The primary teacher : with helps and exercises

Introduction

THE Sunday school workers are the cream of the church membership, in intelligence, in earnestness, in effort, and in self-denial. There is no department of Christian activity where are found so many devoted people as in the Sunday school.

What the Sunday school workers are to the church the primary teachers, as a body, are to the Sunday school — its most enthusiastic, eager, and self-denying members. No doubt there are incompetent and inactive primary teachers, but they are less in number, proportionally, than in any other department of the Sunday school. It is the experience of every leader in the Sunday school cause, that the primary teachers appear in stronger force at the convention, the institute, and the assembly than the representatives of any other department, in proportion to their numbers ; that they are more eager for methods and plans of instruction, will listen to more addresses, will ask more questions, and will give more time to the work than any other body of teachers.

The reasons for this earnestness are manifest. The primary teacher deals with ardent young natures, responsive and affectionate. They manifest

4 INTRODUCTION.

their interest and their delight more than children of a larger growth ; and their interest awakens the zeal of their teacher. Moreover, the primary teacher must of necessity have her lesson thoroughly studied and prepared. It is desirable for all teachers to be thoroughly equipped for the lesson, but it is absolutely necessary for the primary teacher. She cannot call out the lesson by questions from her class ; she cannot study it with her class ; she must teach it to her class out of her own store of knowledge and tact. For these reasons, primary teachers are ever on the alert for new methods, suggestive hints, and helps in their work.

We welcome, therefore, any new book that promises assistance to primary teachers, for we know that it will be eagerly received and read. We welcome especially this book, which is the result of many years' work in the primary department, and presents methods which have been tested in practice.

Its author has written lesson helps for primary teachers for the past ten years, and is a lover of little people, a skilled teacher, and a practiced writer. We believe, therefore, that her book, which has been written in response to an urgent demand, will be found helpful to all primary teachers and to those who instruct little children, in the home as well as in the Sunday school.

Jesse L. Hurlbut.

New York, January 10, 1893.

THE PRIMARY TEACHER'S PRAYER.

IP to me sweet childhood looketh, Heart, and mind, and soul awake ; Teach me of thy ways, Father !

For sweet childhood's sake.

In their young hearts, soft and tender, Guide my hand good seed to sow,

That its blossoming may praise thee, "Whereso'er they go.

Give to me a cheerful spirit,

That my little flock may see It is good and pleasant service

To be taught of thee.

Father, order all my footsteps

To direct my daily way, That, in following me, the children

May not go astray.

Let thy holy counsel lead me ;

Let thy light before me shine ; That they may not stumble over

Word or deed of mine.

Draw us hand and hand to Jesus, For his word's sake, unforgot,

*' Let the little ones come to me, And forbid them not."

— Unknown.

Contents

PAGE

The Teacher — Who and What ? 9

The Class Singing 57

Chapter II. Class Organization

" The first six years are as full of advancement as the six years of creation."

A HUNDRED and fifty in the infant class to-day !" said the good superintendent of the Sunday school, beaming with satisfaction. "Yes, our school is certainly growing!"

There was no doubt that the infant class was growing. The little seats were crowded with wriggling, uneasy children, getting their first impressions of order and good behavior in the house of God. And it is said that early impressions are not easily effaced.

The room was a large, bright one, but badly ventilated. The day was cold, and it would not do to open the windows and let the wintry wind fall directly upon the heads of the children. So the warm, vitiated air was breathed over and over again, with such results as might be expected.

The "infants" were of varying ages, from three to ten years. Here a group of a dozen or so were being vastly entertained by the pranks of a jolly baby of three. In another corner of the room still another infant was weeping and rubbing his eyes with his fat fists, while a dozen or more were giving due attention to his small woes.

Over this way a bright-eyed girl was the center of a half dozen eager listeners, who were hearing all about the pretty new hat ; while over that way boys were elbowing and pushing and scrambling, making vain endeavors meanwhile to get attention from the teachers, that they might make complaints in due form.

But where were the teachers ? They were on duty, and doing all they could to hold the attention of the children. One was teaching the lesson, the other moving about endeavoring to quiet disturbances and secure order ; for while she was at the front an insurrection broke out in the rear, and vice versa.

And yet the lady who was trying to tell the sweet Gospel story was no novice. She had evidently both gifts and graces for this kind of work. She was sympathetic, enthusiastic, and capable.

