Recreation is Essential
377
With the question of recreation the surroundings of the home and
the school have much to do. In the choice of a home or the location of
a school these things should be considered. Those with whom mental
and physical well-being is of greater moment than money or the claims
and customs of society should seek for their children the benefit of
nature’s teaching and recreation amidst her surroundings
Recreation Is Essential to Best Work—The time spent in phys-
ical exercise is not lost.... A proportionate exercise of all the organs
and faculties of the body is essential to the best work of each. When
the brain is constantly taxed while the other organs of the living ma-
chinery are inactive, there is a loss of strength, physical and mental.
The physical system is robbed of its healthful tone, the mind loses its
freshness and vigor, and a morbid excitability is the result
Care needs to be exercised in regard to the regulation of hours
for sleeping and laboring. We must take periods of rest, periods of
recreation, periods for contemplation.... The principles of temperance
have a wider range than many think
Students Need Relaxation—Those who are engaged in study
should have relaxation. The mind must not be constantly confined to
[495]
close thought, for the delicate mental machinery becomes worn. The
body as well as the mind must have exercise
Attention to recreation and physical culture will at times, no doubt,
interrupt the regular routine of schoolwork; but the interruption will
prove no real hindrance. In the invigoration of mind and body, the
fostering of an unselfish spirit, and the binding together of pupil and
teacher by the ties of common interest and friendly association, the
expenditure of time and effort will be repaid a hundredfold. A blessed
outlet will be afforded for that restless energy which is so often a source
of danger to the young. As a safeguard against evil, the preoccupation
of the mind with good is worth more than unnumbered barriers of law
and discipline
Office Workers Who Needed Days for Recreation—I saw that
but few realize the constant, wearing labor of those who are bearing
4
Education, 211, 212
.
5
Fundamentals of Christian Education, 418
.
6
Manuscript 60, 1894
.
7
Counsels to Teachers, Parents, and Students, 333
.
8
Education, 213
.