Nothing is of greater importance than the education of our children and young people. The church should arouse and manifest a deep interest in this work; for now as never before, Satan and his host are determined to enlist the youth under the black banner that leads to ruin and death.
(CT 165.1)
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God has appointed the church as a watchman, to have a jealous care over the youth and children, and as a sentinel to see the approach of the enemy and give warning of danger. But the church does not realize the situation. She is sleeping on guard. In this time of peril, fathers and mothers must arouse and work as for life, or many of the youth will be forever lost.
(CT 165.2)
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While we should put forth earnest efforts for the masses of the people around us, and push the work into foreign fields, no amount of labor in this line can excuse us for neglecting the education of our children and youth. They are to be trained to become workers for God. Both parents and teachers, by precept and example, are so to instill the principles of truth and honesty into the minds and hearts of the young that they will become men and women who are true as steel to God and His cause.
(CT 165.3)
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Parents and teachers do not estimate the magnitude of the work given them in training the young. The experience of the children of Israel was written for us “upon whom the ends of the world are come.”1 Corinthians 10:11. As in their day, so now the Lord would have the children gathered out from those schools where worldly influences prevail, and placed in our own schools, where the word of God is made the foundation of education.
(CT 166.1)
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If ever we are to work in earnest, it is now. The enemy is pressing in on all sides, like a flood. Only the power of God can save our children from being swept away by the tide of evil. The responsibility resting upon parents, teachers, and church members, to do their part in co-operation with God, is greater than words can express.
(CT 166.2)
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To train the young to become true soldiers of the Lord Jesus Christ is the most noble work ever given to man. Only devout and consecrated men and women, who love children and can see in them souls to be saved for the Master, should be chosen as church-school teachers. Teachers who study the word of God as it should be studied will know something of the value of the souls under their care, and from them the children will receive a true Christian education.
(CT 166.3)
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In the closing scenes of this earth’s history many of these children and youth will astonish people by their witness to the truth, which will be borne in simplicity, yet with spirit and power. They have been taught the fear of the Lord, and their hearts have been softened by a careful and prayerful study of the Bible. In the near future many children will be endued with the Spirit of God, and will do a work in proclaiming the truth to the world, that at that time cannot well be done by the older members of the church.
(CT 166.4)
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The Lord would use the church school as an aid to the parents in educating and preparing their children for this time before us. Then let the church take hold of the school work in earnest and make it what the Lord desires it to be.
(CT 167.1)
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We cannot afford to separate spiritual from intellectual training. Well may parents dread intellectual greatness for their children, unless it is balanced by a knowledge of God and His ways. This lies at the foundation of all true knowledge. In the place of unsanctified, rivalry for earthly honor, let it be the highest ambition of our students to go forth from their school life as missionaries for God, educators who will teach what they have learned. Students who leave school with this purpose will draw to Christ not only men and women, but children and youth. They will do a work in the world that not all the powers of evil can counteract.
(CT 167.2)
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Teachers, awake to your responsibilities, your privileges. Well may you inquire, Who is sufficient for these things? “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9) is the assurance of the Great Teacher. If you leave Him out of the question, seeking not His aid, hopeless indeed is your task. But in His wisdom and strength you may nobly succeed.
(CT 167.3)
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I have been pointed to the churches that are scattered in different localities, and have been shown that the strength of these churches depends upon their growth in usefulness and efficiency.... In all our churches there should be schools, and teachers in these schools who are missionaries. It is essential that teachers be trained to act well their part in the important work of educating the children of Sabbathkeepers, not only in the sciences, but in the Scriptures. These schools, established in different localities, and conducted by God-fearing men or women, as the case demands, should be built on the same principles as were the schools of the prophets.
(CT 168.1)
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Special care should be given to the education of the youth. The children are to be trained to become missionaries; they must be helped to understand distinctly what they must do to be saved. Few have the instruction in religious lines that is essential. If the instructors have a religious experience themselves, they will be able to communicate to their students the knowledge of the love of God that they have received. These lessons can be given only by those who are themselves truly converted. This is the noblest missionary work that any man or woman can undertake.
(CT 168.2)
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When very young, children should be educated to read, to write, to understand figures, to keep their own accounts. They may go forward, advancing step by step in this knowledge. But before everything else, they should be taught that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. They should be educated line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; but the one aim before the teacher should be to educate the children to know God, and Jesus Christ whom He has sent.
(CT 168.3)
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Teach the youth that sin in any line is defined in the Scriptures as “transgression of the law.”1 John 3:4.... Teach them in simple language that they must be obedient to their parents and give their hearts to God. Jesus Christ is waiting to accept and bless them if they will only come to Him and ask Him to pardon all their transgressions and take away their sins. And when they ask Him to pardon all their transgressions they must believe that He does it.
(CT 169.1)
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God wants every child of tender age to be His child, to be adopted into His family. Young though they may be, the youth may be members of the household of faith and have a most precious experience. They may have hearts that are tender and ready to receive impressions that will be lasting. They may have their hearts drawn out in confidence and love for Jesus, and live for the Saviour. Christ will make them little missionaries. The whole current of their thought may be changed, so that sin will not appear a thing to be enjoyed, but to be shunned and hated.
