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 A brief course in the teaching process, 
 
 3 1924 013 372 499 
 
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 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924013372499 
 
A BRIEF COURSE IN THE 
 TEACHING PROCESS 
 
Brtef Course Sertes in ]£5ucation 
 
 EDITED BY 
 
 PAUL MONROE, Ph.D. 
 
 BRIEF COURSE IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION 
 
 Paul Monroe, Ph.D., Professor of the History of Education, 
 Teachers College, Columbia University. 
 
 BRIEF COURSE IN THE TEACHING PROCESS 
 
 George D. Strayer, Ph.D., Professor of Educational Ad- 
 ministration, Teachers College, Columbia University. 
 
 BRIEF COURSE IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCA- 
 TION. John Dewey, Ph.D., LL.D., Professor of Philosophy, 
 Columbia University. In preparation. 
 
A BRIEF COURSE 
 
 IN 
 
 THE TEACHING PROCESS 
 
 BY 
 
 GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER, Ph.D. 
 
 PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION, FORMERLY 
 
 ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 
 
 TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 
 
 Neto gorfe 
 
 THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 
 1917 
 
 All rights reserved 
 
Copyright, 1911, 
 By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY. 
 
 Set up and electrotyped. Published October, Z91X. Reprinted 
 January, March, April, September, 1913 ; January, July, November, 
 December, 1913; October, December, 1914; May, 1915; January, 
 July, 1916 ; March, September, 1917. 
 
 3. 8. Onshing Go. — Berwick A Smith Co. 
 I7orwaod, Mass., U.S.A. 
 
TO MY WIFE 
 
PREFACE 
 
 This book is the direct outcome of experience in trying 
 to help teachers grow in skill in the art of teaching and in 
 power to appreciate the work in which they are engaged. In 
 the following pages have been treated as concretely as possible 
 the problems which the teacher faces day after day in the class- 
 room. Theories of education have not been discussed at any 
 great length, but rather those processes through which these 
 fundamental principles find their expression in actual teaching. 
 
 Terminology which it is difl&cult for teachers to understand 
 has been avoided. Although the results of studies in educa- 
 tional psychology and in experimental pedagogy have been 
 included in the interpretation of the problems discussed, it 
 has not been thought advantageous to discuss at any length 
 any one of these investigations. 
 
 Many of the books which have been written for teachers 
 have discussed theories of teaching method without indicating 
 clearly the application of these principles in typical classroom 
 exercises. In other volumes a single type of teaching has been 
 emphasized to the exclusion of other equally valid methods 
 of instruction. In this book each of the several typical meth- 
 ods of instruction has been treated, and the validity of the 
 particular practice indicated in terms of the end to be accomp- 
 lished, as well as the technique to be used. Since the technique 
 of teaching method is not the only element in determining the 
 efl&ciency of the teacher, there is included in this book a 
 discussion of those other aspects of the teacher's work which 
 determine the contribution which she makes to the education 
 of the children with whom she works. 
 
viii Preface 
 
 In the chapter on lesson plans are given a number of il- 
 lustrations which conform to the types of exercises discussed 
 earlier in the book. One of the greatest needs in working 
 with teachers is met by this very definite provision for demon- 
 strating the validity of the types of teaching discussed. The 
 exercises given at the end of each chapter are' intended to 
 supplement the discussions of the book by calling for an in- 
 terpretation of the thought there presented in terms of situa- 
 tions with which teachers are commonly familiar. 
 
 To Professors F. M. McMurry, Naomi Norsworthy, and 
 L. D. Coffman, each of whom has read the manuscript, I am 
 indebted for many valuable suggestions. To Miss Kirchwey of 
 the Horace Mann School, Miss Steele and Miss Wright of the 
 Speyer School, to Miss Tall, Supervisor of Grammar Grades 
 in Baltimore County, Maryland, and to Dr. Lida B. Earhart 
 of the New York City Schools, I am indebted for lesson plans. 
 The outlines for the study of English, arithmetic, geography, 
 and history which are given in the appendix are published 
 with the permission of the authors and of the Teachers Col- 
 lege Bureau of Publications. 
 
 GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER. 
 
 Teachers College, Columbia University, 
 August lo, 1911. 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER I 
 The Aim of Education 
 
 Education measured by differences brought about in individuals — 
 Various statements of the aim — The individualistic point of view 
 has been emphasized — The social aim of education — Aim real- 
 ized in various types of education — Various teaching processes 
 contribute to the realization of the aim — Test of the teacher's 
 work the ^r«««^ realization of the aim .... i-n 
 
 CHAPTER n 
 
 The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 
 
 Success in realizing the aim of education depends upon a clear realiza- 
 tion of the conditioning factors — The increased responsibility of 
 the school — The necessity for knowledge of the home life of 
 children — The instinctive equipment of children — Play — Con- 
 structiveness — Imitation — Emulation — Pugnacity — Curiosity 
 
 — Ownership — The social instinct — Wonder — The importance 
 of interest in instruction — The danger of divided interest — In- 
 terest as means and as, end — Heredity — Individual differences 12-3 j 
 
 CHAPTER III 
 The Teaching Process 
 
 Teaching a process of controlling adjustments — Types of adjustment 
 
 — The common element in these situations, satisfaction — Types 
 of attention corresponding to types of adjustment — Passive, 
 active, and secondary passive attention — Illustrations of the 
 types of attention — The problem of securing continued attention 
 
 — The importance of the problem in teaching . . . 32-40 
 
X Table of Contents 
 
 CHAPTER IV 
 The Drill Lesson 
 
 PAGE! 
 
 The necessity for drill — The question of motive — Clear ideas of the 
 habit to be formed essential — Repetition with attention essential 
 in drill work — Attention held by initial motive, by varying 
 the procedure, by placing time limits, and by appealing to emula- 
 tion — Necessity for accuracy in practice — The periods elapsing 
 between repetitions or series of repetitions should be gradually 
 lengthened — Danger of the cramming method — In a series of 
 responses to be made automatic each member of the series must 
 be included — Drill especially on work that presents peculiar 
 difficulty 41-50 
 
 CHAPTER V 
 
 , The Inductive Lesson 
 
 The importance of thinking — Preparation should end with statement 
 ot tne problem by children — The gathering of data the work of 
 pupils in so far as is possible — Suggestions for conducting ex- 
 cursions — The hypothesis in relation to comparison and abstrac- 
 tion — Not everything can be developed — Respect for the expert 
 to be developed — Danger of helping children too much — The 
 steps of the process cannot be sharply differentiated — Teaching 
 by types Si-69 
 
 CHAPTER VI 
 
 The Deductive Lesson 
 
 The complete process of thought involves both induction and deduc- 
 tion — The frequency of deductive thinking — The teacher in 
 relation to the thinking of children — Reflection — The problem 
 as essential in deductive as in inductive thinking — The search 
 for the principle or law which explains — The meaning of infer- 
 ence — The importance of verification .... 70-77 
 
 CHAPTER VII 
 
 The Lesson for Appreciation 
 
 Education should enable one to enjoy life — Power of appreciation 
 should be developed in our schools — Necessity for power of 
 
Table of Contents xi 
 
 appreciation on the part of the teacher — The relation of com- 
 mand of technique involved in creation to power of appreciation 
 
 — The necessity for a right emotional attitude on part of children 
 at the beginning of such an exercise — Expression of feeling 
 should not be forced — The teacher as interpreter — Creative 
 work by children — Appreciation in fields other than those in- 
 volving the aesthetic emotions 78-85 
 
 CHAPTER VIII 
 The Study Lesson 
 
 The importance of independent work — Children must become con- 
 scious of the methods which can be most efficiently employed 
 
 — Statement of problem essential for study — Assignments — 
 Children must be taught how to collect data — Taking notes — 
 Critical attitude developed — Reflection — The importance of 
 the habit of verification — Teaching children to memorize by 
 wholes — Importance of thought in memory work — Children 
 
 can be taught how to form habits 86-100 
 
 CHAPTER IX 
 Review or Examination Lesson 
 
 An examination involves a review — A review a summary and a new 
 view — Value of reviews — An abstract or topical outline a good 
 review — A review by application — The only real test of the 
 teacher's work found in children's everyday action — Examina- 
 tions as a test of the success of teaching — The needs for scales 
 of measurement 101-106 
 
 CHAPTER X 
 The Recitation Lesson 
 
 The weakness of this type of exercise as commonly conducted — The 
 topical recitation — The value of outlines prepared by pupils — 
 Pupils should learn how to use books — The danger of being 
 satisfied with words — Provision for supplementing the text — 
 Danger of accepting vague or incoherent answers — The danger 
 in developing an ultra-individualistic attitude — The recitation 
 
xii Table of Contents 
 
 PAGES 
 
 lesson not comparable in importance to other types of exercises 
 discussed 107-113 
 
 CHAPTER XI 
 
 Questioning 
 
 The importance of good questions — Types of questions — A lack 01 
 scope a common fault in questions — Careftil planning necessary 
 
 — The novelty of the form in which the question is put important 
 
 — The method of shock — The technique of questioning — The 
 mistake of asking questions in a definite order, of repeating ques- 
 tions, of repeating answers — Questioning by pupils — Impor- 
 tance of writing pivotal questions to be used in the recitation 114^128 
 
 CHAPTER XII 
 Social Phases of the Recitation 
 
 Social aim of education realized in the classroom — Motives com- 
 monly operating in schools — Children naturally work together — 
 Changes in school work demanded by the aim of education 
 
 — Illustrations of cooperation in schools — Opportunity in man- 
 ual work for group work — Plan for individual contribution in all 
 subjects — All kinds of school exercises may lend themselves to 
 the development of the social spirit — Need for more purposeful 
 work for children — The social motive important in stimulating 
 intellectual activity 129-138 
 
 CHAPTER XIII 
 The Physical Welfare of Children 
 
 The importance of physical eflSciency — The teacher should know 
 something of the standards of lighting, heating, and ventilating — 
 Right habits of posture under the control of teachers — The 
 schoolroom and infectious diseases — The teacher's responsibility 
 for discovering defects of sight, hearing, and the like — The 
 teacher and the movement for better health conditions in the 
 community — The teacher's right to health . . . 139-144 
 
Table of Contents xiii 
 
 CHAPTER XIV 
 
 Moral Training 
 
 . ,, PAGES 
 
 Intellectual and moral training cannot be separated — Scliool condi- 
 tions offer advantages for moral training — Increased responsi- 
 bility of schools for moral training— Individual differences, due 
 to heredity, environment, and age important in moral training — 
 Physical condition and morality — Direct and indirect method 
 of moral instruction — Morality and taste— Importance of call- 
 ing for an exercise of the moral judgment — The reform of the 
 wrongdoer — The influence of the teacher . . . 145-156 
 
 CHAPTER XV 
 Class Management 
 
 Class management as a means and as an end — Conditions under 
 which management should result in habit — Situations which 
 demand self-control — Pupil participation in school government 
 
 — The daily program — Group instruction — Children should be 
 individualized — Individual instruction will not make children 
 equal in ability nor in accomplishment — Management in relation 
 
 to teaching 157-166 
 
 CHAPTER XVI 
 
 Lesson Plans 
 
 Necessity for planning work — Teacher's lack of interest in work often 
 repeated — Change in subject matter — Preparation, not inspira- 
 tion, counts in teaching — Importance of good questions, illus- 
 trations and illustrative material, reference material, plans for 
 constructive work — The elements in a good plan — Organization 
 
 — Pivotal questions — Provision for summaries — Assignment 167-223 
 
 CHAPTER XVII 
 The Teacher in Relation to Supervision 
 
 The purpose of supervision — Criticism, its various tj^ts — When 
 to discuss work with supervisors — School exhibits — Visiting 
 
Kiv Table of Contents 
 
 PAGES 
 
 ■within and outside of the system in which one works — Exami- 
 nations and supervision — The function of teachers' meetings — 
 Institutes, the better type — Supervision and growth . . 224-231 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 The Teacher in Relation to the Course of Study 
 
 The course of study as a taskmaster — The real purpose of the course 
 of study — Provisions for minimum, alternative, and optional 
 work — How the course of study may help the teacher — The 
 teacher's contribution to the making of the course of study — The 
 interpretation of the course of study to children — The doctrine 
 of formal discipline — The vitalization of the curriculum . 232-246 
 
 CHAPTER XIX 
 
 Measuring Results in Education 
 
 Efficiency demands that we evaluate our results — Progress by the 
 method of trial and success — Reasons why scientific work in 
 education has progressed slowly — Results already achieved in 
 measuring the results of our practice — Education means change, 
 and these changes are measurable — Lack of adequate units of 
 measurement not an argument against measurement — The steps 
 in scientific investigation — The teacher in relation to scientific 
 work in education — The school a laboratory . . . 247-265 
 
A BRIEF COURSE IN THE 
 TEACHING PROCESS 
 
CHAPTER I 
 
 THE AIM OF EDUCATION 
 
 Education is worth just the difference it makes in the 
 activities of the individual who has been educated. The ques- 
 tion is not how many books did we compel the child to read ; 
 how much does he know of arithmetic, geography, history, 
 music, art, and the like : but rather what use does he make of 
 this knowledge ; how is he different from the person who does 
 not possess this information; and, still more important, are these 
 differences in his activity desirable from the point of view of 
 the group in which he lives. It is important, then, that we 
 should consider, before we discuss the function of teacher in 
 bringing about changes in children, the ends which it is desir- 
 able to attain. 
 
 The aim of education has been variously stated. In the 
 popular mind the aim of education is usually interpreted in 
 terms of knowledge, or the ability to make a living. The 
 theorists have been more apt to define the purpose of educa- 
 tion in terms of the development of the abilities of the individ- 
 ual, of growth, of culture, or of morality. It might be inter- 
 esting to examine each of the aims which has been advanced 
 in some detail. It may be as significant to note the element 
 common to all. 
 
 It is safe to assume that the advocates of each statement of 
 aim believed that their conception was broad enough to insure 
 success for the individual educated in accordance with the 
 particular ideal embodied in their statement of purpose. No 
 aim would be at all acceptable which did not take account of 
 the society in which the individual must work. The educa- 
 
2 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 tion in a tribal society, which consisted in learning how to 
 protect one's self and to provide for one's physical needs, 
 the acquaintance with tribal ceremonies and tribal lore, quite 
 as truly as our modern education, fitted the individual to get 
 on in life. The individuahstic point of view has been con- 
 stantly emphasized. It has been a case of earning a living for 
 one's self, of getting culture for the satisfaction that it might 
 bring, of acquiring knowledge for the sake of the advancement 
 which was thus made possible, of moral growth for the sake of 
 individual salvation. More recently it has been common to 
 state the aim of education in terms of social efficiency. It is 
 the purpose of this discussion of aim to examine this concept 
 in order to make clear its significance. 
 
 When society reaches that stage of development in which 
 progress is definitely sought and planned for, the stage of 
 conscious evolution, it is not enough that the individual be 
 educated simply so that he may attain his own selfish ends. 
 Each individual is a part of the organic whole, and in his func- 
 tioning it is the good of the whole which is of paramount 
 importance. The aim of education must, then, be broad 
 enough to include both the welfare of the individual and the 
 good of society. Is there any real opposition between these 
 ends ? If we think most of all of the welfare of the whole or- 
 ganism, must we sacrifice the interests of the constituent parts ? 
 
 No one can do the most for the group of which he is a mem- 
 ber who has not realized in his education the development of 
 those abilities with which he is peculiarly endowed. The 
 nurture of those abilities upon which society places a premium, 
 and the inhibition of non-social tendencies, means greater 
 opportunity for the exercise of whatever strength the indi- 
 vidual possesses, greater individual growth and development, 
 than would otherwise be possible. It is only through partici- 
 pation in social life that the highest individual development 
 is possible, and it is true that "he who loseth his life" for the 
 good of the group " shall find it." There is, then, no opposition 
 
The Aim of Education 3 
 
 between that view of education which declares that the wel- 
 fare of society is of paramount importance, and that which 
 demands individual well being. If we are successful in obtain- 
 ing the former, we must have secured the latter. 
 
 If the analysis of the relation of the individual to society 
 is correct, we are justified in claiming that any adequate state- 
 ment of the aim of education must point unmistakably to the 
 idea of the common good. Education aims so to adjust the 
 individual to the group that the welfare of society as a whole 
 may be advanced. This adjustment can be brought about 
 only through participation in social activities, and thus the aim 
 is constantly reaUzed in the process. 
 
 In our democratic society, which makes possible free educa- 
 tion for all of its members, there can be no question of the 
 right of society to demand that education aim to develop men 
 and women who work for the common good. It is necessary, 
 then, to analyze this aim of social efficiency in terms of our 
 society. The equality of opportunity which we profess to 
 offer is to be thought of in terms of possible service which may 
 be rendered. 
 
 In any community the contribution to the general welfare 
 which may be made by any one of its members is conditioned 
 by the interests which the individual has in the general good. 
 The unsocial individual, the one who seldom responds to the 
 needs of the group, is out of sympathy with social problems, 
 and contributes little to social welfare. 
 
 But it is not enough that the individual be interested in the 
 common welfare. Interest may lead him to do that which is 
 harmful rather than helpful, or it may be that his interest may 
 have no result except to give him certain pleasurable emotions. 
 There must be added to sympathy, knowledge. Interest or 
 sympathy in the welfare of society may furnish the propelling 
 force, but knowledge is necessary for effective action. The 
 world is full of men and women with the best intentions who 
 hinder rather than advance the common good. 
 
4 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Since each is responsible not only for his own conduct, but 
 also for the welfare of the whole group, it is necessary that our 
 education provide opportunity for growth in intelligence. 
 Our schools have always emphasized this element in educa- 
 tion. We have often defined the aim of education in terms 
 of the development of citizenship. Usually the chief quali- 
 fication of the citizen has been interpreted to be that knowl- 
 edge which would enable him to exercise the right of suffrage 
 with intelligence. We do well, however, to remember that 
 intelligence must be exercised in all of the activities of life. Our 
 education must strive constantly to develop men and women 
 who will be rational at all times. But we may not forget that 
 our schools have been so much concerned with the intellectual 
 side of education that they have tended to neglect other ele- 
 ments which are equally significant from the standpoint of 
 social welfare^ 
 
 There is still another element which must be added, the habit 
 of acting on behalf of the group. We all know people who 
 know just what is demanded in a given social situation ; they 
 profess to be interested in the welfare of the group ; but they 
 never act. When their own private interests are involved 
 they are quick to seize the opportunity for improving their 
 condition ; but in social matters they are inactive. It is in this 
 particular, rather than in any other, that our schools fall short. 
 We do much to arouse the sympathy of children in the general 
 welfare ; we give them the knowledge by which their action may 
 be guided ; but we give them little opportunity to form the 
 habit of social service. This is due to the fact that we so often 
 think of adult social activities as the only ones that are worth 
 while, forgetting that for the child the important thing is 
 social activity now and in his society, that the only way to 
 prepare for adult social effectiveness is to secure social effi- 
 ciency on the part of the child. 
 
 These questions still remain : how can we, through educa- 
 tion, produce the individual who, because of social s5Tnpathy, 
 
The Aim of Education 5 
 
 knowledge, and activity, will tend to advance the welfare of all ; 
 and what kinds of education meet the demands of the aim 
 which we have set up. 
 
 First of all, we must endeavor to produce the individual who 
 is soimd physically. Modern education recognizes the fact 
 that a man's usefiilness is conditioned by his bodily condition, 
 and is also coming to find that physical activity is not without 
 its effect on the mental development and life of the individual. 
 There is, therefore, one large division of our work which we 
 may caU physical education. 
 
 On the side of mental development, education consists in 
 preserving and stimulating the child's interest in the materials 
 and processes with which he may come in contact. Intellec- 
 tual training aims to develop the man or woman who is mentally 
 alert, active in investigation, and controlled by reason. It is 
 to this intellectual education that our schools have devoted the 
 larger part of their time. The school is the agency set aside 
 by society for transmitting culture, and the teacher must 
 always concern herself largely with the intellectual life of 
 children. 
 
 Our modern view of education is leading us to stress, along 
 with physical and intellectual education, a kind of training 
 which aims to develop the individual whose moral standards 
 are positive rather than negative. Moral-social education 
 should establish ideals of social service as well as standards of 
 individual righteousness. 
 
 Along with physical, moral-social, and intellectual-cultural 
 education, there is need for that tj^e of training which will 
 enable each individual to do some particular work with a high 
 degree of efficiency. This type of education we commonly 
 call vocational. It is only recently that we have come to 
 realize that it is not enough to train an individual with respect 
 to general intelligence and morality, but that it is also just as 
 fundamental that our education provide the training necessary 
 for success in the particular calling which each individual is 
 
6 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 to enter. For the preparation of clergymen, doctors, lawyers, 
 teachers, and engineers, whose vocations require a maximum 
 of intellectual achievement, it is true that we have long had our 
 vocational schools. We are coming now to appreciate the 
 fact that equality of opportunity demands that special train- 
 ing be given to those who are to enter the industries. Indeed, 
 our vocational schools must multiply until there is training 
 offered for each and every calling before we can claim to pro- 
 vide that training which is essential for social efl&ciency. 
 
 Another problem is that of the training for leisure. In 
 society as at present constituted, it is possible for many in- 
 dividuals, and it should ultimately be possible for all, to have 
 a considerable amount of leisure time. The contribution of 
 each individual in his special line of work, and his general 
 interest in the whole commmiity, will depend in a considerable 
 degree upon the proper use of leisure time. Our education 
 must, therefore, attempt to equip men with interests and ideals 
 which make for the nobler enjoyments. 
 
 Keeping in mind the sympathetic, wise, active social indi- 
 vidual, made so by the process of acquiring experience or 
 making of adjustments, both physical and mental, we have yet 
 to reduce our aim to the terms of schoolroom practice. What 
 can a teacher hope to do in this hour, with this group of children 
 to work with? 
 
 First of all the teacher can work for the formation of 
 habits which are socially desirable and for the inhibition of 
 those which are undesirable. "Education is for behavior, 
 and habits are the stuff of which behavior consists." ^ The 
 school may be a very important factor in the formation of 
 habits in each of the fields of education mentioned above. 
 If the school is organized on a rational social basis, it must 
 continually present opportunities for actions which should 
 become habitual, and the future efficiency of the learner 
 depends upon gaining such control of much of the knowledge 
 1 James, Talks to Teachers, p. 66. 
 
The Aim of Education 7 
 
 which we teach that the response desired becomes habitual. 
 The social virtues of promptness, regularity, helpfulness, 
 industry, fidehty, honesty, truthfulness, cleanhness, both 
 physical and mental, patriotism, and the like, should be made 
 habitual in connection with the situations which demand their 
 exercise. The physical habits acquired in childhood are of 
 the utmost significance throughout hfe. Much of arithmetic, 
 spelling, writing, geography, history, and even of hterature and 
 art, will be significant in proportion as we have reduced our 
 knowledge to the automatic basis of habit. One cannot stop 
 to reason everything out ; life is too short. We gain time and 
 energy for the higher activities of life in proportion as we 
 reduce the responses which occur frequently to the basis of 
 habits. In vocational schools one of the chief aims is the for- 
 mation of habits of skill. Later we shall want to discuss in 
 detail the methodology of habit formation. 
 
 Every teacher recognizes that one of the ends which must 
 be achieved by the school is knowledge. We shall not here 
 enter into the discussion of the problem of what knowledge is 
 of most worth, since for the teacher this choice is usually 
 made and prescribed in the course of study. One cannot, 
 however, refrain from suggesting that much that is taught 
 would be eliminated, if we kept constantly in mind the end 
 for which we strive. The following criteria, proposed by Pro- 
 fessor Frank M. McMurry, will be suggestive from the stand- 
 point of teaching, whether the teacher determines the curricu- 
 lum or not. 
 
 "We hold to the following propositions in the rejection of 
 subject matter.^ 
 
 " I. Whatever cannot be shown to have a plain relation to 
 some real need of life, whether aesthetic, ethical, or utilitarian 
 in the narrower sense, must be dropped. 
 
 "2. Whatever is not reasonably within the child's compre- 
 hension. 
 
 1 F. M. McMurry, "Advisable Omissions from the Elementary Cvirriculmn," 
 M. Rev., May, 1904. 
 
8 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 "3. Whatever is unlikely to appeal to his interest ; unless it 
 is positively demanded for the first very weighty reason. 
 
 "4. Whatever topics and details are so isolated or irrelevant 
 that they fail to be a part of any series or chain of ideas, and 
 therefore fail to be necessary for the appreciation of any large 
 point. This standard, however, not to apply to the three R's 
 and spelling." 
 
 These criteria indicate clearly that knowledge can never be 
 in itself an end of teaching. It is not that the child may have 
 knowledge merely, but that he shall have knowledge which 
 will function. This knowledge which we seek to have the 
 child master will concern his physical life, his Social relation- 
 ships, his vocation ; and in each field the knowledge he possesses 
 will limit his intellectual activity. 
 
 The school must keep alive, or, in some cases, awaken those 
 interests which are socially desirable. It is not enough that 
 habits have been formed and knowledge acquired. Much of 
 the usefulness of the individual after he leaves school will de- 
 pend on his interests which lead him to acquire new knowledge, 
 or to attempt some new activity. It has sometimes been 
 asserted that the school, as at present organized, tends to kill 
 rather than to preserve those interests which are common to 
 little children. It is probable that the passing interests in 
 things due to curiosity must disappear, regardless of the edu- 
 cation which we give ; but it is a poor sort of education which 
 leaves the child without abiding interests which will help him 
 not only in making a living, but also in enjoying his life. 
 Here, as elsewhere in education, we may be satisfied with the 
 result only when we get the corresponding.action. That child 
 has an interest in good literature who reads good literature. 
 We can be sure that the boy is interested in natural phenomena 
 when he is willing to spend his leisure time finding out more 
 about nature's ways. The only test that we have of an abid- 
 ing interest in the welfare of others is the fact that the child 
 is now active on behalf of others. In like manner are we to 
 
The Aim of Education 9 
 
 judge of our success in arousing and maintaining those other 
 interests which are desirable. 
 
 Judgments of fact are called for constantly in acquiring 
 knowledge and in our everyday activity ; but no less impor- 
 tant in the life of individuals are judgments of worth. Edu- 
 cation must concern itself with the ideals, purposes, and stan- 
 dards which should be acquired by children. There is no field 
 in which greater skill is demanded in teaching than in bringing 
 children to appreciate those things which are good, true, and 
 beautiful. Ideals, or, for those who do not agree with them, 
 prejudices, will always be of tremendous importance. They 
 determine the course of action a man will take. Because of 
 their ideals men have been willing to labor incessantly for a 
 cause which they considered just, to give up personal good in 
 the pursuance of public duty, to lose all, if they might but 
 retain their honor, yes, even to lose their lives because they 
 felt that this extreme service was demanded of them. The 
 awakening and nurturing of ideals of work (or industry), of 
 honor, of duty, of purity, of service is the greatest contribution 
 of the best teacher. 
 
 There is one other aim which the teacher should have con- 
 stantly in mind, included possibly in the above, but which 
 needs to be stated separately for the sake of emphasis, i.e. 
 that children should be taught how to work independently. 
 The best teacher is the one who is constantly striving to render ' 
 her services unnecessary. There is nothing that the school 
 can do which will take the place of giving the child knowledge 
 of the most economical means to be employed in achieving 
 desirable ends. Is jt a matter of knowledge, the child should 
 be made conscious of the methods whereby truth may be es- 
 tablished ; is it the need of establishing a new habit, or the 
 breaking up of the old one, we should, make available for the 
 pupil the principles of habit formation so that he may apply 
 them to his own case ; in matters of right and wrong, the school 
 should have supplied standards of reference which will help 
 
lo A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 in the difficult situation. Possibly the great weakness of many 
 teachers in .imparting this knowledge of methods of work is 
 best illustrated by citing the well-known fact that children of 
 high school, or even college age, are found very frequently 
 who do not know how to read a book, or study a lesson assigned. 
 This problem will be treated in considerable detail when we 
 come to consider the study lesson. 
 
 Pupils at work forming habits of thought, feeling, and ac- 
 tion ; acquiring knowledge of nature and of society ; forming 
 ideals which make for social weU being ; and learning in all of 
 this work to act independently, to function in the society of 
 which they are a part : this is education, and these are the 
 goals which we should strive to achieve every day and every 
 hour that we teach. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 Nicholas Murray Butler, The Meaning of Education, Chapter I. 
 W. C. Bagley, The Edticative Process, Chapter III. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. How would you hope to contribute to the realization of the aim 
 of education in the teaching of English, arithmetic, cooking, geography, 
 or other school subjects ? 
 
 2. How would you determine whether or not the children in your 
 grade are socially efficient? 
 
 3. What are the most important subjects, or parts of subjects, which 
 you teach ? Why ? 
 
 4. How would an application of the aim of education as discussed 
 in this chapter modify the work commonly done in arithmetic? In 
 nature study ? 
 
 5. It has been claimed that education should provide for the har- 
 monious development of all of the powers. Criticize this statement of 
 aim. 
 
 6. Could you defend the statement that "the aim of education is to 
 produce socially efficient men and women," and at the same time deny 
 that the greatest individual good comes from working for the general 
 welfare ? 
 
 7. Why should education be free in a democracy? 
 
The Aim, of Education 1 1 
 
 8. Is society justified in offering special education to the deficient 
 and the deUnquent ? To the especially capable ? Why ? 
 
 9. Is the excessive rivalry which we sometimes foster in our schools 
 compatible with the aim of social efficiency ? 
 
 10. Of the several types of education, physical, intellectual, moral- 
 social, vocational, and education for leisure, which is most neglected ? 
 
 11. How do you account for the fact that many children cease to 
 inquire, to investigate, or even to ask questions, although they are regu- 
 larly taught in our schools ? 
 
 12. Why do you teach school? What do you hope to accomplish? 
 
 13. Can you name specific instances of changes brought about in 
 children under your instruction which justify you in believing that you 
 have fulfilled the aim of education in your teaching? 
 
 14. What justification is there for music, drawing, or literature in the 
 curriculum ? 
 
 15. State briefly the aim of education. 
 
CHAPTER II 
 
 THE FACTORS CONDITIONING THE TEACHING PROCESS 
 
 If it is essential that the teacher approach her work with a 
 clear view of the ends which it is desirable for her to achieve, 
 it is quite as necessary that she be conscious of the factors 
 which condition the teaching process. The school, with its 
 limitations and its advantages, the commimity and home hfe 
 of the child, and, above all else, the child himself, his instincts, 
 impulses, and abilities must be the subject of most careful 
 study. Much progress has been made in recent years because 
 of a better understanding and a more sympathetic attitude 
 toward children. Teachers are beginning to see that education 
 has its beginning in, and that it is always conditioned by, the 
 life of the child outside of the school building. The possibil- 
 ities of the school as an institution for the education of children 
 are just beginning to be realized. 
 
 While it is true that the school shares with the home, the 
 church, and the community at large the education of children, 
 no one can fail to recognize the fact that the responsibilities 
 and the activities of the school have been very greatly aug- 
 mented during the past few decades. " Where other institutions 
 have lost or have become less effective, the school has gained, 
 or has been forced to accept new responsibilities. Changed 
 industrial conditions and life in cities have made it impossible 
 for the home to continue to hold the important place which it 
 once occupied in preparing its members for. efficient participa- 
 tion in the productive activities. Whether we like it or not, 
 we are forced to admit that the church no longer exerts the 
 power over the lives and conduct of men that it once did. 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 13 
 
 Along with the specialization of function which is so charac- 
 teristic of our modern life, citizenship in our democracy has 
 come to require less of that type of participation in public 
 affairs which was once a great educative factor in our com- 
 munity life. 
 
 As these changes in the effectiveness of other institutions 
 have taken place, men have looked to the schools to make 
 good the deficiency. The schools have responded to the de- 
 mand made upon them. Our curriculum no longer consists of 
 the three R's. Cooking, sewing, gardening, and many other 
 kinds of manual work, music, physical training, and fine art 
 are already found in our courses of study. We are coming to 
 recognize the need for more systematic training in morals and 
 civics, and vocational training is being introduced. 
 
 What is the significance of these changes for teachers? 
 Is it not true that they must teach whatever is demanded by 
 the course of study ; and is not this the only difference in the 
 teacher's function brought about by changed conditions ? The 
 answer is, most emphatically, no. The situation which has 
 already made necessary the change in curriculum demands also 
 changes in method quite as revolutionary. It is more, essen- 
 tial to-day than ever before that the school present oppor- 
 tunities for cooperation and for group work, a chance for pupils 
 to work together for common ends, because there is so much 
 less demand of this sort made upon children outside of school 
 than was formerly the case. We ought to do more than we do 
 to develop the indepejidence and the self-reliance which were so 
 characteristic of the boy and girl who lived in an environment 
 which constantly made heavy demands upon their strength, 
 skill, and ingenuity. The responsibility for taking the initia- 
 tive, and of measuring the success of one's efforts by the results 
 produced, is all too uncommon in the lives of our children. 
 The school must, if it is to adequately meet its enlarged respon- 
 sibility, develop those habits of thought and action which 
 enable one to get along with his fellows. The school life of the 
 
14 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 child must, in so far as this is possible, present such oppor- 
 tunities, make such demands, and judge results by standards 
 essentially social. The child must learn in school to serve, to 
 accept responsibility, and to produce results socially valuable. 
 We could do much to increase the efficiency of the school if we 
 planned more carefully to have schoolroom activities find their 
 application in the homes of children. 
 
 School education begins not with the ignorance of children, 
 but with their knowledge. Children come to us with a great 
 wealth of experience. Our work as teachers is to enlarge and 
 to interpret this experience, to give it greater meaning and 
 significance. Can any one question, then, the necessity for 
 acquaintance with the Hfe of the child outside of school? 
 And this study of the out-of -school environment must continue 
 as long as the child is in school, if the teacher's work is to be 
 most effective. It makes a great deal of difference when you 
 wish to teach nature study that your children have always 
 lived in the city, at a considerable distance from a park. The 
 problem of teaching a great commercial center to children liv- 
 ing on farms presents some difficulty. But it is not alone 
 these more gross differences in the Uves of children which de- 
 mand our attention. There are differences in ideals, differ- 
 ences in social custom, in short, in ways of thinking, feeling, 
 and acting, which one must know if one would claim any ade- 
 quate knowledge of the child to be taught. Probably the best 
 opportunity to gain this intimate knowledge of the lives of 
 children whom we teach is to be had in the work with parents 
 and older brothers and sisters which should be carried on in the 
 school building when the smaller children are not present. The 
 school which is a center of community life, a place for study, for 
 recreation, for physical development, and for social inter- 
 course is the school that is fulfilling its mission in the life of the 
 people ; and the teacher who works in such a school will know 
 her children. 
 
 There is one other responsibility which we as teachers must 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 15 
 
 acknowledge which again leads us beyond the schoolroom. We 
 should work for the welfare of our children during the time that 
 they are not with us. No other body of men and women knows 
 the needs of these children better than we do. Our work is 
 conditioned by the life of the child before he comes under our 
 influence. Our work is ofttime of no effect because of the ad- 
 verse conditions outside of the school. What does it matter 
 that we try to develop morahty in children, when the forces of 
 immorality in the streets more than counteract our influence ? 
 what does it matter that we strive earnestly to provide hygienic 
 conditions for work during five hours of the day, when filth 
 and disease are doing their deadly work outside of the school for 
 nineteen hours a day ? Who knows better than we that chil- 
 dren with starved bodies cannot do great things intellectually ? 
 If we were only organized to improve these conditions, we could 
 do much for the welfare of the community. The time is 
 coming when it will be considered as legitimate for a body of 
 teachers to discuss the problems of impure food supply, of re- 
 lief for the poor, of means for the suppression of vice, and of 
 better hygienic conditions for the children of our cities, as it is 
 to discuss the problems of method or the organization of school 
 work. What we need, if we are to be effective in the work, is 
 better organization, more craft consciousness. We now pos- 
 sess potentially great power for social betterment. We are 
 exercising this power in the school, and, as individuals, outside 
 of the school. We will, let us hope, in time, recognize the 
 larger social demand and perform the larger social service. 
 
 The children with whom we work come to us equipped with 
 many native reactions or tendencies to behave. In any situa- 
 tion the child will react in accordance with some native ten- 
 dency or habit which has grown out of the original tendency. 
 Success in teaching depends upon a recognition of these in- 
 stinctive tendencies, the development of some, the grafting 
 of new but similar reactions on others, and the inhibition of 
 the native reaction and substitution of another in still other 
 
1 6 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 cases. The instincts which are of importance in education 
 have been variously named; among tljese those of greatest 
 significance for the work of the teacher are play, constructive- 
 ness, imitation, emulation, pugnacity, curiosity, ownership, 
 including the collecting instinct, sympathy, wonder. We 
 shaU deal briefly with each of these in relation to the work of 
 the teacher. 
 
 Play: Possibly the lesson which teachers need most to 
 learn is that play has real educative value. Before the school 
 age has been reached, the child has learned chiefly by playing. 
 In play the child gets his first experience in those activities 
 which are later to make possible a happy, useful life in the com- 
 munity. The number of possible reactions possessed by a 
 child of six is largely determined by the opportunity he has 
 had to play. This is why we value so much a life free from, 
 restraint, and in contact with nature, for little children. Con- 
 tact with the trees, the rocks, the birds, the flowers, and asso- 
 ciation with other children mean possibihties of learning for the 
 child which no amount of instruction or exercise of authority 
 can equal. The child plays now with this object and again 
 with that ; and in consequence comes to know not only the 
 objects, but his own power. In an imaginative way he expe- 
 riences all of the adult activities about him, sowing, reaping, 
 building, cooking, cleaning, hauling, fighting ; and he is wiser 
 and better prepared for the period of struggle, which must 
 come later, because of these activities. 
 
 Nor should this period of play end when the child enters 
 school. The skillful teacher makes a game of many of the 
 exercises of the school, which might be otherwise drudgery. 
 The desire to win is common to children six years of age, and 
 many a hard task will become play, if the element of compe- 
 tition is introduced and sufficient variety in procedure is 
 provided for. By plajdng, children may learn to work. To 
 achieve the ends desired in a game may involve the overcom- 
 ing of difficulties which require the most earnest effort. There 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 17 
 
 can be no better preparation for life than the playing of games 
 where team work, self-restraint, and fairness are demanded. 
 
 We need more careful study on the part of teachers of chil- 
 dren's games, and more planning that all may secure the bene- 
 fits which come from this sort of activity. In the school- 
 room, wherever it is possible, the spirit of play should pervade 
 the work. There will be cases enough where results will de- 
 pend upon the exercise of authority. Let us never forget that 
 the reaction of play may mean just as valuable results as 
 the reaction of necessity, and that the ideal life is the one in 
 which all work is play. 
 
 Constructiveness : Closely connected with the play instinct 
 is the instinct to make out of the material at one's command 
 that which will represent some element in the play. In the 
 beginning, gestures, sounds, and whatever objects are present 
 suffice in the make-believe world of the child. But soon the 
 materials are rearranged or shaped into some new form in order 
 to represent the object desired. Materials become to the 
 child just what he can make out of them. And it is not simply 
 in power to construct or to represent that the child grows 
 because of this activity. To make something, to work out in 
 materials one's idea, means growth in definiteness and control 
 of ideas. The one adequate test of ideas must always be some 
 sort of expression ; and, for the adult as well as for the child, 
 construction is one of the most important forms of expression. 
 We would gain much in all of our school work in clearness and 
 definiteness, if we resorted oftener to construction as a test. 
 Of course, construction is not to be limited to the making of 
 things of three dimensions. The map, plan, or artistic repre- 
 sentation belongs to the same group, and is developed from the 
 same instinctive tendency. 
 
 Just one more word of caution needs to be given with regard 
 to work of this kind. In constructive work, whether with wood 
 or clay, or with pencil or brush, the point of departure should 
 be the child's idea, not the model or pattern provided by an 
 
1 8 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 adult. After the child has made his attempt, then let him 
 see where he has failed by reference to the object which he has 
 tried to represent. And we can afford to be satisfied in the 
 beginning with a crude product, so long as it satisfies the child. 
 As for technique, there will come a time when the desire for a 
 better product will call for greater skill and will furnish the 
 very best possible motive for the necessary practice. 
 
 Imitation: In both play and constructive work a most 
 important element is the instinct to imitate. The child con- 
 stantly imitates adult activities in play, and in construction 
 he represents the objects about him. As has already been indi- 
 cated, it is in this way that he clarifies his ideas, that he gains 
 experience. In imitation, which is truly instructive, the child 
 does not consciously plan to imitate; it is enough that the 
 model is present. This kind of imitation is sometimes called 
 spontaneous imitation, in contradistinction to the other type 
 of imitation, in which the iadividual persistently tries to repro- 
 duce the activity of another. In the latter case he is conscious 
 of the process ; and this type is sometimes called voluntary imi- 
 tation. This distinction is important for teachers in many 
 phases of school work. There are cases where the only satis- 
 factory response is that which accords with the model, the 
 standard which society imposes. We do not want a child to 
 try to spell a word without being conscious of the form com- 
 monly accepted. He will succeed in spelling because he has 
 studied this word, or is able to build it up from his knowledge 
 of its constituent parts. On the other hand, wherever creative 
 work is to be done, wherever originality is required, the edu- 
 cational value of the exercise is inversely proportioned to the 
 degree in which conscious imitation of a model has entered 
 to produce the result. In such subjects as English composi- 
 tion, constructive work, science work involving observation 
 and experiment, what we want above all else is the attempt 
 on the part of the learner to express his own ideas ; and it is 
 only after this expression that any adequate appreciation of 
 model or of criticism can be hoped for. 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 19 
 
 There is one other factor in connection with imitation which 
 is of great importance in teaching ; namely, that children per- 
 sistently imitate what they admire. This has a double signifi- 
 cance for the teacher. Those things which can be made less 
 attractive will tend to be less imitated ; and, conversely, that 
 which is held up as worthy of great respect will be much imi- 
 tated. If we were only wise, we would devote ovir attention 
 to the leader of the group, trying to secure the appropriate or 
 desired reaction upon his or her part, rather than devoting 
 ourselves equally to the whole group. We can depend upon 
 it, the crowd will follow the leader whom they admire. Our 
 appeals often mean Httle to children, and the models which we 
 set up have Httle effect, because, however admirable these 
 standards may seem to us, they are beyond the power of chil- 
 dren to comprehend or admire. Instead of giving a boy a letter 
 of Jefferson as a model, better give him the one written by his 
 classmate. Do not expect the girl to imitate the noblest 
 women in history, but make your appeal on the basis of the 
 virtue of the girl she likes. 
 
 Emtdation : Much that has been said above under imitation 
 might quite as well have been written imder the head of emu- 
 lation. As social beings, we tend to do what others do. Con- 
 sciousness of kind compels us to lay great store upon our ability 
 to do as others do. When in Rome the Hiffi mlt thing is not 
 to do "as Romans do," but to do otherwise. The desire to do 
 not only as well as others, but to accomplish more, is respon- 
 sible for much that is achieved in the world. If we did not 
 have others with whom we are constantly comparing our- 
 selves, few of us would do as well as we now do. Rivalry will 
 always be one of the greatest means of bringing about im- 
 provement or advancement in social conditions. In school, a,s 
 well as in the world at large, rivalry, if kept free from Jealousy 
 and envy, will justify its ejdstence by the results produced. 
 The boy or girl who is anxious to distance his fellows in school 
 is apt to be the man of ambition and of success in later life. 
 
■20 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Pugnacity : More prominent in boys than in girls, but present 
 in some degree in every individual, is the instinct to fight, 
 the desire not to be overcome either by persons or conditions 
 which surround us. In so far as this instinct leads to physi- 
 cal encounter, for all except the unusually strong physically, 
 the correction comes by way of defeat. For all, the substi- 
 tution of games which involve physical prowess for fighting, 
 and the substitution of victories of intellect for the victories 
 of physical combat, point to the utilization of this instinct in 
 education. It is sometimes possible to appeal to this in- 
 stinct when discouragement and defeat in school tasks seem 
 inevitable. No boy likes to be told that he has been downed 
 by the task in long division, or that he has failed to make good 
 in spelling or geography. The whole world hates a quitter, 
 and normal, healthy children are no exception to the rule. 
 
 Curiosity: Children are proverbially curious about things. 
 They want to know more, to enlarge and make more definite 
 their experience. This desire shows itself in their actions in 
 handling materials, in making and unmaking, in questions 
 asked, in reasoning, in play, and in imitating others. The most 
 striking characteristic in the mentalhfe of children is the breadth 
 of their interests, due to this instinct of curiosity. Most adults 
 think along very narrow and restricted lines ; not so with chil- 
 dren. While it is true that they do little abstract thinking, 
 there is scarcely an object or an action which comes within the 
 range of their senses that is not followed by the desire to find 
 out more. 
 
 Children have the spirit of inquiry, have many problems, in 
 short, are mentally active to a degree most uncommon among 
 adidts. The problem of the teacher is how to keep alive this 
 spirit of inquiry, how to insure a continuance of this mental 
 alertness. Much of our school work has certainly tended in 
 the opposite direction. Reciting what is written in books, 
 without thought or question, has too often been characteristic of 
 recitations. The appeal to authority, whether of the teacher or 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 21 
 
 of the book, instead of the appeal to experience, to observa- 
 tion and experiment, or to other methods of establishing truth, 
 tends to kill rather than to strengthen the spirit of inquiry. 
 We should place greater value upon the intelligent question 
 than upon the parrot-like answer. Respect for the problems 
 of children, even when they seem of little account to us, rather 
 than ridicule or evasion, will tend to keep alive this most 
 precious heritage. Of course it is not wise to encourage the 
 scatter-brained boy or girl who never thinks about the same 
 thing for two minutes in succession. One great function of 
 the teacher is to help children to concentrate upon the main 
 issue, to show a child that his question is irrelevant to the prob- 
 lem under consideration, and to guide him on the path which 
 makes thinking pleasant and profitable. 
 
 It would be a good thing for every teacher to ask herself 
 whether while imder her direction the children whom she 
 teaches are usually mentally alert, thinking, asking questions, 
 or whether they concern themselves only with repeating the 
 thoughts of others. If there be any doubt with regard to the 
 children's natural aptitude, let her observe them when out of 
 school and contrast the result. Mental laziness is a habit 
 acquired in spite of our initial advantage, in spite of our desire 
 for knowledge and the pleasure which comes from thinking. 
 The school and the teacher must always be judged by their 
 success in keeping children awake mentally ; for it is power to 
 learn rather than knowledge which counts in later years, and 
 learning is most of all dependent upon the initial impulses 
 toward inquiry. 
 
 Ownership: Very early in the life of the child the idea of 
 personal ownership develops. There can be no doubt con- 
 cerning the importance of this instinct in its effect upon the 
 achievements of men, but we are concerned chiefly, in dealing 
 with children, with one aspect of this tendency which is com- 
 monly known as the collecting instinct. This desire to have 
 the most complete collection of buttons, postage stamps, pic- 
 
22 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 tures, birds' eggs, shells, arrowheads, or whatever else it may 
 be, may often be utilized to great advantage. Illustrative 
 material for work in history, geography, nature study, and to 
 some degree for other subjects can be had in this way. Such a 
 collection will mean not only a much greater interest in the 
 work, but also a livelier appreciation of the subject, more 
 images upon which to base its generaHzations. I have never 
 seen a class that learned more geography in a short time than 
 was mastered by a class who followed the American fleet 
 around the world, collecting pictures, products, and stamps for 
 each of the countries visited, and writing a full accoimt of the 
 country visited to accompany these illustrations. Another 
 class made most interesting collections in connection with their 
 study of colonial history. It is a mistake to suppose that ready- 
 made collections will answer the same purpose. They may 
 illustrate better, but the added interest and enthusiasm growing 
 out of the exercise of the collecting instinct will be wanting. 
 
 The collecting instinct may be utilized in work which deals 
 with ideas rather than things. Children may be just as keen 
 in collecting ideas about a subject in which they are much 
 interested as in making their collection of stones, or birds. 
 The transition from the one type of collecting to the other is 
 apparent, in collections which are interesting mainly for the 
 ideas which they suggest. 
 
 The Social Instinct: The school has often overemphasized 
 the individualistic point of view. Competition is a legitimate 
 motive ; but if all of school life centers around this motive, the 
 child has lost much in the non-exercise of that peculiarly human 
 instinct which demands cooperation and s)rmpathy. At the 
 foundation of our society is the idea of working together for the 
 common good. Boys and girls who are to be most useful to 
 their fellows, who are to do the most for society, i.e. those who 
 are truly educated, must have kept alive and developed this 
 spirit, more than altruistic, which sees in the good of society 
 the greatest individual gain. In a later chapter this topic will 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 23 
 
 be dealt with in considerable detail ; suffice it to say here that 
 many opportunities should be found for group projects, for 
 service on the part of each member of the group of the sort 
 that he is particularly qualified to render. 
 
 Wonder: The instinct of wonder or awe, closely related to 
 or possibly identified with the rehgious instinct, is one that 
 our modern critically scientific attitude tends to discourage. 
 No one who has had the experience can doubt the value of this 
 element in mental Hfe. To wonder at the glory of the heavens 
 will doubtless make more difference in the fives of most men 
 and women than the smattering of astronomy they may ac- 
 quire. The man who wonders at the manifestation of the power 
 of the forces of nature may get more real joy out of fife than 
 he who feels that he has solved all of her mysteries. We are 
 not as a people remarkable for our reverence. It may be 
 well urged that our schools have often been responsible for the 
 opposite attitude. This instinct of wonder will thrive only in 
 a sjmapathetic atmosphere. No teacher can directly inculcate 
 or develop it. Only that teacher who has preserved and nur- 
 tured the instinct in her own life can hope to be effective in 
 keeping alive the same spirit in children. 
 
 In the first chapter it was claimed that teachers should work 
 to develop the socially sympathetic, intelligent, and active 
 individual, and that the ends to be expected from any exer- 
 cises might be classified as habits, knowledge, interests, ideals 
 or appreciations, and methods of work. In our discussion of 
 the native reactions of children, we have endeavored to show 
 that the possibilities of such accomplishment are the common 
 possession of normal children. It is for the teacher who would 
 accomplish these ends most economically to discover the in- 
 stinctive basis for the habit to be formed, the knowledge to be 
 acquired, interest to be awakened, or appreciation to be aroused. 
 The instinctive interests of children will furnish the most power- 
 ful motives, and will serve as a basis for the most lasting results. 
 Even when the native reaction is undesirable, the successfixl 
 
24 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 process may depend not merely upon negation, but upon a 
 grafting upon the original tendency of one that is socially desir- 
 able; or, in other cases, the substitution of another reaction 
 based upon some other, instinctive tendency. We may not 
 always follow where instinct seems to lead, but we can never 
 ignore these native tendencies. Whether we blindly ignore or 
 attempt to work against nature, or wisely utilize the instincts, 
 the fact remains that all of our work is conditioned by the 
 native equipment. 
 
 It has become more or less the fashion in recent years to 
 decry the theory of those who discuss the teaching process 
 from the standpoint of the child's native tendencies, and with 
 due regard to his interests. The reactionary who continually 
 harks back to the good old times is still with us. The term of 
 ridicule most commonly used in lieu of argument is "soft 
 pedagogy." We are told that the only way to develop men 
 and women of strength is to begin by making sure that we make 
 our appeal on the basis of our superior authority, or even brute 
 strength, instead of finding the foundation for our work in the 
 instinctive curiosity and tendency to mental activity with 
 which children come to us. It is presumed by those who argue 
 on the side of the importance of authority that, imless children 
 are compelled by others to do hard tasks, they will never 
 attempt anything that involves effort. Again, they interpret 
 interest to mean the blind following of the child's instinctive 
 tendencies. 
 
 In our previous discussion we endeavored to show that edu- 
 cation concerns itself quite as much with the inhibition of unde- 
 sirable tendencies as with the encouragement of those which 
 lead to desirable activity. The process is not one of following 
 where children lead, but rather of avaihng ourselves of the 
 native tendencies in order that the ends we desire to achieve 
 may be accomplished with the least waste of time or energy. 
 In reality, the choice between the two positions is not whether 
 we will have regard for childish instincts and capacities, but 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 25 
 
 rather whether we shall approach our task from the standpoint 
 of one who has faith in an appeal to the lower motive of fear, 
 or whether we believe that children are best prepared for later 
 activity who work out their own problems. 
 y/'Tos, best teaching can never consist in driving pupils to tasks 
 which they do not understand and which have httle significance 
 for them. The standard of efficiency is found in ability to 
 present to the child a need, a purpose, or a problem which 
 solicits his attention. It may be that we shall be but imper- 
 fectly able to accomplish this result, but, nevertheless, this 
 must be our ideal. And it is not for reasons of sentiment that 
 we adopt it. The learning process is explained in this way only. 
 We make a new adjustment, reconstruct our experience only 
 in a situation which makes such a demand upon us. When a 
 child is compelled to do a piece of school work without realiz- 
 ing the significance of that which he does, there is substituted 
 for this realization of need or problem an artificial need; namely, 
 to avoid an unpleasant consequence. 
 
 There is another important argument which must not be 
 overlooked. When a child works under compulsion, he usu- 
 ally gives just as Httle attention to his work as may be neces- 
 sary to escape painful results. It is not uncommon for children 
 to divide their attention most skillfully between distasteful 
 school tasks and the out-of-school activities in which they are 
 vitally interested. This lack of undivided attention to the 
 work in hand results in a habit of work which cannot fail to 
 be disastrous to the highest intellectual attainment. It is 
 true also that children who have been subjected to such treat- 
 ment come to look upon books and lessons as something of a 
 nightmare, and are only too glad when the opportunity pre- 
 sents itself to leave school and go to work. The child's atti- 
 tude, growing out of his school experience, is quite as important 
 as any result which we may achieve in knowledge. 
 
 Professor Dewey's summary of the relation of interest and 
 effort defines most adequately interest in its true significance^ 
 
26 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 and indicates the place of effort in educative process. He 
 says : — 
 
 " Genuine interest in education is the accompaniment of the 
 identification, through action, of the self with some object or 
 idea, because of the necessity of that object or idea for the 
 maintenance of self-expression. Effort, in the sense in which it 
 may be opposed to interest, implies a separation between the 
 self and the fact to be mastered or the task to be performed, 
 and sets up an habitual division of activities. Externally, 
 we have mechanical habits with no psychical end or value. 
 Internally, we have random energy or mind-wandering, a se- 
 quence of ideas with no end at all because not brought to a 
 focus in action. Interest, in the sense in which it is opposed 
 to effort, means simply an excitation of the sense organ to give 
 pleasure, resulting in strain on one side and listlessness on the 
 other. 
 
 "But when we recognize there are certain powers within 
 the child urgent for development, needing to be acted upon, in 
 order to secure their own due efficiency and discipline, we have 
 a firm basis upon which to build. Effort arises normally in 
 the attempt to give full operation, and thus growth and comple- 
 tion, to these powers. Adequately to act upon these impulses 
 involves seriousness, absorption, definiteness of purpose, and 
 results in formation of steadiness and persistent habit in the 
 service of worthy ends. But this effort never degenerates into 
 drudgery, nor mere strain of dead lift, because interest abides 
 — the self is concerned throughout." ^ 
 
 Interest, as Professor Dewey defines it, is intrinsic. The 
 pupil does his work not because he hopes to escape some punish- 
 ment or get a high mark, but because the work of itself 
 commands his attention. The teacher must constantly choose 
 whether she will work for interest of this t5^e, which depends 
 upon the recognition of the worth of the task to be performed, 
 or resort to an interest which has no relation to the work to 
 ' Dewey, Interest in Relation to Will, p. 12. 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 27 
 
 be done. Shall she appeal to the child through his instinctive 
 delight in finding out, in constructive work, or other form of 
 expression, or shall she appeal to his instinct of fear of a whip- 
 ping or dislike of ridicule or nagging? 
 
 It is true that, after the teacher has done her best to appeal 
 on the basis of the child's needs for growth and development, 
 not all children will respond equally, and so, as in the 
 larger society outside of school, the child will need to be kept 
 from interfering with others, and required to do that which 
 those who are wiser have decided that it is advantageous for 
 him to do. But this resort to authority, an acknowledgment 
 of lack of abiHty on our part or the result of unfavorable con- 
 ditions, must come last ; it should never be the point of de- 
 parture. 
 
 There is one other distinction which it is well to keep in 
 mind when we think of interest. Our discussion thus far has 
 considered interest as a means for securing certain desirable 
 ends. We may not forget that to secure interest which will 
 persist in many of the types of activity found in the school 
 should be considered as an end worthy in itself.'- We may 
 hope to have a boy interested in his history lesson in order that 
 he may gain the knowledge contained in this subject. In- 
 terest is the means we employ to secure the desired result. 
 On the other hand, we may hope that the boy we teach will 
 continue to be interested in history throughout his life. In 
 this latter case the interest which we hope to secure in history 
 becomes an end for which we work. As a result of any system 
 of education, we are justified in expecting, not only an increase 
 in the command of facts and in a knowledge of the best method 
 of procedure in working in subjects taught, but also in hoping 
 for the development of lasting interests which will make for 
 a continuance of the period of education and for greater joy 
 
 in Hfe. 
 
 Heredity in Education: An inquiry into opposing theories 
 
 " Thomdike, Principles of Teaching, Chapter V. 
 
28 A Brief Course in the Teaching .Process 
 
 of heredity is not relevant to our main purpose ; but we are 
 concerned with certain facts, commonly accepted, which con- 
 dition our work. No one will dispute the fact that the children 
 assembled in any schoolroom differ in native capacity, as well 
 as in experience. Whether genius or its lack are apt to be 
 reproduced in the children of gifted or duU parents is not the 
 question the teacher has to solve. For her the demand is 
 too often that she turn out a uniform product from a group 
 of individuals who range from the genius to the dullard or 
 mental defective. It is well for teachers to realize that in any 
 non-selected group the majority of individuals may be ex- 
 pected to be of ordinary ability, and that a few will range 
 above this standard, and a few will fall below. The important 
 thing to remember is that a group of normal children cannot 
 be ranged in ability in two or three distinct groups with clearly 
 defined boundaries, but that if any adequate test be given, we 
 will find that they distribute themselves over a wide range, with 
 small rather than large differences between individuals. For 
 example : if a searching test in fundamental operations of arith- 
 metic is given, we know that some child will probably get 
 nearly all of the work done correctly, and, even with our care 
 in grading, some child in the group will probably faiil in more 
 than half of the work ; and that between these two extremes 
 we will have almost every grade of ability represented, with 
 a tendency for a considerable number to group themselves at 
 about that point which we consider ordinary or average ability.' 
 Not only is it true that individuals differ in abihty of any 
 particular sort, but it is also true that the child who has little 
 ability in one direction may be up to the average or have more 
 than usual abiUty in some other direction. In our teaching 
 we should have a minimum standard of efficiency for all who 
 are not mentally defective, and we should strive earnestly to 
 have all reach this goal. If wisely selected, this minimum 
 
 * For statistics and further argument concerning individual difference, see 
 Thorndike, Educational Psychology, Chapter VIII. 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 29 
 
 will include that which is absolutely necessary for further 
 advancement along the line of work pursued. The majority 
 of the class should achieve results beyond this minimum, and 
 for the exceptionally bright child the maximum should be 
 fixed only by the child's ability and the requirements of good 
 health. It is useless to attempt to make all alike ; it is wrong 
 to limit the accompKshment of the gifted by the capacity of 
 the majority ; these are the lessons which the consideration of 
 the capacities of any group of children should teach. We 
 cannot furnish abiUty, but we may create an attitude of hst- 
 lessness and mental laziness, if we do not give the bright child 
 enough to do. Education demands a recognition of pecuUar 
 abilities and their nurture. We can never create genius from 
 mediocre ability, and we may not assume that genius is irre- 
 pressible. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 E. L. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, Chapters V and VI. 
 
 E. L. Thorndike, Individuality. 
 
 E. A. Kirkpatrick, Fundamentals of Child Study, Chapter IV. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What institutions contribute to the education of children? 
 
 2. Why has the responsibility of the school increased during the past 
 century ? 
 
 3. How would you justify compulsory education ? Medical examina- 
 tion ? Compulsory dental treatment ? 
 
 4. Why do changed social conditions demand changed methods of 
 instruction as well as a different curriculum ? 
 
 5. Why does the teacher need to know the home life of the children in 
 her class ? 
 
 6. What is the significance of parents' and mothers' clubs, or any 
 other organization of the teachers and the patrons of the school ? 
 
 7. Why should teachers participate in the campaign against tuber- 
 culosis ? 
 
 8. Give instances from your own experience of the educative value of 
 play. 
 
30 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 9. Why can a boy write a better composition about making a kite 
 than on "Honesty is the best pohcy" ? 
 
 10. What is the objection to providing children with model compo- 
 sitions and asking them to write on closely related themes ? 
 
 11. Give examples of a proper appeal to the instinct of emulation. 
 
 12. How do' you account for the fact that in some classes children 
 seldom ask questions ? 
 
 13. What value is there in a collection of birds' nests, flowers, minerals, 
 woods, and the Hke, which one finds in some schoohooms ? 
 
 14. How would you hope to develop the social instinct in the pupils 
 you teach ? 
 
 15. Give the children in your class ten problems in addition, score one 
 for each colimin added correctly, and compare the results. Can a teacher 
 create abiUty ? 
 
 16. In a city school system forty per cent of the children have been 
 retarded one or more years during their school life. Do you think that 
 differences in ability justify the repeating of work one or more years 
 by so large a percentage of the children ? 
 
 17. Should we try to have children develop equal ability in all of 
 their studies, or rather encourage them to do especially well in one or 
 two subjects? 
 
 18. Should a pupil who receives only forty per cent in his arithmetic 
 examination be compelled to repeat the grade ? 
 
 19. State the argument of those who beheve that disagreeable, un- 
 interesting work is most valuable in educating children. 
 
 20. What reasons can you give for the demand that teachers secure 
 the interest of their pupils in school work ? 
 
 21. Why is it bad intellectually for a child to divide his interest 
 between his school work and some other activity while doing school 
 work? 
 
 22. There is always some motive present when work is accomplished 
 in the school. If the pupil is not interested in his work, what motives 
 will you be apt to find in operation ? 
 
 23. Does the demand that children take an interest in their work 
 mean that we will require them to do only the sort of work which is 
 easy for them ? 
 
 24. Name three situations in school work in which you would seek 
 to use interest as a means. Three cases in which you would consider 
 interests as ends. 
 
 25. In which situation will a boy write the better letter: when asked 
 to write a letter as a class exercise, or when he writes to his uncle about 
 their plans for his summer vacation ? 
 
The Factors Conditioning the Teaching Process 31 
 
 26. The ends which we desire to attain may be relatively near or 
 remote. Classify the following aims presented to children according to 
 (i) the remoteness of the end to be achieved, (2) the interest which you 
 would expect children to take in the work for which these aims are sup- 
 posed to furnish some motive. Suppose the class to be a seventh-grade 
 group of boys. 
 
 1. Learn how to build a boat. 
 
 2. Become a writer of good Enghsh. 
 
 3. Gain in skill in the process of dovetailing. 
 
 4. Write for a catalog of sets of tools for boys. 
 
 5. Find out why England maintains the largest navy in the world. 
 
 6. Prepare a description of the building of the Panama Canal. 
 
 7. Decide why so many Russians come to the United States. 
 
 8. Make the drawings for a sled to be buUt for his own use. 
 
 9. Make a rabbit trap from plans furnished by the teacher. 
 
 10. Study algebra to get ready to go to college. 
 
 11. Write a story of an ititerclass basket-ball game for the school 
 paper. 
 
 12. Enjoy one of KipUng's stories. 
 
CHAPTER III 
 
 THE TEACHING PROCESS 
 
 Education means change, growth, development. The 
 process is one of adjustment in which the individual is not only- 
 affected by his environment, but is also capable, in turn, of 
 changing or even in a measure creating the situation in which 
 he Uves. The experience of any individual grows in meaning 
 and significance through successive demands for new adjust- 
 ments. Among the lower animal forms there are those who 
 have very Httle power of adjustment ; regardless of the situa- 
 tion presented, they can react only in one way, or, as the animal 
 structure increases in complexity, in a very few ways. The 
 power of adjustment being small, the possibilities of learning 
 and of education are small. As has already been indicated 
 in our discussion of instincts, human beings are equipped with 
 many tendencies to react, and with power to react in a very 
 great variety of ways. Man has power beyond all other 
 animals to profit by experience, and is distinguished from them 
 by his power to learn by means of ideas, not simply by the 
 process of trial and error. Our problem is, then, to inquire 
 concerning the conditions under which a situation demands 
 adjustment, under which experience is reconstructed, and, 
 further, to discuss the manner in which socially desirable 
 reactions may be made the permanent possession of the learner, 
 while those inimical to social welfare are eliminated. 
 
 In general adjustments are made in response to one of the 
 
 following situations : (i) when satisfaction of some instinctive 
 
 \ need results ; (2) when satisfaction of an idea of an end to be 
 
 reached, the attainment of which will satisfy some instinctive 
 
 or acquired need, results ; (3) when satisfaction of an acquired 
 
 32 
 
The Teaching Process 33 
 
 need, functioning at the time the adjustment is made, is the 
 immediate result. In these cases a type of adjustment not 
 instinctively demanded and not originally in itself pleasing 
 reaches a point where it is in itself satisfying. The value of 
 the experience is intrinsic. 
 
 Little need be said concerning the first class of adjustments 
 in addition to our discussion of instincts in the previous chap- 
 ter. When one finds himself in a situation which threatens 
 bodily harm, he instinctively tries to get out of the way. In 
 the presence of materials, children instinctively handle them, 
 or make a noise with them, or attempt to construct something. 
 The schoolboy, with his questions, his collection of stamps, 
 his adherence to his gang, is making adjustments which satisfy 
 instinctive needs. 
 
 Under the second class are included reactions in which the 
 satisfaction of the instinctive need is not the immediate result, 
 and those cases where satisfaction may be explained only by 
 reference to an acquired need. The essential characteristic 
 of this class of adjustments is the fact that the idea intervenes. 
 It is for the satisfaction of our idea of an end which may be 
 remote for which the adjustment is made. A pupil may try 
 to read well because he has the idea that reading well pleases 
 the teacher. The end desired may be simply to get along with 
 the teacher without the discomfort of a scolding, or because 
 of his instinctive desire for praise. A boy may labor dihgently 
 in building a sled because of his idea of the pleasure which will 
 result to himself or possibly to others. A group of children 
 may save their pennies to buy books, instead of satisfying their 
 desire for candy, because of their idea of satisfaction to be 
 derived from the books to be bought. A man may endure 
 many hardships because of his idea of future wealth, political 
 preferment, fame, or other good which he hopes will result. 
 
 After a time activities which were stimulated by the idea 
 of a satisfactory end to be achieved may be repeated for their 
 own sake. This gives us our third class of adjustments. The 
 
34 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 boy may find it very difficult to spend five hours a day with 
 books, while the man finds his chief delight in this form of 
 activity, altogether aside from a result beyond his present 
 satisfaction. A child may begin to read because of the au- 
 thority of the teacher and his fear of unpleasant consequences, 
 and yet may later come to find great delight in reading. In 
 teaching we should strive to bring as many as possible of the 
 adjustments to be made under this last category. The boy 
 or girl who finds his greatest satisfaction in making the ad- 
 justments, in gaining the experience, in doing the work that 
 the school provides, is getting the best possible preparation for 
 the life of the man or woman who finds his own greatest joy 
 in his everyday activity. We need not be discouraged be- 
 cause of the seeming impossibihty of the task, since its achieve- 
 ment would indicate perfection, toward which we strive, and 
 which, because it is perfection, we never achieve. Adjust- 
 ments are to be made, experiences must be had ; and our appeal, 
 whether based upon the satisfaction of instinctive tendencies, 
 the idea of ends near or remote, or the satisfaction of acquired 
 needs which are socially advantageous, must be the highest 
 appeal which can now be made with the assurance that the 
 resulting reaction will be secured. 
 
 There is one point which all of these situations which call 
 for adjustment have in common; that is, satisfaction. This 
 fact is fundamental in teaching. Not only are we limited in 
 our work by native tendencies and capacities, but the results 
 must give satisfaction, else the reaction induced wiU tend not 
 to be repeated. Of course satisfaction or pleasure is a relative 
 term ; possibly it would be fairer to say that the individual 
 reacts in the way which wiU result in the least dissatisfaction 
 or pain. A boy may dislike to write in a copybook, but he 
 may prefer that to a whipping or to being kept after school. 
 There is one other possible misconception which must be guarded 
 against. That which the individual considers most satisfactory 
 may not be best for his well-being, nor for the welfare of others 
 
The Teaching Process 35 
 
 with whom he associates. It is the work of the teacher to 
 encourage adjustments which are socially desirable, and to 
 make unpleasant the results which are socially disadvantageous, 
 even though they originally gave satisfaction to the individual. 
 
 Corresponding to the types of adjustment mentioned above 
 are the types of attention. When the adjustment is made in 
 response to an instinctive tendency to react, we have what is 
 called passive or involuntary attention. The boy who looks 
 at the door when it opens, who makes a paper boat instead of 
 doing his work in arithmetic, or who talks to his neighbor 
 about the ball game they are to play after school, is passive so 
 far as any attempt to control his mental activities is concerned. 
 He is following the line of least resistance. He does not will 
 to make these adjustments, or to attend to these things ; 
 hence we say that he attends involuntarily, that he is passive 
 in the situation. 
 
 A second type of attention is that in which the individual 
 makes an adjustment, follows a given line of activity, volun- 
 tarily. He is active in his determination to accomplish certain 
 ends, and in order to secure these results he resists the ten- 
 dency to wander, to give his attention to other elements in the 
 situation which may be natively more attractive. This type 
 of attention we call active. We have this type of attention 
 wherever the individual works for the satisfaction of his idea 
 of an end worthy to be accomplished. It corresponds to the 
 second class of adjustments mentioned above. 
 
 Through the exercise of active attention over a considerable 
 period, the necessity for effort, for the exercise of the wiU in 
 order that we may not wander from the main purpose, be- 
 comes less and less, until finally a passive attitude is again 
 reached. This type of attention is designated as secondary 
 passive attention.^ It corresponds to the third type of ad- 
 justments named above. 
 
 1 For this classification of attention, see Titchener, Primer of Psychology. 
 Chapter V. 
 
36 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 In teaching, we begin most frequently with passive atten- 
 tion; we work most earnestly to secure and to hold active 
 attention ; and if our work is successful, children will reach the 
 stage of secondary passive attention, at least with reference to 
 some of the activities found in the school. 
 
 In the first grade, in the beginning reading class, the teacher 
 appeals to the children on the basis of their instinctive delight 
 in movement, their desire to be like or to excel others, their 
 pleasure in drawing with pencil or crayon, their love of a good 
 story, and other like instinctive tendencies to react. The ad- 
 justments made are in response to instinctive needs, and the 
 attention is largely passive. Gradually, asthework progresses, 
 the ends to be achieved will become more remote, and instead 
 of immediate satisfaction of instinctive needs, the children 
 will work for the satisfaction of their ideas of ends which are 
 desirable, whether based on instinctive or acquired needs. 
 They may work diligently in the phonic or word drill because 
 they have the idea that this must be done in order to read the 
 story, and the end ultimately to be satisfied may be to give 
 pleasure to others. The adjustment is made here in response to 
 the idea of an end to be secured, which represents the satis- 
 faction of a need which probably has been acquired in the 
 school or at home. Later in the history of these same children 
 they may read, overcoming whatever difiiculties may present 
 themselves, simply because this process is for them in itself 
 worth while. Here we have the adjustment which gives im- 
 mediate satisfaction of an acquired need, and the type of at- 
 tention which has been designated as secondary passive. 
 
