THE TEACHER'S HELPER ^10^^^?^^ Yol. VII. OCTOBER, IDOO JHo. « THE TEACHER'S HELPER is published tnontltly in Chicago b? A. FLAMASAN CO. Entered in Chicago Post Offtco ac Soc&nd Class Mali. DIDACTICS BY S. H. CARPENTER Late Professor of English Literature, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. Compiled by Alex. Berger CHICAGO A. FLANAGAN CO., PUBLISHERS L- 1G786 Library of Congress Two Copies Received JUL 9 1900 Copyright entry ^..a,..iMsib... SECOND COPY. Detiverfld to ORDER DIVISION, -ft lL 19 1900 65300 Copyright, 1900 BY A. FLANAGAN CO. Dedicated to the former students of Professor S. H. Carpenter PREFACE. Lincoln, Neb. At the request of a few members of the class of 1878 of the University of Wisconsin, Professor Carpenter de- livered a course of lectures on Didactics. The following year he died. There is no evidence that these lectures were preserved in any other way than by notations of Mr. W. A. Corson, now of Omaha, Neb., and myself, and it has been my pleasure, twenty years after their delivery, to review them and find anew sO' much value in them that I think they ought to be preserved in a more permanent form and for general distribution. I wish to thus publicly thank Mr. Corson for the use of his notebook and assistance. During this great lapse of time, it is no more than natural that much should have been forgotten which it might have been well to have preserved. I have tried to^ present the lectures in the spirit and form in which they were delivered. The perfections are Professor Carpenter's; the errors are my own. I have found much in these notes in years past of great value to me not only in the treatment of children, but in the handling of men, for man is ever a chiW. The old students who had the great privilege of receiving the instruction of Prof. Carpenter will, I think, with one accord, say he had a greater faculty of impart- 7 8 PREFACE. ing knowledge than any other instructor with whom they may have come in contact. He loved his profes- sion, even as he asks in his lectures, that the coming teacher should love it and he put into its requirements not alone love, but great perseverance, patience, ability — indeed his life — and these lectures are a few of the principles enunciated by him as the result of a wide experience. They are the philosophy of his life. ALEX BERGER. DIDACTICS. I. ■ Introductory: 1. Teaching as a profession. 2. Rank of the profession. 3. Teaching — what is it? II. Qualifications of the teacher. 1. Mental. a. Thorough scholarship. b. Ability to impart knowledge. c. Apprehension of others' thoughts. d. Detection of difficulties. 2. Emotional. a. Love of. knowledge. b. Love for the profession. c. Sympathy with learners. d. Love for truth, virtue and beauty. 3. Volitional. a. Self-control. b. Control of others. c. Steadfastness. d. Patience. 4. Physical. a. Healthy body. b. Avoidance of singularities. 9 10 III. IV. DIDACTICS. 5- Social. a. With children. b. With parents. 6. Moral. a. Morality a necessity. b. Influence must be exerted, Practical Suggestions. I. Apparatus. 2. School management. Methods. I. Must devise own methods. 2. Reading. 3- Arithmetic. 4- Geography. 5- Grammar. DIDACTICS. CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTORY. • CLASSIFICATION OF AVOCATIONS. Avocations are classified according to the nature of the force employed in securing results. The Laborer employs muscular force to accomplish results. When he employs this and nothing more, it is the lowest kind of labor and approaches in character that of the animal. When he guides an animal he em- ploys a combination of muscular strength and intellec- tual powers. The Mechanic employs natural agents to aid or take the place of muscular strength. Handicrafts rise in dig- nity in proportion as they cease using muscle and em- ploy mind. The Tradesman or Merchant partially employs intel- lectual labor or strength, in connection with skilled labor and in directing or in superintending the labor of others. A Professional Man is one who wholly employs intel- lectual force. II 12 DIDACTICS. In the above analysis it is found that manual labor is minimized as we ascend and the classification is based on the means employed, while in the professions, the di- visions are made on the end to be secured. In law the end is social well-being", in medicine physi- cal well-being, in theology moral well-being and in di- dactics intellectual well-being. Theolog-y regards man's relations to God and ethics man's relations 'to man and didactics has to do with man's intellectual relations, both as an individual and a social being. It is the science of teaching and aims to secure through the pupil, the individual good of man and through society, the general good of man. The profession of war and politics aims to preserve national rights, war through employing force and poli- tics through statesmanship and diplomacy. In point of dignity theology and didactics are of the highest rank, theology being- at the summit. DIDACTICS. 13 CHAPTER 11. THE RANK OF THE TEACHER'S PROFESSION. AIM AND DIGNITY. That profession is the highest whose aims are the best and whose results are the most permanent. In Medi- cine, the aims are high but the results are varying, for man cured today may become sick tomorrow. Didactics aims at intellectual culture and its results are as lasting as the intellectual nature. The dignity of the profession is shown by the prepara- tion required and by the difficulties tO' be overcome in fitting as a teacher and in the practice of the pro- fession. The. teacher must have a specific and accurate knowledge of the subject to be taught and also of col- lateral subjects. He must feel that he is full and looks on the subject from on high. He must also acquire an accurate knowledge of the laws governing intellectual action, that is mental philosophy. He should also un- derstand the moral, intellectual and social conditions under which these laws are to be applied. Experience has shown that Catholic children are the most teachable, because it has been their habit to accept without ques- tion. In a skeptical community, care must be exer- cised in advancing a truth dogmatically. Rather make a statement modestly at first and then bring the proof, after which the strongest statement may follow. The 14 DIDACTICS. physical condition of the community must alsO' be con- sidered. In a well-to-do and enlightened community, to punish may not be necessary, while in a poor and unenlightened community, the rod may necessarily be requisite. The difficulty the teacher experiences in fit- ting himself can be conceived in the wide range of studies required and in the necessity of his knowing- much more than he wants to teach. To' know is one thing; to be able to^ impart it, is another. A man may be as wise as Solomon, but still be a poor teacher, if he knows not how to communicate his knowledge. A teacher has a large number of pupils before him. His difficulties grow out of the different characteristics of the individuals. The lawyer has one point of law before him; the physician, one patient, but the teacher has many pupils. One of the difficulties in co-education arises from the difference between the masculine and feminine mind; the latter are quickest in perception; the former strongest in reflection. It takes much time and many ways to^ reach different intellects. An in- stance is given of a little girl who wished tO' learn geog-- raphy. Her main difficulty consisted in an inability to conceive a map. Her father's house and barn and roads leading to and from it were drawn upon a slate and the little mind grasped the idea at once. A man, now quite prominent, had no conception of an abstrac- tion. He was told wdien a pupil to write upon the blackboard ''Let x equal an unknown quantity." ''But," said he, "how can it represent an unknown quantity DIDACTICS. 15 when you don't know what it is?" Upon being urged to dO' as he was told the absurdity appeared sO' strongly to his concrete conception, that he left the school room never to return. Another difficulty the teacher meets is found in the ignorance and officiousness of patrons. In the country district, the most ignorant talk the loudest and know the most about conducting a school. Such a one must always be flanked; never opposed directly. THE VALUE OF THE PROFESSION. The value of the profession is determined by its re- sults. It opens the mind, enlarges the powers, de- velops a world of thought and beauty. The learned man is never alone. The habit of obedience to the law is given by the school. It also' checks vicious habits by stimulating desires and presenting motives. It makes vice seem, unmanly. Its emphasis of moral power tends tO' array the best educated on the side of law and order. The education of school life is its politics. The school tends to secure the proper exercise of man's power and to give him content. Ignorance is the mother of discontent; knowledge of content. The reward of the profession is not money. A man sells that which he holds tO' be cheap. There is no price to the mother for her child! It is above price. The teacher's reward is measured by the moral good, by the consciousness of good done to- others, by the lasting and beneficent influence of his work and by the honor- able position he holds among men. l6 . DIDACTICS. CHAPTER III. TEACHING— WHAT IS IT? Didactics may be defined as the science that aims to discover, enunciate and systematize the laws in accord- ance with which the mind gains knowledge. Teaching is the art corresponding to didactics. Science aims to discover laws and art to obey them. The former is theoretical, the latter practical. One knows, the other does. Teaching is assisting the mind to gain knowledge; is developing the mind to think. Knowledge is wholly a personal possession. It cannot be communicated. The great orator is he who controls the minds of his audience to the extent that they think his thoughts. The teacher is often discouraged because the mind of the pupil does not follow him to the desired degree. If left alone after the proper impetus has been given, the pupil will come out all right. Currant jelly being furnished with proper conditions and then not disturbed, will work itself clear. A young man when first beginning to think on religious topics becomes skeptical. Unopposed he will work him- self clear; if antagonized he is liable to become a con- firmed skeptic. If you always walk on crutches, you can never go alone. Knowledge, therefore, is personal and must be mastered by each one for himself, but it is the office of the teacher tO' aid and direct the mental DIDACTICS. 