(CT 169.2)
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Small children, as well as those who are older, will be benefited by this instruction; and in thus simplifying the plan of salvation, the teachers will receive as great blessings as those who are taught. The Holy Spirit of God will impress the lessons upon the receptive minds of the children, that they may grasp the ideas of Bible truth in their simplicity. And the Lord will give an experience to these children in missionary lines; He will suggest to them lines of thought that even the teachers did not have. The children who are properly instructed will be witnesses to the truth.
(CT 169.3)
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Teachers who are nervous and easily irritated should not be placed over the youth. They must love the children because they are the younger members of the Lord’s family. The Lord will inquire of them, as of the parents, “Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?”Jeremiah 13:20....
(CT 170.1)
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In educating the children and youth, teachers should not allow one passionate word or gesture to mar their work, for in so doing they imbue the students with the same spirit which they themselves possess. The Lord would have our primary schools, as well as those for older students, of that character that angels of God can walk through the room, and behold, in the order and principle of government, the order and government of heaven. This is thought by many to be impossible; but every school should begin with this, and work most earnestly to preserve the spirit of Christ in temper, in communications, in instruction, the teachers placing themselves in the channel of light where the Lord can use them as His agents to reflect His own likeness of character. The teachers may know that, as God-fearing instructors, they have helpers every hour to impress upon the hearts of the children the valuable lessons given.
(CT 170.2)
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The Lord works with every consecrated teacher; and it is for the teacher’s own interest for him to realize this. Instructors who are under the discipline of God receive grace and truth and light through the Holy Spirit to communicate to the children. They are under the greatest Teacher the world has ever known, and how unbecoming it would be for them to have an unkind spirit, a sharp voice, full of irritation! In this they would perpetuate their own defects in the children.
(CT 171.1)
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Oh, for a clear perception of what we might accomplish if we would learn of Jesus! The springs of heavenly peace and joy, unsealed in the soul of the teacher by the magic words of Inspiration, will become a mighty river of influence, to bless all who connect with him.
(CT 171.2)
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Do not think that the Bible will become a tiresome book to the children. Under a wise instructor the word will become more and more desirable. It will be to them as the bread of life, it will never grow old. There is in it a freshness and beauty that attract and charm the children and youth. It is like the sun shining upon the earth, giving its brightness and warmth, yet never exhausted. By lessons from Bible history and doctrine, the children and youth can learn that all other books are inferior to this. They can find here a fountain of mercy and love.
(CT 171.3)
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God’s holy, educating Spirit is in His word. A light, a new and precious light, shines forth from every page. Truth is there revealed, and words and sentences are made bright and appropriate for the occasion, as the voice of God speaking to them.
(CT 171.4)
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We need to recognize the Holy Spirit as our enlightener. That Spirit loves to address the children and discover to them the treasures and beauties of the word. The promises spoken by the Great Teacher will captivate the senses and animate the soul of the child with a spiritual power that is divine. There will grow in the receptive mind a familiarity with divine things which will be as a barricade against the temptations of the enemy.
(CT 172.1)
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The work of teachers is an important one. They should make the word of God their meditation. God will communicate by His own Spirit with the soul. Pray as you study, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of Thy law,”Psalm 119:18. When the teacher will rely upon God in prayer, the Spirit of Christ will come upon him, and God will work through him by the Holy Spirit upon the mind of the student. The Holy Spirit fills mind and heart with hope and courage and Bible imagery, which will be communicated to the student. The words of truth will grow in importance, and will assume a breadth and fullness of meaning of which he has never dreamed. The beauty and virtue of the word of God have a transforming influence upon mind and character; the sparks of heavenly love will fall upon the hearts of the children as an inspiration. We may bring hundreds and thousands of children to Christ if we will work for them.—Special Testimony to the Battle Creek Church; written at Cooranbong, N.S.W., Australia, December 15, 1897.
(CT 172.2)
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The church has a special work to do in educating and training its children that they may not, in attending school or in any other association, be influenced by those of corrupt habits. The world is full of iniquity and disregard of the requirements of God. The cities have become as Sodom, and our children are daily exposed to many evils. Those who attend the public schools often associate with others more neglected than they, those who, aside from the time spent in the schoolroom, are left to obtain a street education. The hearts of the young are easily impressed; and unless their surroundings are of the right character, Satan will use these neglected children to influence those who are more carefully trained. Thus, before Sabbathkeeping parents know what is being done, the lessons of depravity are learned, and the souls of their little ones are corrupted....
(CT 173.1)
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Many families, who, for the purpose of educating their children, move to places where our large schools are established, would do better service for the Master by remaining where they are. They should encourage the church of which they are members to establish a church school where the children within their borders could receive an all-round, practical Christian education. It would be vastly better for their children, for themselves, and for the cause of God, if they would remain in the smaller churches, where their help is needed, instead of going to the larger churches, where, because they are not needed, there is a constant temptation to fall into spiritual inactivity.
(CT 173.2)
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Wherever there are a few Sabbathkeepers, the parents should unite in providing a place for a day school where their children and youth can be instructed. They should employ a Christian teacher, who, as a consecrated missionary, shall educate the children in such a way as to lead them to become missionaries....
