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Page 31
And so also with music, art, architecture, with the fine in human life
and conduct, or with great and noble deeds. Inherent in them all are
spiritual stimulus and food for the young life, manna upon which the
growing soul should feed. But here again the law holds: in order to
assimilate them to his life the child _must appreciate, enjoy, admire_.
To bring this about is one part of our task as teacher.
Worthy loyalties and devotions.--Every worthy character must have in
it a certain power of resistance, a quality that makes it able to
withstand hardship for the sake of an ideal or a cause. It is easy
enough to be heroic when it costs nothing of effort or sacrifice. There
is no trouble in securing supporters for a cause that is popular, or
workers when the work called for is interesting and attractive. We are
all willing to stand for the right if to stand is agreeable and
exhilarating, and does not bring us too much of unpleasantness, pain, or
suffering.
But life at its best and noblest does involve some hardship. Much that
is best in human experience has come to us through hardship, toil, and
suffering cheerfully endured by heroic souls who counted their own lives
as naught so that the cause to which they gave themselves might win. The
comforts, freedom, and opportunities we enjoy some one paid for, bought
with endless effort and sacrifice. Our very religion, the symbol of
life, gladness, and salvation, has as its background tragedy, suffering,
death, the cross.
The quality that makes us willing to endure and resist for the sake of a
cause or an ideal we call _loyalty_. The high value set upon it is seen
in the fact that loyalty is the first test of citizenship required; it
is a quality admired and praised among all peoples in all relations of
life; it is the quality we demand and prize in our friends and
associates. On the other hand, disloyalty to country, friends, or trust
is universally looked upon as despicable, and punished with contempt,
scorn, and hatred.
The appeal to the heroic.--One of the ends of religious teaching is to
cultivate in our youth the spirit of loyalty to worthy ideals and
causes. Loyalty rests on a stratum of heroism, which is to be found
deep down in every normal human being. We must stimulate and appeal to
the heroic in the child's nature. We must make him see that the strong
and fine men and women are willing to meet much that is hard and
disagreeable, so that they may be loyal to their task. We must make him
realize that the greatest and most worthy thing one can do is to "endure
hardship" for a cause; that to be willing to suffer for an ideal is a
mark of strength and courage; and that "having done all to _stand_" is
often the best test of character.
Nor must the thought of loyalty be presented to the child only in the
abstract. Concrete examples are worth much general explanation and
laudation. The loyalties of the great characters of biblical and other
times can be made the source of great inspiration; the supreme loyalty
of Jesus to his mission will exert a powerful appeal. But loyalty must
be made immediate, definite and concrete to the child in his own life;
he must not simply admire it afar off. Loyalty must be to him not
something to learn about and praise in others, but something he can make
use of himself each day without waiting to grow up or become famous. So
we will teach the child the loyalties due parents and the home;
loyalties to friends and comrades; loyalties to school, community, and
country; loyalties to Sunday school, church, and the cause of religion;
loyalties to self; loyalties to duty wherever found; and, above all,
_loyalties to the Christ and his ideals_.
1. Do your pupils enjoy the church school, and like to come? Do
they enjoy the lesson hour? By what means do you tell? Is the
spirit of the class good toward the school and toward the class?
How do you judge this?
2. Do your pupils come to the lesson hour full of expectancy? Or
is there an indifference and lack of interest with which you have
to contend? If the class fails in some degree to manifest
expectancy and interest, where do you judge the trouble to lie?
What is the remedy?
3. To what degree do you think your pupils are comprehending and
mastering what you are teaching them? How does their mastery
compare with that secured in the public schools? Have you plans for
making their mastery more complete?
4. Do you judge that your pupils are developing such an attitude
toward the Bible that their interest will carry on beyond the time
they are in your class? Do you think they have an increasing
interest in religion? Are you making these questions one of the
problems of your teaching?
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