The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1897-02-06
THE SCIENCE OF TEACHING.
Continued from page -

| cial relatiGhs. are of binding force
( Compliance with the highest standard
| of social duty brings its reward III the
! Disregard Of social obligation fotbodes
! disaster as much of certainty as does
| the attempt to set the laws of nature
aside. Cordial clvlitv marks the pop
uar matl or woman. Society has said
| that hottest politeness, through which
shines purity and odfellowship, is
passport to public favor; and that I'M
| kindness, tudeness, carping criticism
and neglect of conventional courtesy
are marks of ignorance. Manners are
! contagious everywhere. When the
/ teacher, by unconscious influence, bring
! the students 70 feel the force Of the
! Greek philosophy which l have men
I toned, and to manifest eager desire to
class themselves according to the behest
of social standards, then he displays
strength of purpose. When he does
not make his students experience the
/ feelings that manifest themselves IN po-
| lite kindness, then he should hunt for
weak spot IN his own nature.
- Politeness is to do and say
The kindest thing in the kindest way"
Dress, ike manners, portrays the
inner soul. The mind is clear, pure,
and exact, as reflected in the person
and dress of an individual. Habitual
disregard of personal cleanliness and
propriety of dress indicates a mental
condition that tends toward the lower
nature. The man who habitually ne
elects bis beard who wears soiled linen,
dirty ties, clothing on which are the re-
mains of past suppers and OH which the
| tailor sponge or the whisk-broom are
never placed, who by actions which
speak louder than words, SAYS that he
Is too lax to attend to such things, is us
ually too loose in some other direction
to stimulate the best there is in his pu-
pills. The woman whose dress and per-
son do not suggest neatness and Cleanli-
ness IN every way is poor model for
children. cleanliness is next to god
liness." Many students of human ma
ture hold firmly to the Idea that neat
ness and moral purity cannot be di-
vorced. A neat, clean, calico dress is
much more becoming to the teacher
in the school room than the richest silk
or wool, ragged from want Of repair or
soiled by neglect. The poet Shakespeare
and the philosopher Bacon held firm
positions on these questions. The for
mer makes character in a play say, in
giving advice regarding appearance,
that the man should be
Neat not gaudy.
For the dress often proclairns the man"
and the latter held to this tenaciously:
"Cleanliness of body was ever deemed
to proceed from due reverence ofGod."
Good manners and attention to neat
ness of person and dress count for sue
cess in teaching.
Sympathy is the one browning qualif-
cation of the successful teacher. The
conviction that person is drawn by in
clinatiOn and nature to give the best
powers of his soul to arousing in other
will, does mitch to enliven the work
that otherwise might become drudgery.
"TeaChing,' says Fitch, "Is the noblest
of all professions, but the sorrlest of
trades, and nobody can hope to succeed
in it who does not find positive pleas
ure as he watches the quickened atten-
| ton and the heightened color Of little
| child as he finds new truth dawning
upon MIN, or as some latent power is
called forth" Learning is made easier
! when there exists a true and natural
sympathy between teacher and the one
taught intellectual and moral culture
are greatly held in check by want of
! fellowfeeling between instructor and
! pupils. True sympathy, an honest fell
! low-teeling, must not be COMPOUNDED
! with pity, a sentimental attribute of
! compassion, or deep tenderness for
| the inevitable misfortunes of others.
! Sympathy requires a certain degree of
| equality; hence the teacher must be
| able ''to think as child and to feel as a
| child" Pity looks upon its object, not
! Olii tS suiltlIiiS, DuI Ntth anu itItiIcI.
| Sympathy encourages to noble effort;
pity leads its object to feel a miserable
condition, no matter whether it be
| physical, intellectual, or moral. Sym
| pathy lifts up by causing courageous ac-
| ton, while pity enfeebles by REFRESHING
ambition and dampening ardour. Sym-
! pathy encourages self-help; pity fosters
| the idea of dependency. Who can feel
| the keenest sympathy with the child?
! Who can lead him better than the one
| that the child feels is his friend, whose
| Progress is his progress, whose sorrows
are his sorrows, whose joys are his joys?
| PestalOzzi, whose memory is an inspi-
ration to every true teacher, when de-
! scribing the action of his pupils in the
| school at Santz, portrayed masters
/ sympathy. He said Their hands were
in my hands, their eyes were in my
eyes, their thoughts were in my
thoughts, and their hearts were in my
| heart" True sympathy is factor that
! counts for success in teaching.
True loves the gift when God has g5rFh
! To man alone beneath the heaven
/ 1t is not famtdSy'S hot fire.