17 processes, mainly in accordance with the la\v of associa- tion, which, briefly stated, is that two ideas which have been together in the mind, tend to reappear there again or that the presence of one idea suggests the other. The new idea must ahvays be attached to the old one and it is the first duty of the teacher to find what the child knows and connect the new idea toi be taught with the past knowledge. This must be done by ex- planation, not by thinking for the pupil. The work of the teacher then is first tO' lead the pupil to apprehend a new idea by means of the knowledge he already has. To' do this it is necessary to have an acquaintance with the subject to be taught, with the pupil's knowledge and what is intermediate between the two. The further work of the teacher consists in explanation or the analy- sis of an idea until there is found some portion of it, which the student understands, and then build upon it synthetically. In explanation care should be exer- cised to distinguish between difficult ideas and difficult words. The idea may be simple but the words difficult. Then direct your attention to an explanation of the words. Should the reverse be true, then direct atten- tion to the idea. An explanation should touch but one point at a time. If the eye be overflooded with light, nothing is seen. So, if the brain, be overflooded with ideas, the pupil will not understand. If you try to fill a jug all at once, much of the water will run over, but it will take a small stream till filled. The difficulty with the pupil most frequently arises from a confusion l8 DIDACTICS. oi ideas. The explanation should proceed in an orderly manner and every difficulty must be explained by a less difficulty, so far as the student is concerned. WHAT TO AVOID IN TEACHING. Things to be avoided are too much help, or doing the pupil's work, thereby weakening the mental muscles, and the pupil will merely see intO' it, not know it. To lead is one thing, to follow is another. There should also not be toO' little help, lest the pupil become discouraged. How much assistance to give must be determined by the character of the pupil. Another thing to avoid is ''wrong help," for this is like the custom, when a horse is running away or starting to run, of the bystanders to chase the animal with canes and umbrellas, shouting "whoa." DIDACTICS. 19 CHAPTER IV. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. MENTAL. WHAT CONSTITUTES THOROUGH SCHOLARSHIP. Thorough scholarship consists in exactness, or know- ing exactly the subject; in completeness, or knowing the whole of the subject; and in definiteness, or knowing the details of the subject. We do not mean by thorough- ness a knowledge of the book, but of the sul^ject. The reason must precede the memory. Memorizing is not learning", although at a certain stage the child can only memorize. It is a waste of time to learn mere words, except in certain cases. Memory must always be held as a servant. Exactness is often hindered by words we do not know. Sharp questions of scholars often ex- pose the failure of the teacher toi be conversant with the details of the subject. Thoroughness is secured by constant and careful study of the immediate and allied topics, with a view to subsequent explanation. Geography can be illus- trated by astronomy, history by .biography. Ag-ain, thoroughness is secured l:>y constant practice, which tests our mastery of knowledge, and by observa- tion of wherein we fail to succeed, or wherein others fail or succeed, and 1)y a love of the profession. Thoroughness leads to ability to express ideas clearly. A pupil may say "I know, but cannot tell;" the teacher. 20 DIDACTICS. never. It also leads to confidence in the ability to teach. A lack of confidence is want of power. The fear of possible failure is frequently the cause of failure, as is manifested by a hesitancy preceding the failure in music playing, spelling or speaking. The scholar partakes M the nature of his teacher, and lack of confidence in the teacher is manifested in the pupil. Thoroughness also leads to^ a love of the calling and finally to success. The surest way to secure success is to deserve it. Thor- ough teachers make thorough scholars. A man with a deficiency of learning but a love for the profession will succeed when another of greater learning and.no love will fail. COMMUNICATION OF KNOWLEDGE. The teacher should possess the ability to communi- cate his acquired knowledge — accurately, by precision of statement; fully, so that an explanation will not again need an explanation; simply, but not coming down to the plane of his audience; readily, for hesitation creates distrust; and with facility and ease. Accurate statement involves both clear and distinct knowledge. To render a full statement requires thor- ough knowledge. It is most readily apprehended by the pupil, wdiile a concise statement is most easily re- membered. The full statement is the method of ex- planation, while the concise statement is the method of recitation and best used in review. Simple statement is secured by looking at the subject from the student's standpoint and means concrete knowledge. Some men DIDACTICS. 21 always deal in abstractions. Ready statement is secured by imiformi and systematic practice and best obtained by self criticism. A teacher should never impart his knowledge in a loose manner. Accurate teaching or statement leads to an accurate recitation. Children imi- tate naturally and unconsciously. Thorough teaching leads to thorough study and preparation. A teacher should never be in a hurry. Haste may be at the expense of thoroughness. Simple statement leadsi tO' a ready apprehension and guards against a mere memorizing of words. We are very apt to mistake what is familiar with what is clear. Never use a word unless it adds to the meaning. Ready and easy statement leads to a ready and rapid recitation. APPREHENSION OF THOUGHTS OF OTHERS. The teacher should be able to readily apprehend the thoughts of others. He thereby discriminates between a memoriter recitation and one thoroughly prepared. This discrimination is often difficult. A recitation may be faulty for want of accurate knowledge or for want of adequate language. An unusually strong memory generally accompanies weak reflective powers. A reci- tation is intended to test a pupil's diligence and his knowledge. Language conveys thought by means of symbols. Therefore, two mistakes may arise in inter- preting another. The symbol may convey the wrong thought or the terms used may be misunderstood. The 2.2 DIDACTICS. more accurate the thought, the greater the difficuUy to secure the symbol tO' express it. The more numerous and accurate the thoughts, the greater the hesitancy in expression. The teacher must be able to make discrim- inations, based on the age of the pupil, realizing that the perceptive power of young pupils is greater than their reflective power, on the temperament of the pupil and on his previous training. A readiness of appre- hension is essential to judicial assistance. It is secured by a study of our own mental processes and of the efforts of others to express their ideas. DETECTION OF THE DIFFICULTIES OF THE PUPIL. There should be developed a readiness to detect diffi- culties in the way of the learner. Proper explanation depends upon this faculty. This readiness requires a careful analysis of the subject, an acquaintance with the student's mental peculiarities, a knowledge of the pupil's previous knowledge and a power in the use of illus- tration. Illustrations are most dependent on compari- son and contrast. They should be picturesque, employ- ing the sight or sound, or both, and should be enhanced by drawing. The first principle of proper diagnosis is to remember when the teacher was a pupil and his experiences. Ab- struseness is a frequent difffculty. The stoppage of the child's mind is in one point and the illustration must be centralized on thispoint. Sometimes the mind is obstinate or paralyzed. The effort should then be to have the at- DIDACTICS. 