VII
THE USE OF PICTURES IN THE SCHOOLROOM[1]
In the modern schoolroom of the progressive type. pictures are among the most valued possessions. First of all, from the viewpoint of mere decoration, they add immeasurably to the attractiveness of the child’s environment. Artistically considered their chief function is to minister to the sense of beauty, to create an atmosphere of culture, and to develop the taste for good art. This is indeed enough to ask of pictures. For purely artistic reasons, every school in the land, like every home, should be beautified with genuine works of art. But the latter-day teacher makes pictures serve many purposes besides their original æsthetic end, using them in a multitude of ways to enrich the course of study. Even these secondary uses have an indirect artistic value, for any method is praiseworthy which arouses a child’s interest in good art. The work of the school grades begins with stocking the child’s mind with certain fundamental concepts: ideas of animals, flowers, fruit, and the various phenomena of nature; ideas of the family:
- ↑ In many of our large cities there are societies to further artistic interests in the schools; The School Art League of New York; the Chicago. Public School Art Society; the Buffalo School Art Association; and similar organizations in Columbus, Ohio; Evanston, Illinois; Houston, Texas; Washington, D.C.; and Worcester, Massachusetts. A great work has also been done by many women’s clubs and High School Alumni associations in furnishing pictures for schoolroom decoration.
