Principles of Teaching by Adam S. Bennion (primary phonics books .TXT) đź“•
The following definition of teaching, contributed by a former statesuperintendent of schools, is rich in suggestion:
"Teaching is the process of training an individual through theformation of habits, the acquisition of knowledge, the inculcation ofideals, and the fixing of permanent interests so that he shall becomea clean, intelligent, self-supporting member of society, who has thepower to govern himself, can participate in noble enjoyments, and hasthe desire and the courage to revere God and serve his fellows."
Teaching does not merely consist of an inquisition of questions withappropriate answers thrown in; it surely is not mere reading; nor can itbe mistaken for preaching or lecturing. These are all means that may beemployed in the process of teaching. And they are important, too. Wehave been cautioned much, of late years, not to lose ourselves in theprocess of doling out facts--but that rather we should occupy
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Nor is it enough that we strive to perfect the individual membership of the Church and preserve the social heritage out of the past—we assume to become the teachers of the world. It is our blessing to belong to a Church built upon revelation—a Church established and taught of the Lord. But with that blessing comes the injunction to carry this gospel of the kingdom to every nation and clime. "Mormonism" was not revealed for a few Saints alone who were to establish Zion—it was to be proclaimed to all the world. Every Latter-day Saint is enjoined to teach the truth. Whether called as a missionary, or pursuing his regular calling at home, his privilege and his obligation is to cry repentance and preach the plan of salvation. The better we teach, the sooner we shall make possible the realization of God's purposes in the world. The two thousand young men and women who go out each year to represent us in the ministry should go out well trained, not only that they may represent our Church as an institution which believes that "the glory of God is intelligence," but also that they may win intelligent men and women to the truth. Only he who is well taught may become a good teacher—hence the need of intelligent, devoted service. "Why do I teach?" far from being an idle question, goes to the very heart of the future of the Church.
Questions and Suggestions—Chapter I
1. How many of the members of your ward are actively engaged in other than parental teaching?
2. What significance is attached to calling our Church a teaching Church?
3. Discuss the significance of Jesus' being a teacher.
4. Compare the responsibility of teaching with that of parenthood.
5. Enumerate the chief purposes behind teaching.
6. In your opinion, which is the greatest purpose? Why?
7. To what extent does the following statement apply to the welfare of our Church:
"That nation that does not revere its past, plays little part in the present, and soon finds that it has no future."
8. Discuss our obligation under the injunction to teach the gospel to the world.
9. Discuss the need here at home of better teaching.
10. In what sense are we trustees of the heritage left by the pioneers?
Helpful References
Doctrine & Covenants: James, Talks on Psychology and Life's Ideals; Brumbaugh, The Making of a Teacher; Weigle, Talks to Sunday School Teachers; Strayer, A Brief Course in the Teaching Process; Betts, How to Teach Religion; Strayer and Norsworthy, How to Teach; Sharp, Education for Character.
CHAPTER II WHAT IS TEACHING?Outline—Chapter II
Teaching a complex art.—What teaching is not.—What teaching is.—What it involves.—Presentation of facts.—Organization and evaluation of knowledge.—Interpretation and elaboration of truth.—Inspiration to high ideals.—Encouragement and direction given to expression.—Discovery of pupils' better selves.—Inspiration of example as well as precept.—Application of truths taught in lives of pupils.
The query, "What constitutes teaching?" cannot be answered off-hand. It is so complex an art, so fine an art, as Professor Driggs points out, that it has to be pondered to be understood and appreciated. It is often considered to be mere lesson-hearing and lesson-giving. The difference between mere instructions and teaching is as great as the distinction between eating and digestion.
The following definition of teaching, contributed by a former state superintendent of schools, is rich in suggestion:
"Teaching is the process of training an individual through the formation of habits, the acquisition of knowledge, the inculcation of ideals, and the fixing of permanent interests so that he shall become a clean, intelligent, self-supporting member of society, who has the power to govern himself, can participate in noble enjoyments, and has the desire and the courage to revere God and serve his fellows."
Teaching does not merely consist of an inquisition of questions with appropriate answers thrown in; it surely is not mere reading; nor can it be mistaken for preaching or lecturing. These are all means that may be employed in the process of teaching. And they are important, too. We have been cautioned much, of late years, not to lose ourselves in the process of doling out facts—but that rather we should occupy ourselves teaching boys and girls. That all sounds well—the writer of these lessons has himself proclaimed this doctrine—but we have discovered that you cannot teach boys and girls nothing. They no more can be happy listening to nothing than they can be content doing nothing.
