Morning Exercises for All the Year

by Joseph Charles Sindelar

1914

This book aims at a systematic and orderly presentation of the morning or opening exercise in the elementary school. The teaching of morals can usually be accomplished more effectively through an indirect method, rather than by set lessons or formal teaching. Character is largely a matter of habit, with a daily emphasis on right attitude and right conduct. When the birthdays of famous poets, statesmen, national heroes, or national events occur, the memory of their virtues naturally determines the topic of a lesson. Through concrete examples presented in story and verse, children learn to appreciate nobility of character and deed, thus arousing their admiration and aspiration. It is better to allow children to make their own inferences than to force the moral upon them.