What was lacking ?

A proper classification and necessary help.

The children were not sinners above others, nor was their teacher a failure. The difficulty lay in the attempt to do what very few people can do.

A kindergarten teacher of thorough training and wide experience cannot do justice to more than twenty-five children ; more frequently the limit is placed at twenty. In public schools it is thought unwise to place more than fifty under the care of one primary teacher. Why is it thought that a teacher in a Sunday school primary class, who has to deal with the very loftiest subjects, can properly handle from one to two or even three hundred children ?

Why may not a class like this be made into three or four divisions ? The teacher who cannot teach a hundred and fifty may be able to do excellent work with a third or fourth of that number. Or, still better, the " little class " system may be adopted.

This brings us to a very important question.

How shall we most successfully organize the primary class ?

Two methods are in vogue, each having its own special advantages. The more common, perhaps we may say the more popular, of the two places the children, be they few or many, Under the care of a superintendent, who secures two or more assistants, an organist, a secretary, and possibly a librarian and a general helper. The superintendent conducts the exercises and teaches the lesson, while the assistants serve in their allotted places.

This method, especially when the class is large, means hard, exhausting work, and a general sense of duty left undone, which is always depressing. The burden falls upon the superintendent, of necessity. The assistants can assist, but the superintendent must plan, direct, and see that the work is actually done. Think what is to be accomplished in one short hour: Lesson teaching, singing, roll call, teaching Bible verses, giving out papers and cards, gathering pennies, adjusting strings and buttons, settling childish disputes, distributing library books, keeping order, etc., etc. The little children, of all others, need special attention.

Freddy, who has learned the Golden Text, wants teacher to hear him recite it, and feels defrauded if this cannot be. Jenny is rejoicing over the coming of a baby sister, and wants teacher to rejoice with her ; while Alice perhaps comes with little heart full of sorrow because the angels have taken baby away, and wants a word of loving sympathy from teacher.

The superintendent would be only too glad to enter into all the little childish confidences, but sixty minutes make an hour, and, besides, there is a limit to one's powers of endurance. What wonder that the teacher sighs hopelessly, looking out upon the hundred or more little ones to be faithfully visited in their homes.

Yet this system has its advantages. The attention is concentrated in one direction, or should be. It is easily adapted to unfavorable surroundings, and many teachers think that better order can be secured by having one controlling mind to which all are subject.

The other method, strongly advocated by some of the wisest and most advanced primary teachers, breaks up the primary class into little groups of ten or less. A teacher is placed over each group, and these teachers relieve the superintendent of much routine work. They call the roll, gather the pennies, teach the Golden Text where it has not been taught at home, give out papers, cards, and books, and perhaps have a short talk with their classes about the lesson story before the more formal teaching of the lesson by the superintendent. The children are thus brought into close contact with a teacher who can attend to little wants and come to know each one as a little individual. She can learn faults, and so know how to correct wisely. She can give the loving touch to little hands and hearts if she be herself in living connection with the great heart of Love. She can look after absentees, visit the sick, and acquaint the superintendent with special cases needing special attention, and in many ways can do work that the most active, tireless, and faithful superintendent cannot do.

The little class system deserves a trial for these if for no other reasons. By it

Good order is promoted.

Time is saved.

Children are personally reached.

Every teacher knows how spontaneously disorder springs up during the gathering of the pennies, the distribution of papers, etc. With this system teachers are on the spot to preserve order.

All the incidentals of which mention has been made take time, and somebody must give it. Ten teachers can do it more quickly than one or two.

The personal touch is a matter of more importance than we think, perhaps. " I love my teacher ; she smiled at me," said a little girl who went but two or three times to Sunday school, and then went to heaven.

Said an earnest teacher, dissatisfied with the results of her teaching, " I would like to try the little class plan, if I only knew how to go about it."

To such, an experience worth more than many theories is offered :

The class was not large, but growing. An attendance of sixty was thought very good. It was easy enough to hold little eyes and ears during the teaching of the lesson, but the roll call was a trial time, and so of other exercises during which most of the class were necessarily unoccupied. Many considerations, some of which are specified above, urged thechange. The superintendent of the main school said, " Try it ; try anything you please. The responsibility rests with you."

