Teaching Bible and Reading by Mae Willis

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 5, 1907

Teaching Bible and Reading

By Mae Willis

WHEN we opened our little school in Pine Glen, Cumberland, our attendance was quite small. Many of the children had never studied a Bible lesson, and part of them had a vague idea that strict parents and relatives devised their different punishments from advice given in the Scriptures.

Before the first day was over, I realized that my pupils were far behind in every study. In studying Bible, we used “Patriarchs and Prophets,” “Desire of Ages,” the Bible, and “Bell’s Bible Lessons.”

After calling the class, I would tell the story, which I had studied carefully beforehand, dwelling on each little detail. This delighted the children, and made it all seem very real, and helped them remember. It is the little things, which older folks have outgrown, that appeal to the children. The next day I would have one of the class tell the story we had studied the day before. The children were encouraged to ask questions and to discuss the topics in which they were most interested.

In our reading class I never held a book in my hand. I studied the lesson very carefully, and had one wish, which I emphasized strongly, and that was correct standing. I expressed my pleasure every time one of the children read a sentence or paragraph that was instructive or beautifully worded, and invariably asked him to read it over. The effect was magical. Each one tried his best to read in such a way that I would be pleased. We tried quotations from different authors, and especially the Bible. After class I would ask them to tell me some points they had gained from the lesson.

There are readers and readers, methods without number; but each teacher, if she has a burden for souls and an intense love and longing for her pupils, will have to study the needs of each student first of all. MAE WILLIS.