23 tention diverted to another view. Picturesque illustra- tion appeals toboth sight and sound, but more especially the latter. Beecher possessed to an extraordinary de- gree the power of picturesque illustration. Detecting- a difficulty is one thing-; removing- it quite another. The latter requires much skill. ''A stern chase is a hard one." Avoid extremes of too much or toO' little help, giving- no' more than is necessary. The manner of aiding is also important and the effort should be, as in a wise charity, to help the pupil to help himself. What the pupil should develop is ''self reliance." He may go throug'h college nicely, but like Darius Green's flying machine, the wings are all right till he begins to fly. It is occasion of frequent remark that the salutatorians and valedictorians at college most frequently lose this rela- tive position in the world. This is largely due from the nature of things to marks being given at college for pro- ficiency in memorizing. The college student reproduces the thoughts of others; in the world he must be a pro- ducer, and self reliance is a means of establishing and cultivating this faculty of production. The nature of the help is important. Note the dif- ference between an explanation that reaches the com- prehension and one that only reaches the apprehension. Apprehension invokes the perception, comprehension the conception. Moody reached the apprehension but not the comprehension. The abstract appeals to the comprehension and the concrete to the apprehension. The comprehension should be reached through the ap- prehension. 24 DIDACTICS. CHAPTER V. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. EMOTIONAL. LOVE OF KNOWLEDGE. There should be with every teacher a love of knowl- edge for itself alone. Susceptibility to emotions is a condition of influence. Knowledge must be appre- hended by the reason and it must be loved by the emo- tional nature. The former makes a wise man; the latter a good teacher. Motives most forcible in securing action are those that appeal to> our sensibilities. Reason does not move an audience. Reason is essentially ego- istic. Emotion is essentially participative. Sounds without sense may move the emotional nature. By magnetic power of a speaker is meant his susceptibility to emotion in himself. Sensibility lies between intellect and will. Reason is essentially selfish — egoistic. By this is meant that a man's thinking process is his own and can be participated in by none others. When a man wishes to do deep, solid thinking, he prefers being alone. Not so with emotion. It longs for a congenial spirit. It is essentially participative. The love for knowledge means emotional hold on knowledge. It secures culture, which is the result of knowledge held in sympathy with mankind. It is the refinement spring- ino; from that which is truest and noblest. It likewise DIDACTICS. 25 secures interest in self preparation, thoroughness, hon- esty towards self and pupil, sympathy with the ignorant and patience with the dull. Sympathy with the ignorant is the strongest power to success. Sympathy is the great secret to power. It is the leading characteristic in the speeches of Mark Antony and Cicero. As soon as a teacher ceases to learn he has no sympathy with learners and he should cease teaching. The lower the grade of teacher, the more necessity of patience. This love of knowledge is secured by continual study, for love grows by exercise and by the mastery of some one department of study. Mastery is the secret of interest and interest is the secret of success. LOVE OF THE PROFESSION. There should be a love for the profession. Without it, teaching becomes a drudg-ery. Drudgery is irritating and degrading. A man can labor much, but drudge only a little. Any labor in which is found pleasure, is en- nobling in so far as it calls the higher faculties into play. The difference between labor and drudgery is that in the former there is the heart, while in the latter it is not. The labor of teaching must be wholly voluntary to be pleasurable. A person who dislikes to teach will shirk study and pupils will do likewise. A profession is exact- ing and jealous, demanding totus in rem. In no pro- fession is the demand more exacting. A love for the profession secures enthusiasm and pleasure in the work, both of teacher and pupil. If 26 DIDACTICS. we build a, house for a season only, it is not well built. Teaching should not be a make-shift. Love is lasting and continuous and one of its characteristics is its re- fusal of change. Enthusiasm begets enthusiasm. An enthusiastic teacher is liable to be nervous. Indeed, nervousness is the price that man pays for enthusiasm and should be held in check. A love for the profession is manifested in a careful preparation for its duties and conscientious thoroughness in the work. Love suffers no slight and tolerates none. Loose, shiftless teaching should be regarded as a personal disgrace. Love secures a steady pursuit of the profession and success in the pro- fession. Nothing will ensure success like deserving. Love for the profession is secured by a natural apti- tude for its duties. If there is a natural fitness for a thing, then God demands devotion to it. The differ- ence between the high development of the reflective powers of man and the perceptive powers of woman is the cause of their difference in teaching. Love of the profession also creates a consideration of the importance of education and of the consequent dignity of the pro- fession. Knowledge is power and enlarged power is increased responsibility, and enlarged responsibility is enlarged nobility. Responsibility steadies man as in the case of Lincoln. Love likewise creates a keen appre- ciation of the evils and dangers of ignorance and culti- vates a truly philanthropic spirit. Voluntary ignorance is intellectual treason and when a man is a traitor to one faculty he is a traitor to all. DIDACTICS. 27 SYMPATHY WITH THE LEARNER. There should be ever present a ready sympathy with learners. It is the source of all moral power and as- sumes an equality. It is easy to exercise pity, for it exalts the one exercising it and debases the one on whom it is exercised. The tones of pity and contempt should be avoided. One always pities what is beneath him. It is a self-fiattering faculty. True sympathy re- spects its object. The teacher should avoid w^ounding the self-respect of the pupil. A mistake here weakens power and begets a spirit of insubordination and retalia- tion. Government is due to moral suasion. Force may be respected, but once lost, respect is lost. Ignor- ance should be looked upon as a misfortune and harsh- ness toward misfortune is cruelty. Sympathy secures the authority of the teacher by gaining the confidence of the pupil ^nd by fixing that confidence on moral influence and the tractability of the pupil. Pupils desire to please the teacher for whom they have regard. Sympathy may be cultivated by cultivating a love for children, by interesting ourselves in what interests them, by meeting them sometimes on a common level, by co- operating with them in eftorts of self-improvement and by social habits. The teacher should possess a love for Truth, Virtue and Beauty. These are the three regulative ideas of the human intelligence. 28 DIDACTICS. A reg-ulative idea is that idea upon which the action of the faculty is conditioned. Were there no such thing as Right and Wrong then there would be no possibilit)^ of volitional activity, as with no light, there would be no activity in the eye. Intellectual action is conditioned on Truth, emotional action is conditioned on Beauty and volitioiv&l action is conditioned on Virtue or the Right. A love for Truth secures authority. Recog-nizing the authority of the truth the teacher becomes the medium, not the source of authority. The secret of authority is its uniform, steady exercise. A recognition of the au- thority of the Truth secures this. Authority rests upon obedience. Man governs as he obeys. This is true with respect to both physical and moral control. A man whoi cannot obey cannot command. Electricity cannot be governed unless its laws are obeyed. A man unable to control himself cannot control a school. At certain ages children have a natural antipathy to personal au- thority. One of these periods is at the time the child is passing tO' maturity. Authority should then be made impersonal. This is a natural period of intellectual growth. The recognition of authority of Truth secures per- manent and intelligent submission. A teacher, a parent or a guardian should never prevaricate. This does not imply an unchanged opinion or line of conduct. Dr. Johnson says: ''No one but an idiot never changes his mind. DIDACTICS. 