Farm Boys and Girls

by William A. McKeever

It may be truly said that the strength and impressiveness of the personality depend on the nature of the inner thought of the individual. Now, thoughts are not unlike the trees and the growing grain, or, for that matter, any other living thing; unless they have proper nourishment they wither, perish, or dwindle away to a puny shadow of their possible selves. How shall we measure the strength and force of the human character other than by the bigness and the purity of the daily thoughts of the individual? It matters little what the occupation may be—a hewer of stone, a hauler of wood, a captain of industry, or a governor of a state—each of these may be mean and little in his respective position provided his thoughts be sensuous and groveling. On the other hand, each of these can shine in his allotted place in a light all his own, provided he have the habit of entertaining clean and inspiring ideas in his secret consciousness.

Now, one of the larger problems of the rural life is that of supplying the many hours necessarily devoted to silent reflection with a suitable form of thought culture. Proverbially, the farmer and his wife and their children are hurried along with the work-a-day affairs and tend gradually to acquire the non-reading habit. This is bad for the parents in that it keeps their minds running around upon a little cycle of hard, industrial facts. It is worse for the children in that it fails to supply the proper nourishment for the dream period through which their lives are necessarily passing. What can be done, therefore, to nourish and build up the best possible thought activities, especially in case of the rural boys and girls?

How good thinking grows up and flourishes

It may not be out of place to show here somewhat more definitely how attractive forms of literature gradually work themselves into the lives of the young. In the first place, the young person cannot invent his own ideas. He does not manufacture his thoughts out of something latent within his organism. The latent situation consists merely of a nervous system prepared to receive manifold impressions and to retain them and give them back through the process of ideation. That is, the young person thinks only about things that have actually happened in his life. All he knows has come to him through the avenue of his senses; what he has seen and heard and felt, and so on, constitutes the “stuff” out of which his thoughts are made. So he must have the widest possible experience, while young, in the use of his natural senses.

The literature best adapted to the child would be that which appeals to the interests predominating in his life at any given time. During his early years not hard, prosaic facts, but situations that stretch the truth and sport with the fixed condition of things are especially appealing to him. He should therefore be indulged in the classic myths, fables, fairy tales, and the like. The parent will of course be on guard against his acquiring any seriously erroneous beliefs in respect to such things, and also against his receiving any serious shock or fright from the tragic aspects of the tale. Later on, during the early teens, the boys and girls will become more and more interested in the stories of the wars of old and in the fact and romance of history. Stories supplementing the text-book history of the home country may now be introduced.

As a possible means of bringing the minds of the boys and girls into a more intimate knowledge of the rural situation, nature studies and nature stories should be offered. It must be remembered that it is quite possible for the boy to grow up within a stone’s throw of many of the living things of nature and yet scarcely recognize their presence, much less know anything definite about them. Therefore, nature-study books and leaflets written perhaps in story form and containing attractive illustrations of the birds, bees, flowers, and trees to be found near about the rural home will prove most interesting and instructive to the young. Through such helpful literature the mind will gradually acquire the habit of casting about in the home environment for the description of possible objects and conditions new to one.

One of the best and most helpful results accruing to the young person who indulges the habit of reading good literature is this: he acquires a large vocabulary of words and phrases in which to clothe his secret thought and with which to express himself to others. All this furnishes, not merely a splendid form of entertainment for the silent reflections, but it also gives the thinker a sense of the power and the worth of his own personality.

Types of literature

It may be stated as a foregone conclusion that no farm is well equipped for the happiness and well-being of those who dwell thereon unless there be an ample supply of good literature in the house. No matter how well stocked with high-grade farm animals, how productive in point of farm crops, how well kept the hedges and lanes may be, secret poverty and littleness of mind lurk in that home if the literature is wanting. So, first of all, let us lay the foundation by means of enumerating some periodicals and books of a more general nature.

Plate VII.