Part 6 (1/2)
The teacher's preparation is not only in the intellectual grasp of the thought, but in the sympathy, feeling, and pleasure germane to a cla.s.sic. The aesthetic and emotional elements, the charm of poetry, and the sparkle of wit and glint of literary elegance and aptness are what give relish and delight to true literary products. Literature appeals to the whole nature and not to the intellect alone. It is not superficial and formal, but deep and spiritual. The teacher who reads a cla.s.sic like ”Marmion,” thoughtfully dwelling upon the historic pictures, calling to mind other of Scott's stories and the earlier struggle between Scotland and England, is drinking at the fresh fountains and sources of some of the best parts of European history. The clear and rock-rimmed lakes of Scotland, her rugged mountains and ruined castle walls, are not more delightful to the traveller than the pictures of life and history that appear in ”Tales of a Grandfather,” ”Rob Roy,” ”Marmion,” and ”Lady of the Lake.” To paint these stirring panoramic views of Scotch adventure and prowess upon the imagination of the young is to invigorate their thought with the real sentiment of patriotism, and with appreciation for manly struggle, endurance, and spirit. The vivid insight it gives into feudal society in church and court and castle, on battle-field and in dining hall, among the rude peasantry and the unlettered n.o.bility, is found more lifelike and lasting than the usual results of historical study.
The moment we take a longer masterpiece and examine it as a representative piece of human life, or as a typical portraiture of a historical epoch, it becomes the converging point for much lively and suggestive knowledge, deep and strong social interests, and convincing personification of moral impulses.
The best preparation, therefore, a teacher can make for a cla.s.s is a spiritual and spirited one. At first the linguistic, formal, verbal mastery of literature, its critical examination, even its elocution, should remain in the background both for teacher and children. Let the direct impress of the thought, motive, and emotion of the characters be unimpeded; give the author a chance to speak direct to the hearts of the children, and the avenue toward the desired results in formal reading will be left wide open.
We would not deny that a certain labor is required of the teacher in such preparation. But, in the main, it is a refres.h.i.+ng kind of labor. If it brings a feeling of weariness, it is the kind that conduces to sound and healthy sleep. It invokes a feeling of inward power and of acc.u.mulated rich resource that helps us to meet with confidence the emergencies and opportunities of instruction.
2. In the a.s.signment of the lesson the teacher has a chance to give the children a glimpse of the pleasure that awaits them, and to catch a little of the enthusiasm which her own study has awakened. This should be done briefly and by significant suggestion. In first introducing a longer work, it will pay to occupy more than is usual in recitations in opening up the new subject; if it is historical, in locating the time, circ.u.mstances, and geographical setting. The chief aim of the a.s.signment should be to awaken curiosity and interest which may be strong enough to lead to a full and appreciative study of the lesson. A second aim of the a.s.signment is to pave the way to an easier mastery of verbal difficulties that arise, such as new and difficult words, obscure or involved pa.s.sages. The first aim is a substantial and fruitful one. It approaches the whole reading lesson from the side of interest and spirit. It seeks to plant direct incentives and suggestions deep enough in the mind to start effort. The a.s.signment should take it for granted that natural interest and absorption in the thought will lead directly to that kind of vigorous effort and mastery that will secure natural and expressive oral reading. Look well to the deeper springs of thought and action, and the formal reading will open just the avenue needed to realize good expression.
Skill, originality, and teaching art are much needed in the a.s.signment.
It is not how much the teacher says, but the suggestiveness of it, the problems raised, the questions whose answers lie in the examination of the lesson. The reference to previous readings which bear resemblance to this selection; the inquiry into children's experiences, sets them to thinking.
Sometimes it pays to spend five or ten minutes in attacking the difficult words and meanings of the lesson a.s.signed. Let the cla.s.s read on and discover words or phrases that puzzle them. Let difficult forms be put on the board and syllabicated if necessary. A brief study of synonymous words and phrases may be in place.
It is a mistake to decline all helpful and suggestive study of the next lesson in cla.s.s, on the ground that it invalidates the self-activity of children. Self-activity is, indeed, the chief aim of a good a.s.signment.
