WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:07.160 Chapter thirty two, The under teacher preparation study to show thyself approved unto God. 2 00:00:08.439 --> 00:00:12.640 The child's first teacher is the mother. During the period of greatest susceptibility 3 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:16.280 and most rapid development, his education is to a degree in her hands. 4 00:00:16.960 --> 00:00:20.559 To her first is given opportunity to mold to the character for good or for 5 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:25.399 evil. She should understand the value of her opportunity, and above every other 6 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:29.440 teacher should be qualified to use it to the best account. Yet there is 7 00:00:29.480 --> 00:00:33.439 no other to whose training so little thought is given. The one whose influence 8 00:00:33.479 --> 00:00:37.679 in education is most potent and far reaching is the one for whose assistance there 9 00:00:37.759 --> 00:00:41.880 is least systematic effort. Those to whom the care of the little child is 10 00:00:41.880 --> 00:00:45.600 committed are too often ignorant of its physical needs. They know little of the 11 00:00:45.679 --> 00:00:49.280 laws of health or the principles of development, Nor are they better fitted to 12 00:00:49.320 --> 00:00:53.359 care for its mental and spiritual growth. They may be qualified to conduct business 13 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:57.960 or to shine in society. They may have made credible attainments in literature and 14 00:00:58.159 --> 00:01:00.799 science, but of the training of a child they have little knowledge. It 15 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:04.719 is chiefly because of this lack, especially because of the early neglect of physical 16 00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:08.519 development, that so large a proportion of a human race die in infancy, 17 00:01:08.799 --> 00:01:11.760 and of those who reach maturity, there are so many to whom life is 18 00:01:11.799 --> 00:01:17.480 but a burden. Upon fathers as well as mothers. Rests responsibility for the 19 00:01:17.560 --> 00:01:21.159 child's earlier as well as its later training, and for both parents, the 20 00:01:21.239 --> 00:01:26.120 demand for careful and thorough preparation is most urgent. Before taking upon themselves the 21 00:01:26.120 --> 00:01:30.159 possibilities of fatherhood and motherhood, men and women should become acquainted with the laws 22 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:34.319 of physical development, with physiology and hygiene, with the bearing of prenatal influences, 23 00:01:34.400 --> 00:01:38.959 with the laws of heredity, sanitation, dress, exercise, and the 24 00:01:38.959 --> 00:01:42.439 treatment of disease. They should also understand the laws of mental development and moral 25 00:01:42.480 --> 00:01:48.120 training. This work of education, the Infinite One has counted so important that 26 00:01:48.200 --> 00:01:51.359 messengers from his throne have been sent to a mother that was to be to 27 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:55.040 answer the question how shall we order the child? And how shall we do 28 00:01:55.159 --> 00:01:59.200 unto him? And to instruct a father concerning the education of a promised son. 29 00:02:00.280 --> 00:02:02.640 Never will education accomplish all that it might and should accomplish, until the 30 00:02:02.680 --> 00:02:07.159 importance of the parent's work is fully recognized and they receive a training for its 31 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:12.639 sacred responsibilities. The necessity of preparatory training for the teacher is universally admitted, 32 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:16.560 but few recognize the character of preparation most essential. He who appreciates the responsibility 33 00:02:16.560 --> 00:02:21.439 involved in the training of the youth will realize that instruction in scientific and literary 34 00:02:21.479 --> 00:02:25.080 lines alone cannot suffice. The teacher should have a more comprehensive education than can 35 00:02:25.080 --> 00:02:29.360 be gained by the study of books. He should possess not only strength, 36 00:02:29.400 --> 00:02:32.759 but breadth of mind, should be not only whole souled, but large hearted. 