And so we now urge the significance of having a rich supply of subject matter—a substantial content of lesson material. But the doctrine holds that the teacher ought not to lose himself in mere facts—they are merely the medium through which he arrives at, and drives home the truth.
"It is the teacher's task to make changes for the better in the abilities, habits and attitudes of boys and girls. Her efficiency can be evaluated fairly only in terms of her success at this task. In other words, if a teacher is rated at all, she should be rated not only by the clothes she wears, or the method she chooses, but by the results she secures."—Journal of Educational Research, May, 1920.
We have said that teaching is a complex art. It consists of at least these eight fundamentals, each one of which, or any combination of which, may be featured in any one particular lesson:
1. Presentation of facts. 2. Organization and evaluation of knowledge. 3. Interpretation and elaboration of truth. 4. Inspiration to high ideals. 5. Encouragement and direction given to expression. 6. Discovery of pupils' better selves. 7. Inspiration of example as well as precept. 8. Application of truths taught in lives of the pupils.I. Presentation of Facts
Facts constitute the background upon which the mind operates. There may be many or few—they may be presented in a lecture of thirty minutes, in the reading of a dozen pages, or they may be called forth out of the mind by a single stimulating question. But we ought not to confuse the issue. If we are to discuss any matter in the hope of reaching a conclusion in truth, we must have material upon which the mind can build that conclusion. We are not concerned in this chapter with method of procedure in getting the facts before a class—the important thought here is that the facts in rich abundance should be supplied. A certain young lady protested recently against going to Sunday School. Her explanation of her attitude is best expressed in her own words: "I get sick and tired of going to a class where I never hear anything new or worth while." Exaggerated, of course, but students are crying for bread, and ought not to be turned away with a stone.
II. Organization and Evaluation of Knowledge
We have hinted that a lesson may not have facts enough to justify the time it takes—there is, on the other hand, danger that the whole time of the class may be consumed in a mere rehearsal of facts as facts. Only recently a significant complaint was voiced by a young man who has gone through training in practically all of our organizations. "I don't seem to know anything at all," he said, "about the history of Israel, as a whole. I can recall certain isolated facts about particular persons or places, but I can't give any intelligent answer at all to such questions as these:
"Who were the Israelites? What were their big movements relative to the Promised Land? What is the history of Israel up to the time of the Savior? What is their history subsequently? Are we of Israel and how?"
The young man was not complaining—he merely regretted his ignorance on points of vital interest. He was in need of further organization of the knowledge he had. He had not been given the big central ideas about which to build the minor ones. Relative importance had not been taught him through that organized review that is so valuable in review. The teacher ought to come back time and again to pause on the big essentials—the peaks of gospel teaching.
III. Interpretation and Elaboration of Truth
It is really surprising how many various notions of an idea will be carried away by the members of a class from a single declaration on the part of a teacher. A phase of a subject may be presented which links up with a particular experience of one of the pupils. To him there is only one interpretation. To another pupil the phase of the subject presented might make no appeal at all, or linked up with a different experience might lead to an entirely different conclusion. Truths need to be elaborated and interpreted from all possible angles—all possible phases should be developed. An interesting discussion recently took place with a young man who had "gone off" on a pet doctrinal theory. His whole conception built itself up about a single passage of scripture. Satisfied with a single notion, he had shut his eyes to all else and "knew that he was right." Properly to be taught, he needed to be trained to suspend his judgment until all the evidence was in.
IV. Inspiration to High Ideals
Men and women like to be carried to the heights. They like to be lifted out of their lower selves into what they may become. It is the teacher's delight to let his class stand tip-toe on the facts of subject matter to peep into the glories of the gospel plan of life and salvation. In 1903 Sanford Bell, of the University of Colorado, reported the results of a survey conducted with 543 men and 488 women to ascertain whether they liked male or female teachers better and just what it was that made them like those teachers who had meant most in their lives. The survey showed that the following influences stood out in the order named:
Moral uplift. Inspiration. Stimulus to intellectual awakening. Spur to scholarship. Help in getting a firm grip on the vital issues of life. Personal kindness. Encouragement in crises.What a testimonial to the force of inspiration to higher ideals!
V. Encouragement and Direction Given to Pupils' Expression
Most pupils in class are ordinarily inclined to sit silently by and let someone else do the talking. And yet, everyone enjoys participating in a lesson when once "the ice is broken." It is the teacher's task first of all to create an atmosphere of easy expression and then later to help make that expression adequate and effective. The bishop of one of our wards in southern Utah declared, not long ago, that he traced the beginning of his testimony back
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