parent of attention; and a teacher has no more right to expect success
from those who have no curiosity to learn, than a husbandman has who
sows a field without ploughing it;" duly regard their love of
_approbation_ by cherishing their self-respect; and if you would
retain attention, patiently cultivate their _inquisitiveness_, for it
will prove one of the grateful rewards for your kindness. Says an old
writer: "The general occupation of infancy is to inquire. Education
_directs_ their _inquiries_." Therefore, bear patiently with your
little ones, and answer all their endless questionings. Do not rashly
check the rising spirit of free inquiry with an impatient word or
frown. Says the poet:
"Answer all a child's questions, and ask others as simple
As its own, yet wisely framed
To waken and prove the young child's faculties,
As though its mind was some sweet instrument,
And you with breath and touch were finding out
What stops and keys would yield the sweetest music."
Now, I will freely acknowledge--1. That attention, such as we want to
get from children, is a very difficult thing for anybody to give. The
incidents of yesterday and the cares of to-day and business and
pleasures of to-morrow, will divert and scatter attention. 2. That
fixed attention to religious subjects is particularly hard for any
one, and _especially_ hard for children to give; but hard as it is,
_we must have it_, and no half-hearted, languid attention either, if
we are to do any real good in the Sunday-school. 3. Says an old writer
to Sunday-school teachers: "Let me tell you, you will not get it by
claiming it; by demanding it as a right; or entreating it as a favor,
by urging upon your pupils the importance of the subject, the
sacredness of the day, the kindness of the teachers, or the great and
solemn character of the truths which you have to impart. All these are
legitimate arguments to be used with older Christians, but will not do
to rely upon with children. Nothing in the long run--except fear,
which is a very unsatisfactory motive--can keep a child's attention
fixed but a sense of _real interest_ in the things which you are
saying. The subject must claim attention for itself, and therefore,
the teacher needs always to be accurately prepared and well furnished
with correct knowledge, parallel passages, illustrations, facts,
anecdotes, definitions of hard words, allusions, poetry, etc. In all
your teaching, forget not to recall the fresh spirit of your childhood
in all its warmth and earnestness, remembering that he is the wisest
teacher who can combine the man's intellect with the child's heart."
Now it may be, after all, teacher, that your children may be
inattentive, or they will disobey your commands, or they will fail to
treat you with respect; but if that should be so, we will reply, in
conclusion, in the impressive words of Mr. Fitch: "Ask yourself in
that case whether your own behavior is uniform and dignified; whether
you ever give commands without seeing that they are obeyed; whether
you waste your words or your influence in an injudicious way; whether
there is anything in your conduct that reveals to the children a want
of punctuality or order, or of earnestness or steadfastness on your
part? For children are very keen observers of character, and, in the
long run, are sure to feel loyalty and affection for one who is
manifestly anxious to do them good, and who can be uniformly relied on
in word and in deed."
XVIII.
THE ART OF QUESTIONING.
There is a real _art_ in knowing where, when, and how to put a good
question, that shall quicken the memory, set the mind to thinking, and
call back the reflective faculties. Such are the possibilities of a
question. A large proportion of all the good teaching in our
Sabbath-schools is brought about by the simple process of questions
and answers. "A question unveils the soul. Nothing can escape a
question. A question reveals decision." Hence the skill required. Mr.
J. G. Fitch says: "The success and efficiency of our teaching depend
more on the skill and judgment with which we put questions than on any
other single circumstance."
This art is to be learned, like any other art, by much study and
patient practice, for we best learn the art of questioning _by
questioning_. Augustine says: "A boy can preach, but a man only can
catechise," and Lord Bacon says: "A wise question is the half of
knowledge." Therefore the great skill in teaching consists mainly in
the right forming and asking of questions.
If this be true, it follows that this subject should be regarded as of
special importance by every teacher. Teachers often say that they
cannot succeed in asking questions without the book; that they do not
know what to ask. To this I reply, 1. There is never any difficulty in
forming the question where there is an interest to obtain the answer.
