Read Ebook: The Nursery No. 169 January 1881 Vol. XXIX A Monthly Magazine for Youngest Readers by Various

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GRADED INSTRUCTION 11 Reasons for Having a Graded System; The Purpose of the Graded Course; The Material Used.

THE JUNIOR COURSE 12 Arrangement of Material; The Aims; The Correlated Lesson.

THE JUNIOR PERIOD 14 Beginning and End; Characteristics; Spiritual Needs.

THE JUNIOR TEACHER 16 Personality; Opportunity.

GUIDES FOR STUDY AND TEACHING 19 The Teacher's Text Book; The Pupil's Book for Work and Study; The Children's Bible; The Rainbow Bookmark; How the Bookmark is Used; The Bookmark as a Reward.

PROMOTION REQUIREMENTS AND HONORS 26 The Basis for Promotion; Recognition for Extra Work.

A. Memory Work 99 B. Book List 101 C. List of Stereographs 103 D. Aids for Superintendent and Teacher 105 E. Outline of Lessons for the Year 107

OUT OF CHILDHOOD INTO YOUTH

Traits of Boyhood and Girlhood

At the beginning of the period of childhood for which the Junior Course is intended, approximately nine years of age, there appears to be in the life of the normal boy or girl a real transition as the traits and interests of earlier years give way to those of full fledged boyhood and girlhood. Strange premonitions of impending physical and mental changes now appear, with suggestions of riper years that are rapidly approaching. The physical and mental changes of this period are accompanied by an awakening of social consciousness. This is noticeable in the friendships formed, in the increase of love and sympathy for others and in the dawning recognition of obligations toward others. The opposite of the same tendency is reflected in the sense of rivalry and emulation and, especially in boys, in the developing spirit of pugnacity, tempered with a tendency to defend the weak. This growing social consciousness brings with it also a stronger consciousness of self, a clearer recognition of right and wrong and an awakening of conscience which now begins to take the place of rules made by others as a guide to action.

The Inner Life of the Spirit

The normal growth of the inner life of the spirit is likewise rapid, the spiritual awakening which may be counted on during this period bringing with it the first religious crisis in the life of the boy and girl. For this crisis the most careful preparation should be made. When the spiritual awakening comes, the child should be given an opportunity to choose for himself to live as God's child in obedience to his laws and in loving unselfish devotion and service for others. When the choice has been made, the new sense of responsibility which follows must be fostered and the child aided by suggestion and encouragement in daily conduct to follow right habits of thought and action. The meaning, need and the helpfulness of worship may be taught through actual participation in services of worship suited to the pupil's age and the manner of his natural expression of religious impulses and aspirations.

Materials and Methods

This Text Book

The introductory chapters of this Teacher's Text Book, entitled Our Juniors, Their Teachers and Lesson Helps, present in detail the aims, the methods and the underlying principles governing this Junior Course. A careful study of this chapter together with the introductory chapters for the other years of the course will be found most profitable.

The Course and the Writer

We would unreservedly commend the writer of this course, Josephine L. Baldwin, to the confidence of all teachers. She writes, not from theory alone, but from long, practical experience in teaching Junior children. Every one of the lessons contained in this course she has taught repeatedly. As a teacher of teachers, therefore, she speaks with authority in the suggestions and directions contained in this Teacher's Text Book. The stories and suggestions regarding method in the form in which they are here presented, are the rich fruitage of her expert knowledge and training. There are no better courses for use with children of junior age than this course. It is a tool well fashioned for its intended use. As such it will not furnish a substitute for intelligent study and devotion on the part of the teacher, nor will its use lessen the dependence of the teacher on Divine help and inspiration in teaching; but these personal qualifications being present, this Junior Course and the graded system, of which it is a part, should yield large returns for the Kingdom in the stimulation, growth, and enrichment of the religious experience and life of children.

THE EDITOR.