29 LOVE OF VIRTUE. A love of Virtue secures influence. Virtue is moral order and all control rests ultimately on Right. Au- thority is an influence which a man proposes to enforce. Influence is moral authority. A love of Virtue may be strengthened by habits of reflection, by its uniform ex- ercise and by avoiding all familiarity with vice. LOVE FOR BEAUTY. The teacher must have a love for Beauty. This is the most important qualification yet discussed. A love for Beauty secures order. Taste is the virtue of the emotional nature. Ug-liness is emotional sin. Beauty requires order, harmony, fitness and neatness in person, in manner, in langaiage and in intercourse. Women have neater schools, generally, than men, because they are neater in person. A delicate aesthetic sense is pained by disorder, and want of neatness invites disorder. Love of beauty should not degenerate into foppery and beauty should be made subsidiary to noble aims. All the appurtenances of a school should be in keep- ing with its high character, in person and all personal surroundings, in tone, action and position, and gentle- manliness in avoiding coarseness and slang. The aes- thetic sense may be cultivated by the presence of refined objects, such as pictures and flowers, by drawings which cultivate the eye, by music which educates the ear and by always doing the best possible, thereby avoiding 30 DIDACTICS. habits of carelessness. The flower mission started in London, where women took a single plant in blossom and asked women living in squalor to care for it and put it in the window, but asked nothing more. There followed, as a direct sequence, clean windows, clean houses and clean persons, changing the character of that part of the city. One of the characteristics of a boy is to destroy what is going tO' decay. Let a window- pane in a vacant house be once broken and within a week not a whole pane would be left. It would seem that a kind providence had implanted in youth the de- sire to destroy the unsightly. DIDACTICS. 31 CHAPTER VI. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. VOLITIONAL. SELF-CONTROL. The will is the dominant power in man. Force or weakness of character depends upon it. More fail from want of will than from want of acquirement or of sym- pathy. Will is the executive power of man. The legis- lative part of our nature passes a law, sends it in to the executive and it is approved, but too frequently not enforced because of a weak executive. Want of will is in harmony with man's indolence. Emerson says: "Will gives a man new eyes." The basis of all control is self-control. He who cannot command himself cannot command others. Want of self-control indicates a deficiency of power in the will that foretells the failure. Failure in most instances is due to this. CONTROL OF KNOWLEDGE. The teacher must have control over knowledge. It is not sufficient for him to possess knowledge. He must have it within reach. For some knowledge that the teacher does not wish to carry, it is sufficient to know where to find it. A wise man is not necessarily a good teacher. Knowledge that we know may be of use to us, 32 DIDACTICS. but only knowledge that we can impart will benefit the pupil. The recitation is appointed to raise difficulties. The trouble with teaching is that the teacher has learned the subject matter and not learned to present it. In a few years, all of any subject can be known, nothing more can be learned, but the knowledge tO' be acquired in presenting it is illimitable. Therefore, the good teacher always finds new ground and tO' such a one cannot be applied Shakespeare's phrase of ''the damna- ble iteration" of a teacher's life. The control over knowledge is secured by thorough study with reference to teaching. The subject, not words, should be studied until mastered and then how it is to be presented. The habit should be formed of watching mental processes. Control is also secured by experience. This is not mere repetition, because this would- lead simply to habit. Experience is the determination of methods by a study of our failures to see why we failed and of our successes to see why we succeeded. CONTROL OF PASSION. The teacher must have control over passion. Passion is a weakness — it is a circumstance controlling the man. The power to control this can be acquired. Men who get thoroughly mad about something, are afterwards thoroughly ashamed of it. Slowness in action and speech will control passion. If passion controls the teacher, he cannot control others. Passion is unjust, unbridled DIDACTICS. 33 and unmanly. The self-control must be gained by variable exercise. It should grow into a habit. The first attack on a teacher's authority is his own passion. CONTROL OVER MOVEMENTS. The teacher should have control over the body. Awk- wardness reveals a want of control. This physical self- control has a great power over children. He should aim at grace and gentleness for his own sake and for the power it gives over others. _ __ CONTROL OF OTHERS. Not only should the teacher acquire self-control, but should possess the ability to govern others. This abil- ity is determined largely by ability .to govern one's self in knowledge, passion and person. The ability to gov- ern is secured by obedience to the following principles: I. The agency of government must in the main be moral influence. If moral influences fail, force must be resorted to. The best government is that that secures self-government. The worst is that that relies wholly oil force. The l)est is hardly ever attainable. The worst is always partially avoidable. No government can be maintained that relies wholly on force, because force invites force. The idea of force suggests tyranny. Fre- quent use of punishment or mere force shows a lack of skill. Skill is shown in proportion tO' the lack of pun- ishment. A superintendent once sent a woman to an unruly school. She whipped eighteen boys the first 34 DIDACTICS. day and remained there four years and never whipped another. Her whippings therefore did not average high. After the first day, some women Hving in the ward wished tO' know of the superintendent what kind of thing he had sent them. The reply was a "Threshing Machine." A command should never be explained after it is made. The explanation should be made before. The idea of reverence is that of superior moral or intel- lectual power and of fear, of physical strength. The teacher should impress upon the school that punishment by force is not the general government, but the excep- tion, and when applied is a mark of disgrace. The no- tion of punishment should be attached to the act. If force is used too freely, it will have to be continually increased. Punishment should be in private or the pupil might become a hero to his mates, or may lose his self- respect, if it is open. If a single rule is violated without the infliction of a penalty, it is sometimes long or never that the teacher again gains control. 2. No government can be maintained that wholly neglects force. All punishment involves the right to resort tO' force. Obedience is not true obedience when it demands any conditions. Above the command must be the moral influence of authority. Besides the com- mand must be seen its reasonableness and behind it must be sufficient force to execute it. 3. The moral influence of force is fear or awe and of authority is reverence. Familiarity lessens the force of fear and authority. DIDACTICS. 35 4. The certainty of punishment is more effective than its severity. It must be very prompt when em- ployed. Never threaten. If you perform your threat it will be attributed tO' passion; if you do not it will be charged to weakness or fear. In either case authority is weakened. State the law judiciously and require obedience first to^ the law and then to yourself. The idea of punishment must be connected, with the offense and must grow out of it. Punishment should be pro- portioned to the offense. Authority is maintained by direct methods^ — by force and its consequent fear and awe, by authority and its consequent reverence, by the love of reward, such as things tangible, premiums, etc., and things intangible, approbation and promotion, and by presenting motives to the self-respect of pupils. Reward is the most pow- erful incentive to human action. The reward must have no particular pecuniary value, because the reward might take the place of the desire for learning. Man is a social being because he likes approbation. Rewards should be of sufficient number to make them fairly attainable. When rewards are too few, emulation arises. Try to impress upon the pupil that to need government is childish; to do without it is manly. Authority is maintained by indirect methods also. By keeping the pupil busy, by occupying his atten- tion and by observing and avoiding occasions of disobedience. Disobedience arises chiefly from three causes — the love of opposition, in which case turn 36 DIDACTICS. the current of opposition from the law; the love of activity, in which case keep the activities under control — mere physical restraint may cause disorder and the remedy here is exercise; and lastly, the love of notoriety. Render notoriety painful by making the object ridiculous. Ridicule is the legitimate instrument to use against notoriety. It should be used for restraint only, for motive never. Success in government is secured by natural tact, ex- ecutive ability or the possession of will. Discriminate between firmness and stubbornness. The first holds on till convinced and considers it no disgrace to yield when convinced. Success is also secured by adequate preparation, by a hearty love for the work, by proper and sufficient appa- ratus and by objects of beauty, etc., that aid in cultivat- ing taste. STEADFASTNESS OF PURPOSE. There must be steadfastness of purpose. The teacher must guard against discouragements. These arise from the dullness of pupils, the misapprehension or neglect of patrons and the slow ripening of results. Steadfast- ness implies an end in view and lies in the head that governs, plans and commands; obstinacy lies in the heels. Obstinacy is inertia; steadfastness momentum. The stubborn have not a strong will but a weak one. There are two ways of teaching — submitting, first, to no more strain than just suf^cient to hear the lesson, and, secondly, giving your life, heart and activity tO' the work. DIDACTICS. 