37 00:02:34.400 --> 00:02:37.639 He only who created the mind and ordained its laws, can perfectly understand 38 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:40.840 its needs or direct its development. The principles of education that he has given 39 00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:45.960 are the only safe guide. A qualification essential for every teacher is a knowledge 40 00:02:45.960 --> 00:02:49.000 of these principles, and such an acceptance of them as will make them a 41 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.479 controlling power in his own life. Experience in practical life is indispensable. Order 42 00:02:53.759 --> 00:02:59.319 thoroughness, punctuality, self control, a sunny temper, evenness of disposition, 43 00:02:59.400 --> 00:03:05.479 self sacrefice, integrity, and courtesy are essential qualifications. Because there is so 44 00:03:05.560 --> 00:03:08.319 much cheapness of character, so much of the counterfeit all around the youth, 45 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:13.400 there is the more need that the teacher's words, attitude, and deportment should 46 00:03:13.400 --> 00:03:17.159 represent the elevated, and the true. Children are quick to detect affectation or 47 00:03:17.199 --> 00:03:22.039 any other weakness or defect. The teacher can gain the respect of his pupils 48 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:24.199 in no other way than by revealing in his own character the principles which he 49 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:29.560 seeks to teach them. Only as he does this in his daily association with 50 00:03:29.639 --> 00:03:34.039 them can he have a permanent influence over them for good. For almost every 51 00:03:34.039 --> 00:03:38.240 other qualification that contributes to a success, the teacher is in great degree dependent 52 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:40.560 upon physical vigor. The better his health, the better will be his work. 53 00:03:42.439 --> 00:03:46.240 So wearing are his responsibilities that special effort on his part is required to 54 00:03:46.280 --> 00:03:50.879 preserve vigor and freshness. Often he becomes heart weary and brain weary, with 55 00:03:50.919 --> 00:03:55.159 the almost irresistible tendency to depression, coldness, or irritability. It is his 56 00:03:55.280 --> 00:04:00.120 duty not merely to resist such moods, but to avoid their cause. He 57 00:04:00.159 --> 00:04:02.840 needs to keep the heart pure and sweet, and trustful and sympathetic. In 58 00:04:02.960 --> 00:04:06.479 order to be always firm and calm and cheerful, he must preserve the strength 59 00:04:06.520 --> 00:04:11.639 of brain and nerve. Since in his work quality is so much more important 60 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:15.520 in quantity He should guard against over labor, against attempting too much in his 61 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:18.680 own line of duty, against accepting other responsibilities that would unfit him for his 62 00:04:18.759 --> 00:04:24.120 work, and against engaging in amusements and social pleasures that are exhausting rather than 63 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:28.519 recuperative. Outdoor exercise, especially in useful labor, is one of the best 64 00:04:28.560 --> 00:04:31.439 means of recreation for body and mind, and the teacher's example will inspire his 65 00:04:31.480 --> 00:04:35.759 pupils with interest in and respect for manual labor. In every line, the 66 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:40.639 teacher should scrupulously observe the principles of health. He should do this not only 67 00:04:40.639 --> 00:04:44.279 because of its bearing upon his own usefulness, but also because of its influence 68 00:04:44.319 --> 00:04:46.720 upon his pupils. He should be temperate in all things, in diet, 69 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:53.000 dress, labor, recreation. He is to be an example. With physical 70 00:04:53.040 --> 00:04:57.720 health and uprightness of character should be combined high literary qualifications. The more of 71 00:04:57.720 --> 00:05:00.720 true knowledge the teacher has, the better will be his work. The school 72 00:05:00.759 --> 00:05:03.040 room is no place for surface work. No teacher who is satisfied with superficial 73 00:05:03.079 --> 00:05:08.319 knowledge will attain a high degree of efficiency. But the teacher's usefulness depends not 74 00:05:08.560 --> 00:05:11.759 so much upon the actual amount of his acquirements as upon the standard at which 75 00:05:11.759 --> 00:05:15.399 he aims. The true teacher is not content with dull thoughts, an indolent 76 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:18.959 mind, or a loose memory. He constantly seeks higher attainments and better methods. 