Knowing Your Scholars' Ignorance.
TEACHERS who live in homes fragrant with the atmosphere of Christianity, where, with their earliest breath, they received religious impressions, find it difficult to realize the dense ignorance of pupils who have grown up without Christian teaching. Some time ago, a lady took charge of a primary class in a mission school in New York. The children intrusted to her care were bright, quick-witted people, belonging to the tenement-house population, mostly of foreign origin, but, like all children in the city, talking English. But not one child in a class of forty-six could tell her who Jesus was, nor seemed to have the faintest idea concerning him, though questioned with the utmost care. They were not afraid of their teacher, and spoke with great willingness on many other subjects, but were utterly ignorant with regard to the Saviour. Finally, one little boy—a beautiful, curly-haired child—held up his hand and said, "Teacher, I know what Jesus is!" "That is good," said the teacher. "I knew that some one could tell us. Well, what is Jesus?" Said the little boy, "It's swearing!" The only use which he knew of that name was in an oath! The lady was so touched by his answer, and its revelation, that she could scarcely teach more on that day. The next week she tried to tell them about Jesus, and taught them to repeat, over and over again, this sentence, "Jesus came to save us from suffering and sin," until every child knew it. On the Sunday after, she asked, "What did Jesus come for?" and one little girl answered, "He came to cry for poor little children." That was the way she understood it, and that was something, to know that there was one who could feel for her. This was more than a year ago. At Christmas time, not one of the children could tell her anything more about Christmas than "They hang up greens!" They did not know what the greens, nor the gifts, nor the star, were intended to symbolize. But they have learned all about it since, under the earnest instruction of that enthusiastic teacher. At last Christmas, every child not only received the symbol-gift of a star, but could tell the story of Bethlehem, and they knew well who Jesus is and for what he came. We cannot place at too low a measure our estimate of many children's knowledge of sacred truths. We cannot be too careful nor too simple in telling the story of the gospel, nor can we repeat it too often.—The Study.