/ This book is DUE on the last date stamped below .iO '.C^' THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING BY O. I. WOODLEY President Marshall College, Huntington, West Virginia AND M. VIRGINIA WOODLEY Authors of Foundation Lessons in English, English Studies in Interpretation and Composition, etc. BOSTON NEW YORK CHICAGO HOUGHTON MIFFLIN COMPANY (Ste IHi'oniiiie j^veii Cambridge COPYRIGHT, 1917, BY O. I. WOODLEY AND M. VIRGINIA WOODLEY ALL RIGHTS RESERVED CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS U . S . A PREFACE The plan and purpose of this discussion of the profession of teaching, though simple and clear, treats the subject from a somewhat unusual point of view and hence requires a few words of explanation. Some time ago, in a discussion between a well-known at- torney and an educator, the former emphatically asserted that there was no such thing as a profession of teaching, and that there could not be with the present American system of education. This statement, though backed by many strong arguments, did not shake the firm belief of the representa- tive of that same educational system, that teaching is as truly a profession as any of those occupations that are in- disputably classed as such. A desire to establish his con- viction and to secure unquestionable proof of its correctness led to a general analysis of vocations with the particular object of discovering the nature and characteristics of a profession and of determining the requirements for becom- ing a worthy member of it. The first chapter of this book is the direct outgrowth of that study. A further study of the particular requirements which the profession of teaching makes upon those who wish to be teachers in a truly professional sense has resulted in the con- clusions set forth in the succeeding chapters. It is evident that the demands which the larger idea of education makes upon the teacher cannot be met without a clear understand- ing on his part of these demands and the means to be em- ployed in meeting them. The essential features of these re- quirements are given particular emphasis; and many other iv PREFACE matters that the professional worker in the great field of education should understand are discussed. In the wTiting of this book, it has been a definite aim of the authors to make the discussions simple and direct. For this reason, technical words and phrases have been carefully avoided where possible without sacrificing the sense. It is the belief of the authors that a book which can be under- stood by the average reader is more universally helpful than one that is highly technical and scholarly, but cannot be understood by the general reader. The authors venture to hope that many of those who will read this book may be enabled to see more clearly than be- fore that teaching is a great profession, and to understand that the privilege of shaping character and of leading the young to some comprehension of Divine truth is one of the most responsible and noblest of all vocations. For assistance through criticism and suggestion, acknowl- edgment is made to Miss Anna S. Cummings, Professor of Education and Superintendent of the Training School, Marshall College, who has tested the work in her classes of student teachers. O. I. WOODLEY. M. Virginia Woodlet. Huntington W.Va. May 1917 CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Profession Defined 1 The evolution of vocations — Classification of vocations — Professions distinguished from other vocations — Special pro- fessional preparation necessary — All professions based upon fun- damental principles — Ethical element in professions — Ethical relations of a physician — Observance of ethics by the clergy — • Ethics in the legal profession — Summary of characteristics of a profession — Requirements of a profession applied to teaching — — Teaching based upon established principles — Agreement on fundamental laws not essential — Fundamental principles of edu- cation — Ethical element in teaching. CHAPTER n. School Ethics 19 Persons interested in child education — Interdependence of ethical relation — Ethical relation of the community to the teacher — Obligation of the community to its children — Special community obligations — Obligation of board of education to teachers — Ethical obligations of the superintendent of schools to the teachers, to the pupils — Various relations of the teacher — Relations of teachers to parents, to the board of education, to the superintendent, to pupils, to one another — Dr. Hinsdale and the quack teacher — Thoughtless cruelty on the part of the teacher. CHAPTER in. The Ultimate Aim of Education . Educational forces — Term "education" explained — Aim of education as stated by various educators — Character the ultimate aim — Broad conception of character — Ideals embraced in char- acter — Religious ideals — Ideals of home — Municipal ideals — Commercial ideals — Citizenship ideals — Ideals of patriotism — Ideals of manhood — A person's character the sum of his ideals — Plus element in education — Character aim attained through right teaching. CHAPTER IV. Happiness as related to Education . The desire for happiness universal — The quest of happiness legitimate — Happiness sought through self-gratification — Hap- piness through service to others — Happiness an aid to best effort y, CONTENTS — Happiness through obedience to law — Violation of law brings penalty — Laws of nature discovered through experience — Social laws evolved in development of civilization — Social laws broken through WTong conception of life purpose — Breaking of law fatal to happiness — Happiness within reach of all — Happiness not dependent upon external conditions — Habit of obeying law should be formed in childhood — Happiness impossible without obedience to law — Immunity from pain not necessary to happi- ness — Relation of education to happiness — Responsibility of teachers. CHAPTER V. The Social Function of the School . 84 Social institutions to meet social needs — Vocational training in early civilization — Vocational training changed by modern con- ditions — Home no longer provides social and vocational train- ing — Schools evolved to meet social needs — School should supple- ment work of home — Duties imposed upon the school — Medi- cal inspection of pupils — Various duties relegated to the school — School overburdened with duties of other institutions — All social institutions have a part in education of the child — School voluntarily assumes work of other institutions — Distinct func- tion of the school — Important race facts in curriculum — Test of subject-matter of the curriculimi. CHAPTER VI. The Relation of the School to the State 102 The American free school system — Unity through conmion knowledge of race facts — School a nationalizing force — Train- ing foreign children for citizenship — Conditions necessary for nationalizing children in the schools — The school fosters pa- triotism — School standardizes knowledge — Relation of school to vocational education — Vocational guidance an aid to eflBciency — School the most effective and economical way to educate the masses — Law of seK-preservation forces State to educate its citizens — Schools should instruct in exercise of sovereignty — School the most potent influence for preservation of State. CHAPTER Vn. The Leabning Process . . . .121 Consciousness of self and conscious learning — Consciousness of self through sensation — Sensations differ in character — Rela- tion of memory to the learning process — Memory images — — Relation of judgment to learning process — Relation of ap- perception to learning process — Apperceptive mass — Learning CONTENTS vu process compared to building a structure — Exercise of the judg- ment necessary — Concepts in the learning process — Interest in the learning process — The will in the learning process — Thinking in the learning process — Four steps in acquisition of knowledge — Influence of the physical nature upon learning. CHAPTER VIII. Correct Concepts necessary fob Right Thinking 140 Exercise of the reasoning power necessary for subjective growth — Cultivation of the thinking habit important — Teach- er's failure often due to ignorance of aim — Examples of teacher's poverty of concepts — Related concepts necessary for logical thinking — Examination tests show a teacher's aim — Teachers often deluded regarding results of teaching — Apparent subjective results often misleading — Pupils' failure to think due to teaching — Criticisms of schools make improved conditions necessary — Curriculum should contain subjects rich in concepts — Concepts from manual training illustrated — Better preparation of teachen necessary — More attention to subjective phase of teaching needed — Right habit of thinking should be formed. CHAPTER IX. The Teaching Process . . . . Iflt The term " teaching" explained — The first law of teaching — Law applies to teaching in all departments — The point at which instruction begins — Misdirected effort in teaching illustrated — The pupil's previous knowledge — Means of teaching children useful concepts — Selection of subject-matter for presentation' — Right estimate of values in selecting subject-matter — Sequence in material presented — Use of subject-matter in the learning process — Wrong presentation results in waste — Preparation of child's mind for new lesson — Development of the lesson — Appli- cation of lesson — The formal steps in teaching illustrated — -/ Teachers must know law of teaching — The teacher must apply law in his teaching — Special preparation needed for effective teaching. CHAPTER X. The Recitation 181 The recitation in the school program — The value of the re- citation — The recitation an established feature of school work -' Recitation idea modified and extended — The German plan oi recitation — Importance of the recitation — Importance of proper aim in the recitation — The objects of the recitation — Objects as stated by Dr. Hinsdale and Dr. Harris — Importance viii CONTENTS of teaching pupils how to study — The recitation adapted to the pupils — Order in the recitation — Length of the recitation — Allotments must suit individual conditions — Table for recitation periods — ■ Subjective and objective results — Evidences of a good recitation. CHAPTER XI. Subject-Matter 199 Purpose of subject-matter — Education explained — Early concepts differ with environment — The child's educational capital — Aim of education realized through proper subject- matter — Educational guidance — Education both general and special — Educative means, direct and indirect — Soiu-ces of in- direct means — Selection of subject-matter — ■ Subject-matter for teaching fundamental facts — Subject-matter for teaching uni- versal experiences and concepts — • Relation of subject-matter to present civilization — Subject-matter for teaching symbols of knowledge — ■ Matter for its cultural value — Subject-matter from all fields of knowledge — Subject-matter for vocational instruction — • Subject-matter should be adapted to the develop- ment of child. CHAPTER XII. Vocational Education . . . .221 A vocation or a job — Skilled and unskilled workers — Paupers and criminals recruited from army of unskilled — Vocational train- ing as a remedy for poverty and crime — Place of vocational education in preparation for life — Need of vocational education recognizied — Practical education movement result of popular demand — Early attempts at practical education — Manual training — Domestic science — • Vocational instruction a school problem — Complex civilization makes educational problem diflB- cult — • Basis for vocational instruction wanting — Vocations classified according to preparation required — Academic and vocational stratification — Keeping children in school — A study of railroad transportation — • A study of textile work — In- dustries involving work in wood — Work in domestic arts — Pre- vocational work in various industries — Readjustment of course of study. CHAPTER Xin. Vocational Guidance . . . .250 Conditions necessary for a well-balanced life — Right choice of a vocation necessary — Classification of vocations — Classifica- tion based upon kind of material handled — Importance of fit- ness for a vocation — School should provide instruction for all — CONTENTS ix Desirable characteristics of a vocation — Methods of choosing a vocation — Suggestions for instruction in vocational guidance — All vocations offer both advantages and disadvantages — The profession of medicine as a vocation — Agricultiu-e as a vocation — Manufacturing as a vocation — Trade and commerce as vo- cations — Local industries and business — Vocational counsellor — Pupil's information card — Parent's report — Teacher's report — Employer's report — Relation of School to vocational problem. CHAPTER XIV. The Child's Ability known and UTILIZED 278 Variation of ability in persons — Sub-normal ability — Aver- age normal ability — Ability above the average — The genius — Teachers should endeavor to discover genius in pupils — Ability chart — Ability groupings makes teachers more just — Excep- tional ability often neglected — Injustice often results from wrong evaluation — Individual ability varies in different subjects — Special classes for special ability — Encouragement through do- ing well — Child's interests often reveal ability — Ability some- times revealed by accident — The negative should be avoided — Conditions that foster the expression of ability — Desirable likes a factor in ability — Teachers must have varied abilities — Per- sonal ability chart for self-examination — Ability proves itself in service. CHAPTER XV. The Fundamental Concept . . .300 All matter governed by fixed principles — Change of form in matter controlled by fixed laws — Growth in vegetable kingdom governed by definite laws — Animal kingdom controlled by fixed laws — Natural law reveals infinite mind — Divine discontent in the human mind — Spiritual growth through search for truth — Methods of growth illustrated — Evidence of spiritual growth in enlargement of concept — • Principles of unity in all life — All organized matter a proof of creative intelligence — Spiritual law interpreted through natural law — Principle of unity fundamen- tal — Desire for truth universal — Desire for truth makes teach- ing possible — Teachers must be seekers for truth — ■ Spiritual growth possible for all — Mental and spiritual unrest essential for growth — True education results in character growth. INDEX 319 ^'q\ \a:rB^'* THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING CHAPTER I PROFESSION DEFINED The evolution of vocations. During the early days in the history of the human race, the needs of mankind were so few and simple that every man could make or procure by the work of his own hands the things necessary for his simple wants. He could build his own habitation of logs, of mud, or of whatever building materials were to be found in his immediate vicinity. He could procure his food by hunting, by tilling the soil, and by gathering the fruits, nuts, and other foods that grew wild near his abode. He could make his clothing from the skins of the animals that he killed. In short, he could provide for his wants without the assist- ance of his fellows, and hence was practically independent. With the advance of civihzation and the corresponding increase of the needs of mankind, this condition changed, and man became more and more dependent upon his fellow- men for the common necessities of everyday life. He required larger and better places of abode with more convenient fur- nishings; he needed different clothing from that which was considered sufficient by primitive man; and he developed an appetite for a greater variety of food. In the course of time, his needs became so many and so varied that he could no longer perform with his own hands all the labor necessary to procure or make the great variety of things that he re- quired for himself and his family. He found, also, that he could make certain articles better than he could others, and 2 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING that he could perform some tasks with more facility and skill than he could others. He looked about at the work of his neighbors and found that they could perform certain tasks and make certain articles more skillfully than they could others. As a result of his observation and experience, he was led to the conclusion that it would be to the mutual advantage of himself and his neighbors to exchange among themselves their various products, each devoting his time to procuring or making such things as he could make most readily and skillfully. So it came to pass in the development of civiHzation that each man devoted his efforts to the production of some one thing in which he had acquired particular skill. This he ex- changed for the other articles that he needed, which in turn had been produced by persons who had chosen to devote their efforts to the production of these different commodities according to their various adaptabilities and opportunities. Thus various vocations were evolved to which others have been added as the needs and demands of the ever-advancing civilization required, until, at the present time, men are engaged in a great variety of occupations and vocations in order that all the needs of man in his advanced state of civili- zation may be satisfied. Classification of vocations. In grouping or classifying the many vocations in which people are engaged, there are different considerations which might be made the basis of classification. Owing to the difference of opinion regarding the correct or most satisfactory basis for making a classifica- tion, there are some vocations that are differently classified by different persons, and there are others that are not definitely classified, or are given a doubtful classification. The vocation of teaching is one of those that has not been definitely classified to the satisfaction of all persons. Some persons maintain that it {)roperIy belongs to that class of PROFESSION DEFINED 3 vocations known as "professions." Other persons just as confidently affirm that it does not belong to that class, and that in the nature of things it cannot be classed as a pro- fession. The reason for this difference of oi)inion among intellectual people may be traced partly to the fact that they have different conceptions of the proper basis for clas- sifying the vocations and partly to the lack of a well-defined definition of "profession." In order, therefore, to determine whether or not teaching is a profession, it will be necessary first to decide what constitutes a profession and then apply the definition to the vocation of teaching. Vocations classified. An examination of the character of the difi'erent vocations will reveal the fact that many of them have certain marked characteristics which will warrant arranging them into groups or classes and making these characteristics the basis of classification. Upon investigation it will be discovered that certain vocations deal entirely with materials or material things in the production of articles for man's use. For example, bricklaying, cabinet-making, weaving, and all kinds of manufacturing, as well as a host of other occupations, deal exclusively with materials. Those occupations which take materials and convert them into articles for man's use may be broadly termed the " indus- tries," and the workers in them may be called " industrial workers." Another class of vocations has as its object the distribu- tion of the products of the industries. The distance which often separates those persons who produce from those for whose use these products are intended, makes it impossible to secure a direct exchange of products between producers and consumers as was the case with primitive man. This condition makes necessary another class of workers whose duty it is to make this distribution. At the present time these distributers perform a very important part in the social 4 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG economy of the world and fill a great need, which was, how- ever, unknown in the early days of human experience when there was little exchange of commodities between nations or even among individuals who dwelt any distance apart. The vocation which has as its particular province the exchange and distribution of commodities is known as " commerce." Professions distinguished from other vocations. There is still another group of vocations differing in essential char- acteristics from those already mentioned. In this group, the workers deal primarily with human beings rather than with inert matter as in those already mentioned; and the results of their efforts are shown in some direct result upon the persons with whom they deal. They may be concerned with the physical, the mental, or the moral nature of man; or their work may have to do with the adjustment and the mainte- nance of proper business relations among men. The sphere of effort of each is, in the main, clear and definite. For example, those persons who are primarily concerned with the physical well-being of man have for their particular duty the repair of the human body and its preservation from disease. These persons belong to the profession of medicine. Similarly, the duties of the group of workers who deal with the moral well-being of man are also well defined, for they are directly concerned with the spiritual needs of mankind. These persons belong to the profession of the ministry of the gospel. The vocations of those persons who deal with human beings are said to belong to the " professional class," pro- vided the persons who practice them meet certain require- ments of the particular profession to which they belong. Special professional preparation necessary. The first re- quirement which a person must fulfill before he can rightly enter the professional class is to make a careful and thorough preparation for the particular profession which he wishes to enter. He must gain a full knowledge of the fundamental PROFESSION DEFINED 5 principles which govern the practice of his chosen profession, and he must, through years of painstaking study, experi- ment, and experience, acquire the professional knowledge and skill that will enable him to discharge his duties satis- factorily. The fact that a professional worker deals pri- marily with people and his effort is directly with human beings makes experience and full professional knowledge the more urgent. A worker with inert matter might occasion- ally blunder without serious consequences resulting. A shoe- maker might make a mistake in cutting a pair of shoes and nothing more serious would happen than the spoiling of a piece of leather. This he could throw aside and begin again on a new piece; but if a physician blunders in the diagnosis of a case or administers the wrong medicine, the mistake may cost a life. A skilled mechanic or artisan gains his knowledge and acquires his skill in the practice of his trade through long apprenticeship, in which he begins at the very elements of his particular craft and advances by gradual steps until he reaches the degree of understanding and skill that will enable him to produce a satisfactory article. It is only after he has passed through this long period of training or apprentice- ship and has acquired skill and confidence in the handling of tools and the use of material, that he is allowed to work independently without direction and supervision for the construction of a finished article. The material with which / the artisan works is too valuable to be wasted by the experi- ments and unskilled efforts of the learner. He must become a skilled workman before his employer would consider it wise to allow him to use good material. If such a carefully directed apprenticeship and training are deemed necessary for the worker with inert matter, how much more important it is that the worker with human lives should make a long and thorough preparation before he begins the practice of e THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING a profession with human beings as the material upon which he works. Every profession based upon fundamental principles. An important phase of the preparation required for entering any profession is the gaining of a knowledge and understanding of the fundamental principles which govern the practice of that profession. One of the main characteristics of the pro- fessions, that differentiates them from all other vocations, is that they are founded upon clearly defined principles that determine and regulate their procedure. No person can make any pretense at belonging to the professional class unless he understands these principles and is governed by them in the practice of his particular profession. To illus- trate: The profession of medicine is founded upon certain fixed principles which a physician must understand and to which he must adhere in order to be a recognized member of the profession. The physician of the old school must know and be governed in his practice by the established principles of the branch of medicine to which he belongs; and the physician of the homoeopathic school of medicine must know and adhere to the principles of his particular branch of the medical profession. Similarly, a clergyman must adhere to the principles that are set forth in the creed or the profession of faith of the particular branch of the Church which he rep- resents. For example, the Episcopalian divine must adhere to the creed of the Episcopalian branch of the Church, the Presbyterian clergyman to that of the Presbyterian branch; and in like manner, the ministers of every denomination must understand and follow the regulating principles of the particular branch to which they belong, in order to maintain their standings in their denomination. Thus every vocation that makes claim to being a profession has its fundamental principles that govern its procedure and practice, and every person who wishes to rank as a professional worker must PROFESSION DEFINED 7 understand the underlying principles of his chosen profession and apply them in the practice of it. The ethical element in professions. The fact that pro- fessional workers deal directly with human beings and look for the results of their efforts in some phase of the physical, mental, or moral well-being of man, presupposes a certain clearly defined relation among professional co-workers and between themselves and those persons for whom they work. These relations are founded upon a system of principles which determine the correct action and practice of individ- uals with one another and are known as the "ethical rela- tions." In the ordinary acceptation of the term "ethics," there can be no ethical relation between the bricklayer and the bricks with which he works, between the carpenter and the board which he planes, between the blacksmith and the iron he shapes, or between the farmer and the land which he tills. In the case of the worker with human beings, it is ob- vious that a different condition exists. From the very fact that the material with which he deals is the physical, mental, or moral nature of man, he must occupy a distinct ethical relation toward the individuals in whose interest he labors, toward those who entrust him with his important task, and toward those belonging to the same professional class as himself. This complex relation with his fellow-men estab- lishes a varied code of ethics which he must observe in the practice of his profession and in his dealings with people. Obligations of the ethical relations of a physician. The varied code of ethics which must be observed by professional workers is well illustrated in the case of a doctor of medicine. When a man completes his necessary preparation for the practice of medicine and announces the fact to the commu- nity where he wishes to engage in his profession, there imme- diately arises a new set of relations between himself and the people of the vicinity — relations that did not exist before 8 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING he became a member of the medical profession, when he was simply a private individual in the community. Although somewhat complex, these relations are definite and must be strictly observed by every physician who wishes to maintain a creditable standing in his profession. Naturally, the special relation of physician to his patient, which gives the name to the profession, is the most distinctive. This is in fact a sacred relation, and failure to observe it would result in the expulsion of the offender from the profession ; for the observ- ance of this ethical relation is one of the distinctive charac- teristics of the profession and is essential to it. All worthy members of the medical profession guard with remarkable fidelity this ethical relation to their patients. Observance of ethics among the clergy. The observance of the ethical relation of a pastor to his people and of the clergy to one another is specially obligatory. The clergyman, by virtue of his profession, often comes to know and understand facts about the members of his congregation that are not known by the community in general. Every minister worthy of the name holds it a part of his duty as pastor to guard carefully all such information, and to regard as sacred the confidence reposed in him. The strict secrecy which he main- tains about the private affairs of his parishioners appears the more remarkable when one considers the tendency of people to repeat interesting information and bits of gossip. The fact that the true pastor, the real shepherd of his flock, does not repeat such information confided to him shows how highly he esteems this sacred ethical relation. There is nothing finer than the splendid silence of the Roman Catho- lic priesthood concerning information revealed to them in the confessional. The same tribute might be paid to the equally conscientious silence of the worthy members of the medical profession regarding matters revealed to them by their patients. This careful and consistent observance of PROFESSION DEFINED 9 their ethical relations materially aids in establishing these professional classes in public esteem and confidence. Observance of the ethics of the legal profession. What has been said of the conscientious observance by clergymen and physicians of their special ethical relations toward their parishioners and patients might also be said of the observ- ance by lawyers of their ethical relations toward their cli- ents. The confidences which are given to the lawyer by his client are most strictly guarded. The client knows this, and therefore speaks freely, telling his counsel without reserve all the facts of his case. If there were not this confidence on the part of the client in his attorney and the resulting frankness, the lawyer might not have sufficient facts upon which to base a judgment or to conduct the case, and the client would receive little assistance. Another phase of the ethical obliga- tion of the legal profession requires that no honorable attor- ney shall take a case or receive any new client if thereby the interests of any other client will be compromised. A lawyer would not be a legal adviser worthy of the name if he vio- lated either of these ethical relations toward his clients. Moreover, an observance of the ethics of the profession toward other lawyers is also obligatory upon each member of this profession and requires that he do nothing to injure or interfere with the exercise of the profession by his col- leagues. Similarly, many examples might be given to show that every profession has a definite code of ethics which its members must observe in the exercise of the profession in order to maintain a creditable standing in it. Summary of the characteristics of professions. It is evi- dent from the foregoing discussion that a profession has certain distinguishing characteristics that differentiate it from all other classes of vocations. It has been shown first, that a profession deals primarily with human beings rather than with inert matter; second, that it is founded on certain 10 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING fundamental principles that regulate its procedure; third, that it requires a careful and exhaustive preparation on the part of those desiring to practice a profession; and finally, that it has a fixed code of ethics which must be strictly ob- served by all those who wish to maintain a standing in the professional class. It is evident that these characteristics, and the consequent requirements which the professions im- pose upon those persons desiring to enter them, differentiate all professional from the non-professional vocations. While it is true that some of the other vocations may have one or even more of these characteristics, there is no other that possesses them in the same degree and combines all these requirements of a profession. < It is true that certain vocations possess one or more of the characteristics of a profession, but no one of them combines all the characteristics necessary to a profession. For example, a man engaged in commerce deals with people as well as with material products; but his work is never measured in terms of human beings. He handles commodities and it is in these commodities that he looks for his results. Therefore he is primarily concerned with the size of his stock, the state of the market, and the prosperity of the business. So, while he does deal with people, the results of his labors are measured by material rather than by human results or values. Moreover, commerce does not require a professional preparation on the part of those who wish to engage in it. An analysis of any other particular vocation will reveal the fact that, although it may have some of the characteristics of a profession, it does not have them all, nor is a professional preparation necessary for the practice of it. Requirements of a profession applied to teaching. We are now prepared to consider the question as to whether the vocation of teaching is a profession as defined in the forego- ing discussion. Teaching unquestionably meets the first re- PROFESSION DEFINED 11 quirement of dealing with human beings, for it is directly con- cerned with persons. The material with which the teacher works is the child, and he looks for his results primarily in some form of human development. His purpose in a general way is to aid those who come under his instruction in the development of individual efficiency for all of life's relations. In order that a person may realize in himself this ideal devel- opment, he must have a sound mind in a sound body; and he must be guided by high moral aims and aspirations. Therefore the real teacher is concerned with the entire well- being of the individual, physical, mental, and moral; for it is only when a person's whole being acts simultaneously and in harmony that the highest degree of efficiency can be attained. Consequently it will be seen that the teacher's particular purpose must in some degree include that of the physician whose aim is a sound body, that of the clergyman whose aim is a right moral and spiritual development, and that of the lawyer whose aim is correct business relations and practices. Teaching based on established principles. Another re- quirement which must be satisfied before teaching can be classed as a profession is that it be founded upon scientific principles which determine its procedure. These must be understood by the workers in this vocation and applied in their practice of it. In addition to the body of knowledge in which the teacher must be able to give the desired in- struction, he must have other knowledge and experience before he can rightly be admitted to the class of profes- sional teachers. Since he deals directly with life and its problems, he must have some knowledge of life philosophy and know how to apply it in his teaching. Because he deals with the human mind, he must have an understand- ing of psychological principles as applied to teaching. Since he gives instruction, he is concerned with the principles and 12 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING laws governing method. As he is concerned with the physical well-being of his pupils, he must know something of physiological principles and the laws of health. Inasmuch as the teacher's aim includes the formation of right ideals of life and conduct in the minds of the young, he must pos- sess a sound philosophy and know how best to impart it to others. From this it is evident that teaching has its system of underlying principles that are as definite and as essential as those of the science of medicine, of the profes- sion of the ministry, or of the practice of law. Agreement on fundamental laws not essential. It is as- serted by some persons that there can be no profession of teaching, because there is not universal agreement upon the principles or laws that govern child growth and develop- ment. It is further contended that because there can be no common agreement upon the right methods of teaching, or upon the relative values of the subjects to be taught, there can be no profession of teaching. Universality of agreement upon underlying principles and laws has not been considered necessary for the establishment of other professions; for, if it had, probably no profession could have been founded. For example, in medicine there are a number of schools dif- fering widely in the basal principles upon which they are founded; and yet no one questions the existence of a pro- fession of medicine. In the Church there are wide differ- ences in creeds and beliefs; but no one questions the existence of the profession of the ministry. From these and other ex- amples which might be cited, we are justified in the conclu- sion that, although the leaders in education may not all agree upon the principles and methods to be followed in teaching, that fact does not prove that there is no profession of teach- ing. Notwithstanding the diversity of opinion among these leaders, there arc certain basic laws and principles which are accepted by a large number of educators and made the guid- PROFESSION DEFINED 13 ing principles of their procedure. So far as adherence to regu- lative laws and principles is concerned, these persons are as truly professional as is the physician, the clergyman, or the lawyer. Fundamental principles of education. Some years ago Dr. Do Garmo, the McMurrys, and other educators, made a careful study of the educational philosophy of Herbart; and as a result of that study, they formulated the ideas of Her- bart into a set of educational principles that in one form or another have gained wide currency in this country. A large number of teachers, who had been working without any fixed pedagogical theories to guide them, have accepted and ap- plied these principles in their teaching and have thus be- come real professional teachers. In this way a Herbartian school which stands for certain definite progressive educa- tional ideas and principles may be said to have been founded in our country. The educational ideas of other educational leaders, notably Pestalozzi, Froebel, and Herbert Spencer, have also been made the bases of pedagogical systems by their admirers and followers. Thus various schools repre- senting educational ideas and methods have arisen; and earnest teachers are more and more taking these systems of educational philosophy as the regulating principles of their work, and are testing in their classrooms the theories and plans of these progressive educational thijikers and leaders. Although it is unfortunately true that there are many per- sons engaged in teaching who do not have a definite set of pedagogical principles to guide them in their work, this docs not prove that teaching is not a profession. There are a great number of this large class of workers who are entitled to be included in the professional classes as truly as any workers in the acknowledged professions. Special preparation of teachers necessary. What has al- ready been said about the importance of a careful prepara- 14 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING tion for those desiring to engage in any profession applies with particular force to teachers. The human material with which the teacher works is in its plastic and formative period of childhood and youth, when lasting impressions are made, when character is formed, when bent and direction are given to young lives — in short, when human beings undergo the influences that are to mould them and to determine in a large measure the whole trend of their future lives. It is evi- dent to every thinking person that, in order to meet the ex- acting requirements of teaching as a profession, a teacher must make a more extensive preparation than the mastering of the facts of general knowledge which he is required to impart. He must acquire this knowledge, and in addition to this he must make such a preparai^ion as will fit him to be a professional teacher in the^best sense of the term. Since the teacher must have in mind final character results that determine, direct, and govern life, he must of necessity have a well-defined philosophy of life and be himself in- fluenced consciously or unconsciously by right philosophical laws and principles. Because he is helping human beings to prepare for social life, he must understand some of the rules and principles which are fundamental in the government of society. In order that he may be able to give such direc- tion to the mental development of the child as will secure positive results, he must have a working knowledge of the fundamental laws of psychology. Many of the failures of teachers to gain adequate results in their teaching are due to their ignorance of psychological laws and principles. No person can rightly be considered a professional worker until he has gained some definite knowledge of the mental proc- esses and is familiar with their nature and character. Fundamental principles of education necessary. There are certain fundamental ])rincij)les of education whi(;h must be common to all teaching in order to give it unity and make PROFESSION DEFINED 15 it effective. A knowledge of these principles is of the utmost importance to the teacher; for no one should presume to in-i, struct the young who does not have some knowledge of the laws that govern effective teaching and some understanding of their proper application. Moreover, the teacher, in addi- tion to having a general aim in all his teaching, must have a specific aim for each subject. He must also have a definite j^ standard to be used in determining the value of the work of ^^ his pupils. Hence an important part of a teacher's prepara- tion is to gain a knowledge of at least the most important fundamental laws of education and to acquire the ability to apply them intelligently and systematically in order that his teaching may be effective. The fact that the work of the teacher includes so many different elements requires him to have a knowledge of a more varied set of principles, perhaps, than the workers in any other profession. It is undoubtedly true that there are many persons who have a definite philosophy of life and yet are ignorant of the fact. There are many teachers who have no knowledge of psychology as a science and very little conscious knowledge of philosophical theories, who yet do unconsciously apply psychological laws and principles in their teaching. They have probably acquired their understanding of these prin- ciples through many years of experience — many years of trial and failure, in which much valuable time has been wasted and much precious material spoiled. If they had made the proper preparation before venturing to instruct the young, before offering themselves as teachers, there need not have been all this waste; and the noble profession of teaching would not have been made to suffer while providing them with the means for their long apprenticeship. The ethical element in teaching. Still another distinctive characteristic that teaching must possess before it can l)e considered truly a profession is the ethical element. Since the 16 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING teacher is concerned directly with children, he must under- stand and maintain his ethical obligations toward them. In addition to the ethical obligations of the teacher to his pupils, which are of primary importance, he has other ethi- cal relations to interpret and observe toward all those per- sons who, in one capacity or another, are actively interested in the education and development of the child. He must ful- -fiU his ethical obligations toward the board of education, toward his superintendent and other official superiors, toward the parents of his pupils, and toward his fellow- teachers. These ethical obligations of the teacher will be discussed more at length in a subsequent chapter. In this connection it is sufficient to say that in no other profession are the ethical relations and obligations more certain and positive and their observance more potent and sacred than in that of teaching. The very fact that the teacher is con- cerned with the best ideals of conduct and life makes it obligatory upon him to interpret correctly and to observe conscientiously the ethical laws in all his relations with other persons. Conclusion. In the foregoing argument it has been shown that, to belong to the professional class, a person must work directly with human beings, must have a definite system of scientific principles to regulate the practice of his particular profession, must have a professional preparation for his work, and must understand and observe all the ethical ob- ligations of his profession. It has been further demonstrated that there are, in a great many organizations of teachers, a large number who fulfill all the requirements of professional workers arid are entitled to be ranked as such. The fact that there are persons in the profession who have not made a professional preparation for it and who do not observe the laws and principles of pedagogy, docs not lessen the right of those who have done so to be classed as professional workers; PROFESSION DEFINED 17 nor does it prevent teaching from being classed as a pro- fession. The presence of even a large number of profession- ally unprepared teachers in the schools does not prove that there are no professional teachers or that teaching is not a profession, any more than the presence of quacks among the worthy members of the medical profession proves that there is no profession of medicine. The fact that teaching does meet all the requirements of a profession as certainly as any of the vocations that are unquestionably classed as such warrants us in the conclusion that it is a profession, and that those teachers who fulfill the conditions and attain the standards set for workers in this profession, both in their preparation and in their practice, belong to the professional class. It might be added further that, not only must it be conceded that teaching is a profession in the fullest and best sense of the word, but since it has for its purpose the development and training of the young for life, it is the most important and the noblest of the professions. , SUGGESTED READINGS The Principles of Education, Ruediger, chap. i. N.E.A. Proceedings, 1907, Kirk, pp. 224-27, 661-68. The Teacher and the School, Colgrove, chap. i. The Problem of Vacationed Education, Snedden, pp. 22-20. All the Children of All the People, Smith, p. 241. EXERCISES 1. To what general class of vocations does each of the following belong: farmer, author, actor, hotel-keeper, dentist? Could a man be a professional man, a commercial man, and an industrial man at the same time? 2. What do you understand by the term "independent man"? Which is the more independent man, the trapper or hunter in the woods, or the millionaire? The American Indian or the modern business man? 3. Make as complete a list of the persons who contribute to your welfare as you can. Show that you in turn contribute in some way to the wel- fare of each of those you name. 18 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING 4. Which vocation of those you know is probably the most independent? Give reason for your answer. 5. Name some vocations that require, or should require, a long prepara- tion before a person begins his work in them. 6. Name some bene6ts to the schools and to the teachers themselves when the latter give time and study to preparing for their work. 7. If the salary or income were the same, what would be your choice of a profession? Give reason for your answer. 8. Name some things in life which money cannot buy that are more to be desired than money. Can these things be taught? How did you acquire them? Explain how they can be developed. Consider whether they are neglected by some people. 9. "Drudgery is work without joy." "Joy in work is the greatest need of the American workman." "A man who counts gold may have a life of drudgery. A man who digs ditches may have a life of joy." Discuss these statements and consider whether your work is drudg- ery. 10. Write briefly an argument for classing teaching among the pro- fessions. CHAPTER n SCHOOL ETHICS Different persons interested in the education of the child. There are in every school organization a large number of persons who have a part, either directly or indirectly, in the education of each child in it. It is not alone the parents of the child who are concerned with his development and growth. There are numbers of other persons who are also actively concerned with his preparation for his place as a man in the community and the nation. Among them are the board of education, the superintendent of schools, and the teacher. The relation of each to the problem is clearly defined. The board of education, selected by the citizens, has an impor- tant part to perform in relation to child development and culture. It is to this body of citizens that is delegated the duty of providing the means through which the child may receive that part of his education and preparation for life which it is the province of the school to give him. The super- intendent of schools also has an important duty to fulfill toward the child, for upon him devolves the management and the direction of the means employed for the instruction of the child in the school. The teacher, next to the parent, has the most responsible task of all those who are concerned with the education and development of the child, for to him is delegated the important duty of giving the child the direc- tion and assistance in the preparation for life which the home and the other social institutions can no longer give. Special responsibility of the teacher. The teacher, in dis- charging his responsible duty, represents in a large degree all the other persons who are directly interested in child edu- 20 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING cation. The responsibility, thus transferred to the teacher, gives him special opportunities for performing his task. Be- cause of the new experience and the new viewpoint which he brings into the life of the child, he can open up to the young mind a new world of wonder and interest. This arouses or increases the reverence of the child for the teacher's knowl- edge and widsom, which makes it possible for the latter to mould the young mind and character. This peculiar and intimate relation of the teacher to the child and the sacred charge it imposes give him special and binding obligations toward the child and toward those who have committed this charge to him. Interdependence of ethical relation. The different persons concerned in the child's education and development, con- sciously or unconsciously, combine their interests with the interest of the teacher; and for this reason his obligations become very complex. On the other hand, it must be noted ,n that while the teacher sustains a special relation and obU- ' gation toward each of the persons or groups of persons who are concerned with the problem of the education of the child, each of them has a corresponding obligation to him, a fact frequently overlooked in the consideration of this matter. The obligation of each of these persons to the teacher is quite as binding and should be as carefully observed as the obligation of the teacher to each of them. Since these persons have delegated to the teacher certain responsibilities, many of which rightly belong to themselves, they are under ob- ligation to give him their moral support. Hence their ethi- cal relations toward him are peculiarly binding. This dual character of the ethical relation or the ethical interdepend- ence of two persons between whom this relation exists is important and should be noted in the consideration of any question of ethical obligations. The ethical relations of the teacher to the community, to the board of education, to his SCHOOL ETHICS 21 coworkers, and their corresponding ethical obligations to him will be discussed briefly in succeeding paragraphs. The ethical relation of the community to the teacher. The fact that the community delegates the formal instruc- tion of its children to the teacher establishes a twofold rela- tion which it should respect and observe. The one is the obligation to the teacher, and the other is its duty toward the children. Since the teacher performs a task intrusted to him by others, it is obligatory upon those who have dele- gated this work to him to see that conditions are provided for his doing the work properly. Suitable buildings, prop- erly heated and hghted, should be provided; and these build- ings should be equipped with the best apparatus for the performance of the work. This equipment should be in- creased from time to time, as the need requires, with the newest and best in books, maps, apparatus, and such special appliances as the particular work of the class requires. This community duty is more than a mere business obligation. It is an ethical duty, the neglect of which is often disas- trous to the physical, mental, and moral welfare of the boys and girls of the community, as well as to the plans and pur- poses of the teacher. Moreover, it is the duty of the commu- nity to cooperate with the teacher for the furtherance of any plan which has for its purpose the improvement of school conditions and the best interests of the child. The com- munity, and particularly the parents, should uphold the teacher's authority and acts so far as possible, and be very slow to criticize, even though the teacher may have done something which they do not understand or which they disapprove. If such a case occurs, it is better to investigate carefully, and if necessary talk with the teacher regarding it. Even though a teacher may have erred, it is neither wise nor just to advertise the matter and thereby lessen the value of his work and influence through open discussion and 22 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING criticism. If parents and the community in general would observe proper ethical obligations toward the teachers in the schools and encourage them by giving them helpful cooperation and sympathy, the teachers would have more joy in the discharge of their duties, would put more heart into their work, and would achieve better results. The obligations of the community to its children. A few suggestions regarding the obligations of the community to its children will not be out of place at this point. In addition to the duty of the community to provide suitable school con- ditions for the education of its children, it has a direct and vital part in their development and education. Some of these community influences are not always thought of in relation to child welfare; but since they are all distinct fac- tors in the formation of the child's ideals, their importance in the solution of the problem of child education should be understood. In the first place, most children obtain their early ideas of government from the community life, rather than in the school. In like manner they obtain their first concepts of community conditions. If the community stand- ards of excellence are of a high order, the children, through their personal observations and from listening to the con- versation of their elders in the home and elsewhere upon these matters, will naturally acquire the same high stand- ards. Unconscious education in community ideals. Many il- lustrations of the child's unconscious education in commu- nity ideals might be given, but a single one will suflSce as a suggestion. For example, if the streets are kept in good con- dition, the walks properly placed and kept in repair, the sanitary condition of the town carefully maintained, and all the many municipal interests given proper attention, the children will accept these as correct community standards and adopt them for their own. If, on the contrary, the SCHOOL ETHICS 23 municipal affairs are poorly managed, if the streets and walks are poor and untidy, the sanitary conditions bad, and the town presents a slovenly and unwholesome appearance generally, — the children of the community will acquire low community standards and the same conditions will be re- flected in their lives and habits. A community, therefore, through its municipal examples may do its children incal- culable harm, even though it is spending money generously for schools. Special community obligations. In addition to attention to what might be termed unconscious community influences in child education, there are some special obligations of the community toward its children which also call for intelli- gent consideration on the part of parents. Many of these are so apparent that the mere mention of them is suflB- cient to call attention to their relation to the problem of child welfare. First in importance is, of course, the duty of providing proper school conditions, as already discussed. Second in importance only to proper school and correct municipal conditions come the maintenance of religious in- fluences, the providing of suitable library facilities, the se- curing and permitting of only wholesome places of amuse- ment, the encouraging and maintaining of organizations for social betterment, and the creating of such community in- fluences as the local needs require. The responsibility of the community toward its children is great, and those who have the direction of community interests should see to it that this obligation is conscientiously discharged, not only in the maintenance of schools, but in so guarding and regulating local conditions that the influence which these exert may be of a wholesome character. Obligation of the board of education to teachers. The board of education bears an even closer relation to the teachers than does the community; for it is to this official 24 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING body that the community intrusts the execution of many of its duties and obUgations to the teacher and to the school. Because these men are vested with the authority to represent the community in the conduct of school matters, it is their primary duty to act for the best interests of the school and not allow themselves to be influenced by personal motives or prejudices. The relation of the board of education to the school is usually considered merely a business or admin- istrative one. This is in part correct. It is the duty of the board to provide the school plant and attend to its up- keep, to engage and pay teachers, and to attend to all jnat- ters of business in connection with the maintenance of the school. At the same time, the members of the board of educa- tion have an ethical relation to maintain toward the teacher and the school, which is as obligatory as the observance of their business relations. Though the ethical relation of the board of education to the teacher is varied, it is definite; and it should be under- stood and carefully observed by all persons who presume to serve the community in this responsible capacity. In order that this relation may be rightly understood by the persons who occupy this position, it should be the first duty of board members to inform themselves regarding all matters relating to the management of school affairs. They are the oflScial representatives of the parents; and as such it is the more binding upon them to give the teacher their moral support in his management of the school. Inasmuch as they have employed the teacher, it is obligatory upon them to encour- age and assist him in whatever he does for the good of the school. They should never allow themselves to be influ- enced by idle gossip or individual complaints about a teacher without thoroughly investigating the cause. When the school board appoints a teacher for any other reason than merit, or unjustly discharges him when he SCHOOL ETHICS £5 possesses merit, it violates a vital ethical relation to the teacher and to the pupils. When a school board fails to provide the best school plant which the available funds will permit, or neglects to keep the same in proper condition, it violates an ethical obligation as certainly as it disregards a business law. Persons who serve on boards of education may sometimes be ignorant of the nature of their ethical obliga- tions and of what is required of them ; but this fact does not excuse them for neglect of such vital matters. Men who are not competent to direct the business affairs of a school and to fulfill the various obligations connected with the posi- tion should not be selected for this responsible position, for the same reason that incompetent teachers should not be allowed to direct the education of the young. It should not be necessary to mention the obligation of the board members to make the best interests of the school their primary concern instead of allowing themselves to be influenced by personal interest. Unfortunately, as every one knows, some persons, even in this responsible position, do permit themselves to sacrifice the good of the school for personal reasons. The disastrous effect upon the school when personal interest or politics is allowed to influence the acts of a board is well known; for the factor of politics is always destructive to the observance of ethical obligations. Ethical obligations of the superintendent of schools. The superintendent of a school, by virtue of his position, must understand and maintain many and complex relations toward those who are concerned with himself in the educa- tion of the child. In the first place, there is his relation to the board of education that has intrusted him with the responsibility of directing the educational affairs of the school. This relation is definite and clear; and few intelli- gent superintendents are so ignorant of its nature or so indifferent to their obligations as to violate it. Again, there 26 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING is the relation to the community, and particularly to the parents, which the superintendent must understand and carefully observe if he wishes to obtain the best results from his management of the school. Finally, the most direct and important of all the relations of the superintend- ent are those to the teachers and to the pupils under his direction. The obligations of the superintendent to the board of education and to the community are so definite and well understood that it is necessary only to call atten- tion to them. His ethical relation to his teachers may not be generally understood and hence it is necessary to mention a few of the more important matters which it involves. Ethical relation of the superintendent to the teachers. The superintendent, as the ofiicial head of the school system and the director of its educational policy, must bear the re- sponsibility of the administration of the school. To him belongs the task of determining the course of study to be followed, of deciding upon the character of the equipment needed for the school, and of outlining the methods to be employed in the everyday work of the school. He usually assists the school board in selecting the teachers for the school, and he assigns the latter their respective duties. He must plan and direct the use of the subject-matter so that unity of purpose may be secured and a proper balance in quality of work may be maintained. The teachers under his direction have a right to expect from him full explanations of the course of study and its sequence, a statement of the principles which underlie it, and such special instruction and information as is necessary for its logical and sequential de- velopment. They may also expect from him suggestions in method and management and any other help which they may need for the solution of their school problems. Owing to the fact that the professional growth of the teacher de- pends in great measure upon the help and assistance he SCHOOL ETinCS 27 receives from the superintendent or other supervisor, the moral obUgation and the ethical duty of these supervisors to him are certain and unquestioned. Further, it is the duty of the superintendent to protect and enhance the professional reputation of his teachers. Inasmuch as the relation of the superintendent to his teachers grows directly out of the pro- fession in which they are engaged and is of vital importance to those concerned, it is evident that a careful observance of the ethics of the situation is necessary for the maintenance of a good professional standing. Ethical relation of superintendent to pupils. Since the superintendent's proper understanding and interpretation of his oflBcial functions determines so largely the value of the school to the pupils in it, he sustains a direct ethical relation to them. As the educational director of the school system, he must plan and supervise the work of the school for the best interests of the children under his care. Some super- intendents are inclined to regard their relation to the board of education and to the community as of more importance than their relation to the pupils in the schools : but since the schools were instituted for the children, the obligation of the superintendent to these children, either directly, or indi- rectly through the teachers, is of first importance. A super- intendent should be as conscientious and careful in the dis- charge of his ethical obligations to the pupils in his school as of any of the duties of his office. Varied relations of the teacher. It has been shown that the community, the board of education, and the superintend- ent of the school, each bears a distinct relation to the teacher. The teacher in his turn sustains an ethical relation to each of them, as well as to his fellow- teachers and to his pupils; for the ethical obligation is a reciprocal one. When a person bears an ethical relation to another person or to a group of persons, they in turn bear a similar relation to him. The 28 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING existence of these ethical obligations is a matter which many teachers ignore or do not rightly understand. Some even regard their relation to the community and to the board of education as merely a business obligation, and their attitude toward their pupils is rather that of an intellectual over- seer than of a friend and guide. Because the teacher's position brings him into a somewhat close relation with various individual interests, his ethical obhgations are rather complex; and for this reason, he must exercise the greater care that none of them be forgotten or disregarded. Relation of teachers to parents. The teacher bears a special relation to the parents of the pupils under his care, for it is these parents who have delegated to him the task of instructing, training, and directing the educational develop- ment of their children. The teacher must remember that this responsibility has been transferred to him because many parents have not the time, the ability, or the needed prepara- tion to perform the task themselves and must look to some one else to do it for them. For this reason, if he fails in the discharge of this important duty, the children will not have the opportunity to gain the educational equipment for life to which they are entitled. The parents, in their turn, be- cause of the nature of the service which the teacher renders them, should be sympathetic and ever ready to assist him in his task. This they can often do by giving such help and information regarding the peculiar physical or mental condi- tion and the temperament of the child as will enable the teacher to deal intelligently with his case. It is to the conviction on the part of parents that the prob- lem of educating the young can be handled better in the school than anywhere else that the teacher owes his position. This places a particular responsibility upon him and brings him into a close relation with parents. The nature of the confidence reposed in him should lead him to understand SCHOOL ETinCS 29 that he is a co-worker with the parents, and that, being a co-worker, he should be united with them in purpose and sympathy. He should, therefore, avoid the critical attitude which some teachers assume toward parents by trying to act in harmony with them. He should respect their point of view even when it does not altogether agree with his own. When parents are ignorant upon certain points or when they do not understand the policy of the teacher in particular cases, the latter, in a kindly spirit, should endeavor to give them the necessary information, or help them to a correct understand- ing of his plan and motive. Such a sympathetic understand- ing between parents and teachers of the vital interests of the children will make them in reality co-workers in the education of the young. Another matter in which the teacher should be careful to observe his ethical relation toward the parents of his pupils is in his utterances and comments about them. He should bear in mind that most of them live up " to their light " as nearly as he does to his understanding and knowledge. He should recognize the fact, also, that the defects which he may ob- serve, in their education, manners, habits, and dress, reflect their early training and the community conditions which sur- round them. These habits and conditions cannot be im- proved by unkind or thoughtless comments and criticism. If they are improved by the efforts of the teacher, it must be by sympathetic and tactful devices which the wise teacher will always be able to select and employ. The true teacher, in the consciousness that his position as guide and instructor of the young is a most responsible one, will endeavor to increase his eflSciency and perform the task delegated to him in the most satisfactory manner that he can. To this end, he will discharge not only his routine duties, but he will carefully and conscientiously observe all the ethical obligations toward those who have entrusted him with this so THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING task, that by so doing the best interests of the children may be enhanced and the ultimate purpose of the school realized. Relation of the teacher to the board of education. The ethics of the teaching profession requires that the teacher's attitude toward the board of education be respectful, and be actuated by sentiments of good-will and confidence. These men give much valuable time, frequently without remunera- tion, because they are interested in procuring and maintain- ing the best possible conditions for the children of their com- munity. They have the best interests of the school at heart and are anxious to do, so far as their ability and the means within their power will permit, what is for the advancement of the educational conditions as they understand them. If, in the discharge of their duties, they may sometimes adopt methods that are not approved by a teacher, the latter should exercise the same charity with regard to the matter that he desires to have shown toward his own methods when they are not approved or understood by others. Above all, he should not discuss or criticize the poUcy of the school board in such a way as to reflect upon the integrity of the latter or to interfere with the interests of the school. When from lack of information or misunderstanding a member of the board may be indifferent or actually opposed to something desired by a teacher, the latter, by presenting the matter privately to the dissenting member, should endeavor to show him the educational value of the thing wanted. Naturally this last case could apply only to a small system where the teacher comes into direct relation with the board of education. Relation of teachers to the superintendent. The relation between the teacher and his superintendent and supervisors should be cordial and sympathetic. The attitude of the teacher toward his supervisors, like his attitude toward the board of education, should be governed by a desire to be SCHOOL ETHICS 81 true to the ethical obligations which grow out of their com- mon relation to the same task, that of educating the young. It is therefore the duty of the teacher to carry out so far as possible the educational purposes and desires of those who plan the work and prescribe the methods to be employed in the individual school or classroom. It is evident that, if the machinery of the school is to run smoothly, there must be no friction among the persons who compose the various parts of it. One of the necessary requirements for securing and maintaining this condition is that teachers at all times re- spect and observe the ethics of the profession toward their superintendent and supervisors. The theory of this phase of the teacher's duty is clear and usually well understood; but in far too many cases the practice is not in proportion to its importance. The failure on the part of teachers in this vital matter has been caused in some measure by the atti- tude and practice of superintendents who consciously or unconsciously have assumed an air of superiority. In the majority of instances, however, it has been caused by the antagonistic attitude of teachers toward their official su- periors and their unfortunate habit of criticizing all those in authority. The superintendent is not, in the ordinary acceptation of the term, superior to those who serve under him, nor should he so consider himself. In many instances he does not know more about the work prescribed for a certain teacher than the teacher does himself, nor does he claim to be infallible in matters of method. If teachers more generally under- stood this fact and were acquainted with the superintend- ent's true feeling upon the subject, they would not be so often guilty of unprofessional acts and utterances. When teachers do reach a correct understanding of the attitude of the conscientious superintendent or supervisor toward them and their work, they will assume a sympathetic and helpful S2 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG attitude and be anxious to work in harmony with the general plan. Teachers must rise to a high plane of thinking in order to gain more correct estimate of values. When they do this, they will discover how trivial and unimportant, oftentimes, are the things which they have allowed to influence them and to overshadow really important matters. Teachers must learn to place their profession and their work above their own personal point of view, their personal feelings and con- veniences. Those who have studied the subject of the atti- tude of the teacher toward his supervisors are all agreed that the persons who are the most frequent violators of this ethical obligation are the ones, who, from lack of training or want of effort, have not been entirely successful in their work and are not constructive, progressive teachers. Truly professional teachers, the ones who have the heart and the mind of the real educator, are careful to observe the ethics of the profession toward all persons associated with them in the important task of instructing the young. Ethical relations of teachers to one another. Among the various relations which the teacher must sustain properly is that to his fellow-teachers. Unfortunately, a large number of persons occupying the position of teachers do not rightly understand this relation and its obligations. Ethical princi- ples as applied to strictly professional matters are usually carefully observed in all other professions, and should be in the profession of teaching also. In the so-called learned pro- fessions, lack of ability on the part of co-workers and even known mistakes are not made the subject of critical com- ment, nor are they revealed to the world. Many teachers have not yet caught the idea that there are ethical laws that should be as binding upon them as the ethical laws of other professions are uj)on their members. Esi)ecially are they often ignorant of the fact that these ethi- SCHOOL ETHICS SS cal laws place upon them certain definite obligations toward their fellow-teachers. As a result of this ignorance they often fail to work together in sympathy and harmony, and in some cases even show a great readiness to proclaim to other persons a defect which they have discovered in a co-worker. The unprofessional busybody finds fruitful topics for gossip in such matters as the personal appearance of his fellow- teachers, their education, mistakes in discipline, or fail- ures in teaching. From these he gathers seeds, made light by the winds of envy and suspicion, and scatters them broadcast throughout the community. When we consider the unprofessional carelessness, and sometimes even mali- ciousness, of the remarks which many teachers make about one another, we can readily understand why some people doubt whether or not teaching is a profession. Teachers should represent in their lives and work the results of the best moral training. The fact that they are teachers gives the world the right to expect exemplary conduct on their part and the proper ethical attitude toward their co-workers. The teacher who disregards this obligation cannot hope to main- tain a professional standing. When teachers more generally understand this fact, less thoughtless criticism of one another will be heard; for they will be found working to- gether more in harmony in a truly professional spirit for the attainment of right results. The maintenance of proper relations among teachers is a matter of so much importance, and violations of the eth- ical obligations are so frequent, that it seems desirable fur- ther to emphasize the matter by calling attention to a few examples of the more common of these violations. As an illustration of a far too frequent violation of this ethical relation, a case is given which will doubtless recall many similar ones to the mind of the reader. A seventh-grade teacher who had received a sixth-grade class at the be- 34 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ginning of the school year gave a test to determine whether, according to her standards, the class was ready for the seventh grade. Judged by the answers to the question^! which she gave them, they did not meet the test satis factorily. She at once began openly to criticize and dis credit the former teacher of the class. In so doing she did not take into account the fact that the pupils had been regularly promoted after a capable principal had decided upon their fitness for promotion, and after they had com- pleted the work prescribed by an intelligent and efficient superintendent. In her thoughtless ignorance, and because of her acquired habit of criticizing others, she seemingly tried to extol herself as a teacher by depreciating another. It need hardly be said that a person who is guilty of such vio- lation of the ethics of the profession is not a suitable person to assume the position of teacher and become the moral and intellectual guide of the young. Another case which illustrates a not uncommon disregard of the ethical relation among teachers is that of two women whose jealousy and ill-will were carried to extreme lengths. One of them became vexed because a pupil spoke in praise of a former teacher and reproved him for so doing. This so in- censed the child that he went to the other teacher and re- peated what had been said. As a result the latter became so angry that she expressed herself freely regarding her fellow- teacher; and thus the two became avowed enemies. For four years they taught in adjoining rooms, met in the halls each day, and watched their classes pass out of the building by the same door; and yet they never exchanged a word. Women in their