LIBRARY 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Gl FT OF 
 
 Class 
 
How to Have a Good School 
 
 A Bulletin for the Use of Teachers. 
 
 PREPARED AND ISSUED BY 
 
 C. P. GARY, 
 
 Stale Superintendent. 
 
 Teacners are requested to preserve this bulletin for 
 
 1*1* 
 and ..direction. 
 
 MADISON, WIS. 
 
 PEMOCRAT PRINTING COMPANY, STATE PRINTED 
 1907 
 
To Teachers 
 
 ~n 
 
 This bulletin is sent out in the hope that it will prove sugges- 
 tive to teachers who are earnestly striving to improve their 
 work. It i designed primarily for country teachers. The laws 
 relating to country schools recently enacted by the legislature 
 make it necessary for teachers to be more closely inspected and 
 their work more critically examined than in the past. At least 
 more seems to hinge upon the report of county and district 
 superintendents. The fifty dollars special state aid can not be 
 granted unless the teacher is regarded as successful. This 
 bulletin will help teachers to criticise themselves and thus im- 
 prove their schools. I would suggest that the teacher might 
 well take up these suggestions item by item, and write down or 
 check off those items in respect to which she is resolved to im- 
 prove. As she reaches a degree of success that satisfies her in 
 one direction, her mind may be turned with the more energy 
 toward the strengthening of some other weak point. 
 
 The teacher is requested to keep this bulletin for her own 
 private use. The suggestions are so brief that study will be 
 required in order to obtain good results. Most of the sugges- 
 tions and directions are simple and common place, however, 
 and the chief thing needed is a willing spirit and a determined 
 will. Respectfully, 
 
 & 
 
 State Superintendent. / / 
 
 .. -- -9 * 
 
 181160 
 

 HOW TO HAVE A GOOD SCHOOL, 
 
 Physical Conditions. 
 
 1. Desirable. 
 
 a. Commanding view for schoolhouse site. 
 
 b. A well-kept, neat, attractive yard of ample size. 
 
 c. A neat, well-painted commodious building with 
 
 large covered porch, cloak-rooms, closets for sup- 
 plies, small library room. 
 
 d. Adjustable seats, good pictures on the walls, etc. 
 
 e. A good wood-shed. 
 
 2. Necessary. 
 
 a. Good outbuildings; suitable fuel in abundance. 
 A good supply of pure water. 
 Proper ventilation, and proper lighting of school- 
 house. 
 
 d. Suitable apparatus and supplies. 
 
 e. Sanitary surroundings. 
 
 The School Board. 
 
 1. Should take a personal interest and pride in the success 
 
 of the school. 
 
 2. Should co-operate with the teacher, and give her all 
 
 the encouragement and help possible without making 
 themselves troublesome. 
 
 3. Should be loyal to the teacher, and stand by her, if pos- 
 
 sible, in all troubles growing out of school discipline. 
 
 The Patrons. 
 
 1. Should give their hearty support to the teacher and not 
 let local quarrels or factions disturb the peace of the 
 school. 
 
6 
 
 2. Should visit the school occasionally, and should if pos- 
 
 sible always go '\vheii specially invited by the teacher. 
 
 3. Should pay littie attention to the ordinary school-tales 
 
 of the children. 
 
 4. Should support the board and the teacher in their 
 
 efforts to maintain a good school. 
 
 5. Should send their children to school every day on time 
 
 if possible. 
 
 The Pupils. 
 
 1. Should attend school regularly, and should be an time 
 
 always if possible. 
 
 2. Should have their lessons well prepared mi time every 
 
 day. 
 
 3. Should take pride in the good name of the school. 
 
 4. Should help in all ways they can to make the school a 
 
 success. This they can do by being regular and 
 prompt, by attending closely to the business of the 
 hour, whatever it may be; by being cheerful, good- 
 natured and ready to obey the teacher ; by being ready 
 at all times to help those who need their help on the 
 playground or on the way to and from school. 
 
 The Teacher. 
 
 The teacher is the life and spirit of the school. "As is the 
 teacher so is the school." If the teacher is cross, 
 irritable and unsympathetic, the school can not be a 
 good one, no matter how favorable the conditions 
 otherwise. On the other hand, an earnest, sympathetic, 
 capable teacher will do much to redeem the most un- 
 promising situation. 
 
 1. She should ~be master of the situation. She should 
 show good generalship. Teachers who have much or 
 long-continued trouble with the discipline are not 
 good generals. They may lack tact, good sense, firm- 
 ness, courage, scholarship, interest in the work, train- 
 ing, pleasing and forceful personality, or some other 
 thing; but the lack is there, and they should analyze 
 themelves till they find out what is wrong and then 
 remedy the fault or quit the business of teaching. 
 
7 
 
 2. She should be courteous and dignified, not easily an- 
 
 noyed or angered. This does not mean she should be 
 indifferent to disorder or to inattention on the part of 
 pupils to their duties. She should greet her pupils 
 pleasantly, but not gush over them; should so con- 
 duct herself that they will feel free with her, but not 
 familiar; their respect should be deep and genuine. 
 This can be brought about only when the teacher is 
 earnest, sympathetic, dignified and competent, living 
 for her school and with her school. 
 
 3. She should be prompt, never tardy in getting to 
 
 school, never tardy in her 'work in the school room, 
 never tardy in calling school to order, but never in 
 too great a hurry to get away from the schoolhouse 
 at noon or at the close of the day. (Some teachers 
 remain at the schoolhouse much longer than is neces- 
 sary. This is an unfortunate habit, for the air is 
 usually bad, and a change of scene after the labors 
 of the day is much to be desired.) 
 
 4. She should be firm, and should be so confident of her- 
 
 self that she can talk in low decisive tones without 
 threat or bluster even under the most trying circum- 
 stances. 
 
 5. She should be natural, should be herself. But the 
 
 natural self should be ladylike, dignified, courteous, 
 alert, and active. 
 
