tact required in dealing with minds. However great his scientific
knowledge, however excellent his qualifications in other lines, if he
does not gain the respect and confidence of his pupils, his efforts will
be in vain.
[Sidenote: _Administrative Ability_]
Teachers are needed who are quick to discern and improve every
opportunity for doing good; those who with enthusiasm combine true
dignity; who are able to control, and “apt to teach;” who can inspire
thought, arouse energy, and impart courage and life.
A teacher’s advantages may have been limited, so that he may not possess
as high literary qualifications as might be desirable; yet if he has
true insight into human nature; if he has a genuine love for his work,
an appreciation of its magnitude, and a determination to improve; if he
is willing to labor earnestly and perseveringly, he will comprehend the
needs of his pupils, and, by his sympathetic, progressive spirit, will
inspire them to follow as he seeks to lead them onward and upward.
[Sidenote: _Difficulties_]
[Sidenote: _Sympathy and Insight_]
The children and youth under the teacher’s care differ widely in
disposition, habits, and training. Some have no definite purpose or
fixed principles. They need to be awakened to their responsibilities and
possibilities. Few children have been rightly trained at home. Some have
been household pets. Their whole training has been superficial. Allowed
to follow inclination and to shun responsibility and burden-bearing,
they lack stability, perseverance, and self-denial. These often regard
all discipline as an unnecessary restraint. Others have been censured
and discouraged. Arbitrary restraint and harshness have developed in
them obstinacy and defiance. If these deformed characters are reshaped,
the work must, in most cases, be done by the teacher. In order to
accomplish it successfully, he must have the sympathy and insight that
will enable him to trace to their cause the faults and errors manifest
in his pupils. He must have also the tact and skill, the patience and
firmness, that will enable him to impart to each the needed help,—to the
vacillating and ease-loving, such encouragement and assistance as will
be a stimulus to exertion; to the discouraged, sympathy and appreciation
that will create confidence and thus inspire effort.
[Sidenote: _Social Relation_]
Teachers often fail of coming sufficiently into social relation with
their pupils. They manifest too little sympathy and tenderness, and too
much of the dignity of the stern judge. While the teacher must be firm
and decided, he should not be exacting or dictatorial. To be harsh and
censorious, to stand aloof from his pupils or treat them indifferently,
is to close the avenues through which he might influence them for good.
[Sidenote: _Partiality_]
Under no circumstances should the teacher manifest partiality. To favor
the winning, attractive pupil, and be critical, impatient, or
unsympathetic toward those who most need encouragement and help, is to
reveal a total misconception of the teacher’s work. It is in dealing
with the faulty, trying ones that the character is tested, and it is
proved whether the teacher is really qualified for his position.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Responsibility_]
Great is the responsibility of those who take upon themselves the
guidance of a human soul. The true father and mother count theirs a
trust from which they can never be wholly released. The life of the
child, from his earliest to his latest day, feels the power of that tie
which binds him to the parent’s heart; the acts, the words, the very
look of the parent, continue to mould the child for good or for evil.
The teacher shares this responsibility, and he needs constantly to
realize its sacredness, and to keep in view the purpose of his work. He
is not merely to accomplish the daily tasks, to please his employers, to
maintain the standing of the school; he must consider the highest good
of his pupils as individuals, the duties that life will lay upon them,
the service it requires, and the preparation demanded. The work he is
doing day by day will exert upon his pupils, and through them upon
others, an influence that will not cease to extend and strengthen until
time shall end. The fruits of his work he must meet in that great day
when every word and deed shall be brought in review before God.
The teacher who realizes this will not feel that his work is completed
when he has finished the daily routine of recitations, and for a time
his pupils pass from under his direct care. He will carry these children
and youth upon his heart. How to secure for them the noblest standard of
attainment will be his constant study and effort.
[Sidenote: _Self-Improvement_]
He who discerns the opportunities and privileges of his work will allow
nothing to stand in the way of earnest endeavor for self-improvement. He
will spare no pains to reach the highest standard of excellence. All
that he desires his pupils to become, he will himself strive to be.
