The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1890-04-17


acquired are to him almost wholly mean
ingless they cannot become part of his
mental growth, and are too often soon
lost even to memory; and thus it seems
to me the germs of religious indifference
and unintelhgence are implanted"
Who that recalls his youth stuffed with
precepts which appealed not to his moral
nature, deprived of those lessons of whole
some discipline which might have be-
come inwoyen with his character, giving
him strength to resist what is bad, will
ingness to receive what is good, does not
hear in the Bishops words voice of the
past whose words of wisdom come too
late?
Here is the other picture, drawing the
child through nature to God, teaching
him to worship God Though His works.
Can any parent of intelligence who re-
calls his own youth fail to see how ma
tural the growth is from beauty, harmony
happiness and love to God: The Bishop
says with all the charm of poetic lang
uage: "As the smooth-lipped shell, ap-
piled to the ear, still murmurs of the
ocean, however far away it be- SO to the
child the whole universe is alive with
whisperings of God. When heaven thus
lies about him, it it not mistake to fill his
memory with distractions which cannot
touch his heart, nor inspire his magma
ton, nor raise his soul? And this is but
an example Of the false or imperfect
methods by which all our teaching is
impeded, both in common and denomi-
| national schools"
The following extracts are full Of logic
and brimful of good sense:
mature gives endowments, but it is
| the business of education to produce
faculty and character, and if it fails in
this, it fails altogether"
''Our aim should be simply to form the
best schools, and to this end ~ should
be willing to receive information and
guidance wherever they may be had"
Fashion the man, the rest will come
ofEitself."
TO know by heart is not to know at
! all, and this is one of the first lessons the
child should be taught"
The aids to noble life lie within us
and the young who dream of love, of VIZ
tue, of knowledge and of fame, should
not be turned, like herd of swine into
some fat pasture"
The teacher, the Bishop holds, should
pastor is the head of the parochial SCHOOL
he also should hare knowledge of psy-
chology and pedagogics- He must know
how to teach in order that he may prop
erly teach the gospel. In this connec,
ton the Bishop says:
"The Gospel is the doctrine of eternal
| lire and every priest is a teacher. How
shall he teach unless he has learned not
| only what is to be taught, but how it is
to be taught?"
He mentions the fact that most of the
parochial, as we'll as the public schools
are in the charge of women and that il
the schools are to be improved some
means must be found to increase the eff
cheney of the teaching communities OF
women. But, he adds, "a good religious
is not therefore a good teacher; and as
weak men in authority do more harm
than wicked men, so nothing is so hurt.
full in teacher as incompetence" He
pays the following beautiful tribute to
the sisters engaged in teaching: I'm the
morning Of life, when the whole earth
CLEANS and glitters like another Eden
they have turned away from its fragrant
blossom-covered bowers, to devote them.
selves to work which if it is excellent, is
also most arduous." He then speaks OF
the cruelty and criminalty of permitting
''these tender virginia. souls to enter the
class room unprepared. THE kind Of
school which develops the best men anC
women will in the end prevail. x i
What is called the school question vii
be settled, if settled at all, by facts rather
than arguments, and to insist upon oul
| grievances may even divert us from the
real work of educating our children He
closes by saying: "We must have an in
stitution in which our Catholic young
men while they live in an atmosphere O
| faith and reverence, may acquire all The
knowledge and skill, as well as the men
| tai culture necessary to success in teach
| ing that they may not be excluded from
| profession whose power in the worl(
| will grow as civilization advances"
IF this paper instead of the Wisconsin
Bishops manifesto were read to all con
gregations in the state much good nigh
| be DONE;
1