 The problem for the teacher is to secure continued attention 
 to one thing. Almost any exercise which the school offers 
 will be interesting for a brief time because it is something new. 
 The difficult task is not to get attention, but to hold it. Chil- 
 dren attend to the situation at hand just as long as it proves 
 more attractive than some other. The boy who is called in- 
 attentive may be most attentive to the plan he is making to 
 
The Teaching Process 37 
 
 earn money to go to the circus. The teacher must endeavor 
 to discover ends sufficiently attractive to command the active 
 attention of children for a considerable period. The child 
 must be willing to exert himself, and the motive for his effort 
 must be strong enough to bring him back to the task in hand 
 every time that he tends to wander. Often the success of the 
 work will depend upon a recognition of the fact that it is very 
 difficult to attend for any considerable period to a situation 
 in which the elements do not vary. We may secure continued 
 concentrated attention by recognizing the fact that variety 
 in procedure, or in appeal, will make it possible for the child 
 to keep his attention fixed. Take, for example, a topic in 
 geography. The teacher will question to bring out different 
 aspects of a topic, show the children pictures or use illus- 
 trative materials, have children read the map, tell a story or 
 incident relating to the situation under consideration, and in 
 this manner keep children actively thinking on one topic for 
 half an hour. We shall discuss at some length the problem 
 of aim, in connection with the inductive development lesson. 
 Suffice to say here that often we fail to secure the continued 
 attention of children because we ask them to attend to that 
 which for them lacks interest or significance. 
 
 Children work hardest when the problem to be solved is 
 one that they recognize as their own. They make adjustments 
 which mean immediate satisfaction, or which they believe will 
 ultimately give satisfaction. Our difficulty is often that the 
 end we set up is too remote. The idea of becoming a well 
 educated man will not ordinarily be powerful enough to keep a 
 boy at work on a composition, but the desire to be the author of 
 a paragraph in the school paper, to write to a boy in another 
 city or country, or to compose part of a drama which the class 
 will act for their friends, may mean the hardest sort of work, the 
 most concentrated attention of which he is capable. 
 
 The children with whom we work come to us with tendencies 
 to react, and are capable of reacting in a great variety of ways. 
 
38 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 They learn by making adjustments to a great variety of situa« 
 tions. The teaching process consists in providing the situa- 
 tions and the stimuli to action, in guiding the individual in 
 such a way that the undesirable reactions will be eliminated by 
 disuse or because the results are impleasant, in making per- 
 manent desirable native reactions or those which have been 
 grafted upon or derived from them by making the results 
 pleasant. 
 
 The teaching process is, in general, as described above; 
 but the actual work of the teacher varies greatly as she strives 
 now for one end and again for another. There is a methodology 
 of habit formation which the teacher must command if she is 
 to do successful work in equipping her pupils with desirable 
 habits. If our problem is one that lends itself to the inductive 
 method, we have one sort of procedure ; while if the thinking 
 involved is deductive, certain other elements enter. There is a 
 kind of work in which we aim primarily for appreciation, and 
 at another time we are chiefly concerned in teaching children 
 how to study. The proper conduct of a review or examination, 
 and the tj^e of exercise commonly known as a recitation lesson, 
 need to be discussed in some detail. In the chapters which 
 immediately follow, each of these t)rpes of schoolroom exercises 
 will be considered. Success in teaching consists quite as much 
 in working definitely for well defined ends which may be ac- 
 compKshed in this fifteen minutes, this half hour, or during this 
 week, as in keeping in mind the more general aims of education. 
 Indeed, the only way in which we can secure the larger ends is 
 by successfully achieving the lesser tasks. The teacher who 
 knows that she has fixed this desirable habit of thought, feel- 
 ing, or action, that this bit of knowledge has taken its place in a 
 usable system, that this ideal or purpose has been awakened, 
 that certain methods of work are available for the group of 
 children whom she is teaching, — that teacher can be sure 
 that she is fulfilling her mission. 
 
The Teaching Process 39 
 
 Foe Collateral Reading 
 
 E. J. Swift, Mind in the Making, Chapter VI. 
 E. A. Kirkpatrick, Genetic Psychology, Chapter X. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. When a teacher raps her pencil against a desk and the children 
 look toward her, what is the type of adjustment made ? When will they 
 cease to pay attention to the rap of the pencU ? What suggestion would 
 you offer concerning the danger which may be found in rapping the 
 pencil against the desk, ringing a bell, clapping the hands, shouting 
 "be quiet"? 
 
 2. Name some exercises in arithmetic in which you may depend 
 somewhat upon instinctive adjustments to insure progress. 
 
 3. Where do you think you will find the most instinctive adjustments, 
 — in geography, arithmetic, drawing, Enghsh composition, or physical 
 training ? 
 
 4. A boy who had done poor work in algebra improved greatly when 
 changed from a class taught by a man to one taught by a woman. How 
 would you account for the change, taking it for granted that the teachers 
 were equally competent ? What type of adjustment did the boy make ? 
 
 5. Why is it that any new subject wiU prove attractive for a short 
 time, and children will later show a lack of interest in the work ? 
 
 6. Is there any difference between making a class period interesting 
 and finding a motive which appeals to children which will lead them to 
 desire to cover the material which you have assigned ? 
 
 7. Which is the better, to have a girl study her geography lesson to 
 please the teacher or to have her at work trying to solve a problem in 
 which she is interested ? 
 
 8. What sort of results do teachers secure who compel children to 
 learn their lessons through fear of being ridiculed or otherwise punished ? 
 If these children know as much as other children whose teacher has them 
 at work satisfying their idea of pleasure, — which will result in being 
 able to read well to the class, prepare their part of the class drama, or 
 investigate in fields in which they are much interested, — would you, 
 then, consider the first sort of teaching as satisfactory as the second ? 
 
 9. To what degree can you depend upon the awakening of intellectual 
 interests to provide a motive for good work on the part of pupils ? 
 
 10. Do you think the following hst of questions would prove intel- 
 lectually stimulating to a group of sixth-grade pupils : — 
 
 " Where is Philadelphia ? What is the capital of New York ? What 
 
40 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 are the principal rivers of the Middle Atlantic states ? Where is Pitts- 
 burgh ? For what is Pittsburgh noted ? What river forms the eastern 
 boundary of Pennsylvania? Bound Virginia. Locate the capitals of 
 the states in this group. Name two valuable products raised near the 
 coast. Describe the surface of this group of states." 
 
 11. How many children in your class find satisfaction in their school 
 work sufficient to keep them at it if no marks were given and no one 
 compelled them to attend school ? Are there some subjects or parts of 
 subjects where you secure this sort of enthusiasm for school work? 
 Why do you succeed better in these phases of school work than in others ? 
 
 12. What is wrong with the boy who is quiet during the recitation, 
 apparently absorbed in the work, but who gets nothing out of it? 
 
 13. Why does the teacher who speaks in a loud tone of voice in order 
 to compel attention have to speak louder and louder as the day advances ? 
 
 14. What is wrong with a class which does good work in long division 
 at the beginning of the arithmetic period, and very poor work at the 
 end of thirty minutes ? 
 
 15. Give examples of passive attention, active attention, and second- 
 ary passive attention, from your own classroom work. 
 
 16. Describe the situations in which you beheve your children did 
 the best intellectual work. How do you account for the excellence of 
 this work? 
 
CHAPTER W 
 
 THE DRILL LESSON 
 
 , Many responses of thought and action must be reduced 
 to an automatic basis. It is the function of the drill lesson to 
 accompKsh this result. In some schools this type of work has 
 been overemphasized, while in others it has been neglected. 
 It is a mistake to spend the whole of a child's time and energy 
 drilHng him upon that which some one else has thought. He 
 must think for himself while a child, if he is to show intellec- 
 tual strength as a man. And it is just as much a mistake to 
 believe that the greatest progress in thought or action can be 
 achieved without careful attention to the formation of desir- 
 able habits. Probably there is little need to-day to argue 
 against this conception of teaching, which makes the teacher 
 simply and solely a drill master. Our respect for the native 
 tendencies and for the experiences of children, our emphasis 
 upon doing, our belief that the best preparation for future 
 efi&ciency is to be found in present childish efficiency, all refute 
 any such narrow view of the educative process. There is, 
 however, in some quarters a danger that this insistence upon 
 thinking and doing may be construed to mean that drill work 
 is no longer necessary. There are children who are terribly 
 handicapped in their later work because they have not learned 
 to spell common words, to write a legible hand, to give without 
 hesitation the addition combinations, to reproduce the multi- 
 plication tables, to use without much thought the processes 
 commonly employed in arithmetic work. They find difficulty 
 in reading, because they lack that knowledge of phonetics 
 which would make easy the recognition of unfamiliar words in 
 
 41 
 
42 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 their reading; they stumble in geography, fail in music, lack 
 abiHty to comprehend their work in nature study or history, 
 all because facts essential to further progress, once presented 
 and imderstood, were not reduced to an automatic basis by 
 carefully conducted drill exercises. If it is clear that much of 
 the knowledge which children acquire must be reduced to the 
 basis of habit, we may next inquire just how this drill work is 
 to be related to the other part of the school work. 
 
 Question of motive : In the formation of habits not provided 
 for by native tendencies to react, the occasion for making the 
 adjustment is, as in the case of our thinking, the recognition 
 of a need. Our first attempts to talk or to use our Umbs were 
 due solely to the compelling force of instinct, but later we 
 learned a foreign language or achieved success in the high 
 jump because we had a definite aim in mind. So far as the 
 teacher is concerned with habit formation, she can hope to 
 utilize instinctive tendencies, but may not depend upon them 
 alone to secure the result. A motive must be provided for the 
 work. The stronger this incentive, the greater will be the 
 attention given to the work in hand and the sooner will the 
 desired result be secured. Very much of the drill work which 
 is done is well-nigh futile because it is imposed upon children. 
 They do not see its significance, and feel little interest in the 
 accomplishment of the results demanded. 
 
 ^.; Ideally, drill lessons should come when the children see that 
 their future progress is conditioned by successful formation 
 of the habits involved. And this is not so impossible of ac- 
 complishment as might appear at first sight. If the material 
 given to children to read in the first grade is of such a nature 
 that they really care to read it, they are very quick to see that 
 word drill, and later phonetic drill, will help them to secure 
 the end desired. Of course the reply may be made : "What 
 is the use of bothering one's self with this attempt to make a 
 rational appeal to children ? They will be completely satisfied 
 if you simply keep them at it. It is a game for them. They 
 
The Drill Lesson 43 
 
 enjoy it simply because they delight in accomplishment." 
 One might reply to such a statement by calling to mind the 
 fact that the school exists to develop rationality. You may be 
 perfectly sure that frequently enough the children, and later 
 the men and women, will be driven or led without any appeal 
 to reason. It will undoubtedly be true that we shall have to 
 appeal to motives other than rational ; but surely this appeal 
 to reason should be made, and, if our education is successful, 
 should be increasingly potent as we advance from grade to 
 grade. Even when a rational motive has been made the point 
 of departure, we shall have to use many devices to keep alive 
 the child's original intention. But let us frankly admit, both 
 to ourselves and to the children, that these subsidiary aims are 
 merely aids in helping us to achieve the more worthy aim. If 
 such a standard of motive were applied throughout our work, 
 we should probably find it necessary to postpone certain ac- 
 tivities which we insist upon for no reason which a child can 
 understand, until there was some real use for the habit to be 
 formed. We might even find ourselves compelled to eliminate 
 much which finds no application in real life. The occasion for 
 drill is found in the demand for automatic control of thought or 
 action, and much of the later success of the children in think- 
 ing and doing will be conditioned by the quality of the work 
 done in these drill exercises. 
 
 < Knowing what to do : A clear idea of the result to be accom- 
 plished is, of course, involved in the notion or aim as it has 
 been discussed above. The importance of this element in 
 habit formation cannot be overemphasized. It may seem 
 superfluous to call attention to the fact that every child should 
 have a clear idea of what is to be done before the drill work 
 begins ; but it sometimes happens that the teacher takes too 
 much for granted. Children stumble and fail, or do nothing 
 at all, simply because they do not know what it is all about. 
 It would seem impossible that any group of pupils should be 
 asked to commit to memory anything which they did not im- 
 
44 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 derstand, and yet we are constantly reminded by their later 
 interpretations that they have not understood. Such logical 
 organization is not always possible, nor, indeed, even desirable, 
 as, for example, in learning addition combinations. In such 
 a case the value of the habit is largely due to the fact that we 
 no longer attempt to rationalize the process nor attempt to 
 fix it in a logical series. But whether the task be the memoriz- 
 ing of a poem, the learning of addition combinations, the 
 formation of the habit of neatness, or the gaining of skill in 
 handling a saw, it is essential' that the child know just what is 
 to be done and that he be provided with an adequate motive 
 for doing it. 
 
 Repetition with attention: After a child knows what to do, 
 has the right idea, and the greatest possible motive for doing 
 has been provided, the teacher's problem consists in keeping 
 alive the desire to achieve the result while the process of repeti- 
 tion is going on. A child learns to spell a word not simply 
 because he repeats the letters or writes them in the correct order 
 a hundred times. We all have knowledge of cases in which this 
 sort of repetition has seemingly resulted in no advancement. 
 The most economical method of learning to spell requires that 
 the maximum of attention be given while the letters are re- 
 peated. The story of the boy who, after he had written after 
 school the phrase "I have gone" a hundred times, wrote at 
 the bottom of his paper for the information of the teacher, who 
 had left the room, "I have went home," is a case in point. The 
 trouble with this boy was not that he had not repeated the 
 correct form often enough, but that he had not attended to it. 
 He had failed to realize the significance of what he was doing. 
 Doubtless his attention, instead of being fixed on the work in 
 hand, was more largely given to the game of baseball his com- 
 panions were playing, or to the prospect of the delights of the 
 swimming pool. Much of the concert work that one hears 
 shows a lack of attention on the part of the larger part of the 
 class except in so far as is necessary to follow the leaders. 
 
The Drill Lesson 
 
 45 
 
 Such work is undoubtedly helpful to those who lead, but it is 
 of little use to the others who take part. It is a very good 
 plan to test concert work by listening closely to distinguish 
 those who are carrying the burden, have them stop, and 
 measure the success of the work by the result which can then 
 be had. 
 
 Means of holding attention: No matter how strong the 
 motive with which we start, any one of us will grow weary 
 when the task imposed requires many repetitions. It is even 
 more difficult for children to keep their attention fixed for 
 any considerable length of time. We must, therefore, plan 
 carefully to conduct the drill in such a way that the maximum 
 of attention may be secured. Among the devices which are 
 employed, one of the most important is variation in procedure. 
 Suppose, for example, we wish to spend ten minutes in drilling 
 children on addition combinations. The best results will not 
 be secured by spending the whole time in either oral or written 
 work. Probably the maximum of attention and consequently 
 of result could be secured by dividing the period into three 
 parts : one devoted to oral work, holding every one respon- 
 sible for every answer ; one to written work on a series of prob- 
 lems provided on number cards or mimeographed sheets ; and 
 one to work of the same sort placed on the blackboard. Of 
 course there is nothing peculiarly good in the order of exer- 
 cises suggested above, beyond the fact that they give variety. 
 The next day the teacher would want to change the order or 
 to introduce a new type of exercise. 
 
 Another means of securing the maximum of attention is to 
 place a time limit. Have the children see how many problems 
 they can solve, how many stanzas they can commit to memory, 
 or how many words they can learn to spell in a period of ten 
 minutes. It makes a very great difference whether the teacher 
 says "work on this task for ten minutes," or "see how much 
 you can get done in ten minutes." 
 
 This leads us to consider a third means commonly employed 
 
46 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 to secure earnest work, the appeal to emulation. The desire 
 of a pupil to do as well as other members of his class, or the 
 desire of a class to equal the record of another class of the same 
 grade, wiU do much to keep attention fixed on the work. 
 Neither the devices mentioned nor any others will avail unless 
 the teacher is wide-awake and alert herself. The greatest 
 single reason for lack of interest and attention on the part of 
 the class is found in the indifference and lack of energy on the 
 part of the teacher. It is useless to expect vigorous action on 
 the part of pupils, when the teacher is half asleep or otherwise 
 either physically or mentally incapacitated for good work. It 
 is possible at times for a teacher to arouse her own flagging 
 interest by just such appeals as have been suggested above as 
 applying to children. 
 
 Necessity for accuracy in practice: Our nervous systern 
 is so constructed that to do anything once leaves a tendency 
 to do the same thing the same way when next we are placed 
 in a similar situation. It is bad to allow careless work or 
 random guessing, not simply because the result in this one case 
 may be wrong, but more especially because the tendency to the 
 wrong reaction is there and must be overcome before the cor- 
 rect action can be fixed as a habit. If a child, the day after 
 he has studied the word foreign, has occasion to write the word 
 and does not know how to spell it, it is a mistake to permit the 
 word to be written incorrectly. It would be better to have 
 the child discover for himself or find out from the teacher the 
 correct form before attempting to write the word. It is well 
 to insist on the necessity for absolute accuracy. Better by 
 far discontinue the drill while every one is still fresh enough 
 to give close attention to the work in hand and while the re- 
 " sponses are accurate, than to make the serious mistake of 
 allowing the work to be done carelessly or to flatter one's self 
 that approximately accurate results are good enough. Better 
 be sure that in the drill work on the multiplication table to-day 
 the children have invariably given the correct response when we 
 
The Drill Lesson 47 
 
 have asked them how many are six times three and six times 
 four, than to have attempted to teach the whole table with the 
 knowledge that one fourth of the answers have been wrong. 
 We should not be misled; the child who gave us a wrong 
 answer is not simply wrong this time, but, what for us is 
 more important, will tend to be wrong ever after. We have 
 more than doubled the task we set out to accomplish. We 
 must now get rid of the tendency to give the wrong answer, and 
 then teach the correct one. In our later consideration of the 
 moral .life of the child, we shall have occasion again to point 
 out the significance of this principle. 
 
 The periods elapsing between repetitions or series of repetitions 
 should be gradually lengthened : The fixing of a habit so that it 
 shall always thereafter be available to determine our thought 
 or action requires that we do more than arrive at a point where 
 the response can be readily secured in a given situation. The 
 word which your pupils spell so readily, the table which they 
 recite so glibly, the poem which they have so completely mas- 
 tered, will apparently have completely disappeared next week 
 or next month. Of course the work you have done is not 
 without effect. It will be easier to learn the word, table, or 
 poem again. But the child should command these results for 
 which we labored now. There is a body of knowledge, a group 
 of actions, which ought to be available automatically at any 
 time. If we are to succeed in fixing this body of habits, if they, 
 are to be made permanently available, we must recognize the 
 fact that when we have first secured the result desired we have 
 only begun the process. The boy who recites Lincoln's 
 Gettysburg Address without any mistakes to-day has made a 
 good beginning; but if that address is worth remembering 
 always, he must recite it several times during the next week, 
 and go over it again next month, next term, and next year. 
 There will come a time, depending upon his native retentive- 
 ness and upon his method of memorizing, when it will no longer 
 be necessary to repeat it for the sake of fixing the address in 
 
48 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 memory. It will not take a great deal of time to recall that 
 which we believe we have fixed permanently last week or last 
 month, and by doing this we shall add greatly to the probabil- 
 ity of possible recall a year or ten years from now, and inci- 
 dentally discover, much to our surprise, how much has already 
 escaped. 
 
 Teachers often unconsciously follow the cramming method 
 in their attempt to have children advance rapidly ; and, as is 
 always the case when this method is employed, what has appar- 
 ently been learned is soon forgotten. Fortunately for all con- 
 cerned, many of the responses which need to be reduced to an 
 automatic basis are demanded over and over again as the child 
 progresses from grade to grade, and are thus provided for.. 
 But much that is now lost could be retained, and each succeed- 
 ing teacher could, accompHsh more than is now customary, if 
 only this principle of habit formation were commonly observed. 
 
 In the case of a series of responses to he made automatic, be 
 careful to include each member of the series: Much of our work 
 is weak because it lacks system. If we are engaged in teaching 
 addition combinations, we should be absolutely certain that 
 we have taught every possible combination. If we want to be 
 sure that children know how to write numbers up to one mil- 
 lion, we must have given them drill on all of the possible diffi- 
 culties. If children are always to respond correctly when 
 problems involving two steps in reasoning are presented, we 
 must have been careful to provide for the purpose of drill all 
 of the combinations of situations involving addition, multipli- 
 cation, subtraction, and division which can occur. For any 
 other similar field, the same care must be exercised. 
 
 The greater part of the time should be spent in drilling upon 
 that part of the work which presents special difficulty. There 
 is no use in spending one's time equally on all of the words 
 included in any list. Some of them can probably be spelled 
 with httle or no drill, while others may require very careful 
 study and many repetitions. In any other field the same 
 
The Drill Lesson 49 
 
 situation will be found. Many of the responses desired will 
 be reduced to the basis of habit readily, and a few will require 
 continued attention. It is the function of the teacher to dis- 
 cover these special difficulties as soon as possible, to clear up 
 any obscurity in ideas which may stand in the way, and then 
 to drill with special reference to these special cases. 
 
 Briefly summarized, it is the function of the teacher in guid- 
 ing pupils in the formation of habits to see to it that they have 
 the correct idea of the thing to be done ; to secure the maximum 
 of motive and to maintain the maximum of attention during 
 the process; to guard against carelessness and lapses by 
 insisting upon the accuracy or the adequacy of the responses ; 
 to provide occasion for repetitions from time to time with 
 gradually lengthened intervals ; to be careful not to omit any 
 of a group or series of responses equally important ; to spend 
 the greater part of the time and energy of both herself and 
 pupils upon those cases which present special difi&culty. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 W. C. Bagley, The Rducathe Process, Chapter XXII. 
 S. H. Rowe, Habit Formation and the Science of Teaching, Chapter 
 XIII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1 . Name the subjects or parts of subjects in which drill work is essential. 
 
 2. What was there of value in the old-fashioned method of choosing 
 sides and "spelling down" ? 
 
 3. Name some of the devices which you have used in drill work, and 
 justify their use. 
 
 4. What argument can you advance for postponing the beginning of 
 writing lessons until the middle of the first year or later ? 
 
 5. Which would be better: to present the multiplication table in 
 regular series (3x1=3; 3X2=6;3X3=9, etc.) , or in some other order ? 
 (3x5 = 15; 3x2=6; 3x7 = 21; 3x4 = 12, etc.) 
 
 6. If a boy was writing a composition and wanted to use a word that 
 he did not know how to spell, what would you expect him to do ? 
 
50 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 7. What are the objections to learning rules of spelling ? 
 
 8. In a drUl lesson in arithmetic, which would you consider the better : 
 to have the children work as individuals for the highest score, or to 
 divide them into groups and have one group try to do better than the 
 other ? 
 
 9. Criticize the following lesson, as a fourth-grade exercise in spelling. 
 The teacher placed the following Mst of words on the board, and told 
 the pupils to study them. 
 
 beHeve conduct have 
 
 forget agriculture manufacture 
 
 store plow wagon 
 
 ciiltivate harness exports 
 
 crops dairy freight 
 
 drought fertilizer transport 
 
 depot wheat 
 
 10. A teacher who spent a large part of her time having the class 
 recite the multiplication tables in concert was distressed to find that 
 a majority of the class did not know the tables when examination time 
 came. What was the explanation ? 
 
 11. In a school where the children had a forty-minute period for a 
 writing lesson, the results during the last ten minutes were invariably 
 poorer than during the first quarter of the period. How could you 
 hope to change the result? 
 
 12. In some schools the teachers always spend two weeks before 
 the examination period in review of the term's work. Why are such 
 reviews necessary in some cases, while children do just as well in exami- 
 nations in other schools which do not have this review period ? 
 
 13. A teacher taught children that they could always tell how much 
 nine times any number was by subtracting one from that number for 
 the tens place, then adding a number which wiH make nine for the units 
 place (e.g. 5x9=? 5 — 1=4 (tens); 4+5=9. .'. 5 is the number of 
 xmits, and 5x9=45). Is this a good way to teach this table? 
 
 14. How can you know when it is wise to discontinue drill work ? 
 
 15. Dp you think it necessary to plan for a driU lesson ? 
 
 16. Could you plan your work so that your pupils will know at the 
 end of the year all of the poems you have taught during the previous 
 eight or ten months ? 
 
CHAPTER V 
 
 THE INDUCTIVE LESSON 
 
 We are skeptical to-day of that sort of teaching which aims 
 mainly to equip children with a body of accepted knowledge in 
 order that they may sometime iind use for this body of informa- 
 tion in later life. We emphasize, rather, the control of mental 
 activity which makes for the discovery of truth and the avoid- 
 ance of error. Thinking of this sort is purposeful. We control 
 or direct our ideas toward some end, toward the solution of some 
 problem. One great purpose of teaching must be to provide 
 the opportunity and the stimulus for this kind of thinking. 
 We may not be able to lay down any fixed order of procedure, 
 nor to devise any set of rules whereby children may be trained 
 to be good reasoners ; but we can consider what is involved 
 in the process, point out the possibilities of interference, and 
 suggest some of the means to be employed in encouraging this 
 type of mental activity on the part of children. In this 
 chapter we shall confine ourselves to that type of reasoning 
 which we call inductive. This type of schoolroom exercise 
 has usually been treated as composed of five steps; namely, 
 preparation, presentation, comparison and abstraction, gener- 
 ahzation, and application. We shall employ this classification 
 to guide us in our discussion of the process. 
 
 Preparation: To prepare a child to reason in a given situa- 
 tion from the data in hand to the conclusions which must of 
 necessity follow, it is first of all necessary that he should see 
 that ihef situation presents a problem. We reason only when 
 we have some aim or purpose which can be satisfied by the 
 process. But if consciousness of aim or problem is at the 
 foundation of this type of thinking, and if we are to deal with 
 
 SI 
 
52 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 children in groups, it is essential that the situation which in< 
 volves the problem be made the common possession of all. 
 The step of preparation presents these two problems to the 
 teacher : (i) to find a basis in experience already had, or to 
 provide the experience which involves the problem to be con- 
 sidered ; (2) to make the children feel the necessity for the 
 solution, i.e. to make the problem vital to them. 
 
 In considering the necessity for common experience as a 
 basis for discovering the problem to children, we are dealing 
 with the principle of apperception. Briefly stated, it is this, — 
 that any object or situation has meaning for us only as it 
 connects itself with and is interpreted by our previous experi- 
 ence. Suppose, for example, that a group of first-grade chil- 
 dren were asked to tell what made seeds grow. It is possible 
 that some of them would not know, could not interpret from 
 past experience, the meaning of seeds. If the class were at 
 work in a large city, we could be sure that many had never been 
 conscious that growing plants had any coimection with seeds, 
 and there would be few, if any, who had ever noticed the condi- 
 tions under which such growth takes place. The first problem 
 for the teacher in this case would be solved only when, through 
 recall of past experiences, observations, or experiments, the 
 experience "seeds growing" became the common possession 
 of the group. This is an extreme case, one in which the expe- 
 rience which involves the problem is entirely wanting. At the 
 other end of the series, we may have a problem for considera- 
 tion, the basis for which is found in experiences common to all 
 children. But even though this be the case, there wiU still be 
 need for the recall of the experience and for making prominent 
 some factor heretofore unnoticed before the children will be 
 ready to reason. We may suppose that all children have had 
 experience with streets or roads, but we shall want to recall 
 many of these experiences in order to make significant the prob- 
 lem of transportation which we wish to consider in the class 
 in home geography. 
 
The Inductive Lesson 53 
 
 The step of preparation has only partially accomplished 
 its purpose when the experience necessary to the realization oi 
 the problem has been recalled or provided. Still greater skill 
 is required in making the child conscious of the problem. In- 
 deed, it may well be argued that in the curriculum as it is at 
 present organized, very many of the problems that we ask chil- 
 dren to solve are problems ior them only because we, as teach- 
 ers, require that that certain piece of work be done. Often 
 the child's problem consists mainly in avoiding, as far as pos- 
 sible, the work which we require, which has little or no signifi- 
 cance for him. Children would do much more thinking if we 
 were only more careful to give them childish problems to solve. 
 Too frequently the organization of knowledge which we impose 
 is influenced exclusively by our adult logical conceptions. 
 Not that children should be illogical, but rather that child 
 logic and the child's ability to reason depend upon his abil- 
 ity to appreciate problems, upon his experience, and upon his 
 ability to interpret that experience. When we impose our 
 adult point of view upon him, when we ask him to take our 
 problem and with the data that we supply ask him to work out 
 our solution, whatever else may be said of the exercise, it may 
 not be called an exercise in reasoning by children. 
 
 If we do respect the child's experience and point of view, the 
 task still remains of making all of the group of children we 
 teach conscious of the aim as their problem. There is no greater 
 test of teaching skill than this. Can the teacher, after having 
 brought to mind the experiences which are relevant to the work 
 she wishes the children to do, make them conscious of a lack 
 in this experience ; can she awaken the need for further con- 
 sideration of past experience and a desire to reconstruct and 
 to amplify it ? In proportion as she is able to accompHsh this 
 result, we may be sure that children are reasoning upon prob- 
 lems which are vital to them, and that the motive has been 
 provided which will secure the maximum of controlled intel- 
 lectual activity on their part. The best single test of the 
 
54 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 accomplishment of this ideal is to require that the statement 
 of aim be made by the children themselves as a result of the 
 guidance we have given. This conception of the meaning and 
 significance of the aim suggests the solution of the difi&culty 
 which some people find in harmonizing the idea of instruction 
 with the doctrine of self-activity. 
 
 Instruction, when properly conducted, does not impose the 
 ideas, the problems, or the conclusions of adults upon children. 
 Rather we are concerned in instruction with the child's expe- 
 rience, his tendency to react, his need of adjustment ; and our 
 function as teachers is to guide him, to stimulate him to his 
 own best efforts, to insure the maximimi of self-activity while 
 we guide this activity toward the accomplishment of ends-which 
 are desirable. The difficulty is, of course, that the problem 
 for solution at any given time may not be equally vital to 
 every member of the group. Here is where the element of con- 
 trol enters somewhat in opposition to the self-activity of the 
 individual. But this condition of affairs is necessarily true 
 both in school and out of it, for society sets up for us certain 
 norms or standards of experience which must be realized by all, 
 and we must for the sake of economy handle children in groups. 
 If the problem is not beyond the child's comprehension, if it 
 deals with situations which are significant to him, if the solu- 
 tion derived has some bearing on his future action, if he has 
 carefully scrutinized his experience in the Kght of the problem 
 stated and has brought to bear those elements which are sig- 
 nificant for its solution, we may be confident that the activ- 
 ity resulting is closely akin to that which is foimd in the con- 
 trolled thinking of men the world over. 
 
 In order that it may be more easy for children to focus their 
 attention upon the problem in hand, there is considerable 
 advantage in a clear, concise, concrete, and preferably a brief 
 statement of the aim.^ A problem is half solved when one can 
 state it clearly. So long as the problem is not sufficiently well 
 * McMurry, Method of the Recitation, Chapter VI. 
 
The Inductive Lesson 55 
 
 defined to admit of accurate statement on the part of pupils, 
 there is danger that there may be much wandering in its con- 
 sideration. One of the great lessons to be taught in work of 
 this sort is the need of examining the ideas as they suggest 
 themselves to see whether or not they are relevant. 
 
 The argument as it has been stated above points to the 
 statement of aim as the culmination of the step of preparation. 
 This does not mean that a considerable period must always 
 elapse in the conduct of an exercise of this type before the aim 
 can be stated. There are occasions, and when the teaching 
 has been good they should be frequent, when the lesson should 
 begin with the statement of the problem discovered in a pre- 
 vious lesson and made clear in the assignment of work. In 
 other cases the same aim may hold for several days ; i.e. until 
 the problem is solved. In general, as we advance through the 
 grades, the ends for which children work should become rela- 
 tively more remote, and the achievement of these ends should 
 require a longer period of work. There is an advantage in 
 setting up subsidiary aims which will make steps of progress in 
 the realization of the larger purpose. 
 
 Another distinction that it is well to keep in mind concerns 
 the development of intellectual interests on the part of chil- 
 dren. The characteristic aim for a first-grade child may make 
 its appeal chiefly to his desire for satisfaction, which has little 
 intellectual significance ; but education fails if it does not make 
 for an increase of interest in intellectual activity. For ex- 
 ample, a first-grade boy may be led to count because he wants 
 to be able to tell how many marbles he has, or how to measure 
 the materials he uses in constructive work ; while the mathe- 
 matician may work night and day upon a problem of mathe- 
 matics because of a purely speculative interest in the result. 
 We may not hope to produce the great mathematician in the 
 elementary school, but we may hope after a certain point has 
 been reached in our study of arithmetic that a boy will recog- 
 nize the necessity for drill in addition simply because he 
 
56 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 realizes that in the ordinary affairs of life this knowledge is 
 required. 
 
 Presentation: The full realization of the problem to be solved 
 involves a consideration of data already at hand in experience. 
 When we have the problem clearly in mind, we examine this 
 experience more carefully to see what bearing it may have 
 upon the solution, or we gather further data, observe more 
 critically or more extensively, or experiment in such a manner 
 as to involve the solution of our problem. What is the func- 
 tion of the teacher during this part of the process ? There is 
 no single answer to this question. Sometimes the work of the 
 teacher will consist almost wholly in helping children to recall 
 their past experience and to apply it to the question at hand. 
 At another time, when experience is lacking, the teacher must 
 direct children to the sources of data, guide them in their 
 observations or experiments, or even give them outright all 
 of the data that she can bring to bear on the situation. It will 
 not always be economical to wait for children to gather the data 
 for themselves, just as it is not always feasible to require them 
 to reach conclusions for themselves. There are times when 
 the best teaching consists in demonstration, and occasions 
 arise when the only feasible course for the teacher is to liter- 
 ally flood the children with data from which they may draw 
 their conclusions. 
 
 Again the problem of gathering data becomes the problem 
 of memory. We want children to think, and we should insist 
 that they gather facts with reference to the solution of some 
 problem ; but the solution may not always be immediate. We 
 may suspend judgment while we gather further facts and 
 organize them. The facts gathered for one purpose, when 
 rearranged with reference to a new problem, take on a new 
 meaning. If this be taie, we may not in our zeal for clear 
 thinking neglect the tools with which we work. There may be 
 some people who have a great many facts and who reason little, 
 but no one can reason without data. Our ability to think 
 
The Inductive Lesson 57 
 
 logically upon any topic is conditioned by our ability to see 
 facts in new relations, to reorganize our data with reference 
 to new problems ; but facts we must have, and a memory 
 stored with facts is one of the greatest aids to thinking. 
 
 One of the means mentioned above for the gathering of data 
 was observation. It is necessary that we appreciate the fact 
 that observation involves something more than having the 
 thing present to the senses. Our observations are significant 
 for our thinking when we have clearly in view the problem 
 which the observations are to help solve. Teachers some- 
 times make the mistake of supposing that when children have 
 objects with which to work they have a problem. It is not 
 unusual to hear teachers speak of objective work as concrete 
 work. Now the concreteness of a situation is not at all de- 
 pendent upon the presence of objects. Logically a situation 
 may be concrete, and yet present no objects to the senses. On 
 the other hand, objects may be present, children may be 
 directed to use them, and yet in the absence of any real prob- 
 lem the work done may be of the most abstract sort. Objects 
 help to make a situation concrete when the problem under 
 consideration demands their presence, or when they help to 
 make clear the situation under consideration. For example, 
 children may have peas or beans in solving problems in addi- 
 tion ; they serve to present objectively the reality which is 
 symbolized by the teacher or pupils in their written work, 
 but this does not make the work in addition concrete. The 
 concreteness of these exercises will depend upon the need which 
 children feel of the ability to find the sum of two or more num- 
 bers. The beans will be significant, beyond their use as ob- 
 jects, to illustrate the one-to-one correspondence between sym- 
 bolic representatibn and reality, only if the problem of summa- 
 tion which at that time engages their attention concerns the sum 
 of certain numbers of beans. Indeed, it may be claimed that 
 the use of one set of objects continuously to illustrate a process 
 in arithmetic hinders rather than helps the child in his abiUty 
 
58 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 to reason in this situation, since he may come to consider this 
 chance relationship of beans and addition as essential. He 
 may think that he ought always to add when he is given beans. 
 A good illustration of the necessity for a well defined prob- 
 lem for guidance when observations are to be made is foimd 
 in the futiHty of much work that is done, or rather left undone, 
 when children are taken on excursions. The directions which 
 follow for the conduct of excursions are those which should 
 be followed whenever work in observation is required, those 
 which have reference to the handling of a large group of chil- 
 dren in the field being added. 
 
 1. The teacher must have clearly defined in her own mind 
 the purpose of the observation. If the teacher has not defi- 
 nitely formulated the problem, the observation of the chil- 
 dren will surely be purposeless. 
 
 2. It is not enough that the teacher know just, what data 
 she expects the children to gather toward the solution of a 
 particular problem; she must know exactly what data are 
 available under the conditions governing the observation. 
 
 3. The preliminary work must have prepared children for 
 their observations by giving them very definite problems to 
 solve. Often it will be advantageous to have these problems 
 written in notebooks. 
 
 4. Children not only need to want to see, but also need to 
 be directed while they are observing. Nothing is easier than 
 to look and not see that which is essential. 
 
 5. It is always advisable to test the success of the obser- 
 vations while they are being made. There is nothing more 
 difficult than to correct a misconception growing, out of care- 
 less or inadequate observations. 
 
 6. It is well to remember that not merely number of ob- 
 servations counts in the solution of a problem. It is rather 
 observations under varpng conditions which give weight to 
 our conclusions. One intensive observation may be worth 
 a thousand careless ones. 
 
The hiductive Lesson 59 
 
 7. When children are taken on excursions, great care must 
 be exercised to keep them under proper guidance and control. 
 The organization of children into smaller groups with leaders 
 who are made responsible for their proper observance of direc- 
 tions will help. These leaders should have been over the 
 ground with the teacher before the excursion. The assistance 
 of parents, teachers, or of older pupils will at times be neces- 
 sary. 
 
 8. There should be definite work periods during the ex- 
 cursion, just as in the schoolroom or laboratory. 
 
 9. A whistle, as a signal for assembling at one point, will 
 help in out-of-door work, provided it is clearly understood 
 that this signal must be obeyed immediately, and under all 
 circumstances. 
 
 Comparison and abstraction: With the problem clearly 
 defined and the data provided, the next step consists of com- 
 parison and the resulting abstraction of the element present in 
 all of the cases which makes for the solution of the problem. 
 In the ordinary course of our thinking the sequence is as fol- 
 lows : We find ourselves in a situation which presents a prob- 
 lem which demands an adjustment ; we make a guess or for- 
 mulate an hypothesis which furnishes the basis for our work 
 in attempting to solve the problem ; we gather data in the light 
 of the hypothesis assmned, which, through comparison and 
 abstraction, leads us to believe our hypothesis correct or false ; 
 if the hypothesis seems justified by the data gathered, it is 
 further tested or verified by an appeal to experience ; i.e. we 
 endeavor to see whether our conclusion holds in all cases; 
 if this test proves satisfactory, we generalize or define ; and 
 lastly this generalization or definition is used as a point of 
 reference or truth to guide in later thinking or activity. 
 
 There is danger that we may overlook the very great im- 
 portance of inference in this process. We cannot say just 
 when this step in the process will be possible, but it is possibly 
 the most significant of all. A situation presents a problem. 
 
6o A Brief Course in tlu Teaching Process 
 
 Our success in solving the problem depends upon our ability 
 to infer from the facts at our command. Often many inferences 
 will be necessary before we succeed in finding the one that wiU 
 stand the test. Again with the problem in mind we may be 
 conscious of a great lack of data and may postpone our in- 
 ference while we collect the needed information. There is 
 one fallacy that must be carefully guarded against in dealing 
 with children, as also with adults ; namely, the tendency once 
 the inference has been made to admit only such data as are 
 foimd to support this particular hypothesis. 
 
 It is this ability to infer, to formulate a workable hypothesis, 
 which distinguishes the genius from the man of mediocre ability. 
 It is the abihty to see facts in new relations, the giving of new 
 meaning to facts which may be the common possession of all, 
 that characterizes the great thinker. Other people knew many 
 of the facts; but it took the mind of a Newton to discover 
 the relationship existing among these data which he formulated 
 in the law that aU bodies attract each other directly in pro- 
 portion to their weight and inversely in proportion to the square 
 of the distance separating them. As we teach children we 
 should encourage the intelligent guess. We would not, of 
 course, encourage mere random guessing, which may be en- 
 gaged in by children to have something to say or to blind the 
 teacher. A child who offers a guess or hypothesis should 
 be asked to give his ground for the inference, should show that 
 his guess has grown out of his consideration of the data in 
 hand. It is fallacious to suppose that this kind of thinking 
 is beyond the power of children. They have been forming 
 their inferences and testing them in action from the time that 
 they began to act independently. 
 
 There is one element in the consideration of the step of com- 
 parison which cannot be too much emphasized, and that is that 
 it is not the comparison of things or situations which present 
 striking likenesses which gives rise to the highest type of think- 
 ing. To look at a dozen horses and then to conclude that all 
 
The Inductive Lesson 6i 
 
 horses have four legs is merely a matter of classification ; to 
 observe that the sun, chemical action, electricity, and friction 
 produce heat, and to arrive at the generalization from these 
 cases, apparently so unlike, that heat is a mode of motion is 
 the work of a genius. In general, it is safe to say that we 
 would greatly strengthen our teaching if we were only more 
 careful to see to it that our basis for generahzation is found 
 in situations presenting as many variations as possible. For 
 example, if we want to teach a principle in arithmetic, the way 
 to fix it and to make it available for further use by our pupils 
 is not to get a number of problems all of which are alike in form 
 and statement ; but rather we should seek as great a variety 
 as is possible in the language used or symbols employed that 
 is compatible with the application of the principle to be taught. 
 In an interesting article on reasoning in primary arithmetic, 
 Professor Suzzallo has pointed out the fact that children's 
 difficulty in reasoning is often one of language.^ The trouble 
 has been that teachers have always used a set form, or a very 
 few forms of expression, when they described situations which 
 involved any one of the arithmetical processes. Later when 
 the child is called upon to solve a problem involving this 
 process he does not know which process to apply because he is 
 unfamiliar with the form of expression used. To succeed in 
 teaching children when to add involves the presentation of 
 the situations which call for addition with as great a variation 
 as is possible, i.e. by using not one form, but all of the words 
 or phrases which may be used to indicate summation. In like 
 manner in other fields the examples for comparison will be 
 valuable in proportion as they present variety rather than uni- 
 formity in those elements which are not essential. Equally 
 good illustration can be had from any other field. If we want 
 pupils to get any adequate conception of the function of adjec- 
 tives, we should use examples which involve a variety of adjec- 
 tives in different parts of sentences. In geography the concept 
 1 Suzzallo, in California Education, June, 1906. 
 
62 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 " river " will be clear only when the different types of rivers 
 have been considered and the non-essential elements disregarded. 
 
 Generalization : When we feel that we have solved the prob- 
 lem, we are ready to state our generalization. There is con- 
 siderable advantage in making such a statement. One can 
 never be quite sure that he has solved his problem until he 
 finds himself able to state clearly the results of his thinking. 
 To attempt to define or to generalize is often to realize the 
 inadequacy of our thought on the problem. Children should 
 be encouraged to give their own definition or generalization 
 before referring to that which is provided by the teacher or the 
 book. Indeed, the significance of a generalization for further 
 thinking or later action depends not simply upon one's abihty 
 to repeat words, but rather upon adequate realization of the 
 significance of the conclusion reached. The best test of such 
 comprehension is found in the ability of the pupil to state the 
 generalization for himself. 
 
 There is very great danger, if definitions or generalizations 
 are given ready-made to children, that they will learn to 
 juggle with words. The parrot-hke repetition of rules of 
 sjTitax, or principles of arithmetic, never indicates real grasp 
 of these subjects. Children think most when the requirement 
 for thinking is greatest, and none are readier than they to take 
 advantage of laxness on the part of the teacher in this respect. 
 It is not only when the formal statement of principles or defi- 
 nitions is called for that the teacher needs to be on her guard. 
 At any stage of the process, if the teacher will only take their 
 words and read meaning into them, some children will be foimd 
 ready to substitute words for thought. It is really a mistake 
 to tell a child that you know what he means even though he 
 did not say it. Language is the instrument which he employs 
 in thinking, and, if his statement lacked clearness or definite- 
 ness, the chances are very great that his thinking has -failed 
 in these same particulars. Instead of encouraging children in 
 loose thinking. by accepting any statement offered, it would 
 
The Inductive Lesson 63 
 
 be much better to raise the question of the real significance 
 of the statement, to inquire Just what was meant by the word? 
 used. Such procedure will help to make children more care- 
 ful in expressing themselves, and will inevitably tend to 
 clearer thinking. 
 
 Application: Whatever conclusions we have reached, what- 
 ever truths we have satisfactorily estabhshed, influence us in 
 our later thought and action. But even though this is true, 
 there is a decided advantage in providing for a definite appli- 
 cation of the results of the thinking which children have done 
 as soon as possible and in as many different ways as is feasible. 
 In the first place, such application makes clearer the truth 
 itself, and helps to fix it in mind. Again, the conclusion arrived 
 at to-day is chiefly significant as a basis for our thinking of 
 to-morrow, and it is as we apply our conclusions that new 
 problems arise to stimulate us to further thought. Then, too, 
 the satisfaction which comes when one feels his power over 
 situations as a result of thinking is the very best possible stim- 
 ulus to further intellectual activity. Finally, we need to show 
 children the application of that which they have learned to 
 the life which they hve outside of the school. We are not apt 
 to err on the side of too frequent or too varied application of 
 the generalizations we have led children to make. Rather we 
 shall have to study diligently to provide enough applications 
 to fix for the child the habit of verification by an appeal to 
 experience. 
 
 A few words by way of caution concerning the inductive 
 lesson may not be out of place. 
 
 First : Not all school work can be undertaken on this general 
 plan. There are times when the end to be accomplished is 
 distinctly not the discovery of some new truth, but rather 
 the fixing of some habit. There are exercises which are dis- 
 tinctively deductive, some which aim to produce habits, and 
 others which seek to secure appreciation. But more of this 
 is in the succeeding chapters. 
 
64 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Second: Even when we seek to establish truth, we cannot 
 always develop it by an appeal to the experience of children 
 nor to observations which they can make. We shall have, on 
 some occasions, to supply the data, and in still other cases it 
 will be most economical to demonstrate the truth of the posi- 
 tion which we desire to have them take. There are occasions 
 when the solution of the problem is not possible for children. 
 In this last instance we shall have to provide the authoritative 
 statement. Indeed, it may be argued that one of the lessons 
 which we all need to learn is respect for the expert. We can- 
 not settle all of the problems which arise, but we may choose 
 from among those who profess to have found a solution. Our 
 education ought to help us to avoid the quack and the charla- 
 tan. The habit of logical thinking on the part of children, 
 and expert knowledge in some field, however small, is the only 
 protection which the school can give against the pretensions 
 of those who represent themselves as the dispensers of truth.^ 
 
 Third: There is a grave danger that we may help children 
 too much. Some teachers interpret the inductive development 
 lesson to mean that each step in the thinking required must 
 be carefully prepared for and quickly passed. They consider 
 that they have taught the best lesson when there has been no 
 hitch in the progress from the statement of aim to the wording 
 of the generalization. The suggestive question which makes 
 thinking on the part of children unnecessary is a favorite 
 measure employed. If we stop to consider what thinking 
 means, we cannot fail to see the fallacy of such work. We all 
 do our best thinking, not when the problem to be solved is 
 explained by some one else and all of the difficulties removed, 
 but rather when we find the problem most difficult of solution. 
 
 If children are at work on problems which are vital to them, 
 we may expect them to continue to work even though they 
 make mistakes. Indeed, the best recitation may be the one 
 
 • For a full discussion of this point, see Eliot, Educational Reform, the essay 
 on "The Function of Education in a Democratic Society." 
 
The Inductive Lesson 65 
 
 that leaves the children not with a solution skillfully supplied 
 for them by the teacher, but rather with a keen realization of 
 the problem, and with a somewhat clearer idea of the direction 
 in which the solution may be sought. It is the teacher's work 
 to help the child to see the problem, and, seeing the problem 
 herself from the child's point of view, to stimulate the child to 
 his best effort. The teacher must know not only the pupil's 
 attitude of mind toward the problem and how his mind is most 
 Hkely to react, but also the mental activity required to master 
 properly the issue that has been raised. On the one hand, the 
 teacher's equipment consists of a knowledge of the minds of the 
 children whom she teaches, and on the other a knowledge of the 
 subject to be taught, not simply as a body of knowledge more or 
 less classified or organized, but as a mode of mental growth. ^ 
 What the teacher needs is a clear realization of the difficulties 
 which the pupils must meet, and the way in which childish 
 minds may best overcome these obstacles. When such sym- 
 pathy exists between teacher and pupil, we may expect that 
 pupils will constantly grow stronger in their abihty to think 
 logically, instead of becoming more and more dependent 
 upon the teacher. And this is our great work as teachers, to 
 render our services unnecessary. 
 
 Fourth: No teacher should attempt to outline her work on 
 the basis of the steps indicated in the discussion of the induc- 
 tive method without a clear reaHzation of the fact that these 
 steps cannot be sharply differentiated, that they are not mutu- 
 ally exclusive. To define a problem adequately may mean that 
 we have passed through the whole process. At any step in the 
 process after the problem is defij^ed, and some hypothesis 
 formed, we may wish to verify our guess by an appeal to known 
 facts, and often we shall find it necessary to abandon the 
 hypothesis already formed and provide another as a basis for 
 
 1 See Dewey, "The Relation of Theory to Practice in the Education of 
 Teachers," The Third Year Booh of the National Society for the Scientific Study 
 of Editcation. 
 
66 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 further thinking. It is true that the natural movement of the 
 mind is roughly indicated by the steps named ; but it must be 
 remembered that no mind can possibly arrive at the solution of 
 a real problem by adhering to a fixed order of procedure. We 
 do not by our teaching create the power of logical thought ; 
 we rather guide a mind that naturally operates logically. We 
 can never teach children to reason, but we can provide the 
 occasion for logical thinking, and can guard against the com- 
 mon fallacies. Our success will depend upon a clear realiza- 
 tion of the possibihties of the child mind and of the subjects 
 we teach as part of their growth and development. 
 
 Teaching hy Types : Teaching by means of types is sometimes 
 discussed as a separate method, while in reality it is simply one 
 form of the inductive process. As was indicated in our dis- 
 cussion of observation above, there are times when the con- 
 sideration of a single situation or object in detail may be worth 
 more than a thousand careless observations. It is especially 
 true that a thoroughly adequate knowledge of one object or 
 case of a class prepares in the best possible way for future 
 observations of members of the same class. FamiHarity with 
 the Hfe history of one animal or plant will help us greatly to 
 understand other animals and plants, because that which is 
 most essential in all has been carefully observed in the case 
 considered. Now let us suppose that several plants and animals 
 have been studied. If the cases which are considered are truly 
 typical, it may be possible for the student to appreciate not 
 simply the individuals belonging to the classes studied, but 
 also something of the interrelation of the several classes. This 
 illustration, given because it represents in a general way 
 something of the method followed in the study of science, 
 represents a very common method of procedure in the ordinary 
 affairs of life. None of us can hope to support our conclusions 
 by a careful scrutiny of all possible cases. We take something 
 on authority; namely, that the individual case considered is 
 representative of a large group, then after we have investigated 
 
The Inductive Lesson 67 
 
 the one case we apply our conclusions to the whole group. Of 
 course there is one great danger. We may be overhasty in 
 our generalizations. No fallacy is more common than the 
 emphasis placed upon non-essentials by those whose observa- 
 tions have been limited. The stories of the traveler who 
 generalizes, after seeing one red-headed child or after eating at 
 one hotel, concerning the children and hotels of the country 
 visited, are too common to need repetition here. Where ob- 
 servations are necessarily limited, the important consideration 
 is to get cases that seem as different as possible in order that 
 that which is essential may be differentiated from the non- 
 essential or accidental. 
 
 Teaching by types in our ordinary school work has been 
 applied most frequently to the subject of geography. Apply- 
 ing the principle stated above, we shall be careful in teaching 
 rivers, mountains, cities, commerce, or any other geographical 
 notion to see to it that the individual cases considered are as 
 widely different as possible. To teach New York City, Phila- 
 delphia, and Chicago only would give children a very erroneous 
 idea of the concept "city." They are all exceptionally large, 
 all American, all modern. There are cities smaller, with 
 peculiarities due to age, to location, and to the ideas and re- 
 sources of the people building them. A better selection would 
 be New York City, London, Tokyo, Venice, Cairo, and Munich. 
 Objection could still very well be offered that this list is too 
 short to include all classes. There can be no doubt that to 
 have taught any city carefully will aid greatly in understanding 
 the notion "city" and in appreciating other cities, but mani- 
 festly any final generalization concerning cities must wait until 
 our knowledge of geography has been widely extended. The 
 same conclusion would be reached were any other notion of 
 geography, or any other study, subjected to the same test. 
 There is, however, no harm in forming tentative judgments. 
 Indeed, we must all do this every day of our lives. The main 
 issue is to see to it that there is no mistake as to the tentative 
 
68 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 character of the conclusions reached, that the open-minded 
 attitude be preserved. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 C. A. and F. M. McMurry, The Method of the Recitation, Chapters VI 
 to IX inclusive. 
 John Dewey, How We Think, Chapters XII to XV inclusive. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What is the purpose of the step of preparation in the inductive 
 lesson? When would you begin an inductive lesson with a statement 
 of aim or problem ? What value is there in having children state the 
 aim of a lesson ? When during the lesson should the aim be referred to ? 
 
 2. How would you hope to have country children get a clear idea of a 
 city? Could you develop this idea with sufficient definiteness by ask- 
 ing questions ? 
 
 3. What preparation would you think necessary for a class that were 
 taking their first trip to a dairy? 
 
 4. What was wrong in the class where, after a trip to the country, a 
 small child said, "A cow is a small animal with four legs that likes to live 
 in the mud and grunt"? 
 
 5. Would you allow a boy to perform an experiment in nature study 
 that you knew would result unsatisfactorily? 
 
 6. A teacher used the following sentences in her attempt to teach the 
 function of an adjective ; criticize the list given. 
 
 The red apple is sweet. 
 The green grass is soft. 
 The yellow house is large. 
 The tall man is sick. 
 The largest horse is fast. 
 
 Suggest a better list of sentences for the purpose indicated. 
 
 7. In what sense is it true that an induction begins with a generali- 
 zation ? How do you proceed when you modify a generalization which 
 you once held as true ? 
 
 8. A pupil defined a river as a stream of water flowing through the 
 land. How would you hope to secure a more accurate generahzation 
 from him? 
 
 9. What is the function of a lecture on Germany to a group of chil- 
 dren studying the geography of Europe ? Do you think such a lecture 
 
The Inductive Lesson 69 
 
 would be as valuable as a lesson in which the pupils are asked to find 
 out why German commerce has developed so rapidly during the past 
 twenty years? 
 
 10. Under what conditions would you require children to commit to 
 memory the definitions found in their textbooks ? 
 
 11. If your pupils were reading Kipling's Jtin^e Bool, would you 
 try to make your lessons inductive ? 
 
 12. What difficulties would you encounter in trying to teach children 
 who live in the Mississippi Valley the meaning of the term mountain? 
 How could you hope to overcome these difficulties ? 
 
 13. The following illustrative problems were used by a teacher who 
 was presenting the subject of percentage to a class for the first time. 
 Can you improve the list ? 
 
 A man who had $10,000 lost 25 per cent of his money. How much 
 did he lose ? 
 
 A horse which cost $250 was sold at a loss of 10 per cent. How much 
 did the owner lose ? 
 
 A house which cost $25,000 was burned. It was insured for 50 per 
 cent of its value. How much did the owner receive from the insurance 
 company ? 
 
 A suit of clothes which cost the dealer $18 was sold at a gain of 25 
 per cent. How much did the dealer gain on the suit ? 
 
 14. Which would be better, to tell a group of children of a trip which 
 you took to a cattle ranch, show them pictures, and possibly read a 
 description of ranch hfe, or spend the same amount of time questioning 
 these same children in the hope of developing some adequate idea of 
 this type of life ? If you follow the first method, could you be sure that 
 children had derived accurate ideas from your description ? 
 
 15. Write a series of questions which you would use in developing 
 the generalization, "Men who live in cities are dependent upon those 
 who live in the country for the necessities of hfe." 
 
 16. How would you defend the following statement : It is more im- 
 portant that a pupil should have worked out the solution of a singe 
 problem in which he is interested, than that he should have learned, 
 without solving the problems for himself, the answers to a dozen prob- 
 lems from books which he is asked to read. 
 
 17. Why do most lessons in which pupils recite from the material 
 assigned in textbooks require little thinking? How can such lessons 
 be made to stimulate thinking ? 
 
 18. Would you ever allow children to accept an incomplete generali- 
 zation as a result of their own experience and thought? An incorrect 
 generalization ? 
 
CHAPTER VI 
 
 THE DEDUCTIVE LESSON 
 
 The complete process of thought involves both induction 
 and deduction. Every general principle, unless it is self-evi- 
 dent, must either be arrived at through the process of induc- 
 tion, or be accepted without any attempt at verification. 
 Having formed our generalizations, we use them as a basis for 
 further thinking. If we find that the principle always holds, 
 we are satisfied with its validity. In this testing of the gener- 
 alization tentatively made, the process of thought is deductive. , 
 The fact is that in the process which we designate as induction, 
 deduction enters to verify our inference. In the face of the 
 problem which can be settled only by reference to some estab- 
 lished principle, we find ourselves questioning the generaliza- 
 tions formerly accepted, and the process of thought in solving 
 our problem will involve induction as well as deduction. For 
 convenience we treat the problems of teaching under the two 
 heads, the inductive and the deductive lesson, according as 
 one or the other type of thought seems to predominate in 
 reasoning required to solve the problem involved. 
 
 Every one thinks deductively who has had sufficient expe- 
 rience to form any generahzations. In the early life of the 
 child we find the psychological basis for deduction in the ten- 
 dency to act in accordance with ideas. Children define things 
 in terms of their function. Thus a hat is something to wear 
 on the head ; a drawer something to pull out and push in ; 
 a shovel something to move the sand with ; and so for the other 
 objects in the child world. A child makes a dog in clay, draws 
 a picture of a flower, makes a house of his blocks — and in this 
 way tests his ideas. Not all deductive thinking ends in motor 
 
 70 
 
The Deductive Lesson 71 
 
 activity ; but we -can never be satisfied with our deductions 
 until we have established them experimentally. The question 
 concerning our ideas always is, will they work ? 
 
 Whenever we offer an explanation of our ideas or of our 
 actions, the process of thought is deductive. Not that either 
 adults or children often state the general principle upon which 
 they base their statement or action. We are all only too prone 
 to assume the general principle. The foolish answers which 
 children give may be logical enough. From his very limited 
 experience a boy may have generahzed that grass is something 
 to look at and not to be walked on, and that people always live 
 in houses from four to ten stories high, with many families 
 in a house. Now, if such erroneous generalizations have been 
 developed, the way to handle the boy is not to laugh at his de- 
 ductions from these premises, but rather to require him to state 
 ''the generalizations upon which he has based his thinking, and 
 to lead him to discover their inadequacy. It matters not what 
 group of children one works with, this same need for a declara- 
 tion of the principle upon which the argument is based, the 
 generalization which covers the situation under consideration, 
 will be found essential. That teacher does much for the chil- 
 dren who frequently pushes them back to a statement of what 
 they assume to be true. This statement is not always easy 
 to make. Even with adults it is very common to explain action 
 by reference to some feeling or attitude which it is assumed has 
 some basis in reason. Some instinctive tendency, or a mode of 
 feeling, thinking, or acting which has become habitual, fre- 
 quently explains, but fails to justify our actions. The ability 
 to state clearly what one assumes, and to claim as vaUd only 
 such conclusions as are based on premises which are admitted 
 to be true, is the mark of the man of unusual rationality. 
 
 There is no set of rules which a teacher may follow in order 
 to make the children she teaches logically minded. On the 
 other hand, all of her activity tends in some degree to encourage 
 or to eliminate the logical habit of mind. The teacher who 
 
72 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 dogmatizes continually in her teaching can do little to over- 
 come a like tendency in the children by conducting exercises 
 logically correct. The wrong emphasis on correctness of the 
 result, instead of correctness of the method employed in getting 
 the result, encourages much illogical work and develops care- 
 less habits of thought. And it is just as true that an open- 
 minded attitude on the part of the teacher will be reflected 
 in the children. The teacher who insists upon the verification 
 of generalizations, who asks children frequently to give the 
 ground for the statements which they make, and who encourages 
 reflection, will engender logical habits of thought. 
 
 To recognize the wide application of the deductive method in 
 our thinking, one has only to consider what is meant by reflec- 
 tion. It is well also in this connection to remember that the 
 habit of reflection distinguishes the educated from the unedu- 
 cated man. It is not the number of experiences which makes 
 the difference between men, but rather the use that has been 
 made of those experiences. When we reflect, we think over, 
 organize, and relate our past experiences. Suppose, for ex- 
 ample, that some one makes the statement that corporal pun- 
 ishment should be banished from all schools. If you reflect 
 upon such a thesis, you bring to bear your experiences, whether 
 of action, observation, or thought stimulated by reading what 
 some one else has said ; and, as a result of your thinking, you 
 consciously or unconsciously assume a general principle imder 
 which you feel satisfied that this question of discipline falls ; 
 and then you will refer all of your experiences to this principle, 
 testing its validity by seeing whether or not it does luiiformly 
 hold. The process of thinking which you have employed is 
 essentially deductive. If stated in the form of a syllogism, it 
 might be expressed somewhat as follows : — 
 
 1. Any action which tends to brutaHze either pupil or teacher 
 should not be permitted in any school. 
 
 2. Corporal punishment tends to brutalize both teacher and 
 pupil. 
 
Tlie Deductive Lesson "jt, 
 
 3. Hence corporal punishment should be banished from all 
 schools. 
 
 The process of thought employed has led you to search for a 
 general principle which you accept as true and which offers ari 
 explanation of the position which you take in agreeing that 
 corporal punishment should be banished. If you are really 
 reflecting, you will not stop with this reference to a generalization 
 apparently true. Rather you will inquire whether in your 
 experience the infliction of corporal punishment has tended to 
 brutalize you. You will also ask yourself whether this is true 
 of others, and to what degree. You will recall specific cases of 
 punishment of this sort, and will try to decide whether the dis- 
 advantages or evil outweighed the good. Only after such care- 
 ful thought is the process of reflection complete, and it is only 
 then that you can feel satisfied of the soundness of the position 
 which you have taken. It will be noted that the process of 
 thought has been both inductive and deductive. 
 
 If children are to learn to reflect, they must have leisure to 
 think over their past experiences. There is danger that in our 
 desire for more knowledge and more activity on the part of 
 our pupils, we may give them little time for reflection. To ask 
 a child to state the significance of what he has done, to encour- 
 age him to examine every assumed truth in the light of his 
 experience, and to state somewhat formally the result of his 
 reflection is worth much more than the new experiences which 
 might have been gained in the same length of time. The habit 
 of reflection will be developed only when sufficient time is 
 given for children to stop and take account of the experience 
 which they have had, when respect is accorded the experiences 
 of the individual, and when the teacher requires such work and 
 guides children in the process. 
 
 An attempt has been made in the preceding pages to indicate 
 in a general way the significance of the deductive method in 
 our school work. It remains to indicate briefly the method of 
 procedure in the conduct of class exercises which are essentially 
 
74 A. Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 deductive in their nature. Such exercises will be found in any 
 subject in which there is developed a body of general principles. 
 For example, the real test of a pupil's knowledge of a principle 
 of arithmetic is found, not in familiarity with the process of 
 induction by which the principle is derived, nor in his abiUty 
 to apply this principle to the problems given in the book, imme- 
 diately following the rule, all of which fit the generalization, but 
 rather in his ability, when a miscellaneous list of problems is 
 given, to pick out the principle which applies to this one case. 
 The test of one's knowledge of geography is found not simply 
 in the facts which he knows, but also in his ability to explain 
 phenomena or to anticipate situations by reference to a body 
 of general principles. 
 
 The problem: From what has already been said it is clear 
 that in deductive thinking, as well as when the process is induc- 
 tive, the occasion for thought is found in a problem to be solved. 
 We wish to know why a certain region is arid or what the possi- 
 bilities of agriculture are in another, and we, therefore, recall our 
 knowledge of the principles of geography in order to solve our 
 problem. A moral situation confronts us ; we need to act ; and 
 in response to this necessity we endeavor to refer the situation 
 to some norm or standard of conduct which we accept as fun- 
 damental. The success of our work in securing clear thinking 
 by children will always be conditioned by our success in enabling 
 them to realize the significance of the problem presented for 
 solution. 
 
 Finding the generalization or principles which fit the situa- 
 tion to be accounted for or explained is the next step. In order 
 to accomplish this part of the process successfully one must be 
 able to discover that which is essential and to neglect the non- 
 essential in the problem to be solved. Suppose, for example, that 
 the problem is : Why has the greater part of Africa not been 
 settled by civilized men ? The factor which is significant is the 
 climate of this region, and it will be of no use for the pupil to 
 recall the size of the continent, the color of its inhabitants, the 
 
The Deductive Lesson 75 
 
 fact that Livingstone made a journey across it, except that by 
 eUminating these facts he may be brought to reaHze that none 
 of them deterrnine the situation, and hence he need no longer 
 pay any attention to them. It is the function of the teacher 
 to suggest to the pupil a number of alternatives and then to 
 guide him in his search for the determining factor. For 
 example, the teacher might ask : Is it because of the savage 
 inhabitants, because of a lack of means of transportation, be- 
 cause the country is overrun by dangerous wild animals, or be- 
 cause of climate ? Each of these classes of facts may be known 
 to the pupils, and each in turn may be eliminated as non-de- 
 termining factors until he comes finally to the last. He must 
 then, provided he decides that climate may determine the 
 availability of a region as a habitation for civilized man, dis- 
 cover under what condition of climate civilized man fails to 
 make advance. He has thus fitted his situation, his problem, 
 to the generalization under which it falls, and has, in fact, taken 
 the next step in the process. 
 
 Inference: The inference that the greater part of Africa is 
 not inhabited by civilized men because of adverse climatic 
 conditions is arrived at just as soon as the pupil settles upon 
 climate as the essential factor. Just as in the inductive 
 process we pass immediately from the step of comparison and 
 abstraction to the statement of the generalization, so in the 
 deductive lesson, when once we have related the particular case 
 imder consideration to the principle which explains the situa- 
 tion, we are ready to state our inference. There is real value 
 in making such a statement. The further process of verifica- 
 tion depends upon a clear and definite statement of the infer- 
 ence ; and the best test we have of the completion of the pre- 
 ceding step is the ability which the pupil shows to state his 
 inference. 
 
 Verification: When the inference has been made, we have 
 yet to satisfy ourselves concerning the vaUdity of our reason- 
 ing by an appeal to known facts. Following the illustration 
 
76 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 already used, we should ask ourselves what has happened in the 
 past to civilized men who have gone to Cen tral Africa. We will 
 be satisfied that our reasoning has been correct, only if all of the 
 facts we are able to discover point unmistakably to the con- 
 clusion that the cUmate of the larger part of Africa is unendur- 
 able by civilized men. 
 
 The element which needs most emphasis in deductive teach- 
 ing is the realization on the part of the teacher that the success 
 of the process is directly proportional to the independence with 
 which the pupil discovers for himself that which is essential in 
 the situation under consideration, his attempt to fit or relate 
 the particular case to the principle or generalization by which 
 it will be explained, and his willingness, when he discovers his 
 error by an attempted verification, to repeat the process. We 
 do not think logically by having some one else do our thinking 
 for us, nor is our growth measured by the vmiformity with which 
 we hit upon the correct solution of the problem at the first 
 attempt. Rather we may measure success by the power of our 
 pupils to criticize the reasoning which appears plausible until 
 carefully scrutinized, and by their readiness to retrace their 
 steps and to search for firmer ground when they have of their 
 own accord given up a scheme of reasoning which has proved 
 invalid. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 W. C. Bagley, The Educative Process, Chapter XX. 
 
 I. E. MOler, The Psychology of Thinking, Chapter XVIII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. A class is engaged in deriving inductively the generalization that 
 multiplying the numerator of a fraction by any number multiplies the 
 fraction by that number ; will there be any occasion for deductive think- 
 xng as the work proceeds ? 
 
 2. A history teacher has tried to develop the generalization that 
 taxation without representation is tyranny. A girl in the class says 
 
The Deductive Lesson 77 
 
 that this proves that women should have the right to vote. Analyze 
 the process of thought by which the girl arrived at her conclusion. Was 
 the process essentiaUy inductive or deductive ? 
 
 3. Some people pride themselves upon the fact that they never change 
 their minds. What comment . would you feel justified in making con- 
 cerning their processes of thought ? 
 
 4. Why can the leader of a mob influence his followers to most un- 
 reasonable action ? 
 
 S- An eighth-grade boy remarked that he thought that we should 
 forbid all foreigners to come to the United States. How would you 
 lead such a boy to change his point of view by means of his own thought 
 on the subject ? 
 
 6. A class in grammar was required to commit to memory fifty rules 
 of syntax and later to correct sentences in which the mistakes in syntax 
 were covered by the rules already learned. Could you suggest a better 
 way to teach EngUsh syntax ? 
 
 7. What is the value of the miscellaneous problems given at the end 
 of each section of the arithmetic ? A teacher of arithmetic went through 
 one of these lists and had the class indicate opposite each problem the 
 case, or rule, which was involved. Was this a good thing to do ? 
 
 8. What sort of reasoning is demanded of a class in parsing ? 
 
 9. Do you consider your teaching of arithmetic, in so far as it involves 
 reasoning, mainly inductive or deductive ? 
 
 10. In what sense is it true that in deduction we begin with a par- 
 ticular rather than with a generalization ? Compare the significance of 
 the problem in induction and deduction. 
 
 11. In some textbooks in geometry, the problem is stated, and then 
 the proof is presented step by step with a reference wherever need be 
 to the principles involved in developing the proof; what is the weak- 
 ness of this sort of an exercise ? 
 
 12. How can the teacher best help children who are unable to refer a 
 problem in arithmetic to any one of the principles which have been 
 learned ? 
 
 13. Children often make mistakes in reasoning which seem ridiculous 
 to teachers ; how can teachers be most helpful in such situations ? 
 
 14. Do you think it possible to teach children the meaning and sig- 
 nificance of reflection ? How would you attempt to secure such insight ? 
 
 15. Why would it be valuable for us many times to write the reasons 
 for our action before carrying into effect our plans ? 
 
 16. What can you do as a teacher that will stimulate children to do 
 their best thinking? Is it possible that you may actually interfere or 
 discourage them in this part of their work ? How ? 
 
CHAPTER VII 
 
 LESSON FOR APPRECIATION 
 
 Education aims not only to enable one to avoid error, to 
 discover truth, and to equip him with desirable habits, but also 
 to develop the power to appreciate and to enjoy that which is 
 beautiful, whether in literature, painting, sculpture, art, or 
 music. It is not enough that a man be able to make a living ; 
 he ought, as a result of his education, to be able to enjoy life. 
 Matthew Arnold's definition of culture, "the acquainting our- 
 selves with the best that has been known and said in the 
 world," embodies much that is essential in modern education. 
 The ability to enjoy a drama of Shakespeare, a picture of 
 Millet, or an opera of Wagner, means the possibility of noble 
 pleasure, of leisure time spent in such a way that inspiration 
 and strength, instead of possible waste, or, even worse, degra- 
 dation and weakness, result. It is, then, a vital part of our 
 school work to give opportunity for and to encourage in every 
 way possible the development of power of appreciation. 
 
 Some of our schoolroom exercises ought to aim primarily 
 to develop power of appreciation in the several fields men- 
 tioned above. Not that appreciation can be taught directly, 
 but because there are conditions which are negative in their 
 influence. No one will ever learn to appreciate music or hter- 
 ature or art because some one tells him that he ought and th^t 
 this is worthy and that unworthy. This sort of teaching will 
 result in hypocrisy and cant. On the other hand, the best 
 guarantee of development along these lines is found in associa- 
 tion with those who do genuinely appreciate. It is in this 
 fact that we find our first suggestion for work of this kind. 
 
