of the theory was before him, he exclaimed: "Great God, I think thy thoughts after thee!" These are but examples of the supreme ecstasy of the spirit that moves out into new and untrodden paths, and finds there the rich treasures of God. What must have been the ecstasy of the Great Teacher as he unfolded the mysteries of his Father to the astonished multitude. A weak teacher would have been swept from his moorings and carried away on the tides of enthusiasm his teaching produced, but Jesus was always supremely himself. There is no finer tribute to his great power than his ability to preserve his poise under all circumstances. Mastery a Source of Power I wish to urge upon each teacher the great importance of taking up some one thing, and studying it until it is mastered, of investigating it until its full significance is grasped, of pondering upon it until it illumines all the ranges of one's thought. It has been my privilege from time to time to enjoy unusual experiences, to do some little things that were not done before, and I know in part the intense rapture of the spirit when it comes into the possession of an experience that is unique, of a truth that has not been discerned. I find that these experiences are the most fruitful ones, and that they become the richest teaching material that I possess. It is a good thing to use those rich and rare personal experiences that come to us from time to time as we touch human life and come to understand human need. How often I have seen a listless class stirred to interest by the teacher's skill in presenting at the right moment some personal experience bearing upon the point at issue. It means something to other people to have a look in upon the life of another. We read the autobiographies of men with great interest, and even when they have left no such record, we naturally delight to construct in our own minds a picture of their lives. Value of Autobiography QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS. For testing one's grasp of the subject, and What is your experience as to the value of personal interviews with your pupils? Make a list of the persons with whom Jesus had personal interviews. What do you consider to be the true function of knowledge? How exact should the pupils' statements be in order to meet the approval of the teacher? What difference would you make between clear thinking and clear language? Give some reasons for the matchless English of the Bible? Was Jesus concerned primarily in pleasing his pupils? If not, what was his first concern? Should a teacher aim primarily to satisfy his pupils or to make them hungry? Point out clearly the significance of teaching with authority. What relation exists between the personal experience and the statements of a teacher? In what respect is biography the best material in teaching? Make a list of great biographies that have in them the flash of divinity. XXVI SOME SUGGESTIONS FOR THE SUNDAYSCHOOL TEACHER YOU will naturally study the lives of great teachers in order to find the guidance you need, and in order to discover if possible the secret of the service they rendered. Such study is always stimulating and helpful. As we come to know what they did, under what conditions they wrought, against what limitations they were obliged to struggle, there arises in us a desire and a resolution to make our own teaching count for high and worthy ends. Biography is history teaching by example." Autobiography is the most stimulating of all history teaching. To see a man's life as he knew it is a rare inspiration. I commend to you the interesting and valuable study of the life of Jesus, and would count it of great value to you if you were to conceive what Jesus might have written concerning himself from time to time, as he moved among men and taught them. Autobiography No such record is left to us, but some such record we might attempt to construct. I should like to know what he thought after he had concluded the marvelous An of Jesus Sermon on the Mount; what he thought when Nicodemus left him; what he thought after the visit to the house of Mary and Martha, and what he thought after he left Jacob's Well; in short, what he thought each time after he had taught the multitude, or his disciples, or some one person. I wonder whether we go from our teaching sobered and thoughtful. Do we take our pupils before the Father in prayer, and ask of him the question, "Have I done the best things to-day that I could have done?" It is this kind of personal criticism that makes growth possible in the teacher. Jesus sympathized with every condition of human life. No man was so poor but that Jesus was willing to help him. No man was so low but that Jesus had a word of guidance and help. No man was so far removed Universal from what he ought to be but that Jesus was willing to see His sympathies family, and he him, to teach him, to help him. were as broad as the human seemed to love those most that needed it most, and to extend the largest measure of help to those that were most helpless. We are sometimes told that we should treat all our pupils alike. This is both true and false, depending entirely upon how we interpret the maxim. Let the emphasis of your interest and guidance rest upon the child |