Evening bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1895-1912, 1902-03-12

his life, but instead. fairly revels in
bugs, worms mad germs, microscopes
and scalpels. and really can do very
creditable work in biology. and thor.
Jughly enjoys 1t. Another result: so
certain was he. at fourteen, that he
vas to be minister that he at once
felt all the importance OF position,
leadership, etc, OF that career. as his
ON, and consequently was so conceit.
ed that he was an intolerable bore to
others and. what Is worse and exceed.
ingly serious, his proper and modest
appreciation OF self, a right relation OF
sell to others and to his work, was
spoiled by this overdose OF ambition
ana premature realization of a magni.
ficert career. This destruction, or.
rather, approximation of self.respect
necessarily reflected most injuriously
on the child's attitude toward his own
intellectual endeavor. He became
convinced of his superior mental ma.
chinery, gradually forgot to turn the
crank steadily every day, and conse.
quently at the end OF his course found
his ministerial college preparatory
equipment badly out of gear, exceed.
ingly rusty and poorly fabricated, while
his real interest had been incidentally
awakened In an entirely different field.
The most serious phase of the whole
affair Is the destruction of the child 4
right attitude toward self and others.
There Is no doubt that an elective sys.
TEN, turned loose In school. is a mag.
nificent producer and fertilizer of an
intolerable self-conceit and bombastiC
self'assertiveness on the part Of
students. And the pity of II is that
the elective system Is very largely
turned loose. Here there Is a great
possible benefit to be derived from a
Psychology of Vacations: Il would
inevitably check this destruction OF
right attitude, clear away much of the
lamentable self-conceit common to the
American school, to say nothing of the
salvation Of young men and women
from great disappointment and the
feeling that they have long been on
the wrong track, so long that there
is nothing to do now but TO go on,
against inclination, desire and natural
abilities.
If, in his second year, an intelligent
and trained teacher had exhibited to
this promising and aspiring young min
lister a real set OF ministerial nerves,
and had explained, from the psyche,
logical point of view and with its
method minus the technical terminol,
ogT) that the life of the minister is
the most long.suffering of all voca
tons Of long-suffering humanity and
that the real qualifications for such a
life work ana the motives for under,
taking II really lie far beneath the
surface which a boy casually per,
ceiyes, II Is quite possible that our
young aspirant would not have made
blunder in mis- choice, and, at all
events, his spirit would have been
saved. But again, just because he is
child, the l4.yearOld boy might de,
ode, in spite of psychological dis,
couragements and his own apparent
lack Of natural aptitude, to be min,
lister. for there is simply no telling
what castles in the air boy will build
and live in, for boys usually have tire
mendOus theoretical courage.
Study the Pupils.
Now, while the students are study.
ing yocations with the teacher, the
teacher will be studying his pupils,
and II he is psychologically trained and
in addition has a few grains of com.
mon sense, he will rot be at this class