Games and Play for School Morale A Course of Graded Games for School and Community Recreation — Text and Context

The Foreword as a Pedagogical Lens

Anna Vaughan’s foreword establishes the manual’s core premise: games are a means to strengthen “the spirit of friendship and co-operation.” She argues that active games “quicken the sense perceptions” and rouse the “dull, passive mind.” This statement is not generic; it directly shapes how the reader should approach the game descriptions. For instance, “Day and Night” requires players to react instantly to a visual cue (a black-and-white disk), embodying the alert attention Vaughan praises. The foreword thus functions as a reading guide, urging the instructor to see each game as a lesson in attentiveness and ethical conduct.

Graded Complexity in Game Mechanics

The excerpts show a clear progression in rules and physical demands. “Hawk and Hen” is a simple tag variant where a line of players, hands on shoulders, must stay aligned to protect the rear. “French Blind Man’s Buff” adds sensory deprivation and verbal disguise, requiring auditory recognition. “Boundary Ball” introduces teams, a center line, and the objective of driving the ball past an opponent’s boundary—a shift from individual to collective strategy. This grading is explicit in the manual’s subtitle, “A Course of Graded Games,” and the excerpts confirm that later games assume mastery of earlier skills like following directions and moving in unison.

Recurring Emphasis on Fair Play and Citizenship

Across the excerpts, the editors repeatedly tie game conduct to civic virtue. The foreword states that playing fair, winning honestly, and accepting defeat cheerfully are “invaluable lessons, and conducive to good citizenship.” In “Day and Night,” captured players are removed—a rule that enforces acceptance of loss. “Bull in the Ring” penalizes the bull who breaks the circle, but the chase that follows rewards the catcher, not the escapee. These mechanics embed the very values the foreword champions. The manual thus presents itself as a tool for Americanization and community building, as the prefatory material on Community Service makes clear.

The Role of the Instructor in Game Execution

The excerpts imply that the teacher’s role is active and interpretive. The foreword insists the teacher must “know how to play with children,” not merely supervise. Game descriptions are terse, leaving room for the instructor to adapt: “Call Ball” suggests variations like forming sides and scoring points. “French Blind Man’s Buff” allows the answering player to disguise his voice, requiring the blindfolded player to listen carefully. The manual trusts the instructor to enforce rules and cultivate the desired atmosphere. This reliance on the teacher’s judgment is a key feature for a first reader, who must decide how to translate these 1920s instructions into a modern setting.

A first-time reader will benefit from reading the foreword closely before examining the games, as it supplies the moral framework that justifies the collection. The graded sequence is best approached sequentially, noting how each game builds on skills from earlier ones. The manual’s brevity—each game is described in a few paragraphs—leaves much to the instructor’s creativity. Readers should treat the excerpts as a starting point for adapting these activities to their own community’s needs, keeping in mind the editors’ vision of play as a foundation for citizenship.

I keep thinking about how that old 1920 games manual frames play as quiet moral teaching, how graded steps let a child grow without noticing. It reminded me of another gentle guide, one that understands boys need room to become themselves: The Boy and the Sunday School A Manual of Principle and Method for the Work of the Sunday School with Teen Age Boys — Reading Companion. Both linger because they trust small, patient structures.