We were told that it was difficult to find Sunday school teachers. How six, the modest number aimed at, could be secured was a question. But they were found, furnished with class books, and set to work. They called the roll, collected pennies, taught Infant Catechism, heard Golden Texts recited, and kept order. They enjoyed the work, and when after a few weeks it became necessary to form new classes, teachers were not so hard to find. Young mothers came with their little ones, and in several instances the very best and most devoted teachers have come from this class. Within a year there were twelve teachers, earnest, faithful, child loving, who gathered classes of ten or fifteen around them, and drilled on questions and answers and Golden or Tiny Text, and told lesson story, with opportunities for personal contact that the superintendent could not have in any large degree. They also kept records, gave out papers, looked after books, visited, attended to needy cases, and did other much needed work which must otherwise have been neglected.

You will see from this one experience that the class grew in numbers. That is not an unusual outcome of the change from the old to the new. In making the change it is the first step that costs. If you cannot secure the full number of assistants needed at first take what you can get. Perhaps you will need to give your organist a class. Let it have a place as near the instrument as possible. Your secretary will consent to teach a little class, and also look after the general roll book. For this must be kept, giving a complete list of names and residences. Each teacher has her own class book, and at the close of each session any addition to, or withdrawal from, the school should be reported to the secretary for the benefit of the superintendent. A five-minute gathering of teachers at the close of the session is desirable, to report sickness or special cases of any sort.

A wise discretion is needed in classifying and seating the children. It would seem that the least ones should always be brought to the front, and, while this is desirable, it is better not to make it a rigid rule ; indeed, it is best not to make it a rule at all. The day may come when you will find it expedient to bring that uneasy class, not blessed with the very wisest and best teacher, to the place of honor, nearest your desk or table.

At the beginning you will find it difficult to classify the children to your own satisfaction or to theirs. Nelly, aged ten, must have five-year-old brother Willy at her side — " Mamma said so." And that pair of mischievous girl friends will be sure to protest against being placed in different classes. You will find a demand for both tact and grace, but promise a rearrangement at the close of the quarter. By that time you and the teachers will see where changes would be desirable. Then, too, is the time to permanently place newcomers who often want to sit with friends while the feeling of strangeness is upon them.

When your class reaches the three-figure mark you will find the need of a general assistant. If your organist, released from class teaching, will consent to do this, utilize her by all means. There are little papers to fold, library books to attend to, pennies to gather, class books to look after, cards and symbol-gifts to place in the hands of teachers for distribution, and visitors to meet and greet, possibly during the teaching of the lesson.

And now you are ready to ask " What is left for the superintendent to do?"

Work, and plenty of it !

A program, which, with variations, has been used with good success, is given below :

2:30-2:35. Praise exercise, song, and prayer.

2:35-2:40. Roll call (by teachers) and collection.

2:40-2:45. Singing, and Golden Text (by teachers).

2:45-2:50. Creed, Commandments, or books of Bible, followed by chanting twenty-third Psalm or Beatitudes.

2:50-2:55. Review of last lesson.

2:55-3:03. Lesson story explained (by teachers).

3:03-3:18. Motion song or quieting exercise, followed by lesson teaching from superintendent.

3:20-3:25. Golden Chain Texts, or temperance talk, followed by singing temperance song.

3:25-3:30. Closing song, echo prayer, and Mizpah.

Dismissed by classes, receiving papers at the door.

It will be seen by a study of this program that the superintendent will not be left to fold her hands in idleness. The few moments between the review and the lesson teaching profitably spent by teachers in telling the lesson story with the aid of slate and pencil or pictorial lesson paper, will make it possible to come to this exercise without the sense of hurry and fatigue which must be felt by the superintendent who has to do all the teaching. This is important, for in this fifteen minutes the spiritual truth taught in the lesson must be illustrated and impressed.

"But how," some one asks, "shall we learn to know the names of our little ones if we give up the roll call ? and shall we not lose our hold upon the children by sharing the teaching with others ?"

No ; always and everywhere, you who stand at the desk and teach the spiritual truths of the lesson will be "teacher," loved and looked up to !

But how to learn the names when the class is large is a grave question. Of course all the helpers in the land should not shut you off from the sweet privilege of knowing your little ones through meeting them in the homes, but this takes time, to begin with, and then the names of newcomers must be learned as well.