 78 
 
Lesson for Appreciation 79 
 
 Do not try to teach any one else to enjoy that which you 
 do not fully appreciate yourself. The fundamental qualifica- 
 tion for the teacher is power to appreciate. She must enjoy 
 to the full that which she hopes to make appear beautiful in 
 the eyes of her pupils. It is useless to ask children to enjoy 
 one of Stevenson's child rhymes, if you find yourself unable 
 to enter into the spirit of the poem. Pictures may be hung 
 on the wall and religiously taught; but children will not want 
 to buy good pictures, nor are they apt to frequent the art 
 galleries, imless they have associated with those for whom 
 pictures are a genuine source of pleasure. The best prepara- 
 tion for the teacher who feels that her teaching is inadequate 
 in those phases of her work which involve appreciation is to 
 plan to do what she can to insure her own growth in this par- 
 ticular. Read more poetry, and especially read it with those 
 who derive great pleasure therefrom, if you wish to teach poetry 
 better. If you are familiar with the great musicians, and have 
 through your acquaintance with their work developed some 
 measure of appreciation for this type of expression and for the 
 method by which the musician has been able to build up his 
 wonderful composition, then you may rest assured that your 
 pupils will not find music uninteresting. 
 
 The question most frequently asked concerning the teaching 
 of those subjects in which we seek to develop appreciation is 
 whether one must command the technique involved in creation 
 in order to grow in power to enjoy the work of the masters. 
 For example, must one be able to read music in order to ap- 
 preciate music ; must one be able to state the rhetorical excel- 
 lence of Stevenson's narratives in order to enjoy his stories; 
 is it essential that one fully appreciate the technique of paint- 
 ing in order to get the most out of Corot ? In general, the an- 
 swer is that such knowledge of technique may either help or 
 hinder one in his actual power of appreciation. It will hinder, 
 if the consideration of technique is constantly uppermost in 
 one's mind ; it will help in so far as knowledge of technique 
 
8o A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 gives one the feeling of excellence or perfection of form, pro- 
 vided always that it is this beauty of the product which most 
 engages the attention, and that interest in technique is sub- 
 sidiary. To express the same idea in another way : if one's 
 knowledge of technique makes him overcritical or oversensi- 
 tive, he is apt to lose all enjoyment in his concentration upon 
 the techriique, in looking for weaknesses, or in his feeling of 
 discomfort because of imperfection. What significance, it 
 may be asked, has this for our teaching ? Mainly this, that 
 we must remember that appreciation is in large measure a 
 matter of the emotions, and that any attempt to overintel- 
 lectualize the process will defeat the end we desire to secure. 
 
 There is no other kind of work in which the attitude of the 
 individual at the beginning of the exercise is as important. 
 There is a story told of a teacher who wished to teach a beau- 
 tiful poem, the burden of which was the beauty of kindness to 
 birds. She began with the birds that the children knew — 
 sparrows. In a short time the children developed the notion, 
 and very justly, that sparrows were a pest, that they had driven 
 away our song birds, and that it would be a good thing to ex- 
 terminate them. The children were ready to go forth to the 
 slaughter; and then came the poem with its admonition to 
 kindness toward birds. These children would, of course, 
 have been more impressed had this preparatory work been 
 omitted entirely. Very frequently for work of this kind, the 
 very best preparation is found in placing children directly in 
 contact with that which you hope to have them appreciate. 
 Read the poem, play the music, expose the picture to view, and 
 allow them to do their work. Later a somewhat more detailed 
 treatment, possibly involving manyrepetitions, will give oppor- 
 timity for increased appreciation. 
 
 Children should not be forced to give expression to the feel- 
 ing awakened. The teacher may accept gladly such expression 
 as comes spontaneously. She may at times ask for a selection 
 of the part most enjoyed. Especially to be avoided are 
 
Lesson for Appreciation 8 1 
 
 expressions such as: "Don't you think this beautiful?" 
 "Don't you enjoy this?" and the hke. Children under such 
 stimulation are apt to say that they enjoy whether they do or 
 not. They are just as anxious to do the right thing as are some 
 of their elders. To be constantly directed, always told what to 
 admire, means lack of confidence in one's own ability to judge 
 of excellence, or, even worse, the attitude of the hypocrite 
 who admires that which he thinks it fashionable to favor. It is 
 probably safer to judge of the success of work of this kind by the 
 expression on the faces of the children than by the words you 
 may persuade them to use. 
 
 In a lesson of this type the teacher does the best work when she 
 acts as interpreter. Success depends not so much upon initia- 
 tive on the part of the children as upon the ability of the teacher 
 to sympathize with the childish point of view, and to lead them 
 to greater heights by the force of suggestion growing out of her 
 own joy in that which she presents. It is by voice, by gesture, 
 by suggestion, and by explanation, — in all, by providing the most 
 favorable opportunity possible for appreciation, keeping herself 
 as much as possible in the background, — that the teacher makes 
 provision for the development of this power by children. 
 
 Much is gained in power of appreciation by giving oppor- 
 tunity for creative work on the part of children. The group 
 of children who have composed a song, and who have labored 
 diligently to make the music which they have written fit the 
 spirit and rhythm of the words, will find a new meaning in the 
 lullaby which they are asked to learn to-morrow. Music will 
 mean so much more than pitch, time, notes of different value, 
 and the like. Through their own attempt they will have real- 
 ized in the best possible way the fact that the music of the 
 song is intended to express feeling in harmony with the words 
 that they sing. The child who has attempted to draw a land- 
 scape will by virtue of that fact grow in power to enjoy the 
 landscape placed on the wall for his enjoyment. And so for 
 any other field in which we seek to develop power of apprecia- 
 
82 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 tion ; to attempt to create for himself will give the child a bet- 
 ter understanding of the elements which go to make up excel- 
 lence, and the contrast between his own effort and that of the 
 master will greatly enhance the value of the latter in his eyes. 
 
 Thus far in our discussions of the lesson for appreciation we 
 have interpreted it to mean the development of the aesthetic 
 emotions. There is another sort of appreciation which involves 
 rather more of the intellectual element, but which, so far as 
 teaching method is concerned, may probably be treated to 
 greatest advantage in this same connection. Indeed, there 
 are cases, as in literature, where both elements are involved. 
 In the study of a drama of Shakespeare we are concerned not 
 only with the beauty of expression, but quite as much with the 
 portrayal of the lives of men and women as they have acted and 
 reacted on each other in their common environment. In his- 
 tory we have this drama extended to include a nation or the 
 nations of the world in their relations to each other. In either 
 case we have the record of cause and effect, an accoimt of social 
 experience fundamentally akin to our own. Appreciation 
 here involves the ability to follow the logical relations which are 
 recorded. In proportion as one becomes aware of the motives 
 which have actuated men, the relationships which have 
 existed among them, the organization and outcome of their 
 activities, he has widened his own experience. This possibil- 
 ity of a vicarious extension of the child's social experience is 
 one of the reasons for giving history and literature a place in 
 our school curriculum. 
 
 Let us inquire what is involved in securing appreciation of 
 this type. Take, for example, the appreciation of the period 
 just preceding the Civil War. How are we to understand this 
 remote situation ? We cannot observe directly ; we cannot, as 
 is the case in the solution of a problem in our present expe- 
 rience, gather data by means of observation ; nor can we test 
 our conclusions by experiment. Our first great need is to have 
 presented all of the facts possible. We may read the histo- 
 
Lesson for Appreciation 83 
 
 rian's account, or have it read to us ; we may get hold of the 
 newspapers published at that time; read the debates which 
 took place in Congress ; peruse the letters of men and women 
 who lived and wrote at that time ; make inquiry concerning 
 the number of slaves, and the value of the Southern plantations 
 worked by them ; try to find out why slavery had been abol- 
 ished in the North, and by every means possible familiarize 
 ourselves with what men said and did and the conditions under 
 which they worked at that time. We must have this material 
 made accessible to the children through books or by word of 
 mouth before we ask them to follow the logical relations estab- 
 lished among these facts by the historian. Appreciation has 
 its beginning in the abundance of data supplied which makes 
 possible the imagery with which the children are to work, and 
 is consummated when the child has, through his own efforts and 
 by following the development of another, come to imderstand 
 the play of cause and effect, the organization and relationship 
 existing among these human activities. Work of this sort 
 has in the last step something in common with the inductive 
 lesson, but with this difference, that the children are in the main 
 concerned with appreciation of facts and of the relationships 
 established among them by some one else, presumably the 
 expert historian. It is more a matter of londerstanding than 
 the discovery of new truth. Of course, there are lessons in his- 
 tory in which the problem is just as distinct as in any science, 
 and where the work can be best described as inductive or 
 deductive reasoning. 
 
 And so likewise for literature. The author presents the 
 situation, and draws his conclusions, supposedly true to the 
 logic of himian action. The teacher may need to supply details 
 which are missing, may need to guide the children in their 
 attempt to follow the interpretation of the author, but it must 
 be mainly interpretation of facts provided ; and presumably, 
 if great literature is studied, the appreciation of the author's 
 interpretation of the human relations is of vastly greater im- 
 
84 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 portance than the attempt at interpretation which the chil- 
 dren may make. 
 
 Appreciation does not mean quiescence, — far from it. Neither 
 does it concern itself primarily with the discovery of new truth 
 or excellence. Rather we aim to understand, and to enjoy, 
 when the aesthetic emotions are involved, the work of the mas- 
 ters. If we can, even in some degree, lead children to think 
 their thoughts, to interpret himian activity and himian feeling 
 as they have interpreted it, we shall have most signally widened 
 and enriched their experience, and shall have made available 
 for them for all their Kves a source of recreation and enjoyment, 
 a storehouse of wisdom, which may constitute their greatest 
 indebtedness to our efforts in their behalf. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 E. L. Thorndike, Principles of Teaching, Chapter XII. 
 
 E. A. Kirkpatrick, The Fundamentals of Child Study, Chapter XIII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. Why is it worth while to train children to enjoy Uteratiire, music, 
 or painting ? 
 
 2. Do those who look at the pictures in the art gaUery which have 
 been specially mentioned in the catalogue or guide book necessarily show 
 any power of appreciation of good pictures ? What would be a better 
 test of such power ? 
 
 3. Why is it essential that you should enjoy a poem which you try 
 to teach to children ? 
 
 4. What advantage is there in changing the pictures on the walls of 
 the schoolroom from time to time? 
 
 5. Is there any good argument for having children write poetry ? 
 
 6. What could you do to grow in abiUty to teach art appreciation ? 
 
 7. Does your technical knowledge of music interfere with your enjoy- 
 ment of good music ? 
 
 8. What advantage is there in having children compose the music 
 for a song which they have written ? 
 
 9. Why is it important that we arrange our poetry, music, and pictures 
 with reference to the seasons ? 
 
Lesson for Appreciation 85 
 
 10. How would you hope to discover whether or not children enjoyed 
 a new picture ? 
 
 11. Why ask children to choose from among three or four poems the 
 one that they will commit to memory, instead of requiring that they all 
 memorize the same one ? 
 
 12. What value is there in reading great literature to children with- 
 out comment ? 
 
 13. In what way may a good history lesson differ from an inductive 
 lesson in geography ? 
 
 14. Do you think it essential that children should always have prob- 
 lems to solve in their lessons in literature ? 
 
 15. Choose a poem which you teach in your grade. Tell what it 
 means to you. What may it mean to the children ? Write four ques- 
 tions which you would ask to help bring out meaning which might escape 
 the pupils. 
 
CHAPTER VIII 
 
 THE STUDY LESSON 
 
 That it is the main business of the teacher to render her 
 services unnecessary cannot be too often reiterated. To be 
 able to reason clearly one's self; to have control of one's 
 habits; in short, to know how to use one's energies to best 
 advantage when the problems of life are encountered, is the 
 greatest benefit to be derived from education. We shall con- 
 cern ourselves in this discussion with study as it involves con- 
 trolled thinking, whether inductive or deductive; with the 
 most economical method of making knowledge more available 
 for use by increasing the possibility of recall ; and with the 
 possibility of reducing certain knowledge or responses, whether 
 physical or mental, to the basis of habit. 
 
 In general, our problem in teaching children to study con- 
 sists in making them conscious of the best methods to be em- 
 ployed in logical thinking, or in the formation of habits, and 
 then in giving sufficient practice in the use of these methods to 
 make them the habitual manner of reaction, as far as this is 
 possible. It is true, of course, that one who applies the logical 
 method to a question of mathematics or geography may be 
 swayed by prejudice when the question concerns politics or 
 rehgion; and that the man who knows best how to form 
 desirable habits may be so bound by some other that he will 
 fail to achieve that which he knows to be desirable. Be this 
 as it may, if the school makes the child conscious of the most 
 economical methods of work, the chances for later efficiency 
 are greatly increased. i 
 
 Strangely enough, what we have been prone to call good 
 
 86 
 
The Study Lesson 87 
 
 teaching has not always accomplished this desired result. It 
 has too often happened that the direction and help offered by 
 the teacher have tended to make the child dependent, utterly 
 unable to do a piece of work for himself. Even when children 
 have supposedly been required to do much thinking, the teacher 
 has sometimes weakened her work by continually stepping in 
 to propose the next step whenever a critical point has been 
 reached. The argument which proves conclusively that chil- 
 dren do not learn to work independently is found in their 
 inabihty in the upper grades, in the high school, and even in 
 the college to use their time to good advantage.^ 
 
 In teaching children how to study, the first step involves 
 a clear statement of the problem to be solved. The teacher 
 who says "take the next five pages" cannot expect that the 
 children will do anything more, so far as learning how to study 
 is concerned, than waste time in fulfilling her demands. We 
 think hard when we have a problem to solve. If it be true 
 that children need to have an aim clearly in mind when they 
 are at work with the teacher, it is much more essential that 
 they should have clearly in mind the goal toward which they 
 are striving when they work alone. Whenever children are 
 expected to do any work at their seats or at home, the type 
 of assignment becomes a determining factor. It is a mistake 
 to suppose that a minute or two at the end of a recitation will 
 be sufficient to make clear to the pupils the problem involved 
 in the work to be accomplished during the study hour. The 
 best time to make assignments is when, as the subject is de- 
 veloped, a problem arises which cannot then be solved. A 
 good recitation ought to culminate in the statement of the 
 questions yet to be answered quite as much as in a statement 
 of what has been accomplished. If the class has been kept 
 intellectually alert, there ought to be raised by the children 
 
 > For a discussion of this and other aspects of the problem, see Earhart, 
 Teaching Children to Study; McMurry, How to Study, and Teaching How to 
 Study. 
 
88 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 many questions, which maybe assigned either to the whole class 
 or to individuals for report at a succeeding recitation. 
 
 A very good incentive to study is found in making assign- 
 ments to individuals or groups for report to the whole class. 
 Even if the problem itself is not of surpassing interest, the 
 desire to contribute one's share to the group project, and the 
 wish to do as well as one's neighbor, will stimulate to greater 
 effort. It would be well if teachers tested their own work 
 and the children's comprehension of the assignments made 
 by asking frequently during the study period for a statement 
 of the problem. To read a book intelligently, to perform an 
 experiment to advantage, children must know what they 
 seek. The attitude which we hope to develop should lead 
 a child to ask, when in doubt, such questions as these : "What 
 am I to try to find out from reading this chapter?" "What 
 am I to look for on the excursion?" "What is the problem 
 which we are now discussing?" "Is the report which has 
 just been made to the point?" "Did John's answer have 
 anything to do with the question we are discussing?" and 
 the like. When children have learned to expect to work 
 toward the accompHshment of some definite result in thought 
 as well as in action, when they hold to the main issue regard- 
 less of the allurements of subsidiary problems which should 
 be held for later investigation, when they become critical of the 
 contributions offered by books or by their companions, then, 
 and not until then, have they taken the first step in learning 
 to study. 
 
 When children have become conscious of the meaning of the 
 aim or problem as an element in successful study, and when 
 their practice is guided by this consciousness, they will meet 
 with another difficulty in learning how to secure the data 
 adequate for the solution of the problem. Before leaving the 
 elementary school, children should know how to use dictionaries, 
 encyclopedias, gazetteers, year books, and the like. It is 
 passing strange that college students often seem not to know 
 
The Study Lesson 89 
 
 the purpose either of the table of contents or of the index in 
 the books which they use. It is pitiful to see a person leafing 
 through a book trying to find information on some question 
 at issue, when in a minute he could find in the index just the 
 page or section in which this topic is treated, and so spend the 
 time gathering data instead of wasting it in a random search 
 for the information desired. It is necessary to teach children 
 to consult the indices and tables of contents of books, and to 
 give them frequent practice in work of this kind, if they are 
 commonly to employ this device or method. 
 
 Another help to the collection of data might very well begin 
 to be used in the intermediate grades of the elementary school ; 
 it is the practice of noting, when more than one book or source 
 of information is used, just where the information is to be 
 found, and something of its nature. If the pupil consults more 
 than one authority, the one read last may raise questions 
 which must be answered by a return to those used earlier, and 
 one ought to be able to turn directly to the sources formerly 
 consulted. Or it may be that a similar problem, or one having 
 much in common with it, will arise a week or a month later, 
 when a record of the sources of information consulted before 
 will lighten the work by half. A record of this sort could be 
 kept in notebooks, or, as is done by older people who know 
 how to work, in a card index. Of course work of this kind 
 presupposes the use of some books other than a single text- 
 book ; and to go very far in giving children the command of 
 the technique of study we shall have to provide ourselves 
 with more than a single book for a subject. 
 
 Another way by which children can be greatly helped is 
 teaching them how to take notes and how to annotate. There 
 is no exercise more valuable to the student, so far as his future 
 work is concerned, than practice in writing in a very few words 
 the gist of a paragraph or page. As they reflect later, they 
 may want to know the argument of this authority or that, 
 but they must have it in condensed form or they will be little 
 
90 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 better off than when they began their work. A very helpful 
 exercise is to have children to abstract, either orally or in writ- 
 ing, a page or two of a book which they are studying, and to 
 compare results. In this work the problem is that which con- 
 fronts the thinker at every stage of his work, the selection of 
 that which is relevant and the discarding of that which is less 
 significant. If we think logically, among the mass of possible 
 data we must always choose that which in our judgment is 
 relatively most valuable for our purpose. The teacher in the 
 organization of material for presentation in any subject is con- 
 fronted constantly with the problem of relative values. Not 
 all can be presented, even though relevant to the issue in- 
 volved ; hence, choice must be made. And just so, if the chUd 
 learns to study, to conduct his own investigations, he must 
 be made conscious of this need of discrimination, and he must 
 be given practice in its exercise. 
 
 Adequate study demands not simply that an abundance 
 of data which bear on the problem be secured, but that the 
 vahdity of the data be brought into question. Children ought 
 not to accept blindly the statements of books or even of the 
 teacher. The one thing which characterizes the student is his 
 search for truth, his attitude of inquiry as opposed to an appeal 
 to authority. It is well for children at times to question the 
 statements found in their books when experience suggests 
 the doubt. It is equally important, of course, that they be 
 willing to acknowledge their mistake, should proof be forth- 
 coming in support of the book. If a child really studies, he 
 must, even as an adult, find statements of fact, the records 
 of observations or experiments, which are at variance with the 
 evidence which he already possesses. It is just in this par- 
 ticular that the student differs from ordinary men who allow 
 others to do their thinking for them. The student may not 
 be able to settle the question, and so forms a judgment which 
 is franily tentative. Children ought to have the experience 
 of finding that there are some questions to which a definite 
 
The Study Lesson 91 
 
 answer cannot, in the present state of knowledge, be given. 
 They should be shown, wherever possible, how the conclu- 
 sions of men on some of the most important problems that 
 have been studied have changed from time to time. They 
 can at times be made to realize the folly of overhasty gener- 
 aHzation. 
 
 No one has learned how to study who has not been trained 
 to reflect upon his experience, whether the experience has been 
 recently acquired with the express purpose of solving his prob- 
 lem, or is some more remote element in experience which may 
 shed light on the question in hand. A skillful teacher can 
 guide in this process of reflection, and will later tell them what 
 is meant, and demonstrate for them something of the value 
 of the practice. It is quite worth while for a student to know 
 when he has concentrated his attention upon a problem, and 
 just what is meant by reflection. Many older people deceive 
 themselves into thinking that they are exercising themselves 
 in these directions when a slight acquaintance with the ele- 
 ments involved in fixing attention or in reflection might awaken 
 them to the futility of their practices. There need be noth- 
 ing occult or hard to understand about the practice of study. 
 It is not a matter of terminology nor of a systematic course 
 in psychology, but rather consists in guiding the individual 
 in his practice of the art, and then making known to him the 
 elements in his experience which have meant success or failure. 
 It may be enlightening to compare the emphasis upon careful 
 examination of data, the formation of tentative rather than 
 fixed judgments, the guarding against hasty generalizations, 
 and the emphasis upon reflection with the steps of presentation, 
 of comparison and abstraction, and of generalization in the 
 inductive lesson, and with the corresponding steps of the de- 
 ductive lesson. The conviction will probably be deepened 
 that when the teacher instructs the student in the art of study 
 she is making available for him the method which she employs 
 in instruction. This must be the relationship ; for the teacher 
 
9 2 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 can do nothing more than take account of the way the child 
 learns, and adapt her method to his possibilities. 
 
 The habit of verification is one of the most important from 
 the point of view of learning how to study. The questions 
 which the student must constantly ask himself are : " Can the 
 conclusions be applied ? " "Do they always hold?" "Does 
 it work?" Fine-spun theories are of little avail, however 
 much satisfaction the originator of them may have foimd in 
 deriving them. At every step in the progress of his thought 
 the conclusions must be tested by an appeal to known facts. 
 The teacher cannot too frequently insist upon this step as the 
 criterion of the worth of the thinking which has been done. 
 And the insistence will be necessary, for it seems natural for 
 human beings to become so enamored of their theories that 
 they hesitate to expose them to the test which may prove them 
 false. 
 
 Teaching children to memorize : Throughout the school life 
 of the child, memorizing is a regular part of his work. If 
 practice alone were necessary, every child should soon learn 
 how to do this kind of work in the most economical manner. 
 The great difficillty is that often neither teacher nor pupil has 
 given any thought to the method employed, their attention hav- 
 ing been wholly engrossed with success or failure in achiev- 
 ing the result. It is a well established principle of psychol- 
 ogy that the possibility of recall is conditioned by the system 
 of ideas with which that which we wish to recall has been identi- 
 fied. The more associations made, or the more perfect our 
 control of any system of ideas which involves that which we 
 wish to remember, the greater the probability of bringing to 
 mind the fact when we need it. As Professor James puts it : 
 "Of two men with the same outward experience, the one who 
 thinks over his experiences most, and weaves them into the most 
 systematic relations with each other, will be the one with the 
 best memory." And along with this fact is another equally 
 important for the teacher : that we may not hope to increase 
 
The Study Lesson 93 
 
 the native power of retentiveness. The child whom we teach 
 may be endowed by nature with little or much power of this 
 sort, and we cannot change it ; but we can improve his method 
 of memorizing. 
 
 The first step in memorizing is to understand. If we try 
 to commit to memory the words of a book when we do not fully 
 comprehend the meaning, we are depending very largely on 
 our desultory memory, i.e. upon our ability to remember the 
 things because they have been once present in mind ; and our 
 efficiency will depend wholly upon our quality of native re- 
 tentiveness. But, unfortunately, for want of knowledge of 
 a better method, children are frequently satisfied that they are 
 doing adequate work when they are repeating over and over 
 again the words which they have made little attempt to com- 
 prehend. 
 
 Even when the sense of the words to be memorized is fairly 
 clear, it is uneconomical to employ this method of accretion. 
 The child who studies the poem by saying first the first line, then 
 the second, then the first and second, then the third, then the 
 first, the second, and the third, depends upon mere repetition, 
 not upon thinking, for the persistence of the impression. It 
 has been demonstrated that on the basis of the amount of 
 time required this method is uneconomical. Add to this the 
 fact that after the first complete repetition, later successful 
 recall depends upon the efficiency of the system of associated 
 ideas which have been established ; and there can be no doubt 
 of the folly of such a method of procedure. It is no wonder 
 that children who commit to memory in this way forget so 
 readily. They may have understood what they said when 
 they first repeated the poem ; but the method they employed 
 almost precludes the building up Qf a system of associated 
 ideas on the basis of careful thinking. 
 
 If the child has read aloud and understands the selection to 
 be memorized, the next thing to be done is to analyze it into its 
 principal thought units; and then each of these large units 
 
94 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 of thought may be again carefully scrutinized until a full appre- 
 ciation of the thought has been accomplished. The thought 
 of the whole may then be stated, using as far as possible the 
 words of the author, and then each of the subdivisions or 
 thought units may be examined in more detail in order to get 
 the shade of meaning that is brought out by this or that word, 
 by relationship of coordination or subordination of clause, or 
 the modification indicated by this word or phrase. It will be 
 necessary, as the work progresses on the large thought units 
 into which the selection has been divided, to return constantly 
 to the whole thought in order to keep clear the relationship of 
 the part to the whole, and to establish the part in the system of 
 ideas which we seek to build up. "All the evidence we have 
 goes to show that the method of memorizing by wholes is most 
 economical." ^ If children were taught to work in this way, 
 there would be little drudgery about memorizing. The care- 
 ful, thoughtful study once completed, memorization has been 
 accomplished. The energy and attention of the child have not 
 been centered upon a merely technical process, but he has been 
 concerned mainly in trying to appreciate fully the thought that 
 he is to make his own. Memory work of this kind is highly 
 educative, not merely because of the product, but also because 
 of the process employed. Suppose, for example, you wish 
 children to memorize Stevenson's Bed in Summer: — 
 
 In winter I get up at night 
 And dress by yellow candle-light. 
 In summer, quite the other way, 
 I have to go to bed by day. 
 
 I have to go to bed and see 
 The birds still hopping on the tree, 
 Or hear the grown-up people's feet 
 Still going past me in the street. 
 
 1 W. H. Pyle and J. C. Snyder, "The Most Economical Unit for Committing 
 to Memory," Journal of Edticational Psychology, Vol. II, pp. 133—142. 
 
The Study Lesson 95 
 
 And does it not seem hard to you, 
 When all the sky is clear and blue, 
 And I should like so much to play, 
 To have to go to bed by day ? 
 
 You would begin by reading the whole poem, calling to mind 
 the experiences of the children in going to bed before dark on 
 the long summer evenings and of the cold, dark winter morn- 
 ings when they may have dressed before it was light. The 
 number and the kind of explanations which will need to be 
 made will, of course, depend upon the previous experience of 
 the children and the time of the year. Then the poem might 
 be read again a time or two. After this preliminary work has 
 been done, you might ask some one to tell you the story. Let 
 us suppose that the reply was about as follows : "A little boy 
 had to get up before it was light in the winter, and go to bed 
 before it was dark in the summer. In summer when he went 
 to bed he heard the birds hopping on the trees and the people 
 walking past him in the street. He thought it was hard to 
 have to go to bed when it was still dayhght, when he wanted 
 so much to play." If the main facts were less well told, or if 
 there were notable omissions, it would be necessary to get at 
 least an outline of the main thought before proceeding. Now 
 we are ready to call the attention of the children to three main 
 thoughts, each told in a stanza. First, the difference between 
 getting up in winter and going to bed in summer. Second, 
 what did the boy in the story see and hear when he went to bed 
 before dark ? Third, how do you feel when you have to go to 
 bed in summer while the sky is still so clear and blue, and you 
 would like so much to play ? 
 
 It will be very easy to get the thought of the first stanza 
 impressed in the words of the author. It will help to read 
 the whole poem again, the teacher meanwhile asking the chil- 
 dren to pay particular attention to the way the author says 
 it. Possibly there will be some difficulty with "quite the 
 other way," but skillful questioning will get the correct form. 
 
96 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 And so for the second and third stanzas ; if the thought is clear, 
 the words will follow very easily. After each thought has been 
 thus carefully developed, with the whole story always in mind, 
 and the words of the author have been made the vehicle of ex- 
 pressing the thought by the children, it will be advantageous 
 to have the poem repeated several times by individual mem- 
 bers of the class. In this repetition the dramatic element 
 should enter as far as possible. To suit the action to the word, 
 to really feel what one recites, helps greatly to strengthen the 
 impression, and thus aids recall. 
 
 It may be thought that the illustration used was particularly 
 well adapted to illustrate the theory advanced. Or some 
 teacher may say that children would memorize Bed in Summer 
 without teaching. It may, therefore, not be out of place to 
 suggest that the best way to discover for one's self the value 
 of the method is to try it. It will work equally well if the sub- 
 ject is Lincoln's Gettysburg Address, a selection from the 
 Declaration of Independence, the Twenty-third Psalm, or any 
 other masterpiece of English. 
 
 The principles to be applied are essentially the same even 
 when verbatim memorization is not required. To get lasting 
 control of the facts of geography or of history, one must have 
 reduced them to a system. There must be a relating of less 
 important facts to more important, a clustering of important 
 points of reference to any other facts which are logically re- 
 lated. This, indeed, is just what scientific organization means, 
 and the main purpose of such organization is to render facts more 
 available, to save labor. The memory is relieved of much of 
 its burden when once we have established the relationship of 
 cause and effect, of equivalence, of similarity, or of analogy 
 among facts. It is this association of ideas on a logical basis 
 which counts most in the possibility of recall. 
 
 It is quite possible for children, very early in their school life, 
 to begin to apply these principles and to become conscious of 
 the fact that the way they do their work has an important 
 
The Study Lesson 97 
 
 bearing upon the ease with which it is accomplished and the 
 permanency of the results gained. The work of the teacher 
 is not done by merely dictating the method, even though that 
 may help greatly to estabhsh right habits of study ; our best 
 assurance that the method will be employed when the teacher 
 is not present to direct the work is found in our knowledge that 
 the children not only habitually, but also when a question 
 arises or there is a suggestion of another way, consciously 
 employ the right method. 
 
 Teaching children how to form habits: Our next prob- 
 lem is to inquire how children may be led consciously to employ 
 the principles of habit formation when their school work in- 
 volves work of this type. They can be taught the function of 
 drill or repetition, and can be led to see under what conditions 
 such work will prove most successful. It is not difficult to 
 prove to a boy that his listless, half-hearted work in repeating 
 the spelling of the words he has missed is making little im- 
 provement in his ability to spell them. A boy can be led to 
 see by an illustration in which he himself is the chief actor 
 that concentrated attention will make much difference. Let 
 him see how much he can accomplish in ten minutes, and thus 
 get him in the habit of using this means when he finds that he 
 is not working up to his normal capacity. Show him that a 
 new impetus will be given and that attention will be easier if 
 he reverses the order, writes instead of spelling orally, or closes 
 his eyes and attempts to visualize the words. No matter 
 what motive the boy has for the attempt he is making, he will 
 welcome the suggestions which make the task easier. 
 
 Later you can teach this same boy the need of verification 
 before drilling himself whenever a question of fact is raised. In 
 the beginning, of course, the doubt or question will be raised by 
 the teacher, and it will be the chief work of the child to find an 
 authority and assure himself that he has the right idea or form 
 before proceeding. A big step in the education of a child has 
 been taken when he is able to say, "I know I am right, because 
 
98 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 I have consulted the commonly accepted authority." Occa- 
 sions will arise constantly in the study of any subject where, 
 instead of asking the teacher or being satisfied with information 
 which is of questionable vaHdity, the child should, as a matter 
 of habit, turn to the authority for verification. It is not at 
 all unusual for children to have misgivings, but they too fre- 
 quently end by going ahead and ignoring their doubt. To 
 respect one's doubts, to be somewhat critical, is significant for 
 education only when one is led thereby to endeavor to discover 
 the truth. Children will work to advantage when they realize 
 that these steps of doubt, verification, repetition, with undi- 
 vided attention, are essential to good work. 
 
 Children can be taught the necessity of accuracy in practice. 
 Any day's work in a schoolroom will furnish illustrations of 
 the danger of lapses and the necessity of guarding against them. 
 The fallacy of the notion that "this one doesn't count" can be 
 made just as clear to children as to adults. So, too, the mis- 
 taken notion that cramming may be substituted for systematic 
 work day in and day out can be brought to the attention of 
 pupils. 
 
 It would be a good plan for every teacher to ask herself 
 questions Hke the following : "What would the children do if I 
 did not carefully direct their work ? " "How much better able 
 are they now to work independently than they were at the 
 beginning of the year ? " " Can they take a book and find in it 
 the part which bears upon the topic assigned for study, and 
 do they do it with the least possible waste of time and energy ? " 
 "Do they know how to memorize; what it means to concen- 
 trate their attention; how to reflect?" "Are they more 
 open-minded or more dogmatic on account of the year spent 
 with me?" "Have they established the habit of verifi- 
 cation ? " "Do they appreciate the method to be emp^yed in 
 habit formation ? " To answer these questions honestly will 
 give the teacher some idea of her success as a teacher, for the 
 teacher's goal is realized in proportion as her pupils have 
 
The Study Lesson 99 
 
 advanced in power to work independently of her guidance or 
 control. 
 
 In teaching children how to study, it will be well to devote 
 whole periods to this type of exercise. The teacher will gain 
 much in the progress which her class will make by taking a 
 period frequently during which she studies with the children. 
 By example rather than by precept, by guiding children in 
 correct methods of study and then making them conscious 
 that they have done their work to the best possible advantage, 
 rather than by telling them what to do, she will secure the 
 maximum of results in her endeavor to teach children how to 
 study. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 F. M. McMurry, Row to Study. 
 
 Lida B. Earhart, Teaching Children to Stttdy, Chapter VIII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What is the relation between a knowledge of the principles of 
 teaching and the attempt to teach children how to study ? 
 
 2. How would you teach a boy to study his spelling lesson ? 
 
 3. What exercises would you give your pupils to make them able to 
 use books to the best advantage ? 
 
 4. State five problems which you have assigned to your pupils which 
 seem to you to have furnished a sufficient motive for study. 
 
 5. Which would be better as an assignment for a class in history : 
 "Study the topic of slavery for to-morrow" ; or, "Try to find out why 
 slaves were not kept in the Northern states" ; or, "Did all of the people 
 in the Northern states believe that slavery should be abolished?" 
 
 6. What is the advantage in individual or group assignments ? Give 
 a list of such assignments which you have recently given to your class. 
 
 7. Why is it necessary in studying to restate the problem under con- 
 sideration at frequent intervals? 
 
 8. When children study, should they try to remember all that they 
 read in their books? 
 
 9. Is it wise to have children critical of each other's contributions 
 during a recitation? 
 
 10. How could you hope to train children to discriminate between 
 the material of greater and of less importance when they read books to 
 find the answers to their problems ? 
 
lOO A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 11. What do you think of the success of a study period where ten 
 problems are given, each independent of the others? 
 
 12. How would you expect children to verify the conclusions which 
 they reach in solving their problems in geography, nature study, or 
 arithmetic ? 
 
 13. Take any poem of from four to ten stanzas, and have your pupils 
 commit it to memory as a whole by reading it over and discussing the 
 thought as often as may be necessary. Take another poem of equal 
 length and of equal difficulty, according to your judgment, and have 
 them commit it to memory line by line and stanza by stanza. (A good 
 plan would be to take four stanzas for each test from the same long 
 poem.) Three weeks after each selection is learned, without suggesting 
 to the pupils that the selection is to be called for again, find out what 
 part of each selection can be recalled. 
 
 14. How could you teach your pupils that the repetitions which count 
 when studying a spelling lesson are the ones which are made with atten- 
 tion concentrated upon the work in hand ? 
 
 15. Is a study period in the schoolroom properly regarded as a rest 
 period for teachers and pupils ? 
 
 16. Are the children you teach better able to get along without a 
 teacher than they were when they came to you? What evidence can 
 you give to show that they can work independently? 
 
CHAPTER IX 
 
 REVIEW OR EXAMINATION LESSON 
 
 The review or the examination, in so far as methods of 
 teaching are concerned, present the same problem. We seek 
 by means of exercises of this type to bring about a better or- 
 ganization of knowledge, to test the efficiency of our work by 
 finding out whether or not pupils can, when put to the test, 
 utilize the knowledge or habits which we have labored to make 
 available for them, whether they are actuated by the ideals 
 and purposes which we have sought to inculcate, whether they 
 do actually employ the most economical methods of work 
 when they meet a situation which challenges their strength. 
 It will be recognized at once that work of this sort is a part of 
 every recitation. But for our own satisfaction, and, possibly, 
 in order to meet the requirements which may be imposed by 
 those higher in authority, we may at times feel the need for a 
 stated exercise of this sort. 
 
 A review should mean a new view, a placing of facts in their 
 true relationship. It should mean a clearer view of the topic 
 or the subject which the children have been studying. It 
 avails little to go over the ground that has already been covered 
 more rapidly. The purpose to be accomplished is not to fix 
 in mind a series of unrelated facts. In our discussion of mem- 
 ory we had occasion to call attention to the fact that recall of 
 past experiences was conditioned by the number and the 
 quality of the associations which had been established. And 
 it is not simply a matter of recall. The use that we can make 
 of a fact depends upon our abiUty to relate it logically to other 
 facts. It is quite possible that a man of great native reten- 
 
I02 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 tiveness might be able to recall thousands of facts, and yet be 
 stupid, utterly unable to do the thinking required for effective 
 action. To bring about such an organization of ideas demands 
 that from day to day the new facts or principles that are learned 
 be consciously related to the old. It will not be economical 
 to put off all reviewing until the end of the month, or quarter, 
 or term. The step taken in advance to-day can be properly 
 appreciated only when it is seen in relation to that which has 
 gone before ; and the work of the past week or month will, in 
 turn, by this additional effort be seen in truer perspective. 
 
 There are, however, convenient units into which subjects 
 naturally divide themselves ; and when one of these units has 
 been completed, it may be well to take a period or two for 
 the express purpose of review. We may then clear up any 
 misconceptions, give a chance for additional verification and 
 application of the knowledge thus far gained. It cannot be 
 too strongly emphasized that the review which really counts 
 is one in which the teacher works with the children, guides 
 them and instructs them, rather than sits in judgment over 
 them. There is nothing more disastrous to the best type of 
 work than the idea on the part of children that the review les- 
 son is the teacher's opportunity to ask catch questions, or to 
 overemphasize unimportant details. Children respond very 
 quickly in such a situation by their endeavor to cram, with 
 little or no effort at organization, all of the facts that they 
 have been taught. 
 
 A convenient stimulus to the proper sort of review is found 
 in the requirement that pupils prepare an abstract or topical 
 outline of the ground which has been covered, and submit it, 
 preferably from memory, for class criticism and discussion. If 
 the teacher asks questions, she should be very careful to see 
 that they are questions of large scope which demand organiza- 
 tion, or still better the application of organized knowledge. 
 This brings us to the problem of testing. 
 
 The only adequate test of school education, as of all other 
 
Review or Examination Lesson 103 
 
 education, is action/ The nearer we can in our tests reproduce 
 the conditions which will confront the child in actual life, the 
 better. Not that we can always have him actually present 
 in the situation ; but when that is impossible, we can present 
 for his consideration ideal situations which correspond to those 
 which he will later find. The possibilities of presenting pre- 
 cisely the test which he will meet and is meeting in life are, I 
 believe, much greater than most examiners suspect. We 
 have discovered after many years that the best test of a child's 
 ability to spell in the only situation in which he will ever need 
 to spell is to test him in that situation ; i.e. by judging his ability 
 in writing words in connected discourse. The way to discover 
 whether one can speak or write grammatically is to listen to him 
 speaking or reading what he has written, and not to ask him to 
 recite rules of grammar. The only real test of a child's ability 
 to give adequate oral expression to the story or poem is to see 
 whether or not he can make clear the thought and furnish 
 enjoyment to others, preferably to those who have not before 
 heard the selection which he reads. We can assure ourselves 
 that we have awakened an interest in literature and history, 
 when we know that children read good books other than those 
 which we compel them to read. The success of manual work, 
 the time spent in art or music, ought certainly to be measured 
 by ability to make and to decorate, the singing of songs, and 
 the desire to hear music, or to see pictures. The more occa- 
 sions that can be found for the application of the arithmetic we 
 teach in actual measurements and computations which have 
 real significance to children, the better will children under- 
 stand their work, and the more certain we can be of their fu- 
 ture efficiency.^ It is coming to be a recognized principle of 
 nature study that the common things, the animals and plants 
 which are significant for our living, are the ones which should 
 
 'D. E. Smith and F. M. McMurry, "Mathematics in the Elementary 
 School," Teachers College Record, Vol. IV, No. 2; D. E. Smith, "The Teaching 
 of Arithmetic," Teachers College Record, Vol. X, No. i. 
 
I04 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 engage our attention ; and we expect that children will, on 
 account of the teaching, enjoy more, take better care of, and 
 utilize to better advantage the plant and animal life with which 
 they come in contact. Even in such subjects as history and 
 geography, one can hope to find just such applications while 
 the child is studying as are apt to occur in his later life. The 
 presentation of the results of the study of a country to a school 
 assembly with the aid of pictures and a lantern, or the inter- 
 pretation of current events in the light of their geographic 
 setting will afford no mean test of the children's knowledge of 
 geography, j The comparison of to-day's happenings in the 
 light of the events of a decade or a century ago ; the explana- 
 tion of the historical reference in the period devoted to litera- 
 ture ; the writing and presentation of a historical drama, will 
 afford as great application of one's knowledge as most of us 
 ever make. 
 
 Work of the sort indicated above will not only serve to test 
 the value of the work that children have done, but will also 
 add greatly to the interest and enthusiasm with which children 
 do their work. We can scarcely hope that all examinations 
 will satisfy this ideal; but of this we can be sure, the more 
 work of this kind we do with our pupils, the firmer will be their 
 grasp upon their work and the greater is apt to be their power 
 to satisfy even less adequate tests. 
 
 Examinations have another function which we as teachers 
 should not overlook. / Any adequate test of children's abilities 
 is also a test of our teaching^ It will probably not be best for 
 us to try to defend ourselves by pleading the inadequacy of 
 the test, nor the backwardness of the pupils when they come 
 to us, nor their parentage, nor any other less common reason. 
 If children do not write as well as they should, if they misspell 
 words they commonly use in their written work, if they can- 
 not tell the story, recite the poem, solve the problem, describe 
 the geographical area, or relate the events of the historic 
 period, we had better inquire whether we have helped them 
 
Review or Exatnination Lesson 105 
 
 to work to best advantage, whether we have clearly dif- 
 ferentiated the several aspects of our work and have then 
 applied the methods suitable to accomplish the desired result. 
 There may be mistakes made, but, all things else being equal, 
 the teacher who gets results is the best teacher. 
 
 We shall do better work, children, teachers, and supervisors, 
 when we have provided for our use more definite standards 
 or scales by which to measure our results. There is no reason 
 why we should not have a scale which would enable us to tell 
 with a fair degree of accuracy just what the standing of this 
 group of children is in writing, in ability to perform the funda- 
 mental operations in arithmetic, in spelling, in writing com- 
 positions, in discussing the geography of North America, in 
 decorating a cover for a notebook, or in any other subject or 
 aspect of their school work. Beginnings have been made in 
 this direction, and we may hope for more as time passes.^ 
 As these units of measure are perfected and applied in examin- 
 ing the results of school work, we will, of course, hear the cry 
 of those who will tell us that the best things that a teacher 
 does cannot be measured. The obvious reply will be that 
 efficiency in accomplishing results which can be measured need 
 not in any way prevent a teacher from exercising that influence 
 or doing that sort of work which is not recorded on examination 
 sheets. Rather it will be found, I venture, that the efficient 
 teachers, as measured by the results which we can test, are, 
 on the whole, the teachers that are doing the noblest work. 
 Strength of personaKty, appreciation of child nature, a life 
 which by its example makes for truth and beauty in other lives, 
 are qualities not uncommon in the teacher who is glad to be 
 judged by the results which pupils can demonstrate. 
 
 1 E. L. Thorndike, "Handwriting," Teachers College Record, Vol. XI, No. 2; 
 Stone, Arithmetical Abilities and Some of the Factors Determining them. 
 
io6 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 W. C. Bagley, The Educative Process, Chapter XXII. 
 W. W. Charters, Methods of Teaching, Chapter XI. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What is the purpose of an examination? 
 
 2. Would you be willing, in a review of a large topic in history, to 
 demand fewer details than in the original study of the topic ? 
 
 3. What is the value of an outline prepared by pupils as a part of 
 their review work? 
 
 4. Which is the better test of a boy's ability in English, a high mark 
 in an examination in grammar, or a well written story of a fishing trip 
 written for a school paper? 
 
 5. Prepare a series of questions which you think might be used to 
 advantage in the examination of a class that has been studying the 
 geography of Europe. 
 
 6. Give as many illustrations as you can of the application of the 
 knowledge gained in school to situations in which the pupils use their 
 information or skill to satisfy needs comparable to those which one 
 meets in everyday life. 
 
 7. What is meant by sajdng that a review should mean a new view ? 
 
 8. Do children commonly fail in examinations when they have been 
 well taught ? 
 
 9. Should children be promoted solely upon the marks made in 
 examinations ? 
 
 10. A boy's average in an examination was 67 per cent. An examina- 
 tion of the marks he received showed the following results : geography 
 80 per cent, history 100 per cent, composition 80 per cent, speUing 70 
 per cent, arithmetic 40 per cent, grammar 40 per cent, and drawing 
 60 per cent. The passing mark was 70 per cent ; would you have pro- 
 moted the boy ? ^ 
 
 11. How often should reviews be conducted? 
 
 12. Should children be notified in advance that examinations will be 
 held on certain days or weeks of the term? 
 
CHAPTER X 
 
 THE RECITATION LESSON 
 
 The recitation lesson as commonly conducted consists in 
 having children tell what they have read in their textbooks. 
 Sometimes the teacher accepts or even demands that the pupils 
 recite by repeating the words of the book. Better teaching 
 requires rather that they render the thought of the author in 
 their own language. In this chapter we shall discuss some of 
 the worthy ends which may be accomplished by such an ex- 
 ercise, some of the common deficiencies in work of this type, 
 and the modifications which are advisable in the light of the 
 principles already enunciated. 
 
 The recitation lesson commonly tests the pupil's memory 
 for facts. The questions asked and answered serve to reveal 
 to the teacher the knowledge or lack of it on the part of the 
 pupil. In a way this testing also gives the teacher some idea 
 of the amoimt of work done by the pupil. The great weakness 
 of work of this kiiid is found in the tendency to demand and 
 to accept words, the rehearsing of facts unrelated and unor- 
 ganized. Of c6urse this need not be true, since it is entirely 
 within the power of the teacher to frame her questions in 
 such a way that the pupil's grasp on the whole topic rather 
 than his memory for isolated facts is tested. 
 
 The recitation which tests the pupil's ability to present in 
 orderly fashion the substance of the thought found in the 
 sections assigned in the book for study is of genuine value. 
 The topical recitation affords an opportunity to develop on 
 the part of children the abihty to stand on their feet and speak 
 to a question for some minutes. And it may be suggested in 
 this connection that we should develop more power of this sort 
 
 107 
 
io8 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 than is commonly found in our schools. The ability to express 
 one's self adequately on the topic under consideration will 
 always make for effectiveness in social life. It would be well 
 to test the progress of our pupils from grade to grade by their 
 ability to speak more effectively and for a longer period as 
 they advance through the school, on some topic connected 
 with their school work. 
 
 When pupils are required not simply to recite on some topic 
 which is presented for their consideration, but are required 
 to furnish their own outline and to recite on the basis of their 
 own organization of the selections which they have read, the 
 recitation may become a valuable exercise in thinking. The 
 success of work of this kind will depend upon the definiteness 
 with which the problem or aim of the work has been provided. 
 V It will not require much thought simply to follow the paragraph 
 headings or marginal notes of the author and to present the 
 organization as a basis for recitation. If, however, a problem 
 has been suggested the solution of which may be found in 
 the pages assigned for study, then the recitation may test the 
 pupil's power to analyze and organize the material which the 
 book provides. And this is the only test of a thorough 
 mastery of the book. We do not read to find out everything 
 that an author says. Our needs may demand a very different 
 ordering of facts, we may use facts in entirely new relations, and 
 may ignore much that was essential from a different point of 
 view. Children have read their textbooks thoroughly when 
 they have derived from these texts the facts or ideas which are 
 essential in the solution of their problem, the satisfaction of the 
 aim which they hope to realize. 
 
 This ability to use to best advantage a book is a very valu- 
 able accomplishments When the recitation lesson accom- 
 plishes this result, it justifies its use. Too frequently we find 
 adults who seem to feel that they must try to gather all of the 
 knowledge and must try to follow none other than the author's 
 point of view in their reading. These persons read one book. 
 
The Recitation Lesson 109 
 
 and, as a result, believe one theory. It seems not to disturb 
 them greatly that the next book they read takes the opposite 
 point of view and that they range themselves on that side of 
 the question. Books are, or at least ought to be, our servants, 
 not our masters, and in the handling of books in his regular 
 school work the child ought to come to realize their true 
 function. There is no greater proof of a lack of thought than 
 the ready acceptance of whatever one finds in print. 
 
 There is great danger in the use of textbooks that children 
 and teachers will become satisfied with words, that they will 
 come to think that the repetition of the formula of the text- 
 book is proof of knowledge. Textbooks are all too often 
 merely books of texts. They have been made frequently 
 enough by those who possess a very wide knowledge of the field 
 in which they write ; and by some strange process of thought 
 they have apparently reached the conclusion that the way to 
 make a subject simple is to condense it. Many of our most 
 used textbooks are merely summaries or outlines of the subject 
 treated. They lack richness of detail, and state conclusions 
 instead of furnishing a large number of experiences, from which 
 one may, through processes of logical thought, derive the gener- 
 alizations of the subject. Take, for example, most of the text- 
 books in history for elementary schools, and read carefully 
 upon any topic selected at random, and then ask yourself just 
 what these words mean to twelve-year-old children ; or, better 
 still, ask these children who repeat so glibly the words or re- 
 produce the statements of the bpok just what they mean by 
 the words they use. Try to discover whether they have any 
 adequate knowledge of facts, or any command of images, 
 which would make possible the generalizations which they give 
 as a result of the process of thought. Remember that a text- 
 book is not logical for children because it has been logically 
 arranged by the scholar. The test is rather to be found in the 
 pupil's ability to reproduce in his own thinking the steps which 
 have made possible the conclusions of the author. 
 
no A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Any wide-awake teacher can make her work more interesting 
 and more significant for children, i£^hejwin_^aj^ull3£-piovide 
 for the^ nrichment of the text- The sources from which data 
 can be gathered, regardless of the subject under consideration, 
 are almost without number. Especially to be recommended 
 are the standard works in the subjects. It will be interesting 
 to discover that children would rather read Parkman than to 
 study the text in which some less competent person has en- 
 deavored to tell his story in a few paragraphs which mean 
 absolutely nothing to the child. The magazines which publish 
 articles of wide social interest will furnish much helpful 
 material. There is no school that may not greatly enrich its 
 work by an appeal to the actual experiences of the children 
 and by carefully directed observations and experiments. We 
 need our textbooks as a summary, as a convenient condensed 
 outline, or as books of reference ; but we must provide as 
 best we can other books of reference which will furnish the 
 details which are impossible in the limited number of pages 
 allowed to the text. In every room of every school a 
 library of books, pamphlets, magazine articles, and illustra- 
 tive material should be found, and every teacher should expect 
 to increase this collection and to improve its quality as the 
 years go by. 
 
 It will give new meaning to notebooks and note-taking, if 
 both teacher and children realize that the books thus prepared 
 are a real addition to the texts used. A comparison of the 
 work done by different members of the class will add interest 
 in the work. One of the greatest deficiencies of the recitation 
 lesson is the danger that nothing new will be presented. It is 
 not intellectually stimulating to listen to others who repeat 
 simply the thought with which you are already familiar. 
 Where good notebook work is done and reported upon, the 
 chance for new ideas, the stimulus to thought, through the 
 presentation of new material, will greatly strengthen the work. 
 
 A tendency in work of this tj^e to accept vague and in- 
 
The Recitation Lesson iii 
 
 definite answers is. another argument against the recitation 
 lesson which consists merely in rehearsing the words of the 
 book. Statements are apt to be vague when ideas are vague, 
 and we may not expect ideas to be very clear when the child 
 lacks experience. The child's power of expression, aside 
 from the difference in original talent in this direction, is con- 
 ditioned first of all by his acquaintance with things and pro- 
 cesses. The recitation lesson, as it is ordinarily conducted, 
 gives little opportunity for this sort of firsthand knowledge. 
 To work at the sand table, to construct with wood, clay, paper, 
 or yarn, to experiment, and to observe carefully the working 
 of nature may mean more for the command of language than 
 much more time devoted to so-called language lessons. But 
 the effective use of such experience for language growth de- 
 pends in a measure upon the requirement that the teacher 
 makes for adequate expression. The teacher who accepts the 
 vague and indefinite answer encourages slovenly habits of 
 expression and incidentally slovenly habits of thought. It is 
 usually a mistake to say to a child : "I know what you mean 
 even though you have not said it." Children are often lazy 
 enough to allow the teacher to do their thinking for them, if 
 the teacher willingly accepts the burden. Thinking is neces- 
 sary for expression ; language is the tool of thought ; we can 
 do no greater service to children than to hold them for what 
 they say, give them credit for the thought which they express 
 and no more. Words for children, as well as for adults, are 
 used to conceal ignorance as well as to reveal thought. A child 
 is quick to take advantage of the teacher who will accept any 
 sort of an answer and interpret it as a statement containing 
 thought. Indeed, it is possible that a child may even come to 
 think that his incoherent statements, his word juggling, really 
 represent thought. 
 
 Another danger in the recitation lesson is found in the 
 tendency to develop the purely individualistic attitude. If 
 excellence consists in endeavoring to repeat more of the book 
 
112 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 statement than any one else, manifestly it is your advantage 
 to hinder rather than to help others in their work. The 
 attitude of excessive competition on the one hand, and of in- 
 difference on the other, are both avoided when children work 
 together for common ends. The standard of the school shoxdd 
 be cooperation and helpfulness. 
 
 The recitation lesson in its least desirable aspects will not 
 disappear until all of our teachers realize that teaching does 
 not consist in hearing lessons. The broader the training of 
 the teacher, the better her understanding of child nature and 
 of the meaning of education, the less likely is she to resort to 
 this method to any considerable degree. We shall, it is true, 
 so long as we use textbooks, take occasion to discover what use 
 children have made of them ; but this testing will be incidental 
 to our teaching, and not the sum and substance of it. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 W. C. Bagley, The Educative Process, Chapter XXII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. Why is a recitation in which the teacher asks fifty questions which 
 test the pupil's knowledge of the facts recorded in the book not par- 
 ticularly valuable? 
 
 2. Why ask pupils to recite by topics rather than ask questions which 
 will bring out the facts concerning each topic treated in the book ? 
 
 3. Discuss the use of the textbook in teaching from the point of view 
 of both teacher and pupil. 
 
 4. When have you read a book thoroughly ? Ought we ever to try 
 to remember all that the book tells ? 
 
 5. It is essential in a democracy that people think for themselves; 
 how would you develop this independent attitude in children ? 
 
 6. When children say that they know but cannot teU, how weU 
 do they know ; how clearly have they thought ? 
 
 7. If a pupU recites the words of the book, does he know the subject ? 
 How would you test further the extent of his knowledge ? 
 
 8. Find examples in some textbook which you use of statements 
 which mean Uttle to children who use the books. 
 
The Recitation Lesson 1 1 3 
 
 9. How would you plan to supplement the textbooks which you use ? 
 Give examples ? 
 
 10. Why do children show a lack of interest in recitations where the 
 teacher tests the class on their knowledge of the facts recorded in the 
 text ? How can the situation be improved ? 
 
 11. Why is it generally a mistake to interpret to the class the an- 
 swers given by the pupil reciting ? 
 
 12. Under what conditions is it better to have books open in class 
 than to test pupils on their knowledge of the facts recorded in the text ? 
 
 13. If a pupil reproduces accurately a line of reasoning recorded in 
 his book, has he necessarily thought through the situation for himself ? 
 
 14. What do the following paragraphs mean to a class of pupils from 
 twelve to fourteen years of age ? Have they definite images ? Do 
 they fully understand what the author means ? 
 
 ^'The Puritans. — The New England colonies were founded by English 
 Puritans who left England because they could not do as they wished in the 
 home land. All Puritans were agreed in wishing for a freer government than 
 they had had in England under the Stuart kings, and in state matters were 
 really the liberals of their time. In religious matters, however, they were not 
 all of one mind. Some of them wished to make only a few changes in the 
 church. These were called Non-Conformists. Others wished to make so many 
 changes in religion that they could not stay in the English State Church. These 
 were called Separatists. The settlers of Plymouth were Separatists; the 
 settlers of Boston and neighboring towns were Non-Conformists." 
 
 "Unlike the poor humble Pilgrims were the founders of Massachusetts. 
 They were men of wealth and social position, as, for instance, John Winthrop 
 and Sir Richard Saltonstall. They left comfortable homes in England to 
 found a Puritan state in America. They got a tract of land extending from 
 the Merrimac to the Charles, and westward across the continent. Hundreds 
 of colonists came over in the year 1629-1630. They settled Boston, Salem, 
 and neighboring towns. In the next ten years thousands more joined them. 
 From the beginning Massachusetts was strong and prosperous. Among so 
 many people there were some who did not get on well with the rulers of the 
 colony." ' 
 
 Professon Johnson asks, "Do the children see or feel anything but 
 words ? Do they see Puritans ? Do they see anything that the Puri- 
 tans might change or any reason for changing it? Do they see any- 
 thing that happened in America? . . But what do the words 
 actually tell about the circumstances of the Puritans ? . . . Can any 
 one think that such statements really convey information about the 
 Puritans to one who is being introduced to them for the first time?" ^ 
 
 ' Quoted by Johnson in a monograph on "The Problem of Adapting History 
 to Children in the Elementary School," Teachers College Record, Vol. IX, p. 319. 
 ' Teachers College Record, Vol. IX, pp. 319-320. 
 
CHAPTER XI 
 
 QUESTIONING 
 
 (In all teaching much depends upon the skill with which the 
 teacher stimulates and guides the class by means of the ques- 
 tions which she asks./ Occasionally one finds a teacher who 
 seems to think that the sole purpose of questioning is to test 
 the knowledge of her pupils. She asks hundreds of questions 
 which can be answered merely by an appeal to the memory. 
 This sort of testing is valuable for review, but it does not neces- 
 sitate thought. When a teacher habitually asks these fact 
 questions, the children respond by trying to remember the 
 words or the facts given in their books. 
 
 ^h. type of question still less worthy is the direct question, — 
 the one thatTian be answered by yes or no. '' The teacher who 
 asks, "Is Albany on the Hudson River?" does not expect the 
 children to think. If they are fairly bright, they will probably 
 guess from her inflection whether the answer is yes or no. 
 In any event, after one guess has been made there is only one 
 alternative, and the pupil who answers second often deceives 
 both the teacher and himself into thinking that he really knew 
 the answer, f^he question which suggests an alternative is 
 in effect the same as a direct question with its alternative 
 answer of yes and noy "Does the earth turn on its axis from 
 east to west or from west to east?" is no better than to ask, 
 "Does the earth turn on its axis from west to east ?" Indeed, 
 the alternative question in the example given is worse than 
 the direct form, since it suggests a wrong answer which may 
 make sufficient impression to confuse the pupils when the 
 question arises again. 
 
 114 
 
Questioning 115 
 
 The leading or suggestive question is much used by teachers 
 who attempt to develop with, children generahzations for which 
 they have no basis in knowledge. It is perfectly possible to 
 have children give some sort of expression to the most profound 
 generalizations of science or philosophy, if one is only skillful 
 in suggesting the answers which they are to give. As an ex- 
 ample of this sort of questioning, the following is taken almost 
 verbatim from a teacher who thought she was having her chil- 
 dren think about the growth of plants. "Did you plant your 
 flowers where the sun would shine on them ? Do you think 
 plants would grow in a very dark place? What do plants 
 need to help them to grow ? When the ground gets dry, what 
 will you sprinkle on the ground to help the plants to grow? 
 What do plants need besides light to make them grow? 
 Would yovu: plants grow if it was very cold ? What do plants 
 need besides light and moisture to make them grow?" If 
 such a series of suggestive questions is asked, the responses 
 will be prompt and the waving of hands most vigorous, but 
 surely there has been very little necessity for thinking on the 
 part of th^ children. This brings us to the crux of the whole 
 problem. (^A question in order to be most stimulating must be 
 of sufficient scope to demand that the experience of the chil- 
 dren be organized anew with reference to the problem under 
 consideration^ 
 
 The teacher who wants to test the quality of her questions 
 ought frequently to ask herself whether her questions are of 
 sufficient scope. If all the children can answer every question 
 asked immediately, the questions have not been very success- 
 ful from the standpoint of provoking thought. It takes time 
 to think. The question of large scope will be followed, not 
 by a wild waving of hands, but rather by a period of quiet " 
 reflection. The teacher who was trying to have her pupils 
 think about the conditions of plant growth should have asked 
 one or two thought-provoking questions instead of the larger 
 number of suggestive questions. She might have put the fol- 
 
Ii6 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 lowiag questions : What have you known any one to do to get 
 good, strong, healthy plants ? Would it be possible to change 
 any of these conditions and still have the best plants ? What 
 is necessary for the growth of plants ? If questions similar to 
 the above are asked, one might naturally expect children to 
 relate and to compare experiences, in fact, to solve the prob- 
 lem by bringing to bear as best they could the facts concerning 
 plant growth which had been observed in their experience. If 
 the teacher wants the children to get some adequate idea of a 
 mountain, in their work in home geography she might tell 
 them about it or read them a description ; but even after the 
 best description she would want to question them in order to 
 have them think about the facts which had been given. She 
 might ask : How long do you think it would take a man to 
 walk to the top of a moimtain ? What would be the difficulties 
 in getting to the top ? If you stood on the top and threw a 
 stone, how far down the motintain do you think it would go ? 
 / To ask good questions takes careful thought and planning 
 oh the part of the teacher. A half dozen thoroughly good 
 questions often make a recitation a most stimulating exercise 
 in thinking, while the absence of this preparation on the part 
 of the teacher not infrequently results in the ordinary listless 
 class period, which may actually be harmful from the stand- 
 point of the child's intellectual growth^ It would be well for 
 every teacher to ask herself the following questions when she 
 is dissatisfied with the results of her teaching: Were my 
 questions clear and concise ? Did they challenge the attention 
 of all the members of the class? Did the children need to 
 think, to organize their experience with reference to the prob- 
 lem in hand before they answered ? Was the sequence good ? 
 Was it possible for every child to answer some of the questions ? 
 Did each child have a chance to answer? Did the children 
 ask questions ? — When children are active mentally, they will 
 h|ive questions to ask. 
 
 asking questions much depends upon the novelty of the 
 
 nave 
 
Questioning 117 
 
 form in which the question is put or of the issue which is 
 presented.^ The writer has enjoyed asking several groups of 
 teachers why they teach. The answers have been most varied, 
 and on the whole indicate the real attitude of these men and 
 women toward their work. A very different response is se- 
 cured, however, when you ask the same groups to define the 
 aim of education. They will all profess that they hope to 
 realize the aim of education in their teaching, and that it is 
 because they hope to participate in the development of socially 
 efi&cient men and women that they teach j always provided 
 you have asked a question concerning the aim of education, 
 The difference in the two situations is accounted for by the 
 difference in the wording of the question. In the one case 
 these teachers really asked themselves the question — why do I 
 teach ? They answered in terms of their experience. Some 
 taught for money, some because it was a respectable calling, 
 some for want of anything better to do, some because they liked 
 children, and some because of their appreciation of the signifi- 
 cance of education in our modern democratic society. In the 
 other case, the answers were given in words conveying ideas 
 which were supposed to be those most acceptable to the teacher. 
 It is often helpful to state the opposite of the common ex- 
 pression of a generalization and to suggest that you are willing 
 to maintain this point of view. /The best lesson that the writer 
 ever conducted on induction and deduction was begun with 
 the statement: "Induction always begins with a generaliza- 
 tion and moves to the consideration of particulars. Deduction 
 always begins with a particular and moves to a generalization/' 
 The class was excited because the usual form of expression had 
 been reversed, and, before the period was over, did some think- 
 ing about the commonly accepted definitions of induction and 
 deduction. These definitions had really been nothing but a lot 
 of words to juggle with, rather than the embodiment of clear 
 ideas. This method of shock through the unfamiHar form of 
 the question, or by means of a statement which challenges 
 
ii8 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 attention because it is seemingly contrary to the accepted for- 
 mula, is one of the surest means available to the teacher who 
 would stimulate thought. 
 
 It may be objected by some teacher that the form of ques- 
 tion indicated above gives little or no place to the necessary 
 reciting from books ; that when one wants to discover whether 
 the pupils have studied carefully the content of a text, the 
 one way to be sure is to ask the fact question. In reply,0t 
 may be said that questions which call for the use or organiza- 
 tion of facts demand not onlytheHkfiowledge demanded by the 
 fact question, but the more significant use of these data.l It is 
 true that some teachers still hear lessons. On the whole, there 
 is too much telling of what the book says and too little teach- 
 ing. \The skillful teacher, in the assignment of her lesson, will 
 give the children problems concerning which they can find 
 information in their books, y The recitation will demand the 
 answer to the questions that have been put previously, as 
 well as to such other questions as may be necessary in the 
 development of these problems. If the book is to be given a 
 larger place, the recitation may be topical. Here, again, the 
 large topics which are assigned should demand not a repetition 
 of the headings and paragraphs of the book, but rather the out- 
 line furnished by the teacher, or, better still, made by the class ; 
 should necessitate a reorganization of the material of the text. 
 There is little use in trying to furnish children with the knowl- 
 edge of an encyclopedia. They will forget all except that 
 which has become part of a system or scheme of ideas which. 
 
 /have meaning and significance because of their organization. 
 
 \^ is true that facts are the raw material of thinking, and it is 
 equally true that those facts which have had some place in our 
 thinking aire the ones which we retain for future use. \ 
 
 Aside from the form of the question, the teacher must con- 
 sider the technique of questioning. (One of the most common 
 mistakes is to call on the bright children almost to the exclusion 
 of the lefes capable?^ The writer has repeatedly followed closely 
 
Questioning 119 
 
 the distribution of questions among the members of a class, 
 only to discover that often from one fourth to two thirds of 
 the class were not called upon at all, and that generally three 
 fourths or more of the questions were addressed to a very small 
 number of children. Most teachers would find it interesting to 
 keep a record for a few days of the number of questions assigned 
 to each child. Such a score would help to explain the lack of 
 interest and backwardness of some pupils. 
 
 One hesitates to suggest that questions should not be given 
 to the pupils in any regular order from the beginning to the end 
 of the class by rows of seats or otherwise. Of course the teacher 
 who does this notifies the members of the class that they need 
 not be troubled about the work until their turn comes. Almost 
 as bad, from the standpoint of maintaining the feeling of re- 
 sponsibility by the whole class, is the method of asking ques- 
 tions which prefixes the question with the name of the child 
 who is to answer. When the teacher says, "George, will you 
 summarize the points which have just been made," John, 
 Henry, Mary, Catherine, and all the rest realize that there is 
 nothing for them to do. The teacher should rather announce 
 her question, and then wait long enough for all to be active 
 be|ore calling on any one. 
 
 Another source ^of lack of attention is found in the question 
 which is repeated. ) Children soon come to know whether they 
 must listen when the question is first put, or whether they may 
 wait until the second or third statement before they will be 
 called upon. There is another weakness often shown in re- 
 peating questions, viz. : the question is varied in form, which, 
 in some cases, leads to confusion in the minds of attentive 
 pupils, or the different forms used enable the child to guess the 
 answer which is desired. To repeat questions is to acknowl- 
 edge either that the form in which it was first put was not 
 good or that the children were not expected to attend to the 
 first statement of the problem. Either alternative will be 
 avoided by a thoughtful, well prepared teacher. 
 
I20 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 ijThe besetting sin of most teachers is the practice of repeat- 
 ing the answers given by childrei^ If the recitation is a place 
 where children are to discuss their problems together, then 
 every answer should be addressed to the whole class, not to the 
 teacher. The teacher who repeats each answer cannot expect 
 the children either to recite to the class or to pay attention to 
 the one who is speaking. Here is another chance for an inter- 
 esting experiment. Score one every time you repeat an answer, 
 and then try to see how soon you can eliminate this bad habit. 
 It is often helpful to stand or sit in some part of the room not 
 directly in front of the class. The fact that the teacher is. 
 among the class, one of them at least in position in the room, 
 will make it somewhat easier for children to talk to the whole 
 group. This habit of repeating the answer really grows out 
 of the feeling which so many teachers have that the function 
 of questions is to test for facts, and that in the recitation the 
 answer should be addressed to the teacher and given by her 
 to the class so that all may be made aware of the correct answer. 
 The position which has been maintained is that the main pur- 
 pose of questioning is to stimulate thought. Even if questions 
 were mainly useful as a means of testing for f^cts, it would still 
 be unwise to repeat the answers. 
 
 Questioning by the teacher which does not lead to the asking 
 of questions by pupils is unsatisfactory. If the children are 
 thinking, really trying to solve the problem at issue, they will 
 have questions of their own. If any single test were to be 
 applied to the strength of the teacher's questions, this would 
 probably be best. Needless to say, the questions which chil- 
 dren ask should, as a rule, be addressed to the class, or to some 
 one member of the class, and not to the teacher. Some of the 
 best lessons are those which end with children's questions still 
 unanswered, these problems furnishing the point of departure 
 for the study which is to precede the next day's work. 
 
 If any one thinks that questioning is a simple matter, one 
 that deserves less consideration than has been given to it, let 
 
Questioning 121 
 
 him sit down and write four or five good questions which might 
 be used in teaching a first-grade lesson on the dog ; a fifth-grade 
 lesson on the Southern states ; a seventh-grade lesson on mak- 
 ing jelly; or a high school class on the law of gravity. The 
 teacher who will get some one to write down for her the ques- 
 tions which she asks in a single recitation will be surprised 
 both at the number (it will be almost unbelievably large) and 
 the quality of the product. 
 
 There is nothing more searching than to attempt to write 
 down beforehand the half dozen or more pivotal questions 
 which are to be used in a recitation. When the attempt is 
 made, any weakness in knowledge, in organization of subject 
 matter, or in , appreciation of the pupil's point of view with 
 relation to the material to be presented, will become apparent. 
 There is no one thing that a teacher can do which will bring a 
 greater reward in increased teaching power, than systematically 
 to prepare questions for one or more recitations each day. If 
 the writer could be sure that any group of teachers would try 
 conscientiously to improve in the art of questioning, he would 
 be just as sure that these same teachers would be rated by any 
 impartial critic as superior to those who are willing to trust 
 to inspiration in this most important part of the teacher's work. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 J. A. H. Keith, Elementary Education, Chapter IX. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What is the chief function of questioning? 
 
 2. Why is the direct question of httle value in teaching? 
 
 3. Give examples of leading questions. Why should a teacher avoid 
 questions of this class ? 
 
 4. Write the questions which you would ask a class who had read a 
 description of a glacier, in order to stimulate their thought and test 
 their knowledge of this topic. 
 
 5. How many questions did you ask during one hour's work? Ob- 
 serve some other teacher, and score the number of questions. 
 
122 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 6. AVhy is it important to consider the form or the wording of the 
 question you ask? 
 
 7. How can you challenge the attention of every member of your 
 class by the questions which you ask ? 
 
 8 . Why is it poor method to repeat the answer given by one of the pupils ? 
 
 9. Do your pupils recite to you, or to the class ? 
 
 10. When would you expect children to ask questions? To whom 
 should such questions be addressed? 
 
 11. Criticize the questions used by the teacher in the following steno- 
 graphic report of a high school recitation in Enghsh. A lesson on the 
 old ballads has been given before. The text used was Seward, Narra- 
 tive and Lyric Poems, pp. 20-35. 
 
 Teacher: Before we begin to talk about modern ballads, let's see 
 what you got from your first impression of the old ballads last time. 
 In the first place, give four or five subjects that the old ballad writers 
 were especially interested in. 
 
 Pupil: Fighting, principally, and some romance. 
 
 Teacher: What do you mean by romance? 
 
 Pupil: Romance — that is all. 
 
 Teacher: People meant different things — fighting, or love — do you 
 mean love ? 
 