* * * * *
The deeper the sense of responsibility, and the more earnest the effort
for self-improvement, the more clearly will the teacher perceive and the
more keenly regret the defects that hinder his usefulness. As he beholds
the magnitude of his work, its difficulties and possibilities, often
will his heart cry out, “Who is sufficient for these things?”
[Sidenote: _Our Source of Help_]
Dear teacher, as you consider your need of strength and guidance,—need
that no human source can supply,—I bid you consider the promises of Him
who is the wonderful Counselor.
“Behold,” He says, “I have set before thee an open door, and no man can
shut it.”[398]
“Call upon Me, and I will answer thee.” “I will instruct thee and teach
thee in the way which thou shalt go; I will guide thee with Mine
eye.”[399]
“Even unto the end of the world” “I am with you.”[400]
[Sidenote: _The Highest Preparation_]
As the highest preparation for your work, I point you to the words, the
life, the methods, of the Prince of teachers. I bid you consider Him.
Here is your true ideal. Behold it, dwell upon it, until the Spirit of
the divine Teacher shall take possession of your heart and life.
“Reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord,” you will be “transformed
into the same image.”[401]
This is the secret of power over your pupils. Reflect Him.
_Co-operation_
“WE ARE MEMBERS ONE OF
ANOTHER”
In the formation of character, no other influences count so much as the
influence of the home. The teacher’s work should supplement that of the
parents, but is not to take its place. In all that concerns the
well-being of the child, it should be the effort of parents and teachers
to co-operate.
[Sidenote: _Co-operation of Parents_]
The work of co-operation should begin with the father and mother
themselves, in the home life. In the training of their children they
have a joint responsibility, and it should be their constant endeavor to
act together. Let them yield themselves to God, seeking help from Him to
sustain each other. Let them teach their children to be true to God,
true to principle, and thus true to themselves and to all with whom they
are connected. With such training, children when sent to school will not
be a cause of disturbance or anxiety. They will be a support to their
teachers, and an example and encouragement to their fellow-pupils.
[Sidenote: _Sustaining the Teacher_]
Parents who give this training are not the ones likely to be found
criticizing the teacher. They feel that both the interest of their
children and justice to the school demand that, so far as possible, they
sustain and honor the one who shares their responsibility.
[Sidenote: _Criticism_]
Many parents fail here. By their hasty, unfounded criticism the
influence of the faithful, self-sacrificing teacher is often well-nigh
destroyed. Many parents whose children have been spoiled by indulgence,
leave to the teacher the unpleasant task of repairing their neglect; and
then by their own course they make his task almost hopeless. Their
criticism and censure of the school management encourage insubordination
in the children, and confirm them in wrong habits.
If criticism or suggestion in regard to the teacher’s work becomes
necessary, it should be made to him in private. If this proves
ineffective, let the matter be referred to those who are responsible for
the management of the school. Nothing should be said or done to weaken
the children’s respect for the one upon whom their well-being in so
great degree depends.
[Sidenote: _Acquaintance with the Teacher_]
The parents’ intimate knowledge both of the character of the children
and of their physical peculiarities or infirmities, if imparted to the
teacher, would be an assistance to him. It is to be regretted that so
many fail of realizing this. By most parents little interest is shown
either to inform themselves as to the teacher’s qualifications, or to
co-operate with him in his work.
[Sidenote: _Teacher’s Aid to Parents_]
Since parents so rarely acquaint themselves with the teacher, it is the
more important that the teacher seek the acquaintance of parents. He
should visit the homes of his pupils, and gain a knowledge of the
influences and surroundings among which they live. By coming personally
in touch with their homes and lives, he may strengthen the ties that
bind him to his pupils, and may learn how to deal more successfully with
their different dispositions and temperaments.
