I do think therefore that with this rich harvest on our shelves, we might let our children drink from the purest fountains, and not force them to be satiated with that, which in the end, will rather disgust than delight. And here I am led to remark that it is erroneous to suppose that youth has no taste for fine poetry, nor sufficient judgment to distinguish between a well written poem, and a badly written one; your true schoolboy possesses an instinctive relish for what is noble, elevated, pure and truthful in Poetry. And this will apply to the young beginner, as well as to the more advanced pupil; all can and do appreciate good poetry, when it is suited to their capacity and age. I am not an advocate for children spending too much time in learning poetry, as some are intellectually disqualified from readily retaining it in their memories, and are apt in consequence to take a dislike to Poetry altogether, if made to learn it very often, as is too frequently the case. The teacher should endeavour to make this particular branch of study as agreeable and pleasant as possible, and this cannot be the case if it is a lesson of frequent occurrence, which would soon lead to satiety and dislike in the best disciplined and cleverest child. Once or twice a week, and two or three verses each time is, I consider quite enough for a youthful pupil, as his other lessons must equally conduce to improve his memory, and strengthen his mind. In learning Poetry, I think the pupil should not only be made to retain the verses in his memory, but he ought to have the subject of them well explained to him, so that he may thoroughly understand its import, and fully comprehend the meaning of every portion of it. This was my chief motive for appending a few notes at the end of almost every piece, as I thought that by this means the Teacher would be led to follow up my suggestions and deductions, which would render the lesson attractive and morally useful, instead of being a lesson to be learnt by rote, without any signification or end, and then thrown aside. In this, as in every other branch of education, I do think that a little well said, and fully comprehended by the child, is more judicious and useful, than a lengthened lesson repeated without explanation or remark. I have attempted, and I trust with some little success, to arrange these pieces in a graduated form,-beginning with some of the simpler poems and winding up with the more difficult ones, so as to prepare the pupil by progressive lessons to be able in the end to read, and recite the deeper and more magnificent productions of our great Bards. CANTERBURY. W. H. CORDEAUX. |