The Pensacola journal., 1910-12-28

your face, and His teaching in your
life What a power for good you can
| be, Rightly conceived your work IS
the mCst important n YOUR com.
munity.
The Teachers Work.
| What do you teach: You teach
more than books contain. Your char
iacter. reputation, example. habit and
lappeaTance all speak louder than
| words But YOUR words count, too.
Every aceen1 and infection of your
voice has its effect. People cannot
hide their souls. The inmost work
inss of a human spirit are easily de
tected by one skilled in reading char
aater. Il is easy for the children 70
read YOU. because you are off guard
before them Parents look to You TO
bless their children. not curse them
| by your influence. The moral effects
| Of your character cn the children may
he so good or so bad as to mean more
than all the grammar or arithmetic
YOU can teach them.
! Conduct at School.
Now q. school the teacher forms
| the bases of conduct, The bases OF
ethics and religion are found in Il
mans every day life. He is religious
or he is non-religious in respect TO all
| he does. Ones conduct toward rela-
tiyes, the aged, the poor. the stranger.
indeed TO all people. stamp him as
good Or bad. Ones manners at home,
at table, at school. on the street, i'll
public halls and conveyances, are re-
ligiOus or non-religious. Punctuality.
promptnoss regularity, honesty, thrift,
ECONOMY, cleanliness, earnestness, are
| all religious virtues. Conduct par
| takes OF all these. These root in our
Iconceptions OF life and God. The
school deals with all Of them. There
ichiidren get started right or wrong
At firs, it IS the attitude. the point Of
view. the unconscious favoring OF
phase of conduct that in the schools
is given. But later these find express
ion in definite forms iii the songs
they sing, the words they learn, the
principles consciously declared. Tne
tteacher is the inspiring force in al
this.
The Teachers Opportunity,
| The public SchCoi teachers OF Flor
I ida, after the mothers, have the best
opportunity N the state Of creating
tnoble character in the children. They
lean teach them the love of God, the
brotherhood OF man, the worm Of the
soul the value Of life. the moral order
of TIE world, the duty OF work, the
tTights of others aud many other high
Iideals
Il does not require formal course
n morals 10 do this. The daily rou-
Itlnc OF hard work Tile course Of
Istudy alone is a neral qnickener.
The example Of the teacher is the
best possible refining influence in the
lhcaTts Of the pupils.
Child Nature.
lH n3tnf(o - fli vine God
It. lie pronounced it coed. It's laws
iaTe the same now as at the beginning
The tendencies Of human nature to-
ward evil, rather than good, lie in the
Will. This divine nature Of the child
includes fear. trust, reverence and
the other elements which religion
builds on. These elements are .La-
tuTed by fairy tales, legends, stories.
games, work and play. Our Whole
scheme OF education should make use
,of these and should centre III IN.
i, thought thai God is a living realty a
| divine presence. working i'll the souls
LOT men. Oar methods OF education
should sQuarely rest on aiding tie
child to a full realization Of the natulc
God has given him. Our materials o.
education should be such as will rouse
the soul and awaken it's dormant
powers.
The Education Of a Child.
: Edu"atiGn is not to press q child
, into a mould. but rather 70 develop
, what is already in the child. Tac
laws of child nature give the clue tha
= Should guide US in the process of edli-
cation. The child is living Or
ganism. 1t has norma; capacities and
powers. Left TO themselves these
will grow. y school is an ogsariLa-
tCn OF the forces that Will best con,
Il ibute TO their growth and quickly put
the child into possession OF the ela5o-
rated experiences Of the race. Right
| ly conducted education avoids excess
: and all perversities and yiel $ vi[oE-
ous, healthy increase Of the strength
Of ali natural powers.
Secular Education.
Secular education is a misnoner.
There is no such education, if ODE has
the right view OF education. Al edu-
cation IS religious. if it be a normal
development of the souls powers.
t General education, such as that in tne
public s. hool, IS necess saTiiy religious
educati0n. Superficialy It may be dis
singuished from the church's educa-
, tion but deeply the TWO are identical
: on most points. General education
may not directly take the Bible as the
= text. OF proceed Win Lfe same we"
of the end, that the Sunday school
] mas, but II comes out az the same
ipoinr. What we have been calling
/ secular education, may omit 10 EN-
; lphasiZe certain important clements.
land what we have been calling re
ugious education may have been un-
: aware Of the full meaning CT pab.I~
educacion; but all true education,
= we'll understood, broad and not one
/ sided, is the evolution and disciphning
; CT The divine nature OF the child, and
= that is cruly religious.
/ Reasonable Demands.
: The community has right 70 de-
5 mand the best a teacher has TO give.
: The teacher has a right TO demand
D the best in community. The people
I expect and should receive competent
+ instruction The teacher has right
aud affnr+ rHn