 Pupil: No, fighting — romance. {Teacher writes on hoard " ro- 
 mance.") That is about all I know, in the first — old ballads ; oh, yes, 
 one gruesome one, about c — . 
 
 Teacher: Corbies? 
 
 Pupil: Yes. 
 
 Teacher: Horror, perhaps. 
 
 Pupil: Yes. 
 
 Teacher: Elsworth? 
 
 Elsworth: It only happened once, — lovers separated and met again. 
 
 Teacher: Yes. (IFntei " Fighting, Tales of Horror, Shipwreck, Parted 
 Lovers.") Is that a fair Hst ? I should think so. Let us see about the 
 spirit in which they were written, that is, the kind of quahties the people 
 in those ballads showed, and the kind of quahties in human natiure 
 people of that day hked. 
 
 Pupil: I think bravery. 
 
 Teacher {writing "bravery") : Anything else ? 
 
 Pupil: A hero and a villain. 
 
 Teacher: Hero and villain; in other words, you take sides? 
 
 Pupil: Yes. 
 
 Teacher: What other qualities besides bravery? 
 
Questioning 123 
 
 Pupil: Treachery, of the kind in the ballad of Johnnie Armstrong. 
 
 Teacher: Yes, and the hero shows what quality ? 
 
 Pupil: He beUeves in the king even when he is summoned before 
 him. 
 
 Teacher: Good faith on one side, and treachery on the other. Any- 
 thing else ? 
 
 Pupil: Honor. 
 
 Teacher: Honor, yes. {Writes "honoi.") 
 
 Pupil: A great deal of honor among themselves. 
 
 Teacher: Loyalty to each other; and as regards their enemies, what? 
 
 Pupil: They used to fight for fun, and they had certain rules; they 
 were not really angry, they had to keep certain rules. 
 
 Teacher: In other words ? 
 
 Pupil: They couldn't do just as they wanted to. 
 
 Teacher: There were rules of honor even toward your enemy, a sort 
 of amateur spirit. 
 
 Pupil: Courtesy to their enemies. 
 
 Teacher: Courtesy, — and perhaps we might say this includes being 
 true to the rules. Could we say anything about the style in which 
 these poems were written, kind of language, and kind of verse form ? 
 
 Pupil: Could be put to music. 
 
 Teacher: Easy to sing, for one thing? 
 
 Pupil: Yes. 
 
 Teacher: Complicated tunes, or simple? 
 
 Pupil: Simple. 
 
 Teacher: How about the words, the English? 
 
 Pupil: Old English and Scotch. 
 
 Teacher: Old English and Scotch; easy or hard to understand? 
 
 Pupil: After you have read two or three, I don't think it is hard. 
 
 Teacher: If you had been an old Scotchman of those times, should 
 you say they were written in hard or easy language ? 
 
 Pupil: Simple, — quaint. 
 
 Teacher: Simple and quaint — old-fashioned. Let us turn to the 
 ballads you had for to-day ; see how they compare with these old ones. 
 The first one. Lord Ullin's Daughter — as regards the subject matter, 
 is it the kind of story you think would appeal to ancient writers? 
 
 Pupil: It seems so; this one was about an elopement, they seem to 
 write that kind of story. 
 
 Teacher: Anything else ? 
 
 Pupil: Shipwreck. 
 
 Teacher: Do you think the old ballad writers would have been satisfied 
 with the way the story came out ? 
 
124 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Pupil: I don't think so ; they liked to see their side win ; the lovers 
 won in this case, but were drowned ; I don't think they would have 
 Uked it that way. 
 
 Teacher: If they are going to get away from the father, they ought 
 to get away clear. I think that is true ; things end simply in the old 
 ballads, it is an out-and-out tragedy or a happy ending. 
 
 Pupil: They had some death, like Johnnie Armstrong, where the hero 
 was killed. 
 
 Teacher: How was he killed? 
 
 Pupil: By treachery. 
 
 TeacAe;': Was there any here ? 
 
 Pupil: No. 
 
 Teacher: Were they killed through anybody's fault, or by accident? 
 
 Pupil: By accident. 
 
 Teacher: How is it in the old ballads ? 
 
 Pupil: In the first stories they were not, — a shipwreck. 
 
 Teacher: But in most cases it is a matter of somebody's treachery. 
 In Sir Patrick Spence who gets drowned? 
 
 Pupil: The Scotch nobles. 
 
 Teacher: There it is the lords and all those other fine noblemen. 
 As far as the style goes in Lord Ullin's Daughter, should you say that 
 the story goes rapidly, as rapidly as possible, or should you say that if 
 an old ballad singer were telUng the story, there is something that could 
 be left out ? 
 
 Pupil: I think so. 
 
 Teacher: Can you see any group of verses that could be left out 
 without breaking the story up ? 
 
 Pupil: I think where it described the boat (reads) : — 
 
 "The boat has left a stormy land, 
 A stormy sea before her — 
 When, oh ! too strong for human hand, 
 The tempest gather'd o'er her." 
 
 Those descriptions could be left out ; and (reads) : — 
 
 " For sore dismay'd, through storm and shade, 
 His child he did discover : — 
 One lovely hand she stretch'd for aid, 
 And one was round her lover." 
 
 Teacher: You think the picture of how she looked in the boat does 
 not count ? 
 Pupil: I like it, but it could have been left out. 
 
Questioning 125 
 
 Teacher: The old ballad singers would have left out that part. Are 
 there things in the earlier part of the poem that could be left out if you 
 just wanted the story ? 
 
 Pupil: The first verse. 
 
 Teacher: Better if they got started at once, perhaps. Miss Weiss? 
 Miss W.: The third verse : — 
 
 " And fast before her father's men 
 Three days we've fled together, 
 For should he find us in the glen. 
 My blood would stain the heather." 
 
 He says right after that that the horses are right behind him, so he 
 could have left that out. 
 
 Teacher: He spends too much time in talking to the boatman, that is 
 true. 
 
 Pupil: The seventh verse. 
 
 " By this the storm grew loud apace. 
 The water-wraith was shrieking ; 
 And in the scowl of Heaven each face 
 Grew dark as they were speaking." 
 
 Teacher: You can't help wondering why they didn't get in the boat, 
 and stop talking. The old ballad writers pared it all down to nothing 
 but the story. Turn to the next one, — Lady Clare; would that have 
 pleased the old ballad writers ? 
 
 Pupil: I think it would have. It is just the kind of love story they 
 liked, — it all turned out well. 
 
 Teacher: Turns out well in the end; and in it the lovers show what 
 kind of quahties ? 
 
 Pupil: Faithful. 
 
 Teacher: You like that? 
 
 Pupil: Yes. 
 
 Teacher: The sort of things anybody would like, all the admirable 
 qualities of a good love story. I wonder if any one noticed the language 
 of this poem, anything that would show that Tennyson was trying to 
 imitate the language of the old baUads ? 
 
 Pupil: "I trow they did not part in scorn." 
 
 Teacher: "I trow" — that sounds old-fashioned. Anything else? 
 
 Pupil: The way he brings in the nurse : — 
 
126 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 "In there came old Alice the nurse, 
 
 Said, 'Who was this that went from thee?' 
 'It was my cousin,' said Lady Clare; 
 'To-morrow he weds with me.'" 
 
 And "thee" and "thou." 
 
 Teacher: How about the word " Said " ; has that any subject ? 
 
 Pupil: "Alice the nurse" is subject of both came and said. 
 
 Teacher: Yes: anything else ? 
 
 Pupil: The last of that verse, "To-morrow he weds with me." 
 
 Teacher: That sounds old-fashioned ; anything else ? 
 
 Pupil: Some of the repetition. 
 
 Teacher: What line? 
 
 Pupil: "Are ye out of your mind, my nurse, my nurse?" 
 
 Teacher: And "Yet here's a kiss for my mother dear. 
 My mother dear, if this be so," 
 sounds like the kind of repetition a man would make on a guitar, or 
 something like that. 
 
 " ' Play me no tricks,' said Lord Ronald, 
 ' For I am yours in word and in deed. 
 Play me no tricks,' said Lord Ronald, 
 ' Your riddle is hard to read.' " 
 
 It comes again and again. When you come to Lucy Gray, a poem 
 which was very famous, and which is, perhaps, a little hard to get the 
 real spirit of at first; did any one feel especially attracted by that? 
 Miss Graves ? What did you like about it ? 
 
 Miss G. : It was entirely different from the others, — the way it 
 turned out, — well, just the description in everything, — the snow, — 
 then, it seemed to go easier than the others. 
 
 Teacher: We have rather taken it for granted all along that all these 
 were very easy, — easy to sing. 
 
 Pupil: I don't think the later ballads are nearly as easy to sing as 
 others. 
 
 Teacher: You think this Lucy Gray is different, you like the descrip- 
 tive verses in it? Any special phrases or description that particularly 
 struck you, Miss Graves ? 
 
 Miss G. : I don't see any just now — 
 
 Teacher: Any one happen to remember any? 
 
 Pupil: "The minster-clock has just struck two." 
 
 Teacher: MissThibaut? 
 
Questioning 127 
 
 Miss T.: "Her feet disperse the powdery snow, 
 
 That rises up like smoke." 
 Teacher: "Her feet disperse the powdery snow, 
 
 That rises up like smoke." 
 
 Would that be in place in one of the old ballads ? They weren't inter- 
 ested in the appearance of the snow very much. Miss Weiss ? 
 
 Miss W .: I think I Hke this ballad because it leaves something to 
 the imagination, the rest tell you everything ; it doesn't say surely that 
 she is still alive, it leaves it to you to think about it. 
 
 Teacher: Do you think Wordsworth himself thinks she is still alive? 
 
 Pupil: I think he does ; I don't know if he does, but I think he does. 
 
 Teacher: In this remote country region, the people who would main- 
 tain that she was alive would be — ? 
 
 Pupil: The country people. 
 
 Teacher: What is Wordsworth's attitude? 
 
 Pupil: I don't think he credits it very much; I think he respects it, 
 but I don't think he credits it. 
 
 Teacher: He doesn't tell you whether he expects you to believe it 
 or not ; but at any rate, there is a fineness of feeling toward the coun- 
 try people that makes him respect the country superstition. 
 
 Pupil: I think she must have been lost, because if she hadn't, she 
 might have come back to her mother and father. 
 
 Teacher: Of course, your imagination there is piecing it out; Words- 
 worth doesn't tell you out and out that she was drowned. 
 
 Pupil: I think he does; he says her footsteps stopped in the middle 
 of the plank, and something must have happened there. 
 
 Teacher: The actual drowning was not described; you cannot help 
 feehng that in the old ballads they would have given you a fuU descrip- 
 tion, like Sir Patrick S pence; the ballad ends how? 
 
 Pupil: Wordsworth was not tr3dng to imitate the old ballads, was 
 he? 
 
 Teacher: No; it is a good deal further away from the old ballads 
 than the others we have had ; it is a more imaginative poem, more beauty 
 of phrasing and thought. Any other questions or comments about 
 Lucy Gray? 
 
 Pupil: I hke this verse : — 
 
 "They follow'd from the snowy bank 
 Those footmarks, one by one, 
 Into the middle of the plank ; 
 And further there were none." 
 
128 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Teacher: You think that is because of the things Wordsworth does 
 not say, the fact that he keeps a certain amount to himself ? 
 
 Pupil: Yes. 
 
 Teacher: That quality of reticence, isn't it? How is it in modern 
 times ; have you noticed how you respect people who do not say quite 
 aU they feel; they keep their deepest feelings largely to themselves, 
 and you can only guess at it by what is left unsaid ? Are the kind of 
 people who are represented in this poem the sort of people you ordi- 
 narily encounter in the old ballads ? 
 
 Pupil: I don't think we do; the chief characters were the nobles 
 and barons, the highest people in England and Scotland. 
 
 Teacher: These people were what? 
 
 Pupil: Common people. 
 
 Teacher: You get that from what phrase in the poem? Any one? 
 
 Pupil: Just after he asked her to go for her mother: "At this the 
 father raised his hook " ; he wouldn't have done that if he hadn't been 
 a working man. 
 
 Pupil: I don't think he would have sent Lucy Gray after her mother 
 in the snow ; they would have been riding in a coach and four. 
 
 Teacher: How is it with some of the other early writers? Was 
 Shakespeare more interested in common people or wealthy? 
 
 Pupil: Wealthy.! 
 
 The questions and answers quoted represent about two thirds of the 
 work of a period. 
 
 Note the nuniber of questions, their scope, the amount of thought 
 necessary on the part of the pupils, the explanations offered by the 
 teacher, and the relative amount of talking done by teacher and pupils. 
 
 • "Stenographic Reports of High School Lessons," Teachers College Record, 
 September, 1910, pp. 18-26. 
 
CHAPTER XII 
 
 SOCIAL PHASES OF THE RECITATION 
 
 Emphasis has already been given to the social aim in educa- 
 tion. This chapter will discuss in some detail the possibility of 
 realizing this aim through the conduct of the recitation. The 
 real advantage to be derived from grouping children in classes 
 is found in the opportunity which is afforded for exchange of 
 ideas. A group of children seated with faces to the front re- 
 sponding to the teacher's questions and anxious only for her ap- 
 proval is an educational anomaly. The recitation is more than 
 a place for the teacher to test the knowledge of the children, 
 or to explain to them as a group some phase of their work 
 with which they have had difficulty. It maybe well to inquire 
 concerning the motives which operate, the activities present, 
 and the results commonly achieved by the recitation. 
 
 In many classes children seem to feel that the main purpose 
 of the recitation is to please the teacher. Nor is the teacher's 
 attitude different. She praises or blames in proportion as the 
 children answer her questions or follow her directions. Of 
 course there are times when it is the main business of the 
 teacher to test children or to direct their activity ; but more 
 commonly it is the office of the teacher to work as a member of 
 a group who are working together for the realization of some 
 worthy end. Both teacher and pupil should be pleased when 
 progress is being made in the work at hand because of the 
 active participation of all of the members of the group. 
 
 There are other motives commonly operating which are 
 even less worthy than that of pleasing the teacher. Children 
 not infrequently are somewhat attentive to the work of the 
 K 129 
 
130 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 class because they fear the punishment which follows failure. 
 The more ambitious, on the other hand, come to look upon 
 the recitation as an opportunity to display their superiority. 
 They believe, and too often they are right, that the chief end of 
 school work is to get ahead of some one else, — to get a higher 
 mark. In each of the cases mentioned, the motive is essen- 
 tially individualistic. Better have the boy at work in order 
 to please the teacher than to have him idle ; better use punish- 
 ments and rewards and secure some results in knowledge and 
 habits than to fail of these desirable ends : but the socializa- 
 tion of the boy and the maximxmi of intellectual activity for 
 each member of the group can only be brought about in a situa- 
 tion which is genuinely social. 
 
 What could be more natural than that children should ask 
 each other questions ; that they should exchange experiences \ 
 that they should work in cooperation for the satisfaction of a 
 common end ? This presupposes that they have a problem or 
 purpose which is gentiine. But that is only to assume that 
 there is some real reason for intellectual activity. Or let us 
 suppose that the children are at work in order that the product 
 of their effort may be used in some social situation. It is not 
 particularly difficult under such conditions to get the liveliest 
 kind of discussion, to secure the most earnest cooperation, or 
 to have pupils themselves accept in a considerable measure 
 the responsibility for progress in their work. 
 
 This difference in attitude toward school work, if once es- 
 tablished, is apparent in all subjects. The work of a class in 
 reading or literature will be transformed when children work 
 together to imderstand and appreciate its content. Instead of 
 the complaint that John has lost the place, it will be discovered 
 that he not infrequently has a question to ask, or that he can 
 contribiite an explanation. The writer has seen a class of 
 third-grade children as active in questioning each other con- 
 cerning a reading lesson as they were on the playground in in- 
 quiring concerning the games they played or the novel expe- 
 
Social Phases of the Recitation 131 
 
 riences in which they were interested. The teacher had attained 
 this result by making the children understand that they ought 
 to ask each other questions when they did not understand the 
 thought expressed in their books, and that one of the best ways 
 to explain was to tell of a similar experience which they had had. 
 
 In a class in nature study in a fourth grade a boy told a 
 wonderful story of the activities of a squirrel. Ordinarily the 
 teacher might have been expected to tell the boy that the story 
 was untrue and that she did not want that kind of stories. In 
 this class, however, the children felt responsible for the con- 
 tributions which were made. The story had no sooner been 
 told than the narrator was plied with questions. Where had 
 he seen the squirrel ? On what kind of a tree ? What was the 
 color of the squirrel ? Just when did the events related hap- 
 pen ? The boy could not answer these questions satisfactorily, 
 and finally admitted that his story had a very slight basis 
 in fact. The rebuke thus administered by his classmates 
 probably did more toward giving this boy respect for truth than 
 a dozen statements by the teacher that his contribution was 
 unsatisfactory. 
 
 In an eighth-grade class the children were discussing the 
 panic of '73. One of the boys maintained that the causes 
 of panics were, in general, the same, regardless of the ac- 
 tivities of a few individuals occupying important positions 
 in government or in the commercial world. His contention 
 was mainly that it was unfair to charge a president or a politi- 
 cal party with the distress occasioned by a panic, when in real- 
 ity the cause was to be fotmd in economic conditions over 
 which neither president nor party had control. One of the 
 girls in the class objected, and cited as proof the panic of 
 '37, which she claimed was caused by President Jackson. 
 The teacher could have settled the question immediately by 
 an authoritative statement, which most classes of children 
 would have accepted. In this class, however, the teacher en- 
 couraged the class to participate in the discussion. In the 
 
132 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 end the members of the class consulted textbooks and othei 
 more complete histories, and reached their own decision with 
 comparatively little help from the teacher. The value of 
 this work in history consisted mainly in the fact that the chil- 
 dren, having once discovered the problem, felt responsible 
 for its solution. They were engaged in the Uveliest kind of 
 thinking and discussion. They were learning where to go, 
 and what materials to use in the solution of this kind of prob- 
 lem. 
 
 Possibly work in the industrial arts offers the very best 
 chance for group work. At every turn in work of this kind 
 there is the demand for careful planning involving discussion of 
 ways and means, and for cooperation in the execution of the 
 plan. A group of second-grade children were occupied most 
 profitably with the partial furnishing and daily care of the 
 teacher's rest room. They had first of all to decide what they 
 could do to make the room more comfortable or more beautiful. 
 They decided that they could make pillow, table, and couch 
 covers, and window curtains, and that they could keep the 
 room clean. In determining materials and design, as well as 
 in the execution of the work itself, there was need for coopera- 
 tion. The children gained not only in appreciation of some of 
 the elements of home-making, but also in ability to plan and to 
 work together. They were being sociaHzed both by the con- 
 tent of their work and by the method employed in executing it. 
 Another group of children, fifth grade, spent a number of 
 weeks working together in planning and building a playhouse 
 for the first grade. A wide-awake teacher enlisted the coopera- 
 tion of three grades in the making and selling of candy in order 
 to get money enough to buy pictures for the school. The 
 preparation of a picnic luncheon, or meal for guests invited by 
 the cooking class, the making of a large rug from many smaller 
 rugs woven in such a way as to contribute to the pattern of the 
 final product, the building of window boxes, the writing of the 
 account of an excursion or other school exercise in order that 
 
Social Phases of the Recitation 133 
 
 the best results may be brought together in the final account 
 which is to be used in a school paper, are examples of the kind 
 of work which may involve the kind of activity which makes 
 for present social efficiency, and, therefore, for that social effi- 
 ciency which it is the ultimate purpose of education to achieve. 
 
 One of the best ways to transform the recitation from a place 
 where lessons are heard to an active social group is to plan 
 definitely for a variety of contributions from the individual 
 members or small groups of the class. When each member of 
 the class studies the same pages of the same book, there is little 
 incentive either to try to tell well what the book con tributes 
 to the problem in hand, or to listen to the recitation of one's 
 classmates. If, however, one group of children have been re- 
 ferred to one book, another to a second book, and still another 
 to a magazine article, to pictures, or other objective represen- 
 tation, there is some reason why each should do his best in 
 reporting, and a genuine motive for following closely the con- 
 tribution of each member of the class during the recitation is 
 provided. Work of this sort is easilv available in history, 
 geography, nature study, or manual training. 
 
 In the subjects which seem to lend themselves less easily to 
 variety in assignment, many possibihties will be found by the 
 teacher who is anxious to prove the efficiency of this method. 
 The best reading that the writer has ever seen in a third grade 
 was done by children who read to each other. They used the 
 readers in the school and books from home and from the public 
 library. Each child was permitted to make a selection and 
 submit it to the teacher for approval. Then came the period 
 of preparation, extending often over two or three days or even a 
 week. During this time the child was supposed to study the 
 selection carefully, learn the pronunciation of difficult words, and 
 practice reading the selection so that he might give pleasure 
 to those for whom the reading was done. The one good reason 
 for reading aloud is to read to an audience who cares to hear 
 what you have to offer. These children were participating 
 
134 -^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 in a social situation which demanded much of them, and they 
 enjoyed the hard work which was necessary because the motive 
 back of it all was genuine. In arithmetic, if arithmetic deals 
 with the quantitative aspect of the experiences which the chil- 
 dren are having, it will be possible to allow for some variety 
 in the work which is assigned. If the problems are real, there 
 will be a considerable interest manifested by the children in the 
 solution of the problem and the results which are secured. 
 Suppose a class were given a list of the articles which are to be 
 put in a Thanksgiving basket, with instructions to find the cost 
 of the basket so that a friend may pay for one of the donations 
 which the class plans to distribute. In such a situation the 
 children will be most eager to compare prices and total cost 
 when the class next meets for the arithmetic lesson. Of course 
 the carping critic will say that it is easy to devise a few cases 
 of the sort listed above, but that in real school work you 
 haven't time to make such plans. The only answer is that 
 the difference between superior teaching and the kind that one 
 sees all too commonly is found in the ability and willingness of 
 the artistic teacher to be more nearly true to her ideals than 
 are others. Any teacher, who is sufficiently interested, can 
 find many situations in which she can vary the work of the 
 class in such a way that the recitation period shall become a 
 place where each member of the class brings his individual 
 contribution. 
 
 Possibly the greatest need in our schools to-day is for more 
 purposeful work for children. We are so much concerned 
 about the many things which children ought to know that we 
 are tempted to spend most of the time drilling children on facts 
 which have very Uttle meaning for them. The demand that 
 the school be socialized is only another way of saying that the 
 work of school children should function in the school itself and 
 in their lives outside of school. It has seemed possible, in a 
 few schools, to give children opportunity in the industrial 
 arts to work at making something which they really want for 
 
Social Phases of the Recitation 135 
 
 themselves, or upon a project which may involve the welfare 
 of the group, as, for example, when they work upon school 
 apparatus or furniture. An eighth-grade group of boys made 
 the furniture for the principal's office ; the children at Hyannis, 
 Massachusetts, make baskets, brooms, hammocks, raise vege- 
 tables, build a boat or a fence, as occasion demands.^ At 
 Tuskegee the more mature students have even burnt the 
 bricks and constructed [the buildings for the school. 
 
 If a significant project in the industries is undertaken, it 
 may furnish the motive for doing work along many lines. The 
 raising of vegetables may involve arithmetic in the measuring 
 of beds and the buying of seeds, in finding the value of the 
 product, and, if the product be sold, in the keeping of a bank 
 accoiint. The study of dairying might very well involve a visit 
 to a farm ; the measuring of an acre ; the estimating of the 
 cost of production of milk and butter ; and the return from the 
 investment. The cost and means of transportation might be 
 studied; a churn, butter bowl, and paddle might be con- 
 structed; and finally a complete account of these many ex- 
 periences might be written and printed. If children are en- 
 gaged in activities of this sort, there will be no question of socializ- 
 ing the school. By the very nature of their activities children 
 will be led to question each other and their teachers ; they will 
 of necessity cooperate in those phases of the work which involve 
 team work. 
 
 But it is not in the industrial arts alone that school work 
 may deal with genuine situations. A good teacher finds a 
 hundred situations in which children can write for an audience. 
 The writer recently attended the closing exercises of an ele- 
 mentary school where the graduating class had composed a 
 play which they presented. The main plot of the story centered 
 in a prize essay contest, and, as might be inferred, the essays 
 which were read were those which the children had written dur- 
 
 1 Baldwin, Industrial School Edtication. A most helpful discussion of indus- 
 trial work. 
 
136 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 ing the regular class work. In geography the members of a, 
 sixth-grade class prepared talks to accompany pictures thrown 
 on the screen from a lantern. In history certain incidents of 
 the period which a class was studying were dramatized and 
 presented to the whole school. 
 
 The president of a water company in a middle-western city 
 told the writer that they kept things in better shape at the water 
 works since they had agreed to allow the children to come to 
 visit the waterworks whenever a teacher chose to bring a class. 
 In the same city there is an unusual nximber of pianos in the 
 schools, school playgrounds are being established, parents' 
 associations are active in cooperation with the teachers to im- 
 prove school conditions. If one were asked to explain why the 
 schools in this city are better, why they are so loyally supported 
 and so proudly spoken of by all classes of people, the answer 
 would be found, I beUeve, in the fact that there is a closer 
 relationship between the school and activities outside the school 
 in home and city than in most other places. If teachers more 
 commonly had in mind the needs of the children during the 
 time they are not in the school, it would be easier to find situ- 
 tions in which the school activities would be significant because 
 of the genuine needs which are felt by the children. 
 
 If there were nothing gained toward socializing children 
 through activities involving the cooperation of the whole group, 
 the fact would remain that the best type of intellectual activ- 
 ity can be secured only with this most genuine of all incentives. 
 Most people, even as adults, think better when they have some 
 one with whom to discuss the problem in hand. It is true, 
 too, that often the best teacher is one whose experience is 
 somewhat similar to our own and whose attitudes and difficul- 
 ties are similar to ours. Children can often interpret where 
 teachers fail. It cannot be too often reiterated that it is the 
 chief business of every teacher to render her services unneces- 
 sary. If the children taught are not at the end of any term's 
 work better able to work for themselves, more ready to take the 
 
Social Phases of the Recitation 137 
 
 initiative, more capable in defining their problems, in gather- 
 ing data, and in finding solutions than they were at the begin- 
 ning of the period, then the work has been a failure. Creative 
 work ' is not done when some one stands over the child and 
 dictates his every step, nor does thinking consist in answering 
 the questions which a teacher may put concerning the facts 
 recorded in a text. There is entirely too much truth in the 
 charge which is sometimes brought against our schools, that 
 they fail to keep alive the intellectual activity which is natural 
 to childhood. 
 
 We must never lose sight of the fact that a child who is 
 vigorous intellectually, actively sympathetic with those causes 
 which make for the general welfare, and able and willing to 
 work in cooperation with others, even though this may mean that 
 he subordinate himself to others for the time being, is the type 
 of individual upon which our democracy depends for its per- 
 petuation and for its future progress. It is necessary to em- 
 phasize the social side of school life because we have, in our 
 anxiety to impart information and form habits, neglected this 
 aspect of school life. The pity of it all is that in neglecting the 
 child's social development we have done less efficient work in 
 the fields we sought to emphasize because of the lack of genu- 
 ine motive. Whether we are concerned with habits, with the 
 acquisition of knowledge, witli development in clear thinking, 
 or in fixing ideals, the maximum of return will be secured in the 
 genuinely social situation. Children working together on real 
 problems are being socialized through participation in social 
 activities. There is no other way in which the school can 
 contribute so certainly to the accomplishment of the aim of 
 all education. 
 
 » W. S. Jackman, "The Relation ot School Organization to Instruction," 
 The Social Education Quarterly, Vol. I, pp. 55-69 ; Scott, Social Education. 
 
138 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 John Dewey, Moral Principles in Education, and The School and 
 Society. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What are the advantages to be derived from teaching a group 
 rather than an individual? 
 
 2. What is the ideal relationship between teacher and pupils? 
 
 3. Why should a pupil face his classmates when he recites? 
 
 4. How could you provide for class discussions with the pupils you 
 teach ? 
 
 5. Name class projects which your class has imdertaken which in- 
 volve cooperation and end in a product which children consider worth 
 working for. 
 
 6. Why do the household and industrial arts lend themselves es- 
 pecially well to the development of the social phases of the recitation? 
 
 7. When should it be wrong for one pupil to help another? Name 
 as many occasions as you can where you would encourage cooperation 
 and helpfulness. 
 
 8. Give an illustration of one project which may furnish an ade- 
 quate motive for work in several school subjects. 
 
 9. Of what value are associations of parents and teachers from the 
 standpoint of increasing the efficiency of school work? 
 
 10. Why is a genuinely social situation the best for the development 
 of intellectual vigor ? 
 
 11. Do you think children ought to accept any social responsibihty 
 outside of the school and home? 
 
 12. How may we hope to develop in children the desire to serve, 
 the willingness to work for the general good? 
 
 13. How would you change your work in order to accomplish the 
 most possible for the development of children who are now socially 
 eflicient ? 
 
 14. Ought we to expect all children to accept the same social respon- 
 sibilities, either as to kind or degree, in the school or in their out-of- 
 school life? 
 
 15. If children do not work together for common ends in our schools, 
 if the spirit of cooperation and service is not present there, ought we 
 to be surprised at the non-social or anti-social attitude and practice of 
 adults? 
 
CHAPTER XIII 
 
 THE PHYSICAL WELFARE OF CHILDEEN 
 
 Intellectual development, and more especially intellectual 
 efficiency, are conditioned in no mean degree by one's physical 
 condition. Schools have too frequently, and with justice, 
 been accused of producing physical defects in children. It is 
 coming to be recognized that we must in increasing measure 
 take account of the hygienic conditions imder which school 
 work is done, as well as provide for the elimination or ameliora- 
 tion of physical defects. We now have open-air schools for 
 consumptives, medical inspection, and dental clinics. There 
 are some schools which provide school lunches at a nominal 
 price or without cost to the pupils. Corrective physical 
 training is coming to be recognized, along with special play- 
 ground work. Everjrwhere appreciation of the importance 
 of physical health as a condition prerequisite to intellectual 
 vigor is leading those who have the welfare of the community 
 at heart to demand that active measures be taken to protect 
 and nourish the bodies of school children. It is the purpose of 
 this chapter to indicate briefly the relation of teachers to this 
 movement for physical well being. 
 
 The demand that light be sufficient and that it come from 
 the right direction is familiar to all teachers. It may be ar- 
 gued that teachers cannot control the lighting of their rooms. 
 The author has known teachers who have had blinds properly 
 placed, walls and ceiKngs painted or papered with respect to 
 proper distribution of light. Some teachers have even been 
 instrumental in securing alterations in buildings or the erec- 
 tion of new buildings. Teachers who know that the area of 
 
 139 
 
140 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 windows should be one fourth of the floor space, that the light 
 should be admitted from one side of the room, and that it 
 should come over the children's left shoulders, may not be 
 able to meet all of these conditions ; but they can do all that 
 is possible to ameliorate defects, and can call attention to the 
 dangers which the situation possesses for their pupils' eyesight 
 by giving or having given tests and making known the results. 
 
 Modern school buildings are built with artificial ventilating 
 systems. The success with which any system works depends 
 in no inconsiderable measure upon the teacher. By opening 
 windows in one room the efficiency of the ventilation of aU 
 other rooms in the building may be impaired. Failure to note 
 the temperature may mean that children and teacher are sxiffer- 
 ing from a condition easily remedied by the janitor or engi- 
 neer. Every teacher should have the temperature of her room 
 recorded on the blackboard, where every one can see it, at least 
 twice during each school session. Needless to say, the ther- 
 mometer should be accurate, and, if possible, himg in the center 
 of the room, not more than four or five feet from the floor. 
 
 Teachers are responsible for right habits of posture. If seats 
 need to be adjusted, the teacher should note the fact and notify 
 the principal. Although special cases may demand expert 
 advice and care, the teacher must hold herself responsible for 
 the posture of the majority of the class. Defects of vision may 
 be either the cause or the effect of improper position of the body, 
 and should bring from the teacher an urgent appeal for careful 
 examination and correction. Frequent rest periods should be 
 provided, the habit of correct posture insisted upon, and simple 
 corrective exercises given by the teacher. 
 
 Schoolrooms are not infrequently the center of infection for 
 the community. Any teacher can insist upon separate drink- 
 ing cups, if sanitary fountains are not provided in the build- 
 ing. When a child appears with a rash, with an abnormal tem- 
 perature, and not infrequently with only a cough, the teacher 
 should appeal to the principal, the health inspector, or others 
 
The Physical Welfare of Children 141 
 
 in authority for the eHmination of the child from the group. 
 The author has been in schoolrooms where two or three chil- 
 dren in the incipient stages of whooping cough were allowed to 
 infect the whole class. A school superintendent was distressed 
 with what proved to be a veritable scourge of scarlet fever in 
 one of his schools. Upon visiting the school he found one child 
 on the playground proudly showing the other children how he 
 could take flakes of skin from his arm. No one expects teach- 
 ers to be expert diagnosticians, but any teacher should acquaint 
 herself with the more common indications of childish diseases, 
 and should act promptly when her suspicion is aroused, even 
 though she prove to be wrong in half the cases. If anything 
 is wrong, eliminate the child from the group, suggest \h.zX a 
 physician be consulted, and await developments : this is the 
 only safe rule. 
 
 In addition to her activity in eliminating contagious diseases, 
 the teacher may often be the first to detect deficiencies in sight 
 or hearing. Children who are inattentive and apparently dull 
 may often be found to hear indistinctly. A very simple test 
 for hearing is to tap a pencil against a desk out of sight of the 
 child, and ask him to tell how many taps he hears. Head- 
 aches, squinting, the position in which the book is held, often 
 indicate to the teacher eye deficiency which parents have not 
 suspected. Any child who gives indications of eye trouble 
 should be tested by teacher or principal, and, if any indications 
 of difliculty are foimd, the parents should be urged to consult 
 a competent oculist. 
 
 Dr. William H. Allen gives the following suggestions to 
 teachers who would discover cases of adenoids and enlarged 
 tonsils : ^ 
 
 "i. InabiKty to breathe through the nose. 
 
 "2. A chronically running nose, accompanied by frequent nose- 
 bleeds and a cough to clear the throat. 
 
 1 Allen, Cimcs and Health, p. Si- 
 
142 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 "3. Stuffy speech and delayed learning to talk. 'Common' is pro- 
 nounced 'cobbed,' 'nose,' 'dose,' and 'song,' 'sogg.' 
 
 "4. A narrow upper jaw and irregular crowding of the teeth. 
 
 "5. Deafness. 
 
 "6. Chorea or nervousness. 
 
 "7. Inflamed eyes and conjunctivitis." 
 
 Any one who has known a child with a bad case of adenoids 
 or enlarged tonsils, and who has followed the progress of the 
 same child after the removal of the defect, will not think it 
 too much trouble to insist that suspected cases receive the 
 attention of a physician. In these cases, and where the child 
 is suffering because of the ills superinduced by bad teeth, 
 the teacher must work with the parents. Often through 
 mothers' clubs or parents' associations, addressed by a physician 
 and by teacher, the necessity for action, from a purely eco- 
 nomic point of view, if from no other, can be impressed upon 
 parents. It is possible that we shall have to resort to an 
 appeal to private charity to save the child, or perhaps we shall 
 in time have free compulsory dental, surgical, and medical 
 clinics. 
 
 The children are society's greatest asset, from whatever point 
 of view we consider them, and teachers should be most active 
 in all movements which make for child welfare. There is no 
 other group of people better acquainted with the needs of 
 children, none other which stands in so strategic a position with 
 relation to parents and the community at large. Parents 
 should be taught the necessity of plenty of sleep, wholesome 
 food, and clean skins for children. Better devote time and 
 energy to this education of parents than attempt to teach 
 children handicapped by the lack of proper living conditions. 
 The anti-tuberculosis campaign, the pure milk crusade, the 
 demand for medical inspection, should be earnestly supported, 
 if not instituted, by the teachers of children. Health is not 
 an individual matter. The welfare of the whole group is bound 
 up in conditions which spell disaster for the individual. 
 
The Physical Welfare of Children 143 
 
 Finally the teacher has a right to good health. Living 
 under bad hygienic conditions, with children who are unclean 
 and diseased, should not be demanded of any teacher. The 
 efl&ciency of the work which the teacher does, no less than that 
 of the children, is conditioned by her health. If it is true that 
 the teacher may suffer because of diseased children, it is none 
 the less true that a teacher in poor physical condition injures 
 all of the children she is pledged to help. Happy, healthful 
 lives for children and teachers is a condition which will be 
 brought to pass when all teachers work for this end. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 S. H. Rowe, The Physical Nature of the Child. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. How may the school superinduce physical defects in children? 
 
 2. Why are schoolroom floors oiled and swept rather than scrubbed 
 and swept ? 
 
 3. What suggestions for the improvement of aU schoolrooms do 
 you gather from the estabUshment of open-air schools for the anemic 
 and tubercular ? 
 
 4. What would you do to provide relaxation and plenty of fresh air 
 on a day so stormy that children could not go out of doors for recess ? 
 
 5. What could a teacher do to help a near-sighted boy or girl ? 
 
 6. Is it safe to trust your feehng that it is too warm or too cold in 
 regulating the temperature of the room ? 
 
 7. When do you get your best work, when it is too warm, or when 
 the thermometer is between 65° and 68° Fahrenheit ? (If there is suffi- 
 cient moisture in the air, a temperature as low as 65° wiU not seem colder 
 than a temperature of 70° when the air carries very little moisture.) 
 
 8. What is the reason for using only pencils with large, soft lead or 
 crayons for writing during the first year ? 
 
 9. What can a teacher do to protect the community against conta- 
 gious diseases? 
 
 10. If the school has no playground, what provision would you make 
 for recreation in the schoolroom ? 
 
 11. A large percentage of children have decayed teeth; how would 
 you hope to provide that proper treatment should be given ? 
 
 12. Why may we not consider health as an individual matter ? 
 
144 -^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 13. Why has the teacher a right to demand hygienic conditions in 
 the schoolroom? 
 
 14. Why has the community a right to demand good health as a 
 prereqmsite for teaching? 
 
 15. How might teachers hope to secure hygienic conditions for chil- 
 dren in their homes ? 
 
 16. If a schoolroom needs redecorating on account of improper light- 
 ing, or a new heating and ventilating plant, and the school board does 
 not supply these necessities, how would you hope to seciure such im- 
 provements ? 
 
CHAPTER XIV 
 
 MORAL TRAINING 
 
 Character building must always be recognized as a most 
 important function of the school. It is a mistake to divorce 
 the intellectual training of children from growth in morality. 
 If our country demands increased industrial intelligence, the 
 training of men and women for leadership in manufacture, 
 trade, and commerce, much more must it demand citizens 
 of sterling character. Industrial and intellectual supremacy 
 can mean nothing to a nation unless righteousness prevails 
 both in public and in private life. The idea that the schools 
 of our democracy are to train for citizenship has always been 
 interpreted to mean an education which will fit for a life of 
 service to the best interests of humanity. The fact that re- 
 ligious instruction, as such, is barred from our schools, does 
 not mean that we are as a people irreligious, much less that 
 we undervalue the significance of the moral training of our 
 children. 
 
 School conditions offer advantages for moral training, even 
 though the overemphasis on intellectual attainments may at 
 times seem to give the teacher little opportunity for work in 
 this direction. The fact of a group of children who may learn 
 to work together, to help each other, to respect each other's 
 rights, to serve the best interests of the whole group, in fact 
 a situation which demands just those virtues which are de- 
 manded in society outside the school, makes the school in 
 some respects an ideal situation for training in morality. Of 
 course it is possible that the demand for intellectual attain- 
 ment may so occupy the mind of the teacher that she will 
 
146 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 resort to repression in order to get results in habits and knowl- 
 edge. It is true, too, that the curriculum may be so narrow- 
 as to give less opportunity than might be desired for the tj^je 
 of activity which best lends itself to the development of social 
 virtues. But if adverse conditions hinder somewhat the work 
 of the teacher, they cannot deny a very important place to the 
 school in the formation of character. 
 
 The increased responsibility of the school for the moral 
 training of children becomes apparent at once when the in- 
 fluence of the home and the church of to-day are contrasted 
 with the strength which these institutions once possessed. 
 Regret it as much as we may, neither home nor church is as 
 potent in the development of morality as they once were. 
 Before the dominance of the factory system the boy or girl 
 who participated in the activities of the home gained in ap- 
 preciation of necessity for cooperation and in understanding 
 of his responsibility to the group in a way that is denied the 
 modern child. To be a party to those industries through 
 which food was secured, clothing obtained, and shelter provided 
 meant the exercise of all of the social virtues. It was fitting 
 under such a regime that the school should devote itself 
 largely to the tools of learning. But under our present con- 
 ditions the demand is insistent that the school provide, in 
 some measure, through its curriculum, its organization, and 
 by means of its methods of instruction, for the development 
 of the attitude of responsibility, and that positive morality 
 which places a premium upon doing good. 
 
 Let us inquire still more closely concerning the conditions 
 under which moral training must be effected in the school. 
 First of all there is the fact of heredity. The children with whom 
 we work are different by nature, and nothing that we can do 
 will make them all alike. Then, too, there is the added factor 
 of training before the school age. Many children come to 
 school with bad habits and low ideals. The one thing that 
 every teacher ought to realize as fundamental in moral train- 
 
Moral Training 147 
 
 ing is the fact that differences in children must be met by a 
 corresponding difference of appeal on the part of the teacher. 
 Over against the differences due to heredity and previous 
 training, there is to be found the common instinctive equip- 
 ment. Children instinctively imitate, construct, collect, 
 inquire, emulate, sympathize, contest, wonder, are proud, and 
 the like. This instinctive equipment furnishes the basis for 
 actions which in turn become habits. The problem of the 
 teacher is to use these instincts in securing desirable responses. 
 Of course, undesirable responses have their basis in instinct. 
 Here it is the business of the teacher to make the undesirable 
 response result in discomfort, or, better, to substitute a desir- 
 able response. To be too proud of one's attainment as con- 
 trasted with others may be unlovely, but to be proud of work 
 better done to-day than yesterday is a positive virtue resting 
 upon the same instinctive foundation. The teacher may be 
 worried because of the imitation of that which is socially un- 
 desirable, but she may use this same tendency to react to pro- 
 duce the social graces. There are cases in which the attempt 
 to substitute may fail, and the necessity for inhibition by 
 accompanying the undesirable response by unpleasant results 
 arise. The important thing is not to neglect this instinctive 
 equipment. The tendencies shown in childhood furnish the 
 one basis for moral development, and their neglect may re- 
 sult in lack of moral strength throughout the life of the 
 individual. 
 
 Besides the differences among individuals, there are differ- 
 ences corresponding roughly to stages of development. The 
 authority which is accepted without question by children of 
 six will be seriously questioned by the adolescent. Children 
 grow not only in their ability to judge of the right action, but 
 also in their demand that authority be amenable to reason. 
 There can be no doubt but that rational morality is the type 
 which the school should attempt to develop. To this end it 
 is essential that the responsibiUty of children for their own 
 
148 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 actions and for the welfare of the whols group should increase 
 as they pass through the school. There is a possibility of 
 controlling little children through fear, but the time comes 
 when threats no longer avail. It is a sorry spectacle to see 
 a mature individual who must stiU be controlled by fear of 
 the results which will follow misconduct. It may be ques- 
 tioned whether the continued use of corporal punishment 
 may not result in arrested development in morahty. The 
 desire for social approval develops throughout the school 
 period. When children or adults fail to see the reasonable- 
 ness of a demand, this appeal to approval of the group may be 
 most effective in securing desirable responses. The rule which 
 the teacher must follow is never to appeal to a lower motive 
 when a higher may be used. Fear, respect for authority, 
 faith in the wisdom of the one directing, desire for social 
 approval, ability to pick out the essentially moral element in 
 the situation, and desire to act in accordance with one's best 
 judgment, — thus runs the hierarchy of motives which control. 
 In any group some children can be appealed to by one motive 
 and some by another. The teacher who is developing moral 
 strength in the group will constantly seek to appeal to the 
 children on a plane just higher than that which they have 
 hitherto occupied. 
 
 Another factor which plays an important part in condition- 
 ing the work of the school in developing morality is the 
 generally accepted standards of the community. Social 
 heredity furnishes the basis for belief in the continued develop- 
 ment of society. The progress that has been made, the 
 standards once established, become the common heritage of 
 the members of the group. Drunkenness is no longer con- 
 sidered gentlemanly ; we do not lie to our enemies when they 
 have a right to know the truth ; our ideal of civic righteous- 
 ness demands that a man be as honest when he serves the whole 
 people as he is when he deals with individuals. The impor- 
 tance of this factor of environment in determining the moral 
 
Moral Training 149 
 
 life of the individual is admitted even by those who emphasize 
 most strongly the importance of original nature. For the 
 school it gives hope because of the influences which may there 
 be brought to bear upon the child; and it adds a problem, 
 because the school may not ignore the home or the street from 
 which the child comes. It does not seem unreasonable to 
 expect that teachers will at no far distant day become most 
 active in all activities which make for better, cleaner, more 
 worthy surroundings for the children whom they attempt to 
 train during a relatively small part of their waking hours. 
 
 The physical condition of children and teacher has much 
 to do with the possibility of effective school work, and train- 
 ing in morality is not an exception to the rule. There is not 
 much use in trying to form moral habits, nor in asking children 
 to form moral judgments, in a room filled with foul air, with 
 the temperature above seventy-five. Poor physical condition 
 on the part of the teacher is often responsible for lack of con- 
 trol on the part of children. A nervous, worn-out teacher is 
 apt to nag, is almost sure to magnify insignificant acts, and 
 by virtue of her lack of control of herself is in no position to 
 control or instruct children. It would seem at times that we 
 need medical care for teachers even more than for children. 
 One child in poor physical condition may be hard to manage, 
 and may fail to gain much either intellectually or morally 
 from the school ; but one teacher in poor physical condition 
 may do positive injury to a roomful of children. A few days 
 with a dyspeptic teacher may mean the formation of bad habits 
 which it will take weeks or even months to eradicate. 
 
 We are beginning to realize that there is a direct relation 
 between hygiene and morality. The underfed, overworked, 
 physically unfit are so frequently immoral that we had almost 
 charged their condition to their immorahty. In doing so we 
 were often confusing cause and effect. However the problem 
 may be solved so far as adults are concerned, we are satisfied 
 that children of school age are entitled to happy, healthful 
 
150 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 lives in so far as it is possible to achieve this result. The work 
 done to secure better physical conditions, both in school and 
 at home, is probably as significant for the morality of children 
 as is any instruction that is given ; and such care for the 
 physical welfare of children is the condition without which we 
 have no right to expect them to grow morally strong. 
 
 While all are agreed as to the necessity for moral training in 
 our schools, there is a difference of opinion concerning the 
 method to be used. One school advocates direct moral in- 
 struction by means of fairy tales, history, and other stories, and 
 by moral precepts. The advocates of this form of instruction 
 believe that they can in this way make children understand 
 clearly what is right, and because of the emotional reaction 
 produced by tale or story the children will not only know the 
 right, but will also want to do right. Those who beHeve in 
 indirect instruction find in the regular work of the school, in 
 the teaching of all subjects, as well as in the control of the chil- 
 dren in school, the best opportunity for moral instruction. 
 
 With regard to the direct method, it seems to the writer 
 that it is assumed that " to know right is to do right." So far 
 as the emotion aroused by a story of bravery, or honesty, or 
 temperance is concerned, the chances are that it will have 
 entirely evaporated before any occasion for action is found. 
 And right here is one very great danger in this sort of instruc- 
 tion. To have the emotions aroused without any outlet in 
 the corresponding action may result in developing individuals 
 who are entirely satisfied with the emotion. They learn to 
 delight in emotions, and lack efficiency in action. The time 
 to tell the story of bravery is when bravery is actally demanded ; 
 or for the child who knows the story simply as a story and 
 without any attempt to use it to teach morality, the story may 
 be referred to when this virtue is demanded. Likewise with 
 the moral precept. For one who has had some experience in 
 acting in accordance with his best moral judgment, the precept 
 may be used as a significant generahzation. Honesty may be 
 
Moral Training 151 
 
 the best policy after you have won in the struggle and have 
 the approval of conscience, and of those whose judgment you 
 value. You may be ashamed to be designated by the name 
 of the unlovely character in the story, when you are really 
 guilty of his weakness of character. It would seem safer, from 
 what we know of the emotions, to assume that actions are 
 responsible for emotions rather than to expect the emotion to 
 produce the corresponding action. 
 
 In support of the indirect method of teaching morality, it 
 may be argued that the school presents continually a situation 
 in which moral action is demanded.^ It is possible, of course, 
 to deny to children any considerable responsibility for their 
 actions. Children who are hedged about by rules and regu- 
 lations, who are constantly directed and commanded by the 
 teacher, will grow little in power to form correct moral judg- 
 ments. But the ideal school is in fact a society, and the de- 
 mand for moral activity, and consequently the chance to grow 
 in morality, is as great as in any other life situation. It must 
 be remembered, too, that the main purpose of the moral train- 
 ing which the school gives is to make moral growth continuous. 
 New situations will demand new adjustments, and it is not 
 possible to supply the child with a morality which will be suffi- 
 cient for his future needs. The one preparation which will 
 certainly be effective in making possible later growth is to be 
 found in the moral action of to-day. 
 
 The subjects of instruction lend themselves to moral train- 
 ing. Moral strength depends upon interest in those activities 
 which make for social welfare, in the exercise of judgment in 
 determining the course of action which will contribute most 
 to the general welfare, and in action in accordance with the 
 judgment rendered. Our course of study contains much which 
 should result in increased appreciation and sympathy in the 
 activities which characterize our modern society. Geography, 
 history, nature study, Uterature, all deal with men in their 
 ' Dewey, Moral Principles in Education. 
 
152 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 relationship with one another in a common environment. If 
 teaching means anything more than gaining knowledge, 
 the method employed in school subjects cannot be without 
 moral significance. Teachers who demand accuracy, who are 
 more interested in the truth of history than in a moral tale, 
 who are open-minded rather than dogmatic, who seek to exalt 
 the intellect and to hold the emotions under control, are doing 
 more effective moral teaching than those who preach by the 
 hour. 
 
 As has already been indicated,^ the ordinary school work 
 lends itself to the development of positive moral virtues. To 
 work together, to contribute to the welfare of the whole group, 
 to determine conduct in view of the possible eflfect on others, 
 is to exercise those virtues which are demanded in all social 
 situations. Pride and Joy in one's work and contempt for the 
 shirker are as natural in school as in any other situation. The 
 so-called school virtues of punctuality, regularity, obedience, 
 and industry are virtues outside of schools by virtue of the same 
 sanction which gives them validity in the school society. It 
 is important to realize that many of these virtues must be 
 reduced to the basis of habit in order to be most effective. 
 Acts of kindness, courtesy, punctuality, repeated often enough, 
 become second nature. They need no longer to be thought 
 about. 
 
 In the field which requires judgment, it is also true that one's 
 attitude may become habitual. Much which we call morality 
 can be accounted for by taste. Many boys and girls have 
 been saved the struggle through which others pass by ideals 
 and contempts which they have derived from their associates. 
 Fortunate, indeed, is the boy or girl who can say : "The mem- 
 bers of our set do not frequent saloons, do not lie or cheat, 
 play fair, work hard, dare to do right." All of us tend to de- 
 rive our moral code from the group of people with whom we 
 are constantly associated. There is honor even among thieves, 
 
 ' See chapter on Social Phases of the Recitation. 
 
Moral Training 153 
 
 because they have a code which they respect. The teacher 
 w-ho secures the cooperation of the leaders of the group can 
 modify, indeed transform, the moral attitude of a class by 
 this appeal to the code which the whole group accepts and upon 
 which the leaders insist. 
 
 The highest type of moral action is that which involves 
 Judgments of worth. When one asks himself the question, is 
 this right, will it be for the general welfare, and then acts in 
 accordance with that judgment, he has performed an essen- 
 tially moral act. Training for this sort of action is of the same 
 sort that is demanded wherever the judgment is involved. The 
 child must be taught to analyze the situation and to pick out 
 the essentially moral element. The writer once knew a high 
 school class who habitually cheated in examinations. They 
 said that they were getting ahead of the teacher. The princi- 
 pal explained that they were dishonest, that cheating was steal- 
 ing. The attitude of the class changed. They responded to 
 this analysis of the situation which pointed out the moral ele- 
 ment. What we call thoughtlessness and the sowing of wild 
 oats is often to be explained by the lack of analysis which makes 
 prominent the moral significance of the contemplated action. 
 The school should givd opportunity whenever possible, whether 
 in ordinary schoolroom work, on the playground, or with refer- 
 ence to extra-school activities, for the exercise of the moral 
 judgment. Power to analyze new situations and to act morally 
 depends entirely upon previous judgments and actions. 
 
 Any discussion of moral training would be incomplete which 
 did not take account of the reformation of the wrong doer 
 through school punishments or discipline. "Discipline and 
 punishment are teaching processes as much as are grammar or 
 arithmetic lessons, and when we remember that conduct and 
 behavior is the whole of life, we must welcome the occasions for 
 discipline, and even for punishment. No sane person is glad 
 that a child's instincts, impulses, and habits have taken wrong 
 forms, but the real teacher is glad that these forms manifest 
 
154 ^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 themselves, so that they may be worked over into correct reac- 
 tions." ^ The key to the situation is found in placing the re- 
 sponsibility with the child. If a wrong has been committed, 
 either he has failed to think of the moral significance of his act, 
 or he has chosen to do wrong. In the one case reformation may 
 be brought about by making clear the nature of the act ; in the 
 other the child must will to do differently, and must by his 
 own act regain his place in the group whose welfare he has 
 transgressed. What the ordinary situation demands is more 
 of thinking on the part of children and less of resentment and 
 anger on the part of teachers. 
 
 Punishments need to be differentiated to fit the chUd. The 
 writer has known boys in active rebellion against school author- 
 ity who would accept corporal punishment rather than give 
 any evidence of intention to submit. In such a case this form 
 of punishment was justified. Happily such cases are rare with 
 the teacher who knows how to work with children. Even in 
 cases where the offense is seemingly identical, the punishment 
 must be varied to suit the individual to be reformed. Sugges- 
 tion may suffice for one, another may be persuaded, and still 
 another must be labored with at length in order that the judg- 
 ment which the teacher has passed may be accepted by him as 
 valid. In any event it is the thoughtful individual, who has the 
 habit of analyzing the situation when in doubt, and then acts 
 in accordance with his judgment, which it is the purpose of the 
 school to develop. 
 
 The importance of the moral influence of the teacher has 
 always been recognized. At times, however, the negative 
 rather than the positive factors have been emphasized. It is 
 well enough to demand that the teacher be free from vices, 
 petty or great ; but it is even more important to inquire con- 
 cerning the positive virtues which characterize the instructor 
 of children. We may hope that our schools will develop open- 
 
 ^ Moral Training in the Public Schools, p. 41. The essay by Charles Edward 
 Rugh. 
 
Moral Training 155 
 
 minded children, provided the teachers are not dogmatic. 
 Courage, industry, integrity, are fundamental virtues. Does 
 the teacher possess them ? Sympathy with all activities which 
 make for public good is demanded of all in a democracy. Does 
 the teacher participate, is the teacher a factor, in those move- 
 ments which make for improvement in the community ? The 
 ideal teacher is an intelligent, hard-working pubUc servant, 
 whose field of endeavor is limited only by the needs of the com- 
 munity which he serves. The number of teachers who have 
 thus exalted the ofl&ce of teacher in the community is happily 
 increasing. The moral effect upon the lives of children of 
 association with such a man or woman cannot be overestimated. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 Moral Training in Public Schools, Chapter I, by C. A. Rugh. 
 J. MacCunn, The Making of Character. 
 The Essentials of Character, by E. O. Sisson. 
 
 Exercise. 
 
 1. Why is the school a good situation in which to train children in 
 morality ? 
 
 2. Is the man who simply does not injure others to be thought of as 
 living a moral life ? 
 
 3. Do you think any teacher has a right to claim that she is not 
 responsible for the moral training of her pupils ? Why ? 
 
 4. In what way do the instincts furnish the basis for moral training ? 
 
 5. Should you treat all of the children alike in situations which involve 
 a moral issue ? 
 
 6. How would you hope to have boys come to render the moral 
 judgment that it is wrong to throw stones through the windows of a 
 vacant house? 
 
 7. How may school spirit and school standards contribute to the 
 development of morality? 
 
 8. Name some troublesome things which boys do that might be 
 explained by bad physical conditions in the school or in the home. 
 
 9. What do you understand by the direct method of moral instruc- 
 tion ? What is the strength and the weakness of this method ? 
 
 10. Do you think the moral significance of a story or a poem should 
 be taught in a lesson in Hterature ? 
 
156 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 11. Name school situations which involve moral judgments and 
 which oflEer opportunity for training in morality. 
 
 12. How would you hope to train children to form the habit of ask- 
 ing themselves whether a proposed line of action was right before acting ? 
 
 13. How may the one who does wrong in school provide the oppor- 
 tunity for the best sort of training in morality? 
 
 14. Is there ever any defense for corporal punishment ? 
 
 . 15. How important do you consider the influence of the teacher in 
 developing morally sound boys and girls ? 
 
CHAPTER XV 
 
 CLASS MANAGEMENT 
 
 In any discussion of class management it is necessary to 
 distinguish clearly between organization and control as a means 
 and as an end. Much of the discussion of school and class 
 management assumes that its sole purpose is found in economiz- 
 ing time and energy for teacher and pupils. Class manage- 
 ment, from this point of view, is important as the means with- 
 out which effective work cannot be done in the school. Such a 
 view neglects to consider the opportunity afforded in managing 
 a class for growth on the part of pupils in the power of self- 
 control. Any school which plans to reproduce in its life the 
 conditions commonly foimd in life outside of the school must 
 allow children to accept responsibility for their own acts, and 
 will, therefore, look upon management as an end. 
 
 The discussion has not been wholly one-sided. At times 
 there has been considerable controversy concerning the kind of 
 management which was most to be desired in the schoolroom. 
 Those who have thought of management as a means only have 
 been apt to overemphasize routine; while those who have 
 thought only of the opportunity afforded for growth in self- 
 control have neglected to realize the importance of habit in 
 situations which are invariable. The adherents of the one 
 type of control want everything done at the tap of the bell, in 
 accordance with the rules which have been made by the teacher. 
 Their opponents would do away with "mechanized routine," 
 and would expect children to exercise their judgment as each 
 question arises. This difference in point of view is easily 
 
 157 
 
158 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 reconciled when we look at management now as a means and 
 again as an end. 
 
 If a fire drill is to be effective, every one must drop the work 
 in hand when the signal is given and march out of the building 
 in an order and by a route which has been determined previ- 
 ously and from which there is no variation. Here we have 
 the best example of management as a means. There can be 
 no question in this situation concerning the right of the indi- 
 vidual to exercise his judgment. The safety of all depends 
 upon the absolute following of rules, upon the degree to which 
 the response to the fire drill has become a matter of habit. 
 If we analyze this situation, we will discover the elements 
 which characterize situations in which we are to look upon 
 management as a means. In these situations we should strive 
 to secure habitual responses. 
 
 In the first place the response demanded is invariable. It 
 will not do to march out of the building one way to-day and 
 another to-morrow. The class may not go before or after its 
 placein the line. The speed with which the building is emptied 
 depends upon every individual. Here we have the second 
 element : the welfare of the whole group demands that the 
 situation.be followed always by a certain response. 
 
 Let us examine now some of the schoolroom situations in the 
 light of these criteria. In passing books, paper, pencils, and 
 the like, a definite order should be followed. In this situation 
 the end desired is invariable. What is wanted is to place the 
 desired material in the hands of each pupil with as little delay 
 as is possible. The welfare of the whole group depends upon 
 this invariable response upon the part of each pupil. If any 
 one fails to do his part, there is delay and loss of time in the 
 work which it is desired to accomplish. For the same reasons 
 it is wise to have a definite order in getting wraps, a rule con- 
 cerning the manner of passing in the room, the habit of rising 
 and facing the majority of the class when reciting, and the 
 Kke. 
 
Class Management 159 
 
 Let us now examine other situations which afford an oppor- 
 tunity for the exercise of self-control, in which management is 
 an end. In some schools children are formed in Hnes five min- 
 utes before the hour and marched into the building. There is 
 no good reason why children should march into the building. 
 The end desired, that they all be in their places promptly, 
 can be secured by ringing a warning bell and requiring that 
 all enter the building as they see fit and be in their places on 
 time. In the latter instance they have a chance to act as nor- 
 mal human beings who accept and fulfill their responsibility to 
 themselves and to the group. The desired end is secured, and, 
 far more important, the children are learning to exercise that 
 self-control which is demanded outside of school. Of course, 
 it may be objected that it is much easier to control the children, 
 if you march them into the building. The answer is found by 
 suggesting that the school does not exist primarily for the ease 
 of teachers, but rather for the development of socially efficient 
 children. 
 
 A principal who had some difficulty in having the boys come 
 from a somewhat distant playground promptly lined them up 
 for a race to the schoolhouse. They found that it took them 
 little more than a minute to reach their schoolrooms. The 
 boys understood his suggestion that the warning bell, rung five 
 minutes before school opened, afforded ample time to reach 
 their rooms and be ready for work when school opened. It 
 would have required less thought on the part of the principal 
 and less self-control on the part of the boys to have marched 
 them to the schoolhouse at the right time each day. Many 
 school situations offer similar opportunity. Passing through 
 halls, asking the teacher questions, leaving one's seat for books 
 or materials, consulting with one's neighbor may, in the hands 
 of a skillful teacher, become a most efficient means of training 
 children in self-control. In all such cases management is an 
 end, in the sense that these opportvmities are sought by the 
 teacher because of their value in training children. 
 
i6o A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Pupil participation in school government has been much ad- 
 vocated of late as the best means of securing a feeling of re- 
 sponsibility on the part of pupils for the welfare of the whole 
 group, as well as in the exercise of self-control. As long as these 
 ideals control, it matters little what particular form of organi- 
 zation is utilized to secure the ends desired. What sometimes 
 happens is an exaggeration of the importance of the machinery 
 of government, with a corresponding lack of self-control, or 
 exercise of social responsibility. The writer once visited a 
 school which was much talked of because of its system of 
 "pupil self-government." He fomid there the worst bullying 
 of small boys by those who held offices that he has ever seen 
 in any school. Many of the children declared that they were 
 not parties to the government supposedly in control of the 
 school. When the teachers were absent from their rooms, the 
 children droned over certain set exercises which were constantly 
 before them and from which type of activity they were not per- 
 mitted to depart. Now these defects in school management 
 may not all be charged directly to the overemphasis of the 
 machinery of government, but they were due to the fact that 
 this machinery, this form, had taken the place of genuine self- 
 government on the part of the pupils. 
 
 A wise principal or teacher may secure good results by in- 
 augiurating a system of pupil participation in school govern- 
 ment, but the wise guide and coimsellor must be there all of 
 the time. Introducing children dramatically to the machinery 
 of government will not place old heads on yoimg shoulders. 
 Children will still be childish in their judgments and in their 
 ideas of punishment, even though they be called senators, 
 aldermen, policemen, judges, and the like. The dramatization 
 of city or state government will undoubtedly help in the un- 
 derstanding of the function of citizens and of their servants, the 
 officeholders. This alone would be sufficient justification for 
 introducing in the upper grades, in dramatic form, a system of 
 government, without expecting that it would in any consider- 
 
Class Management i6i 
 
 able measure relieve teachers or principals of the necessity of 
 guiding children in their development in power of self-control, 
 and in their acceptance of social responsibility. 
 
 The same system of pupil participation in school govern- 
 ment will succeed with one principal and set of teachers and 
 fail in another situation. The results which are most worth 
 while, self-control and the exercise of social responsibihty, will 
 be secured without any of the forms of civil government in one 
 school, while another principal ■will claim that success in his 
 school is due to his system of "pupil government." No teacher 
 need feel condemned because she cannot succeed with a par- 
 ticular scheme of government, and none should be unduly 
 elated because of the invention or use of some particular form 
 of organization. The essential element in school management 
 is found in the spirit of cooperation and helpfulness which 
 should actuate teachers and pupils. 
 
 The questions of management considered above cover much 
 of the ground usually considered under the head of school dis- 
 cipline. The same problems, especially from the standpoint of 
 punishments and rewards, are considered in the chapter which 
 deals with the moral training of children. It may be well to 
 add here that the problem of discipline is largely one of good 
 teaching. Children who are hard at work seldom worry the 
 teacher. Right conditions for work may play an important 
 part. The consideration of some of the problems of organiza- 
 tion is, therefore, in place in a chapter on management. 
 
 The ordering of the daily program is one of the most 
 important elements in classroom management. The desire 
 for variety is strong in children, and their power to concentrate 
 their attention upon a single kind of work is correspondingly 
 short. In the primary grades periods of from eight to twelve 
 minutes, with a possible extension to fifteen, will give sufficient 
 opportunity for change of work. These periods may be length- 
 ened to thirty or even forty minutes in the upper grades. The 
 length of the period will depend upon the variety which may be 
 
1 62 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 found in the work of a single period. In a reading lesson which 
 includes word drill, reading, and oral composition, the maximum 
 period may be used, while a period devoted to nimiber drill 
 may be worse than useless after the first five or six minutes. 
 It is undoubtedly better for children to work to the maximum 
 of their capacity for short periods than to dawdle for twice the 
 time. In the upper grades twenty minutes may be as long 
 as children can work on the development of a difi&cult problem 
 in geography, while they may be active and willing to continue 
 work in a literature lesson after thirty-five or forty minutes. 
 The writer has seen a class of seventh-grade children who 
 worked consistently for forty-five minutes on a history prob- 
 lem which involved discussion, map work, and the consulting 
 of reference works. 
 
 Group instruction has long been recognized by teachers of 
 large classes as essential to the best work. In a class of forty 
 or fifty children, however carefully they may have been graded 
 at the beginning of the year, there will appear differences in 
 attainment which make it necessary to divide the class into 
 two or more groups in some subjects, in order to work to best 
 advantage. In the lower grades, especially in the first, where 
 grading is least able to place children on the basis of their 
 ability, there is the greatest demand for group work. As 
 many as three or four classes in reading may be necessary in the 
 first grade. It must be remembered that such grouping should 
 never be made to apply to all subjects, nor is it necessary to 
 apply the group plan to any subject without variation. Chil- 
 dren divided into three groups for reading may do very well 
 in two for arithmetic, and may all work together in nature 
 study or constructive work. In reading it will be worth while 
 to have all work together at times on work which is possible 
 for the least capable and which may serve as a review for the 
 more advanced group. 
 
 By the time the fourth or fifth grade is reached, the pupils 
 will be somewhat more evenly graded. It will still be necessary, 
 
Class Management 163 
 
 however, to group pupils in those subjects in which the se- 
 quence is such that the pupils' advance depends upon the com- 
 plete mastery of the part of the subject already covered. In 
 arithmetic, in the more formal part of the work in English 
 composition, and sometimes in geography or history, two 
 groups are advantageous. 
 
 When pupils all work together it is not expected that all 
 will be able to do an equal amount of work. It is especially 
 important that provision be made for the brighter members 
 of the class, in order that they may have enough work to keep 
 them active and alert. It too often happens that in large 
 classes the work is scaled down to meet the ability of the 
 poorest half of the class, in consequence of which the brighter 
 pupils learn to loaf and tend to lose interest in school work. 
 However many groups the class may be divided into, there 
 will always be the necessity for individualizing the children of 
 each section. The brighter ones must be given assignments 
 which are beyond the ability of the less capable, while a mini- 
 mum of achievement must be accepted when it represents the 
 best effort and means the continued development of the pupil 
 who is weaker intellectually. 
 
 Good teachers provide for individual needs, not only by 
 grouping their classes on the basis of their ability, but also 
 by giving individual instruction. No daily program should 
 fail to provide a period during which the teacher can devote 
 herself to the needs of those individuals who need special 
 help. It may be to help the boy or girl who has been absent 
 on account of sickness, to explain a difl&cult problem in arith- 
 metic, to help in the interpretation of a map or diagram, or 
 -to teach the pupil how to study ; always there will be plenty 
 for the teacher to do who thinks of her pupils as individuals 
 during the half hour or more devoted to individual instruc- 
 tion. 
 
 ' The idea of providing individual instruction may be made 
 the central idea in organizing the daily program, as is done in 
 
164 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 the Batavia system,^ which allows one half of all school time 
 for individual instruction. There would seem to be little need 
 for devoting so much time to individual instruction in a school 
 having any adequate system of grading and promotion. 
 Indeed, as has already been pointed out in the discussion of 
 social phases of the recitation, there is a positive advantage 
 in teaching in groups. The extravagant claims sometimes 
 made for particular systems of organization, especially when 
 it is declared possible by means of the system for all children 
 to reach the same standard of excellence, bear on their face 
 the evidence of their fallacy. 
 
 Any attempt to give group or individual instruction must be 
 accompanied by provision for seat work for those who are not 
 working with the teacher. In the lower grades much has been 
 accomplished by allowing children to express themselves with 
 colored crayons and paints, with scissors and paste, as weU as 
 with the more common pencU and paper for copying, or the 
 letters and words for word and sentence biiilding. There is 
 probably as much worth in the seat work which results in the 
 expression of the ideas gained from a story by means of crayons 
 or with scissors as there is in the conversation concerning the 
 story in class. As children advance, more difi&cult problems 
 in constructive work and in study may be assigned. 
 
 In the intermediate and upper grades the problem of having 
 children occupied who are not directly under the supervision 
 of the teacher is largely the problem of teaching these children 
 tc study. A child in the fourth grade ought to be able to 
 discover and note carefully the difficulties which the lesson 
 assigned presents, and he should, in some measure at least, be 
 able to satisfy the problems which arise. In succeeding grades, 
 if children are being taught to study, they ought in increasing 
 measure to be able to gather data, organize it, and proceed to 
 the solution of their own problems.^ 
 
 • Bagley, Classroom Management, Chapter XIV. 
 ^ See discussion of the study lesson, ante. 
 
Class Management 165 
 
 The conduct of the recitation has been discussed at length 
 in preceding chapters. It may be well to emphasize here the 
 more essential criteria. In a well managed recitation all of 
 the children are responsible for the progress of the class all 
 of the time. To this end the teacher addresses her questions 
 to the whole class before calling on any individual. The pupils 
 are held responsible for the answers which are given. The 
 teacher does not constantly repeat and explain answers. 
 When they do not understand, children are expected to ask 
 each other questions. To secure these ends the class should, 
 when possible, be seated so that the one reciting may easily 
 face the other members of the class. The ideal seating is 
 found in the kindergarten circle. In a room with sufficient 
 space in front, the children may be seated or may stand in such 
 a way as to gain most of the advantages of the circle. If 
 pupils must sit in rows of seats with their backs to each other, 
 it may help to have the children reciting face the majority, 
 and to encourage those whose backs are toward the speaker to 
 turn in their seats. It would seem possible that we may some- 
 time furnish our schoolrooms with reference to our ideals of 
 education ; that a classroom may sometime become a place 
 fitted for a group of children who are to work together in the 
 solution of their problems. 
 
 The lack of proper management of a class may hinder the 
 work of a teacher whose work is excellent in other respects ; 
 but no skill in management, however efficient in keeping chil- 
 dren in order, can take the place of good teaching. Most men 
 and women who know how to teach learn to manage a room 
 full of children. There are still a few who call themselves 
 teachers who exalt management unduly. For them the es- 
 sential elements in school teaching are discipline, control, 
 organization. To the young teacher, or to the one who would 
 grow, the ideal of better teaching must constantly lead 
 toward greater efficiency. Observe any successful teacher, 
 and you can discover the devices of management which allow 
 
1 66 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 her to work to best advantage, and the use which she makes 
 of the opportunities which the school presents to develop 
 self-control and social responsibility on the part of her pupils. 
 
 For Collateral REAnnjo 
 
 W. C. Bagley, Classroom Management, Chapters I to VIII inclusive. 
 J. A. H. Keith, Elementary Edttcation, Chapters VI and VII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. Distinguish between class management as a means and as an end. 
 Give examples of each. 
 
