to acts of helpfulness. By little children especially the teacher is
regarded with almost unbounded confidence and respect. Whatever he may
suggest as to ways of helping in the home, faithfulness in the daily
tasks, ministry to the sick or the poor, can hardly fail of bringing
forth fruit. And thus again a double gain will be secured. The kindly
suggestion will react upon its author. Gratitude and co-operation on the
part of the parents will lighten the teacher’s burden and brighten his
path.
[Sidenote: _A Safeguard against Evil_]
Attention to recreation and physical culture will at times, no doubt,
interrupt the regular routine of school work; but the interruption will
prove no real hindrance. In the invigoration of mind and body, the
fostering of an unselfish spirit, and the binding together of pupil and
teacher by the ties of common interest and friendly association, the
expenditure of time and effort will be repaid a hundredfold. A blessed
outlet will be afforded for that restless energy which is so often a
source of danger to the young. As a safeguard against evil, the
preoccupation of the mind with good is worth more than unnumbered
barriers of law and discipline.
_Manual Training_
“STUDY TO WORK WITH YOUR
OWN HANDS”
[Sidenote: _Labor a Blessing_]
At the creation, labor was appointed as a blessing. It meant
development, power, happiness. The changed condition of the earth
through the curse of sin has brought a change in the conditions of
labor; yet though now attended with anxiety, weariness, and pain, it is
still a source of happiness and development. And it is a safeguard
against temptation. Its discipline places a check on self-indulgence,
and promotes industry, purity, and firmness. Thus it becomes a part of
God’s great plan for our recovery from the fall.
[Sidenote: _Dignity of Labor_]
The youth should be led to see the true dignity of labor. Show them that
God is a constant worker. All things in nature do their allotted work.
Action pervades the whole creation, and in order to fulfil our mission
we too must be active.
In our labor we are to be workers together with God. He gives us the
earth and its treasures; but we must adapt them to our use and comfort.
He causes the trees to grow; but we prepare the timber and build the
house. He has hidden in the earth the gold and silver, the iron and
coal; but it is only through toil that we can obtain them.
[Sidenote: _Co-workers with God_]
Show that, while God has created and constantly controls all things, He
has endowed us with a power not wholly unlike His. To us has been given
a degree of control over the forces of nature. As God called forth the
earth in its beauty out of chaos, so we can bring order and beauty out
of confusion. And though all things are now marred with evil, yet in our
completed work we feel a joy akin to His, when, looking on the fair
earth, He pronounced it “very good.”
As a rule, the exercise most beneficial to the youth will be found in
useful employment. The little child finds both diversion and development
in play; and his sports should be such as to promote not only physical
but mental and spiritual growth. As he gains strength and intelligence,
the best recreation will be found in some line of effort that is useful.
That which trains the hand to helpfulness, and teaches the young to bear
their share of life’s burdens, is most effective in promoting the growth
of mind and character.
[Sidenote: _An Essential Discipline_]
The youth need to be taught that life means earnest work,
responsibility, care-taking. They need a training that will make them
practical,—men and women who can cope with emergencies. They should be
taught that the discipline of systematic, well-regulated labor is
essential, not only as a safeguard against the vicissitudes of life, but
as an aid to all-round development.
[Sidenote: _Idleness Degrading_]
Notwithstanding all that has been said and written concerning the
dignity of labor, the feeling prevails that it is degrading. Young men
are anxious to become teachers, clerks, merchants, physicians, lawyers,
or to occupy some other position that does not require physical toil.
Young women shun housework, and seek an education in other lines. These
need to learn that no man or woman is degraded by honest toil. That
which degrades is idleness and selfish dependence. Idleness fosters
self-indulgence, and the result is a life empty and barren,—a field
inviting the growth of every evil. “The earth which drinketh in the rain
that cometh oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom
it is dressed, receiveth blessing from God; but that which beareth
thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to
be burned.”[328]
Many of the branches of study that consume the students’ time are not
essential to usefulness or happiness; but it is essential for every
youth to have a thorough acquaintance with every-day duties. If need be,
a young woman can dispense with a knowledge of French and algebra, or
even of the piano; but it is indispensable that she learn to make good
bread, to fashion neatly-fitting garments, and to perform efficiently
the many duties that pertain to home-making.
