Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1910-02-25
UNION NORMAL GLASS.
Interesting Address by Professor
Mcfarland.

gregational church. Dir. Howard Aver
ill, the class president, called the meet
ing to order. Prayer was offered 10y
Rev. Arthur E. Hartman, pastor Of the
Memorial Baptist church. The report of
the secretary-treasurer, Mrs. S. r. Pat
rick, was then read and it disclosed the
fact that good number of the class
textbooks, 1.-The Teaching of Bible
Classes" by Edwin F. See, have been
sold.
At the close of the business meeting,
Prof. Raymond Mcfarland of Middle
bury College took charge of the class
and gave clear-cut and helpful address
on 1.-The Preparation of the Teacher for
His Work"
He spoke, in part, as follows: "The
teacher needs adequate preraration for
work, first of all, In order to overcome
the difficulties in the way of modern
Bible School " ORR.
The first difficulty grows out of the
fact that the church fills a different
place in the life of the community than
in earlier days of our history. The
minister was formerly the only
literally educated man in the COM
munity. People went to hear him in
order to secure information; for there
were no public librar les, no magazines,
and but few newspapers. Books were
scarce and costly. But TODAY conditions
are different; books and magazines and
journals abound, and many give in to
the temptation to remain at home, on
Sunday, and spend the day in reading.
The second difficulty grows out of the
fact that the public estimate Of the Sab
bath is lower than formerly. To regur-
larry attend public worship ON the Sab
bath day was once regarded as the badge
of responsibility; to neglect the services
of the sanctuary was regarded as am evil
dence of moral and spiritual decay But
today multitudes spend Sunday in
pleasure seeking, playing golf, attending
ball games in the afternoon and social
led sacred concerts in the evening The
attitude Of the parents is being initiated
by their children, and the day is fast be-
coming holiday.
The third difficulty grows out
of the fact scholars note mark
ed contrast between the methods of
the public schools and the methods that
obtain in most Bible Schools. The day
| school teachers Have received expert
! training for work; the schools are sup.
| piled with reference books. maps, globes,
I instruments ard other appliances for the
pupils use The day schools, too, have
| the benefit of wise supervision In the
| Bible Schools the teachers are noe usual
| ~ normal gradual es: the only literature
available is the leaflet or quarterly, and
the discipline often leaves much to be
de-, ired.
n fourth difficulty grows out OF the
fact that the Bible School holds out no
hope Of reward like that offered by the
public school The pupil in the latter
looks forward to receiving diplomas at
the close Of his grammar and high
schoo! courses: perhaps, too, he looks
forward to college. But the Bible
Schools offers no material reward to its
pupils. Boys know that they will not
get 81 80 day instead of Sl.25 simply
because they have spent greater or less
part of their Sundays IN the Bible School.
The real aim of the Bible School is not to
bold out to its members, primarily, the
hop Of material reward, but it is to
secure the development of strong, active,
trustworthy Christian character.
The above difficulties must be reckOned
with by every loyal friend of the
Sunday School. They are not, however,
insurmountable. One important contri
button toward their solution lies in the
securing of adequate preparation on the
part of the teacher. For my second
point, therefore, ask you to consider
the value of thorough preparation.
In the first place, it will enable the
teacher to be "A real leader. While it il
true that there are persons with a ma
tive gift for teaching, yet no sensible
person will deny that the work of such
favored ones would be improved by care
full study. The average teacher. how
ever, is not genius, and needs the dis
cipline and the materials of knowledge
that are secured through honest study
Other things being equal, the best pre-
pared teacher will be the best leader.
Adequate preparations will, in the
second place, enable the teacher to over
come the difficulties and disadvantages
mentioned under the first main head OF
my address.
Adequate preparations will, in the
third place, tend to inspire the pu
pills. There is no power in the worlC
like the power of trained, gindled
consecrated personality. To bring the
power of such personality to bear upon
the plastic lives of the young is to rem
der the highest service open to man
This is the type of service the Bib,
School teacher should seek to render
Study to show myself approved unto
God, workman that needeth not to b.
ashamed, rightly dividing the word o
n truth"
My third main point answers the
question, In what should the teacher b.
preparedT
First, he should know his pupils. He
should have, at least. an elementar,
knowledge of the pupils physical anC
spiritual life, and he should cultivate
special acquaintance with that stage o
life known as the adOlescent period. /
is during the adolescent period that
multitudes drift away from the Bibl
School. The teacher should seek com
petent knowledge of his pupils, IN orde
TO help stop the leakage.
In the second place, the teacher should
seek the best possible knowledge of thu
special lessons to be taught. The whole
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