 2. How would you hope to have pupils feel their responsibility for 
 good order in the class ? 
 
 3. Why do schemes of "pupil self-government" sometimes fail? 
 
 4. What is the argument in favor of having pupils pass into or out of 
 the building without marching in line ? 
 
 5. Why is it important not to have the class periods too long? 
 
 6. Why do teachers sometimes divide their classes into two or more 
 groups even though they are all of the same school grade ? 
 
 7. Can you ever expect to find a group of children all of whom will 
 do equally well in all subjects ? Are the weaker pupils necessarily lazy ? 
 
 8. Why is it important to make special provision for bright children ? 
 
 9. What is the relation between the proper organization of class 
 work and teaching children how to study? 
 
 10. What do you think of a program which provides for class in- 
 struction during every period of the day? 
 
 II., What criteria would you apply in judging your own class in- 
 struction ? 
 
 12. AVhat is "good order" in a schoolroom ? 
 
 13. How would you judge of the success of a teacher ia managing a 
 class ? 
 
 14. Name all of the activities of a class which in your judgment should 
 be reduced to routine. 
 
 15. What rules would you make on the first day of school for the 
 guidance of your pupils ? 
 
 16. What is the relation of good teaching to good class management ? 
 
 17. If a majority of the class are misbehaving, where would you 
 expect to find the cause ? 
 
CHAPTER XVI 
 
 LKSSON PLANS 
 
 The best teachers never reach the point where preparation 
 for the day's work is unnecessary. The teacher who stimu- 
 lates her pupils to their best effort must herself be interested 
 in the work in hand. If nothing new in material or method 
 is found to vary the work, interest soon lags. The lesson 
 often repeated is as dry and lacking in power to interest or 
 inspire as the proverbial sermon taken from the barrel. Even 
 when a teacher has taught a most successful lesson, it is dan- 
 gerous to try to repeat that exercise in precisely the same 
 way. The two situations will not be alike. The fact that she 
 tries to repeat will take the edge ojff the lesson for the teacher, 
 and make it correspondingly dull for the pupils. Young and 
 inexperienced teachers are often most successful because of the 
 zest with which they attack the problems which are new to 
 them. The older teacher may be able to keep a class in order 
 and teach them something with a minimum of preparation ; 
 but her best work will be done only when she has planned as 
 carefully as the novice for whom the need of preparation is so 
 apparent. 
 
 The subject matter which should be drawn upon for any 
 lesson constantly changes. No two groups of children have 
 had exactly the same varieties of experience ; hence the need 
 for varying the approach, as well as the demand for differences 
 in observations, experiments, reading, or other methods em- 
 ployed to bring the data necessary for the solution of their 
 problem before children. Subject matter is growing, is being 
 made all of the time. Last year's discussion of the geography 
 
 167 
 
1 68 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 of Europe, of South America, of Africa, or of Asia will not 
 suffice for this year, because interesting and important events 
 have occurred in these coxmtries during the year intervening. 
 For the wide-awake teacher, even that most exact of the sciences, 
 mathematics, represented by arithmetic in our curriculum, 
 will change ; since the number aspect of children's experience 
 will vary. If spelling means the study of words which are 
 needed for use in written expression, the work in spelling will 
 vary just as surely as the occasions for written expression 
 vary among children. No teacher could, if she would, repeat 
 a series of lessons which deal with natural phenomena. In any 
 field, the need for preparation becomes apparent for one who 
 would command the material which should be made available 
 for children. 
 
 In the prepa ration of aj^son^lan the first and in some re- 
 spects the jnost important step is to become acquainted with 
 the subject to be. taught. There is no method of teaching 
 which can take the place of a thoroughgoing knowledge of the 
 material which bears upon the topic to be treated. The 
 teacher who finds in the life of the children outside of school, 
 in school activities, in books, pictures, magazines, in study and 
 travel, material for her daily class work, will make any course 
 of study vital and interesting to children. In such an at- 
 mosphere pupils will grow not only in knowledge, but also in 
 the desire to inquire and investigate and in power to satisfy 
 their intellectual craving. 
 
 After the teacher has in hand an abundance of interesting 
 material, the next step in the plan is to organize the data to be 
 presented. Som e organ ization is usually found in textbooks 
 and courses oJTstudy,' and ifis'possible simply to try to fit 
 any additional material which may have been collected to the 
 scheme provided. The difficulty with this ready-made or- 
 ganization is found in the fact that it has little or no relation 
 to the needs or problems of the particular group of children to 
 be taught. Any organization which is to be significant to 
 
Lesson Plans 169 
 
 children must take account of their point of view, and attempt 
 to present subject matter in response to the need which they 
 feel for the material to be presented. This is precisely what 
 is meant by the difference between the logical and psycho- 
 logical methods of presenting subject matter. Not that the 
 psychological method is illogical, rather it' takes account of the 
 child's needs and is for him logical beyond the most complete 
 adult logical scheme. It ma_y seem logical to the adult to 
 teach the crayfish by calling attention to the large parts and 
 then to the smaller parts in order, or to deal with the structure 
 of the skeleton, nervous and circulatory systems, connective 
 tissues, and the like. To an eight-year-old child, the problems 
 which will probably be most logical, most satisf)dng to his 
 desire for investigation, will deal with the way in which the 
 crayfish gets his living, how he protects himself from his ene- 
 mies, how he brings disaster by making holes in levees, and 
 how important he is as an article of food. In satisfying these 
 childish problems, much of the information which might have 
 been imparted, had the adult scientific order been followed, 
 will be mastered by the pupils. Much more will be remem- 
 bered, because the information is associated with the solution 
 of interesting problems. It may seem logical in teaching 
 India to a sixth-grade class to treat of prevailing winds, surface 
 features, climate, vegetation, animals, mineral products, and 
 people ; but the children whose teacher approached this sub- 
 ject by asking them to try to discover why they have had 
 such terrible famines in India probably remember more of the 
 geography of India to-day than those who followed the adult 
 logical order. In organization, then, the starting point is to 
 get the child's point of view, to discover his problems, and to 
 organize the material to be presented with reference to these 
 childish aims. 
 
 Good organization demands that material presented to 
 satisfy the demand made by the child's problem be grouped 
 around few coordinate heads.^ Many topics of equal value 
 ' McMurry, Eo-w to Study, Chapter III. 
 
lyo A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 in aii outline generally indicate a lack of organization, a lack 
 of appreciation of the relation of the various facts to be pre- 
 sented. For example, one might think of a great many facts 
 about plant growth ; the seeds must be put in the earth, the 
 weather must be warm enough, they must have water, they 
 need to be hoed, the groimd should be fertile, they need air, 
 they grow best when they have sunlight, they may have too much 
 moisture, in rocky ground the soil may not be deep enough, 
 they must not be too close together, weeds and insects must be 
 destroyed, the roots should not be disturbed, the choice of 
 the seed is important, and so on. For a group of lower- 
 grade children there are two problems; namely, (i) what 
 kind of plants do we want, and (2) what can we do to 
 make them grow well. Under the first head would come the 
 plants which are suitable for our conditions of soil and climate, 
 and the question of seed selection. Under the second head 
 the topics will be moisture, sunlight, air, and cultivation, in- 
 cluding the destroying of insects or other pests. Each of these 
 topics will be suggested in answer to the problems which have 
 been raised (what plants we want, and how we can make them 
 grow well) by a group of children who have had any experience 
 with growing plants. If any important topic is omitted, the 
 teacher will call for it by a question which suggests the lack of 
 a complete solution to the problem which is being considered. 
 This brings us to the next step in plan making. 
 ~ A good lesson plan will include pivotal questions which will 
 serve to call for the data as indicated by the main topics given 
 in the organization of the subject matter. The problem of 
 questioning has been discussed at some length in a previous 
 chapter.^ >In planning a lesson, a question or two which will 
 discover to the children the problem to be solved should come 
 first in the plan. With the problem before the children, the 
 function of the question is to stimulate thought in the direction 
 of the solution of the problem. The writer is famiUar with the 
 1 See ante, Chapter XI. 
 
Lesson Plans 171 
 
 objection that questions cannot be prepared ahead of time. 
 
 It is true that the form of question may need to be varied 
 because of progress or the lack of it, not anticipated by the 
 teacher, but the question carefully prepared ahead of time will 
 help rather than hinder in the formulation of a question to meet 
 the situation. It is true, too, that not all of the questions can 
 be prepared ahead of time. All the more reason for careful 
 preparation of a few questions which will enable the teacher 
 to prevent wandering by children during the development of 
 the topic. Thought-provoking questions which guide and 
 stimulate children in the solution of their problems are de- 
 pendent upon the aim which has been established and upon 
 the organization of material which it is desired to follow in the 
 solution of the problem. One might as well deny the need 
 of organizing material, as to question the value of preparing 
 a few pivotal questions as a part of the plan. 
 ^ Lessons often fail because the ground covered during the 
 period cannot be retraced by the children at the end of the 
 exercise. In a well-organized plan the teacher will provide for 
 summaries as each main point is covered. In general these 
 summaries should aim to recall the subject matter covered from 
 the beginning of the lesson. It may be suggested that any 
 good teacher summarizes her work as she passes from point to 
 point in her teaching, and that no artificial reminder is necessary. 
 The difficulty is that a good summary is not accomplished 
 merely by asking for a recapitulation of the material covered. 
 The skillful teacher puts her question which involves a sum- 
 mary in such form that the pupils get a new view of the ground 
 already covered. In the experience of the writer, questions 
 which involve a summary of the work covered, with the added 
 element of a new view as a stimulus to further thought on the 
 subject, are more raie than good questions introducing new 
 topics. 
 
 A good plan will include a list of illustrations, illustrative 
 material, books including references to chapter or page, maps 
 
172 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 or charts which are to be consulted during the recitation. 
 Teacher and children are often disappointed because of the 
 lack of materials which could have been at hand had the teacher 
 only thought about the lesson before teaching it. In like 
 manner, the opportunities for motor expression, other than 
 reciting or discussing, should be noted in the plan. Dramati- 
 zation, constructive work, graphic representation at the seat 
 or on the blackboard, may make the difference between success 
 and failure in a recitation. 
 
 A lesson which has been well planned will naturally end in 
 the assignment of work to be done in preparation for the next 
 recitation.;. In the discussion of any problem there must arise 
 questions which cannot then be answered. A good lesson is 
 characterized not simply by the ability of children to report 
 progress, but quite as much by their statement of the questions 
 still unanswered. The direction sometimes given to call up 
 again the question which is left imanswered during the recita- 
 tion indicates a teacher whose assignments provide a real 
 stimulus for study in preparation for the next day's work. If 
 it is necessary to have a live problem before children during 
 the recitation conducted by the teacher, obviously it is much 
 more necessary to make assignments which involve real issues 
 for children to meet. 
 
 In outline form the discussion of plan making given above 
 would appear as given below. This lesson on plan making 
 may be taken as an illustration of the type of plan a teacher 
 should prepare for a development lesson. In this plan, as in 
 others, it seems wise to keep the subject matter separate from 
 the method of procedure. 
 
 A plan for teaching lesson plans : Their importance and the 
 elements which enter into their composition. 
 
 'Eeacher's aim : To show the importance of plan making and 
 to indicate the elements which enter into the construction of 
 a good plan. 
 
 Preparation (which aims to get the problem before the class). 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 173 
 
 How do you prepare for your day's work ? Do you think you 
 would do better work if you planned your several recitations 
 somewhat systematically ? 
 
 Pupil's aim: Why do I need to make plans, and what are 
 the elements of a good plan? 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 I. Necessity for planning. 
 
 A . Lack of interest in old work. 
 
 B. Subject matter changes. 
 
 a. Subjects grow. 
 
 b. The experiences of dif- 
 
 ferent groups of chil- 
 dren vary. 
 
 C. Not safe to depend upon 
 
 the inspiration of the 
 moment for 
 a. Good questions. 
 
 h. Illustrations and illus- 
 trative material. 
 
 c. References to books or 
 
 magazines. 
 
 d. Plans for constructive 
 
 work and the like. 
 
 II. The elements in a good plan. 
 
 Method of PRocEDtniE 
 
 Do you ever grow tired of teach- 
 ing the same subject over and over 
 again ? 
 
 Why does a sermon out of the 
 "barrel" lack in interest or power 
 to inspire ? 
 
 Do you know a subject 
 thoroughly to-day because you 
 once studied it? 
 
 Why do different groups of chil- 
 dren respond differently to the 
 same material? 
 
 Formulate three good questions 
 which you might use in teaching a 
 lesson on the oak tree to second- 
 grade children. 
 
 Do you think you might have 
 asked better questions if you had 
 had time to think them over ? 
 
 What picture or other illustra- 
 tive material would you use in 
 teaching this lesson? 
 
 Do you think the children would 
 gain by drawing a picture of the 
 oak near by ? 
 
 When do you think you will 
 have had enough experience in 
 teaching to be able to get along 
 without making plans? 
 
 (The questions in this part of 
 
174 ^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 A. A thoroughgoing knowl- 
 
 edge of the subject 
 matter. 
 
 B. The organization of ma- 
 
 terial depends upon 
 the problem to be 
 solved by the chil- 
 dren, hence the neces- 
 sity for discovering a 
 problem to the pupils 
 which can be satis- 
 fied by the subject 
 matter to be pre- 
 sented. 
 
 a. Problems essential to 
 thinking. 
 
 h. Logical vs. the psycho- 
 logical organization 
 of material.- 
 
 c. Organization involves 
 sequence and the sub- 
 ordination of less im- 
 portant points. 
 McMurry, Mow to Slvdy, Chap- 
 ter III. 
 
 C. Pivotal questions. 
 
 a. Thought-provoking 
 questions prepared in 
 advance in order to 
 guide the children in 
 the development of 
 the topic as well as 
 to stimulate them to 
 their best thinking. 
 
 D. Provision for summaries. 
 
 a. A summary enables 
 children to keep se- 
 quence and gives new 
 point of view. 
 £. Illustrative material, and 
 
 the plan will be few. I should 
 expect questions, suggestions, and 
 discussions on the part of the class. 
 I should probably use the black- 
 board to show the organization of 
 subject matter as given under sub- 
 ject matter.) 
 
 What would you do first, if I 
 asked you to teach a lesson on 
 habit formation? 
 
 What will determine the organi- 
 zation of the material which you 
 are to present? 
 
 One cannot prepare all of the 
 questions to be asked in advance. 
 What is the function of those ques- 
 tions which should be placed in the 
 plan? 
 
 When children have been in- 
 terested throughout the lesson, 
 why are they sometimes unable to 
 solve for themselves the problem 
 which has been discussed ? 
 
 What aids does a teacher need 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 175 
 
 references noted on 
 the plan. 
 a. Materials prepared 
 
 ahead of time. 
 h. References to maps, 
 charts, books indi- 
 cated definitely to 
 save time and con- 
 serve interest. 
 F. Provision for assignments. 
 a. A good lesson makes 
 provision for definite 
 progress and makes 
 clear the questions 
 yet unsolved. 
 h. Children need definite 
 problems more when 
 working by them- 
 selves at home than 
 when with the 
 teacher. 
 Show class plans found in 
 McMurry, Method of the Recitation, 
 pp. 329-339; Third Yearbook, 
 National Society for the Scientific 
 Study of Education, pp. 60-64 ; 
 syllabus on Theory and Practice of 
 Teaching, pp. 14-18. 
 
 to use in teaching a lesson other 
 than the textbook and her own 
 plan? 
 
 What do you do with questions 
 which are not answered during the 
 recitation ? 
 
 How do you prepare children to 
 work at their seats, or at home ? 
 
 Is plan making worth the time 
 and energy which it requires? 
 
 A PLAN POR TEACHING THE TOPIC OF IRRIGATION^ 
 
 Teacher's aim: To arouse or increase the interest of chil- 
 dren in the development of the western part of the United 
 States, and to acquaint them with the problems of irrigation. 
 
 AVhat effect would a long drought in this part of our country- 
 have upon the price of fruits and vegetables ? What would hap- 
 pen if the drought were to be continuous ? There are arid regions 
 in the United States. Can they be made to raise good crops ? 
 
 ' Adapted from a plan prepared by Lida B. Earhart, Ph.D., for the author's 
 syllabus on Theory and Practice of Teething. 
 
176 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 PupiVs aim: Can the arid regions of the United States be 
 made to raise good crops? What effect would that have on 
 the other parts of the country ? 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 I. Arid regions of the United 
 States. 
 
 A. Continuous drought. 
 
 B. Size of area. See maps. 
 
 C. Description of region. 
 Dodge, Adv. Geog., pp. 44. Tarr 
 
 and McMurry, second book, p. 120. 
 II. Why should we desire to re- 
 claim arid lands? 
 
 A. Increase in population 
 
 with consequent in- 
 creased demands for 
 food at home and 
 abroad. 
 
 B. Capital seeks a good in- 
 
 vestment. 
 III. How arid regions are made 
 productive. 
 
 A. Conditions necessary for 
 
 plant growth. 
 
 a. Fertile soil. 
 
 b. Heat and light. 
 
 c. Moisture. 
 
 B. The effect of drought over- 
 
 come. 
 
 a. In limited areas — by 
 
 sprinkling. 
 
 b. In extensive areas — 
 
 by irrigation. 
 
 Tarr and McMurry, p. 120. 
 Dodge, Adv. Geog., p. 166. 
 King, Adv. Geog., pp. 141-146. 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 In what parts of the United 
 States are the arid regions located ? 
 
 Look at your rainfall maps. 
 
 Name the states included. 
 
 Compare the population of the 
 plateau states with a like area in 
 the Mississippi Valley, or on the 
 Atlantic coast. 
 
 Is it significant to the country 
 as a whole that these regions re- 
 main unproductive? 
 
 What would be the effects pro- 
 duced in case these large tracts of 
 land could be brought under culti- 
 vation ? 
 
 In order that plants in the garden 
 or crops in the field may grow, 
 what conditions are necessary ? 
 
 When the lawns or gardens in 
 our part of the 'country grow too 
 dry, how are they kept growing? 
 What means must be employed to 
 provide water in very large areas ? 
 Are these means used in the 
 Plateau and Pacific states ? (Class 
 consult the references named.) 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 177 
 
 C. Sources of water supply. 
 
 a. Rivers. 
 
 6. Mountain streams fed 
 
 by rain, snow, or 
 
 glaciers. 
 
 c. Artesian wells. 
 
 d. Lakes. 
 TarrandMcMurry, pp. 129-133. 
 Dodge, Adv. Geog., p. 172. 
 King, Adv. Geog., p. 142. 
 Review 0} Reviews, 31 : 701-704. 
 
 D. The process of irrigation. 
 
 a. Water storage, reser- 
 
 voirs, dams. 
 
 b. Ditches or canals. 
 
 c. Surface irrigation. 
 
 d. Subirrigation. 
 
 See geographies quoted under C, 
 above. 
 
 Popular Science Monthly, 67 : 
 648-686. 
 
 (See 
 1907.) 
 F. 
 
 E. The reclamation service. 
 a. The nature of its work. 
 h. The territory afiected. 
 the World's Work, Dec, 
 
 How the government gets 
 its money back. 
 
 a. Sale of land in tracts 
 not exceeding 160 
 acres to an indi- 
 vidual. 
 
 Where can the water be obtained 
 for irrigating purposes in these dry 
 areas ? 
 
 (Conversation. Assignment to 
 books in use by all of the class. 
 Assign article in Review of Reviews, 
 31 : 701-704, to a pupU as a special 
 topic.) 
 
 How can the supply of water 
 which falls during the rainy season 
 be kept for use during the dry 
 season ? 
 
 (Assignment of special topics 
 relating to particular subjects.) 
 
 How is the water in the reser- 
 voirs or rivers distributed to the 
 fields when it is needed? 
 
 (Illustrate by an outdoor lesson ; 
 or if the nature of the country is not 
 suited to illustrate the process, use 
 the sand table and construct a 
 system of irrigation showing reser- 
 voir, main canals, and the distribut- 
 ing ditches. Assign subirrigation 
 as a special topic.) 
 
 How does the United States 
 government aid in reclaiming the 
 waste lands of the West? 
 
 What disposition does the gov- 
 ernment make of the reclaimed 
 lands ? 
 
178 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 b. Pajnnent in ten equal 
 annual installments. 
 Ref. the Cosmopolitan, 37: 715- 
 722. 
 The World's Work, Dec, 1907. 
 G. The effects of irrigation. 
 
 a. Upon agriculture. 
 (See geographies quoted above; 
 
 also the Cosmopolitan, 37 : 718- 
 722; the World's Work, Dec, 
 1907.) 
 
 b. Upon secondary indus- 
 
 tries. 
 
 c. Upon population in 
 
 the areas irrigated. 
 (King, Adv. Geog., pp. 152- 
 1 54 ; also other geographies quoted 
 above; the World's Work, Dec, 
 1907.) 
 
 Would it pay a man to buy a 
 forty-acre tract in the irrigated 
 region ? What crops could he pro- 
 duce? Value of crops? (Esti- 
 mated.) Where there are pros- 
 perous farming communities, what 
 other industries are possible ? Are 
 they found in the irrigated dis- 
 tricts? With agriculture, fruit 
 growing, and other industries made 
 possible and profitable, what effect 
 is produced upon immigration to 
 the Western states ? What prob- 
 lems did we set out to solve in 
 these lessons on irrigation ? What 
 is the answer to each ? 
 
 Further topics for class study : — 
 
 1. Value of forests to systems of 
 irrigation. 
 
 2. Our relations to the irrigated 
 regions. 
 
 3. Advisability of introducing 
 irrigation in the Eastern states. 
 
 4. Irrigation in Egypt. 
 
 5. Irrigation in India. 
 
 Individual assignments : — 
 
 1. Economy of water in irriga- 
 tion. 
 
 2. Fruit growing on irrigated 
 land. 
 
 3. Advantages and disadvan- 
 tages of farming in the East and 
 in the West. 
 
Lesson Plans 179 
 
 4. Relative value to a state of 
 gold mining and of farming. 
 
 5. Relation of irrigation in the 
 West to the people of Europe. 
 
 6. To the people of the Eastern 
 states. 
 
 The plan given above for the topic " irrigation" is typical of 
 many plans which the teacher should make. It indicates the 
 development of the whole topic, which will need the time of 
 several recitations for its complete development. The topics 
 given at the end of the plan for class study and for individual 
 assignment show that the teacher had thought over the prob- 
 lems which might arise as the subject was taught, and that 
 she was ready to make such assignments as the situation de- 
 manded from day to day. If such a Ust of possible assign- 
 ments has been prepared before the topic is taught, the chances 
 are that the ground will be much more thoroughly covered 
 than would be the case if the teacher trusted to her ability to 
 select an interesting problem at the end of each day's work. 
 Lesson plans should, as a rule, cover a complete unit of work 
 or topic. One plan will commonly include inductive develop- 
 ment work in the derivation of principles, drill work to fix 
 these generalizations or to give skill in their application, and 
 at times deductive work in the use of the principles derived 
 to explain new situations. A complete plan for teaching per- 
 centage in arithmetic would include all of the elements men- 
 tioned. A lesson for appreciation or a recitation lesson may 
 often be followed by drill work. When the topic lesson plan 
 has been prepared, the teacher will need to consider from day 
 to day the best method of proceeding with the subject. She 
 may wish to vary somewhat the approach or order of develop- 
 ment. 
 
i8o A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 A PLAN FOR A DRILL LESSON 
 
 The work indicated here can be done in one period. The 
 plan is given as an illustration of the principles involved in good 
 drill work. It is especially necessary, in planning for lessons 
 of this type, to be ready to vary the exercises in order to 
 maintain the interest and attention of the class. Repetition 
 with attention is what counts for habit formation. The chil- 
 dren have been playing a game in which the score secured by 
 throwing a bean bag in squares, numbered from one to ten, 
 has been multiplied by two and later by three. The class has 
 been divided into sides, and the competition has been keen. 
 They want to make larger scores, and, therefore, have a com- 
 pelling motive for studying the next table. 
 
 Teacher'' s aim: To teach multiplication by four. If we are 
 to make larger scores, what table must we learn next ? How 
 many think they can learn half of the table of fours to-day ? 
 If you learn it, we will play our game for ten minutes. 
 
 Pupil's aim: To learn the multiplication table of fours. 
 
 Subject Matter Method 
 
 4X4 = 16 Teacher writes the table on the 
 
 4X2= 8 blackboard, as indicated under 
 
 4 X 6 = 24 subject matter. 
 
 4X3 = 12 How many are sure they know 
 
 4 X S = 20 the first two ? Look at me and 
 
 answer as I ask the results. Don't 
 answer unless you are sure. 
 
 Now let us take the first three. 
 Proceed as before. 
 
 I'll erase the first three. Look 
 at them carefully. Now write 
 them on your tablets. 
 
 4X4= 4X2= 4X6= 
 
 Don't write the answers imless 
 you are sure you are right. 
 
Lesson Plans 1 8 1 
 
 Let four or five children read 
 their answers. 
 
 Margaret may ask for answers. 
 She drills on the first three com- 
 binations. 
 
 The other two are easy to re- 
 member, — four times three we 
 know ; it is the same as three times 
 four, and four times five are twenty 
 we can all remember. Look care- 
 fully ; I am going to erase them. 
 
 Drill by teacher on last two 
 combinations. 
 
 All combinations put on board 
 again and read and written by 
 children. 
 
 Robert tries to discover whether 
 there is any girl who has forgotten 
 any part of the table. 
 
 Katharine tries to catch the 
 boys. 
 
 AU write at the dictation of the 
 teacher, supplying the products. 
 
 The game is then played. When 
 any one makes a mistake in record- 
 ing his score on the blackboard, 
 his side is penalized the amount of 
 his mistake. 
 
 Possibly all the plans the experienced teacher needs for the 
 lesson outlined above are a few notes concerning the variations 
 to be introduced from time to time in the drill. She must plan, 
 however, to put zest -into the lesson by means of the variety 
 which she introduces, and she must, if she is to get th^ best 
 work, provide some motive which will make the drill work 
 seem worth while to the children. 
 
1 82 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 A LESSON ESSENTIALLY DEDUCTIVE 
 
 A part of a larger topic plan on taxation. The children 
 have begun the study of taxation by inquiring how pohce- 
 men, street cleaners, firemen, and other city employees are 
 paid; how money is secured to rim the schools, to provide 
 water, and the like. 
 
 Teacher'' s aim: To teach how to determine the amount of 
 taxes to be paid when the assessed value of the property and 
 the rate of taxation are known. 
 
 George, did you find out the assessed valuation of your 
 father's house and lot ? ' 
 
 Henry, did you find the rate on real estate ? 
 
 Pupil's aim: Let us try to find out how much tax George's 
 father must pay on his house and lot. 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 A knowledge of percentage is 
 assumed. 
 
 To find the percentage we mul- 
 tiply the base by the rate. 
 
 House is worth $3500. Rate of 
 taxation is $1.80 on the hundred 
 dollars. 
 $1.80 on one hundred dollars 
 
 35 t imes $1.80 would be the 
 900 amount due on thirty-five 
 540 h undred. 
 $63.00 
 
 Taxation is simply an applica- 
 tion of percentage. 
 
 Method of PROCEDtrRE 
 
 If you want to find six per cent 
 of $3500, how do you proceed? 
 
 If George's father pays $1.80 on 
 each hundred dollars, how can you 
 tell how much he must pay on 
 thirty-five hundred dollars ? 
 
 Do you discover in this example 
 anything like the problems in 
 which you find a certain per cent 
 of a given sum ? 
 
 Find .018 (iT% per cent) of 
 $3500. If you multiply the as- 
 sessed value by the rate, will you 
 get the amount of the tax ? 
 
 Why must you point off two 
 places ? 
 
 Do you think you can find the 
 amount of the tax to be paid on 
 any house and lot in the city, if I 
 tell you how much the assessed 
 value of the house is ? 
 
Lesson Plans 183 
 
 Houses worth $4,250 Is the rate of taxation the same 
 
 $18,400 on all houses ? 
 
 *-'-'^°° Teacher gives problems to the 
 
 j-'-'S°° whole class and has each explained 
 
 *7,5oo in turn on the board. 
 
 $800 „ . , 
 
 * ior to-morrow you may solve 
 
 ' the following problems (written on 
 How much tax must each pay ? ^^ board) 
 
 Assessed Rate ot 
 
 Vaide Taxahon 
 
 $4,200 .... $2.20 
 
 $i6,7SO ... . $1.35 
 
 $425,000 $1.90 
 
 $1,000 $0.78 
 
 $56,000 ... . $1.64 
 
 $400 $2.18 
 
 PLAN FOR A SERIES OF TOPICS IN HISTORY — SIXTH GRADE 
 
 A plan covering the work for several weeks given in the form 
 of a topical outline with suggestions as to methods of treatment. 
 This general plan would need to be supplemented by definite 
 additional preparation from day to day. This plan was pre- 
 pared by Miss Lida Lee Tall, supervisor of grammar grades, 
 Baltimore County, Maryland. 
 
 Aim: To teach the colonization of Maryland and show its 
 development as a part of England's colonial empire in the New 
 World. 
 
 Topical Outline {for the Teacher) 
 
 1. Conditions in Europe at the time of the settlement oi 
 
 Maryland. 
 II. Conditions in the New World. 
 III. Life of George Calvert. 
 a. In England. 
 h In the New World. 
 
184 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 IV. The settlement of Maryland. 
 V. The development of Maryland. 
 
 Textbooks 
 Any good history of England, as Walker's, Gardiner's, or An- 
 drews'. 
 Warren. Stories from English History. 
 Harding. Stories of the English. 
 Mowry. First Steps in the History of England. 
 Browne. Maryland : the History of a Palatinate. 
 Cheyney. European Background of American History. 
 Cheyney. A Short History of England. 
 Hall. Lords Baltimore and the Maryland Palatinate. 
 Gambrill. Leading Events of Maryland History (class text). 
 Coman and Kendall. History of England. 
 
 TOPIC I: CONDITIONS IN EUROPE IN THE SEVENTEENTH 
 
 CENTURY 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 Monarch. King James. 
 Incidents of the reign that wiU 
 
 help interpret the life of 
 
 the times : 
 
 {Religious 
 Political 
 Commercial. 
 
 Character of 
 the King 
 
 vam 
 arrogant 
 weak 
 amiable 
 loved peace at 
 
 all costs 
 ambitious 
 approved 
 
 learning 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 Much of the work can be de- 
 veloped from assigned readings for 
 which the pupils must be held 
 responsible. Where textbooks are 
 not available the teacher, or a 
 pupil who reads well, may read to 
 the class. Of course, the assign- 
 ment must be very definite. For 
 example : 
 
 a. As you read see if you can 
 tell from incidents in the 
 story the kind of man King 
 James must have been. 
 You must argue for what 
 you think about him. 
 
 h. England was interested par- 
 ticularly in Spain, Holland, 
 France, and the New World. 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 185 
 
 
 'Sir Walter 
 
 
 Raleigh. 
 
 
 Sir Robert 
 
 
 CecU 
 
 4. Men of Eng- 
 
 George Cal- 
 
 land 
 
 vert 
 
 
 Cromwell 
 
 
 Guy Fawkes 
 
 
 Robert Carr 
 
 
 Francis Bacon 
 
 5. Reason for England's interest 
 
 in other countries : 
 
 a. Trade. 
 
 h. Spain's success in coloni- 
 
 zation in the New 
 
 World. 
 
 c. Spain's usurpation of Hol- 
 
 land. 
 
 d. Increase in woolen manu- 
 
 facture in England. 
 
 6. Topics of the day at the Eng- 
 
 lish court : 
 
 a. Spanish king and his 
 
 power. 
 
 6. Spanish resources. 
 
 c. New World. 
 
 d. Religion. 
 
 e. England's f 
 
 Stock 
 
 trading 
 
 companies. 
 
 com- 
 
 Proprietary 
 
 panies 
 
 privileges. 
 
 As you read find out why 
 
 this was so. 
 Half the class may be given the 
 first assignment, the other half the 
 second. 
 
 When, at the close of the study 
 period, the teacher calls for the 
 work, it will be through her se- 
 quence of questions that the sub- 
 ject matter will be organized ac- 
 cording to the outline under 
 " Subject Matter." If the discus- 
 sions are lively and argumentative, 
 the spirit of the seventeenth cen- 
 tury wiU be felt and the life of the 
 time pictured. Pictures of castles, 
 London streets, Ireland, the con- 
 tinent, sea vessels, etc., will help 
 to make impressions more vivid. 
 Topic 6 makes a good summary 
 and can be conducted in a way to 
 make the work most attractive to 
 the pupils. 
 
 TOPIC II: CONDITIONS IN THE NEW WORLD 
 Subject Matter Method of Procedure 
 
 1. Spanish America. 
 
 2. French America. 
 
 3. English and Dutch America. 
 
 Assign readings from available 
 textbooks. 
 
 A further assignment which cor- 
 
1 86 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 relates with geography is the fol- 
 lowing : Draw a map of the world ; 
 show Old World; show New 
 World ; color the part of the New 
 World that belonged to Spain, to 
 France. Also draw a map of 
 Europe; show the Catholic coun- 
 tries, show the Protestant coun- 
 tries. 
 
 As the teacher develops the 
 lesson from the class, by means of 
 thought-provoking questions, she 
 can make an outline on the board, 
 the class helping ; then this outhne 
 may be copied by the pupils in 
 notebooks used for history lessons 
 only. These outlines should serve 
 as summaries and also as reviews 
 as the lessons continue. 
 
 TOPIC m: LIFE OF GEORGE CALVERT 
 
 Subject Matter Method of Procedure 
 
 I. George Calvert in England at i. Assigned reading for class: 
 
 this time. GambrUl, pp. 3-6. 
 
 a. Early life: Teacher may fiU in with details 
 
 Born in Yorkshire (lo- from Browne's Maryland, or Hall's 
 
 cate). Lords Baltimore and the Palat- 
 
 Educated at Oxford (pic- i"^^'- ^'^'=^, "^ ^his, however, 
 
 ture of school). "^^^ ^« developed. By this time 
 
 the class wiU have been put into a 
 
 Traveled on the Con- ^^^^^^^ attitude, both historically 
 
 tinent (map showing and geographically, to answer prob- 
 
 umversity towns). ^^^ ^^^ inteUigently. 
 
 b. Later life: 
 
 Important position in Eng- 
 land. 
 Interests in the New Assignment for map work : 
 World: Trade: reli- A map of England — locate 
 gion. Yorkshire, Oxford, London. 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 187 
 
 2. George Calvert. 
 World : 
 a. Newfoundland. 
 Management. 
 
 Difficulties 
 encountered 
 
 Climate 
 Soil 
 The 
 French 
 Disappointment and de- 
 parture. 
 h. In Virginia 
 
 Reception unwelcome be- 
 cause of religion, char- 
 ter troubles, business 
 relations. 
 Result. 
 His return to England. 
 New charter from Charles I. 
 Death of George Calvert. 
 
 In the New A map of Europe showing 
 George Calvert's travels on the 
 Continent. 
 
 2. (o) Draw a map of the New 
 World showing New- 
 foundland and other 
 settlements of that 
 time. 
 
 Why was Newfoundland 
 bought ? 
 {b) Why in Virginia and not 
 Plymouth ? 
 
 3. Textbook assignment. 
 
 TOPIC IV: THE SETTLEMENT OF MARYLAND 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 1. CecUius Calvert — To carry 
 out his father's plan of 
 making a settlement in 
 the New World. 
 
 a. Conditions of the new 
 charter. (GambriU, 
 pp. 6-8.) 
 
 (o) Rights and duties of 
 the proprietor. 
 
 (J) Rights and duties of 
 the colonists. 
 
 Kind of man necessary to 
 rule the colony 
 wisely. 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 I. Assigned reading: Gam- 
 brill, pp. 6-8. 
 
 As has been indicated, where no 
 problem development is possible, 
 use textbooks or the teacher's 
 wealth of details to fill in the con- 
 necting links. The texts should 
 be read just when the need for the 
 information arises: for instance, 
 when it is necessary to know the 
 conditions of the charter granted 
 to Cecilius Calvert, the books 
 should be opened, the page foimd, 
 the page or paragraph read silently 
 by the class, and the information 
 then given. 
 
1 88 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Preparation for the trip : 
 ■ Hostility of 
 theoldLon- 
 don Co. 
 
 Difficulties •< Objections to 
 the charter 
 by Clai- 
 borne. 
 
 Getting 
 ready at 
 Grave- 
 send 
 
 Men for 
 the ex- 
 pedi- 
 tion 
 
 The Ark. 
 The Dove, 
 . Nov., 1633. 
 Men bound to 
 service (prob- 
 ably Protes- 
 tants), 300. 
 Freemen (prob- 
 ably Catho- 
 Ucs), 20; 
 
 priests, 2. 
 Members of the 
 Calvert 
 family. 
 Stop at the Isle of Wight. 
 Off for the voyage. 
 The voyage. 
 
 a. The stop at the Barbadoes. 
 (It is necessary that 
 the class understand 
 something of Eng- 
 land's colonial terri- 
 tory at the time: 
 England colonized 
 Barbadoes in 1625, 
 after it had been 
 depopulated by the 
 Spanish. The island 
 had, therefore, been 
 under English con- 
 trol for eight years. 
 It was possible that 
 
 If the previous situations have 
 been vividly presented, then the 
 problem of the difficulties of get- 
 ting such a trip under way that 
 confronted CecUius Calvert shovdd 
 be eagerly discussed by the class. 
 There can be map work — Eng- 
 land: locate Gravesend, Isle of 
 Wight ; also make the flag of Eng- 
 land under which' the expedition 
 sailed. (The flag of 1608 was the 
 imited flag of England and Scot- 
 land, the flag of St. George and St. 
 Andrew combined. Lord Balti- 
 more's own banner can be made 
 and colored, though it was not 
 known to have been used imtil the 
 battle of Severn; it was adopted 
 as the state flag in 1904.) 
 
 2. The voyage can be treated as 
 
 a recall of the knowl- 
 edge gained from the 
 celebration of a holiday 
 like Maryland Day in 
 a previous grade, or an 
 outline map may be 
 drawn and pupils may 
 trace the route if they 
 can. 
 (More map work can follow to 
 indicate the stop at the Barbadoes, 
 the route up the Atlantic to Old 
 Point Comfort, another stop, and 
 on to Blackiston Island.) 
 
 a. Why was a stop at the 
 
 Barbadoes planned ? 
 h. Why was a stop at Point 
 Comfort planned ? 
 
 3, 4, 5, 6. From the landing on 
 
 Blackiston Island to the 
 end of this topic the 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 189 
 
 the Arh and the 
 Dove carried mail 
 for the Barbadoes. 
 The colonists 
 
 stopped for three 
 weeks, in that time 
 repairing the ves- 
 sels, securing negro 
 slaves, and buying 
 supplies, among 
 which was seed corn 
 for the Maryland 
 settlement.) 
 h. The stop at Point Com- 
 fort. — • Letters from 
 Cecilius Calvert and 
 the king were to be 
 delivered with great 
 respect, by the hands 
 of a messenger who 
 was comformable to 
 the Church of Eng- 
 land, to Sir John 
 Harvie, the governor 
 of the Virginias. 
 
 3. The landing on Blackiston's 
 
 Island, March 25, 
 1634. Why not a 
 suitable place for a 
 permanent settle- 
 ment ? 
 
 4. The visit to the Pascataway 
 
 Indians. The sale 
 of the Yaocomaco 
 Village. The ad- 
 vantages of such an 
 arrangement with 
 native Indians. 
 
 5. The settlement on St. George's 
 
 Creek, afterward 
 known as St. Mary's 
 
 method followed should 
 be : developing ques- 
 tions, with the use of a 
 textbook which should 
 be read either before the 
 lesson or after the de- 
 velopment in order to 
 verify conclusions made ; 
 but this must be left to 
 the judgment of the 
 teacher and her own 
 individual plan for deal- 
 ing with the subject. 
 Assigned reading : Gam- 
 briU, pp. 17-19. 
 
 7. For the life in the colonies, 
 reading periods may be 
 occupied with readings 
 from any good book that 
 gives a graphic account 
 of the times, such as 
 Alice Morse Earle's 
 Home Life in the Colo- 
 nies. If the sand table 
 is used, the children 
 should consult these 
 books. Another way to 
 vary the procedure, if 
 there are books enough, 
 is to assign readings and 
 let the pupils bring to 
 the class accounts of the 
 details of the life in the 
 colonies that seemed 
 most interesting to them 
 individually. 
 
 In the Affairs of Interest it 
 will be necessary for the 
 teacher to tell about the 
 conditions in England. 
 Mowry, Guerber, or 
 
I go A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Creek. The settle- 
 ment was named 
 Augusta Carolina. 
 6. The favorable conditions of 
 the settlement. 
 
 a. Spring of the year. 
 
 h. Houses of the Indians (log) 
 could be occupied 
 temporarily by the 
 settlers while decid- 
 ing upon sites for 
 building. 
 
 c. Aid of friendly Indians : 
 
 1. Routes through the 
 
 country. 
 
 2. Protection. 
 
 3. Education — com 
 
 planting, harvesting, 
 clipping tobacco, 
 himting game, fish- 
 ing, climate. 
 
 4. Land was already 
 
 cleared and culti- 
 vated. 
 
 d,. Condition of plantation 
 grants : 
 A man with five persons — 
 
 2000 acres. 
 A man with less than five 
 — 100 acres for self ; 
 100 acres for wife; 
 100 acres for each 
 child under sixteen 
 years ; 100 acres for 
 each servant; 100 
 acres for each la- 
 borer. 
 
 e. Physical features of coun- 
 try for tobacco in- 
 dustry • 
 
 Warren may have all 
 the information neces- 
 sary for this purpose, 
 but Cheyney's European 
 Background of American 
 History should be 
 studied by the teacher. 
 The European back- 
 ground can be very 
 simply drawn. 
 The Kent Island affair may 
 be read before being dis- 
 cussed, but there is good 
 problem work there, and 
 the better plan would be 
 to read the text last. 
 Text: GambriU, pp. 21- 
 25, 99-111. 
 References: 
 
 Tudor Jenks, When America was 
 New. 
 
 Chap. IV, "Mary- 
 land and the Dutch." 
 Chap. V, "New 
 World Living." 
 
 Chap. IX, "What 
 the Colonists Knew 
 and Thought." 
 Wm. H. Browne, Maryland, The 
 History of a Palatinate. 
 Alice Morse Earle, Home Life in 
 Colonial Days. 
 The chapters on Virginia 
 plantation life will serve 
 to show the life in Mary- 
 land colony also. The 
 material is as follows: 
 Light, Kitchen, Fireside, 
 Serving Meals, Food of 
 Forest and Sea, Indian 
 Com, Meat and Drink, 
 

 Lesson Plans 
 
 191 
 
 
 Tide water. 
 
 Flax Culture, Wool Cul- 
 
 
 Estuaries — wharves for 
 
 ture and Spinning, Girls' 
 
 
 each plantation. 
 
 Occupation, Dress of the 
 
 Life in the colonv : 
 
 Colonists, Jack-knife In- 
 
 
 J 
 
 dustries, Travel, Trans- 
 
 a. 
 
 Plantation — extent, 
 
 portation and Taverns, 
 
 
 sheds for drying 
 
 Colonial NeighborKness, 
 
 
 tobacco, 
 
 Simday, Oldtime Flower 
 
 
 slave quarters, 
 
 Gardens. 
 
 
 barns. 
 
 
 
 rolling roads, 
 
 
 
 chapel. 
 
 
 
 house. 
 
 
 h. 
 
 Food — wild turkey, 
 venison, 
 oysters 
 hominy, 
 corn pone. 
 
 
 c. 
 
 Amusements — hunting, 
 dancing, 
 singing by 
 slaves. 
 
 
 d. 
 
 Travel — boats, 
 horse. 
 
 
 e. Affairs of interest — Vir- 
 ginia news. 
 
 Claiborne's trading post ia 
 the Chesapeake. 
 
 Relations with the Indians. 
 
 Enghsh politics (Charles I, 
 Cromwell, and Parlia- 
 ment.) 
 
 MiUtary arrangements in 
 the settlement. 
 
 Currency for trading. 
 
 Need for an assembly to 
 settle matters in a legal 
 way. 
 
 /. First Assembly — 1635. 
 Matters taken up — Boun- 
 daries, 
 
192 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Military protection, 
 
 Claiborne trouble, 
 
 Framing laws to be sent 
 to CecOius Calvert, the 
 proprietor in England. 
 g. Sending back these laws; 
 also letters, and prod- 
 ucts, as well as the two 
 Indian arrows required 
 by the king. 
 
 An interesting account of 
 the arrival and depar- 
 ture of the trading ships 
 can be given. They 
 came from November to 
 January, and the cap- 
 tains were entertained 
 at the different planta- 
 tions. They brought 
 new settlers, indentured 
 servants, more slaves, 
 letters from England, 
 news of the world. 
 h. Trouble in the colony. h. Text-book assignment : 
 
 Claiborne on Kent Island. Gambrill, pp. 27-30, 34- 
 
 Virginia's hostility. 47. 
 
 Troubles with the Indians 
 — Susquehannoughs and 
 Pocomokes. 
 
 Civil War in England. 
 
 TOPIC V: DEVELOPMENT OF THE COUNTRY AND REPRE- 
 SENTATIVE GOVERNMENT 
 
 Subject Mattei! Method oe Procedure 
 
 1. Assemblies — i. Discuss the organization of 
 
 First Assembly in 1635. the several assemblies. 
 
 Second Assembly in 1638. Explain hundreds. 
 
 Why three years later Text-book : Gambrill, pp. 14-19 ; 
 than first? penal laws; prisons, 21-23; ju- 
 
 dicial courts, 63-68. 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 193 
 
 What was its organization? 
 Freemen, governor, 
 and Council. Im- 
 portance. 
 
 Third Assembly in 1659. 
 
 Representatives from the hun- 
 dreds making a House 
 of Bmrgesses, gov- 
 ernor, and Council. 
 
 2. The Claiborne affair and its 
 
 settlement. 
 
 3. The effect of the Civil War 
 
 in England upon the 
 colonies : 
 
 a. Colonies in general : 
 
 1. Increase or decrease in 
 
 population according 
 to the sentiments of 
 the colonists regard- 
 ing the questions in 
 England. 
 
 2. Strife in colonies. 
 
 Councils called on to 
 decide for or against 
 king or Parliament. 
 
 3. Effect on commerce. 
 
 h. Upon Maryland in par- 
 ticular : 
 
 1. Increase in Catholic 
 
 population. 
 
 2. Caused strife and dis- 
 
 sension. 
 
 3. Return of Leonard Cal- 
 
 vert to England for 
 advice; Giles Brent 
 left governor pro tern. 
 
 4. Invasion of Ingle. 
 
 5. Ingle and Claiborne. 
 
 2, 3, 4, S, 6, 7, 8. Text-book As- 
 signments : To be given by 
 teacher. 
 
194 ^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 6. Leonard Calvert's re- 
 
 turn from England. 
 
 7. Leonard Calvert's 
 
 refuge in Virginia. 
 
 8. Return of Calvert and 
 
 restoration of the 
 colony under his gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 9. Death of Leonard Cal- 
 
 vert, June 9, 1647. 
 Thomas Greene made 
 governor pro tern, by 
 Leonard Calvert on 
 his deathbed. 
 
 4. The appointing of a new gov- 
 
 ernor by the pro- 
 prietor and the re- 
 organization of the 
 government : Factor 
 in this — Civil War ; 
 the Protestants in 
 power in England. 
 I. William Stone ap)- 
 pointed governor. 
 Effect — he chose 
 Protestants for his 
 Coimcil, from those 
 brought into Mary- 
 land from Virginia. 
 They made a settlement 
 on Severn River. 
 
 5. Trouble with the Puritans 
 
 resulting in the battle 
 of the Severn. 
 
 6. Reconcilement with Virginia. 
 
 7. Change in organization of 
 
 government — 
 
 Upper House. 
 
 Lower House. 
 
 Due to growth of colony; 
 
Lesson Plans 195 
 
 freemen ; indentured 
 slaves who became 
 freemen. 
 
 8. Removal of the capital to 8. For "Life in Annapolis" see 
 
 AnnapoUs. Churchill's Richard Carvel: 
 
 Chapter on "Christmas at 
 Carvel Hall." This should 
 be read to the class. 
 
 Note. — Here the development of the Maryland colony may be 
 closed because of the political difficulties which are entirely beyond the 
 experience of the sixth-year child. The French and Indian Wars might 
 be studied; also the opening up of western Maryland by the coming 
 of the Germans ; but the main point has been accomplished. The chil- 
 dren have worked their way through the study by Uving in the conditions 
 of the colony and solving Leonard Calvert's problems for him. To 
 work such a plan out in detail, to give just enough to whet the appetite 
 of the child and then make him think for himself, to have him Uve as 
 a colonist of the times, interested particularly in the details of govern- 
 ment that concern the colonists as a united body until finally a "two 
 house" legislature is demanded because of the growth in population, 
 area occupied, and interests represented, is a task for the skill of the 
 teacher, and is worth while. 
 
 LiDA Lee Tall, 
 Baltimore County Schools. 
 
 A LESSON IN NATURE STUDY INVOLVING A REAL PROBLEM 
 
 This lesson was planned and taught very successfully in the 
 third grade by Miss Roxana A. Steele of the Speyer School, 
 Teachers College, Columbia University. 
 
 Teacher's aims: — 
 
 1. To teach pupUs why and how to transplant. 
 
 2. To prepare for the transplanting of the salvia plants in 
 our school garden. 
 
 Pupil's aims: 
 
 1. To be able to select good plants for transplanting. 
 
 2. To know how to transplant in order to plant salvia plants 
 without help. 
 
196 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 Box of young salvia plants for 
 observation and comparison with 
 cabbage and tomato plants. 
 
 (Salvia plants to be transplanted 
 into garden later.) 
 
 Advantages of transplanting: 
 
 Plants get an early start. 
 
 Opportunity for good arrange- 
 ment. 
 
 Disadvantages: 
 
 Extra work. 
 
 Extra care. 
 
 Cabbage and tomato plants dis- 
 carded by Teachers College gar- 
 dener. 
 I. Choice of Plants. 
 Very small plants : 
 Do not root well. 
 Are slow in getting started. 
 Large plants : 
 
 Stalks too long and weak. 
 
 Bend very easily. 
 
 If used, need to be planted 
 
 deep. 
 Roots have not had room 
 enough in hotbed. 
 
 Medium-sized, strong plants : 
 Best for planting. 
 Good roots. 
 Good stalk. 
 Green leaves. 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 What are we planning to do with 
 our salvia plants when they are a 
 Uttle larger? 
 
 Why didn't we plant the salvia 
 seeds in the garden ? 
 
 What are some of the advan- 
 tages of transplanting? disad- 
 vantages ? 
 
 How many children feel that 
 they know just the best way to 
 transfer a plant ? (Pupils' Aim.) 
 Do you think we can afford to 
 practice with the salvia plants 
 when we have so few ? Who can 
 suggest a good way to learn to 
 transplant ? 
 
 Let us look at those cabbage 
 and tomato plants which I have 
 brought from Teachers College 
 and see what we think about them. 
 These are from the box from 
 which plants were selected by the 
 gardener last week. 
 
 I shall divide the .plants into 
 small, large, and medium-sized. 
 Tell which you think are best for 
 transplanting and why. 
 
 Why would you not select the 
 very small ones? the very large 
 ones? 
 
 When a gardener has not enough 
 fine, straight plants, can you think 
 of a way of planting by which he 
 might use a crooked plant? 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 197 
 
 Crooked plants. 
 
 Can be straightened by the 
 
 II. Manner of Planting. 
 - Preparation of hole. 
 
 Water at roots. 
 
 Planted deep enough for branch- 
 ing of first leaves to be but an 
 inch or two above ground. 
 
 Earth pressed firmly around 
 plant. 
 
 Practice planting of cabbage 
 and tomato plants in a box 
 of earth. 
 
 Trowel. 
 
 Choice of plant. 
 
 Water. 
 
 Account of what is being done. 
 Summary. 
 
 How to select a plant for trans- 
 planting. 
 
 How to plant it. 
 
 Now that we know what kind, of 
 a plant to select, can you think of 
 something else we must learn be- 
 fore we are ready to transplant 
 our salvia plants? 
 
 (Statement of Pupils' Aim.) 
 
 Can you think of some things 
 which might help a very young 
 plant to get a good start? 
 
 Has any child ever seen a farmer 
 plant cabbage or tomato plants? 
 Tell us exactly how he did it and 
 why. 
 
 Several children who can select 
 a good plant may plant them in 
 this box of earth. The class will 
 decide whether they are good gar- 
 deners. 
 
 Each child wiU have an oppor- 
 'tunity to plant a salvia plant in 
 the garden. Can you tell which 
 plants wiU be most liable to grow 
 well? 
 
 A LESSON PLAN IN GEOGRAPHY WHICH IS PKEDOMINANTLY 
 
 DEDUCTIVE 
 
 The study of maps forms the basis for inferences which are 
 later verified by referring to the text. This plan was written by 
 Miss Mary F. Kirchwey of the Horace Mann School, Teachers 
 College, Columbia University. This lesson was most success- 
 fully taught to sixth-grade pupils in the Horace Mann School. 
 
 Teacher^ s aim: To teach the geography of India and to give 
 practice in the application of principles of geography known 
 by the pupils. 
 
198 A Brief Course in the Teachhig Process 
 
 Children's aim: Why do they have such terrible famines in 
 India? 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 Failure of crops — dense popula- 
 tion directly dependent upon agri- 
 culture for a living — lack of suffi- 
 cient means of transportation. 
 
 We have abundant rainfall — 
 temperature favorable to crops — • 
 great land area in proportion to our 
 population. 
 
 In Egypt — even as far back as 
 in the days of Joseph (Bible) — 
 also in recent years. 
 
 Nile's overflow less abundant 
 than usual — dense population. 
 
 Location and approximate extent 
 of the Indus VaUey. 
 
 Between latitudes 23° and 30° N. 
 the temperature is warm. 
 
 Florida is in about the same 
 latitude, but the extremes of tem- 
 perature are not so great owing to 
 the water mass that surrounds it 
 and tempers both heat and cold. 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 What is a famine? 
 
 Sufficient conversation to im- 
 press upon the children the suffer- 
 ing attendant upon famine. 
 
 What are some of the conditions 
 that bring about a famine? 
 
 Have you ever heard of famines 
 in our country? Why not? 
 
 In what part of the world have 
 you heard of famines ? 
 
 What were some of the causes 
 of famine in Egypt? 
 
 The Indus VaUey in India is 
 one of the regions that is subject 
 to terrible famines. Let us see if 
 we can find the reason for it. 
 
 Point out the Indus on the map. 
 Where does it rise? Where empty? 
 Draw your pointer along the length 
 of the valley — across it. 
 
 In what latitude is it? 
 
 What temperature conditions 
 must prevail there? What part 
 of North America is in about the 
 same latitude? What do you 
 know about the temperature of 
 Florida? Do you think that the 
 Indus Valley has about the same 
 temperature? Look careftilly at 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 199 
 
 Isothennal maps for January 
 and July verify the class conclu- 
 sions. 
 
 Jan. July. 
 
 Indus Valley, 4o°-6o° 90° 
 Florida so°-6o° 80° 
 
 Rainfall. 
 
 Indus Valley is in the trade wind 
 belt. 
 
 North of the equator the trades 
 blow from the northeast. 
 
 The air over the land becomes 
 heated and expands. The cooler 
 air from the water blows in. 
 
 the location of both places — 
 Florida and the Indus Valley. 
 Can you see any reason for think- 
 ing that temperature is not the 
 same ? How are the summer and 
 winter temperatures of Florida 
 affected by the waters about it? 
 How are the summer and winter 
 temperatures of the Indus Valley 
 affected by the land mass about it ? 
 
 Find out whether your conclu- 
 sions are right. 
 
 Is the temperature of Florida 
 favorable or unfavorable to crops ? 
 
 Is a temperature somewhat 
 hotter in summer and colder in 
 winter unfavorable to crops? 
 
 Is there anything, then, in the 
 temperature of the Indus Valley 
 that explains their famines? 
 
 We must evidently look for 
 some other cause for the famines. 
 Upon what other climatic con- 
 ditions do crops depend ? 
 
 In what wind belt does the 
 Indus Valley lie ? 
 
 From what general direction 
 do the trades blow in the northern 
 hemisphere ? 
 
 Let us see if there is ever any 
 exception to this rule. How does 
 the temperature of the land com- 
 pare with the temperature of the 
 water in summer? What effect 
 has this upon the air over the land ? 
 What naturally follows ? 
 
200 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 From a general southerly direc- 
 tion. 
 
 Arrows on map show that the 
 winds come from the southwest. 
 
 From the northeast in winter. 
 From the southwest in summer. 
 
 There can be practically no 
 rainfall in the Indus Valley in 
 winter because the winds blow over 
 the great land mass of eastern and 
 south-central Asia before reaching 
 the Indus and have lost their 
 moisture. 
 
 There is more rainfall in summer 
 because the winds from the south- 
 west come directly from the 
 ocean. The vaUey Hes so low, 
 however, that the winds sweep 
 over the southern part of it without 
 having much of their moisture 
 condensed. There is little con- 
 densation until they near the high- 
 lands on the north. 
 
 Refer to rainfall maps which 
 show well-watered regions in the 
 upper valley — desert in the lower. 
 
 Generally favorable in the upper 
 valley — unfavorable in the lower. 
 
 The Nile Valley — Egypt. 
 
 The annual overflow of the 
 river. 
 
 From what direction, then, do 
 the winds blow in India? 
 
 Turn to the map of the winds 
 and find the exact direction. These 
 winds are called the Southwest 
 Monsoons. 
 
 TeU again from what direction 
 the winds of India come. 
 
 What, then, do you conclude as 
 to the rainfall of the Indus Valley 
 in winter ? Is there apt to be more 
 or less rainfall in summer ? Why ? 
 Look at the map very carefully 
 and see if it is likely that even the 
 summer winds bring much rainfall. 
 Is the rainfall equally hght all 
 through the valley? Where is it 
 apt to be heaviest? Why? 
 
 Prove that your conclusions 
 are correct. 
 
 Would you then say that the 
 rainfall is favorable or unfavorable 
 for agriculture ? 
 
 Does this mean, necessarily, 
 that agriculture cannot be carried 
 on in the lower valley? 
 
 What other river valley have 
 you studied that is noted for its 
 agriculture in spite of a very hght 
 rainfall ? 
 
 What makes agriculture pos- 
 sible in the Nile Valley? 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 20I 
 
 The heavy precipitation in the 
 mountainous districts that feed its 
 tributaries. 
 
 Indus has many tributaries that 
 rise in the Himalayas. In the 
 summer, when the snows on the 
 mountains melt, these tributaries 
 carry to the main stream such a 
 quantity of water that an inunda- 
 tion results. 
 
 Overflow is less and a corre- 
 spondingly smaller area productive. 
 
 Character of the soil. 
 
 River vaUeys in general have a 
 rich soil. A river that overflows 
 leaves a deposit of rich mud that 
 makes its baiJis very fertile. 
 
 Favorable — warm climate, rich 
 soil, overflow of the river. 
 
 Unfavorable — scanty rainfall. 
 
 Crops grow so rapidly and easily 
 when rains do not fail, that vast 
 numbers of the people engage in 
 farming. It is almost purely an 
 agricultural region. 
 
 It has attracted vast numbers of 
 people. 
 
 Principal products — millet, 
 rice, cotton, sugar cane, wheat, 
 tea. 
 
 Practically all needed for home 
 consumption. 
 
 To what is the overflow of the 
 Nile due ? 
 
 Is there anything in the loca- 
 tion of the Indus that makes it 
 hkely that it, too, overflows? 
 
 What is the result if the rainfall 
 is less abundant than usual? 
 
 Upon what beside temperature 
 and rainfall does the productive- 
 ness of a region depend? 
 
 Can you come to any conclusion 
 in regard to the sofl of the Indus 
 Valley? 
 
 State again the conditions in the 
 valley that are favorable to agri- 
 culture. Those that are unfavor- 
 able. 
 
 What has been the effect of these 
 physical conditions upon the oc- 
 cupations of the people? 
 
 What has been their effect upon 
 the density of population? 
 
 What crops would you expect 
 to find in the Indus Valley ? Con- 
 sult your textbooks and see what 
 else is grown there. 
 
 Do you think that much is ex- 
 ported ? Why, then, do they have 
 such terrible famines in India? 
 
 More railroads might be built Can you suggest anything that 
 
202 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 in order that food products could 
 be carried readily from one section 
 to another. 
 
 Better methods of irrigation 
 might be employed. 
 
 More variety of occupation 
 might be introduced, so that fewer 
 people would be directly dependent 
 upon agriculture for a living. 
 
 might be done to lessen the danger 
 of famine ? 
 
 Consult your textbooks and see 
 what steps have already been taken 
 in this direction. 
 
 A LESSON POR APPEECIATION 
 
 A lesson for appreciation which includes creative and inter- 
 pretative work. The interpretation of the song in the dance, 
 or dramatic game. 
 
 This lesson was planned and taught to a group of second- 
 grade children by Miss Eleanor Wright of the Speyer School, 
 Teachers College, Columbia University. 
 
 The lesson was based upon the little German folk song which 
 follows : — 
 
 ®a« ©tecfeiUjferb 
 
 i 
 
 tf 
 
 &z 
 
 d= 
 
 4- 
 
 t=^ 
 
 =^ 
 
 1. Hopp, hopp, hopp! 
 
 2. Tipp, tipp, tappl 
 
 Pferd - Chen, lauf ' Ga - lopp, 
 Wirf mich ja nioht abl 
 
 Si: 
 
 #-. 
 
 -^ 
 
 sonst 
 
 ber Stock, und ii 
 be - kommat du Peit - 
 
 ber 
 schen 
 
 Stei 
 hie 
 
 ne, 
 be! 
 
 t9ti5 ^ 
 
 ±- f*' i 
 
 — 1 
 
 *- 
 
 !•_ 
 
 
 -J!S— ..J 
 
 rtch *' • 
 
 ' * ~i 'f 
 
 - 
 
 T 
 
 h— 
 
 — 1 
 
 
 vv ; 
 
 J — -J 
 
 
 [i 1 
 
 tt 
 
 a ber brich mir nicht die Bei - ne I 
 Pferd - Chen, thu' mir'a ja zu lie be ; 
 
 ^ 
 
 EE 
 
 5EEj? 
 
 ^^ 
 
 :i!=^ 
 
 ^ 
 
 im-mer Im 6a - lopp I liopp,hopp,hopp,hopp,hoppI 
 wirf mioh ja nioht ab ! tipp - ti, tapp - ti, tapp 1 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 203 
 
 Teacher's aims: — 
 
 1. To have the children make a dance which will be suitable 
 to the music of Das Steckenpferd. 
 
 2. To help the children to appreciate this form of self-expres- 
 sion, — expression by means of the whole body. 
 
 Pupils' aim: — 
 
 To make a little "folk dance" which they will present at the 
 May Festival for the entertainment of parents and friends. 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 I. A. Getting the problem be- 
 fore the children. 
 
 1. The surprise. 
 
 2. Reason for doing this 
 
 work. 
 
 3. Nature of the problem. 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 I. A. I. Do you remember, chil- 
 dren, that I promised 
 you a great surprise this 
 morning? Well, this is 
 it. 
 
 2. One day, not long ago. 
 Miss S., Miss T., and I 
 were talking over our 
 program for the May 
 Festival, and we decided 
 that the little people did 
 not have enough to do. 
 
 The first-grade children 
 are to play a little story, 
 and our two grades, you 
 know, are to sing The 
 Little Princess — so we 
 thought that the sec- 
 ond grade ought to have 
 a little part of its own. 
 Now what do you think 
 it is to be ? I am going 
 to tell you. 
 
 3. We are going to make 
 our own little dance to 
 the music of Das Pferd- 
 chen. Don't you think 
 that will be very inter- 
 esting ? 
 
204 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 B. I. Set the standard for 
 judging the value 
 of the work done : 
 that is, to have 
 the dance tell the 
 same story as the 
 music. 
 
 2. Consider some other 
 familiar melodies, 
 and show, in phys- 
 ical expression, 
 what they tell. 
 
 a. Soldier Song. 
 (Bentley Song Primer.) 
 
 b. Bye-Low. 
 (Bentley Song Primer.) 
 
 c. Old Black Joe. 
 
 d. Robin Hood and Lit- 
 
 tle John. 
 
 Choose those pupils to in- 
 terpret a song to 
 whom it seems to 
 appeal most. 
 
 1. Soldier Song — boys. 
 
 2. Bye- Low — ■ girls. 
 
 3. Robin Hood — part- 
 
 ners. 
 
 1. When we made the 
 tunes for our songs last 
 winter, what did the 
 music always have to 
 teU? 
 
 Just so, as we make 
 our dance to-day, it must 
 tell the same story as the 
 folk song. 
 
 2. Let us sing one of our 
 little songs that we have 
 known for a long time, 
 and see if we can tell, 
 in a dance, how that 
 makes us feel. 
 
 Different children 
 may here give different, 
 individual interpreta- 
 tions. Encourage much 
 freedom. 
 
 I am thinking of an- 
 other tune that is quite 
 different from this one. 
 You may sing it with 
 me if you like. 
 
 Virginia may show xis 
 how that song makes 
 her feel : what she wishes 
 to do when she hears it. 
 
 (Handle these two 
 songs in a manner simi- 
 lar to that used for the 
 other two.) 
 
 I am going to choose 
 James to dance this, for 
 he knows so much about 
 soldiers. 
 
 Whom do you think 
 could best show us how 
 Bye-Low " goes " ? Yes, 
 I believe the girls can. 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 205 
 
 II. A . Das Pferdchen. 
 
 I. Kind of song — gay. 
 
 2. Things a little horse 
 would do. 
 
 a. Gallop. 
 h. Jump. 
 
 c. Trot. 
 
 d. Paw the earth. 
 
 e. Stamp. 
 
 /. Step very high. 
 
 g. Carry his head 
 
 proudly. 
 h. Prance. 
 
 3. Find any or all of these 
 movements in the 
 song. 
 
 4. Analysis of stanzas. 
 First stanza — • 3 parts. 
 
 a. Jumping. 
 
 h. Galloping. 
 
 c. Jumping lightly. 
 
 Henry may choose- a 
 little boy and girl to 
 show us how this tune 
 {Robin Hood) seems to 
 go- 
 n. A. Our little sotig, Das Pferd- 
 chen, is very different 
 from all these. 
 
 Let us sing it to- 
 gether, to "la." 
 
 1. What kind of song 
 do you think it is? 
 How does it make you 
 feel? 
 
 2. This song is about 
 a little horse. Now 
 what can a little horse 
 do? 
 
 3. Now we shall sing our 
 song again, and this 
 time you must listen 
 very carefully so that 
 you can teU what this 
 little horse does. 
 
 4. Is this stanza alike 
 throughout, or are there 
 different parts to it ? 
 You may raise your 
 hands when we come to 
 the end of each part. 
 Name each part. 
 
2o6 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 S. You may show us how 
 that first part makes you 
 feel, Leland. 
 
 Irving may show us 
 his way of doing it. 
 
 You have seen these 
 two boys work ; have you 
 any suggestion to give? 
 
 Which piece of work 
 do you consider more ap- 
 propriate ? Why ? 
 
 Are you willing to ac- 
 cept this for your finished 
 dance ? 
 
 Now we have gotten 
 the movements for our 
 first stanza, we shall see if 
 the second stanza is very 
 like it. 
 
 How many move- 
 ments did you hear in it ? 
 h. Is the general spirit of the 
 second stanza just like 
 that of the first? 
 
 Compare ? 
 
 Will you not show us, 
 Josephine, how that little 
 horse seems to go, in 
 this second stanza. 
 
 Now William is a very 
 strong horse, so we shall 
 put you with him and 
 make a fine "team." 
 
 III. A. I. Review the whole dance. HI- A., i. Since we have gotten all 
 
 our dance, in parts, 
 maybe you would like 
 to see some one dance 
 it all the way through. 
 
 S. Interpretation of each 
 part by several 
 different children. 
 
 6. Criticism. 
 
 a. Suggestions and con- 
 structive criticism 
 of work done. 
 
 h. Judgment of the 
 class as to the rela- 
 tive values of 
 work. 
 
 c. Selection made for 
 permanent dance. 
 
 7. a. Analysis of second 
 
 stanza — 3 move- 
 ments. 
 
 6. Contrast the general 
 spirit of first and 
 second stanzas. 
 
 8. Encourage timid pupils 
 to put forth effort. 
 Have a very weak 
 one work with one 
 who is strong in 
 this line. 
 
Lesson Plans 
 
 207 
 
 Give the incentive to 
 work upon this 
 until it is a very 
 finished product. 
 
 Provide for a way of 
 getting on and ofiE 
 the floor, when the 
 dance is given. 
 
 Who will be strong 
 enough to do this with- 
 out any help ? 
 
 We liked that very 
 much. 
 
 2. But I wonder if you 
 feel ready to give this at 
 the May Festival, just 
 as it is ? 
 
 Why not ? 
 
 What will be neces- 
 sary, then, before we can 
 feel satisfied with it ? 
 
 3. Now we know how our 
 dance is to go after we 
 have gotten out on the 
 floor, but we have not 
 said how we shall get to 
 and from our places. 
 
 Don't you think this 
 is very important ? 
 
 4. I am going to ask you 
 to be ready to answer 
 this question on Mon- 
 day: 
 
 What will be the most 
 suitable and pleasing 
 way in which to get be- 
 fore our audience; and 
 also, back to our places 
 after our dance has been 
 given. 
 
 A LESSON IN ARITHMETIC BASED ON A REAL PROBLEM WHICH 
 WAS INTERESTING TO CHILDREN 
 
 Such a lesson gives little opportunity for practice in arith- 
 metical computation, but gives the very best possible motive 
 for the drill work which is to follow. This lesson was planned 
 and taught in the third grade of the Speyer School, Teachers 
 College, Columbia University,, bv Miss Roxana A. Steele. 
 
 4. Assignment. 
 
2o8 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Teacher's aims: To have children appreciate the practical 
 value of itemized bills. 
 
 To make children conscious of their need for the multipli- 
 cation table of six. 
 
 Pupil's aim: To find the cost of the basket of food to be 
 given to a poor family on Thanksgiving Day. 
 
 SxJBjECT Matter 
 
 Thanksgiving baskets are sent 
 annually to the needy families of 
 the neighborhood. 
 
 Voluntary oflEerings of money, 
 groceries, help in preparing and 
 distributing. 
 
 An offer to pay for a Thanks- 
 giving basket if the value were 
 estimated. 
 
 List of things for the Thanks- 
 
 giving basket: 
 
 
 I squash. 
 
 
 2 cans of vegetables. 
 
 
 3 qt. of potatoes. 
 
 
 2 qt. of apples. 
 
 
 6 lb. of beef. 
 
 
 I qt. of cranberries. 
 
 ' 
 
 I lb. of sugar. 
 
 
 1 lb. of nuts. 
 
 
 Market list prices : 
 
 
 Small squash . . . 
 
 . 12^ 
 
 Large squash . . . 
 
 . l8j!! 
 
 Canned vegetables . 
 
 . lOfl! 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 How many children know about 
 the Thanksgiving baskets which 
 are sent from the Speyer School? 
 
 You may tell the rest of the class 
 how this work is planned for. 
 
 Miss S. was telling me yester- 
 day that a gentleman offered to pay 
 for one of the baskets, but she did 
 not know the value of one. She said 
 that she knew the different articles 
 which are put into the basket, but 
 did not know the value of each. 
 I thought Grade III could find the 
 cost for her. Would you like to 
 try to do it? (Pupils' Aim.) 
 
 Miss S. gave me a list of the 
 things which are to go into the 
 basket. 
 
 As I put the list on thp board 
 try to think of the price of each 
 article. 
 
 We will choose the average price 
 because our goods will be average 
 goods. 
 
Potatoes per qt. 
 Apples per qt. . . 
 Cranberries per qt, 
 Sugar per lb. . . 
 Nuts mixed per lb, 
 
 Small squash . 
 Large squash . 
 
 Medium squash . 
 
