High school pupils become very expert in detecting the real from the
imitation in the matter of character and ability in teachers. They have,
as a rule, a keen respect for intellect; so much so that they will
usually yield ready obedience to a teacher who can really open their
eyes to the wonders that lie in the world of lessons. Intellectual
attainment alone is not enough, but real learning, combined with the
rare art of imparting it, will almost always win admiration and
following.
[Sidenote: The Bluffing Teacher]
One of the great hindrances to good feeling and ready obedience in our
American high schools is the comparatively low standard of preparation
of many of their teachers. Teachers who are too young, too quickly and
too superficially trained, very seldom succeed in keeping the pupils
long in ignorance of their shortcomings.
Some teachers who have felt a lack of respect and a tendency to
disobedience and disorder, have found the atmosphere of the school to
change as if by magic when better preparation of lessons on their own
part has been made. Pupils who have once known the joy of having a
wide-awake, well-prepared, and keen teacher are especially quick to
detect low scholarship and faulty training in subsequent instructors.