George Hodges, _Training of Children in Religion_, chap. xiv.
Appleton, $1.50.

II. Further Reading

A. Hoben, _The Minister and the Boy_. The University of Chicago
Press, $1.00.

E.C. Foster, _The Boy and the Church_. Sunday School Times Co.,
$0.75.

G.A. Coe, _Education in Religion and Morals_, Part II. Revell,
$1.35.

III. Topics for Discussion

1. What are the special common interests of church and family?

2. What are the fundamental relationships of the two?

3. What conception of the church ought to be fostered in the
children's minds?

4. When is criticism of the church unwise?

5. What changes might be made in church life for the sake of the
children?

6. What changes would bring the church and the home closer
together?

7. What should be the children's conception of unity with the
church?

8. Should children attend, in family groups, the church service of
worship?

9. Does the plan of a short service for children meet the need?

FOOTNOTES:

[46] See a pamphlet on _Church School Buildings_ (free) published by the
Religious Education Association; also H.F. Evans, _The Sunday-School
Building and Its Equipment_.

[47] See the author's suggestion for the Sunday school in _Efficiency in
the Sunday School_, chap. xv.

CHAPTER XVIII

CHILDREN AND THE SCHOOL

Wise parents will know the character of the influences affecting their
children at all times. At no time can their responsibility be delegated
to others. There is a tendency to think that when children go to school
the family has a release from responsibility. But the school is simply
the community--the group of families--syndicating its efforts for the
formal training of the young. Every family ought to know what the
community is doing with its children. The school belongs to all; it is
not the property of a board, nor a private machine belonging to the
teaching force; it belongs to us and we owe a social duty as well as a
family obligation to understand its work and its influence on the
children.

Parents ought to visit the school. Wise principals and teachers will
welcome them, setting times when visits can best be made. The visitors
come, not as critics, but as citizens and parents. The principal
benefits will be an acquaintance with the teachers of our children and a
better understanding of the condition