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Co-operation Between the Home and the School
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who themselves rule in anger are the most unreasonable when their
children are restrained and disciplined in school.
There are church members who have been quick to catch up
unkind suppositions and to speak disparagingly of the teacher before
other church members and even in the presence of the children.
Some have talked freely and bitterly concerning a teacher without
clearly understanding the difficulty of which they were speaking.
This should not be. The one who thinks that a teacher has done
wrong should follow the directions given in the word: “If thy brother
shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee
and him alone.”
Matthew 18:15
. Until this has been done, no one is
justified in telling others of a brother’s mistakes.
Parents, when the church-school teacher tries so to train and
discipline your children that they may gain eternal life, do not in
their presence criticize his actions, even though you may think him
too severe. If you desire them to give their hearts to the Saviour,
co-operate with the teacher’s efforts for their salvation. How much
better it is for children, instead of hearing criticism, to hear from the
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lips of their mother words of commendation regarding the work of
the teacher. Such words make lasting impressions and influence the
children to respect the teacher.
We are not to concern ourselves so much about the course that
others are following, as about the course that we ourselves are
following. If the children attending a church school do not improve
in manners, the parents should not unduly blame the teacher. Rather
they should closely examine themselves to see if they are such
teachers as God can approve. In many cases children are greatly
neglected in the home and are more disorderly there than they are
in the school. If children who for years have been left to follow
their own inclinations and desires are not led by the efforts of the
teacher to live Christlike lives, shall the parents, because of this, set
in circulation unkind criticisms concerning the teacher?
God’s method of government is an example of how children are
to be trained. There is no oppression in the Lord’s service, and there
is to be no oppression in the home or in the school. Yet neither
parents nor teachers should allow disregard of their word to pass
unnoticed. Should they neglect to correct the children for doing
wrong, God will hold them accountable for their neglect. But let