As the teacher faces this “carry-over” problem he is impressed that he must touch the lives of his pupils not only as individuals but as members of a social group.  It becomes his obligation not only to direct them in matters pertaining to their own welfare, physically, intellectually, and morally, but he has a responsibility in helping to establish the standards of society to which individuals naturally subscribe more or less unconsciously.

The strong teacher’s influence can be made to affect the ideals of the athletic field, of the amusement hall, of the church, of the business center, and of the home.  These agencies offer such a variety of possibilities that every lesson offers easily some avenue of application.  By way of illustration let us turn to a few subjects and point out some possibilities in the matter of application.  May it be said here, in passing, that the secret of making application lies in not getting lost in the past so that we may walk along with our heads turned back over the shoulder of time pondering merely the things of the past.  All too often the teacher hurries over into the Holy Land of some four thousand years ago, leaving a class of twentieth century boys and girls here at home to wonder what all that ancient material has to do with the problems that confront them here and now.  Not that we should ignore the past.  Successful application lies in reaching back into the past for a solution of today’s difficulties.  But the solution is our great concern.  “We look back that we may the better go forward.”

To illustrate: 

A lesson on Cain and Abel may find its application in a solution of the problems of the jealousy and selfishness that exist today.  This story ought not to be merely a recounting of murder.  There is a little Cain—­a little Abel—­in all of us.  Consider the case of the boy who smashed up his brother’s new sled as well as his own, because he couldn’t keep up in coasting.  The nature of the class will determine the particular application.  Or consider the story of Samson and Delilah:  at first thought, a story with but little to contribute to a solution of today’s problems.  Yet out of that story application can be made beautifully, through either of these two truths: 

   He who plays with sin will eventually be conquered by it; or,

   Marrying outside one’s church is attended by grave dangers.

A lesson on helpfulness was once beautifully and rather dramatically given through the story of a rescue of a train.  A lad was out at play on a railroad track when he discovered that a recent storm had washed out part of the road bed.  He remembered that the through passenger train was due in a few minutes, and so rushed along the track and by frantically waving his hat succeeded in stopping the train just in time to prevent a terrible catastrophe.  A few well-directed questions called for the pupils’ own idea of application.  They, too, would flag a train if such an occasion should arise.  They could help people generally to guard against danger.  They even carried the idea over into rendering any kind of service, about the home, at school, and elsewhere, as long as it was helpful.