[Sidenote: _A Double Benefit_]
As he interests himself in the home education, the teacher imparts a
double benefit. Many parents, absorbed in work and care, lose sight of
their opportunities to influence for good the lives of their children.
The teacher can do much to arouse these parents to their possibilities
and privileges. He will find others to whom the sense of their
responsibility is a heavy burden, so anxious are they that their
children shall become good and useful men and women. Often the teacher
can assist these parents in bearing their burden, and, by counseling
together, both teacher and parents will be encouraged and strengthened.
[Sidenote: _Parents and Children_]
In the home training of the youth, the principle of co-operation is
invaluable. From their earliest years children should be led to feel
that they are a part of the home firm. Even the little ones should be
trained to share in the daily work, and should be made to feel that
their help is needed and is appreciated. The older ones should be their
parents’ assistants, entering into their plans, and sharing their
responsibilities and burdens. Let fathers and mothers take time to teach
their children, let them show that they value their help, desire their
confidence, and enjoy their companionship, and the children will not be
slow to respond. Not only will the parents’ burden be lightened, and the
children receive a practical training of inestimable worth, but there
will be a strengthening of the home ties and a deepening of the very
foundations of character.
[Sidenote: _Teachers and Students_]
Co-operation should be the spirit of the schoolroom, the law of its
life. The teacher who gains the co-operation of his pupils secures an
invaluable aid in maintaining order. In service in the schoolroom many a
boy whose restlessness leads to disorder and insubordination would find
an outlet for his superfluous energy. Let the older assist the younger,
the strong the weak; and, so far as possible, let each be called upon to
do something in which he excels. This will encourage self-respect and a
desire to be useful.
* * * * *
[Sidenote: _Bible Examples_]
It would be helpful for the youth, and for parents and teachers as well,
to study the lesson of co-operation as taught in the Scriptures. Among
its many illustrations notice the building of the tabernacle,—that
object-lesson of character-building,—in which the whole people united,
“every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit
made willing.”[402] Read how the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt by the
returned captives, in the midst of poverty, difficulty, and danger, the
great task successfully accomplished because “the people had a mind to
work.”[403] Consider the part acted by the disciples in the Saviour’s
miracle for the feeding of the multitude. The food multiplied in the
hands of Christ, but the disciples received the loaves, and gave to the
waiting throng.
“We are members one of another.” As every one therefore “hath received
a[404] gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards
of the manifold grace of God.”[405]
Well might the words written of the idol-builders of old be, with
worthier aim, adopted as a motto by character-builders of to-day:—
“They helped every one his neighbor; and every one said to his brother,
Be of good courage.”[406]
_Discipline_
“TRAIN, ADMONISH, ENCOURAGE,
BE LONG-SUFFERING”
[Sidenote: _Teaching Obedience_]
One of the first lessons a child needs to learn is the lesson of
obedience. Before he is old enough to reason, he may be taught to obey.
By gentle, persistent effort, the habit should be established. Thus, to
a great degree, may be prevented those later conflicts between will and
authority that do so much to create alienation and bitterness toward
parents and teachers, and too often resistance of all authority, human
and divine.
[Sidenote: _Self-Government_]
The object of discipline is the training of the child for
self-government. He should be taught self-reliance and self-control.
Therefore as soon as he is capable of understanding, his reason should
be enlisted on the side of obedience. Let all dealing with him be such
as to show obedience to be just and reasonable. Help him to see that all
things are under law, and that disobedience leads, in the end, to
disaster and suffering. When God says “Thou shalt not,” He in love warns
us of the consequences of disobedience, in order to save us from harm
and loss.
Help the child to see that parents and teachers are representatives of
God, and that as they act in harmony with Him, their laws in the home
and the school are also His. As the child is to render obedience to
parents and teachers, so they, in turn, are to render obedience to God.