 6. She should be physically well. Doubtless many good 
 
 teachers are not blessed with good health, but this is 
 a great misfortune at best, and it makes successful 
 work much more difficult. Often people suffer need- 
 lessly for years because they fail to get the advice of 
 competent physicians. Often people are not well 
 simply because they do not pay proper attention to 
 the well-known laws of health. 
 
 7. She should be progressive. ''Only growing teachers 
 
 are fit to lead growing pupils." 
 
8. She should be devoted. "Teaching demands conse- 
 
 crated lives, and the time and energies of the most 
 gifted." 
 
 9. She should be prepared. "The prepared teacher works 
 
 in the light of the educational thought and experience 
 of all the ages. ' ' 
 
 10. She should be just. Otherwise pupils will not respect 
 
 her and her influence will be minimized. 
 
 11. She should be tactful. The tactful teacher will avoid 
 
 many unnecessary conflicts, and disagreeable situa- 
 tions. 
 
 12. She should be courageous. A schoolroom is a poor 
 
 place for a timid, shrinking soul. The teacher should 
 be a leader, fearless, conscious of her own power, self- 
 possessed even when most sorely tried. The teacher 
 who does her duty has the support of the laws, the 
 school board, the enlightened public sentiment of the 
 district, and best of all, her own conscience. A 
 teacher should so teach and so govern that she will 
 not in the years to come have to blush at the recollec- 
 tion of her 'weakness or cowardice. Often she will be 
 in doubt, as to what is best to do, but she should 
 throw her fears to the winds in settling the question. 
 
9 
 
 ORGANIZATION AND DISCIPLINE. 
 
 The teacher should organize and systematize everything re- 
 lating" to her school and her work, that can properly be organized 
 aiid systematized. Children get into the habit of being system- 
 atic and orderly if they are properly supervised and trained by 
 the teacher, and when this is accomplished the battle is well- 
 nigh won. There should be a regular program for recitations 
 and it should be followed. There should be a study program 
 for all pupils old enough to study, and it should be followed. 
 A simple, quiet method of calling pupils to the class and of dis- 
 missing them from the class should be used. (Do not use a 
 jangling, noisy call-bell.) The same holds with reference to 
 dismissing school. Pupils should never be boisterous, in the 
 schoolroom. At recess and in bad weather they may laugh and 
 talk, but not run and romp and scream. A quiet, self-possessed, 
 determined, but sympathetic manner, is necessary on the teacher's 
 part to bring about the' necessary results. To this I would add 
 persistence and steadfastness, for without these qualities nothing 
 else is of avail in dealing with children. 
 
 Many a teacher gives up on the eve of success. Then all her 
 efforts are wasted. It should always be remembered that to 
 organize and systematize the work of a school takes time, effort 
 and determination. Habits have to be formed, but the habits 
 thus formed are valuable for life. Where system prevails large 
 quantities of work can be easily accompished, but where there 
 i.~ lack of system the work suffers and the pupils make little 
 progress. System should not be applied where it will do harm, 
 as for instance in the order of calling on pupils in the recitation. 
 The teacher who in the recitation begins at a certain place in the 
 class and passes to the next in regular order, is making a blunder. 
 No pupil should ever reach the point where he thinks he can 
 guess what question he will be asked. 
 
 "In directing the affairs of the schoolroom, let the voice be 
 low, clear and decisive, impelling quiet, thoughtful attention 
 to the exercise. All directions, whether by word or signal, 
 should be exactly followed by every pupil. The school should 
 move as a unit. We frequently hear teachers direct as if they 
 did not anticipate obedience. The teacher should -expect and 
 
10 
 
 should obtain absolute compliance with her least request and 
 this from all the pupils in the room without delay. " Quoted 
 from Miss Arnold's "Waymarks for Teachers." 
 
 One word of caution. Some teachers are naturally martinets. 
 Such persons worship order. If such persons can have implicit 
 obedience of pupils instantly and always at the word of command, 
 they feel that the chief end of life is attained. Such schools 
 are apt to lack the hearty, wholesome spirit so much prized by 
 every capable and right-minded teacher. The ideal discipline 
 is not of the martinet type obtained at the point of a stick or 
 through the tongue-lashings of a scold. Good order should be 
 of the cheerful; hearty, co-operative sort where a fine spirit 
 prevails. Occasionally on account of mismanagement a school 
 gets into a state of rebellion. Under such circumstances heroic 
 measures may be necessary for a time. 
 
 "So far as the pupils are concerned, the tests of sound class 
 discipline are (1) prompt and willing obedience, (2) close 
 attention, (3) pleasure in giving satisfaction to the teacher, 
 (4) eagerness to answer questions combined with thoughtful 
 answering, (5) good manners and right conduct generally, (6) 
 thoroughness in work, (7) good order without unnecessary phy- 
 sical restraint, (8) collective and individual self-control. 
 
 On the other hand, the teacher, in order to assist in creating 
 these qualities and to maintain them, should be 
 
 (1) Patient and sympathetic. Sympathy is the key to per- 
 fect mastery over the pupils. 
 
 (2) Quick in decision. A firm but kindly exercise of power 
 calls forth a child's respect. 
 
 (3) True to his own commands. It is as a rule a mistake to 
 repeat an order. It is better to watch and wait until it has 
 been fully obeyed, naming: an indivdiual or individuals if neces- 
 sary. Nothing is more fatal to discipline than to allow one act 
 of disobedience to pass even when that act is only one of 
 omission. 
 
 (4) Careful to husband the voice. Shouting or noisy dem- 
 onstration of any kind creates a bad impression. The teacher's 
 eyes will aid the vo : ce if thcv are used to cover the class. 
 
 (5) Careful to sustain the childrcns' interest. Every step 
 ought to be one of progress and the pupils should be made to 
 feel it. 
 
11 
 
 (6) Just. Praise of good work or worthy conduct is valuable. 
 Blame, on the other hand, should be used sparingly. 
 
