CHAPTER THIRTEEN

STORY-TELLING AND THE TEACHING OF ETHICS

The function of education is not only to give the child knowledge and a capacity for acquiring further knowledge that shall equip him for the life struggle and make success a possible attainment, but also to give him an ethical standard that shall make him fit to live among his fellows and a respect for the rights and feelings of others, or, as Goethe says in _Wilhelm Meister_, “Reverence for what is above, reverence for what is beneath, reverence for what is equal.” He must be taught to realize that he is part of a great unit and that individual desires must often give way to the welfare of the many. He must be taught that as an individual he owes to society obedience to the laws that govern society and allegiance to the principles that make possible a harmonious family, civic, and national life. Consequently it is required of every teacher that she give ethical instruction, that she endeavor to bring children to an understanding of what is generally accepted as right and wrong, and implant in them convictions strong enough to cause them to adhere to those standards.

In establishing ethical standards, as in establishing standards in art, literature, or music, we must appeal to the emotional side of the child as well as to the intellectual side. We must lead him to feel that the right act is the one that he wants to do, and this cannot be accomplished by a presentation of dry facts and precepts. Every teacher knows that the time spent in admonishing a child what he _ought_ to do brings no gratifying results. He is not swayed to repugnance for one act or to admiration for another by being told “Thou shalt,” or “Thou shalt not.” At the time the command is given, fear may cause him to obey it; but conduct that is the result of force does not strengthen the character or teach high standards of action. It tends instead to harden the child and make him determined to act differently at the first opportunity. Ethical training does not mean to attempt to control the child, but to enlighten him and direct his volition to the point where he will attempt to control himself. As Ella Lyman Cabot says, “Its aim is to make the best there is so inviting to the child that he will work eagerly and persistently to win it.” The ideal that is held up to him must be so beautiful that he will be willing to sacrifice and endure hardship in order to attain to it, and through story-telling he may be led to see this ideal more vividly than in any other way, because the story makes right acts appealing and wrong acts repugnant. Moreover, through the narrator’s art the child lives the experiences of the tales he hears. He suffers with the evildoer and is rewarded with the virtuous, and because he is powerfully moved by a narrative, his character is lastingly affected by it.

In giving ethical instruction, it is necessary to use the right material. Tales selected for this purpose should be suited to the child’s particular period of mental development, they should contain a lesson the boy or the girl ought to learn, and they should be strong and virile and true to life. Much harm is done by telling stories of unusually good children. Such young folk are unpopular with boys and girls, and the story about them is as distasteful as is the “goody-goody” that is met with in real life. Instead of being an influence toward commendable action and the acceptance of a higher standard of right and wrong, the over-idealistic tale antagonizes the child and goads him toward that from which we would have him veer aside. Perhaps this accounts for the fact that girls often enjoy boys’ stories more than those written especially for girls. The normal girl wants to read and hear about live, natural young folk, and the heroine who has drawing-room manners and nothing else is very far from her ideal. Story characters that influence children must be human, full of human faults and virtues. From their failures and successes young people will learn many valuable lessons, but they will learn no lesson from one who poses as an unnatural young saint.

Moral training should begin with the babe, and therefore the mother and primary teacher need stories that have ethical values as early as they need Mother Goose tales and jingles. Very early in life the child must be brought to realize that there is a higher law than that of its own will or desire. It must be taught obedience, cleanliness, kindness to animals, consideration for the rights of others, truthfulness, industry, honesty, and courtesy, and these lessons can be inculcated more effectively by means of story-telling than in any other way. The tale of “The Little Red Hen” doing the work and reaping the reward of her labor is a sermon on industry that little people do not forget. The story of the farmer boy who rolled the stone out of the highway because he feared it might cause injury to some one, and then of the compensation that came to him at the hands of the lord of the village who placed it there, will help to make children thoughtful and kindly.

In telling stories of this type, the narrator should emphasize the fact that the greatest reward is the mental satisfaction that follows a good action, because the child who hears much of material reward sometimes thinks chiefly of the money or picnic or good time commendable conduct may bring, and if it happens that he does not receive remuneration, decides it is useless to perform good deeds. A case of this kind that came under my observation was that of a boy in a country school, a lazy, thoughtless little fellow. One day when a man drove through the school yard, his brother, who was very considerate, ran to open the gate. The stranger tossed a penny to the child, and the teacher, thinking to give a lasting lesson in consideration to the thoughtless boy, dwelt at length upon the stick of candy the money would buy. Several days later another man drove through the school yard and the thoughtless boy ran to open the gate. He received a smile and a “Thank you” but no money, and he could not be persuaded to open the gate again.