[Sidenote: _Knowledge of Common Duties_]
To the health and happiness of the whole family nothing is more vital
than skill and intelligence on the part of the cook. By ill-prepared,
unwholesome food she may hinder and even ruin both the adult’s
usefulness and the child’s development. Or by providing food adapted to
the needs of the body, and at the same time inviting and palatable, she
can accomplish as much in the right as otherwise she accomplishes in the
wrong direction. So, in many ways, life’s happiness is bound up with
faithfulness in common duties.
Since both men and women have a part in home-making, boys as well as
girls should gain a knowledge of household duties. To make a bed and put
a room in order, to wash dishes, to prepare a meal, to wash and repair
his own clothing, is a training that need not make any boy less manly;
it will make him happier and more useful. And if girls, in turn, could
learn to harness and drive a horse, and to use the saw and the hammer,
as well as the rake and the hoe, they would be better fitted to meet the
emergencies of life.
[Sidenote: _Honor to the Toiler_]
Let the children and youth learn from the Bible how God has honored the
work of the every-day toiler. Let them read of the “sons of the
prophets,”[329] students at school, who were building a house for
themselves, and for whom a miracle was wrought to save from loss the ax
that was borrowed. Let them read of Jesus the carpenter, and Paul the
tent-maker, who with the toil of the craftsman linked the highest
ministry, human and divine. Let them read of the lad whose five loaves
were used by the Saviour in that wonderful miracle for the feeding of
the multitude; of Dorcas the seamstress, called back from death, that
she might continue to make garments for the poor; of the wise woman
described in the Proverbs, who “seeketh wool and flax, and worketh
willingly with her hands;” who “giveth meat to her household, and their
task to her maidens;” who “planteth a vineyard, ... and strengtheneth
her arms;” who “stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, ... reacheth
forth her hands to the needy;” who “looketh well to the ways of her
household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.”[330]
Of such a one, God says: “She shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of
her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.”[331]
[Sidenote: _First Industrial School_]
For every child the first industrial school should be the home. And, so
far as possible, facilities for manual training should be connected with
every school. To a great degree such training would supply the place of
the gymnasium, with the additional benefit of affording valuable
discipline.
[Sidenote: _Schools for Manual Training_]
Manual training is deserving of far more attention than it has received.
Schools should be established that, in addition to the highest mental
and moral culture, shall provide the best possible facilities for
physical development and industrial training. Instruction should be
given in agriculture, manufactures,—covering as many as possible of the
most useful trades,—also in household economy, healthful cookery,
sewing, hygienic dressmaking, the treatment of the sick, and kindred
lines. Gardens, workshops, and treatment-rooms should be provided, and
the work in every line should be under the direction of skilled
instructors.
[Sidenote: _Learning a Trade_]
The work should have a definite aim, and should be thorough. While every
person needs some knowledge of different handicrafts, it is
indispensable that he become proficient in at least one. Every youth, on
leaving school, should have acquired a knowledge of some trade or
occupation by which, if need be, he may earn a livelihood.
[Sidenote: _Financial Outlay_]
The objection most often urged against industrial training in the
schools is the large outlay involved. But the object to be gained is
worthy of its cost. No other work committed to us is so important as the
training of the youth, and every outlay demanded for its right
accomplishment is means well spent.
Even from the view-point of financial results, the outlay required for
manual training would prove the truest economy. Multitudes of our boys
would thus be kept from the street-corner and the groggery; the
expenditure for gardens, workshops, and baths would be more than met by
the saving on hospitals and reformatories. And the youth themselves,
trained to habits of industry, and skilled in lines of useful and
productive labor,—who can estimate their value to society and to the
nation?