 (7) Consistent in her demands. Abundant -energy at one 
 time and slackness at another, with corresponding demands upon 
 the scholars, are mischievous in their tendencies. 
 
 (8) Mindful that discipline is not an end, but a means to 
 complete living. 
 
 (9) Finn, self-reliant and possessed of self-control. 
 
 (10) Careful to avoid corporal punishment if possible. The 
 instruments of reformation are employment antl reward not 
 punishment. 
 
 (11) Attentive to the pupil's physical comfort. 
 
 (12) Always willing to give free scope for individual develop- 
 ment. Self-expression should be encouraged. It avails little 
 to tell children to be good : they must be led in that direction. 
 One of the surest ways into the heart of the child is for the 
 teacher to associate himself with what calls forth some of the 
 happiest moments of its life." 
 
 The above sensible suggestions on discipline are taken from 
 S. E. Bray's "School Organization." 
 
 RULES AND PUNISHMENT. 
 
 The teacher should make few rules, and such as she does 
 make should usually be general in character. The rules should 
 be reasonable, well understood, and regularly enforced. Many 
 teachers make too many rules ; and children if conscientious, 
 have to think too much about the question of whether the rule 
 allows this or that or forbids. Children that are not so con- 
 scientious will make little effort to remember or to observe the 
 rules when too numerous. 
 
 It is usually necessary to have some regulations about leaving 
 seats, applying to the teacher for help, and such other matters 
 as may be found necessary to bring about order and study dur- 
 ing school hours, but so far as conduct is concerned, pupils gen- 
 erally know what is becoming, proper and right and what is not, 
 and it is certainly not necessary to have rules to cover such cases. 
 
 It is not necessary for instance to have a rule that a big boy 
 
12 
 
 shall not abuse a little boy, or that pupils shall not be vulgar and 
 profane in their talk, or annoy and disturb passersby on the road, 
 or near neighbors. Punishment may be administered in such 
 way as may seem proper to the teacher without saying anything 
 about a definite rule of the school. When a. pupil "knows bet- 
 ter" than to do what he did, there is sufficient justification for 
 punishing him. 
 
 This leads me to say that all punishments should be (1) as 
 appropriate to the offense as possible, (2) as mild as may be with- 
 out bcinjr ineffective, (3) should be graded according: to the char- 
 acter of the offense, the frequency with which the offense occurs, 
 and the mental attitude of the child at the time of committing 
 tire offense. 
 
 Somet'mes offenses are committed with deliberate intention 
 on the part of an older pupil. This, ho'wever, is rare except in 
 schools taught by weak and incomnetent teachers. On the other 
 band, most offenses are committed by the pupil unintentionally, 
 thoughtlessly, or in a spirit of fun. 
 
 A teacher is often at her wit's end to determine the kind of 
 punishment that should be used. The most useful and the most 
 available is censure, but the teacher must exercise great care 
 not to let censure degenerate into nap-srinq-, or the calling; of 
 names, or the ridiculino- of the child or his familv. There may 
 be times when a bit of ridicule is wholesome and proper, but 
 this should be administered rather in the spirit of pleasantry 
 than in the spirit of ansrer. Usually when censure is given the 
 teacher should follow this suggestion from Fen el on : "Never 
 tell a, child of a fault without at the same time suorfestins; some 
 mode of redressing it which will induce him to nut it into prac- 
 tice; for nothing is to be more avoided than that chagrin and 
 discouragement which are the consequences of mere formal cor- 
 rection." 
 
 Other forms of punishment are had marks, separation from 
 the oilier children, mdkinn the puvils stand in the corner or by 
 the teacher's desk. etc. Such punishments have onlv a limited 
 value and should be administered with caution. A verv sen- 
 s : tive child when forced to stand by the teacher's desk or in a 
 corner, often takes the punishment to heart to a degree little 
 dreamed of by the teacher; while a stubborn, thick-skinned boy 
 is likely to be made worse by this process. Such a boy will also 
 
13 
 
 seek opportuninties when the teacher's back is turned, to amuse 
 the other pupils at the teacher's expense. Again, teachers often 
 force pupils to stand longer than they ought to stand, or to study 
 in a dark corner where it is injurious to the eyes. 
 
 Some of the old forms of punishment that our grandparents 
 suffered from, such as kneeling on the sharp edge of a stick, 
 holding out weights at arms length, washing out the mouth 
 with soap, and other forms of barbarism, have fortunately 
 passed out of use. 
 
 Another mode of punishment in common use is detention. 
 Pupils are kept in at recess or detained after school as a punish- 
 ment. If a pupil is kept in at recess he should be permitted to 
 leave the schoolroom for a few minutes before the recess period 
 or after. Such detention, particularly detention after school, 
 comes to be a serious fault with many teachers. It not only 
 becomes useless as a mode of punishment after a time, but it also 
 has its dangers. In winter it is but a short time from 4 o'clock 
 till dark and many pupils have long distances to go to reach 
 home. Parents are often very much annoyed and their plans 
 interfered with by such detention of their children, to say noth- 
 ing of the anxiety that they often endure. Nevertheless within 
 reasonable limits detention is proper punishment. 
 
 Another proper punishment under proper limitations, is tasks. 
 Often when pupils have neglected lessons some sort of task is 
 proper. The danger here, however, is that such tasks will beget 
 distaste for school and distaste for study. 
 
 Another method of punishment is deprivation of pleasure. 
 Skillful teachers succeed in using this method with much success. 
 The skillful teacher finds various ways in which to make school 
 life enjoyable. There are many things that a teacher may pro- 
 perly permit pupils to do or not, as she may think best. A priv- 
 ilege the writer used to value highly when a country pupil was 
 that of going with a companion for a bucket of water. The well 
 was two or three hundred yards from the schoolhouse. This 
 made an interesting and pleasant diversion. Idleness might very 
 properly be a reason for not permitting such a diversion. This 
 illustration is only one of a' score or more that might readily be 
 recalled. Such punishments, however, have their good effect 
 mainly in cases of occasional offenses and not habitual ones. 
 