2. It is generally unwise to ask any question unless we have an
interest in obtaining the answer. Do not tantalize the little ones.
Says Mr. Hassell: "A question under some circumstances will merely
produce an exercise of the memory; under others an exercise of
reasoning; and under others again it will stimulate inquiry," and we
may add, awaken curiosity. Mr. Groser says: "The true scope of
questioning-power is as follows: To awaken curiosity or the desire to
know; to arouse the memory or the recollection of what is already
known; or to point out something unknown, which may be inferred from
that which is known." A question skillfully put will arouse, will fix
attention, concentrate the thoughts, and so discipline the mind of the
pupil.
There are, however, many bad and indifferent questions put, in
religious teaching, which a little knowledge of the correct rules of
the art of questioning will enable us to avoid. Frequently a slight
variation in the form changes a bad question into a good one. For
instance: "Moses was a good man, was he not?" is a bad question. "What
kind of a man was Moses?" is a good question, as it awakens thought.
"What do you understand by faith and repentance?" is a bad question,
for it is ambiguous and indefinite, and perplexes the child. "Will you
tell me what is faith?" is a good question, for it compels the child
to think and to inquire--it puts into his hand the laboring oar and he
must row. "Did David kill Goliath with a stone or with a sword?" This
is a bad question. It is involved and suggestive. Ask the child
simply, "With what did David kill Goliath?" and the question is a good
one, in strict conformity with the laws of questioning and of the
child-mind.
Another class of questions is very common, but well nigh useless,
namely, leading questions, such as, "Was David a good man?" "Was
Goliath a wicked man?" These are mostly bad or indifferent questions,
and are almost a total loss to the teacher. Slightly vary them in the
following way, and you make them at once, in every aspect, good
questions. "What kind of a man was David?" "What kind of a man was
Goliath?" Teachers will remember, therefore, to avoid ambiguous or
indefinite, involved or suggestive, and leading questions, which
latter are answered "Yes" or "No," for they are generally of little
avail.
What kind of questions, then, shall Sabbath-school teachers seek to
use? I reply:
1. Questions of _Examination_, in order to find out what the pupil
already knows; to gauge his present knowledge, and ascertain what he
needs to know.
2. Questions of _explanation_ of particular words, which should be put
freely while reading the lesson.
3. Questions of _actual instruction_, or reflective questions, thus
making the pupil teach himself, or find out as much as possible by
thinking and inquiring, and thus leading him to correct his own
answers. Much instruction may be communicated by asking questions and
correcting the answers, but great care should be taken to make the
most of the answers, and to do full justice to them. Socrates's plan
was to lead the pupil by a pleasant question to discover his own
error, instead of directly charging him with it. Encourage your
scholars by all means to ask questions with freedom, and give your
teaching more the form of an earnest conversation.
4. Questions of _recapitulation_ or review. In this way you ascertain
whether your lessons are received, for the test is their telling it
back to you in their own language. You question the lesson _into_ the
minds of the scholars, and then question it _out_ again. Herbert, in
his "Country Parson," gives us an illustration. After asking, "Since
man is so miserable, what is to be done?" and the answerer could not
tell, instead of telling him, he properly asked the following simple
question, "What would he do if he were in a ditch?" This familiar
illustration made the answer so plain that he was even ashamed of his
ignorance; for he could not but say, "He would make haste out of it as
fast as he could." Then he proceeded to ask whether he could get out
of the ditch alone or whether he needed a helper, and who was that
helper? This is the skill; and doubtless the Holy Scripture intends
thus much when it condescends to the naming of a plough, leaven, boys
piping and dancing, showing that ordinary things are to be washed and
cleansed, and serve as lights for heavenly truths.
5. Questions with an _ellipsis_ are most useful in the review or
summing up of the lesson, as, "He says, I am the good--_Shepherd_.
Come unto--_me_," etc.
6. Questions may often be used to kindle the reflective faculties, to
exercise the mind and to develope ideas.