37 This last, and the only proper method, is a great strain on the nerves, but be careful not to get nervous. Proper economy requires, when you have spent many years in preparation, that you draw upon it and not let it lie idle. If this is not done, your special preparation of imparting is thrown away, though your knowledge re- mains. A teacher must master every difificulty as it presents itself. Misapprehension is w^orse than neglect. The ignor- ant are very prejudiced, and most apt to form conclu- sions without proper data. This arises from, the fact that they do not know there are fields -beyond, and also fields in which one must tread with caution. The edu- cated mind learns this and sees the futility of correct judgments in every field by one finite mind. The end in teaching is the intellectual good of the pupil. Selfish- ness always defeats itself. It is never selfish to get; the selfishness consists in keeping. If good is done with acquirements, the more obtained the better. The im- mediate end in teaching is self-interest, and this passes into selfishness when it leaves out of view the use to be made of our goods. The ultimate end in teaching is benevolence. If one has not this ingredient in his in- tention he should not enter the profession. This is the ultimate end of all true living, but in order to give we must first get. Ultimate ends are first reached by mediate ends, as knowledge, influence, position, etc. Steadfastness works according to a method. The teachers' profession must be entered for life. Methods 38 DIDACTICS. should, therefore, be made a careful study. Success de- mands the adoption of right methods. Steadfastness secures against discouragement. Mere persistence often wins. A woman's natural life is that of the teacher of everything. Difficulties should not be avoided for the time being, because they always come again. Steadfastness is secured by a careful study of our own powers, thereby establishing self-confidence, of the difficulties tO' be overcome, of the means to be employed and of a resolute and manly activity. Laziness suggests difficulties. PATIENCE. The teacher must be patient. Haste is opposed to thoroughness. Patience is a great virtue and is often referred to in the Scriptures. Time is necessary or essen- tial to the maturity of every valuable result. If a thing is obtained speedily, it is usually of little value — "Quick come, quick go." Fortunes bequeathed, very seldom grow in the hands of heirs; they dwindle away and are goue, nO' one knows where. Patience is thus essential to success in teaching and this success is purely personal. It is not unfeeling stoicism. Stoicism endures because it don't care; patience endures and does care. True patience involves four elements: 1st. Interest. The mere force of will is not sufficient. Xenophon says a pupil cannot learn of a teacher whom he does not like. As a teacher grows older he has less and less personal interest in pupils, looking upon them more as forces or plants to be trained. DIDACTICS. 39 2d. Persistence. It is the steady hand that wins. Peter the Great, when fighting Charles XII of Sweden, was repeatedly defeated, though having a larger army. "Never mind," said he to his troops, ''we will learn by and by," and he did learn. 3d. Discernment. Patience is not mere endurance. Patience involves expectation. The evil of today under its influence is endured because of the improvement of tomorrow. Napoleon once called for a volunteer to perform a difficult and dangerous service. A young officer offered himself and upon receiving the order from Napoleon's hand, turned deadly pale. Upon observing this one of his aids said, ''See, he turns pale; that man's a coward." "No'," said Napoleon, "he is the bravest man in the army, for he realizes the danger and faces it." 4th. Conviction is the source of all moral power. It is the belief in the possibility of success. No. young man should place a limit on his ambition. If a man has con- victions, he has power. As a general rule, impatience is a sign of weakness. A child cannot wait a moment for what it wants; a man can wait years. Patience is secured by self-discipline and self-control, by a consideration of methods as well as ends, for impa- tience sees only the end and frets at the necessity of method. Patience secures power or a solid growth of influence, confidence in our own power and trust on the part of others. Patience reveals true power. A patient man can be trusted. CHAPTER VIL QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. PHYSICAL. HEALTH OF THE TEACHER. The teacher should have a healthy body. No other calling makes so great a demand upon the vital powers. It has been tested and proven physiologically that three hours of strong mental efifort is equal to ten hours of physical labor. If a man taxes his mind and leaves his body unexercised, it leads to disease. The teacher taxes his mental, moral and physical powers and this is the reason why so many break down. It exhausts the whole man. Teachers are particularly liable to break down through nervous exhaustion. Ill-health involves want of thoroughness in work and ill-considered and hasty action. Nobody who gets irri- tated can act justly. It also involves a loss of self- confidence. Distrust of bodily strength leads to distrust of mental powers. The powers sympathize with each other. Strength of body stimulates strength of mind, while weakness of body induces weakness of mind. No teacher can afiford to excuse himself upon purely per- sO'Ual grounds. Ill-health may be largely avoided by regular, systematic work. Irregular work does more mischief than overwork. Work should be gauged in 40 DIDACTICS. 41 amount according to our mental and physical strength. It should be prosecuted systematically as to hours of labor and of recreation. Work should have some refer- ence to the individual taste. We do most easily what we Hke to do. Our work should be so planned as to secure variety. The greatest amount of labor requires that each set of muscles alternately work and rest. The teacher's profession is peculiarly liable to this danger of monotony. Variety may be secured by a modification of details, by viewing the subject from different points, and by continual advancement^ — by moving in a spiral, each succeeding revolution carrying one higher. PRESERVATION OF HEALTH. Preservation of health is an imperative duty. The proper time tO' retire is ten o'clock, arising at six. The law to those pursuing an intellectual life, is that they shall get as much sleep as possible. The preservation of health is a very much neg"lected duty. The full value of health is not realized till it is lost. Proper ventilation of the school-room is a requisite to health. Health requires plenty of fresh air. The teacher should see that the school-room has this for his own health, for that of the pupils and as a condition for effective work. The room should be properly warmed. The feelings are no judge; hence every school-room must have a thermometer. A room too warm is more dangerous than one too cold. About 65 to 70 degrees is the proper 42 DIDACTICS. heat. Pupils should never be allowed to meddle with the fire or the ventilation. There must be proper clothing. The feet are most sensitive tO' changes. The chest next. The sole of the foot is extremely sensitive, many nerves centering there. Hence the bastinado is a very severe and cruel punish- ment. In passing into the open air, teachers and pupils should guard against a. sudden change by extra cloth- ing. There must be proper exercise. Any change from an active to a sedentary life requires that especial atten- tion be given to exercise. Lessen the amount gradu- ally. Exercise should be uniform in amount and se- verity. It should not be so' severe as tO' add to the demands made upon the teacher's vital powers by his intellectual labor. No other work should be engaged in while teaching. All study, except in connection with instruction, should be suspended. The teacher is to a certain extent charged with the care of the health of the pupil. He should, so far as possible, attend to every- thing that affects their health — seats, desks, personal habits, food, etc. AVOIDANCE OF SINGULARITIES. The teacher should avoid any bad or noticeable habits. Children are largely imitable. It is the means by which they learn. We all most readily imitate what is odd or peculiar. We may even dO' this unconsciously. We all possess influence; hence there is responsibility. The DIDACTICS. 