Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1906-10-08
THE ELEMENTARY DEPARTMENT
A NECESSARY LINK In AN IMP0R-
TANT CHAIN

The following paper written bY O..
+. Raunsy Of Newport wsss eaa< a5
! the County Sunday School ConEen-
| ton at CrafL5bary-
IL is perhaps all right to- call t a
link but from its position a23 imaoY-
tance I should cali it the heck en- the
end of the chain,. the oJheg end OF
which is the international cSnmitGee.-
All the other orgaaizatio u.s.. of town
ship, county, state, province and.
nation derive their rignJ to be from.
the elementary school It is lhais-
which grasps The pcc,blem ct it's rri-
mary source and GoFo9udent apon ii is.
the prosperity CT all w1iCA results
from it. II is the seed Bed from
which all frRitages Of oiblic&I edusa-
ton springs. Uh4sss it is we'll cared,
for no impulse of world wide sig.ni-
ficance is possible. With it thorough
ly nurtured the value of she other
organizs tons increases, and through
them may come hack To the elemen-
tary school tho gathered WISDOM Of
world vida, experience In wireless,
te1egraphy is an instran lent, called a.
, coherer. 1t is s. sube flied, with bits.
| of metal: each bet is 6x8 Gnc5 and. aepa-
rate frona ali the rest, bat they lie,
close together and Wne:l the elaetrie
thrill Passes they as it were, inin
| hands to make the cir ca1t con1llese.
| This is What.tne higher organizations
do for the lndividlal school aud it
| shows how mutually dependent each
is upon the other. But for the pur-
pose of this paper the emphasis, must
be lad UPON the elementary depart
menh. Here is the plastic material
the nainds of the childran, upon which,
is to- be laid the impress, OF the TRUTH
they are to carry With. them in all
their after lives. They may overlap
that truth with more absorbing con-
Germs as maturity arrives, and it may
be wholly obscured by business actigi-
b J ties and pleasure loving ease for lang
b periods, but it is there all the same
= and upon OCCASION will come into
clear relief. How Important then
that those early Impressions be clear,
plain and truthful, A sense Of great
responsibility shonld possess the sou,
q of every teachsss of q little child. This
g little child has not yet LEANED the
: meaning of deception. It accepts
70 question as to absolute truth. N,
q. teacher would Intentionally convey
ID wrong idea to a child, but is, Their
(. always caution enough to ascertain
Y; from the child just what the chill
q, understands by the instruction given
Ir. When the teacher can draw from til
l.. child in the child'ss. own words til
at. substance OF the teaching given an
r. it corresponds In idea with tt
IFs thought intended to be cow eyeC
O. there is evidence of real progress
he Therefore the eieme ntaryde PARTNER
on is the place for the importation {
p definite truth, by msthods and
of degrees adapted to the enlargin
* spiritual and mental consciousness
III the pupil. This implies gradin
Try | Aud grading while iG is every way d.
ne sirable in public school somehow b;
My a very terrifying sound when it
of brought into the Sunday school roor
Ter Possibly one source of weakness
a Sunday school instruction is becau
it has begun nowhere, has rambl
nor aimlessly and achieved no defni
an result. If the Bible as a text BOT
the were to be dignied by treating il
i a other text books re treated il wou
,wl weld as rich retur ms acknowledge al
hly wisdom. While l have no word
pie disparagement for the information
srs, lessons in their proper place l {
ulia not think their place is at either G:
Hiss IRENE Of the Sunday school popu
or's ton. For the very youngest pup
H. there IS something better and for t
mature something beyond. In t
lay elementary department the found
own don principles of the fatherhood
D. God, the saving brotherliness a
YER immanence of Christ, with the
enc imitable Bible stories which illustra
II these facts, should form the first il
SAGE preston upon the child heart a
the mind. The clear distinction betwe
ness rightard wrong, the duty of reve
ence and obedinece, maxwell fill up
tch- earliest stages of Sunday school