RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21976, 10 June 1933, Page 19

RELIGIOUS EDUCATION

By Amplids. Bo strong! We arc not here to play, to dream, to drift, ‘ , . We have hard work to do, and loads to lift, . , Slum not the struggle; face it, Tis God s gift. Be strong! Say nof the days are evil—who s to blame? . And fold the hand and acquiesce—O shame! . Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God s name, Be strong! , .. It matters not how deep intrenched tne wrong, , , How hard the battle goes, the day, how long, ~ Faint not, fight on! To-morrow comes the song. —M. B. Babcock. DOERS OF THE WORD. “Be ye doers of the Word and not hearers only.” - In other words, do not permit that which Has been taught you to “go in at one ear and out at the other, but act accordingly, let. it enrich your life some' way. that, is 'James’s advice to listeners. Transposed into counsel for teachers the text would read, “Be ye teachers of the Word and not mere tellers of it; pass it on in such a fashion that it may be a vital factor in your pupils lives and not a mere succession of sounds.'

“We learned about six peas and pea soup,” a little girl- reported in answer to her mother’s question regarding the church school lesson. “No, it was 'sweet peas and pea soup,’ ” protested her playmate. The mother was mystified until she met the teacher, who. explained that the lesson was “Seek peace and pursue it.! 1 Hearing can have no effect on doing if it is not hearing in the first place. If some of our supposed teaching in our church school does not affect pupils’ lives, perhaps it is because we need to be reminded that they are not really hearing us, that we are not speaking in ,a language they can understand.'- . ' A teacher found that the story of Abraham and Lot, with the memory text, “ Blessed are the peacemakers,’ was appearing i on the. horizon again. “ They had that in the beginners’ class and again in the primary department! And my juniors know that memory verse; all the Beatitudes were in last year’s memory requirements. I’m glad to hear they are keeping on revising the courses of study! ’ But further thinking recalled to her what she had always known, that the end of her teaching was not the knowledge of some Bible facts, nor the rote memory of some Bible words, but something more. “ Some of my boys and girls talk in such a nonchalant manner about quarrels in which they have a part. Mary said about a schoolmate last Sunday, with something of an air of pride, ‘ I _ don t speak to her now.’ Clearly consciences are not very sensitive in regard to peaceful living.” - After the last parent-teacher meeting the teacher 'had heard some mothers discuss some of their particular problems of child training. “Do'your children fight with each other? ” the one mother had asked. “ Oh, my dear, like bull terriers! ” Then the two mothers had laughed as if that were a condition all mothers must take for granted. “Two of the children of those | families,” thought the teacher, “ are in my class. Even if I can't expect to_ fill in all the gaps of faulty home training I ought to he able to make the Abraham example and the Jesus principle of peace to represent some value to them which they will care to achieve, and I ought to be able to help them achieve it, at least in some measure.” , , , . . ~ . She therefore decided that in the first place she would help her pupils discover for themselves something of the meaning of tile principle of peace and its wn* plications in- their own lives. She would also endeavour to bring about a desire to act accordingly; she would, in other words, help establish an “ emotionalised attitude ” toward the ideal of peace. And she would not forget the importance of opportunities for practice in living m accordance with their understanding and On Sunday she pointed out the text of the following Sunday’s lesson. “It is a story you have had before, the story of Abraham and Lot. Do you remember it? ” - Several members revivified the memories of all on the story of the “ strife between the herdsmen of Abraham s cattle and the herdsmen of Lot’s cattle, and the way Abraham settled the problem in the interests of peace. The teacher reminded the class, that there are other stories of people who were lovers of peace,. who maintained or established peace where less tljoughtful people would have had quarrels and discontent. , Some such stories may be found in the Bible, others in the history and literature you study in the public school.” _ We Had the story of William. Penn this week, offered one pupil. “He didn’t have war with the Indians at a time when almost everybody .else did.” The teacher accepted this as a good illustration of a hero of peace story. Other hands went up. Evidently,” said the teacher, “some of you will not need to work hard 6n next Sunday’s assignment. It is this: I will ask each one of you to remember .or to find some story of a hero of peace and we will see just how they avoided their the pupils remembered their assignment, but a sufficient number did, to furnish to all realisation that there had- been many noble doers of the Word, os applied to peace. One member listed on the board the names of these adventurers of peace as they were given by the pupils. A discussion followed, out of which grew the conclusion that none of these had achieved by magic the rewards of peace; all had been willing to do something,very definite for its sake. On the' following Sunday the class met to plan the next week’s worship service for the junior department. ‘ Peace on Earth ” was chosen as the theme. is almost Christmas,” they said. We have just been learning about peace, and there is much about peace in the Christmas songs.” Accordingly, on the next Sunday, the class, leading the department, pledged itself to the discinleship of the Prince of Peace in a worship programme. There were songs of “ peace on earth, goodwill to men”; the classes recited in unison the verse, “For unto us a Child is born . . . and His' name shall be . . . Prince of Peace.” The story of the Christ of the Andes was told. < The class hour that Sunday was spent in writing a “Prayer for Peace,” in which pupils expressed their desii’e to be c< unselfish, trusting, and fair.’V . \ If, in spite of her best and continued efforts, her pupils are not always “doers of the Word,” their teacher is not discouraged. She knows that character development is not magic, but growth throughout a lifetime in increasingly complex situations. She understands that an educator inust he endowed-with patience that can wait for results, although there is never an excuse for indifference with lack of results.