 Corporal punishment is occasionally required, though the 
 
-u- 
 
 stronger the personality of the teacher, the greater her sympathy 
 and skill, the less the necessity for it. If administered at all it 
 should be done with a suitable instrument, should be admin- 
 istered in moderation, and should be regarded by the teacher 
 as a last resort. 
 
 The best teachers find it necessary to punish to some extent. 
 Children are not perfect. But the best teachers so far as dis- 
 cipline goes are those who have the best order with the least 
 effort. Young and inexperienced teachers, and those who have 
 had experience but are naturally weak in discipline must make 
 greater efforts in governing and must resort to punishment more 
 frequently. The school must be governed. 
 
 REWARDS. 
 
 
 
 "School government is dependent upon a system of rewards 
 as well as punishments. A child should study his lessons and 
 behave properly from a sense of duty; but, unfortunately, the 
 sense of duty is weak in the child, and has to be cultivated. The 
 cultivation of a proper moral sense is the great aim of school life, 
 but this is the work of years. Then, since the best motives are 
 weak, some inducements to right conduct must ' be held out to 
 children : hence the necessity for rewards. ' ' 
 
 The chief and readiest form of reward at the disposal of the 
 teacher is praise. It is evident that praise must be bestowed 
 in a discriminating way if it is to produce proper effect. Many 
 teachers get into the habit of saying little to their pupils about 
 their work and conduct except to find fault. This is a serious 
 mistake. A teacher who is watchful may find occasional oppor- 
 tunities to give sincere and merited praise to even the worst and 
 most indolent pupils. Some children have an excessive desire 
 for praise, but the sensible teacher will avoid going to extremes. 
 
 Another form of reward is school privileges. Most children 
 take it as a great favor to be able to do an errand, pass books 
 and pencils, assist another pupil in his lessons at the request of 
 the teacher, serve as monitors, and the like. These favors may 
 be bestowed by the teacher upon those who have done unusually 
 well not as compared with other pupils necessarily, but as com- 
 pared with their own usual efforts. Great care should be exer- 
 
-15- 
 
 cised not to fall into the habit of sho'wing these favors to cei*- 
 tain pupils only. 
 
 Another method of reward is place-taking. 'This, in the 
 form of emulation, is perhaps the most powerful known stimulus 
 to mental effort. Its defects are 
 
 (a) It is apt to be anti-social; i. e. it is apt to raise enmity 
 in the class. 
 
 (b) It is often too energetic in its application. Children are 
 sometimes moved up and down so frequently and in such a sum- 
 mary fashion that its force as a legitimate stimulus is lost. 
 
 (c) It is limited to the gifted." 
 
 If the teacher takes care to minimize or obviate these defects, 
 place-taking may be used to good advantage. 
 
 Another form of reward is prizes. Prizes, however, are sub- 
 ject to the same objections as place-taking. Prize-giving should 
 be used with great discretion, if at all, by teachers. The oppor- 
 tunities to win the prize should be approximately equal for all. 
 
 "Discipline may be secured by the legitimate use of child ac- 
 tivity. Drill, marching, music, change of lessons, a proper al- 
 ternation of subjects in the school curriculum e. g. a mechanical 
 lesson like writing might follow a lesson of great mental effort 
 like grammar orderly changes of place and attitude, and gen- 
 erally every incident in the school program, should be conducted 
 and regulated with a due regard to their value as aids to good 
 discipline." 
 
 The above quotations have been made from Dexter and Gar- 
 lick's "A Primer of School Method." 
 
 THE RECITATION. 
 
 Superintendent Greenwood of Kansas City in his "Principles 
 of Education Practically Applied" giives the following brief 
 directions to teachers in a chapter on "Methods of Conducting 
 Recitations." 
 
 1. Speak 
 
 (a) in low tones, (b) distinctly, (c) not too rapidly. 
 
 2. Do not prompt or assist 
 
 (a) in the recitation, (b) in examination. 
 
 3. Be polite to pupils. 
 
4. Do not repeat 
 
 (a) questions, (b) answers. 
 
 5. Govern yourself. 
 
 G. Govern your pupils. 
 
 7. Prepare for recitation. 
 
 8. Let your acts and words be worthy of your profession. 
 
 9. Be (a) original, (b) enthusiastic, (c) energetic, (d) 
 spirited, (e) sympathetic, (f) kind, (g) cheerful, (h) firm, 
 (i) self-possessed, (k) dignified, (1) patient. 
 
 The teacher will receive very little benefit from reading over 
 suggestions such as the above, unless she does it with the deter- 
 mination to test herself and to try to improve in respect to 
 those things in which she is weak. 
 
 With reference for example to the above suggestions in re- 
 gard to schoolroom tones, it ought not to be difficult for the 
 teacher to determine whether her schoolroom tones are pleasant, 
 properly modulated and sufficiently distinct. Likewise she may 
 readily discover by a little effort and self-examination whether 
 it is her custom in the class to help children along with the spell- 
 ing of difficult words and the like, when the child should be left 
 to himself to fail or get the matter right as the case may be. 
 
 A few months ago I saw quite a remarkable spelling exercise 
 in one of our schools. The pupils were spelling with apparent 
 ease words that children of their age and degree of advancement 
 could scarcely be expected to spell at all. But by watching the 
 teacher, I discovered that her lips pronounced every letter in 
 such manner as to enable the children to read the lips as deaf 
 children are taught to do in our deaf schools. If the teacher had 
 pronounced "hippopotamus" and the children had never heard 
 the word before, the chances were that each one would have 
 spelled it correctly. 
 