position should have been superior to harboring petty spite and jealousy, and their regard for the ethics of the pro- fession should have prevented their display of ill-will. Since they acted like bad-tempered, ill-bred children, they should not have been allowed to remain in the same school; for the SCHOOL ETHICS 35 influence upon other persons because of their personal feud was exceedingly harmful. Examples of other violations of the ethics of the profession in the relation of teachers to one another might be given, but it is not necessary. Every reader of these pages can recall many instances of the un- ethical, unprofessional attitude of teachers toward one another, as well as toward other persons belonging to the same profession or in some way concerned with the same work. Such conditions should not exist. The truly profes- sional teacher is one who has the heart and mind of the real educator and is always careful to observe the ethics of the profession toward all persons associated with him in the important task of instructing the young. The teacher's relation to his pupils. The most vital and sacred of the teacher's ethical obligations is that to his pupils. Since the school exists for the benefit of the child, the pro- fession of teaching sustains a peculiarly responsible relation toward him. The expenditure of money to build, equip, and maintain the school plant is solely for the child's benefit, and the teacher is employed for the instruction of the child. Yet, if we may judge from comments often heard, there are many persons who think that the child exists for the school, the teacher, and the course of study. These persons seem to have the idea that in some way the child should be made to fit the school and the curriculum, rather than that these should be made to fit his needs and interests. Many teachers fail to get a correct understanding of their relation to their pupils and do not seem to know that it if their duty to do all in their power to conserve the pupil's best interests. As a result, their attitude toward his mis- takes and faults is often such as to aggravate and increase them, rather than to correct and lessen them. If the boy is " bad," the teacher in far too many instances becomes the medium through which the neighborhood or district learns 86 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG of it. If a girl is slow or dull, the fact often becomes known by the same means. Such advertising of the faults of his pupils is in direct violation of the most sacred obligation of the teacher to his pupils, and is like a doctor's revealing facts about his patients, or a priest's disclosing the secrets of the confessional. As the doctor and the priest feel it their duty to guard from a curious public the physical ailments of their patients in the one case, and the moral defects and mistakes of their parishioners in the other, so the teacher should guard from an uninterested and unsympathetic com- munity the mental defects and moral mistakes of his pupils. Many teachers, and the number is constantly increasing, recognize the fact that thoughtless gossip about their pupils and the exposure of the mistakes and weaknesses of those under their instruction and guidance is not only unkind and harmful, but unprofessional. This is the encouraging aspect of the matter, and it leads to the belief that in time such harmful and unprofessional gossip as here mentioned will rarely, if ever, be heard from members of the teaching profession. Until this condition becomes more general, however, there will be persons occupying the position of in- structors of the young who are not teachers in the educa- tional and professional sense of the term, but merely in its " job " meaning and use. For this reason, it is to be re- gretted that the name " teacher " is applied indiscriminately to all persons who " keep school " and " hear recitations "; for in its true sense it is one of the finest names that can be applied to any worker. To be a real teacher means to be- long to one of the noblest professions which society has established; but merely to " keep school " without true professional qualities, and without the correct attitude toward the work, is to be a " quack." A quack in medicine is generally ignorant. He has not made the necessary preparation for the practice of the pro- SCHOOL ETHICS 37 fession, and is not regarded as belonging to it. He is not qualified to diagnose a case correctly, or to prescribe the proper remedies. For this reason he would be an actual menace to human life if he were allowed to practice the profession. Fortunately, the quack has no standing in the medical profession, and he is not allowed to practice as a regularly qualified physician. Hence his opportunities for doing positive harm are limited. This should be the case with quacks in all professions — in that of teaching as well as in the so-called learned professions. If it were, there would not be found in the schoolrooms to-day, occupying the position of teachers, so many persons who are unable to diagnose the pupil's case correctly, or to prescribe the proper treatment for his particular need. The harm which quack teachers do is often not merely negative, but positive; for, in their ignorance, like the quack doctor, they often com- mit blunders to the lasting injury of the victim. A few illustrations will show how serious the results of such blun- ders frequently are. Dr. Hinsdale and the quack teacher. The great thinker and educator. Dr. Hinsdale, related an experience of the kind which he, when a boy, had with one of his teachers. Dr. Hinsdale said : " When a child, I did not memorize readily, but always had to think a thing through. This often took time, and as a result I frequently failed to answer as quickly as the other pupils in the class. Before I had been long in school, the teacher told me that I was slow and dull. Finally she went so far as to declare that I was stupid. This was said in the presence of my fellow-pupils, and naturally they accepted what was said as true. The teacher's report to my parents caused them also to believe that I was dull. Soon the entire district had been given this opinion of me. Words fail to express the agony which all this caused me. I can recall even now, after the lapse of many years, the S8 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING humiliation and heartache with which I noted the smiles of my schoolmates, or their exchange of glances at the teacher's oft-repeated charge against me of dullness and stupidity. That teacher did me a great injury which it has taken years to correct." As he finished speaking, tears ran down the cheeks of the great educator at the unhappy memory of this early injus- tice. That teacher " did not know her business." She did not diagnose the pupil's case properly; and therefore her treatment of it was wrong. Similarly, many teachers, by their ignorant judgment of the conditions and needs of their pupils, fail in their diagnosis and treatment of individual cases and sometimes even inflict injuries which it takes years to remedy. In some instances the harmful influence is never entirely eradicated. Thoughtless cruelty on the part of the teacher. Another ignorant and thoughtless teacher once made the school life of one of her pupils wretched by ridiculing the business of the child's father and speaking as if the mother, and even the child himself, were a party to this business. In her remarks upon the subject, she made use of a name sometimes given to the business in question, which the thoughtless school- mates of the boy immediately began to apply to him. The innocent victim was caused so much humiliation and shame by this frequent allusion to his father's occupation that he was finally unable to endure the torture of their taunts, and he left school. He was actually driven from the school by the thoughtless teasing of his fellows, but it was the teacher who was responsible for the condition. In her zeal for a t^rtain end, namely, to create a sentiment against an illegal traffic, a purpose worthy in itself, she had lost sight of the fact that it was her duty to teach morals in such a way as to benefit all of her pupils without causing unhappiness or injury to any one of them. SCHOOL ETHICS 89 Another example of thoughtless cruelty on the part of a teacher is the case of one who charged a pupil with stealing her watch, because he had fallen into the trap of taking a marked penny that she had placed in a tempting position. The child protested his innocence throughout the third degree examination to which he was subjected; but the teacher refused to believe him. Basing her conviction of his guilt on the circumstantial evidence of his having taken the penny, she continued to reiterate the charge of the theft of the watch in the presence of the school, and even openly reported the matter outside. A short time after, the child became ill with diphtheria during an epidemic of that dread malady, and died a few days later. During his illness he fre- quently repeated his protest of innocence, and his last words, uttered slowly and painfully, were, " Mamma, I did n't steal Miss White's watch." Some time after, the watch was found under some papers in the teacher's desk where it had slipped out of sight and remained hidden until a clearing-out of the desk revealed its presence. Any one familiar with the everyday incidents in large school systems, and even in small ones, could relate similar incidents in illustration of the injustice and often the pain which children are forced to suffer through the thoughtless utterances and charges of teachers who are ignorant or care- less in their diagnosis of individual cases, and of the condi- tions and needs of their pupils in general. The teacher's work should be constructive, not destructive; a building-up rather than a tearing-down process. The material with which he deals is neither old, tough, inflexible timber, nor worn-out fabric. It is young, growing, plastic, and vital. School work should not be merely formal academic instruc- tion of a certain body of knowledge; it should be made living and vital. School work must be academic, it is true, but it should be something more. Its purpose is to fit for life, to 40 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG build and develop character, not to dwarf and cripple the right development of character and the real expression of the self. A teacher does not aid a child in true character- building or help him to correct his fault by humiliating him in the presence of his fellows through a reminder of it, nor by scattering throughout the community undesirable infor- mation about his defects and mistakes. On the contrary, such methods often increase the faults and deficiencies, and sometimes even blast the life of the unfortunate victim of such a misunderstanding of his needs and the improper treatment of his case. Conclusion. To sum up briefly, the importance of the teacher's intelligent and conscientious observance of all his varied ethical obligations cannot be overestimated. With- out due regard to these, he need not hope to succeed in his work, no matter how thorough his academic preparation may have been, and no matter how vigorously he endeavors to encourage or compel the acquisition of knowledge on the part of his pupils. His work as a teacher, as an instructor and guide of the young, will be a dismal failure, unless his under- standing of the profession of which he calls himself a member leads him to assume and maintain aright his various relations to all those persons with whom he cooperates in the educa- tion of the young. In addition to an intellectual under- standing of his obligations and responsibilities, the teacher must approach his work in the right spirit. In other words, he must be so filled with love for those committed to his care, so interested in their highest good, and so impressed with the importance and sacredness of the charge intrusted to him that his attitude toward those who have delegated the task to him and to those with whom he works, will be one of sympathy and love, rather than of criticism and defense. Then he will regard the board of education, the parents, and his fellow-teachers as co-workers instead of as antagonists SCHOOL ETHICS 41 against whom he must be on his guard, and his pupils, not as " little imps " to be watched, threatened, and tamed, but as human beings to be lovingly trained for effective service in the community and national life of which they must soon become a part. When teachers do more generally enter upon their work in this spirit, then the workers in this noble profession will aspire to and attain the full measure of its requirements and dignity, and will be in possession of the true joys such service yields. SUGGESTED READINGS School and Classroom Management, Arnold, pp. 36-55. Classroom Management, Bagley, chaps, xvii, xviii. School Management, Dutton, chap. xix. The Management of the City School, Perry, chaps, in, iv, V. All the Children of All the People, Smith, pp. 251-61. EXERCISES 1. To what institutions or organizations do you hold an ethical relation? Select one and name at least five rules of conduct it requires of its members. Consider whether you observe the obligations imposed by each. 2. Name some conventional ethics of the street that people generally observe. Consider whether a careful observance of street ethics in- creases or decreases one's real freedom. Mention some ways in which such observance adds to one's convenience. 3. Do you think that parents generally realize their obligations to the teacher? Name some of the ethical relations of parents toward the teacher that should be carefully observed. Of teachers toward the parents. 4. Name some violations of the ethical relations by superintendents, by boards of education, by teachers, and by pupils, and show how the school may be injured by them. 6. Name at least five rules which pupils should observe in their relations with one another. Name five rules that govern the relations of teachers with one another. Name five rules that should govern the relation of a pupil to his teacher, of the teacher to the pupil. 6. Name some ethical practices that would be corrected if the Golden Rule determined the conduct of people. Consider whether business relations could be regulated by this rule. 42 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING 7. Does the expression, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," repre- sent a good system of ethics? Does the New Testament advocate the doctrine implied in this expression? 8. Write out a few ethical rules under each relation discussed in this chapter. 9. Think of the most useful person you know and consider whether he is an observer of ethical laws. State some facts about him to justify your opinion of him. 10. There are two great sources of fundamental ethics. They are the ten commandments, and the thirteenth chapter of First Corinthians. Read these and make a list of the things they suggest to do, and of the things not to do. CHAPTER III THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION Educating forces. In the education of every ciiild there are many forces and influences at work. These act and react upon him to prepare him for his adult place in the various social and civic organizations of modern life. The most im- portant of these forces are the home, the school, the church, and the community. There are also secondary influences which exert more or less power over the child's development and growth, according to the degree that he comes into con- tact with them. Among these may be mentioned compan- ions, books, amusements, travel, and the conditions in his environment. If the combined working of all these influences upon the human being is to result in his complete develop- ment, physical, mental, and moral, then the child should be, as far as possible, surrounded with proper forces and influ- ences; and in order that there may be the desired results in his growth and development, these influences should be directed with definiteness and persistency. To the end that these forces may be so directed, two things are nec- essary. First, those persons concerned with the education of the child should understand the purpose of education in general; and second, they should be able to determine the specific purpose to be attained in the education of the hu- man beings committed to their care. The term " education " explained. It will be apparent that the term " education," as here used, is not limited to the instruction and training which the child receives in school, but is intended to include the entire preparation 44 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING which he receives for Ufe. This education or preparation for life, in order to be of the greatest value to the individual, should enable him to react in the right way in all the situations in which he may be placed. A glance at the kind of influences that have a part in a person's education will convince one that this preparation for life begins at a very early age, and goes on continuously, either with or without the knowledge and consent of the individual. To quote Dr. Thorndike: "No clear boundary separates man's education from the rest of his life. In the broadest sense his education is his life." Hence, environment, associates, and every chance influence which enters into the life of the child, as well as the generally recognized educational forces, have a part in this life prepa- ration. It follows, therefore, first, that education as a proc- ess unites all the developing and directing influences that enter into the life of the individual; and second, that educa- tion as an end is the resultant of the combined working of these forces. The character of the education or life prepa- ration which will result from this blending of the many and varied influences will depend upon the nature and character of the dominant ones. The aim of education stated by various educators. The distinct and ultimate aim of education has been variously stated by many educators and philosophers. An examina- tion of some of the best known and most frequently quoted of these aims will be interesting and instructive as showing the standards of value by which these men measure the results of the educational process. Plato, the Greek philosopher, long ago wrote: — The purpose of education is to give to the body and to the soul all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable. John Milton, out of his study and experience as a scjiool- master, when discussing education, said: — THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 45 The end of learning is to repair the ruins of our first parents by regaining to know God aright, and out of that knowledge to love Him, to imitate Him, to be like Him, as we may the nearest by possessing our souls of true virtue, which being united to the heavenly grace of faith, makes up the highest perfection. Froebel, the educational reformer and the founder of the kindergarten, in his work The Education of Man, states the purpose of education as " the realization of a faithful, pure, inviolate, and hence holy life." Herbert Spencer, the English educational philosopher, in his treatise on Education, says, " Education is the prepara- tion for complete living." This he further explains as mean- ing:— Not merely how to live in the material sense only, but in the widest sense, . . . the right ruling of conduct in all directions and under all circumstances. In what way to treat the body; in what way to treat the mind; in what way to manage our affairs; in what way to bring up a family; in what way to behave as citizens; in what way to utilize all those sources of happiness which nature supplies; how to use all our faculties to the greatest advantage of ourselves and others. American educators of the present day use various phrases in stating the same general aim as defined by the great phi- losophers and educators of different periods and different nations. Dr. McMurry defines the aim of education as " a preparation for social efficiency." Dr. W. T. Harris states it more at length as " the preparation of the individual, so that he can help his fellow-men, and in return receive and appropriate their help." Dr. O'Shea expresses his con- ception of the aim of education as " right adjustment to society." Character, the ultimate aim of education. After a careful consideration of these and other statements of the broad aim of education, one cannot fail to arrive at the conclusion that all have the same general idea of its meaning and purpose. 46 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING although they each stress some particular phase or phases of this great complex aim. An examination of the various phases of this great aim as presented by different educators and thinkers convinces one that about the most satisfac^ tory and concise statement of it is expressed in the on^J word " character." In the final analysis, all these defini- tions meet, although to many persons a somewhat clearer or more concise meaning may be conveyed by the phrases, " self-realization," " preparation for complete living," " ad- justment to society," " social efficiency," " reciprocal union with society," and various other statements of the aim of education. If character or character-building is the ultimate aim of education, then there must be much more included in the meaning of the word " character " than is usually under- stood by the term. According to the conception of many persons the word " character " is used only as applying to the moral or spiritual nature of man. In this narrow sense, it is clear that it could not include all the elements that enter into a person's education. The term as used here has a much broader meaning; for character, as the aim of education, must include all the elements that compose or make up a desirable and efficient preparation for life. It follows, therefore, that the greater the number of these elements that enter into a person's character, the more complete will be his education. Broad conception of character. In order that we may have a working or talking basis upon which to discuss this subject of the aim of education, an explanation is ventured of what is here embraced in the term " character." Character in- cludes all the qualities and ideals, both good and bad, that an individual expresses or presents in his daily life. There- fore a person of a worthy or desirable character may be described as one who represents in himself , and expresses in his life, the best ideals of the civilization of which he is a part. An exiirai- THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 47 nation of this statement of the meaning of character reveals the fact that a person's character, as representing the best ideals of the civilization in which he lives, must of necessity vary with the nature of the civilization. Hence, what if understood by a good or a desirable character is not the samt among all peoples and in all ages. For example, what was considered a good character among the early Greeks or Ro- mans, advanced as was their state of civilization, would not be considered adequate to-day for the reason that what met the highest demands of the civilization of those peoples and periods would not meet the needs of the civilization of the present time. Nor are the requirements of the civilization of to-day the same in all countries and among all nations. The life preparation which would be necessary for meeting the demands of the civiUzation of China or India, for instance, would not be the same that a person would require for meet- ing those of England, France, and many other countries. Those persons who understand character only as limited to the moral qualities of man, think of it as being absolute. They suppose that what is termed a " good character " has been essentially the same in all ages and among all peoples, and that it is the same among all nations at the present time. This is not the case, for owing to the changes in social ideals, and to the religious conception of what is right and wrong, valuable and useless, corresponding changes in the under- standing of character have been made necessary. Thus it is that with a changing and developing civiUzation there has evolved a more complex ideal of what character should em- brace. Since what is understood to constitute a good char- acter depends upon the ideals of the civilization in which one lives, it follows that what might be considered a desirable character in one civilization, or in a certain country, would not necessarily be considered a desirable character in some other. 48 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Character ideals. If character includes the best ideals of the civilization, then these ideals cannot be limited to the moral nature of man, but must include all the positive and best ideals of the civilization of which he is a part. In order then that we may comprehend what is embraced in the term character, and what it signifies at the present time, we must know the ideals of the civilization in our own country at the pres- ent time. It must be remembered that since different per- sons do not have exactly the same conception of the national ideals, the idea or understanding of character must be rela- tive, rather than positive or absolute. However, there is a sufficient number of these ideals that are generally accepted, to serve as a basis for determining what is meant by the term character. A brief discussion of the more important of these ideals may aid in the understanding of character as the aim of education. Religious ideals. All nations have religious ideals which determine conduct in the various situations in which moral questions are involved. All peoples in all ages, and among all nations, have held some form of religious belief, and have had some form of worship from which they have acquired their moral concepts and their standards of character. The religions of the past differed in their creeds and forms of wor- ship; and to a greater degree, the religions of the present thus differ. If, however, a person is sincere in his belief in the creed of the particular form of religion which he has adopted, and is conscientious in his observance of the obligations which it imposes, he may be said to be true to his religious ideals. A person who represented in his own life and conduct one of the religions of the past at its best was a good man in the terms of the civilization in which he lived; but in many respects he might not be considered a good man according to the standards of the civilization of to-day. A study of the history of civilization from the earliest time down to the pres- THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 49 ent, with this point in mind, is interesting and instructive as revealing the changes which have evolved in the ideals and standards by which men and institutions have been evaluated. It will also reveal the fact that the character of the religious belief and practice of a people mirrors to a marked degree their state of civilization. In order, therefore, that a fair and just estimate of a man's character may be made, he must be judged by the civilization of which he is a part, and not by that of some other period or nation. This fact is worthy of note and should be remembered in any study of mankind in different ages and in' different degrees of civilization. According to the standards of American civilization of to- day, to be what is understood as a good man, one must repre- sent in his life the best religious ideals of the present civiliza- tion in our own country. It is not sufficient for him merely to know what these ideals are; he must reflect them in his life. Although from the very nature of things some of the ele- ments of this present-day ideal are not constant or always present, there is still a sufficient number of them so firmly estabhshed as to give them a fixed place in the national ideal. The fundamental principles of the Christian religion, those that are the foundation of our religious ideals, are practically universal in the nation. Principles that are fundamental can- not change, although the conception of them may vary. These basal principles are known by all intelligent persons and are accepted, regardless of difference of creed, by all citi- zens who desire to represent in their lives the best religious ideals of the present. Ideal of home. Throughout this land of ours there is a fairly well-established ideal of the home. This ideal, natu- rally, is composed of a number of elements. There is, first, the material side which includes the house, the grounds, the house furnishings, the location, and the view. There is also 50 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING the personal side which consists of the father, the mother, the children, and such other members of the family as each particular home may contain. Each of these persons must, in a general way, represent a certain kind of training, certain habits, and a certain kind of conduct and bearing. All of these factors combined, both material and personal, go to make up the general idea of what constitutes a home; and it should be understood that any deficiency on either the material or the personal side affects the quality of the home. Since the home has become so important a factor in our American life, a clear conception of what it should represent cannot be too urgently impressed upon all who wish to represent in their character its best ideals. The home as a social organization was instituted primarily to provide proper care and protection for the helplessness of childhood, and parents are the natural guardians and pro- tectors of their children. The fact that this function can be managed better by them than by any state arrangement, as was the case in ancient Greece, lies at the foundation of the human family, and therefore of society and of institutional life as we understand them. Thus will be seen the impor- tance of the home among social institutions, and the responsibilities which devolve upon it in caring for the physical, mental, and moral needs of its members, particu- larly the young. No matter how well organized, or how fully equipped a community may be for looking after the needs of its people, it must depend upon the home for the founda- tional work, not alone as regards the physical requirements of its members, but for the beginnings in mental and spiritual culture and in the inculcation of ideals. From this it will be seen how important it is that a person should represent in his home relations the elements that make up the true and best ideal of the American home. The municipal ideal. We have in our country at the pres- THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 51 ent time certain well-defined municipal ideals. Like the ideal of the home, the municipal ideal may vary somewhat in different sections of the country and under different condi- tions; but also, like the ideal of the home, there are certain basal elements which are considered essential to it, and are therefore very generally accepted. The municipal ideal is also composite and more or less complex in its character. In general, it finds its material expression in the quality of the roads, sidewalks, public buildings, parks, street-lighting, water-supply, hygienic conditions, and other material mu- nicipal interests. Each of these reflects the character of the administrative department in a given community, and also the standards of the individual community in civic matters. It is true that the highest ideal of excellence has not yet been attained, and many communities fall far short of it, but this ideal is being more and more accepted as the standard by which municipal conditions may be measured. As such, it is rapidly becoming one of our national ideals, and a part of the national character. A person to represent in himself the best in community life must understand the recognized municipal ideals, and express them in his attitude toward all questions that are concerned with community w^elfare. Commercial ideals. In the business world of to-day there are certain definite commercial ideals that are recognized in practically all transactions, small as well as large. Among the more important of these are the ideals of honesty, truth- fulness, square dealing, and the like, which are based upon the principles that govern the dealings of men with one another. Therefore these ideals are universally accepted as the standards by which business transactions should be regu- lated, and all persons must recognize and attain these stand- ards if they wish to be considered honest and straightforward in their business dealings. In no other way can they secure and maintain the respect and confidence of their business 52 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING associates and their acquaintances in general. It is unfor- tunate that, notwithstanding the existence of these fixed ideals of honesty and fair dealing, there are many persons who are so blinded by selfishness and greed as to be ignorant of their nature, or who are wholly indifferent to their binding obligations upon themselves. This fact, however, does not affect the stability of the correct standards, nor the obliga- tions which they impose upon all persons whose conduct is governed by sentiments of honesty and integrity, or upon those who wish to maintain a creditable business standing among their fellows. Another point worthy of note in this connection is that the existence of these fixed commercial ideals makes it possible for one to discover or single out greedy, dishonest, and unreliable persons, and to protect one's self against their disreputable practices. It is evident that worthy commercial ideals are of the greatest value to the community and the nation, as well as to the individuals who understand and express them in their own business dealings. Moreover, the recognition and maintenance of the underlying principles upon which these ideals are based are of incalculable value, not more to the individual than to the nation which wishes to secure and retain a reputation for honesty and right dealing among the nations of the world. Industrial ideals. Certain positive ideals or standards have been established in the industrial world, and it is these that give stability of character to this important phase of our national activity. Recognized standards of excellence have been developed, certain quality of workmanship has been established, right rules of conduct have become fixed, a desirable attitude of employer and employed toward each other has been determined. These and other standards have been established for measuring the quality and efficiency of the industries, and for regulating the relation of the persons connected with them. In fact, these standards have been so THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 53 firmly wrought into our national ideals that they have be- come a great socializing and reforming force and influence. They have become, in short, an integral part of the nation's character, and no laborer or employer of labor can afford to ignore them if he wishes to be considered a worthy repre- sentative of the industrial world, or if he desires to add to the reputation and dignity of the great department of activity to which he belongs. What has been said with regard to the standards and ideals which govern the relation of employer and employee in the industries applies with equal force to all vocations. Ideal of citizenship. Americans have a distinct ideal of citizenship, and of the qualities required by a person to make him what they regard as an ideal citizen. Like every other ideal, this ideal of what constitutes a good citizen has passed through many modifications during the course of its develop- ment, from the earliest conception of man's relation to his community and State down to the present idea of his duties and privileges in this great democracy. As man advanced in intelligence and in the ability to assume responsibility, there was placed in his hands sovereign power, and sovereign rights which he exercises through the medium of the ballot. The intelligent and honest use of this power is regarded as one of the proofs of good citizenship. In fact, this particular standard for citizenship is so well established that it often affords the basis or standard for determining whether a man is or is not a good citizen. Therefore a man who fails in this test is at once known to be deficient in some of the essential elements of character. Great importance is placed upon the manner in which a man exercises his sovereign right for the reason that it serves as an index of the man himself. In order that a man may be able to exercise this high privilege of citizenship in an hon- est, intelligent, and conscientious manner, he must possess in 54 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING himself many of the fundamental elements of true man- hood. Such a man will usually be a valuable citizen and a true patriot, ready and eager to serve either his local com- munity or his nation to the best of his ability. Moreover, he will be governed in his private as well as in his public life and conduct by good impulses and high ideals. Too much stress cannot be laid upon the necessity of every person's acquiring the true ideals of citizenship if he ever expects to have the privilege and the responsibility of properly exercis- ing this prerogative in our great commonwealth. Ideal of patriotism. Another national ideal somewhat re- lated to that of citizenship is the feeling for our country as a nation, in which patriotic pride and love are manifested. We are justly proud of our country, of her magnitude, of her lofty mountains and her beautiful valleys, of her extensive plains and her great forests, of her many rivers and her great lakes, of her busy mills and factories, and of all her mate- rial greatness. We are particularly proud of her homes, her schools, and her churches, of her men and her women, of her discoveries and inventions, of her government and h^r laws, of her watchfulness over the interests of her citizens, and of her benign and Christian influence throughout the world. This ideal which we have set up for our country is a most significant one, for it is the expression of the nation's char- acter. As the character of the nation must partake largely of the character of its citizens, the ideal that is established for a nation must reflect the private ideals and standards of the people that compose the nation. To be of value, to be really standards of measure determining the character of the people and of the nation, these ideals must not be mere con- ceptions of personal and national worth; but they must be ideals that are absolutely real in life and practice. Ideals of manhood. Finally, as a people we have a definite and high standard of excellence in manhood and woman- THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 55 hood. Owing to the changes in the standards by which hu- man worth is estimated, that have taken place with the ad- vancement of civiUzation, this ideal differs greatly at the present time from the ideal of the ancients. If we were to compare, for example, the early Greek and Roman ideals of manhood, we should find that they differed in many impor- tant features from those of to-day. In the first place, we should find that the ideals of the past were more simple, owing to the simpler civilization of those early periods. Our complex society with its varied demands has naturally produced a more complex ideal of manhood; and to-day a man must combine in his character more of the elements that make for true manhood than was necessary in an earlier and simpler civilization. Again, the standards by which manhood is estimated have changed materially. In the past a man who excelled in military gifts and accomplish- ments became the idol and the ideal of his countrymen. His education, his language, his general conduct w^ere not of so much importance as his skill in warfare; for military achievement was the standard by which men were mainly measured. In these latter days, the fact has been established that true manhood can be expressed in peace as well as in war; for honesty, sobriety, industry, and brotherly love are more positive evidences of true and noble manhood than prowess in battle. Illustrations might be given to show that many factors have been added to our conception of ideal manhood during the course of the evolution of society, but this is not nec- essary. Every student of history, and every observer of mankind, can supply as many examples as he desires. To- day many forces and influences are required to mould and develop the complete man. He must have a sound body, well proportioned and strong. He must have at least a fairly good academic education. He must have some knowledge 66 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING of social customs, and deport himself properly among his fellows. He must have a vocational preparation that will enable him to achieve success in some honorable field of hu- man activity. Above all, he must represent in his conduct, at home and elsewhere, the moral and religious elements which modern civilization approves. It is not claimed that a person can fully combine in himself all these desirable qualities. He may from some natural or other unpreventable cause lack one or even more of them; but these are the ele- ments and qualities which enter into ideal manhood, and for these every one should strive in the endeavor to attain as nearly as possible this high standard of excellence. Character-building. A man may be said to possess a worthy character just to the extent that he understands and exemplifies in himself the best ideals of the civilization of which he is a part. He may not exemplify all of these ideals, nor any number of them in equal degree, and yet he may be a worthy and useful man in society. On the other hand, how- ever, it is evident that a person who emphasizes or exagger- ates a small number of even desirable character ideals to the exclusion of others could not be said to possess a well- balanced character, or be a very useful member of society. A person's character may be said to be evenly balanced just in proportion as the correct relation is maintained among the elements that compose or make up his ideals. Whenever a person enlarges his conception of any of the ideals of our civiUzation or embodies any of them in his own character, he takes a step forward in proper character- building. It is thus by the continual enlargement of right conceptions and by the addition of high aims and ideals that true character is built. Excellence and bigness of character are not attained suddenly or quickly, but by gradual devel- opment and growth which begin with the earliest conceptions and go on either with or without the consciousness of the THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 57 individual as long as life lasts. This truth is well expressed by the poet J. G. Holland in the lines: — "Heaven is not reached by a single bound. But we build the ladder by which we rise From the lowly earth to the vaulted skies, And we mount to its summit, round by round." A person's character is the sum of his ideals. This dis- cussion and consideration of these ideals of our civiliza- tion and their relation to true character-building gives a broader conception than is generally held of what consti- tutes a good or desirable character. When a good character is understood as representing in itself the best ideals of the present civilization, it will be perceived readily that it in- cludes much more than spiritual development. It does in- clude all the moral and manly virtues which indicate high ideals of life and conduct as opposed to immoraUty, idleness, ignorance, coarseness, dishonesty, and other qualities which betoken low ideals and consequently weak or evil character; and it includes much more. It embraces all of the best ideals of the present, and the more of these a person possesses and exemplifies, the fuller and richer will be his character. If a man could represent in himself all the best and noblest Ideals of the present civilization, he would have attained to the highest degree of excellence within the reach of mortal man. Whether a man possesses many or only a few of these worthy ideals, or whatever the nature of his ideals may be, all combined will make up his character; for a man's char- acter represents the sum of his ideals. Since this is true, it is of the utmost importance that he gain the kind of knowledge and experiences that will give him the best ideals. The plus element in education. If character, as here de- fined, is the end and aim of education, then there must be more value in the study of arithmetic, geography, and his- tory than a mere knowledge of arithmetic, geography, and 58 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING history, for no one of these subjects, nor all of them com- bined, can produce character. There must be something in all the subjects of the curriculum, in addition to the informa- tion given, which, when properly used, contributes to the formation of character, and is therefore of greater value than the subject-matter itself. This by-product, this character- forming material, is the plus element in education. Knowl- edge is the warp; and this plus element, which every subject taught should be made to yield, is the woof of character. It is the varying amount of this plus element that is pro- duced in different schools rather than the varying amount of knowledge of the subject imparted that determines their relative worth. Naturally there may be variations in the amount of warp produced in different cases; but when there is a large quantity of the woof present, there is certain to be enough warp into which the woof may be woven. If the teacher would make a careful study of the ideals of the civilization of the present, and in turn separate each of them into its chief elements, he would have no difficulty in discovering plus elements in the lessons which he teaches. In the schools of the past, it was an almost universal custom to test growth in terms of the subject-matter, and to some extent this is true of the schools of the present. This view- point of the aim of education has made many teachers blind to all other phases of instruction. They hear defini- tions of education, and they even listen to discussions upon character as its ultimate aim; but their imperfect concep- tions of the real meaning and aim of education prevents their understanding the full meaning and import of these discussions. It is not surprising that teachers having this narrow and imperfect conception of the ultimate aim think only of the immediate aim in its subject-matter sense as something quite unrelated to character-building. Teachers must give special attention to finding and using the plus THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 59 element in the daily lessons of the class-room if they would become real character-builders. Large aim in education. When all the definitions of education and its ultimate aim which have been proposed by great educators and philosophers have been examined, it will be found they all agree that the supreme purpose of ed- ucation is character-building, and the ultimate result char- acter. If teachers would recognize this fact more fully than they generally do, they would understand that education must show its result in the character of the individual rather than in the amount of objective knowledge he acquires, and they would strive more for the subjective result in the character of the individual. This does not suggest that objective matter is not to be presented, nor that subjective and objective teaching are widely separated and inharmoni- ous processes. On the contrary, the objective elements are necessary and must be correlated with the subjective, for a person can arrive at a knowledge of self only through a knowledge of things external to himself. The two ideas or immediate purposes in teaching, the subjective and the objective, should be combined and unified in such a way that in the presentation of objective knowledge, more of the plus element may be produced and the desired subjective reaction be attained. Character aim attained through right teaching. Every teacher has some kind of aim, for there could be no teaching without an aim. Very often, however, this aim is narrow, imperfect, or it is directed toward a wrong end. Therefore, good teaching, w ith satisfactory results, cannot be expected in such cases. To make desirable results possible from the efforts of any teacher, the aim toward which the teaching is directed must be first of all the truest and highest that can be attained in the preparation for life and effective service. In the second place, the teaching must be definite and con- 60 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING slant, that all the effort may be constantly directed toward the attainment of this aim. The teacher who truly under- stands the ultimate aim of education and endeavors by the best means within his reach to attain it will seek to inspire his pupils with the highest ideals. To this end, he will make use of the objective element in such a way as to produce as much as possible of the subjective or plus element in his teaching. When teachers more generally learn the value of such teaching, and learn how to apply this knowledge to their own work, the instruction in the schools will contribute more positively to the great work of character-building; and the ultimate aim, the supreme aim of education, will in a larger measure be attained. As a result, when the pupils in the schools come to take their places as men and women in their communities, they will more and more represent in their lives, in their work, in their civic and social relations, in the home, and in the church, the best ideals of the civilization in which they live. SUGGESTED READINGS Craftsmanship in Teaching, Bagley, pp. 43-45, 58-62. Principles of Education, Klapper, pp. 6-18. Educative Process, Bagley, pp. 22, 41-66, 222-24. Principles of Elementary Education, Bachmaa, pp. 168-76. The Art of Education, Howerth, pp. 202-10. Principles of Teaching, Harvey, pp. 47, 66-82. Education and the Larger Life, Henderson, pp. 6-7. All the Children of All the People, Smith, chaps, i, xxii. " Classroom Management, Bagley, pp. 7-8. The Meaning of Education, Butler, pp. 19-21. Education and the Larger Life, Henderson, pp. 6-7. EXERCISES 1. Write as clearly as you can your idea of what constitutes an education. According to your idea of an education, define an educated person. 2. In the deiinitions of education given in this chapter and by the au- THE ULTIMATE AIM OF EDUCATION 61 thors referred to in suggested readings, you will note that no branches 61 studies are mentioned. Why is this? Have you ever heard any one speak of education in terms of branches of learning? 3. What is your idea of the signiflcance of the term "character"? 4. What is your understanding of an ideal? Do children have ideals? Why do a person's ideals change? How are ideals formed? Are ideals ever realized? 5. State in detail some of the desirable qualities of a man at the head of a family. Write of him as father and as citizen. 6. Write out in detail your conception of an ideal city. Name some city that comes nearest to your ideal. 7. Name some of the necessary qualities of an ideal citizen. Name some of the qualities of a woman that you admire. Think of the best teacher you have ever had, and name some of the elements of worth he possessed. 8. Explain your idea of what constitutes a religious man or woman. Could such a person be a success in the industrial or the business world? 9. Having in mind some persons of your acquaintance, apply to them the test of your ideal man or woman. 10. Think of the most useful men you know, and consider whether the schools, as you know them, produce such men. Name some qualities that they possess which the schools do not give. 11. In which of the classes mentioned in this chapter do you think your ideals are the most highly developed? Are they merely a matter of knowledge or do they express themselves in your life? CHAPTER IV HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION The desire for happiness universal. A desire for happi- ness is an almost universal longing of the human heart. It is as deeply and as strongly implanted as the love of life itself. It is sought because of the real or imagined enjoy- ment it is supposed to yield. Without knowing exactly how it is to be secured, nearly every one is seeking it and hoping to attain it some time. The means by which people are striv- ing for this much-desired end are as many and as varied as their conceptions of what constitutes happiness and of the conditions and attainments that will produce it. This is necessarily so, for a condition that one person might im- agine would bring him satisfaction and happiness might not offer any attractive features to some other person. Mac- Kenzie says that, "What constitutes our happiness depends on the universe or realm of ideals in which we Uve. The happiness of a wise man is very different from that of the fool." Thus it is that we find one person seeking some particular object that is expected to yield satisfaction and joy, while another person is seeking something altogether different. Man's labor and effort are directed along many different lines of endeavor in the vocational, the social, and the political world. This effort apparently has for its specific aim the attainment of wealth, position, fame, or some other coveted end; but these objects are not really the ultimate ends for which men toil. They are rather means or instru- ments for the attainment of some desired goal, which may be expressed as success, satisfaction, or happiness for the in- HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 63 dividual himself, or for some one for whom he plans and labors. A person's belief in the desirability of the particular aim for which he labors is often so strong as to overshadow all other considerations, and leads him to devote his life to hard work, sacrifices, and all kinds of self-denial in order to attain it. Not infrequently the hope of securing it by some quick or short-cut process tempts him to resort to unright- eous or illegal means to that end, and by this means, he defeats the very aim in view; for anything thus secured can- not bring satisfaction and happiness. The quest of happiness legitimate. Many persons treat the desire for happiness as a hunger or craving that is harm- ful to the individual, and therefore to be repressed. This is a mistaken idea. It is not the natural desire or wish for happiness that injures the person seeking it; but it is the irregular and often harmful means which he takes for secur- ing it, in the mistaken belief that it is to be attained only in this way. The pursuit of happiness is not be to condemned; but, on the contrary, it should be encouraged, provided it be properly directed and regulated. The human heart should be filled with joy and gladness, not with sadness and despair; for man must have joy in his heart in order to do his best work and fully realize the purpose of his existence. The Bible contains many allusions to the desire for happiness and joy as desirable, and mentions means by which they may be obtained. The Psalmist saw in the result of true character- building that "fulness of joy" which he places above all other rewards. The sanction put upon the right quest of happiness by the Divine writers and the world's great phi- losophers, as well as the universality of the desire for its attainment, shows that man ought to have joy in his work. Therefore his education, his preparation for life, should in- clude some knowledge of the means by which it may be attained. 64 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Happiness sought through self-gratification. People are seeking happiness by many and varied means, according to their varied conceptions of its nature, and of the roads which lead to it. Some seek it wisely through the observance of law, and by those means which are in harmony with estab- lished principles and ideas of right. Others, mistaking the means for attaining it, seek it through the violation of law. Many persons expect to find happiness through the gratifi- cation of the physical nature, others seek it though the effort to satisfy intellectual hungers, and still others search for it by spiritual or religious means. A great many persons expect to find happiness in social pleasures, in amusements, in the accumulation of wealth, in the attainment of political position, or in some other form of self -gratification. Other persons look for satisfaction and happiness through fostering and indulging the taste for literature, music, and the other fine arts. They read books, they listen to music, and they enjoy the works of art by which more gifted persons have given expression to their best ideas and their most beautiful dreams and visions. By so doing, these seekers after happi- ness believe that they will realize it in the satisfaction and the enjoyment which they will experience in the contempla- tion of the works of great writers, musicians, and artists. Among the seekers after happiness, none find more joy in the search, and none are more likely to discover it, than those who are looking for it in the contemplation and enjoy- ment of nature. Ruskin, who is undoubtedly the greatest prophet and lover of nature of recent times, relates how even as a child he felt a thrill of joy beyond words to describe, to use his own language, " A joy in nature which seemed to me to come from a sort of heart hunger." He and many other lovers of nature in her various moods have found their happiness in her presence, not in personal delight alone, but also in reproducing for the pleasure of others the marvels HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 65 and delights which they have themselves enjoyed. Some marked cases of the joy experienced in the contemplation of nature are worthy of note at this point because of their sug- gestiveness. The love of the Hebrew race for nature seems to have been instinctive, and the beautiful imagery of David, Job, and other Hebrew writers attests the acquaintance of the old Hebrew poets with the beautiful and sublime in nature. It has been rightly said that, if the descriptions of nature were taken out of the Bible, literature would lose some of its greatest chapters. The frequent references to nature in the writings of the world's great poets from Homer down to Wordsworth and our own Bryant, show that they were all students and lovers of Nature, and that from her they drew their loftiest inspirations, and found suggestions for their finest utterances. Moreover, many of them testify that in her they find their wisest teachers, and their truest happi- ness. For such there are " tongues in trees, books in the running brooks, sermons in stones, and good in everything " which nature holds. The poet Wordsworth beautifully ex- presses what has often been felt by others as well as himself when he says : — "Therefore am I still A lover of the meadows and the woods. And mountains; and of all that we behold From this green earth; of all the mighty world Of eye, and ear, — both what they half create. And what perceive; well pleased to recognize In nature and the language of the sense. The anchor of my purest thoughts, the nurse, The guide, the guardian of my heart. . . . Nature never did betray The heart that loved her; 't is her privilege. Through all the years of this our life, to lead From joy to joy: for she can so inform The mind that is within us, so impress With quietness and beauty, and so feed With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues. Rash judgments, nor the sneers of selfish men. 66 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Nor greetings where no kindness is, nor all The dreary intercourse of daily life. Shall e'er prevail against us, or disturb Our cheerful faith." * Happiness through service for others. Still other persons find their truest happiness in service for others, in efforts to improve the conditions, to lighten the burdens, and to brighten the lives of their fellow-men. To this end they de- vote as much of their time, their talents, and their money as their circumstances will permit. The methods by which these workers for humanity seek to attain their worthy aims are as many and as varied as the avenues of human endeavor. Some try to improve the physical condition of man, others endeavor to cultivate the intellectual nature of man, and still others labor for the development of the spiritual nature. Some persons who make the welfare of their fellows the primary object of their efforts, try to contribute to man's material comforts and conveniences, and others labor for the highest development and growth of his character. The pages of history and the daily press furnish innum- erable examples of men and women, inspired with a love for humanity, who have given freely of their time and of themselves in unselfish efforts to improve the condition and minister to the needs of others. Many social welfare workers like General Booth, Jacob Riis, and Jane Addams, whose love for humanity has overshadowed all considera- tions of self-gratification, have devoted all the energies of their great intellects to solving the social problems of their unfortunate brothers and sisters in the dark alleys and the crowded tenements. They have found their highest joy and fullest happiness in the gratifying results of their labors. Many scientists and workers in material things have made discoveries and invented tools and machinery that have im- 1 Tinlern Abbey. HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 67 proved labor conditions and lessened the drudgery of a multi- tude of persons; and in so doing they have thought more of the benefit they have wrought to others than of the material gain to themselves. Many other examples might be given, but it is not necessary; for every reader can cite instances from his own knowledge of persons who have thus devoted their lives to the service of their fellows, and have testified that in so doing they found their greatest joy and happiness. Observation and experience both show that whatever may be the specific aim sought by those who wish to serve their fellow-men, and whatever may be the methods employed to realize it, the gain to those for whom the work is done is not more certain and positive than the blessing of satisfaction and happiness that comes to those who, either solely in or addition to their regular vocations, make service for human- ity a distinct and constant aim. Happiness an aid to best effort. Happiness is desirable not alone because of the exultant thrills of joy and the content- ment and satisfaction which it gives, but because it is a condition in which a person can do his most effective work. It is, in short, a practical blessing; for when the heart is filled with joy, the hand can do its best work; when the soul is exulting and rejoicing, the head can think its loftiest and most inspiring thoughts. A person who is habitually morbid and depressed cannot do his best in executing a really fine piece of work that calls for thought and invention. He may work like a machine at an appointed task, but he cannot create a thing of beauty or of meaning. No person can render his best service, either economically or socially, to the community in which he lives, unless his own life yields a reasonable amount of satisfaction and happiness. Unless his own social needs and spiritual hungers are satisfied to some degree, he is not in a condition to return a just equivalent in service to others. A great singer who is esteemed for her 68 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING womanly qualities as well as because of her glorious voice, recently made the statement that a singer can sing her best only when she is happy. No matter how great her tone reg- isters or her natural gift in voice, her heart must dream its finest dreams, — her own soul must really sing, — if she is to put soul into her voice and interpret for her hearers the composition which she attempts to render. Humanity's hunger for happiness should not be decried and repressed, but rather fostered, if man is to produce his best work and render the most efficient service of which he is capable in his particular department of human effort. For this reason it is desirable, when educators are considering the fundamental principles of the life philosophy which should furnish a basis for the education of the young, that they present some constructive practical ideas and principles that underlie the right attainment of joy and happiness in the daily tasks of life. It is essential that the teacher should know these principles, in order that he may create such conditions in his schoolroom and inspire his pupils with such an attitude toward their work that they will consider it a pleasure rather than drudgery. Further, such a knowl- edge of the correct principles underlying true happiness will enable him to instruct his pupils in the means by which they may be happy, not only in the discharge of their daily tasks, but in their future lives and work. Happiness through obedience to law. An examination of a few of the means that are used in the search for happiness reveals the fact that these lead to the desired goal only when they are employed in accordance with the fundamental principle which underlies the pursuit of true happiness. This principle or law is embodied in the statement that the chief joys of life come from a ready and willing obedience to just laws. The term law as here used is intended to include all the rules that govern life and conduct ; and hence it includes HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION GO not only the laws that govern civil and social life, but those that regulate the i)hysical, moral, and spiritual life as well. A careful analysis of any of the laws that fall under one of these classes and of the purpose which it serves, will show that the idea underlying it is the good of man. It has been truly said that, " God has ordained that every act of obedi- ence to His laws lends strength and resonance to those chords that vibrate joy." Indeed it is a well-known fact that all just laws exist for the welfare of the individual and the good of society in general. An understanding of these laws and of the relation which a careful observance of their requirements bears to man's happiness should make people not only will- ing, but desirous of obeying thera. Violation of law brings penalty. Man needs guidance in the discharge of his duties and in the indulgence of his tastes and desires, and for this reason he must have guide-posts along the highway of life to point the way and to warn him of pitfalls and other impending dangers. The laws and rules which govern life and conduct serve as these guide-posts to direct man and to prevent his falling into error through ignorance and lack of warning and direction. If man were a mere creature of chance, and his life a haphazard mingling of unrelated and unregulated events and conditions, he would be in a constant state of confusion and uncertainty that would destroy his harmony with the universe and make civilization impossible. A little reflection upon this subject will convince any intelligent person that happiness and satisfaction can come only through a proper regard for the guide-posts and warnings along the way; in short, through a ready obedience to the necessary rules and laws. Besides, man is responsible for the breaking of these laws, whether he knows thera or not; and he must suffer the conse- quences, whether he breaks a law of health or a law of the land. 70 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Laws of nature discovered through experience. The laws of nature are fixed and eternal, and it is only as man learns and observes them that he can adjust himself to society. As with all laws, ignorance of them does not make a person exempt from the penalty of disregarding them. Hence it is the more essential that he who wishes to enjoy the benefits that follow an observance of these laws, and to escape the penalty of violating them, should learn what they are and regulate his life according to their requirements. These laws have been discovered by man in his efforts to adjust himself to the conditions in which he finds himself. As they have been discovered, they have been recorded and preserved for the benefit of succeeding generations; and those who wash may inform themselves regarding these rules without under- going the slow and often undesirable process of discovering and learning them from personal experience. Every person should know at least such of these laws as have been found most serviceable to humanity in all ages and those whose observance contributes most largely to individual happiness and to the general good. Many of these relate to the phys- ical man, and have become generally known through the universal experience of mankind. Among these laws are those relating to food, sleep, rest, overwork, exposure to unwhole- some conditions, and other matters of everyday experience. Since most people have learned these laws either from personal exjjerience, through observation, or by testing the experiences and testimony of others, they understand the wisdom of keeping them as well as the penalty of disregard- ing them. Notwithstanding this fact, there are many peo- ple who habitually ignore these laws when they conflict with the pursuit of some pleasure w^hich seems to promise satisfaction and joy. Such unwise seekers after happiness find, often to their sorrow, that real happiness cannot be se- cured by such means, and that the promised joy was a mere HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 71 will-o'-the-wisp which vanished when they attempted to seize it. People often recklessly violate well-known physical laws for so-called pleasure, and gain in return only useless regrets and often untold suffering in broken health. They understand the laws, they know the result of breaking them; but they are unwilling to observe what they acknowledge to be reasonable requirements, because of some real or im- agined exertion, personal discomfort, or self-denial. Social laws evolved in the development of civilization. Social laws are the outgrowth of social conditions and re- quirements and of the efforts of mankind to make the proper adjustments to these conditions and requirements. During the evolution of society, the laws and rules which regulate and govern the conduct of man as a social being have been defined and established. This leads naturally to the idea of social integrity which is defined in terms of these laws and is maintained by the observance of them. They are in general accepted as reasonable and wise, and yet they are often knowingly broken by persons who understand them and are fully acquainted with the consequences of breaking them. Unfortunately, such persons have not culti- vated the habit of being guided by their honest and best judgments, nor of giving ready and willing obedience to law. They choose rather to follow their impulses or the desires for some immediate comfort, pleasure, or gain, without con- sidering future consequences. Social laws broken through wrong conception of a life purpose. Persons who heedlessly or willfully violate the laws of society either do not possess a high ulterior aim in life, or they do not have the moral strength to follow their convic- tions. In formulating their conception of a life aim, they have consciously or unconsciously neglected to include in it these elements that would give it stability and real worth. Their conception of a life purpose consists in the securing 72 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING of a position in the business, social, or political world, in accumulating wealth, in owning a fine house, in wearing ex- pensive clothing, or in having a " good time." A life based solely upon such aims can never bring true happiness; but it may bring social ostracism, disappointment, and even despair. Every one should have a definite life purpose, founded upon some worthy aim to which he consecrates his best powers and efforts, instead of merely drifting aimlessly from one piu-pose to another and from one chance activity to some other that attracts him. Those persons who have for their ultimate aim true character-building with all that this includes, and who are willing to be guided by just laws and to conform their lives to the requirements of these laws, do gain rewards in contentment and happiness with the ac- companying delights. Breaking of law fatal to happiness. History and literature tell many sad stories of those who have missed success and happiness because they did not select a worthy life purpose, and did not observe the established laws of nature and of society. Every one is familiar with the story of the great military leader who is reported to have wept because there were no more worlds for him to conquer, but who could not conquer self and the desire for self -gratification. Though he had overcome kingdoms, he could not overcome his love of pleasure, and hence he fell a victim to self-indulgence and broken laws. There is also that other miUtary genius who, because his life purpose was based upon a selfish motive, and because he violated the laws of God and man, missed hap- piness and died a broken-hearted exile on a lonely isle far from his native land. One has but to glance over the pages of history to find the names of many persons who, by their natural gifts, were fitted for the attainment of success and hap- piness through service for humanity, but who have missed both by trying to attain selfish purposes. Instead of sue- HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 73 cess, failure has been written after their names, because by trying to realize some selfish life purpose through the viola- tion of law, they have missed that for which they struggled. Every reader of these pages can recall cases from personal knowledge to illustrate the wisdom of obeying and the folly of disobeying established laws. Every community furnishes examples of young men who, with the same opportunities, have started out in life together, but have taken different paths for the attainment of success and the realization of their life purposes. The one, taking for his life aim the achievement of some unworthy ambition which he tried to realize through the disregard or the violation of law, has in the end found failure and disappointment. The other, basing his life purpose upon the worthy aims of character- building and service for humanity, has attained his life pur- pose through an observance of law, and has gained satisfac- tion and happiness. An example, illustrative of this, is the case of two men who graduated from a well-known college in the same class. They had the same income. They had about an equal amount of ability, and their chances for success were about the same. They engaged in business in the same State. The one centered all his aims on the achieve- ment of position and wealth, which he determined to acquire by any and all means within his power, regardless of the rights and interests of other persons. The other, also, desired to win success in his chosen occupation, but he made these aims secondary to the building-up of a reputation for hon- esty and integrity and the development of a worthy charac- ter. He found his greatest pleasure in service for his fellow- men, while the other sought his in questionable pleasures and pursuits. The one had the respect and confidence of all who knew him; the other, through his greed for money, com- mitted a crime which led to his spending his last years in prison. 74 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING The difference between human beings is not so much one of ability and power as of purpose, ideals, and character. A business man recently remarked in the hearing of the writer: " What we need in our business is young men and women upon whom we can depend ; and what we ask the schools to send us is not graduates that know more arithmetic and bookkeeping, but young people who are reliable and trust- worthy. It is not more knowledge but more principle that we want in our employees. We have adding machines and short -cut devices for the mechanical processes, and any one can learn to use them; but a young man or woman to win success in our business must be a person of principle and character, willing to follow instructions and to observe the rules and requirements of the business." Happiness within the reach of all. At the present day, it would seem that every possible means is being employed to direct mankind to that high plane of thought and endeavor which leads to the attainment of satisfaction and happiness. With schools, libraries, reading-rooms, museums, and in many cases, vocational training shops, thrown invitingly open to all, rich and poor alike, there is no child who does not have the opportunity to receive such instruction and to gain such knowledge as will enable him to direct his life and effort into those channels where he will find satisfaction and happiness. In this enlightened age when education of various kinds is free to all, there is no one so poor or so humble that he, if he avails himself of the means within his reach, may not reasonably hope to secure the knowledge that will enable him to give the right trend to his life, and thus secure the rich blessings of peace and happiness. Happiness not dependent upon external conditions. The person who is mentally and morally equipped to meet diffi- culties and obstacles, and who is willing to observe the rules which regulate right life and conduct, need not fear that any HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 75 disaster which may overtake him can destroy his inward content and joy. It has been proved again and again that sickness, financial difficulties, loss of position, imprison- ment, and persecution cannot rob those who know the secret of true happiness of their peace and joy. As a fact, many persons while suffering from one or more of these calamities have done their best work and have enjoyed their truest satisfaction. It might be thought that long imprisonment would dull the energy of a man, yet some of our great writ- ers have received the inspiration for their loftiest utterance while in gloomy dungeons, shut away from the light of the sun and the associations of their fellow-men. It was while thus confined that John Bunyan conceived and wrote that marvelous allegory. The Pilgrim's Progress. The unconquer- able spirit of the Apostle Paul rose triumphant over the great- est tribulations and persecutions in a calm peace and joy which neither persecution, famine, poverty, the sword, perils by land and sea, nor any other calamity could take from him. " The soul is big with the possibilities of happiness," is an assertion that has been proved true again and again. The story of Epictetus, the slave philosopher, is a striking example of this. Subjected to the most inhuman treatment by his cruel master, with only chance moments for study, maimed in body and suffering the sharpest pain, he with in- domitable spirit rose victorious over all these conditions. The habit of obejdng law should be formed in childhood. The necessity of early forming the habit of willing obedience to all just laws is the more apparent when we consider that there is no sadder page in all history than the record of the vain attempts of people to find happiness through the viola- tion of law. The pathways which by many persons are sup- posed to lead to happiness through the breaking of law, are strewn with envy, jealousy, discontent, remorse, misery. 