Certainly no appreciation can develop from the question and answer method,
for no spiritual quality can thrive under such deadening conditions. If
the questions emanated from the pupils, the situation would be improved,
but such is rarely the case. Teaching is, in reality, a transfusion of
spirit, and when this flow of spirit from teacher to pupil is unimpeded
teaching is at high tide. When the subject is artfully and artistically
developed the effect upon the child is much the same as that of unrolling
a great and beautiful picture. The Mississippi River can be taught as a
great drama, from its rise in Lake Itasca to its triumphal entry into the
Gulf. As it takes its way southward pine forests wave their salutes, then
wheat fields, then corn fields, and, later, cotton fields. Then its
tributaries may be seen coming upon the stage to help swell the mighty
sweep of progress toward the sea. When geography is taught as a drama,
appreciation is inevitable.
The resourceful teacher can find a thousand dramas in the books on
geography if she knows how to interpret the pages of the books, and with
these inspiring dramas she can lift her pupils to the very pinnacle of
appreciation. Such tales are as fascinating as fairy stories and have the
added charm of being true to the teachings of science. A raindrop seems a
common thing, but cast in dramatic form it becomes of rare charm. It
slides from the roof of the house and finds its way into the tiny rivulet,
then into the brook, then into the river and thus finally reaches the sea.
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