It is my conviction that the children’s theatre is one of the very, very great inventions of the twentieth century; and that its vast educational value—­now but dimly perceived and but vaguely understood—­will presently come to be recognized.  By the article which I have been reading I find the same things happening in the Howland School that we have become familiar with in our Children’s Theatre (of which I am President, and sufficiently vain of the distinction.) These things among others;

1.  The educating history-study does not stop with the little players, but the whole school catches the infection and revels in it.

2.  And it doesn’t even stop there; the children carry it home and infect the family with it—­even the parents and grandparents; and the whole household fall to studying history, and bygone manners and customs and costumes with eager interest.  And this interest is carried along to the studying of costumes in old book-plates; and beyond that to the selecting of fabrics and the making of clothes.  Hundreds of our children learn, the plays by listening without book, and by making notes; then the listener goes home and plays the piece—­all the parts! to the family.  And the family are glad and proud; glad to listen to the explanations and analyses, glad to learn, glad to be lifted to planes above their dreary workaday lives.  Our children’s theatre is educating 7,000 children—­and their families.  When we put on a play of Shakespeare they fall to studying it diligently; so that they may be qualified to enjoy it to the limit when the piece is staged.

3.  Your Howland School children do the construction-work, stage-decorations, etc.  That is our way too.  Our young folks do everything that is needed by the theatre, with their own hands; scene-designing, scene-painting, gas-fitting, electric work, costume-designing—­costume making, everything and all things indeed—­and their orchestra and its leader are from their own ranks.

The article which I have been reading, says—­speaking of the historical play produced by the pupils of the Howland School—­

“The question naturally arises, What has this drama done for those who so enthusiastically took part?—­The touching story has made a year out of the Past live for the children as could no chronology or bald statement of historical events; it has cultivated the fancy and given to the imagination strength and purity; work in composition has ceased to be drudgery, for when all other themes fall flat a subject dealing with some aspect of the drama presented never fails to arouse interest and a rapid pushing of pens over paper.”