TRUE EDUCATION.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XL, Issue 1868, 24 August 1918, Page 1

TRUE EDUCATION.

(Contributed.)

If the teacher is always gentle to the boys, who are younger and weaker than himself, it will be easy for him to teaeh them the important lesson of kindness to little children, animals, birds, and other living creatures. The older boys who are themselves gentle and tactful, should be encouraged to observe the. condition of the animals they see in the streets, and if they see any act of cruelty, to beg the doer of it very politely to treat the animal more kindly. The boys should also be, taught that nothing which involves the hunting and killing of animals should be (-ailed sport. That name should bo kept for manly games and exercises, and not used for the wounding and killing of animals. The fate of the cruel must fall also upon all who go out intentionally to kill God’s creatures and call it sport. I do not think that teachers realise the harm and the suffering caused by gossij), which the Master calls a sin against love. Teachers should be very careful not to make difficulties for their boys by gossiping about them. Xo boy should ever be allowed to have a bad name in the school, and it should be the rule that no one may speak ill of any other member of the school, whether teacher or boy. By talking about a person’s faults, we not only strengthen those faults in him, but a'su fill our minds with evil thoughts. There, is only one way of really getting rid of our lower nature, and that is by strengthening the higher. And while it is the duty of the teacher to understand the weaknesses of thoseplaced in Ids charge, he must realise that he will destroy the lower nature only by surrounding the boy with his love, thus stimulating the higher and nobler qualities till there is no place left for the weaknesses.

The more the teacher gossips about the faults of the boys, (be more harm ho does, and, exeept during a consultation with his fellow-teach-ers as to the best methods of helping individual hoys out of their weaknesses, he should never talk about a hoy’s defects. The hoys must also he taught the cruelty of gossip among themselves. I know many a hoy whoso life at school has been made miserable because bis companions have been I bought less and unkind, and the teacher either has not noticed his unhappiness, or has not understood how to explain to (he hoys the nature of the harm they were doing. Boys frequently take hold of some peculiarity in speech or in dress, or of some mistake which has been made, and, not realising iho pain they cause, carelessly toriure their unfortunate schoolfellow with unkind allusions. In this case the mischief is due chiefly to ignorance, and if the teacher has influence over the hoys, and gently explains to them what pain (hey arc giving, they will quickly stop. They must he taught, too, that nothing which causes suffering or annoyance to another can ever he the right thing to do, nor can it ever be amusing to any right-minded hoy. Some children seem to find pleasure in teasing or annoying others, hut I hat is only because they are ignorant. When they understand, they will never again lie so nnbrotherly.