7. And, lastly, questions _applying_ divine truth--softly,
thoughtfully, and in a few words--should never be forgotten. Jesus did
so and so. "_Do you?_" David said, "Oh how love I thy law?" "_Do you
so love it?_" Solomon said, "Remember now thy Creator." Charlie, "_Do
you love to remember your Creator?_" or "_Why not?_" etc.
Not only are the character and adaptation of the question of great
importance, but the manner and look of the eye and the tone of voice
and the manner of receiving the answer. The manner should be kind,
gentle, life-like, and winning; the look of the eye should beam with
life and interest, while the tone of voice should bespeak great
tenderness and sympathy. A cold, formal tone of voice will repel the
answer, even with a good question. It should be sprightly, and
respectfully familiar and natural. Children cannot endure coldness nor
dullness nor dryness; therefore avoid all long pauses and sluggish
manner and heavy voice. The way which you receive the answers will
determine the question whether your scholars will freely answer you or
not. Make the most of an answer unless it is absolutely wrong, and if
wrong, say, "Will some scholar tell me why that answer is wrong?"
Search out for all the points or hints of truth you can find in the
answer of the child, and unfold it and hold it up in the most
favorable and gracious light.
Never snap up a scholar, or neglect or ridicule his answers, however
faulty. Always be candid and sincere, and your scholars will soon
learn to trust themselves with you. A sharp, harsh reply will close
the lips of a whole class. Enunciate every word with clearness. Vary
the questions with all patience if not answered readily, and never
think a child does not know because he does not answer the question at
once. Be sure "never to tell a child what you could make that child
tell you."
Let your questions have a regular connection, so that one will
naturally follow another, and in fact, glide into the next, and "say
as little as you can in questioning and teaching, but so say it as to
cause the children to say as much as possible."
Then again be careful to adapt your questions well. Do not tell much
in your questions. Put the right question to the right scholar, for it
will not do to ask A or B or C a question which only D in the class
can answer, for we are not to ask any child any question unless we
suppose the answer is in the mind of the child.
It is of particular importance that in the commencement of a lesson we
always start aright. Have some easy, pleasant questions ready, which
they will be glad to answer. No matter what occurs, never manifest
impatience or severity, or descend to a witticism or a sneer. A
sneering, sarcastic teacher should be left out of the school.
Therefore gladly receive and develope, in the most charitable manner,
the half-uttered, stammering answer of the child at your feet, and
your children, in their hearts, will bless you.
Dr. Arnold, the great teacher at Rugby, said: "It was his practice to
teach by questioning, and as a general rule, he never gave information
except as a kind of reward for an answer. His explanations were as
short as possible, and his questions were of a kind to call the
attention of the boys to the real point of every subject, and to
disclose to them the exact boundaries of what they knew and what they
did not know." Let me add to this Archdeacon Bather's account of how
he became a catechist. He says in his "Hints on Catechising:"
"Perhaps, gentle reader, before I actually enter upon my task of
teaching you to teach others by catechising, it may be as well to tell
you how I became a catechist myself; for the thought seized upon me
and occupied me much in very early life. I was at school at Rugby, and
at the time I speak of, was in what we called the '_upper third_.' The
'_upper fourth_' was under the care of Mr. Innes, afterwards Head
Master of the Royal Free Grammar School at Warwick. As I was sitting
one evening in the room of my private tutor, Mr. Homer, some one
knocked at the door, and in came Mr. Innes. 'Bather,' says he, 'when
Mr. Homer has done with you, will you come up into my room? I want to
speak to you; you will find nobody there but O---- (naming one of my
school-fellows) and myself.' Of course I went; and Mr. Innes,
motioning my companion to a chair and myself to another, took his own
and addressed us thus: 'I am going to set you two boys very hard at
work. Pray, O----, do you know anything about astronomy?' 'Not much, I
am afraid, sir.' 'And you, Bather?' 'Not so much as O----, I am
afraid.' 'Well, now, do not flatter yourselves that I am going to tell
you anything about it, for I shall do no such thing. Nevertheless, you
shall know more about it, and a good deal, too, before you go out of
this room.' He then put questions to us both, by which he soon
elicited all the particulars of such little knowledge as we possessed;
and then he questioned us further, soon causing us to make many
blunders, and then making us correct our answers, so that we certainly
did quit the room with fuller and more orderly notions of the matter
than we brought into it." He says, although this did not make him an
astronomer, yet it led him to think and discern what must be the most
effectual way of imparting knowledge, for "under Mr. Innes his
interest never flagged; he could have listened all night."
