p. 22 | The Inventive Mind by F. G.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Oct 3, 1907

The Inventive Mind

By F. G.

Necessity is said to be the mother of invention, and surely necessity is laid upon every earnest teacher. He is dealing with most changeable things,—growing minds and bodies,—and at every turn he encounters something new. As a consequence, the teacher must be ever on the alert. Conditions arise which are wholly different in different schools, and wholly different in the same school at different times. Every pupil is a study in himself. To deal fairly with him and to deal fairly with the school as a whole, to use the best means in presenting new truths, so that they shall be most quickly and most firmly grasped, are the problems which require the inventive mind.

The most useful inventions of modern times are the results of a recognition on the part of the inventor of the necessity of a device which shall meet certain definite needs. It took long thought and study on the part of Whitney to invent the cotton-gin, on the part of Howe to invent the sewing-machine, and on the part of Edison to bring out his numerous electrical devices. These men simply recognized that there was a need, and set themselves at the task of supplying it. So it is with the teacher who recognizes that there are certain conditions in his work which must be overcome. He should then begin an earnest, careful study of those means and devices necessary for him to grapple successfully with the difficulties which he meets in his work. It is a fact that every point in the teaching and disciplining of a school has been overcome by some one. We need to feel that what has been done can be done again, and that where there is a will there is a way.

It is so easy for the teacher dealing particularly with an ungraded school, having so many subjects to teach and such a short time in which to teach them, to become discouraged with reference to his work. Perhaps a study of the program will accomplish much in relieving the difficulty. Perhaps a study of the means of disciplining some very unruly pupil will change the whole discipline of the school. No one accomplishes anything when he thinks he can not accomplish it. We need to have something of the spirit of Paul when he exclaimed, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” The slothful man says there is a lion without. The courageous man goes forth and slays it. The courageous man is the one who recognizes that with proper caution and by the proper exercise of his reasoning faculties, it is possible for him to overcome the difficulty. A great responsibility is laid upon every teacher, far greater than is generally realized. Paul felt that a woe was laid upon him if he preached not the gospel. The same woe is upon every teacher if he does not perform well his work, and a thoughtful and courageous consideration of every difficulty is an almost sure means of discovering a remedy or a means of overcoming the difficulty. The inventive mind is necessary for the success of the teacher.

F. G.