Education
by Ellen G. White
Chapter 33: Co-operation
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In all that concerns the well-being of the child, it should
be the effort of parents and teachers to co-operate.
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In the formation of character, no other influences count so
much as the influence of the home. The teacher's work should supplement that of
the parents, but is not to take its place. In all that concerns the well-being
of the child, it should be the effort of parents and teachers to co-operate. {Ed 283.1}
The work of co-operation should begin with the father and
mother themselves, in the home life. In the training of their children they
have a joint responsibility, and it should be their constant endeavor to act
together. Let them yield themselves to God, seeking help from Him to sustain
each other. Let them teach their children to be true to God, true to principle,
and thus true to themselves and to all with whom they are connected. With such
training, children when sent to school will not be a cause of disturbance or
anxiety. They will be a support to their teachers, and an example and
encouragement to their fellow pupils. {Ed 283.2}
Parents who give this training are not the ones likely to be
found criticizing the teacher. They feel that both the interest of their
children and justice to the school demand that, so far as possible, they
sustain and honor the one who shares their responsibility. [284] {Ed 283.3}
Many parents fail here. By their hasty, unfounded criticism
the influence of the faithful, self-sacrificing teacher is often well-nigh
destroyed. Many parents whose children have been spoiled by indulgence, leave
to the teacher the unpleasant task of repairing their neglect; and then by
their own course they make his task almost hopeless. Their criticism and
censure of the school management encourage insubordination in the children, and
confirm them in wrong habits. {Ed 284.1}
If criticism or suggestion in regard to the teacher's work
becomes necessary, it should be made to him in private. If this proves
ineffective, let the matter be referred to those who are responsible for the
management of the school. Nothing should be said or done to weaken the
children's respect for the one upon whom their well-being in so great degree
depends. {Ed 284.2}
The parents' intimate knowledge both of the character of the
children and of their physical peculiarities or infirmities, if imparted to the
teacher, would be an assistance to him. It is to be regretted that so many fail
of realizing this. By most parents little interest is shown either to inform
themselves as to the teacher's qualifications, or to co-operate with him in his
work. {Ed 284.3}
Since parents so rarely acquaint themselves with the
teacher, it is the more important that the teacher seek the acquaintance of
parents. He should visit the homes of his pupils and gain a knowledge of the
influences and surroundings among which they live. By coming personally in
touch with their homes and lives, he may strengthen the ties that bind him to
his pupils and may learn how to deal more successfully with their different
dispositions and temperaments. {Ed 284.4}
As he interests himself in the home education, the [285]
teacher imparts a double benefit. Many parents, absorbed in work and care, lose
sight of their opportunities to influence for good the lives of their children.
The teacher can do much to arouse these parents to their possibilities and
privileges. He will find others to whom the sense of their responsibility is a
heavy burden, so anxious are they that their children shall become good and
useful men and women. Often the teacher can assist these parents in bearing
their burden, and, by counseling together, both teacher and parents will be encouraged
and strengthened. {Ed
284.5}
In the home training of the youth the principle of
co-operation is invaluable. From their earliest years children should be led to
feel that they are a part of the home firm. Even the little ones should be
trained to share in the daily work and should be made to feel that their help
is needed and is appreciated. The older ones should be their parents'
assistants, entering into their plans and sharing their responsibilities and
burdens. Let fathers and mothers take time to teach their children, let them
show that they value their help, desire their confidence, and enjoy their
companionship, and the children will not be slow to respond. Not only will the
parents' burden be lightened, and the children receive a practical training of
inestimable worth, but there will be a strengthening of the home ties and a
deepening of the very foundations of character. {Ed 285.1}
Co-operation should be the spirit of the schoolroom, the law
of its life. The teacher who gains the co-operation of his pupils secures an
invaluable aid in maintaining order. In service in the schoolroom many a boy
whose restlessness leads to disorder and insubordination would find an outlet
for his superfluous energy. Let the older assist the younger, the strong the
weak; and, so far as [286] possible, let each be called
upon to do something in which he excels. This will encourage self-respect and a
desire to be useful. {Ed
285.2}
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It would be helpful for the youth, and for parents and
teachers as well, to study the lesson of co-operation as taught in the
Scriptures. Among its many illustrations notice the building of the tabernacle,—that
object lesson of character building,—in which the whole people
united, "everyone whose heart stirred him up, and everyone whom his spirit
made willing." Exodus 35:21. Read how the wall of Jerusalem was rebuilt by
the returned captives, in the midst of poverty, difficulty, and danger, the
great task successfully accomplished because "the people had a mind to work."
Nehemiah 4:6. Consider the part acted by the disciples in the Saviour's miracle
for the feeding of the multitude. The food multiplied in the hands of Christ,
but the disciples received the loaves and gave to the waiting throng. {Ed 286.1}
"We are members one of another." As everyone
therefore "hath received a (R.V.) gift, even so minister the same one to
another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God." Ephesians 4:25; 1
Peter 4:10. {Ed 286.2}
Well might the words written of the idol builders of old be,
with worthier aim, adopted as a motto by character builders of today: {Ed 286.3}
"They helped everyone his neighbor; and everyone said
to his brother, Be of good courage." Isaiah 41:6. {Ed 286.4}
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"Discipline"
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