43 danger in imitating" some speakers consists in an imita- tion of his oddities and not of the quahties that give him power. One of the Kings of France was hump-backed, and all his courtiers became hump-backed unconsciously. Queen Elizabeth had one shoulder higher than the other and her court developed the same characteristic. The following faults, among others, are to be avoided : First, an unbecoming- or lazy posture. Want of grace in posture and ease in motion is provocative of disorder. Women have usually a lazy habit of sitting; men an unbecoming one. The Americans have been distin- guished by their lazy positions. Someone has said that he has made a great discovery — the back was made to sit on. If a, man be made to sit orderly in a bar-room, then he will be otherwise orderly. Secondly, noisy movements. A noisy teacher makes a noisy school, and a noisy school is ungovernable. Third, loud talking. Quiet action always accompanies conscious power. A loud tone usually betrays a con- scious want of authority. It courts disobedience by seeming tO' expect it. It also interferes with study. A shallow stream makes the most noise. Fourth, want of neatness. A person slovenly in dress will be slovenly in teaching. Dress does not make the, man, but it helps him, a,wfully after he is made. At a woman's rights convention, men have long hair and women short hair. The opposite extreme of slovenly 44 DIDACTICS. dressing is dandyism. This is also to be avoided. True modesty avoids any noticeable extreme. Fifth, want of order. The teacher should be as or- derly as he expects his pupils to be. Sixth, slang. It may be forcible; it is never elegant. Seventh, witticism. A professional wit loses the respect of his pupils. A joking teacher has a frivolous school, and, Eighth, any noticeable habits. These always become bad. CHAPTER VIII. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. SOCIAL. The teacher should be social with children. Every professional man should cultivate his social nature. True sociality implies ability to meet men on a common level. A professional man who uses his intellectual and social nature, cannot ignore it; just as a laboring man cannot neglect to use his muscular strength, for it is his capital. If you meet an ignorant person, the first thing to ascer- tain is what is common to- both. Beecher was a most effective speaker, chiefly because in going before an audience he discovered what was common ground, and took it. All men are alike in common endowments. To let one's self down tO' a level with others without humil- iation to one's self, requires tact; so likewise does the faculty to raise one's self up on a level with others, with- out presumption, or more correctly, assumption. A gentleman must never cease to be a gentleman. Blunt- ness and rudeness should always be avoided. Be gentle- manly to a little child. The school is supposed to be below the teacher. He should reach down, not stoop down. Maintain a teacher's dignity always. True sociability also implies kindness of feeling that leads us .to seek society. Extremes of familiarity and reserve 46 DIDACTICS. should be avoided. The former weakens authority, the latter weakens influence. It is not well for the teacher and pupils to meet only in the school room and in the official relation. The teacher may join in the sports of the school to a certain extent. There is a formal opposi- tion between pupils and teacher in the school room. To prevent this formal opposition from, becoming- real, the teacher must rely upon showing harmony of aims by lectures on g-overnment, etc., and upon his social in- fluence out of school hours. Interest in what interests others is a powerful bond. The social feeling is best secured by the adoption of some plan by which all may be brought together on a common level. For the older pupils this can be secured by lyceums or debating societies conducted by the pupils. This teaches them the value of order and gov- ernment. Also by reading clubs devoted tO' history or biography and by singing societies. For the younger pupils, spelling matches and rhetorical exercises. A common end demanding combined effort begets community of feeling and the school life becomes a part of a large whole, in which the interest of one is the in- terest of the whole. The teacher should be social with parents. The successful teacher m,ust possess somewhat of the paren- tal feeling. He must frequently consult parents; he will thus secure their confidence. The teacher must remem- ber that the condition of true sociability is perfect equal- ity. He ought to feel that his life is bound up in the DIDACTICS. 47 after life of his pupils.; he must not assume the educa- tional air of schoolmaster. Narrowness is the teacher's greatest danger. A superiority that must constantly be asserted may fairly be questioned. Dr. Johnson said he never liked to leave London because the society was so varied that it prevented any tendency toward narrowness. A bigot is one who sees a single truth and thinks it is the whole truth. A man who spends his whole life making pin head«^ regards it as the greatest business in the world. Boarding around is good for the work of the teacher, but not for dyspepsia. Social intercourse will preserve the teacher from narrowness. Exclusive attention to any one thing tends tO' unduly magnify its importance in our eyes. Sociability will increase the interest in pupils. The teacher is too apt to see but one side of pupils and pa- trons. Such social intercourse interests parents in the school as well as in their own children. The social feel- ing may be cultivated by the means mentioned and by a course of familiar lectures for the benefit of the school. Such a course will be successful in proportion as it enlists home talent. The teacher needs the society of teachers. We need to correct our methods and ideas by the expe- rience of others. The teacher needs it to insure himself against the dogmatic habit. Constant association with inferior culture tends to beget this habit. Teachers' so- cieties are valuable. Their direct effect is imparting the experience of each for the good of all. The indirect benefits are seen in the mental stimulus gained and im- pulse acquired. CHAPTER IX. QUALIFICATIONS OF THE TEACHER. MORAL. The teacher should be a moral man. Morality is :i question of character rather than of creed. A creed is belief crystallized or a formulated belief; character is not whati we profess tO' be, but what we are and is de- termined by the use we make of the powers we have. It is the resultant of the personal force in the man and the force of circumstances. It is not being good but actively doing good. It is the resultant of conviction working out against ex- ternal forces. It is determined by the personal impulse given our powers and in the soul's response to external influences. Belief is the soul's answer tO' its convictions. The two are not necessarily coincident. Morality must include the entire influence exerted by the teacher. Morals bear the same relation to influence that learning does to teaching. Morality secures the teacher's personal influence for good, just as learning secures his teaching against error. The teacher takes the pupil at a plastic age and deals with him in the relations under which he is especially susceptible to influence. His position se- cures confidence; his confidence implies a trust. An intellectual trust is committed to the teacher; he must 48 DIDACTICS. 49 teach. A moral trust is also committed to the teacher — the formation of the character of his pupil. Uncon- scious acts reveal character. Breach of confidence is a breach of trust. There is no excuse for a breach of confidence in either particular. The personal influence of the teacher will be either good or bad. To honestly discharge the trust imposed upon him, the teacher must possess a good moral character. No intellectual bril- liancy will make up for the absence of it. INFLUENCE OF THE MORAL CHARACTER. What precedes dealt with subjective moraHty, what follows with objective morality. The teacher must be able to exert a positive moral influence. He, by his profession, assumes a leadership. Superior power or attainments impose superior responsibility. Many an excellent man has little volitional power and consequently little influence. Morality is taught more by example than precept. A wicked man is a weak man. The word wicked means weak and is derived from the Anglo-Saxon "wick," meaning weak. Sin can- not be repressed by external force. The possession of moral character is the first condition of a proper dis- charge of the teacher's responsibility. Uniform obedi- ence to moral law is thus demanded of the teacher. Moral conviction leading to a sturdy avowal of moral obligations is the second condition of a proper discharge of responsibility. A truly moral man can never be in- different to moral considerations. This moral influ- 50 DIDACTICS. ence is demanded by the individual who needs its pro- tection. Education confers power and power needs con- trol. It is also demanded by society which needs its control. The only safeguard for society is moral self- restraint. Religion, teaching dogma, is sectarianism. Dogma is excluded from our schools. A man who can- not feel, can have no influence there; a stoic has none. Religious emotion cannot be excluded from our schools. Because a