(CT 174.1)
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The Character of Church Schools and of Their Teachers
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The character of the work done in our church schools should be of the very highest order. Jesus Christ, the Restorer, is the only remedy for a wrong education, and the lessons taught in His word should ever be kept before the youth in the most attractive form. The school discipline should supplement the home training, and both at home and at school simplicity and godliness should be maintained. Men and women will be found who have talent to work in these small schools, but who cannot work to advantage in the larger ones. As they practice the Bible lessons, they will themselves receive an education of the highest value.
(CT 174.2)
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In selecting teachers, we should use every precaution, knowing that this is as solemn a matter as the selecting of persons for the ministry. Wise men who can discern character should make the selection; for the very best talent that can be secured is needed to educate and mold the minds of the young, and to carry on successfully the many lines of work that will need to be done by the teachers in our church schools. No person of an inferior or narrow cast of mind should be placed in charge of one of these schools. Do not place over the children young, inexperienced teachers who have no managing ability; for their efforts will tend to disorganization. Order is heaven’s first law, and every school should in this respect be a model of heaven.
(CT 174.3)
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To place over young children, teachers who are proud and unloving is wicked. A teacher of this stamp will do great harm to those who are rapidly developing character. If teachers are not submissive to God, if they have no love for the children over whom they preside, or if they show partiality for those who please their fancy, and manifest indifference to those who are less attractive, or to those who are restless and nervous, they should not be employed; for the result of their work will be a loss of souls for Christ.
(CT 175.1)
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Teachers are needed, especially for the children, who are calm and kind, manifesting forbearance and love for the very ones who most need it. Jesus loved the children.... He always treated them with kindness and respect, and teachers are to follow His example. They should have the true missionary spirit; for the children are to be trained to become missionaries.
(CT 175.2)
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Our church schools need teachers who have high moral qualities; those who can be trusted; those who are sound in the faith and who have tact and patience; those who walk with God and abstain from the very appearance of evil....
(CT 175.3)
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When properly conducted, church schools will be the means of lifting the standard of truth in the places where they are established; for children who are receiving a Christian education will be witnesses for Christ. As Jesus in the temple solved mysteries which priests and rulers had not discerned, so in the closing work of this earth, children who have been rightly educated will in their simplicity speak words which will be an astonishment to men who now talk of “higher education.”
(CT 176.1)
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As the children sang in the temple courts, “Hosanna; Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Mark 11:9), so in these last days children’s voices will be raised to give the last message of warning to a perishing world. When heavenly intelligences see that men are no longer permitted to present the truth, the Spirit of God will come upon the children, and they will do a work in the proclamation of the truth which the older workers cannot do because their way will be hedged up.
(CT 176.2)
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Our church schools are ordained by God to prepare the children for this great work. Here children are to be instructed in the special truths for this time, and in practical missionary work. They are to enlist in the army of workers to help the sick and the suffering. Children can take part in the medical missionary work and by their jots and tittles can help to carry it forward. Their investments may be small, but every little helps, and by their efforts many souls will be won to the truth. By them God’s message will be made known and His saving health to all nations. Then let the church carry a burden for the lambs of the flock. Let the children be educated and trained to do service for God, for they are the Lord’s heritage.—Testimonies for the Church 6:193-203.
(CT 176.3)
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The system of grading is sometimes a hindrance to the pupil’s real progress. Some pupils are slow at first, and the teacher of these youth needs to exercise great patience. But these pupils may after a short time learn so rapidly as to astonish him. Others may appear to be very brilliant, but time may show that they have blossomed too suddenly. The system of confining children rigidly to grades is not wise.
(CT 177.1)
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The importance of the teacher’s physical qualifications can hardly be overestimated; for the more perfect his health, the more perfect will be his labor. The mind cannot be clear to think and strong to act when the physical powers are suffering the results of feebleness or disease. The heart is impressed through the mind; but if, because of physical inability, the mind loses its vigor, the channel to the higher feelings and motives is to that extent obstructed, and the teacher is less able to discriminate between right and wrong. When suffering the results of ill health, it is not an easy matter to be patient and cheerful, or to act with integrity and justice.
(CT 177.2)
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The example of Jesus is a light to the young, as well as to those of more mature years, for His was a representative childhood and youth. From His earliest years His example was perfect. As a little child He was obedient to His parents and to the laws of nature, “and the grace of God was upon Him.”Luke 2:40.
(CT 178.1)
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Jesus did not, like many youth, devote His time to amusement. He studied the word until He became familiar with its sayings. Even in His childhood His life and all His habits were in harmony with the Scriptures, and He was skillful in their use.... Besides the written word, Jesus studied the book of nature, finding delight in the beautiful things of His own creation. He was in sympathy with humanity in all its varied joys and sorrows. He identified Himself with all—with the weak and helpless, the lowly, the needy, and the afflicted.
(CT 178.2)
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In His teaching, Christ drew His illustrations from the great treasury of household ties and affections, and from nature. The unknown was illustrated by the known; sacred and divine truths, by natural, earthly things, with which the people were most familiar. These were the things that would speak to their hearts, and make the deepest impression on their minds.
(CT 178.3)
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The words of Christ placed the teachings of nature in a new aspect and made them a new revelation. He could speak of the things which His own hands had made, for they had qualities and properties that were peculiarly His own. In nature, as in the sacred pages of the Old Testament Scriptures, divine, momentous truths are revealed; and in His teaching, Jesus laid these open before the people, bound up with the beauty of natural things....
