The Advance by F. G.

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D. C. · Nov 17, 1904

The Advance

By F. G.

The hope of our school work in the future is in the right application of correct principles to our schools in the present. The success of next year's work is very dependent upon that of this year. That there should be a very rapid advance, all must concede; but will all who grant this, work with true earnestness to bring about these rapid strides to the best of work? We have a message of perfection to give to the world, and it is to be given, in part, by having a thorough and high grade of work done in all departments of our work, and in no department can this be truer than in the educational work.

To every one connected in any manner with our schools, either as teacher, patron, or pupil, there comes a distinct call to great advance during this school year. There are some very distinct problems with which we have to wrestle, such, for instance, as the means of support for our schools so that every one who desires the advantages of a Christian education may have it. This support should also involve the furnishing of good equipment for the schools in the way of schoolrooms, maps, charts, and the aids in teaching. There should be great progress made in the preparation of better text-books for all grades of our school work. Our courses of study should be made more practical and better adapted to the needs of our distinctive work. This is truer in no grade of our schools than in the training-schools; for from them is to go forth each year an increasingly large company of well-educated workers for our various departments of work. There are also many lessons to be learned in better methods of teaching. There are very great strides to be made in manual work as a factor of education. Other lines of advancement might be suggested, but surely here are enough to enlist the best efforts of every one. If we make the progress that is demanded of us, it can be only by the very earnest efforts of every one, and by a spirit of true co-operation. Each one must feel an interest, not only in his own personal work, but in that of the whole. Every ray of light must be gathered, every step of progress must be noted. These must be passed on to help others, and for them to add to. Those who feel a burden to study and develop any phase of our work must be full of courage in their investigations.

The Educational Department of the REVIEW is intended to be a means of communication and a herald of progress and advancement. It should be impressed on the mind of every lover of this message that he has a duty to add his strength, be that but little, to this great struggle for a perfect educational system; and in no way can he add that strength more effectually than in giving it through the medium of this department to all who may be interested. A pull altogether will make the advance more rapid and easier. F. G.