Here is a suggestion :

The half hour before Sunday school spent in the class room is of untold value to the primary teacher. First, see if the room is in order. The sexton cannot always be trusted. If seats are movable, see that they are neatly arranged. Open the windows. You will find a use for the fresh air by and by, as you try to win and hold the attention of your little ones. Make your table attractive. Have the spread (a bright one) hung straight, the Bible (as big a one as you can get) laid in the center, the box for the pennies a pretty one, and whatever may be upon the table in orderly array. The vase may hold but a single flower, but that will have its voice, and every bit of home brightness and beauty that you can put in your room will be a silent teacher.

Now you are ready to greet the early comers with a smile and cheery word, which may go far toward making a place in the little heart for the truth you teach ! Call each one by name. Listen to the eager questions, and check, advise, or comfort, as the case may demand. Willy has been sick. Whisper softly in his ear, " You and I will thank God for making you well, will we not ? " Ask Mary if baby brother is well. Tell Hatty that you are coming to see her soon (and keep your word!), and in this loving ministry your half hour will slip away so quickly that it will be to you a busy half hour.

A primary class library is greatly to be desired, especially if the children come from homes in which reading matter is scarce. The simple Christian stories will be read aloud by some older member of the family to please the little one, and so great good may be done.

Mrs. Knox, with her usual practical sense, suggests a plan for distributing library books which is to be commended for its simplicity and thoroughness. Any teacher can manage this without difficulty :

On the first Sunday after the school is organized give each teacher six books, one for each of the six scholai-s in the class. Let them be kept in the class six weeks, which will give every scholar a chance to read every book. On the seventh Sunday let the librarian, who is the superintendent's assistant, take the six books in class No. I, and give them to class No. 2, and of No. 2 to No. 3, and so on round the school. On the thirteenth Sunday, which will be the first of the next quarter, let the librarian take all the books to the library and give none out. Then start again and give different sets to each class from those they had before. The teacher charges the books to the scholars on the class books each Sunday. Every time a change of sets of books is made from class to class the teachers remain a few moments after school, and give their numbers to the librarian, who charges them to each teacher on her account book.

Mrs. Knox would assign but six pupils to a class, hence, she uses this number. But ten or twelve books could be equally well put in one set.

You who are thinking of the difficulty of securing teachers for the Sunday school are waiting to say, " But where are we to find our assistants ? "

Get permission to go into the adult classes of girls. Sit down and talk with the teacher and the girls together. As a rule the selfish and frivolous and unloving will not listen to you. But you will find sweet, young hearts, longing to be of use, who will hail the opportunity. Child loving, young

Christian girls and young mothers who can bring their little ones to the Sunday school make the best teachers generally.

They will need to be instructed, and this will be a part of your work, dear superintendent. But what an opportunity will be yours for training in Christian work !

Little children cannot be led to the Saviour in masses any more than grown people can be, and we know that the very great majority of conversions result from direct personal effort. When the children leave the primary class they are put into small classes at once. Why ? Because the Sunday school aims at the conversion of the young, and it is deemed wiser and better to place each child under the care of a teacher who can study each case and personally lead each child. And this is just the work we want to inspire our assistants to do by God's help ! Let us rejoice in our opportunity !

Chapter III. Ways And Means

Beauty cannot create a new heart, but it can greatly change the disposition. — W. T. Harris.

A PRIMARY class can be successfully taught in **■ a corner of the chinch, or in the gallery, or in a dismal basement room which never sees the light of the sun ; but no such thing should ever be allowed, if it be at all possible to avoid it.

The church can better afford to forego carpets, chandeliers, and frescoes, than good, tasteful accommodations for her little ones, so soon to be her responsible workers. Here in the primary school, in a far greater degree than we think, are church tastes awakened, church habits formed, and church love kindled and directed. Let the Sunday school nest be a delightful place, and the little birds will not be likely to fly far from the church home.

Sometimes there is a feeling that too much is required for the little ones. "What difference does it make about the babies?" was asked in the teachers' meeting, and the question was like a dash of cold water upon the love and enthusiasm of the primary teacher, showing as it did how little sense there was of the real importance of her work.

11 Ten teachers in the infant class ! " said another in the same teachers' meeting. u A clear waste of time and material. Two is enough. Little classes indeed ! Why, the whole thing is a little class ! "

Yes, a little class of a hundred or so wide-awake children who are here, in many cases, to take their bias for life.

What is needed that the best work may be done in the primary class ?

Not that,good work may be done; that can be wrought out anywhere. But the best, the work that will bring the most glory to our Christ and the most blessing to the world.