school is not opened by prayer, it is not necessarily ungodly. Religion cannot be excluded if the teacher be religious. Schools should be non-sectarian, but they should not be immoral. There is continual opposition to all public institutions from denominational schools. When the teacher fully realizes the responsi- bility hanging over him he is appalled. The moral influ- ence of the school is secured by the personal moral influence of the teacher, not by any set religious exer- cise. It is safer to rely on influence than upon forms. The teacher must do and not do, what his school is to do and not do. This moral power is secured by a uniform! exercise of moral influence and a constant obedience to moral considerations. A teacher cannot exact of pupils more than he exacts of himself. This moral power secures authority. The recognition of the paramount claims of moral law fixes authority upon a rational basis. Obedience is not due to the teacher, but to the universal moral la,w. This recog- nition secures the habit of self-determined obedience to law instead of compulsory obedience to force. CHAPTER X. PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. APPARATUS. A neat, well-furnished school room is a requisite to good results. All surroundings have an educational in- fluence. Buildings out of repair invite vandalism. It first vents itself upon physical objects and finally turns itself on law, good order and study. What the school house shall be is largely determined by the teacher. There should be convenient seats and desks. Personal discomfort distracts attention. A shabby desk will make a careless scholar. There should be good blackboards and plenty of them. You can always find something for pupils to do at the blackboard. It is a relief from work, and work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Black- boards are essential for class work and illustration. The publicity of the work secures its honesty. They fur- nish the means of employing the idle and isolating the restless. Apparatus requires first itself and then the skill to use it. There should be maps, charts and globes; valuable both for instruction and indirect influence. One may unconsciously learn much of geography from the daily observance of a series of maps. Pictures, portraits and flowers render the school room homelike and attrac- tive and bring to the aid of a teacher the habits of obedi- 51 52 DIDACTICS. ence and good order that grow out of the home life. Models and philosophical apparatus are more necessary in schools of advanced grades, but are useful in any for purposes of illustration. A musical instrument should be supplied. Music is a powerful means of influencing the passions. It secures obedience, relieves the tedium of study and the restlessness of enforced quiet. All sig- nals should, so far as possible, be impersonal. A teacher should never make himself prominent in giving an order. Opposition, if any, would be turned against the object. Therefore a bell should be supplied. A time-piece is essential to regularity and regularity is essential to order. It should be in sight of the whole school. CHAPTER XL PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS. SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. The contract should be in writing, full and unambigu- ous, and should be made and signed before the teacher begins his work. Women are more careless about con- tracts than men. The length of the terms is a matter of some import- ance. A term; may be so short as tO' prevent adequate results. A term may also be too long and result in lack of interest. The best length is about thirteen weeks. Each daily session should begin and end promptly. The same principle holds in case of recitations. The daily programme should be made out, publicly posted and strictly followed. Disorder here will lead to general disorder. The object of recess is rest and recreation. They should be regular in occurrence and uniform in length. They should not be so long as to allow the interest in play to become too absorbing nor so short as to seem worthless. From ten to fifteen minutes is the proper time. The Sunday is made for man, not man for the Sunday. A person can go^ to excess in church- going as he can in going to a dance. The question will frequently arise as to how to spend Saturdays and vacations? Days of recreation should be 53 54 DIDACTICS. days of rest. Mere idleness is not rest. The vacation may be spent in outdoor recreation or employment. Exercise taken as exercise soon becomes tedious and misses its end. It is most effective when some immedi- ate utility is joined tO' it, as, for example, botanizing, hunting, visiting, etc. The vacation may be spent in reading, which should be for the purpose mainly of recreation. The great scholars of the age are men of few books, but they know what is in them. The im- mediate ends in reading are two: Information — to place one in sympathy with the thought of the age and if pur- sued for this end falls into four courses: History, or reading what has been; Biography, who' have been; Science, what is known; and Living Questions, what is to be known. The other end in reading is for Recrea- tion, to place one in sympathy with the feelings of the age. Always read with a pencil in your hand and mark your own books. The chief danger to be avoided by the teacher is desultory reading. The following considerations will guard against this: Read nothing carelessly; careless- ness easily becomes a habit. Read nothing that does not interest you. Read thoughtfully, never gorging the mind with an undigested mass. Reading for recreation is of a lighter character. The great resource is fiction. The danger is of dissipation. Frivolous recreation leads to a frivolous life. Every pleasure should have an undercurrent of profit. DIDACTICS. 55 PROPER CLASSIFICATION. Proper classification or grading is economy. It is absolutely necessary in a large school. One explanation thereby serves many. The teacher must remember that though the grade assumes equality, there are many men- tal differences. Classification saves the time of the teacher as well as that of the pupil. He is aided by competition and not hindered by those below him. The teacher must not forget that teaching is successful in proportion as it is individual. The grade assumes stu- dents to be actually equal, but in fact they never are so. Certain equalities exist; these are tO' be utilized. Cer- tain inequalities exist ; these are not to be ignored. The following principles will aid in grading a school: The previous acquirements of the pupil; his ability to acquire, and, to a certain degree, the ages of the pupils. It wounds self-respect to be classed with the much younger. Younger pupils are quicker in perception, older ones in reflection. A recitation has these objects: to test the thoroughness of the pupil's knowledge, to fix by exact and intelligent repetition and to explain difificulties. The recitation should be a running com- mentary on the lesson. The natural mental attitude of some people when a statement is made, is to deny it. These are not very teachable, because they believe noth- ing unless forced to it. Others, on the other hand, are too credulous. Between the credulous and the skeptical mind there is every gradation. The teacher's manner I ofC. 56 DIDACTICS. should be brisk and active. The recitation should be a free converse on the subject before them by the pupil and the teacher. The teacher must hold the attention of the whole class. He must not be limited to the text- book. He should be master of it. He should not be mastered by it. He should make no more use of text- books in recitation than he allows the pupil. The more a teacher knows the less apt is he to show it. Tactics to the school is what discipline is to the army. Practice in moving- should be given in general exercises. Military order and precision should be aimed at in mov- ing to and from classes. Too much attention to this matter becomes intricate and confusing, while too little attention soon becomes none. All movements should be regulated by signals or words of command. Signals are better than words. The best signals are the most impersonal; hence the best of all is a good signal clock.