[Sidenote: _Agriculture_]
As a relaxation from study, occupations pursued in the open air, and
affording exercise for the whole body, are the most beneficial. No line
of manual training is of more value than agriculture. A greater effort
should be made to create and to encourage an interest in agricultural
pursuits. Let the teacher call attention to what the Bible says about
agriculture: that it was God’s plan for man to till the earth; that the
first man, the ruler of the whole world, was given a garden to
cultivate; and that many of the world’s greatest men, its real nobility,
have been tillers of the soil. Show the opportunities in such a life.
The wise man says, “The king himself is served by the field.”[332] Of
him who cultivates the soil the Bible declares, “His God doth instruct
him to discretion, and doth teach him.” And again, “Whoso keepeth the
fig-tree shall eat the fruit thereof.”[333] He who earns his livelihood
by agriculture escapes many temptations and enjoys unnumbered privileges
and blessings denied to those whose work lies in the great cities. And
in these days of mammoth trusts and business competition, there are few
who enjoy so real an independence and so great certainty of fair return
for their labor as does the tiller of the soil.
[Sidenote: _The Teaching to be Practical_]
In the study of agriculture, let pupils be given not only theory, but
practise. While they learn what science can teach in regard to the
nature and preparation of the soil, the value of different crops, and
the best methods of production, let them put their knowledge to use. Let
teachers share the work with the students, and show what results can be
achieved through skilful, intelligent effort. Thus may be awakened a
genuine interest, an ambition to do the work in the best possible
manner. Such an ambition, together with the invigorating effect of
exercise, sunshine, and pure air, will create a love for agricultural
labor that with many youth will determine their choice of an occupation.
Thus might be set on foot influences that would go far in turning the
tide of migration which now sets so strongly toward the great cities.
[Sidenote: _For the Unemployed_]
Thus also our schools could aid effectively in the disposition of the
unemployed masses. Thousands of helpless and starving beings, whose
numbers are daily swelling the ranks of the criminal classes, might
achieve self-support in a happy, healthy, independent life if they could
be directed in skilful, diligent labor in the tilling of the soil.
[Sidenote: _Training for Professional Men_]
The benefit of manual training is needed also by professional men. A man
may have a brilliant mind; he may be quick to catch ideas; his knowledge
and skill may secure for him admission to his chosen calling; yet he may
still be far from possessing a fitness for its duties. An education
derived chiefly from books leads to superficial thinking. Practical work
encourages close observation and independent thought. Rightly performed,
it tends to develop that practical wisdom which we call common sense. It
develops ability to plan and execute, strengthens courage and
perseverance, and calls for the exercise of tact and skill.
[Sidenote: _Benefit to the Physician_]
The physician who has laid a foundation for his professional knowledge
by actual service in the sick-room will have a quickness of insight, an
all-round knowledge, and an ability in emergencies to render needed
service,—all essential qualifications, which only a practical training
can so fully impart.
[Sidenote: _To Minister, Missionary, Teacher_]
The minister, the missionary, the teacher, will find their influence
with the people greatly increased when it is manifest that they possess
the knowledge and skill required for the practical duties of every-day
life. And often the success, perhaps the very life, of the missionary,
depends on his knowledge of practical things. The ability to prepare
food, to deal with accidents and emergencies, to treat disease, to build
a house, or a church if need be,—often these make all the difference
between success and failure in his life-work.
[Sidenote: _Students Self-Sustaining_]
In acquiring an education, many students would gain a most valuable
training if they would become self-sustaining. Instead of incurring
debts, or depending on the self-denial of their parents, let young men
and young women depend on themselves. They will thus learn the value of
money, the value of time, strength, and opportunities, and will be under
far less temptation to indulge idle and spendthrift habits. The lessons
of economy, industry, self-denial, practical business management, and
steadfastness of purpose, thus mastered, would prove a most important
part of their equipment for the battle of life. And the lesson of
self-help learned by the student would go far toward preserving
institutions of learning from the burden of debt under which so many
schools have struggled, and which has done so much toward crippling
their usefulness.
