Work
No teacher whose labors are to be crowned with success and happiness, the results that count, must be afraid of work. Work is the secret of success. Its example tells. The teacher who can work willingly and cheerfully and who shows that he is happy when he has something to do needs never to complain that the pupils do not work. It is good for a teacher to give the impression that he does home work, studies gladly, is interested in every lesson that he hears, and knows his subject thoroughly. Such a teacher will have pupils who study with zest, who utilize their spare moments and above all, pupils who really are interested in their work.
A teacher must not approach any task in a half-hearted way, but with all the strength and energy he is able to command. Happiness and success and a helpful optimism come from active participation in life’s battles. The individual who likes work, likes play, likes to read, loves Nature, and thereby finds diversity and recreation in the activities of life will not find the work of the teacher too taxing. After a hard lesson in mathematics, a real, live novel—written by a modern novelist—will often rest the mind.
A walk after a hard day in school is restful.
The writer recalls a splendid, little, effective teacher who after a hard and successful day in the school-room would go with her pupils to hunt flowers, to row or ride, would often work in the garden, sometimes play baseball, and could indulge in a snowballing that sent everyone home with a feeling of good fellowship. She had some silver threads in her hair and her years numbered more than a half century, still her cheeks were ruddy and her eyes keen. She was young in spirit and the children loved her. Her efficiency as a teacher was never questioned. Many are the men and women who are making the world better because she trained them when they were boys and girls. Work interspersed with the proper exercise and recreation will not injure any teacher’s health. Worry as a rule is the undermining force at work. The teacher who attempts to get along without exercise will sometime in his career, though not always at first, become a miserable failure. Exercise is necessary. It should be taken daily in the open air. Exercise and open air are two elixirs of youth. The teacher needs them.