Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1906-01-26

urdih must nave exercise. 1t must
learn to be independent. 1t cannot be
carried around as yaletudinarian by n
scholastic nurse. Thus the second
great duty OF the schoolteacher is to in
spire in the minds OF his students the
realization that they can do something.
mo truth Is really our own" said
Ralph Waldo Emerson, until we dis
cover it for ourselves"
was never more impressed with this
fact than whel talking some time ago
with one of the members of my church
who is the principal at the Detention
home of Los Angeles. He said to me:
The greatest work of the teacher Is to
inspire In his pupils confidence In them
selves. Now, in our Detention home 1
have had this theory well tested. There
we have what is called the garbage pile
OF the youths of this city. IL a boy will
not study and seems to be an incorrigi-
bic he is sent to me. I Inevitably find
him doubter Of his own abilities.
When 1 can dissipate that. doubt I can
always make something good out OF the
boy When boy comes into our home
say to him. What can you do, my
son? Nothing he generally answers.
What! l say, Nothing. Oh, yes; you
must know something?' Nope he an
swers, nothing We'll, what do you
know about arithmeticr Nothing. I
told you, he again answers. Nothing
Then 1 say, well, what do you do for a
hyingY Sch papers, well, how do
you buy your papersr 4 gets them at
the office for half cent and sells them
for a penny? 4 Indeed I say. Then
how do you make change when you sell
those papers unless you know how to
countf With that the BOYS ewes will
begin to open, and he WIN begin to see
that making change Is arithmetic and
buying papers is counting figures. And
thus lead him on until he realizes that
he himself can count and do some
thing"
Not Sponge.
The human brain should be some
thing more than a sponge. The brain
should be able to give out as well as
take In. The brain should be like n
mountain side. gushing forth with
brooks and springs, rather than n great
cavity or reservoir, capable OF holding
n lot of water, which in time becomes
nothing more or less than n stngnant
pool. 1t Is just at this point that
Friedrich Froebel, the great German
educator, has been able within the last
few years to absolutely revoIutionize
the educational system of the world.
The gist Of his teachings Is this: ITO
have found one-fourth of an answer to
question by bis own effort is of more
value and Importance to child than
1t Is to half hear and half understand
that answer in the words of another"
Thus we find the average schoolroom
for our children a far different place
from that we used TO attend. We there
find the children playing games and
building blocks and working at car
penter benches and bending over kitch-
en- stoves and drawing pictures and
singing songs. They work with their
heads; they work with their hands and
fingers. The schoolroom is n place
where our children are taught not only
theories, but probabilities. That is
true education.
And here let me state something d.
rectly to the parents in reference to
this. law. Every father and mother
ought TO be the public school teachers
assistants. They ought to supplement
the work OF the scchoolroom I'm the
home. How are they to do that? BY
inspiring their children in every way
possible to do something for them
selves. Buy them all the games they
are able to play. Checkers and domI-
nos and parcheesi and authors and
chess and croquet and golf and tennis
are not time MASTERS. but brain deyel-
opers. The striving for the mastery In
games develops the power to succeed
In iife- When the Duke OF Wellington
was prime minister OF England he paid
visit TO his old school OF Elton. While
he was watching the boys play football
upon the field he said to the principal.
The battle OF Waterloo was won
here" IL Arthur Wellesley had never
contended for mastery upon the play
ground he would never have been able
TO conquer England's greatest foe.
Furthermore. not only should parents
stimulate the activities of their chill
dren by games. but also get their chill.
dren tool boxes. and scroll saws. and
printing presses, and magic lantern
slides. ard kodaks. II they will use
them. All these things will be the
means of helping to decide your chill
uren's fyture lives. Aye, more than
this-if possible let. them raise chick.
ems and doves and rabbits and GO
nshing and hunting, Let them take
care OF horse or a pony. Let them do
everythtnx ana anything thar IS right
which VIII Stimulate the actfon OF the
brain. eATehfid develops more bywhat
he does than by what you do for him.
Thank God that our schoolteachers can
inspire their scnoiars into doing as well
az into receiving!
TratninE the Child.
see the teacher training the prac-
tical child. see him also training the
aesthetic child or the student OF the
beautiful. hear him saying to the
young STUDENT Young man. there ia
something more in Fife than planting |
q cabbage patch. or hoeing corn, or |
digging an oil WELL There is some
thing more In life than in owning a |
mortgage upon your neighbor's farm |
and squeezing him out of his property |
In hard times. There Is other Iitera- |
ture In life than that found In the |
stock columns of the daily newspapers.
There is something higher than the
rattle Of the miser's gold" The true
teacher tries to lead his scholars into
the higher realms OF the beautiful. He
inspires them with the harmonies OF
nature. Of sound and of color. He gets
the best pictures he can and hangs
them upon the school walls.
He trieste dofo his. class room what
Mary A. Livermore did for her schol-