HOW TO GAIN THE ATTENTION.
By E. A. S.
A NOBLE character is the result of continuous, well-directed mental activity, of dwelling upon pure and lofty themes. This unceasing activity of the intellectual faculties is attention. The word attention is derived from the same Latin root from which we get our word tension, meaning to hold firmly, to stretch, and is the opposite of a relaxed state of mind, as manifested in the listless, lazy child. There can be no transformation of character in one who is stupid and irresponsive. Such a mind is described by James thus: “Ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea, driven with the wind and tossed. For let not that man think that he shall receive anything of the Lord. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways.” This is a description of inattention. Isaiah defines attention for us: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee.” The Revised Version renders the clause thus: “A steadfast mind thou keepest in perfect peace.” The out-pouring of the Holy Ghost can come only as the result of giving careful attention to the truth. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image.” This earnest attention is the same power which enables man to see things that mortal eye can not see, and hear things that finite ear can not hear. It is that power of mind which one must have to pierce through the veil and grasp firmly “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” To have a genuine Christian experience we must give “earnest heed [attention] to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip.” Any wide-awake teacher realizes that it is time and energy thrown away by students to go over the ordinary school work unless the attention can be fixed upon the subject a sufficient length of time to arouse thought. Thinking is the result of attention, and the strength and thoroughness of our thought will be in proportion to the attention given to the subject. Each thought causes a molecular change in the physical nature of the individual. We are “transformed by the renewing of the mind.” “As a man thinketh, so is he.” Thus the way to build character is to create an interest in some subject that should enter into the character; to help the student to center his mind upon19the subject,—give attention to it. Such thinking affects the circulation of the blood, which in turn changes every particle of the being. This change of each cell is the writing of the thought upon muscles, nerves, and fibers. The record thus made is the character. A person who has not the power to interest pupils to the extent of gaining the attention is not a teacher. To assign lessons in certain text-books and hear these lessons recited may not be teaching. Memorizing facts, the usual method of preparing lessons, can be done with but little attention. Some children go over a lesson a dozen times before they can recite it. The impression made upon the mind is merely mechanical, and is not the result of thought,—of actually living the lesson. This is learning by rote. It was this method of study-in the Jewish schools that Jesus condemned, and hence avoided. A lesson studied once as it should be, is learned. If the interest is good, the attention riveted, the lesson will be written upon the heart and mind, and God has given the promise of his Spirit to recall that lesson whenever it is needed, and we do not need to have any anxious thought about it. Here is one great difference between the education of God and the education of the world. Time can then be spent in learning new lessons. We do not need to worry for fear of forgetting truth learned in the proper way. The world does not recognize the work of the Holy Spirit in education, so the lessons have to be actually drilled in by constant repetition until they can be recited without thinking. Often when a student who has been taught in this way, wishes to use the knowledge thus acquired, his memory fails, and he is uncertain. To be successful in gaining the attention of pupils, the teacher must himself have learned to give attention. Teachers must be under the complete control of the Holy Spirit, and attend always to that word behind them saying, “This is the way.” Herein lies one secret of Christian education, and here is to be found the remedy for any trouble with discipline. The power of attention, which is the power of God, will be so strong in the teacher that the pupils must yield, and come into harmony with the controlling spirit. They will find the teacher’s attention to their welfare so persistent and determined that they will not be able to resist. This power will act upon stubborn hearts as a summer sun would upon a snow bank. If they do not yield, they will not stay. Teacher, study the methods of Christ if you would know how to be a controller and not the one controlled. God is calling for a class of workers who have that power which is the result of attention. The latter rain is power. The reason it is not received is because there is so much inattention to the truths which would prepare for it. The Lord says, “Careless inattention is seen in everything they undertake. A sudden impulse now and then is not sufficient to accomplish a reformation in these ease-loving, indolent ones.” “Mental culture is what we as a people need, and what we must have in order to meet the demands of the time.”