Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1908-12-03

vidna1s. Jesus taught that the ninety
nd nine that we're safe within h
fold could not furnish an excuse for
neglect Of the n that was away.
with these things in mind should we
rest content with that system when
the one to the neglect OF the
ninety and nine?
To produce such a result, no one
cause is adequate. 1t a Deen ire
uuently said, and with truth, that
course OF study does not have l
fcient vital contact with the lie ana
interest of the pupil, and consequent J
~ hecause of it's lack Of interest for !
him. fails to hold him. Rapid pro-
e however, is being made in our
city toward the correction OF
undesirable conditions. Anoth-
er cause, more deep-seated and more
serious, is the growing commercial
spirit of the day. The dollar is h
circle of life. Men sell their own
souls and put under tribute their
children's for dollars. There is great
need for resolute struggle against
the allurements of dollars. Too many
affairs are being builded to the god OF
gold; too many souls are being sacrl-
feed upon these affairs. It is hard
yes. well nigh impossible, to trans
mute commercial ideals, dollars n
cents into more abundant life.
Our course of study may we'll neei
revision, may require a radical change
in content. But our greatest need IS
larger and truer ideals established
firmly in the hearts and minds Of our
boys and girls. A greater emphasis
must be placed upon moral and ideal
than upon material and commercial
values. The voice in defense Of the
child's i~nalienable rights, his heritage
Of moral and religious ideals, should
ring deep into the hearts of parents.
Parents need to learn that the dollar
is not the goal of life, that the child
is more than the victim of a parents
base ideals: that he is more than a
money-making machine. They need
to learn that the child has a self-hood
to be developed, a SOU to be cultured,
and a destiny to be achieved. To
take a child out of school and compel
him to earn money is to deny him his
rights, is to degrade him. For
parents to do so is selfish, brutal, Inn
moral. I repeat that n of the great
est evils that threaten III nation Is
our too complete allegiance to COM
| mercia1 ideals. Our mad rush fOr
| gold makes us a nation Of individuals
rather than a democracy. Christ
! says, mo man liveth unto himself"
In New York it sometimes seems as
though every man reversed that prin-
ciple. I~ndividualism is a menace to
the life of the republic. There is, as
never before, a crying need for
parents and teachers to exalt moral
and spiritual values; a need to de-
throne the god of gold and to re-
| enthrone the God of old; a need to
engrave upon the very physical and
spiritual fiber of the child's nature
the exceeding, the incompatible
worth of moral character. Parents
themselves need to possess and prop
erly estimate these ideals and then to
instill them and give them first place
in the hearts of their children. Such
ideals of truth and righteousness, inn
plying as they do a profounder sense
of social obligation, will contribute in
the highest degree to the enrichment
Of human life, to a more abundant
life.
Mighty possibilities are resident in
the teachers vocation because of the
material with which he works. Eter.
nal consequences follow therefrom.
The true teacher spends little time
" Po5 0uy W NoAAC. - Ia
a worthier work than that Of a mere
wage Garner. He is a maker for
social betterment, not a mere hire
ling. AS with the preacher, right
eousness is his concern; with God he
Is a co-worker. That our teachers
might feel that they are called Of God
and are doing Gods work, there was
a Man sent from God who was named
Teacher. He Himself says His mis-
sion was to give a more abundant
life. That was His mission, that was
His religion, that was His life. eThe
religious aspect of the teachers work,
the religion Of education, if you will,
is a subject worthy of more thought
than it has received.
While there is an imperative need
for teachers with ideals, we must not
forget that the ideals must be of pos.
sible attainment. We need, then
sane teachers, teachers balanced by
perspective. False ideals, ideals be
yond the realm of the possible, held
up before the young, defeat the
teachers purpose. Hold UP before {
boy an impossible ideal, making hin
struggle toward it's realization unit
III day its utter absurdity dawns
upon him, and with what result? Hi:
!, cherished idol falls and with it there
come tumbling down all his ideal con
structs. In this day when our college
/ presidents r little more than none,
| gatherers, when school principal.
{ are little more than clerical workers
there is a positive need for teacher!
with lofty ideals, but ideals within
| the realm of possible achievement
: Impossible ideals made for lawless
ness rather than for Righteousness.
| and the betterment Of life.
We need, finally, to rediscover th.
meaning of life, to learn that a man.
: life CONSISTENT not in the abundance
of the things that he possesses. w,
: need to rediscoyer the fact Of God
: and that in Him we live and NOV
and have our being. He is the sourc,
of u life and to find Him is to flint
fuller life. There is need to re-em
: phasize the fact Of Christ as the Re
vealer of the true life which is tn,
life of service. The life Of the worlt
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