The Norfolk weekly news-journal., 1912-03-29
SATURDAY NIGHT
SERMONS
- REySArfUEL
WpURvISDl
~THERE WAS ONCE A TEACHER"

teacher come from God John III. ?
Lift up your eyes, ye fraternity OF
teachers. Jesus OF Nazareth was once
member OF your honored craft, for
Christ was teacher. He taught
them" says the opening sentence Of
that wonderful Sermon on the Mount
Notice that the discourse opens and
closes with that word taught The
last sentence says, "For he taught
them as one having authority" The
world has called that address the
Sermon on the Mount" but it is mel
Their sermon nor n speech nor an
Grafton nor an augmentation. II Is
strictly an instruction. Nor is this
the only time Christ is put before us
as a teacher. Fortyfour times in the
gospel is the verb teach" applied to
him. The other times his sayings are
spoken OF as doctrines which is
teaching. Forty times he is called
Master" which is teacher. Two hun
dred and twenty times his followers
are called "disciples''-that Is, pupils.
learners. think the fact IL worth
noticing that even Nicodemus said,
"Thou art teacher come from God"
I am sure that every public school
teacher in the 400 1000 leading that ar
my OF 2OO0O,OOO school children, as
well as the thousands in other schools,
will grasp with appreciation the knowl-
edge that the worlds Redeemer felt
the trials, the discourngcments, tho
disheartenmcnts of q teacher.
miss Aurora"
The schoOlteaChcr Is the guiding star
Of the republic. She-for most teach
ers are women-is greater In number
than all the doctors, lawyers and min
listers put together. l am tempted to
say her influence is just rs great. She
takes the little painting fresh from the
home nest, full of his pouts, pets and
passions, ungovernable in many cases,
a rampant, riotous little wretch whose
own mother often admits she sends
him to school to get rid OF him-the
teacher takes q whole carload OF these
little anarchists, half of whom singly
and alone cannot be handled by their
| own fathers and mothers nor intiuenc-
| ed by Sunday school teacher or pastor;
| she takes this regiment of raw recruits
| and without entertainment of vaude-
| vile or rod of reform school puts them
| in way of becoming useful citizens. |
| claim she shows rare qualities of gen
| eralship. One can easily see that while
| teaching the young idea how to shoot
| she herself has been unable to dodge
| Cupid's arrows, and when she is about
| doing her best work, managing what
| Aristotle called 1.-THE most untamable
Of all wild animals" some fortunate
| fellow entices her to manage home
| for him.
Tho Task.
| Every teacher is subject to periods
of profound discouragement. She can
| not see that her work is leading any
| where. Some idle, childlcss clubwom-
! an addresses the teachers meeting
with patronzing air and tells how
| inspiring it must be to see the rows Of
| eager upturned faces every morning
| as hungry as young robins for instruc-
ton. Bless her heart! If she could
have but just one day of an irresponsi-
Die, snickcring roomful of children who
! apparently love nothing less than a
| book; if she could stand with aching
| head, sometimes with aching heart,
| between four hard blackboarded walls
and the little faces harder still to make
| any impression upon, she would change
| her mental figure of young robins feed
ing. The problem that faces the teach
er is how To have personality enough
to go around among fifty children, how
| to give each child sufficient individual
| attention to satisfy her conscience.
THE teacher must be happy. Unless
the teacher is happy and breathing the
breath of life the children will not be
| happy and breathing the breath Of
| life"
True. A smiling face in school
| room may brighten the treadmill rou-
tine and lessen the possibility Of pen
atty for nonfulillment of tasks, but
the teacher may respond:
| How can a board of education ex-
| pect us to be radiating centers Of en-
! ergy and buoyant spirits when we are
so desperately overdriven, when We
are given forty or fifty pupils to han
die, when very often all possible light
and life and joy in the lesson are de-
stroyed bs vicious, dull witted, trouble
breeding children whose parents be-
lieve their Measurements and add to
our burdens?'
Transm utation of Spirit.
We're in the morning of great intel
lectual development. We worship
brains. We sit at the feet of great
teachers. The worlds greatest teacher
was not Froebel or Pestalozzi, but the
Man of Nazareth. He taught the
transmutation of spirit. I've seen In
dian women on reservation and prairie
weaving baskets, working beadwork
in which was the glory of leaf and
flower, bird and song, mountain peak
and sunset glow. Where did she get
the beauty, the conception? Oh, out of
her own woman's soul. I've seen
teachers weaving their lives away in
the schoolroom, their soul in their
face and voice. The teacher stands at
II