77 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:21.680 His life is one of continual growth. In the work of such a 78 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:26.279 teacher, there is a freshness, a quickening power that awakens and inspires his 79 00:05:26.360 --> 00:05:30.079 pupils. The teacher must have aptness for his work. He must have the 80 00:05:30.120 --> 00:05:33.279 wisdom in tact required in dealing with minds, however great a scientific knowledge, 81 00:05:33.319 --> 00:05:38.160 however excellent his qualifications in other lines. If he does not gain the respect 82 00:05:38.160 --> 00:05:41.920 and confidence of his pupils, his efforts will be in vain. Teachers are 83 00:05:41.959 --> 00:05:46.000 needed who are quick to discern and improve every opportunity for doing good. Those 84 00:05:46.079 --> 00:05:49.000 who, with enthusiasm combine true dignity, who are able to control and apt 85 00:05:49.120 --> 00:05:54.000 to teach, who can inspire thought, arouse energy, and impart courage in 86 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:58.079 life. A teacher's advantages may have been limited so that he may not possess 87 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:00.920 as high literary qualifications as might be desirable. Yet, if he has true 88 00:06:00.920 --> 00:06:03.600 insight in a human nature, if he has a genuine love for his work, 89 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:08.639 an appreciation of its magnitude and a determination to improve. If he is 90 00:06:08.680 --> 00:06:12.839 willing to labor earnestly and perseveringly, he will comprehend the needs of his pupils, 91 00:06:12.959 --> 00:06:15.519 and, by his sympathetic progressive spirit, will inspire them to follow as 92 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:18.800 he seeks to lead them onward and upboard. The children in youth under the 93 00:06:18.839 --> 00:06:24.160 teacher's care differ widely in disposition, habits, and training. Some have no 94 00:06:24.199 --> 00:06:28.000 definite purpose or fixed principles. They need to be awakened to their responsibilities and 95 00:06:28.040 --> 00:06:31.160 possibilities. Few children have been rightly trained at home. Some have been household 96 00:06:31.160 --> 00:06:35.920 pets. Their whole training has been superficial, allowed to follow inclination into shun 97 00:06:35.920 --> 00:06:40.839 responsibility and burden bearing. They lack stability, perseverance, and self denial. 98 00:06:41.519 --> 00:06:46.040 These often regard all discipline as an unnecessary restraint. Others have been censured and 99 00:06:46.120 --> 00:06:50.759 discouraged. Arbitrary restraint and harshness have developed in them obstinacy and defiance. If 100 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:55.319 these deformed characters are reshaped, the work must in most cases be done by 101 00:06:55.319 --> 00:06:58.720 the teacher. In order to accomplish it successfully, he must have the sympathy 102 00:06:58.720 --> 00:07:00.879 and the insight that will enable him to trace to their cause the faults and 103 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:04.959 errors manifest in his pupils. He must also have the tact and skill, 104 00:07:05.079 --> 00:07:09.879 the patience and firmness that will enable him to impart to each the needed help 105 00:07:10.319 --> 00:07:14.199 to the vacillating and ease loving such encouragement and assistance as will be a stimulus 106 00:07:14.199 --> 00:07:17.720 to exertion to the discouraged, sympathy and appreciation that will create confidence and thus 107 00:07:17.759 --> 00:07:23.759 inspire effort. Teachers often fail of coming sufficiently into social relation with their pupils. 108 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:27.120 They manifest too little sympathy and tenderness, and too much of the dignity 109 00:07:27.160 --> 00:07:30.360 of a stern judge. While the teacher must be firm and decided, he 110 00:07:30.360 --> 00:07:33.720 should not be exacting or dictatorial. To be harsh and censurious, to stand 111 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:38.160 aloof from his pupils, or treat them indifferently is to close the avenues through 112 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:42.160 which he might influence them for good. Under no circumstances. Should the teacher 113 00:07:42.199 --> 00:07:46.800 manifest partiality. To favor the winning attractive pupil and be critical and patient or 114 00:07:46.879 --> 00:07:50.399 unsympathetic towards those who most need encouragement and help is to reveal a total misconception 115 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:54.959 of the teacher's work. It is in dealing with the faulty, trying ones, 116 00:07:54.959 --> 00:07:57.920 that the character is