[Sidenote: “_Breaking the Will_”]
[Sidenote: _Lack of Moral Stamina_]
To direct the child’s development without hindering it by undue control
should be the study of both parent and teacher. Too much management is
as bad as too little. The effort to “break the will” of a child is a
terrible mistake. Minds are constituted differently; while force may
secure outward submission, the result with many children is a more
determined rebellion of the heart. Even should the parent or teacher
succeed in gaining the control he seeks, the outcome may be no less
harmful to the child. The discipline of a human being who has reached
the years of intelligence should differ from the training of a dumb
animal. The beast is taught only submission to its master. For the
beast, the master is mind, judgment, and will. This method, sometimes
employed in the training of children, makes them little more than
automatons. Mind, will, conscience, are under the control of another. It
is not God’s purpose that any mind should be thus dominated. Those who
weaken or destroy individuality assume a responsibility that can result
only in evil. While under authority, the children may appear like
well-drilled soldiers; but when the control ceases, the character will
be found to lack strength and steadfastness. Having never learned to
govern himself, the youth recognizes no restraint except the requirement
of parents or teacher. This removed, he knows not how to use his
liberty, and often gives himself up to indulgence that proves his ruin.
Since the surrender of the will is so much more difficult for some
pupils than for others, the teacher should make obedience to his
requirements as easy as possible. The will should be guided and moulded,
but not ignored or crushed. Save the strength of the will; in the battle
of life it will be needed.
[Sidenote: _Value of Will Power_]
Every child should understand the true force of the will. He should be
led to see how great is the responsibility involved in this gift. The
will is the governing power in the nature of man, the power of decision,
or choice. Every human being possessed of reason has power to choose the
right. In every experience of life, God’s word to us is, “Choose you
this day whom ye will serve.”[407] Every one may place his will on the
side of the will of God, may choose to obey Him, and by thus linking
himself with divine agencies, he may stand where nothing can force him
to do evil. In every youth, every child, lies the power, by the help of
God, to form a character of integrity and to live a life of usefulness.
The parent or teacher who by such instruction trains the child to
self-control will be the most useful and permanently successful. To the
superficial observer his work may not appear to the best advantage; it
may not be valued so highly as that of the one who holds the mind and
will of the child under absolute authority; but after-years will show
the result of the better method of training.
[Sidenote: _The Sense of Honor_]
The wise educator, in dealing with his pupils, will seek to encourage
confidence and to strengthen the sense of honor. Children and youth are
benefited by being trusted. Many, even of the little children, have a
high sense of honor; all desire to be treated with confidence and
respect, and this is their right. They should not be led to feel that
they can not go out or come in without being watched. Suspicion
demoralizes, producing the very evils it seeks to prevent. Instead of
watching continually, as if suspecting evil, teachers who are in touch
with their pupils will discern the workings of the restless mind, and
will set to work influences that will counteract evil. Lead the youth to
feel that they are trusted, and there are few who will not seek to prove
themselves worthy of the trust.
[Sidenote: _Requests; Commands_]
On the same principle it is better to request than to command; the one
thus addressed has opportunity to prove himself loyal to right
principles. His obedience is the result of choice rather than
compulsion.
The rules governing the schoolroom should, so far as possible, represent
the voice of the school. Every principle involved in them should be so
placed before the student that he may be convinced of its justice. Thus
he will feel a responsibility to see that the rules which he himself has
helped to frame are obeyed.
[Sidenote: _Enforcing Rules_]
Rules should be few and well considered; and when once made, they should
be enforced. Whatever it is found impossible to change, the mind learns
to recognize and adapt itself to; but the possibility of indulgence
induces desire, hope, and uncertainty, and the results are restlessness,
irritability, and insubordination.
It should be made plain that the government of God knows no compromise
with evil. Neither in the home nor in the school should disobedience be
tolerated. No parent or teacher who has at heart the well-being of those
under his care will compromise with the stubborn self-will that defies
authority or resorts to subterfuge or evasion in order to escape
obedience. It is not love but sentimentalism that palters with
wrong-doing, seeks by coaxing or bribes to secure compliance, and
finally accepts some substitute in place of the thing required.