It is designed to stimulate the children to energetic and well-directed effort. Self-activity is not encouraged by requiring children to struggle with obstacles they have not the ability to surmount.
p.r.o.nouncing new words and searching for dictionary meanings is often made a mechanical labor which is irksome and largely fruitless, because the wrong p.r.o.nunciations are learned and the definitions do not fit.
Before children are required to use the dictionary in p.r.o.nouncing and defining words, they need careful exercises in how to use and to interpret the dictionary.
The teacher needs to make a study of the art of a.s.signing lessons.
Clearness and simplicity, so as to give no ground for misunderstandings, are the result of thoughtful preparation on the teacher's part. There is always danger of giving too much or too little, of carelessness and unsteady requirements, overburdening the children one day, and even forgetting the next day to a.s.sign a definite task. The forethought and precision with which a teacher a.s.signs her lessons is one of the best tests of her prudence and success in teaching.
It is necessary also to be on one's guard against hasty a.s.signments.
Even when proper care has been taken in planning the next lesson, the time slips by with urgent work, and the signal for dismissal comes before time has been taken for any clear a.s.signment.
If the teacher knows just what references will throw added light upon the lesson, what books and pages will be directly helpful, if he can appoint different pupils to look up particular references and sometimes even go to the library with them and search for the references, in grades from the fifth through the eighth, the result may be very helpful. In the cla.s.s recitation it is necessary to gather up the fruits of this reference work with as little waste of time as possible, recognizing that it is purely collateral to the main purpose.
Pictures and maps are useful oftentimes as references. As children advance in the grades, they are capable of greater independence and judgment in the use of such materials. General, loose, and indefinite references are a sign of ignorance, carelessness, and lack of preparation on the teacher's part. They are discouraging and unprofitable to children. But we desire to see children broadening their views, extending their knowledge of books and of how to use them. The amount of good literature that can be well treated and read in the cla.s.s is small, but much suggestive outside home and vacation reading may be encouraged, that will open a still wider and richer area of personal study.
3. In spite of all the precautions of the teacher, in spite of lively interest and intelligent study by the children, there will be many haltings and blunders, many inaccuracies in the use of eye and voice.
These faults spring partly from habit and previous home influences. The worst faults are often those of which a child is unconscious, so habitual have they become. If we are to meet these difficulties wisely, we must start and keep up a strong momentum in the cla.s.s. There should be a steady and strong current of effort in which all share. This depends, as has been often said, upon the power of the selection to awaken the thought and feeling of the children. It depends equally upon the pervasive spirit and energy of the teacher. If we try to a.n.a.lyze this complex phenomenon, we may find that, so far as the children are concerned, two elements are present, natural and spontaneous absorption in the ideas and sensibilities awakened by the author, and the bracing conviction that sustained effort is expected and required by the teacher. Children, to read well, must be free; they must feel the force of ideas and of the emotions and convictions awakened by them. They must also be conscious of that kind of authority and control which insists upon serious and sustained effort. Freedom to exercise their own powers and obedience to a controlling influence are needful. If the teacher can secure this right movement and ferment in a cla.s.s, she will be able to correct the errors and change bad habits into the desired form of expression. The correction of errors, in the main, should be quiet, incidental, suggestive, not disturbing the child's thought and effort, not destroying the momentum of his sentiment and feeling. Let him move on firmly and vigorously; only direct his movement here and there, modify his tone by easy suggestions and pertinent questions, and encourage him as far as possible in his own effort to appreciate and express the author's idea.
In reading lessons there are certain purely formal exercises that are very helpful. The single and concert p.r.o.nunciation of difficult or unusual words that come up in old and new lessons, the vocal exercises in syllabication and in vowel and consonant drill, are examples. They should be quick and vigorous, and preliminary to their application in lessons.
4. The teacher is only a guide and interpreter. With plenty of reserve power, he should only draw upon it occasionally. His chief business is not to show the children how to read by example, nor to be always explaining and amplifying the thought of the author. His aim should be to best call the minds of the children into strong action through the stimulation of the author's thought, and to go a step farther and reproduce and mould this thought into oral expression.
In order to call out the best efforts of children, a teacher needs to study well the art of questioning. The range of possibilities in questioning is very wide. If a rational, sensible question is regarded as the central or zero point, there are many degrees below it in the art of questioning and many degrees above it. Below it is a whole host of half-rational or useless questions which would better be left unborn: What does this word mean? Why didn't you study your lesson? Why weren't you paying attention? What is the definition of also? How many mistakes did Mary make?