Let the youth be impressed with the thought that education is not to
teach them how to escape life’s disagreeable tasks and heavy burdens;
that its purpose is to lighten the work by teaching better methods and
higher aims. Teach them that life’s true aim is not to secure the
greatest possible gain for themselves, but to honor their Maker in doing
their part of the world’s work, and lending a helpful hand to those
weaker or more ignorant.
[Sidenote: _Accuracy and Thoroughness_]
One great reason why physical toil is looked down on is the slipshod,
unthinking way in which it is so often performed. It is done from
necessity, not from choice. The worker puts no heart into it, and he
neither preserves self-respect nor wins the respect of others. Manual
training should correct this error. It should develop habits of accuracy
and thoroughness. Pupils should learn tact and system; they should learn
to economize time, and to make every move count. They should not only be
taught the best methods, but be inspired with ambition constantly to
improve. Let it be their aim to make their work as nearly perfect as
human brains and hands can make it.
[Sidenote: _Masters of Labor_]
Such training will make the youth masters and not slaves of labor. It
will lighten the lot of the hard toiler, and will ennoble even the
humblest occupation. He who regards work as mere drudgery, and settles
down to it with self-complacent ignorance, making no effort to improve,
will find it indeed a burden. But those who recognize science in the
humblest work will see in it nobility and beauty, and will take pleasure
in performing it with faithfulness and efficiency.
A youth so trained, whatever his calling in life, so long as it is
honest, will make his position one of usefulness and honor.
_CHARACTER-BUILDING_
“_See that thou make all things according to
the pattern showed to thee in the mount_”
_Education and Character_
“THE STABILITY OF THY
TIMES SHALL BE WISDOM AND
KNOWLEDGE”
[Sidenote: _Character the Highest Aim_]
True education does not ignore the value of scientific knowledge or
literary acquirements; but above information it values power; above
power, goodness; above intellectual acquirements, character. The world
does not so much need men of great intellect as of noble character. It
needs men in whom ability is controlled by steadfast principle.
“Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom.” “The tongue of
the wise useth knowledge aright.”[334] True education imparts this
wisdom. It teaches the best use not only of one but of all our powers
and acquirements. Thus it covers the whole circle of obligation,—to
ourselves, to the world, and to God.
[Sidenote: _Outlook for the Youth_]
Character-building is the most important work ever entrusted to human
beings; and never before was its diligent study so important as now.
Never was any previous generation called to meet issues so momentous;
never before were young men and young women confronted by perils so
great as confront them to-day.
[Sidenote: _Perils in the Schools_]
[Sidenote: _Rivalry_]
At such a time as this, what is the trend of the education given? To
what motive is appeal most often made?—To self-seeking. Much of the
education given is a perversion of the name. In true education the
selfish ambition, the greed for power, the disregard for the rights and
needs of humanity, that are the curse of our world, find a
counter-influence. God’s plan of life has a place for every human being.
Each is to improve his talents to the utmost; and faithfulness in doing
this, be the gifts few or many, entitles one to honor. In God’s plan
there is no place for selfish rivalry. Those who “measure themselves by
themselves, and compare themselves among themselves, are not wise.”
Whatever we do is to be done “as of the ability which God giveth.” It is
to be done “heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; knowing that of
the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance; for ye serve
the Lord Christ.”[335] Precious the service done and the education
gained in carrying out these principles. But how widely different is
much of the education now given! From the child’s earliest years it is
an appeal to emulation and rivalry; it fosters selfishness, the root of
all evil.
Thus is created strife for supremacy; and there is encouraged the system
of “cramming,” which in so many cases destroys health and unfits for
usefulness. In many others, emulation leads to dishonesty; and by
fostering ambition and discontent, it embitters the life, and helps to
fill the world with those restless, turbulent spirits that are a
continual menace to society.
Nor does danger pertain to methods only. It is found also in the
subject-matter of the studies.