(CT 178.4)
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As interpreted by Jesus, flower and shrub, the seed sown and the seed harvested, contained lessons of truth, as did also the plant that springs out of the earth. He plucked the beautiful lily and placed it in the hands of children and youth, and as they looked into His own youthful face, fresh with the sunlight of His Father’s countenance, He gave the lesson, “consider the lilies of the field, how they grow [in the simplicity of natural beauty and loveliness]; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.” Then followed the assurance, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?”Matthew 6:28-30....
(CT 179.1)
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In His work as a public teacher, Christ never lost sight of the children. When wearied with the bustle and confusion of the crowded city, tired of contact with crafty and hypocritical men, His spirit found rest and peace in the society of innocent little children. His presence never repelled them. His large heart of love could comprehend their trials and necessities, and find happiness in their simple joys; and He took them in His arms and blessed them.
(CT 179.2)
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In these children who were brought in contact with Him, Jesus saw the future men and women who should be heirs of His grace and subjects of His kingdom, and some of whom would become martyrs for His sake. He knew that these children would listen to Him and accept Him as their Redeemer far more readily than would the grown people, many of whom were worldly-wise and hardhearted. In His teaching He came down to their level. He, the Majesty of heaven, did not disdain to answer their questions and simplify His important lessons to meet their childish understanding. He planted in their expanding minds the seeds of truth, which in after years would spring up and bear fruit unto eternal life.
(CT 180.1)
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Parents and teachers, Jesus is still saying, “Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto Me.”Matthew 19:14. They are the most susceptible to the teachings of Christianity; their hearts are open to influences of piety and virtue, and strong to retain the impressions received.—Special Testimonies On Education, 62-66; written May 17, 1896.
(CT 180.2)
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To develop the minds and hearts of the youth, and not hinder their growth by an unwarranted control of one mind over another, requires tact and understanding. Teachers are needed who are able to deal wisely with the different phases of character; who are quick to see and to make the most of opportunities to do good; who possess enthusiasm, who are “apt to teach;” and who can inspire thought, quicken energy, and impart courage.
(CT 180.3)
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In all that men have written, where can be found anything that has such a hold upon the heart, anything so well adapted to awaken the interest of the little ones, as the stories of the Bible? In these simple stories may be made plain the great principles of the law of God. Thus by illustrations best suited to the child’s comprehension, parents and teachers may begin very early to fulfill the Lord’s injunction concerning His precepts: “Thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in the thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”Deuteronomy 6:7.
(CT 181.1)
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The use of object lessons, blackboards, and maps will be an aid in explaining these lessons and fixing them in the memory. Parents and teachers should constantly seek for improved methods. The teaching of the Bible should have our freshest thought, our best methods, and our most earnest effort.
(CT 181.2)
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In order to do effective study, the interest of the child must be enlisted. Especially by the one who has to do with children and youth differing widely in disposition, training, and habits of thought, this is a matter not to be lost sight of. In teaching children the Bible, we may gain much by observing the bent of their minds, the things in which they are interested, and by arousing their interest to see what the Bible says about these things. He who created us with our various aptitudes has in His word given something for everyone. As the pupils see that the lessons of the Bible apply to their own lives, teach them to look to it as a counselor.
(CT 181.3)
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Help them also to appreciate its wonderful beauty. Many books of no value, books that are exciting and unhealthful, are recommended, or at least permitted to be used, because of their supposed literary value. Why should we direct our children to drink of these polluted streams, when they may have free access to the pure fountains of the word of God? The Bible has a fullness, a strength, a depth of meaning, that is inexhaustible. Encourage the children and youth to seek out its treasures, both of thought and of expression.
(CT 182.1)
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As the beauty of these precious things attracts their minds, a softening, subduing power will touch their hearts. They will be drawn to Him who has thus revealed Himself to them. And there are few who will not desire to know more of His works and ways.
(CT 182.2)
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There is much to be learned by the children and youth in regard to early piety. “This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith,”1 John 5:4. That faith must not be led to embrace superstitious, fictitious sentiments. Leave out such ideas from your teaching, and give the children and youth the same kind of instruction that Christ gave—lessons of faith in a plain “Thus saith the Lord.”
(CT 182.3)
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The work of conquering evil is to be done through faith. Those who go into the battlefield will find that they must put on the whole armor of God. The shield of faith will be their defense and will enable them to be more than conquerors. Nothing else will avail but this—faith in the Lord of hosts, and obedience to His orders. Vast armies furnished with every other facility will avail nothing in the last great conflict. Without faith, an angel host could not help. Living faith alone will make them invincible and enable them to stand in the evil day, steadfast, unmovable, holding the beginning of their confidence firm unto the end.
(CT 182.4)
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Young men and women who do not give evidence that the truth has begun its sanctifying work upon their hearts will make a failure in attempting to teach any church school. None are to choose the easiest place and seek to understand only that which pleases of the word of God, obeying those things which harmonize with their desires, and excusing themselves from accepting that which cuts across inclination and calls for self-denial and cross-bearing. Especially should teachers of the children and youth be learners of the way of obedience. True faith asks the Lord, “What wilt Thou have me to do?”(Acts 9:6) and when the way is marked out by the Master, faith is ready to do His will, at whatever hardship or sacrifice.