It is well to give stories in which children are materially rewarded, but they should be taught to see that material reward is not the only reward, and that desire for it should not be the motive that prompts a good action. The fireman who risks his life in saving the property or life of another is not bountifully paid, and seldom does he receive a purse for bravery. But he is true to his duty. He is giving to society the thing that he owes it, service, and his greatest guerdon is the satisfaction that comes from being steadfast to a trust. Examples of this kind are of great value to the child who is inclined to be selfish, and they are very effective in bringing all children to realize the truth of Alice Cary’s words:

There are no fairy folk who ride about the world at night, To give you rings and other things to pay for doing right, But if you’ll do to others what you’d have them do to you, You’ll be as blest as if the best of fairy tales were true.

Very young children can be taught to realize that the true reward of right conduct comes from added self-respect and from winning the esteem of others, and whenever a child is given a tale in which a boy or a girl receives some wonderful treasure for kindness or courtesy or truthfulness, the narrator will do well to interpolate a sentence like this: “And the best part of it was that Albert was happy because he had done what was right. That thought gave him a glad feeling even more than the big, shiny dollar.”

Many fairy tales and fables are of particular ethical value for little children, and the narrator can draw much from the field of general literature; biography and history hold many good examples, while the Bible is a rich storehouse of material. Ella Lyman Cabot’s excellent work, _Ethics for Children_, discusses the ethical side of story-telling in such a detailed and complete way that it should be in the hands of every mother and teacher. The book gives valuable suggestions, not only to workers with little folk, but to those who have the training of grammar grade and high-school pupils also. Carolyn Sherwin Bailey’s _Stories for Sunday Telling_ contains some good material for the mother and the primary teacher, while the several books by Sara Cone Bryant (listed in Chapter Seven, “Telling the Story”) will be helpful.

The following list is one that has been used with good results:

STORIES TO DEVELOP OR STAMP OUT CERTAIN TRAITS AND INSTINCTS

_Deceit_

ÆSOP: The Fox that Lost Its Tail (ADAMS, WILLIAM: _Fables and Rhymes—Æsop and Mother Goose_).

_Malice_

ÆSOP: The Dog in the Manger (ADAMS, WILLIAM: _Fables and Rhymes—Æsop_).

_Sympathy and Compassion_

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: A Lesson for Kings (_Ethics for Children_).

SAWYER, RUTH: The Gipsy Mother’s Story of Joseph and Mary (_This Way to Christmas_).

_Honesty_

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: The Little Loaf (_Ethics for Children_).

_Faithfulness to Duty_

BRYANT, SARA CONE: The Little Hero of Haarlem (_How to Tell Stories_).

CARY, PHŒBE: The Leak in the Dike (_Poems_).

_Inattention_

BRYANT, SARA CONE: Epaminondas and His Auntie (_How to Tell Stories_).

GRIMM, JACOB: Stupid Hans (_German Household Tales_).

_Obedience_

PARTRIDGE, E. N. and G. E.: The Little Cowherd Brother (_Story-Telling in the Home and School_).

_Generosity_

BAILEY, CAROLYN SHERWIN: The Boy Who Had a Picnic (_Stories and Rhymes for the Child_).

BAILEY, C. S., and LEWIS, CLARA M.: The Woodpecker Who Was Selfish (_For the Children’s Hour_).

BRYANT, SARA CONE: The Cloud (_How to Tell Stories_).

BULFINCH, THOMAS: Baucis and Philemon (_The Age of Fable_).

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: Margaret of New Orleans (_Ethics for Children_).

CARY, ALICE: The Pig and the Hen (_Poems_).

GRIMM, JACOB: The Star Dollars (_German Household Tales_).

GRIMM, JOSEPH: The Elves and the Shoemaker (_German Household Tales_).

WILDE, OSCAR: The Happy Prince.

_Love and Sweetness_

BRYANT, SARA CONE: The Mirror of Matsuyama (_How to Tell Stories_).

TOLSTOÏ, LEO: Where Love Is, There God Is Also (See BRYANT: _How to Tell Stories_).

