veritable poems of color; little by little the daintiness and the richness disappear, and plain matter-of-fact combinations in good substantial colors take their place; farther along harsh tones of red and purple and green begin to announce the coming discords; when we reach the unfortunate districts where saloons are allowed to place their temptations every third or fourth door, we see the misery, the squalor, and the human degradation shown by the glaring, flaunting, self-assertive colors displayed in the millinery windows, colors which fairly swear at and fight with each other, the shopkeepers knowing, with a knowledge born of experience, what color will appeal to the inner condition of his purchaser." Teachers' Meetings. Dr. Butler treats the subjects thus: "Some think that teachers' meetings are desirable; others, that they would be nice if they could be had. They are not to be classed as desirable, and they ought not to be nice. They are a necessity. If one is satisfied with the do-as-you-please Sunday crowd, there is no need of a teachers' meeting. But if there is to be a school, there must be a unity, unity in organization, in discipline and instruction, unity of aim, and unity of doctrinal teaching. There cannot be real unity unless officers and teachers meet as one body. We may write out an elaborate organization, but it remains a paper unity unless the workers meet and plan for unity of work. Without a regular teachers' meeting, each class remains a separate little circle, doing what it pleases, with small interest in anything outside of itself. In a real School, the Superintendent knows his teachers, their ability, their methods of work, their discipline, and the quality of their instruction. He also knows how to help them correct their mistakes, and to train them to avoid mistakes. The teachers know each other's difficulties, and each other's methods, hindrances, and successes. Mutual interest quickens interest; hope. arouses hope; zeal fires zeal, and the real School becomes a real success. "The Teacher Training is not preparing for a lesson, but for life-long usefulness. There is nothing new about it. The Christian Church from the beginning has been built up by instruction. The Church was organized for teaching and wor ship. Its teaching, like its worship, was done by men trained and set apart for that purpose. Pulpit discourses came in later and marked a distinct loss in the religious instruction of children and in spiritual growth of the Church. It is ours to work for the restoration of the teaching power which the Church lost by ceasing to train her teachers, and to make full use of their ministry. "Even in smaller Schools the Senior Bible class can, and should, provide for the essentials of teacher-training. Such classes cannot do all that is needed, but they can lay foundations on which an earnest teacher, by reading, study, and special training, can build up a good superstructure. The fact that a large number of our teachers are so poorly prepared for their work does not reflect upon them, but upon the parishes that have failed to provide for their training. A parish that is unwilling to spend anything for the training of its teachers does not deserve to live. Usually it does not live, although it may have a starved, half-dead existence for several years before it becomes defunct." QUESTIONS FOR THOUGHT AND DISCUSSION. [SUGGESTED BY PROF. HUBBELL.] 1. What is a teacher's work? 2. What are the chief characteristics of a good teacher-(a) of manner; (b) of education; (c) of character? 3. What is meant by "personality" in the teacher? How may this be cultivated? 4. What do you consider your greatest danger in teaching? What your chief fault? 5. How does the profession of teaching compare with that of physi cian, lawyer, artist, carpenter, or musician? |