76 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING and wretchedness; and they lead not to happiness, but to disappointment, despair, and often even to death. Although many of the persons who travel these paths know the laws and the penalties for breaking them, they often find it diflS- cult and sometimes even impossible to be governed and guided by the laws which they know to be just, because they have not established the habit of obeying law or of following their own better judgment. This fact should impress the necessity that children form, along with correct habits of life and conduct, the habit of obedience to all just laws and requirements. Psychologists tell us that habits are fixed by the time a person is thirty years of age. It is a well-known fact that a person over twenty years old can rarely, if ever, learn to speak a foreign language without accent; and sp>eech, ges- ture, and other personal habits acquired during childhood and youth can seldom be altogether overcome. For this reason, according to William James, " We must make auto- matic and habitual, as early as possible, as many useful actions as we can; and we must guard against growing into ways that are likely to be disadvantageous to us, as we should guard against the plague." Parents and teachers can greatly aid the young in forming habits of obedience to helpful laws. By informing themselves regarding the prin- ciples which underlie, not only the rules of the heart and the mind, but the social rules as well, they can impart to the children under their care a knowledge of these laws, and the higher satisfaction and happiness which comes from a willing and cheerful obedience of them. Since whatever is done regularly soon becomes a fixed habit, and is then done readily and without effort, it is of the greatest importance that children should learn correct rather than wrong habits, and that they should habitually obey, instead of break, the reasonable and just rules of life and conduct. HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 77 Happiness impossible without observance of law. What has been said of the wisdom of keeping the laws of nature and of society is true also regarding the civil law. Since these laws exist for the benefit of the individual and for the wel- fare of society and the nation, it is only by an observance of them that the highest good of mankind in general and as individuals can be secured. It is an unalterable truth to-day, just as it was when the wisest of men first uttered it, that " He that keepeth the law, happy is he," and it might have been added with equal truth, " He that breaketh the law, unhappy is he." Happiness in its true sense cannot be se- cured by the person who willfully and habitually trans- gresses the law or who is in conflict with the law. A man may temporarily satisfy his vanity, he may enjoy momentary triumphs, he may taste the joy of social con- quest, or he may revel in sensual pleasure, ignoring all just laws; but none of these indulgences can give him true happi- ness. A feeling of opposition to law is not experienced by the person whose attitude is one of willing acquiescence in it. It is only when a man is in conflict with the law that he feels its presence and pressure, and is restless, rebellious, and un- happy because of its requirements. Therefore every person should endeavor to understand aright the principles upon which the laws are founded, that he may see for himself the justice of them, and may take pleasure in obeying them. Immunity from pain not necessary to happiness. Happi- ness does not necessarily mean freedom from suffering. In fact, the truest happiness and the greatest joy often come from the exercise of self-denial, the successful conflict with difficulties, the overcoming of great temptations, and the patient endurance of pain. We have a beautiful example of this in the remarkable life and writings of Charles Lamb, whose contributions to literature should be knownn to every reader of these pages. He has been described as one of the 78 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING " rarest, truest, kindest, and richest friends who visits us in the library." With his kindly humor, his quaint philosophy, his ready sympathy, his tender pathos, he furnishes thought for our every mood. Yet he wrote while suffering the keenest disappointment that can come to mortal man, and when his head was bowed with sorrow and his eyes were dimmed with tears. We are deeply indebted to him for the pleasing hours he has given us through his books; but even more are we indebted to him for the lesson of his life, for an example of how a noble soul can rise above disappointment and disaster, and can find the secret of happiness and calm content. It has been wisely said that the first principle of a practical philosophy must begin with the reconciliation of happiness and trouble. If life is a training school, then all the events of life, whether they bring joy or sorrow, have a part in the moulding and developing of character; and the degree of growth which a person may attain depends upon the thor- oughness with which he learns the lessons which these events teach. There are times when duty makes such stern demands upon a person that to obey its call means enduring pain, suffering, and sometimes even death. The mother, through the well-established laws of motherhood, gives up for the sake of her child social enjoyment, ease, and many forms of comfort and pleasure. When sickness invades her home, she gladly gives of her strength and energy in the care of the afflicted one. In the midst of her self-denial, fatigue, and anxiety, she experiences a happiness, a supreme joy which is never felt by the mother who delegates the care of her child to another. The latter, by surrendering or evading the sacred duty and privilege of the mother, loses some of the sweetest hours of joy and happiness that can come to human beings. A soldier in the service of his country is deprived of many comforts, associations, and pleasures. He must often endure HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 79 privations, hardships, and fatigue; he must suffer from in- clement weather, and he knows that he may be obhged even to give his hfe for his country. In spite of all this, and even when lonely, homesick, and weary, along with his yearn- ing for home, he feels a thrill of joy in the consciousness of the sacrifice that he is making for his country — a joy that the man who stays at home can never experience. No true sol- dier, no real patriot, ever regrets the privations or the pain which he endures in the service of the country that he loves; but, on the contrary, he rejoices and even glories in the sac- rifices which he makes, even when that service causes him the keenest physical suffering, mental pain, and loneliness. Consecration to a purpose gives joy. It is the joy in serv- ice for humanity, the love of a worthy cause, and the satis- faction and happiness that accompanies victory over difficul- ties in the performance of duty that make heroes of a great cause bear pain, discomforts, sneers, persecution, and even death in its service. It is the consecration to a purpose and the anticipation of joy in achievement that enable the in- ventor to labor on notwithstanding discouragement, ridicule, and antagonism in the construction of a machine, or in the working out of an idea to which he is devoting his time, his money, and all the powers of his genius. The story of Palissy, who invented the beautiful glaze on pottery, is a familiar illustration of this. It furnishes a most striking example of how devotion to a purpose and the belief in ulti- mate success will enable a man to toil for years in the face of opposition, discouragement, poverty, sneers, and insults, with a consecration that is almost sublime. This deter- mined man never faltered in his purpose nor in his efforts until, after many long years and countless failures, success at last crowned his toil and brought to him that joy and happiness which is the reward of success in a worthy under- taking. 80 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ' Belief in a cause gives sustaining faith and joy. It was the sustaining power of joy and exultation in persecution for a righteous cause that enabled the Christian martyrs to en- dure imprisonment, and eVen to go to the stake with smiles on their faces. Such were Huss the German reformer, Ridley and Latimer the English martyrs, and hundreds of others who have been burned at the stake, been given to hungry lions, or put to death in other cruel ways for their religion. It was this same exultation and joy in service that inspired the great religious leader, the Apostle Paul, with missionary zeal, which led him to travel over land and sea to preach the gospel in all parts of the then kno^sTi world. His steadfast- ness and his confidence in his power to endure to the end never wavered, even though he knew that martyrdom was before him. Near the close of his ministry, he wrote his im- mortal declaration regarding the hardships, the persecutions, and the imprisonments which he had suffered. " None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto my- self, so that I might finish my course with joy." Relation of education to happiness. Since the ability to secure the truest and best joys of life is dependent upon an understanding and observance of law, some properly directed study of the rules and laws that govern man in his vari- ous relations is obligatory upon all who wish to secure this much desired blessing. In this, as in all the higher aims of man, education may be made to serve the desired purpose by giving an intelligent understanding of the fundamental principles of the laws of life and of the satisfaction and happiness that follow their cheerful observance. It must be apparent to all who have given the subject thoughtful consideration that the purpose and plans of parents and teachers in the education of the young should include the understanding and attainment of happiness in its highest sense. It is evident, then, that happiness is one of the results HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 81 of right education, and therefore every scheme of education should make happiness one of its aims. Since happiness is intended for every one, even the slowest pupil may hope to gain it, and he will secure it just to the extent that he in- telligently strives for it. It is therefore the duty of parents and teachers to instruct children in the right methods of securing it. In youth, the habit-forming period of life, boys and girls should be given the opportunity of learning the established rules and laws of human conduct in the home, in the school, in the church, in society, at play, at work, and in the perform- ance of duty. They should be given the opportunity also to discover, from actual observation and from reading, the working of these laws under such conditions as will enable them to see the results to other persons of the cheerful and ready obedience to all just rules and laws. Finally, every child should be encouraged to form the habit of ready and cheerful obedience to these laws himself; for in the formation of such habits lies the certainty of his enduring happiness. Responsibility of parents and teachers. Persons, who vio- late law in the indulgence of their love of pleasure and thus bring upon themselves the penalty of broken law, often make the excuse that they did not know the law, or that they did not understand the results that would follow the breaking of it. If such violators of law really do not know that they are breaking law, and must suffer the penalty for so doing, then the fault is caused by ignorance; and some one is to blame for this ignorance. It may be that his parents, his teachers, or he himself is responsible for it. If it be the parent or the teacher who has failed in his duty to give the child the nec- essary information, as is often the case, then it behooves these older persons to discharge their obligations with more care and thoroughness toward those committed to their care and training. They should instruct their young charges 82 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING not only regarding the laws which govern the indulgence of the love of pleasure; but they should teach these inexperi- enced persons how to discriminate between those pleasures which are wholesome and satisfying in the true sense and those which give only momentary delight and lead to regrets. If, notwithstanding the instruction, the admonition, and the warning of parents and teachers, some young persons, in the pursuit of pleasure which they wrongly think will bring them happiness, still continue to follow those paths which lead to misery instead of taking those which lead in the end to true happiness, then their instructors should not be held responsible. Fortunately, the number who do thus persist in taking the wrong road, although having a knowledge of the consequences of such a course, is small as compared to the number of those who are led to take the right road. This fact should encourage teachers in their endeavors to instruct their pupils in the observance of law as a sure means of attaining happiness. When it is remembered that all may, if they will, realize the true aim of education in the develop- ment of character and secure for themselves its accompani- ment, true happiness, the responsibility that rests upon the leaders and guides of the young is the more apparent. To meet this responsibility, parents and teachers must under- stand the true aim of education and the means by which it is to be attained. While not neglecting the physical and in- tellectual development of those under their care, they must give more attention to the spiritual development, to charac- ter-building. In the schools as well as in the home, more thought should be given to the plus element in education, the character-forming element. When this is done, the real aim of education will be realized in the production of young men and women of character who will achieve the noblest life purpose and win for themselves success, contentment, and happiness. HAPPINESS AS RELATED TO EDUCATION 83 SUGGESTED READINGS Classroom Management, Bagley, pp. 33-36. Education, Thorndike, pp. 19-21. Art of Education, Howerth, pp. 202-04. Physiology and the Teacher, Mucnsterberg, pp. 67-68. Modem Methods, Boyer, pp. 98-102. EXERCISES 1. Consider whether any of the persons whom you know are in pursuit of happiness. Call to mind some individual cases, and tell by what means they are seeking happiness. 2. Name some situations in which you have been particularly happy, and try to analyze some of them to determine the reasons for your happiness. 3. Tell whether you think a person who is unhappy at a certain time could deliberately plan to be happy the day following. Give a reason for your answer. 4. Is happiness a condition or a result? Explain your reason for answer- ing as you do. 5. If you have ever gained anything you desired by disobedience, tell whether it gave you real happiness. Is the feeling of satisfaction which might follow an act of deception to a parent or to a teacher a feeling of happiness? Explain your reason for your opinion. 6. Think of some of the happiest people that you know, and consider whether they are rich or in moderate circumstances, sick or well. In each case name some of the reasons for the happiness of these persons. State a condition or a situation where a person could suffer and yet be happy. 7. Consider whether you promptly and willingly obey physical laws, home laws, school rules, social laws. If there ever is resistance on your part to any of them, explain why. Have the violations of any of these laws brought unhappiness to you, and if so, in what way? 8. Explain why habitual disobedience of the child in the home may bring unhappiness later in life. Explain why a teacher who does not insist upon strict obedience on the part of his pupils may do them lasting harm. 9. Discuss the following statement: Moral training and happiness begin with obedience and end with — 1 Corinthians, thirteenth chapter. 10. Discuss the following statement made by a missionary as he was leaving his wife and children for a six years' absence in China: "Sac- riBce is always an opportunity to serve others instead of self. 1 am happy in my sacrifice, so-called, or rather ia service." CHAPTER V THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL Social institutions to meet social needs. The various social institutions with which we are familiar at the present time have been evolved and developed in the evolution of society to meet the needs of the human race. Chief among these institutions are the home, the church, the school, and the State. Each of these stands in a particular and distinct rela- tion to society as a whole and to the individuals that com- pose it. Since these institutions have come into existence in response to a demand for means for meeting specific needs and satisfying the hungers of man, the distinct function of each is fairly well established and understood. As civili- zation advanced and became more and more complex, and consequently made greater and more varied demands upon all of its institutions, these from time to time were modified and their functions enlarged in order to adjust them to the constantly changing and growing needs and demands of society. It is apparent that such frequent readjustment of the social institutions to the increasing requirements of the complex civilization is necessary in order that they may efficiently fulfill the functions for which they came into exist- ence; for their continuance is justified only so long as they do adequately perform these functions. Simple needs of early civilization. The simple civilization in the early history of mankind, with its primitive home and neighborhood life, made few demands upon the individual and upon society. Therefore education, the education of the ii;idividual and his preparation for his place in the civilization of his day, was simple in character and limited to knowledge THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 85 and experience in but few departments of human endeavor. The child could usually learn by direct experience in his home and immediate environment all that it was necessary for him to know in order to be fitted for the adult life of his day. Therefore there was little need of distinct institutions to give him this preparation. Through observation and direct association in the home, the boy learned his father's trade, and the girl ac- quired such household arts as her mother practiced. Their mental and moral equipment for life, they gained mainly from association and conversation with their parents and neighbors and from the church in their neighborhood. In those early days, the church exercised a very positive in- fluence. Attendance upon its services was compulsory, and it was rigid in all its requirements. Vocational training in early civilization. In the case of his vocational preparation, the boy acquired a knowledge of his father's occupation by assisting regularly with the work from his childhood, gradually learning through actual experi- ence every phase of it. This training enabled him to engage in the vocation, independently, when the time came for him to take his place as a provider. In cases where it was deemed advisable for him to learn some other vocation than that followed by his father, he usually entered the workshop of some man who was skilled in the trade which he wished to learn. There he acquired, by means of an apprenticeship of greater or less duration, according to the vocation to be learned, sufficient knowledge and skill to enable him to follow the same occupation himself. The girl, through helping her mother with the household tasks, could gain such knowledge and experience as fitted her to perform her household duties and tasks later when she would have a home of her own. Thus, as the need required, each generation, in turn, assumed the tasks and responsibilities which devolved upon it in the social and industrial life of the community. In most in- 86 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING stances, these boys and girls had been born and had re- ceived their preparation for Hfe in the community in which they afterward were to take their places as men and women; and the transition from childhood to adult life and responsi- biUty was a gradual and natural one, presenting no serious problems and making no great changes in their lives. Society developed slowly in the earlier days of the world's history. Therefore all the demands of the gradually evolv- ing society were easily provided for by the institutions which kept pace with the social progress. Children in the main continued to learn the occupations of their parents by direct observation and experience, or they entered the family of some patron or other person whose vocation they preferred to learn. Through the close association of the boy with his father or some other man with whom he worked, he had an opportunity to know his father or his patron at the daily task and to learn from this adult person many important lessons relating to life and conduct. This daily companionship with a mature mind was an important factor in the training and education of the boy of an earlier day. The same thing was true of the girl. Through her close association with her mother in the performance of the daily household tasks, she unconsciously learned her mother's point of view on moral and other questions, and acquired her mother's habits and methods of thinking as well as of work. The educative value to the boys and girls of an earlier day of the home life and the almost constant association with their parents cannot be overestimated. If this fact were more generally understood by the parents of this later day, they would endeavor to give more time to their children in the home, instead of relegat- ing so many of their parental duties to the school. Vocational education in early civilization illustrated. As an example of the manner in which a father of an earlier day gave his boy an industrial training and educated him for THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 87 life's duties, the case of a village weaver may be cited. This man had a simple home, probably consisting of the house and a garden. The children, as soon as they were old enough to do so, helped their mother with the housework, assisted in the garden and with the care of the cow, the chickens, or such domestic animals as the family possessed. Throughout the day they had the opportunity to watch their father at his loom, and as soon as they had gained sufficient knowledge from observation and had become sujBSciently skillful in the use of their hands, they began to assist him in the prepara- tion of the wool, the flax, or other materials for the weaving, and to aid him with such other phases of the work as their developing powers and skill would permit. Gradually they learned how to perform each part of the work connected with the making of cloth ; and therefore they were able to take up the work themselves when it became necessary or desirable for them to do so. They were not obliged to go from home to learn a trade; for they had almost unconsciously acquired one from the daily association with their father in the home. This constant companionship with the father not only fitted the boy for his industrial life, but it afforded him the opportunity to imbibe his father's ideas and beliefs and to gather the information upon various sub- jects which the father in his turn had learned from his father before him and from his contact with people. Thus, when the boy reached man's estate, he was equipped to take his place in the industrial and social world with his father's trade and with such information and knowledge as his father possessed, together with whatever additional knowledge he might have gathered from his own contact with other persons and the life of the community in which he lived. Vocational training changed by modem conditions. The vocational training of children in their homes by direct asso- ciation with the parent is now in the case of most vocations 88 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING practically a thing of the past. Industrial conditions have been greatly changed by means of modern invention and machinery. By the use of labor-saving devices work now is performed by large companies of workers working to- gether in factories instead of by individual workers laboring separately in the home or smaller shop. At the present time, for example, the weaver, instead of sitting down to his work at his own home loom for which he has prepared the yarn and other materials, hurries away from his home at an early hour in the morning in order to reach the factory. Here, at a regular time and signal, he and all the workers take their places at the particular looms assigned to them by the foreman, whose duty it is to apportion the work among the large company of workers and see that each per- forms his task properly. The weaver is no longer concerned with the preparation of his materials or the disposition of the cloth after it is woven. His task is merely to attend to the particular loom assigned to him, which is propelled by the power of the mighty machinery that keeps all the de- partments of the great factory in motion. When he leaves his loom with the closing down of the machinery at the end of the day's labor, his responsibility is over until he takes his place again the following day. He is, in fact, a part of the great industrial machinery used in the manufacture of cloth. Under this new order of things the weaver's son does not know his father's work by direct observation, nor his father at work, as was formerly the case. Neither does he have the opportunity to watch his father at his daily occu- pation and thereby to become familiar with its process, nor to ask and receive answers to the questions relating to the work and other matters. In fact, he usually sees compara- tively little of his father, for the latter leaves his home at an early hour in the morning and returns late in the day. THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 89 Then the father is too tired, perhaps, or too much occu- pied with other matters, to converse with his children. Each day, with the possible exception of an occasional holi- day, is a repetition of the preceding one. Thus the father has little time, if indeed he has the inclination, to talk with his children about his daily occupation, or to impart to them such information and knowledge as he gathers from day to day. It is probable that the machine-regulated workman seldom thinks it his duty to inform his children of his views and feelings upon the social problems of the day in which he is interested, to talk or to read to them about important events, or to explain to them the process of reasoning by which he may have reached his conclusions upon this or that subject. Therefore it often happens that the father has little or nothing to do with the care, train- ing, and instruction of his children. He feels that his duty is p)erformed when he provides for their physical needs by furnishing the necessary means for this purpose. Their mental and moral training as well as their vocational preparation is delegated to some one else. The mother, as a rule, has a larger share in this work of preparing the children for their adult place in life than has the father; but even she usually has less of this responsibility than the mothers of an earlier day. As a result, the children miss the intimacy and close association with their parents, par- ticularly the father, which was so important a factor in the education and training of the children in the past. This is a condition in our modern home life which can be rem- edied only by the parents and the children themselves. The parents can do their part by learning the value to their chil- dren of the personal touch and by making a determined effort to give it, even at the sacrifice of some other things; and the children can do theirs by learning to make fewer economic demands upon their parents, in order that the 90 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING latter may thereby have more time to devote to living with their families. The home can no longer provide industrial and social training. It has come to pass that the industrial education of the young and also much of the body of information which they need in order to prepare themselves for their place in the economic and social life of the day has to be provided by some means outside the home. With the steady development of civilization and the consequent social changes, life became more complex. More social adjust- ments had to be made to meet the growing needs of a more advanced civilization. There were more things to be learned; and as the child learned relatively much less than formerly through actual experience and observation from his home and community life, some other means had to be provided to meet his educational needs. Hence a new social institution, the school, was evolved and developed to provide him with the means for gaining the knowledge and the experi- ences which he needed for adult life, but which he could not get through direct experience. The school evolved to meet growing social needs. Inas- much as the modern school came into existence to meet the needs for which the home and the community no longer pro- vided, the elements which contribute to the requirements of these needs became the fundamental concern in the build- ing-up and development of the school. From the nature of the social institutions and the constant change and development which civilization is undergoing, the needs of society are variable and relative, instead of positive and absolute. Consequently the school, as one of the im- portant factors in solving the problem of the needs of society, has of necessity changed and developed to keep pace with the ever-changing civilization. There is no ques- tion before society to-day of greater importance than that THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 91 of making the school in reality, as it is in theory, the insti- tution in which the children of the present generation may satisfy the social needs and hungers which from the very nature of conditions can no longer be satisfied in the home, the community, or the church. In fact, the school must be made such an educating institution if the masses are to be equipped for their places in this great complex civilization of the twentieth century; for there is no other single insti- tution that can perform this task. School should supplement work of the home and other social institutions. Since the function of the school is to supplement the work of the home and other social institu- tions in satisfying the needs of the young in their prepara- tion for their adult places in society, it must provide cer- tain experiences, and give needed information growing out of race experience, which can no longer be had in the home. It follows, therefore, that the instruction in the school must be directed along two distinct lines of effort in order ade- quately to satisfy the purpose for which it came into exist- ence. Desirable facts and information out of race experi- ence must be taught, and concrete exercises in these race experiences must be given as a basis for gaining the required knowledge of the civilization of which they are a part. The facts, or body of knowledge to be taught, furnish the sub- ject-matter which, combined with the social, industrial, and religious experiences, makes up the curriculum of the school. In saying that the instruction in the school is directed along two distinct lines of effort, it is not meant that these are imrelated efforts with unrelated results and are to be treated separately. The unity of purpose for which all instruction should be given leads to a close relation and harmony between the presentation and treatment of the two classes of instruction. The so-termed " culture " sub- 92 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING jects and the " practical " subjects in the school curricu- lum should not be taught with two distinct aims in view; for in every exercise in the daily program of the school, whether the subject being taught is the presentation of the facts of race experience or a practical exercise in the appli- cation of these facts to industrial problems, the ultimate aim should be the same. Each subject presented and each exercise given should be made to contribute to the child's real growth by bringing him into closer and more perfect harmony with the facts and the spiritual ideas of the uni- verse. Duties imposed upon the school. Along with the natural duties which the home and some of the other institutions of society have delegated to the school, certain tasks have been imposed which do not rightly belong to it. For ex- ample, one of the chief functions of the home as a social institution is the physical welfare of its members. Therefore it should be actively concerned with anything which con- tributes to the physical well-being of the members of the family. It should exercise the greatest care that the food, clothing, and all the matters that have to do with the health and vigor of the members of the household should receive proper attention. The truth is, however, that in a large number of homes, either from ignorance, indifference, or want of suflScient means to defray the expense of medi- cal attendance, these matters do not receive the considera- tion and attention which should be given to them. Because of the fact that the home is neglectful of the health of its children, the school has found itself seriously handicapped in the discharge of its particular function. It has, there- fore, been forced to take over this neglected duty of the home and provide for the physical well-being of its pui)ils in order that they may be in condition to jx^rform the work of the school and derive the desired benefit therefrom. THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF TIIE SCHOOL 93 Thus the school has been obliged to add the medical in- spection of its pupils to its other functions. Medical inspection of pupils in schools. Since the school has added to its duties the medical inspection of its pupils, it has been found, in all cases where investigations have been made, that the health of a large proportion of the children attending school is defective and requires the at- tention of a physician. Health inspection for three suc- cessive years in New York City showed that seventy per cent of the children in the public schools had defective health, and in many other cities and in rural districts the percentage was even higher. Indeed, it was found that the health conditions of the pupils in all the schools where medical examinations were made were so alarming and the schools were so seriously handicapped by the poor physical condition of such a large number of its pupils, that it was deemed absolutely necessary for the school to add to its other duties the regular medical inspection of its pupils. As a result, the schools in the cities of a majority of the States now provide for the medical examination of their pupils, and the movement for medical inspection is being rapidly extended to the rural schools. Moreover, many teachers' training-schools are giving practical instruction in rules of health, in order that teachers may more intelli- gently look after the physical condition of their pupils. It will be noted that the addition to the duties of the school in the care of the health of its pupils is made primarily on the grounds that the school cannot discharge its regular function effectively when the children are not in a healthy condition; and therefore, if the home neglects the health of the children, the school must attend to it. Many home duties relegated to the school. It has been shown that, in consequence of the neglect by the home of the health of its children from ignorance or indifference, it has 94 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING become necessary for the school to add to its recognized functions certain duties relating to the health and the phys- ical condition of its pupils. Likewise other duties of the home, such as the inculcating of right habits of speech and conduct, have in many cases been assigned to the school, in part or altogether. Any one who desires to do so can ex- tend the list of legitimate home duties that have been added to the school because the home either does not or cannot properly discharge them. In view of the large number of the former obligations of the home which have been turned over to the school, it is sometimes rather difficult to draw the line just where, in actual practice, the function of the home ceases and that of the school begins. Duties of church and community imposed upon the school. Similarly, the church and the community do not at the present time perform all the functions in the prep- aration of the child for adult life which formerly they did. It is not necessary, however, to enumerate the former church and community duties toward the child which these in- stitutions no longer fulfill, as any one can satisfy himself upon this point by an investigation of conditions in his own locality. As a result of the failure of these institutions to perform certain of their legitimate functions, supplemen- tary institutions, and among these the school, have come into existence to assist in meeting those i)articular spiritual and social needs which the older institutions can no longer com- pletely supply. In this way many of the functions which formerly were regarded as belonging to the church have been transferred to the school. Similarly, certain needs of the child which in a simpler civilization were satisfied by the community life and effort came by degrees to be taken over by the school. School overburdened with work of other institutions. Thus the school came in the course of time to be regarded THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 05 as the best institution for meeting those needs of the child for which other social institutions had ceased to provide. Naturally, this has led to the school's becoming over- burdened with a multiplicity of tasks and duties of various kinds, many of which do not rightly belong to it. In fact, the school has wiUingly assumed so many of the duties that have been neglected or could not well be performed by other social institutions that it has come to be considered by many persons as a veritable dumping ground for the neglected obligations of other institutions. On the other hand, it is believed that the school should adapt itself to the changing social conditions and needs and take over, at least temporarily, the work of the other institutions whose neglect and inefficiency is hindering the work of the school, with the understanding that it will pass back such work to these institutions as soon as they are aroused to a con- sciousness of their full duty and are able to perform it. All social institutions have a part in the education of the child. It is evident that not the school alone, but the home, the church, and all the institutions of society have a part in the education of the child; and if they all discharged their duties properly, he would be completely equipped for his work in life. In the early civilization, when the boy throughout his childhood and youth could associate with his father and assist with daily occupations, the home more fully contributed to his education than is possible under present conditions. The vocational changes which have been brought about through the use of machinery and the subdivision of labor among large groups of workers in mills and factories, and through the extension of commerce and all departments of business have taken people more and more out of their homes into the larger contact with the commu- nity and national life. As a result of these changed condi- tions and the constantly increasing educational require- 96 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING raents, the home has found itself unable to give its children the necessary education. Therefore each of the other social institutions that have been called upon to assist with the task should do its part. It is the failure of these institu- tions in so many cases to do this that has laid such a heavy burden upon the school. Social institutions should not impose their duties upon the school. The willingness of the school to assume any task that has for its aim the education of the child should not be made the excuse for other institutions to impose their rightful duties upon it. The home, the church, and the community should each consider its part in this great work of educating the young, not only as a sacred responsibility, but also as a high privilege which it does not desire to dele- gate to any one. It is in these institutions, and particularly in the home, that the child must receive the basal elements of his education before he is old enough to go to school. In the home are consciously or unconsciously sowed the seeds of the ideals that are to be built into his character later on. It is most important, then, that the ideals, thus formed, should be of a kind to furnish a true foundation upon which the school may build in the development and establishment of character. It is evident that the home has its peculiar responsibilities with regard to its children, and the tendency to shift these responsibilities over to the school should not be encouraged. The school voluntarily assumes duties of other institu- tions. No doubt, it is true that the school is in a measure to blame for other institutions having imposed their duties upon it; for the school has voluntarily taken upon itself many obligations in the care of its pupils that distinctly belong to the duties which the home should be forced to perform. The only valid reason why the school should em- ploy physicians to examine into and attend to the physical THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 97 conditions and health of the pupils in the public schools is the fact that in so many cases the home neglects these matters. The only excuse for expecting the school to pro- vide food and clothing for any of its pupils is that in some particular cases children are seriously handicapped in their school work, because the home has failed to furnish these necessities. In cases where the school finds itself handicapped in the fulfillment of its legitimate functions, because of the failure of other institutions, it must of necessity endeavor to pro- duce right conditions for the efiicient discharge of its own function. It is evident that the school cannot properly fulfill its function in the education of its pupils unless they are in a proper physical condition. Hence, when the child is suffering from poor health or some physical defect, such as defective vision or hearing that interferes with his work in school, and the home does not attend to the matter, the school must do so. If the child is improperly clothed because of poverty in the home, or if he is imperfectly nourished for the same reason, the school must provide him with proper food and clothing in order that he may be in the right physical condition to receive the benefits of the school. The part of the school in supplying those mental and moral needs of the child which should be cared for by some other institution need not be discussed at this point, as the duty of the school in this case is even more apparent than in the correction of wrong physical conditions. The preparation of the child for vocational usefulness is another duty that many persons would lay upon the school, and this will be considered at some length in later chapters. Distinct function of the school. Notwithstanding the number and variety of duties that are laid upon the school and the difference of opinion regarding its legitimate work, it has a fairly distinct, though complex, function from a 98 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG sociological point of view. This has already been com- mented upon and may be briefly stated as the furnishing of the child with the race facts and race experiences that he must have in order to rightly prepare him for his place in the civilization of the day, when this information and this experience is not already provided by some other so- cial institution. Parents, boards of education, and teachers should have a clear understanding of this function of the school. Unless these persons do have this definite and clear conception of the place of the school among the social in- stitutions, the needed changes and improvements in the school will not be made and progress in it will be slow, if, indeed anything like true progress can be expected. Those who direct the work in the schools and those who teach in them should have sufficient knowledge of sociology and of the duties of the existing social institutions to en- able them to comprehend the real function of the school as a social organization. Education should make boys and girls socially efficient; that is, it should prepare them to take their places in their various spheres in life and perform their parts according to the best standards of the insti- tutions that make up human society. This includes home ideals and home duties; church ideals and church obliga- tions; state standards and state service; vocational stand- ards and vocational efficiency. This definition of social efficiency with what it embraces is simple enough to be tinderstood by every teacher and to show him what is his true relation, as an instructor of the young, to all institu- tional life and effort. Important race facts in the curriculum of the school. The race facts which the schools are expected to teach are those which have been approved by civilization. These have been culled from the accumulated experience of scholars and scientists in all ages, and have been classified THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 99 into groups or fields of human knowledge. An understand- ing of these world and time gathered facts cannot be gained by the young through actual experience and observation, but must be acquired through a study of the recorded ex- periences and conclusions of the countless number of learned men who have devoted their lives to the discovery and the classifications of these truths. Inasmuch as this great body of facts is an epitome of the present civilization, it is of the utmost importance that the youth of the present day be taught, at least, the elements of it, in order that they may understand the industrial and social conditions of the civili- zation in which they live. This body of necessary information which the child can- not get from direct experience has become so great and so varied, because of the additions that have been made to it from time to time, that neither the home nor any other institution except the school can supply it. Hence it must be taught in the school and by teachers who not only com- prehend present civilization and its needs, but who also understand its relation to life and know its cultural value in the preparation of the young for their place in society. The teacher must have a clear conception of the function of the school as an institution of society and also of his responsibility as an instructor, since it is through his efforts that this function is to be realized. He must also recognize the fact that his work is largely supplementary to that of the other social institutions, and that, therefore, it must partake somewhat of the characteristics of them all. Test of the subject-matter of the curriculum. This so- ciological point of view of the function of the school affords a reasonable basis for determining the subject-matter of the curriculum. Boys and girls as social beings must be fitted for the places in the institutional life which they are soon to occupy as men and women; and in order that they 100 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING may be so fitted and be ready to take an active part in the various departments of society, the school must assist them in making the proper preparation. If the subject-matter of the school is related to the present institutional life and is taught in such a way as to contribute to the betterment of society by leading the young to strive for its loftiest ideals, then it has a rightful place in the curriculum. If, however, it does not contribute to the desirable growth of the young and therefore to the good of society, it should not be given a place in the curriculum. This naturally presupposes that the subject-matter of the school must be determined by the civilization which it interprets, by the needs of the civili- zation of to-day, not by the practices, the conventions, and the needs of the past. This law should be more gener- ally recognized by educational leaders than it is; and the courses of study in use in our schools should be so modified that they will better interpret the institutional life and needs of the present. When this is done, the school will more completely perform the function for which it came into existence. SUGGESTED READINGS Social Psychology, Ross, pp. 231-33. Types of Teaching, Earhart, pp. 22-26, 138-43, 150-63. Education, Thorndike, p. 161. Lectures on Teaching, Fitch, pp. 51-53. Education and Utility, Bagley, pp. 96, 166-79. The Mind and Its Education, Belts, pp. 56-67. Art oj Education, Howerth, pp. 136-43. Brief Course in Teaching Process, Strayer, pp. 12-15. Changing Conceptions of Education, Cubberley. EXERCISES 1. Name some things that you have in your home, that were not in homes five hundred years ago. Name some things in your commu- nity that were not known five himdred years ago. Name some reasons why these things have come into existence. THE SOCIAL FUNCTION OF THE SCHOOL 101 2. Name some new thinps and some new improvements that are being sought by men to-day. 5. Look up the history of the ancient Greek schools and tell: (a) Who were the teachers, men or women, — young or old? {i) Who were the pupils, boys or girls? (c) What subjects were studied in the schools? Contrast the conditions in the ancient Greek schools with those in the schools to-day. 4. What do you understand by the terms, "Evolution of the church," "Evolution of the home," "Evolution of the school"? 6. What vocations of the present day enable the boy to know his father's work and his father at work? Name some vocation of men that their sons have no opportunity of knowing, and explain why this is so. 6. Write out in detail your idea of what a school should be. 7. What organizations have been formed during the past one hundred years to aid the church, and the home? Discuss the work of each. 8. Name all the organizations in your community that have been formed for human and social welfare. The organizations for men, the organi- zations for women, the organizations for both men and women. 9. Name some of your early experiences that were later interpreted for you by means of your studies in school. 10. "The schools should teach those things needed for adult life which other institutions in the community do not teach." In the light of this statement tell whether you think that: — (a) All schools should teach the same subjects; (6) that girls should study the same subjects as boys and give reasons for your opinion in each case. Write a list of subjects that you think should be taught in all schools. 11. Explain what you understand (a) by the term, "social institution"; (6) by the phrase, "The welfare of society"; (c) by the statement, "Man is a social being." Discuss briefly each of these topics. CHAPTER VI THE RELATION OF THE SCHOOL TO THE STATE Purpose of chapter stated. In the preceding chapter, it was shown that the school as a social institution came into existence to help the home and the other institutions that were concerned with the problems of child welfare and edu- cation, in the task of preparing the young for their adult place in society. The more important of the recognized functions of the institution, thus established to satisfy a great social need, were also briefly outlined. This discus- sion had reference more particularly to the value of the school to the child than to its function in a democracy like our own or to its obligations for the fulfillment of its function to the State and the Nation to which it owes its existence. In this chapter some of the obligations of the school to society at large and its relation to the State will be enumerated, and some of the ways in which the school should fulfill these obligations will be discussed. In a dem- ocracy like ours, which has undertaken to place educational advantages within the reach of all, the obligations of the school to the State are particularly binding; and, therefore, it is but reasonable that the school should be expected to educate the young of the land for eSicient citizenship. The American free-school system. All experiments with democratic government have proved that the institutions of liberty and equality can be preserved only through the intelligence of all the people. Every attempt to establish and maintain self-government where there was a state of general ignorance among the masses has proved a dismal failure. Nothing shows the wisdom of the founders of our THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 103 Republic more clearly than their attitude toward educa- tion and the problem of enlightening the masses. It is evi- dent that they clearly foresaw the relation of education to the welfare and stability of the Nation which they founded. Washington, Jefferson, and their associates in the gigan- tic undertaking of establishing a new nation upon the prin- ciples of liberty and equality, understood the necessity of educating all the people of the land for self-govern- ment in order that the new nation might attain and main- tain the ideals upon which and for which it had been founded. Washington clearly understood that upon the en- lightenment of the masses depended the success and future greatness of the new Republic, as his many utterances upon the subject show. He endeavored at every opportunity to impress upon his countrymen the necessity of universal education. His last official message to the Nation con- tained an eloquent appeal for the establishment and main- tenance of schools that were based upon a principle which is as important to-day as when he first issued his call. He urged his countrymen to " promote as an object of primary importance, institutions for the general diffusion of knowl- edge; for," he said, " in proportion as the structure of gov- ernment gives force to public opinion, it is essential that public opinion should be enlightened." The appeals and efforts of the wise leaders of the early days of our national life and of all the far-sighted advo- cates of free and universal education were not without re- sponse from the people. As the result of the agitation for the education of all the people, the conviction became gen- eral that universal education was essential for the stability of the democracy, and steps were taken to provide for the establishment of a school system that would make such education possible. In order that this new nation might be a government of an enlightened people, large tracts of pub- 104 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG lie lands were set aside for the purpose of providing funds to found and maintain common schools, state normal schools, state universities, and various other free institu- tions of learning. The American free-school system, which grew out of the combined efforts of all the agencies for universal education, is one of the most important and most significant results of the long struggle of liberty and enlightenment against ig- norance and oppression. It has not yet reached the high development which its advocates expect it to attain, and it is not without many flaws; but it is the grandest effort that has yet been made by any nation for the unifying, nation- alizing, and educating of a great people of diverse origin, attainments, and interests. ' Unity through common knowledge of race facts. A com- mon knowledge and acceptance of race facts and informa- tion gives a certain degree of oneness or unity of feeling to those who possess it. This is a desirable condition to be secured among people belonging to the same country and holding allegiance to the same government, and it is through the instruction given in the public schools that it may be attained. Primarily the schools of the land provide the means through which the children of the West, the children of the East, the children of the North, and the children of the South may acquire such a knowledge and understand- ing of the facts, gathered from the various sources of classi- fied knowledge, as will enable them to take their places later among their fellows in the social and business world. These are the facts that have been evolved out of race ex- periences; and, therefore, they are fundamental in the body of information which all classes of people should possess. They have been drawn from the fields of mathematics, science, history, literature, art, and other departments of practical knowledge. Since they have been taken from all THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 105 these departments of knowledge, they represent the useful information and principles that one requires in everyday life. Hence every individual should acquire as much of this practical knowledge as he can. It is the common pos- session of this body of knowledge out of universal race experiences, that gives the unity of feeling and community of interest among the citizens that would be impossible without it. As a result of a common knowledge of these world facts, it is possible for the people that come to our shores from the various countries of Europe to have busi- ness relations and simple social relations upon something like a common ground. They all possess the same elemental, basal knowledge as a starting-point for their intercourse. All civilized peoples have practically agreed upon the simple, fundamental facts and body of information to be imparted to their children and it is the common knowledge thus gained which " makes the whole world kin." The unifying and civilizing value of this body of universal knowledge to those who possess it should be better understood by those persons who are concerned with the education of the young and also by those who are engaged in the task of unifying into a single nation the different races represented in our commonwealth . Schools a nationalizing force. The schools of any country, besides being a unifying agency, are a nationalizing force, as well. This is the direct result of instruction that tends to produce national feeling, and the use and value of such in- struction should not be overlooked. Geography, history, and general information regarding passing events, all fur- nish much material which, if properly used, becomes a po- tent agency in producing national feeling. For example, in our own schools the same general information is given regarding the agricultural, industrial, and commercial wealth of our country. The extent of her plains and forests. 106 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG the size and grandeur of her mountains, the number and commercial value of her great rivers and lakes, the num- ber, size, and importance of her cities, are all common sub- jects for study. This general body of information about our country that is taught in all our schools, besides unify- ing knowledge, creates, or should create if properly taught, a universal pride of country, and forges a bond between those sharing it. Such instruction has a positive unifying and nationalizing value. Because of the nationalizing value of a knowledge of the history of our country and the story of the achievements of our countrymen, this study should occupy an important place in the course of study in all our schools and in all grades. By adapting it to the age and advancement of pupils, it may be taught through story in even the primary grades, although it may not be treated as formal history. The facts relating to the early settlement of the country, to the courage and perseverance of the colonists, to the heroism of the early patriots, and to the wisdom of the founders of the Nation are all valuable subjects of study. A knowledge of this common inheritance in the character and deeds of our forefathers tends to produce a justifiable pride of coun- try and a loyalty to her institutions that would not be pos- sible if a state of general ignorance prevailed regarding these matters. The nationalizing value of the instruction in our schools is not limited to the children of native paren- tage, but extends to the children of foreign-born parents. In fact, its value to the latter is particularly marked, for to them our national inheritance of country, history, and achievement comes as a splendid revelation and a much- prized gift. Thus it is apparent that the schools of our country have become in a double sense its greatest national- izing force and the surest means of making each new gen- eration of foreigners an integral part of our body politic. THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 107 A homogeneous people one result of the public school. The important task of making Americans of the children of the various nationalities that mingle in the schools, of fitting them for American citizenship, belongs peculiarly to the American public school. It is the more urgent that this particular function of our schools should receive careful attention for the reason that there is no other institution that can do it so effectively as the school. Many of the children of foreign birth or parentage come from homes in which the English language is not even spoken and where the traditions are all of a foreign country having different political, social, and industrial conditions from those in our own. Hence such children must acquire all their knowledge of American history, government, and institutions in the school. The problem of the school in one of our cities, having a mixed population of native Americans and for- eigners, is very unlike that in countries where the people and the children are natives of that country and have the same history and the same traditions. Training foreign children for American citizenship. A person cannot fail to be impressed with the importance of this peculiar problem of training foreign children for Ameri- can citizenship, if he will give a little consideration to the conditions that exist in our country, as contrasted with those which exist in countries that do not have this problem of making a homogeneous people from a mixed population representing nearly all the nations of the earth. The author was interested, during a visit in Paris, in noting the fact that the men and women who were employed in the various occupations were practically all native French. The com- mon laborers in the street were Frenchmen; the hack-drivers and the chauffeurs were Frenchmen ; the small shopkeepers, as well as the merchants of the larger establishments were Frenchmen; the policemen, like the higher officials of the 108 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING city, were all native sons of France. All these people have the same traditions, the same history, the same heroes, the same songs, the same art. Hence they make a homogeneous people. Their common heritage has made them so, for it has given them the same national ideals and the same patriotism. A very different condition exists in our large cities where many different nations are represented in the various occu- pations. In New York, for example, one would find that the excavators and other laborers in the street were in the main Italians, the fruit-venders Greeks, the cab-drivers and the policemen generally Irish, the small shopkeepers fre- quently Germans, the tradesmen and the employees in the mills and the factories generally of foreign birth. Thus, through all the departments of labor a large number of per- sons of various nationalities would be found. These people do not have our history and our traditions, neither do they have our inheritance of heroes and of patriotism. They do not have our national ideals, for they were not born to these inheritances. Their love and their allegiance are divided among many nations on the other side of the sea. They do not have our national ideals and therefore do not mingle with native Americans in making a homogeneous people. Hence the question confronts our nation of how best to take this heterogeneous population and make of it a homogeneous people. Conditions necessary for nationalizing children in schools. Various nationalizing forces aid in the solution of this prob- lem, but its accomplisliment rests largely upon the public school, as it is the only institution that can reach and in- fluence all these people. In the school, the children of for- eign parents mingle with children of native Americans in the study of the history of the country and her achieve- ments; they learn of her industries, of her productions, and THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 109 of her resources. They hear of the deeds of her heroes and of her Christian service to the world. They learn her na- tional songs and they acquire her national ideals. In this way national spirit is fostered and the children of foreign parents, side by side with those of native birth, develop into American citizens. In order, however, that the school may achieve this desired result, two conditions are neces- sary: first, the school must see that the necessary teaching is given; and second, children must remain in school long enough to acquire this nationalizing knowledge. Right of the State to require nationalizing instruction. The right of the State to require the school to give this in- struction cannot be questioned, for, since the school is maintained by the State for its own preservation, it may reasonably expect the school to consider the welfare of the State. Moreover, the State should have the privilege of determining the kind of instruction that will contribute to this end and of compelling the attendance of children in the schools for a sufficient length of time to receive it. This twofold prerogative of the State regarding the education of the masses is now generally recognized; for it is obvious to all well-informed persons, as it was to the founders of the public-school system, that the perpetuation and welfare of the State depend upon the general intelligence of its citizens. Since it has been proved again and again that a popular government cannot long exist without popular education, it rests upon the State, not only as a duty, but as the surest means of self-preservation, to require the schools to educate the children of our mixed population for efficient American citizenship. The school fosters patriotism. The public school as a democratic institution is practically free from social lines, and its children from the various walks of life mingle freely upon a plane of equality. They have the same inheritance 110 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING in her statesmen and her patriots, of whom they leam. They sing together the songs of the country, they learn the same stories of her early struggles and triumphs over diflBculties, of the gro^v'th of her strength and power, of her advance from the humble position of a new and unrecog- nized government to an important place among the great nations of the world. Their love and pride of country is further aroused and fostered through a knowledge of the principles and ideals upon which our national life is founded. The resourceful teacher will make these facts the means of instilling love of country and the ideals of patriotism in the minds of his pupils; and the teacher who fails to make use of the opportunities thus offered fails to fulfill one of the most important functions of the school. Every teacher should be careful to include, as one of the most important features of his teaching, those facts and ideals which in- still patriotism in the minds of the young. Moreover, all teachers should be more impressed than is generally the case with the importance of training the young for their duties as future citizens. If teachers did more fully under- stand their part in this training, they would give more attention to the use of history, geography, and other sub- jects of the curriculum for arousing feelings of patriotism and love of country in the young hearts, and would not waste so much of the time of their pupils in the memorizing of un- related historical and other facts. The school standardizes knowledge. It is the duty of the school, as the agent of society for the education of the young, to take the world facts that are to be taught and relate them in such a way to the child's previous knowledge and experiences that he may be able to interpret the new by means of the knowledge which he already possesses. It is the work of the school also to make use of all the in- formation which the pupils have previously gained by per- THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 111 sonal experience, observation, or by any other means, in such a way that its relation to world experiences may be made clear to them. They will thus learn to interpret, de- fine, and express this previous knowledge in terms used in the academic world. By this means the individual's knowl- edge is standardized. An illustration may make more clear the way in which the child's previous information and ex- perience may be related to world facts and knowledge. Means of standardizing knowledge illustrated. A boy who has spent his childhood and early youth upon a farm, which he has helped to clear and cultivate, gathers certain facts and gains a body of information from his experiences and observations. As a matter of course, he learns to use a handspike in prying up or lifting heavy articles, such as logs, stones, and like objects. He learns how to place the bait under the handspike according to the weight of the body to be lifted and the amount of resistance to be over- come. He learns that in using a hoe or a pitchfork, if he places one hand near the lower end of the handle, the strength exerted becomes more effective. He discovers also that when a pump handle is difficult to move, he can move it more readily and easily by placing his hands near the end distant from the pump. In these, and in other ways, while performing his daily tasks, he correctly and effectively applies the principle of the lever. He does this, however, without having any scientific knowledge of the principles involved or even knowing the names by which they are designated in the world of science. If this boy should study physics later, the knowledge of these scientific principles which he has thus unconsciously acquired through experience, would be translated into the language of science. The handspike and the bait, in the one case, would become the lever and the fulcrum, resjiec- tively. The hoe and the pitchfork in the other case would 112 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING become the lever, and one of his hands would serve as the fulcrum. With the ability which he has thus gained to apply his experience to scientific form, he can read and con- verse about the lever and can thus enter into fellowship with the scientific world. His own experience has been translated into universal academic experience and language. Just as this boy unconsciously learned certain scientific facts through his own experiences, so all other persons have various experiences outside the school by which they have gained certain facts which may be translated into scientific or other departments of knowledge. Every individual, through his personal experiences, has some knowledge in the fields of physics, chemistry, biology, astronomy, sociology, and other departments of science; and it is one of the func- tions of the school to translate this knowledge into uni- versal academic language, — in other words to standardize it in scientific terms. Relation of the school to vocational instruction. Theo- retically the public school, as the agent of the State and of society, should fit the child for an all-round efficiency. No one questions the truth of this statement, so far as the mental and moral equipment for life are concerned; but there is a wide difference of opinion regarding the duty of the school in its relation to the preparation of the young for vocational activity. At the present time, the question is receiving widespread consideration, not only among per- sons directly concerned with the education of the young, but by the people at large. Already many of the States have enacted laws requiring the schools to introduce into their curricula definite work in vocational guidance or in prevocational instruction. The reason for this is obvious, for modern conditions present little opportunity for the young to become acquainted through direct experience with the different occupations in which pcoi)le are engaged. THE SCH(X)L AND THE STATE 113 Since the industries are no longer carried on at home or in the small shop, and the child has not the opportunity, which formerly he had, to become familiar with the occu- pation of his father and that of other men of his acquaint- ance, the various vocations are little more to him than mere names. He has no definite idea of their meaning, nor of the nature of the occupations which they designate. This state of general ignorance regarding the nature of the difiFerent vocations, in a large measure explains why the selection of a life-work is such a difficult and perplexing question to the youth of the present day. This condition is being more and more recognized by parents and those interested in the problems of the rising generation; and, as a result, many plans for remedying it are being devised and put into operation. In this work the school, as the insti- tution best able to assist the yoimg in solving this educa- tional problem, is taking an active part. It is devising plans and trying experiments in order to discover the best means for helping pupils to find the vocations most suited to their natural gifts and inclinations, and for aiding them in preparing for these vocations. The results already ob- tained indicate that this new phase of education will be- come an important feature of school work. Right of the State to require vocational instruction. The stability of a nation depends upon the intelligence and vocational efficiency of its people. Hence it is the preroga- tive of the State to require that her future citizens be fitted for vocational efficiency. Naturally, the first step toward definite vocational training is the selection of a vocation; and in this matter the school can undoubtedly render valu- able service. It can do this in two ways: first, by giving prevocational work which will lay a foundation and pro- vide the preliminary instruction and preparation for the formal study of a particular vocation; and second, by giving 114 THE PROFESSION OF TEAv'HING instruction and help along the lines of vocational guid- ance. There is a sense in which all academic instruction is prevocational, in that it gives the information and con- tributes to the development which will be of service to the individual in whatever department of the industries or of business he may enter. It may, however, be made more practical than has been the case by relating it more di- rectly to life and to the particular needs of the individual. To this instruction may be added practical experience through the manipulation of material and the various kinds of hand work which can be given in any school. This kind of instruction and teaching educates or fits for life, rather than away from life, as was the case with much of the school- teaching of the past. To the end that the teaching of the schools may be more practical, may relate more directly to life as it is lived to- day in our own country, such courses as those in manual training and various kinds of hand work are given. This is for the purpose of giving direct experience with materials and in the use of the hands. These courses, if properly taught, also furnish a basis to pupils for forming somewhat definite ideas of the various departments of industrial activity. Such work will also enable some individuals to discover their natural inclination toward the industries, and thus it will be of practical value in helping them to decide upon their life-work. It is evident that no better addition can be made to the curriculum of our public schools in this in- dustrial age than this practical experience in hand work. Vocational guidance an aid to efl&ciency. The second phase of the movement to prepare the young for vocational efficiency which is rapidly being delegated to the school is that of vocational guidance. The child, and in the major- ity of cases his parents as well, do not have a clear idea of his natural bent or fitness for any particular kind of work. THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 115 For this reason, and because each individual should be fitted for economic efficiency if he is to become a useful member of society, the school has undertaken to add this feature to its work. Certainly no greater service could be rendered to the youth of our land than practical help in solving the perplexing problem of selecting a vocation tha^ is suited to the individual's taste and ability and is one in which he may make the most of his time, his talents, and his labor. Society as well as parents should welcome any assistance in solving this vital question; for society in gen- eral, as well as the individuals closely concerned, would profit from conditions where skilled labor performed by those interested in their work would be the rule rather than the exception. It is evident, that a man who is voca- tionally efficient and can provide for his family satisfac- torily by means of some calling that is suited to his taste will be an asset to the community. Such a man, by follow- ing an occupation that offers him an opportunity for the best expression of his powers, will be a more happy and useful member of society and a better citizen of the State than one who is vocationally inefficient and makes a pre- carious living by drifting from one job to another as chance throws it in his way. The school the most effective method of educating the masses. Much time and properly directed effort is needed to acquire the desirable world facts and useful experi- ences which boys and girls must have to prepare them for their places and their work in the world, and very few parents could give all the help in this task that their chil- dren needed. Hence, some one else had to be found who could give the required assistance. Naturally, the teacher by vir- tue of his position was the one who could most effectively assist the young in this matter, and do so with the least ex- penditure of time on the part of the latter. For this reason, 116 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING additional phases of the educational problems have been assigned to the teacher in the school. With each addition, his sphere of effort has widened; and it is his duty so to perform the task, which no one else can do so well as him- self, that those committed to his instruction may achieve a maximum of result for the effort and time expended. To this end he should be well informed regarding the function of the school, so that he will know what results to expect from this expenditure of time and effort. The most economical method of educating the masses. When it first became necessary for parents to employ others to assist them in the education of their children, there were many persons who could not meet the expense alone; and plans had to be devised for securing education and training for the children at the least possible burden to their parents. It was found that the most practical and economical way of providing the needed instruction was for a number of persons to combine in employing a teacher to instruct their children in groups, instead of sep- arately. The school, which has passed through many changes until the present system has been evolved, was the result. For the support of the public schools and other educational institutions, the State, by distributing the expense among all its citizens according to their means, provides education for the children of the poor as well as of the rich, without imposing a great burden upon any one. From this it will be evident that the school is the most practical outgrowth of sociological changes and needs and of economic conditions that could have been devised for the education of the masses. Law of self-preservation forces the State to educate citi- zens. In a republic or democracy like the United States, sovereignty or authority is not vested in a single person, but in the whole body politic, this sovereignty being ex- THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 117 pressed through the casting of a ballot or vote. The law or obhgation of sovereignty is, however, always the same, whether vested in one person or in many persons. Author- ity must be exercised with intelligence, for the security and permanence of the State depends upon the intelligence of its sovereign ruler or its sovereign citizens. Therefore, it is the first duty of the State to see that all persons who have this sovereign power, the ballot, should be prepared to use it intelligently. This is the fundamental reason why the State should contribute so generously to the support of the pubhc schools. The law of self-preservation is as appli- cable to a state as it is to an individual. An ignorant ballot is a menace, and the great number of ignorant voters in this country is one of its greatest dangers. The fact that the ignorant voters are about equally divided between the two great political parties is our chief safeguard; for the reason that the ignorant or unintelligent voters in the one party are usually fairly well offset or neutralized by the ignorant voters in the other. Schools should instruct in exercise of sovereignty. Sov- ereignty should be intelligent regarding all matters upon which it is called upon to express an opinion by the ballot; it should be particularly intelligent in all matters pertain- ing to civic affairs. Therefore the public schools should give the kind of instruction and training that will enable the prospective voter to exercise his sovereign duties for the good of his own community and the welfare of the State. To this end the course of study and the instruction given should have in mind the education of all the children in the schools and not merely a certain class of pupils. It should be made so practical and be so closely related to the life and needs of all classes of children that they will be eager to receive its benefits, instead of having to be compelled by the law to do so. This does not mean that there should 118 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING not be compulsory school laws. These are necessary in many cases where children and their parents do not under- stand and appreciate the benefits of the school, and the wel- fare of the State requires that these laws be strictly en- forced. The people are sovereign. They make the laws that govern the nation. Therefore, national stability and the best good of the people themselves require that these laws be made by intelligent citizens who have the welfare of the nation at heart. The right of sovereignty is one of the most sacred inheritances of our citizenship, and it should be so regarded by every voter. The schools should teach the children in them what a great price our forefathers paid for this privilege and that it is their duty to keep this sacred inheritance pure and unsullied by any form of contamina- tion. There is no more imperative duty before the schools to-day than this, and teachers should be alive to the fact that they are training the future sovereigns of our country. School most potent influence for preservation of the State. Since a democracy like our own can realize its ideals of government only by educating its citizens for intelli- gent self-government, it is evident that the public school is a necessity, not only for the individual and social good, but for the good of the State as well. As an outgrowth of this sentiment the founders of the American public-school system looked wisely into the future when they estab- lished the great system of free schools in which every child, the poorest as well as the richest, the child of the foreign immigrant as well as the one of native parentage, may be educated at state expense. Founded upon the lofty ideals of liberty and equality, and with the exalted aim of pre- paring a great people for wise self-government, for efficient service, for high tliinking and noble living, the schools of our land should be the most practical and valuable of all X THE SCHOOL AND THE STATE 119 our social institutions, and at the same time, the most potent influence for the welfare and preservation of the State. To the end that they may be so, teachers should be informed regarding the function of the school in relation to the State, in order that they may use the course of study, not as a guide to the kind and amount of formal knowledge which must be crammed into the young minds, but rather as a means of really educating children for intelligent and eflScient citizenship. SUGGESTED READINGS Craftsmanship in Education, Bagby, pp. 78, 178-89. N.E.A. Report of 1911, Mrs. Emmons Blaine, pp. 110-15, American Education, Draper, pp. 130-31. The Learning Process, Colvin, pp. 26-S28. Education, Thorndike, chap. xii. The Management of the City School, Perry, chap. II. Youth, School, and Vocation, Bloomfield. Types of Teaching, Earhart, pp. 131-50. How to Teach the Fundamental Subjects, Kendall and Mirick, pp. ii4r-65. EXERCISES 1. " Sovereignty should be intelligent." If this statement is true, give your opinion as to whether Mexico should be a republic. State fully the reasons for your belief. 