I

Religion for Children.

STANLEY B. HAZZARD, A. M., Mt. Vernon, N. Y.

N these days of experimental pedagogy, when the developing and training of a child's natural instinetive tendencies has become to many educators a matter of license rather than liberty, it is well to remember that all philosophies—even that of education are grounded upon that psychological mystery, namely, conviction; and, if we are to speak pragmatically, the more profound the conviction, the loftier will be the philosophy. War times are bad times, for they speak of human anguish and privation; but, if we read history as well as our Bibles aright, we shall see that war times are also good times in a very unique sense, for God works through history as much today for a moral purpose as He did in the days of the Jewish Prophets-that is, history is still God's training-school for character-and the present situation points out to us that God has in store for the world either a choice blessing. or an important lesson. Being a pedagogue, I choose the latter . for what are we more in need of today, than justice between nations and brotherhood among men? Obviously, we have not. outgrown the sense of sin, though we have been told thus. The: moral issue is again in the very centre of attention. Moral responsibility is the subject even of diplomatic correspondence. And the time demands as it never did before, that we direct our educa- · tional powers against the forces which make for evil on both a. national and an individual scale. If the men of tomorrow are not to make the mistakes of the men of today, then today's children must be trained with rigid, even severe discipline. So heavily does this press upon me along the lines of religious education, that when I had an opportunity to preach in one of New York City's large churches, a few weeks ago, I chose as my text Jesus words to the multitude concerning John the Baptist: "What went ye. out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?"

With sin, on such a gigantic scale as we witness it today, staring us in the face on the one hand and the empirical knowledge that no experience so permeates all of life's activities and interests as does the religious experience on the other hand, what conviction to return to the matter of convictions-could be more profound and wholesome than this: that the most legitimate venture in the training of a child is the creating of an atmosphere in which the child may have a genuine religious experience? If our national salvation rests upon the compulsory military training of. our youths, and the solution of our nutriment problem rests upon coersive farm industry, then the conservation of character no less rests upon the severe religious discipline of our children. And the average Sunday School does not meet this demand, for with few exceptions, it is but a means of acquainting the child with the facts recorded in the Bible and that most inaccurately-rather than helping him to find God in nature, in history, in his daily experiences and then interpreting to the child the meaning of these experiences, thus preparing him to take his place in the world as a Christian man or woman. "The true function of a religious philosophy is not proof but interpretation", writes Dr. William Adams Brown in his recent lectures on Christianity in the Far East. "The elemental needs and experiences of the soul are the real ground of our faith in God. It is our privilege to interpret their significance to those who have not yet discovered it, and so direct the latent energies of the soul into their appropriate channel."

At first hand, this presents itself as a very difficult, if not impossible task. Religion of this type for children? The trouble lies in that it has not been put to the proof. Children are naturally: religious. I have obtained the most unusual results from experiments along this line among children of the various nationalities in New York City's most congested and poverty-stricken foreign district. And mind you it is from these conditions, so the Committee on Criminal Courts tells us, that nine-tenths of. lawless children come.

For instance: I have one group composed of Italian, Irish and Russian boys, not one over thirteen years of age, who actually go into all things prayerfully. This particular group meets twice a week aside from Sunday for organized play and physical exer

cise, yet its members never go into the gymnasium without first spending at least half an hour in prayer and Bible study, whether their leader is with them or not. The group was small at first and made strenuous demands upon patience and charity as well as upon time and forethought but it soon caught the spirit of earnestness and grew rapidly.-On one occasion a whole "gang" appealed for admission. Here, the boys learn by doing rather than by instruction. They are not only trained to freely express themselves in public prayer and testimony but are also encouraged to do evangelical work among their playmates and associates. A lad of ten or over can as easily face a group of two hundred children and lead them in public worship as to join in group hymn singing at an open-air service. Some of the boys appear at the mid-week prayer-meeting of the church and take part far better than many of the adults; and several have already united with the church. One lad of twelve gave as his answer to the query, "Why do you wish to join a church?"-"I want to be seen with God's people and help in the things they are trying to do"; and to the question, "What is prayer?"—"Just talking to God, That's all". It is no uncommon thing for one of these boys to suffer persecution at school or on the street for making advances. They accomplish real things. One of the Russian lads has actually succeeded in making a gentleman acquaintance of his father's stop drinking.

Generous hearts made it possible that this group of lads be sent to a boy's camp for two weeks during the summer. At camp they. found other lads who, never having attended a Sunday School,. knew not the religious experience of prayer. Immediately and without suggestion, they organized a nightly prayer service around the campfire before going to bed, not to mention the starting of a Bible study class on Sunday afternoons. Even the camp cook was subject to the religious influence. The story of Little Arthur in "Tom Brown's School Days" is in truth being retold in life again and again.

And all this without losing any of that delightfully boyish mischief or producing an unnatural mood of seriousness. Nor does their behavior and that life indicate that religion to them is an added something rather than the crowning influence upon life in all its many and varied aspects. They are still boys, interested

in all boy activity and friendly intercourse for this group is in reality a boy's basket ball team-but they are religiously trained boys. This type of work can be done and its effects are far reaching. The religious influence has actually spread into the congested neighborhood where this and other such educational experiments are being carried on, so that marked changes are noticeable. If religious education cannot be conducted on such an elaborate scale, the Children's Church can at least be inaugurated and those who are the most sceptical will soon appreciate that religion for children is a very possible as well as a much needed and wholesome undertaking.

The Mountains.

Why should we care though the world may frown
Or silently pass us by,

The mountains are there with their rugged brows
Upheld to the azure sky.

Why should we care though the days be long
And sometimes weary with pain,

Firm are the mountains, like God's dear love,
A solace for heart and brain.

Little it matters to you or to me

How much of earth's dross we hold,

If our hearts beat true as the mountains stand

Our treasures can not be told.

Clara J. Denton.

Reorganization of English in Secondary

Schools.

Review, by Maud Elma Kingsley, of the Report by the National Joint Committee on English representing the Commission on the · Reorganization of Secondary Education, of the National Education Association and the National Council of Teachers of English. Bulletin, 1917, No. 2. U. S. Bureau of Education.

It is the chief, if not the only, function of the public school system to fit its graduates for a worthy part in the American business and social life into which the great majority of them enter directly from the schoolroom. For such a career, a command of the resources of the English language is an indispensable equipment and the school courses in language must be organized and directed from an essentially utilitarian viewpoint. It is the purpose of this wholly admirable bulletin of the United States Bureau of Education to give, in concise and readable form, the views of the best educators of the country as to the most practical methods of correlating the several branches of language instruction to the definite object of directing the pupil (1) to the proper and effective use of English for his own purpose; (2) to an appreciation of the literary masterpieces of the language.

The efficiency of such a course as the one presented here depends (1) on the conditions which prevail in elementary schools; (2) upon the standard of requirements for the senior high school. Re ports on both these points have been prepared in detail by the Coinmittee on Administrative Problems. For the one, a definite statement is made as to what degree of attainment may be expected at the end of the sixth school year; for the other, the committee offers a minimum standard in English for a graduate of the high school. This standard is so high that few may attain it absolutely; but the effort to work according to this definite plan, however far this effort may fail of accomplishment, will revolutionize the English work of our schools.