St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1903-11-04

particular things are but imperfect, faulty,
distorted copies of the true pattern OF the
good which is laid upin heaven. We must
buy and sell, work and play, eat and
drink laugh and cry, love and hate down
here among the earthly shades. but our
real conversation all the time may be in
heaven with the perfectly good. and true
and beautiful. This doctrine, you see, is
very closely akin to much of that popular
philosophy which is gaining so many adj
herents in our day. A little OF 1t IS
good thing, but to feed on it exclusively.
or regard it as the pure gospel is very
dangerous.
In spite of all this warning that have
against Platonism accepted as finished
gospel, it contains truth which every
teacher ought to know and on occasion
to apply. The teacher lives immersed IN
a wilderness of dreary and monotonous
details, which shut out the larger horizon
as completely as the trees OF the forest.
Every teacher ought every now and then
to climb the tall tree, or to leave the
| figure, to go away by himself and look at
his life as whole. Most people get this
platonic refuge in religion, some get it in
music, some in art, some in intimate
personal friendship. In some way or
other, every teacher should have some
sphere of life apart from the daily routine
into which he can enter and dwell und1s-
turbed and find everything serene, per-
feet and complete. But the mere Platon-
ist who is that and nothing more,
whether he call himself mystic, monastic,
Catholic, evangelical, Protestant, theoso-
phist or Christian Scientist, must remem-
Der that the ultimate tests OF life, though
he draw his inspiration from above the
clouds, the real tests OF lite are found on
the solid earth beneath his feet.
The fourth great lesson in personality
was taught the world by Aristotle. Ac-
cording to Aristotle man is to find his
end not in heaven, in the hereafter, but
here and now upon the earth. From the
Aristotelian point of view personality
depends on the sense of proportion, This
sense of proportion is the most essential
part of teachers equipment. Every
teacher has opportunity to do 20 times
as much as he is able to do well, the i'm
portant thing is to know which Goth to
do and which 19-2Oth to leave undone.
The teacher should have pretty clear
idea of what he means to do and be.
That which is essential to this main end
should be accepted at all costs; that
which binders it should be rejected at all
costs. For instance, amateur theatricals
; are good in themselves, but no teacher
who is teaching five or six hours day
can afford to give three or tour evenings
/, a week to lengthy rehearsals. Church
fairs and festivals are good in themselves
but the wise teacher will leave the man
agement of such things to persons who
i have much more leisure. Dancing anc
: dinner parties are good in themselves
u but the teacher during term time will
c limit engagements of this nature to at
e most one or two evenings a week
> Church attendance on Sundays is gooo
o thing in itself, but one service day is a:
( much as the average teacher can attenc
3 who will do his best the FIVE working
y DAYS of the week. Sunday school teach
y ing is an excellent thing in ITSELF but al
& rule it is the one thing above all Others
y from which the conscientious public
0 school teacher will most rigidly refrain
U for Sunday school teaching puts tn
= teacher, on what should be the chief do,
'e of rest, into precisely the same state
o nervous tension that must be main
), tanned during the greater part OF tn
" week. Sunday school teaching for {
o public school teacher is very much tn
l. same misuse OF Sunday that taking in {
y big Sunday washing would be tor ;
u wasberwoman who had washlngs to d.
le on all the other six da,. of the week
u Emphasize essentials, slight none sseu
IL tials. Do the thing that counts. Leav
4 things that do not count undone or &c
u them done quickly. Remember tina
% physical health, mental elasticity am
70 freshness and vivacity OF spirits mus
10 be maintained at all costs, in the inter
v ests of the school and the scholars, n
E. less than as matter of imperative sci
I, preservation.
III Now, we have four bits of advice frot
- four of the worlds greatest teachers
r There remains the counsel OF the creates
-. ~ teacher OF all. Christ says to the teachs
J.. MAKE the interests and aims OF eac
!, one of your scholars your own" Whetht
:, a teacher is a Christian 10 the profounde:
T. sense of he term depends not in the lea'
- on whether he is d Catholic or Pro
u, estant, conservative or a liberal.
49, depends on whether the teacher regarC
- the scholars as persons as alien being
- or whether, ia sympathy and generol
81 interest, he makes the life and problem
as of each scholar genuine part OF his ow
~ personal problem. The greatest ditfe
III ence between teachers, after all, is tia
=. in this deepest sense some teachers al
~, Christians and some teachers are no
le The teacher who is not a Christie
,y according to this definition will wor
a az tor reputation and pay. will teach whi
te- is required and rule the school by she
80, authority and force. Between teach
a. and scholar great guilt will be ike
o as the only bridge across that guilt will
81 authority and constrant on the part
III III teacher, fear and selfinterest on the pa
az of the pupils. Such teacher will
%. tasks before the scholars and comp
"a them to do them. Here such teacher
,a' responsibility will end.
he Such are the five points of personal
,st as the worlds great teachers have dew
rse oped them and as they apply specfieal
hle to the work of the teacher. Show 4
;s any teacher of sufficient men al trainll
sh and qualifications who is unpopular,
led effective and unhappy and | will guara
ese tee that the teacher has violated one
me- more of these five principles of persona
ity; either he has neglected diet, exercl'
ces rest and recreation. and failed to have
;s good time out of school, which every o
IN must have who is going to have go'
Il aIo ha n Wy sized