Manual Labor for Teachers
By B. E. Crawford
“TEACHERS meet with many trials. Discouragements press upon them as they see that their efforts are not always appreciated by their pupils. Satan strives to afflict them with bodily infirmities, hoping to lead them to murmur against God, to forget his goodness, his mercy, his love, and the exceeding weight of glory that awaits the overcomer.” If there is one class of people who, more than any other, need the benefits of physical and mental health, that class is Christian teachers. And of all the qualifications essential for the successful teacher, a healthy body and well-balanced mind hold the highest place. Every other qualification which contributes to the teacher’s success is largely dependent upon a good degree of physical energy. The more perfect his health, the better will be his work. It is through the agency of the brain and spinal cord, with their delicate branches ramifying to every part of the body, that God speaks to us. The minute cells and fibers which receive and carry impressions are perfectly adjusted, and admirably adapted to their work, and if given reasonable care, will continue to perform their functions faithfully all through the seventy, eighty, one hundred or more years of life. The relation between mind and body is so intimate that anything which affects one likewise affects the other. Hence it becomes of the highest importance that the mind worker should have a healthy body. Teachers whose health is reasonably good, may easily keep it so by rightly relating themselves to the laws of health. They may do even more than this. They can and should be constantly improving22their health, and building up a strong constitution in keeping with their mental development. The opinion is held by many that feeble, sickly persons who are unable to endure the strain of physical taxation, ought to devote their lives to teaching. This view is erroneous. True teaching is the giving of one’s life to others. Said the Great Teacher, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” Those who are suffering from dyspepsia, headaches, torpid liver, stagnant circulation, or impure blood, will find it easier and more pleasant to go to the garden or field and use the hoe or the plow than to be confined to the schoolroom in an endeavor to infuse into the minds and hearts of the children and youth the principles of Christian living, of mathematics, or of science. Many are the trials and perplexities of the teacher, and he, of all persons, needs a clear head and a cheerful heart. In his work of counteracting in the children and youth as fully as possible the inherited and cultivated tendencies to evil, there is abundant opportunity for the manifestation of all the Christian graces—faith, love, hope, patience, diligence, perseverance. The teacher should walk and talk with God. His mind should be in tune with the mind of the Infinite. By faith he must look within the veil and behold things which are not visible to the natural eye. Those who mold the minds and characters of the young, should ever keep the highest standard before them, that of godlikeness. Among the myriad forces that are clamoring for his attention from all around, and above, and beneath, the teacher should be able to recognize instantly and unmistakably the words of the meek and lowly Jesus, the compassionate Saviour, the model Teacher. He must be a constant learner in the school of Christ that he may be prepared daily to give to his pupils deeper and broader views of the meaning and the responsibilities of life, and the best methods of discharging its various duties. For the successful performance of this work good health and a vigorous constitution are most important factors. One of the things absolutely essential in securing and retaining health of body, mind, and soul, is a proper amount and kind of physical exercise. This is necessary for every one, in whatever occupation he is engaged, and especially so for the teacher, since his work ordinarily furnishes but little muscular exercise. While walking, riding, playing vigorous games, etc., are all good forms of exercise when employed in moderation, they can not satisfactorily be substituted for useful work. A walk, as ordinarily taken for health, becomes dull and monotonous, and then but little good is derived from it. If the interest of the teacher has been awakened in the study of minerals, or animal or plant life, which takes him out of doors into the woods and fields, into the valleys or up the mountainsides, his walks will be far more beneficial than otherwise. Vegetable and flower gardening, fruit raising, general housework, sawing, chopping, and splitting wood call into play all the important muscles in the body, causing expansion of the chest and inflation of the lungs with pure air. They aid circulation and digestion, purify the blood, and give a clearness and power of mind not experienced by one who neglects physical exercise. We have found that useful work is essential for the highest degree of health, but there are other reasons, and important ones, too, why teachers should engage in manual labor. The work of the teacher is not done when he has taught the theory or technicalities of a subject. The relation of the truths taught to the practical duties of life, and to the development of noble Christian character, is the ultimate end of all true teaching. One can not teach successfully that which he has not himself experienced. It therefore becomes necessary for the teacher to learn by actual contact or experience the practical bearings of the lessons taught in his classes. Thus will he be able to direct the active minds of the young so that their mental and physical powers may be economized, and concentrated upon the work of dispelling the ignorance and alleviating the sorrows and sufferings of humanity. In manual labor the teacher comes close to nature, and understands better the great object of life. The mind is expanded as well as the lungs. Fears and doubts give way to hope and trust. Many do not like work. They shun it and try to get away from it. This is because the meaning of work has been perverted. “I do not like work,” says one writer, “but there are things to do that are not work, and one of these I count to be husking corn. Let it be in the open field and on a dry day, when the husks rattle and the ears are as yellow as the sunshine. Then one may keep time with the ripple of the brook or the dropping of the pears, while he tosses into great baskets the harvests of God’s love. I will sit upon a pumpkin.” By a little rural philosophy, work may be robbed of its toil, and the work may fall into rhyme and rhythm with the rest of the world. Engaging in physical labor brings the teacher near to the majority of the common people, begets an interest and sympathy with their struggles, difficulties, failures, and victories. It gives him a better understanding of their hopes and aspirations, their desires and their needs. Useful labor is a source of happiness, and an aid to symmetrical development. It promotes habits of industry, and shields the worker from many temptations. It is a most important aid to purity of thought and action. It broadens the mind, and produces stability, nobility, and dignity of character. Activity is the law of God for all his creatures, and he himself is constantly at work. “In order to fulfil our mission, we, too, must be active.” Ability to do all kinds of useful work makes us more like God. Man has been endowed with a power which, in many respects and to a limited degree, is similar to the power of God. To some extent we are able to control the forces of nature. “As God called forth the earth in its beauty out of chaos, so we can bring order and beauty out of confusion.” Many examples of great teachers who have devoted a part of their time to manual labor might be cited. Of these I will call attention to only two. The apostle Paul, one of the greatest teachers the world has ever known, while carrying on his arduous missionary labors spent a part of his time in laboring with his hands at the trade of tent-making. Jesus, the model teacher, spent nearly thirty years of his life at carpenter work. During this time he was studying the words and works of God, and teaching the truth as opportunity offered. Much of his education was gained from his daily work. After entering the ministry, he was not physically idle. He walked from place to place, teaching the people, casting out devils, feeding the multitudes, relieving suffering and sorrow, and bearing the burdens of the oppressed. His life was filled with physical as well as intellectual and spiritual work. “It is enough for the disciple that he be as his Master, and the servant as his Lord.”