2. Name some of the external dangers to the United States, and explain how they may be avoided. Name some internal dangers to the United States, and tell how they may be avoided. Write out in full your opinions upon this question. 5. Explain how the school may help to lessen both the external and the internal dangers that menace the State. What branches of study would contribute to this end? Name the 6ve most important in the order of their importance as you understand the matter. 4. Recall the different schools which you have attended and consider whether the work done in them has been carried on after the ideas discussed in this chapter. 6. Tell whether you think compulsory education by the State is justi- fiable, whether the time limit for excusing a i>erson from school at- tendance should be based upon the age or upon the educational basis. 120 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING whether a boy of fourteen who cannot read should be excused from school attendance. Discuss each of these questions, stating your opinions fully. 6. Consider whether the work usually done in history, geography, and literature increases the love of country. Discuss ways in which in- struction in these subjects could be made more effective. Prepare a lesson in each, showing how you would teach patriotism. What test would you give to determine whether you had succeeded. 7. Consider whether patriotism is instilled in the mind of a child by his seeing the flag floating from the school-house constantly, or only on si>ecial days. Tell whether you think that the flag should be used for advertising purposes and give reason for your opinion. 8. Discuss the following statements: — " He was as loyal in peace as in war." " The man who buys a vote is a greater criminal than the one who sells it." " It is the duty of every citizen to exercise his right of franchise honestly." 9. What are some of the ideals that enter into national ideals which every teacher should possess? Examine yourself in the light of this chapter and of the following sentence: " It is a great responsibility and privilege to be engaged in a work that directly concerns the soul and the welfare of the nation. Those persons who are engaged in it should be true, eager, intelligent, and loyal men and women." CHAPTER VII THE LEARNING PROCESS Consciousness of self precedes conscious learning. There is some difference of opinion as to when conscious learning commences. A child undoubtedly learns something very- soon after birth. During his early days his various senses take up their work, and each contributes something to his mental growth. At this early period he does not know him- self as separate from things about him, for he has not yet become conscious of himself as a being apart from other persons and from his environment. Even at this early stage of his existence, however, it is evident that he is a conscious being and a learner. The beginnings of a consciousness of self mark an impor- tant stage in the development of an individual. Until a child knows or becomes conscious of himself as something apart and separate from the persons and things about him, he is not conscious that he is acquiring a knowledge of things external to himself. Therefore, with the jfirst steps in the acquisition of knowledge of self, the external world begins to take on a new meaning to him and most of the impres- sions that come from sources external to the self have a different significance than ever before. When a child be- comes conscious of himself, as separate and distinct from the objects that he sees about him, these objects at once acquire a new interest to him and there is aroused within him a desire to know something more about them. In the earlier years of a person's hfe, consciousness of the self is probably possible only in the presence of things other than the self. Thus it will be seen that the self is discovered by 122 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING means of the external world, and that the effect of the ex- ternal world upon the conscious self affords the natural means of gaining knowledge. Consciousness of self gained through sensation. A thing is brought into the plane of consciousness when the self becomes aware that something is present of which it had not before taken cognizance. The self is made conscious of the presence of a thing external or apart from the ego or self by means of an effect which this thing produces upon the mind through the senses. This effect upon the mind by the senses is known as sensation. It is the simplest state of consciousness and is the basis or foundation of all knowl- edge. As a person becomes conscious of an external thing through sensations, it is also through sensations that he is made conscious of himself. Through the sense of sight a person may receive the sensation of color from an object presented to him, — a red rose, for example. At the same time he is made conscious of self as perceiving or seeing the color of the rose. Through the sense of smell, he may receive the sensation or idea of odor as he holds the rose to his nostrils and become conscious of self in the sensation that is produced. From this and other examples of sen- sation which will suggest themselves to the reader, it is apparent that the senses have an important function to per- form in the process of gaining consciousness of the self and of acquiring knowledge of objects external to the self. It is because the mind receives impressions from objects external to itself through the senses that these impressions are called sensations. They are often spoken of as ideas. Ideas, how- ever, relate to the objects, not to the senses. Sensations differ in character. The nature or character of a sensation becomes the means of identifying it and the thing which produced it. The character of a sensation also affords the means of remembering past sensations or of THE LEARNING PROCESS 123 recognizing new ones. Since sensations are caused by the different senses, they may be totally different in character. For example, by means of the eye the bird is perceived and its color, size and form are noted. By means of the ear, one is made conscious of its song and of the quality of its note. By means of the sense of sight, one may observe the color and size of the orange. By means of the sense of smell, one is made conscious of the odor of the orange. Through the sense of taste, the flavor or taste of the orange is ob- tained. Through the sense of touch, the character of the texture of the skin of the orange is learned. Thus the sen- sations and ideas of the orange which are produced by the different senses are totally different in character, but all are needed to convey to the mind a complete idea of this particular kind of fruit. Sensations may differ also in degree or intensity and hence may represent varying degrees of a sensation received through the same sense, as, for example, the varying in- tensity of sound from the low sweet note of the tiny bird to the loud roar of the lion or to the deafening peal of thun- der. The character of these varying sensations is recorded in the mind, to be used when needed in identifying or dis- tinguishing sensations and their causes. As new sensations or new ideas are received, they are compared with those previously experienced in order to determine to what class of sensations or ideas they belong. Thus sensations fur- nish the basal material which is used by the mind for com- parison, selection, and combining in all its operations. Few distinct kinds of sensations. Since all sensations are received through the senses, the distinct basal sensa- tions are relatively few in number. It is the variety in the quaUty and mtensity of the same sensation that gives the idea of great number. Through the eye, the sensation is produced which is interpreted by the mind as color; but 124 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING the particular color sensation that is produced may repre- sent any one or even many of the varying hues and tints of the color which nature presents. Through the ear, sound is produced; but the sound may represent a particular sound with its wide range of intensity, or a combination of several sounds of infinite degrees of tone and character. Simple sensations, which a person has already had, often recur in new combinations; and it is the result of these combinations, not the individual sensations, that are new to him. When sensations that are already familiar oc- cur in new combinations, a person will recognize objects either as those already known or as altogether new ones. Color, form, sound, and all other sensations that appear in different combinations make it possible to recognize par- ticular objects and to distinguish one object from another. Relation of memory to the learning process. When a sensation is produced by the presentation to the senses of an object or by any other way, at once a mental effort is made to identify it or to find out what it is. Immediately other sensations which have been previously experienced and recorded in the mind, are called up to be compared with the sensation or the group of sensations produced by the new object upon the senses, in order to determine whether it has been experienced before. That condition, state, or process of the mind by which former experiences are reinstated is called memory. An examination of this process will show that there are three distinct phases of the mind united in what is commonly known as memory. First, there is the retention in the mind of the sensation or state of mind experienced; second, the phase of reproduction by which the sensation is recalled; and third, the phase of recognition by which the mind knows the past sensation or experience as having really been experienced. Therefore, in a general way memory may be defined as the power of THE LEARNING PROCESS 125 the mind to record, reproduce, and recognize past sensa- tions and experiences. It is that " reproductive imagina- tion " by which past experiences, that may for the time have been forgotten, are again brought into the field of consciousness. In a closer analysis, a distinction is made between recollection and recognition; but for our present purpose, this is not necessary, as we are considering mem- ory in its widest sense as related to the learning process. Memory images. The recalled ideas and experiences which are brought into the field of consciousness by means of memory are called memory images. The value of these memory images is apparent when we consider that without them each sensation or combination of sensations would have the eflFect of new ones and would have to be con- tinually acquired afresh. Thus, without memory and the power to recall memory images, a person could not make any advance in the acquisition of knowledge; for without memory he could not accumulate and retain sensations, ideas, and experiences. Hence he would not have a stock of previously acquired material to which new experiences and sensations could be added. From this it is evident that memory is an important factor in the learning process. It is because man can retain and recall mental states, and when desired can add to them to increase his knowledge, that he is superior to other animals. Relation of judgment to the learning process. Since the function of the memory is merely to retain the mental states, facts, and experiences which are recorded in the mind, and to recall or set them up for examination when desired, it is evident that other activities of the mind must be em- ployed in the learning process. In order to make advancement in the acquisition of knowledge, one must add useful and usable facts and experiences to those already accumulated. This requires a process of comparison and selection by 126 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING which the new sensations and experiences are compared with the ones which memory furnishes, in order to deter- mine their resemblance in nature, characteristics, and properties, and to decide the manner in which they are to be grouped and added to the knowledge already possessed. The process by which comparisons and selections are made is termed judging, and the activity of the mind whicl' makes them is called the judgment. The importance of the judgment in the learning process is apparent; for it would be useless to pile up unrelated matter, either mental or mate- rial, where it would not be available for use, or to merely accumulate it and never make use of it. Therefore another activity, the judgment, is required to take the material re- corded by memory and classify and label it. Relation of apperception to the learning process. There is still another activity of the mind which performs an im- pKDrtant part in the learning process. By it the mental mate- rial, including the products of the sensations, the memory, and the judgment are combined and assimilated by the mind in such a way that they become part of the mental structure. After the judgment has compared the new sen- sations with those which the memory produces, this other activity of the mind takes the product and puts it with the group of similar ideas, thus uniting all into a larger con- cept. For example, when an orange is brought into the realm of consciousness, all the sensations and ideas that result from the activity of the senses of sight, smell, taste, and touch are united into one, to give the complete con- cept of this particular fruit to the person perceiving it. The activity of the mind by which these different ideas are grouped into one is called apperception. It should be noted that apperception does not choose the material, but that it merely takes that which is already collected and com- bines it into a larger or a fuller concept. It will be seen THE LEARNING PROCESS 1«7 from this, that apperception combines related elements into a harmonious group, or assembles all the attributes of an object into an enlarged concept of that object. This makes it possible for memory to reproduce or recall the object or the group as a whole, or to select certain elements of it when needed for comparison with new material re- ceived through the senses. Without apperception to group and correlate the knowledge acquired in different depart- ments of learning, there would be no accumulation of re- lated matter and consequently no personal mental growth. Apperceptive mass. The body or group of ideas or facts relating to a given subject which is held in the mind and to which the new related matter adheres is called the ap- perceptive mass. This may represent the ideas relating to a single object, or it may be composed of those relating to several objects. In either case, the entire group or collec- tion of ideas is the apperceptive mass to which new material may be related or added. For example, it may be the color red, which is in the consciousness, producing the idea, red. By means of memory other sensations or other ideas of red, previously recorded in the mind, will be recalled, and these all combined constitute the apperceptive mass for the color red. Or a child may for the first time see a particular kind of dog. He has seen other kinds of dogs and memory at once begins to recall the app>earance and characteristics of these to be compared with the new specimen. The points of resemblance lead the child to decide that the new animal is a dog; and his apperceptive mass is enlarged by the addi- tion of his newly acquired idea of another kind of dog. It is evident that in the process of learning, acts of apper- ception are continually taking place and the more of these acts there are, the more mental growth there will be. More- over, the apperceptive act performs such an important part in the acquisition of new ideas and of knowledge in general 128 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING that little advance can be made without due regard to the law that governs apperception and to the law of associa- tion, as well as to others that are based upon the law of apperception. In all learning, as in all teaching, progress should be made from the known to the unknown, in order that the new may be interpreted and classified through that which is already known. Hence the point of begin- ning must always be the pupil's previous knowledge, and the new matter must be related to that already possessed in such a way that it will cohere or unite in forming an enlarged or a complete idea. Unless this is done, the learner will have nothing upon which to build; for he will not see the connection or relation between new sensations and ideas, and those which have already been recorded in the mind. Again, it is evident that the larger the apperceptive mass, the greater the number of ideas that compose it; and, hence, the more likely it will be that it will contain some idea with which the new ideas will the more readily unite. For this reason, the teacher, when presenting any subject, should endeavor to make an appeal to as many of the senses as possible, that the number of apperceptive acts may be increased and the apperceptive mass enlarged. The learning process compared to a building. The process by which knowledge is acquired may be roughly compared to the building of a structure, a house for example. By means of sensation and memory, the original raw material for the mental structure is gathered; judgment, the archi- tect, classifies the material according to its character; and apperception, the builder, puts it into its proper place. Until it is thus examined and classified by the judgment and put into the proper place in the building being con- structed in the mind, it is only material for the building, con- sisting of sensations, ideas, and experiences, not yet classi- fied and made a part of the structure to which they belong. THE LEARNING PROCESS 129 Before they are so classified, and made a part of the struc- ture, they are valuable only in the sense that piles of lum- ber, brick, and other building materials are valuable. They are materials, which if properly classified and used, become a part of the mental structure; but they can be of Httle value until they are so classified and used. Exercise of the judgment necessary. From the fore- going discussion, it is evident that without the exercise of the judgment a person can make little use in the building of his knowledge structure of the sensations and the ex- periences which he collects. He may gather and record them in his mmd, he may even recall them through the exercise of the memory; but, unless he employs judgment and apperception in the classification and use of them, they will form no real mental structure, will produce no real mental development. Thus a person who merely memorizes without exercising his judgment in the use of what he col- lects, is accumulating masses of unclassified material, piles of lumber or brick; but he builds nothing and no positive result is attained from his efforts. He is not becoming edu- cated in the true sense of the word. Because of the danger that the instruction in the public schools will be too much concerned with the collection of materials, with the memor- izing of facts, and not enough with the training and exercise of the judgment, teachers themselves should be real builders, not merely the collectors of building materials. Moreover they should make builders of their pupils instead of merely aiding them in the collection of building materials in the form of well-nigh useless collections of unrelated memor- ized matter. To accomplish this, teachers must help their pupils to develop, to train, and to use their judgment. The concept in the learning process. After the senses, memory, judgment, and apperception have all performed their various functions, a new element of the mind results 130 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING from their combined activity. This new element represents the sum of all the ideas that relate to an object or to a class of objects or ideas and is called a concept. A concept is the mental image of an object or a class of objects when not present to the senses. An illustration may make more clear the manner in which a child's ideas regarding any object with which he is familiar are enlarged until, from a simple notion of a definite object, he has gained a general idea or concept of the entire class to which this object belongs. Take, for example, the growth of the child's ideas of the common and well-known animal, the horse. His first idea may have been obtained from a toy tin horse. To his in- fant mind, a horse is made of tin, cannot move unless wound up by means of a mechanical contrivance, and is small in size. Later he sees a real horse of a color different from that of his toy animal. His simple idea of a toy horse is enlarged by the ideas of size, color, life, and activity. He sees another horse of a different size and color, and again his idea of horse is enlarged and modified to include the new specimen, and so on with each new horse which he sees until he has gained a rather distinct idea of horse in general, as to form, various colors, sizes, manner of moving, and other characteristics. These ideas relating to the class make up his concept of the animal, horse; not of any horse in particular, but of the class horse, as distinguished from other animals. The child may have a concept of a particular horse as well as a concept of horses in general. By concept of a horse is meant the mental image of a horse when it is not present. If the horse is present, the mental image would be a percept. A concept, like a simple sensation or an idea, may be re- tained to be reproduced by memory when desired. When- ever a new object is brought into a i)crson's consciousness, various sensations are produced by its properties and quali- THE LEARNING PROCESS 131 ties, each of which leads to a threefold activity or process of the memory, the judgment, and the apperception to pro- duce a concept. There are as many simple concepts as there are sensations. Some of these result from single sen- sations and some of them are the product of a combination of sensations; and finally all unite to form a complete con- cept of the object or idea. Therefore, a general concept of anything is a composite one, made up of many individual or simple concepts. It will readily be understood that the character of the general concept must depend upon the number, nature, and character of the individual concepts of which it is composed. Teaching should produce real concepts. It is possible to have a number of concepts of a thing without having a vivid idea of what it is. On the other hand, it may be possible to form a fairly vivid and correct general concept when only a few individual concepts are known. A concept is said to be vivid when the mental idea which it embodies is in the main correct. When practically all the elementary con- cepts which one may have of an object are united into the general concept, it is said to be full or complete. This fact is of the utmost importance to teachers in their work, for they should know what individual and what general con- cepts result from their teaching. They should also make sure that they carry their instruction to the point where real concepts are formed, instead of stopping with the mere act of memory in recalling sensations and experiences. The real test of good teaching is found in the number of useful concepts pupils acquire and not in their ability to memorize unrelated facts and ideas. The result of true teaching is shown in the power of pupils to think and reason, rather than in their power to reproduce the facts accumulated by memory. This statement applies to pupils in all grades. Interest in the learning process. In the various steps of 132 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING the learning process, there is present in the mind of the learner the instinct of curiosity or a simple desire to know something about the object or the idea under consideration. As the individual concepts begin to form and combine into composite concepts, the ego or self becomes conscious, alert, and active. The natural instinct of curiosity added to the new concepts together produce a new element, interest. Interest, then, is the outgrowth of curiosity coupled with information. It is a mental attitude of mind, a feeling which urges a person to seek more information upon a given subject. Additional effort to gain information, if it increases his knowledge, creates desire for still more, pro- vided, of course, that the quest promises to yield some good to the learner. If, on the contrary, the increased informa- tion upon the subject in question produces harm to the person, then a feeling of aversion is produced. Desire and aversion are the products of interest combined with infor- mation. Desire will continue just as long as it is believed that the subject will yield some good, and aversion will continue as long as it is believed that the subject will pro- duce harm. When desire or aversion cease, interest ceases also, and indifference results. The will in the learning process. When curiosity is com- bined with the new concept acquired, the resulting state of mind is one of interest. Naturally this interest in an object is accompanied with the feeling that it has additional concepts or desirable information which it may be made to yield; for interest in anything ends when the self concludes that there is nothing more to be learned from it, or that there is no longer anything desirable to be gained from it. So long, however, as interest continues, the self is aroused to special activity to secure the desired end, or to realize a supposed good. When interest is accompanied by suffi- cient desire, there is called into use an activity within the THE LEARNING PROCESS 1S3 self that enables it to put forth effort to satisfy this desire. This effort will be more or less effective according to the intensity of desire. This activity is known as the will. Whenever there is present a desire toward an object that is strong enough to become determination, there is an effort of the will to attain it. Whenever there is strong aversion toward an object, there is an effort of the will to draw away from it, or to avoid it. In the sense in which will is here used, it may be defined as the activity within the self which enables one to put forth effort to satisfy desire or to attain some real or imagined good or to protect the self from harm. When properly directed this activity is productive of the greatest good to an individual, and it is a very important factor in the learning process. Interest an important factor in the learning process. In- terest in a subject is not an evidence of full information re- garding it; but in reality it indicates incomplete informa- tion. Indeed, interest is not an index of the quantity of knowledge already possessed upon a given subject, but rather of the feeling toward it. It shows a receptive condi- tion of mind, with a seeking attitude and a feeling of desire which are fundamental conditions for mental development. Hence, interest on the part of the learner is of the utmost importance in the learning process; for without it there would be little activity of mind and, therefore, no real growth. One noted educator has called interest the greatest word in education. It is evident that it is vital in the acquisition of knowledge, for it gives a stimulus to effort, and makes the most difficult task a pleasure. Thinking in the learning process. In the foregoing dis- cussion it has been found that a general concept of a thing is made up of a number of individual concepts, and that these individual concepts are in turn due to sensations, and sensations are due to objects. The process by which 134 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING new sensations and concepts are compared with those which memory reproduces and their resemblance and differences noted is called thinking. When the human mind receives its first conscious sensation it can begin to think. It can compare this sensation with the next one, and this is think- ing. Naturally, thinking at this stage of development will be of a very elementary and simple character; for the com- parison of simple sensations is the most elementary form of thinking. The child very early in life begins to compare his concepts. This is thinking of a higher order than the com- paring of sensations, especially when general concepts are compared. A little later, the child calls the judgment into action in comparing his own experiences; and a much higher form of thinking results than when he merely com- pared simple concepts. As an individual develops mentally, he increases the number and kind of comparisons that he can make; and this indicates that his thinking is becoming more varied. As his education advances, he is continually adding impor- tant concepts to his store of information. Naturally many elements from the individual concepts enter into the gen- eral concepts which he acquires, making the latter so com- plex that the judgment is taxed to the utmost to make correct comparisons and to reach logical conclusions. This requires thinking and reasoning of a more varied and higher order. Thus it will be seen that the power to think is a development or growth from the simple comparison of simple sensations to the complex process of reasoning, by which the mind compares, judges, and classifies complex concepts in forming opinions and reaching conclusions. Power to think acquired through exercise. When a per- son says that he cannot think, he either lacks concepts which the judgment may compare, or he is deficient in judgment and in the power to see relations between the ideas and THE LEARNING PROCESS 135 concepts to be compared. It is self-evident that there can be no thinking unless there are first ideas or percepts and concepts to be compared and acted upon by the judgment. On the other hand, one may have ideas and concepts and yet not make comparisons of them or reach any conclusions regarding them. Such persons profit little from direct teach- ing or experience; and hence they fail to develop the power to increase the number of vital concepts which come from abstract thinking or from thinking based upon material furnished by memory. Since the power to think is acquired and increased through exercise, the importance of cultivat- ing the habit of thinking, of making mental comparisons, is of the greatest value. By cultivating this habit teachers would make thinkers, not memorizers of their pupils. Four steps in the acquisition of knowledge. In a dis- cussion upon education. Dr. Arnold Tompkins said, " There are four distinct steps in the acquisition of knowledge. The child perceives, he hkes, he desires, he wills to have." This is a clear and concise statement of the simple process by which the child acquires new ideas and concepts and in- creases his knowledge, and in the main it is correct. Later on, other motives than desire may cause action. The first step presupposes that some new thing which the child has not known or experienced before is brought into his conscious- ness; and he must take these four steps in the learning proc- ess in order to add this new thing to his mental stock. This epigrammatic statement of Dr. Tompkins may not be strictly psychological, but it is a good working statement for those unacquainted with the mental processes through a study of psychology. It is also a good working statement for the teacher. It suggests definite things for him to do, and when these are done properly the child will complete the process. The child perceives that which the teacher pre- sents to him. This selection of the material to be presented 196 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG places a great responsibility upon the teachers that cannot safely be ignored. In addition to selecting the material for the child, the teacher's duty is to present it in such a way that the child will like it. Then, the child, liking it, will desire it and will put forth effort to attain it. Steps in conscious learning. The steps which the child takes in the conscious act of learning are practically the same, although they may vary somewhat according to his previous knowledge, the conditions under which the new idea is presented to him, and the motive present for gain- ing information regarding it. If the new subject or lesson is properly presented, it should make an appeal to him through his curiosity and should create sufficient interest to make him desire to know more about it. This desire should give him the needed motive for making the neces- sary effort to attain the new and useful knowledge. Nat- urally, the child is not conscious of the distinct steps which he takes; but the teacher should understand the process. He must understand it in order that he may present new matter in such a way as to make the necessary appeal to the pupils, so that their effort to gain knowledge will be the natural outcome of interest and desire, instead of being forced through fear of consequences or any other wrong motive. The teacher must be concerned about his subject- matter, and the reaction that comes from its presentation. Influence of the physical nature upon learning process. As the various steps of the learning process take place, the mental and the physical natures act and react upon each other. These reactions are spoken of as feelings and emo- tions. They may be produced by sensations, by memory, by judgment, or by all of these combined. Because of this, the emotions may be as varied and as numerous as the men- tal processes or the physical conditions which cause them. This relation between the intellectual and the physical man THE LEARNING PROCESS 137 is expressed by the assertion, " Every mental act or proc- ess has its corresponding physical reaction." This state- ment embodies the most significant law of physiological psychology, for it gives the reason why the so-called mental states have, or tend to have, a corresponding physical state or condition. The interdependence of the intellectual and physical natures of man as expressed in this law, accounts for the many direct results of the influence of the one upon the other. It explains why the continual presence of certain feelings or emotions in the mind of an individual develops certain physical states and characteristics. It makes clear the reason for the mental state of a person showing itself in the expression of his face or in the posture of his body. This law explains the relation between work and fatigue and suggests the reason why continued mental exertion causes physical exhaustion, and why physical weariness makes mental effort difficult. In this law is to be found the reason for the different ways in which the learning process affects different persons. And finally, it makes plain the importance of giving attention to physical comfort as one of the necessary conditions for gaining desired results from study or from any mental activity. Summary. It has been the aim in this chapter to make clear and simple the psychology of the learning process in the acquisition of elementary truth. In the attempt to make it simple, statements are made, no doubt, that psy- chologists may not accept; but this book is written for the young teachers who desire simple, not technical phrases. Naturally, the discussion of this process makes it neces- sary to take up and consider each phase of mental activity separately, as though one followed another. In the real act of learning, in the acquisition of concepts, however, the various faculties employed are active at the same time and 138 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING the different acti\'ities are going on together. Curiosity, interest, perception, memory, comparison, judgment, ap- perception, feeling, will, thinking, all act harmoniously and simultaneously to acquire each new fact or idea which the learner adds to his store of knowledge. SUGGESTED READINGS Modem Methods for Teachers. Boyer, pp. 53-68. Principles of Elementary Edtication, Bachman, p. 54. Applied Psychology, McClellan, pp. 10-18, 179-80. The Art of Education, Howerth, pp. 56-66. Psychology and Psychic Culture, Halleck, pp. 50-69, 180-221, 229. Outlines of Psychology, Royce, pp. 119-22, 364. The Mind and its Education, Betts, pp. 1-12, 90-107, 182-95. The Learning Process, Colvin, pp. 71-75, 130, 165. Education, Thorndike, pp. 67-70. EXERCISES 1. Write out some of your very earliest memories. Compare these early memories with those coming a year or two later. Is the general charac- ter of the two groups the same? What class of memories continue most vividly? 2. Name some things that you would be capable of judging as to qual- ity, as to value. Name some things that you would not be able to judge as to quality, as to value. Should a merchant be able to judge his wares? Should a workman be competent to judge of good work in his vocation? Should a teacher be a good judge of school work? 3. Name some of the earliest things a baby learns. Does he have sen- sations, memory, will? How does he learn without having a teacher? 4. Name five things you have learned, " by yourself." Write out as fully as you can what part the teacher should have in the learning process. Are you ready to be a teacher? Give reasons for your answer. 5. State as nearly as you can what would take place in your mind if a new story of Lincoln were told you; if a new fruit were seen and tasted. 6. Use the following words in sentences: perception, perceive, percept, cou' cept. Which one names the mental image when an object is present? Which one names the mental image of an object when it is not present? 7. " Thinking is the mental effort expended in answering a question." THE LEARNING PROCESS 139 Test this statement by trying to write about " patriotism." Note how the mind instantly asks questions. 8. Every person has a good memory for some things and a poor memory for others. Consider whether this is true in your case? Name five things or kinds of knowledge that you remember well. One boy can remember all the details of a baseball game including names of players, errors, good plays and other facts about the game; but he does not remember poetry and history very well. Another boy remem- bers poetry and history but does not remember the ball game at all. Which is credited with a good memory by most teachers? Is this right? Give reasons for your answer. 9. Explain some way in which you could help each of these boys. 10. " Doing is a test of knowing." Which part of the chapter justifies this statement? Is it certain that the student who passes the highest examination knows the most? Give reason for your opinion. 11. Consider the truth of the following statement: " A good teacher is one who is able to arouse the pupil's interest in the subjects he teaches." If this statement is not always true, tell what may pre- vent this result. Give your concept of a good teacher. CHAPTER VIII CORRECT CONCEPTS NECESSARY FOR RIGHT THINKING Exercise of the reasoning powers necessary for subjec- tive growth. The quality and quantity of a person's think- ing depend upon the quaHty and quantity of his concepts, and his mental growth depends upon his ability to think and reason. From this statement it is evident that to insure real growth a person must acquire a store of concepts upon which to base his thinking. Further, since the quality of his thinking is determined by the character of his concepts, it is important that he acquire correct and desirable con- cepts. Hence every person should endeavor to increase his quantity of ideas and knowledge by the continual addi- tion of desirable concepts. Since children and young pupils do not understand the necessity for this, they must be guided in their acquisition of knowledge by older persons who do understand it; for if they are not so guided, their concepts may not be of a character to make right and clear thinking possible. Cultivation of the thinking habit important. A person should, as early in life as possible, form the habit of think- ing. For this reason those persons who are engaged in the instruction of the young should make it a distinct aim of their teaching to present the kind of subject-matter that will enable the pupil to gain as large a number of valuable concepts as he can, and then should lead him to make use of them in real thinking. Since the true result of teaching, as shown in the subjective growth of the pupils, is dependent upon their gaining the ability to think, it follows that before a child can experience the desirable reaction and stimulus CORRECT CONCEPTS 141 of genuine thinking, he must have a store of vivid and com- plete concepts upon which to base his thinking. Herein Hes the duty and the opportunity of the teacher to help his pupils in acquiring these concepts; and it is a duty which he should be quick to recognize, if he expects to be a true teacher and instructor, a real guide of the young. Teachers' failures often due to ignorance of true aim. The ignorance on the part of many teachers of the principle which governs the dependence of one's thinking upon the concepts possessed, accounts for more of the failures of teachers to achieve the true aim of teaching than perhaps any other cause. Conscious or unconscious negligence in the recognition and observance of this principle is unfortunately more common than those who have not investigated the mat- ter would suppose. Nor are failures from this cause con- fined only to young and inexperienced teachers. Such failures may be found in the work of teachers of long experience. Neither are they confined to teachers of the lower grades; for failure to achieve the true aim of teaching may be found in all departments of the school, from the primary to the grammar grades and from the first year to the close of the high-school course, and even in the college. The immediate causes of this condition are to be found, first, in the limited number of clear concepts possessed by the teacher and in the unwise selection of concepts to be taught; and, second, in the character of the tests that are given to measure the results of the teaching. Regarding the first of these causes, it is evident that when a teacher has few clear concepts himself, his selection of those to be taught must of necessity be limited. The second cause is the result of a mistaken idea of the purpose of teaching and con- sequently of the evidences and proofs of real growth. There- fore, the objective tests given to ascertain the results of the teaching are not such as measure true growth in the 142 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING acquisition of clear concepts nor in the ability to think and reason. The practice of giving such tests has become so universal that they often seem to be the main motive of the teaching and of the pupil's study. Moreover, an objective rather than a subjective aim far too often governs the selec- tion of lesson material and the manner of ascertaining re- sults. Examples of teachers' poverty of concepts. Recently, a somewhat extensive investigation was made into the char- acter and quantity of the concepts of a number of teachers and a group of students who were preparing themselves to become teachers. This inquiry was made with particular reference to the concepts which these persons had of the terms used in the common branches. As a result of this ex- amination, it was found that a majority had incorrect and incomplete concepts, not only of the subjects under con- sideration and of the terms used in them, but also of the laws and principles governing these subjects. Not over twenty per cent of several hundred persons whose concepts were thus tested had correct or clear concepts of such terms and expressions as those indicated in the following lists: — Examples taken from tests of concepts. Arithmetic — Simple number, complex fraction, denominate number, reduction, cancellation, area, square, simple fraction. Geography — River, bay, harbor, lake, watershed, plain, commerce, longitude, latitude, equator, glacier, moraine. Grammar — Clause, phrase, subject, predicate, object, complement, part of speech, verb, participle, modifier. Common expressions and proverbs — He is a wolf in sheep's clothing. A rolling stone gathers no moss. CORRECT CONCEPTS 143 Honesty is the best policy. In unity there is strength. A faint heart never won a fair lady. To thine own self be true. He caught a tartar. A penny saved is a penny earned. Many of the answers that were given to these and similar questions relating to the terms used in the common branches and the principles underlying these subjects were incorrect or imperfect. Some of them would have been amusing but for the fact that they were given seriously by earnest young people who had acquired their concepts of these terms through the instruction of teachers in whom they had con- fidence. Many of the answers were interesting as an indica- tion of the kind of instruction the teachers had received when they were pupils in school. This investigation showed further that the teachers ques- tioned not only had imperfect and incomplete concepts of the subjects which they taught, but that they had equally imperfect ideas as to what should be taught in different grades under ordinary conditions. Their conceptions of the methods of teaching to be employed were also vague, and their ideas of the aim of teaching and of the results to be obtained were often altogether wrong. In the light of the result of such investigations, one does not wonder so much that the schools are often poor and the results are unsatis- factory; but, rather, one is surprised that the schools are as good as they are, and the results of the instruction in them are no worse than they are. Related concepts necessary for logical thinking. Poor results in the mental growth of pupils is often due to the fact that teachers have not made a careful or wise selection of concept material to be taught. To insure natural and satis- {^^ factory growth, the subject-matter necessary to produce it 144 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING must be added in the proper places, the proper quantity, and the proper order. It is evident from the facts and conditions already cited that in many schools and in the case of many of the subjects taught, the elements of real growth were not thus acquired and added. Careful investigations have re- vealed the fact that concept material that is unrelated and miscellaneous in character is often given, even by well in- formed teachers. In many instances it was apparent that the concepts which the teacher wished to develop did not exist in her own mind as clear or complete concepts. Hence the material for forming them was poorly presented. In the case of such teaching, the child's mind is furnished with im- perfectly understood or unrelated concepts, and he is unable to think and reason logically and correctly. As a result, he cannot experience the satisfaction and joy that comes from constructive thinking nor have the growth that results from it. Examination tests show a teacher's aim. The character of examination tests given by a teacher usually reveals the aim which governs his teaching and also shows something of the character of the concepts which he acquired when he was himself a pupil. The nature of the tests given by many teachers, as well as their teaching, shows that their principal aim is for objective results — for the mere memorizing of facts, rather than for subjective results, as shown in the ac- quisition of clear concepts and the right exercise of the rea- soning powers. Thus the results have been mainly objective rather than subjective. By an objective result is meant the ability on the part of the child to report in answer to ques- tions asked, the information received from study or from instruction. A child having a good memory may give back in reply to questions much information relating to the sub- ject studied and yet have made little or no advancement in the acquisition of right concepts and in the power to think. CORRECT CONCEPTS 145 Many personal observations in proof of this assertion might be related, but one will be suflBcient to illustrate the point. The author, when a pupil in the high school, memorized Davies' Legendre from beginning to end. When a given theorem was mentioned, he could give the number of the theorem, the theorem itself, and the book in which it was to be found. His teacher gave him 100 per cent on every ex- amination throughout the year, including the final test, and regarded him an exceptional student in the subject of plane geometry. Notwithstanding this fact, he was not a good student of geometry; for all his work had failed to give him geometrical concepts. He had neither the power to think in surface and space relations, nor the ability to do original work. If he had been asked to prove that the diagonal of a square divides it into two equal parts, he could not have done it, even after a year's work in memorizing the theorems set down in the book. The teaching had been entirely ob- jective, and the results were objective. This is not an excep- tional or an unusual case of this kind of teaching nor of the results from it. Doubtless the reader can recall similar expe- riences and results from purely objective teaching in his own school days. Teachers often deluded regarding results of teaching. Teachers are sometimes greatly mistaken with regard to the results of their own teaching, and what they consider de- sirable results are often not real gains to the child, because they do not show vital mental growth. In fact, much of the supposed good teaching, when subjected to the tests that determine real subjective growth, is found to be very un- satisfactory and shows in its results many elements of posi- tive loss instead of real gain. This is not always due to care- lessness or lack of effort on the part of the teacher, but, rather, to a mistaken idea of how real growth is attained and the results by which it is shown. 146 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG Often teachers who are earnest and conscientious are deluded regarding the true character of their teaching, due, not alone to their wrong conception of the true aim of teach- ing, but also to their lack of knowledge of psychology and its fundamental laws. This statement is not intended to convey the impression that a person cannot be a good teacher unless he is a student of formal psychology. Some knowl- edge of psychology, and particularly of the principles which relate to teaching, is invaluable to the teacher; but it not infrequently happens that a teacher's own reasoning has shown him the true aim of education and the principles re- lating to it, and has led him to devise methods by which these principles may be applied and this aim may be at- tained. Many examples might be cited of such teachers, who are using true pedagogical principles and methods in their teach- ing, although they may be entirely ignorant of psychology as a science, may not be familiar with a single psychological term, and may never have heard a psychological conclu- sion as related to teaching. They have gained their knowl- edge of method through experience, perhaps of many years; but it has invariably been obtained at the expense of the pupils upon whom they experimented. Apparent subjective results often misleading. Frequently teachers are deluded with regard to the results of their teach- ing, because of apparent evidences of subjective results which are shown by the seeming interest of pupils in a given subject. In consequence of this, incorrect estimates of the value of the teaching are formed. In many cases these seem- ing subjective results are the outgrowth of the emotional nature rather than of the activity of the reasoning powers. The apparent interest on the part of the pui>ils in the subject being presented is often caused by love for the teacher and desire to please him, which leads them to evince an interest CORRECT CONCEPTS 147 for his sake alone, rather than because of any appeal which the subject makes to them. It may also be caused by the teacher's praise of the pupil for a good memory and per- fect recitations; or it may be prompted by teaching that has much of the entertaining element, and therefore delights the pupil and produces an emotional response that is mis- taken for a proper subjective result. As an illustration of this last kind of response, a case is recalled of the result of the teaching of a woman who was a very poor teacher but a good entertainer and mistook entertaining for teaching. For a time she was very popular with both children and parents, who thought her an excel- lent teacher because she interested and entertained her pupils. It was not until the latter had passed into another grade and had come under the instruction of another teacher that the discovery was made that they had really learned little or nothing while under the teaching of the former, and that the year's work had to be done over. This same emotional result may be caused by an interest in illustrations and experiments which the teacher employs to make certain points in the teaching clear. These illus- trations or experiments may engage the attention and arouse the interest of the pupil without leading him to do any real thinking or to gain any clear concepts of the thing illustrated. An example of this may be taken from a scienti- fic experiment in which the pupil is often interested in the apparatus when he has no interest in the thing being illus- trated or proved by the experiment. The seeming interest and understanding, however, mislead the teacher and cause him to draw wrong conclusions regarding the value and the results of the teaching. Pupils' failure to think, due to teaching. Perhaps the most universal complaint of teachers is that their pupils do not think, do not make comparison of the new ideas with the 148 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING old, but receive the new ideas passively. This is a state of affairs that exists so generally that both teachers and parents frequently accept it as a condition that cannot be remedied. A little investigation of the character of the work being done in many of our schools will reveal to any intelligent person the reason why children do not think. The universality of this condition clearly indicates that teachers in general do not present enough work of a character to arouse the reason- ing faculties of their pupils sufficiently to insure the in- creased ability on the part of the latter to think. It must be evident to all who have given the matter any consideration, why those teachers who complain the most about the in- ability of their pupils to think are usually powerless in their efforts to remedy this condition. It is apparent that before this condition can be greatly improved, vital changes must be made in the plan and methods of instruction in our schools. Criticisms of schools make improved conditions neces- sary. The criticisms of the schools for their failure to fulfill the purpose for which they exist have become sufficiently general to cause those who are concerned with the problem of educating the young to take vigorous measures to dis- cover and remedy this condition. While it is generally agreed that there is something radically wrong with existing conditions, there are differences of opinion regarding the specific causes of these unsatisfactory conditions and the means of remedying them. It is evident, however, that the failure of teachers to realize the true purpose of teaching, because they do not help their pupils to acquire a usable fund of desirable concepts, is more far-reaching in its consequences than might at first glance be supposed. In the first place, the pupil, through not having a store of valuable concepts by means of which he may train or cultivate his reasoning powers, fails to experience the wholesome reaction which arises from real thinking. In the second place, he fails to CORRECT CONCEPTS 149 cultivate for subsequent use those reasoning powers which can be produced only by constant exercise in real thinking. Moreover, the failure on the part of teachers to present new and vital concepts makes school work uninviting to pupils and the schoolroom a dull, uninteresting place. As a con- sequence even the objective results are lessened and pupils lose interest in school altogether, as is shown by the large number that leave it at the earliest possible moment that they can escape from it. As a result of an investigation of existing conditions in many schools and a careful examina- tion into the reasons why the school as an institution often fails to fulfill adequately the purpose for which it came into existence, the authors are convinced that two important changes are necessary. In the first place, some radical changes must be made in the curriculum; and, in the second place, there must be improvements in the character of the preparation of teachers for the work of instructing the young. Curriculiun should include subjects rich in concepts. The curriculum must be changed so as to include a larger number of subjects that are rich in concept-making material, and these must form a part of the daily program in every school. Among the subjects which should be given a more im- portant place may be mentioned: nature study, drawing, manual constructive work, and educational games. Each of these subjects, when properly taught, furnishes abundant material for the presentation of desirable concepts. To insure pupils acquiring these concepts, the subjects must be presented in such a way as to arouse the reasoning activities of the mind; for, as instruction in these subjects is usually given, pupils receive but few concepts and are not encour- aged to do much individual thinking. For example, in con- structive work the purpose should not be so much excel- lence of production as an effort to gain as large a number of concepts of the material used as possible, of its source, of its 150 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING characteristics, of its value, and of the uses to which it may be appHed. All of these concepts and many others should be acquired while a simple piece of constructive work is in progress. Similar aims should characterize the work in manual training. The argument for giving manual training a place in our school curriculum is not so much concerned with the skill to be acquired in constructing articles as is generally supposed. Manual training offers an opportunity for pre- senting a body of concepts as numerous and as practical as those of history, of geography, or of science; and therefore it merits a place in the course of study of the public school. In fact there is no other reason that would justify its being given a place in the course of study of the public school. Concepts from manual training illustrated. A simple ex- ample will illustrate how an exercise in manual training may be made to yield many desirable concepts and provoke thought on the part of pupils. Suppose the article to be made is a wooden box. Excellence of workmanship should not be the primary aim for which the box is being made. There are a large number of ideas and concepts that are sug- gested in the making of the box, and the presentation of these should be made the main purpose of the exercise. The out- line given below will suggest some of the things that should be taught in connection with making a box in the manual training exercise. Unless the teacher has the broad view in his manual instruction which this outline suggests, his re- sults will not justify the salary paid him; for, in the words of G. Stanley Hall, " the work in wood will produce only wooden results." Outline of topics for information. 1. Different kinds of wood suitable for making boxes. 2. The use of the box to determine the kind of wood. 8. Sources and values of wood. CORRECT CONCEPTS 161 4. Questions of design, shape, strength, and use. 5. Working drawings, 6. Use, value, and care of tools. 7. Other materials, — sand paper, varnish, paint, etc. 8. Finish, edges, joints, surface, etc. 9. Value when completed, when cost of material and reasonable pay for time expended are considered. Thus it will be seen that these and many other useful ideas and concepts may be gained by the child while construct- ing this simple article, provided the teacher improves the opportunities for giving the instruction which the exercise affords. If useful concepts are not gained during the con- structive work in manual training, the effort all going into acquiring skill in workmanship instead, then, this branch of instruction should be eliminated from our public schools as not having a rightful place there. The chief value of manual training in the education of the child lies in its capacity for yielding useful concepts, a fact of which the teacher should never lose sight, when giving instruction in this branch. Better preparation of teachers necessary. It is quite as necessary that there should be a change in the character of the preparation of teachers, in order to insure improved con- ditions in our schools, as it is that there should be a change in the curriculum. No great improvements in our schools can be expected until this fact becomes more generally recog- nized. In order that teachers may make the proper prep)- aration for the work of teaching, they must, first of all, have the correct idea of what the true aim of teaching really is. Naturally, teachers do their work according to their ideas of the purpose to be attained by it. If their ideas regarding the purpose of education are wrong, their teaching will of neces- sity be wrong also. Hence mistaken notions regarding the aim of teaching must first of all be corrected, and a clear and proper conception of the true purpose of teaching be given 152 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING instead. When teachers do gain a clear and correct under- standing of this purpose they can then inteUigently make such preparation as will enable them to realize this aim in their own teaching. More attention to subjective phase of education needed. The observations of the thoughtful educator will show him that the teachers in the majority of the schools should give more attention to the quality and quantity of the thinking on the part of the pupils, as well as to the number and quality of the concepts formed. Before teachers can do this effectively, they must emancipate themselves from the almost slavish adherence to the mechanical and objective phase of education and become thoroughly imbued with the subjective phase of it. Moreover, the teacher should show in himself the results of proper training and thinking, in order that he may, by example as well as by precept, demonstrate the satisfaction and happiness that may be gained by the right kind of education. The wise teacher will not fail to give his pupils such guidance in the use of the concepts which they acquire as will enable them to make use of these concepts to ascertain and discover relations in other ideas, in na- tural phenomena, and in the concrete objects about them. Unless a child learns to use the concepts which he acquires, in the interpretation and understanding of what he sees and hears and reads, they will be of comparatively little value or use to him. When they are so used, however, they become a source of profit and pleasure, and they will greatly assist him in forming the habit of clear and logical thinking. Right habit of thinking should be formed. It is unfortu- nately true that, as a rule, the children in our schools have not formed the habit of real thinking. Indeed, most people of adult years do not have this habit developed to a marked degree, for the reason that they received no incentive for real thinking and were not taught how to think when they CORRECT CONCEPTS 15S were children. As a result, they did not learn how to use the concepts, which they acquired, in determining relations. Persons who have made extensive investigations in schools in all parts of the country find that there are but few teachers who make the cultivation of the reasoning powers of their pupils a definite aim of the recitation, or who regard the ac- quisition of the habit of deliberate thinking an aim for which they should persistently strive. It seems unaccountable that this should be the case; for every intelligent person recognizes the value of being able to think and knows the distinctive place which a person who is known as a clear thinker oc- cupies in the community. The fact that so Uttle attention is given to the cultivation of the reasoning powers may be accounted for, at least in part, on the ground that many persons believe that one is enabled to think through the acquisition of a great number of ideas and a large amount of information. Hence the pupil's effort is directed toward memorizing facts, rather than toward the real exercise of the reasoning powers in discovering relations and in finding out the things he wishes to know. A large fund of knowledge is most de- sirable, and a good memory is a fortunate possession; but a person who has a good memory is not necessarily a great thinker. In fact, he may be quite the opposite; for he may consciously or unconsciously substitute memory for think- ing. He may often express the memorized opinions of others, and he may be guided by rules and judgments which have been borrowed from other persons. Such a person is the na- tural product of objective teaching wherein his best ability was expended in memorizing facts instead of in acquiring clear concepts. He has a large amount of objective informa- tion, but it has failed to affect him subjectively. Hence he has not developed his power to think; for the quantity and quality of one's thinking depends upon the quantity and 154 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING quality of his concepts, and he has not acquired clear and definite concepts. Cultivation of the habit of thinking. Since it is of para- mount importance that the habit of thinking be cultivated during childhood and youth, it is clearly the concern of teachers to provide opportunities for guiding their pupils in the cultivation of this habit. No cut-and-tried directions can be set down for doing this, however. Each subject of study and the everyday experiences of the classroom will furnish opportunities which the resourceful teacher can make use of for this purpose. To this end the teacher should utilize the occasions offered by encouraging pupils to ana- lyze the cause and effect relations in their common experi- ences, in the natural phenomena about them, and in the in- cidents of their everyday observations. The subjects of the curriculum should be so presented as to call for an exercise of the thinking and reasoning powers of the pupils for the making of comparisons and the discovering of relations, similarities, and differences in the world about them, rather than for a mere repetition of memorized facts. History, geography, and the sciences, as well as mathematics, are rich in thought-provoking matter; and these subjects should be skillfully used by the teacher in helping pupils to develop the power to think and reason, and to find out things for themselves. By this means pupils will become gradually more and more independent of the teacher's help in the ac- quisition of knowledge and in the solution of the questions that are continually confronting them. They will develop the habit of making use of their experiences and knowledge in meeting new situations and in their efforts to properly react to their environment. CORRECT CONCEPTS 155 SUGGESTED READINGS Principles of Education, Greenwood, pp. 2-8. Modem Methods for Teachers, Boyer, pp. 83-97. Better Schools, Gregory, pp. 48-52. Principles of Teaching, Thorndike, pp. 158-64. Everyday Problems in Teaching, O'Shea, pp. 104-65. Psychology and Psychic Culture, Halleck, pp. 224, 231. How to Teach, Strayer and Norsworthy, pp. 104-26. The Mind and its Education, Belts, pp. 143-61. EXERCISES 1. " Thinking is a comparison of concepts, and reasoning is a compari- son of judgments." Form a question in geography that would require thought to answer. Form a question on any subject that would re- quire a person to reason in order to answer it. 2. State whether you are in the habit of comparing objects as you see them. Tell whether you notice similarities and differences in persons and things. The power to recognize similar elements is necessary in order to become expert in classification. The ability to discover differences is required in order to be skillful in making sub- classifications. For example, the common elements in a certain class of plants determines the family, one of which is known as the Rosacea family. The differences in the plants of the same family determines the sub-classes, as, the rose, the apple, the peach, and other plants belonging to the Rosacea family. 3. Name the common elements in the words classified as verbs. Name some differences of these same words and give the sub-classes. 4. Explain the meaning of the statement, " The person who has never done thinking never begins doing." 5. " A soul is, as it were, tinged with the color and complexion of its thoughts." Discuss this statement briefly, considering whether it is true in the case of persons whom you know well. Give definite rea- sons for your opinions. 6. Discuss some teacher who seemed to be satisfied with the objective results of his teaching. Think of some teacher you have had that helped you subjectively — • that gave you new interests, new purposes, new resolutions, new ambition. Tell which was the better teacher and why. 7. Write out the definitions of the following terms: Simple number, simple fraction, decimal fraction, river, noun, participle. 8. Make a table showing fields of interest that might be suggested by making a linen dress. Name at least twenty concepts that might be developed. 156 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING 9. In the light of this chapter, which of the two subjects, Greek or manual training, would be the more valuable if each were equally well taught? Give reason for your answer. 