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 to a Primary lesson in which a skillful
teacher led him to commit himself very enthusiastically to the notion
that the Lord does answer prayers. He said he defended the proposition
so vigorously that he set about to make sure from experience that he was
right. The details of securing this expression will be more fully worked
out in the chapter on Methods of the Recitation.
VI. DISCOVERY OF PUPILS' BETTER SELVES
One of the most fascinating problems in teaching is to come to know the
real nature of our pupils--to get below surface appearances to the very
boy himself. Most of the work of solving this problem necessarily must
be done out of class. Such intimate knowledge is the result of personal
contact when no barriers of class recitation interfere. It involves time
and effort, of course, but it is really the key to genuine teaching. It
makes possible what we have named as factor number eight, which may be
disposed of here for present purposes. We read of bygone days largely
because in them we hope to find a solution to the problems of Jimmie
Livingston today. How can we effect the solution if all that we know of
Jimmie is that he is one of our fifteen scouts? We must see him in
action, must associate with him as he encounters his problems, if we
would help him solve them. Our discovery of our pupils' better selves,
and intelligent application, go together hand in hand.
VII. INSPIRATION OF EXAMPLE AS WELL AS PRECEPT
When Emerson declared, "What you are thunders so loudly in my ears that
I can't hear what you say," he sounded a mighty note to teachers.
Hundreds of boys and girls have been stimulated to better lives by the
desire "to be like teacher." "Come, follow me," is the great password to
the calling of teacher. The teacher conducts a class on Sunday
morning--he really teaches all during the week. When Elbert Hubbard
added his new commandment, "Remember the week-days, to keep them holy,"
he must have had teachers in mind. A student in one of our Church
schools was once heard to say, "My teacher teaches me more religion by
the way he plays basketball than by the way he teaches theology." It
was what Jesus did that made him Savior of the world. He was the
greatest _teacher_ because he was the greatest man.
Surely teaching is a complex art!
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QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS--CHAPTER II
1. What is teaching?
2. Why is it essential that we get a clear conception of just what
teaching is?
3. Discuss the importance of building the recitation upon a good
foundation of facts.
4. Why are facts alone not a guarantee of a successful recitation?
5. What is the teacher's obligation in the matter of organizing
knowledge?
6. Discuss the significance of teaching as an interpretation of truth.
7. Discuss the teacher's obligation to discover pupils' better selves.
8. What is the relative importance of expression and impression in
teaching?
HELPFUL REFERENCES
Betts, _How to Teach Religion_; Gregory, _The Seven Laws of Teaching_;
Thorndike, _Principles of Teaching_; Brumbaugh, _The Making of a
Teacher_; Strayer and Norsworthy, _How to Teach_.