Chapter 6—The Home and the School
It is the boast of the present age that never before did men possess
so great facilities for the acquirement of knowledge, or manifest so gen-
eral an interest in education. Yet despite this vaunted progress, there
exists an unparalleled spirit of insubordination and recklessness in the
rising generation; mental and moral degeneracy are well-nigh univer-
sal. Popular education does not remedy the evil. The lax discipline
in many institutions of learning has nearly destroyed their usefulness,
and in some cases rendered them a curse rather than a blessing. This
fact has been seen and deplored, and earnest efforts have been made
to remedy the defects in our educational system. There is urgent need
of schools in which the youth may be trained to habits of self-control,
application, and self-reliance, of respect for superiors and reverence
for God. With such training, we might hope to see the young prepared
to honor their Creator and to bless their fellow men.
It was to secure these objects that our own College at Battle Creek
was founded. But those who endeavor to accomplish such a work,
find that their undertaking is fraught with many and grave difficulties.
The evil which underlies all others, and which often counteracts the
efforts of the best instructors, is to be found in the home discipline.
Parents do not see the importance of shielding their children from the
gilded temptations of this age. They do not exercise proper control
themselves, and hence do not rightly appreciate its value.
Many fathers and mothers err in failing to second the efforts of the
faithful teacher. Youth and children, with their imperfect comprehen-
sion and undeveloped judgment, are not always able to understand all
the teacher’s plans and methods. Yet when they bring home reports
of what is said and done at school, these are discussed by the parents
in the family circle, and the course of the teacher is criticised without
restraint. Here the children learn lessons that are not easily unlearned.
[65]
Whenever they are subjected to unaccustomed restraint, or required to
apply themselves to hard study, they appeal to their injudicious parents
for sympathy and indulgence. Thus a spirit of unrest and discontent
51