10. Which do you think has given you the more correct concepts — your life in school or your life outside of school? Discuss this ques- tion. Show how each might have contributed more to your life. 11. Consider whether the home or the school is responsible for your church faith; for your politics, for your attitude toward people; for your outlook upon life. Tell whether school life has changed your manners; your companionship; your reading. Tell some things school life has done for you. 12. "Form the habit of observing, comparing, and deciding. Note simi- larities, note differences, — think." . Give some applications of this command. CHAPTER IX THE TEACHING PROCESS The term teaching explained. The problem of education in its relation to the school has been treated from the stiind- point of the pupil. It must also be considered from that of the teacher, for his part in the process by which the pupil acquires knowledge should be understood by all those who are fitting themselves for the profession of teaching. The importance of this is the more apparent when one considers that the significance of the term " teaching," as applied to the work of the teacher and the processes which it involves, is not always clearly understood even by those who occupy the position of teacher. There is so much involved in the process of teaching and learning that it is not possible fully to understand just what is meant by teaching, unless one knows something regarding the directed acts of the teacher that assist the pupil in learning something he has not known before. From this it is evident that it is difficult to formulate a concise and satisfactory definition of teaching. For this reason the majority of writers on education do not attempt to give a positive definition of what they mean by teaching. They prefer, rather, to explain and discuss the various acts involved in the process. Nor is it desirable that the writer in this case give a final definition of what he understands by teaching, as the purpose here is not so much to define terms as to explain processes. Therefore, without attempting to formulate a definition that will apply to all phases of teach- ing, it is sufficient in this connection to state, as a basis for further discussion, the sense in which the word is used. The term " teaching" as used in this chapter, applies to all the 158 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING means by which one person dssists another in learning some- thing not previously known, and in making right use of it after it is known. In this last it has in mind learning and thinking on the part of the learner. The first law of teaching. In order that a teacher may- assist his pupils in learning something not previously known, two important conditions are necessary : first, he must under- stand the process by which a child acquires new facts; and \\ second, he must know the manner in which new knowledge should be presented. It is evident that a teacher must know the steps by which a learner advances in the acquisition of knowledge from what is already known upon a given sub- ject to what is to be learned, or he will not understand the importance of connecting or relating the new matter to that already possessed. He must also be informed regarding the pupil's previous knowledge and experience as related to the subject to be taught, in order that he may be able to con- nect the new matter with the knowledge which the child al- ready possesses. With adequate information regarding the contents of the child's mind as a basis upon which to build, the teacher should be able to relate new matter to be taught to the knowledge which the child possesses, in such a way that the latter may interpret the new in terms of the old. To express the matter more briefly, it may be stated simply that all teaching must be related to the knowledge and experiences of' the learner. This concise and oft-quoted statement is some- times referred to as the first law of teaching. It is justly given this place; for it is second to none in order of importance, and it should be first in the order of sequence. The whole body of knowledge which the different chil- dren in the school have gained through personal experience from their environment may be interpreted or translated by the teaching process into universal experiences and race facts; or, on the other hand, universal experiences may be THE TEACHING PROCESS 169 interpreted and understood by these personal experiences. This being true, the value of the child's previous experiences and knowledge and the use of these by the teacher in the teaching process cannot be overestimated. The more varied and extensive his experiences may have been, the more readily will he grasp the facts of world experiences in his ac- quisition of knowledge. Hence in all teaching the teacher should make the previous experiences and knowledge of the child the starting-point for presenting new facts and in- formation. That all true teaching relates new matter to the experiences of the child is an educational maxim that should be understood and followed by all teachers. Law applies to teaching in all departments. The use of the expression " all teaching," in the statement of the law of teaching, is significant and comprehensive. It indicates that the law applies to teaching in all departments from the pri- mary grades through the high school and the college. It applies to the teaching of all subjects; to the teaching of his- tory and literature as truly as to the teaching of science and mathematics. It is equally true in the case of individual in- struction and of instruction in class. In short, it applies to every kind of deliberate effort on the part of one person to cause another to learn something not previously known. Every teacher or instructor, whether in the day or the Sun- day school, in the home or in any institution, will find that the law applies to his teaching. The point at which instruction begins. Instruction or teaching, like learning, logically commences where the learner's knowledge of the subject to be taught ends. The teacher should be conscious of this fact, in order that the effort to assist an- other in acquiring new knowledge may begin at the right place. A proper beginning is an important element in the / teaching process and therefore deserves particular attention. ^ It is evident that unless a right beginning is made, no satis- 160 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG factory result can be expected. Unfortunately many teachers ignore this fact, either from carelessness or ignorance, and do not take the trouble to inform themselves as to the knowl- edge which the pupil already possesses. As a result they do not relate the new matter to the old by beginning instruction upon a new subject at the point where the child's knowledge ends. Hence their teaching is a haphazard process, which has no definite starting-place and therefore leads to no par- ticular goal. Without a definite understanding of the learner's previous knowledge of the subject to be taught, the teacher is in danger of committing one or the other of two blunders. Either the matter presented may not be new to the child, and hence will not'cause him to learn something not already known, or it may be so remotely related to his previous knowledge that he cannot interpret the new by means of the old. For this reason, much of the so-called teaching is not teaching in the true sense of the term. It is not helping the pupil to learn something not already known. It does not lead either to the acquisition of related new knowledge or to mental development and growth. Misdirected effort in teaching illustrated. As an illustra- tion of the failure of many teachers to begin instruction at the right point, the teaching of history furnishes many ex- amples. The failure here is the result of the tiresome repeti- tions of old matter which the child already knows, instead of presenting to him that which is new. In far too many cases the effort is expended upon dull reviews and mechanical tests by means of questions asked many times before, and upon topics already worn threadbare by both teachers and pupils. Under the guidance of thoughtless teachers, Colum- bus discovers America over and over again every year dur- ing the six or seven years that the child reads the story of American history. During the same number of years in the THE TEACHING PROCESS 161 child's school experience, the Pilgrims journey annually from England to Holland and thence to the bleak winter coast of Massachusetts. Similarly other familiar topics from the history of our country are gone over many times during the early years of the child's school attendance. The study of grammar is rendered dull and irksome by the monot- onous repetitions of memorized deJSnitions of the parts of speech and their modifications. The geography recitation is made lifeless by the mechanical drills upon the names and location of cities, about which no new or interesting in- formation is given. Such methods of presentation of the branches being studied do not make the learner's previous knowledge the starting-point for the acquisition of new mat- ter. It is not teaching him something new, but is really testing the information which he already possesses. It is no wonder that children find such instruction dull and tiresome and the road to knowledge a very unattractive one to fol- low. Such attempts at giving instruction are not in the true sense teaching; they are not causing the child to learn some- thing which he did not know before. Many illustrations similar to these might be given to show the common practice of teachers in presenting various branches of study to their pupils. If teachers in general would make a careful and thorough analysis of the char- acter of the lessons which they assign and of the questions which they ask their pupils upon these lessons, they would often be surprised to find that much of what they supposed was teaching was not an intelligent and well-directed effort to aid their pupils in learning something not already known. In many cases they would discover that the nature of the lessons assigned shows that the purpose for which they are given is the memorizing of certain formal information con- tained in the textbook. They would discover that the ques- tions and discussion upon the lesson in the recitation are 162 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING directed less to the acquisition and understanding by the pupils of new knowledge than to the teacher's finding out how much of this formal information the child has succeeded " in cramming into his brain." A careful examination by the conscientious teacher of his work will reveal the fact that in a large number of cases there is not enough effort expended at the point where teaching should begin and too much is devoted to testing the pupil's power to repeat facts which he has memorized. Testing has a place in the process of educa- tion, as will be shown in the chapter on the recitation, but it should not take the place of teaching, nor should it be mistaken for it. The pupil's previous knowledge. The teacher must be in- formed regarding the pupil's previous knowledge and ex- periences, as related to a new subject to be taught, before he can intelligently and effectively connect or relate the new matter to the old. The necessity for an instructor having this information is equally important for the teacher in the elementary school, in the high school, and in the college. Attention is called to this fact for the reason that the notion seems to prevail that it is necessary only for the teacher in the elementary grades to be acquainted with the amount and kind of information which the child may have acquired from exijerience and environment, from the school, and from vari- ous other sources. The too frequent practice, on the part of teachers in the higher grades, of ignoring or neglecting the pupil's previous knowledge indicates the prevalence of this mistaken idea. It should be corrected, for it is as necessary that instruction in the higher branches of learning should be related to the knowledge and experiences of the learner as it is in the case of instruction in the elementary branches, and with adult as well as with juvenile learners. For this reason it is evident that whenever the teacher fails to in- form himself regarding the pupil's previous knowledge, THE TEACHING PROCESS 163 his teaching must of necessity be faulty and lacking in effitiency. Teaching should correct wrong concepts. The teacher must be informed regarding the pupil's previous knowledge, for the added reason that children often possess imperfect or incorrect concepts which must be corrected before they can properly interpret the new matter. Therefore the teacher, before presenting the new matter, should find out whether the child has the right ideas and concepts to which this new material may be related. The importance of this point is shown by the results of experiments that have been carried on by educators who have made special investigations along this line. These experiments reveal the fact that children often have the most erroneous concepts of the commonest objects. G. Stanley Hall gives an instructive report regard- ing the results of a test of this kind which was given a group of city children uj^on their entrance to school. Their igno- rance upon the best-known phenomena of nature was sur- prising. That oats grow on oak trees, that butter is made from buttercups, that flour is made from beans, that a cow says bow-bow and is no larger than a mouse (seen only in the picture book), that potatoes grow on trees, that cheese is squeezed butter, were some of the answers given; and others were equally absurd. Doubtless a group of country children would have been equally ignorant of the objects and the activities familiar to the city child. It is a self-evident fact that children are best acquainted with the things which they see and handle. It is therefore important that they be furnished with experiences neces- sary for becoming familiar with the objects which they should know. Since children must of necessity interpret new facts and ideas in terms of those which they already have, it is important that they have correct and accurate concepts through which to interpret the new. Therefore the teacher 164 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING should test the correctness of the knowledge which the pupil already has upon a given subject before presenting the new, and should supply the needed concepts through concrete examples when possible. Means of teaching children useful concepts. The poverty of the average child's concepts upon entering school shows the importance of parents providing their children with the opportunities for gaining experience with material things. Many of these come unsought in the regular round of daily tasks and amusements, and they should not be neglected. These natural opportimities may be added to by a variety of means. Among these may be mentioned : making a garden or caring for a window-box, mowing and raking a lawn, using carpenter's tools in the building of a play-house or a shelter for some pet animal, assisting in the various kinds of house- work, taking care of a domestic animal, or performing some other simple occupation in or about the house. The trans- action of small business matters, such as purchasing and making change, receiving and keeping an account of the expenditure of a small weekly allowance, and many other means which the resourceful parent may devise, will furnish abundant opportunities for gaining some experience of busi- ness processes. Whenever possible, the child's experience should be extended beyond his immediate environment by trips to the park and zoological gardens, to museums, to the stores, to factories, and to other places where he can see various kinds of industrial work in progress. In fact he should be taken to all places within reach where he will have an opportunity to add to his experiences and to gain useful information first-hand. In the case of city children occa- sional trips to the country are valuable; and in that of coun- try children visits to the city are of equal interest and profit. It is not necessary to extend further the enumeration of the means by which parents and teachers may enlarge THE TEACHING PROCESS 165 the children's opportunities for gaining first-hand experi- ences and knowledge. Every person who will give the sub- ject a little consideration will discover innumerable ways for providing such opportunities. There is no home so barren and no locality so lacking in interesting activities as not to afford some opportunities for the child to gain direct ex- perience with material things, that will serve as a basis for understanding fundamental race experiences and acquiring information regarding them. It is true that many homes cannot provide as large a number of such opportunities as others can. Therefore the school must supplement the work of the home in this as in many other of its neglected duties. The work of the school is often so seriously handicapped be- cause of children's limited experiences with materials out- side of the school that it is really necessary for the school to provide opportunities for pupils gaining the needed concepts and information. To satisfy this need, games, occupations, manual training, and various kinds of exercises with ma- terials are used to give basal concepts that are necessary for an understanding of the subject-matter of the curriculum. Selection of subject-matter for presentation. An im- portant element in the preparation which the teacher must make for teaching a particular lesson is the selection of the subject-matter to be presented to the pupils. The fact that an instructor is required at all indicates that the learner has a need which he cannot satisfy without help. The young learner does not, in any large measure, understand his own needs nor how to satisfy them. It is necessary, therefore, that the teacher should understand the real needs of his pupils and be able to select and present the material through which these needs may be fully satisfied. In order to do this effectively, the teacher must understand the educational needs of children and learners in general; and he must know individual needs, capacity, and previous experiences. 1C6 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING It is apparent that the teacher must be properly fitted for his task and his preparation for it must be broad and thor- ough, in order that he may rightly estimate the individual needs of his pupils and be able to select intelligently the sub- ject-matter through which these needs may be best satisfied. A mere knowledge of the common branches is not sufficient preparation for one's becoming an instructor and guide of the young in the acquisition of knowledge and in gaining the intellectual equipment for life. It is evident that the teacher must have more knowledge of the subjects to be taught than he expects to impart to his pupils. He must be prepared to answer fully the questions that arise when these answers will help the pupils to gain a clearer understanding of the subject. He should have a fuller knowledge than that which the young learner is expected to gain, in order to be able to add such practical information as will increase the pupil's interest and add to the knowledge he has gleaned from the text. Right estimate of values in selection of subject-matter. Many persons commit great blunders in making selection in various matters because of ignorance and lack of under- standing of values and fitness. No one should presume to act as judge upon any matter of importance until he has cor- rect and definite knowledge of the elements and characteris- tics by which values in that subject are determined. For example, a judge of engines must know engines well, must know the elements or characteristics that make engines valuable. A judge of horses must understand all the points that a good horse possesses. Definite knowledge is necessary in order to make a correct decision or to give an expert judg- ment in any matter. Thus a teacher is expected to be an ex- pert judge in matters relating to the teaching process. To him is delegated the task of selecting the material that is to be used by his pupils in the acquisition of knowledge, in the THE TEACHING PROCESS 1G7 formation of ideals, and in the building of character. In short, to the teacher is given the responsibility of selecting the educational material that is to be used in the making of an individual and a citizen. Moreover, the teacher must thus select, not for one child alone, but for a large number of children of different temperaments, of different capacities, of varied antecedents and environments, and of various dis- positions. In order to meet this great responsibility, the teacher must have a clear understanding of those elements that determine values as well as a broad knowledge of the subject-matter and of the nature and needs of the child. To no other human being, perhaps, is there delegated such varied and responsible duties. Sequence in material presented. The teacher must know the needs of his pupils in order that he may select from the fields of science, mathematics, literature, art, and nature the facts which his pupils require for immediate use and for their subsequent work. In making this selection of subject-ma- terial, the question with which the teacher is primarily con- cerned is not what will interest a particular child or group of children, but what is the next thing, and the next, in the proper advancement of the child in the field of knowledge, and what is necessary for the logical development of the sub- ject under consideration according to the sequence of right growth. To be able to answer these questions satisfactorily, the teacher must understand the order of the child develop- ment; he must know the probable degree of development at a given time and under given conditions ; and he must be able to determine the kind of subject-material required at each stage of his development. The teacher must have a broad knowledge of the subject to be presented, in order that, in selecting the material to be used, he may choose that which best suits the child's mental growth at a given period. Hence the teacher must be, as Superintendent Soldan has 168 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING said, " an adapter, not an adopter." He must know how to adapt the subject-matter and the teaching to the child. Use of subject-matter and the learning process. A brief consideration of the nature of the four steps in the learning process as stated by Arnold Tompkins will show how the teacher should select and use subject-matter with reference to these steps and to the order in which they are taken. The four steps named, in the terse and direct statement of this well-known educator as already quoted, are, " The child per- ceives, he likes, he desires, he will have." Naturally, if the child, upon perceiving the new object, does not like it, he will not desire it, and therefore he will not put forth an effort to attain or to have it. Hence it is of the utmost importance that the nature of the first step be such as to lead him to like the new thing. If he does not, he will not desire it, and there will be no acquisition of knowledge. For this reason, and because the teacher is largely responsible for the manner in which these steps are taken by the learner, he should make it his particular care to see that they are taken properly. In the first step the child perceives the thing which is brought into his consciousness. Therefore, at the very beginning of the teaching process, the teacher must present to the child from the great mass of world facts, the ones that are most desirable and most suitable in each particular case. These he must present in such a way that the child will take the second step as a necessary result of the first, when the re- maining steps will be taken as a consequence of the second, and the learning process will be completed. Presentation of subject. The first step of the learning process makes it necessary for the teacher to jjresent to the child the material, the fact, or the idea which he has chosen for the lesson exercise. This requires a peculiar skill and ability on the part of the teacher; for unless he presents the selected material in such a manner that the children will be THE TEACmNG PROCESS 169 pleased and attracted by it, they will not like it. In other words, they will not take the second step in the learning pro- cess. No matter how valuable may have been the material which the teacher has selected, unless it is presented in a way to interest the pupils in it, so that they will like it, the effort of the teacher will be practically lost. Hence the rela- tion of teaching to the second step in the acquisition of knowledge is of vital importance and is the one that makes professional study and training desirable and necessary. This phase of teaching bears much the same relation to the pupils as the cooking of food does to those who are to partake of it. The raw material may be of the best quality; but if it is not properly prepared, it may not please those to whom it is offered, and may even prove distasteful to them. Similarly, the teacher may prepare and present the best and most useful subject-matter so poorly and so unattractively that his pupils may not be interested in it and may even dis- like it. This matter is of great importance, and should re- ceive more attention than is usually given to it by teachers. It is for the instruction of teachers in the best methods of preparing and presenting the subject-matter to the learner that training schools for teachers have been established. Wrong presentation results in waste. Since all teaching must be related to the previous experience and knowledge of the learner, it is obvious that the new material being pre- sented must in all cases be made to relate to something which the learner already understands. Unless this is done, some part of the learning process may be omitted or be de- fective, and the learning will be faulty or incomplete in con- sequence. Thus, the failure of the teacher to make use of the experience and previous knowledge of the child results in great waste of time and effort in the teaching process. When this kind of teaching is continued day after day, it cannot but result in superficial and unsatisfactory acquisition of 170 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING knowledge upon which to base future study and effort. Un- fortunately, when this condition exists, both teacher and pupils are ignorant of the fact; and hence assume that the desired purpose has been attained in the satisfactory and complete acquisition of the subject-matter presented. A concrete example will serve to illustrate how the failure of a teacher to make use of the experience of the child will result in waste of time and endeavor. A young woman who had spent her childhood and early womanhood upon a farm in the Middle West, became the teacher of a fifth-grade class in a lumbering town on the shore of Lake Michigan. Nat- urally the actual experiences and observations of her pupils were limited to the community in which they lived, where a large proportion of the inhabitants were engaged in some branch of the lumbering business. The fathers of many of these children were in the woods during the winter months, either engaged themselves in the cutting and transporting of the logs to the nearest river or in directing the process. If the children did not actually see this phase of the lumber- ing, they had a fairly good understanding of it from the re- peated accounts of the work which they heard from their fathers. In the spring, when the logs were brought down the river, the children saw the great rafts or the large quantity of loose logs with which the river was filled at this season. They saw also how the men with long pike-poles guided the logs down the current of the stream toward the sorting gap where other persons measured, marked, and recorded the number and size of the logs, together with the names of their various owners. The children also had the opportunity of watching the process of taking the logs from the water to the mills, of the sawing of the logs into lumber, and of the sorting and piling of the lumber. Finally, they witnessed the loading of the finished lumber of various kinds into the great boats by which it was be taken to the distant markets. THE TEACHING PROCESS 171 The teacher understood equally well the details of work upon the farm as she had seen it performed during her own childhood. She was an unusually industrious and conscien- tious teacher and tried to make her teaching concrete and effective. She was resourceful in illustration; but her illus- trations were not clearly understood by her pupils because they were all taken from her own life and experience in the country on a farm. She did not know that a concrete illus- tration that does not touch the experience and knowledge of those to whom it is given is in reality abstract and hence valueless. She should have taken illustrations from the activities and life with which her pupils were familiar, thus enabling them to understand the applications. Preparation. The term " preparation," as here used, has to do with the preparation by the teacher of the child's mind for the new lesson. Naturally this preparation pre- supposes the statement of the lesson aim to fix or focus the thought of the child upon the topic and the subject that is to be presented. Moreover, it helps to recall any related facts and ideas which the pupils may possess concerning the subject and to arouse interest in the new topic. Preparation as the first step in teaching a lesson is concerned with the class, not as a whole, but as individuals. It is concerned mainly with getting the child's mind ready for the reception of the new subject. To do this the teacher must ascertain what concepts and ideas bearing upon the subject to be pre- sented the child already has. When the concepts are wrong or are imperfect, he must correct or supplement them as the case requires, so that through them the child may be able to understand and interpret the new, for the new must always be interpreted in terms of the old. The resourceful teacher, with a knowledge of what should be presented, will so modify and vary his methods in the preparation of the child's mind as to suit each individual case. 172 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG The teacher's plan for preparing the mind of the child should involve two clearly defined lesson aims. The one is the result that comes to the child through the increase of knowledge, and the other is the development or growth of his real self. The first is objective, the second is subjective. No matter how fully the objective aim may be attained, the teaching is imperfect and incomplete which ignores the sub- jective aim. The proper preparation of the learner's mind for the reception and understanding of new matter is such an important part of the teaching process that there can be no good teaching without it. Development of the lesson. The development of the les- son, as already noted, involves first the presentation of the new matter to be taught. This should be done in such a way that the pupil will see its relation to something which he al- ready knows. Then if his mind has been properly prepared for the reception of the new, he will be able to understand and interpret it by means of the knowledge which he pos- sesses. This requires that the teacher connect the new facts and ideas with those which the pupil already has. The presentation of the new must be clear and definite in order that the child may take the next step as suggested by the teacher and compare and group together the new ideas and facts with those he possesses. The analysis which is involved in this comparing process must be carefully made, in order that the comparison of the new with the old, and the dif- ferent facts and ideas of the new with one another may be correct. Unless this is done, right conclusions will not be reached. Since comparison is such an important feature of the process of acquiring new knowledge, it is imperative that the teacher assist pupils in the selection of correct standards for comparison and see that their conclusions are the result of their actual comparisons and judgments. While directing the pupil in the process of comparing and discovering thought THE TEACHING PROCESS 173 relations, the teacher should be careful not to do the think- ing for him, but rather to lead him to think for himself. As a result of the comparisons made by the learner, and the dis- coveries of thought relations between the ideas and facts relating to a given subject which he makes, he is ready to form a general conclusion or to state a general rule, based upon the thought relations which he has discovered. This is the generalization, or the conclusion which grows out of the previous step in the thinking, that of comparison. Compari- son is the analytic part of the thinking process, and general- ization is the synthetic part in which the particulars have been brought together in the statement of one general truth. The generalization should be the result of the definite lesson aim, the end toward which the efforts of the teacher have been du-ected from the beginning of the teaching process. Application. The child has advanced under the guidance of the teacher from the first statement of the lesson aim, the beginning of interest in the topic of the lesson, to the con- clusion of the generalization. A new truth or fact has been acquired or some rule has been formulated; but this will be of little value to him, unless he can make a practical ap- plication of it to concrete cases and connect or link it to his everyday need. A collection of abstract definitions, rules, and laws that are not applied to an individual's life and needs would be as useless as the piles of lumber that are never put into use in the building of a structure. This final step in the teaching process which deals with the application of the new matter to knowledge previously possessed and to the learn- er's practical needs is of the utmost importance. It is evident that facts and definitions can be of little real meaning and use to a person until he applies them to concrete cases in his own experience. The scientific statement of the law that governs the condensation of vapor into water is vague and 174 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING well-nigh meaningless to a child until he has learned to make application of it in such phenomena as the water drops on the outside of a glass of cold water and to the falling rain. The power of the teacher to realize the subjective result of his teaching, as shown by the increased ability of his pupils to make this concrete application of what has been learned, is the supreme test of the value of his teaching. Far too often teaching stops at the attainment of the objective result only, because the teacher does not understand that the real pur- pose of instruction has not been realized unless the subjec- tive result has been attained in pupils acquiring ability to apply to their practical needs what they have learned. The formal steps in teaching illustrated. As a concrete example of the manner in which formal steps may be taken in the teaching of a lesson, an outline of an illustrative les- son in decimal fractions is given. Preparation (a) The child — He probably knows fractions, in the usual form and language, and can add, subtract, multiply, and divide common fractions. (b) Subject-matter — (1) Discussion of the denominators of several fractions — for example. ^ |' |' ^ 4' T^" " '^^^^"^ '^^' there is no relation in the denominators of the first group and that there is a relation in the denominators of the second group, that they are 10 and some multiple of 10. (2) To show that the manner of writing decimal fractions does not change the fact that they are decimal fractions, write several decimal fractions in different ways; as, 9 — , .9, nine tenths. When written with the denomina- 10 tor below the horizontal line they are in the form of common fractions. When written with a decimal point, they are in the decimal form. In both cases they are decimal fractions. TIIE TEACraNG PROCESS 175 (3) Use of the decimal point. The period or decimal point, as it is called, is used to indicate that the number is a decimal fraction, and the period is placed before it to show the value of its denominator. (4) Laws and processes. Show that laws and processes of decimal fractions are like those of all fractions. Note — The inductive process is to be used in 1, 2, and 3. Questions similar to the following will prepare a child for the new topic. Suggestive questions. What is a proper fraction, improper frac- tion, complex fraction? Which of the following fractions are proper, simple, complex, improper? 1 1? I 1 04 - 3' 9' "4' 8' ' f What is a multiple? Give three multiples of 5, of 4, of 10. Give the first power of '■Z, the second power, the third power. Give the first power of 10, the second power. How would you find a multiple of 10? A power of 10? 9 24 14 Development — Presentation. Write — , — — , rr^. -5. The de- nominators of these fractions are 10, 100, 1000, and 10; all powers of 10. They are all simple fractions. They are also proper fractions. Since the denominators are powers of ten, they are decimal frac- tions. Note that the manner of writing fractions does not change their character. In each of the above cases, the fraction given is a decimal fraction and, at the same time, a simple fraction and a proper fraction. Sometimes a decimal fraction is written without 9 9 its denominator. For example — may be written .9; — — may be 9 be written .09; rrrr may be written .009. The decimal point is 1000 used- to show that each is a decimal fraction, and the number of figures to the right of it shows how many ciphers there are in the denominator. The expression .3 is a decimal fraction. The num- erator is 3 and the denominator is 10. The expression .50 is a deci- mal fraction of which the numerator is 26, and the denominator 176 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING is 100. The expression .134 is a decimal fraction of which the num- erator is 134 and the denominator is 1000. In the number 12.34, the decimal point tells us that the part on the right is a decimal fraction, 34 being the numerator and 100 being the denominator. Generalization — Definition of decimal fraction. A decimal frac- tion is a fraction whose denominator is 10 or some power of 10. Application. Our system of number is a decimal system. Each figure of a number represents a value ten times as great when it is moved one place to the left and only one tenth as great when moved one place to the right. This is true of all fractions in the decimal form. Therefore, when decimal fractions are expressed in the decimal form, they can be added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided in the same way as whole numbers. The same principles and rules hold true in both cases. If decimal fractions are written as common fractions, they maybe added, subtracted, multiplied, and divided in the same manner as common fractions. Illustration. Add .5, .45, .026, .7, .835, .67, remembering that tenths are written under tenths, hundredths under hundredths, etc. Change the above decimal fractions to common fractions and add. Tell whether you see a reason for using the decimal form? Teachers must know law of teaching. It is important that teachers should understand the invariable law in the ac- quisition of knowledge, in order that they may be careful to relate new matter to the experience and knowledge of their pupils in such a way that the latter can understand it. The fisherman of New Foundland naturally interprets everything new that is brought into his consciousness in terms of his own experiences in his environment, for he knows and understands only his immediate surroundings and the life which he lives. When he wishes to explain or illustrate anything for the benefit of another person, he takes his illustrations from the sea, the cold hard winters, the simple life of the fisherman, and the other features of his daily life. The mountaineer interprets knowledge in terms of his life and surroundings. The mountains, the deep THE TEACHING PROCESS 177 ravines, the difficult ascents, the rushing mountain streams, the dashing waterfalls, and other features of the scenery upon which he gazes every day furnish him with illustrative ma- terial to explain and interpret new facts and experiences. The stern, hard life of the man who knows only the rigorous climate of the Far North is very different from that of the dweller in the tropics, and the experiences by which these two persons gain a knowledge of life and by means of which they interpret world facts are altogether different in char- acter. The one, accustomed to battle with the severity of the climate and to force the unwilling earth to yield him a livelihood, would not understand the rich vegetation, the fruit, and the flowers, that grow unbidden in the sunny clime which the other inhabits. The teacher must know that this underlying principle appHes with equal force to the child's acquisition of knowledge. The teacher must apply law in his teaching. The different conditions under which children gain personal experiences are innumerable; and the teacher, when selecting his illustrative material, should bear this fact in mind and choose his illus- trations from the experiences of the children whom he in- structs. Even in the same community children who have different environments have widely different experiences. The teacher, knowing this, should investigate as far as pos- sible the conditions by which his pupils are surrounded, in order to discover the character of the experiences and knowl- edge they have gained from personal contact in their re- spective homes and neighborhoods. The information, thus acquired, he should make the starting-point from which to begin the presentation of new facts; and he should use it as a basis from which to draw illustrative material for the ex- planation and interpretation of new knowledge. Tlie child's experiences include in some form every field of information, science, mathematics, history, literature. 178 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING music, and art. By begmning the formal study of any one of these branches at the point where the child's knowledge of it ends and using the child's experiences in the explanation of new facts, the teacher cannot fail to lead his pupils into any one or all of these fields of knowledge. To do effective work, however, and gain the desired results, he must be careful to observe the fundamental principle of growth and the un- varying law which requires that all true teaching must be related to the experience of the learner. If he faithfully fol- lows these simple rules and observes these principles, the result of his teaching will be shown in the subjective mental growth of his pupils and in their preparation for a proper adjustment to the civilization of which they are to become a part. Thus he will discharge his duty and make the school fulfill the purpose for which it was established. Special preparation needed for effective teaching. When one considers how great the responsibility of the teacher really is, one cannot but wonder that parents are ever udlling to delegate such sacred duties to any person, without making a most searching test of his ability and his integrity. Yet they do delegate this responsibility of deciding what and how their children shall be taught and trained for life's duties to persons with whom they are often not acquainted, whom they may never have even seen, and of whose preparation and fitness for the task they know practically nothing. If parents showed more concern regarding the qualifications of the persons to whom they intrust their sacred obligations, there would soon be a marked improvement in the preparation and qualifications of those who assume the important du- ties of teachers. Again, when one considers the character of the duties that are delegated to the teacher, one is surprised that so many persons are willing to undertake the responsibility of train- ing and guiding the young. A physician is often anxious lest THE TEACHING PROCESS 179 his diagnosis of a case may be incorrect and his treatment of it be wrong in consequence. He knows that a mistake on his part may be attended with undesirable results to his patient, and he feels the responsibility. The physician's study and practice are centered upon only one phase of man's welfare, that of the physical; the teacher, in a meas- ure, is concerned with the entire being and must decide upon what is best for the mental and spiritual development of his pupils, and must direct the preparation for all life's relations. LTo meet such a responsibility and fulfill all the requirements of his position, the teacher must make a careful and con- scientious preparation for the task. He must spend much time and effort in gleaning from the various fields of human experience the needed material and in adapting it to the special preparation which his particular case requires. The person who does completely and acceptably meet the re- quirements of the position of teacher fills one of the high- est places in vocational hfe; but the person who ventures to occupy this place, when he is not fitted for it, invites the most signal failure possible to a human being, when success and failure are estimated in terms of responsibility and service to one's fellow-men. SUGGESTED READINGS How to Teach, Strayer and Norsworthy, pp. 1-13. Modem Methods for Teachers, Boyer, pp. 44—17. Teaching the Common Branches, Charters. Principles of Teaching, Thorndike, pp. 42-50. Principles of Teaching, Harvey, p. 215. Principles of Educational Practice, Klapper, pp. 153-61. How to Teach the Fundamental Subject, Kendall and Mirick. Craftsmanship in Teaching, Bagley, pp. 52-58, 71-73. Brief Course in Teaching Process, Strayer, pp. 167-223. Psychology {Briefer Course), James, pp. 34-150. Types of Teaching, Earhart, pp. 38-53; 70-80. Education, Thorndike, pp. 117-18. Tiie Teacher and the School, Colgrove, chap, xv, xvi, xxi. 180 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ' EXERCISES 1. Give some reasons why teachers are necessary. 2. What do you understand by the term, " He is a self-made man"? Con- sider whether there can be a self-made man or woman at the present time, and defend your opinion. 3. " A textbook is the recorded approved experience of mankind." Explain as fully as you can what the statement means. 4. Under what class conditions can you learn best? Who determines these conditions? 5. " A teacher must be a guide." Write out fully what you understand this statement to mean. Are you prepared to be a teacher and guide? 6. Name some things that indicate poor teaching. Name some charac- teristics of a good teacher. 7. How many times have you been asked the following questions: 2X3 are how many? What is a noun? Who discovered America? Give other similar questions which you were asked many times. What crit- icism do such questions suggest of the teaching and of the teachers? 8. Make a list of the sources of your present knowledge. Show that all persons you have known have been in some way your teachers. 9. (1) " I do not need to prepare that lesson. I have taught it before."! (2) " I am not going to spend much time in school. I shall not teach after this term." (3) " This is my last term. I must make it my best term." (4) " I teach because I need the money." (5) " If the class does not pay attention, I go after them with a stick." (6) " If the class is not interested, I know I am failing." (7) " You don't have to know much to teach that school." (8) "The boys and girls are no good, I can't do a thing with them." These are actual quotations of statements made by persons who were called teachers. Discuss each and tell what it reveals of the personality of the person who made the statement. CHAPTER X THE RECITATION The recitation in the school program. The child's school day is divided in the main into study and recitation periods; the former being, according to the child's idea, a preparation for the latter. Many teachers conduct a recitation in such a manner as to indicate that they hold much the same view. In the old-time custom of assigning lessons in a book, to be committed to memory, and of calling upon the pupils to re- peat in answer to questions asked by the teacher the words and sentences thus memorized, the recitation was largely a time for " hearing the lesson." It was in fact what the school definition makes it, merely a rehearsal or giving back by the pupils what they have been able to extract from the text- books during the study period. Even at the present time in maftiy of our schools it is more of a testing than of a teach- ing process. It is too often made an oral examination or test, the teacher asking questions that will reveal the number of facts the pupils have been able to memorize from a prescribed number of pages in their textbooks. Such questions do not react upon any of the mental faculties of the child except that of memory, and hence no subjective results can be ex- pected from them. They relate wholly to the memorized facts and produce only objective results. Such a limited use of the recitation period is a great waste of time and effort, and fully justifies such criticism as that of the late Dr. Harper who considered the recitation as too expensive. The value of the recitation. Opinions differ widely re- garding the value of the recitation in the school exercises. Many adverse criticisms are heard concerning it, and some 182 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING educators go so far as to advocate doing away with it alto- gether. In support of their position, they point to the great loss of the pupil's time for the reason that only a small por- tion of the recitation period can be given to each. They di- rect attention to the common custom of teachers of calling upon the bright and ready pupils to do most of the reciting and neglecting or overlooking the slow or dull ones. They lay upon the present recitation plan the responsibihty for such practices of pupils as preparing only such portions of the lesson as they expect to be required to recite. They cite in proof of this criticism the well-kno^-n practice of many children of skillfully estimating the probable time when they will be called upon to recite and then relaxing their attention or turning their thoughts to other and, to them, more interesting matters as soon as their turns have passed. This custom, it is argued, in addition to being a waste of the pupil's time, is a positive injury to his moral sense. These and similar criticisms serve to call attention to the grave defects in the recitation plan as it is usually conducted, and also to the many abuses of this important feature of school work. Such misuse of the recitation is much more common than might at first be supposed. For example, the custom of caUing upon the bright pupils to the neglect of the less ready reciters is surprisingly prevalent, even among conscientious teachers. Dr. Strayer, of Teachers College, New York, in discussing this phase of the abuse of the reci- tation, gives as a result of his personal investigation that often from one fourth to two thirds of a class were not called upon at all during a recitation period, and that generally three fourths or more of the questions were addressed to a very small number of the children in the class. He suggests that if teachers would keep a record for a few days of the number of questions assigned to each child, the result would surprise them and at the same time would help to THE RECITATION 183 explain the lack of interest and the backwardness of many pupils. / The recitation an established feature of school work.' No matter how great are the abuses of the recitation, it has become so firmly established as a feature of the day's work in the American school that it cannot be abolished. No amount of adverse criticism and discussion can change this fact. Whether it does or does not meet the needs of mod- ern educational conditions, there is no other exercise that would adequately take its place; and therefore it cannot be set aside altogether. Granting that the criticisms of the recitation as usually conducted in our schools are fully justi- fied, if it must remain notwithstanding these defects and abuses, the question which concerns the educator is what is to be done with it. If it does not fulfill the educational require- ments of the day, how can it be made to do so? Although it has many defects, it has its advantages as well, or it would not remain in spite of these defects as a fixed feature of the school program. It has been called by a noted educator, " the gateway of opportunity for both teacher and pupil." It is therefore the duty of the teacher to discover and im- prove the opportunities which it offers. He should make it the period when, through his close contact with his pupils, he may give careful attention to the workings of the indi- vidual child's mind and to particular difficulties and needs. It would then enable him to render his pupils that assistance in their acquisition of knowledge and in the moulding of their character which they are sent to school to obtain. Recitation idea modified and extended. Many educators, who have given much study to the question of the recita- tion and recognize the seriousness of the defects which are pointed out by the critics, are urging such changes and modifications in the manner of conducting it as will make it, what it should be, the most hclplful period of the school 184 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING day to the child. They would change it from a testing exer- cise, when the child's success in memorizing and repeating certain facts is determined by means of skillful catch ques- tions, to a period when pupil and teacher would be brought into closer and more helpful relation by studying together. The recitation would then become a teaching rather than a testing period, when the teacher out of his wide knowl- edge and experience could supplement the text with help- ful information, illustrations, and applications to the ex- perience and knowledge of the pupil. It would afiPord an opportunity for teaching children how to study, instruction that is much needed for the reason that comparatively few really know how to study an assigned lesson definitely and effectively. G. Stanley Hall gives it as his experience that three fourths of the time spent by a boy of twelve in trying to master a hard lesson out of a book is time thrown away. This thoughtful educator says that, " one fourth of the time may be spent in desperate and conscientious effort; but that the remainder of the time is dawdled away think- ing of the last game of ball or longing for the next game of tag." The German plan of recitation. Some educators would model the recitation in our schools after the German plan of the study recitation, where the teacher studies with the children. With this method less use is made of textbooks, the laboratory method being used with all subjects. This plan is of necessity followed to a great extent in our own schools, in the lower grades, where children cannot read and therefore cannot prepare a lesson from a book. The ad- vocates of the German method would continue this recita- tion plan into the higher grades. They affirm in support of their theory that by such a method the child's perceptive and reasoning powers are exercised and that his faculties are employed in forming new concepts rather than in re- THE RECITATION 185 producing to the satisfaction of the teacher the ones already acquired. At the same time the teacher's attention is di- rected toward the mental activity of the child and in deter- mining how to help him to overcome his difficulties or to get a clearer conception of the lesson being studied. As proof that the study recitation is the most rational method, the friends of this plan point to the surprisingly short time in which children in the primary grades learn the difficult subjects of reading, spelling, numbers, and other branches of study before they have learned to use a printed text. Importance of the recitation. Many teachers regard the recitation as the most imix)rtant feature of the school plan. Some educators go so far as to assert that all considerations about the schoolhouse, such as lighting, heating, the course of study, the branches studied, and all other matters are subordinate to the recitation. This may seem somewhat to exaggerate its importance; but when one considers that it offers the teacher the opportunity, not merely to impart knowledge, but to train the young mind in correct habits of thought and study, to mould character, to inspire high ideals and lofty aspirations, it becomes apparent that its educative possibiUties cannot be overestimated. For this enlarged conception of the recitation to be realized, it must include far more than merely " hearing the lesson," than testing a child's memory of the facts which he has obtained from the printed page. It must include in its purpose most of the ideals of teaching for which the school stands. Whether the teacher and pupils are conscious or not of the fact, the recitation exerts a decided influence over tlie latter's formation of school habits. According to the man- ner in which the recitation is conducted, it will develop in the learner right or wTong habits of study, of thinking, of reciting, or of expressing ideas upon an assigned topic. If it is conducted in such a way as to realize true educational 186 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING results it will develop new and larger interests, and it will arouse the mental activity of the child and incite him to greater effort in a definite and well-directed manner. More- over, it will enrich his mind with much valuable information and many character-building ideas not found in the text- book. Finally, the recitation when properly conducted fur- nishes the most natural opportunity for the teacher to come into vital touch with his pupils and thus influence their character building; in short to mould them intellectually and morally. Importance of proper aim in the recitation. In every les- son to be taught and every recitation to be conducted, there should be a definite and proper aim if the teacher expects to realize from the recitation any result that will justify the time and effort expended in it. It is not sufficient that there be an aim; it must be the right aim. Doubtless in every recitation, no matter how poor, there is some kind of an aim, some particular concept to be developed, some truth to be estabUshed, or some other definite thing to be ac- comphshed. It does not necessarily follow, however, that the aim or purpose is the best or even a suitable one for that particular recitation. It may be too large an aim for the material used, or it may be too deep or profound for the comprehension of the pupils. It may be too simple, or it may be too complex. It may be the wrong aim, or it may be altogether foreign to the subject being treated. The gen- eral purpose of a recitation should apply directly to the les- son being taught. It should follow logically or should grow out of the previous lesson or study of the subject, and it should be consistent with the plan of work in the particular branch of study. The objects of the recitation. The distinct objects of the recitation are more varied and comprehensive than the majority of teachers realize. If the real function of the rcci- THE RECITATION 187 tation lesson and the educative opportunities which it affords were better understood by teachers in general, it would be more universally made the most valuable, as well as the most prominent feature of our educational system. Educators have given much thought to the subject of the recitation lesson and to determining the definite objects to be attained by it. Many, realizing the importance of the recitation in the theory and practice of education, have de- voted the most careful endeavor to finding out how the best results may be obtained during the i)eriod allotted to it in the school plan. Some of the conclusions which have thus been reached may be helpful and suggestive at this point. Dr. Hinsdale enumerates the principal objects of the recitation as — ^ 1. To give pupils an opportunity to report what they have learned of the lesson that has been assigned. 2. To allow the teacher to discover and correct the pupil's igno- rance of the lesson. 8. To enable the teacher to expand or add to the pupil's knowl- edge of the lesson or subject, by means of a more thorough discussion of the knowledge which the pupils have them- selves acquired, and by producing new knowledge. 4. To enable the teacher to prepare the way for the next lesson and recitation. . . . Mention must also be made of the assign- ment of the next lesson, such explanation as it may call for, and any special knowledge which the pupils may need in the ensuing study lesson. 5. To enable the teacher to observe the way in which the pupils do their work, and to correct them when necessary; in other words to give the teacher the opportunity to see that, along with knowledge, the pupils are also getting the art of study. 6. To enable the members of the class to compare their knowl- edge and ideas, to bring their views of the lesson together, to supplement one another's knowledge, — in a word, to enter into that legitimate emulation without which a good school is impossible. 188 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Dr. Harris gives the following recitation aims in addi- tion to those named by Dr. Hinsdale : — 1. To cultivate the close and continuous attention on the part of the pupils. 2. To inspire self-activity, power of independent study and keen insight. 3. To help the pupils to overcome harmful individual peculiari- ties. 4. To teach the pupils the great advantage of. helpful coopera- tion with others. * To quote further would be practically to repeat the ob- jects of the recitation as they are defined by these two emi- nent educators, for most authorities agree in the main that these are the essential aims of a good recitation. No fur- ther comment or explanation is required than the simple statement of them, for they are self-explanatory and so evidently the general aims of every recitation in which there is real teaching that no argument for them is needed. In order, however, that the recitation may yield these desir- able results in good measure, the teacher must make the attainment of these objects his definite aim in making the plans and preparation for each recitation lesson. At first the teacher who has never consciously made these aims the definite purpose of his teaching, should deliberately en- deavor to apply them in every recitation-lesson which he conducts. Gradually and almost unconsciously he will ac- quire the habit of considering these objects when making his lesson plans and will select his material and his method of treatment accordingly. In reality his having these defi- nite aims in mind when making the preparation for a reci- tation should make the task less difficult, as they serve as guides in the preparation and in the management of the lesson. It is the more important that the teacher have a definite aim in his teaching instead of groping blindly, for THE RECITATION 189 the reason that no one can expect to be a true educator, unless he works under the guidance of a clearly defined purpose for the attainment of certain desired results. Importance of teaching pupils how to study. One of the most important duties of the teacher is that of helping pupils to learn how to study. The necessity for this is self- evident; for no matter how carefully the teacher may have selected and assigned the lesson in the book, the pupils ^v^ll derive little benefit from it unless they have acquired the art of study. It has been stated that the recitation fur- nishes the opportunity to the teacher to find out whether the pupil is acquiring the art of study, and whether he is gaining the power to study and prepare an assigned lesson or to perform a designated task. Note that the purpose of the teacher is to test the pupil's power to do. The concern is not so much the number of facts which the child can hold in his memory until the recitation period; but rather his eflFort and power as directed toward a definite object. Hence the results should be looked for in the pupil himself, and not in the amount of information gained. At the end of the recitation or series of recitations the teacher should be able to determine, by the results as seen in the pupils themselves, whether their ability to do an assigned piece of work has or has not increased. In order that the teacher's judgment when he is estimating the results of the pupil's effort may be reliable and just, he should take into account not only the information element, but the time element as well. In other words, he should consider the time required by different pupils to accomplish a definite amount of work and to secure definite results. It must be remarked here that the time element cannot be judged apart and independently from such considerations as the conditions under which the work is performed and the character and quaUty of the preparation. A poor reel- 190 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING tation does not always mean a lack of interest or a lack of effort on the part of the pupil. On the contrary, there may be real interest and conscientious effort with but imperfect results in actual knowledge gained, because of improper assignment, lack of help from the teacher, or some other wrong condition. The complaint that children are not taught to study is heard on every side. Dr. Hinsdale goes so far as to state that the art of study is nowhere adequately taught, for the reason that the average teacher does not know how to teach the art well. He further declares that one of the most seri- ous wastes in education is the misdirected and wasted effort in the schoolroom. Many educators aflBrm that fully one half of the time devoted to study in the schools is employed to little or no purpose, and some believe that even a larger portion of the child's study time is practically wasted. Such statements from those who have given the matter lifelong attention should cause teachers to examine their own fail- ures to teach this important art and lead them to make a determined effort to remedy this defect in their teaching. Certainly no better use of the subject-matter of the texts than this could be made, and no higher aim for the recita- tion lesson could be suggested than to endeavor to give pupils clear ideas of how to study and to help them to form the habit of applying these ideas in acquiring knowledge. The recitation adapted to the pupils. The instruction and all the exercises of the recitation should be adapted to the age and the development of the pupils. The importance of this is evident, and yet many teachers do not give the matter serious consideration, if indeed they think of it at all. The word " adapt " implies thought of the child and for the child. It also suggests thouglit of the material to be pre- sented to the child and the manner in which it should be presented in order to insure the desired results. It further THE RECITATION 191 implies taking this material and fitting it together in such a way as to bring all of its elements into harmonious rela- tionships. In order to properly adapt the subject and the teaching to the pupils, there are several matters to which the teacher must give careful attention. He must take into consideration the particular circumstances and the age of the child as well as ability and needs. His attitude toward his pupils must be one of interest and sympathy. And finally, he must bring to the solution of each particular problem his best thought and effort. The importance of properly adapting instruction to the condition and needs of the child is the more apparent when we consider that to him it means true growth and happiness and even more. It means real culture and true character building. Teachers do not always adapt the subject-matter and the teaching to the condition and needs of their pupils. Un- fortunately many of them are not adapters at all, but merely adopters. An adopter is a phonograph teacher, one who gives out mechanically the words and ideas which he has gathered. Such a teacher does not vitalize his words with his owa thought and experience and thus make them living messages out of his own heart and life. Therefore he does not touch and influence the lives of his pupils. His teach- ing is lifeless and dead, and hence cannot make an appeal to the child or call forth a desirable response. Order in the recitation. A good recitation, in addition to having a right aim and being properly adapted to the pu- pils has another important requisite. The topics presented and the instruction given must follow in the proper order. The frequent failure of teachers to give sufficient and careful attention to the matter of the sequential order of presen- tation in the recitation results in one of the greatest educa- tional losses of the schools. On the other hand, this essen- tial condition for a good recitation, when secured, makes 192 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING the learning process easier and hence the efforts of the teacher more effective. It also enables pupils to acquire the power of clear, logical, and sequential thinking; a re- sult of greater significance and of more lasting benefit than the actual knowledge gained. This matter of the proper order of presentation and de- velopment in the recitation requires particular emphasis for the reason that it is so often neglected. In the words of a well-known educator, the question, " What is the next proper thing to do? is one of the most important and most momentous that the teacher can ask himself." Moreover, it is the question that the teacher should ask himself and endeavor to answer correctly in every recitation conducted during the day. Nor is this a question that must be an- swered only in the schoolroom and in the recitation; it is one that is met in every vocation and in all the relations of life. Every thoughtful person is being continually con- fronted with the question, " What ought I to do next? " Any careless haphazard answer will not satisfy conditions and bring desired results; for the answer to this question must be, not merely a next thing to do but the proper next thing. The ability to see things in their proper relations is acquired by degrees, and the habit of considering things in their correct sequence, their cause and result relations, must be formed early in life. The recitation, by furnishing the opportunity for culti- vating this habit, becomes of more consequence than merely an occasion for acquiring knowledge or mastering some particular branch of learning. It is to be deplored that in so many cases the teacher is satisfied with doing a next thing without considering whether it is the outgrowth of what has preceded it. If he would always bear in mind that the child learns new facts by proceeding from the known to the related unknown, he would not make the mistake of THE RECITATION 193 presenting new facts and ideas that are not closely related to the knowledge which the child already possesses. Dr. Hinsdale, in his Art of Study, says, " To ask a child to learn a lesson that is not connected with a former lesson and es- pecially the last one, is like asking him to jump to the top of a rock that is above his head." Naturally, for a teacher to be able to understand in just what order related topics bearing on the same general subject should be presented, he must have full information upon the subject, so that he can see it in its completeness and understand the relation of the parts to one another. It is an essential quahfication of a great teacher that he be able to do this and to put facts together in proper seciuence so as to make the recitation truly cfFective in its teaching and satisfactory in its results. Length of the recitation. The length of time to be given to a recitation is a consideration of much importance. Some of the elements that enter into this question are the age of the pupils, the nature of the subject of study, the entire length of time to be given to the particular branch, the quantity of the subject-matter to be learned in the allotted time, and the amount of work to be done by the pupils in other branches during the same time. A table which gives an apportionment of time for the common branches usually taught in every school is given for consideration. To teach- ers who have not had the opportunity to study this ques- tion and to make such a table for themselves the one here given may be helpful. It was arranged for use in an excel- lent system of schools and made the basis for the program of recitations in all the grades of that school. It represents a serious study of this problem, and it approximates the gen- eral practice in the best American schools. A careful examination of this table will enable one to answer definitely many of the questions that arise regard- ing the length of time to be devoted to the various 194 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING branches of study in the grades. Note that all of the follow- ing questions can be answered by reference to this table. 1. Which subjects in the grades should receive the most time? 2. How much time should be given to phonics? 3. In what grades should work in phonics be given formally? 4. How much time should be given to spelling? 5. Should nature work (biology) be given in all the grades? 6. How much time should be given to this subject in each grade? 7. How much home work should be required in the fifth grade? 8. How much home work should be required in each grade? 9. How much time should be given to study? 10. In what grade should manual training or other constructive work begin? 11. How much time should be allotted to it? Recitation allotments must suit individual conditions. A careful examination of the table on the opposite page, by means of the suggested questions and similar ones, will give the teacher information that will enable him to arrange a program for recitation and study periods that will suit con- ditions in his own school and give the correct distribution of time and the proper balance to his work. It is possible that in certain schools there may be conditions that would make it necessary to change the time allotted to some of the sub- jects, but unless these reasons are known to be good ones, it would be better to follow the schedule here suggested. When a teacher is uncertain regarding the relative value of studies, such a table as this is of the greatest help in en- abling him to give proper balance to his program of work. If he cannot allow the time indicated for each subject, he can still divide the time in the same proportion and thus maintain the same balance of work. Teachers should give intelligent and careful consideration to the time feature of the recitation in planning their work, or it will not have due proportion of importance in the school plan. o K H a o Pm 05 Q O hH P? PL, :?; o H P5 SSgSg .S2S;2!2|85J5§S?S2S JUo^;u/^JPJ/• mmiaiaia . lo eo e^ c» c^ •-"o •O'-' lAOlAlOkQ .lOCOC^C^C^^O • t^ f 313301 Md tUO))V)t03}J J2gS^a .gSSgSS8St2{2g^2g loioiaioio -lowe^e^io^e^ .lo^ H33ai ^3'[ S3inuipi 3(33(11 U3<1 SUOlfll}l03}l lomuimio •io>oc-tio -lOr-i ^3301 Md S3)ninjf[ ino»rtoir5 oooiniOQiQioOQiOirsoo SU0itV^03}[ taxaidu^iO • irt loc^ MO »-< o -io-h ^99^ Md 3(3301 jad SU0liVJV>3}J )0000 Q O O lO lOQIO lA lOO o o oo iom»oicC< • .- »,, 1-1 lO OOlOO • lO lO lO lO CO lO ; O ;0 • ; 3(3301 Md tUOttV)t03}I 1A0U30 • O lA to lO lO lO • lO 'O W « 60 ■5 S s^ S.S 3 ^2.2.9 a £-3 •S"? bcR t«3 — '^3 3 S-j^ 2 £? a-^ .^tssJoo-S-c-ggag 2_ >> 5^ 3 3 5 •5 M J B O E efl^ sqoaooStfSMa 3.2 h E - a c S S^ '-"' S 5 3 >. 2 196 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG Subjective and objective results. A good recitation will produce both objective and subjective results of a desirable kind. The objective results wall be determined by the amount of the subject-matter the pupils will master and retain. The subjective results will be determined by the reaction upon the pupil himself in real mental and moral culture and growth. Interest in the subject of the recita- tion, right habits of attention, of thinking, and of reciting are immediate subjective results of a positive and desirable character. On the contrary, lack of interest in the subject, habits of inattention, inability to think logically, and care- less habits of speech are negative subjective results of such an undesirable character that they often counteract the benefits of the objective results gained through the infor- mation acquired. Thus the results of the misdirected reci- tation are negative, rather than positive. This considera- tion should impress teachers with the fact that primarily they are teaching boys and girls and not merely giving in- struction in branches of learning; and therefore they should look for results in the boys and girls, themselves, rather than in terms of the quantity of knowledge acquired. Hence they should include in the summary of their work the sub- jective as well as the objective results; for when these are present, the teacher may be sure that the recitation has been effective in its teaching and beneficial in its results. Evidences of a good recitation. When an educator who is competent to judge of a good recitation visits a class, he expects to find a fair number of the conditions enumerated below; and according to the proportion of these that he finds he pronounces the recitation good or otherwise. Among the essential conditions for a good recitation are the following : — 1. An orderly, interested class and a teacher sympathetic, help- ful, and inspiring. TIIE RECITATION 197 2. The pupils getting a clear conception of the subject of the recitation. 3. A class that has made careful and intelligent preparation. 4. An aim suited to the needs and the ability of the pupils and in proper relation to the preceding topic. 5. The teacher conversant with the lesson and having the abil- ity to relate it to former lessons. 6. All questions and topics being presented in right sequence. 7. The entire recitation adapted to the age and development of the pupils. 8. The relation between the teacher and pupils one of mutual confidence and helpfulness. 9. The objective results clear and accurate and the subjective results certain and positive. 10. The lesson closing with the interest keen, the next assign- ment definite, and such explanations and help given as the case required. SUGGESTED READINGS School and Society, Dewey, pp. 65-68. How to Teach, Strayer and Norsworthy, pp. 200-20. Classroom Management, Bagley, pp. 192-210, 226-49. The Recitation, Belts. The Learning Process, Colvin. Principles of Educational Practice, Klapper, pp. 195-235, 268-86. Types of Teaching, Earhart, pp. 28-55, 93-100, 220-63. Principles of Elementary Education, Bachman, pp. 246-83. School Management, Dutton, pp. 140-52. How to Teach the Common Branches, Kendall and Mirick, pp. 59-68. Method of the Recitation, McMurry. A New School Management, Seeley, chap. xvi. How to Study, McMurry. EXERCISES 1. Write as fully as you can j'our ideas of the purpose of the recitation. 2. Explain what in your opinion would be a good recitation. Answer the question from the standpoint of the pupil and also from the standpoint of the teacher. 3. Name some common faults of the recitation. 4. Discuss fully your opinion of concert work in the recitation. 198 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING 5. State fully your ideas regarding the value of a recitation conducted by the class, the difiFerent members asking the questions. 6. Tell how you would conduct a recitation in a seventh-grade reading- class, the lesson being the " Charge of the Light Brigade." 7. Explain the difference between " a hearing " recitation and a " teach- ing " recitation. 8. What do you understand by " study " recitations? Discuss their value. 9. State your opinion of the wisdom of assigning lessons at the beginning of a recitation rather than at the close. 10. The history lesson assigned treats of the discovery of America by Columbus. Write out five questions that are appropriate and that are in good sequence. 