4. "Never to use a hard word if an easy one will convey your meaning; and never to use any word at all unless you are quite sure that it has a meaning to convey." Mark—not "long" word, but "hard" word.
5. "Never to begin an address, or a lesson, without a clear view of its end." Then aim high and at the mark.
6. "Never to give an unnecessary command, nor one which you do not mean to see obeyed." Therefore, few commands; for in case you fail to secure obedience the child rules you, and not you the child.
7. "Never to permit a child to remain in the class for a minute without something to do, and a motive for doing it." A child wants something to do, and cannot bear to be idle. Keep him busy.
Teaching is an art, and like any other art, it has to be learned—learned, too, by study, observation, and practice. It has its rules and principles. He who knows and practises them is a good workman; while he who neglects them is necessarily inefficient. First, we must get the ideas and principles. Secondly, we must imitate or copy the good examples or models; and thirdly, we are to practise teaching; for the best way to learn how to teach is to teach. Said Ralph Wells, when asked how he learned to teach, "By my mistakes and failures." In teaching others successfully we teach ourselves effectively.
In seeking after our models or examples to copy, we need not, like the artist, go to Italy in order to copy the great masters; for the great Master of teaching—Christ, our Model Teacher and the teacher's model—is always before us, and His example is perfect. He is "the Teacher come from God." "He spake as never man spake." Let us notice some characteristics of His teaching:
1. He was very instructive. He knew what was in man, and just how to meet his wants. If our words do not instruct, they "are simply impertinent." Do our "lips teach knowledge?"
2. He was beautifully simple,—child-like, but never childish; so clear that all could understand. So our words should be few, well-chosen, simple, and adapted, softly and deliberately expressed.
3. His teaching was highly illustrative. So should ours be. He gathered from all the common surroundings of life. The tiny sparrow was made to illustrate His care; He pointed the magi to the stars; the fishermen were to be fishers of men; He taught a lesson to the merchant-man from the goodly pearl; the water-bearer was offered the water of life; while the wheat, the grain, the tares, the chaff, the vine, the tree, the field, and almost every object taught the husbandman amid his daily toil. Heaven itself is represented by earthly things and objects the most valued—by "songs," "arches," "harps of gold," "rivers clear as crystal," "rivers of pleasure," "pearly gates," "precious rubies and stones," etc. His illustrations always threw light upon truth—never displaced it, as ours sometimes do. They were drawn from everyday life, and so well adapted that they were joyfully received by the candid inquirer. Let all Sabbath-school teachers herein copy the Master. Apt illustrations render truth more permanent; for it is well said, that the "simile, the anecdote, the fable, is sure to be remembered, and the sentiment to which it was linked is sure to go with it."
4. His teaching was, also, sublimely courageous. "He spake as one having authority." His confidence in God and in His truth raised Him above fear and doubt.