“Fools make a mock at sin.”[408] We should beware of treating sin as a
light thing. Terrible is its power over the wrong-doer. “His own
iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with
the cords of his sins.”[409] The greatest wrong done to a child or youth
is to allow him to become fastened in the bondage of evil habit.
[Sidenote: _Freedom in Obedience_]
The youth have an inborn love of liberty; they desire freedom; and they
need to understand that these inestimable blessings are to be enjoyed
only in obedience to the law of God. This law is the preserver of true
freedom and liberty. It points out and prohibits those things that
degrade and enslave, and thus to the obedient it affords protection from
the power of evil.
The psalmist says: “I will walk at liberty; for I seek Thy precepts.”
“Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors.”[410]
[Sidenote: _Criticism; Censure_]
In our efforts to correct evil, we should guard against a tendency to
faultfinding or censure. Continual censure bewilders, but does not
reform. With many minds, and often those of the finest susceptibility,
an atmosphere of unsympathetic criticism is fatal to effort. Flowers do
not unfold under the breath of a blighting wind.
A child frequently censured for some special fault, comes to regard that
fault as his peculiarity, something against which it is vain to strive.
Thus are created discouragement and hopelessness, often concealed under
an appearance of indifference or bravado.
[Sidenote: _Object of Reproof_]
The true object of reproof is gained only when the wrong-doer himself is
led to see his fault, and his will is enlisted for its correction. When
this is accomplished, point him to the source of pardon and power. Seek
to preserve his self-respect, and to inspire him with courage and hope.
This work is the nicest, the most difficult, ever committed to human
beings. It requires the most delicate tact, the finest susceptibility, a
knowledge of human nature, and a heaven-born faith and patience, willing
to work and watch and wait. It is a work than which nothing can be more
important.
[Sidenote: _Self-Control_]
Those who desire to control others must first control themselves. To
deal passionately with a child or youth will only arouse his resentment.
When a parent or teacher becomes impatient, and is in danger of speaking
unwisely, let him remain silent. There is wonderful power in silence.
[Sidenote: _Sympathy; Forbearance_]
The teacher must expect to meet perverse dispositions and obdurate
hearts. But in dealing with them he should never forget that he himself
was once a child, in need of discipline. Even now, with all his
advantages of age, education, and experience, he often errs, and is in
need of mercy and forbearance. In training the youth he should consider
that he is dealing with those who have inclinations to evil similar to
his own. They have almost everything to learn, and it is much more
difficult for some to learn than for others. With the dull pupil he
should bear patiently, not censuring his ignorance, but improving every
opportunity to give him encouragement. With sensitive, nervous pupils he
should deal very tenderly. A sense of his own imperfections should lead
him constantly to manifest sympathy and forbearance toward those who
also are struggling with difficulties.
[Sidenote: _The Saviour’s Rule_]
The Saviour’s rule,—“As ye would that men should do to you, do ye also
to them likewise,”[411]—should be the rule of all who undertake the
training of children and youth. They are the younger members of the
Lord’s family, heirs with us of the grace of life. Christ’s rule should
be sacredly observed toward the dullest, the youngest, the most
blundering, and even toward the erring and rebellious.
[Sidenote: _Public Discipline_]
This rule will lead the teacher to avoid, so far as possible, making
public the faults or errors of a pupil. He will seek to avoid giving
reproof or punishment in the presence of others. He will not expel a
student until every effort has been put forth for his re-formation. But
when it becomes evident that the student is receiving no benefit
himself, while his defiance or disregard of authority tends to overthrow
the government of the school, and his influence is contaminating others,
then his expulsion becomes a necessity. Yet with many the disgrace of
public expulsion would lead to utter recklessness and ruin. In most
cases when removal is unavoidable, the matter need not be made public.
By counsel and co-operation with the parents, let the teacher privately
arrange for the student’s withdrawal.
[Sidenote: _Justice; Compassion_]