From the same source is here added another illustration of teaching by
the means of leading questions. "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit
into the wilderness," etc. "Then was Jesus." What do you mean by "then
was Jesus?" (Hesitates.) "Then took Mary a pound of ointment." What do
you mean by "then took Mary?" Then Mary took. What do you mean by
"then was Jesus?" and the answer came readily, "Then Jesus was." Now
you shall question me. Put me a question to which each clause shall be
a reply, beginning with the first. "When was Jesus led up to be
tempted?" "Then." So here you are taught--what? The time when these
things took place. Put me a question to which the words "led up" shall
be an answer. "What was done to Jesus?" He was "led up." Put a
question for the word "Spirit." "Who led him up?" "The Spirit." So of
the word "wilderness." "Whither did the Spirit lead him?" "Into the
wilderness."
Let us add one more illustration, showing how to put questions to help
and lead. The manner must, of course, be right, for a clumsy method
will hinder rather than help, and if we expect a right answer the
question must be a simple one, or one that will not admit of being put
as _two_ questions. The following anecdote may serve as the
illustration: "A lady came one day to my school and requested me to
let her hear the children catechised. The class happened to be reading
the third chapter of the Acts, the first of which reads thus: 'Now
Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer,
being the ninth hour.' 'Well,' I said to the teacher, 'stop there and
question them on that verse.' 'At what time of day?' said he, 'did
those things take place which are here set down?' 'At the ninth hour,'
replied the class. But then a poor boy became a little frightened at
something or other, and consequently puzzled; and after some
hesitation said, 'Well, then, at the ninth hour, _who went where?_'
The first boy in the class smiled a little, but made no answer; the
next seemed to think a little, but still no voice came. I took care
that nobody should answer out of his turn, and the question was put to
every boy severally to the bottom of the class. The lady turned to me
and expressed her surprise that out of a class of five-and-twenty boys
nobody could answer. 'Well, ma'am, I am afraid you will consider these
five-and-twenty boys very stupid, but let us look a little further
into the matter.' And then, turning round, my eye caught that of Jack
Thompson. 'Jack,' said I, 'how many stupid boys have we got in our
second class?' 'One, sir,' says Jack. 'And who may he be?' 'The
teacher, sir.' 'You must prove your words, Jack: come and teach the
class yourself.' Now Jack was not an impudent boy; but as he advanced
and saw the lady looking at him, he did not appear so confused as poor
Peter had done before, and he betook himself at once to business. 'You
have told us,' said he, 'that the things related in this verse took
place at the ninth hour of the day; to what was that hour wont to be
devoted?' 'To prayer.' 'And what was the building called that was
open, at that time, to receive the worshippers?' 'The temple.' 'Are
not some persons specially mentioned who came to the temple at that
time?' 'Yes.' 'How many?' 'Two.' 'What were their names?' 'Peter and
John.' 'Where did Peter and John go at the ninth hour?' 'Into the
temple.' 'What for?' 'To pray,' etc. The lady began to perceive that
the children did know something about the matter, and Jack Thompson,
being concerned for the conduct of his class, proceeded to ask them a
great many more questions, to which the answers were very
satisfactory. The lady good-humoredly expressed her approval, and I
said, 'Now, madam, you see that all that was the matter was, that poor
Peter, being a little confused, put his questions in a clumsy manner.
