touch with God and with his hearers. Through his prayer and throughout the following sermon, for over an hour, everyone was held spellbound.

What about the value of personality in the work of teaching? It is something that is too often misunderstood and overlooked in selecting teachers. To be sure, the agency blanks usually contain the word "Personality," followed by a question mark, but no one pays much attention to it. Some seem to confuse it with "good looks-mere peronal appearance and if the candidate is good looking, that is enough. Why look farther? Not infrequently a candidate is rejected on account of "plainness," with scarcely a hearing; while a prepossessing one is assumed to have "personality." How superficial we are in our judgments of each other and in the handling of many of our largest interests and most serious responsibilities!

This paragraph is a plea for a more profound conception and appreciation of personality in the realm of education. The Personality paragraph in the teacher's application should be regarded as of

the utmost consequence, and careful atttention should be given to it, by both questioner and questioned. It relates to much more than outward personal appearance and habits. It is a searching question, which should reveal somewhat of the candidate's inner mind and heart. "Per," through, and "sonus," sound! Personality is that which is heard and seen of the inner heart and soul and life of the individual, that which emanates, sounds through unconsciously, from the spirit that animates the body of flesh and blood that is its instrument. Our children in the schools will not reason this out, they cannot explain it; but, with their sensitive and unspoiled perceptions, they will feel and know what are the ideals, what the aims and ambitions, what the motives and aspirations of those who teach them. And the atmosphere in which they dwell will affect their own personality and largely create or determine their personal standards and habits through life.

Those who select teachers for the great and sacred responsibilities of leadership and instruction of our boys and girls should understand what this word "Personality" means and includes, and should lay more stress upon it.

EDUCATION WEEK PROGRAM. The United States Bureau of Education, Washington, D. C., will send free, on request, a copy of the program suggested for American Education Week, 1924. It covers the exercises for the seven days, November 17 to November 23, inclusive. Just before the opening of the schools in September, the Bureau sent out the following suggestive and timely message :

"A few more days and then the call to return to the schoolroom will be answered by over 300,000 rural boys and girls throughout the land. Most of them will enter buildings freshly cleaned, some redecorated, to make them more pleasant and suitable 'temples of learning.' A few will enter new buildings dedicated to 'the service of the community and to the common cause of a better life for all.'

"Most of this youthful throng are eager to return and join their school friends. Most of them will enter advanced grades, with new fields of study to explore. Most of them will have new teachers. About one-fifth of them will be entering school for the first time. A few of them will be entering schools in new communities into which they have moved or to which they must go for advanced educational instruction.

"Everything possible should be done to make the first week a red letter week for the beginners and the newcomers, to be remembered by them for the remainder of their lives. First impressions are lasting impressions. A favorable attitude towards school and community

gained during these first few days will largely determine the wholeheartedness with which these pupils will enter into co-operation with the school and its enlarged society.

"Just as first impressions largely determine the attitude of the pupils, so do they affect the teacher. The teacher should become an integral part of the community during her period of tenure. Most teachers realize this and are glad to respond to the welcome extended them by the community. The teacher will not only be happier, but she, in increased service, will repay the community for any efforts expended in her behalf."

Defective eyesight in the public schools is costing the taxpayers of the nation at least $130,000,000 annually, it is asserted by the Eyesight Conservation Council of America, which, in a statement sent to directors of summer schools throughout the country, urges organized conservation of vision as a social and economic need. The Council points but that poor eyesight is responsible for much of the retardation in schools, and makes public the results of investigations showing that a large proportion of backward children have visual defects.

Accompanying the statement is a report revealing that heavy moral and financial losses arise from this evil. Approrimately 25 per cent of all school children in the United States, the Council finds, are retarded in their studies, and fully one-third of this retardation is conservatively estimated as due to defective vision. If this is a correct estimate, there are at least 2,000,000 school children in the United States one or more years behind in their studies because of defective vision.

According to the United States Bureau of Education, the cost of public elementary and secondary education for the entire United States averaged, in 1920, $64.16 per pupil per year. If each one of the 6,000,000 retarded children in the United States, as estimated, was forced to drop back only one year, the cost would be $390,000.000

From the American Art Bureau (Chicago) we learn that NATIONAL PICTURE WEEK, the great annual Feast of Pictures, will be celebrated this year October 13 to 23. Its observance is for the sake of stimulating appreciation of good pictures and indicating their importance in beautifying the home and bringing joy to the individual.

The Association has done much to tell the public of the great variety of excellent reproductions of classic and modern paintings which are available at reasonable prices, and to indicate to home

furnishers the place that good pictures have in those homes which express beauty and culture. The work of the American Art Bureau has the endorsement of educators, museums of art, women's clubs, and libraries. Because children, especially, love pictures, the observance of National Picture Week in the schools and libraries of the country is most appropriate. This annual emphasis placed upon the importance of good pictures does its part to help form the taste of growing children for art, and gives additional impetus to the year-around study of pictures which is part of the program of progressive schools.

Some of the suggestions offered for observing this Feast of Pictures are given here:

Select a fine picture each day of the week for study (original or reproduction). Look up material on artist, his time and country, and, if a reproduction, the location of the original of this painting. List the fine pictures in the school. Study and discuss them. List the fine pictures in the home and study them. Select a well-known American artist for study for the week. Have a picture exhibit in each room, or in the school. For this, call on local women's clubs to help, and ask the picture dealers of the city to loan framed pictures or have an exhibit in the store. Visit picture galleries or see library collections of prints. Find interesting modern pictures among the reproductions, as well as the familiar masterpieces. Arrange to have a framed picture presented to the school or to each class-room through the efforts of pupils. Dramatize masterpieces by arranging figure groups to resemble originals. This is good for an entire school to work on. Have written papers and discussions about pictures and their use as part of home furnishing, pictures in books, in schools, the home, art galleries, and in hospitals, clubs and other public buildings. Study the different kinds of print processes: etchings, lithographs, block prints, monotypes, aquatints, mezzotints and others. Have memory exercises and games, in recognizing pictures. Let children choose their favorite picture from several shown them, and say why chosen. Let domestic science classes in home furnishings show how pictures set the color note of a room, with draperies and other furnishings harmonizing.

Through this emphasis on good pictures, an appreciation of the work of both modern and classic artists, through excellent reproductions of their paintings, will be deepened.

Book Reviews

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