OUR JUNIORS, THEIR TEACHERS AND LESSON HELPS

GRADED INSTRUCTION

Reasons for Having a Graded System

The reason for having a graded course of instruction for the Sunday school is that the children differ year by year in knowledge, capacity, interests, and needs. Graded lessons are simply an attempt to meet these differences with instruction suited to each year of the developing life. The aim of religious education is to fit the child for complete Christian living, to make him not simply a religious individual but a useful member of society, intelligently devoted to the highest welfare of his fellows and of mankind. In order that this may be accomplished he must have knowledge and his knowledge must lead to action. There is a broad purpose underlying the graded lessons which is thus stated in terms of the children's religious needs.

The Purpose of the Graded Course

The purpose of the graded lessons is to meet the spiritual needs of the pupil at each stage of his development. The spiritual needs, broadly stated, are these:

The Material Used

The material through which this purpose is to be attained is taken mainly from the Bible and treated as story, biography, history, or literature according to the period for which it is used. There are certain facts, not found in the Bible, the knowledge of which is essential if the pupils are to see God in the present day world. Therefore, many nature lessons are given to the little children, incidents in the lives of modern followers of the Lord are provided for the older children, and broader studies from the field of modern reform and of missionary movements for young men and women. There are also lessons on the Book itself and how it has come to us. All of these lessons start outside of the Bible and lead back into it for their explanation. The Bible lessons begin with the Word and go out into life for their application. The one is just as biblical as the other.

THE JUNIOR COURSE

Arrangement of Material

In the Graded System the Junior Course follows the two-years Beginners' Course and the three-years Primary Course. In those earlier years the stories are not chosen chronologically but are grouped under themes. The sense of time dawns when the child is about nine years old, therefore the Graded Lessons for the Juniors are arranged chronologically, at first by periods and later in a straight chronological course from the Conquest of Canaan to the end of New Testament History.

The Aims

The aim for the Junior lessons as a whole is:

The aims for each of the four years are these:

In the first year all but eight of the fifty-two lessons are the elemental stories taken from the first five books of the Bible. This is as it should be, for these stories appeal more strongly at this time than at any later period. As the first twenty-six lessons are found in the book of Genesis the stories are easy to find and the child is not perplexed and confused by having to search for the one he wants among many books with unfamiliar and difficult names. He is led by easy stages in his Bible readings, and through the charm of the stories, together with his growing ability to handle the book in which they are found, the child not only becomes interested in the Bible but learns to love it.

The second part of the aim implies obedience, and that may be said to be the key-word of this year's work. With these children, it is largely the absolute obedience of the immature. This form of obedience is a temporary virtue which must eventually be lost in self-control. But no one can attain the most perfect self-mastery who has not first learned to yield obedience to rightful authority. The transfer of the seat of authority from without to within should keep pace with the child's growth in knowledge, in emotional balance and control, in moral strength, and in the ability to form accurate judgments. The teacher's aim is to bring the child's will into line with God's will for him.

The Correlated Lesson

In the Junior period it is essential that two lessons be given every week, the one the regular lesson in the Junior Graded Series and the other a lesson dealing with the more mechanical part of the instruction. This is called the Correlated Lesson because it is closely related to the main lesson. The reason for having it is that during the Junior period there is a large amount of information which must be given in order that the pupils may grasp the truths in the lesson stories and learn how to handle the Bible with ease.

In the first year the books and divisions of the Bible must be taught. In the other years Bible geography becomes increasingly important as a background for the lessons, and this is the time when it should be studied; for the sense of location dawns at about the ninth year and the interest in geography is at its highest during the Junior period. Some knowledge of the manners and customs of Bible lands is necessary for an understanding of many of the stories. All through the Junior period are required frequent drills on essential facts and all material for memorization in order that those things may be permanently held in memory.

