New-York tribune., 1907-01-23
SUNDAY SCHOOL METHODS
Hon to AUoid Confusing Child's
Mind In Bible STUDY.

'-Ths wife OF q university professor told me
that she could listen to a lecture two hours
without weRrying. but that she could not keep
hsr mind on any sermon more than half an
hour unless Il were an extraordinary sermon"
sesd the Rev. Richard NJ Hodge, who gave a
lscture on Methods of Sunday School Instruc-
ton" at the Brooklyn Institute the other day
This reason was" he continued, that she had
learned IN childhood the art Of looking hxedly at
preacher and not listening TO him, and had
practised this art for years. She was taken to
church child before she could possibly
understand the sermons. formed the habit OF
sitting quietly and decorously IN church with
out listening TO a word that was said and grew
up with this habit.
4 am afraid Il is sometimes the same way
with our Sunday school pupils They are sent
10 Sunday school as q matter OF course, and
they behave quietly and decorously without
being particularly interested IN anything that
70 ssid or done. Modern methods. such as com
pei their interest IN their day school studies
have not penetrated 90 the Sunday school Pal
sstlns Ia shadOwy, unreal country TO them;
chs old Bible stories which they have heard all
Shsir lives lack freshness and point, and they
visuSlise the scenes OF Bible history In quaint
queer wsys OF their own. which we DON'T know
sxythins about
CHILDISH FANCIEs.
sTns teacher Is often startled when he really
eso glimpse into child's mind and sees
what ogesr visions IL IS peopled with. There
wa teacher once who read her pupils The
Old oaken Bucket and then asked them TO
mAEe picture showing their ideas OF the
poem one little girl drew three buckets ali
covered with spots. When asked why she had
c<swn three, she replied that one was the old
ons the moss covered bucket that hune IN tbs
ven But what the spots1' said the
sssoher. The little woman raised her eyes won
oennsy aao salos Why, those are ''aI the
loved spots that my infancy knew
81 nae an experience almost as quaint IN a
1xsaS1y xsuanSeay seaoo4 class OF mine: I had had the
VIC had oolored hers very nicely came to me
nc eslo that she had been making the people
eLtss but added ip worried way that she
thought they ought 20 be smaller TO get them
That she should not imagine the map enlarged
tastesd OF imagining the people diminished. sui
= VISA nos az al strange. The map was actu-
ally there before her-R material thing. Her
Susrled little brain accepted that and tried 70
Ensgins The people small enough TO live on t.
Ihe chio cannot properly take IN the study
OF geography before the age OF nine. when h.
develops the sense OF space At nine set him 10
studying the geography OF Palestine in the sun
day school. The sand map is the best OF al
yhings for this. For the sand you can find a
preaopsn IN TIN store that will just At into a
oress suit case sno may be carried 20 church IN
that way. Or drygOods box. lined with 10
cents worth OF enamelled cloth. may be kept az
day. Or the little individual sand trays usea
IN kindergarten may be used one for each pupil
al Mne1 y a chlla mas once made the map OF Pales-
lne tairly correctly In sand he viii never forget
IL There is somsthing wonderfully efflcacious
SO soout moulding map to fix 1t IN the mind.
Not very much need be put IN the map. One of
the things which makes the ordinary printed
map OF Palestine IN the Bibles or Sunday school
teshets confusing and useless is the quantity OF
names and places printed on it. None OF the
little modern Arab cities concern Us at all nor
90 many OF the places mentioned in the Bible.
The geography Of Jesus's life can be told with
about six cities, the great events Of the old
Testament with a few more, and that OF Paul
by running the map westward TO include the
shores OF Greece and Italy. What want Is to
Get clear. correct mental picture Of Palestine
n the chid's mind. with a few important points
cshniteiy fixed on IT,
PALESTINE AN UNKNOWN LAND.
1T IS surprising how ignorant some OF our
Sunday school pupils are about Palestine
have had boys OF fourteen who could not tell me
what continent 1t was In. had one very bright
boy OF twelve who went 20 a splendid day
school he knew what continent IL was IN and
surprised 70 hnd be ala not know What az
rection IL was from Europe Others have no
toes how 20 get 70 Palestine from New York. A
little paper globe can now be had for Is cents
and II 10 an admirable thing 70 take into Sum
day school the FIRST day and trace the line OF
hsvs taught children from the class Of people
~ho travel In Europe have always found two
or three In every class who knew that II you
etraits OF Gibraltar and then kept on 10 the
end OF the Mediterranean, you would be at Pal
esttns But the thing they had in mind was the
tourist Palestine. They had no more idea OF the
Bibie Palestine than the others"
Dr. Hodge showed white paper maps OF Pal
sstins and Egypt which sell for q cent apiece.
After the children have moulded the sand maps
be would have them color the paper maps with
msyons or water colors; all the river valleys
green, the deserts yellow. the blue, and so
on This work they should DO al home. AS
Casy learn q new portion OF Bible history they
1ocate Z: and indicate it on the maps
There Is an IDEA nowadays" he said, that
models are always better than pictures FOR illus
tretion. We show the children pasteboard or
wooden model OF Oriental well or house. As
q matter OF fact, the child is often mixed in his
mind 20 the zize OF the real house wen
when YOU show him the little model. He may
be ashamed 20 ask. or he may calmly accept the
tdea that wells and houses IN Palestine are the
excellent penny prints OF Oriental scenes and
ob3ects which show persons beside the well or
house, and thus give everything its right pro-
portion. The psstebozrd model may cost %
cents, the wooden one 81. and in this case the
cheapest thing is the best. II you want 20
spend more there are stereoscopes with a great
variety OF Oriental views which give an aTnaz-
Ing perspective, a wonderful lifelikeness The
views should be added spaTingly, one at a time,
To illustrate each lesson as Il Is studied. Some
people are so enthusiastic over these stereo-
eoopic views that they assert that nothing else
should be used 10 learn Bible geography. This
Is as ridiculous IL we tried TO learn the geog-
rzphy OF Europe only by photographs and piot-
IRE postels.
TRICK IN MAP MAKING.
The child OF fourteen or fifteen is often harder
10 irrlbue with a correct idea OF Bible geography
thsn OF nine OF ten. For years he has heard