(CT 183.1)
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Teachers, study the simplicity of the Scriptures, so that you may learn to make their truths plain to youthful minds. Your earnest desire for the present and eternal good of the children under your care should bring you often to your knees to seek counsel of Him who is too wise to err, too good to leave you in the helplessness of your own wisdom.
(CT 183.2)
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Bible instruction is to be made forcible by the holy life of the teacher. God-fearing teachers will practice every principle they seek to imprint on the minds of the children. Such teachers do not see their heavenly Father except by the eye of faith; but they have learned of Him; they read His love in the most trying dispensations. They do not judge their Creator by dispensations; they are partakers of His divine nature. They can trust Him who withheld not His only-begotten Son, knowing that with Him He will give all things for their spiritual and eternal good.
(CT 183.3)
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If the teacher has learned his lessons from Jesus Christ, and has learned for the purpose of bringing these lessons fully into his own life, he can teach successfully. Those who are daily learners of the Great Teacher will have a most precious treasure house from which to draw things new and old.
(CT 184.1)
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To church-school teachers I would say: Know that you are controlled by the Holy Spirit. Reveal in your lives the transforming influence of the truth. Do your utmost to improve your own capabilities, that you may teach your students how to make improvement.
(CT 184.2)
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As soon as your minds harmonize with the mind of God, you will be brought into touch with an intelligence that will communicate to you lessons that will be of invaluable help in your work of teaching. As you tell the children the story of the cross, your own souls will be lifted above gloom and despondency. In considering the Redeemer’s infinite sacrifice, you will lose all desire for the things of this world.
(CT 184.3)
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While the Bible should hold the first place in the education of children and youth, the book of nature is next in importance. God’s created works testify to His love and power. He has called the world into being, with all that it contains. God is a lover of the beautiful; and in the world which He has fitted up for us He has not only given us everything necessary for our comfort, but He has filled the heavens and the earth with beauty. We see His love and care in the rich fields of autumn, and His smile in the glad sunshine. His hand has made the castle-like rocks and the towering mountains. The lofty trees grow at His command; He has spread earth’s green velvet carpet and dotted it with shrubs and flowers.
(CT 185.1)
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Why has He clothed the earth and trees with living green, instead of with dark, somber brown? Is it not that they may be more pleasing to the eye? And shall not our hearts be filled with gratitude as we read the evidences of His wisdom and love in the wonders of His creation?
(CT 185.2)
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The same creative energy that brought the world into existence is still exerted in upholding the universe and continuing the operations of nature. The hand of God guides the planets in their orderly march through the heavens. It is not because of inherent power that year by year the earth continues her motion round the sun and produces her bounties. The word of God controls the elements. He covers the heavens with clouds and prepares rain for the earth. He makes the valleys fruitful and “grass to grow upon the mountains;”Psalm 147:8. It is through His power that vegetation flourishes, that the leaves appear and the flowers bloom.
(CT 185.3)
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The whole natural world is designed to be an interpreter of the things of God. To Adam and Eve in their Eden home, nature was full of the knowledge of God, teeming with divine instruction. To their attentive ears it was vocal with the voice of wisdom. Wisdom spoke to the eye and was received into the heart, for they communed with God in His created works. As soon as the holy pair transgressed the law of the Most High, the brightness from the face of God departed from the face of nature. Nature is now marred and defiled by sin. But God’s object lessons are not obliterated; even now, rightly studied and interpreted, she speaks of her Creator....
(CT 186.1)
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The most effective way to teach the heathen who know not God is through His works. In this way, far more readily than by any other method, they can be made to realize the difference between their idols, the works of their own hands, and the true God, the Maker of heaven and earth.... There is a simplicity and purity in these lessons direct from nature that makes of the highest value to others besides the heathen. The children and youth, all classes of students, need the lessons to be derived from this source. In itself the beauty of nature leads the soul away from sin and worldly attractions, and toward purity, peace, and God.
(CT 186.2)
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For this reason the cultivation of the soil is good work for children and youth. It brings them into direct contact with nature and nature’s God. And that they may have this advantage, there should be, as far as possible, in connection with our schools, large flower gardens and extensive lands for cultivation.
(CT 186.3)
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An education amid such surroundings is in accordance with the directions which God has given for the instruction of youth; but it is in direct contrast with the methods employed in the majority of schools.... The minds of the young have been occupied with books of science and philosophy, where the thorns of skepticism have been only partially concealed; with vague, fanciful fairy stories; or with the works of authors who, although they may write on Scripture subjects, weave in their own fanciful interpretations. The teaching of such books is as seed sown in the heart. It grows and bears fruit, and a plentiful harvest of infidelity is reaped. The result is seen in the depravity of the human family.
(CT 187.1)
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A return to simpler methods will be appreciated by the children and youth. Work in the garden and field will be an agreeable change from the wearisome routine of abstract lessons to which the young minds should never be confined. To the nervous child or youth, who finds lessons from books exhausting and hard to remember, it will be especially valuable. There is health and happiness for him in the study of nature; and the impressions made will not fade out of his mind, for they will be associated with objects that are continually before his eyes.
