Part 2 (1/2)
1 _Self-control as to the mind_ is a most important qualification for a teacher, for it is principally through the uides and influences his boys In the first place it means, as my Master has said, ”control of teer or impatience”
It is obvious that ry and ier and impatience are often caused by the outer conditions of the teacher's life, but this does not prevent their bad effect on the boys Such feelings, due generally to very small causes, re-act upon the enerally i into the character of the boys gerer which may in after life destroy their own happiness, and embitter the lives of their relations and friends
We have to remember also that the boys themselves often come to school discontented and worried on account of troubles at hory and ih the school, and make the lessons difficult and unpleasant when they should be easy and full of delight The short religious service referred to in an early part of this little book should be attended by teachers as well as students, and should act as a kind of door to shut out such undesirable feelings Then both teachers and students would devote their whole energies to the creation of a happy school, to which all should look forward in the , and which all should be sorry to leave at the end of the school day
The lack of control of temper, it must be remembered, often leads to injustice on the part of the teacher, and therefore to sullenness and want of confidence on the boy, and no boy can ress, or be in any real sense happy, unless he has complete confidence in the justice of his elders Much of the strain of modern school life is due to this lack of confidence, anddown barriers which would never have been set up if the teacher had been patient
Anger and irow out of irritability It is as necessary for the boy to understand his teacher as for the teacher to understand the boy, and hasty temper is an al ”The teacher is angry to-day,” ”The teacher is irritable to-day,” ”The teacher is short-tempered to-day,” are phrases too often on the lips of boys, and they produce a feeling of discomfort in the class-room that makes harmony and ease iuard theainst their moods, and so distrust replaces confidence The value of the teacher depends upon his power of inspiring confidence, and he loses this when he gives way to irritability This is particularly ier to learn and eager to love, and only those who have no business to be teachers would dare to er
It is of course true that younger boys are in many ways more difficult to teach than elder ones; for they have not yet learned how to uide them when made The teacher has therefore to help theely to help themselves The chief difficulty is tothe enthusiasuided sympathetically they will soon die out, and the boy will become dull and discontented
I have read that youth is full of enthusiase, until a man is left with few or none But it seems to me that enthusiasm, if real, should not die out, and leave cyniciser and ht out of the heaven-world have brought with thethened in theer and irritability belong only to the separated self, and they drive away the feeling of unity
Self-control also involves cale and steadiness Whatever difficulties the teacher may have either at home or at school, he must learn to face them bravely and cheerfully, not only that he ood exa and brave Difficulties arethe what Mrs Besant once called, ”crossing bridges before we coeous with his own difficulties, he will not be able to help the boys to row s this to their ill find their studies much easier than if they cae and steadiness lead to self-reliance, and one who is self-reliant can always be depended on to do his duty, even under difficult circumstances
Self-control as to the mind also means concentration on each piece of work as it has to be done My Master says about the , fix your thought upon it, that it may be perfectly done” Much time is lost in school because the boys do not pay sufficient attention to their work; and unless the teacher is hi full attention to it the minds of the boys are sure to wander Prayer and meditation are intended to teach control of the mind, but these are practised only once or twice a day Unless theattention to everything we do, as the Master directs, we shall never gain real power over our minds, so that they may be perfect instruments
One of the most difficult parts of a teacher's duty is to turn quickly from one subject to another, as the boys come to him with their different questions and troubles His mind must be so fully under his control that he can pay co up one after the other with the same care and interest, and without any impatience If he does not pay this full attention he is sure to ives, or to be unjust in his decisions, and out of such mistakes very serious troubles may arise
On this point my friend, Mr GS Arundale, the well-known Principal of the Central Hindu College, writes: ”At frequent intervals, of course, boys come with complaints, with petitions, and here I have to be very careful to concentrate my attention on each boy and on his particular need, for the request, or complaint, or trouble, is soreat source of worry to the boy unless it is attended to; and even if the boy cannot be satisfied he can generally be sent away contented One of the most difficult tasks for a teacher is to have sufficient control over his attention to be able continually to turn it fro intensity, and to bear cheerfully the strain this effort involves We often speak of so a person's patience, but we really mean that it taxes a person's attention, for impatience is only the desire of thethan that which for the moment occupies it”
Boys must be helped to concentrate their attention on what they are doing, for theiraway from the subject in hand The world outside the to the that comes under their eyes A child is constantly told to observe, and he takes pleasure in doing so; when he begins to reason heand concentrate his e is at first very difficult for him, and the teacher must help him to take up the new attitude Sometimes attention wanders because the boy is tired, and then the teacher should try to put the subject in a neay The boy does not generally cease to pay attention wilfully and deliberately, and the teacher must be patient with the restlessness so natural to youth Let him at least always be sure that the want of attention is not the result of his own fault, of his oay of teaching
If the attention of the teachers and the boys is trained in this way, the whole school life will becohter, and there will be no roohts which crowd into the uncontrolled mind Even when rest is wanted by the mind, it need not be quite ehts always in the background of it, ready to cooes on to explain how the ht under control ”Think each day of so, or in need of help, and pour out loving thoughts upon him” Teachers hardly understand the i this line They can influence their boys by their thoughts evenout a streahts over the class, the minds of all the boys will bea word they will iood influence of thought should spread out fro young people keep young themselves, and keep the ideals and pure aspirations of youth longer than those who liveolder people, so the presence of a school should be a source of joy and inspiration to the surrounding neighbourhood or district Happy and har up the duller atth into all within its sphere of influence