A Junior child cannot profitably pay attention to one subject for more than twenty minutes consecutively. The lesson story on any given Sunday requires that much time, so it would be impossible to combine with it in one Junior lesson period the necessary correlated information. Fifteen minutes should be devoted to the Correlated Lesson, preferably the first quarter of the Sunday-school hour, to be followed by the service of worship and all the other exercises, leaving the last twenty minutes for the lesson of the day.

In schools where this plan is followed and the lessons are well taught, the memory texts are both learned and remembered. The children are familiar with Bible lands and can associate events with the places where they occurred. They understand the strange customs of Bible times and therefore are not puzzled by accounts that would otherwise be unintelligible. They know the Bible as a book and can find references easily. The upper grade Juniors can find a score of the great passages in the Bible without having the reference given. In schools where the correlated lessons are not taught the children are not only ignorant of many things they ought to know, but do not gain the benefit that they should get from the course of study.

THE JUNIOR PERIOD

Beginning and End

Only broad and general statements can be made concerning the division lines between the different departments of the Sunday school, especially after the end of the Primary; but the largest factor in deciding when the Junior period begins is the ability on the part of the pupils to read well enough to be able to read in the Bible without too much stumbling. The end of the period is indicated by the beginning of adolescence, and this fixes the Junior period of the normal child as extending over at least three years. The course provides studies for four years.

Characteristics

The general characteristics of the children in this period are marked, differing in many important particulars from those of the period before and still more sharply from those manifested in the adolescent years. There is a reaching out for and a choice of companions differing from the happy-go-lucky way in which the Primary child accepts his neighbors as playmates and a growing tendency to concentration in groups or gangs accompanied by the most intense loyalty to the members of the group. The normal interests which have an important bearing are those in reading, heroes, the forces of nature, and the attainment of results. Intellectually, the child begins to seek for reality. The historic sense develops, and the sense of location both develops and matures during this period. There is a deep regard for authority if rightly administered by one who the child feels has a right to rule over him. Memory is strong and retentive. A deep-seated, though egoistic, sense of justice is apparent. This is preeminently a time when habits are formed and fixed.

There are limitations here, as in every other period. The child is and must be more or less self-centered, because this is a time when he must pay attention to himself and get himself adjusted to the world about him before he can send his energies out in service for others, as will be normal in the next period. The reasoning power is very weak, depending upon sequence rather than causality. The interest in people is altogether in conduct and not at all in character; what a person does is what these children care about, not what he is.

Spiritual Needs

The study of even these few characteristics so briefly stated makes it evident that the children have special spiritual needs; that is, certain phases of the great fundamental truths which underlie all religious teaching will make the strongest appeal and be most helpful at this time. For instance, in God's relation to us, it is not the Fatherhood of God which will appeal more strongly, but the Kingship of God, his authority, his wisdom, his justice and power; but with this presentation of the majesty of the Creator must be closely associated the thought of God as a daily Companion, as a Saviour from the power of sin, and as the Giver of eternal life and a heavenly home. Our relation to God as subjects of the King, and as dependent upon him for guidance, is linked with the thought of the privilege of cooperating with him in such forms of service as are possible to children, and in such manifestations of love as find natural expression in prayer, praise, and worship.

The Junior in his relation to others must be taught to play fair, to obey those in authority, to cooperate heartily in the duties and joys of the home life, and to champion right causes, whether standing alone or in company with others. The duties the child owes to himself which can best be taught and are most needed in this period are the formation of right personal habits, making right choices, and establishing right conceptions of progress.

THE JUNIOR TEACHER

Personality

A great deal is said about the characteristics of the Junior pupils and how these affect the plans that are made for their instruction. They also have a bearing upon the type of adult who should deal with the children in this formative period. It should not be necessary to say that the teacher must be a Christian and a church member, for consistency and common sense alike would demand that he who seeks to prepare recruits for the army of the Lord must be in active service himself. He cannot say, "Go"; he must be able to say, as the Master did, "Come, follow me." The blind cannot be leaders of the blind. But there are many kinds of Christians and church members-persons who differ in temperament and in ways of looking at religious truth.

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