(CT 187.2)
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In the natural world, God has placed in the hands of the children of men the key to unlock the treasure house of His word. The unseen is illustrated by the seen; divine wisdom, eternal truth, infinite grace, are understood by the things that God has made. Then let the children and youth become acquainted with nature and nature’s laws. Let the mind be developed to its utmost capacity and the physical powers trained for the practical duties of life. But teach them also that God has made this world fair because He delights in our happiness; and that a more beautiful home is preparing for us in that world where there will be no more sin. The word of God declares: “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.”1 Corinthians 2:9.
(CT 187.3)
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The little children should come especially close to nature. Instead of putting fashion’s shackles upon them, let them be free like the lambs to play in the sweet, fresh sunlight. Point them to shrubs and flowers, the lowly grass and the lofty trees, and let them become familiar with their beautiful, varied, and delicate forms. Teach them to see the wisdom and love of God in His created works; and as their hearts swell with joy and grateful love, let them join the birds in their songs of praise.
(CT 188.1)
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Educate the children and youth to consider the works of the great Master Artist, and to imitate the attractive graces of nature in their character building. As the love of God wins their hearts, let them bring into their lives the beauty of holiness. So shall they use their capabilities to bless others and to honor God.—Special Testimonies On Education, 58-62; written May 20, 1896.
(CT 188.2)
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Nature is full of lessons of the love of God. Rightly understood, these lessons lead to the Creator. They point from nature to nature’s God, teaching those simple, holy truths that cleanse the mind and bring it into close touch with God.
(CT 188.3)
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The Great Teacher calls on nature to reflect the light that floods the threshold of heaven, that men and women may be led to obey His word. And nature does the bidding of the Creator. To the heart softened by the grace of God, the sun, the moon, the stars, the lofty trees, the flowers of the field, utter their words of counsel and advice. The sowing of the seed carries the mind to spiritual seed sowing. The tree stands forth declaring that a good tree cannot bear evil fruit, neither can an evil tree bear good fruit. “Ye shall know them by their fruits.”Matthew 7:16. Even the tares have a lesson to teach. They are of Satan’s sowing, and if left unchecked, will spoil the wheat by their rank growth.
(CT 189.1)
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When man is reconciled to God, the things of nature speak to him in words of heavenly wisdom, bearing testimony to the eternal truth of God’s word. As Christ tells us the meaning of the things in nature, the science of true religion flashes forth, explaining the relation of the law of God to the natural and the spiritual world.
(CT 189.2)
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The swallow and the crane observe the changes of the seasons. They migrate from one country to another to find a climate suitable to their convenience and happiness, as the Lord designed they should. They are obedient to the laws which govern their life. But the beings formed in the image of God fail to honor Him by obeying the laws of nature. By disregarding the laws that govern the human organism, they disqualify themselves for serving God. He sends them warnings to beware how they break His law in breaking the laws of life; but habit is strong, and they will not heed. The days are filled with pain of body and disquietude of mind because they are determined to follow wrong habits and practices. They will not reason from cause to effect, and they sacrifice health, peace, and happiness to their ignorance and selfishness.
(CT 189.3)
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The wise man addresses the indolent in the words: “Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest.”Proverbs 6:6-8. The habitations that the ants build for themselves show skill and perseverance. Only one little grain at a time can they handle, but by diligence and perseverance they accomplish wonders.
(CT 190.1)
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Solomon points to the industry of the ant as a reproach to those who waste their hours in idleness or in practices that corrupt soul and body. The ant prepares for future seasons; but many gifted with reasoning powers fail to prepare for the future immortal life.
(CT 190.2)
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The sun, the moon, the stars, the solid rocks, the flowing stream, the broad, restless ocean, teach lessons that all would do well to heed.
(CT 190.3)
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Every teacher who has to do with the education of young students should remember that children are affected by the atmosphere that surrounds the teacher, whether it be pleasant or unpleasant. If the teacher is connected with God, if Christ abides in his heart, the spirit that is cherished by him will be felt by the children. If teachers enter the schoolroom with a provoked, irritated spirit, the atmosphere surrounding their souls will also leave its impression.
(CT 191.1)
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The teachers who work in this part of the Lord’s vineyard need to be self-possessed, to keep their temper and feelings under control, and in subjection to the Holy Spirit. They should give evidence of having, not a one-sided experience, but a well-balanced mind, a symmetrical character. Learning daily in the school of Christ, such teachers can wisely educate the children and youth. Self-cultured, self-controlled, under discipline to Christ, having a living connection with the Great Teacher, they will have an intelligent knowledge of practical religion; and keeping their own souls in the love of God, they will know how to exercise the grace of patience and Christlike forbearance. They will discern that they have a most important field in the Lord’s vineyard to cultivate. They will lift the heart to God in the sincere prayer, “Lord, be Thou my pattern;” and then, beholding Christ, they will do the work of Christ.
(CT 191.2)
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Well-balanced minds and symmetrical characters are required of teachers in every line. The work of teaching should not be given into the hands of young men and women who do not know how to deal with human minds, who have never learned to keep themselves under discipline to Jesus Christ, to bring even the thoughts into captivity to Him. They know so little about the controlling power of grace upon their own hearts and characters that they have much to unlearn, and must learn entirely new lessons in Christian experience.