 Lesson Plans 
 
 12^ 
 12/ 
 
 209 
 
 2)301* 
 
 6 lb. of beef at 16/ = $.96 
 
 $.16 
 
 
 .16 
 
 
 .16 
 
 $.16 a lb. 
 
 .16 
 
 X6 
 
 .16 
 
 $.96 for 6 lb 
 
 .16 
 
 
 $.96 
 
 Suggestions. 
 
 Numbers in straight columns. 
 
 Add up and down. 
 
 Give proper name to answer. 
 
 Board addition. 
 
 Papers for Miss S. and the 
 gentleman. 
 
 Neat. 
 
 Correct. 
 
 Good writing. 
 
 Cost of Thanksgiving basket, 
 $2.15. 
 
 Need of 6 table. 
 
 How many are ready to tell the 
 price of the squash? How can 
 you find the medium price ? You 
 may record the squash. Who can 
 fill in the second line and explain 
 it? Class be ready to criticize. 
 
 Same method with the other 
 items except item about meat. 
 
 How can we find the cost of 6 
 lb. of beef at 16/ a pound ? 
 
 Teacher do the multiplying, 
 showing the practical value of the 
 knowledge of the 6 table. Which 
 is the better way and why? 
 
 Is there any question before 
 finding the value of the basket as 
 a whole ? 
 
 Who can give helpful suggestions 
 to make sure that the answer is cor- 
 rect? 
 
 Checking of results at board by 
 pupil whose work is incorrect. 
 
 These three children may choose 
 the two best papers and tell why 
 they select them. 
 
 What have we found out in to- 
 day's lesson ? 
 
 What do you think we ought 
 to do in the arithmetic lesson to- 
 morrow ? 
 
 (Problem to carry over.) 
 
2IO A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Aim for next lesson to be ex 
 pressed by pupils. 
 
 We cannot always follow in every detail the plan which 
 we make for a lesson. It is interesting in this connection to 
 read Miss Steele's accurate account of what actually hap- 
 pened when the lesson, as planned above, was taught. The 
 description which follows appeared in the Atlantic Educa- 
 tional Journal for November, 1910. 
 
 A PRACTICAL LESSON IN ARITHMETIC 
 
 By Roxana A. Steele, Speyer School, Teachers College, 
 Columbia University 
 
 Pupil's aim: To find the cost of a Thanksgiving dinner. 
 Teacher's aim: To make children conscious of their needs in arith- 
 metic. 
 
 Last fall Grade Three had been studying the wholesale market in 
 industrial work. The wholesale market was compared with the retail 
 market, prices contrasted, etc., and much language and arithmetic work 
 was based upon this work. 
 
 A few days before Thanksgiving a gentleman stepped into the school 
 office and offered to pay for one of the Thanksgiving baskets which the 
 school sends out to poor famiHes in the neighborhood. No one seemed 
 to know the exact value of one of the baskets, so Grade Three was asked 
 to make the estimate. 
 
 This could have been done by an adult in a few minutes, but it would 
 have been done no more accurately than the children were able to do it 
 after having made a careful study of market lists. The exercise also 
 furnished an excellent child's aim for the arithmetic lesson. The class 
 felt its responsibility and was anxious to do good work. 
 
 The list of things generally put into one of the baskets was given to 
 the class. The children decided upon the average price of eadi item. 
 This called for an appreciation of the word average. The work was 
 done orally with class discussion. For instance, when the price of a 
 squash was asked, one child said "twelve cents," another, "eighteen 
 cents," etc. The class finally agreed that a medium-sized squash would 
 cost about fifteen cents. 
 
Lesson Plans 211 
 
 Small squash . . 12)* 
 
 Large squash 18)* 
 
 2)30^ 
 15? 
 
 The child who recorded the price of the squash on the board wrote 
 fifteen cents — $.15. Before the lesson was over, several children had 
 a little trouble in writing cents without dimes ($.06), keeping the money 
 columns straight, using the dollar mark and decimal point, etc. With 
 suggestions from other members of the class, the list was complete. 
 
 In the item "6 lb. of beef @ 16)*" the class found that it was neces- 
 sary to multiply by six. As they had never had the six table, I did not 
 expect them to be able to do it, but it chanced that one boy knew his 
 six table and did the work readily. 
 
 Marion Thahnan. Nov. 23, 1909. 
 The Cost of a Thanksgiving Dinner 
 
 1 squash $ .15 
 
 2 cans of vegetables @ xdP .20 
 
 3 qt. of potatoes @ 8)* .24 
 6 lb. of beef @ 16^ .96 
 2 qt. of apples @ i2i* .24 
 I qt. cranberries .12 
 I lb. sugar .06 
 I lb. nuts .18 
 
 $2.15 
 
 When the price of each item had been decided upon, the children 
 found the total cost at their seats, and their results were compared. 
 
 The lesson closed with the question, "What did you find out in to-day's 
 lesson?" The answers were: "The cost of a Thanksgiving basket"; 
 "That RusseU is the only child who knows his six table"; "That we 
 need to write dollars and cents so that we won't make mistakes." 
 
 At the beginning of the arithmetic lesson the following day, when 
 the class was asked, "What do we need to do to-day?" there was a divi- 
 sion of opinion as to whether the drill on dollars and cents or learning 
 of the six table should come first. The decision was in favor of the drill 
 on writing money, and the six table was presented later in the same 
 period. 
 
 The result of the lesson on the cost of the dinner was sent to the prin- 
 cipal. The class received a note of thanks for the help which it had 
 rendered. The children were proud of their accomphshment and anxious 
 to work out more real problems. 
 
212 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 A LESSON FOR APPRECIATION 
 
 Teacher^ aim : To help children to enjoy Stevenson's 
 Bed in Summer. 
 
 Did any child in the room ever have to go to bed before it 
 was dark? Did you ever get up in the morning before day- 
 light? Stevenson remembered how he used to feel when he 
 had to go to bed before dark, and wrote a story about it. Would 
 you like to hear the story ? 
 
 Children's aim: To enjoy Stevenson's story about going 
 to bed before dark. 
 
 Subject Matter 
 
 bed in summer 
 
 "In winter I get up at night 
 And dress by yellow candle light ; 
 In summer quite the other way, 
 I have to go to bed by day. 
 
 "I have to go to bed and see 
 The birds still hopping on the 
 
 tree, 
 And hear the grown-up people's 
 
 feet 
 Still going past me in the street. 
 
 " And does it not seem hard to 
 
 you, 
 When all the sky is clear and blue. 
 And I should like so much to 
 
 play. 
 To have to go to bed by day ? " 
 
 Method of Procedure 
 
 I want you to tell me all you 
 can about the place where Steven- 
 son lived, when I am through read- 
 ing the story. 
 
 Read the poem. 
 
 Who will describe the place 
 where he lived ? 
 
 Were there other children who 
 lived near by? 
 
 Were there any trees near the 
 house ? 
 
 I'll read the poem again and you 
 will see how many reasons Steven- 
 son had for not wanting to go to 
 bed by day. 
 
 Read the poem again twice. 
 
 Why does he tell you that he has 
 to get up at night in the winter ? 
 
 When do the birds go to bed ? 
 
 Do the grown-up people go to 
 bed when children do? 
 
 How was he able to see the birds 
 in the trees? Do you think he 
 ever got out of bed? 
 
Lesson Plans 213 
 
 Do you think all the children in 
 the street had to go to bed as early 
 as Stevenson? Let me read the 
 last stanza and see whether you 
 can tell. 
 
 Recall the Mother Goose Rhyme : 
 " Girls and boys come out to play, 
 The moon doth shine as bright 
 as day; 
 
 Leave your supper and leave 
 
 your sleep, 
 And come with your playfellows 
 
 into the street." 
 
 How did Stevenson know the 
 other children were in the street? 
 
 Read the last stanza. 
 
 I'll read the whole story again, 
 and then ask some one to tell me 
 Stevenson's story about going to 
 bed in summer. 
 
 Read the poem, calling attention 
 to the different scenes : (i) The 
 boy that gets up by night and 
 dresses by yellow candlelight. 
 (2) In summer quite the other way, 
 he has to go to bed by day — he 
 has to go to bed and see the birds 
 still hopping on the tree and hear 
 the grown-up people's feet still 
 going past him in the street. (3) 
 The httle boy lying in bed who 
 feels very much abused. 
 
 And does it not seem hard to you, 
 etc. ? Let us see all of the pictures 
 again. Read in same way again. 
 Who will tell the story? 
 
 I am going to write it on the 
 board, so that we can tell the story 
 as Stevenson did. 
 
214 ^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 After the treatment indicated above, memorization will be 
 very easily accomplished. The preliminary study for appre- 
 ciation will make the poem mean more to the children than it 
 could have meant had the teacher simply read it to the chil- 
 dren two or three times and then asked them to memorize it. 
 
 In a study lesson, the plans will vary from a single exercise 
 in finding the principal thought in a paragraph to a develop- 
 ment lesson, not dissimilar as to plan to other lessons of the 
 same type. The recitation lesson may be a development 
 lesson, inductive or deductive, or a drill lesson. The plans 
 would therefore be similar to those given above. 
 
 In conclusion, it may be suggested that any teacher who feels 
 that it is impossible to plan all of her work will gain greatly if 
 she will plan carefully for a single subject. As facility is gained 
 in plan making, it will be possible to write plans for two or 
 three or for more subjects. A topic plan should result in defi- 
 niteness in the work of both teacher and pupils. Good plans 
 give the teacher more freedom in conducting her work, and 
 enable her to tell definitely the progress which the class has 
 made. Plans are necessary in teaching. No one has a right 
 to pretend to teach without previous thought concerning the 
 subject to be taught, and the method to be employed in giving 
 children command of this material. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 W. W. Charters, Methods of Teaching, Chapter XIX. 
 
 C. A. and F. M. McMurry, The Method of the Recitation, Chapter XIV. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 The plans which follow were offered to teachers as suggestions rather 
 than as outlines of subject matter or of procedure to be followed abso- 
 lutely. Reorganize these plans so as to show subject matter and method 
 separately. Add to the subject matter or method wherever necessary. 
 If you think best, change the organization of material, the statement of 
 aim, the references to books, and the like. Do not change the topic. 
 As a result of your work you should be ready to present a plan for which 
 you are willing to stand. 
 
Lesson Plans 215 
 
 LITERATURE — THIRD GRADE 
 
 Ataxanta's Race 
 
 Note. —The story of Atalanta's Race furnishes material for several 
 lessons. The following outline embraces the whole set of lessons. 
 
 Aim: — 
 
 To teach the story of Atalanta's Race. 
 I. Division into parts. 
 
 1. Atalanta. 
 
 2. Hippomenes. 
 
 3. The Race. 
 
 n. OutHning of each part. 
 
 1. Atalanta. 
 
 a. Her home. 
 
 6. Swiftness of foot. 
 
 c. Beauty and grace. Desire of youths to win her. 
 
 i. Her determination. 
 
 2. Hippomenes. 
 
 a. Who he was. 
 h. His decision. 
 c. His resort to strategy. 
 
 3. The Race. 
 
 a. Atalanta's self-confidence. 
 6. The first apple ; the result. 
 
 c. The second apple ; the result. 
 
 d. The third apple ; the result. 
 Preparation : — 
 
 Tell me of a game in which one child outruns another. 
 
 Tell me of a story in which two animals played a game like this race 
 
 of Atalanta. (Hare and Tortoise.) 
 Let us play a game in which two boys run a race. 
 Let us play the Hare and the Tortoise. 
 Which is the faster nmner, the hare or the tortoise ? 
 How, then, did the tortoise win the race ? 
 Presentation : — 
 Let the teacher tell the story of the Hare and the Tortoise. 
 Find in the Atalanta story the person who takes the place of the hare, 
 
 and the one who takes the place of the tortoise. 
 By showing the picture in the book, have the children solve the problem. 
 Did Atalanta expect to win the race ? Why not ? 
 
2i6 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 How did this make her act ? 
 
 Did the hare expect to lose the race ? Why not ? 
 
 The teacher may tell the story of the girl going to market with a 
 basket of eggs on her head. She was so sure of getting 
 sale for her eggs that she set to dreaming of the pretty 
 things she would buy with the money she was to get for 
 the eggs. She would buy, she thought, a bright new 
 dress and a new hat ; and then how mean and shabby 
 she could make the other girls look ; and how she could 
 walk past them all, tossing her head in pride ! Forget- 
 ting that she was stiU only on her way to market, she 
 then gave her head a proud little toss ; and — what do 
 you think happened ? 
 
 Let the children give the story of the Hare and the Tortoise in their 
 own words. 
 
 What is Ukely to happen to any one of us who is too sure of winning ? 
 
 What will we say, then, of any one who is too sure of anything? 
 
 It has been said, " Count not your chickens before they are hatched." 
 What does this mean ? 
 
 ARITHMETIC — FIFTH GRADE 
 Aim: — 
 To teach division of decimals. 
 
 The following is assumed as class knowledge upon which the process 
 should be based. 
 
 1. Ability to read and write decimals. 
 
 2. Vivid knowledge of the relations of one hundred to ten, ten to 
 
 one unit, one unit to one tenth, one tenth to one 
 hundredth, etc. 
 
 3. Knowledge of the process of division of whole numbers. 
 
 4. The principle: multiplying or dividing both dividend and 
 
 divisor by the same number does not change the quotient. 
 Preparation : — % 5141 
 I. Division by an integer. j-)|Tr^Yc 
 a. Find the value of 1 acre of land -- 
 if IS acres cost $77115. 
 
 IS 
 61 
 60 
 
 IS 
 IS 
 
Lesson Plans 217 
 
 h. Find the value of i acre of land if 15 acres cost $ 771.15. 
 
 $51-41 
 
 is)$77iiS 
 75 . 
 21 
 15 
 6.1 
 6.0 
 
 •IS 
 •15 
 
 Compare the steps in (6) with the corresponding steps in (a). The 
 pupil wUl experience no difficulty in telling the unit that each quotient 
 figure represents, for he knows that dividing any number into parts 
 does not change its unit. 
 Presentation : — 
 
 a. 1 2 is contained in 36 how many times ? 
 
 12)36 
 
 3 
 
 6. Multiply both dividend and divisor in (a) by 2. 
 24 is contained in 72 how many times? 
 
 24)72 
 
 3 
 c. Multiply both dividend and divisor in (o) by 10. 
 120 is contained in 360 how many times ? 
 
 120 )360 
 3 
 
 Compare the quotients. Recall the principle: Multiplying both 
 dividend and divisor by the same number does not change the quotient. 
 d,. .2 is contained in 2.4 how many times? 
 
 Multiplying both numbers by 10, to what is the divisor 
 
 changed ? To a whole number. 
 2 is contained in 24 how many times ? 
 
 2)24 
 12 
 
2i8 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 e. .22 is contained in 2.42 how many times? 
 
 Change .22 to a whole nmnber, by multiplying both the 
 
 numbers by 100. 
 22 is contained in 242 how many times ? 
 
 22^242 
 22 
 22 
 22 
 
 .005 is contained in .125 how many times? 
 By what shall both numbers, be multiplied so that .005 may 
 
 become the whole number 5 ? 
 5 is contained in 125 how many times? 
 
 5 )125 
 25 
 
 2.88 is contained in 3.456 how many times? 
 
 By what shall both numbers be multipUed so that 2.88 
 
 may become the whole number 288 ? 
 288 is contained in 345.6 how many times? 
 
 1.2 
 288)345.6 
 
 57-6 
 57-6 
 
 Many such examples will enable the pupils to formulate the generali- 
 zation: "To divide a decimal by a decimal, multiply the dividend and 
 divisor by the power of ten that wUl change the divisor to an integer, 
 then divide as in simple division." 
 
 NATURE STUDY — FIFTH GRADE 
 
 Detailed Plan foe a Series of Lessons 
 
 Topic : — 
 
 The horse. 
 Materials : — 
 
 The horse seen on the street; drinking fountains; horsemanship 
 observed ; harness ; shoes ; protection ; different kinds 
 
Lesson Plans 219 
 
 of vehicles; printed matter issued by the Society for 
 the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and by the De- 
 partment of Agriculture. 
 Aim: — 
 To train the children to meet sympathetically and inteUigently their 
 responsibilities to the horse. 
 Preparation : — 
 
 Years of interest in horses ; directed observation of other periods. 
 Presentation : — 
 
 1. Stories of horses known to the children — those owned by 
 
 their parents, fire horses, horses of the mounted poHce, 
 showing their faithfulness, intelligence, strength, train- 
 ing, treatment. 
 
 In the city of Baltimore the old fire horse is practically pen- 
 sioned when unfit for further service. This is one way 
 in which right-minded people acknowledge their obliga- 
 tions to horses, by providing for their comfort in their 
 old age. 
 
 Have stories like the Pacing Mustang read to the class; 
 allow the children to take the storybooks home, and 
 encourage them to bring to the class other stories about 
 horses. Encourage the children to read brief histories 
 of the great breeds of horses — the Norman horses, 
 Clydesdales, etc. — horses that hold the world's records 
 for speed. 
 
 2. Observations to identify horses that show normal blood, and 
 
 discover their fitness of blood and temperament for the 
 
 work they are doing. 
 Are they strong enough for the work they are required to do ? 
 Are they disturbed by passing street cars ? If so, how do they 
 
 show it ? 
 What is the effect upon them of the confusion of other city 
 
 noises ? 
 Notice that while some horses are evidently distressed by the 
 
 confusion of city Hfe, others love it and become home- 
 sick when sold for use in the country. 
 Blanketing : — 
 
 Call attention to the manner in which large firms so carefully 
 
 blanket their horses. 
 Why should a horse be blanketed when he is standing ? 
 
 Shoeing : — 
 
 Notice the cause of slipping, stumbUng, and falling on icy or 
 
2 20 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 wet pavements, and therefore the necessity for rough 
 shoes, rubber shoes, etc. 
 
 If possible, bring into the class a specimen of a patent horse- 
 shoe ; the shoe and shield of a cart horse. 
 Harness : — 
 
 Is the horse easy in harness ? 
 
 What sort of a checkrein would you use ? Why ? 
 
 Why is the back pad used with the two-wheel cart ? 
 
 What are the effects of an ill-fitting harness ? 
 
 What do you think of the law which in some places punishes a 
 man whose horses show galls ? 
 Horsemanship : — 
 
 Have the children report critical situations which have hap- 
 pened within their observation and how they were met 
 by drivers ; their observation of the affection shown by 
 a horse toward his master. 
 General Condition of Horses : — 
 
 Discuss the effect of grooming upon the horse's coat. 
 
 Why should the horse be fed regularly ? 
 
 Why should ground food be given to an old horse whose teeth 
 are poor ? 
 
 Discuss the necessity of allowing the horse freedom in traveling. 
 
 Temporary lameness is frequently due to a stone in the foot ; 
 how may it be removed ? 
 
 What should be done for a horse that is seriously lame ? 
 ' 3. The economic value of such knowledge as the foregoing : — 
 
 Horses are stiffened by standing unblanketed in the wind or 
 cold. 
 
 Foundering is caused by watering a horse when he is over- 
 heated. 
 
 A properly fitted harness and a comfortable checkrein, if any 
 is used, save the strength of the horse. 
 
 The selection of a horse whose strength and temperament fit 
 him for his work adds to his value and usefulness. 
 
 Skillful drivers, especially those who like their teams, can secure 
 a great amount of work from them and yet save much 
 of their energy. It frequently happens that after a day's 
 work one man will bring in a team comparatively fresh, 
 while under a different driver the same team will be 
 worried into exhaustion. 
 4. Knowledge of the work of the Society for the Prevention of 
 Cruelty to Animals : — 
 
Lesson Plans 221 
 
 The work of this society demands judgment based on a fuller 
 knowledge of conditions and causes than most children 
 of their ages possess. Its work, therefore, is not in- 
 tended for children, but they should know what help 
 they may give the society, and be taught to use it. 
 5. Knowledge of the city law for protecting horses. 
 Seat Work : — 
 
 Sketches of horses' hoofs showing how a stone may cause lameness. 
 
 Sketches of different kinds of shoes. 
 
 Sketches of different kinds of checkreins : the overdraw check and 
 its effect ; side check and its effect. 
 
 Different head and ear postures of horses indicative of their conditions 
 and feelings. 
 
 Getting records of observations into shape to present to class. 
 
 Have each member of the class imagine himself to be his favorite horse, 
 — a fire horse ; mounted policeman's horse ; a United 
 Railway repair wagon horse ; a hospital ambulance horse ; 
 an express-wagon horse ; a carriage horse ; a broken-down 
 carriage horse, etc., — and write a story of his part in a 
 fire, a serious accident, or some other situation. 
 
 Give related language work. 
 
 GEOGRAPHY — FIFTH GRADE 
 Detailed Plan for a Series of Lessons 
 
 Topic : — 
 
 Pittsburg as a trade center. 
 Materials : — 
 
 Pictures, maps, sand table, specimens of iron ore, coal, coke, lime- 
 stone, reference books, railroad folders. 
 
 Aim: — ■ , • 
 
 To show how natural advantages have determined the location and 
 growth of Pittsburg ; to show the direction and extent 
 of manufacturing and commerce in Pittsburg. 
 Preparation : — 
 
 1. Study of coal mine, iron mine, blast furnace. 
 
 2. Relation of iron mines to coal mines. 
 
 3. Location of Pittsburg — 
 (o) in coal region. 
 
 (&) at junction of rivers which form the Ohio River. 
 
22 2 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Presentation : — 
 
 (Following closely McMurry's Special Method in Geography.) 
 
 1. Advantages of Pittsburg for iron and steel manufacturing. 
 
 Illustrate with sand map. 
 (a) Coal region — rivers bring coal to Pittsburg. 
 (6) Iron region near. 
 
 Much iron ore brought from Lake Superior region ida 
 
 Great Lakes, by railroad from Lake Erie. 
 In manufacture of steel more coal is used than iron ore; 
 it pays to bring iron ore to coal. 
 
 (c) Manufactured products — steel raUs, armor plate, pig iron. 
 
 (d) Rank of Pittsburg in regard to manufacture of iron and 
 
 steel. Pittsburg makes lo per cent of all iron and steel 
 goods made in the United States. 
 
 2. Neighboring manufacturing towns. 
 
 (a) Names — Allegheny, Carnegie, Homestead, Braddock, etc. 
 (6) How do their manufactures compare with those of Pitts- 
 burg in kind ? in quantity ? in value ? 
 
 3. Coke ovens. 
 
 Uses of coke. 
 
 Kind of coal used ; where obtained. 
 
 Amount of it put into each oven. 
 
 Length of burning. 
 
 By-products. 
 
 Drawing out and cooling. 
 
 Extent of ovens. 
 
 Effect on landscape. 
 
 4. Blast furnaces. 
 
 5. Other manufacttires. 
 
 (a) Oil refining. 
 
 Where oil comes from. 
 
 How it is pumped, carried, stored. 
 
 Value of pipe lines. 
 
 How is oil brought to Baltimore ? 
 
 Effect of oil tanks on landscape. 
 
 Processes of refining. 
 
 Dangers. 
 
 Uses. 
 
 By-products. 
 
 (b) Glass making. 
 Kinds of glass made. 
 
Lesson Plans 223 
 
 Materials used. 
 Where found. 
 
 6. Transportation by water. Illustrate with sand map. 
 
 (o) Need for means of transportation: of raw material to 
 
 Pittsburg ; of manufactured products from Pittsburg. 
 (6) Rivers. 
 
 The Allegheny and Monongahela bring raw materials to 
 
 Pittsburg. 
 The Ohio carries raw materials and manufactured products 
 
 away from Pittsburg. 
 No tracks or roadbed to be laid for river, — river always 
 
 ready ; Ohio deep enough for large barges ; swiftness of 
 
 current due to nature of slopes. 
 Coal and iron carried by river as far as New Orleans. 
 
 7. Railroad center. 
 
 (a) Sections of country not reached by waterways. How 
 products are transported to those parts ? 
 
 (6) Need of railroads for people who travel to and from Pitts- 
 burg. 
 
 (c) Chief directions in which railroads lead from Pittsburg. 
 What roads lead from Baltimore to Pittsburg? From 
 New York to Pittsburg ? 
 
 (i) What supplies are brought by railroad besides those needed 
 in manufacturing ? 
 
 8. Aspects of the city of Pittsburg : — 
 
 Wealth — opportunities for getting, for spending. 
 
 Education — what special class of schools likely to develop. 
 
 Smoke and dirt — due to nature of manufactures. 
 Seat Work : — 
 Illustrative drawings. 
 
 Maps showing coal and iron regions, course of rivers. 
 Related language work. 
 Reference reading. 
 
CHAPTER XVII 
 
 THE TEACHER IN BJELATION TO SUPERVISION 
 
 Teachers are generally responsible in some measure to one 
 or more supervisory officers. Those who control the schools 
 beUeve that better work will be done because of the supervision 
 which is provided. It may not be out of place, therefore, in a 
 book devoted to the problems of the teacher to consider the 
 relation to supervision and to those who supervise her work. 
 
 The fundamental purpose of supervision, whether of schools 
 or of other activities, is increased efficiency of all who partici- 
 pate in the work. Supervisors are worthy of the name only 
 when they do their best to increase the efficiency of every teacher 
 with whom they come in contact. Happily, this attitude of 
 helpfulness characterizes most of those who are known as prin- 
 cipals, primary or grammar-grade supervisors, subject super- 
 visors, assistant and associate superintendents, and superin- 
 tendents of schools. It may be that because of the great 
 number of teachers employed in a system of schools some of 
 these officers can have little direct relationship with individual 
 teachers ; but in the organization of the schools, by means of 
 regulations, courses of study and the like, or through those 
 who come directly in contact with teachers, these men and 
 women seek to help each teacher to do better work. It is 
 important that all teachers realize clearly the significance of 
 the supervisor's work, and that she avail herself of the help 
 and cooperation which is thus provided. 
 
 One of the functions of the supervisor is to criticize the work 
 which is being done by individual teachers. It is especially 
 difficult for some teachers to appreciate- the purpose of such 
 criticism, or to avaU themselves of the aid which is offered in 
 
 224 
 
The Teacher in Relation to Supervision 225 
 
 this form. Let us examine the different kinds of criticism 
 which one may expect to receive, and try to discover how to 
 get the most out of this instrument of supervision. 
 
 There are supervisors whose criticism is occasionally purely 
 negative. They come into the room, observe some of the 
 work, and remark, either at the time or later, that the work was 
 good, or that it was poor. It does not help one much, except 
 in a feeHng of good will toward the supervisor, when told that 
 work is well done ; nor is it very significant for future work 
 that one's efforts have been condemned. When the supervisor 
 indulges in this tj^e of criticism, the teacher has a right to ask 
 him for the reasons which lead him to praise or to condemn. 
 If excellent work is to be repeated, then the elements which 
 have made for success should be pointed out. One may try 
 to repeat good work and fail miserably because the elements 
 in the excellent work which made for success have been over- 
 looked in the second effort. Likewise failure may occur, even 
 though it has been stamped as poor work, because the teacher 
 fails to see the essential weakness of her effort. 
 
 Most supervisors are able to find strength of some sort in 
 the work of every teacher. It may be worth while for the 
 teacher at times to ask for a discussion of the strong points in 
 her work. This constructive appreciative criticism may help 
 her to receive with open mind the destructive criticism which 
 may be needed to bring about the elimination of weakness. 
 Any teacher should welcome the criticism which frankly points 
 out the deficiencies of her work and suggests the remedies 
 which should be applied. We all want to do our best work. 
 Unfortunately we cannot always see our teaching in true per- 
 spective. The supervisor who comes in from the outside, as it 
 were, with a wide range of experience in teaching and in ob- 
 serving teachers can often give the suggestion which will make 
 work, not only more efficient, but also more pleasant. 
 
 It is a good rule for both supervisor and teacher to wait 
 until the end of the day or even for two or three days after the 
 
226 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 visit before the criticism is given. Snap judgments are apt to 
 be wrong on both sides. The supervisor needs time to analyze 
 the situation carefully in order to pick out the elements in the 
 situation which are most significant and to overlook that which 
 is trivial. The teacher will often be able to analyze her own 
 work and to point out its defects, if time is given her to think it 
 over. If the teacher can discover her own inefficiency, and 
 if she is willing to talk frankly with the supervisor concerning 
 these difficulties, the work of criticism will give satisfaction to 
 both. A teacher has a right to ask for an appointment with 
 a supervisor for the discussion of her work. Supervisors are, 
 as a rule, only too willing to grant such a request. 
 
 Criticism has not fulfilled its mission, if it stops with dis- 
 covering to the teacher her strength and her weakness together 
 with the analysis of the situation which enables her to repeat 
 successes and avoid failures. A wide-awake teacher will be 
 looking and asking for suggestions concerning new kinds of 
 work. Suggestive criticism opens up the way for growth by 
 giving the teacher the encouragement and help which are 
 needed to imdertake the new or unusual type of work. Many 
 of the best teachers might have remained in the less efficient 
 group, had it not been for the help and inspiration which was 
 imparted by a wise supervisor. 
 
 School exhibits are another means sometimes employed by 
 the supervisory force to increase school efficiency. Here, again, 
 the teacher should realize that the purpose of the supervisor is 
 not to burden her with work, but rather to offer the help 
 which may come from an exchange of experiences. The 
 school exhibit which is most worth while does not require 
 any special preparation of material on the part of the teacher. 
 The work regularly done by children without corrections or 
 refinement constitutes a true exhibit of the results secured. 
 Any other kind of an exhibit is merely a test of the teacher's 
 ingenuity, her skill in masquerading imder the names of hea: 
 children. 
 
The Teacher in Relation to Supervision 227 
 
 When a genuine exhibit of children's work is brought to- 
 gether, it affords to teachers and supervisors alike a wealth of 
 suggestion and help. The writer remembers visiting an ex- 
 hibit of drawing and constructive work in one of our large 
 cities. The supervisors of this work were in charge at regular 
 hours each week. A very large number of teachers came to 
 see what was being done by other teachers in their grade. A 
 special feature of the exhibit was an abundance of suggestions 
 for the work of the next week provided by the supervisors and 
 taken from the work of previous years. The consultation 
 between supervisors and teachers concerning the work exhib- 
 ited, and with reference to the work both past and yet to be 
 done, was free from restraint and often lasted ten, fifteen, or 
 even twenty minutes. Needless to say, the results achieved in 
 drawing and constructive work in this city were far above the 
 average. Similar exhibits of work in Enghsh composition, 
 arithmetic, some phases of the work in hterature, nature study, 
 history, and geography are possible and cannot f aU to help the 
 teacher who is anxious to improve her work. 
 
 Visiting the work of other teachers has one advantage not 
 possessed by the exhibit : it is possible to see not only the re- 
 sult but also the methods which are employed in securing the 
 product. A good supervisor should be able to tell teachers 
 where to go to see the kind of work which is most helpful. 
 Any teacher should welcome the opportmiity to see the work 
 of a teacher who is strong where she is weak. Random visit- 
 ing is not worth much. What counts is a visit to a teacher 
 who has some help to offer, in order to satisfy a real need. 
 Often the most profitable visiting can be done within the sys- 
 tem in which the teacher works. Not infrequently the greatest 
 help can be secured from another teacher in the same building. 
 Whenever or wherever a teacher visits, the important thing is 
 to look for the strong points in the work. The teacher who 
 goes for help will not be disappointed ; the one who looks for 
 defects, who is hypercritical, will not profit by the time used. 
 
228 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 After a visit to a teacher whose work is known by the super- 
 visor, a conference may be held, or a report given by the visit- 
 ing teacher. If the visit is worth making, it is worth some 
 further consideration. It will help the teacher to talk over 
 the visit with the supervisor with particular reference to her 
 own work. The elements of strength in the work of the 
 teacher visited can thus' be determined, and the modifications 
 in the work of the visitor desired by the supervisor be made 
 definite. 
 
 Examinations have from time immemorial been used by 
 supervisors to determine the success of school work. Teachers 
 not infrequently seem to feel that they are an unnecessary 
 hardship imposed without sufficient justification, whether 
 teacher or pupils are considered. Let us inquire what examina- 
 tions should mean to the teacher. First of all, it maybe worth 
 while to remember that the command of some knowledge, and 
 the ability to use it when demanded, should form a part of the 
 equipment of children who are being educated. It is well at 
 times to stop and discover how much children know, and what 
 facility they show in using their knowledge. It is a shock 
 sometimes to discover that a room full of enthusiastic, well- 
 behaved children do not know their multiplication tables, 
 cannot add, subtract, or divide without making many mis- 
 takes, cannot write an acceptable paragraph because of mis- 
 takes in form which they should have mastered long ago, do 
 not know on which side of the Ohio River to locate the state of 
 Ohio ; but that is just what is apt to happen in a school where 
 examinations are never given. 
 
 Success or failure in an examination should not be all-im- 
 portant to children, nor should it lead to imdue praise or con- 
 demnation of teachers. The wise teacher will try to find in the 
 results of the examination evidence of the deficiencies of her 
 teaching. In the light of the work done by the children she 
 can tell where she can depend upon their knowledge, what part 
 of the work needs to be reviewed, which children need special 
 
The Teacher in Relation to Supervision 229 
 
 help. An examination should be a taking of stock which will 
 enable teacher and pupil to do more and better work, because 
 each is acquainted with the needs of the situation better than 
 before. 
 
 Teachers' meetings are worth Just about what each indi- 
 vidual teacher is wilUng to put into them. The teacher who 
 comes to a meeting with her problems, willing to acknowledge 
 that she needs help, and anxious to get it will not find these 
 gatherings dull or uninteresting. If the meeting is organized 
 for study, as is done in connection with reading circle work, the 
 meeting can be transformed from a perfunctory recitation of 
 the ideas of the book into a live professional discussion, by 
 the activity of two or three earnest teachers. If the meetings 
 are not good, individuals are at fault ; if these teachers become 
 active, if they try to make the most out of these discussions, 
 their attitude will change. 
 
 One of the best tjT^es of teachers' meetings is centered round 
 the actual teaching of children by a member of the group, to be 
 followed by discussion of the work done. There is no more 
 certain way to grow professionally than to be willing to demon- 
 strate your theory by practice, or to discuss the work which is 
 done by other members of the group. In several of our cities 
 these lessons, taught sometimes by the supervisors and at other 
 times by the teachers themselves, have become a regular fea- 
 ture of the year's work. The teacher who is most anxious to 
 grow will be the first to avail herself of the opportunity to 
 teach such a lesson. Supervisors sometimes hesitate to suggest 
 this kind of a program for teachers' meetings, because teachers 
 are so unwilling to do their part in making the work a success. 
 It is a poor professional spirit which is not strong enough to 
 lead a teacher to accept the criticism of her fellow teachers, 
 when she knows that therein lies the possibility of growth. 
 Any group of teachers who will voluntarily participate in such 
 work will find that the teachers' meeting, instead of being a 
 bore, will come to be looked upon as the brightest spot in the 
 
230 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 whole week, because of the help and inspiration which is de- 
 rived from the hour's work. 
 
 Institutes were once looked upon as places where teachers 
 came to be entertained, or, possibly, to be inspired. There 
 was a time when the best institutes were conducted on the 
 "pouring in" plan. A lecturer, or several lecturers, dispensed 
 the truth, and teachers sat in their places, supposedly drinking 
 deep draughts from these fountains of wisdom. It is strange 
 that all of the theory of teaching which was dispensed did not 
 suggest that the manner of conducting the institute was wrong. 
 In our best institutes to-day teachers participate in discus- 
 sion, study and recite from books, undertake the revision or 
 organization of courses of study in cooperation with their 
 supervisors; in short, the institute has become a school for 
 professional study. In such an institute, as in teachers' meet- 
 ings, those who come with real problems, anxious to get help, 
 find the week or two all too short. A group of teachers anxious 
 to grow professionally can, in most cases, secure the cooperation 
 of supervisors in transforming an institute which is organized 
 on the old basis. 
 
 If a teacher's supervisors are not helping her, it may be well 
 to inquire whose fault it is. The teacher who meets the super- 
 visor halfway, the one who invites criticism, who avails her- 
 self of the help and suggestion which may come from exhibits, 
 visiting, teachers' meetings, and institutes will, in all probabil- 
 ity, grow strong enough to help others. She may in her turn 
 be called upon to accept the responsibilities, the trials, and the 
 joys of a supervisor.^ 
 
 Foe Collateral Reading 
 
 The Seventh Yearbook of the National Society for the Scientific Study 
 of Education. 
 
 ' Some discussion of the course of study as an instrument in supervision is 
 given in the chapter on "The Teacher in Relation to the Course of Study." 
 
The Teacher in Relation to Supervision 231 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 1. What is the purpose of supervision ? 
 
 2. Give illustrations of work done by the supervisors whom you 
 have found most helpful. 
 
 3. Name the types of criticism. Give illustrations of each type from 
 your own experience. 
 
 4. What is wrong with the teacher who resents adverse criticism ? 
 
 5. Why wait a day or two after the supervisor has visited you before 
 asking for criticism on your work ? 
 
 6. If the supervisor does not volunteer criticism, what would you do ? 
 
 7. Have you ever attended a school exhibit which has helped you in 
 your work ? What kind of work should be sent to the exhibit ? Why 
 insist upon a continuous exhibit rather than one that lasts only a week ? 
 
 8. How can you hope to get the most out of a day's visiting ? What 
 help would you expect from the supervisor? 
 
 9. Of what value are examinations to you ? 
 
 10. When a teacher says that she can get nothing from the teachers' 
 meetings, what is wrong ? 
 
 11. What help would you expect to get from the observation and dis- 
 cussion of actual class teaching? Have you ever taught a class for 
 observers ? 
 
 12. What suggestions would you make for the improvement of your 
 institute ? Do you think changes could be made if teachers wanted to 
 gain the most possible during the week or more devoted to the institute ? 
 
 13. What is wrong in a situation where teachers complain that their 
 supervisors are hard taskmasters ? 
 
 14. If supervision is to make for professional growth, what contribu- 
 tion must the teacher make ? 
 
 15. How do you explain the attitude of the teacher who says she 
 wants no supervision? 
 
CHAPTER XVIII 
 
 THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO THE COURSE OF STUDY 
 
 Teachers sometimes look upon the course of study merely 
 as a demand made by those in control of the school system for 
 a large amount of work to be accomplished. The course of 
 study indicates that certain topics in English, arithmetic, 
 nature study, geography, history, industrial arts, and the other 
 subjects of the curriculum are assigned to the grade, and the 
 teacher expects that her pupils will be examined on this work 
 at stated times during the year in order to determine the effi- 
 ciency of her work and the fitness of the children for promotion. 
 From this point of view, the course of study is an ever present 
 taskmaster, always urging that more work be accomplished. 
 Let us inquire whether this is in reality the meaning of the 
 course of study to the teacher. 
 
 In the first place, all will admit that in any system of schools 
 it is necessary to determine somewhat definitely the work to 
 be done by a given grade. If such provision were not made, 
 it would be impossible to transfer children from one school to 
 another, and very difficult for the supervisory force to render 
 help to large numbers of teachers. Then, too, there is an order 
 in the development of subjects, which is necessary both from 
 the standpoint of the subject and from the point of view of the 
 child who is to gain the experience which the subject offers. 
 
 It is true that a course of study which is made to fit all of 
 the children of a great city or state must be interpreted liber- 
 ally, if good teaching is to be done. To this end, our best 
 courses of study demand that a minimum amount of work be 
 done by all teachers, and suggest alternative and optional work 
 to meet the needs of children whose experiences are varied. 
 
 232 
 
The Course of Study 233 
 
 and whose needs are correspondingly different. In any pro- 
 gressive school system, the capable teacher has opportunity 
 to vary the material presented under the head of the various 
 subjects in such a manner as will satisfy the interests and the 
 problems of the group of children for whose growth she is 
 responsible. 
 
 A good course of study will save the teacher much time and 
 energy by the organization of material which it presents. In 
 many of our larger cities a volume of from fifty to two hundred 
 pages has been prepared for each subject. These manuals 
 suggest the order in which it has been found by experience that 
 the topics can best be presented. In many cases a helpful 
 analysis of each large topic from the point of view of presenting 
 it to children is included. Besides this organization of material, 
 references which will prove helpful to the teacher, both from 
 the standpoint of subject matter and of method, are included 
 in our best courses of study. In many cases suggestions for 
 teaching, elaborated at times into complete lesson plans, are 
 given. 
 
 In the making of the course of study, the teacher should 
 welcome any opportunity to contribute her knowledge con- 
 cerning the availability of material or the methods to be used 
 in her grade. Any good course of study should be the joint 
 product of at least three classes of people : the expert in the 
 subject, the expert in supervision and administration of schools, 
 and the expert teacher. The subject matter expert is needed 
 to pass upon the material from the standpoint of fact and from 
 the point of view of one who sees the beginnings of a subject 
 in relation to the whole field. The supervisor has to provide 
 for the proper relation of the different subjects, determines the 
 amount of time to be devoted to the subject, and the general 
 method of procedure in teaching the subject. The teacher 
 needs to advise as to the practicability of the whole scheme. 
 She has in mind a particular group of children with certain 
 experiences, interests, and abilities, and her judgment is prob- 
 
2 34 -^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 ably safer than either of the others as to the availabihty of any 
 particular topic or phase of the subject. In addition to this 
 service, any group of teachers can give most significant help 
 with respect to the methods which have proved most helpful. 
 Indeed, our courses of study could be made much more helpful 
 if teachers were only asked to give suggestions concerning 
 the organization of material and methods of teaching, which 
 they are so well equipped to offer by reason of their experience 
 in teaching the subject to children. Happily, the practice of 
 inviting the cooperation of teachers in making the course of 
 study is becoming more common in our cities. Any capable 
 teacher who is anxious to participate in the organization of the 
 curriculum will find opportunity to make her contribution. 
 
 Possibly there are teachers who, because of the very excel- 
 lence of the courses of study provided, feel that all that is re- 
 quired for them is to follow blindly the directions given. In- 
 stead of considering the course of study as a hard taskmaster, 
 they look upon it as a crutch upon which they lean heavily. 
 For these teachers there is little need for preparation. The 
 course of study and the textbooks have solved the problems of 
 teaching. Let us inquire just what the curriculum of our 
 schools stands for before attempting to decide just what rela- 
 tion the teacher bears to it. 
 
 A course of study is not so much knowledge to be poured in. 
 Rather it represents possible experiences for which children 
 may have need, experiences which will aid them in the solu- 
 tion of their problems and make possible for them the realiza- 
 tion of their purposes. How did all of this knowledge come to 
 be preserved, and how did it happen to be arranged in groups 
 labeled by certain names? Men have preserved from time 
 to time, by handing down by word of mouth or by records 
 made on stone, wood, skin, paper, or other surfaces, kiiowledge 
 which they have found useful in meeting the problems which 
 confront them. For convenience of reference this knowledge 
 has come to be grouped, and to each group a name has been 
 
The Course of Study 235 
 
 applied. If we could only remember how we came to have this 
 body of knowledge, how it happened to be thought worth while 
 to preserve the experiences which when grouped together we 
 know as subjects, it might make us a little more judicious in 
 our attempt to acquaint children with their inheritance. 
 
 Our schools have all too frequently acted upon the principle 
 that children could assimilate the school subjects without 
 reference to their past experience or their present needs. It has 
 been common to say, teach so much of this or that subject, 
 just as if the child mind was a receptacle to be filled. The 
 difficulty of this attitude toward school subjects is twofold : 
 first, the children fail to gain any appreciation of the experi- 
 ences involved ; and, second, they fail to gain from the process 
 the power of independent thought, or the spirit of investiga- 
 tion which it is the purpose of education to :mpart. 
 
 The doctrine of formal discipline, as commonly interpreted, 
 has been largely responsible for our wrong idea of the meaning 
 of subjects of study. The idea that any study, especially if it 
 proved disagreeable to the pupil, and had no definite relation- 
 ship either to his past experiences or present needs, would 
 mean most for his education, has not yet entirely disappeared. 
 Aside from the psychological fallacy involved, that abihty 
 to do one kind of work would spread or be available for all 
 other kinds of mental activity which we call by the same gen- 
 eral name, the devotees of the doctrine ignored the fact that 
 the maximum of activity or hard mental work could be secured 
 only imder the stimulus of genuine interest.^ 
 
 Possibly the introduction of the industrial arts^ and the 
 more rational approach which they demand, may serve to 
 illustrate the method to be used in teaching other subjects. 
 
 I For a discussion of the doctrine of formal discipline, and for bibliography, 
 see Thorndike, Educational Psychology, 1903 edition, Chapter VIII; Heck, 
 Mental Discipline. 
 
 ^ James E. Russell, "The School and Industrial Life," Educational Review, 
 Vol. XXXVIII, pp. 433-45°- 
 
236 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 In cooking, for example, we would hardly expect to have a 
 child begin by engaging in an exercise in beating eggs without 
 reference to any problem which required this activity. If chil- 
 dren are to learn something of wood and its use in our in- 
 dustries, we commonly expect them to gain some knowledge 
 of the processes involved in the course of the construction of 
 furniture for the playhouse, a flower box for the window, a sled, 
 a checkerboard, or some other interesting project. It is true 
 that the industrial arts lend themselves more readily to the 
 dominant interests of children to do and to make than do most 
 school subjects. If these activities, which are essentially the 
 activities characteristic of our modern civilization, be used to 
 best advantage, they will offer many opportunities for making 
 significant the other subjects. 
 
 Any considerable participation in the processes which are 
 fundamental to the great industries cannot fail to arouse an 
 interest in the source of materials, the development of the in- 
 dustry, and a desire to express one's self with reference to the 
 work which is being done. From the interest in the source of 
 materials grows naturally the work in nature study and geog- 
 raphy. The development of the industry takes us back even 
 to the time of primitive man, and history becomes significant. 
 The handling of materials in construction suggests the need of 
 measurement, and arithmetic is provided for. In all of this 
 work there will be a demand for communication, the necessity 
 to learn what others have recorded in books, and the wish to 
 express one's own experience in oral and written speech. The 
 experiences of people like ourselves, as idealized in literature, 
 will make its appeal in spite of the worst our teaching can do. 
 It is not maintained that all subject matter groups itself natu- 
 rally around industrial activities, and that these activities 
 should, therefore, form the center of the curriculum ; rather, it 
 is sought to emphasize the relationships to the real needs of 
 children and the possibility of utilizing these genuine motive^ 
 in the teaching of school subjects. 
 
The Course of Study 237 
 
 We teach the subjects of the curriculum in order that chil- 
 dren may understand their environment, be adjusted to it, and, 
 as President Butler puts it, come into possession of their spir- 
 itual inheritance. Out of the work which is done, these same 
 children should gain power to adapt themselves to new con- 
 ditions and should be equipped to render service in the prog- 
 ress which is yet to be made in our society. Now one's 
 adjustment to the present environment must be an adjustment 
 to Us environment, a solution of his problems as they at pres- 
 ent exist. Future adaptabihty is conditioned by the ex- 
 perience which one has had in making such adjustments. 
 The ability to contribute to the progress in which each should 
 participate is dependent, not so much upon the number of facts 
 one possesses, as upon the attitude of investigation which 
 characterizes him, the respect for truth, and ability to think 
 straight which have been developed by his education. From 
 whatever point of view we approach the problem of teach- 
 ing our subjects, the answer is the same : meet present situ- 
 ations, solve present real, vital problems, make subject 
 matter meet the needs of the children you are teaching. 
 This analysis of the curriculum makes apparent the impor- 
 tant part to be played by the teacher in making available 
 the experiences which the school subjects are organized to 
 present. 
 
 The courses of study may present much that is helpful in 
 the organization of material, the suggestions for teaching may 
 be gathered from the experience of many teachers, and still 
 the great problem of making these subjects vital to children 
 remains as the work of every teacher. Motives which grow 
 out of the experience which children have already had must 
 be sought. The material to be presented will be significant 
 in the experience of these children only when they approach 
 it in order to satisfy their real needs. Aside from the possibil- 
 ity of finding in one of the subjects, as, for example, the in- 
 dustrial arts, a motive for other work, the school situation 
 
238 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 itself presents many opportunities for discovering real needs 
 to children. 
 
 The school festival, school parties for parents, fairs and 
 sales, the general assembly, excursions, gardening or other 
 industrial activity, plays and games, have in the hands of 
 skillful teachers provided a compelling motive for a great 
 variety of school work. The author would not deny the power 
 of intellectual interest, but he knows, as does every other teacher, 
 that with children in the elementary school this motive is only 
 gradually developed. The teacher who is alert to find some 
 real need for the computations of arithmetic; who gives a 
 genuine opportunity for oral or written expression ; who ap- 
 peals to the desire to use the knowledge gained in history and 
 geography by means of the historical festival, the article in the 
 school paper, and the like, as well as to the curiosity of the child ; 
 who allows children to make real things which satisfy their 
 individual or collective needs in the industrial arts, — is the 
 teacher who is teaching school subjects in the way that will 
 mean most in the education of her pupils. 
 
 The demand that the teacher vitalize the curriculum does 
 not lose sight of the necessity for drill, or of the demand that 
 children hnow, as a result of their education. As a matter of 
 fact, the more vital the experiences, the more apparent it be- 
 comes to both teacher and pupil that the fixing of knowledge or 
 the acquiring of skill is a necessary condition of present ef&dency 
 and of future progress. The children who have the most 
 genuine need for the multiplication table will be the first to 
 learn it. If you are to read to a whole school and want to 
 have them enjoy with you the selection which you are to in- 
 terpret, you will have the best possible reason for good ex- 
 pression. History means something, if you really need to 
 know the history of a period in order to reproduce accurately 
 its language, manners, dress, and the like in your festival. 
 The mistake which at times has been made by enthusiastic 
 teachers of neglecting the drill side of the work, has not been 
 
The Course of Study 239 
 
 due to any difficulty which the situation presented from the 
 standpoint of the children who are engaged in meaningful 
 activities. 
 
 The teacher may not expect all children to gain equally in 
 command of the experiences represented by the course of study. 
 For her there must Hterally be courses of study for each sub- 
 ject, in that she must adapt her work in so far as is possible to 
 individual needs. The office of teacher may well be exalted, 
 for it is the teacher who must, because of her insight, provide 
 for the needs of each child committed to her care, and in ren- 
 dering this service provide society with its greatest asset, a 
 truly educated human being. 
 
 Foe Collateral Reading 
 
 S. T. Dutton and D. Snedden, Administration of Public Education in 
 the United States, Chapter XVIII. 
 
 Exercises. 
 
 The selections from courses of study are quoted by Dr. C. W. Stone 
 in his monograph on Arithmetic Abilities and Some Factors Deter- 
 mining them. In Dr. Stone's study the pupils in twenty-six schools 
 or school systems were tested. One of the problems raised had reference 
 to the excellence of the course of study. The selections quoted repre- 
 sent a variety io excellence such as one will iind in the courses of study 
 prepared in any subject. 
 
 Study these selections from the following points of view : — 
 
 1. Do any of them give too little information to the teacher concern- 
 ing the work required in the grade ? 
 
 2. Do any of them restrict the work of the teacher unduly? 
 
 3. Which do you consider the best course of study? 
 
 4. Are any of these statements so complete as to reheve the teacher 
 of the necessity of reorganizing the work for her own class ? 
 
 5. How would you modify any of these courses of study in order to 
 make it more valuable to teachers ? 
 
 6. Indicate possible maximum, minimum, and optional work in the 
 third-grade work in arithmetic. 
 
240 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 SELECTIONS ILLUSTRATING GENERAL EXCELLENCE 
 
 From each of two systems ranking among the lowest five in course of 
 study. 
 
 3 B. Speer work. Simple work in addition and subtraction, follow- 
 ing the plan in the Elementary Arithmetic. 
 
 3 A. Primary Book. First half page 26, second half page 41. 
 
 > Grade III, Number 
 
 Exercises, mental and written, in addition, subtraction, multiplication, 
 and division of numbers. 
 
 The processes will be explained. 
 
 The multiplication table up to 12 will be made by the pupils and 
 thoroughly committed to memory. 
 
 Drill in rapid addition. 
 
 Notation and numeration to five periods. 
 
 Table of weights, United States and English money. Problems in all 
 tables learned. 
 
 Square and cubic measure. Troy and apothecaries' weights. Prin- 
 ciples of multiplication. 
 
 From the system standing best in course of study. 
 
 Grade III B 
 
 Scope: Review the work taught in preceding grades. (This review 
 may require from four to six weeks.) 
 
 Addition and subtraction of numbers through twenty. Multiplica- 
 tion and division tables through 4's. Give much practice upon the 
 addition of single columns. Abstract addition, two columns ; the result 
 of each column should not exceed twenty. The writing of numbers 
 through one thousand. Roman notation through one hundred. Frac- 
 tions J, J, and 5. The object of the work of this grade is to make pupils 
 ready in the use of the simple fundamental processes. 
 
 Book: Cook and Cropsey's New Elementary Arithmetic (for use of 
 teacher), pp. 1 to 46. 
 
 The chief difficulty in the work of this grade is in teaching the arith- 
 metical forms as applied to concrete processes. Pupils should know 
 very thoroughly the work given on pages i to 23, Cook and Cropsey's 
 Arithmetic, before any new forms are taught. They have up to this 
 time used the arithmetical signs and the sentence, and have stated results 
 only. New forms for addition and subtraction are first applied to con- 
 crete processes on page 24. No other forms should be taught until 
 
The Course of Study 241 
 
 pupils are very familiar with these. A drill should be given showing 
 that these two forms are identical and that we must first know what we 
 wish to use them for, if applied to problems. Write 9 
 
 2 
 upon the board and indicate your thought by the signs + and — . 
 999 apples 9 apples 
 
 +2 —2 +2 —2 
 
 II 7 II 7 apples 
 
 Pupils should be very familiar with these forms before any written 
 concrete work is given. 
 
 When the new form for multiplication is introduced, this drill should 
 be repeated : 
 
 9 9 9 
 
 + 2 —2 X2 
 
 II 7 18 
 
 Nothing new should be added to this until pupils can use these forms 
 without confusion. 
 
 When presenting the new forms for division and partition the same 
 method may be used, but pupils should use the form for division some 
 weeks before using the same form for partition. It is not necessary to 
 use the division form for partition until the last four weeks of the term, 
 and not even then, if there seems to be any danger of confusion in using 
 the same form for both processes. The terms division and partition 
 should not be used. The terms measure and finding one of the equal 
 parts can be easily understood. Pupils should be able to read arith- 
 metical forms well, before any use is made of these forms in their applica- 
 tion to written concrete work. 
 
 All concrete problems should be simple and within the child's experi- 
 ence. 
 
 Grade III A 
 
 Scope: I. Review the work of Grade 3 B. 
 
 2. Abstract addition of three columns. Subtraction, using abstract 
 numbers through thousands. Addition and subtraction of United States 
 money. Multiplication and division tables through 6's. MultipHca- 
 tion and division of abstract numbers through thousands, using 2, 3, 4, 
 and 5 as divisors. Addition and subtraction by "endings" through 2-1-9, 
 last month of term. Writing numbers through ten thousands. Roman 
 notation through one hundred. Fractions f , J, and J. 
 
 3. Application of fundamental processes to simple concrete prob- 
 lems, of one step. 
 
 4. Measures used — inch, foot, yard, square inch; pint, quart, 
 
242 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 gallon; peck, bushel; second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year. 
 Use actual measures. 
 
 Books: (In hands of pupils) Walsh's New Primary Arithmetic, pp. i 
 to 68. 
 
 (For teachers' use) Cook and Cropsey's New Elementary Arithmetic, 
 pp. 46 to 85, Article 105. 
 
 Even with only the work of a single grade to judge from, one has no 
 difficulty in recognizing the wide difference in the excellence of these 
 courses. As may be seen from Table XXVIII, page 73, in the rating 
 they stand about thirty steps apart, i.e. the one from which the third 
 illustration was taken has a score of 65, while the others have scores of 
 32 and 39, respectively. 
 
 SELECTIONS ILLUSTRATING EXCELLENCE IN DRILL AND 
 IN CONCRETENESS 
 
 From the system ranking next to the best in drill. 
 
 Grade III B 
 
 I. Objective. 
 
 1. Work. 
 
 a. Fractions. Review previous work. Teach new fractions; 
 
 yths, loths, and i2ths. . 
 
 h. Notation, numeration, addition and subtraction of numbers to 
 
 1000. 
 
 c. Liquid and dry measures. 
 
 d. United States money. 
 
 e. Weights. 
 
 2. Objects and Devices. 
 a. Counting frame. 
 
 h. Splints, disks for fractions, etc. 
 
 c. Shelves. 
 
 d. Liquid and dry measure. 
 
 e. United States money. 
 /. Scales. 
 
 II. Abstract. 
 1. Woit. 
 
 a. Ceunting to 100 by 2's, lo's, 3's, 4's, g's, ii's, s's, beginning 
 
 with any number under 10 ; counting backwards by same 
 numbers, beginning with any number under 100. 
 
 b. Multiplication tables. Review tables already studied. Teach 
 
 7 and 9. 
 
7 XI 
 
 2X7 
 
 7 ^ I 
 
 21 ^ 3 
 
 I X7 
 
 7 X3 
 
 14-;- 2 
 
 21 -J- 7, 
 
 7X2 
 
 3 X7 
 
 14 -^ 7 
 
 
 The Course of Study 243 
 
 c. Drill in recognizing sum of three numbers at a glance ; review 
 combinations already learned ; 20 new ones. 
 2. Devices. 
 
 a. Combination cards, large and small. 
 6. Wheels. 
 
 c. Chart for addition and subtraction. 
 
 d. Fraction chart. 
 
 e. Miscellaneous drill cards. 
 
 /. Pack of " three " combination cards. 
 Prince's Arithmetic, Book III, Sects. I and II. 
 Speer's Elementary Arithmetic, pp. 1-55. 
 Shelves: See II A. 
 
 Combination Cards : large and small. These cards should contain 
 all the facts of multipHcation tables 3, 6, 8, 7, and 9. As: — 
 
 etc. 
 
 For use of these cards, see directions in I B. 
 
 Wheels for Multiplication and Division : 
 
 See directions under II A. 
 
 Chart for Adding and Subtracting : 
 
 For directions, see II B and II A. 
 
 Add and subtract 2's, 3's, 4's, 5's, g's, lo's, ii's, 12's, is's, and 20's. 
 
 Fraction Chart shows, l,\, i, I, b, i, ti- 
 
 Miscellaneous Drill Cards : 
 
 For directions, see I A. 
 
 "Three" Combination Cards: 
 
 For use, see I A. 
 
 Grade III A 
 I. Objective. 
 
 1. Work. 
 
 a. Fractions previously assigned. 
 
 b. Notation, numeration, addition, subtraction, multipHcation, 
 
 and division of numbers to 1000. 
 
 c. Long and square measures. 
 
 d. Weights. 
 
 2. Objects and Devices : 
 
 a. Counting frame. 
 
 b. Splints, disks for fractions, etc. 
 
244 ^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 c. Shelves. 
 
 d. Scales. 
 I. Abstract. 
 
 1. Work. 
 
 a. Counting to loo by any number from 2 to 12, inclusive, begin- 
 
 ning witTi any number under 10 ; counting by same numbers 
 backward, beginning with any number under 100. 
 
 b. Multiplication tables — all tables. 
 
 c. DrUl in recognizing sum of three numbers at a glance ; review 
 
 combinations already learned ; 20 new ones. 
 
 2. Devices. 
 
 a. Combination cards — large and small. 
 
 b. Wheels. 
 
 c. Chart for adding and subtracting. 
 
 d. Chart for fractions. 
 
 e. Miscellaneous drill cards. 
 
 /. Pack of "three" combination cards. 
 
 Prince's Arithmetic, Book III, Sects. Ill to VI, inclusive. 
 
 Speer's Elementary Arithmetic, pp. 56-104. 
 
 Shelves: See II a. 
 
 Combination Cards: large and small. The cards should contain all 
 the facts of the multiplication tables 11 and 12, also the most difficult 
 combinations from the other multiplication tables. As : — 
 
 12 X I 
 
 12 -^ I 
 
 24 -^ 2 
 
 I X 12 
 
 12 -7- 12 
 
 24-5- 12, etc. 
 
 12 X 2 
 
 12 -^ 2 
 
 
 2 X 12 
 
 12-^3 
 
 
 For use of cards, see directions in I B. 
 Wheels for Multiplication and Division : 
 See directions under II A. 
 Chart for Adding and Subtracting : 
 For directions, see II B and II A. 
 
 Add and subtract 6's, 7's, 8's, 13's, 14's, i6's, 17's, i8's, and 19's. 
 Review other numbers under 20. 
 
 Chart for Fractions shows all fractions already assigned. 
 Miscellaneous Drill Cards : 
 For directions, see I A. 
 
 From the system ranking best in concreteness. 
 
 Mathematics: If the children are actually doing work which has 
 social value, they must gain accurate knowledge of the activities in which 
 
The Course of Study 245 
 
 they are engaged. They will keep a record of all expenses for materials 
 used in the school, and will do simple bookkeeping in connection with 
 the store which has charge of this material. In cooking, weights and 
 measures will be learned. The children will also keep accounts of the 
 cost of ingredients. Proportions will be worked out in the cooking 
 recipes. When the children dramatize the Mfe of the trader, in con- 
 nection with history, they have opportunity to use all standards of 
 measurements. Number is demanded in almost aU experimental science 
 work ; for instance, the amount of water contained in the different kinds 
 of fruit, or the amount of water evaporated from fruits under different 
 conditions (in drying fruits). AU plans for wood work wUl be worked 
 to a scale and demand use of fractions. When the children have en- 
 countered many problems which they must solve in order to proceed 
 with their work, they are ready to be drUled on the processes involved 
 until they gain facility in the use of these. The children should be able 
 to think through the problems which arise in their daily work, and have 
 automatic use of easy numbers, addition, subtraction, multiphcation, 
 short division, and easy fractions. 
 
 As one reads these two samples of excellence he must find that each 
 is so excellent in its one strong feature that it is not good; that work 
 according to either must suffer ; that what each needs is what the other 
 has. Such a synthesis is represented in the next illustration. 
 
 A Combination of Excellences 
 
 September. 1. Measure height, determine weight. From records 
 determine growth since September, 1905. 2. Learn to read thermom- 
 eter. Make accurately, scale one fourth inch representing two degrees 
 on paper one inch broad. Find average temperature of different days 
 of month. Practice making figures from i to 100 for the thermometer 
 scale. Count 100 by 2's. 3. Make temperature chart. 4. Measure 
 and space calendar, making figures of size appropriate to inch squares. 
 Learn names of numbers to 30. 5. Make inch-wide tape measure for 
 use in nature study, number book and cubic-inch seed boxes. 6. Re- 
 view telling time. A. In addition to above; analyze numbers from 
 II to 40 into tens and ones. Walsh's Primary Arithmetic to top of 
 page 10. 
 
 October. Problems on calendar, — number of clear, of cloudy, and 
 of rainy days in September. Compare with September, 1905, 1904, 1903, 
 1902 ; temperature chart and thermometer ; height and weight. Lay 
 off beds for tree seeds ; plant the same. Make envelopes for report cards. 
 Drill on combinations in the above. Make rod strings and hundred- 
 
246 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 foot strings for determining distance wing seeds are carried from plants. 
 Practice making figures from i to 100 for thermometer scale. Develop 
 table of tens. A. In addition to the above analyze numbers from 40 
 to so into tens and ones. Primary Arithmetic, pp. 10-22. Teach 
 pupils to add at sight. 
 
 November. From wall calendar count number of clear days, of 
 cloudy days, and rainy days in October. Compare with September; 
 with October of 1905, of 1906. Find average daily temperature; 8.30 
 A.M., 1 P.M. What kind of trees grow fastest ? Measure growth of 
 twigs of different kinds of trees. Compare this year's growth with that 
 of last year and of year before last. Compare rate of growth of differ- 
 ent kinds of trees, as oak, wiUow, Carolina poplar, and elm. Develop 
 table of s's from lesson with clock dial ; review 2's and lo's. Practice 
 making figures from i to 100 for the thermometer scale. Learn words 
 representing numbers as well as figures. Make seed envelope. A. Ana- 
 lyze numbers from 60 to 65 into tens and ones. Primary Arithmetic. 
 B, pp. 17-26; A, pp. 39-49. 
 
 Last six weeks of first term. — Continue finding average daily tem- 
 perature. From wall calendar count number of clear, of cloudy, and 
 of rainy days in November. Compare with November, 1906, 1905. 
 Continue measurements on growth of trees. Drill on telling time from 
 clock dial. Practice making figures from i to 100 for thermometer 
 scale. Continue learning words representing numbers. Review tables 
 of 2's, 5's, lo's; learn table of 3's. Primary Arithmetic. B, pp. 
 27-40. Analyze numbers from 11 to 30 into tens and ones. Primary 
 Arithmetic. A, pp. 49-61. Analyze numbers from 66 to 100 into 
 tens and ones. In January review all facts in number book. Drill on 
 tables. 
 
 (Only the first one half of the third year's course shown.) 
 
 The system from which this last selection is taken had the following 
 remarkable rankings: 3d best in general excellence, 2d best in con- 
 creteness, and 5th best in drUl'. And as measured by the tests of this 
 study, this system stood 4th from the best in abilities, and spent a little 
 less than the medium amoimt of time. 
 
CHAPTER XIX 
 
 MEASURING RESULTS IN EDUCATION 
 
 Efficiency in any line of human endeavor depends upon 
 our ability to evaluate the results which are secured. No one 
 would question the progress which has been made in education 
 during the past hundred years ; but one may very justly in- 
 quire concerning the efficiency of the work that has been done 
 from the standpoint of the money which has been spent, and 
 the effort and devotion of those who have engaged in teaching. 
 In the mercantile pursuits it has been noted that seven out of 
 every ten failures can be charged directly to a lack of knowl- 
 edge of facts. Such investigations as we have had in educa- 
 tion tend to prove that a Hke situation is to be found in this 
 field. The failures in education, whether due to a lack of 
 economical use of the fimds available, to an inefi&cient system 
 of organization, or to unintelHgent practices in method, are, 
 on the whole, not to be charged to a lack of devotion on the 
 part of those who have given their lives to the schools. Until 
 it is possible to measure the results achieved, the facts of suc- 
 cess or failure cannot be established. 
 
 Of course, no one would deny that real progress is made by 
 the process of trial and success, both in the art of teaching and 
 in the practice of administration. It is true, too, that we shall 
 have to depend in considerable measure upon demonstration 
 as a means of bringing about improvement in current educa- 
 tional practice. It is none the less true, however, that scien- 
 tific work in education will furnish the basis for the more rapid 
 elimination of the mistakes in current practice, as well as point 
 the way for improved organization of teaching. The science 
 of education will, in its development, occupy relatively the 
 
 247 
 
248 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 same position with reference to the art of teaching that the 
 science of medicine occupies with respect to the art of healing. 
 The progress which has been made during the past twenty-five 
 years in the art of farming would never have been possible 
 without the scientific work that has been done in agriculture. 
 
 Aside from the fact that we are only beginning to have a 
 profession of education, many other factors have entered to 
 delay the progress in the direction of standardizing our work 
 by means of accurate measurement of the results achieved. 
 One of the most comforting of the fallacies which are at times 
 urged against the attempt to measure results is found in the 
 popular statement that the only criterion by which the success 
 of school work can be measured is found in the ultimate success 
 of the individuals who are subjected to the process. The most 
 inefi&cient teacher in the most poorly equipped school, if his 
 period of service has been long enough, will point to the success 
 of a few of the boys who Once attended that particular school, 
 as proof of the adequacy of the work which is now being done. 
 The failures are never brought to mind. The fallacious reason- 
 ing found in such an appeal is all too common in our educa- 
 tional discussion. To ta,ke a selected group of individuals, 
 who have, because of native ability, and possibly because of 
 favorable environment, achieved distinction; and to claim 
 that this success is due to our system of education, may be 
 satisfying to our pride, but cannot appeal to our good judg- 
 ment. The only available measure of the success of the work 
 done in any particular school is to be found in the changes 
 which are brought about in boys and girls, young men and 
 young women, during the period of their school life. 
 
 It has been argued, too, that that which is most worth 
 while in education cannot be measured. Those who advance 
 this argument speak continually in terms of "atmosphere," 
 " spirit," and the like. There are two replies to be made to this 
 contention. The one is that any power which the teacher 
 has, whether it is called influence, or abihty to teach arith- 
 
Measuring Results in Education 249 
 
 metic, must result in some change in the children who are 
 taught. Another equally valid answer is to be found in the 
 fact that the best teachers of arithmetic, of literature, of 
 geography, of history, and the other studies are, at the same 
 time, the teachers whose influence we value most in the school. 
 
 We have been hopeful that the sciences of biology, psy- 
 chology, sociology, and economics would, in their develop- 
 ment, solve the problems of education. No one would deny 
 the significance of the work done in these fields as fundamental 
 to the development of scientific work in education. No one 
 is fully equipped to undertake investigation in the field of 
 education without preliminary training in these fundamental 
 sciences. Progress in the science of education has come, 
 however, through the efforts of those men of sound funda- 
 mental training who have attacked the problems of education 
 as such, rather than through the work of the biologist, psy- 
 chologist, sociologist, or economist. If we should wait for the 
 sciences mentioned to solve our problems, progress would 
 indeed be slow. 
 
 Those who are imacquainted with modern statistical meth- 
 ods as applied in the social sciences have at times felt that 
 it was impossible to measure large groups of individuals who 
 differ in ability, in interest, and in environment. It is im- 
 possible within the limits of a brief chapter to make clear the 
 validity of such measurement. It may be confidently asserted, 
 however, that the measurement of a large group of individuals 
 is, on the whole, more satisfactory than the attempt to measure 
 a single individual. We can be more sure of the accuracy 
 of our results in comparing two groups of children of a thou- 
 sand each, than we could in the attempt to measure accurately 
 a single individual with regard to ability in school subjects. 
 
 A most persistent objection to the measuring of results comes 
 from those who feel that it is not fair to compare individuals 
 or groups who are not alike in all particulars. They would 
 claim, for example, that we cannot compare children in spelling 
 
250 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 ability when one group comes from homes in which the Eng- 
 lish language is spoken, while the other comes from the homes 
 of those who speak a foreign language. It is probable that 
 this objection is due to a belief that measurement will result 
 in a comparison of the present situation without any regard 
 to the growth or development which has characterized the 
 group. If we derive units of measurement in spelling, mani- 
 festly the attempt would be to measure the changes which have 
 been brought about in any group in terms of units which are 
 comparable. If group one shows ability ten, having advanced 
 during the year from ability seven, it will be considered just 
 as satisfactory as the advance which has been made in group 
 two, which has moved from ability eight to ability eleven. 
 In other words, the purpose of measurement is never to attempt 
 to make all alike. It is rather to discover differences and the 
 reason for their existence; but most of all to give us some 
 adequate means of determining progress or change. 
 
 Let us suppose again, in a matter of business administration, 
 that one school shows a much higher per capita cost than 
 another. This does not prove that one school is more efl&- 
 ciently managed than another. What it does do is to suggest 
 that some adequate reason is to be found for the difference 
 which exists. In like manner, one city may show a much 
 higher cost for janitors' salaries than does another. This may 
 suggest investigation, but it does not prove that the city with 
 the higher cost for janitors' service is inefficiently managed 
 or extravagant in its expenditures. It may be that the city 
 that spends a relatively large amount for janitorial service 
 actually gets more per dollar for the money which it spends 
 than does the city with the smaller cost. It is always a purpose 
 of measurement to discover discrepancies and to raise problems. 
 
 It has been contended that it is not important to derive 
 scales or units of measurement on the ground that the scientific 
 study of education is significant only in so far as it has to do 
 with a careful investigation of the processes involved in growth. 
 
Measuring Results in Education 251 
 
 Those who make this contention seem to feel that a careful ' 
 study of the way in which children come to form habits, to 
 grow in power of reasoning, or in abihty to appreciate, will give 
 us the final answer concerning the methods to be employed in 
 teaching. The difficulty with this point of view is that human 
 beings, even though they be trained in investigation, are fallible. 
 The only final test of the success of any method, however 
 carefully derived, and however much of it may depend upon 
 a knowledge of the processes involved in growth in the par- 
 ticular aspect of mental life which is involved, is to be found 
 in the result achieved. Theoretically a method may seem to 
 be perfect, and yet in terms of the results which are secured it 
 may prove to be a failure. If the results are not accurately 
 measured, if we do not derive scales of measurement, we can 
 never be certain of our conclusions with regard to the method 
 to be employed in bringing about any particular type of mental 
 growth or development. 
 