_Forgiveness_

BIBLE: The Prodigal Son.

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: Lincoln and William Scott (_Ethics for Children_).

HUGO, VICTOR: The Bishop and Jean Valjean (_Les Misérables_).

MOULTON, LOUISE CHANDLER: Coals of Fire (In CABOT: _Ethics for Children_).

TOLSTOÏ, LEO: A Spark Neglected Burns the Whole House (In CABOT: _Ethics for Children_).

_Cleanliness_

BAILEY, CAROLYN S.: The Child Who Forgot to Wash (_Story-Telling Time_).

KINGSLEY, CHARLES: Tom, the Chimney Sweep (_Water Babies_).

LINDSAY, MAUD: Dust under the Rug (_Mother Stories_).

RICHARDS, LAURA E.: The Pig Brother (_The Pig Brother and Other Stories_).

_Perseverance_

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: The Story of Helen Keller (_Ethics for Children_).

CATHER, KATHERINE DUNLAP: Old Jan’s Twilight Tale; The Joyous Vagabond; The Whittler of Cremona; The Border Wonderful; Jacopo, the Little Dyer (_Boyhood Stories of Famous Men_).

HOLLAND, RUPERT S.: The Boy of the Medici Gardens (_Historic Boyhoods_).

_Industry_

BRYANT, SARA CONE: The Gold in the Orchard; The Castle of Fortune; The Sailor Man (_How to Tell Stories_).

_Contentment_

BROWNING, ROBERT: Pippa Passes (_Poems_).

BRYANT, SARA CONE: The Rat Princess (_How to Tell Stories_).

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: The Discontented Pendulum (_Ethics for Children_).

CATHER, KATHERINE DUNLAP: The Discontented Pig.

MENEFEE, MAUD: Pippa Passes (_Child Stories from the Masters_).

_Kindness_

ÆSOP: The Lion and the Mouse (ADAMS: _Fables and Rhymes—Æsop and Mother Goose_).

ANDERSEN, H. C.: Five Peas in a Pod (_Wonder Stories Told to Children_).

BAILEY, C. S.: The Little Brown Lady (_Story-telling Time_).

BROWN, ABBIE FARWELL: St. Francis of Assisi and the Wolf (_Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts_).

BRYANT, SARA CONE: Prince Cherry (_Stories to Tell to Children_); Why Evergreen Trees Keep Their Leaves (_How to Tell Stories_).

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: Dama’s Jewels (_Ethics for Children_).

GRIMM, JACOB: Snow White and Rose Red; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Queen Bee (_German Household Tales_).

LONGFELLOW, HENRY: The Bell of Atri (_Poems_); (see also WIGGIN and SMITH: _The Children’s Hour_).

PARTRIDGE, E. N. and G. E.: The Stone Lion; Little Paulina’s Christmas (_Story-Telling in the Home and School_).

RICHARDS, LAURA E.: Florence Nightingale and the Shepherd Dog (_Florence Nightingale, the Angel of the Crimea_).

STOCKTON, FRANK R.: Old Pipes and the Dryad (LYMAN: _Story-Telling: What to Tell and How to Tell It_).

_Greed_

ÆSOP: The Dog and His Shadow (In ADAMS: _Fables and Rhymes—Æsop and Mother Goose_).

HAWTHORNE, NATHANIEL: The Golden Touch (_Wonder-Book_).

_Courtesy_

CABOT, ELLA LYMAN: A Four-Footed Gentleman (_Ethics for Children_).

History and biography offer a particularly rich field from which to draw material for older children, for nothing drives home with more force a lesson in patriotism, loyalty, faithfulness, heroism, or obedience than to read of some one who has been put to the test and has triumphed. Dozens of characters worth emulating will occur to any teacher, and the following books will be found of particular value:

SOURCES OF MATERIAL TO USE IN THE TEACHING OF ETHICS

BALDWIN, JAMES: _American Book of Golden Deeds_.

BOLTON, SARAH K.: _Famous Leaders among Men_; _Lives of Poor Boys Who Became Famous_; _Lives of Girls Who Became Famous_.

LANG, ANDREW: _The True Story Book_.

LANG, JEANIE: _The Story of Robert the Bruce_.

RICHARDS, LAURA E.: _Florence Nightingale, the Angel of the Crimea_.