The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-08-29
TO BETTER SCHOOLS
PUT STUDENTS ON
HONOR SAYS ELLIS
Educator and Lecturer
Draws Lesson From Work
of Thomas Arnold With
Boys of Rugby.

ARNOLD Of Rugby" was the title OF
the final lecture delivered by DR..
Charles Calvert Ellis in his teachers
institute series at the Chautauqua. His
lecture on the famous headmaster OF
Rugby dealt not with biographical ma
terial but With lessons drawn from
his career a. q teacher.
Thomas Arnold took charge of Rug
by college at the time 1t was the worst
public school in England" said DR..
Ellis. 1.-THE boys were rowdies. and
the school was in perpetual disgrace.
Before Arnold had finished with 1t. 1t
was SO completely transformed that
. Rugby boy could be picked out any
where for his courteous and manly
bearing.
How was this great work accom-
plished? One thing. believe. that
accounts for 1t. was Arnold's whole
hearted devotion to work. He accept
ed education as the business of his
life, and threw his whole soul into it..
II We are ever to have a teaching
profession that is q real profession.
our teachers must do the same thing.
We have altogether too many teachers
in this country who look upon their
work - mere side line.
Pr1Iared for Work.
~Arnold also prepared for his work.
He was an authority on history, and
wrote . number Of volumes on his.
torical subjects, yet he never went
before . history class without special
preparation for that particular lesson.
When asked why he did this, he gave
that reply which has since become
Famous: 7 want my pupils to drink
from the flowing fountain and not
from stasnant pool
ARNOLD had remarkable intellectual
honesty. He was always big enough
10 say 70 anybody, 7 don't know.
There ID no suGor way to inspire con-
hdence In tho things we can do and
know than In being frank to confess
pur ignorance Of the things we don't
know.
He WAS wonderfully thorough in his
work. He never let a class past him
without being sure that he had done
his utmost 20 make the lesson abso.
lutely all It could be. We often think
that We Will pass on 4 pupil and some
other teacher will round out the work.
But this Is not the case. No one else
can do our work but ourselves. The
gods see everywhere, and the work
we do In . classroom will touch the
eternities.
Showed Enthusiasm.
ARNOLD was enthusiastic. He knew
that the vital thing in teaching is not
the method, but the pouring of ones
soul and life into the work Some
teachers are not as big as the method
they use, but Arnold was bigger than
any possible method.
but the thing that made him the
greatest teacher of his day was that
he believed in boys. He put the boy
on his honor, and 1t was that conf.
dence that transformed the Rugby
rowdies.
But the greatest thing in Arnold g
character and in his career was his
belief in God, and his belief that he
had been divinely called to preach. He
once said to his school, Young men,
it Is not necessary that We have a
school here Of three hundred pupils
or even one hundred pupils, but it is
necessary that we have a school OF
Christian gentlemen He always kept
in mind that the supreme aim of edu.
cation Is the production of noble char.
acter. That, to him, was the end; all
other things were the means"