God Honors Workers
Children and youth should learn from the Bible how God has honored the work of the everyday toiler. Let them read of “the sons of the prophets” (2 Kings 6:1-7), students at school who were building a house and for whom God performed a miracle to save a borrowed ax. Let them read of Jesus the carpenter, and Paul the tentmaker, who linked the toil of the craftsman with the highest ministry, human and divine. Let them read about the boy whose five loaves were used by the Savior in that wonderful miracle for the feeding of the multitude; of Dorcas the seamstress, called back from death that she might continue to make garments for the poor; of the wise woman described in Proverbs, who “seeks wool and flax, and willingly works with her hands,” who “provides food for her household, and a portion for her maidservants,” who “plants a vineyard” and “strengthens her arms,” who “extends her hand to the poor, yes, ... reaches out her hands to the needy,” who “watches over the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness.” Proverbs 31:13, 15; 31:16, 17, 20, 27.TEd 132.2
Of such a person, God says: “She shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her own works praise her in the gates.” Proverbs 31:30, 31.TEd 132.3
For every child the first school for training in industries should be the home. And, so far as possible, facilities for manual training should be connected with every school. To a great degree such training would supply the place of the gymnasium, with the additional benefit of affording valuable discipline.TEd 132.4
Manual training deserves far more attention than it has received. Schools should be established that, in addition to the highest mental and moral culture, shall provide the best possible facilities for physical development and practical industries. Instruction should be given in many of the most useful trades, as well as in household economy, healthful cooking, sewing, dressmaking, treatment of the sick, and similar lines. Gardens, workshops, and treatment rooms should be provided, and the work in every line should be under the direction of skilled instructors.TEd 132.5
The work should be thorough and have a definite aim. While every person needs some knowledge of various handicrafts, all should become proficient in at least one. All young people, on leaving school, should have a knowledge of some trade or occupation by which, if need be, they may earn a livelihood.TEd 133.1
The objection most often urged against industrial training in school is the large outlay and heavy expense involved. But the object to be gained is worthy of its cost. No other work committed to us is so important as the training of our youth, and every outlay demanded for its right accomplishment is money well spent.TEd 133.2
Even from the viewpoint of financial results, the outlay required for manual training would prove the truest economy. The expenditure for gardens, workshops, and facilities for water treatments would be more than met by the saving on hospitals and reformatories. And the youth themselves, trained to habits of industry, and skilled in lines of useful and productive labor—who can estimate their value to society and to the nation!TEd 133.3
As a relaxation from study, occupations pursued in the open air and affording exercise for the whole body, are the most beneficial. No line of manual training is of more value than agriculture. The Bible says much about agriculture—that it was God’s plan for human beings to till the earth, that the first man, the ruler of the whole world, was given a garden to cultivate. Many of the world’s greatest people, its real nobility, have worked the soil. Of those who cultivate the soil the Bible declares, “They are well instructed; their God teaches them” Isaiah 28:26, NRSV. And again, “Whoever keeps the fig tree will eat its fruit.” Proverbs 27:18.TEd 133.4
In the study of agriculture, let students be given not only theory, but practice. While they learn what science can teach in regard to the nature and preparation of the soil, the value of different crops, and the best methods of production, let them put their knowledge to use. Teachers should share the work with their students, and show what results can be achieved through skillful, intelligent effort. Thus may be awakened a genuine interest, an ambition to do the work in the best possible manner. Such an ambition, together with the invigorating effect of exercise, sunshine, and pure air, will create a love for agricultural work that with many youth will determine their choice of an occupation.TEd 133.5