Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-06-11
SYSTEM AND ORDER.
Plan For Proper Grading and the Rea-
sons For Doing It.

Plan For Proper Grading and the Rea-
sons For Doing It.
Miss Grace w. Vandiver, Elementary
Superintendent of the South Carroll
ma Sunday School association, before
the York County convention.
There are two objects to be accom-
plished in every Sunday school ses-
sion:
First, 1t must be a religious meeting
Of earnest effort for soul winning,
Christian training and character
building.
Second. There must be real educa-
tional work. This work as our Sun
day school system now stands, must
be done by means of the supplemental
work A we'll graded supplemental
course, developed after the best peda-
gogic and scientific methods will give
the pupil a systematic and connected
knowledge Of the Bible. which is the
aim of the educational part of our
modern Bible school; and more than
that 1t aims to give him just such por-
tions Of Scripture, hymns and songs
as are best fitted to meet his spiritual
needs, at each stage Of the child's re-
ligious development. And this Is
what we mean by grading-givingt the
child in each stage Of its development
that material which 1t needs and can
assimilate, thereby helping him not
only to do well the present years
work, but to do better the next years
work. Some one has said. and you
can readily see that 1t emanated from
masculine brain, that the effect pro-
duced by the first suggestions Of grad
ing the Sunday school, made about
the same sensation among Sunday
school workers that would be made In
a sewing society when some one said
the word, mouse"
But in the new light that has
been let in upon the minds Of Sunday
school workers by the re-discOvery,
as 1t were, of childhood and the con-
sequent flood Of books on child study,
this sensation has passed away. We
begin to see that this principle of
grading that underlies all the laws Of
life can be applied to Sunday school
as we'll as any other teaching; and
what Is more, that the best results
cannot be attained without 1t. AS has
been said the principle Of grading un-
derlies all life-the food we eat, the
work we do, the books we read. The
child has milk at one stage Of its de-
velopment, and at another has meat.
He creeps and by creeping learns to
walk and run. He learns words Of
one and two letters before he reads
learned books. Then why not in the
study of Gods word and its subse-
quent influence on the pupils life give
1t, as he can best assimilate 1t, and
grading 1t simply that a systematic
way Of adapting the material taught
to the ability and spiritual needs Of
the learner. Without being able Ito
look into the seeds Of time and tell
which seed will grow and which will
not, we can safely say that in the fu-
ture-and perhaps the very near fu-
ture-is the graded lessons for the
Sunday schools. 1t Is coming because,
First, we have tested 1t as an edu-
cational policy in our public schools,
which are said to be the best In the
world; and second, because we are
coming to see that thorough mas
terry of the Bible and the assimilation
OF the blessed truths 1t contains by
the masses is not only the hope for
an intelligent future church member
ship, but for high national ideals as
well.
Because all our great movements
are slow, we are not yet ready for the
graded scheme in its entirety, but are
doing much toward it in our graded
supplemental work.
The first step in an all graded school
has already been taken In the prepar-
alton by the International Lesson Com
mittee of a Beginners Course and the
adopting Of 1t by thousands Of schools.
And this Is the first step in any grad
ed school to begin with the begin
ners.
Gather all the children of the school
under years of age into one depart
ment, teaching the Beginners Les
sons for the first year to all In one
group, or IL the group be too large,
divided into two groups, each study
ing the same lesson. The next year
the children naturally fall into two
groups, one group studying the first
year lesson and the other studying the
second. While the 6-year-old chill
dren have passed into the primary de-
partment without the second year
lessons.
The primary department consists of
three grades-the 6-year- old, 7-year-
the 6-year-old pupil finishes the first
grade work he passes into the second
grade Of the primary, which Is COM
posed of the 7-year-old children, and
so on until the end Of the eighth year
he passes into the Junior department,
where there are four grades, ending
with the end Of the twelfth year.
The question arises: How are we
to grade a junior department without
the primary having been graded? The
very nature of the work for the Ju-
niors laid down for us in the Supple
mental Course makes the first year
easy enough. but the teacher who Is
doing second, third and fourth year
work with juniors, not having had the
supplemental work. must necessarily
do some back work in order that the
pupils do intelligent work, but much
can be accomplished even in ten min
utes on Sunday n orning.