 It is necessary for teachers to watch themselves very care- 
 fully in order not to recite for the children. Th's applies not 
 only in primary schools but in all grades of schools, even high 
 schools. In like manner each of the above suggestions may be 
 gone over thoughtfully by the teacher and actual tests made 
 where tl'^t is possible. Seme of the suggestions under ''9" may 
 be of a character to defy ordinary self-analysis and self- 
 observation. A teacher who can truthfully say to herself that 
 she is enthusiastic, energetic and spirited, should study herself 
 
UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF 
 
 17 
 
 carefully to see if she is also firm, self-possessed, dignified and 
 patient. The first set of characteristics are by no means always 
 found existing with the second set. To be original it is necessary, 
 except in the case of the genius, for the teacher to devote much 
 thought to her work in the way of making plans, thinking out 
 new devices, and new ways of presenting old subject matter for 
 review. So far as the effect upon the school is concerned it does 
 not matter whether the idea or plan is one that the teacher origin- 
 ated or adopted from some outside source, provided she has 
 fully mastered the idea or plan and fully believes in its value. 
 
 MAXIMS. 
 
 The following seven maxims are given in White's "Art of 
 Teaching." 
 
 1. Observation before reasoning. 
 
 2. The concrete before the abstract, sense-knowledge be- 
 fore thought knowledge. 
 
 3. Facts before definitions or principles. 
 
 4. Processes before rules. 
 
 From the particular to the general. 
 From the simple to the complex. 
 
 7. From the known to the related unknown. 
 
 These maxims are not readily understood by inexperienced 
 teachers or teachers who have had no training in pedagogy. 
 White says, "These 'several maxims specially relate to element- 
 ary instruction, and they are not presented as universal prin- 
 ciples of teaching." These maxims 'would afford excellent 
 subject matter for discussion between two teachers or in a group 
 of teachers in occassional meetings in the evening. I would 
 suggest the advisability of such occasional meetings where 
 teachers board near enough to be able to spend an evening now 
 and then together in discussion of professional matters. 
 
 The general substance of these maxims may be expressed 
 briefly in this way : The teacher should begin in her teaching 
 in any branch where facts and principles are to be learned, with 
 that which is near at hand, easily understood, more or less 
 familiar to the 'children, and interesting. In geography for in- 
 stance, the teacher should commence with home geography and 
 
-18- 
 
 familiarize the pupils as far as possible, with the geographic 
 facts that may be observed about them. From this study the 
 teacher may proceed to things more distant, less well known, or 
 not known at all. In this way she can make use of the familiar 
 facts and observations in explaining and interpreting facts that 
 do not fall under observation. 
 
 In grades below the high school at least, subjects should be 
 taught by the appropriate use of objects. A physiology class 
 that is studying the heart for example, should be given the op- 
 portunity to study the heart of some animal, as that of the beef, 
 sheep or chicken. Teachers commonly forgqt how valueless 
 mere words are. When children fail to have before them the 
 real objects, or adequate mental images of the things discussed, 
 they might as well be* out playing or at home working, so 
 far as the learning process is concerned. 
 
 ENDS IN TEACHING. 
 
 Dr. White, in the book referred to above, states that there are 
 three ends to be obtained in teaching, (1) knowledge, (2) 
 power, (3) -skill. These he calls the three fundamental ends 
 of teaching. 
 
 To accomplish the first end the pupil must master so that he 
 can use them on the instant and without the slightest hesitation 
 or inaccuracy certain kinds of knowledge such as the multiplica- 
 tion table, the addition table, tables of common weights and 
 measures, the spelling of common words, the rules for capital- 
 ization, and the like. This requires abundance of drill upon 
 the fundamentals. 
 
 He should also have his mind stored with useful principles, 
 useful maxims, information regarding his rights and duties as 
 a citizen and the like. 
 
 To accomplish the second end (power) and the third end 
 (skill) it is only necessary to carry on the knowledge-getting 
 process wisely and vigorously, upon well selected subject-matter. 
 
 Power and skill are closely related, and have reference to the 
 ability to apply knowledge effectively and easily. Power and skill 
 come largely from practice. A teacher, for example, may have 
 at her command a great fund of knowledge concerning the art 
 of teaching school, but power and skill come only by experience. 
 
-19- 
 
 THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS* 
 
 Successful teaching depends upon the emphasis that is thrown 
 upon the most vital aspects of the school work. The most im- 
 portant matter of all is not the teaching of arithmetic or gram- 
 mar, but the development of character. Now character is a 
 word which includes in its meaning habits and motives. 
 
 Right habits are of slow growth, and the highest motives that 
 appeal to men and women are beyond the mental reach of the 
 younger children in our schools. It follows that character 
 building both on the side of habits and the development of 
 motives, must be a slow, but should be a consecutive, process. 
 
 The principal habits that the teacher should especially strive 
 to fix, are regularity, obedience, politeness, punctuality, concen- 
 tration of attention upon the proper business of the hour, truth- 
 fulness, honesty, reliability, thoroughness, and fair dealing with 
 others. A pupil should develop self-control and should grad- 
 ually grow to the point where lie is law-abiding and ready to 
 do his duty as he sees it. 
 
 .Baldwin in his "School Management" gives what he calls a 
 ' ' school code, ' ' which it will be observed bears upon this matter 
 of habit. The first is, work quietly; the second, be regular; the 
 third be prompt; the fourth, act properly; -the fifth, do right. 
 
