Gunnison news-champion., 1917-12-07
TIE fRA0lRs
C. z N. 8. News Letter:

C. & N. s. News Letter:
Ths ss,Isyins y : ceyds1 seste. Of ? Pc,
Pen ssses oie e:s.c:s 80 y % q IL is
ing School. before the supervising aud
student teSchers- = =
There 10 . vivid dsseziptisa II tie
Great Teachers, which despite it,
Oriental setting. il still tie dsserip-
ton paramount. Il h m account Of
One Who very naturally taught the m
known through the medium Of the
knoWn-a process which ne now call
apperception. He used the story-tell-
er's art; he taught about nature; he
had studied the play instincts and had
practiced Manual Training; he was .
student Of Agriculture, praised Mar
thA's Domestic Science, seemed to
understand children and child-like peo-
pie, and shove all, emphasized the
worth Of character. However ade-
quate that picture is, many Of US have
seemed to need inspiration from teach
ers whose lives merely reflect the light
Of that Great Teacher. 9H 7t1
yAfter twenty-five years still grate-
fully feel the influence Of such .
tsacher. L fear she would come far
short Of the popular idol. She did not
seem to realize that athletics 10 the
matter Of first consideration; she
lacked altogether that air Of busting,
hustling importance, which belongs
to "real, live school teachers". No one
ever questioned her knowledge, yet
this was not the secret Of her hold
upon Us. ! can see her entering the
room. The room became silent, not
from fear, but from the most whole
some respect. She was altogether =
lady; she greeted the washer-woman
and the society leader with equal
courtesy. She instinctively appealed
to the best in everybody. There was
no sarcasm in her makeup; sympathy
was her constant habit of thought.
She never demanded what was mani
festly not obtainable: she asked of
each pupil what natural endowment
could produce; as a result there was
no spirit Of fear and dread in her
classes. Hers has always been an
ideal influence.
Even though you happen to have
only little school Of q dozen pupils in
district some thirty miles from town,
do not for . moment imagine that
there are not great responsibilities on
your shoulders. Our great men have
been reared in just such places; they
were not different from other boys
just as freckled, dirty, mischievous,
and "thick-headed" as any you now
have. They contained spark Of gen
ius, however, and some good soul
famed it to flame.
In addition to your class work, would
impress upon you the Importance of
three fields of nfluence-those of lit
erature, art, and nature.
The great field of literature
should be opened to the pupils, and a
taste for reading developed. 1t is
difficult to find anyone who has
rudimentary education that does not
like to read. Choice depends upon the
refinement of taste. Take for instance
the boy of thirteen or fourteen who
will sit for hours absorbed in some
cheap, wild-west, blood-and-thunder
novel. He loves to read. It needs
only the right influence to reach that
boy, and his taste will respond to that
influence. Place biography in his
hands at first, then historical fiction,
and later true history and pure liter
ature. 1t is little less than crime for
teacher to know that boy or girl
is reading trash and not attempt to
elevate his taste.
The time was when only few could
revel in the pleasures Of ownership Of
the worlds great masterpieces of art.
So common and realistic are the pres
ent-day reproductions, however, that
even the humblest can have a few to
adorn his walls. What then ia our
duty? Simply to educate the children
that they may appreciate the pic
lures that come to their notice, that in
their home making they may accept
the true art and reject the gaudy
show.
Again, the teacher owes it to her
pupils to develop in them love Of
nature-not q silly, affected admira-
tion, but q solid and sensible love.
Teach them to see the beauty in the
whole as well as in the parts. Too
much of our .nature-study savors Of
the dissecting table: it is destructive
rather than creative.
Finally let US remember that chill
dren are trained more by what they
do themselves than by what Isl done
for them. The temptation of the
teacher is to do too many things for
children, and to talk too much. / re-
call that a prominent educator once
said, Talking is not teaching; if il
were, the village gossip would be the
best teacher" / need to remind my
self that children learn to think by
thinking, to read by reading, and to
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