 Possibly the one element in the situation which has operated 
 to retard development in the direction of accurate measure- 
 ment of results, more than any other, is the tendency in educa- 
 tion to appeal to authority, and the corresponding lack of de- 
 votion to scientific investigation. It is, of course, much easier 
 to solve the problems which one meets by taking the opinion 
 of those who have had experience in the field. No one would 
 deny the value of the judgment of our great educational leaders. 
 The fact remains, however, that these same leaders would be 
 the last ones to place their own opinion in opposition to the 
 results obtained from a careful scientific investigation. In- 
 deed, it is in no small measure due to the insistence of these 
 leaders that we are coming to have adequate investigations 
 with regard to our educational practice. 
 
 It has seemed necessary to discuss at some length the ob- 
 jections which have been made against the attempt to measure 
 results in education, rather than to devote more space to a dis- 
 cussion of the work which ha s already been done. All students 
 
252 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 of education are familiar with the early work of Rice, and with 
 the later contributions of Thorndike, Ayres, Cornman, and 
 many others who have contributed to the literature of educa- 
 tional investigation. Possibly the most significant piece of 
 work that has been done is Thorndike's scale for measuring 
 handwriting.^ We may reasonably hope to have scales de- 
 rived for the measurement of abihties in other subjects. 
 
 In administration, considerable work has already been 
 done with reference to the cost of education, both as regards 
 the relationship of expenditure for education to other ex- 
 penditures, the question of a proper distribution of money 
 within the educational budget, and of the proper distribution 
 of state school funds.^ We can, of course, hope for much more 
 significant work in this field as more adequate systems of 
 accounting are introduced and more satisfactory reports are 
 issued. It is noteworthy that in those school systems in 
 which an attempt has been made to check up expenditures 
 carefully, remarkable savings have been made. We have not 
 yet reached the limit of possible reduction of expenditure with- 
 out the sacrifice of our present efficiency. Much work has 
 been done on problems of school organization, yet the problems 
 of retardation and elimination will be satisfactorily treated 
 only as we secure more accurate records concerning attendance, 
 scholarship, health, promotions, and demotions, such as are 
 provided for by the genetic records now kept in some of our 
 more progressive school systems. The problems of depart- 
 mental work and individual instruction can never be satis- 
 factorily solved until we measure accurately the results 
 secured under different systems of organization. 
 
 Implicit in all of the argument which has been advanced in 
 favor of measuring results is the contention that education 
 means change. If changes are brought about in the children 
 
 1 E. L. Thorndike, "Handwriting," Teachers College Record, Vol. XI, No. 2. 
 " Cubberley, School Funds and their Apportionment; Elliott, Fiscal Aspects 
 of Education; Strayer, City School Expenditures. 
 
Measuring Results in Education 253 
 
 who are being educated, then there must be the possibility of 
 measurement. These changes may take place in habit, in 
 knowledge, in methods of work, in interests and ideals, and in 
 power of appreciation. Probably no one would question the 
 possibility of measuring the change which takes place in the 
 formation of habits. We have quite commonly been willing 
 to measure growth in knowledge by tests which demand that 
 students not only remember facts, but that they show some 
 abihty to apply them. Whether or not a student commands 
 a particular method of work can be determined by observa- 
 tion of his method of procedure as well as by the results that 
 he secures. If interests or ideals are changed, there necessarily 
 follows a change in activity. Any real power of appreciation 
 will be accompanied by some change in expression. 
 
 The fact that we do not yet have scales or units of measure- 
 ment which will enable us to evaluate accurately the results 
 obtained in all of the different forms of school activity is not 
 an argument against the possibility of measurement. In any 
 field the development of units of measurement is dependent 
 upon careful investigation, and upon a realization of the im- 
 perfection of the units already used. It is only as we insist upon 
 measurement that we can hope to have our units refined. 
 Take for example the problem of grades or marks which are 
 commonly assigned to students as a measure of their efficiency 
 in doing school work. Any investigation of these units will 
 show that there is very great variation in their application by 
 different members of the teaching corps. 
 
 The way to bring about a remedy is not to abolish all marks 
 or grades, but rather to study the problem of the proper dis- 
 tribution of marks, and, if necessary, to weigh differently the 
 marks of different instructors. The more imperfect the unit 
 of measure which we now apply, the greater the need for in- 
 sisting upon accurate measurement. 
 
 The first step in the development of scientific inquiry in any 
 field is found in accurate description of the phenomena in- 
 
254 ^ Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 volved. The demand that we measure results in education is 
 simply a demand that the basis for scientific investigation be 
 made available by means of this accurate description of the 
 situation as it exists. Some investigators in education have 
 already been able to take the further steps in scientific inquiry 
 which have enabled them to foretell with considerable accuracy 
 the results which might be expected in education imder given 
 conditions. Further progress is, however, dependent upon 
 that sort of measurement which will discover problems which 
 are not now clearly defined or which have not yet been thought 
 of. Of course, as inferences are made in the light of the prob- 
 lems suggested, there will be still further necessity for accurate 
 measurement. When those who are charged with the re- 
 sponsibility of determining educational policy appeal to fact 
 rather than to opinion, when we are able to evaluate accurately 
 that which we achieve, educational progress will be assured 
 and a profession of education will have been estabhshed. 
 
 We shall always have most excellent work in teaching 
 done by those for whom scientific investigation, as such, means 
 little. The investigations made will, however, modify the 
 practice of these same teachers through changed demands and 
 because of the demonstration of the validity of the new method 
 of work by those who can appreciate the significance of results 
 achieved by investigators. It is certainly to be expected that 
 open-minded teachers will experiment for themselves and will 
 aid in the work of the expert who must use the schools as his 
 laboratory. Much depends upon the cooperation and good 
 will of all who are engaged in teaching. It is not too much 
 to expect that the spirit of investigation will be found in large 
 measure to characterize those whose privilege it is to provide 
 the situation in which intellectual development is stimulated. 
 
 An example of a study involving the cooperation of the pupils, 
 teachers, and supervisory officers of twenty-six separate schools 
 or school systems is Dr. C. W. Stone's study on Arith- 
 metical Abilities and Some of the Factors Determining them. 
 
Measuring Results in Education 255 
 
 The following quotations from Dr. Stone's study indicate the 
 type of result which we may hope to get from such investiga- 
 tions. 
 
 In Reasoning 
 
 The scores for the reasoning problems were determined from the 
 results of two preliminary tests — one, giving one hundred 6th grade 
 pupils all the time they needed to do the problems as well as they could 
 in the order as printed (see page 1 1) ; and another, giving one hundred 
 6th grade pupils all the time they needed to do the problems as well as 
 they could in the reverse order from that as printed. The results as 
 tabulated below in table II show that scores for reasoning problems of 
 Grade VI pupils can be very definitely arranged in a scale on the basis 
 of relative difficulty. Just what the scale should be can only be deter- 
 mined by determining the form of distribution and the location of the 
 zero point. From what is known of these the scale of weighting shown 
 in the last column of table II is beheved to be the best, and this is the 
 one employed in the computations of this study. However, in order to 
 enable the reader to satisfy himself as to which is the best method, the 
 scores of the twenty-six systems were calculated on each of three other 
 bases — (i) counting each problem reasoned correctly a score of i ; 
 
 (2) counting each problem reasoned correctly a score based on the ratio 
 of its difficulty as shown in the next to the last column of table II ; and 
 
 (3) counting the scores made on only the first six problems for which 
 presumably aU pupils of all systems had ample time. See Appendix, 
 p. 98. 
 
 In both reasoning and fundamentals the scores used as a measure of 
 the achievement of a system were computed by combining the scores 
 of one hundred pupils. Where more than one hundred pupils were 
 tested, the papers used were drawn at random, the number drawn from 
 each class being determined by the ratio of its number to the total num- 
 ber tested in the system. Where less than one hundred pupils were 
 tested, the combined scores made were raised to the basis of one hundred 
 pupils. 
 
J 56 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 TABLE II 
 PRELIMINARY TESTS 
 Reasoning — Unlimited Time 
 loo Different Pupils Tested Each Time 
 
 Ndmber of 
 Problems 
 
 % Reasoned 
 Correctly 
 AS Printed 
 
 % Reasoned 
 
 Correctly 
 
 AS Reversed 
 
 Average % 
 Reasoned 
 Correctly 
 
 Weight Ac- 
 cording to 
 Average % 
 Correct 
 
 Weight Used 
 
 AS Probably 
 
 the Best 
 
 I 
 
 95 
 
 92.6 
 
 93-8 
 
 I 
 
 
 2 
 
 86 
 
 82.2 
 
 84.1 
 
 I.I 
 
 
 3 
 
 94 
 
 89 
 
 9I-S 
 
 I 
 
 
 4 
 
 8o 
 
 83 
 
 81.S 
 
 i-iS 
 
 
 5 
 
 88 
 
 86 
 
 87 
 
 I.I 
 
 
 6 
 
 69 
 
 S7-4 
 
 63.2 
 
 i-S 
 
 1.4 
 
 7 
 
 70 
 
 80 
 
 7S 
 
 1.25 
 
 1.2 
 
 8 
 
 29 
 
 44 
 
 36-S 
 
 2.6 
 
 1.6 
 
 9 
 
 19 
 
 iS-S 
 
 17.2 
 
 S-4S 
 
 2 
 
 TO 
 
 24 
 
 27.4 
 
 2S-7 
 
 3-6 
 
 2 
 
 II 
 
 17 
 
 7-5 
 
 12.3 
 
 7.6 
 
 2 
 
 12 
 
 7 
 
 16.4 
 
 11.7 
 
 8 
 
 2 
 
 Precautions observed to make the Scoring Accurate 
 
 The simplicity of tlie tests made the scoring comparatively easy ; and 
 with the observance of the following precautions it is believed that a 
 high degree of accuracy was attained, (i) In so far as practicable, all 
 the papers were scored by a single judge — only two persons being em- 
 ployed on any phase of the work for the entire twenty-six systems; 
 (2) each problem was scored through one hundred or more papers, then 
 the next followed through, etc. ; (3) the score for each part of each 
 problem, the errors, etc., were entered on a blank provided with a sepa- 
 rate column for each item; (4) where there was doubt as to how the 
 score should be made, the scorer made a written memorandum of how 
 the case was finally decided and this memorandum served as the guide 
 for all future similar cases. 
 
Measuring Results in Education 257 
 
 What the Scores Measure 
 
 As used in this study the words achievements, products, abilities, 
 except where otherwise qualified, must necessarily refer to the results 
 of the particular tests employed in this investigation. That some sys- 
 tenis may achieve other and possibly quite as worth-while resuhs from 
 their arithmetic work is not denied; but what is denied is that any 
 system can safely fail to attain good results in the work covered by 
 these particular tests. Whatever else the arithmetic work may pro- 
 duce, it seems safe to say that by the end of the sixth school year, it 
 should result in at least good abiUty in the four fundamental operations 
 and the simple, everyday kind of reasoning called for in these problems. 
 It does not then seem unreasonable, in view of the precautions pre- 
 viously enumerated, to claim that the scores made by the respective 
 systems afford a reliable measure of the products of their respective pro- 
 cedures in arithmetic. 
 
 The Data 
 
 The source of the data used to help answer the above questions is 
 some six thousand test papers gathered from twenty-six representative 
 school systems. Copies of the tests may be found in Part I, pages 10 
 and II ; as may also a statement of conditions under which the tests 
 were personally given by the author, page 13 ; and the method of scor- 
 ing, pages 15 to 18. 
 
 The achievements are considered from two standpoints — (i) the 
 scores and mistakes of the systems as systems, (2) the scores of individual 
 pupils as individuals. 
 
 Table III gives the scores made in reasoning by each of the twenty- 
 six systems, counting all the problems that were solved, and weighting 
 them according to the last column of table 11. The Roman numerals 
 used in the left-hand column to designate the systems are those that fell 
 to each system by lot. As seen by the column headed scores made, the 
 systems are arranged according to number of scores, i.e. system XXIII 
 made three hundred fifty-six points, the lowest score, and is placed first 
 in the table ; system XXIV made four hundred twenty-nine points, and 
 is placed second, etc. System V, having made the highest score, is 
 placed last in the table. 
 
 The middle column gives the deviations from the median, which is 
 that measure above and below which one half the cases lie. In this 
 table the median is five hundred fifty-one. These deviations serve to 
 s 
 
258 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE SYSTEMS AS SYSTEMS 
 Measdeed by Scores Made 
 TABLE nil TABLE IV 
 
 Scores op the Twentv-six Systems in Rea- 
 soning WITH Deviations peom tee Median. 
 Scores erom all Problems 
 M2 = ssi 
 
 Scores or the Twenty-six Systems in Fonda- 
 mentals WITH Deviations from the Median. 
 Scores erom all Problems 
 M = 3111 
 
 Systems in 
 
 Order of 
 
 Achievement 
 
 Scores 
 Made' 
 
 Devia- 
 tions 
 from the 
 Median 
 
 Devia- 
 tions in 
 Per Cent 
 
 of the 
 Median 
 
 Systems in 
 
 Order of 
 
 Achievement 
 
 Scores 
 Made 
 
 Devia- 
 tions 
 from the 
 Median 
 
 Devia- 
 tions in 
 Per Cent 
 
 of the 
 
 Median 
 
 XXIII 
 XXIV 
 XVII . 
 IV 
 
 XXV . 
 XXII . 
 XVI . 
 
 XX . 
 XVIII 
 XV . 
 
 Ill . . 
 
 VIII . 
 VI . . 
 
 I . . 
 
 X . . 
 
 II . . 
 
 XXI . 
 
 XIII . 
 
 XIV . 
 
 IX . . 
 VII 
 XII . 
 
 XI . . 
 XXVI 
 XIX . 
 V . . 
 
 
 356 
 429 
 
 444 
 
 464 
 464 
 468 
 
 469 
 491 
 
 509 
 
 532 
 533 
 538 
 
 550 
 
 SS2 
 
 601 
 
 6IS 
 
 627 
 
 636 
 661 
 
 691 
 734 
 736 
 
 759 
 791 
 848 
 914 
 
 -195 
 
 — 122 
 -107 
 -87 
 -87 
 -83 
 -82 
 -60 
 
 -42 
 
 -19 
 -18 
 -13 
 
 — I 
 I 
 
 50 
 64 
 76 
 
 8s 
 no 
 140 
 
 183 
 185 
 
 208 
 240 
 297 
 
 363 
 
 -35 
 
 — 22 
 -19 
 -16 
 -16 
 -IS 
 -15 
 
 — II 
 -8 
 -3 
 -3 
 
 — 2 
 
 — 2 
 2 
 
 9 
 12 
 
 14 
 IS 
 19 
 20 
 33 
 34 
 38 
 44 
 54 
 66 
 
 XXIII 
 XXV . 
 
 XX . 
 XXII . 
 
 VIII . 
 
 X . . 
 
 XV . 
 
 Ill 
 
 I . . 
 
 XXI . 
 
 II . . 
 
 xvti . 
 
 XIII . 
 
 VI . . 
 
 XI . . 
 
 IX . . 
 
 XII . 
 XXIV 
 
 XIV . 
 
 IV . . 
 
 V . . 
 XXVI 
 
 XVI . 
 XVIII 
 
 VII . 
 XIX 
 
 
 1 841 
 2167 
 
 2168 
 23II 
 
 2747 
 2749 
 2779 
 284s 
 
 2935 
 
 2951 
 2958 
 
 3042 
 3049 
 3173 
 3261 
 3404 
 3410 
 3513 
 3561 
 3563 
 3569 
 3682 
 
 3707 
 3758 
 3782 
 
 4099 
 
 — 1270 
 -944 
 
 -943 
 -800 
 
 -364 
 -362 
 -332 
 -266 
 -176 
 — 160 
 
 -153 
 
 -69 
 
 -62 
 
 62 
 
 ISO 
 293 
 299 
 402 
 450 
 452 
 458 
 571 
 596 
 647 
 671 
 988 
 
 -41 
 -30 
 -30 
 -26 
 —12 
 —12 
 —II 
 
 -8 
 -6 
 
 -s 
 
 -5 
 
 — 2 
 
 — 2 
 2 
 5 
 9 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 14 
 14 
 IS 
 18 
 
 19 
 21 
 22 
 31 
 
 Footnotes on opposite page. 
 
Measuring Results in Education 259 
 
 show the differences in scores made; and they are also employed in 
 computing the measures of variability and relationship. The third 
 column is the deviations in per cent of the median. It affords another 
 expression of the difference in size of scores made by the systems. 
 
 Table IV reads exactly as III, the scores ^ being those made on all 
 problems of the test in fundamentals. These two tables give some 
 general help on the nature of the product of the first six years of arith- 
 metic work. One very evident fact is the lack of uniformity among 
 systems ; another is the lack of correspondence of relative position 
 among the systems in the two tables. With the exception of systems 
 XXIII and XIV, no system occupies the same relative position in the 
 two tables, e.g. system XXIV stands second from the lowest in reason- 
 ing and eighteenth from the lowest in fundamentals. This fact is more 
 accurately summarized in the coefficients of correlation, table XV, 
 
 P- 37- 
 
 As seen from its heading, table XXII gives the systems in order of 
 achievements. These serial standings are derived from tables III and 
 , IV. Reading from the top, system XXIII has an average serial stand- 
 ing of one, being lowest in both reasoning and fundamentals; system 
 XXV ranks three in average serial standing, being fourth from lowest in 
 reasoning and second from lowest in fundamentals; the readings for 
 the other systems are similar. 
 
 Tables XXIII and XXIV keep the same order of systems and show 
 
 ' In proceeding to the part of the study that is necessarily largely composed 
 of tables, it may be well to State the position of the author regarding the partial 
 interpretations offered in connection with the tables. It is that the entire 
 tables give by far the best basis for conclusions; that for a thorough compre- 
 hension of the study they should be read quite as fully as any other part ; and 
 that they should be regarded as the most important source of information rather 
 than the brief suggestive readings which are liable to give erroneous impres- 
 sions, both because of the limitations of a single interpretation and the lack of 
 space for anything like full exposition. 
 
 '^ M = Median, which is the representation of central tendency used 
 throughout this study. It has the advantages over the average of being 
 more readily found, of being unambiguous, and of giving less weight to 
 extreme or erroneous cases. 
 
 ^ For reliability of measures of reasoning ability, see Appendix, p. loo. 
 
 ^As stated in Part I, p. 17, a score is arbitrarily set at one. The fact that 
 the zero point is unknown in both reasoning and fundamentals makes these 
 scores less amenable to ordinary handling than they might at first thought 
 seem. Hence, entire distributions are either printed or placed on file at Teachers 
 College. 
 
26o A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 TABLE XXII 
 
 TABLE XXIII 
 
 TABLE XXIV 
 
 
 COMPASAnVE 
 
 Achievements 
 
 Comparative Time 
 expendixuee 
 
 Time Distribdtion among Geades 
 
 
 
 
 ,a 
 
 .2 " 
 
 ja 
 
 
 
 Lower numbers show week minutes 
 
 Systems 
 
 13 
 
 .S 
 
 g-l 
 
 M =1 
 
 S-g 
 
 5=3 
 
 
 devoted to arithmetic ; upper show 
 
 
 •g 
 
 fa 
 
 ■■3S 
 
 ^■2 
 a o 
 
 IS 
 
 •a « 
 
 
 ■2 
 
 % of school time devoted to arith- 
 
 
 1-9 
 
 
 II 
 II 
 
 11 
 
 li 
 
 
 .9-w 
 
 ill 
 
 
 
 metic in each grade 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ■Sa 
 
 cn.S 
 
 i!i.S 
 
 ^■Sl 
 
 ^■SS 
 
 ^S 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 V 
 
 VI 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 7 
 
 6 
 
 12 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 15 
 
 XXII . . 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 14 
 
 I ISO 
 
 967s 
 
 12 
 
 100 
 
 100 
 7 
 
 200 
 9 
 
 250 
 10 
 
 250 
 
 9 
 
 250 
 13 
 
 XXV . . 
 
 3 
 
 4 
 
 2 
 
 2 
 
 722 
 
 8700 
 
 8 
 
 
 100 
 8 
 
 140 
 8 
 
 155 
 8 
 
 130 
 7 
 
 197 
 
 II 
 
 XXII . . 
 
 Ah 
 
 S 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 S07 
 
 7200 
 
 7 
 
 7 
 
 90 
 10 
 
 go 
 
 12 
 
 90 
 14 
 
 90 
 IS 
 
 147 
 
 IS 
 
 XX . . . 
 
 S 
 
 7 
 
 3 
 
 ^s 
 
 1161 
 
 8200 
 
 14 
 
 80 
 2 
 
 113 
 
 12 
 
 210 
 20 
 
 240 
 20 
 
 265 
 24 
 
 253 
 23 
 
 XVII . . 
 
 1\ 
 
 3 
 
 12 
 
 21 
 
 1283 
 
 7SOO 
 
 17 
 
 27 
 2 
 
 158 
 14 
 
 250 
 IS 
 
 258 
 IS 
 
 300 
 IS 
 
 290 
 
 15 
 
 VIII . . 
 
 8 
 
 II 
 
 S 
 
 i8 
 
 1258 
 
 9600 
 
 13 
 
 25 
 
 233 
 II 
 
 250 
 IS 
 
 250 
 20 
 
 250 
 17 
 
 250 
 18 
 
 XV . . . 
 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 7 
 
 i6 
 
 1173 
 
 8025 
 
 IS 
 
 10 
 
 147 
 9 
 
 213 
 
 II 
 
 292 
 II 
 
 250 
 I^ 
 
 271 
 16 
 
 Ill . . . 
 
 9 
 
 lO 
 
 8 
 
 6 
 
 944 
 
 802s 
 
 12 
 
 1 25 
 
 125 
 
 ISO 
 
 14 
 
 ISO 
 17 
 
 165 
 17 
 
 229 
 17 
 
 XXIV . . 
 
 lO 
 
 2 
 
 i8 
 
 7 
 
 9SO 
 
 877s 
 
 II 
 
 
 7 
 
 200 
 12 
 
 250 
 12 
 
 250 
 14 
 
 250 
 18 
 
 X . . . 
 
 lO 
 
 ■H 
 
 6 
 
 S 
 
 921 
 
 8SS0 
 
 II 
 
 
 88 
 9 
 
 154 
 13 
 
 184 
 14 
 
 216 
 
 14 
 
 279 
 IS 
 
 I . . . . 
 
 II 
 
 13 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 1068 
 
 937S 
 
 II 
 
 28 
 
 130 
 20 
 
 213 
 20 
 
 238 
 24 
 
 238 
 
 20 
 
 249 
 123 
 
 IV . . . 
 
 12 
 
 4 
 
 20 
 
 26 
 
 1854 
 
 8400 
 
 22 
 
 249 
 
 8 
 
 300 
 12 
 
 306 
 14 
 
 361 
 14 
 
 300 
 
 IS 
 
 338 
 16 
 
 II . . . 
 
 13 
 
 IS 
 
 II 
 
 17 
 
 1247 
 
 9900 
 
 13 
 
 121 
 8 
 
 192 
 10 
 
 217 
 10 
 
 22s 
 12 
 
 233 
 
 14 
 
 259 
 13 
 
 XXI . . 
 
 13 
 
 i6 
 
 lO 
 
 4 
 
 86s 
 
 7650 
 
 II 
 
 80 
 
 100 
 8 
 
 100 
 12 
 
 180 
 18 
 
 210 
 18 
 
 195 
 19 
 
 VI . . . 
 
 13 
 
 12 
 
 14 
 
 II 
 
 1126 
 
 9000 
 
 13 
 
 S 
 
 127 
 8 
 
 177 
 13 
 
 266 
 
 18 
 
 266 
 17 
 
 290 
 16 
 
 XVI . . 
 
 144 
 
 6 
 
 23 
 
 12 
 
 1127 
 
 9000 
 
 13 
 
 75 
 
 113 
 26 
 
 187 
 23 
 
 263 
 18 
 
 251 
 19 
 
 238 
 19 
 
 XIII . . 
 
 IS 
 
 17 
 
 13 
 
 2S 
 
 1626 
 
 847s 
 
 19 
 
 
 388 
 
 350 
 
 288 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
Measuring Results in Education 
 
 261 
 
 Systems 
 
 XVIII 
 IX . 
 XI . 
 XIV 
 XII 
 XXVI 
 VII . 
 V . 
 XIX 
 
 Comparative 
 Achievements 
 
 <« 
 
 
 16 
 
 1 81 
 i8| 
 
 19 
 
 22I 
 
 23 
 
 2S 
 
 
 _ E 
 
 Comparative Time 
 Expenditure 
 
 .J *; o 
 
 L* > a; 
 
 .SB 
 
 1265 
 
 ISS9 
 1130 
 1560 
 1 148 
 
 837 
 IS73 
 
 971 
 1276 
 
 as 
 ■■= a 
 
 8700 
 9000 
 
 8S7S 
 8850 
 8400 
 7200 
 7800 
 8700 
 gooo 
 
 14 
 
 Time Distribution among Grades 
 
 Lower numbers show week minutes 
 devoted to arithmetic; upper show 
 % of schojl time devoted to arith- 
 metic in each grade. 
 
 I 
 
 II 
 
 III 
 
 IV 
 
 V 
 
 6 
 
 S 
 
 IS 
 
 20 
 
 20 
 
 7S 
 
 75 
 
 225 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
 13 
 
 IS 
 
 18 
 
 18 
 
 18 
 
 200 
 
 225 
 
 27s 
 
 27s 
 
 275 
 
 
 II 
 
 IS 
 
 18 
 
 18 
 
 
 IS7 
 
 216 
 
 250 
 
 250 
 
 IS 
 
 16 
 
 18 
 
 19 
 
 19 
 
 22s 
 
 245 
 
 270 
 
 280 
 
 270 
 
 
 6 
 
 18 
 
 16 
 
 19 
 
 
 81 
 
 226 
 
 2SS 
 
 288 
 
 7 
 
 10 
 
 10 
 
 13 
 
 13 
 
 So 
 
 125 
 
 125 
 
 ISO 
 
 150 
 
 13 
 
 19 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 22 
 
 I7S 
 
 262 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
 300 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 II 
 
 12 
 
 13 
 
 113 
 
 IS4 
 
 167 
 
 175 
 
 183 
 
 8 
 
 10 
 
 17 
 
 17 
 
 13 
 
 I2S 
 
 ISO 
 
 250 
 
 250 
 
 250 
 
 VI 
 
 19 
 
 290 
 
 21 
 309 
 
 18 
 257 
 
 19 
 
 270 
 
 19 
 
 298 
 
 17 
 207 
 
 17 
 236 
 
 13 
 179 
 
 20 
 301 
 
 . . = no time assigned. 
 
 the time expenditure. The first line of table XXIII reads, — system 
 XXIII ranks fourteenth from the lowest in time expenditure, with 1150 
 week minutes devoted to arithmetic, 9675 week minutes devoted to all 
 subjects, the 1150 week minutes devoted to arithmetic being 12 per 
 cent of the 9675 week minutes devoted to all subjects. Similarly for 
 the other systems, e.g. system XXV with a serial standing in abilities 
 of three, and a serial standing in time expenditure of two, spends 722 
 week minutes on arithmetic, and 8700 week minutes on all subjects, 
 arithmetic costing 8 per cent of all the school time. The reader will 
 recognize that the third column, which gives the time devoted to all sub- 
 jects for one week of each of the first six years, gives the only new data of 
 this table, column two being the same as given in table XXI and the 
 first and fourth columns being derived from the others. 
 
262 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 Probably the first essential shown by this table is the lack of corre- 
 spondence between the serial standing in time cost and the serial stand- 
 ing in abilities ; e.g. the system with the lowest time cost is found by 
 referring to table XIII to be system XXII, which is seen in table XXII 
 to rank iour and, one-half in average abilities. Similarly, the system 
 that ranks fifteenth in time cost, ranks fifth in abilities, etc. Another 
 noticeable showing is the wide variability in the school time of the systems. 
 It will be seen to vary from 7200 to ggoo week minutes. This time 
 includes recesses, and it means that lengths of school days vary from an 
 average of four hours to five and one-half hours. And if the names of 
 the systems were given, it would be recognized that almost invariably the 
 longer school hours are accompanied by the least amount of variation 
 in program, such as physical education, field trips, assemblies, etc. Per- 
 haps the other most striking fact of this table is the wide variation in 
 the per cent of time devoted to arithmetic. It varies from 22 per cent 
 for system IV to 7 per cent for system XXII, a difference of more than 
 three to one. 
 
 As table XXIV is part of the discussion of factors in time expendi- 
 ture, its sample readings are given under that heading, page 62. 
 
 The Relation of Time Expenditure to Abilities Produced 
 
 The reader found one indication of the relation, or lack of relation, 
 between time cost and products in tables XXII and XXIII. Each of 
 the three following tables expresses these same facts. 
 
 TABLE XXV 
 
 Comparison of the Achievements of the Systems having Less than 
 Median Time Cost with those having More 
 
 
 CouBMED Scores of the Thirteen Systems 
 
 
 With fesj than 
 
 median time 
 
 cost 
 
 With ffwfe than 
 
 median time 
 
 cost 
 
 With Zesj than 
 
 median time 
 
 cost 
 
 With more than 
 
 median time 
 
 cost 
 
 
 locludiog home study 
 
 Without home study 
 
 Reasoning 
 
 Fundamentals 
 
 7,519 
 40,751 
 
 7,893 
 40,273 
 
 7,277 
 37,i6s 
 
 8,135 
 43,859 
 
 The above details are compiled from the scores of individual systems 
 as given in tables III and IV, the median cost being that given in table 
 
Measuring Results ht Education 
 
 263 
 
 TABLE XXVI 
 Ratio of Time Expenditures to Abilities ' 
 
 Systems 
 
 IV . 
 XXIII 
 XVII 
 XIII 
 XX . 
 XVIII 
 XIV 
 VIII 
 
 IX . 
 XVI 
 XV . 
 VII . 
 XXIV 
 
 II . 
 
 VI . 
 
 I . . 
 Ill 
 
 XII . 
 XXV 
 
 X . 
 
 XI . 
 XIX 
 XXI 
 
 V . 
 XXII 
 XXVI 
 
 Average Ratios 
 
 Serial 
 StandiDg 
 
 of 
 Systems 
 
 I 
 2 
 
 3 
 4 
 S 
 6 
 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 10 
 II 
 12 
 13 
 14 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 18 
 
 19 
 20 
 21 
 
 22 
 
 23 
 24 
 
 25 
 26 
 
 Time Cost 
 to Rea- 
 soning 
 and to 
 Funda- 
 mentals 
 
 2.26 
 
 i.g2 
 
 i.6s 
 
 I -54 
 
 I -45 
 
 1. 41 
 
 1.40 
 
 1-39 
 
 1-353 
 
 1-352 
 
 1-31 
 
 1.28 
 
 1.24 
 
 1.22 
 
 1.20 
 
 i-iS 
 I. OS 
 
 0.943 
 0.941 
 
 0.93 
 
 0.913 
 
 0.91 
 
 0.83 
 
 0.67 
 
 0.65 
 
 0.64 
 
 Reasoning Ratios 
 
 Serial 
 Standing 
 
 of 
 ^Systems 
 
 3 
 4 
 7 
 S 
 7 
 8 
 
 9 
 6 
 II 
 12 
 10 
 14 
 13 
 15 
 16 
 
 17 
 17 
 18 
 20 
 
 19 
 21 
 
 23 
 22 
 
 24 
 
 Time Cost 
 
 to 
 Reasoning 
 
 3.99 
 3.22 
 2.88 
 
 2.5s 
 2.36 
 2.48 
 2.36 
 
 2.33 
 2.2s 
 2.40 
 2.20 
 2.14 
 2.21 
 2.02 
 2.04 
 
 1.93 
 1.77 
 
 ^-55 
 i-SS 
 I-S3 
 ±.48 
 1.50 
 1-37 
 1.06 
 1.08 
 I. OS 
 
 Fundamental 
 Ratios 
 
 Serial 
 Standing 
 
 of 
 Systems 
 
 4 
 
 I 
 
 7 
 3 
 
 2 
 
 13 
 6 
 
 5 
 5 
 
 18 
 8 
 
 9 
 
 21 
 
 7 
 II 
 
 10 
 16 
 13 
 15 
 14 
 12 
 
 17 
 19 
 20 
 
 23 
 
 Time Cost 
 to Fun- 
 damentals 
 
 .520 
 .624 
 .421 
 •533 
 -535 
 -336 
 -438 
 •457 
 -457 
 .304 
 .422 
 
 .415 
 .270 
 .421 
 •354 
 -363 
 -331 
 •336 
 -333 
 -335 
 -346 
 •3" 
 ■293 
 .272 
 .219 
 .227 
 
 ' For the data from which these calculations were made, see first column 
 of table XXI, p. 52, and the first columns of tables III and IV, p. 21. The 
 absence of known zero points makes such computations inadvisable except 
 in connection with the more reliable evidence of the preceding table. 
 
264 A Brief Course in the Teaching Process 
 
 XXI. As measured by the time used in school, the thirteen systems 
 with less than the median cost stand slightly the better ; and as meas- 
 ured by the time including home study, the thirteen systems with more 
 than the median time cost stand somewhat the better. The time used 
 in school is doubtless the more exact measure, but, as shown in table 
 XXI, some systems depend on home study to a considerable extent. 
 Hence both measures are used. The lack of relation indicated in this 
 general way is shown more accurately in the table, page 263, in terms 
 of coeflScients of correlation. 
 
 The order of systems in this table is determined by the first column, 
 which gives the average serial standing as determined by the ratios of 
 time to products. The right-hand column under each heading gives 
 the ratio of time expenditure to abilities produced, and the left-hand 
 column gives the serial order of that system as measured by the high- 
 ness of the ratio, i.e. highness of cost per unit of product ; e.g. in system 
 IV the ratio of time to reasoning is 3.99 (see fourth column), the highest 
 ratio in reasoning (determined by dividing the time cost, 1854 week 
 minutes, by 464, the points made in reasoning). The ratio of time to 
 fundamentals in this system is .52 ; giving an average ratio of 2.26. 
 That is to say, the ratio of time to abilities in system IV is as 2.26 to 1, 
 the highest among the twenty-six systems. 
 
 That there is no direct ratio between time expenditure and abilities 
 is again shown by this table. For example, system XXII, which spends 
 the least amount of time (see table XXI), ranks fourth from the lowest 
 in abilities (see table XXII), ranks 25th, that is, next to the highest, in 
 ratio of time cost to abilities produced ; and, what is even more striking, 
 system XXVI, which spends third from the least amount of time, ranks 
 third from the highest in abilities and 26th or highest in the ratio of time 
 cost to abilities produced. 
 
 That a large amount of time expended is no guarantee of a high stand- 
 ard of abilities may again be convincingly seen by comparing the ratios 
 of the five systems spending the smallest amount of time with the five 
 spending the largest. Of the five spending the least time, the average 
 ratio is .80, which corresponds with the 23d or the 3d' from the best in 
 ratio ; and of the five spending the greatest amount of time, the average 
 ratio is 1.57, which corresponds with the 4th poorest in ratio. 
 
 The last three tables have each shown the decided lack of relation- 
 ship between time cost and abilities produced, and hence for these 
 systems it is evident that there is practically no relation between time 
 expenditure and arithmetical abilities; and, in view of the representa- 
 tive nature of these twenty-six systems, it is probable that this lack of 
 relationship is the rule the country over. 
 
Measuring Results in Education 265 
 
 This is not to say that a certain amount of time is not essential to the 
 production of arithmetical abilities; nor that, given the same other 
 factors, operating equally well, the product will not increase somewhat 
 with an increased time expenditure. What is claimed is that, as present 
 practice goes, a large amount of time spent on arithmetic is no guarantee 
 of a high degree of efficiency. If one were to choose at random among 
 the schools with more than the median time given to arithmetic, the 
 chances are about equal that he would get a school with an inferior 
 product ; and conversely, if one were to choose among the schools with 
 less than the median time cost, the chances are about equal that he 
 would get a school with a superior product in arithmetic' 
 
 So far, then, as ability in arithmetic means ability to handle such 
 foundation work as is measured by the tests in this study, this "essen- 
 tial" has not necessarily suffered by the introduction of other subjects 
 and the consequent reduction of its time allotment. 
 
 One would need to read the whole study to appreciate fully 
 the nature of the investigation. From the pages quoted, how- 
 ever, it must be apparent that : (i) schools and school systems 
 vary greatly in the results which they secure in arithmetic ; 
 (2) the excellence of the work done is not directly pro- 
 portional to the time expended. We will find it necessary to 
 revise our opinions with regard to the organization of school 
 subjects, the allotment of time, the methods of teaching, and 
 the like, in proportion as we have careful investigation in these 
 several fields. 
 
 For Collateral Reading 
 
 E. L. Thomdike, The Principles of Teaching, Chapter XVI. 
 
 ' And it is the opinion of the author that the chances are much better that 
 one would get a school with a superior product in education. 
 
APPENDIX 
 
 I. THE TEACHING OF ENGLISH IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS 
 
 By Franklin Thomas Baker, A.M. 
 
 I. Historical View of the Subject 
 
 1. The Choice of Reading Matter. 
 
 1. The school reader an expression of social ideals. 
 
 2. German primers and readers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. 
 
 3. The "moral tales" of the eighteenth century. 
 
 4. The New England Primer. 
 
 5. The oratorical and patriotic selections of the early nineteenth century. 
 
 6. The school readers of to-day ; their general characteristics. 
 
 2. Method. 
 
 I. The alphabetic method in use until modern times. 
 
 s. New ideas in the sixteenth century and later. Work of Ickelsamer, 
 Basedow, Pestalozzi, Comenius, and Jacotot. 
 
 3. Gradual ascendency of the analytic over the alphabetic (or synthetic) 
 method. 
 
 4. Recognition of the importance of phonetics, of association of ideas, etc. 
 References : Kehr, Ceschichte des Lese-Unterrichls in der Volksschule, 
 
 Gotha, i88g. Fechner, Geschidite des Volksschullesebuches, Gotha, i88g. 
 Ford, The New England Primer, New York, 1897. Reeder, Historical Develop- 
 ment of the School Reader, New York, igoo. Hall, How to Teach Reading, New 
 York, 1886. American Journal of Education, Vol. V., Hartford and London, 
 1858. Russell, German Higher Schools, New York, 1900. Carpenter, Baker, 
 and Scott, The Teaching of English, New York, igo3. Huey, Psychology and 
 Pedagogy of Reading, New York, igo8. 
 
 II. First Steps in Instruction 
 
 1. Material. 
 
 1. Material should be (i) interesting, (2) literary, so far as possible, (3) 
 adapted to the capacities and tastes of children, (4) of enough difficulty and 
 sufficiently above their own ordinary thoughts to have value as instruction. 
 
 2. The best material (i) folk stuff, such as the classic fairy tales. Mother 
 
 267 
 
268 Appendix 
 
 Goose, etc., (2) tales of heroism and sacrifice, (3) poetry of the simpler type, 
 like that of Stevenson and Christina Rossetti. 
 
 3. Much of the language work should be free conversation between the 
 teacher and the children about their ordinary experiences. 
 
 2. Method. 
 
 1. During the first years much of the literary material must be given orally 
 by the teacher. Oral work is to be held of great importance. 
 
 2. Children to be encouraged to commit good things to memory. 
 
 3. All reading aloud by the pupils to be done as naturally as possible. Im- 
 portance of reading by phrases and sentences, rather than word by word. 
 
 4. Value of the dramatic element in early work. 
 
 S- The conflict between the "word method" and the "sentence method" 
 over. Modern teaching eclectic in method. If any name can be given to the 
 best way, it might be, perhaps, "thought method." 
 
 6. Use of script and print : advantages of each as a first form. Value of 
 printed cards and other devices for drill. 
 
 7. Form of type for beginners' books: not too large; letters to have all 
 differentiating marks distinct. Importance of right kind of paper, width of 
 columns, etc. Kinds of pictures most serviceable. 
 
 8. When shall writing begin? In general not to be forced on the child in 
 the first year. Arguments for and against this arrangement. Should there be 
 any fixed standard of accomplishment for the first year ? 
 
 9. Phonetic drill. How many words must be known before it begins? 
 Various plans equally successful. The main thing, perhaps, is to have drill 
 enough to give the pupils certainty in their work, but to keep the drill subordi- 
 nated to their interest in reading. 
 
 10. The order of such drill. "Normal words," chosen for their meaning, 
 their frequency of occurrence, and their similarity in form to other words 
 either at their beginning or at their end. Many words, however, must be 
 learned without relation to such a scheme. 
 
 11. "Normal sentences" those that partially help the reader to the recognition 
 of words; as, "The sun rises in the east, and sets in the west." For young 
 children, sentences involving the use of repetitive phrases must also be regarded 
 as normal, as in "The House that Jack Built." 
 
 12. In general, both analysis and synthesis to be used in word drill. 
 
 13. Importance of securing good habits as to intelligent reading, correct 
 spelling, etc., in the early years. Children can usually do better than they or 
 their elders think they can. 
 
 14. Emphasis to be placed upon reading many of the good things over and 
 over, until they are known in whole and in part. 
 
 References : Bryant, How to tell Stories to Children. Carpenter, Baker, and 
 Scott, The Teaching of English. Chubb, The Teaching of English. Colby, 
 Literature in Life and in School. Hall, How to teach Reading. Hinsdale, Teach- 
 ing the Language Art. Huey, Psychology and Pedagogy of Reading. Arnold, 
 Reading, How to teach it. Laurie, Language and Linguistic Method. Dewey, 
 " The Primary Education Fetich," in The Forum, May, 1898. Dewey, The School 
 and Society. Dye, Story-Teller's Art. 
 
Appendix 269 
 
 III. The Teaching of Literature 
 
 I. General Problems. 
 
 1. Can literature be taught? Or can pupils "be taught through literature" ? 
 Examples of such educational use of literature. 
 
 2. Present aims in teaching literature : entertainment, portrayal of life, ac- 
 quaintance with the world of thought and feeling as presented in books, culti- 
 vation of imagination and sense of beauty. 
 
 3. True interpretation implies grasping the central purpose, idea, or feeling of 
 the piece. 
 
 4. Various types of literature demand various treatment. Necessity of adapt- 
 ing the treatment to the class. 
 
 5. Taste (sense of beauty) developed mainly by contact with good models. 
 Instruction plays a minor part. The love of good reading fostered by judicious 
 selection of material, and by example and influence. 
 
 6. How can the habit of good reading be cultivated ? 
 2. Material. 
 
 1. The literature chosen must be suitable in its themes, its action, its feeling, 
 its simplicity. 
 
 2. Literary histories and biographies : their limited value in elementary work. 
 
 3. Scientific and historical material in literature. Literary use of such ma- 
 terial not to be confounded with science and history. 
 
 4. Pictures and other illustrative material: Sometimes give intuitive basis 
 for desired concepts; sometimes interfere with the imagination. 
 
 3. Method. 
 
 1. Reading aloud : its value. Means of securing good results ; interest, sense 
 of reality, consciousness of an audience. 
 
 2. Analytic study, of content, form, and general literary effects. 
 
 a. Must be adapted to the pupil's interest and his stage of development. 
 J. Must yield results of value appreciable by the pupil. 
 c. Effects of too much or too little such study. 
 
 3. Correlation of literature with other work possible in limited degree. A 
 matter of class treatment rather than of the general arrangement of the course 
 of study. A problem for the teacher rather than the principal. 
 
 4. Treatment of allusions, historical, literary, etc. The need of judicious 
 selection. 
 
 5. Treatment of figures of speech, verse forms, new words, etc. 
 
 6. Lesson plans : their function and value. 
 
 a. An outline should control and direct the work, yet be flexible enough 
 
 to allow freedom on the part of teacher and pupil. 
 h. Introductions : their nature and function. When necessary. 
 References. Carpenter, Baker, and Scott, Laurie, Chubb, Hinsdale, Ar- 
 nold and Hall, as cited. Scudder, Literature in Schools. C. A. McMurry, Spe- 
 cial Method in Reading. Bates, Talks on the Study of Literature. Colby, Litera- 
 ture in Life and in School. Adler, Moral Instruction of Children. 
 
270 Appendix 
 
 rV. Study of Certain Typical Books 
 
 1. NtmsEEY Rhymes (as Mother Goose, Stevenson's Child's Garden of Verses'). 
 
 a. The nature of their appeal to children in sound, imagery, and ideas. 
 
 b. Their value in training the ear, the powers of speech, etc. 
 
 2. Grimm's "Fairy Tales." 
 
 a. Their source and relation to other folklore. 
 
 b. The marvelous, and its effect on children. 
 
 c. Action, logical sequence, local color. 
 
 d. Various types of myth. 
 
 e. The ideal element, poetic justice, etc. Need the harsher elements be 
 omitted ? 
 
 /. Typical lessons. 
 
 3. "Alice in Wonderland." i 
 
 a. Its origin and its place in literature. 
 
 b. The nature of its reality : based upon things in the child's world of imagi- 
 nation. 
 
 c. Its value as humor, as a means of quickening the power of thought. 
 
 d. What preparation is needed for the appreciation of it ? 
 c. Typical lessons. 
 
 4. "Robinson Crusoe." 
 
 a. Its origin and place in literature. 
 
 b. Fundamental characteristics as a piece of fiction. 
 
 c. Elements in it that appeal to children, or fail so to appeal. 
 
 d. Justification of the abridged editions. 
 
 e. Its relation (i) to the world of romance, (2) to real life. 
 /. How best presented. Typical lessons. 
 
 S- Longfellow's "Hiawatha." 
 
 a. Its origin, form, popularity. 
 
 6. Its qualities, epic and romantic. 
 
 c. Its treatment of the myth. 
 
 d. Its value as school reading ; parts best suited for this. 
 
 e. General value of reading about primitive life. 
 /. Relation to handwork, etc. 
 
 6. Hawthorne's "Wonder Book" and "TangleWood Tales." 
 o. Their origin and general literary qualities. 
 
 b. Romantic coloring given to classic stories; compare Kingsley's The He- 
 roes, and Bulfinch's Age of Fable, and other versions of the myths. 
 
 c. Different types of myth and fairy story represented. 
 
 ^4 Artistic qualities of Hawthorne's versions ; how far can these be shown in 
 the school? 
 
 e. The ethical element : how treated ? 
 /. Typical lessons. 
 
 7. Whittier's "Snow Bound." 
 
 a. Its historical value as a presentation of a type of civilization : occupation, 
 pleasures, interests, types of character. 
 
Appendix 271 
 
 6. Its literary value as an ideal treatment of its theme. 
 
 c. The point of view that of an old man's retrospect. How far is this appre- 
 ciable by children? 
 
 d. The study of this poem involves also attention to structure, diction, allu- 
 sions, poetic descriptions, and metrical form. 
 
 e. Typical passages treated in lessons. 
 
 8. Longfellow's "Evangeline." 
 
 a. The poet's departure fir m historical fact ; its justification. 
 h. The idyllic element ; the descriptions. 
 
 c. The central theme, and its treatment in the first and second parts of the 
 poem. 
 
 d. The different quality of the two parts; predominance of description and 
 the meditative element in the second. 
 
 e. Metrical structure. 
 
 /. What things in the poem can be made especially interesting to young 
 people ? 
 
 9. Scott's "Ivanhoe." 
 
 a. Its free treatment of historical fact. The difference between historic and 
 poetic truth. 
 
 h. The historical novel : its general relations to history ; to be regarded pri- 
 marily as literature, not as history. 
 
 c. The portrayal of ideals and customs of a past age : types of characters ; 
 structure (plot) of the book built in accordance with this purpose. 
 
 i. Difficulties of language, allusions, etc. 
 
 e. Means of arousing interest in romantic literature. Comparisons with 
 other books commonly read by children. 
 
 10. Shakspere's "Julius C^isar." 
 a. Historical basis, anachronisms, etc. 
 
 I. The nature of its appeal to young readers. 
 
 c. Treatment of verbal difficulties and of the dramatic form. 
 
 i. The action, the characters, the dramatic motives and situations. 
 
 V. Composition 
 
 1. Object of Teaching Composition. 
 
 1. Shall it be "literary," or aim merely at adequate expression? 
 
 2. Elements involved in the Problem : Form and Subject Matter. 
 
 1. Importance of subject matter in giving motive and interest, and in deter- 
 mining form. 
 
 2. Subjects for composition to include topics from school work and from 
 daily life : to be made real, as far as possible. Reality dependent upon interest 
 and the consciousness of an audience. 
 
 3. Preparation for the work. Importance of oral treatment, of the gathering 
 and ordering of facts and ideas. Originality not to be expected. 
 
 4. Composition units : necessity of training in both sentence and paragraph. 
 Value of outlines, and of drill in sentences. 
 
272 Appendix 
 
 S. Criticism of written work. 
 
 a. General aims. 
 
 i. Means of making criticism effective. 
 
 c. The object to make pupils self-critical without checking spontaneity. 
 References : Laurie, Hinsdale, Chubb and Carpenter, Baker and Scott as 
 cited above. 
 
 VI. Grammar 
 
 I. Historical Review. 
 
 1. Historical changes in the idea of English grammar. 
 
 2. Attempt, in the Renaissance period, to Latinize the grammar of English. 
 Persistence of this point of view. 
 
 3. Recent changes due to philological study. 
 
 4. What now constitutes English grammar ? 
 
 5. What problems remain unsolved ? 
 
 2. Objects of Teaching Grammar. 
 
 1. Various theories : for correctness of expression and for discipline. 
 
 i. Modern notions of authority in usage, and of the province of grammar. 
 
 3. Amount of Grammar to be Taught. 
 
 1. How much grammar shall be taught in the schools ? 
 
 2. What things are of most value ? 
 
 3. Importance of syntax ; of study of forms. 
 
 4. The Order of Treatment. 
 
 1 . Syntax of etymology first ? 
 
 2. A study of the methods of development adopted by some of the represen- 
 tative textbooks. 
 
 References : Laurie, Hinsdale, Carpenter, Baker and Scott, and Chubb. 
 Liddell, "EngUsh Historical Grammar," Atlantic Monthly, Vol. LXXXII. Sweet, 
 Nem English Grammar, Part II. Barbour, The Teaching of English Grammar; 
 Goold Brown, Grammar of Grammars (Introduction). Krapp, Syllabus of Eng- 
 Ush Language and Grammar (Columbia University Extension Syllabi, Series A, 
 No.s). 
 
 II. THE TEACHING OF MATHEMATICS IN ELEMENTARY 
 SCHOOLS 
 
 By David Eugene Smith, LL.D. 
 
 I. The History of the Subject 
 
 1. Advantages to a Teacher in Studying the History of the Subject 
 Taught. 
 
 2. The Early History of Arithmetic. 
 
 3. The Growth of Number Systems. 
 
 4. The Development of Arithmetic as Known at Present. 
 
Appendix 273 
 
 _ References : Smith, The Teaching of Arithmelicfiie^ York, 1909, chap, i ; and 
 m general the sections in this syllabus correspond tothe chapters in this work. 
 The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, New York, 1900. Ball, A Primer of 
 the History of Mathematics, London, 1895, and A Short Account of the History of 
 Mathematics, London, 4th edition, 1908,.' Fink, History of Mathematics, trans- 
 lated by Bennan and Smith, Chicago, igoo. Cajori, History of Elementary 
 Mathematics, New York, 1896, and History of Mathematics, New York, 1893. 
 On Greek Arithmetic see Gow, History of Greek Mathematics, Cambridge, 1884. 
 
 11. The Reasons for Teaching Arithmetic 
 
 1. The Ancient Point oe View. 
 
 2. Content of the Primitive Logistic, or Art' of Calculation. 
 
 a. Early counting. 
 
 b. Early writing of numbers. The development of notations. 
 The Influence of the Hindu-Arabic notation. 
 
 3. Content of the Early Arithmetic, or Theory of Numbers. 
 a. Connection with mysticism; 
 
 h. Contributions of Pythagoras and his school. 
 
 c. The effect upon modern arithmetic. 
 
 4. The Reasons for Teaching in the Middle Ages. 
 a. The Church schools. 
 
 J. The reckoning schools. 
 
 c. The effect upon modern arithmetic. 
 
 5. The Reasons Developed by the Renaissance. 
 
 a. Influence of commerce. 
 
 b. Influence of printing. The crystallization of arithmetic. 
 
 c. The effect upon the subject matter of modern arithmetic. 
 
 6. The Reasons of To-day. 
 
 a. The practical value. Whatever pretends to be practical in arithmetic 
 should really be so. 
 
 b. The question of "mental discipline." The rise of this doctrine. The 
 results of a psychological study of the question. The tangible part of "mental 
 discipline." 
 
 c. The interest in the subject for its own sake. The game element of mathe- 
 matics. The historical development of the science of arithmetic from the prim- 
 itive game. 
 
 References : Smith, The Teaching of Arithmetic, chap, ii, to the chapters 
 of which no further reference will be made, this syllabus being merely a synopsis 
 of that work. Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, pp. 1-70. Young, The 
 Teaching of Mathematics, New York, 1907, pp. 41-52, 202-256. On the his- 
 torical side, consult Fink, History of Mathematics, Chicago, 1898. Ball, Short 
 History of Mathematics, New York, 1908. Cajori, History of Elementary Mathe- 
 matics, New York. Jackson, The Educational Significance of Sixteenth Cen- 
 tury Arithmetic, New York, 1906. Branford, A Study of Mathematical Educa- 
 tion, Oxford, 1908. 
 
2 74 Appendix 
 
 III. What Arithmetic should indude 
 
 1. From the Practical Standpoint. 
 
 a. The utilities of arithmetic overrated. A detailed consideration of the 
 various topics usually studied. 
 h. The effect of tradition upon the matter of arithmetic. 
 
 2. From the Standpoint of Mental Discipline. Discipline a Matter 
 OF Method rather than one op Topics. 
 
 3- From the Standpoint of Interest in the Subject for its Own 
 Sake. 
 
 References : Smith, Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, p. 19. Young, 
 pp. 23-242. 
 
 IV. The Nature of the Problem 
 
 1. The Great Change in Recent Years brought about by Two 
 Causes. 
 
 a. The study of social needs. 
 
 h. The study of child psychology. 
 
 2. The Peculiar Needs of America. The Bearing of these Needs 
 UPON the Teaching of Arithmetic. 
 
 3. Child Psychology and the Problems still Awaiting Solution. 
 References: Smith, Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, p. 21. Young, 
 
 pp. 97-103, 210-218. Saxelby, Practical Mathematics, and similar works. 
 
 V. The Arrangement of Material 
 
 1. Recent Changes brought about from a Consideration of Child 
 Psychology. 
 
 2. The Growth of the Textbook. 
 
 a. The Treviso arithmetic of 1478, and the early arithmetics of Italy, Ger- 
 many, France, England, and Holland. 
 
 h. The two-book series. 
 
 c. The three-book series. 
 
 d. The extreme spiral arrangement. 
 
 3. The Modern Curriculum in Arithmetic. 
 a. Its origin. 
 
 h. Its present status. 
 c. Improvements to be considered. 
 References: Young, pp. 178-188. 
 
 VI. Method 
 1. The Meaning of Method. 
 
Appendix 275 
 
 2. How THE Ancients probably taught Calculation. 
 a. Various forms of the abacus. 
 
 h. The abacus at the time of the Renaissance. 
 
 c. The effect upon arithmetic of abandoning the abacus in western 
 Europe. 
 
 3. Causes op the Rise of the Rule. 
 
 4. Revival of Objective Teaching. 
 
 Trapp (1780), von Busse (1786), and Pestalozzi (about 1800). 
 
 5. The Early Followers of Pestalozzi. 
 Tillich (1806), Krancke (1819), Grube (1842). 
 
 6. Types of Later Methods. 
 a. Counting. 
 
 h. Ratio. 
 
 c. Extreme spiral. 
 
 d. Pure concrete work as a basis. 
 
 e. Pure abstract work as a basis. 
 
 7. The Ease and Futility op Creating Narrow Methods. 
 References : Smith, Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, pp. 71-97. 
 
 Seeley, Grule's Method of Teaching Arithmetic, New York, 1888. Soldan, 
 Grube's Method of Teaching Arithmetic, Chicago, 1878. C. A. McMurry, 
 Special Method in Arithmetic, New York, 1905. McLellan and Dewey, The 
 Psychology of Number, New York, 1895. Young, pp. 53-150. 
 
 VII. Mental or Oral Arithmetic 
 
 1. Historical Status op Oral Arithmetic. 
 
 2. Revival under Pestalozzi's Influence. The Work op Warren 
 Colburn in this Country. 
 
 3. Causes of the Decline op this Form op Work. 
 
 4. The Claims of Oral Arithmetic upon the School To-day. The 
 Practical and Psychological Views of the Problem. 
 
 5. The Nature of the Oral Work, — Abstract and Concrete. 
 
 6. The Time to be allowed to the Subject. 
 
 References : Smith, Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, p. 117. Band- 
 book to Arithmetics, p. 6. Young, p. 230. 
 
 VIII. Written Arithmetic 
 
 1. What should be the Nature of the Written Arithmetic? 
 
 2. Object of the Business Form of Solution. 
 
 3. Object op Written Analysis. 
 
 4. Necessity of Recognizing Two Kinds of Written Work. 
 5- How to Mark Papers. 
 
 References : Smith, Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, pp. 121-129. 
 
276 Appendix 
 
 DC. Children's Analyses 
 
 1. The Object in Requiring Analyses. 
 
 2. What should be expected or Childeen in this Respect ? 
 
 3. Explanations of Fundamental Operations. Relation to the For- 
 mal Rule. 
 
 4. Explanation of Applied Problems. 
 
 5. Relation to the Work in English. 
 
 6. The Limit op Primary Work, "Two-step Reasoning." 
 References : Smith, Handbook to Arithmetics, p. g. Young, p. 205. 
 
 X. Interest and Effort 
 
 1. Status of Arithmetic from the Standpoint of Interest. 
 
 2. Danger op Overemphasis upon Interest. 
 
 3. Lessening of Interest with the Lessening op Effort. 
 
 4. Safe Basis for Increase of Interest. 
 
 5. Effect of a Genuine, Spontaneous Interest upon Increase of Effort 
 and of Power. 
 
 XI. Improvements in the Technique of Arithmetic 
 
 1. History of the Improvement in Symbolism. 
 
 2. How the Present seeks to carry on this Improvement. 
 
 a. The difiSculties that are met. 
 
 b. Dangers of too much symbolism. 
 
 c. The proper criterion for selection. 
 
 3. The Equation dst Arithmetic. 
 a. Object. 
 
 6. Dangers to be avoided. 
 
 4. The Process op Subtraction as a Type. 
 
 a. The various historical methods considered. 
 
 b. The criterion for a selection. 
 
 t. The claims of the various processes to-day. 
 
 5. The Process of Division as a Type. 
 
 a. The history of division. 
 
 b. Present points at issue. 
 
 c. The probable future. 
 
 6. Proportion as a Type. 
 
 a. History of proportion and the "Rule of Three.'' 
 
 b. Present symbolism and status. 
 
 c. Probable future of the subject. 
 
 7. Future Problems Relating to Technique. 
 
Appendix 277 
 
 XII. Certain Great Principles of Teaching Arithmetic 
 A summary of the larger principles for the guidance of teachers. 
 
 XIII. General Subjects for Experiment 
 
 1. The Use of Games. 
 
 2. CmEr Interests of Children. 
 
 3. Results OF Emphasizing : 
 a. The abstract problem. 
 
 6. The concrete problem. 
 
 4. Amount of Time to be assigned to Arithmetic. 
 
 5. Relative Amount of Time to be devoted to: 
 o. Oral arithmetic. 
 
 h. Written arithmetic. 
 
 6. The Best Basis of Arrangement of an Arithmetic. 
 
 XrV. Details for Experiment 
 
 Professor Suzzallo's list of details as set forth in The Teachers College 
 Record, January, 1909, p. 43, and in Smith, The Teaching of Arithmetic, q!d3.^. 
 xiv. 
 
 XV. The Work of the First School Year 
 
 1. Arguments for and against no Formal Arithmetic in this Year. 
 
 2. The Leading Mathematical Features for the Year. 
 
 3. The Number Space of the Year. 
 a. For counting. 
 
 6. For operations. 
 
 4. The Work to be accomplished m Addition. 
 
 5. The Work nsr the Other Operations. 
 
 6. The Fraction Concepts to be considered. 
 a. Part of an object. 
 
 6. Part of a group. 
 
 I,. The idea of "half as much." 
 
 7. Denominate Numbers. 
 
 8. The Question of the Use of Objects. 
 
 9. Symbolic Work and Technical Expressions. 
 
 10. Nature of the Problems of this Year. 
 
 11. The Time Limit upon Work. 
 
 References : Smith, The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, p. 99. Hand- 
 hook to Arithmetics, p. 11. C. A. McMurry, Special Method in Arithmetic. 
 
278 Appendix 
 
 XVI. The Work of the Second School Year 
 
 1. The Leading Mathematical Features. 
 
 2. Number Space for the Year. 
 
 3. Counting. 
 
 a. The origin of the "counting method." 
 
 h. The extremes to which it may be carried, 
 
 c. The proper use of counting in teaching. 
 
 4. The Addition Table. Relation to Counting. 
 
 5. The Method of Treating Subtraction reviewed. 
 
 6. The Multiplication Table. 
 
 a. Arguments for and against learning tables. 
 
 h. Extent of the work for this year. 
 
 c. Relation to counting. 
 
 7. Division. 
 
 a. Relation to multiplication. 
 
 5. Arrangement of work in short division. 
 
 8. Fractions. 
 
 a. Extent of the work. 
 
 h. Nature of the objective work. 
 
 9. Denominate Numbers. 
 a. Extent of the work. 
 
 h. Use of the measures. Visualizing the great basal units. 
 
 10. Nature or the Symbols to be considered. 
 
 11. Nature op the Problem Work. 
 a. Abstract. 
 
 h. Concrete. 
 
 XVn. The Work of the Third School Year 
 
 1. Peculiar Necessity por Preparation for this Year's Work. 
 
 2. Leading Mathematical Features. 
 a. Beginning of rapid written work. 
 
 6. Multiplication table completed. 
 
 c. Most important tables of denominate numbers. 
 
 d. Work extended to two-figure multipliers and the beginning of long division. 
 
 3. Number Space may extend to 100,000. 
 
 4. The Roman Numerals. 
 
 a. Extent to which this work should be carried in various school years. 
 
 h. Historical sketch of the system and of its uses. 
 
 5. The Counting Method further considered. Its Values and its 
 Dangers. 
 
 6. The Writing of United States Money. Operations. 
 
 7. Square and Cubic Measure. 
 a. Extent. 
 
 h. Nature of objective work. 
 
Appendix 2 79 
 
 8. Suggestions as to Fotjr Operations. 
 
 a. Addition. Practical value of checks on all operations. 
 
 h. Subtraction, as discussed in section XI. 
 
 c. Multiplication. Should the tables extend to 1 2 x 1 2 ? Devices. 
 
 d. Division. Algorism considered historically and practically. 
 
 e. Historical note as to the number of operations. 
 
 9. Extent of Work with Fractions. 
 10. Nature of the Problems. 
 
 References : Snaith, Teaching of Arithmetic, chap, xvii, p. 73. Eandhook 
 to Arithmetics, p. 2g. 
 
 XVIII. The Work of the Fourth School Year 
 
 1. Leading Mathematical Features. 
 
 2. Number Space. 
 
 3. The Four Operations. 
 a. Nature of the oral work. 
 
 6. Criteria for judging written work. 
 
 c. Speed versus accuracy. 
 
 4. Nature of the Work in Common Fractions. 
 a. Historical sketch of various fractions. 
 
 h. Change in the practical uses of common fractions. 
 
 5. Denominate Numbers. 
 
 a. What tables are of value ? Historical sketch of tables. 
 
 b. Visualizing the basal units. 
 
 c. Accuracy in reduction. 
 
 6. Nature of the Problems. 
 
 References : Smith, Handbook to Arithmetics, p. 43. 
 
 XIX. The Work of the Fifth School Year 
 
 1. Leading Mathematical Features. 
 
 2. Necessity for and Nature of Preliminary Review. 
 
 3. Number Space. Modern Tendencies in Using Large Numbers. 
 
 4. Nature of the Revlew of the Four Operations. 
 
 a. Suggestions for rapid addition and subtraction. 
 
 b. Checks on multiplication and division. 
 
 c. Twofold natiire of division. 
 
 5. Common Fractions. 
 
 a. Nature of the theoretical explanations. 
 
 b. What should be expected of children in this regard. 
 
 6. Denominate Numbers. 
 a. Extent of reductions. 
 
 6. Nature of the operations. 
 
 7. How TO solve Problems. 
 
 8. Introduction to Percentage. 
 
28o Appendix 
 
 g. Nattjeje of the Problems. 
 
 RErEEENCES : Smith, Handbook to Arithmetics, p. S3- 
 
 XX. The Work of the Sixth School Year 
 
 1. Leading Mathematical Features. 
 
 2. The General Solution of Problems. 
 a. How the world has solved problems. 
 
 6. Modem improvements. 
 
 3. Percentage. 
 
 a. Nature of the subject. 
 
 b. History of the subject. 
 
 c. Suggestions for treatment. 
 
 d. The most important applications. 
 
 4. Ratio and Proportion. 
 
 a. History. 
 
 b. Present value, and probable future status. 
 
 5. Nature of the Problems. 
 
 XXI. The Work of the Seventh School Year 
 
 1. Leading Mathematical Features. 
 
 2. Review of our Numbers. Historical Notes. 
 
 3. Review of the Fundamental Operations. 
 
 4. Types of Subjects Treated. 
 
 a. Longitude and time. Origin, value, new features. 
 
 b. Percentage. What cases are the most important ? 
 
 5. Introduction of Algebraic Work considered. Nature of Men- 
 suration. 
 
 6. Nature of the Problems. 
 
 XXII. The Work of the Eighth School Year 
 
 1. Leading Mathematical Features. 
 
 2. Nature of the Business Applications. 
 
 a. Banking. Extent to which the work should be carried. 
 
 b. Partial payments. Historical view of the value of the subject. 
 
 c. Partnership. Value of the historical view. 
 
 d. Simple accounts. 
 
 «. Exchange. Wherein its value lies. 
 
 /. Taxes. Insurance. 
 
 g. Corporations. Arguments for and against the study of investments. 
 
 3. The Metric System. 
 
 a. Why taught. Historical view. 
 
 b. Extent of the work. 
 
 c. Practical suggestions in teaching. 
 
Appendix 281 
 
 4. Powers and Roots. 
 a. Historical view. 
 
 h. Present values. Extent of the work. 
 
 5. Mensuration. 
 
 a. Extent to which it should be carried. 
 
 h. Geometry in the eighth year. 
 
 c. The formula. 
 
 6. Algebra in the Eighth Year. 
 a. Historical view. Present values. 
 
 h. Extent to which it should be carried. 
 
 7. Nature oi' the Problem. 
 
 8. A Comparison of American and Foreign Schools. 
 
 m. THE TEACHING OF GEOGRAPHY. 
 
 By Richard Elwood Dodge, A.M. 
 I. The Scope and Purpose of School Geography 
 
 1. School Geography a Part of Science of Geography. 
 
 Relation of elementary school work to that in secondary school and college. 
 
 2. Definition op Geography. 
 Meaning of this and growth of idea. 
 
 A. "Study of earth in its relation to fo/e." 
 B'. The emphasis of "causal notion" in school geography. 
 Rational geography. 
 
 3. Scope op School Geography. 
 
 A. Possible scope as wide as the subject. 
 Complexity of subject. 
 
 B. Practical scope determined by abilities and needs of children, and by 
 necessary sequence of steps in geography study. 
 
 C. Consequent difficulties for school teachers, even in earlier years. 
 
 4. School Geography must be : 
 
 A . Unit in each part and as a whole. 
 Practical reasons for unity. 
 
 B. Usable at every step. 
 Importance of this in early grades. 
 
 C. Closely related to nature work on one hand, and secondary work on the 
 other. 
 
 D. Based on children's experiences and earlier knowledge. 
 
 5. Purpose of School Geography Teaching: 
 
 A. To teach children geography. Interpretation of this. 
 
 Relation of subject to children. Approach to adults' point of view. 
 
 a. Knowledge of principles of geography. 
 
 b. Knowledge of facts that make principles clear. 
 
282 Appendix 
 
 c. Knowledge of facts necessary for daily life. 
 Other facts that must be included. 
 B. Power. 
 
 a. To use materials and results gained in classroom and elsewhere. 
 
 b. To seek out, organize and use new materials. 
 
 This suggests method of conducting a portion of class work. 
 
 c. To think accurately and clearly. 
 
 Importance of geography as a means of training in scientific thinking. 
 References : Dodge, R. E., The Teaching of Geography, to which no fur- 
 ther references will be made, this syllabus being a sjmopsis of that work. Teachers 
 College Record, March, 1901, pp. 3-9. Journal of Geography, November and 
 December, 1904 ; April, 1905 ; September, 1906. McMurry, C. A., Special 
 Method in Geography, chap. i. Geikie, A., The Teaching of Geography, chap. i. 
 
 II. The Persons involved in School Geography Teaching 
 
 1. The Ddttes of the SciENTrFic Geographer. 
 
 A. Should help make content sound geographically. 
 He should be source of geography materials. 
 
 B. Should ascertain that work will insure good training in elements of 
 geography. 
 
 Adapted to pupils and valuable as foundation for good later work. 
 
 C. Should outline method in large so as to produce geographic progress. 
 
 D. Should assist in substituting good for bad details and help choose be- 
 tween essentials and non-essentials. 
 
 2. The Obligations of the Supervisor or Superintendent. 
 
 A. Must recognize goal to be reached from standpoint of good geography, 
 and relations of school geography to other phases of geographic education. 
 
 B. Should accept materials and larger plan of geographer. 
 Arrange time of schedule. 
 
 C. Should see that children's general training is not sacrificed and special 
 training is secured. 
 
 D. Should insure that work is practical and usable. 
 
 E. Must see that relations to other subjects are emphasized. 
 Causal notion again. 
 
 3. The Obligations and Opportunities of the Teacher. 
 
 A. Must know more subject matter than he expects to give pupils. 
 
 B. Must know purposes and scope of course — his part in course as a whole. 
 Also must know preparation furnished by earlier year's work. 
 
 C. Must know relations to other work in the curriculum as a whole and in 
 geography particularly. 
 
 D. Must know ways subject must be organized and presented to his grade 
 so as best to gain aims desired. 
 
 General and special method. 
 
 4. The Position of Children in Reference to Work. 
 
Appendix 283 
 
 A. Meaning of "To teach children geography." 
 
 B. The preparation that may be expected in different grades. 
 
 C. Children's interest in work. 
 
 D. Pupils must be trained to work and think. 
 
 E. Goals are knowledge and power. Importance of rational repetition, 
 of reviews and map work. 
 
 RErERENCE : Dodge, Journal of Geography, v, p. 385. The Opportunity of 
 the Geographer in Promoting School Geography. 
 
 in. The Organization of a Course of Study 
 
 1. CotTRSE AS A Whole. 
 
 A . Must be capable of being judged as good by geographers. 
 
 B. Must lead to knowledge and power. 
 
 C. Must be arranged so as to lead from known to unknown along lines of 
 least resistance but not least effort. 
 
 D. Method of approach of mature mind must not always be followed. 
 
 2. Some Fundamental Considerations. 
 
 A. No one course available for all localities. 
 
 B. Course should start with home geography. 
 
 C. Should lead next to elementary knowledge of world whole. 
 
 D. The emphasis to be given to continental work. 
 Division of work by grades. 
 
 E. Disadvantages of teaching all continents twice. 
 
 The following compromise is suggested as in general workable : 
 
 a. Twice : North America, United States, Europe, and perhaps portions 
 
 of Asia. 
 h. Once : Asia, Africa, Australia, and South America. 
 Present importance of South America. 
 