Much time is sometimes wasted in trying to answer aimless or trivial questions: Peter, what does this strange word mean, or how do you p.r.o.nounce it? Ethel may try it. Who thinks he can p.r.o.nounce it better?
Johnny, try it. Perhaps somebody knows how it ought to be. Sarah, can't you p.r.o.nounce it? Finally, after various efforts, the teacher pa.s.ses on to something else without even making clear the true p.r.o.nunciation or meaning. This is worse than killing time. It is befuddling the children.
A question should aim clearly at some important idea, and should bring out a definite result. The children should have time to think, but not to guess and dawdle, and then be left groping in the dark.
The chief aim of questions is to arouse vigor and variety of thought as a means of better appreciation and expression. Children read poorly because they do not see the meaning or do not feel the force of the sentiment. They give wrong emphasis and intonation. A good question is like a flash of lightning which suddenly reveals our standing-ground and surroundings, and gives the child a chance to strike out again for himself. His intelligence lights up, he sees the point, and responds with a significant rendering of the thought. But the teacher must be a thinker to ask simple and pertinent questions. He can't go at it in a loose and lumbering fas.h.i.+on. Lively and sympathetic and appreciative of the child's moods and feelings must he be, as well as clear and definite in his own perception of the author's meaning.
Questioning for meaning is equivalent to that for securing expression, and thus two birds are hit with one stone. A pointed question energizes thought along a definite line, and leads to a more intense and vivid perception of the meaning. This is just the vantage-ground we desire in order to secure good expression. We wish children not to imitate, but first to see and feel, and then to express in becoming wise the thought as they see it and feel it. This makes reading a genuine performance, not a parrot-like formalism.
5. Trying to awaken the mental energy and action of a cla.s.s as they move on through a masterpiece, requires constant watchfulness to keep alive their sense-perceptions and memories, and to touch their imaginations into constructive effort at every turn in the road. Through the direct action of the senses the children have acc.u.mulated much variety of sense-materials, of country and town, of hill, valley, river, lake, fields, buildings, industries, roads, homes, gardens, seasons. Out of this vast and varied quarry they are able to gather materials with which to construct any landscape or situation you may desire. Give the children abundance of opportunity to use these collected riches, and to construct, each in his own way, the scenes and pictures that the poet's art so vividly suggests. Many of the questions we ask of children are designed simply to recall and reawaken images which lie dormant in their minds, or, on the other hand, to find out whether they can combine their old sense-perceptions so skilfully and vividly as to realize the present situation. Keen and apt questions will reach down into the depth of a child's life experiences and bring up concrete images which the fancy then modifies and adjusts to the present need. The teacher may often suggest something in his own observations to kindle like memories in theirs. Or, if the subject seems unfamiliar, he may bring on a picture from book or magazine. Sometimes a sketch or diagram on the board may give sense-precision and definiteness to the object discussed, even though it be rudely drawn. This constant appeal to what is real and tangible and experimental, not only locates things definitely in time and s.p.a.ce, makes clear and plain what was hazy or meaningless, awakens interest by connecting the story or description with former experiences, but it sets in action the creative imagination which shapes and builds up new and pleasing structures, combining old and new. This kind of mental elaboration, which reaches back into the senses and forward into the imagination, is what gives mobility and adjustability to our mental resources. It is not stiff and rigid and refractory knowledge that we need. Ideas may retain their truth and strength, their inward quality, and still submit to infinite variations and adjustments.
Water is one of the most serviceable of all nature's compounds, because it has such mobility of form, such capacity to dissolve and take into solution other substances, or of being absorbed and even lost sight of in other bodies. The ideas we have gathered and stored up from all sources are our building materials; the imagination is the architect who conceives the plan and directs the use of different materials in the growth of the new structures. The teacher's chief function in reading cla.s.ses is, on the one hand, to see that children revive and utilize their sense-knowledge, and on the other, to wake the sleeping giant and set him to work to build the beauteous structures for which the materials have been prepared. But for this, teachers could be dispensed with. As Socrates said, they are only helpers; they stand by, not to perform the work, but to gently guide, to stimulate, and now and then to lend a helping hand over a bad place.