(CT 191.3)
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There are all kinds of characters to deal with in the children and youth, and their minds are impressionable. Many of the children who attend our schools have not had proper training at home. Some have been left to do as they pleased; others have been found fault with and discouraged. Very little pleasantness and cheerfulness have been shown them; few words of approval have been spoken to them. They have inherited the defective characters of their parents, and the discipline of the home has been no help in the formation of right character. To place as teachers of these children and youth, young men and women who have not developed a deep, earnest love for God and for the souls for whom Christ has died, is to make a mistake that may result in the loss of many souls. Those who easily become impatient and irritated should not be educators.
(CT 192.1)
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Teachers should remember that they are not dealing with men and women, but with children who have everything to learn. And it is much more difficult for some to learn than for others. The dull pupil needs much more encouragement than he receives. If there are placed over these varied minds teachers who love to order and dictate and to magnify their authority, teachers who deal with partiality, having favorites to whom they show preference, while others are treated with exactitude and severity, confusion and insubordination will result. Teachers who are not blessed with a pleasant, well-balanced disposition may be placed in charge of children, but a great wrong is done to those whom they educate.
(CT 192.2)
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A teacher may have sufficient education and knowledge in the sciences to instruct, but has it been ascertained that he has tact and wisdom to deal with human minds? If instructors have not the love of Christ abiding in their hearts, they are not fit to bear the grave responsibilities placed upon those who educate the youth. Lacking the higher education themselves, they know not how to deal with human minds. Their own insubordinate hearts are striving for control; and to subject the plastic minds and characters of the children to such discipline is to leave upon the mind scars and bruises that will never be removed.
(CT 193.1)
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Inquire, teachers, you who are doing your work not only for time but for eternity, Does the love of Christ constrain me as I deal with the souls for whom He has given His life? Under His discipline do old traits of character, not in conformity with the will of God, pass away and qualities the opposite take their place? or am I, by my unsanctified words and my impatience, my want of that wisdom which is from above, confirming these youth in their perverse spirit?
(CT 193.2)
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When a teacher manifests impatience or fretfulness toward a child, the fault may not be with the child one half so much as with the teacher. Teachers become tired with their work, and something the children say or do does not accord with their feelings. Will they at such times, through a failure to exercise tact and wisdom, let Satan’s spirit enter and lead them to arouse in the children feelings that are disagreeable and unpleasant? The teacher who loves Jesus, and who appreciates the saving power of His grace, cannot, dare not, let Satan control his spirit. Everything will be put away that would corrupt his influence, because it opposes the will of God and endangers the souls of the precious sheep and lambs.
(CT 193.3)
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When Christ is formed within, the hope of glory, then the truth of God will so act upon the natural temperament that its transforming power will be seen in changed characters. You will not then, by revealing an unsanctified heart and temper, turn the truth of God into a lie before any of your pupils. Nor will you, by manifesting a selfish, un-Christlike spirit, give the impression that the grace of Christ is not sufficient for you at all times and in all places. You will show that the authority of God over you is not in name only, but in reality and truth.
(CT 194.1)
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Let every teacher who accepts the responsibility of teaching the children and youth, examine himself. Let him ask himself, Has the truth of God taken possession of my soul? Has the wisdom which comes from Jesus Christ, which is “first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy,” been brought into my character? Do I cherish the principle that “the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace?”James 3:17, 18.
(CT 194.2)
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Teachers, Jesus is in your school every day. His great heart of infinite love is drawn out, not only for the best-behaved children, who have the most favorable surroundings, but for the children who have by inheritance objectionable traits of character. Even parents have not understood how much they are responsible for the qualities developed in their children, and they have not had the tenderness and wisdom to deal with them, whom they have made what they are. They have failed to trace back to the cause of the discouraging developments that are a trial to them. But Jesus looks upon these children with pity and love. He understands; for He reasons from cause to effect.
(CT 195.1)
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Sharp words and continual censure bewilder the child, but do not reform him. Keep back the pettish word; keep your own spirit under discipline to Christ. Then you will learn to pity and to sympathize with those who are brought under your influence. Do not show impatience or harshness. If these children did not need educating, they would not be in school. They are to be patiently, kindly helped up the ladder of progress, climbing step by step in obtaining knowledge. Take your stand by the side of Jesus. Possessing His attributes, you will be the possessor of keen, tender sensibilities and will make the cause of the erring your own.
(CT 195.2)
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The religious life of a large number of teachers who profess to be Christians is such as to show that they are not Christians. They are constantly misrepresenting Christ. They have a religion that is subject to and controlled by circumstances. If everything happens to move in a way that pleases them, if there are no irritating circumstances to call out their unsubdued, un-Christlike natures, they are condescending and pleasant and very attractive. But the truth is not to be practiced only when we feel like it, but at all times and in all places. The Lord is not served by a man’s hasty impulse, his fitful performances. If, when things occur in the family or in association with others, which ruffle their peace and provoke the temper, teachers would lay everything before God, asking for His grace before they engage in their daily work; if they would know for themselves that the love and power and grace of God are in their own hearts, angels of God would go with them into the schoolroom.
(CT 195.3)
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It means much to bring children under the direct influence of the Spirit of God, to train and discipline them, to bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. The formation of right habits, the inculcation of a right spirit, will call for earnest efforts in the name and strength of Jesus.