11. Criticize the following questions based upon an actual geography lesson. The subject being: " Drainage of South America." (1) What is the greatest valley of South America? (2) What are the chief cities of this continent? (3) What does a drainage map show? (4) Which way does the land slope near the Pacific Ocean? (5) Which way does the land slope in Argentina? (6) Where are minerals found? (7) Why is the Amazon river the biggest river in the world? (8) Is South America a dry continent, or a wet continent? Give reason for your answer. (9) In which side of the Andes Mountains is found the longest rivers? (10) What makes these rivers long? 12. Assign a lesson on South America after discussing the above ques- tions. Write out your assignment and submit it for criticism. CHAPTER XI SUBJECT-MATTER IHirpose of subject-matter. In order that we may con- sider the topic of subject-matter intelHgently and broadly, it is necessary that we have a correct understanding of the meaning and purpose of education as it apphes to our pres- ent civihzation. We must also have a correct conception of the civihzation for which this education must prepare; for the subject-maiter of a course of study should grow out of the cimlization which it aims to interpret. For example, the subject-matter for the schools of England should grow out of the English civilization; that for the schools of France should grow out of French civilization; that for the schools of Germany should be furnished by German civilization; and at least the major portion of the subject-matter for the schools of the United States should be drawn from our own civilization. This thesis implies a second fundamental idea which is embodied in the statement that those subjects are of the greatest value which interpret or present most clearly American civilization at the present time. The importance of this statement should be emphasized, for it furnishes a basis for determining the relative values of subjects to be taught. As an example of the application of this test, it is evident that for the majority of students the sciences would rank high in value, while Latin, Greek, and higher mathematics would be of much less value. Education explained. There are almost as many defini- tions of education as there are writers upon the subject. Every student of education is familiar with a number of these and with the phrases in which different writers on 200 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING education sum up their ideas of the aim. Whether they make "character-building," "preparation for social effi- ciency," "the complete development of the whole man," or some other particular phase of the "preparation for com- plete living" the ultimate aim of education, they all agree that the final result must be subjective — must show itself in some form of self-expression and growth. By growth is here meant those changes and additions which come into a life and give it shape and power. A person's education is a continuous process of growth which begins with his first dawn of consciousness and continues through hfe. The agencies which contribute to this educational result include all the conditions and experiences that enter into life. All these are educational, and therefore must be taken into consideration in shaping any plan for child welfare and growth. At an early period in his life the child unconsciously receives many fundamental ideas from his parents and from other persons with whom he is associated. As a result he begins the formation of his basal concepts by which he evaluates the people whom he knows, their vocations, and many other matters. In these and other ways he adds con- stantly to his basal concepts of the world in which he finds himself, and lays the foundation for his future education. Even as a child he begins to select and choose his favorite person and occupations and to express preference for certain things, thus showing that the formation of ideals has already begun in his mind. Early concepts differ with environment. It is evident that the early concepts which children gather by direct contact must of necessity vary with their environments; and their early ideals of persons and occupations and of things in general will differ according to the kind of people and the conditions that surround them. Often the person whom the child most admires does not furnish him the best ideal of SUBJECT-MATTER 201 manhood or womanhood, and in very many cases, his early desires and ambitions are not the ones that he will have later in life. Many men who have achieved wealth and fame in the business and the professional world can remem- ber the childish ambition to become policemen and wear uniforms, to patrol a beat and arrest evil-doers, or to ride to a fire behind galloping fire-horses. Since it is a well-known fact that in the earlier years material for growth is largely gained by direct contact and association with persons and material things, it is apparent that the quality and extent of growth must he greatly influenced by the kind of people thai come into the life of the child and by the variety and extent of his early contact vnth nature. Because of this the matter of early environment is of the utmost importance; and the school should supply to its pupils, so far as possible, the right experiences and influences that have been lacking in their home surroundings, in order that they may have the right foundation for subsequent growth. It often happens that a child's early environment, not only fails to provide desirable experiences, but actually furnishes conditions and material for the formation of wrong or unde- sirable ambitions and ideals. In such cases it is the more urgent that the school furnish conditions that will pro- vide material for the formation of right ideals and desirable ambitions, in order to give pupils the natural opportunities for desirable growth. The child's educational capital. The early childhood ex- periences gained from environment make up the capital which the child puts into the business of education when he enters school. The teacher's personality and preparation constitute the capital which he invests in this educational partnership. He is in charge of the business and is the business manager, and it is clearly his province so to direct and use both his own and his pupil's capital that reasonable 202 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING returns will result. The returns should consist of increased knowledge, widened interest, broadened experiences, and the formation of a greater number of desirable habits. The business manager should also be able to take and know the value of the stock and understand how to make a wise use of it. Unfortunately, many teachers do not know how to value their own or the pupil's capital and never attempt to take stock of it. As a result much of the instruction given by such teachers really jeopardizes the capital which the pupil puts into the business of education. In the business world a manager who does not know how to conduct the business intrusted to him and use the capital invested in it in such a way as to bring satisfactory results would not be retained long in his position. The same condition should be found in the school; for the teacher who fails to make a wise use of the capital intrusted to him and does not man- age the business of his department in a way to bring desir- able results, fails in a far more important matter than he who fails in th^ management of material matters. Aim of education realized through proper subject-matter. It is the duty of the school, as the recognized educative agent of society, to select the material to be used in the education of the child and to determine the manner in which it should be used. The school, therefore, must select from the large mass of recorded race experiences and human activities that portion, by means of which the ultimate aim of education may best be realized in the preparation of the individual for his life work. Since, in the majority of cases, the whole future life and usefulness of the child as a social unit will be largely determined by his early education and training, the selection of the subject-matter to be used in this training is of the utmost importance and should be made with the greatest care. In order that it may be thus selected, there must be clear and definite knowledge on the SUBJECT-MATTER 203 part of the one making the selection. It is apparent that the subject-matter of the schools should be carefully chosen to include that educational material, which, by direct or by reflected contact, furnishes valuable concepts and at the same time incites and stimulates proper self-activity. A proper selection and intelligent use of subject-matter brings the child into such unity with life, as it is interpreted in the world of knowledge and achievement, that his powers and capabilities are stimulated to activity and a positive sub- jective response which leads to self-realization results. Educational guidance. It has been shown that the purpose of education in our schools is to put the young in possession of the best ideals of present-day civilization. Since this can be done only through the training and development of all the powers of the individual by means of the various educa- tional agencies, the proper guidance of these agencies be- comes a most important matter. It is evident that with- out this guidance the education of an individual would be a haphazard hit-and-miss process without a definite purpose, and hence leading to no particular goal. Any desired aim is most effectively attained by the harmonious combination of all the means directed toward this end under proper guid- ance. The public school as the agent of society for deter- mining the aims and means of education must direct the use of these means in such a way that they will contribute to the desired result. In order that the school may do this most effectively and be in reality the directing force in the preparation of the child for his place in the community life, it must understand fully for what he should be educated and the means through which this education may be attained. Education both general and special. The education and training which the child requires to enable him to under- stand the present civilization and to prepare him for his place in it must be both general and special. He should 204 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG receive a general education, based upon a knowledge of com- mon race experiences and an understanding of the symbols of education, together with a training in their use, that will develop his abihty to make a wise selection and use of the products offered to man. This general or basic education should be of such a character that it will serve as a right foundation for the later special education along both cul- tural and vocational lines. In addition to this general education which every one should receive, all who can should obtain a special education in some particular depart- ment of knowledge, either practical or cultural, according to his condition and purpose. This special education, by putting the individual in possession of certain valuable knowledge, makes of him a more useful member of society than he would otherwise be. It should not only enlarge the capacity of the individual for the use and enjoyment of material and spiritual good, but it should prepare him to become in turn a valuable contributor to the material and spiritual good of others. It is apparent that to attain the final aims of these two phases of education in self-reaUzation and preparation for social efficiency, the special education, as well as the gen- eral, must be both vocational and cultural. From the very nature and requirements of the special cultural education, it will be seen that the public school cannot provide the means for attaining it. Regarding the duty of the public school in providing vocational training for its pupils, there is great diversity of opinion and the matter is at present on trial. All p>ersons are agreed, however, that as an agent of society, the public school should be held responsible for the general education of the child. It is therefore this general education with which we are particularly concerned at pres- ent and it is of this that the chapter treats. Educative means. After determining the kind of educa- SUBJECT-MATTER 205 tion that will best fit the young for their places in life and enable them to realize the ultimate aim of education in character, the next step is to consider the means through which this education may be secured and the ways in which these means should be used in order to attain the desired end in real preparation for complete living. An enumeration and careful analysis of the principal influences that con- tribute to the education of the individual in our modern civilization will reveal the fact that they are of two distinct kinds and may be arranged in two clearly marked groups. The first class includes all those influences which act directly upon the child, and the second those that act through some medium and are transmitted or conveyed by this medium to the child. Direct educative means. The most important and the most valuable of the educative means which act directly upon the learner wdthout his conscious effort, and therefore may be termed direct means or influences, are the forces and elements of nature and also such works of man as can make a direct appeal without an intervening medium. As examples of the direct educative influences in nature may be mentioned all natural phenomena, such as light, space, form, color, the natural products of the animal, the vegetable, and the mineral kingdoms, and all the works of nature that can make a direct appeal to the child through actual con- tact. Of the works of man that make a direct educative appeal may be cited buildings, railroads, manufactured arti- cles, works of art, and in fact all works of man that can make an appeal without the aid of other means or agencies. Indirect educative means. The indirect educative means or influences are those which by their very nature cannot make a direct appeal to the learner but require some exter- nal medium through which the appeal may be made or the message transmitted. For example, all information, experi- 206 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ences, truths, and other educative matter recorded in books or otherwise which the child does not have the opportunity to acquire directly through his owti experiences or cannot learn by actual contact are the indirect educative means. These the learner must acquire through the medium of some person who already possesses this knowledge and conveys it to him by means of the spoken or written word or by some other form of expression. Source of indirect educative means. With the advance of civihzation a larger body of knowledge and a broader and more complex preparation were required to meet the in- creasing demands of this complex civilization; and at the same time the opportunities for making this preparation by direct means through actual contact decreased. Therefore the knowledge and experience which the child needed, but which he could not obtain in the natural, direct way, had to be conveyed or reflected to him by some one who possessed this knowledge. This transmitted information and experi- ence the child could understand or interpret by means of its relation to the experiences and the knowledge which he had gained by direct means. With the increasing demand for this transmitted knowledge, scholars gathered together the great mass of world facts and experiences and recorded them by the written word in books and in other forms, that they might be accessible to all who wished to acquire them. These records have become valuable means of conveying world knowledge and experiences. As an illustration of this, consider the value to the students of the present time of the written records of all the truths and facts relating to any one of the sciences — physiology, for instance — that have been gleaned from the experiences and experiments of stu- dents of this science through all past ages. It has taken the human race Ltindreds of years to experience, test, and gather together these facts; but they can all be transmitted or com- SUBJECT-MATTER 207 municated to the learner of the present day in a very short time, thus giving him the benefit of the study, research, and experiences of the scholars of all time. The worth of these records of world facts and experiences is the more apparent when we consider that much of the knowledge gained from them could not otherwise be acquired. It is evident, then, that it is from these records of world facts and experiences that much of the subject-matter for the course of study in the schools must be taken. This is the storehouse from which all may draw according to their needs and purposes. The selection of subject-matter. The subject-matter of the curriculum, to serve as a means of education, must be selected with exact reference to the kind of preparation the individual requires to fit him for his particular place in society. It has been seen that all children, regardless of their future places in the social and vocational world, should have a foundational or general education which will serve as a basis for subsequent vocational and cultural education and training. In the case of the majority of children in our schools, this elementary general education will be practically all the instruction that the public schools can give them, for the reason that they leave school at an early age, usually to become wage-earners. The school, therefore, must furnish this large class with the essentials of their liberal or cultural education. In the light of this fact the selection of the subject-matter for this general education is a question of great importance. As the time which this large number of children can give to acquiring this general knowledge is short, economy of time requires that the course of study for the elementary school contain just such subject-matter as is essential in this foundational education and nothing more. The time of the child in the elementary school is much too precious to be wasted in the acquisition of any but the most useful and usable knowledge and experience. 208 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING In an effort to make the curriculum of the elementary public school the best means through which the child may acquire the fundamentals of a hberal education and the foundation at least of his preparation for practical life, it has been often revised and greatly modified during the past few years. Many of the time-honored subjects of the course of study that do not relate directly to life and everyday experiences have been discarded, and others which have real value in interpreting our present civilization and in prepar- ing the young for life have taken their places. For example, the tedious and mechanical exercises in parsing are no longer heard, and the time once wasted upon them is now spent in more practical exercises in the correct use of Eng- lish. The time formerly devoted to the tiresome and useless memorizing of historical dates is now used to better purpose in the study of such matters as discoveries and inventions, the growth of industries, the logical sequence and relation of events, the evolution of the human race, and the devel- opment of civilization in general. In order that the child's time may be employed prop- erly in making his preparation for life, it is important that the most useful subject-matter be presented to him. To this end it must be tested and evaluated with direct reference to its serving the ultimate and immediate aims of educa- tion better than any other available material. The tests which should be applied to all subject-matter before it is given a place in the school curriculum are whether it can be made a means of the all-around development and prepara- tion of the child for his place in society, whether it will serve as a basis for subsequent cultural and vocational education and training, and whether it will help the pupil to under- stand the civilization of to-day. In order that subject- matter may meet these tests, it must satisfy certain require- ments. A brief discussion of these requirements will perhaps SUBJECT-MATTER 209 make more clear the kind of subject-matter that should be used and what it must contain. 1. Subject-matter must furnish material for teaching: — (1) General and fundamental facts of world knowl- edge. (2) Universal experiences and concepts. (3) The character of our national civilization. (4) The intellectual tools or symbols of knowledge. 2. Subject-matter must contain material that is useful: — (1) For its cultural value. (2) For giving instruction in vocational guidance. 3. Subject-matter must be selected from all fields of knowledge. 4. Subject-matter should be adapted to the development of the child. 5. Subject-matter must interpret present-day civiUzation. Subject-matter for teaching fimdamental facts. The subject-matter selected for imparting the information from the great body of world facts that every one should know is what is usually imderstood by the phrase, " Course of Study." It is the "what to teach " of the majority of teachers. The conception on the part of different educators of what is the actual scope of the subject-matter varies greatly. There are different opinions regarding the amount of information in a particular branch or subject that should be covered in the course of study for all the grades of the school and what portion of each should be taught in a given grade. Educa- tors disagree also as to the value of some of the branches in the school curriculum and as to what extent instruction in each should be carried. An examination of courses of study prepared by educa- tional experts often reveals these differences of opinion in the subject-matter selected and in the relative importance to the child's preparation for life which they assign to the 210 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING various branches. There should be more agreement upon the subject-matter to be used in the prei>aration for general citizenship in order that there may be more unity in the preparation and more homogeneity in our people. If the fundamentals of the education received by persons in all parts of the country were the same, if they possessed the same general facts of world knowledge, the same national facts, and the same ideals of our civiUzation, the people would be more homogeneous, the national spirit would be more active and positive, and men could go among their fellows in any part of the land, intelligently performing their parts in any situation in which they might be placed. The right kind of an education should prepare a person to meet different situations properly, and the general educa- tion received by a child in the pubHc schools should prepare him to meet situations intelligently and confidently. Subject-matter for teaching universal experiences and concepts. It has been previously stated that the child inter- prets new matter presented to him through and in terms of his own personal experiences. As children's experiences are limited to those which come from their environment, no child ever has the opportunity for having all the experiences or gaining all the concepts through actual contact that are necessary for a correct interpretation of all the new matter presented in the schools. Because of this much valuable time is lost; for if the pupil has not had experiences which will enable him to relate new knowledge to that already possessed, he will make but little progress. For example, there are many facts in connection with the life, growth, character, and uses of plants, trees, and other vegetable life which a person must know before he can understand how a plant grows and reproduces its kind. Certain physical features, such as rivers, lakes, seas, mountains, plains, val- leys, must be understood before one can form a correct SUBJECT-MATTER 211 conception of the earth. If these have not come mto the child's experience aheady, some provision should be made in the subject-matter for his acquiring correct concepts of them. It often happens that the teacher must supply oppor- tunities for pupils to gain certain concepts through direct experience as a preparation for receiving new information. It must not be forgotten that the basal concepts must be acquired through actual experience, and for this reason every available opportunity for gaining them through direct experience should be improved. The child should be brought into contact with his environment in such a way as to give him fundamental experiences and concepts. The value of the kindergarten is in large measure due to the concepts gained by the children from the games and occupations. Illustrations and experiences with material concrete objects should be given in the recitation whenever possible. A man's knowledge and also his abiUty to gather added information de- pend upon the number of useful concepts he possesses; hence it is important that he accumulate as large a store of such concepts as he can. Since the basal concepts are acquired largely in childhood and new knowledge is interpreted and acquired by means of these, it is evident that provision should be made in the curriculum for subject-matter that is rich in concept-forming material. Relation of subject-matter to present civilization. Subject- matter should bear a close relation to the life of the present day, and the test which must be applied in selecting it is whether it does pertain to or interpret the present civiliza- tion. Unless it will stand the test of the present demand that it serve as a means of realizing this educational aim, it should not be given a place in the course of study nor should tlie pupil's time be squandered in acquiring it. The course of study in the American pubhc school should grow out of and represent the complex civilization of the America 812 THE PROFESSION OF TEACfflNG of to-day. If it did, then to acquire the subject-matter in our pubHc schools would be to understand American civiHzation and become acquainted with American ideals both national and individual. In evaluating subject-matter upon the ba- sis of what it reveals of national life, it follows that the material of most value is that which contributes most in gaining a knowledge of our national civilization. Emphasis should be placed upon the subjects which will enable the child to know and understand the present. The two general subjects of history and science including geog- raphy are without question the most valuable ones for this purpose. History gives important material from the past with which to compare and interpret the present, and science enables us to know and understand what is being done in the world to-day and the conditions under which we live. These subjects should receive more emphasis in the school curriculum than they generally do; in fact, they should be given the most important place in the course of study for all grades and also in the high schools and the colleges. It is the needs of present-day civihzation, not the conventions of the past, that should determine the subject- matter for the course of study for our schools. Tested by this standard, what more impractical matter could be found than some of that prescribed for college entrance require- ments which determine the course of study for many of our high schools? Until these higher institutions of learning make present-day needs, and not the standards of the past, the determining factors in arranging their curricula, we cannot hope for universal reforms in the selection of sub- ject-matter in our secondary schools. However, the many changes from the useless to the practical, in the courses of study in the schools in all parts of our country, give promise that the subject-matter will more and more be taken from the civilization of the present instead of that of the past. SUBJECT-MATTER 213 Subject-matter for teaching symbols of knowledge. The entu'e effort of the teachers of the lower grades was formerly concentrated upon teaching children the tools or symbols of knowledge, quite apart from any subject-matter in which they might be interested or from which they might gain any useful knowledge. This made learning to read, to spell, or to "do number work" a laborious and irksome task. More- over, the pupil's progress was based entirely upon the objective result of learning the symbols, and the subjective result was altogether ignored. It has at length been discov- ered that these and all the other symbols of knowledge can be taught just as thoroughly, and usually more quickly, if presented in connection with subject-matter contauiing useful facts and ideas which the pupil should learn. Besides, the presentation of concrete matter makes the subject more interesting to the learner and faciUtates his acquisition of it. With the introduction of pedagogical principles into teaching, teachers have learned the value of using subject- matter having useful content for the teaching of the symbols of knowledge and, as a result, they have turned their efforts toward providing the pupil with useful subject-matter which will serve as the material through which he will gain a mas- tery over words, numbers, and other necessary symbols. With this new plan the child gains much useful information while learning to read, to spell, and to multiply, — in short while acquiring skill in the use of all the tools of knowledge. By this means much of the former waste in the child's school day is corrected, for while acquiring a knowledge of the symbols, he makes real growth in the acquisition of val- uable information and in vital subjective results. Matter for its cultural value. Education is frequently thought of as being synonymous witli knowledge, and is spoken of in the quantitative sense as indicating a large amount or quantity of knowledge. There are, however, 214 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING subjective results in education that are quite as positive as quantitative knowledge. One of these results to the indi- vidual is termed '' culture." Among the results of education this one is considered of such importance that an individual who does not acquire it during the process of education is not considered an educated person no matter how much knowledge he may have accumulated. By culture is meant that development and refining of the intellectual and moral nature through education which gives one the power to know, to appreciate, and constantly to enjoy the beauti- ful in nature, in conduct, in art, and in life. It is directly opposed to whatever is coarse, low, vulgar, and to all things that by their nature are antagonistic to human welfare. Culture is the phase of education that gives quality, finish, and moral excellence to the individual. It is not a veneer, a thin coating of polish; nor is it, like a social veneer, apparent only in certain social situations. On the contrary, it char- acterizes the whole life and conduct of the person possessing it; for it permeates the entire fiber of the individual and becomes an integral part of his whole nature. It has been said that culture is a subjective result of edu- cation. As such it grows, expands, and thrives through the exercise of the aesthetic feelings and emotions. If these are not aroused, there will be no growth in culture. It is there- fore necessary that subject-matter should be provided that will call these into activity. Although nearly every subject of the curriculum has elements which if properly used will appeal to the aesthetic sense, there are some subjects that are richer in these elements than others and, hence, make a more direct appeal to the aesthetic sense than others do. For their cultural value these subjects should have a place in the curriculum. History and literature, as well as all branches of art, have cultural value and make direct ai)i)eals to the love and a]>prcciation of the beautiful when there is the SUBJECT-MATTER 815 proper background of information and emotion to make possible an understanding and interpretation of the appeal. Thus, music, painting, sculjiture, poetry, and other arts are highly cultural and should in some form have a place in the school curriculum. Nature is a veritable storehouse of subject-matter that may be used for its cultural value. Satisfaction and enjoyment in the study and contemplation of nature is proof that there is cultural growth; and increas- ing appreciation and love on the part of the pupils for all culture-producing features of education will show the teacher tliat valuable subjective reactions have resulted from his teaching. Subject-matter for vocational instruction. There has been much discussion during recent years in the educational world concerning vocational education and the duty of the public school toward the matter. The two main points around which the discussion has centered are, first, the age at which a child may begin special preparation for vocational activity, and second, what shall be the character of the subject-matter for prevocational instruction. No satisfac- tory conclusion has been reached, for the attempts at solv- ing these questions represent merely the personal opinions of the various persons concerned with the problem of voca- tional instruction for the young. There is, however, fairly general agreement among educators that a child should receive at least a general elementary, cultural education before he begins the formal preparation for a special voca- tion. Vocations have become so numerous and their demand so exacting that special instruction can be given for very few of them in the public schools excej^t in those cases where sjjecial buildings and equipments can be secured. To give practical instruction in the industrial vocations requires complete equipment and special teachers, which add greatly to the expense of the school system. This extra expense, a 216 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING large majority of communities do not as yet feel warranted in incurring, and prefer to await the outcome of the experi- ments along this line that are being tried in some of the larger cities. In the case of the commercial vocations, the average school cannot give much vocational instruction for the reason that these occupations are highly specialized and the school lacks the means for giving the necessary experi- ence in them. It is true that most schools do give instruction in various commercial branches, such as bookkeeping and typewriting, for the benefit of those who are looking toward temporary clerical positions; but this instruction is not really vocational, but rather prevocational in its nature. The demand for regular instruction for the commercial vocations has become so great that commercial courses are now provided in many of the colleges and in special schools of commerce. The professions naturally require special courses in colleges that have departments expressly for giv- ing instruction in them. While the average pubUc school is not equipped to give instruction in the vocations, all can provide for some prevocational instruction and guidance. Some suggestions regarding the means and methods by which this may be done will be given in subsequent chapters. Subject-matter from all fields of knowledge. The child is in the midst of the complete life of the nation in which he lives. In various ways he touches nearly every field of human interest in one or more of its phases, and he gathers some facts from each. In this way he acquires an unorganized mass of information which must be arranged and defined before it can become a practical and usable body of knowl- edge. For example, he learns some facts of geography, physiology, physics, chemistry, and astronomy; but he does not know them as facts of any science, for his information has not as yet been put into the universal language of these branches. It must be organized and defined in order that he SUBJECT-MATTER 217 may be able to add to it from the classified knowledge of the sciences and thus increase his store of definite knowledge. In the quest for facts of general interest which every person should know, the course of study of the elementary school should draw upon all sources of useful knowledge. Every person should know some of the truths of natural history, of geology, of chemistry, and other subjects of human interest and should know them as facts of these different branches of knowledge. If this point is kept in mind in the selection of subject-matter, much of the general information which the child has acquired without conscious effort will be of great service to him in the acquisition of further infor- mation and in the practical activities of everyday life. Many teachers seem to think that instruction in the ele- mentary grades must be limited to a small number of sub- jects that are particularly easy to comprehend, and that subject-matter to be used below the high school and the col- lege cannot be taken from the general fields of human inter- est. They do not take account of the fact that the child's life brings him in contact with various departments of knowl- edge and gives him experiences and fundamental facts for his later study of these subjects. Further, they do not under- stand that in every field of human interest there are funda- mental facts and truths that if properly presented any child can understand. Human experiences and knowledge are interrelated and in such a manner that the basal facts of all contribute to a clearer understanding of each. For example, a study of the industry of wheat-growing includes some facts about geography, botany, physics, chemistry, history, so- ciology, economics, mathematics, and commerce, as well as facts about agriculture. To such facts of general knowl- edge as the child has already acquired, to serve as a nucleus, the teacher adds other facts, and thus the child's knowl- edge is continually enlarged and his experiences enriched. 218 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Subject-matter should be adapted to the development of the child. It will be readily understood that all subject- matter must be adapted to the age, experience, and under- standing of the child. This adaptation of the matter to be taught must be largely the work of the individual teacher, since he alone knows the capabilities and experience of his pupils. When he does properly adapt subject-matter to the capacity of the particular child, it insures interest on the part of the latter, with the corresponding ease in acquiring the new matter. It insures, also, development of his mental powers and a desirable subjective response. A teacher's abil- ity rightly to adapt subject-matter is one of the surest means of determining his capability and skill as an instructor of the young, and his inability to do so marks him as inefficient in one of the most essential features of good teaching. More- over, the failure of the teacher to adapt the subject-matter of the curriculum to the comprehension of his pupils, is the cause of great loss to the pupils, to the patrons of the school, and to the State. This failure occasions loss of opportunity and consequent loss of time to the pupil, not only in the present, but also in the future, when the knowledge would have been of serv- ice to him had he possessed it. It causes loss in personality, for not only has the child been deprived of such instruction as would develop his inherent capacities to their highest degree of perfection, thus making his child life richer; but it has robbed him of that development and foundation upon which his future life would have been built. Because of this he may be destined to fill a place in life very different from the one for which he was intended by nature. To the parents tliis failure means loss, because they do not receive adequate returns in the education of their children for the money they expend for the maintenance of the school. It means loss to the State; for the educational loss to the SUBJECT-MATTER 219 children affects their future citizenship and, therefore, the welfare of the State. Any one who will carefully con- sider these points will be convinced of the importance of properly adapting the subject-matter to the capacity of the child. Indeed, so important is the matter that the teacher who has learned how to do this has gone far to- ward becoming an efficient instructor. Summary. From the foregoing discussion, it is apparent that if the ultimate aim of education is to be realized in the preparation of the individual for his place in the civilization of the present, all the educative agencies must be judiciously employed toward this end. The school, as the agent of so- ciety in directing the education of the child, must select and guide the various influences and means that have a share in the educative process. The school must decide upon the subject-matter and determine how it shall be used for the attainment of the true educational aim. It is through properly chosen subject-matter that the early concepts growing out of childliood experiences are defined and corrected. Properly selected and adapted subject- matter enables the child to gain information and experiences in the right sequence, thus saving much energy and time that would have been wasted if it had not been presented in the right order or in a form best suited to his develop- ment. It is the duty of every teacher, from the lowest to the highest grade, to make such a selection and use of the subject-matter of the course of study that through it the child will be able to realize all the benefits which it offers. SUGGESTED READINGS Course of Study, Yocum, chap. v. Meaning of Education, Butler, pp. 17-34, 51-66. School Management, Dutton, pp. 111-18. Education and the Larger Life, Hentlerson, pp. 48-49. Principles of Educational Practice, Klappcr, pp. 146-50. 220 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Art of Education, Howerth, pp. 127-36. Teaching the Language Arts, Hinsdale, pp. 21-24. Principles of Elementary Education, Bachman, pp. 183-204 Types of Teaching, Earhart, pp. 1-14, 16-21. Changing Conceptions of Education, Cubberley, chap. v. EXERCISES 1. If the subject-matter should largely grow out of the civilization in which the child lives, show why a knowledge of botany is more valu- able to the average child than Latin or Greek. 2. In a large high school a little more than three fifths of the time of the whole school was given to Latin, German, French, and mathematics, and a little less than two fifths of the time to literature, history, Eng- lish, and science. Study and discuss this condition. 3. Name some of the questions involved in selecting subject-matter for a given class. 4. If you were looking for a good cook which of the following would you select: The person who best understands how to select food, the one who knows best how to cook it, or the one who knows best how to serve it? 5. The great teacher selects subject-matter wisely, prepares it skillfully, and serves it invitingly. In which department is the average teacher poorest? In which department are you strongest? 6. A pupil said: "We had geography soup, fried arithmetic, baked grammar, and roasted history every day, and as there was hardly any seasoning, we all got sick of the meals." What did the pupil mean by this? Is it an unusual condition? In how many ways can you cook arithmetic? 7. Get the working program of some sixth-grade teacher. Study it by the table on page 195. Consider time per week, length of recita- tion, subjects omitted, subject having greatest emphasis, and similar points. 8. Arrange the following subjects in the order of importance according to your own judgment: arithmetic, penmanship, reading, music, drawing, language, history, Latin, science, and literature. 9. " All science is represented in a plant: chemistry, physics, astronomy, physiology, geography, history, geology." Show that this is true. 10. Read one of the references given at the end of the chapter and give your views of it. CHAPTER XII VOCATIONAL EDUCATION A vocation or a job. It is a self-evident fact that the boys and many of the girls in our public schools to-day will eventually engage in some special life-work or vocation, or they will drift into the great unclassified company of irreg- ular and unskilled workers. Just what the character of their work will be depends in a measure upon the inclinations and the aptitude of the pupils themselves; but it will probably depend in a still larger measure upon the opportunities which they will have for selecting and preparing for a voca- tion and the use which they will make of these opportunities. Those who make an intelligent and wise choice of a vocation and fit themselves for it will in the majority of cases become self-supporting and productive members of society. Those who do not will sooner or later be forced to join the army of cheap, inefficient laborers, whose low-productive power renders them a burden to society. Skilled and unskilled workers. The working population of our country to-day might be divided roughly according to efficiency into two classes, skilled and unskilled workers. By a skilled worker is here meant one who, by reason of preparation and experience, can do effectively some special kind of work, industrial, commercial, or professional. He may be the owner or manager of a factory or other industrial plant and direct large interests and have other persons work- ing under his direction; or he may be one of the op)erators or artisans working under the supervision of another. He may be a merchant, the o\\Tier of a store for example; or he may be a salesman, a bookkeeper, or other employee in the store 222 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING or the mercantile establishment of another person. He may be in one of the learned professions, or he may be a me- chanic. Whatever his station and his vocation, if he does his work with intelligence and skill, he may be classed among skilled workers. The unskilled worker, on the other hand, is one who has no technical or special knowledge of any vo- cation and has not been trained for any particular kind of work. He is not able to compete with skilled workers and therefore must depend upon the chance jobs and menial tasks that require no special preparation or skill. Paupers and criminals recruited from army of tmskilled. It is from the army of the unskilled that comes the largest percentage of the paupers and criminals that must be sup- ported at public expense. These persons do not contribute to the welfare of society. In fact they are an actual burden and menace to society. They are parasites, giving nothing in return for what they exact. A comparison of the tables of statistics, showing the causes of poverty in any of our great cities, will invariably prove that the single cause that is responsible for the largest number of cases is vocational inefficiency. This is shown by the fact that those dependent upon charity are persons who are not regularly employed in the industries because of lack of training for them. They are in general persons who, because of lack of capacity or of vocational training and skill, turn from one to another of the chance jobs that come in their way and hence are out of employment much of the time. This condition not only keeps them poor and frequently wholly dependent upon the charity of others, but it often leads them into crime. The records of many of our jails and penitentiaries show that the majority of the inmates are casual and unskilled work- ers, the number of this class in some instances being as high as eighty -five per cent of the entire number confined. Vocational training as a remedy for poverty and crime. If VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 223 a large percentage of the poverty and crime which society deplores is the direct result of vocational inefficiency, a rem- edy for this condition would be found in providing the masses with the means of vocational training. Since society must provide for its paupers and unfortunates and protect itself against its criminals who become such from a lack of the opportunity for this definite training, it would seem to be for the interest of society to furnish these persons the means for getting this training. Vocational instruction as a means of preventing prisoners from returning to lives of crime after they are released is the reform method now being employed in many of our reformatories and prisons. Inmates of these institutions are now being taught trades and various vocations by which their wage-earning capacity may be increased in order that they may be able to make an honest living after leaving prison. To this is added in many cases practical academic instruction, not alone for its cul- tural value, but for the purpose of equipping these men for the new start in life that awaits them just beyond the prison doors. One ounce of prevention is worth sixteen ounces of cure, and if vocational training is a good curative measure for poverty and crime, it must be a still better preventive meas- ure for these ills. How much more effective it would be, then, to use it as a preventive measure, by fitting the young for self-support and self-respecting citizenship, than it is to use it as a curative measure after they have become paupers and criminals. Curative measures are to be commended but preventive measures are still better. If the latter measure were used now, the coming generation of workers would be efficient and would find a ready market for their knowl- edge and skill before lack of employment, idleness, and poverty had led them into crime. Thus, much of tliat pauperism and crime which are the result of lack of voca- iU THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING tional training and eflBciency would be prevented, and soci- ety, as well as the individual, would be benefited. There is, therefore, a twofold reason why a community should provide its young with the means for vocational education; the duty which it owes to its children and the duty which it owes to itself. These two duties are so closely related that when the community discharges the one, it also discharges the other; for by training its members for social efl&ciency, society best contributes to its own stability. A prominent educator in discussing the social value of vocational education says: — Society is deprived of the increased productivity which would result from developing in each and every one of its individuals the greatest amount of skill of which he or she is capable; and the scarcity of skilled workmen who can command good wages, to- gether with the superabundance of unskilled workmen who can command only the lowest rate of wages, furnishes a continual handicap to the increase in the efficiency of production. The result is twofold. First, the rate of production is kept down and society is the loser. Second, thousands of human beings, who might be useful and happy citizens, live and die in poverty and misery, and again society is the loser. Place of vocational education in preparation for life. Edu- cation to be practical must fit for life. Therefore that educa- tion is best which best fits the individual, through the culti- vation of all his faculties, for his particular place in life and enables him to function properly with the civilization of which he is a part. In order that he may have this kind of education — this practical preparation for life — his instruc- tion and training must be adapted to his needs and given with direct reference to his particular circumstances. It must be such as to connect directly with life, as it is being lived at the present, and it must meet the common every- day demands of American society. The educating forces should send the individual out into the world with the VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 225 ability to use to the extent of his development and capabili- ties all that he has learned. An educational system is ade- quate just so far as it succeeds in doing this. The demands which the civilization of the present makes upon the lawyer, the doctor, and the banker are very different from the de- mands which it makes upon the carpenter, the blacksmith, and the mechanic. Hence, education of the same kind will not fit every case, but must be differentiated, according to the needs of each. The necessity for adapting instruction to the diversified requirements of society and the individuals composing it is becoming a directive force in education. Until recently the same instruction was given to children in all parts of the country witliout regard to local conditions or requirements or to the particular needs of the individual. It is not surprising that this system of teaching did not in all cases fit for life and, as a result, that there has been an ever-increasing demand that education be brought into more intimate relation with the everyday life of the masses. Since about eighty-five per cent of the children in the schools are in the elementary grades, it is evident that the instruc- tion given in the public and other elementary schools should be adapted to the needs of this large number who will go out into the world to take up life early, as well as to the few who are preparing for college entrance examinations. Since society is largely the result of the organization of the voca- tional activities which compose it, it follows that the indi- vidual cannot contribute to the social structure to the full extent of his capabilities unless he is in possession of special vocational technique. In other words, he must have voca- tional education as well as cultural and moral education, in order to be productive to society in the highest degree. The relation of society to the vocational education of the young is not merely a question of duty to the individual. It is a self-preservation measure. 23(3 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Need of vocational education recognized. If the foregoing conclusion is correct, then it is evident that during the period of childhood and youth there should be, in addition to the cultural and moral preparation for life and citizenship, a definite vocational preparation. Just how and when and where this preparation should be made, if not in reality the most vital, is one of the vital questions in education to-day. National and state teachers' associations have taken up the question in an endeavor to formulate plans looking toward giving this practical phase of education a place in the school curriculum. Congress and the legislative bodies of many of the States, cooperating with educators, have considered the question and have passed legislation with a view to putting vocational training into the public schools. Boards of educa- tion in the various cities, in conjunction with superintend- ents and teachers, are giving tliis important problem their serious attention and are bringing to its solution their best thought and effort. Experiments of various kinds are being made and theories and plans are being thoroughly tested in the effort to arrive at a satisfactory answer as to how this instruction can be given. Many of the plans and methods that are being tested show most satisfactory results and give promise of great advancement along this line of education. As a further indication of the popular trend, exi)eriments that have met with success in certain cities are being adapted to the conditions and needs of other cities and put into operation. Practical education movement result of a popular demand. The causes of this widespread movement toward a modifica- tion of the ideals and aims of education and the function of the school are easily explained. It is a well-known fact that fully half of the children in the elementary grades drop out of school before or by the time that they reach the end of the compulsory school age, this exodus beginning as early VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 227 as the fourth grade. Some of these pupils leave from neces- sity to become wage-earners; but the larger proportion leave because the instruction given does not appeal to them or to their parents as worth while, or as being of value to them in increasing their wage-earning power. This is a severe criticism of the schools, but whether justified or not does not concern us at present. It is the fact and the sig- nificance of this exodus with which we are concerned. The Committee on Vocational Education and Guidance, at the meeting of the National Education Association in 1913, said: — On every hand now comes the renewed determination to arrive at a more permanent sokition of many of the questions involved. The manufacturers' associations, the social and philanthropic workers, the labor unions, those interested in education, the peo- ple themselves are all striving to discover the means which shall bring about the desired result. All are endeavoring to reach a con- clusion which may be placed before the world as one of the methods through which better things may be evolved, not alone for the in- dividual but for society as a whole. This whole movement has re- sulted in a new demand upon the public schools. Early attempts at practical education — Manual training. Life in these latter days has grown away from the school, and it was an attempt on the part of educators to make the public schools articulate better with life that led to the introduction of manual training and domestic science into the course of study. Manual training, as the name implies, has to do with the handling or manipulation of materials with the hands. It is not vocational training as many people think, but is distinctly educational in its purpose. The educational argument for giving it a place in the curriculum of the public schools is based upon the fundamental proposi- tion that knowledge of material things through actual touch and manipulation should be possessed by every one. Such 228 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING knowledge is necessary in order to make clear those concepts that can be gained only through actual contact and touch. Work in manual training, through the handling of tools, woods, and other materials should be rich in concepts; and the teacher's aim should be to direct pupils in gaining these concepts rather than in developing technical skill. As a means of teaching valuable concepts, manual training has as much right to a place in the course of study as history, geography, and science have. All are rich in concepts. Another important educational result of manual activity is the opportunity it affords for the exercise of the hands in the manipulation of materials. Through the handling of tools and materials, the child gains experience with the uses of these tools and materials, and the possibilities of the materials. This knowledge is both useful and broadening. Besides many children will develop skill in the use of tools in making things, and to those who may later on find their occupations or vocations in the manual arts, this will prove especially helpful in giving them some experience in the handhng of materials and gaining useful concepts of them. This phase of manual activity may be made distinctly pre- vocational, as will be shown later. There is often another result from manual training which is distinctly practical, and that is its value as a means to vocational guidance. By bringing out the inclinations and the capabilities of certain individuals who have an aptitude for hand work, it often serves to direct them in the selection of a vocation which will give them the opportunity for the exercise of their best powers. The possibilities of manual training in the work- ing program of the public schools are great, if the work is properly directed and in such a way as to call out the full educational value and produce the desirable subjective re- sponse in tlie child. Domestic science. As another step in the movement VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 229 toward making the education of the schools more practical, domestic science was added to the course of study. At first this took the form of sewing and cooking, to which were later added instruction in various household arts. The underlying purpose in this was to give to girls that practical knowledge of the household arts which they would need in the discharge of their duties in the home. Incidently it has served another purpose, the value of which cannot be over- estimated. It has given dignity to the work of the home and the duties of the housekeeper and home-maker. The home is the unit of society. It ministers to the physical needs of those who direct and control the whole social system, polit- ical, economical, and moral. The home also nurtures and rears those persons who will direct and control the social system of the future. It must feed and clothe them, and it must, to a large degree, provide for their mental and spiritual needs as well. The character of the home and the way in which it ministers to the needs of its inmates will in a large measure determine the character and welfare of the nation. The problem of the home-maker is not one to be treated lightly. She is responsible for giving her family the kind of food that will best nourish their bodies and thus make pos- sible the full and best exercise of their physical and mental powers. She is responsible for the proper kind of clothing for the younger members of the family, at least. She is responsible for the wise expenditure of the household funds. Moreover, she is responsible for the mental and moral atmosphere of the home. It is she who must set the right standards, give the true sense of values, and create and keep alive the spirit that makes the true home. The home- maker must have the training that will enable her to do all these things, and instruction in domestic science is given to provide this training. Vocational instruction a school problem. Vocational 230 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING training as a preparation for entering the industrial and business world is quite another matter from the basal or prevocational instruction. The purpose of prevocational instruction is general. It is the laying of the foundation for later special vocational education and training. Distinct vocational instruction has for its purpose the preparation of a person for a particular vocation, with a view to his making it his regular occupation and means of gaining a livelihood. The term " vocation " is not confined to the industries, but includes commercial pursuits and professions as well; but inasmuch as the entire course of study of the schools has long been arranged with the distinct purpose of preparing for coUege and laying the foundation for the professions, the new feature in prevocational instruction is concerned with the industries and with the various departments of business. Bookkeeping, stenography, and commercial sub- jects have long been regarded as legitimate school studies, but it is only within recent years that instruction has been given that prepares for industrial as well as commercial pursuits. Training for the industries was formerly the business of the shops and the trades, and it was obtained through the time-honored apprentice system. It is because the modern factory system and machinery have made this method im- practicable that the responsibility for this kind of instruc- tion is being laid upon the public school. Now, when skill and mastery are more than ever necessary for gaining a respectable livelihood, and the boy can no longer obtain his vocational instruction and training through apprentice- ship, the question of providing him with this instruction becomes a very serious problem. Just what the relation of the school to this problem is has not yet been clearly de- fined, and there is still much diversity of opinion regard- ing it. Notwithstanding the enthusiastic supix)rters of the VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 231 movement on the part of the public at large there are a great many educators and others who oppose the school's undertaking the task. The latter class object either on the ground that they consider this kind of instruction outside the province of the school, or because they think that the difficulties in the way of giving it are insurmountable. Complex civilization makes educational problem difficult. This new demand upon the public school, that it equip the child for his vocational activity is rendered the more diffi- cult because of the complex character of the civilization for which this instruction must provide. In fact, the most diffi- cult problem in all education to-day is how to meet the requirements of our highly siKJcialized society, in the task of preparing the child for all around social efficiency. This is equally true of vocational and of cultural education. Every department of activity is divided and subdivided to a degree not dreamed of in the simpler vocational life of the past, each calling for specialized workers who are experts in their various occupations. Formerly a workman understood and could perform all the various parts of the work of his particu- lar industry. If he were an expert in his trade, he knew how to do any part of the work connected with it. To-day, owing to the subdivisions of the productive industries, trained specialists are required for each part of the work. The preparation of the highly specialized workmen re- quired to carry on a printing business furnishes an example. In the earlier days, a printer could set and distribute type, set up job work, operate a press, do reportorial work, write a bit, and in a general way do any part of the work in the printing and newspaper office. Now, however, the work of a large printing-plant requires specialists who are skilled in their respective lines. These consist of pressmen, linotypists, job printers, monotypists, and other specialists, while for the work of securing and preparing news and other matter 232 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING editors and reporters are also required. The work of each person is Hmited to a particular department of the business, in which he must be an expert. Shoemaking is also typical of many examples that might be taken from the trades. In the past shoes were made by individual shoemakers, one man being able to perform all the work of making a pair of shoes, a trade which he had learned from a shoemaker by serving an apprenticeship in a shoeshop. He could cut out and put a shoe together, and when it passed from his hands it was a finished product. He had the joy of creative work and each successive pair made a new appeal to him and a corresponding demand upon his skill. The shoemaker of the little shop has practically disappeared, for shoes can now be made much cheaper in great factories, where a large company of workers are employed in the different tasks con- nected with the making of a single shoe, each performing only a special part of the work. It may be merely to operate the machine which punches the eyelets for the laces or the one that works the buttonholes. There are no real shoe- makers in the establishment, only operators of machines of which they are essentially a part, machines which they have learned to operate through special training. The difficulties of preparing for these highly specialized industries will be apparent to all who give the matter a little consideration. Basis for vocational instruction wanting. Another grave difficulty which confronts the school in the task of preparing children for practical living is the fact that those who most need this training often lack the educational basis for it. It is evident that the children who leave school early, to become wage-earners either from necessity or from lack of interest in school, are the very ones who most need the help of the school in preparing for their tasks as industrial work- ers. This condition makes it the more difficult to give chil- dren this help. They have no basis for this training, either VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 233 in academic preparation for life and its duties, or in a right conception of the vocations and their own relation to them. The need of vocational training for the masses and the con- sequent demand upon the public school make it apparent that the school must furnish the vocational foundation for the masses who will enter the industries, as well as for the few who will enter the professions and the higher branches of business. It is evident that if the school is to help this large class, two things are necessary: the school must provide the practical instruction in vocational foundation or prevocational work, and pupils must be held in school until they receive it. This basis for vocational instruction presents two phases : the one the need of instruction leading to vocations, and the other the academic preparation neces- sary for the individual in his particular vocation and his place in society. The lack of preparatory or foundational vocational knowl- edge and experience is the result of the changes that have been brought about in the industrial and commercial world by the modern factory system and the absorption of small business concerns by large ones. Through observing his father at work at home or in the little shop, and through helping with the work himself, the boy formerly gained much knowledge which served as a basis for his industrial apprenticeship. Now, when the child seldom has the oppor- tunity to become familiar with his father's trade by observ- ing his father at the daily occupation, he cannot gain this vocational knowledge by actual contact and experience. Since modem conditions prevent his getting this knowledge, this preparatory basis, it is evident that it must be provided by the school, the supplementary institution, to which has been given all the problems in the education of the young which have outgrown the home and other social institutions. At first glance it would seem that the academic prepara- 234 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING tion needed by the child for his place in life as a producer and a member of society need present no difficulties to the school; but in actual experience this is perhaps the more difficult of the two phases of this preparatory work for the masses. It is made so for the reason that the great majority of the children do not remain in school long enough to acquire this academic basis. These children, and in general their parents, do not understand that their low level of school or academic attainment will be the level of their voca- tional and social life as well. They are ignorant of the fact that the tendency is more and more to stratify persons on the basis of their academic attainment and the accom- panying vocational level. As a result they leave school and enter the vocational strata that receives those having little academic and no vocational preparation for life. The fact that more than half of the children in the school do thus drop out before they reach the eighth grade and without the preparation for life which the school should give, reveals the urgency of convincing them of the value of the school to them, so that they will be eager to remain longer in order to avail themselves of its advantages. Professor Harvey, of Menominie, Wisconsin, says: — The whole theory upon which our educational system has been developed is an argument for pupils remaining in school beyond the age of fourteen, and that argument is reinforced by every con- sideration of the unproductive character of the work open to the fourteen-year-old child as regards his best development and future usefulness. Vocations classified according to preparation required. A more definite or a clearer conception of the relation of the vocational and the life level to the academic prepara- tion may be obtained by classifying the vocations and occu- pations according to the academic attainments of the person employed in them. A careful examination of the classifica- VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 235 tion upon this basis that follows will show the unproductive- ness and the consequent undesirability of the employments open to i)crsons with low academic attainments and lack of vocational education. It will also indicate, at least approxi- mately, the vocational selection of persons with different degrees of academic attainments. Vocations classified according to Academic Preparation required for engaging in tiiem Academic attainment not es- sential. Open to untrained workers Academic preparation impor- tant. Vocational prepara- tion necessary Vocational and advanced aca- demic preparation necessary I n HI Common day laborers Agriculturalists Architects Cab-drivers Bakers Chemists Farmhands Carpenters Civil engineers Helpers (various) Contractors and build- Clergymen Hod-carriers ers Editors Janitors Dressmakers Educators Laundry workers Electricians Jurists Miners Florists Artists Porters Jewelers Sculptors Servants Machinists Writers Street workers Merchants Lawyers Teamsters Millers Physicians Sailors Masons Nurses (trained) Street venders Painters Actors Operatives Engineers (steam) Cash boys and girls Plumbers Waiters Printers OflSce assistants Sales-persons Messengers Bookkeepers Stenographers Tailors Tradesmen (various) Academic and vocational stratification. From the above table it will be seen that the academic and vocational strati- fication are closely related. Those children who drop out of school from the lower grades and consequently have little academic and no vocational education are greatly restricted 236 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING in their choice of occupations and must accept employment in such as are open to persons of their low level of academic attainments. As a result they drift in and out of those occu- pations or "jobs " that can be filled by the vocationally un- skilled and unprepared; and thus they gain an uncertain livehhood by doing "whatever they can get to do." Such persons are destined to find their work in the first group or similar non-vocational occupations, and this will in a large measure determine their life level as well. Those who remain in the elementary school longer, but who drop out along the way, or at the end of the grammar grades, and who also have an opportunity to receive a more efiicient vocational training, will probably choose their life- work or vocation from those hsted in the second group, the level of the vocation being somewhat dependent upon their intelligence and their general education. Those persons having higher academic attainments will, under normal conditions, select their life-work from among the professions and those branches of business in which academic attain- ment is a valuable asset, if not an altogether necessary qualification. It will be understood that this classification is not absolute. Sometimes circumstances outweigh other considerations and hence results may be other than here suggested; but these conditions have been found in such a large number of cases as to warrant these conclusions. It is therefore apparent that, even from the so-called practical point of view, the more of the general and cultural education a person can obtain the better his chance of be- coming an efficient member of society. Hence the impor- tance of keeping the child in school as long as possible is evident. The two phases of the general education of the individual, the practical and the cultural, are so closely related in their ultimate purpose, that to be cultural in the highest sense means also to be practical. Hence academic VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 237 education to be of the greatest value should educate the individual for society, not away from society. Thus it may be made to contribute not only to his cultural prepara- tion but also to his preparation for economic usefulness in the complete development of the whole man. During the entire period of childhood and until such time as the pupil is old enough to begin his formal vocational training, he should be making this basal preparation, laying this founda- tion through the medium of the various educational agen- cies, the most effective of which is the public school. This furnishes an added reason why he should remain in school as long as possible. Keeping children in school. One of the most important questions before educators is how to prevent pupils leaving school before or as soon as they have reached the end of the compulsory school period. Not only are thoughtful teachers trying to solve this question for their respective schools, but society requires that it be solved for the entire American public-school system. This brings the problem squarely to the educators for solution. They must meet the demands of society, that these children be kept in school and pre- pared for social efficiency. This can be done only by such a modification of the present plan and course of study as will adapt it directly to the needs of the pupils. There is not very much use of talking about the educa- tion of the masses if the masses cannot be kept in school to be educated. Compulsory laws and truant officers are all very well as assistant agencies; but the school must present distinct attractions to pupils to make them wash to remain without being compelled by law to do so. Its appeal of use- fulness must be made so strong that they will see that it is to their advantage to continue in school as long as their circumstances will permit. If the prevocational head instruc- tion can be made sufficiently practical and can be so com- 238 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING bined with the prevocational hand work as to convince pupils of its value in advancing them along the road to vocational efficiency, a large number can be held in school until they have reached a higher academic stratum and are ready to begin special vocational training. Sufficient ex- periments have already been made to show that in those schools where the course of study has been made to relate more directly to the life of the present and where concrete prevocational work has been added, pupils' interest in school has increased and they have remained from choice rather than from fear of the truant officer. When pupils and par- ents learn that the child who continues in school through the eighth grade and into the high school can enter a higher class of vocation and can command a higher wage than the one who leaves school from the lower grades, the authorities will not have to resort to force to kefep pupils in school. Another consideration, which makes a strong appeal to most pupils and to their parents, is the increased wage- earning capacity of the boy or girl who receives vocational instruction. The teacher can secure, from the records kept by various schools giving such instruction or providing for it in what is known as " half-time work," many tables showing the percentage of increase in wages of those pupils having such instruction over those who have not. An example, taken at random from among many, is that of a half-time school at Beverly, Massachusetts, in which boys work alter- nate weeks in a factory, thus having an average of twenty- five weeks of school and twenty-five weeks of work during the year. The wage-earning cai)acity of the boys when they entered the factory was $6 i)er week. The wages earned by the time they graduated into full time in the factory was $15.65 per week. Such an example as tliis, and numbers of others which the teacher may cite, cannot fail to impress I)upil3 who may be planning to leave school to go to work. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 239 With present social and school conditions the perplexing question is how can the prevocational instruction that will lay a foundation for vocational training be given in the average school with the usual equipment. The large city- systems can solve this problem in their technical high schools; and through these many boys and girls are receiving vocational preparation for life who without this help might have left school and drifted into "blind-alley" jobs with no promise for the future. The records of the results of these experiments should be studied by all who are interested in this problem; for in the methods employed will be found many suggestions for plans to be adapted to local conditions and worked out in smaller school systems. The problem of the small school is a more difficult one, and it can be solved satisfactorily only through the cooperation of local indus- tries and business. In the main, the vocational activities of the community will determine the nature of the vocational instruction to be given, and school conditions and resources will govern the means to be employed. All these conditions must be carefully examined and plans for the work made according to them. In those communities where it is not possible to support trade schools, the industries must be persuaded to cooperate with the schools so as to allow young persons who enter the trades and the commercial vocations that employ the young to attend school certain hours each week or alternate weeks. By this arrangement boys and girls are given the opportunity to serve a kind of apprenticeship while continu- ing the study of those subjects that will be of practical use to them in the vocation being learned. It is most desirable that boys and girls desiring to enter shops, stores, offices, and other places of employment should have some basal knowledge and some experience in the same or similar work before applying for positions. True, there are a few vocations 840 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING which the young can enter without previous knowledge and experience and " work their way up," but some foundational or prevocational preparation is a great advantage, if it is not actually essential. It is evident that the school must provide for this basal preparation, but how this may be done is a much-discussed question, and the plans which are being tried are still in the experimental stage. However, some well-defined plans have been adopted and some results obtained that warrant vocational directors and teachers in trying similar plans in their own schools. Much prevo- cational work can be done in many schools with present equipment, or by the addition of a comparatively small amount of apparatus and material. In the seventh and eighth grades and in the high school, where more advanced work leading directly to distinct vocations is required, trade schools must be secured if possible or arrangements should be made with local industries or business for part-time work. A study of railroad transportation. As suggestive of pre- vocational study and exercises in the lower grades, a con- crete example is taken from a study of transportation in a railroad center. Since the pupils in this case were somewhat famiUar with cars, tracks, and other matters pertaining to transportation by rail, that method of transportation was studied. As an introduction the early history of the city and former methods of travel were first studied, as well as the invention and development of the locomotive. After some discussion regarding the actual hand work that could best be carried on with available material and machinery, it was decided to build a train of freight cars in the manual training shop. Visits were made to car shops to examine cars and take exact measurements and to obtain other definite knowledge regarding the parts of the cars and the differences in cars used for various purposes. A scale of VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 9il measurement was decided upon and the work apportioned among the members of the class, some working upon the floors and sides, some upon the ends and top, others upon the wheels, and so on. Finally, the cars were painted and lettered and coupled together in a train which was given to the kindergarten, the track for it having been made so that it could be put down on the floor outside of the kindergarten circle. The lessons in arithmetic, spelling, reading, geog- raphy, and history were correlated with the subject of transportation and the movement of freight by rail. A study of textile work. Textile industries offer many suggestions for practical exercises and study in those com- munities where some sort of textile manufacturing plant is in operation. It also offers opportunities for much correlated work in the regular school subjects, in the study of condi- tions in the pastoral age when the raising of domestic ani- mals, particularly sheep, was the principal occupation of the people. The study of different textiles with the history of the source of the raw material, and of the discovery and invention of the process of converting it into cloth, are sug- gestive of much research and study that will be both profit- able and interesting. A study of wool and the manufacture of woolen cloth may be made. In this connection the prepa- ration of the wool, the cleaning, carding, dyeing, and weaving may be studied concretely. Small hand looms may be con- structed and rugs woven. This last will furnish opportuni- ties for a consideration of such questions as color-combi- nation and designs. Excursions to local mills may be made to observe and to study the methods of making cloth, the machinery used, and the distribution of work among the workers. To make these excursions more profitable distinct topics for observation should be assigned, the pupils taking notes of the points observed. The lessons in all the subjects of the ciuriculum may be correlated with the concrete exer- 242 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING cises, and these any resourceful teacher can work out to suit the particular situation. Industries involving work in wood. Work in wood fur- nishes another group of subjects having a fundamental body of knowledge and experience which may be acquired through study and exercises with the average manual train- ing equipment. As a preparation for the concrete work, a study of trees should be made. Their distinctive char- acteristics, the kind of lumber they produce, the methods of cutting and transporting to mills, and other related infor- mation may be presented through properly planned lessons. Visits should be made when possible to the woods, sawmills, planing-mills, lumber yards, and other places where the actual process of changing the trees of the forest into lumber may be seen and where other departments of the lumber business may be learned. Pictures will be found useful in showing the processes which the pupils cannot actually see. The reading and investigation which should accompany this study will add greatly to the interest and instructiveness of this work. Geography will be found particularly rich in material for correlated lessons on the forest products of different coun- tries, the various uses to which these are put, the reasons for the particular locations of factories for the manufacture of certain kinds of wooden articles, and many other matters. In making designs for articles to be constructed in the man- ual training shops, the knowledge of drawing will be found useful, and in making estimates of the amount of material required, many problems in arithmetic will be proposed and solved. The literature relating to the forest will be found both practical and cultural, and many poems as well as prose articles should be read in connection with this study. As in all study, of practical as well as of a cultural nature, there are constant opportunities for exercises in composition and the study of English, and these should not be neglected. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 2.13 It is by making use of all the opportunities offereil for cor- related study that this kind of prevocational work will be made to yield the rich results which are possible. For the actual constructive work an infinite number of articles may be made. With the more advanced pupils this may be continued to productive work, in making furniture, constructing buildings, and doing other work either for the school or for sale. This concrete work is so suggestive of things to be done and of the means to be employed, that it is hardly necessary to give actual examples. Each school group of workers under the direction of their teacher can decide upon the industries to be considered and studied. The work in all cases should be carried beyond the play stage and should consist in the making of things for prac- tical use. Excursions should be made to factories, to build- ings in the process of construction, and to all places in the vicinity where work in wood may be studied concretely. Work in domestic arts. The domestic science department wiU also afford opportunities for prevocational work and study of real value. Either in the line of cooking or of sew- ing girls may lay the foundation for special vocations in related activities. A properly supervised course in sewing should give those pupils taking it sufficient skill both in hand work and in the use of the sewing-machine to enable them to do any ordinary kind of sewing without assistance. They should also gain such skill in the designing and cutting- out of garments as would enable them to use a simple pat- tern in cutting materials to advantage. Besides, they should acquire such knowledge about the qualities and uses of various kinds of materials that they would be able to select and use them intelligently. In fact, students taking the courses that are now offered in sewing in a large number of our schools are laying the foundation for the practice of this particular domestic art in their own homes or in some related 244 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING vocation such as dressmaking, tailoring, millinery, and the many special vocations that require skill in sewing. The study of foods and of cooking, as pursued in the properly equipped departments of our public schools, also affords an opportunity for prevocational instruction of a practical nature. The knowledge of household chemistry, of food combinations, of balanced meals, and of all matters relating to the selection, cooking, and serving of food can be directly applied by those girls whose vocation will be home-making, and it furnishes the foundational knowledge and experience for those who wish to become teachers of the domestic arts or to engage in one of the vocations for which such knowledge is required. In communities where there are bakeries and confectionery establishments that employ child labor, this knowledge would be of particular vocational value as a preparation for half-time work. The suggested subject-matter to be used in connection with this branch of the course in domestic arts will include primarily biology, chemistry, hygiene, and geography. The question of the sources of foodstuffs and methods of produc- tion will give opportunity for a study of conditions in vari- ous countries as they affect the food-supply, methods of production, markets, and other related matters. As with all concrete work the lessons of the course of study in Eng- lish, in geography, in nature-study, in arithmetic, and in science should be made to correlate with the work in the domestic arts. Value of training in domestic arts. The aim of this dis- tinctly feminine training for girls is twofold. First, it is intended to give them such a foundation in the preparation for taking up the duties of home-makers that they will be able to undertake this most sacred of missions with intelli- gence and with an understanding of its responsibilities. It is by thus training the future home-makers that the nation VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 945 will succeed in perpetuating the best type of the American home with its high ideals of health, intelligence, and morals. In the second place, this instruction will lay the foundation for and give help in making a preparation in the distinctly feminine vocations which a great many girls desire to enter. With the changing conditions and the removal from the home of the many manual occupations which formerly engaged the girls of a family, the necessity for girls going outside their homes to earn the money to buy the articles for everyday use which were formerly made in the home is constantly increasing. If they are not trained for the occupations suited to them, they will, like their untrained brothers, drift into the chance jobs which they find. The ready response of girls to the efforts being made to give them vocational training in the trade schools, high schools of practical arts, and other similar institutions, shows the great need of voca- tional preparation for girls as well as for boys. Prevocational work in various industries. Prevocational study and work in many other departments of the indus- tries at comparatively little cost could be suggested for the public school. Such vocations as printing, bookbind- ing, plumbing, painting and paperhanging, plastering, and foundry trades are all suggestive for similar concrete work in the public schools, and plans for developing these could be worked out to suit local conditions. The community activities and vocational interests always determine to a large extent the particular kinds of industries and depart- ments of business to be studied. The special departments for which pupils desire to fit themselves should suggest the specific line of preparation to be made. Local industries together with the general community vocations are impor- tant factors in shaping the vocational life of the young, and therefore these should be intensively studied. Readjustment of course of study. Perhaps the most diffi- 246 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING cult phase of the readjustment of the school plan to meet present-day needs lies in what might be treated as the voca- tionalizing of the course of study — the selection, presenta- tion, and teaching of the subject-matter of the curriculum so that it will be distinctly vocational in its apphcation. This does not imply that everything learned should have a direct bearing upon the business of earning one's living; but it does mean that the study of these subjects should be made so practical and so closely related to the needs of every- day life that the child will see their relation to his needs instead of considering them as something apart and remote. He will then be interested in these subjects and will learn his lessons from choice rather than from necessity; for in- stead of being composed of dead, meaningless matter, the studies of the curriculum mil be vitaUzed with that which is of present meaning and interest. An examination of the subject-matter of the usual course of study in our public schools will reveal the fact that it has many vocational bearings which can be utilized for the pur- pose of general and specific instruction. This is valuable for all children and not merely for those who will find their vocational life in the particular industries to which the vocationalized subject-matter relates. There should be a more general knowledge of the industries and of industrial life, of commerce and of the commercial interests and life of the locality, of the professions, and of their characteristics and the requisites for entering them. Such knowledge is of far more general value than the list of battles fought by Csesar and Napoleon, or the names and dates of the kings of England and France. A knowledge of the influence of the development of vocational life upon the history of a nation and upon civilization is of more practical, everyday use than a knowledge of a dead language or of higher mathe- matics. The discovery and development of the latent VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 347 ability of the child so that he can make the most of the powers which nature has given him is of far more importance than the maintenance of old traditions regarding the func- tion of the school and the schoolmaster. The stability of society through the preparation of its future citizens to be self-supporting and efficient is of far more moment to the nation than the perpetuation of certain time-honored sub- jects of study, provided these could be forced upon the great mass of pupils for whom the effort to train vocationally is now being made. Besides, the new order does not deprive of cultural in- struction those who wish it or who will remain in school to obtain it. The introduction of vocational education and the vocationalizing of the subject-matter are for the benefit of that large class of pupils who leave school because they cannot see its relation to actual life and hence would not remain long enough to acquire the cultural education. By making the course of study fit their needs, they will continue in school longer, and thus they will not only lay the founda- tion for vocational efficiency, but they will acquire more of the subject-matter of the curriculum than is possible imder the old order which is now fast passing away. The school has always been vocational in its tendency and the course of study has been vocationalized, but it has been for the professions alone, for that small class who will go to college and to the professional schools. The new plan will not inter- fere with the preparation of those who desire to go into the professions or the higher branches of business, for they will still find in the school the opportunity for even a broader preparation. At the same time the large class of pupils, which the school has until recently neglected, will also find in the school the opportunities for the preparation for the careers which they will choose. 248 THE PROFESSION. OF TEACHING SUGGESTED READINGS Vocational Education, Gray. Youth, School and Vocation, Bloomfield. Report of the Commission on National Aid to Vocational Education. Bu- reau of Education, Washington, D.C. The Problem of Vocational Education, Snedden. School and Shop, Condon. A^. E. A. Report of 19H, p. 171. Examples of Industrial Education, Leavitt. Vocational Education, N.E.A. Report of 1915, pp. 292-331. Industrial Education, Harvey, p. 69. Annals of Educational Progress, Garber, chap. i. Elementary Industrial School, Cleveland. Bureau of Education, Washing- ton, D.C. Trade School for Girls, Worcester, Massachusetts. Bureau of Education, Washington, D.C. Bibliography of Indtistrial, Vocational, and Trade Education (for Bulletins, magazine articles, etc.). Bureau of Education, Washington, D.C. EXERCISES 1. What do you understand by the terms "vocation," "situation," "job"? ^. Name some of the vocations for which the following branches of study would help a person to prepare : geography, botany, physiology, arith- metic, Latin, chemistry, drawing? 3. Should schoob give or provide boys and girls with their vocational training? Discuss the difiScuIties in the way of their doing so, and consider some means of overcoming them. 4. Make a list of boys' and men's vocations in your home community. Which of them require the most time for preparation? Which yield the largest incomes? Which are least desirable? ^. Make a list of vocations in which girls and women of your community work. Which are most desirable, least desirable, and give some rea- sons for your classification? 6. How did men prepare for adult vocational life before the year 1800? Find out all you can about industrial conditions before that date. Name some causes and conditions that have made changes possible and consider whether the invention of modern machinery has been an advantage to the working-man. 7. Name some advantages that country life has over city life, some ad- vantages that city life has over country life, and tell what considera- tions should determine one's choice between them. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 249 8. Discuss the advantages of the apprentice system and consider whether it is possible to secure these advantages in the modern system of labor. What plan approaches it most nearly? 9. Explain the ways in which a vocational counselor may help the young in choosing a career. 10. Name your own choice of a vocation. What subjects learned in school would help you most in preparing for it? 11. Discuss at length one of the following topics: — The practical advantages of a course in domestic arts. The value of the manual training' course to a boy who will become a lawyer. CHAPTER XIII VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE Conditions necessary for a well-balanced life. It has been said by a well-known educator that for a man to be reason- ably assured of a well-balanced life and a fair degree of success from properly directed effort, three conditions must be met. He must be able to eat and sleep well, he must have a respectable vocation, and he must have a hobby. This simply means that he must be sound in body and mind, so that he may do his chosen work well; that he must have an occupation of an approved character; and he must have some commanding interest outside of those relating to his vocation or business. Just what this hobby or interest may be will naturally depend upon the inclination and the taste of the individual. Because of this it will be selected from choice rather than by accident, as his vocation or means of gaining a livelihood may have been, and for this reason he will find in the exercise of it one of his chief joys. The same conditions should exist in the practice of his vocation; but, as in many cases, it has not been selected from choice, he labors at it from necessity rather than because of any love he has for it. It is to correct this condition, and to help the young in the selection of vocations that will suit their natural aptitudes, that instruction in vocational guidance is now being given in many of our schools. Right choice of a vocation important. The selection of a vocation is a very important matter and should be made with the greatest care. To make this choice intelligently, a |)crson must have definite information regarding the char- acter of the various available vocations. When the knowl- VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 251 edge necessary for making an intelligent choice is lacking, the selection is likely to be more or less of a guess, rather than a choice, and often is a mere matter of accident of cir- cumstances. This guess or accidental choice is more often than not an unwise or an altogether wrong one for the person making it. It is highly probable that the majority of men have fallen into their occupations by accident, rather than from deliberate choice based upon knowledge and preference. This fact in a large measure accounts for the great number of failures in all vocations and among all classes and all conditions of men. It is a self-evident fact that every man should choose his life-work or his vocation, and that he should make his choice with the utmost care. Moreover, it is important that the choice should be made as early in life as possible, in order that one's study and preparation for life may be made with direct reference to the chosen vocation. Since a person must possess certain definite knowledge in order to choose his vocation wisely, the home or society must provide him with the means for obtaining this knowl- edge. At the present time few homes can furnish the means for gaining the necessary information regarding the voca- tions, and it falls to the school, as the agent of society, to provide instruction in this subject. Some educators would go even farther and require the schools to provide instruc- tion and training necessary for engaging in the vocations. The purpose here is to present the general question of choos- ing a vocation and to give teachers some suggestions for helping the young in making wise and proper selection of a life-work. The reason for adding this instruction to the already crowded curriculum of the school is apparent. Since the purpose of education, broadly stated, is to fit the indi- vidual for his future place in society, it is evident that tliis education must include that practical preparation which will make him most useful and most productive to society. In 252 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING these days of highly specialized labor and keen competition, it is necessary that a man choose the particular vocation through which he may make the most of himself and of his powers, if he would become socially efficient. The feeling on the part of the great majority of persons is that the most important part of the training of a boy is that which will prepare him for his economic relation to society or will fit him to provide properly for himself and those dependent upon him. Therefore, it is not surprising that these persons should consider as impractical any education which does not prepare him for this. Because of this fact it is necessary to consider the problem of vocational instruction in any discussion of the function of the school and the work of the professional teacher. Indeed, in these latter days when addresses and discussions upon the various phases of vocational instruction have a prominent place in the pro- grams of educational gatherings, any work upon the subject of education in the schools would be incomplete if it did not include this important subject. A brief discussion of voca- tional guidance and prevocational instruction and some suggestions for teaching them are therefore given a place in this work on the relation of the school and the teacher to the problem of the education of the young. Classification of vocations. In any discussion of vocations it is necessary for convenience in referring to them and for a clear presentation of the subject to make some practi- cal classification. Vocations might be classified in various ways, and different considerations might be made the ba- sis of classification; but for convenience and to serve as a means of illustration, a general division into two classes is here made. In the one class are grouped the vocations which call for creative activity on the part of those persons engaged in them, and in the other those occupations which do not call for such creative activity, but merely for the VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 263 mechanical repetition of certain processes. As at present organized, some occupations demand creative activity, both in the matter of conceiving and planning and in that of executing. Many vocations admit of scarcely any variation or selection in the performance of the work, but are a con- tinuous repetition of some particular act or kind of labor over and over again, day after day, and month after month. The former may be termed "creative" vocations and the latter "non-creative" vocations. The one gives an oppor- tunity for self-expression in the exercise of originality and intelligence which gives interest and pleasure in the work. The other gives no such opportunity, but is mechanical and joyless and often amounts to actual drudgery to those who are condemned to work at it. Ex-President Eliot of Harvard says that "the greatest need in America to-day is not less work but more joy in work." This statement is more significant than may at first appear, and its application may be traced in all departments of labor. For this reason a young man, when selecting a life-work, should choose a vocation that will offer him an opportunity to think, to reason, to create, to adapt, to modify, and to achieve. Such a vocation will stimulate effort and at the same time will give joy in the execution. This consideration makes it clear that this classification of vocations offers a basis for choice that is vital. The impor- tance of choosing a creative vocation cannot be too emphat- ically stated. All who wish to make a success of their lives, and experience joy and satisfaction instead of discontent and unhappiness in their work, should carefully and intelli- gently select, from among the many vocations offered, one that is reputable and creative and at the same time gives promise of satisfaction in the practice of it. It is the more necessary that the young make such a choice as early as possible, for, if they do not, they will probably drift into 254 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG and become bound for life to some occupation which neither elevates nor stimulates, and hence yields more of discontent and drudgery than of satisfaction and pleasure. Classification based upon the kind of material handled. In addition to the classification of the vocations based upon the general character of the effort which they require, there is still another kind of classification based upon the nature of the work itself and the material upon which effort is expended. In the first chapter of this book it was shown that man's labor may be broadly divided into classes according to the material handled and the kind of work done. The division of the vocations that was made there was concerned primarily with the distinction of the pro- fessions from other vocations and therefore only a broad classification was made. According to it, all occupations not belonging to the professional and the commercial vocations were grouped under one general class as industrial. For convenience in the present discussion, this last class may again be subdivided into agricultural pursuits, the manu- facturing and mechanical pursuits, and those pursuits which have to do with various kinds of domestic service and may be termed "household occupations." Each of these classes embraces a wide range of occupations with special groupings and names, but it is necessary in this connection only to make this general classification. The professional callings are the most distinctly defined because of the character of the preparation required for engaging in them and the prin- ciples upon which they are based. The class embraced in the manufacturing and mechanical pursuits, and usually termed "the industries," presents the most varied and complex groups of occupations. It embraces all regular manufacturing pursuits, crafts, trades, and in a general way various kinds of labor not otherwise classified. Importance of fitness for a vocation. The selection of a VOCATIONAL GUIDiVNCE 255 suitable vocation or life-work is a matter of such grave importance that it should receive more careful attention than is given to it by the young or even by their parents in many cases. Unfortunately, the young person who must make a choice of a vocation does not have the knowledge to enable him to make a wise selection, and for this reason he must have the help and guidance of persons of wider experi- ence than himself. As has already been said, he cannot as a rule secure this help in his home; and right here arises the necessity of the school taking over the task. The teacher more than any other person should be in a position to aid the pupil in determining his natural bent or fitness for a given vocation, or in helping him to decide which of the many vocations he prefers and can best prepare himself to enter. ^Vhen one considers the great need of this kind of help for the young, one cannot but be surprised, not that the schools have added this work to their already crowded curricula, but that they did not long ago eliminate some of the dead wood from the subject-matter and put in its place practical live matter for vocational guidance. The question which the schools are now asking is, What methods should be employed for providing practical assist- ance to its pupils in the settlement of this perplexing ques- tion of choosing a vocation.? The reports of the efforts along this hne now being made in the city systems of Boston, New York, Cleveland, Cincinnati, and many others can be secured and read by all who wish to make a study of the various methods that are being tried out in these great school systems. The details of these experiments are most instructive, and those who can do so would do well to adapt to their local needs and conditions many of the methods employed. The brief compass of a chapter will not p)ermit of an exhaustive discussion of vocational selection nor of giving complete directions regarding the subject- 856 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING matter and methods to be employed in its use. The purpose is rather to impress upon the teachers in the small school the importance of this subject of vocational guidance and their relation to it and to offer a few practical suggestions regarding the manner in which the problem may be ap- proached. Even the teacher in the school which has not regular courses in vocational instruction can, by a judicious use of the opportunities which the classroom offers, give valuable assistance in directing the thought of his pupils to the selection of desirable occupations and in giving the instruction necessary for making wise selections. School should provide instruction for all. The criticism is constantly heard that the schools confine themselves too closely to preparing for the professions and do not give sufficient consideration to the fact that the great majority of pupils will not enter the professions, but will find them- selves vocationally in some of the many industries or in the commercial occupations. The instruction, therefore, which they receive along with those pupils who will enter college and prepare for the professions is not considered of real practical use to them. Since fully ninety per cent of the children who enter school eventually enter the industries and only ten p)er cent enter the professions, it is coming to be the general belief that the schools should provide pri- marily for the ninety per cent and not merely for the ten per cent. A school training that is principally concerned with the preparation for the professions must of necessity turn the great majority of its pupils out into the world with- out that practical preparation for life's duties which the social conditions of the present day require them to have. There is, as a result, a gap between the school and vocational placement. Such conditions should not exist. The boy just out of school should not be looking about in an aimless way, trying to find a job, without preparation or recognized apti- VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 257 tude for any vocation in particular. When he leaves school he should have an idea as to what vocation he wishes to enter and have some real basic preparation for it. It is to bridge over this gap between school and the vocations and to connect the schools directly with life, with the work-a-day world of to-day, that instruction and work in vocational guidance are now being given. To any intelligent person who will give the matter due consideration there can be Ut- tle question of the value of such instruction, but just what is the proper and best means to be employed for giving it is a difficult matter to decide. In the solution of this prob- lem local conditions and the means for giving this instruc- tion and help must determine in a large measure how the work shall be done. Desirable characteristics of a vocation. From the fore- going discussion regarding the choice of a vocation it is apparent that a vocation, to be satisfactory from all points of view, should be reputable and creative and it should be one for which the p)erson choosing it has some natural apti- tude or fitness. An intelligent person need have little diffi- culty in choosing a vocation that is reputable and creative, but he may find it more difficult to determine for what par- ticular kind of work nature has best fitted him. He may arrive at his decision, either by direct choice or by a process of elimination or rejection. Often a person's natural pref- erence for a particular kind of occupation will be a safe guide, but in the greater number of cases he is so uncertain about the matter that he cannot make a direct choice, and he must reach a decision by considering and rejecting dif- ferent vocations until he finds the one which best suits his ideas, his ambitions, and his opportunities. In making a choice by this second method, a person will first consider the general department or branch of vocational activity which he will enter, whether it will be professional, com- 258 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING mercial, or industrial. After having selected the field of activity that best suits his purpose, he may, either by direct selection or by rejection, discover the particular department of it he desires to enter. Methods of choosing a vocation. An example may make this method of reaching a decision more clear. The young person making his choice of a life-work may prefer some phase of industrial work. In this case he may select, from among the many kinds of productive effort or from the many branches of the manufacturing industry, the particular one which best suits his taste and his opportunities for prepara- tion. If his own inclination and aptitude for a particular kind of occupation are not sufficiently pronounced, or if he has not sufficient knowledge of the various departments of industry that are open to him to make a selection, he may investigate them in turn, eliminating one after another until he discovers the one which his own natural qualifica- tions and his circumstances make most desirable. It may be that the young person choosing his life-work may wish to enter one of the professions. If he has no guiding predilec- tion for a particular one to enable him to make his choice, he may, by a process of elimination, after careful investiga- tion of the conditions governing each, be able to decide upon the one which best suits him. In each case he should make a thorough investigation and study of the requirements of the various occupations under consideration. The impor- tance of a careful selection of a vocation is the more apparent when one considers that the choice which a person makes of a career or a life-work will in a large measure determine his success and happiness or his failure and disappointment. Suggestions for instruction in vocational guidance. In order that the boys and girls who are trying to solve the problem of choosing a desirable vocation may make the careful analysis and selection discussed above, they must VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 259 receive instruction and guidance from those who have made a critical study of the problem and its difficulties. To this end there should be in all school systems carefully directed and supervised instruction and individual counsel in voca- tional guidance. Each teacher cannot, along with all the other things he must learn, become an expert in vocational guidance. He can, however, under the direction of a super- visor or director of vocational guidance carry out his par- ticular part of the program in giving proper instruction and help, just as the various teachers in a school system work under supervisors of music, drawing, and other so-called special subjects in carrying out the programs in these sub- jects. True, the individual teacher must know how to select and use the subject-matter of the course of study so that the pupil may gain the kind of information and experience that will helj) him to understand and make use of the definite instruction and help in vocational guidance. In these early days of experimentation in vocational education in our schools, teachers in the majority of cases find themselves without the necessary knowledge and under- standing of methods to be employed, and as a result they are somewhat dismayed at the prospect of being expected to give assistance in this matter. The same condition has existed to a greater or less degree with all beginnings in special branches of instruction; but in time the normal and teachers' training schools have provided the means for teachers fitting themselves to give this instruction under the direction of supervisors, or even without it, as in the case of small schools where there is no special supervision. Is it not probable that the same experience will be repeated in the matter of instruction in vocational guidance for the smaller school systems that cannot have the various depart- ments of vocational instruction and help? In the meantime those teachers who earnestly desire to help their pupils in 260 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING this important matter can do much, if they will take the trouble to read and inform themselves regarding the ways and means that are being tried out in other schools and to study the immediate problem as it affects their own pupils. They can adapt to local conditions the means that are prov- ing of value in other places, and they can devise plans for meeting the conditions and the vocational opportunities in their own communities. Practical suggestions for vocational guidance. A few practical suggestions as to instruction in vocational guid- ance are offered. The teacher can formulate many other exercises of a similar character, selecting his material from the distinctive classes of vocations in the immediate locaUty. When possible, j)ersons from the various occupations in the town should be asked to speak to the school upon various phases of their respective vocations. Conferences should be held by the teacher and pupils, with the assistance of the vocational director, where there is one, for the discussions of the vocations under consideration. Pupils should be encouraged to ask questions, to be made the subject of study and investigation on the jxirt of them- selves and their classmates. Reports upon these investiga- tions should be made the occasion for free and lively dis- cussions of the questions and problems presented. Such conferences will prove a means of arousing interest and of furnishing opportunities for investigation and concrete experience The reports should sometimes be written, as the writing of a carefully prepared report will make it necessary that pupils obtain accurate and somewhat complete infor- mation upon the particular phase of the vocations being reported. Some outlines are given, as suggestive for the treatment of some of the local occupations. These are not intended to be exhaustive, but are offered merely as examples of tlie kind of instruction regarding the vocations that can VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 261 be given in any school. Other vocations might have been taken instead of the ones selected, and the teacher can ana- lyze in a similar manner those which in his judgment best suit his particular requirements. All vocations offer both advantages and disadvantages. All vocations have features that make them attractive and other features that make them unattractive to certain indi- viduals. This fact will furnish the basis for the first analysis. Other considerations may be made the basis for further study if desired. It will readily be understood that some phases of the analysis and many questions arising from it should be answered by some person who thoroughly under- stands the vocation under consideration. The discussion and investigation of a vocation presented for study may be carried as far as the particular case indicates, and reix)rts both oral and written may be called for upon certain fea- tures. Similarly, other vocations may be discussed in con- nection with it, and persons following these particular voca- tions should be invited to address the school and attend the conference following the address or discussion. As an example of a study of a well-known and typical vocation, that of the profession of medicine is offered : — The Profession of Medicine as a Vocation I. Advantages: — 1. A highly respected and creative vocation. 2. Insures a good living income. 3. Affords an opportunity for highly specialized effort. 4. Furnishes constant opportunity for service to humanity. 5. Gives a high standing in the community and hence influ- ence as a citizen. 6. Imposes a stimulating responsibility upon those engaged in it. 7. The aim is definite and unmistakable. It, 8. Furnishes opportunities for growth. 262 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ' II. Disadvantages and difficulties: — 1. It requires years of study and much expense in prepara- tion. 2. A long time often necessary for establishing a reputation. 3. Uncertain hours — subject to call at any time of day or night. 4. Responsibility for human life often a great burden. 5. DiflBculty of collecting bills often entails financial loss. 6. Arduous duties of the physician very wearing upon the strength. Discussion of the profession of medicine. A skillful and worthy representative of this profession is always assured of a good standing in the community and of the respect and confidence of his associates. Since the treatment of disease requires special knowledge and skill, the physician is a so- cial necessity. Hence his importance among his fellow-men. Because of the knowledge and skill required for the success- ful practice of his profession, it is not surprising that it should be considered so important and that the worthy members of this profession should have the respect and confidence of society. The physician has to deal with people of all classes and conditions, rich and poor, young and old, and under the most trying circumstances. Hence he must be a man who, to his knowledge and ability as a practitioner, adds infinite patience and skill in dealing with different classes of people and with widely different temperaments. It is not every person who has these qualifications; and the one who does not possess them, at least in a moderate degree, or who cannot increase and build upon those which he has, should not select the profession of medicine as a life-work. Moreover, the physician should be a person with a strong physical constitution, in order to be able to endure the strain to which he is often subjected by long hours and great responsibility. lie should be a man with a cheerful disposition and a kind and sympathetic nature, and at the VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 2C3 same time be possessed of decision and firmness. In short, he should be the tyi)e of man who, by his presence, words, and manner, insj)ires confidence and gives hope and cheer. With the natural qualifications suggested above and a genius for hard, painstaking work, the person who has an inclination for the kind of effort and the life which this pro- fession offers should make a worthy and able physician, provided he has the means for making the required prepara- tion. This preparation must be thorough; for the responsi- bility of a doctor for the lives antl welfare of his patients is too great to be assumed by a person who has not made the necessary preparation for it. Besides, the physician must be a man who loves his chosen work well enough to put his whole heart and soul into it, must love it sufficiently to bear all kinds of inconvenience and fatigue in the discharge of his duties, and must be willing to make any necessary sacrifice of personal pleasure and profit for the physical welfare of those intrusted to his care. Although the re- quirements are positive and the responsibilities great, the profession offers attractive features to those who have the natural taste and aptitude for it. It is one of the most noble of the professions and one in which the man who desires conscientiously to serve his fellow-men will find full opportunity for the exercise of his powers. Agriculture as a Vocation I. Advantages: — 1. It is a creative vocation, since science has been applied to farming methods. 2. More independent than most vocations. 3. Man can engage in agriculture and maintain himself on a small capital. 4. Healthful, because of wholesome food, pure air, and a sense of freedom. 5. Competition less hurtful then in most vocations. 264 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING 6. Abundant opportunity for specialization. Can vary crops to suit location and markets. 7. Less risk than in many other vocations. 8. Morally healthful for the young. 9. Children acquire fundamental concepts through constant contact with material things. IT. Disadvantages: — 1. Actual returns or profits in money usually small for the effort expended. 2. Difficulty of securing intelligent and skillful workers. 3. Possible inconvenience or isolation of location. 4. Possible lack of good church, school, library, and other intellectual advantages. 5. Products determined by uncertain weather conditions. Vocation of agriculture considered. The advantages enu- merated above indicate that when a man likes to live in the country he will find much in agricultural life that will commend it to him. It will be especially attractive to those who, with natural inclination toward the particular kind of life and work which an agricultural pursuit offers, have little capital with which to begin. The independence of the life of the agriculturalists appeals to many who do not enjoy working for wages or upon a salary in the factory, in the shop, or in the office of another man. Moreover, the varied phases of agricultural effort make it possible for a man to select that particular kind which suits his taste, the character of his land, and the demands of his market. There- fore he may choose, according to conditions, fruit-raising, gardening, dairy-farming, poultry-raising, or general farm- ing, and he may combine any of these or other lines that appeal to him. Since scientific knowledge has been applied to agriculture, and instruction in this important branch of industry has been added to the college curriculum, agricul- ture has become a highly creative vocation. Another result VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 265 of applying scientific principles to agriculture has been to make it more highly productive as well as more interesting and attractive to intelligent and educated people. At no time in the world's history has the vocation of agriculture been considered more dignified and attractive than now. To add to its natural attractions, modern ma- chinery and improvements have contributed greatly toward doing away with the former drudgery and the disadvan- tages of life and work in the country. Now the farmer may ride his plough, his harrow, his mower, his rake, and other machines. By means of the telephone, the free delivery, and the automobile, he enjoys practically all the advantages of the town, and by means of the modern im- provements in his home, his wife and daughters are greatly relieved from the drudgery which formerly made life on the farm for them so irksome. It will be very easy for the teacher to extend the discussion of the advantages of agri- culture as a vocation by going more into details and taking certain kinds of agriculture for special consideration. By presenting the attractions of life in the country to those who enjoy the beauty of nature, and the free, healthful life that it offers, a study of this vocation may be made inter- esting as well as instructive. With regard to the disadvantages of agriculture as a vo- cation, some of these in a great many districts have been overcome. In many localities the distance from the towns, with the consequent isolation, is no longer the great hard- ship that it was in earlier days when the farmer was obliged to drive to the nearest town for his mail, his merchandise, or to discuss matters of business with those with whom he had dealings. Now in many localities his merchandise and his mail are brought to his door; and by means of the telephone he can talk with whom he wishes at any time of the day. The clubs and other organizations for the social and business 266 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING intercourse of the farmers with their neighbors have done very much to reUeve the loneUness of which people living in the country formerly complained. Manufacttjring as a Vocation I. Advantages: — 1. A positive vocation and the work highly creative. 2. Afforrls desirable contact with man and life. 3. Furnishes opportunities for development and growth. 4. Steady demand for manufactured product. 5. In general a respectable and dignified occupation. n. Disadvantages: — 1. Plant and equipment, usually expensive, requiring large capital investment in the beginning. 2. Constant repair and renewal of plant necessary. 8. Insurance and other current expenses large. 4. Length of time required to make needed preparation for assuming management of business. 5. Competition with unscrupulous competitors who pro- duce inferior articles. 6. Strikes and other labor diflBculties. Manufacturing considered. The above items relate to the owner or the manager of a manufacturing plant. Many of them apply to the hired individual workers as well. The characteristics of the vocation are somewhat the same, whether one is the owner of the factory or is a hired laborer in it; and the opportunities for advancement are always open to those who bring intelligence, industry, and sincerity to their work in whatever branch of the industry they may be employed. While the employee is not directly concerned with the expense of the plant, the capital required to meet the expense of producing the manufactured articles, and the condition of the market, he is indirectly affected by these matters, as they determine his wage and the permanence of VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 267 his position. Strikes and other outcomes of the struggle between capital and labor fall with as great severity upon the employee as upon the employer. With regard to the preparation of the individual worker, this will depend entirely upon the particular branch of the industry in which he wishes to engage, and the time required to make this preparation will be governed accordingly. Naturally the broad and intimate knowledge of the various departments of the industry which are necessary for the manager is not required by the laborers in the various departments, and the responsibility of the latter is limited to their particular work. For exami)le, a cutter in a shoe factory is resi)on- sible only for the work which he himself performs. He has nothing to do with the making of the shoe which he cuts out. Manufacturing as a vocation presents many attractive features and has much to commend it to those seeking a creative, profitable, stable, and interesting vocation. The many constant opportunities which it offers for creative, productive effort make a strong appeal to those who with some originality have the talent for applying this to their work. The results of such effort in the improvements in machinery and methods of work and the attractive incomes are continually increasing the desirabiUty of manufacturing as a vocation and drawing to it a more intelligent and better educated class of men both as managers and as owners. The preparation necessary for engaging in this voca- tion will be determined by the requirements of the partic- ular branch of the industry in which a man wishes to engage and by the particular kind of work he wishes to do. If he wishes to fit himself for the management of some particular manufacturing industry, he must, after having decided upon the special branch in which he will engage, gain a clear knowledge of all its requirements. He must 268 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING know something of the sources of the raw material and of how it can be best and most economically obtained. He must familiarize himself with the markets, the probable de- mand for the manufactured article, and the cost of placing it within reach of the consumer. He should have a thorough knowledge of the particular manufacturing process, includ- ing an acquaintance with the best machinery and the best methods. With such a preparation, combined with intelli- gence and industry, a man has every chance under normal conditions to make a success of his undertaking. As already suggested, the preparation of the individual worker or citizen depends largely upon the particular line of work in which he wishes to engage. Hence his prepara- tion is not of necessity so broad as that of the person who plans and oversees the work of the various departments of a manufacturing plant. What he needs primarily is a mastery of the technique of his particular line of work. In connection with his own special work, it is of importance that he have as complete knowledge as possible of the other departments related to his own, and even more important than this, he should have an understanding of the principles and rules underlying the industry as a whole. The farther he is able to carry this last the better prepared will he be for doing his particular work intelligently, rather than merely mechanically, and the more likely will he be to advance. Trade and Commerce as Vocations I. Advantages: — 1. When reputable are desirable and respected vocations. 2. May be made creative. 3. May be begun with small capital. 4. Reasonable returns for effort expended. 5. Stimulates one to best effort. VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 2(59 IT. Disadvantages: — 1. Sharp competition. 2. Insurance and current expenses high. 3. Loss through carelessness, waste, surplus stock, and de- terioration of goods. 4. A fickle public, making market variable. 5. Success largely dependent upon prosperity of the com- munity or the consumers. The advantages of commercial vocations are apparent, and a person having a natural taste for trade and commerce, in some of its many branches, will find many attractive fea- tures in them. On the other hand, there are many disadvan- tages that one should consider carefully before taking up mercantile life or any branch of commercial business. As an evidence that a person should exercise the greatest care in considering the relative advantages and disadvantages of a commercial life and also his fitness and proper prepara- tion for it, we have the unmistakable testimony of statistics to show that fully seventy per cent of those who enter mer- cantile pursuits do not make a success of the undertaking. Various reasons are given for this great number of failures; but the main reasons are undoubtedly want of proper prepa- ration, and consequent ignorance of the business, coupled with insufficient knowledge of the conditions to be met and the difficulties to be overcome. Much of the success in a commercial life depends upon the ability to buy advan- tageously; that is, not only to get full value for the money expended, but to buy such goods as will meet the demands of the buyer and hence will find a ready sale. It is true that many financial failures in the commercial world, as well as in other lines of business, are due to outside conditions — such as panics — which even the most skillful and careful business man is unable to overcome. To meet such condi- tions without being submerged by them, one must have 270 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING more than a knowledge of the details of his particular line of business. He must be possessed of that particular apti- tude for his particular vocation which is known as "busi- ness sense." It has taken a long time for people to leam that every one cannot make a success of buying and selling, that it requires special qualifications and a careful prepara- tion on the part of those who wish to make a success of it. In many respects commercial vocations are among the most uncertain and hazardous, but when they are successful they are both remunerative and satisfactory. Local industries and business. Naturally children will have some first-hand knowledge of local industries and will in consequence be most interested in them. This knowledge the teacher can use as a starting-point in getting information about and reports upon certain vocations or particular branches of vocations in the locality. The discussions that should follow these reports will arouse and stimulate inter- est, set the pupils to thinking and investigating for them- selves, and thus lead to practical results. Every community has some men engaged in the various vocations and professions who will be wilhng to come to the school and give practical talks upon the characteristics of these occupations, their advantages and disadvantages, the requirements for success in them, and the preparation needed to enter them. These may be made of great value to the pupils, as these men out of their own experiences will give much practical information and make manj'^ instruc- tive and helpful suggestions. IVIany a thoughtful boy will be directed in his choice of a life-work by the information thus gained, or as the result of the response within himself that brings into consciousness his own natural bent, pref- erences and possibilities. Vocational counselor. Another important phase of voca- tional guidance is that of the vocational adviser or coun- VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 271 selor. Such a counselor may work in conjunction with the school or he may be connected with a distinct vocational guidance bureau, not connected with the school. In the larger cities where vocational guidance and instruction have become an established feature of school work, there is usu- ally such a counselor in charge of a vocational bureau. The purpose of this bureau is not so much the finding of posi- tions for boys and girls as helping them to find out what vocations they should enter and then assisting them to obtain positions in these vocations where they may try themselves out. There should be a vocational counselor in every commu- nity, preferably in connection with the school system. This counselor should have a large fund of information about vocations, particularly those of the locality, lie should be well informed regarding the advantages and disadvantages of each and of the qualifications and preparation required for engaging in them, lie should also know the demand for workers and the remuneration in the various callings, the probable permanence of the vocation, the opportunity offered for advancement, increase of earnings, and many other details relating to them. Since it is his office to pre- vent those who consult with him from getting into the wrong vocations and to help them to find the right ones, he must have much definite knowledge of the demands which various callings put ui>on those who engage in them, in order to pre- vent young persons from drifting into vocations for which they are physically or temperamentally unfit. In the chance, hit-and-miss method of drifting into a vocation or a job, it often happens that a person falls ignorantly into a kind of occupation for which he is physically unfit, and a loss of health and often even death result in consequence. In a large number of cases he drifts by chance into one of the many "blind-alley" occupations, which lead to nothing 272 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING beyond, but are closed to advancement. As a result he finds himself in about the same position at thirty as he was at twenty, with no hope for the future. From such a fate the vocational counselor should save those who come to him for assistance by directing them toward vocations in which they will find opportunities for growth, advancement, and joy, vocations in which their "souls will sing." The vocational adviser must not only be well informed regarding the various vocations, but he must obtain much definite information about the persons whom he wishes to direct. He must know them physically, temperamentally, and intellectually. He must know something of their habits and natural qualifications, of the time they can give to I)reparing for their vocations, and in fact everything that should be considered in choosing a life-work. Finally, the ideal vocational counselor should be of sufficient age and experience to know life and its problems. He should, as a result of large experience and study of social and economic problems, have a deep sympathy with young people, and a sincere purpose to be of real service to those who look to him for help. The methods by which the counselor or the voca- tional bureau may obtain the desired information regarding vocations and the persons who wish to enter them, so as to prevent misfits, will naturally vary according to conditions. For the assistance of those who desire some suggestions for gaining this information the following scheme is offered. Pupil's Information Card Pupil's name Pupil's age , Father's name nationality Mother's name nationality Father's occupation Present grade or class in school How long can you remain in school? VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 273 Can your parents afford to keep you in school? What are your favorite studies? Name some favorite books that you have read Name three great men that you admire How do you spend your time when your tasks are finished, play, read, or work? Make a list of things you like to do Name three things you like to do, in order of preference How do you spend your evenings? What is your weight? Height? Have you ever b^en sick? What disease? Eye test Ear test Have you ever earned money? ^ How? 'How much? On the reverse side of the card useful information may be gained upon the following points: — Draw a line under each of the vocations below which you would be willing to follow all your life. Draw two lines under those you think you would like best. Profetsiofu Indtutrial Agricultural Commercial EouBchoU Physician Manufacturer General fanner Merchant . ''' Cook Lawyer! Machinist Fruit-grower Banker Housekeeper Minister Carpenter Stock-raiser Broker Sewing Artist Painter Nurseryman Commission Musician Printer Gardener Insurance Teacher Tailor Actor Dressmaker Nurse (trained) Milliner Parents* Report Name Address Name of child How long can you keep him in school? Is it necessary that he leave school to earn his living? What vocation do you wish him to learn? For what occupation do you think him best adapted? Can you assist him in selecting a vocation ? Is his health good? Is he industrious? Has he perseverence? Are his personal habits good? 274 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG ^Teacheb'b Report ^ Pupil's name Pupil's age Class or grade Attendance regular or irregular? Times tardy? Best in what subjects? Poorest in what subjects? . . Industrious or indifferent? Neat or untidj' in habits? Physical condition? Continue in school after present year? Expect to graduate from high school? After school what? (College — normal — trade school.) ] Pupil's vocational plan? Employer's Report Nature of occupation Name of firm Address of firm Superintendent or manager How do you secure employees? State minimum age at which boys and girls are employed . What preparation is necessary? How many employees have you? State wages paid to various classes of employees ">■. State beginning and ultimate wage for each class ] State hours of service required What natural qualifications required? What information regarding applicants required? Will you take persons sent you by the vocational bureau? Naturally, the teacher or vocational director using such a card system as here suggested will select and arrange the items to suit local conditions and the particular information desired. The records of the vocational bureau should con- tain complete information regarding applicants for counsel, and regarding the available vocations with the particu- lar fitness and preparation needed for entering them. Such matters as the attitude of employers toward their employees VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 275 and the measures used for the comfort, convenience, and recreation of the latter should also be investigated and recorded. The health officer should be required to report upon the sanitary and health conditions of the various em- ployments offered. All this information is important, for the selection of a life-work is a matter of such serious con- sequences to the young that too much care cannot be exer- cised in safeguarding against mistakes in the choice. Relation of schools to vocational problem. This movement is not a fad nor a passing theory. It is a serious endeavor on the part of educators to make the schools articulate better with life and its problems, through helping the young to find their places in the great work-a-day world into which they are abruptly thrown when the door of the schoolhouse closes behind them. It is an endeavor to bridge over the gap between the school and practical life by bringing the actual problems of life into the school for solution. Vocational guidance is a social problem and it is as the agent of society that the schools are endeavoring to solve it. The day has passed when education can be spoken of in terms of so much book knowledge. The only education that educates, that enables a person to interpret aright the civilization of to-day, must prepare him to react properly in whatever situations in life he may find himself, must fit him for social efficiency, must prepare him to be a useful contributor and producer to society as well as a consumer; — in short it must help the boys and girls who are going out into the world to make their way vocationally, to find the places for which nature and their preparation fit them. When the school does this it will have taken a long step forward toward the solution of the problem of the adjustment of the masses to their proper places in the social organism of the day. Then will be realized that ideal condition in which misfits will be the excep- tion rather than the rule, and the great army of unskilled 276 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING unemployed will be practically unknown. This cannot be accomplished suddenly, it is true; but if the school and those interested in this important matter of vocational adjust- ment will continue the work so ably begun, society will be enriched by an enlarged number of contented workers, and the school will have discharged its function both to society and to the nation in the production of efficient citizens. SUGGESTED READINGS Vocational Guidance, Bulletin no. 14, United States Bureau of Education. 1914. Vocational Guidance of Youth, Bloomfield. Problems of Vocational Guidance: Learning to Earn, Happ and Mote. Reading in Vocational Guidance, Bloom6eld. Vocational Bureaus, Biblix)graphy for. Bulletin no. 22, United States Bu- reau of Education. 1913. EXERCISES 1. What are some of the things a boy should consider when choosing a vocation? 2. "All honest work is honorable." If you believe this statement, de- , fend it. If you do not believe it, explain the reason for your posir '' tion. 3. Ask ten men whom you know why they are following the vocation in which they are engaged. Ask them if they would select the same voca- tions if they were again free to choose. Report their answers. 4. What vocation makes the strongest appeal to you? What points of advantage does it possess? What points of disadvantage? Where could you get information about it? 5. Why do most parents prefer that their sons should be bookkeepers instead of carpenters? Consider whether the reasons are laudable ones. 6. Name five vocations that have creative possibilities in them; five that have but little creative possibilities in them. 7. Explain how the proper choice of a vocation influences a person's life. Name some "blind-alley" occupations, and tell why they are to be avoided. Which would you choose, a job that pays you ten dol- lars per week with no chance for advancement, or one which would pay only six dollars at the beginning, but offers opportunity for pro- motion? VOCATIONAL GUIDANCE 277 8. Name ten boys in your home community who will probably be in some 'desirable work through life, and state the reasons for your selection in each case. 9. A man having a good position in a bank has a real passion for dra- matic work. He is married and has a wife and two children. Should he leave his position and enter ujjon the work he likes better or con- tinue in the bank? Give reasons for your answer. 10. When should a person choose his vocation.' How should a person choose a vocation? A boy wants to be a mechanic but his father and mother want him to be a lawyer. Should the boy follow his own wish or the wishes of his parents? Give one or two reasons that the parents might have for insisting upon his being a lawyer. Give some reasons the boy might have for preferring to be a mechanic. CHAPTER XIV THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED Variation of ability in persons. Much is heard about the capacity of machines, the productiveness of soil, and the ability of people. In each case the phrase used suggests a force and a medium upon which the force may act. Both this force and the medium upon which it acts are usually spoken of in terms of result. One often hears it said that a car goes a certain distance, a mill produces so many barrels of flour, the farmer ploughs a stated area of ground, the political candidate makes a given number of speeches. Just as there is a wide range in the power or force in machines, so there is a wide range in the ability of people. This varying ability is due to the inherent forces of the in- dividual and to the organization and control of these forces. The range of differences in native capacity extends from the low mental state of those few unfortunate creatures having the lowest degree of ability known in creatures who are classed as human beings, more because of parentage than of any human p)ower that they have, to that of an- other comparatively small group of persons at the opposite extreme of the abihty range who have the highest degree of natural ability and are spoken of as geniuses. Between these two extremes are found all degrees of ability which the great mass of human beings represent, and these may be grouped according to the amount of mental ability possessed in each case. This range of human power or ability may be indicated by the diagram on page 279. On this diagram the lowest degree of abiUty is indicated by 1, and the high- THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 279 est by 5, with all other abilities falling between these two extremes, roughly grouped under 2, 3, and 4. Sub-normal ability. The degree of natural abiUty, some- what higher than that indicated on the diagram by 1, is represented by the group of persons indicated by 2. Al- though the mental capacity of the persons belonging to this group is much higher than that of those in group 1, they are still below the average mentally. Unlike group 1, the mem- bers of the second group have normal bodies, and so far as their physical condition is concerned they may be consid- ered normal human beings. It is only when some mental effort is required of them that they show deficiency. As these persons vary greatly in their mental capacity, they are graded in the popular mind according to the degree of their defects into "feeble-minded," "mentally deficient," "weak-minded," or "sub-normal," according to their in- tellectuality. For those children whose mental capacity is so far below the average that they cannot sufficiently under- stand the instruction given in the regular school, special schools have been established. There is, however, a large class of children which is found midway between the class that is known as feeble-minded and that possessing normal mental ability. The children belonging to this class are to be found in all schools, and they are entitled to such assistance as will enable them to develop and make use of such mental powers as they possess. Average normal ability. The third and by far the largest of the classes or groups into which ixiople may be divided 280 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING according to ability is that of persons possessing what is termed "average normal ability"; and it is with this class that the school is primarily concerned. Hence it is for this class that educational laws are made. The psychology taught in the schools and colleges deals most largely with this class of persons. There is no psychology for groups one and two. Some day we may have such a psychology, but at present psychological and pedagogical study is given primarily with reference to group three. It is for this group that the course of study is arranged and the subject-matter is selected. Rules and regulations for promotions and for school organization, social laws, civic laws, and in fact all laws that govern human relations are gauged to fit the average normal person in group three. Ability above the average. Just as there are groups of per- sons with ability below the average, so there are groups with ability above that of the average class. While these persons are not classified as definitely as those who are below the average in intellectuaUty, they are usually mentioned as belonging to a distinct class in mental ability and in corre- sponding attainments. They are spoken of as persons hav- ing exceptional ability or above the average in mental capacity. While there are many such persons in the aggre- gate, the group is comparatively small with reference to group three, as will be seen by referring to 4 on the diagram. There are at least a few of the children with exceptional ability to be found in every school. They are usually de- scribed as bright, capable, or brilliant pupils, but they are often careless, inattentive, and apparently lazy. Their mental ability is frequently expressed in terms of capacity, rather than in those of force, industry, and results. In far too many cases they furnish examples of possibilities of what might be accomplished instead of exceptionally grati- fying results of actual accompUshments. THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 281 The genius. The group in which are to be found those persons who have the highest degree of mental capacity and abiUty, and who are known as "geniuses," is comparatively small. In fact there are so few of these persons that it is only occasionally that one is discovered in a school or a community. Hence the genius has little or no opportunity for association with his own kind, but usually must live in a mental world apart and distinct from the persons about him. As a child he usually either abandons the child world and enters that of adults, or he lives his life alone, so far as real communion of mind and soul is concerned. It might even happen that a given school or community had never pro- duced a real genius, and, on the other hand, it might contain a genius and yet be unconscious of the fact. It sometimes happens that the child genius is regarded as peculiar or even dull, because he does not take sufficient interest in the pur- suits of his fellows or does not fit into the prescribed pro- gram of the school. Much ability has been allowed to go to waste, because it was not recognized in time when it might have been fostered and developed. Such cases mean loss where there might have been great gain; loss not only to the individual, but to the community and to the State. Schools are provided by law for group two. It is right that the State should do all that it can for this unfortunate class, but how much greater returns would result from the establishment of schools for group five, where exceptional ability might be developed and encouraged. The gains to the individuals in such schools would be great, but to the State they would be even greater; for it would reap the benefits of the training and development of exceptional ability, through the contri- butions of genius in invention, in discovery, in literature, in the arts, and in every field of human achievement. Teachers should endeavor to discover genius in pupils. It shows finer discrimination and judgment on the part of the 282 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING person who can discover ability and genius than does the finding of defects and the picking-out of flaws. The person who can detect the movements, the harmonies, and the motives in music, and can estimate the merit of a musical composition on a true basis, must be one whose musical sense has been trained to a fine point of discrimination. If, on the other hand, a person can perceive only discords and glaring mistakes, it is evident that his power to understand and interpret music has not been cultivated to a very high degree. So the person who is looking mainly for the defects and failures of others, and cannot discover and appreciate real worth and ability, is sadly lacking in a knowledge of true values. One of the distinct objects which the teacher should endeavor to attain in his preparation for his work is to learn how to estimate values aright. He should study to get into the proper attitude toward people in general and children in particular, so that he will be able to see points of value and to look for them, instead of constantly looking for defects and errors. Every teacher should learn to make an ability chart and should form the habit of thinking of his pupils in terms of ability instead of defects and weak- nesses. This does not imply that teachers should be blind to the mistakes and failures of their pupils, but rather that these should not be the object of constant attention to the exclusion of a consideration of their desirable qualities and accomplishments. Defects and faults must be recognized, but it should be done in a spirit of sympathy and helpful- ness, not in one of censure and blame. In other words, criti- cism should be constructive, not destructive. Use of ability chart helpful. In a public-school system of which the writer was at one time superintendent, teachers were required to keep ability charts on which they recorded the condition, the capacity, and the accomplishments of each pupil from the positive rather than from the negative THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 283 standpoint. The value of this was twofold. As a result of the keeping of such a record and the consideration of the merits of pupils which the preparation of the record made necessary, the teachers unconsciously assumed the right at- titude toward the pui)ils, and thus had a surer ground upon which to consider their interests. Such a record will be found invaluable by all who will conscientiously make it. Apart from the desirability of such a chart for the reasons already mentioned, it furnishes a better means of estimating a pupil's growth and progress than the usual way by means of the grades obtained in examinations upon the subjects of the curriculum. The first chart for a given class should be made at the end of the first month of the school year and the next at about the middle of the year. This will afford an opportunity to make a fair estimate of the pupil's growth. The following is suggestive for the form of chart to be used: Ability Chart Report No. 1. Mary Powers, October 16, 1917 Grade IV Teacher Pupils' namsa "3 C E C .c 's a C5 e g ft. 1 a 1 8 •2 CO Remarks Adams, George 3 3 4 2 2 3 3 3 3 3 Brada. Clara 4 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 Cushman, Anna 2 3 3 2 2 4 3 2 3 2 It will be noted that the figures used to indicate the different abilities can also be used to indicate health and relative ability in the different subjects. This chart device enables the teacher to express or to explain and define much of the child's ability and accomplishment in few words and 284 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING with very little work. Moreover, it furnishes the kind of information that enables the principal, the supervisors, and other persons interested, to see at a glance what has been the objective and the subjective growth of the child. Every teacher is urged to make out ability charts for his pupils ; for in addition to the advantages already mentioned of such a chart, it makes the teacher more considerate of the defects and weaknesses of his pupils and more appreciative of their ability and accomphshments.