 On the side of motives Baldwin gives first what he regards as 
 base and lo'w motives that should be avoided. These are malevo- 
 lent motives, selfish motives, fear and flattery, rivalry and marks ; 
 but the royal motives, the motives to be used by the teacher ac- 
 cording to the same author are, (1) desire for good standing, 
 (2) desire for approbation, (3) desire for knowledge, (4) de- 
 sire for efficiency, (5) desire for self-control, (6) desire for 
 future good, (7) sense of honor, (8) sense of right, (9) sense 
 of duty. It will be observed that these motives are graded 
 into a system. This does not mean that a teacher must begin 
 with the desire for good standing as the first motive and pit,- 
 gress step by step up to the highest, for even young cnnaren 
 may be appealed to often upon the basis of one of the higher 
 motives, as for instance the sense of honor. Nevertheless the 
 arrangement is approximately that in which teachers will find 
 motives actually appealing to children. A young child will have 
 
20 
 
 a very feeble sense of duty but may have a keen appreciation 
 of good standing, and the approval of the teacher. The teacher 
 should appeal to the higher motives as rapidly as her pupils 
 reach the plane upon which these motives are effective. It - 
 should be remembered also that pupils who do not ordinarily re- 
 spond to high motives may occasionally be exalted to that plane 
 through some occurance in the school or through the reading of 
 noble literature. The teacher who succeeds well as a character 
 builder has the first and chief qualification of a good teacher. 
 If she fails here her work is a failure, no matter how brilliant 
 her ability as a teacher in the ordinary branches of study. 
 
 The next most important thing after character development 
 is to make the instruction in the schoolroom so vital and so closely 
 connected with ordinary human affairs, that the years spent in 
 the schoolroom may be years in which the future citizen is rapidly 
 acquiring the knowledge, power and skill, that will be most 
 useful in life. In order to accomplish this end it is highly im- 
 portant that as much of the teaching as possible should be applied 
 to the affairs of daily life. If pupils are taught mensuration in 
 arithmetic they should be taught to apply this knowledge in 
 practical ways, ways that easily suggest themselves to thought- 
 full teachers. 
 
 The most important branch of study in the common 
 schools is READING. If the teacher is able to teach reading 
 intelligently and well she is doing more for her pupils than she 
 could do by ability and skill in any other one branch of instruc- 
 tion. Failure in teaching reading is vital failure. To teach 
 reading well includes appreciation of the literature found in the 
 books used. That which makes reading so valuable a school 
 study is the fact that it is the key to all other studies, and it is 
 also a key to growth and development to the end of life. 
 
 The following breezy suggestions are quoted from President 
 A. R. Taylor's "Among Ourselves." 
 
 These suggestions do not apply to all teachers all the time, but 
 they do apply to some teachers some of the time. 
 
 Wake up! Whether you are a sleepy teacher or a sleeping- 
 teacher it is surely time for you to wake up. Your pupils see 
 that you are stupid and slow, and they are running away from 
 
21 
 
 yon. You are wasting precious time and aHowing golden op- 
 portunities to go by unimproved. 
 
 Wash up! A sleepy teacher needs to wash up. Nothing but 
 a good body bath and vigorous rubbing will bring him out of 
 his stupor and start circulation. The sleepy teacher is sure to 
 be slovenly in person as well as slovenly in his schoolroom and 
 in his work. 
 
 Brush-lip! Your clothing as well as your hair needs brushing 
 at least once a day. Dust your books, your desk and the furni- 
 ture generally about the schoolroom. Have you failed to notice 
 the cobwebs in every corner, the old rusty stove, and the greasy- 
 looking blackboards? But you need to brush up mentally still 
 more. 
 
 Brace-up! Your despondency and hesitancy have almost un- 
 fitted you for any aggressive action. 
 
 Look-up! It is vision that awakens and quickens and inspires. 
 It is outlook that calls forth impulse and simplifies power and 
 vitalizes faith. 
 
 Work-up! The notion that youth ' is the only time to learn 
 died long ago. The teacher who holds a first grade is simply 
 a little better prepared to learn than the one who holds a second 
 or a third grade, that is all. 
 
 Keep up ! It is not enough to work up ; you ought also to 
 keep up. No matter what your attainments may be, you will 
 quickly fall behind if you slacken effort. 
 
 "Three things you need to succeed: Learning, piety, and 
 common sense. If you lack the first, go to college ; if the 
 second, pray earnestly to God for it; if you lack the third, 
 neither man nor God can help you." 
 
 Such was the suggestion of an old Scotch divine to a candi- 
 date for the ministry. It needs little modification to apply to 
 the teacher. 
 
22 
 
 DONT'S. 
 
 Don't stand too near the class. 
 
 Don't take hold of a pupil to put him in line. 
 
 Don't censure trifling errors severely. 
 
 Don't complain or grumble. 
 
 Don't criticise the teacher who preceded you. 
 
 Don't, as a rule, sit while teaching. 
 
 Don't give commands when you might give suggestions. 
 
 Don't show temper in dealing with parents. 
 
 Don't dispute with an angry parent before the school. 
 
 Don't make spiteful remarks about parents. 
 
 Don't try to teach without good order. 
 
 Don't suppose the children like to have their own way. They 
 like to be governed. 
 
 Don't try to drown noise by greater noise. 
 
 Don't call for order in general terms. 
 
 Don't be strict to-day and lax to-morrow. 
 
 Don't force children to sit long in the same position. 
 
 Don't punish without explanation. 
 
 Don't allow whispering. 
 
 Don't punish by pulling ears or slapping. 
 
 Don't question in rotation. 
 
 Don't repeat a question for the inattentive. 
 
 Don't try to teach too much in one lesson. 
 
 Don't be satisfied with partial answers. 
 
 Don't talk too much. 
 
 Don't think that when you have told your pupils something you 
 have taught them something. 
 
 Don't tempt pupils by the self-reporting system. 
 
 Don't fail to get acquainted with the people in the district, parti- 
 cularly the members of the school board. 
 
 Don't fail to devise some sort of exercise occasionally to bring 
 out and interest the parents. 
 
 Don 't arouse the emotional nature of sensitive children too much. 
 
 Don't fall into the habit of repeating answers. Occasional re- 
 petition for a purpose is allowable. 
 
 Don't be satisfied with one correction of an error. 
 
23 
 
 Don't fail to drill and review systematically upon the important 
 matters you have tried to teach. 
 
 Don't forget that it is your business to teach as well as to hear 
 pupils recite lessons. 
 