The poor should be happier, the sick ed more respected, because of the school in their midst
If the teacher often speaks on these subjects to his boys, and froht before theood ht is a very real and powerful force, especially when ht in theire of the religious service to draw attention to the need, and ask the boys to join with hie to the sufferers
The last point mentioned by the Master is pride: ”Hold back your norance” We must not confuse pride with the happiness felt when a piece of work is well done; pride grows out of the feeling of separateness: ”_I_ have done better than others” Happiness in good work should grow out of the feeling of unity: ”I alad to have done this to help us all” Pride separates a person from others, and makes him think himself superior to those around him; but the pleasure in so, and encourages the doer to take up soe we have gained, we lose all feeling of pride, and the wish to help more, instead of the wish to excel others, becomes the motive for study
2 _Self-control in action_ The Master points out that while ”there ood workit must be your _own_ duty that you do--not anotherhim” The teacher has, however, a special duty in this connection; for while hetheir own lines, and rowth or to force it in an unsuitable direction, he is bound to guide them very carefully, to watch theently of their faults
The teacher is in charge of his boys while they are in school, and must, while they are there, take the place of their parents
His special lesson of self-control is to learn to adapt his ownWhile contenting hi theht lines, he must be ready to step in--with as little disturbance as possible--to modify the activity if it becomes excessive, to stimulate it if it becomes dull, and to turn it into new channels if it has taken a wrong course In any necessary interposition he should try totheo, rather than forcing theo his way Many boys have failed to develop the necessary strength of character, because the teacher, by constant interference, has iht action, instead of trying to awaken their judgment and intuition The boys becoradually to walk alone
The teacher must be very careful not to allow outside interests to take him away from his duties in the school Many teachers do not seem to realise that the school should occupy as ive to it outside their home duties They sometimes do the bare amount of work necessary, and then rush away to so No teacher can be really successful in his profession unless it is the thing he cares for er to devote all the time he can to his boys, and feels that he is happiest when he is working with them or for them
We are always told that enthusiasm and devotion to their work mark the successful business man, the successful official, the successful statesman; they are equally necessary for the successful teacher Anyone who desires to rise high in the profession of teachingto his work, not only ability, but similar enthusiasm and devotion Surely evenofof money or power Every moment that the teacher is with his boys he can help theood man helps one's evolution Away fro for them, and this he cannot do if his whole mind, out of school, is taken up with other interests On this, again, Ienerally and as regards my oork in particular A rapid e enablesparticular help I make a note of any such student inthe day Then before College hours, before I take up any extraneous work, I look through my own lectures to see that I am ready for the in with questions, with their hopes and aspirations, with difficulties and with troubles, soht ailments they want cured I have a special little place in which to see those young men, so that the atmosphere may be pure and harmonious, and upon each one I endeavour to concentrateelse completely off, and I am not satisfied unless each boy leaves me with a smile upon his face”
Unless a teacher works in this spirit, he does not understand how sacred and solemn a trust is placed in his hands No teacher is worthy of the name who does not realise that he serves God most truly and his country most faithfully when he lives and works with his boys His self-sacrificing life, lived ast them, inspires the his, and thus they grow in reverence and patriotism These boys are God's children entrusted to his care; they are the hope of the nation placed in his hands How shall he answer to God and the nation, when the trust passes out of his hands, if he has not consecrated his whole tie it faithfully, but has allowed the boys to go out into the world with out love to God, and without the wish and power to serve their country?
Boys, as well as teachers, e in other activities as to neglect their ordinary school duties My Master says to those ish to serve Him: ”You must do ordinary work better than others, not worse” A boy's first duty in school is to learn well, and nothing should lead hiular school work Outside this--as it is best that his activities should be kept within the school--the wise teacher will provide within the school organisation all the activities in which his boys can usefully take part If there should be any national organisation to which he thinks it useful that they should belong, he will hianise a branch of it within the school and he himself and the other teachers will take part in it For example the Boy-Scout anisations, but branches of them should be formed in the separate schools Teachers should train their boys to realise that just as the home is the centre of activity for the child, so is the school the centre of activity for the youth As the child draws his life and energy from the home, so the youth should draw his from the school The most useful work should be done in connection with the school so that it eneral education of the boy, and be in harrowth There should be in the school debating societies, in which the rules of debate are carefully observed, so that the boys ument; dramatic clubs in which they may learn control of expression; athletic clubs in which control of mind and action are both acquired; literary societies for boys specially interested in certain studies; societies for helping the poorer students
It is also very i the conditions under which their country is growing, so that in the school they may practice patriotism apart from politics It is very unfortunate that in India students are often taught by unscrupulous agitators that love of their country should be shown by hatred of other countries; the boys would never believe this, if their own school provided patriotic services for its boys, so as to give a proper outlet for the enthusiashtly feel They only seek an outlet away from the school because none is provided for them within it
Groups of students should be for to the capacities of the boys, and the needs of their surroundings: for the protection of ani first aid to the injured, for the education of the depressed classes, for service in connection with national and religious festivals, and so on Boys, for whom such forms of service are provided in their schools, will not want to carry them on separately