Depend upon it, he will not soon do the like again.'"
Questions should be progressive, that is, they should proceed from the
simple and the known to the faintly known, and thence to the unknown.
XIX.
THE TEACHERS' MEETING.
A regular weekly meeting of Sabbath-school teachers for conference and
prayer about all school matters, and a mutual contribution of thoughts
and illustrations and plans of teaching adapted to each and to all the
various classes on the next Sabbath's lesson, is now considered an
indispensable necessity. And it is a great social and religious
privilege as well.
We are all unworthy, and need to learn how to teach Scripture truths
attractively to youthful minds. All need training for the work, and
the weekly teachers' meetings ought to be the grand normal
training-schools for Sabbath-school teachers everywhere. Every
Sabbath-school ought also to have a Bible-class or two for the
training of teachers. The almost half a million of Sabbath-school
teachers in our land--the _masses_--cannot mingle with us in council
in our great Conventions and Institutes, and consequently the few
favored ones must imbibe the spirit and avail themselves of ample
materials, and carry it down to the quiet, devoted workers in common
Sabbath-schools through the means of a well-ordered teachers' meeting.
The meeting can be held for one hour and a half on a week-day evening
at the lecture-room, or, better yet, at the superintendent's house or
that of one of the teachers, alternately. It is conducted usually by
the superintendent, but sometimes by the pastor, or by one of the
teachers who can sustain the interest.
But we are met at this point with a stubborn and overwhelming fact,
viz.: a large proportion of all these meetings attempted to be held
have resulted in a failure, and have been abandoned, so that now in
some places not one school in ten or twenty holds such a meeting. With
such an experience we can never ask Sabbath-school teachers to try the
experiment on the old plan. We must count the cost, and Sabbath-school
men, with only an hour or two in a week for it, cannot afford to make
mistakes or failures. Time is too precious.
The great practical question arises, What are the causes of failure?
Is it anything inherent in these meetings? or is it in the wrong mode
of conducting them? After a most careful investigation of the subject,
especially during the last fifteen or twenty years, I have come to the
deliberate conclusion that it is owing almost entirely to the wrong
plans on which they are conducted. What have been these wrong plans?
1st. They have ordinarily been conducted on the Bible-class,
question-book, commentary-studying, and theological-discussing plans;
and on those plans they have, and will, in at least nine cases out of
ten, result in failure, whether in the hands of pastors or of
superintendents. Teachers do not gain enough in such meetings to
reward them for their time and trouble in coming, and consequently
they cannot be censured for non-attendance.
2d. Another plan of conducting them is in the form of lectures. But on
this plan not even an expository lecture has prevented the meeting
from being a failure. Occasionally a pastor or a superintendent, with
great expository powers and a sprightly manner of analyzing truth and
a personal sympathy with the teachers and children, can sustain and
make these meetings interesting and profitable on this plan, and to
such we can say--God bless you--_go on_! But we cannot afford to
recommend any plan for general adoption with such a prospect of
failure.
What, then, must be done? We say decidedly, _revolutionize your
plans_, and meet with the direct aim and purpose of _helping one
another_ in your work, and especially on the next Sabbath's lesson.
What then are the objects of teachers' meetings, and how should they
be conducted? The objects appear to me to be--1. To get all the
teachers well acquainted, socially and religiously, and as teachers.
2. To combine our mutual confidences, sympathies and prayers. 3. To
mutually help each other and relieve each other's difficulties by
conferring together on such questions as--how best to secure and
retain attention;--how to question;--how to prepare the lesson and
present it, and teach it;--how to draw lessons of instruction,
illustrate and apply truth;--how to analyze the lesson, lay out the
plan of it, and break it up into small, convenient parcels, adapted to
all capacities from the infant up to the adult classes;--how to make
the Word of God most useful, most interesting and most impressive to
youthful minds, convicting of sin and converting to God; and the
thorough training of the young in the Christian life, and in the sound
knowledge of revealed truth.