 Don't forget that teaching and governing a school is a diffi- 
 cult art, which requires study and painstaking effort. 
 
 Don't fail to encourage your pupils to do their best. 
 
 Don't drive if you can lead. 
 
 Don't let your school run away with you. GOVERN THE SCHOOL 
 
 WHATEVER YOU DO OR FAIL TO DO. 
 
 Don't forget that the best way to govern is to GIVE PUPILS PLENTY 
 
 OF INTERESTING AND PROFITABLE WORK TO DO. The teacher 
 
 who succeeds in working up an abiding interest in study 
 will have little trouble with discipline. 
 
 Don't fall into the habit of repeating "Quickly!" "Carefully!" 
 "Quietly!" 
 
 Criticisms that are frequently made by those who inspect 
 country schools. 
 
 *T.he teacher does not make intelligent use of the Common 
 
 School Manual. 
 "Pupils are not prepared for the work they are 'undertaking to 
 
 do." 
 
 "The school is not well organized." 
 "The discipline is defective.'' 
 "The pupils run to the teacher to ask questions while she is 
 
 conducting a recitation." 
 *"The teacher is indifferent; lacks interest." 
 "The teacher spends too much time and exhausts her energies 
 
 in attending parties." 
 
 "The teacher does not keep a neat and orderly desk." 
 *"The teacher does not know how to explain difficulties." 
 "The teacher does not call school on time in the morning, at 
 
 noon or at recesses." 
 "The teacher eagerly watches the clock and seems eager to get 
 
 away." 
 "The teacher is slow and pokey/' 
 
24 
 
 *"The teacher does not teach, but stands in a helpless way and 
 
 lets the class exercise go on as best it may." 
 "The teacher is a poor writer and cannot stimulate the pupils 
 
 to write well." 
 "The teacher is a poor reader and cannot help pupils to acquire 
 
 the art of reading in a pleasing and intelligent manner." 
 *"The teacher fails to see or to take notice of the disorder." 
 "The teacher has not a strong grip upon the school, but Tights 
 
 it out' every day as best she can." 
 
 "The people of the district are not interested in the school and 
 the teacher does not know how to improve the school senti- 
 ment in the community." 
 *"The teacher is timid, afraid of the pupils, the school board, 
 
 and the patrons/' 
 
 *"The teacher lacks life and animation, and the school is dead." 
 "The schoolroom is not decorated and looks dingy and forbid- 
 
 ding." 
 
 "The outbuildings are in bad conditions." 
 "The room is not properly heated, lighted or ventilated." 
 "There is little or no apparatus." 
 
 *"The library is not properly used or properly taken care of." 
 "The teacher does the janitor work and she does not do it well. 
 The fire is not built in time to have the room warm in the 
 morning, the sweeping is not properly done, and the dust- 
 ing is not properly attended to." 
 
 ' ' The attendance is irregular and pupils are frequently tardy. ' ' 
 *"The teacher takes no pains in assigning lessons." 
 
 "There are too many recitations in the daily program." 
 *"The teacher does not stimulate thought." 
 *"The teacher does not know what it means to give proper drill." 
 
 The above criticisms have come to the office with much fre- 
 quency in the reports of official inspectors, institute conductors, 
 and others, who have gone out into the country schools to in- 
 spect the work. These criticisms should be read over carefully 
 and repeatedly by the teacher with the purpose in view of ask- 
 ing herself what ones among them might be justly applied to her. 
 Those marked with a star are especially important. 
 
25 
 
 Some of the more important questions an inspector or superin- 
 dent will ask himself and answer from observation when lie 
 visits a school. 
 
 1. Are the pupils at their seats studying or otherwise properly 
 
 employed ? 
 
 2. Are they at work in a vigorous manner, sitting in good posi- 
 
 tion, and seemingly enjoying their work? 
 
 3. Are pupils watching the teacher and taking advantage of 
 
 every opportunity to engage in sly forms of disorder, 
 such as whispering, note passing, throwing paper wads, 
 changing seats, etc. ? 
 
 4. Do pupils find frequent excuses for getting up and moving 
 
 about the school-room? 
 
 5. Are pupils loud and boistrous in the school room when dis- 
 
 missed or at recess? 
 
 6. Are the recitations for the older pupils vigorous thinking 
 
 exercises, combined with suitable drill exercises? Are 
 the recitations for the younger pupils animated and bright ? 
 
 7. Do the pupils seem to enjoy the recitation, or do they appear 
 
 listless and bored? 
 
 8. Does the teacher hold the close attention of all her pupils 
 
 during every recitation? 
 
 9. Which does she seem to get hold of best in the class exer- 
 
 cises, the older or the younger children? How is this 
 fact to be accounted for? 
 
 10. Does the teacher seem alert, vigorous, self-poised, competent? 
 
 If not, is the failure due to lack of health, lack of nourish- 
 ment, lack of sleep, lack of interest, lack of knowledge, 
 lack of training? 
 
 11. Does the teacher keep the records properly? 
 
 12. Does she seem well prepared on every recitation she at- 
 
 tempts to hear? 
 
 13. Has she a good program which she follows? Has she 
 
 study program for pupils to follow? 
 
 14. Does she study individual pupils so as to know what they 
 
 are most interested in and what their ambitions are ? 
 
 15. Does she get to school in good season every day, and call 
 
 school promptly in the morning, at noon and at recesses? 
 
 16. Does she "keep in" to any marked extent? 
 
17. What are her favorite modes of punishment? Are they 
 
 satisfactory modes? 
 
 18. Is her school-room neat, orderly, home-like? 
 
 19. Do her pupils take delight in her smile of approval and is 
 
 her lightest word of reproof keenly felt? 
 
 20. Does she adapt her work to the children's needs? 
 
 21. Does she criticise faulty work intelligently and in a manner 
 
 to impress children? 
 
