THE ESSENTIALS OF GOOD TEACHING CHAPTER I TEACHING DISTINGUISHED FROM OTHER Earmarks of Industrial Success. — In ordinary affairs we are accustomed to think of forethought and systematic planning as prerequisites to success. A successful gardener considers climatic probabilities, soil fertility, quality of seed, period of maturity, methods of planting, cultivating, and harvesting before he begins to plant. The successful merchant holds in imagination the probable needs of his customers for the coming season before he lays in the season's goods. The successful contractor critically examines the blueprint of a proposed structure, a price list of the materials required, and the availability and cost of the labor needed to construct it before he bids on the building in question. In short, seeing the end from the beginning is an earmark of reliable and consistent success in the industries. Earmarks of Good Teaching. This earmark of success characterizes good teaching also. Adequate forethought is more fruitful in teaching than in the less subtle and more concrete processes. There can be no doubt, however, that 'seeing the end from the beginning" is a much more complicated process in teaching than in most fields of endeavor. Those who think otherwise have in mind but a portion of the teaching process. They think of subject-matter and scholarship as the prime prerequisites of teaching success. The number of such persons in the teaching profession is sufficient to justify detailed consideration of the essential factors in the teaching process at the outset of a discussion of methods of teaching. There is no science of teaching - not even a teaching art for those who hold this view. It is vital therefore that teaching be distinguished from other forms of doing and that its essential characteristics be written large so that beginners may realize the complexity, the coördination, the understanding, and the skills involved in efficient teaching. Scholarship Not a Guarantee of Good Teaching. — A certain degree of scholarship is a necessary but not a sufficient preparation for teaching. The scores of normal schools, city training schools, teachers' colleges, and the general supervision of teaching throughout the country are concrete evidence of the accuracy of this statement. There is a widely accepted notion among patrons and even among the rank and file of teachers that if one has sufficient academic training he is qualified to teach successfully. This view is so significant and its acceptance so hazardous that it should not be ignored by teachers of pedagogy. It is incumbent upon those who profess to believe in the science of teaching either to expose the fallacious theory that scholarship is a sufficient prerequisite to teach adequately; or to abandon, temporarily at least, the claims for the adequacy of methods of teaching. FACTORS IN A SUCCESSFUL ACT Like the solution of every complex problem, that of good teaching must be approached through an analysis of the problem into its essential factors. One must discover the steps in the conscious process of performing an act and observe in what particulars they differ from the steps in the conscious process of teaching some one to perform a similar act. A Definite Aim. — It is inconceivable that one should deliberately perform an act without a purpose or aim. Observation of individual endeavor discovers purpose. The acts of the farmer as he goes back and forth across the field at his plowing; the acts of the shoemaker in applying his trade from day to day; the multitudinous acts of the housekeeper in her daily round of activity; and the various moves of the fisherman in his endeavor to excite the appetite of the finny tribe, would seem incoherent and ridiculous to the observer did he not discover purpose back of them all. One must admit, however, that all human activity is not deliberately performed. Through the processes of physical evolution many fundamental activities have been provided for by automatic reactions. Reflexes and instincts are ready-made methods of performing many vital acts which are fundamental to the welfare of the individual and to the One cannot afford to close the eye deliberately when a flying cinder approaches it. Neither can he afford to take chances of escaping the fangs of a rattle-snake by thinking about a way to escape. In either case deliberation is too slow a process. Nature has provided ready-made ways of successfully doing many things which demand race. immediate action for the care and welfare of the body. Unconscious imitation is a familiar example of the prevalence and importance of unpremeditated activities. Habit also plays a large and important part in human welfare. One large function of systematic training is the reduction of consciously directed activities to habits. Effective habits conserve both time and energy, make for efficiency, reduce fatigue, and release mental and physical energy for further accomplishments. Though native and habituated reactions are many and varied, and of vital significance in individual and racial economy, they are not peculiarly human qualities. It is only when one deliberately begins to control his evironment and consciously directs his energy to the accomplishment of some purpose that his act savors of human quality. It is to be assumed, therefore, that in every deliberate performance man has an aim. To the extent that the aim is definite and concrete there is an assurance of success. A Knowledge of Materials. Though a definite concrete aim is essential to successful endeavor, it is by no means a complete guarantee of success. A fisherman may have a very definite notion of how he expects to ensnare a fish in the brook and yet completely fail in his efforts. He must have a definite knowledge of the materials to be employed in the realization of his aim. If the fisherman is to succeed, he must know the sort of bait to use and how to prepare it. He must have a knowledge of the fishing tackle employed by successful fishermen, — poles, lines, sinkers, bobbers, reels, and hooks. He must have a general notion of the mouth structure of the various species of fish he is trying to catch, as well as a general knowledge of the feeding habits of these species. |