tested and it is proved whether the teacher is really 117 00:07:57.959 --> 00:08:01.959 qualified for his position. Great is the responsibility of those who take upon themselves 118 00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.319 the guidance of a human soul. The true father and mother count theres a 119 00:08:05.360 --> 00:08:09.160 trust from which they can never be wholly released. The life of the child, 120 00:08:09.199 --> 00:08:13.439 from his earliest to his latest day, feels the power of that tie 121 00:08:13.439 --> 00:08:16.800 which binds him to the parent's heart. The acts, the words, the 122 00:08:16.879 --> 00:08:18.920 very look of the parent continue to mold the child, for good or for 123 00:08:20.000 --> 00:08:24.480 evil. The teacher shares this responsibility, and he needs constantly to realize its 124 00:08:24.480 --> 00:08:26.759 sacredness and to keep in view the purpose of his work. He is not 125 00:08:26.839 --> 00:08:31.480 merely to accomplish the daily tasks, to please his employers, to maintain the 126 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:33.919 standing of the school. He must consider the highest good of his pupils as 127 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:37.480 individuals, the duties that life will lay upon them, the service it requires, 128 00:08:37.480 --> 00:08:41.080 and the preparation demanded. The work he is doing day by day will 129 00:08:41.080 --> 00:08:45.399 exert upon his pupils, and through them upon others, an influence that will 130 00:08:45.399 --> 00:08:48.320 not cease to extend and strengthen until time shall end. The fruits of his 131 00:08:48.360 --> 00:08:52.279 work he must meet in that day when every word, indeed shall be brought 132 00:08:52.279 --> 00:08:56.360 in review before God. The teacher who realizes this will not feel that his 133 00:08:56.399 --> 00:08:58.559 work is completed. When he has finished the daily routine of recitations, and 134 00:08:58.639 --> 00:09:03.720 for a time his pupils pass from under his direct care, he will carry 135 00:09:03.759 --> 00:09:07.120 these children in youth upon his heart. How to secure them for the noblest 136 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:11.120 standard of attainment will be his constant study and effort. He who discerns the 137 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:13.840 opportunities and privileges of his work will allow nothing to stand in the way of 138 00:09:13.840 --> 00:09:18.000 earnest endeavor for self improvement. He will spare no pains to reach the highest 139 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.919 standard of excellence all that he desires his pupils to become. He will himself 140 00:09:22.960 --> 00:09:26.879 strive to be. The deeper the sense of responsibility, and the more earnest 141 00:09:26.960 --> 00:09:30.240 the effort for self improvement, the more clearly will the teacher perceive, and 142 00:09:30.279 --> 00:09:33.360 the more keenly regret the defects that hinder his usefulness. As he beholds the 143 00:09:33.360 --> 00:09:37.120 magnitude of his work, its difficulties and possibilities, often will his heart cry 144 00:09:37.120 --> 00:09:41.559 out, who is sufficient for these things? Dear teacher, as you consider 145 00:09:41.600 --> 00:09:45.799 your need of strength and guidance, need that no human source can supply. 146 00:09:46.159 --> 00:09:50.159 I bid you consider the promises of him who is the wonderful Counselor. Behold, 147 00:09:50.159 --> 00:09:52.360 he says, I have set before thee an open door, and no 148 00:09:52.440 --> 00:09:54.720 man can shut it. Call upon me, and I will answer THEE. 149 00:09:56.120 --> 00:09:58.960 I will instruct THEE and teach THEE in the way which thou shalt go. 150 00:09:58.159 --> 00:10:01.799 I will guide THEE with mine eye, even unto the end of the world. 151 00:10:03.279 --> 00:10:07.080 I am with you as the highest preparation for your work. I point 152 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:09.440 you to the words, the life, the methods of the Prince of Teachers. 153 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:13.360 I bid you consider him. Here is your true ideal. Behold it, 154 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:16.360 dwell upon it, until the spirit of the Divine Teacher shall take possession 155 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:20.000 of your heart and life. Reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord, 156 00:10:20.039 --> 00:10:24.759 you will be transformed into the same image. This is the secret of 157 00:10:24.840 --> 00:10:28.919 power over your pupils. Reflect him. End of chapter thirty two.