[Sidenote: _Pagan Authors_]
What are the works on which, throughout the most susceptible years of
life, the minds of the youth are led to dwell? In the study of language
and literature, from what fountains are the youth taught to drink?—From
the wells of paganism; from springs fed by the corruptions of ancient
heathendom. They are bidden to study authors, of whom, without dispute,
it is declared that they have no regard for the principles of morality.
And of how many modern authors also might the same be said! With how
many are grace and beauty of language but a disguise for principles that
in their real deformity would repel the reader!
[Sidenote: _Fiction_]
Besides these there is a multitude of fiction-writers, luring to
pleasant dreams in palaces of ease. These writers may not be open to the
charge of immorality, yet their work is no less really fraught with
evil. It is robbing thousands upon thousands of the time and energy and
self-discipline demanded by the stern problems of life.
[Sidenote: _False Science_]
In the study of science, as generally pursued, there are dangers equally
great. Evolution and its kindred errors are taught in schools of every
grade, from the kindergarten to the college. Thus the study of science,
which should impart a knowledge of God, is so mingled with the
speculations and theories of men that it tends to infidelity.
[Sidenote: “_Higher Criticism_”]
Even Bible study, as too often conducted in the schools, is robbing the
world of the priceless treasure of the word of God. The work of “higher
criticism,” in dissecting, conjecturing, reconstructing, is destroying
faith in the Bible as a divine revelation; it is robbing God’s word of
power to control, uplift, and inspire human lives.
As the youth go out into the world, to encounter its allurements to
sin,—the passion for money-getting, for amusement and indulgence, for
display, luxury, and extravagance, the overreaching, fraud, robbery, and
ruin,—what are the teachings there to be met?
[Sidenote: _Perils in the World_]
Spiritualism asserts that men are unfallen demigods; that “each mind
will judge itself;” that “true knowledge places men above all law;” that
“all sins committed are innocent;” for “whatever is, is right,” and “God
doth not condemn.” The basest of human beings it represents as in
heaven, and highly exalted there. Thus it declares to all men, “It
matters not what you do; live as you please, heaven is your home.”
Multitudes are thus led to believe that desire is the highest law, that
license is liberty, and that man is accountable only to himself.
With such teaching given at the very outset of life, when impulse is
strongest, and the demand for self-restraint and purity is most urgent,
where are the safeguards of virtue? what is to prevent the world from
becoming a second Sodom?
[Sidenote: _Anarchy_]
At the same time anarchy is seeking to sweep away all law, not only
divine, but human. The centralizing of wealth and power; the vast
combinations for the enriching of the few at the expense of the many;
the combinations of the poorer classes for the defense of their
interests and claims; the spirit of unrest, of riot and bloodshed; the
world-wide dissemination of the same teachings that led to the French
Revolution,—all are tending to involve the whole world in a struggle
similar to that which convulsed France.
Such are the influences to be met by the youth of to-day. To stand
amidst such upheavals they are now to lay the foundations of character.
[Sidenote: _Foundation of Character_]
In every generation and in every land the true foundation and pattern
for character-building have been the same. The divine law, “Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, ... and thy neighbor as
thyself,”[336] the great principle made manifest in the character and
life of our Saviour, is the only secure foundation and the only sure
guide.
“The stability of thy times and the strength of thy happiness shall be
wisdom and knowledge,”[337]—that wisdom and knowledge which God’s word
alone can impart.
[Sidenote: _God’s Commandments_]
It is as true now as when the words were spoken to Israel of obedience
to His commandments: “This is your wisdom and your understanding in the
sight of the nations.”[338]
Here is the only safeguard for individual integrity, for the purity of
the home, the well-being of society, or the stability of the nation.
Amidst all life’s perplexities and dangers and conflicting claims, the
one safe and sure rule is to do what God says. “The statutes of the Lord
are right,” and “he that doeth these things shall never be moved.”[339]
_Methods of Teaching_
“TO GIVE PRUDENCE TO THE
SIMPLE, TO THE YOUNG MAN
KNOWLEDGE AND DISCRETION”
[Sidenote: _Memory Training_]