First of all a separate room is to be desired. If this cannot be had, then a heavy curtain or a high screen should be used to secure some degree of privacy.

The room should by all means be bright and sunny. Little children are especially susceptible to cheerful surroundings. Good light, good air, and good Gospel belong together.

It should be a generous size. The well-taught class is quite sure to increase in numbers, and where crowding is there is confusion and tumult.

By all means let the floor be level, and give the children comfortable seats. Little chairs are the best. They can be bought for five dollars, or less, a dozen. If these cannot be had insist upon low benches, the prettier the better.

A blackboard of some sort is a necessity. The best for the average primary class is not a large one, and stands on a light easel which may easily be moved. Blackboards may be had anywhere from three to twelve dollars.

A sweet-toned piano or organ, covered with a pretty spread, should stand near the teacher's table or desk. A bright carpet on the floor, pretty pictures on the walls, a bookcase, and a clock are all to be desired to make glad the hearts of both teacher and child.

But how are all these things to be secured ? you are saying.

Happily the day has dawned in which the importance of first teachings is coming to be generally recognized. There is a spirit of progress abroad in the churches, and it is not so difficult to secure cooperation in advanced plans for primary work as in former years.

The point of chief importance is that the teacher shall clearly understand the needs of the work, and patiently, but definitely, make them known.

A large outlay of money is not always necessary. A little skill, a good deal of imagination, and a degree of perseverance will work wonders in the barest room.

Another " experience " may be interesting and suggestive.

The " Infant Class," as it was called, met in the large audience room of the church. Half a dozen of the pews on either side of the middle aisle, just in front of the pulpit, were filled Sunday after Sunday, by bright little beings, who played at hide and seek, improvised low seats by piling up hymn books and Bibles on the floor, and otherwise disported themselves during the lesson hour.

The new teacher said that a room for the class was indispensable, and a barren room in the old church, which did duty as a chapel in the rear of the fine new church, was placed at her disposal.

The room was long and narrow, with six large windows, admitting an abundance of sun and air, and with an expanse of white wall that dazzled the eyes of beholders.

Some little wooden benches, various in length and height, that had been used in other days, were produced, together with an unpainted wooden table for the teacher's use. Part of the floor was covered with a red carpet, not unpleasing to the eye, carefully pieced out with carpet of a vivid green. A picture of the bishops — a number of large men represented in a very small way — and another engraving, a deathbed scene, were supposed to adorn the walls, while a creaking, groaning organ in one corner of the room filled up the measure of dreariness.

In this room scores of beauty loving little children gathered, many of whom came out of homes dark with poverty and sin ; and the teacher did wish that the Sunday school room in which they met to sing and pray and learn about the beauty and blessedness of the good and true, might be more suggestive of heavenly delights.

But the treasury was low — it always was — and it was useless to ask for an ''appropriation," since there was nothing to appropriate. Some said, "Get up a concert, and have the little ones perform. The parents will be sure to come, and you can make quite a sum of money."

What! Coin the modesty and sweetness of these unspoiled little children into money for any purpose whatsoever ? No, not if the room went bare of ornament forever ! And so that matter was settled.

But little by little ideas began to take shape which did not involve much outlay of time or money. Assistant teachers were interested in the project of beautifying the room ; small donations began to come in, and now the sexton brought out remnants enough of red carpet to make it possible to banish the green. A friend sent a pretty red table cover. The dreary pictures w r ere removed, and their places filled with pictures of child life, birds, flowers, and Scripture mottoes, also sent in by friends who wanted to help when they learned what was being done.

A beautiful picture of the Saviour blessing little children was found. It formed the center of a beautiful banner w T hich had been rolled up, put away, and forgotten. This covered a large space on the staring wall, and was looked upon as a treasure trove.

One day the teachers met by appointment, and some bright material was produced which was to be cut up into draperies for the unadorned windows. Some cheap scarlet and yellow fringe finished them, and the six windows were dressed at a trifling expense. The organ was retuned and oiled, so that it looked and sounded new again. The benches, freshly painted, were assorted and arranged with something like uniformity ; some little articles of ornament for the table and walls were disposed of, and then all was ready for the surprise and delight of the children.

And it did not fail to be forthcoming ! The gay curtains and the pretty pictures won every little eye, and the increase of interest in and love for the Sunday school repaid the teachers many times over for their outlay of time and effort.