American Education Author:Edward Deering Mansfield Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: CHAPTER IV. THE TEACHER HIS QUALIFICATIONS, HIS TEACHING, AND HIS CHARACTER. M It requires great wisdom and industry to advance a considerable estate, m... more »uch art and contrivance and pains to raise a great and regular building; but tbe greatest and noblest work in the world, and an effect of the greatest prudence and care, is to rear and build up a man, and to form and fashion him to piety, and justice, and temperance, and all kind of honest and worthy actions."—Titlotson. Who is the teacher said to be abroad upon the earth,—once the subject of inspiration—now of legislation,—seeking to mingle with statesmen in the government of men ? What are his limits ? In vain I seek to confine him. It seems to me that earth has no prison-house for him. His limits are the boundaries of mind itself. For into what circle of the arts does he not enter ? Over what secret emotions of the soul has he not control ? What field in the wide domain of knowledge does he not penetrate? Into what lonely nook of society does he send no influence ? Though the business of teaching (considered in its absolute sense) may be as wide and as durable as the universe of intelligent beings, yet we may study and deduce the laws of right instruction, from our knowledge of the laws of mind, and its operation in society. The philosopher in vain attempts to trace therays of light through the pathless heavens as they fall in succession on each object of creation ; but he can analyze and comprehend its principles. It is the light of knowledge upon which we speak, and the laws of instruction we would investigate. The term teacher is generic, signifying one who conveys knowledge, informs, instructs. There are certain general characteristics which belong to all good teachers, and these are the characteristics Upo...« less