Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1906-01-27

WI Ablnb anu sttts tiAihF Abhh ~ hhb's
which will stimulate the action Of the
brain. 4 child develops more by what
hc does than by what you do for him.
Thank God that our schOOlteachers can
inspire their scholars into doing AS we'll
as into receiving.
Training the Child.
see the teacher training the prac-
teal child see him also training the
aesthetic child or the student of the
beautiful. hear him saying to the
young student: Young man. there Is
something more In life than planting
cabbage patch. or hocing corn, or
digging an oil we'll There Is some
thing more In life than in owning q
mortgage upon your neighbor's farm
and squeezing him out of his property
IN hard times. There Is other litera-
turc 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
Eature. Of sound and of color lie gets
the best pictures he can and hangs
them upon the school walls.
lie tries To to for his class room what
Mary 4. Livrrmore did for her schol-
airs when she was teacher in Dux-
bury. Mass. She did not go into her
class room and say Now. children,
you must go to work and work hard
and have just as miserable n time as
you can" oh. no. She made play out
Of work. When she was teaching bot
any she gathered the beautiful flowers
out of the fields AMI took them into the
class rooms. Then on certain Satur-
days she took her class out into the
woods To find the flowers and 10 study
them In their home retreats. Then, In
stead Of studying the stars by books
alone she would meet her class on a
clear night. and together they would
roam through stellar worlds. Then, In
stead OF making music bore, she
formed her scholars into singing
classes. and ever and anon the teachers
anu StloEiTS MOulu ~ oh va piNhAeS'
taking their games and their violins
along. 10 you wonder that Mary A.
Livcrmore worked her way into the
hearts of her scholars and inspired
them with the love of the beautlfuli
Love of the Beautiful.
While. on the other hand. have not all
of us had teachers of history or of Eng
fish literature or of Oratory or of bot
any or of art so dead to their themes
that we never entered their classes I'M
less IL was with lcaden feet: Even
when we studied Goethe or Macaulay
or RuSkin we felt II was drudgery.
because our teacher himself was stolid
and unrcSponsive to the harmonies OF
the beautiful oh the teacher who does
not inspire his people with love for
the beautiful has lost half of his or her
mission, Some time ago ! was In the
home Of Il very intelligent lady During
the conversation she said to me. MY
little daughter has read nearly all the
standard works" lis that soT' | an
swcrcd. 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 10 pay me.
The result was unless was paid money
never read good literature. Years
after my mothers death ! found out
nv mistake Then | commenced to
read good books for the joy that | got
out Of them. try to inspire my daugh-
ter 10 naturally seek the beautiful and
love the beautiful IN literature because
love the beautiful there" As teachers
have you not higher mission In life
than simply hammering the multiplica-
ton 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 blcndings OF the
leaves of IA little violet or about the per
feet design of Il snowflake?
But the schooltcacher has still a
higher mission than that of examining
n students brain full of few facts
and teaching him 10 love the aesthetic.
Art and nature did not make Athens Il
city Of virtuouS people. Some of the
most loathSome examples of immoral
and social Righteousness We're prac-
ticcd under the shadow of the Parthe-
non Some of the greatest writer's OF
the ages walked the streets OF Rome.
But Rome in its day was what Sodom
and Gomorrah 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
generated in Il London Jail and passed
away despised Of men to meet his God
and 10 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 he pure and true and noble and
good? In the first place. by giving them
the example OF Il teacher who is good
and true and pure and noble. Only IA