isa-normaladvance-1914-00204

Description:	204THE NORMAL ADVANCE& £kriou£ Qtimt of HiltBy EUNICE ASBURYPERHAPS there is never a more serious time of life for those who are naturally timid than the first day in the public schools. The little child who entered the home has grown used to all its surroundings. Whenever an obstacle has been met, mother-love has been near to point the way. But now after six years in the dear home nest, it must leave it all and go out into the big world. It must leave mothers kind sympathetic face—leave mother, who always, always understands, and measures little folks by what they meant to do, and overlooks what they actually do. It must leave father, big kind-hearted father, who laughs at all the little unfulfilled attempts at doing right, and cuddles little one up on his knee and shakes his big fist at those who dare interfere. This little child must leave all the dear home things and go out into the big world of school —a big world of strange faces, strange facts and strange ways—a big world over which mother does not rule, but a strange creature whom this little child does not know and therefore fears. It must leave the dear home nest with its sheltering and protecting love, and go to a strange building so bare and so big that little folks can not always find their way there.So on the first day of school, mother takes Little One to the great door beyond whose por¬ tals it knows not what awaits it. There may be a Bluebeard, a Beast, a giant, or an old witch who can change folks into anything she likes, but mother is still there, and Little One clings to her hand trying to be brave, yet with its eyes it is beseeching and imploring her not to leave it alone in this big empty world. But mother does not know this, or perhaps she does know, and feels it far more than the little soul at her side but knows that it is best for herchild and that it must be. So she leaves Little One, after it has been assigned to a seat, and goes away. It is fine for her and fine for the child that she does not once look back, for mother could never leave those imploring eyes and Little One could not then keep back the tears that want so much to come.This little child has been set down in this big institution, the school, and for a time it does not think or feel or act. Great new facts through which it cannot penetrate are walling it about on every side. It realizes at last, that at a queer desk in the front of the room, is a great person with a mass of curly hair, not like mothers. It realizes that this wonderful crea¬ ture wears a brown dress all beautiful and frilly, and fastened in her belt is a red rose that bobs its head as she moves. Now the rose is not strange for mother has some just like it, so Lit¬ tle One likes to watch it bob its head. Finally, Little One realizes that it can hear, and that somewhere there is the sound of a beautiful soft voice, and that the voice is telling a story —yes, and that it is about Three Bears and, for the first time, this little child moves in its seat and sighs.In a haze of thought and sight and sound, Little One lives through the morning, at recess going in and out mechanically without ever knowing the direction which it took or where it went. The work which it is given to do is all so new and strange that it can not find out how it is to be done.Then the great being who rules over this strange world comes down to the little child, puts her arm around it, and kisses its dear lit¬ tle frightened cheek. Then, this strange new world begins to open up to this little child. It begins to understand, and great tears of joy run down its cheeks, and mother comes to take
Source:	http://indstate.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/isuarchive/id/32668
Collection:	Indiana State University Archives

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