STORIES EXPRESS THE HOPES OF MANKINDStories hold our interest
because they transport us to a realm where things work out in
somewhat the way that seems to us to be typical of life, either as
it is or as we should like it to be.We need only analyze our own
experiences to multiply examplesFORMING MORAL JUDGMENTSThe place of
the moral in the must be touched on later, but here let us say that
this, one of the chief educational values of story-telling, takes
care of itself in the conscience of the child if the story is well
arranged and adequately told.As soon as children come to the stage
when they begin to distinguish between good and bad, generous and
selfish, kind and cruel conduct in themselves and others, they
involuntarily feel more or less clear reactions from the conduct of
the story-people who are presented to them. This part of the
problem of the story-teller, therefore, is to select such stories
as will lead the child to form sound moral judgments, rightly
approving or condemning the actions of charactersSTORIES STIMULATE
MENTAL PROCESSESHow sense-appeal in stories that deal with color,
or sound, or touch, or taste, or smell, may be just as educational
as emotional appeal, of whatever sort. The story, let it be
remembered, may excite any sort of reaction.EFFECTS ON THE
PERSONALITY OF THE CHILDTo develop personality in the child by
story-telling meansTo implant proper ideals by showing that a
certain course of conduct brings happiness, as well as by showing
through the action of the story and its ending that wrong ideals
lead to various unhappy results.It is not enough that the child be
led to form judgments as to what is right or wrong in the actions
of the story-people. He must be inspired to do things: inspired by
example.