(CT 196.1)
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“Every high priest ... can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity.”Hebrews 5:1, 2. This truth can in the highest sense be exemplified before the children. Let teachers bear it in mind when they are tempted to be impatient and angry with the children because of misbehavior. Let them remember that angels of God are looking sorrowfully upon them. If the children err and misbehave, then it is all the more essential that those who are placed over them should be able to teach them, by precept and example, how to act.
(CT 196.2)
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In no case are teachers to lose self-control, to manifest impatience and harshness, and a want of sympathy and love. Those who are naturally fretful, easily provoked, and who have cherished the habit of criticism and evil thinking, should find some other kind of work, where their unlovely traits of character will not be reproduced in the children and youth. In the place of being fitted to instruct the children, such teachers need one to teach them the lessons of Jesus Christ.
(CT 197.1)
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If the teacher has the love of Christ abiding in the heart as a sweet fragrance, a savor of life unto life, he may bind the children under his care to himself. Through the grace of Christ he may be an instrument in God’s hands to enlighten, lift up, encourage, and help to purify the soul temple from its defilement, until the character shall be transformed by the grace of Christ, and the image of God be revealed in the soul.
(CT 197.2)
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Said Christ, “I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified.”John 17:19. This is the work that devolves on every Christian teacher. There must be no haphazard work in this matter; for the education of the children requires very much of the grace of Christ and the subduing of self. Heaven sees in the child the undeveloped man or woman, with capabilities and powers that, if correctly guided and developed, will make him or her one with whom the divine agencies can co-operate—a laborer together with God.
(CT 197.3)
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The parable of the good shepherd represents the responsibility of every minister and of every Christian who has accepted a position as teacher of the children and youth. The one that has strayed from the fold is not followed with harsh words and a whip but with winning invitations to return. The ninety and nine that had not strayed do not call for the sympathy and tender, pitying love of the shepherd. But the shepherd follows the sheep and lambs that have caused him the greatest anxiety and have engrossed his sympathies most deeply. He leaves the rest of the sheep, and his whole energies are taxed to find the one that is lost.
(CT 198.1)
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And then the picture—praise God!—the shepherd returns with the sheep, carrying it in his arms, and rejoicing at every step. “Rejoice with me,” he says, “for I have found my sheep which was lost.”Luke 15:6. I am so thankful that we have the picture of the sheep found. There is no picture presented before our imagination of a sorrowful shepherd returning without the sheep. This is the lesson that the undershepherds are to learn—success in bringing the sheep and lambs back to the fold.
(CT 198.2)
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The wisdom of God, His power, and His love are without parallel. They are the divine guarantee that not one, even, of the straying sheep and lambs is overlooked, not one left unsuccored. A golden chain—the mercy and compassion of divine power—is passed around every one of these imperiled souls.
(CT 198.3)
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To those who are accepted as teachers in our schools is opened a wide field for labor and cultivation, for the sowing of the seed, and the harvesting of the ripened grain. What should give greater satisfaction than to educate the children and youth to love God and keep His commandments? What should give greater joy than to see these children and youth following Christ, the Great Shepherd? What should shed more sunshine through the soul of the devoted worker than to know that his patient, persevering labor in the Lord is not in vain, to see his pupils experiencing joy in their souls for sins forgiven, to see them receiving the impressions of the Spirit of God in true nobility of character and in the restoration of the moral image of God, seeking for that peace which comes from the Prince of Peace? The truth a bondage? Yes, in one sense; for it binds the soul in willing captivity to the Saviour, bowing the heart to the gentleness of Christ.
(CT 198.4)
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While right principles and correct habits are of first importance among the qualifications of the teacher, it is indispensable that he should have a thorough knowledge of the sciences. With uprightness of character, high literary acquirements should be combined.
(CT 199.1)
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If you are called to be a teacher, you are called to be a learner also. If you take upon yourself the sacred responsibility of teaching others, you take upon yourself the duty of becoming master of every subject you seek to teach. Be not content with dull thoughts, an indolent mind, or a loose memory. It is a noble thing to teach; it is a blessed thing to learn. True knowledge is a precious possession, and the more the teacher has of it, the better will be his work.
(CT 199.2)
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In sending children to the public schools, parents are placing them under demoralizing influences—influences that injure the morals and habits. In such surroundings, children often receive instruction that trains them to be enemies of Christ. They lose sight of piety and virtue.
(CT 200.1)
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Many public schools are permeated by the baneful influence of boys and girls who are experts in sin. And the children who are allowed to play on the street are also obtaining a training that thoughtless parents will sometime learn leads to recklessness and lawlessness.
(CT 200.2)
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God has given inquiring minds to youth and children. Their reasoning powers are entrusted to them as precious talents. It is the duty of parents to keep the matter of their education before them in its true meaning; for it comprehends many lines. They should be taught to improve every talent, expecting that all will be used in the service of Christ for the uplifting of fallen humanity.
(CT 200.3)
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Much of the success of a church school depends upon the teacher chosen. The one placed in charge of a school should be of suitable age; and where the number of students is large enough, assistants should be chosen from among the older ones. Thus the students will gain an experience of great value.
(CT 200.4)
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