^ It is surprising to find how often the special effort of the teacher is employed in trying to bring the two-plus and the three-minus pupils up to average work or to ability 3. To this end pupils are constantly urged to work harder at school, and to take work home. Many teachers fail to learn that they cannot add force and ability to the child machin- ery, but that all the teacher really can do is to organize the forces which the child possesses in such a way that they will yield the greatest possible returns. The teacher should be able to recognize pupils of class two and to understand that they can never belong to class three. He should, how- ever, so organize the ability -and the forces of class two pupils as to realize the greatest efficiency possible from them. He should endeavor to do the same with the pupils of other grades of ability which he has in his school. Ability grouping makes teachers more just. The arrange- ment of pupils in ability groups makes the question of pro- motion and advancement more just. In this connection it must be remembered that usually the rules for grading and promoting are made primarily for pupils of group three. It is not only unkind and unjust, but often cruel, as well, to talk of and grade pupils of group two in terms of group three. Further, the grading of all pupils in terms of group three only occasions a loss to groups four and five. In the average school, group two is worked to full ability, group three is THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 285 held up reasonably well to the teacher's standards; but groups four and five require no urging to keep them up to grade. Because of exceptional ability, they can get along without much effort and as a result tliey form habits of indifference and often become conceited. If all pupils were obliged to work up to their ability, a wonderful saving of energy and natural gifts would be effected. Exceptional ability often neglected. Every supervisor or principal of a graded school can recall cases of neglected abihty that came under his notice. Many persons can cite instances of pupils with great latent ability that were never discovered by the teachers; and for that reason they passed in and out of school without receiving the direction, which if rightly given would have made them geniuses. Among the many instances of this kind which might be cited, one is given of the failure to recognize a school boy's genius. It happened that a boy, who had not attended school until he was nearly twelve years of age, presented himself for enroll- ment at the opening of the school year in September. Until this time he had received instruction at home, principally from his mother, who was a woman of education and refine- ment. The boy's father was a college graduate, and all of the boy's associations were those of culture. The principal of the school, after questioning the boy regarding his knowl- edge of the common branches, decided that he was quali- fied to enter the eighth grade, but was soon disappointed to learn that he was not getting along well with his teacher and that he would not apply himself to the tasks given him. He had not learned the habits of order and routine which the school required, and the teacher complained that he was indifferent and inattentive in the recitation. All this annoyed the teacher and she soon came to consider him a very undesirable pupil. One day it happened that the topic of the nature lesson was the crow. The teacher prepared 286 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING the lesson with usual care, but did not take the trouble to get absolute information on all points. During the course of the lesson the new pupil corrected her on several points, and this increased her dislike for him. Had she known that he was a boy naturalist and that he knew far more about the subject from actual observation than she had learned from books, she would have respected his information instead of rebuking him for what she considered impertinence. This boy had studied insect, bird, and animal life from the time he was able to run about his father's garden. Later he had roamed the fields and the woods about the town searching for specimens of various kinds. His excursions were frequently the cause of some discomfort to the family, for he would often return from one of his self-appointed trips ^vdth a variety of sf>ecimens; perhaps a snake in one pocket, a frog in another, and birds' eggs in his hat. His mother was often in despair at the appearance of his cloth- ing, and his little sister was afraid to go into his room alone lest she might accidentally step upon some of his crawling specimens or see them poking their heads out of partly opened commode drawers. At the time that he was the source of so much annoyance to his teacher, he had in his room at home one of the finest collections of birds' eggs in the State in which he lived. He was in correspondence with two or three college professors upon matters pertaining to his collections. This boy was a genius, but neither his par- ents, although educated people, nor his teacher, had dis- covered the fact. Later he passed from the eighth grade into the high school. The superintendent discovered the boy's talent and knowl- edge and decided that they could be developed and at the same time be made valuable to the school by allowing the boy to build up a biological collection. Before the open- ing of school the following September, this superintendent THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 287 went to a new field and his place was taken by one who did not discover the bent of the boy's genius, but thought of him only as a pupil to be fitted into the school machinery and made to conform to an ironclad course of study. As a result the boy was forced out of school long before the year was over, and his talents and his possibiUties were lost to the community and to the State. Moreover, he was classed, much to the humiliation of his parents, as a boy who could not get along with his teachers, and for years he was regarded as "no good" by the community. Had this boy's teacher kept an ability chart, such as is suggested here, this blunder would not have been made, for he would have been estimated according to his particular gifts and not in terms of mathe- matics and Latin verbs. Unfortunately this is not an isolated case. Undoubtedly many schools could furnish a similar example of an undis- covered genius that has been lost to itself and to the com- munity because of lack of recognition and the proper direc- tion. Many unrecognized geniuses never do find their proper places and there is much waste and loss to themselves and to all concerned, because no one is wise enough to discover them. If the spirit of the suggestions here offered were more generally carried out in actual practice, the child genius would be discovered and the latent ability of many a pupil would thus be saved to his own advantage and to that of his community. Injustice often results from wrong evaluation of ability. Teachers often do not properly evaluate work, for it is done in terms of the passing mark, and not in terms of relative abihty. Because of this, injustice is inflicted upon pupils and real injury follows. It frequently happens that a pupil belonging to class two does relatively more than a pupil belonging to class three or four; and yet he fails where they succeed. As an example, suppose that the maximum result 288 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING in an examination test is 65 per cent for a pupil of class two, 85 per cent for a pupil of class three, 95 per cent for a pupil of class four, and that the passing mark is 75. The pupil of class two, because of the special effort made to bring him up to class three, gains a mark of 65, which represents the maxi- mum of his ability. The pupils of classes three and four, receiving marks above the 75 per cent required to pass the test, succeed where the class two child fails, although in terms of his ability he has accomplished more than either of the others. He is ranked as a failure when he should have received commendation and encouragement for his honest effort. In this case he should have been judged in terms of his ability and have been allowed to pass on in his grade. He will always belong to class two and it is as a class two child that he should be judged and graded. Nothing is gained by keeping him another year at the work in which his best effort could not bring him up to the standing of the class three pupils. Such a method of promotion will only lead to discouragement and eventual dishke of school, with the early escape from it. Thus it will be seen that such a practice is both unjust and harmful. Many of the brav- est souls in school are the two- and the three-minus pupils. They often stand up under discouragement and destruc- tive criticism that other persons and even their teachers would resent. Individual ability varies in different subjects. The ability chart of a given child will reveal the fact that his aptitude for the various subjects of the curriculum does not run in a straight line, but rather in a curved one. In other words, his ability shows strength in some lines and weakness in others. This condition is general enough to make it impor- tant in considering the work of any pupil when his ability chart is unknown. Yet we find the arbitrary rule for pro- motion in force and many pupils are not advanced to the THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 289 next grade at the end of the year's work because they did not get the required passing mark in some subject. It is surprising how general this practice is, although the injus- tice of it and the harm which it often causes will be appar- ent to any one who will consider the matter intelligently. A concrete case will emphasize the folly and the injustice of this custom. Illustration. A girl from a humble home entered the high school. She was plain and poorly dressed. She was even untidy in appearance and habits at the beginning of her course. During her second year in the school she came under the influence of two noble women and as a result she became a changed person. She became neat in appearance, and while her clothes were not much more expensive than at first, they showed good taste in selection and style. She became more industrious, and though she did not possess marked ability, her conscientious effort showed itself in the improvement in her classes. In short, she showed more real growth and development than any other girl in her class. She passed all her examinations until the end of the third year. Then she failed in geometry and was required to take the subject over again the following year. At the end of this year she received upon examination only 70 per cent, the same mark she had received the year before. She was a 70 per cent pupil in terms of geometry^ and though she worked well up to her ability, she could not go beyond this point. When the time came for deciding upon her gradua- tion every member of the faculty of twenty teachers voted no, for the reason that the girl had " not passed " in geom- etry. Fortunately for the pupil in this case, the superintend- ent took a broader view of the matter and insisted that the girl be allowed to graduate with her class. Unhappily, there are many cases of this kind, with no one to stand between the unfortunate victim and the adherents of a machine system. 290 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING Special classes for special ability. It is not always possible to provide classes for all grades of ability that may be found in a school, but with skill on the part of the teacher, some provision may be made for providing all who have special ability with some form of useful activity in which they may find an opportunity for the exercise of their particular tal- ents. A case of this kind may be cited in which a teacher recognized the special ability of a pupil in a country school. This boy soon outdistanced his class in the regular work of the school, and the teacher encouraged him to take up ad- vanced studies, often remaining after the close of school to hear him recite. In this way the pupil mastered elemen- tary algebra, geometry, and other high-school studies. This gave him a desire to go further and at the advice of the teacher, he entered the high school in a near-by town. From there he went to the state university from which he gradu- ated with honor. He then took up the study of law, and within ten years after he was admitted to the bar, he had so distinguished himself that he was appointed a judge of a United States District Court. The pupils of groups four and five should be given enough work to exercise their powers. The wise teacher will see that the work assigned is of a kind to interest the pupil and to give an opportunity for the development and growth of his particular talent. If this is done these special pupils will be happy and industrious instead of being indifferent and inattentive to the school routine, as is so often the case. So far as possible every pupil should be encouraged and given the opportunity to work up to his ability. Encouragement through doing well. A pupil usually receives his greatest encouragement for effort in the ap- proval on the part of his teacher of his taste for right things or of the work which he does best. This is so uni- versal that the teacher should make a careful study of his THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 291 ability charts in order to keep informed regarding the Hkes and the dislikes and the special interests of his pupils. Sometimes the pupil's chief interest is found to lie outside of the work of the school, and very often along lines that the teacher can supplement, especially when the latter is well informed and resourceful. The ability on the part of the instructor in finding out the pupil's bent and taste is one of the surest evidences of the true teacher. The reply of a teacher, when asked to take a class in the night school, ex- pressed the true teacher's attitude toward ability needs. She said, " I need all my time to prepare work to feed and satisfy the ability requirements of my pupils." She was the teacher of a fifth grade and a woman of education and of long experience. Many persons in her place would have thought there was no further necessity to prepare for the daily work. In fact, there were several young teachers in their first or second years in the same school who had asked for night school positions. The superintendent in relating the incident said that this woman was one of the best teachers he ever had, and her remark, as just quoted, shows that she had the heart and the vision of the great teacher. Her co-workers who thought it was not necessary to spend their evenings in study had not yet come into the measure and stature of real teachers. The value of ability grading was shown in the placement of a pupil who belonged to group two in arithmetic and science, but to group five in the ability to construct and describe dramatic situations. A wise supervisor saw her ability and placed her in the eighth grade for reading and language, in the fourth grade for arithmetic work, and in the sixth grade for history and geography. In the one line she had marked ability, and it would have been most unwise to have forced her to conform to the regular grading of the school. She was happy in the exercise of her natural 292 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING ability, and in a few years showed the wisdom of the plan adopted by her teachers, by winning the prize offered by a well-known publishing house for the best novel sub- mitted. Child's interest often reveals ability. The encourage- ment and fostering of the special interest which the child evinces in something apart from his regular school work may prove the avenue to his soul. The modern movement of the corn club, the tomato canning club, and other juve- nile organizations furnishes proof of the truth of this state- ment. Sometimes the child's interest in a particular object will show the teacher the bent of his genius. For example, a child once brought a picture from her home to show the teacher. The latter expressed pleasure and the following day the child brought another and so on throughout the first month of school. The teacher became convinced that the child's chief interest was in form and color as repre- sented in the pictures, and she wisely acted upon the sug- gestion thus offered. The child was of class two in every- thing except the ability to understand the language of the picture. She could not read the printed page, but she could read the picture. The teacher was wise enough to make use of this love of pictures to secure the child's confidence and to interest her in words, with the result that before the year was over, the child could read as well as the average pupil in her grade. Ability of a child often revealed by accident. Many illus- trations might be given to show how often the merest acci- dent reveals the interest and ability of a pupil, who per- haps until then has been a source of trouble and vexation. A boy, who had been sent to the superintendent for a mis- demeanor, came trembling into the presence of the head of the school whom he viewed w'lih awe and terror. The sui)er- intendcnt asked in a kindly tone why he had been sent, THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 293 and the child held out a whistle which he had whittled out of a piece of crayon. It had been skillfully done and the fact impressed the sui)erintendent. So, instead of punish- ing the boy, as the teacher who had sent the culprit ex- pected he would, he talked kindly to the little fellow about carving. The fact that the boy had made the whistle when he should have been working problems in arithmetic did not appear to the superintendent to be the grave offense which the teacher had regarded it. He saw with a wider vision into the heart of the boy, and with the crayon whistle in his hand he spoke words of interest and encouragement to the child, which determined the whole trend of the boy's after life. The teacher had humiliated the boy by calling him lazy and disobedient, and then had added to this humi- liation by sending him in disgrace to the suj^erintendent's office. That teacher needed an ability chart to show her how to estimate her pupils. If she had possessed one, how much pain and humiliation her pupils might have escaped and how much more wisely she might have managed their respective needs. Every child reveals his true self many times during the course of a school term, and the teacher should be keen enough to detect and wise enough to make use of these revelations. The negative should be avoided. Mental growth is al- ways on the positive, constructive side, but never on the negative. For this reason the teacher should carefully avoid the use of the word don't. Perhaps no other word in our language has been more destructive of the child's nat- ural interest and soul hungers than the word dont. It is a force on the side of prohibition rather than on that of direc- tion. It is a check to activity when activity should be en- couraged under proper guidance. Moreover, it discourages activity at the very time when the child's whole being is crying out for action, when the self is seeking expression 294 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING either consciously or unconsciously in the doing of some- tliing. Instead of discouraging activity at this important period in child growth, the teacher, and the parent also, should take advantage of this natural desire for it and direct it along proper lines, that it may be made an aid in the educating process rather than a hindrance. Again, a person cannot develop a love of harmony while dwelling in a realm of discord; neither can he have an aver- sion for discords until he has developed some love for har- mony. A person will not hate lying until he begins to under- stand and value honesty and truth. A person will not hate cowardice until he begins to admire bravery. These and similar self-evident facts furnish still further proof that growth always takes place on the positive rather than on the negative side. For this reason the teacher and all who are directly concerned with the education of the young should strive for activity on the positive side and eliminate so far as possible the negative side, the donts of the home and the school. If the right kind of likes can be implanted in the mind of the child, he will naturally form the proper kind of dislikes. Desirable likes a factor in ability. The possession of a large number of the proper kind of likes is an important factor in ability, particularly when it is thought of in terms of social service, as it expresses itself in our relations with other people. These likes determine one's attitude toward the church, the people in the community, the members of one's family, and to all with whom one comes into relation. They also determine many of one's individual characteris- tics, and when a person's likes are of the right kind, he is saved many a struggle. In trying to aid in the building up of individual capacity, the incentive for right, positive growth must be given. In this way the liking for the desirable rather than the undesirable things will be given THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 295 and these will become real anchors to the soul through the establishment of correct tendencies and habits. Every one has some ability. From the foregoing dis- cussion it has been shown that ability is the power of an individual to do a particular thing well. As the majority of persons have several abilities, or the ability to do several dif- ferent things, the word might correctly be used in the plural. For the reason that it is customary to value a person in terms of some distinct and comparatively rare excellence which he may possess, it is well to call attention to the fact that ability is not limited to a few exalted lines of activity, but that it may be expressed in terms of the humblest and most common activities. For example, a person who can invent a useful machine, write a good poem, play or sing exceptionally well, is spoken of as having ability, no mat- ter how ineflBcient he may be in other activities. On the other hand, there are many persons who do a number of things exceptionally well, who are regarded as having only ordinary ability, for the reason that their special talents are used in doing things not considered of particular distinction. A man may have marked ability for designing and con- structing buildings, and at the same time he may have spe- cial ability as a member of the city council and be an eflBcient worker in his church. He thus has three distinct abilities and possibly several others. Therefore, in the sum total, the ability or the abilities of this man may exceed that of the writer, the inventor, or the singer. Teachers must have varied abilities. The teacher to be a success must be a person of varied, or of many abilities, for the reason that he must be able to do efifective work in a number of different situations. A personal ability chart for the teacher, himself, is an excellent means by which he may take an inventory, as it were, of his o^vti qualifications for his work, and it may help him to discover the abilities which 296 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING he ought to cultivate. It may require some courage to pre- pare such a chart of one's self, but every teacher should do so, at least once a year. The following is suggestive for the study of one's own abilities and attainments : — Personal Ability Chart for Self-Study Names of abilities 8 Names of abilities V. 1 O t*. a. cS* 1 "^ Menial : Teaching vocation : 1. Reciting poetry 1. Knowledge of subject 2. Knowledge of Bible 2. Knowledge of laws of 3. Scholarship teaching 4. Composition 3. Health 6. Conversation 4. Social habits — are 6. Listening they consistent with 7. Thinking teaching 8. General information 5. Power to discipline 6. Comprehension of Social : school functions 1. Bearing in society 7. An aim for education *. Table manners 8. Knowledge of other 8. Street manners people's work 4. Greiting people 9. Power to use good 5. Leaving people language C. Entertaining guests 7. Introductions 10. Preparation for teach- ing 11. Child sympathy 12. Personal bearing 8. Correct dress General : 1. Manual 2. Intellectual List of things 13. Voice can do best 14 Knowledge of children Various elements in ability. A person's ability consists of the combination and organization of all his forces, physical, mental, moral, and social. Health is a very important factor in ability to do or execute, for without health and the proper physical condition, one has not the energy for great effort. Knowledge is another great factor in ability, and the absence of it renders a person helpless and ineffective in many situations. Habits of industry and the right use of time are both related and important considerations in the general capacity to do things and to achieve desired results in the discharge of common duties. Skill in performing the various tasks and duties that are a part of everyday life THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 297 is often quite as important as skill in the regular vocation. The habit of succeeding in what one undertakes reinforces ability. Courage, hope, self-confidence, perseverance, a spirit of service, and many other elements enter into the composition of a person's ability. Teachers and parents should more generally understand what constitutes ability, and in the development of the powers of the child they should endeavor to inculcate and foster in the proper pro- portions those elements that contribute to ability, in order that a desirable and effective personality may result. Ability proves itself in service. Real ability proves itself in service of some kind and in actual accomplishments. It shows itself in the magnitude and quality of the work done and in the results attained. It proves itself in a particular way in the citizenship relations and in the attitude of the individual toward community work and problems. It shows itself in the home and in the social organizations of the com- munity in which the person lives. Ability is constructive; hence should not be repressed, but should be allowed to express itself in order that it may prove a benefit to society. Ability is not merely force or power. It embraces more than these. An individual's abilities determine his power to do, and when these abilities are properly developed, they be- come a real power for effective service. Ability conserved. The teacher should discover the abil- ity of each pupil that comes under his observation, and he should deal with each case according to its requirements. In every instance he should try to make the most of wliat- ever ability the pupil may have, but at the same time he should not lose sight of the fact that it is futile to try to force the child's ability beyond what it is able to accom- plish. Another consideration which the teacher should bear in mind is that while giving an undue proportion of time and effort to backward pupils he may be neglecting those of 298 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG greater ability whose gifts are going to waste from lack of properly directed exercise. The person who discovers ge- nius in another, or is the means of calling it into activity for the benefit of society, performs a real service to the com- munity and to the State that profits by its contributions. If teachers more generally understood this fact and their own responsibility in the matter, they would give more at- tention to trying to find out the latent ability of their pupils and to developing it, instead of concentrating all their effort upon teaching a prescribed amount of objective knowledge. Then the school would become in reality a finding and de- veloping place of child ability. SUGGESTED READINGS Individuality, Thorndike. Education, Thorndike, pp. 67-70. Teacher's Philosophy In and Out of School, Hyde. Moral Principles in Education, Dewey. How to Teach, Strayer and Norsworthy, pp. 151-71. EXERCISES 1. Write the names of five men and five women and after each write one sentence that gives the dominant characteristic of the person. 2. Write the names of five pupils who are regarded as smart, capable. Compare them with the pupils who are regarded as the best pupils. Compare dress, work, social life, temperament, and any other elements of personality. 3. Going back over your experience recall the pupils that have received most help from the teacher. Suppose you could have had as much special push and help as you have known others to receive, would it have meant anything to you? State how it would. 4. Make out your own ability chart as suggested on page 296. Make out an ability chart for some one else in your home. 6. Have a friend make out your ability chart and compare it with the one you have made yourself. 6. Discuss some persons who have little ability that have succeeded. Also persons of great ability who have failed. Account for the differ- THE CHILD'S ABILITY KNOWN AND UTILIZED 299 7. State what you would do with the student named here. Harry Gray passed 60 in arithmetic, 70 in history, 85 in penmanship, and in all other subjects his work was above 85; the passing mark was 75. 8. What would you do in each of the following cases? A worked very hard and was regular in attendance and at the end of the year aver- aged 68. B was inefficient in his work, was absent occasionally, and at the end of the year averaged 68. The passing mark was 7i. Give reasons for your decision. 9. "I think that a person should be permitted to put his whole time on the subject he likes and in which he can do best." What are your views on this statement? 10. Name all the good points you can about a popular man and woman of your home community. Name all the good points you can about an unpopular man and woman of your town. 11. "I get as much delight in finding beauty and power in my friends as I do in finding beauty in flowers and books and music. I get joy in finding good in all persons whom I meet." Discuss this statement. 12. "She was a great teacher. She knew just what each child could do, and she saw that he did it." Discuss other types of teachers in con- nection with this statement. CHAPTER XV THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT All matter governed by fixed principles. It was shown in a previous chapter that man's mental and spiritual growth is dependent upon the increase and enlargement of his con- cepts. It is also clear that the enlargement of the con- cepts which he already has and the addition of new ones, bring him into a more complete understanding of and unity with the world about him. As a result of his enlarged understanding and by means of his superior intelligence, his power over the physical world is increased. This infu- sion into his thought of the meaning and significance of the universe of which he is a part also enlarges his spiritual con- ceptions and enriches his character. It is through the ob- servation and study of life and matter that he may gain an understanding of his relation to all forms of life, as one of the expressions of the Divine Intelhgence, and thus at last ar- rive at self-realization. From the close observance of nature in all its forms and from the intelligent study of the revelations of science as presented by those who have devoted their lives to inves- tigation and study, man ^dll learn two things: first, he will learn the interesting and important fact that there are definite laws and principles which underly all creation and evolution; and, second, he will learn that these principles govern and control all life. INIoreover, he will find from his study and research that all matter is governed by fixed principles and is controlled in all its movements by some unseen power as certainly as is the hand under the will of man. THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 301 Change of form in inorganic matter determined and con- trolled by fixed laws. There is in every department of crea- tion some distinctive and definite law which governs and characterizes that department. The laws which control the phenomena of any general class of matter may be dis- covered by careful study of the phenomena of different substances belonging to that class. This is illustrated in an experience as related by a scientist. He says, " When I was a child I was once showTi a large quartz crystal. It was tlie first time that I had seen a specimen of this form of mat- ter, and I regarded it with curiosity and wonder. After this, I occasionally saw other crystals, and in each case, my in- terest was as keen as when I saw the first one. In fact, throughout my childhood, crystals were to me objects of interest and admiration. They were interesting, not only because of their beauty and the peculiarity of their forma- tion, but also for the reason that they were unusual or un- common in my childhood experience. Later, in my study of science, I was surprised to find that almost all substances that change from the liquid to the soHd form crystallize dur- ing the process of change; and that crystalhzation is not an unusual form of matter as I had supposed, but, on the con- trary, a very common form. The discovery of this scien- tific law caused me great surprise at first, and so aroused my desire to prove the truth of it that I made many investiga- tions and experiments to test the universality of it. These researches and investigations not only established the val- idity of the law, but also enlarged my own conception of matter and its production." Growth in the vegetable kingdom governed by fixed laws. Growth in the vegetable kingdom is conlrollod by principles that are as definite and as constant as those which govern the crystallization of matter in the mineral kingdom. Under the control of these principles, leaf, branch, stem, flower. S02 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING fruit, and all the various parts of the plant p)erform their different functions in the growth of the plant. At the same time and in accordance with the laws that regulate growth in the vegetable kingdom, they all unite to enable the en- tire plant to perform its essential function, the preservation and reproduction of its species. Any one can easily verify the truth of this statement and observe the uniformity of method in which gro\\i:h takes place by planting some seeds of different plants and watching their germination and growth until seed is again produced. These established and unyielding laws by which the various parts of the plant per- form their functions show marked uniformity in all varie- ties of life in the vegetable kingdom. This uniformity is equally apparent in the case of the tiny violet or the showy golden rod that blooms by the country roadside, or in that of the noble elm that graces the avenue or the lordly pine that stands like a sentinel on the hill-top. This fact gives marvelous unity to the idea of growth in all classes of the vegetable kingdom and this unity in the form and growth of plants is quite as wonderful as the universality of crys- tallization in the mineral kingdom. Animal kingdom controlled by fixed laws. Animal life, like plant life, is under the control of established laws, and all growth in the animal kingdom results from the opera- tion of these laws. The growth of each tissue of the body is governed by certain rules of selection, by which the elements necessary for their production are selected by the organism and constructed into tissues of the right kind. The bones select the right material for making bone matter. The mus- cles select the right material for making muscles. The blood selects the material that enters into the composition of blood. Similarly the cells which build up all the tissues and organs of the Ijody select the proper material from the food which enters the body, and use it for the production of new THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 303 tissues and cells according to the laws that govern selection, growth, and repair in the animal kingdom. In this process of assimilation and growth, it may readily be discovered that there are certain laws peculiar to animal life, which characterize it as such and give unity to all ani- mal life and growth. Further, a comparison of the processes of the growth and perpetuation of the various forms of animal life with those of vegetable life reveals the fact that there are certain characteristics in the plan of each which are common to both. This indicates that the underlying principles which govern life in both the vegetable and the animal kingdom are the same. It is this fact of oneness in the fundamental principles that gives unity to all life, as well as continuity to the universe. Without these laws of nature, all life and even the universe itself would be subject to chance. Natural laws reveal infinite mind. The discovery and careful consideration of the remarkable unity which charac- terizes the laws which govern life and growth in the physi- cal world, leads to the conclusion that these laws of nature have their origin in the same all-controlling intelligence. With this conclusion as a basis for further analysis, this reasoning may be carried a step farther in order to discover and state the princi})le which is fundamental in all life. This principle briefly stated is the exj^ression of the belief that in the animate and in the inanimate worlds there is a unity in the fundamental laws governing them which shows that an infinite mind has ordered the creation of all things in nature according to a definite plan. Therefore, every idea and fact which is added to a person's knowledge and con- ception of the laws that govern nature or any increase in his appreciation of the principle of unity in the universe is an additional conception of truth and of God. Through this enlargement of a person's understanding of the laws of 304 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING nature, he comes to feel the significance of the principle of unity in the great world about him and to gain a compre- hension of the ruler of the miiverse. Divine discontent in the human soul. There is in the soul of every normal human being great unrest — a " divine discontent " which is a longing and reaching out after truth. It may be further described as a longing or hunger for a fuller understanding and appreciation of the divine. Man looks about him in the world in which he finds himself and questions, " What is this.'^ — and this.'* — and this? " He looks up at the stars and asks, " What are they.^^ " He sees the rainbow and marvels at its form and color. He looks at the delicate flower and inquires whence it came. He asks, " Why the regularity of leaf and stem and blossom? " He looks at his fellow-man and asks, " Wliat is man? Whence did he come? and Whither is he going? " He turns his thought toward himself and asks, " Why am I, I? Why am I here? Wliat is my relation to the world around me? " In his endeavor to find an answer to each of these queries and to satisfy the human hunger for truth which urges him on, he searches after an explanation of all the phenomena which perplex him. This divine discontent must not be confused with dissatisfaction that makes a person displeased with his environment, and leads to fault-finding and pessimism. The one engenders desire and effort for improvement of conditions, the other stifles effort. The one is constructive, the other is destructive. A reaching out after truth and further information in any department of knowledge enlarges a person's mental hori- zon; and so a search for truth in the phenomena of nature enlarges the mental and spiritual vision and causes the soul to expand. This is growth; this is progress toward the at- tainment and comprehension of truth; this is a step forward in self-realization. The human hunger and yearning for THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 305 truth, together with the endeavor to satisfy it, constitute the impelUng force which urges man to the search for truth that results in spiritual growth. This must ever be the case; for if it were not, there would be no individual eflPort for growth. There would be no ideals and no incentives, and therefore all efforts for the uplift and the improvement of the masses would be futile. It is the longing for truth and the desire for self-realization in every human soul that makes possible the profession of teaching and the ministry of the gospel. Spiritual growth through search for truth. It is evident that a person cannot lead or direct others in any department of research unless he understands the principles underlying that particular subject of investigation. Therefore, it often happens that those persons who endeavor to lead others in the search for truth prove very poor guides, because they themselves have only vague or indefinite standards of meas- urement which are not based upon those results that pro- duce true growth. The tests which they apply and the re- sults which these tests show are not evidences of growth, for the reason that there is no clear conception in the mind, either of the leader or of the learner, of what constitutes growth in the true sense. In order, then, to make real prog- ress in the search for truth and to achieve the true aim in spiritual growth, the leader or teacher must know the aim to be attained, must have correct standards for measuring growth, and must understand the process by which it may be secured. It is not necessary for the present purpose to enter into a detailed explanation of the steps by which growth may take place. It will be sufficient merely to state broadly the method of growth in general. It is self-evident that in order to insure growth of any kind, there must first of all be a beginning, and to this be- ginning additions must be made continually as long as the 306 THE PROFESSION OF TEACmNG process of ^owth continues. Many of the standards of value and the expressions of value which are offered as evidences of growth in spiritual development do not indicate real growth, for the reason that they do not represent continu- ous development from a definite beginning. Since true growth begins mth the first concept of truth or fact, there is a definite beginning from which to measure the additions made to it and the amount or degree of growth attained. Real growth results when to this first concept of a given truth additions are made through experience, through the study of nature and of matter, and through an increased understanding of whatever will give a larger conception of truth. Growth in its highest and truest sense concentrates in one fundamental concept, and the nature and magnitude of this enlarged concept are the real measure and expression of growth. An illustration may make this more clear. Methods of growth illustrated. Suppose that a child is beginning his formal study of plant life, having only a sim- ple general concept of a plant. To this he adds other con- cepts by learning the root, the stem, the leaves and other I>arts of the plant. Later he learns the respective uses of these parts in the life of the plant. He acquires the most important facts regarding the structure of the different tis- sues, and he learns the names and functions of the different parts of the plant. He finds that the real purpose for which the plant exists is self-realization and the perpetuation of its species. He also learns that in all plant life there is the same purpose and process of growth. As a result of this knowledge, there dawns upon his consciousness through the activity of his reasoning powers, the fact of a unity in all plant life as planned by an infinite mind. This conclusion which the child reaches in his early generalization regarding plant life, thougli at first vague, adds greatly to his basal or first concept of plant fife, the point at which his growth in THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 307 this particular department of knowledge begins. In addi- tion to the awakening of the child interest in plant life an- other important result is attained in the development of his power to understand general truth. Another illustration of the process by which positive re- sults may be attained in the search for truth may be taken from the study of biology. The child pursuing this study learns certain facts regarding the nature and structure of animal tissue. He also learns the nature of the different or- gans, their relation to one another, and the purpose of each in the animal economy. All of these concepts finally merge into the larger concept of the distinctive elements and characteristics of all animal life. The recognition of this unity of plan and purpose in animal life leads the thought- ful student to make the same generalization as was made in the case of plant life, namely, that the unity of plan in all animal life indicates one all-controlling and infinite mind. Thus he has enlarged his original concept of animal life until he is in possession of sufficient know^ledge upon this subject to enable him to make a positive generalization about the plan and development of all forms of animal life. Evidence of spiritual growth in enlargement of concept of truth. In the illustrations given, growi:h does not stop with the generalization made with regard to plant and ani- mal life. From what the student has learned and the con- clusions W'hich he has reached in these cases, he generalizes upon the unity of plan and purpose governing both plant and animal life, and from this he concludes that the same divine intelligence which has created them is the author of all life. These two general concepts of plant and animal life develop into one broad general concept which is that an infinite mind is the creator of all life. By means of this broader conception, the pupil's concept of truth is greatly 308 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING enlarged and a positive spiritual growth results. As he seeks final conclusions and generalizes upon them, the thought naturally extends into the realm of causation; and again he is led to a contemplation of the source of all things in the universe. As the mind expands in its efforts to grasp the broader conclusion which it must reach, the spiritual being enlarges and grows and is thus brought into a more perfect unity with God through this greatly enlarged con- cept of truth. Principle of unity in all life. Man in response to hunger for truth is always seeking new ideas, fresh facts, and eter- nal truths in the natural world, in the social world, in the political world, in the religious world, and in fact every- where. As he studies the history of the institutions of civili- zation and analyzes their evolution and growth through a long period of time, he discovers that the laws which govern their continuity, development, and stability are as positive and irrevocable as those which govern plant and animal life or control the varied elements of the mineral kingdom. So also, in his analysis of social evolution, he discovers laws that are as irrevocable as those which govern plant and animal hfe or control the varied elements of the mineral kingdom. Thus man, in his examination and consideration of the plan by which all humanity exists and evolves from one state to another, and from one stage of development to a still higher one, finds that the essential characteristics of all organized human life strongly resemble those of all life. In his effort to account for the unity in this plan, he is led to conclude that mankind, like the lower forms of life, is an expression of the same creative and controlling intelligence that rules all things and orders their existence and develop- ment according to laws that are fixed and eternal. Many elemental concepts enter into this great all-embracing con- cept which is the controlling principle of truth in all matter TIIE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 309 and in all life. It is this princii)le, this truth, which, under different names, mankind is seeking the world over. All organized matter a proof of creative intelligence. An examination of the princii)le of unity in creation makes clear the fact that any organized material substance is as posi- tive a proof of a creative intelligence as the proofs found in recognized spiritual teaching. A man's hand or any one of his members is an expression of an infinite creative mind as truly as is the intellectual or the spiritual soul of man. A piece of crystal, a violet, or a butterfly is as certainly an evidence of this all-pervading truth as is man himself. The mere intellectual knowledge of these facts does not, how- ever, produce conviction and serve as a stimulus for effort in the search for truth. It is only when structure and the laws of structure, form and the laws governing form, and the marvelous unity which exists in the universe is compre- hended by the human mind, at least in part, that man be- gins to understand and tries to account for these phenomena. Then the reasoning is carried back to first causes, — to the great creative power, and the human mind in larger meas- ure comprehends the real significance of creation and gains an insight into the all-wise plan to which man owes his existence and his intelligence. In this way man comes to know himself and to grasp the idea of the self in its unity with the universe and with the Infinite. Spiritual law interpreted through natural law. From the foregoing discussion it is apparent that through a com- prehension of natural law, one may come into a more complete understanding of spiritual law. By means of repeated experiments scientists have proven conclusively that life cannot generate itself, — that it can be produced only from a living antecedent. This leads them to a fuller understanding of the principle of unity in the universe and to deeper comprehension of truth. Thus scientific 310 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING investigations, when carried far enough, reveal the unity of man and the universe with God, and foster, instead of retarding, real spiritual growth. Nor are scientists the only persons who learn truth from their study of the se- crets of the universe. All students of nature can learn the truths which she reveals. The poets, who have received from nature the inspiration for some of their finest thoughts and their noblest utterances, have discovered the truth of this statement. In natural law and the phenomena of nature, they have read the spiritual law and the unity of themselves and of all mankind with the Infinite. The sight of a solitary little sandpiper, flitting along the lonely beach as the storm was coming on, with no apparent anxiety for the future, suggested to the poet that she, her- self, as one of God's creatures, was under the care and pro- tection of the Divine hand, even as was the little bird; and she exclaimed : " Are we not God's creatures all, thou little sandpiper and I? " The sight of the broken sea shell cast up by the waves gave the poet. Holmes, the inspiration for one of his mas- terpieces. In the growth of the former occupant of the now empty shell, he read a " heavenly message " to his own soul. In the contemplation of the way in which the nautilus as it outgTows each spiral chamber builds for itself a larger one, the poet found law of spiritual growth which he puts into words in the lines: — "Build thee more stately mansions, my soul. As the swift seasons roll! Leave thy low-vaulted past! Let each new temple, nobler than the last, Shut thee from heaven with a dome more vast. Till thou at length art free. Leaving thine outgrown shell by life's unresting sea!" Principle of unity fundamental. This principle of unity in the universe, the unity of man and the universe with THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 311 God, is the most vital concept that man can acquire. Any philosophy of life would be incomplete without it; for any philosophy which does not include the divine intelligence in the life of man and in all things in nature, omits that which makes life and effort worth while. Any philosophy which does not include the Infinite in the future life with man constantly growing in the knowledge and appreciation of truth is not only unsatisfying but really harmful; for it robs life present and life to come of its hopes, its richest blessings and its truest joys. God is infinite, man is finite; and no finite mind can fully comprehend the infinite mind and intelligence. It follows therefore, that man may con- tinue to enlarge his concept of unity, truth, God, not only during this life but throughout an eternity where the hori- zon of thought will ever widen and new and more glorious truths will enlarge the soul. Desire for truth universal. The desire to find and to know truth is inherent in the soul of every human being. The whole human race is ever seeking for new facts, for more knowledge and a better understanding of higher things. It was this desire to discover better things, to find out some- thing not already known, that led the small boy to cut the bellows to see what was inside of it. It was the desire to know the truth which prompted Columbus to analyze the facts which he possessed, until through a process of reason- ing he arrived at the conclusion that the earth was round and that by sailing continuously in the same direction one would eventually come back to the place from which one started. Not only the great scientists, but many explorers, such as Kane, Nansen, Peary, and others who might be men- tioned, have been earnest seekers after truth, and some of them chose to spend their lives in the endeavor to discover new facts or to gain some additional information about those things and places of which the world had incomplete 312 THE PROFESSION OF TEACEONG ' knowledge. The inventors are another group of seekers and tireless workers, who are willing to endure hardships and to brave the criticisms and sneers of men in their endeavors to discover some new and useful ideas and to put them into concrete and serviceable forms. Bell, Edison, Marconi, and a host of other inventors of modern times, whom every reader can name, have become justly famous because of the contributions which they have made to society through their useful inventions. The discovery of the power of steam as utilized by Fulton, Stephenson, and others who have harnessed this mighty force for the use of man furnishes another noticeable ex- ample. The application of this power in the driving of en- gines for a variety of uses has been the result of definite and determined efforts on the part of these inventors to discover the previously unknown power and possibility of this mighty force, — in short to learn the truth about it. These wonderful contributions of science and invention have all been the result of a delving after facts in an effort to discover or to find out something not already known. Countless illustrations might be given in proof of this rest- less seeking after knowledge, this tireless search for truth. Desire for truth makes teaching possible. Every normal child, as well as every adult person, possesses this natural desire for new facts, this hunger for knowledge of some kind. The child early shows his interest in the world about him. This interest has its origin in the childish instinct of curiosity which leads him to investigate the objects within his reach in order to find out what they are, what they are for, or how they are made. As soon as he can express him- self in words, he plies his elders with questions about the things that interest or perplex him. It is this desire for in- formation that makes teaching possible. Further, it is the restless longing for higher truth that makes possible the THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 313 development and establishment of character. It is the yearning for something better, something not yet attained, that is the great essential in the endeavor to gain hai)piness. These desires and hungers on the part of the young furnish the condition which permits of the teacher's offering such mental and spiritual food as will contribute to the present need and at the same time so delight the child as to increase his desire for more. Thus the process of desiring and ac- quiring may go on, leading the learner step by stej) higher and higher in the acquisition of knowledge and the develop- ment of character, until real growth is attained. The fact thai the human mind is ever seeking higher truth makes pos- sible an earthly life of growth and happiness and an eternal life of continued development and joy. With each succeeding day, new conceptions of the Infinite may be acquired, and this keeps alive the incentive for seeking more knowledge and broader and clearer conceptions of truth. Teachers must be seekers for truth. A leading educator has said that if he were to put above the door of the school- house one word expressive of the aim of elementary and high school education, he would put there in electric light the word " truth." " Truth," he said, " is more than knowl- edge, although the latter is a broad term. Knowledge may abide as a matter of intellect, but truth touches the heart out of which are the issues of life." Teachers must them- selves be seekers after truth, if they are to give to their pupils the incentives that will make them desire and search for it. Teachers must know by what means truth may be found, if they are to direct their pupils aright in this search. When teachers in all our schools learn that they have not discharged their full duty in simply instructing and drilling their pupils in the subject-matter of the curriculum, that academic knowledge is not the whole purpose of education, then we shall see teachers who are seekers after truth, and S14 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING who, in addition to striving for objective results, make it a distinct purpose of their teaching to direct the young in the search for truth that the ultimate aim of true educa- tion may be attained in character growth. Spiritual growth possible for all. Individual men may \ary greatly in their attainments when these are estimated by material or human standards. For this reason there is an almost universal difference among men because of scholarship, wealth, or position. When, however, human minds are estimated in terms of the Infinite, the degrees of difference among the diverse finite minds seem small in comparison to the wide difference between the Infinite and the finite mind. To illustrate: If two persons set out to walk to a certain place a mile distant, and the one had al- ready gone three fourths of a mile before the other started, they would be considered a long distance apart. If, how- ever, they were setting out to walk from New York to Chi- cago, and the one was three fourths of a mile in advance of the other, they would be regarded as only a short distance apart. The walker who is three fourths of a mile in advance of the other seems a long way ahead when the distance to be traveled is only one mile, but when it is a thousand miles he does not seem so very far in advance of the other. Three fourths of a mile seems a long distance when compared with one mile, but when it is compared with one thousand miles, it seems a very short distance. Similarly, with a conception of truth, all finite minds, however far apart they may seem to be from one another in knowledge, are relatively close together when their knowledge is compared with that of the Infinite. All persons in every walk in life may attain a clearer understanding and a fuller conception of truth and of God, with the consequent character growth if they respond to the urgent Divine force within which impels them to seek that which is true and high and ennobling. ' THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 315 Mental and spiritual unrest essential for growth. The unrest in the human mind and heart, the longing to know something not yet clearly understood, which is present in the soul of man is an essential condition for growth. If man knew truth intuitively, if he understood God, there would be no higher realms to explore, and he would have no incentive for study and research. There would be nothing to stimulate growth, for there would be no higher knowledge to which man might attain. Thus it will be seen that there was wisdom in the Divine plan which withheld knowledge from man, ordaining that he secure it through his own ef- fort, for in no other way could man have grown in the true sense or come into a full realization of self. Wise instruc- tion should feed this desire for growth in such a way that with material properly selected and related, the knowledge gained wi\[ enlarge the conception of higher truth. The person who understands how to give such instruction and gain such results is a teacher in the highest sense. Since there can be no real growth without the seeking element, which finds its expression in a desire to know truth and in a hunger for the Divine, it is apparent that God showed his wisdom in implanting in the soul of man the longing for truth. It is the longing for truth not yet at- tained, that gives the unrest, which leads human beings to seek fm-ther truth. It is this unrest, this "divine discon- tent," in the soul of man which prevents his settling down satisfied and content with the first grasp of truth, and leads him on to fuller knowledge and higher truth. With this constantly enlarging conception and understanding of truth, comes the desire for broader knowledge and deeper experi- ences. Thus impelled by his unrest, man is ever seeking truth, and a fuller realization of the self. The Creator adopted the surest means of arousing man to a spiritual activity, which, when properly directed, results in continual growth 316 THE PROFESSION OF TEACHING in Divine truth, when He withheld knowledge and gave unrest. The poet has expressed this in the following lines : — THE GIFTS OF GOD When God at first made man. Having a glass of blessings standing by; Let us (said He), pour on him all we can; Let the world's riches which dispersed lie. Contract into a span. So strength first made a way; Then beauty flowed, then wisdom, honor, pleasure; When almost all was out, God made a stay. Perceiving that alone, of all His treasure. Rest in the bottom lay. For if I should (said He), Bestow this jewel also on My creature. He would adore my gifts instead of Me, And rest in Nature, not the God of Nature, So both should losers be. Yet let him keep the rest. But keep them with repining restlessness: Let him be rich and weary, but at least. If goodness lead him not, yet weariness May toss him to My breast. George Herbert. True education results in character growth. The pur- pose of this chapter is to show that all human effort is con- cerned with self-realization, which can be attained only by working in harmony with fixed laws and in response to a natural longing of the soul for higher things — for truth. Indeed throughout the entire book, the effort has been to present the means by which the young may be assisted in their efforts to attain the ultimate aim of education in char- acter building. It has been made clear that the school, in addition to giving a knowledge of science, history, mathe- matics, and other facts of world knowledge, should endeavor THE FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPT 317 to lead pupils to see that back of this body of knowledge there is an Infinite mind that has created and ordered all things in the universe after a definite plan. If this is properly done, the learner will feel the promptings of the hunger for truth and will come to understand that all true growth for himself will be made only through satisfying this hunger in a search for and the attainment of higher knowledge and truth. This truth is the fundamental concept, a fuller knowledge of which all mankind is striving to gain. When this knowledge is gained by an individual, it is said, in terms of philosophy, that he has found truth; in terms of education, that he has attained character growth. Hence the teacher, while con- cerning himself with the immediate aim, should never lose sight of the ultimate aim, character. To this end, he should remember that the subjects of study as defined by the cur- riculum are not merely facts of knowledge to be imparted to the pupil, but that they furnish the material by means of which ideals may be formed, incentives for the search for truth may be received, and real character results may be attained. INDEX Ability, the child's known and util- ized, chapter xiv; above average, 280; average, 279; chart for record of child's, 283; chart for study of self, 296; desirable likes a factor in, 294; diagram illustrating range of, 279; discovery of, often ac- cidental, 292; elements in, 296; ex- ceptional, often neglected, 285; grouping according to, makes teaching just, 284; injustice to pupils because of wTong evaulation of, 287; interests of child often re- veal, 292; special classes for special, 290; sub-normal, 279; teachers must have varied, 295; unrecog- nized, example of, 285; varied, in different persons, 278; varied, in different studies, 288; varied, illus- trated, 289. Addams, Jane, 66. Aim of education, chapter iii; at- tained through right teaching, 59; character, 45; examination tests show, 144; in teaching, 15; real- ized, 202; stated by different edu- cators, 44; use of subject-matter a means toward, 57. Api)erception, relation to learning process, 126; relation to acquisi- tion of knowledge illustrated, 128. Apperceptive mass, in the learning process, 127. Apprenticeship, vocational prepara- tion through, 5, 230. Authors quoted, Bryant, 65; Bun- yan, John, 75; David (Psalmist), 63, 65; De Garmo, 13; Epictetus, 75; Froebel, 13,45;Hall, G. Stan- ley, 150, 163, 184; Harper, W. R., 181; Harris, W. T., 45, 188; Har- vey, L. D., 234; Herbert, George, 316; Hinsdale, 37, 187, 190, 193; Holland, J. G., 57; James, William 76; MacKenzie, 62; McMurry, 13, 45; Milton, 45; O'Shea, 45; Paul (Apostle), 75, 80; Plato, 44; Rus- kin, 64; Soldan, 167; Spencer, Herbert, 13, 45; Strayer, George, 182; Thorndike, E. L., 44; Tomp- kins, Arnold, 135, 168; Washing- ton, 103; Wordsworth, 65. Aversion, in the learning process, 132. Bell, 312. Board of education, obligations of, to teachers, 23 ; relation to schools, 24; relation of teachers to, 30; representative of parents, 24; vio- lation of ethical relation by, 25. Booth, 66. Bryant, 65. Bunyan, 65. Character, aim of education, 45; aim attained, 59; broad conception of, 46; building of, 56; ideals in, 48- 54; the sum of ideals, 57; true edu- cation, results in, 316. Child, duties of community toward, 19, 22; duty of board of educaton toward, 19; duty of superintend- ent toward, 19, 27; education of, 19; responsibility of teaches to, 19, 35. Citizenship, training foreign chil- INDEX dren for American, 107; State forced to educate for, 116. Civilization, complex, makes educa- tional problem difficult, 231; rela- tion of subject-matter of schools to, 211; simple needs of early, 87; social laws in development of, 71; vocational training in early, 85-87. Columbus, 160, 311. Commerce, explained, 4; character- istics of, 10; as vocation, sugges- tive study of, 268. Community, duties of, to children, 22; duties of, to teacher, 21 ; ideals of, 22; influences of, upon chil- dren, 22; obligation to school, 21; special obligations of, 23. Concepts, correct, necessary for right thinking, chapter viii; early, differ with environment, 200; from manual training, 150; fundamen- tal, 300; in the learning process, 129; means of gaining, through teaching, 164; related, necessary for logical thinking, 143; subject- * matter rich in, 149; subject-matter for teaching, 210; teacher's pov- erty of, 142; teachers should teach real, 131; teaching should correct wrong, 163. Consciousness, gained through sen- sations, 121; beginning of, impor- tant, 121. Coun.selor, vocational, 270; quali- ties for, 271. Course of study, readjustment of, 245; should contain subjects rich in concepts, 149. Curiosity, appeal through, 136; in lejirning i)roccss, 132; interest out- growth of, 132. Curriculum, character of subject- matter for, 207; concepts material in, 149; race fads in, 98; test of subject-matter of, 98; vocational- izing of subject-matter of, 246. David (Psalmist), 63, 65. De Garmo, 13. Desire, in learning process, 132; re- sults from interest and informa- tion, 132. Dewey, John, 298. Domestic arts, value of training in, 244. Domestic science, for practical edu- cation, 228-29; work in, sugges- tions for, 243. Edison, 312. Education, aim of character, 44; aim of, realized, 202; all social institu- tions have a part in, 95 ; both gen- eral and special, 203; community idea in, 13; complex civilization makes problem of, difficult, 231; early attempts at practical, 227-29; educating forces for, 43; explained, 43, 199; guidance of agencies for, 203; happiness as related to, 62; large aim in, 59; means for, 204- 06 ; need of vocational, recognized, 226 ; plus element in, 57 ; practical, result of demand, 226; principles of, 4, 13; relation of happiness to, 80; results in character growth, 316; schools of, 13; source of means of, 206; statement of aim by edu- cators, 44; subjective phase of, 152; ultimate aim of, chapter iii; vocational, in preparation for life, 224. Eliot, Charles W., 253. Epiclelus, 75. Ethics, among clergy, 8, 36; elements in, 7; ethical relations of various persons to teachers, 20; in pro- fessions, 7; in legal profession, 9; in medical profession, 7, 36; inter- INDEX 821 dependence of ethical relations, 20; school, chapter ii. Froebel, 13. Fulton, Robert, 312. Function, social, of school, chapter V ; of school performed, 100. Genius, contributions of, to State, 281; schools should develop, 281; teachers should try to discover, 281; unrecognized, 285-87; value of cultivating, 290. God, Gifts of (poem), 316; organ- ized matter proof of, 309; revela- tion of, in nature, 309; unity of man with, 310; unity of univtirse with, 310. Growth, evidence of, in grasp of truth, 308; mental and spiritual unrest essential to, 315; methods of, illustrated, 306; spiritual, at- tained through effort to get truth, 805; spiritual, possible for all, 314; true education results in, 306. Habit, of thinking, 152; cultivating, of thinking, 154; element in abil- ity, 296. Hall, G. Stanley, 150, 163, 184. Happiness, an aid to best effort, 67; as related to education, chapter iv; desire for universal, 62; immun- ity from pain not necessary for, 77; impossible without observance of law, 77; not dependent upon external conditions, 74; quest of, legitimate, 63; relation to educa- tion, 80; through self-gratification, 64; through service, 66; through obedience to law, 68. Harper, VV. R., 181. Harris, W. T., 45, 188. Harvey, L. D., 234. Herbart, 13. Herbert, George, 316. Hinsdale, Burke, 37, 187, 190. Holland. J. G., 57. Home, character of nation deter- mined by character of, 229; condi- tion in modern, 88; domestic sci- ence dignifies work of, 229; duties of, relegated to school, 93; ideals of, 49; physical needs of child neg- lected by, 97; responsibilities of , 96; school should supplement training of, 91 ; unable to provide complete training, 90; vocational training in early, 85. Ideals, character the sum of, 57; citi- zenship, 53; commercial, 51; com- munity, 22; home, 49; industrial, 52; manhood, 54; municipal, 50; patriotism, 54. Image, memory, 125. Industrial workers, 3. Industries, character of, 3; involving work in wood, 242; prevocational work in various, 245; schools should lay foundation for, 233; subdivisions of, 254; training for, through apprenticeship, 230; trained specialists required for, 231. Interest, in the learning process, 131 ; factor in learning, 133. James, William, 76. Jefferson, 103. Job, 65. Judgment, exercise of, 129; relation of, to learning process, 125. Kane, 311. Lamb, Charles, 77. Laws, all matter controlled by fixed, 300; breaking of, fatal to happi- ness, 72; growth in animal king- 322 INDEX dom controlled by, 302; growth in vegetable kingdom controlled by, 301; habit of obeying, 75; happi- ness impossible without observ- ance of, 77; happiness through obedience to, 68; infinite mind re- vealed in nature, 303; nature's, discovered through experience, 70; social, evolved, 71; social, broken, 71; spiritual, interpreted through natural, 309; of teaching, 176- 77; violation of, 69. Learning process, chapter vii; aver- sion in, 132; compared to building, 128; concept in, 129; curiosity in, 132; desire in, 132; exercise of judgment necessary, 129; influ- ence of physical nature in, 136; in- terest important factor in, 133; relation of apperception to, 126; relation of judgment to, 125 ; rela- tion of memory to, 124; steps in, 135; subject-matter in, 168; think- ing in, 133; will in, 132. Lesson, application of, 173-76; de- velopment of, 172-75 ; general- ization in development of, 173, 176. MacKenzie, 62. McMurry, Frank, 13, 45. Manual training, attempt in practi- cal education, 227; concepts from, illustrated, 150; for teaching con- cepts, 228; possibilities of, in school program, 228; practical use of, in prevocational work, 240, 242. Marconi, 312. Medicine, different schools in, 12; ethics in, 7, 36; outline of study for vocational guidance, 261; profes- sion of, 4. Memory images, 125; in the learning process, 124. Nansen, 811. Nation, plan of education for, impor- tant, 103; Washington on educa- tion in, 103. Negative, should be avoided in teachmg, 293. Objective teaching, aim in, 172; aim should not govern selection of lesson material, 142; matter for, 59; measure of growth in, 141; re- sults from 59, 144; results defined, 144; results illustrated, 145; re- sults in recitation, 196. O'Shea, M. V., 45. Parents, co-workers with teachers, 29; relation to teachers, 28; report of, for vocational guidance, 273; responsibility of, 81. Paul (Apostle), 75, 80. ^ Peary, 311. Pestalozzi, 13. Pilgrims, 161. Plato, 44. Plus element, in education, 57. Prevocational instruction, illustrated, 240-43; in small schools, 239; in various industries, 245; value of, 237-40. Principles, all matter governed by, 300; animal life controlled by, 302; fundamental in all life, 303; growth in vegetable kingdom con- trolled by, 301 ; ideals based upon, 49-56; laws of happiness based upon, 68; professions based upon, 0; psychological, learned through experience, 146; teaching based upon, 11; underlying in, acquisi- tion of knowledge, 176. Profession, agreement on laws not essential to, 12; based upon fun- damental i)rinciples, 6; charac- teristics, of, 9-16; defined, 1 ff.\ INDEX 323 definition applied to teaching, 10 distinguished from other vocations 4; ethical elements in, 10; ethics of, 7; fundamental principles in, 6 preparation for, 10. Pupils, educational capital of, 201 failure of, to think, 147; keeping in school, 237; preparation for sub I ject-matter, 171 ; recitation adapt- ed, to, 190; relation of teachers to, 35; subject-matter adapted to, 218; teaching, how to study, 189; use of previous knowledge of, : 162. Recitaticm, chapter x; adapted to pupils, 190; aims in, 186-88; con- ditions for good, 196; established feature of school work, 183; evi- dences of good, 196; German plan of, 184; idea of, modified, 183; im- portance of, 185; in school pro- gram, 181; learning to study in, 190; length of. 193-95; objects of, 189; objective results in, 196; or- der in, 191; subjective results in, 196; table for program of, 195; value of, 181 ; waste of time in, 182, 190. Riis, Jacob, 6Q. Ruskin, John, 64. School, American free, 104; assumes duties of other institutions, 94-96; criticism of, makes change neces- sary, 148; duties imposed upon, 90; duties of other institutions dele- gated to, 90, 93-96; economical method of education, 116; efifec- tive method for instructing masses, 115; fosters patriotism, 109; homo- geneous people result of, 107; im- portant facts in curriculum of, 98; influence for preservation of State, 118; medical inspection in, 93; nationalizing children in, 108; a nationalizing force, 105; recita- tion a feature of, 183; relation of, to State, chapter vi; relation of, to vocational instruction, 112; rela- tion of, to vocational problem, 275; should instruct for exercise of sovereignty, 117; should pro- vide instruction for all, 256; social function of, chapter v; standard- izes knowledge, 110; vocational instruction a problem of, 229. Sensations, character of, differ, 122; consciousness through,^ 122 ; few distinct kinds of, 123. Soldan, 167. Spencer, Herbert, 13, 45. State, laws of self-preservation of, 116; relation of school to, chapter vi; right of, to require attendance of school, 109; school potent influ- ence for preserving, 118. Stevenson, 312. Strayer, George, 182. Subject-matter, chapter xi; adapted to development of child, 218; aim of education realized in, 202; cul- tural value of, 213; failure to adapt, results in loss, 218; mate- rial for teaching, 209-10; prepara- tion of child's mind for, 171; pre- sentation of, 168; purpose of, 168; relation of, to present civilization, 211-12; right estimate of value of, 199; selection of, 165, 207; se- quence in, 167; taken from all fields of knowledge, 216; tests of, 99; use of, in learning process, 168. Subjective teaching, aim of, 172; ap- parent results of, often misleading, 146; character growth for, 59; growth from, 178; more attention to, essential, 152; recitation should show results of, 196; results of. 324 INDEX 144; selection of subject-matter for, 142. Superintendent of schools, ethical obligations of, 25; ethical relations to teachers, 26; relation to pupils, 27; relation of teachers to, 30. Teacher, aim of, 15; better prepara- tion of, 151; complex relations of, 28; concern of, for human welfare, 11; co-workers with parents, 29; ethical obligations of, 16; ethical relations of community to, 21; ethical relations to one another, 32; examination tests show aim of, 144; failure of, due to ignorance of right aim, 141; knowledge re- quired of, 11; knowledge of edu- cational principles by, 15; mate- rial used by, 1 1 ; must know law of teaching, 176; must apply law of teaching, 177; obligations of board of education to, 23; often mistaken results of teaching, 145; poverty of concepts of, 142; preparation of, 178; purpose of, 11; relation of, to board of education, 30; relation of, to parents, 28; relation of, to pupils, 35; relation of, to superin- tendent, 30; responsibility of, 28, 81; thoughtless cruelty of, illus- trated, 38-39; varied relations of, 27; violations of ethical relations of, illustrated, 33-34; when mem- bers of teaching profession, 17. Teaching, the, process, chapter ix; adherence to laws in, 12; aim of, 15; doubtful classification of, 2; ethi- cal element in, 15; explained, 157; first law of, 158; material for, 11; misdirected effort in, 160; point where it begins, 159; principles in, 11; purpose of, 11; relation of pu- pil's knowledge to, 162; require- ments of a profession met in, 17; special preparation for, 13; should correct WTong concepts, 163; voca- tion of, 2, 17. Thinking, correct concepts neces- sary for, chapter viii; cultivation of habit of, important, 140, 152- 54; in the learning process, 133; necessary for subjective growth, 140; power to think gained through exercise, 134; pupil's failure in, due to teaching, 147; related concepts necessary for, 143. Thorndike, E. L., 44. Truth, desire for, makes teaching possible, 312; desire for, univer- sal, 311 ; divine discontent prompts search for, 304; explorers and sci- entists seekers for, 31 1 ; growth re- sult of himger for, 316; spiritual growth through search for, 305. Unity, principles of, fundamental, 310; principles of, in all life, 308; national, through common knowl- edge, 104; of universe with God, 310. Vocation, basis for instruction in, wanting, 232; broad significance of term, 230; choice of, important, 250; classification based upon kind of material used, 254; classi- fied according to preparation re- quired, 234; creative and non-cre- ative, 253; desirable characteris- tics of, 257; education for, 221; in preparation for life, 224; guid- ance in, an aid to efficiency in, 114; half-time work in preparing for, 238; importance of preparing for, 254-55; instruction for a school problem, 256; methods of choos- ing, 258; need of education for, recognized, 226; prevocational in- struction for, 240; relation of INDEX 325 school to instruction for, 112; ri^ht of State to require instruc- tion for, 113; stratification of, with academic attainment, 235- 37; table of classification of, 235; training for, a remedy for poverty and crime, 222-24; training for a, 85-87, 224. Vocational bureau, 271. Vocational education, chapter xii; basis for, lacking, 232; illustrative lessons for prevocational instruc- tion, 240-43; need of, recognized, 226; readjustment of course of study for, 245; a school problem, 229. Vocational guidance, chapter xiii; agriculture, outline of study in, 263; employer's report as aid in. 274; illustrative studies in, 261-69; manufacturing, a study in, 266; medicine, a study in, 261 ; methods in, in various cities, 255; parents' reports for aid in, 273; pupil's re- port as aid in, 272; purpose of, 250- 52; suggestions for instruction in, 258, 260; teacher's report as aid in, 274; trade and commerce, outline of study in, 268. Waste, from use of wrong subject- matter, 218. Washington, 103. Will, in the learning process, 182. Wordsworth, 65. Workers, paupers and criminals from unskilled, 222; skilled and un- skiUed, 221. This book is DUE on the last date stamped below OCT- 2 _. jacr 3 i93Ji TSl? 5 t935 OCTl ^555 WAR 6 ^33^: ■'(^AR 1 3 I93f ■,UG 2 61957, I JUN27 1^ St! JUL 1 9 1985 1985 Form L-9-10m-5,'28 LB 1025 W85 UK, bUUmthN MtblUrjAL LIBKAMY |-AblLII Y ''oodley - AA 001225 584 o The profession of rC teaching. DFMCO ;34N DEC S 1 '"W- W85 UCLA-Young Research Library LB1025 .W85 y L 009 620 177 7