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True Education
God Honors Workers
Children and youth should learn from the Bible how God has
honored the work of the everyday toiler. Let them read of “the
sons of the prophets” (
2 Kings 6:1-7
), students at school who were
building a house and for whom God performed a miracle to save
a borrowed ax. Let them read of Jesus the carpenter, and Paul the
tentmaker, who linked the toil of the craftsman with the highest
ministry, human and divine. Let them read about the boy whose
five loaves were used by the Savior in that wonderful miracle for
the feeding of the multitude; of Dorcas the seamstress, called back
from death that she might continue to make garments for the poor;
of the wise woman described in Proverbs, who “seeks wool and
flax, and willingly works with her hands,” who “provides food for
her household, and a portion for her maidservants,” who “plants a
vineyard” and “strengthens her arms,” who “extends her hand to the
poor, yes, ... reaches out her hands to the needy,” who “watches over
the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.”
Proverbs 31:13, 15
;
31:16, 17, 20, 27
.
Of such a person, God says: “She shall be praised. Give her of
the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.”
Proverbs 31:30, 31
.
For every child the first school for training in industries should
be the home. And, so far as possible, facilities for manual training
should be connected with every school. To a great degree such train-
ing would supply the place of the gymnasium, with the additional
benefit of affording valuable discipline.
Manual training deserves far more attention than it has received.
Schools should be established that, in addition to the highest men-
tal and moral culture, shall provide the best possible facilities for
physical development and practical industries. Instruction should
be given in many of the most useful trades, as well as in household
economy, healthful cooking, sewing, dressmaking, treatment of the
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sick, and similar lines. Gardens, workshops, and treatment rooms
should be provided, and the work in every line should be under the
direction of skilled instructors.
The work should be thorough and have a definite aim. While ev-
ery person needs some knowledge of various handicrafts, all should