The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-09-19
SCHOOL TEACHERS

AND TRE IMPORTANT WORK
COMMIT TED TO THEM.
They Should be Appreciated More
Than They Are by Parents
and the Public.
Fathers and mothers have been
urged by the New York American
many times to encourage and develop
the imagination of their children.
Recently it talked to the school
teachers of tho nation about to re
sumo the sacred task which this Re
public PLACES upon them. There Is
no class of citlz ,ns moro deserving Of
universal thanks, admiration and
gratitude than the school teachers.
| And any suggestion made to teachers
should always be prefaced by sincere
shauks for good work, great patience,
tireless devotion.
Teachers, everything that the M
tion is to be depends upon your work.
Whom We pass fine orchard, We can
not fail to think kindly and reverent
" of the man who planted tho trees
Your school teachers are planting the
trees of the future. Every man OF
value to humanity In the next genera
tion will owe inspiration to some one
of you. You are tho planters of ideas,
you train tho mind, you encourage
tho childish, hesitating intellect, and
the credit for the ripe fruit will be
5eurs.
Above all things encourage the i'm.
agination of the boy and the girl.
Remember that as the public school
represents tho essential element Of
republican government, so you are
the custodians of freedom in the next
generation and the political teachers
+ tho child above al. Teach thf
child to think broadly. Teach him
he part that this country plays and
that it should play among the nations
Of the world.
Make him understand how much
depends upon moral courage In the
citizen. Teach him what mora
courage Is, teach him to love 1t BY
making him s'quainted with the
treat men whose chief possession II
has been. Remember that more
spelling and ciphering are the least
part of the knowledge that you give
TO the children. The important study
for human beings is humanity itself.
Concentrate your own minds, teach.
srs, upon the greatness Of human
possibilities, upon the wonderful
'uture of this race, and then com
nunicate to your children tho en-.
1husiasm of your own spirits. Teach
the boys and girls-even the youngest
the great simple truths Of Gods
wonderful power as shown IN this
universe. Teach them tho place OF
heir earth in the great aest Of sail
ng suns and planets. Lift tHeir
minds as high as the great scheme OF
oosmic creation, and their aspiratioD'
will equal those Of humanity's great
IONS and d.ughters.
R member, that as the fruit is IN
the tiny saplirg which you plant ip
the earth, 10 the whole future ls In
the brains, In tho lmaginations OF
those children that sit before YOU
Yours Is q thankless task. Y ur
york is the most dff1 ,ult that men
DO. You are expected to have with
ozens OF children the patience and
5he love that the father and the
mother show to . few. The work
that you do is uuderpaid and what ia
worse, it Is not appreciated. The
world, perhaps, will never realize how
much it owes to your patience and
coDscientiousness. But there ts glory
n all good work, and there is happi.
aess in the consciousness Of self-denia)
and of duty done.
Every human brain comes into the
world with unlimited possibilities.
The little dull face that looks up at
you and that seems almost hopeless
In its dulnes9, may be the face OF
another Newton, stupid at school but
destined through wonderful imagina'
tion to take the highest rank In
human genius. The work that you
have got to do is wearing on the
nerves. And q child aimlessly 4ues-
sioning, restlessly inquisitiVe is not
always easy to manage after long
hours of dull routine.
member that In each Of those
little heads there ID struggling = spark
4 divine intelligence. There is IN
atom Of that thinking force destined
20 rule this earth. You have In your
care all that there Is Of humanity,
which is it's future. And you know
that the only thing Of value In the
world is tho now thoug It. So stimu
late and encourage patiently that
restless imagination In which alone
original thought can find birth.
Teach your children above all to
read with imagination. A man truly
great has said that teacher is to be
judged chiefly by the intelligence and
oase with which bis pupils can read.
The human being able TO read abso
lutely easily and intelligently holds
the key to al knowledge. Tho grown
man uses but little the technical