Putting the Mutual Reading Course Across

PUTTING THE MUTUAL READING COURSE ACROSS By Fred G. Barker, Editor of "Forty-Minute Plays From Shakespeare" Preliminaries. It is assumed that the Mutual Presidents have announced clearly in open Mutual and on more than merely one occasion the name of thi books, also where the books can be purchased, where the books can be borrowed, and that all members of the association are expected to read them. Next, to give an impetus to the reading itself: First call attention to the reading of the books in as striking and memorable a way) as you can. Have four members of the Mutual read for one preliminary program four of the most interesting short episodes in the life of John Wannamaker, announcing at the close that The Biography of John Wannamaker is one of the books on the M. I. A. Reading Course that is to be read by all Mutual members before June, 1926. A striking introduction to Pappini's Life of Christ can be planned in the same way; the four strongest descriptions of familiar incidents in the Christ life that the book contains. The readers need offer neither explanations nor estimations; the passages themselves will stand out as clear examples of the excellent reading material found in these books. Similar introductions may be given to the other books. One of the Forty-Minute Plays from Shakespeare may be read by a group of members, or by a single dramatic reader. Either the playlet of "Falstaff and Prince Hal," or the playlet of "Bottom," from "A Mid- summer Night's Dream," would be short enough for a preliminary program. Second, hands should be called for in general assembly, and also in the classes, of those who have commenced the reading. Record should be kept of the members who have finished each of the books. Announcement should be made of the first mutual member to finish each book. A com- petition should be established between the mutual classes to see which class will first read 25, 50, and 75 per cent of the reading course. Such a competition needs no trophies, but it does need sufficient attention and regular enough inquiry of the classes, for the President to be able to announce progress and the winners of the per cents. Reading Progress. Now it is taken for granted that the members have begun to read or that a strong desire to read has been established in them. How can reading best be done? There are two ways by which an extended course in reading can be finished in schedule time. The first is by interjecting group assistance every second or third week. This method is helpful especially to younger classes. It is a way of procuring a sort of socialized reading of a chapter or two and crediting all the members of the class with the reading of that part of the book. The book of plays offers perhaps the most natural application of this method. Assign the roles in a short play to the various members of the class, and have them play the play (in imagination) right in their seats. The enjoyment of such group reading is independent of scenery, lighting, costumes, or audience; for the actor never sees the scenery or watches the stage effects; he is part of the play, not part of the audience. And all of the Mutual class taking part in such a classroom reading are actors, not audience. One member is the stage manager and prolog, all the rest take a role, and if there are more roles than players, some of the players have two roles. The Gospel of St. Matthew lends itself to a like group method of reading; only the number of readers is differently determined, and the casting

666 IMPROVEMENT ERA is not quite so obvious. Have one class member read the words spoken by Christ. Have another read the descriptions of the incidents, assuming let us say, the character of the evangelist. Have others read the speeches attributed to others — the apostles, the persons in the parables, etc. This is a much more difficult bit of art than the impromptu reading of a play, and takes both careful working out by the teacher and preparation by the class members. In fact, preparation adds to the interest of a group reading of any sort, and often results in an artistic touch so pronounced that what was prepared for a class exercise often proves striking enough to make an excellent preliminary program. The role of group reading, however, has no other function with reference to advancing the reading of the complete reading course than just to contribute its bit of credit for a few chapters or a play; the actual reading of whole books depends much more upon individual reading. Individual Reading. Few people aside from school children can indulge in the mental orgy of reading a book through in a day or two. Most of us have to husband our time and read but a page or two at a leisure moment now and then till in the end we have read the book after weeks of dropping it and picking it up again, keeping our place and losing our place — and, more is the pity, sometimes skipping a chapter and sometimes re-reading it without knowing it, noticing familiarity of the material _but not fully identifying it until we have re-read at least three or four pages. A more methodical method, therefore, suggests itself. Many people set aside fifteen minutes or twenty-five minutes every night before bed, to improve their minds. Whether the hour be early or late, they always persist, realizing that to preserve the excellent habit or reading regularly every day is of more worth than the fifteen or twenty-five minutes of sleep which they might gain that particular night but which can be made up again by planning better the course of the next day. Such a method depends upon planning much more than upon "will power." In fact, psychologists tell us there is no such thing as "will power." Everything is rather habit, and set. Habit is what comes when we repeat an action until it requires little effort or less concentration than unfamiliar processes require. Set is attitude. It comes from the knowledge we have gained through earlier experiments in our every day doings that we have the ability to do certain things and haven't the ability to do other* things. Thus we have a set that when we are sleepy we can readi a novel or an easy, entertaining, racy book for a quarter of an hour, even! if it is bed-time, and we have a set that we can read a more difficult book' on the evenings when we are not so tired. It pays to take advantage of these natural possibilities; form the habit of reading fifteen or twenty minutes every even- ing, but choose your readings so that your psychological set will not interfere with your habit but rather strengthen it and perhaps enable you to cultivate a reading habit that may last through life. Dear Mother of Mine When, as a mere baby, dear Mother of mine, I saw, from your clear eyes the bright love-light shine, The seeds of eternal affection were sown Deep down in my heart, where I worship alone. And there, despite Life's disappointments and fears, They have ever developed all through the years. Though the time has been long since the sowing was done. They have pushed through the soil t'ward the light, one by one.