 F. Plan of intermediate work should differ from plan of upper grades. 
 "Concentric Circles." 
 
 G. The place of physical geography in the course of study : 
 u.. Home geography : observational side. 
 
 Danger of overemphasis, of giving wrong outlook. 
 
 b. Intermediate grades : give setting to life side. 
 Larger facts only. 
 
 c. Upper grade : basis of work. 
 
 Not to be taught as a topic by itself but as a means to an end. 
 H. Emphasis of industries and commercial side. 
 
 /. "Following interests of children," — best meaning of phrase. Value 
 and dangers. 
 
 Recent interest in industrial education places a renewed obligation on 
 
 geography to be practical and to be free from fads. 
 Developing interest. Temporary and permanent interests. 
 
284 Appendix 
 
 References: Teachers College Record, March, 1901, pp. 9-15. McMurry, 
 C. A., Special Method in Geography, chap. ii. Redway, J. W., Nem Basis of 
 Geography, chap. x. Bagley, W. C, Function of Geography in Elementary 
 Schools, Journal of Geography, Vol. Ill, p. 222. Dodge, Richard E., " Some Sug- 
 gestions Concerning a Course of Study in Geography," Journal of Geography, 
 vii, pp. 7-14. 
 
 IV. Home Geography and World Whole 
 
 1. Certain General Considerations. 
 
 A. Home geography not a subject or a division of geography, but a method 
 of approach to field as a whole, — cannot have a uniform course for all places. 
 
 B. Method of procedure must be from known to unknown through analysis 
 of experiences of pupils. 
 
 C. Work should not call for knowledge of distant places. 
 
 D. Lessons should become more intensive and scope more extensive. 
 
 E. Topics should be taken up in definite sequence so far as possible. 
 
 F. Definitions, if any, to be summaries at close of developed points and not 
 points of departure. 
 
 G. Units developed to be good geography units which may be used as basis 
 for comparison over world. Heat, storms, woods, for instance, are not good 
 units. Crossroads or city comers good units. 
 
 H. Local history to be brought in as much as possible. 
 
 Should be intimately related to geography and may often be point of 
 departure. 
 /. Importance of observation of local conditions. 
 
 Reasons for giving a certain place to processes of earth change. 
 
 2. Topics in Home Geography. 
 
 A. Social : 
 
 a. Simple life groups and relations. 
 
 (i) Home, village, city, etc. (2) Need^ and means of communication. 
 (3) Need for government. Form not to be included. (4) Rea- 
 sons for trade. Simple illustrations, (s) Industrial features. 
 (6) Universality of similar features over world. 
 
 B. Earth: 
 
 a. Forms of landscape as related to life. 
 h. Forms of drainage as related to life. 
 
 c. Soils and their use. Classification a minor matter. 
 
 d. Simpler atmospheric phenomena. 
 
 e. Direction and distance. 
 /. Maps. 
 
 g. Gravity. 
 
 3. Topics often included. 
 
 A. Suitable to few localities : Volcanoes, mountains, ocean. 
 
 B. Not geographical : 
 
 a. Name and functions of officers of local government. 
 
Appendix 285 
 
 h. Building of a house or mechanical details of any trade. 
 c. Topics in geology such as formation of coal, marble, etc. 
 C. Beyond powers of pupils. 
 
 o. Form of earth, relation of bodies in solar system, 
 h. Rotation and revolution of earth. 
 c. Theory of storms. 
 
 4. StJMMARIES : 
 
 A. Must be simple and easily drawn from previous work. 
 
 5. Must be of such a nature that they can be expanded as years go on with- 
 out overturning base learned in earlier years. 
 
 C. Examples of good summaries : 
 
 a. Wind is air moving horizontally. 
 
 6. River is a stream of water and detritus flowing through the land. 
 
 D. Examples oi bad summaries : 
 
 a. A lake is a body of water surrounded by land, 
 
 i. Mountains are high elevations of land. 
 
 c. A divide is the high land which separates two rivers. 
 
 d. A river is a stream of water which flows into the sea. 
 
 e. Hollow places in the land filled with water are called lakes. 
 /. A swamp is a tract of land soaked with water. 
 
 5. Some Simple Units of Home Geography to indicate Basis of Choice 
 OF Topics. 
 
 A. The home: 
 
 a. Simplest group of individuals which illustrates essentials of larger 
 
 groups. 
 h. A unit of government : need of government in home and in any 
 
 group. 
 c. Division of labor in home illustrates a world truth as to relations of 
 
 individuals and groups. 
 
 B. Groups of homes. 
 
 a. Country four corners. 
 h. Village. 
 
 c. City. 
 
 d. Location of such cities as Vienna, Constantinople, Chicago. 
 
 C. Simpler surface features. 
 
 a. Why important, — travel over, seen as landscape. 
 
 h. Why emphasize landscape and not forms first ? 
 
 c. Plains, — why most important ? Lite relation to. 
 
 d. Rolling lands. — Relations to life. 
 
 e. Mountain regions. — Relations to life (should, in many localities, be 
 
 deferred to later work). 
 
 References: Teachers College. Record, March, igoi, pp. 15-17. Davis, W. 
 M., " Home Geography," Journal of Geography, p. i. Geikie, A., The Teaching oj 
 Geography^ chap. ii. McMurry, C. A., Excursions and Lessons in Home Geog- 
 raphy. 
 
 6. First Knowledge of World Whole. 
 
286 Appendix 
 
 A. Expansion of home geography outward to ocean. 
 
 a. How to present form of earth — relation to home, necessities and 
 
 luxuries. 
 h. Parts of earth that may be related to home in developing knowledge 
 of world whole, based on experience of pupils, 
 (i) Northern North America and Europe — furs. (2) Southern 
 North America — bananas, woods, cacao. (3) Northern South 
 America — India rubber, coffee, Brazil nuts. (4) Southern 
 South America — hides, and meat products, (s) West Central 
 Europe — embroideries, wine, cheese. (6) Southern Europe — 
 olives, cork. (7) Southeastern Asia — tea, silks, spices, fire- 
 crackers. (8) Central Africa — ivory, palm oil. (9) Southern 
 Africa — diamonds. (10) Southwestern Asia — rugs. (11) 
 Australia — wool. 
 
 7. How TO LEAD UP TO CUMATE OF WORIJ). 
 
 A. Points to be brought out : 
 
 a. Direction and distance in time. 
 
 h. Similarity of purpose of life. Food, clothing, shelter. 
 
 c. Different ways of doing things amid different conditions. 
 
 Homes, dress, travel, kinds of food, natural food, weather conditions. 
 
 d. Interrelation of peoples. 
 
 B. Points which may be neglected : 
 
 a. Overmuch detail, i.e. Details of home life or occupations. Scenery. 
 h. Curious and unimportant customs. Slanting eyes. Personal cus- 
 toms. 
 References : Famham, A. W., " Oswego Geography Course," Journal of 
 Geography, v, p. 109. Teachers College Record, March, 1901, pp. 17-20, 24-27. 
 
 V. The Point of View and Method of Approach in Intermediate Work 
 
 I. Purposes. 
 
 Knowledge of more important Continents and Countries, lives of people and 
 reasons therefor. 
 
 A. Knowledge of facts of everyday life. Consequences to causes, — phys- 
 ical features in the large as points of departure for giving setting. Follow politi- 
 cal divisions because of practical advantage. 
 
 B. Industrial interrelations of regions to be brought out. 
 
 C. Causal location and non-causal location. Picturesque side and how se- 
 cured. Permanent location in visual image. Temporary location for clearness 
 and practice. Memory work in location. 
 
 D. "Methods" of approach: 
 
 a. " Concentric" — disadvantages. 
 
 6. "Journey" — when valuable — disadvantages. 
 
 c. "Type" method. What this means in a large way. 
 
 d. "Map drawing" method. 
 
 e. Value of reversing method in upper grammar grades. 
 
Appendix 287 
 
 £. The place of method. 
 
 a. Advantages and disadvantages of following a "method," centered 
 
 about a personal point of view. 
 6. Value of subordinating "methods'' to method. 
 References : Bagley, W. C, "Geography in Intermediate Grades," Journal 
 of Geography, iv, p. 299. Teachers College Record, March, 1901, pp. 29-35. 
 2. The So-Calued Type Method. 
 
 A. What is a type? "A type is that individual of a species or genus which 
 contains the largest number of features which are characteristic of the species 
 or genus as a whole." 
 
 B. Types must be good geographic units, and not mere instances. The essen- 
 tials of a good geographic unit. 
 
 C. A typical instance is not : 
 
 a. The most involved or striking example. 
 
 b. The most interesting example. 
 
 D. Why types cannot easily be selected in geography. Advantages and 
 difficulties of using types. 
 
 a. Examples of good types. 
 
 E. Ways in which teaching by types is actually used in various texts and 
 courses of study. 
 
 F. Teaching by " types '' does not readily lead to the bringing out of political 
 features ; leads to overmuch detail and overemphasis of non-essentials. 
 
 RErERENCE : McMurry, C. A., Special Method in Geography, chap. ix. 
 
 VI. Industrial and Commercial Geography 
 
 I. Present Emphasis of Industrial and Commercial Geography. 
 
 A. Reasons for that emphasis : practical and educational. 
 
 B. Industrial geography deals with the geography underlying the principal 
 human occupations : that is, the reason for the occurrence of industries in given 
 localities. 
 
 C. Commercial geography deals with the elementary principles of trade and 
 commerce, and includes a study of geography of great regions of production 
 and demand, with causes. Emphasizes interrelation of commercial areas and 
 reasons for same. 
 
 D. Industrial geography should be emphasized in intermediate years ; com- 
 mercial geography in the upper grades. 
 
 E. Industrial geography should include the study of groupings of peoples 
 according to occupations and lead up to a knowledge of the simpler reasons 
 therefor. These groups are agriculture, grazing, lumbering, mining, manufac- 
 turing, commerce, and "scenic centers." 
 
 F. Geography does not call for study of technique of industries, and should 
 not include special study of details of industries. Futility of studying processes. 
 Geographic side includes the reasons for industry and not the manner of it. 
 Technique is largely result of human invention and is not geographic except pos- 
 
288 Appendix 
 
 sibly where some invention hai revolutionized an industry and greatly changed 
 relations of peoples to their geographic surroundings. 
 
 G. Geography underlying agriculture, grazing, and lumbering as examples of 
 geographic influences. 
 
 H. Commercial geography should be based on knowledge of industrial and 
 physical geography of earlier years, and should be a part of regional geogra- 
 phy — not a, special topic. It should include study of routes of trade, areas 
 of supply and consumption of cAJe/ foods, textiles, manufactured products, 
 raw materials, etc., and relative status of chief commercial nations, and 
 reasons. 
 
 /. Difficulties in teaching commercial geography are due to modernness of 
 subject, constant changes involved, lack of illustrative materials and to diffi- 
 culties of securing proper md,terials for class study. 
 
 /. Some recent successes in teaching commercial and industrial geography. 
 The development and purposes of commercial museums for schools. 
 
 Reference : Teachers College Record, March, 1901, pp. 29-35. 
 
 VII. The Basis of Work in the Upper Grades 
 
 1. Geography in Upper Grades should be fodnded on Good Working 
 Knowledge of Elementary Principles of Geography. 
 
 A. These principles should be elaborated summaries or generalizations of 
 earlier work, and should be developed only so fully as is necessary for clearness 
 and for future good work. 
 
 B. Physical geography not as an end, but as a means to an end. 
 
 C. Life consequences to be made prominent as illustrations at every 
 step. 
 
 2. This Work should include : 
 
 A. Earth's shape — simple proofs and effects. 
 
 B. Earth's motions — results. 
 
 C. Elements of climate and weather as related to earth's motions with effects. 
 Importance of climate. 
 
 D. Simpler land forms and influence on life. Drainage. 
 
 E. Simpler features of oceans and oceanic movements as related to commerce 
 and trade. Tides need not be elaborated 
 
 F. Distribution of plants as related to causes, especially climate. 
 
 G. Distribution of animals as related to causes. This topic should be treated 
 briefly. 
 
 H. Races of men and their distribution as related to climate and food 
 supply. 
 
 /. Elements of commerce causally developed. 
 
 /. Elements of political geography — including meaning of nation, of boun- 
 dary, origin of boundaries, exchange of consuls, ministers, etc. 
 
 3. Topics which may be Omitted : 
 A. Causes of tides. 
 
Appendix 289 
 
 B. Condition of interior of earth. 
 
 C. Causes of mountain growth. 
 
 D. Details of glaciation. 
 
 E. Geological development of continent. 
 4. Method in Large. 
 
 A. Work should be developed, as far as possible, as result of map work and 
 personal observations. 
 
 B. Principles should be illustrated as widely as possible to show general im- 
 portance. 
 
 C. Some topics may readily be studied in association with study of Africa or 
 Australia, and thus training may be given in working from causes to conse- 
 quences, as preliminary to later use of definite causal order. 
 
 Reference : Redway, iVew Basis of Geography, chap. viii. 
 
 VIII. The Topical Method in Upper Grades 
 
 1. General Agreement in Reperence to Teaching Continents in Upper 
 Grades prom Causes to Consequences. 
 
 A . Principles should be used as basis of work. 
 
 B. Work should be largely based on map study, especially maps of climate, 
 physical features, distribution of trade routes, peoples, industries, etc. 
 
 C. Work should not be too stereotyped, — • that is, order of procedure should 
 not always be the same. 
 
 D. Training should be given in reasoning and in use of reference books, texts, 
 atlases, etc. 
 
 jE. Topical method means to work from larger, simple, general features, out 
 to more detailed, special and complex conditions. Possible modifications and 
 advantages. Using an imaginary continent. 
 
 2. An Example oe Topical Order : The Larger Features or North 
 America. 
 
 A. Location: 
 
 a. By latitude and longitude. 
 
 h. In reference to ocean. 
 
 c. In reference to other continents. 
 
 d. In reference to wind systems. 
 
 B. Larger surface features : 
 a. Cordilleran Highland. 
 h. Appalachian Highland. 
 c. Atlantic Coastal Plain. 
 i. Great Central Plain. 
 
 e. Height of Land. 
 
 /. Influence and extent of glaciation. 
 g. Consequent lines of drainage : 
 
 (i) Arctic drainage. (2) Pacific drainage. (3) Atlantic drainage, 
 (j) Direct, (ii) By St. Lawrence, (m) By Gulf of Mexico. 
 
290 Appendix 
 
 C. Coast line : 
 
 a. Compare east and west coast as to : 
 
 (i) General form. (2) Number of harbors. (3) Availability of 
 harbors. (4) Nearness to foreign ports. 
 
 D. Climate : 
 
 a. Position in reference to wind systems. 
 
 b. Summer and winter distribution and range of temperatures. 
 
 c. Relation to ocean and ocean currents. 
 
 d. Chief modifications due to surface. 
 
 e. Three climatic divisions : east coastal, west coastal, and interior. 
 /. Rainfall in each as related to agriculture. 
 
 g. The growing season conditions in each. 
 
 E. Vegetation : 
 
 a. Chief vegetation regions as related to climate and surface. 
 
 b. Distribution and characteristic features of tundra, forests, steppes, 
 
 and deserts. 
 
 c. Significance of vegetation distribution. 
 
 F. Animals : Briefly as related to climate and vegetation. 
 a. Domestic. 
 
 J. Wild. 
 
 G. Mineral products : As related to surface. 
 
 H. People: Distribution of people as related to surface, climate, drainage, 
 coast line, and products. (Follow this by summary of United States as related 
 to North America, and then by New England, following order given and ex- 
 tending to occupations and commerce. Bring out location of leading cities 
 causally.) 
 
 /. Summarize continents by comparative study of reasons for commer- 
 cial development of principal nations and of distribution of great world prod- 
 ucts. 
 
 References : Famham, A. W., " Oswego Geography Course," Journal of Geog- 
 raphy, V, p. 211. Hotchkiss, C. W., Journal of School Geography, ii, p. 41. 
 Reudiger, W. C, " Suggestions for Geography Teaching in Upper GTudes," Journal 
 of Geography, iv, p. 433. 
 
 rX. The Use of Maps and Textbooks 
 
 I. Advantages oe a Text: 
 
 A. Outlines a course of study when none better is available. 
 
 B. Gives clear definitions and summaries. 
 
 C. Gives second exposition of subject matter of value to pupils who gain 
 best impression through the eyes. 
 
 D. Shows relative values of different parts of subject. 
 
 E. Furnishes text, maps, and illustrations for study. 
 
 F. Gives chance for training in how to study. 
 
 G. Gives means of holding children responsible for certain work. 
 
Appendix 291 
 
 2. How TO USE Text: 
 
 A . Text should be servant of teacher, and not the teacher a slave of text. 
 
 B. Text used hejore recitation in association with outline or series of map 
 questions where nature of materials or other conditions do not permit develop- 
 ment. Advantages of assigning lessons in certain grades. 
 
 C. Text used in recitation to give training in how to study in intermediate 
 grades. 
 
 D. Text used ajier recitation as means of summary and review in much of 
 home geography and in certain parts of upper grade work. Teachers here 
 use materials of book as "texts" or points of departure. 
 
 3. The Use of Maps. 
 
 A. Maps fundamental in geography. 
 
 B. Maps only clear and accurate means of representing certain classes of 
 facts. Examples of such facts. 
 
 • C. Essential points to be kept in mind in map use. 
 
 a. Cardinal directions indicated by meridians and parallels. 
 h. Top of map is not necessarily north. 
 
 c. Scale is necessary for getting ideas of distance and area. 
 
 d. Each map has special symbols adapted to special purpose of map. 
 
 e. First maps studied should be maps of local region shown in a horizon- 
 
 tal position and properly oriented. 
 D. Maps of most service in texts and classroom : 
 a. Political maps in all grades. 
 h. Physical maps of large areas only give relative conditions. Cannot 
 
 give exact representation of country. Dangers in physical and relief 
 
 maps. 
 
 c. Climatic maps : annual, seasonal, special. Winds and heat belts. 
 
 d. Vegetation maps in upper grades. 
 
 e. Product and commercial maps as related to vegetation, climate, and 
 
 surface. 
 REFEitENCES : Redway, J. W., New Basis of Geography, chap. ix. Calkins, 
 R. C, "The Text, the Course of Studyandthe Tenchev," Journal of Geography ,iv, 
 p. 164. Brown, Robert M., " Map Reading," Journal of Geography, iv, pp. 273- 
 288. 
 
 X. The Relation of Geography to Other Subjects in Curriculum 
 
 I. Place of Geography. 
 
 A. Geography is considered by some as fundamental subject in curriculum, 
 as it gives basis for study of human activities. 
 
 B. Geography is rather an important subject to be studied in connection 
 with other subjects so as to produce best results from curriculum as a whole. 
 
 C. Cooperation between subjects does not mean parallelism in teaching or 
 disorganization on one subject because of temporary possible cross relations 
 to other subjects. 
 
 D. Unity of course of study as whole in any subject of more value than tem- 
 porary mutual relations between subjects. 
 
292 Appendix 
 
 E. Geography closely related, in many ways, to nature study, history, 
 language, and arithmetic. 
 
 F. Geography may contribute to and receive help from industrial sub- 
 jects. 
 
 2. Geography and Nature Study. 
 
 A. Simpler elements of geography should be included sanely in nature 
 study of Grades I, II, and III. 
 
 B. Geography in Grade III and perhaps IV should be based on nature 
 study of earlier years. Simpler aspects of home geography should be taught 
 before Grade III. 
 
 C. Geography .contributes to nature study knowledge of conditions influ- 
 encing distribution of plants and animals, elements of weather, soils, slopes, 
 drainage, simple land forms, distance, and other conditions afifecting problems 
 of food, clothing, and shelter. 
 
 D. Geography gives application to nature study in upper grades, summar- 
 izes distribution of animals and plants, and gives regional basis to nature 
 study. 
 
 E. Nature study contributes to geography knowledge of plants and animals 
 and their ecological relations, physics and chemistry of soils, water, etc., as 
 related to agriculture, grazing, and lumbering. 
 
 F. Topics of doubtful value in nature study or elementary geography. 
 a. Formation of coal, marble, and rocks, and similar topics. 
 
 6. Minerals, except in localities where minerals may be found. 
 (,. Earth's motions and similar large topics which cannot be studied 
 through observation. 
 
 3. Geography in its Relation to History. 
 
 A. Geography finds its best applications in history. 
 
 B. Geographic influences vs. geographic controls in history. 
 
 C. Geography deals with the relation between physical environment and 
 life in all its phases. History deals with the interpretation of human move- 
 ments. 
 
 D. Hence history finds its basis largely in geography both in reference to 
 large facts and smaller details. Examples. 
 
 E. Suggested order of studying geography and history in the different 
 grades. History should aid in making political geography understand- 
 able. 
 
 4. Geography in its Relation to Arithiietic. 
 
 A. Problems in area, distance, time, averages, proportion, etc., may well 
 be developed through use of facts of geography. 
 
 B. Graphic method of representing comparisons in geography should be 
 developed in arithmetic. 
 
 C. Latitude and longitude to be developed in geography and applied in 
 arithmetic. 
 
 5. Geography in its Relation to Language. 
 
 A. Geography finds much of its material in literature and its largest means 
 of expression in language. 
 
 B. Geography should give landscape setting to poetry and prose. 
 
Appendix 293 
 
 C. The study of literature should include material which is geographically 
 sound. 
 
 D. Much geography is not expressed in good literary form, and much lit- 
 erature is geographically unsound. 
 
 References : McMurry, C. A., Special Method in Geography, chap. viii. 
 Allen, L. R., " Correlation of Geography and History," Journal of Geography, 
 ii, p. 404. Woodice, Florence A., and Brown, Robert M., "An Experiment 
 with Geography and History with a Sixth Grade," Journal of Geography, vii, 
 pp. 1-7. 
 
 XI. Geography and Expression Work 
 
 1. Expression. 
 
 A. Chief and most important forms of expression are oral and written 
 expression. 
 
 B. Danger and unfairness of considering expression work to be merely 
 handwork. 
 
 2. Chief Ways in which Handwork can be used in Geography. 
 Through map drawing, map filling, sand or chalk modeUng, and freehand 
 
 drawing. 
 
 A. Modeling: 
 
 a. A means to an end of value if done skillfully and easily. 
 
 h. Dangers in representing scale and slopes. 
 
 (,. Should involve small area as to details or merely general features 
 
 of a large area. First work in modeling should be devoted to 
 
 features that children may observe as wholes. 
 
 B. Map Drawing : 
 
 a. Too time-consuming as a rule. 
 6. Difficulties of projection and scale. 
 
 c. Over-refined product should not be called for. 
 
 d. Children's maps are a bad basis for visualization; 
 
 C. Map Filling : 
 
 a. Makes use of best base map available and same base map for all. 
 
 b. Excellent means of review as test of knowledge gained. 
 
 c. Relative value of flat and relief outline maps. 
 
 D. Freehand Drawing : 
 
 a. An accessory to geography work, not a way of making confused objects 
 
 or relations clear. 
 
 b. Value of slope sketching, of simple landscape work, and of map color- 
 
 ing. 
 
 c. Hand work may borrow ideas and details from geography but adds 
 
 little to value of geography as a subject. 
 
294 Appendix 
 
 XII. Equipment in Geography Teaching 
 
 I. Necessity of Equipment. 
 
 Maps, globes, and illustrations. Costly single pieces of apparatus to be 
 avoided. 
 
 A. Maps: 
 
 a. Every schoolroom should contain the following wall maps : 
 
 (i) Mercator map of world. (2) Map of North America or United 
 States. (3) Map of continents to be studied. 
 h. Maps should be chosen for demonstration and recitation work and 
 
 not for study. 
 c. Hence should be clear, capable of being seen across the room, not 
 
 overcrowded with details : rivers and cities not overemphasized. 
 A. Upper grades should have physical map of United States and Europe 
 
 for use in history and geography, 
 e. The use of United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps. 
 /. Use and means of securing weather maps. 
 g. Blackboard outline maps, — value and use. 
 h. Difficulties of securing certain much desired wall maps. 
 
 B. Globes: 
 
 a. One 10 or 12 inch political globe available in every room. 
 
 6. Globe to be of a size to be easily handled. 
 
 c. Political globe should be up-to-date; not overcrowded. 
 
 d. Blackboard globes, — how used. 
 
 e. Small physical or political globes for individual use. 
 /. The use of relief globes. 
 
 C Apparatus : 
 
 a. Avoid large pieces and geographical diagrams. 
 
 h. Standard thermometer, barometer, compass, and wind vane to be 
 
 available, 
 c. Special pieces available for special purposes. 
 ZJ. Illustrations: 
 
 o. Includes photographs, cuts from magazines, slides, stereoscopic 
 
 views. 
 h. Necessity of scheme for selection, classification, and storage of mate- 
 rials. 
 
 c. Value of a few good illustrations as compared with a host of poor 
 
 illustrations. 
 
 d. Relative advantages of pictures, slides and stereoscope for special 
 
 purposes. 
 
 e. Mechanical difficulties incident to class use of illustrations. 
 References : Redway, J. W., New Basis of Geography, chap. xi. " Equip- 
 ment for Geography Teaching," Journal of Geography, v, pp. 242-250. Whit- 
 beck, R. H., " Practical Work in School Geography," Journal of Geography, 
 iii, pp. 374-379. Emerson, P., " Field Work in the Class-Room," Journal of 
 Geography, i, pp. S4-S7> 81-98. 
 
Appendix 295 
 
 Xin. The Geographic Preparation of a Teacher of Geography 
 
 It is neither possible nor desirable to have every grade school teacher a 
 specialist in geography. 
 
 A. The scope of work analyzed. 
 
 a. Larger portion of work will be the geography of continents in earlier or 
 later grades. 
 
 h. Small portion of work will be development of principles of physical and 
 life geography. 
 
 c. The principles will be expected to be used in continental work. 
 
 B. The requisite training of a teacher must then include : 
 
 a. Some study of larger principles so as to make these principles usable in 
 all grades. 
 
 h. Special study of one or more continents so as to give point of view and 
 method of studying a region causally. 
 
 c. Training in use of maps, especially atlas and text maps, weather maps 
 and United States Geological Survey Topographic Maps. 
 
 d. Knowledge of larger principles underlying geography teaching in the 
 grades and study of special difficulties in each phase of elementary school work. 
 Knowledge of subject matter is an essential basis for study of methods of 
 teaching. 
 
 e. These requisites suggest the necessary content and order of procedure in 
 geography courses in training classes. 
 
 C. Desirable training that teachers should be encouraged to secure. 
 
 a. Knowledge of geography beyond the minimum outlined above and suffi- 
 cient to make them independent workers and possibly investigators in some 
 phase of geography. 
 
 6. Good knowledge of history of United States and Europe. 
 
 c. Knowledge of elements of anthropology, economics, and biology, par- 
 ticularly along ecological lines. 
 
 d. Knowledge of modern industrial problems in the United States, particu- 
 larly along lines of agriculture, manufacturing, commerce, and conservation of 
 forests and water supply. 
 
 D. Opportunities for securing training in geography. 
 
 a. Larger and better normal schools and many colleges and universities now 
 include well planned courses in geography. 
 
 h. Teachers in service will find splendid opportunities for geography work 
 at the summer schools of colleges and normal schools. Also in some cases in 
 certain phases of the subject, work may be secured in extension and corre- 
 spondence courses. 
 
 c. Teachers seeking summer school opportunities should go to institutions 
 that have summer terms, and not, as a rule, merely to summer institutions. 
 Geography cannot be adequately taught without equipment, and only those in- 
 stitutions which are in operation the year round can have adequate equipment, 
 
296 Appendix 
 
 SELECTED EEFEEENCE LIST FOE TEACHERS 
 
 General: — 
 
 Longman's Gazetteer. Longmans. The authoritative pronouncing and spell- 
 ing gazetteer of the world. Contains excellent brief descriptions of all im- 
 portant places. 
 
 Lippincott's Gazetteer. A recent authoritative volume containing excellent 
 brief descriptions of all places of any importance. 
 
 Andree's Hand Atlas. Velhagen and Klaslng, Leipsig. Recent reference atlas 
 containing excellent climatic maps and maps showing distribution of peoples, 
 religions, plants, animals, etc. 
 
 Stieler's Hand Atlas. Perthes, Gotha. The leading reference atlas. 
 
 Mill, International Geography. Appleton. The best single volume reference 
 book on general and regional geography. 
 
 Stanford's Compendia (reissue). Stanford. The leading reference books on 
 the several continents. Two volumes each on Asia, AustraUa, North America, 
 Central and South America, Africa and Europe. 
 
 Regional Geography. Appleton. Accurate, readable, helpful volumes of 
 first importance. Includes volumes on Britain and the British Seas, Central 
 Europe, India, The Nearer East, and North America. 
 
 Herbertson, Senior Geography. A very useful volume summarizing geog- 
 raphy of several continents in a causal order. Especially helpful for Europe. 
 
 Mill, Hints to Teachers and Students on the Choice 0} Geographical Books for 
 Reference and Reading. Longmans. A very helpful reference list with brief 
 comments on the individual references. Gives general and special references. 
 A new edition appeared early in igog. 
 
 The Teaching of Geography: — 
 
 Geikie, The Teaching of Geography. Macmillan. A very suggestive book 
 on the essentials of good geography teaching. 
 
 McMurry, C. A., Special Method in Geography. Macmillan. Discusses 
 the scope of geography and outlines a course emphasizing the teaching by 
 types. 
 
 Redway, New Basis of Geography. Macmillan. Interesting and helpful for 
 teachers in upper grades who need to teach continents from the practical stand- 
 point. 
 
 Physical Geography: — 
 
 Mill, Realm of Nature. Scribners. A very valuable and simple book on 
 physical and mathematical geography and on biogeography. 
 
 Davis, Physical Geography. Ginn & Co. An authoritative secondary school 
 text, particularly helpful in reference to the land features. 
 
 Davis, Elementary Meteorology. Ginn & Co. The leading English book on 
 weather and climate. 
 
 Ward, Practical Exercises in Elementary Meteorology. Ginn & Co. Very 
 helpful to teachers who have to deal with weather phenomena. 
 
Appendix 297 
 
 Gilbert and Brigham, Introduction to Physical Geogtaphy. Appleton. An 
 interesting, authoritative, and well illustrated secondary text on physical 
 geography. 
 
 Tarr, New Physical Geography. The Macmillan Company. One of the 
 newest and best high school books. 
 
 Salisbury, Physiography. Henry Holt & Company. Most inclusive and 
 best illustrated volume available. An indispensable library reference volume. 
 
 Harrington, Mark W., About the Weather. Appleton. Very helpful for 
 teachers in elementary grades. 
 
 Dodge, Reader in Physical Geography for Beginners. Longmans. Small 
 volume on physical geography, available as an introduction to the subject. 
 
 Biogeography : — 
 
 Ratzel, History of Mankind (3 vols.). Macmillan. A very comprehensive 
 book on the races of mankind, the first volume being particularly valuable for 
 its consideration of the problems of race distribution. 
 
 Wallace, Island Life. Macmillan. Classic book on animal distribution from 
 geographic standpoint. 
 
 Guyot, Earth and Man. Scribners. One of the older books, and hence not 
 written from a modem standpoint : but still invaluable for presenting the rela- 
 tion of earth features to life. 
 
 Herbertson, Man and His Work. A. and C. Black. A very usable and 
 interesting small volume, showing the manner of life of people living in dif- 
 ferent vegetation regions and amid different surface conditions. 
 
 Lyddeker, Hutchinson and Gregory, Living Races of Mankind. Hutchinson 
 & Co. Two splendidly illustrated volumes on the races of men, simple, and 
 popularly written. 
 
 Commercial Geography: — 
 
 Adams, Commercial Geography. Appleton. An accurate, well ordered, and 
 almost indispensable book on commercial geography. Maps and diagrams are 
 very numerous and helpful for the teacher. 
 
 Chisholm, Commercial Geography. Longmans. The most inclusive volume 
 in the English language. Contains excellent abstracts of general geography 
 of each country in a good causal order. 
 
 Periodicals: — 
 
 Journal of Geography. Published by Teachers College, New York City. 
 Only journal in the country devoted to teaching of geography. 
 
 Geographical Teacher. Phillips, London. Similar in scope to above journal 
 and contains much of value to American teachers. 
 
 National Geographic Magazine. Washington, D. C. Leading popular jour- 
 nal of geography in coimtry. 
 
 Geographical Journal. London. Leading strictly geographical journal in 
 English-speaking world. 
 
298 Appendix 
 
 IV. THE TEACHING OF HISTORY 
 
 By Henry Johnson, A.M. 
 
 I. What History is 
 
 1. The Word "History" may denote: 
 a. Past facts themselves. 
 
 i. Traces left by past facts. 
 
 c. The study which investigates such traces. 
 
 A. The knowledge thus obtained. 
 
 e. An account or narrative in which such knowledge is embodied. 
 
 2. The Sources of Historical Knowledge. 
 a. Primary sources. 
 
 1. Material remains — roads, buildings, tools, weapons, clothing, any 
 
 material object shaped by man or associated with his life on the 
 earth. 
 
 2. Reports of conditions and events made by actual observers. Such 
 
 reports may be oral, written or printed, pictorial. 
 6. Secondary sources — reports or accounts based upon primary sources. 
 
 c. Accounts based upon other accounts in varying degrees of removal even 
 from secondary sources. 
 
 d. Existing sources relate to fragments only of man's total experience in the 
 world. 
 
 3. Historical Criticism — the ' Foundation eor the Determination 
 op Particular Facts relating to the Past. 
 
 u,. External criticism — investigation of the origin and transmission of 
 sources; a study of form, language, writing. Is the material remaining 
 authentic? Who was the author of the document? What did he say? 
 
 h. Internal criticism — investigation of the content of sources. What did 
 the author mean? Are his statements true? 
 
 c. The need of historical criticism finds daily illustration in the schoolroom, 
 in ordinary conversation, in the newspapers. 
 
 d. Historical criticism first formally applied by the Greeks. Not fully de- 
 veloped until modern times. 
 
 4. Historical Synthesis — putting the Facts together into a Body 
 OF Organized Knowledge. 
 
 a. The chronological order — facts arranged according to time of occur- 
 rence. 
 
 h. The geographical order — facts arranged according to place of occurrence. 
 
 c. The logical order — facts arranged according to their intrinsic nature. 
 
 d. One order used exclusively. 
 
 5. History as an AccoyNT or Narrative. 
 a. The subject embraced. 
 
 1. A single person. 
 
 2. A single people — whole known period or a part of it. 
 
Appendix 299 
 
 3. The whole world — universal history. 
 h. General conceptions of history writing. 
 
 1. A narrative of memorable events. Aim, mainly to please. Content 
 
 determined by taste of authors and their public. Epic poets and 
 story-tellers early contributors. Classical type fixed by Herodotus, 
 the "father of history." 
 
 2. A collection of precedents supposed to be useful to statesmen, generals, 
 
 and others. Aim, didactic. Content determined by the kind of 
 examples or lessons needed. But these, according to early concep- 
 tions, to be valuable must be true to the facts. Facts largely poli- 
 tical and military. A conception introduced by Thucydides and 
 developed by Polybius. 
 
 3. Scientific history. Aim, to exhibit the past as it was and to explain how 
 
 it came to be what it was. Content determined by what is regarded 
 as significant in illustrating the idea of development in human 
 affairs. 
 
 c. These general conceptions correspond roughly to stages of human cul- 
 ture. 
 
 d. History generally regarded merely as a branch of literature up to 1850. 
 
 e. Side by side with scientific histories, works of the older types are still 
 being produced. 
 
 References : Langlois and Seignobos, Introduction to the Study of History, 
 pp. 63-70, 211-231, 296-321. Bernheim, Einlcitimg in die Gesckicktswissen- 
 sckaft, pp. 5-13, 33-43, 72-78. Fling, Outline of Historical Method, pp. 5-124. 
 Robinson, History, Columbia University Press, 1908. Rhodes, in Atlantic 
 Monthly, Vol. LXXXV, pp. 158-169. Winsor, in Atlantic Monthly, Vol. LXVI, 
 pp. 289-297. 
 
 II. The Problem of Adapting History to Children 
 
 I. Special GtrroANCE sought in the "Natural" Tastes and Interests 
 OF Children. 
 
 a. These determined by experiment. 
 
 h. Sometimes regarded as a final criterion. 
 
 c. Reinforced by the culture epoch theory. 
 
 d. Conclusion: "The childhood of history for the child, the boyhood of 
 history for the boy, the youthhood of history for the youth, the manhood of 
 history for the man." 
 
 e. The conclusion interpreted. 
 
 1. Facts to be selected and arranged according to their cultural stages 
 
 and not according to time or place of occurrence. 
 
 2. Manner of treatment to accord in general with the conception of his- 
 
 tory first developed by the race. 
 
 3. Scientific history thus excluded. 
 
 /. General comment: Important to distinguish between the natural tastes 
 and interests of children and the cultivated intelligence of children. 
 
300 Appendix 
 
 2. Approach prom the Side op History. 
 a. Kinds of historical facts. 
 
 1. Facts relating to physical appearance of men and their material en- 
 
 vironment. 
 a. Possibility of direct appeal to the senses. 
 h. The simplest illustration of change in the world. 
 c. Material aspects of the past sufficiently unlike those of the present 
 to be interesting. 
 
 2. Facts relating to what men did. 
 
 o. Direct sense appeal not applicable. 
 
 h. Only actions now in progress can be observed. 
 
 c. With these as a basis actions in progress in the past more or less 
 
 readily imaged. 
 
 d. That action appeals to children an axiom of history teaching. 
 
 3. Facts relating to thoughts and feelings of men, the motives that moved 
 
 them to do or to say. 
 a. Known only through deeds and words. 
 
 6. Real understanding of the past measured by pupil's ability to enter 
 this inner life of history. 
 
 c. Important to recognize difficulties and limitations. 
 
 d. The mental states of a Clovis, a Charlemagne, a Napoleon, or even 
 
 of a cave-man, an Indian, a pioneer, largely beyond the experience 
 of children and of most adults. 
 
 4. In each of these groups the simplest facts relate to particular objects, 
 
 particular acts, thoughts, feelings. 
 
 5. Collective facts, facts relating to social groups, to institutions, to gen- 
 
 eral causes that act in history, much more difficult. 
 a. How represent a wave of prosperity? a panic? a revolution? 
 
 society itself? 
 h. Such expressions made intelligible by resolving them, so far as 
 possible, into their concrete elements. 
 6. The kinds of facts enumerated common to literary, didactic, and scientific 
 history. 
 
 c. Degree of difficulty presented by a given type of facts not essentially dif- 
 ferent for different kinds of history. 
 
 d. A principle of grading thus suggested as applicable to one kind of history 
 as to another. 
 
 1. Any facts readily visualized possible material for school history. 
 
 2. Clear visualization a factor in stimulating interest. 
 
 3. Clear visualization of the man, the act, the situation, a necessary key 
 
 to his mental states. 
 
 4. Elementary history, therefore, to be largely descriptive and narrative, 
 
 to be made up of concrete examples rather than generalized knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 e. Time and place relations essential to the conception of any fact as histor- 
 ical. As difficult for one kind of history as for another. 
 
Appendix 301 
 
 /. Special conditions imposed by scientific history. 
 
 1. Facts in palpable conflict with present knowledge not to be regarded 
 
 as historical. 
 
 2. Facts to be characteristic of persons, peoples, places, periods; not 
 
 exceptional, abnormal, bizarre. 
 
 3. Facts to be so presented as to exhibit relations, cause and effect, 
 
 continuity. 
 
 4. Facts to be so presented as to arouse some consciousness of how we 
 
 know what we know about the past and why we do not know 
 more. 
 
 5. These conditions quite possible to meet within the limits suggested 
 
 by the principle of grading already set forth. 
 References: Teachers College Record,, November, 1908, pp. 1-25. Bern- 
 heim, in Neue Bahnen, Vol. X, pp. 265-300, 337-357. Seignobos, L'Histoire dans 
 V Enseignement secondaire, pp. 3-25. Muzzy, in Association of History Teachers 
 of the Middle Slates and Maryland, 1906, pp. 13-28, especially 17-19. Channing, 
 in North Central History Teachers' Association, 1907, pp. 14-18. Laurie, in 
 School Review, Vol. IV, pp. 655-660. Salmon, in Year Book Society for Scientific 
 Study of Education, 1902, pp. 47-54; McMurry, in same, 1903, pp. 47-51. 
 American Historical Association, 1905, pp. 135-145. Hinsdale, How to Study and 
 Teach History, pp. 42-52, 67-74. Rice, in Educational Review, Vol. XII, pp. 169- 
 179 ; Burnham, in same, Vol. XXVII, pp. 521-528. Peabody, in National Educa- 
 tion Association, 1893, pp. 284-285. Barnes, Studies in Historical Method, pp. 57- 
 105. Mace, Method in History, pp. 255-308. Suzzallo, in Teachers College 
 Record, May, 1904, pp. 11-19; Marker, in same, pp. 20-33. 
 
 III. The Question of Aims and Values 
 
 1. The Faith of Educators in the Utility of History attested by 
 Programs in the Subject for every Grade of Instruction from the 
 Kindergarten to the University. 
 
 2. Current Discussions Confusing. 
 
 a. Aims sometimes defined without reference to the nature of history. 
 History then repudiated wherever it happens to interfere with "the uses of 
 history." 
 
 b. Aims sometimes inconsistent with each other. 
 
 c. Little to indicate that one of the aims of historical instruction is to teach 
 history. 
 
 3. Aims commonly Proposed. 
 
 a. Discipline — training of the memory, the imagination, the judgment. 
 h. Culture — "enriching the humanity of the pupil." 
 
 c. Inspiration — furnishing ideals of conduct, patriotism, social service. 
 
 d. Practical knowledge — teaching pupils how to act in the present. 
 
 e. The illumination of other studies, especially literature and geography. 
 /. The cultivation of a taste for historical reading. 
 
302 Appendix 
 
 g. The explanation of the present — nothing in the world to-day really in> 
 telligible apart from its history. 
 
 4. Special Modern Emphasis upon the Social Value of History. 
 o. An application of a general point of view in education. 
 
 b. Special demands upon history. 
 
 1. Must show in the form of concrete examples what society is and how 
 
 it works. 
 
 2. Must "give a vivid and intense realization of social duties and obliga- 
 
 tions." 
 
 5. Pertinent Questions. 
 
 a. Are the aims proposed in fact promoted by a given kind of instruction ? 
 
 6. Are they promoted as effectively as they might be by some other kind of 
 instruction ? 
 
 c. Are they the most useful of the possible ends that history might serve ? 
 6. Observations and Experiment needed to furnish Data for An- 
 swers. 
 
 References: McMurry, Special Method in History, pp. 1-17. Kemp, Out- 
 line of Method in History, pp. 104-1 13. Barnes, Studies in Historical Method, pp. 
 106-121. Lloyd, in Spencer, Aims and Practice of Teaching, pp. 141-148. Rice, 
 History and Literature, pp. 3-26, 149-166. Woodward, in Essays on Teaching of 
 History by Maitland and others, pp. 69-78. Hinsdale, How to Study and Teach 
 History, pp. 2-17. Bourne, Teaching of History and Civics, pp. 77-92. Year 
 Book, Herbart Society, 1898, pp. 25-56. Snedden, in Journal of Pedagogy, Vol. 
 XIX, pp. 259-268. Proceedings, National Education Association, 1892, pp. 
 348-352; 1894, pp. 397-412; 1895, pp. 139-142, 306-308; 1896, pp. 410-413. 
 Report, Committee of Seven, pp. 158-162. Kirk, in Education, Vol. XVI, pp. 15- 
 18 ; Crawford, in same. Vol. XXII, pp. 281-286 ; McMahon, in same. Vol. XXIII, 
 pp. 109-114. Langlois and Seignobos, Introduction to the Study of History, p. 
 331. Lea, in American Historical Review, Vol. IX, pp. 233-246. Harrison, 
 Meaning of History, pp. 1-23. Teachers College Record, November, 1909, pp. 
 
 IV. The History Program for the Elementary School 
 
 I. The Preparatory Period — The First Three or Four Years. 
 
 a. Myths, fairy tales, fables. Oriental, Greek, Roman, later European. 
 Some use of American folk lore. 
 
 b. Simple biographies from American or world history. May or may not 
 be arranged chronologically. 
 
 c. Stories connected with anniversaries, birthdays, Thanksgiving, Christmas. 
 
 d. Stories from the Bible. 
 
 e. Stories of primitive life. 
 /. Stories of inventions. 
 
 g. Stories from local history. 
 
 h. Various studies of a geographical or sociological character. 
 i. Several or all of these types of material may be represented in a single pro- 
 gram. 
 
Appendix 303 
 
 /. Some schools carry this kind of work into higher grades. 
 
 2. The Intermediate Stage — Fifth and Sixth Years. 
 a. Beginnings of textbook instruction. 
 
 h. More attention to chronological order and geological setting, 
 c. Subject: ancient history, the Middle Ages, English history, American 
 history. Chief emphasis on American history. 
 i. Material usually biographical. 
 e. Some schools begin this stage of work in the fourth year. 
 
 3. The Last Two Years. 
 
 a. Subject usually the United States. 
 6. The subject often divided. 
 
 1. Colonial period for the seventh year. 
 
 2. Later period for the eighth year. 
 
 c. Some schools have English history in the seventh year. 
 i. Civics frequently combined with history, especially in the eighth year. 
 e. Occasionally some Greek and Roman or general European history in one 
 or both of these years. 
 
 4. The Program proposed by the Committee op Eight. 
 First grade : Indian life. Explanation of holidays. 
 Second grade : Indian life. Holidays. Local history. 
 Third grade: Heroes of other times. Holidays. 
 
 Fourth grade : Historical scenes and persons in American history, colonial 
 period. 
 
 Fifth grade : Historical scenes and persons in American history continued. 
 Great industries of the present. 
 
 Sixth grade : European background of American history. 
 
 Seventh grade : American history to the Revolution. European background 
 continued. 
 
 Eighth grade: The United States since the Revolution. Great events in 
 European history. 
 
 References: Bourne, Teaching of History and Civics, pp. 72-74, 106-114, 
 353-365. Reports of Committees: Committee of Ten, pp. 163, 177-181; of 
 Fifteen, pp. 62-67; 0/ riwe/w, pp. 171, 174-175; of Seven, pp. 162-172; of Eight, 
 pp. 1-91 ; Salmon, in Year Book, Society for Scientific Study of Education, 1902, 
 pp. 31-60. McMurry, Special Method in History, pp. 18-33, 238-268. Kemp, 
 Outline of Method in History, pp. 133-263. Elementary School Record, Vol. I, 
 No. 8, pp. 199-216. Rice, History and Literature, pp. 27-74. Magnusson, in 
 New York Teachers Monographs, March, 1903, pp. 90-97. Greene, History in 
 the Kindergarten. Warfield, in Education, Vol. XIV, pp. 1-5. Gordy and Twitch- 
 ell, Pathfinder in American History, Part I, pp. 43-5° ; Part II, pp. 5-20. Pro- 
 ceedings-. National Education Association, 1892, pp. 31Q-316; 1905, pp. 304-308, 
 360-370; 1897, pp. 58-67. Payne, Elementary School Curricula, pp. 22, 24- 
 
 39, SO- 
 
 V. General Methods of Instruction 
 
 I. The Preparatory Period — the First Three or Four Years. 
 a. Presentation of material usually oral. 
 
304 Appendix 
 
 1. Reading the story. 
 
 2. Telling the story. 
 
 3. Developing the stbry by questions. 
 
 4. Pointing the moral. 
 
 6. The children's part in the lesson. 
 
 1. Telling the story. 
 
 2. Writing the story. 
 
 3. Solving problems suggested by the story. 
 
 c. Stories of the preparatory period may be so managed as to form a real basis 
 for later history — training in putting things together, in seeing simple relations, 
 in developing a sense of continuity. 
 
 2. The Intermediate Stage — the Fifth and Sixth Years. 
 
 a. Some oral presentation along the lines indicated for the preparatory period. 
 h. The general tendency toward textbook work. 
 
 1. Regular lessons assigned and recited. 
 
 2. The lesson read with the class during the history period. 
 c. Character of the textbooks. 
 
 1. Rarely the work of historical experts. 
 
 2. Aim to tell a story rather than history. 
 
 3. Accuracy a minor consideration. 
 
 4. Show little sense of historical proportion. 
 
 5. Their merit is that children can understand them. 
 
 6. Some recent books conceived in a more serious spirit and much bettei 
 
 as history. 
 i. The use of maps, pictures, and other special aids to visualization increasing. 
 Still much to be desired. 
 
 3. The Last Two Years. 
 
 a. Textbook work becomes more formal. 
 h. Types of textbook recitations. 
 
 1. " Hearing " the lesson. 
 
 u,. Teacher announces the heading of paragraph or opening words of 
 
 sentence. 
 h. Pupil carries the story forward until relieved by "next." 
 c. A test of memory. 
 
 2. The question and answer method. 
 
 a. Teachers' questions suggest analysis of text. 
 h. Short answers by pupil. 
 c. Memory test prominent. 
 
 3. A good general plan. 
 
 a. Teacher announces topic. 
 
 h. Pupil tells what he knows about it. 
 
 c. Corrections, additions, and questions by other members of class. 
 
 d. Corrections and additions by teacher. 
 
 e. Questions by teacher designed to apply what has been learned. 
 L. Comparison with other topics previously studied. 
 
 2. Comparison with conditions in the present, 
 c. The use of two or more textbooks. 
 
Appendix 305 
 
 1. The pupil prepares his lesson from two or more different books. 
 
 2. Different pupils have different books. 
 
 3- Aim to bring out difference in point of view or in statement of facts 
 with a view to making pupils think. < 
 
 A- Outside reading. 
 
 1. Other textbooks. 
 
 2. Poems and novels. 
 
 3. Some references to standard histories and to simpler primary sources. 
 e. Notebooks. 
 
 1. Making and keeping outlines. 
 
 2. Reports of outside reading. 
 
 3. Reports of class discussions. 
 
 /. The use of maps, pictures, and other special aids increasing. 
 g. Character of the textbooks. 
 
 1. A number of recent books written by competent students of history. 
 
 2. Reasonably good as history. 
 
 3. Inferior to more elementary books as apparatus for teaching. 
 
 4. Responsibility for the "whole story" tends to reduce textbooks to 
 
 outlines and tempts to generalizations which are largely meaning- 
 less to children. 
 
 5. The class recitation thus in danger of becoming an exercise in mere 
 
 words. 
 Rejeeences : Bryant, Row to Tell Stories to Children, pp. 13-21, 83-109. Mc- 
 Murry, Special Method in History, pp. 50-85. Hinsdale, How to Sttidy and Teach 
 History, pp. 53-66. Bourne, Teaching of History and Civics,pp. 148-168. Gordy and 
 Twitchell, Pathfinder in American History. Foltz, ztir Methode des Geschichts- 
 unterrichts, pp. 174-216. Teachers College Record, November, igo8, pp. 26-32. 
 
 VI. The Biographical Approach to History 
 
 I What the Biographical Method is. 
 
 a. The study of individual men and women as individuals. 
 
 b. The study of individual men and women as representatives of movements, 
 periods, social groups. 
 
 c. The persons selected for study usually great or famous. 
 
 2. Reasons for Prevalence of the Method. 
 
 a. Offers units that are simple, concrete, interesting. 
 
 b. Satisfies ethical demands made upon historical instruction. 
 
 c. German experience a potent example. 
 
 d. Supported by "great man theory" of history. 
 
 i. "The history of what man has accomplished in this world is at bottom 
 the history of the great men who have worked here." — Carlyle. 
 2. "Great men sum up and represent humanity." — Renan. 
 
 3. The Kinds of Persons that interest Children. 
 a. Men of primitive instincts — cave-men, Indians. 
 
3o6 Appendix 
 
 b. Men who "did things" — especially brigands, pirates, adventurers, 
 generals, kings. 
 
 c. These types fully exploited in books for children. Possibly cause as well 
 as effect of children's tastes. 
 
 d. Relatively few tests of children's attitude toward scholars, writers, artists. 
 4. General Criticism. 
 
 a. Personal element essential to school history. 
 
 b. Events can to some extent be grouped about individuals. 
 
 c. But "great man theory" not well applied. 
 
 i. Persons selected for study often not representative. May be excep- 
 tional. Often at best merely picturesque. 
 
 2. Historical characters often distorted for moral ends. 
 
 3. Doubtful anecdotes used to excess. 
 
 d. The "great man theory" not generally accepted by historians. 
 
 e. Individuals often more easily grouped about events than events about 
 individuals. 
 
 /. The general tendency of the biographical method is to leave a series of 
 disconnected impressions. 
 
 Referekces : Kemp, Outline of Method in History, pp. 264-295. Hinsdale, 
 How to Study and Teach History, pp. 30-31, 44-45. Bourne, Teaching of History 
 and Civics, pp. 18-20, 86, 356. Mace, Method in History, pp. 289-294. Lawless, in 
 Nineteenth Century, Vol. L, pp. 790-798. Bemheim, in Neue Bahnen, Vol. X, 
 PP- 338-342- 
 
 VII. The Social and Economic Point of View 
 
 1. Great Men not excluded, but the "Masses" included. 
 
 2. Emphasis upon Social and Economic Conditions, — 
 Occupations, industries, inventions, commerce, manners and customs, edu- 
 cation, amusements, food, dress, upon whatever serves to illustrate the com- 
 mon life. 
 
 3. The Point of Departure. 
 
 a. The daily life and material environment of the community in which the 
 school is situated. 
 
 b. The development of some special invention, trade, art, industry, related 
 to the immediate neighborhood. 
 
 c. The constructive activities of children — sewing, weaving, cooking, mak- 
 ing furniture. 
 
 d. Local history. 
 
 4. Application to History in General. 
 
 a. Limited by the nature of the material available. 
 
 b. Difficult to arrange a connected narrative. 
 
 c. German experience — Biedermann's Kulturbilder. The conditions of Ger- 
 man life at selected stages described, compared, and contrasted. 
 
 5. A Growing Recognition of the General Point of View. 
 
 a. Influence of democratic ideals. 
 
 b. Industrial education an important factor in securing change of emphasis. 
 
Appendix 307 
 
 c. An enlarged view of history. 
 
 1. Carlyle's protest against the older historians. 
 
 2. Macaulay's theory of history. 
 
 3. The work of John Richard Green. 
 
 4. McMaster's People of the United States. 
 
 d. The economic interpretation of history. 
 
 e. Material supplied by Documentary History of American Industrial Society, 
 lo volumes, to be published, igog-igio. 
 
 References : Dopp, Place of Industries in Education, pp. 97-260. Rice, in 
 Year Book, Society for Scientific Study of Education, 1903, pp. 9-14. Wood, 
 Report on Teaching History, pp. 11-17. Lamprecht, What is History? pp. 3-35. 
 Dodd, in Popular Science Monthly , Vol. LXIII, pp. 418-424. Seligman, Economic 
 Interpretation of History. Biedermann, Geschichtsunterricht . . . nach Kulturge- 
 schichtlicher Methode, pp. 5-45 . Bernheim, in Neue Bahnen, Vol. X, pp. 285-300. 
 
 VIII. Making the Past Real 
 
 1. Where the Textbooks Fail. 
 
 a. Reading matter usually insufficient for clear images of material aspects 
 of the past or for definite impressions of past mental states. 
 
 b. Within certain limits definiteness and simplicity secured by brevity of 
 statement. 
 
 c. But the principle of making a thing elementary by not saying much 
 about it carried too far. 
 
 d. Stories inherently simple often expanded ; those inherently difficult often 
 abridged. School history would be more intelligible if the conditions were 
 reversed. 
 
 2. Special Aids to Visualization. 
 
 a. Material remains in vicinity of school. Visits to historic places. 
 
 b. Casts, models, pictures, visualization charts, maps. 
 
 c. The stereoscope, lantern, and other similar apparatus. Moving pictures. 
 
 d. Illustrations in textbooks. 
 
 e. Historical albums. 
 
 3. "Living the Past." 
 
 a. Exaggerated views illustrated by demand that pupil "identify himself 
 completely with the thought, passion and resolution of the time" under con- 
 sideration. 
 
 1. Such a demand scarcely met by the most expert historians. 
 
 2. Realism of this type not attainable by children and not even desirable. 
 
 b. Some impression of how men thought and felt essential. 
 
 c. Special aids. 
 
 I. A man's own words expressed in letters, diaries, personal reminiscences, 
 speeches, state papers. 
 
 a. Value varies with character of person and circumstances of utter- 
 
 ance. 
 
 b. Words often no clue to real sentiments of author. 
 
3o8 Appendix 
 
 2. Characteristic stories and anecdotes. 
 
 3. Dramatization of history. 
 
 a. Plays composed by children. May be based on good historical 
 
 material. 
 6. Ready-made plays less effective. 
 
 c. Historical pageants. 
 
 d. Historical drama of the professional stage. 
 
 4. Imaginary letters, diaries, speeches, prepared by pupils. Answering 
 
 the questions: "How should I have felt?" "What should I 
 have said or done ? " 
 
 5. Historical poems and novels. 
 
 a. Value for history easily exaggerated. 
 
 b. A distinction to be made between those that aie contemporary 
 
 with scenes represented and those that are merely later attempts 
 at reconstruction. 
 
 c. General use in school due in part to tradition which so long made 
 
 history a mere branch of literature, in part to more general 
 acquaintance with this kind of material than with material more 
 distinctly historical. 
 
 6. Material supplied by detailed histories. 
 
 References: Teachers College Record, November, 1908, pp. 12-25. Wilson, 
 Mere Literature, pp. 161-186. Crothers, Gentle Reader,pp. 167-200. Stephens, in 
 California University Chronicle, Vol. VI, pp. 159-168; French Revolution,\o\. II, 
 p. 361. Matthews, in i^oram. Vol. XXIV, pp. 79-91. Langlois and Seignobos, 
 Introdtiction to the Study of History, pp. 215-225, 301, 319, note. Seignobos, 
 L'Histoire dans I'Enseignement secondaire, pp. 15-19. 
 
 IX. Time and Place Relations 
 
 1. Time Sense in Children. 
 
 a. Rudimentary at age of entering school. "Yesterday," "last week,'' 
 "last month," have a meaning. "One hundred years ago" has not. 
 
 b. The sense develops slowly. Even children of twelve or thirteen often 
 measure short periods of time vaguely. 
 
 c. From this an argument advanced against dating any events in distant 
 past for children. Can mean only "a long time ago." 
 
 d. The difficulty in part removec by objective assistance — chart, rolls, 
 knotted cords, and other devices. 
 
 e. Dates properly introduced at least as early as the fifth year. 
 
 2. Dates to be reueubered. 
 a. Famous events. 
 
 h. Important events. 
 
 c. A few in each year fixed as a permanent possession. 
 
 d. Evidence at present of recovery from extreme reaction against learning 
 dates. 
 
 3. The Place Relation. 
 
Appendix 309 
 
 a. The way prepared by geography. 
 
 h. Maps to be introduced as soon as children have learned to read them. 
 
 c. Two kinds of historical geography. 
 
 1. Contemporary maps. 
 
 2. Modem maps. 
 
 d. School history should show how events were influenced by geographic 
 conditions. Natural features of the earth determine in great part : 
 
 i. Climate, productions, physical development, employments, habits. 
 
 2. Facilities for commerce. 
 
 3. Advantages for miUtary and naval defense or aggression. 
 
 4. Intellectual tendencies, but to a less extent. 
 
 e. Place relation to be fixed under same conditions as time relation. 
 References: Hinsdale, Eow to Study and Teach History, pp. 75-100; iii- 
 
 1 26. Vaughan, in Contemporary Review, Vol. V, pp. 29-49. Turner, in Year Book, 
 Berbart Society, 1899, pp. 7-41. Semple, American History and its Geographic 
 Conditions. Brigham, Geographic Influence in American History Report, New 
 England History Teachers' Association, 1907. 
 
 X. School History and the Historical Method 
 
 1. History for School Purposes usually treated as a Body or Assured 
 Knowledge. ^ 
 
 a. The problem of elementary instruction held to be interpretation and not 
 criticism. 
 
 b. Controversial matters omitted so far as possible. 
 
 c. Little to indicate varying degrees of probability in historical facts. 
 
 d. Uncertainties covered by dogmatism of textbooks. 
 
 2. Raising the Question of How we know. 
 
 a. Makes for more intelligent view of history. 
 
 b. Often adds to interest in the subject. 
 
 c. Affords material for exercise of reasoning power. 
 
 d. Directly related to everyday problems. 
 
 e. The question usually excluded from elementary history on ground of the 
 difficulties involved. 
 
 3. A Simple Approach suggested. 
 
 a. When anything has happened we may know about it because : 
 I. We were present when it happened — direct observation. 
 
 ■i. Some one has told us — oral '^^radition. 
 
 3. We have read about it — written or printed tradition. 
 
 4. We have seen a picture of it — pictorial tradition. 
 
 b. In how many ways may we know 
 
 I. That John was absent from school yesterday? 
 
 ■z. That Lincoln delivered an address at Gettysburg in 1863? 
 
 3. That the "Mayflower" crossed the Atlantic in 1620? 
 
 c. Which is the best way to know about a thing that has happened? Is 
 
310 Appendix 
 
 that way always possible? Why? How do we get most of our knowledge of 
 things that have happened? 
 d. Application to material remains. 
 
 In how many ways may we know about 
 
 1. The spelling-books of our grandfathers? 
 
 2. The bows and arrows used by Indians ? 
 
 3. The house that George Washington lived in at Moimt Vernon? 
 
 4. Some Simple iLLtrsiRATioNS of Problems connected with Histori- 
 cal Method. 
 
 a. The story of how the Egyptians found out that they were not the oldest 
 people in the world. Herodotus, Book II, chapter 2. 
 i. How did Herodotus know ? 
 2. Is the story true ? 
 h. Petrarch's troubles in getting books copied. Robinson and Rolfe, Pe- 
 trarch, p. 28. 
 
 c. The adventures of the manuscript of Bradford's History of Plymouth 
 Plantation. Introduction to edition published by the State of Massachusetts. 
 
 d. The boundary provisions of a colonial charter. Teachers College Record, 
 Kovember, 1908, pp. 40-43. 
 
 5. Such Exercises necessarily Limited in Number. 
 
 References : Teachers College Record, November, 1908, pp. 33-44. Historical 
 Sources in Schools, Report to New England History Teachers' Association, pp. 1-17. 
 Bourne, Teaching of History and Civics, pp. 169-187. 
 
 XI. Historical Reading for Children 
 
 1. Books designed especially for Children. 
 a. Principles of grading not well defined. 
 
 1. Many books needlessly inaccurate. 
 
 c. Literary style often bad. 
 
 d. Some unnecessary "writing down" to children. 
 
 2. The Use of Standard Histories. 
 
 a. Availability of historical works for school purposes not in inverse ratio 
 to size and scientific value. 
 
 1. Treatment of special topics often simpler and more concrete than 
 
 treatment of same topics in textbooks. 
 
 2. Many passages in detailed histories ajid biographies of special interest 
 
 to children. 
 
 a. Some of these can be read by children. 
 
 b. Some can be read to children. 
 
 c. A factor in cultivating taste for history. 
 
 d. Talks about writers of important works stimulate interest in the 
 
 works. 
 
 3. Real obstacles to more general use. 
 u. Cost of standard histories. 
 
Appendix 311 
 
 h. Lack of acquaintance with such works on the part of elementary 
 teachers. 
 4. Much good material available in abridgments and volumes of extracts. 
 
 3. Teaching Children how to use Books. 
 a. Indexes and tables of contents. 
 
 6. Attention to marginal references and footnotes. 
 
 c. Special questions to give facility in finding and using books. 
 
 d. The number of books need not be large. 
 
 4. Management of Collateeal Reading. 
 a. Class divisions. 
 
 h. Special library periods. 
 
 c. Books used outside of library periods. 
 
 d. Books taken home. 
 
 e. References to be exact. 
 
 /. References to be posted in library, 
 g. Pupil's record of readings. 
 
 I. Full name of author. 
 
 ^. Full title of book. 
 
 3. Publishers, place, and date of publication. 
 
 4. Number of pages read. 
 
 5. Personal impression. 
 
 References : Andrews, Gambrill and Tall, Bibliography of History for Schools 
 and Libraries; Report of the Committee of Eight; Teachers College Record, No- 
 vember, igo8, pp. 45-50. Parsons in Educational Review, Vol. XXIII, pp. 400- 
 406. McMurry, Special Method in History, pp. 271-291. Rice, History and 
 Literature, pp. 167-187. Mace, Method in History, pp. 309-311. Gordy and 
 Twitchell, Pathfinder in American History, Part I, pp. 101-102; Part II, 
 pp. 235-251. Sullivan, in Metropolitan Teacher, November, 1904, pp. 193-198. 
 
INDEX 
 
 Accuracy in practice, 46, g8. 
 Adenoids, signs of, 141. 
 Adjustment, types of, 32, 33, 34. 
 Aim in inductive lesson, SS- 
 Aim of education, i. 
 Allen, W. H., quoted, 141. 
 Application, 63. 
 Appreciation and emotion, 80. 
 
 In relation to study, 87, 88. 
 
 Lesson for, 78-84. 
 
 Other than that involving the aesthetic 
 emotions, 82, 83, 84. 
 
 Power of, 79. 
 Assignments, 172. 
 
 Association, importance of in recall, loi. 
 Attention, types of, 35. 
 
 Means of holding, 45. 
 
 Bagley, W. C, referred to, 164. 
 Baldwin, W. A., referred to, 135. 
 
 Cautions concerning the inductive lesson, 
 
 63, 64. 65. 
 Class Management, 157. 
 
 As a means, 158. 
 
 As an end, 159. 
 Comparison and abstraction, 59. 
 Concrete work, S7- 
 Constructiveness, 17. 
 Contagious and infectious diseases, 140. 
 Contribution by children to discussion, 
 
 134- 
 Cooperation, illustrations of, 132, 133. 
 
 Of parents, 136, 142. 
 Course of Study, 232. 
 
 Making of, 233. 
 Creative work, 81. 
 Criticism of teachers' work, 225. 
 Criticism, types of, 225, 226. 
 Cubberley, E. P., referred to, 252. 
 Curiosity, 20. 
 
 Daily program, 161. 
 
 Data, collection of by children. 
 
 Deductive lesson, 70. 
 
 8, 89, 90. 
 
 Demonstration, 229. 
 Dewey, John, quoted, 26. 
 
 Referred to, 6s. 
 Direct instruction in morab, 150. 
 Discussion by pupils, 131. 
 Drill lesson, 41. 
 
 Earhart, Lida B., referred to, 87. 
 Eliot, Charles W., referred to, 64. 
 Elliott, E. C, referred to, 252. 
 Emulation, 19. 
 Examination lesson, loi. 
 Examinations, 228. 
 
 As measure of teachers' work, 104. 
 
 Best type of, 103, 104. 
 Excursions, 58. 
 Experience of children, 14. 
 
 Reconstructed, 32. 
 Experimentation by teachers, 254. 
 Experts, children as, 64. 
 Expression slovenly, iii. 
 
 Formal discipline, 235. 
 
 Generalization, 62. 
 Group instruction, 162. 
 
 Habit formation, 43. 
 
 Habits, teaching children how to form, 
 
 97. 
 Heating and ventilating, 140. 
 Heck, W. H., referred to, 235. 
 Heredity, 27. 
 Hygiene and morality, 149. 
 
 Ideals, 9. 
 
 Illustrative material, 171. 
 Imitation, 18. 
 Independent work, 9, 13. 
 Indirect instruction in morals, 150. 
 Individual and society, z. 
 Individual differences, 239. 
 Individual instruction, 163. 
 Individualistic attitude, in. 
 Inductive lesson, the, 51. 
 
 313 
 
314 
 
 Index 
 
 Industrial arts, 236. 
 
 Opportunity in, for cooperation, 132. 
 Inference, 73. 
 Instincts, 15-24. 
 Institutes, 230. 
 Intellectual education, 5. 
 Interest, and effort, 24, 25, 26, 27. 
 
 As an end, 8. 
 Interpreter, teacher as, 81. 
 
 Jackman, W. S., referred to, 137. 
 James, William, quoted, 6. 
 Judgments, tentative, 67, 90. 
 
 Language, in relation to reasoning, 61-62, 
 
 Vague, III. 
 Leisure, training for, 6. 
 Lesson Plans, 167. 
 
 Deductive lesson in arithmetic, i8i. 
 
 Deductive lesson in geography, 197. 
 
 For a drill lesson, 180. 
 
 For appreciation, 202, 212. 
 
 In arithmetic, 177. 
 
 In history, 183. 
 
 In nature study, 195. 
 
 On irrigation, 175. 
 
 Reasons for, 167, 168. 
 Lighting schoolrooms, 139. 
 
 McMuny, C. A, and F. M., referred to, 
 
 S4. 
 McMurry, F. M., quoted, 7. 
 
 Referred to, 87, 169. 
 
 And Smith, D. E., referred to, 103. 
 Measuring results in education, 247. 
 Memorization, 92, 93. 
 
 By wholes, 93, 94, 95. 
 Moral-social education, s- 
 Moral training, 145. 
 Motives, 42, 130, 136, 236, 237, 238. 
 
 Notes and annotating, 89. 
 
 Objective work, 57. 
 Observations, 58. 
 
 Organization of material, 168, 169. 
 Outline prepared by pupils, 108. 
 Ownership, 21. 
 
 Physical condition and morality, 149. 
 Physical education, 5. 
 
 Physical welfare of children, 139. 
 
 Play, 16. 
 
 Preparatory step, si~S6- 
 
 Presentation, 56. 
 
 Principles in deductive lesson, 74. 
 
 Problems, 118. 
 
 Children's, S3, 169. 
 
 In deductive lesson, 74. 
 
 In recitation lesson, 108. 
 Pugnacity, 20. ,. 
 Punishments, IS4. 
 Pupil participation in school government, 
 
 160. 
 Pyle, W. H., and Snyder, J. C, quoted, 94. 
 
 Questioning, 114. 
 Direct, 114. 
 Alternative, 114. 
 Suggestive, iis. 
 Large scope, 116. 
 Planning, 116. 
 Novelty of form, 117. 
 Technique of, 119, 120. 
 By children, 130, 131. 
 
 Questions, pivotal, 170. 
 Preparation of, 171. 
 
 Pupils, 120. 
 
 Recitation lesson, the, 107. 
 
 Reflection, 72, 91. 
 
 Repetition, 44. 
 
 Responsibility, increased, of school, 146. 
 
 Review for perspective, 102. 
 
 Review lesson, loi. 
 
 Review, purpose of, loi. 
 
 Rugh, C. E., quoted, 1S3. 
 
 Russell, Jas. E., referred to, 235. 
 
 Scales or units of measurement, 233. 
 
 School exhibits, 226. 
 
 School, the, its functions, 12. 
 
 Scientific work in education, 249. 
 
 Scott, C. A., referred to, 137. 
 
 Seat work, 164. 
 
 Smith, D. E., and McMurry, F. M., 
 
 referred to, 103. 
 Snyder, J. C, and Pyle, W. H., quoted, 94. 
 Social instinct, 22. 
 Social phases of the recitation, 129. 
 Standards in education, 103. 
 Stevenson's Serf in Summer, quoted, 94, 9s. 
 
Index 
 
 315 
 
 stone, C. W., quoted, 253. 
 
 Referred to, 105. 
 Study lesson, the, 86-99. 
 Study, methods of, in relation to methods 
 
 of teaching, 86-91. 
 Summaries, id plans, 171. 
 Supervision, the teacher in relation to, 
 
 224. 
 Supplementing the textbook, no. 
 Suzzallo, Henry, referred to, 61. 
 
 Teacher, influence of, 154. 
 Teachers' meetings, 229. 
 Technique involved in creation related to 
 appreciation, 79. 
 
 Textbooks, use of, 108-109. 
 
 Thinking in relation to memorization, 94. 
 
 Thomdike, E. L., referred to, 27, 28, 105, 
 
 23s, 252. 
 Titchener, referred to, 35. 
 Topical outlines, 102. 
 Topical recitation, 107. 
 Types, teaching by, 66. 
 
 Verification, 7S, 97- 
 The habit of, 92. 
 Visiting, school, 227. 
 Vocational education, 5. 
 
 Wonder, 23. 
 
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