Methods of Teaching
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“There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue
of the wise is health.”
Proverbs 12:18
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One of the characteristics that should be especially cherished and
cultivated in every child is that self-forgetfulness which imparts to the
life such an unconscious grace. Of all excellences of character this is
one of the most beautiful, and for every true lifework it is one of the
qualifications most essential.
Children need appreciation, sympathy, and encouragement, but
care should be taken not to foster in them a love of praise. It is
not wise to give them special notice, or to repeat before them their
clever sayings. The parent or teacher who keeps in view the true ideal
of character and the possibilities of achievement, cannot cherish or
encourage self-sufficiency. He will not encourage in the youth the
desire or effort to display their ability or proficiency. He who looks
higher than himself will be humble; yet he will possess a dignity that
is not abashed or disconcerted by outward display or human greatness.
It is not by arbitrary law or rule that the graces of character are
developed. It is by dwelling in the atmosphere of the pure, the noble,
the true. And wherever there is purity of heart and nobleness of
character, it will be revealed in purity and nobleness of action and
of speech.
“He that loveth pureness of heart, for the grace of his lips the King
shall be his friend.”
Proverbs 22:11
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As with language, so with every other study; it may be so conducted
that it will tend to the strengthening and upbuilding of character.
Of no study is this true to a greater degree than of history. Let it be
considered from the divine point of view.
As too often taught, history is little more than a record of the rise
and fall of kings, the intrigues of courts, the victories and defeats
of armies—a story of ambition and greed, of deception, cruelty, and
bloodshed. Thus taught, its results cannot but be detrimental. The
heart-sickening reiteration of crimes and atrocities, the enormities, the
cruelties portrayed, plant seeds that in many lives bring forth fruit in a
harvest of evil.
Far better is it to learn, in the light of God’s word, the causes that
govern the rise and fall of kingdoms. Let the youth study these records,
and see how the true prosperity of nations has been bound up with
an acceptance of the divine principles. Let him study the history of