Milford chronicle., 1906-01-26

I
t them with the love of the beautiful?
e Love of the Beautiful.
4 While. ON the other hand, have not al
/ Of US had teachers of history or of Eng
: lish literature or of oratory or Of bot
? any or of art so dead to their themes
that we never entered their classes IN
less it was with leaden feet? Even
when we studied Goethe or Macaulay
or Ruskin we felt it was a drudgery
because our teacher himself was stolid
} and unresponsive to the harmones OF
the beautiful Oh, the teacher who does
not inspire his people with a love for
the beautiful has lost half of his or her
mission! Some time ago I was in the
home Of a very intelligent lady. During
the conversation she said to me- MY
little daughter has read nearly all the
standard works" ;" ''Is that SOP | an
swered 'Do you pay her for reading
those books?" "Never," answered this
lady. THAT was the great mistake my
mother made. In order to get me to
read good books she used to pay me.
The result was unless l was paid money
1 never read good literature. Years
after my mothers death l found out
my mistake. Then l commenced to
read good books for the joy that I got
out of them. I try to inspire my daugh-
ter to naturally seek the beautiful and
love the beautiful in literature because
love the beautiful there" As teachers
have you not a higher mission in life
than simply hammering the multiplica-
tiOn table into your pupils minds? DO
You ever talk to them about the beauty
found in the curve of a rainbow or
about the symmetrical blendings of the
leaves Of Il little violet or about the per-
feet design of a snowflake?
But the schoolteacher has still a
higher mission than that of examining
a students brain full of Il few facts
and teaching him to love the aesthetic.
Art and nature did not make Athens
city of yirtuous people. Some Of the
most l0athSOme examples of immoral
and social licentiOusness were prac-
ticed under the shadow Of the Parthe-
nom Some Of the greatest writer's Of
the ages walked the streets of Rome.
But Rome in its Cay was what Sodom
and GOmorr9h We're in their days, and
in modern times the most popular lover
Of the aesthetic who ever stepped upon
our shores was himself so stepped in
immortality that he was not only eXiled
from all decent society, but was in
carcerated in Il London Jail and passed
away despised of mon TO meet his God
and to render an account for his mis-
spent life Thus, my friend, as a
teacher you have something more to do
than to teach your scholars to love the
books and the trees, and the noun
tains. and the blossoms, and the har-
vest fields.
Importance Of Example.
How can teacher lead his pupils
to be pure and true and noble and
good? In the first place, by giving them
the example of teacher who is good
and true and pure and noble. Only a
short time ago l was talking to a lady
who for years was Il successful teach !
er in one of our western cities. | said,
"What is the greatest essential for a
successful teachers life" She I'M
hesitatingly answered: Example She !
herself must be Il good woman if she |
wants her scholars to be good"
a few days ago the principal Of one
Of the Los Angeles public schools said |
TO me: 81 cannot expect anything bet |
ter from my students than I am my |
self. For the last two weeks 1 have |
been trying especially to be kind and |
gentle and forgiving Why? 1 know |
if l am kind and gentle ! viii make |
my children kind and gentle also" |
There is a magnetic connection be- |
tween the pupils seat and the teach
er's desk. You know it. o teacherl |
I am going to ask you one blunt ques- |
tiOn. Is there any way easier for |
teacher to be true and noble and good |
than by surrendering his life into
Christ's hands? Friedrich Froebel him
self said, "All education not founded
on religion is unproductive." All, |
schoolteacher, I think l can put my |
finger upon the weak spot of your
schoolteachngl You are spiritually a !
blind man trying to lead the blind. |
You want your scholars to be like
Christ, and yet you yourself have not !
surrendered your own heart to the Saw
iour Will you do it now in order to
give the right kind Of an example to |
our children?
Thomas ArnOId's Plan.
This truth has been well demonstrate |
ed by the history Of the greatest teach
ers who ever lived. When Thomas
Arnold went to Rugby there were more
rules there than days in the year. Ev-
cry teacher was expected to be a spy. |
No teacher trusted a boy any more |
than a warden in Sing Sing peniten-
tiary would trust a life convict outside |
the penitentiary walls. All these rules |
were written upon a board and nailed |
up in Rugby chapel No sooner did /
Thomas Arnold take charge than he |
cut down that board of rules and threw |
It into the fire He then had the boys /
assemble before him, and he said: |
Young gentlemen, I expect every one /
of you to be an honorable young man. |
This school hereafter is to be run on
the honor Of its pupils" BY that 4