* CHAPTER XII. METHODS. DEVISING METHODS. A good teacher must devise his own methods, which to be successful must grow out of the man. There are, however, general principles to be observed. No law can take into consideration the teacher's personality. Meth- ods deal with the ''how" of teaching. Law takes cog- nizance of uniformity. Method includes diversities also. It is important that we have method; it is equally im- portant that it be our own. A teacher must choose the tools he can work with best. A young teacher is liable to the danger of adopting the methods of others. There is a style in teaching as there is a fashion in dress or manner of address. When the methods of others are followed, we generally adopt that which has not made them successful, rather than that by which they could not help but succeed. We are more apt to adopt their oddities, not their excellence. Our method of teaching should grow out of our method of study. The teacher should study with the express purpose of teaching; he thus unconsciously shapes his method by his study. Method is not absolute. That is best that succeeds best. That is worst that fails. Some method is essential. Order is essential to success and method is essential to order. Method must therefore be made a matter of 57 58 DIDACTICS. Study and not left to chance, as we thus lose the bene- fit of experience. If we succeed we know not why; if we fail we cannot correct our error. Experiment is of value only as processes are determinate and remembered so that they may be repeated. If we copy others we are machines. When a man merely ''sees into a thing" he apprehends it; but when he grasps it, assimilates it, he makes it so much his own that he can impart it clearly to others. Then he comprehends it. Every opportunity of attending institutes and visiting- good schools should be improved. The object of a nor- mal school is to teach method. A residence at one for this purpose ought to be beneficial. READING. The prominent ends in teaching reading are two. First, ability to read for one's own knowledge. This requires only a knowledge of the symbols. There are two leading methods of teaching these; the word meth- od and the process of teaching by this is the thing pre- sented to the senses, the picture of the thing, the idea for which the symbol stands or the words as a symbol instead of the thing. The advantage is its logical process and the objection is that a word primarily rep- resents a combination of sounds rather than a thing. The sounds represent the thing. The second is the literal method. By this method are taught the names of the letters, the sounds of the letters and the words, by practice in reading. DIDACTICS. 59 The advantage is the rapid acquaintance with some of the letters and formations of the syllables. The disadvantage arises from the same letter represent- ing dififerent sounds and different letters represent the same sound. The letters and their sounds must be learned. The word method cannot be wholly relied upon. The best method is a combination of both — the word method to teach the office, of the word to the eye, the literal method to- teach the relations of the symbols to the sounds. The theory of word method is that a word is a sort of conventional picture that has grown up from first being represented by hieroglyphics, then passing into a syllable and the syllable into a word. The second prominent end in teaching reading is the ability to read to others. It is surprising that while so many read, so few read well. The reason of this is that so few teachers teach well. Their main trouble is that they do not know what end or aim they have in view or what teaching reading consists in. In this method we have first the thing, then the pic- ture, then the word, and lastly the idea. Its advantage is the logical process of getting at a child's mind. In teaching a child its letters it is best to begin with I, which is a single straight mark, and then proceed with its combinations in M, N, V, U, H and W. Next in order take O and its combinations with I, as B, P, O, Q, etc. Then combine the letters made with straight lines into words, as HIM, and then the combinations of I and O into words, as NOW. 6o DIDACTICS. Reading may be divided into three species. First, reading proper. Good reading should show that it is reading and not recitation. The reason why there are so few good readers is that a proper discrimination between different ideas is not made. Repetition lessens effect; consequently we must not read as we talk. Stress, pitch, accent, emphasis, inflection and rate must have their attention. By personating we take away the idea of repetition. But this must not be carried sO' as to wholly mislead, for then it becomes painful. The aim in reading is to communicate ideas. A marked manner weakens the effect. Second, recitation. This is incomplete personation. The utterance should be an exact imitation of the sup- posed original utterance. A work of art should shov/ what it is. The aim in recitation is to communicate feel- ing as well as thought. The imagination is appealed to as well as the intellect. Third, acting. This adds to recitation the exhibition of passion. The tendency of passion is to exaggerate; hence in acting all the accompaniments of utterances are carried beyond the natural limit. It demands gesture freely. The aim in acting is tO' delineate passion. The thought is always subordinated to the expression. These three species of reading should be kept distinct. ARITHMETIC. Has a great advantage in the interest children take in it. Our first knowledge is that of numbers. The DIDACTICS. 6l apprehension of knowledge is always a pleasure. Chil- dren can count before they can talk. The main difficulties to be overcome are the acquisi- tion of a clear conception of an abstraction. This diffi- culty is met by the number and variety of concrete ex- amples. Another difficulty arises in the perception of the ab- stract notion of relation (ratio). This difficulty is met by clearly apprehending the unit. An excellent practice for advanced pupils is the reduction of units of different scales to the scale of ten. The division between written and intellectual arith- metic is wholly arbitrary. All arithmetic being intellec- tual, the process of analysis should always precede every arithmetical operation. The analyses afford an excellent mental discipline for pupils somewhat advanced. The teacher should be cautioned not to lay too much stress upon analysis until the processes are perfectly familiar. In written arithmetic the operation (process) here is of prime importance and the formal analysis is wholly subsidiary. We should aim to secure Thoroughness, Rapidity and Neatness in the work. Thoroughness is best secured by insisting on a reason for every operation. Rapidity is best gained by constant repetition and by fixing the habit of rapid work. Neatness is best secured by work on the blackboard. Its publicity guards against carelessness. ^2 DIDACTICS. GEOGRAPHY. It is important as an early study, as it deals with fa- miliar ideas and employs mainly the memory. Descriptive Geography. — Description appeals to the imagination through the eye. The map is the basis of geography. Map drawing is the basis of teaching geography. The map is an aggregate of topographical symbols representing the size, outlines and physical features of a country. All maps should be drawn to a definite scale. Some measurements are thus necessary; but all the details should be put in by the eye. The first step is the explanation of the symbols. The dif^culty lies in the purely arbitrary character of the symbols. Begin by drawing a map of the school room, school yard, etc., and gradually enlarge the map. For this, use only outlines. Then add symbols for physical features. Never allow a symbol to be used the meaning of which is unknown. Outline wall maps are good, but for purposes of recitation an original map is better. Physical Geography. — This is strictly philosophical geography. This seeks causes as the first seeks facts. Social or Political Geography. — This leads to history. The aim here is information. These several divisions should be taken up in the order given. GRAMMAR. The successful study of grammar requires consider- able advancement on the part of the pupil. The sen- DIDACTICS. 63 tence is the unit. The English is an analytic languag-e. Languages in their earliest development have endings to express the relation of words. As we go down this is omitted. We cease to express metaphysical distinc- tions by physical terms. English grammar being analytical, it is philosophy and should not be mem- orized. The judgment must be relied upon. Analysis should precede. The sentence as a whole should be conceived. Analysis means the resolution of a whole into its parts. The whole thus to be re- solved is the sentence. We must have a clear knowl- edge of the whole as a whole before we can have a dis- tinct knowledge of the parts as parts. Sentential an- alysis is thus the basis of the study of English gram- mar. The parts of speech are the parts of a sentence. The English is to a limited extent an inflected or syn- thetic tongue. Sanscrit is the most perfect of all tongues. It has nine cases, Latin six, Greek five, Eng- lish three. Analytic tongues are mainly uninflected. Synthetic tongues are much inflected and depend upon mere mechanical expression. The English language is a matter of reason, not memory, the mere formal ele- ment being small. Synthesis joins parts to^ make up wholes. The whole is the sentence; the parts, the parts of speech. Distinct knowledge of the parts is essential to a clear knowledge of the whole. Parsing (assigning the parts of speech) is the second part of grammar. The danger of parsing is the formation of a mechanical habit. To avoid this, parsing should be made dependent upon 64 DIDACTICS. analysis. To parse a sentence we must first ^understand it. To understand a sentence we must first be able to analyze it. The Text-book. — To make grammar a mere discipline of memory is largely a waste of time. Most text-books are faulty in this respect. They treat wholly of forms and rules. The best method will be mainly oral. Any common text-book may be used after an oral introduc- tion. LIBRARY OF CONGRESS m 021 366 847 P A