The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-06-14

but the BODY in which 1t Is taDernacleu, ana upon
| which ii is inter-deDendent. AS the mind Is cap
| able of its utmost only when seated II healthy
brain. and this, in turn, browning healthy body,
! it is Of the greatest Importance that teacher
| understands the physical organization of the
| child and the laws controlling its well being
For whether the child shall be strong ana
healthy or weak and puny largely depends on
whether the teacher makes II familiar with the
| laws of health. and whether he supplies the
necessary condition in his management OF the
school. Hence the demand in thunderous tones
of what is happily styled the new education
that the teacher know the child physically and
mentally, will be faithfully met by the coming
teacher.
1 There are vet other qualifications that must
| characterize him as the power of attraction
/ characteriZes the magnet. As physician must
| be conversant with the principles underlying his
practice, so must the teacher stand in the same
rel ton TO the art of teaching For the princi.
pies which underie all intelligent teaching, hold
! about the same relation TO the teachers laoors
! as the principles of mathematics hold 10 the
work of the mathematician.
| But while understanding principles sweiis the
teachers knowledge, it does not necessarily
make him an adept In his profession. eminent
educators long ago discovered some OF the lead
ing principles of education. but their methods Of
applying them in practice were often crude ana
insufficient Nor does it follow that, though
person have the learning of Bacon, he knows the
common belief that he who understands a sub
ject is competent TO teach it, without
KNOWLEDGE OF THE BEST METHODS
of teaching, is fallacious for the value of teach
| ing depends not so much on the things taught
| as in the manner in which they are presented.
That the coming teacher will be skilled in the
best methods invented by the eminent pracu
| TONERS of his art is question beyond dispute.
He will feel II his imperative duty to make the
| achievements of great educators OF the past his
own: and these will be the lever by which he
win raise the art of teaching to glorious submits
yet seen by few.
Again, as virtue is loved for is excellence so
must the teacher be respected for his upright
character. Since the chief end OF his work is to
| develop a worthy, independent manhood he
develop in his pupils. As expressed by Cole
ridge:
| 'O'er Maynard childhood wouldst thou hold
| firm rule,
And sun thee in the light of happy faces:
Love, hope, and pat1ence-these must be thy
And IN thine own heart let them first keep
| school,"
for children are initiative things. As is the
| teacher so is the school" is time-confrmed
truth. We conclude then that none but those
whose characters reflect all the qualities of the
| good and true will be permitted TO assume the
| duties OF the coming teacher.
To be uniformly successful in employing means
| to an end, that end must appear 10 the minds
| eye as never setting sun. For teacher to
| accomplish the best results, he must have com
prehensive knowledge OF the general objects OF
education, without which he would be as ship
| without rudder.
THE.TRUTH OF This
is illustrated by the wreck some teachers make
of their work, owing to a lack of a definite end
\ towards which they may direct their efforts.
| But many others mistake the end of school
| work as eliminating in the bOokish knowledge
! that tyranniZes the clouded mind OF the pupil !;
and they often work with Il zeal worthy OF q
nobler aim to attain this end. Instead of re-
garding the mind as a plant-something that
grows and develops with proper care-they treat
il as d receptacle into which is 10 be crammed
the text book knowledge without reference TO
its arrangement
injuries this process often incurS. Minds that
in Sl1illful hands would shine as brilliant gems
are sometimes rendered worthless by this un-
natural process of teaching Pupils that under
the tuition of educational artists, would develop
into noble manhood are not infrequently driven
to despair, reclllessness and ruin by the very
persons that would fain be their henetactOrs.
! How few such teachers ever dream that
THE STUPIDITY AND DISLIKE OF LEARNING,
which they complain of in their pupils, are of
| their own creation Yet all OF these evils come
from miscOnceptiOn Of the true ends of educa-
ton, an insufficient knowledge of child-nature,
and of the means by which ii can be trained to
grow and blossom into perfect development.
God speed the day when such teachers shall
| be replaced by the coming teacher, who, charac-
terzed by broad culture and Il thorough llnowl-
edge of all that relates to his profession. Will
see in the primary end of education the perfec-
ton OF the pupil To him the innocent child will
be as il iS-an organiSm-embOdying physical,
mental and moral forces: and he will recognize
his function as that of a stimuator and guide of
those forces toward the true end of elementary
school training-the formation Of right habits Of
thought and action.
AS the cultivation Of plant while ii is young
and tender, determines more than at any other
time what the plant shall be so does the train
ing of the child in its earliest years determine
most what the child shall be- Hence, it is here
that the most perfect knowledge and consum-
mate skill are required to avoid mistakes in
guiding the child in its youthful career. This
fact will be as plain 10 the coming teacher as il
has been obscure 10 many yes, very many, for
the idea has been prevalent-heaven forbid that
it is so now-that person with little learning
and meager training was amply qualified. if he
had the desire, to conduct primary school,
THE COMING TEACHER,
knowing his pupils to be children of nature,
will use only those methods in their training
that are in harmony with nature. To him the
acquisition of knowledge, however useful il may
be- will not be the end but only the means Of in
tellectual culture. knowledge is the food of the
mind-the source of all its materials OF growth
and power, and is useful only as il can be di
gested and arranged, more than this tending to
weaken and destroy In the hands Of the com
ing teacher it will be the instrument to attain
the objective point of neutrality-suspicious., the dc
velopment of the child powers. He will train the
mind to observe nature and society," to hold
things Of value as never fading possessions TO fly
on the wings of imagination among romantic
scenes of the past, to linger delighted amid
pleasing images pOclTl, W tuIOy Tue Dtdu-
ties of nature and art The intellect viii be
trained to think to exercise correct judgment,
to read the truths God has written on the pages
of earth and sky, and will be prepared to Crap
pie with, and solve, the abstruse problems of
life.
But he will go farther and train the physical
and moral capabilities in harmony with the in
teIlectual teaching his pupils to obey the laws
| of nature to subject themselves to a sense of
duty and right and to live not only for them
selves but for humanity and posterity as well
Though he will not instruct them in the tenetS
| OF any religious creed he will implant in their
hearts deep and lasting reverence for God, III e
creator Of all. In short, he Will dismiss his
pupils tremendously developed adapted TO their
surroundings having love of God and nature,
and with "A nobility OF character that would
be
THE PRIDE OF THE ANGELS.
But his labors will not be confined to the
school room. His sympathetic nature will goad
him on in his benefcient work. He will labor
assidously to spread the principles of true edu-
cation among his fellow men; to bring pure and
eleyating influences to bear on society; to
develop in man love of truth and virtue, which
will be as an angel OF light, guiding him ever on
to his highest moral destiny.
As education has always preceded civiizat on,
who can conceive of the beauty and grandeur Of
the civilization that will follow from the labors
of the coming teacher: Under him the teach
er'S profession. now scarce worthy OF the name,
will rise to crown the nobeSt of the learned pro-
fessions Then will men of the highest order
contend for the honor of joining him IN his work
of love. Then will the dream of the philan-
thropist be realized, and man, crowned with the
triumphs of science and philosophy, rapidly
ascend TO that lofty plain OF excellence described
by poets OF old.
Friends, these are certainties OF the future; let
us labor to make as far as possible, realities OF
the present. In proceeding to do this, let us not
fOrUet that the support of our deserving lnStltu-