 22. Does she illustrate tl^e lessons in simple, effective ways? 
 
 23. Does she show pupils how to do that which they lack skill 
 
 in doing? Does she explain the difficult points in the 
 lesson in such maner as to make it simple for the chil- 
 dren to grasp? 
 
 24. Does she assign lessons with painstaking care, but without 
 
 waste of time? 
 
 25. Does she talk too much, or too little ? 
 
 26. Is her manner bright and enthusiastic, or cold and heavy? 
 
 27. What is her greatest strength? Her greatest shortcoming? 
 
 28. Are the outbuildings clean ? " 
 
 (The inspector or the superintendent should tell the teacher 
 in proper spirit and manner what his answers to the above ques- 
 tions in the main are before leaving the school, but not in the 
 presence of the pupils.) 
 
To the Teacher: 
 
 Kindly allow me to make a few suggestions more personal in 
 character than those that have preceded. The great majority 
 of teachers are persons of high ideals, worthy motives and un- 
 selfish character, but there are some who through thoughtless- 
 ness, lack of purpose, or instability of character, bring reproach 
 upon the fair name of teacher. One way in which this is done is 
 by the unceremonious breaking of contracts with school boards. 
 All teachers should consider their word, whether given in formal 
 contract or by mere verbal promise, as absolutely binding upon 
 them, unless sickness or some other insuperable difficulty should 
 prevent the carrying out of the agreement. One course is always 
 honorable in case the teacher is offered a much better position 
 than the one she is engaged to fill. That is, to go to the school 
 board in person, state the case, and assure them that she is ready 
 to carry out her contract with them in good faith unless they 
 can see their way to secure another satisfactory teacher. If she 
 gets the consent of the board in this way her resignation may 
 then be tendered. Under such circumstances there should be no 
 begging or pleading or statements that would lead the board to 
 feel that they would have a dissatisfied and perfunctory teacher 
 on their hands if they did not grant the release. 
 
 Some teachers go to extremes in the matter of dress and thus 
 create unpleasant comment in the community in which they 
 teach. One extreme is to overdress ; the other, the opposite ex- 
 treme of carelessness in dress. School board members have 
 frequently spoken to me of the teachers employed by them in 
 respect to this matter of dress. Generally the criticism has been 
 of the latter character mentioned above. Board members always 
 say that they do not wish their teachers to dress expensively and 
 that it would be inappropriate and out of place for them to do so, 
 but that they should be neat and clean. 
 
 Another criticism that board members have made with con- 
 siderable frequency is that the teacher is too much .given to 
 social affairs, particularly to attending parties. They believe 
 that no teacher can be up to her full measure of alertness, cheer- 
 fulness and general ability when she has spent a good share of 
 the preceding night in dancing. Sometimes the opposite criti- 
 cism is made that the teacher is lacking in social qualities. 
 
--28 
 
 Another criticism that school boards sometimes make is 
 that teachers occupy the time in school hours in reading novels, 
 doing fancy work and writing personal letters. It may be dif- 
 ficult for the teacher to occupy all her time in a small school in 
 ways that are beneficial to pupils. If she overdoes the 
 matter of helping them she makes them dependent upon her and 
 thus hinders their progress. Nevertheless it is unsafe and 
 wrong for a teacher, except on rare occasions, to devote herself 
 to anything in the schoolroom other than that which bears di- 
 rectly or indirectly on her school work. If she has so much time 
 On her hands that she does not know what to do with it, she may 
 spend some of it in reading professional literature or in study- 
 ing ways and means for improvement in her school. 
 
 While none of these criticisms may justly apply to you, yet 
 it is well constantly to guard against the possibility of such crit- 
 icisms. Sometimes thoughtless teachers say that it is nobody's 
 business what they do out of the schoolroom, but the fact is 
 that the teacher is judged, and properly judged, by what she 
 does out of school as well as by what she does in the school, and 
 this any teacher can readily see and appreciate if she is worthy 
 to be a teacher at all. 
 
 You are either growing professionally, are at a standstill, or 
 retrograding. It is impossible to be at a standstill for even a 
 month, so that you are actually either progressing in knowledge, 
 character and skill, or you are doing the opposite. 
 
 One of the laws recently enacted had for its purpose the pro- 
 gress of the teacher in one direction at least. This law permits a 
 teacher who holds an unexpired third grade certificate or a 
 county training school certificate, to write on two or more of 
 the additional branches demanded for a certificate of the second 
 grade. If the applicant is successful in securing the required 
 standing in any two of the second grade branches, the superinten- 
 dent is authorized to issue to such applicant a third grade certi- 
 ficate based upon the previous third grade certificate or upon 
 the county training school certificate. This new third grade 
 certificate is for one year, and if on or before the expiration of 
 this new third grade certificate the holder completes the second 
 grade examination, the county superintendent is authorized to 
 grant a certificate of the second grade. This certificate is valid 
 
29 
 
 for three years. Further, if at any time during the life of the 
 second grade certificate so obtained any applicant shall success- 
 fully write in the additional branches required for a first grade 
 certificate, the superintendent is authorized to grant such first 
 grade certificate valid for five years. 
 
 You will appreciate the fact that the higher grades of certi- 
 ficates will probably mean for you if you do not now hold a 
 first grade a larger reputation as a teacher, better positions, bet- 
 ter advantages, better professional standing and better pay. 
 
 If there is anything in connection with this circular that 
 pn/xles you or that you do not fully comprehend or any sugges- 
 tion that you think it would be unwise to follow, I would sug- 
 gest that you talk with the county superintendent, or if this is 
 inconvenient, with other teachers who are within your reach. 
 
 With best wishes for your success in teaching and for your 
 personal advancement, I remain 
 
 Yours sincerely, 
 
 C. P. GARY, 
 State Superintendent of Schools. 
 
UNIYEESITY OF CALIFOENIA LIBEAEY, 
 BEEKELEY 
 
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 DEC 6 
 
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 101 
 
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