Index 172, 173
PREFACE
From the first sting of a blackboard pointer received at the hand of a
primary teacher for a slight overflow of energy, to the last serious
fracture of discipline which I recall in High School, I pondered over
the methods used by my teachers and talked with others, frequently,
about this matter of discipline.
Very often after observing an extremely annoying day for a teacher, who
seemed to think that all trouble was due to the pupils, I would feel
like rising in my seat, half through sympathy and half through disgust,
and shouting, “Teacher, it’s all wrong. We pupils are human. There are
ways of appealing to us and getting the results you want, if only you
apply the right methods.”
The solving of various problems of discipline for the purpose of helping
teachers to accomplish their tremendous task, has always appealed to me
very much, but it was not until my Senior year in High School that I
seriously considered making the study of discipline my life-work.
It was the result of observing closely every day for four years, the
different methods used by two High School instructors and, most
important of all, the consistent results of those methods which
convinced me that the subject of discipline could be analyzed.
The course, which you are starting to read, is the result of long
observation, careful study and constant thought in this important field.
The subject has resolved itself into a very few fundamental principles,
the proper application of which will invariably get results in the right
direction.
There are no cut and dried rules with which all school-room problems can
be met; yet, the wise experience of hundreds of teachers has taught that
there are certain principles which can be safely followed and the
application of which will unfailingly increase the teacher’s success in
dealing with troublesome problems.
Not only are the fundamental principles fully explained and made simple,
but there are definite concrete school-room problems given, together
with the safest treatment to apply. The problems are real. They have
presented themselves many times and will continue to present themselves
as long as schools exist.
Correct methods are given to meet the most perplexing situations as well
as the petty though annoying troubles that troop through each school
day. Each method presented has been tested and tried and found to get
good results.
The application of the methods presented in this course will also have a
lasting effect on the lives of those disciplined. This is an aim which,
indeed, must underlie all true discipline.
The language and phraseology used is that which can be understood by the
most humble teacher. In speaking of the teacher always in the masculine,
I have followed the custom of the specialists. “He” will mean usually
“he or she.”
In preparing this course, I have constantly kept in mind the thousands
of teachers in every quarter of the land—North, South, East and West—who
are laboring in one-room schools where they are moulding the characters
of boys and girls who will be the men and women of tomorrow; men, who
will guide the destiny of the state and women to be fit mothers of a
greater race. The teachers whose labors are in the rural hamlets and the
larger villages have been remembered; also those whose tasks are more
manifold in the busy city where school-room problems are varied and
complex.
This course is prepared to meet an almost universal demand. Teachers,
like all other practical human beings, are eager for concrete
information and ideas which they can apply. Any information at all which
makes for better discipline is, by the worthy teacher, considered quite
worth while.
R. C. B.
_“In schools and colleges, in fleet and army, discipline means success,
and anarchy means ruin.”_
(_Froude._)
_“One in charge of children can not
know TOO much about them.”_
INTRODUCTORY COURSE
Teaching school means infinitely more than the mere giving of lessons in
reading, writing and arithmetic. It means the moulding of human lives
and characters. The amount of good which a single enlightened teacher
may do for humanity can hardly be over-estimated. Children of all grades
look upon their teachers in a certain sense as heroes whom they admire
and emulate. Great, therefore, is the teacher’s responsibility.
Conduct and Discipline
Not only is the teacher a great moral force in the school and community
but certain of his traits and habits are so very closely related to
discipline that the first part of the book is devoted exclusively to
“The Teacher.”
The teacher should have a very definite code of morals—a code of morals
that is in no sense vague or indefinite or weak. He should not be
undecided even about small details relating to the moral code. Children
admire strong characters. They are quick to detect weakness.
This Course presents a code of morals for the teacher which is very
concrete. The teacher will consider it most sensible because every idea
is grounded on sound and logical reasons. This part of the Course, in
presenting reasons along with the detailed and definite code of morals
should help every teacher who reads it. Even though you are now leading
a strong, influential life, reading this part of the Course will
strengthen your convictions and in that way help you to be yet stronger.
School Surroundings and Discipline
It can not be denied that every factor in the child’s surroundings has
some influence upon him. It would be difficult to introduce principles
of order and system into a child’s school work, if that child were
surrounded by disorder in the school-room equipment. We all know that
the appetizing effect of a luncheon is heightened by cleanliness, the
taste with which the luncheon and the dishes are arranged, even the mode
of serving the food and the general appearance of the room.
Comparatively few teachers realize the relation of the school
surroundings to discipline. The second part of the book is devoted to
“The School.” This part of the Course discusses various factors in the
surroundings which the teacher may control, and suggests many things
about the room equipment which will greatly aid him in securing good
work and order.
Every teacher, in dealing with pupils, should have well fixed in his
mind the true province and end in discipline. The third division of this
book is devoted to “The Province and End in Discipline,” which is an
extremely important discussion. No idea is less understood than is
discipline. In its restricted meaning and application, it means far too
little. Discipline permeates most thoroughly every activity of
humankind. Every avenue of progress owes its measure of success to the
measure of discipline found therein. Could discipline come into its own
province and manifest its fullest force, there evidently would be no
need of penal institutions, courts of justice and other reformatory
measures. Far too many teachers believe their work in the school-room
well done and designate themselves as good disciplinarians if they have
managed to get through the school year without any more serious
difficulty than having to administer a whipping or two, or perhaps,
suspend a pupil for a week or ten days. To call this discipline is
indeed deplorable.
The True End in Discipline
Some teachers on being asked, “What is the end to be sought in
discipline?” have answered, “Good order.” Others have answered,
“Quietness such that lessons may be studied.” But these are mere
conditions of successful school work and are not at all ends to be
attained in discipline. The teacher who thinks of these conditions as
being the ends in discipline is not only liable to use improper means,
but will be satisfied with a mere semblance of success. The true end of
discipline is none other than the acquirement of self-control. This
includes six very definite things which are explained in Part Three.
It is the failure to understand the nature of children, which causes so
much friction and trouble with them. By “nature,” we do not mean merely
the child’s _disposition_, as this view is far too narrow. Let us
clearly explain, in the next few paragraphs, the distinction between
individual disposition and fundamental nature.
An Important Distinction
It is true, popular lecturers often bore us by speeches in which they
emphasize over and over the necessity of knowing the disposition of our
individual child. Of course, it is helpful to know the individual
disposition; but the mistaken emphasis placed upon this detail as
compared with really knowing the general and fundamental nature of
children is indeed astounding.
A case was reported to us not long ago of a child-lecturer who chanced
to be confronted with a practical situation. Little “George,” his son,
was near a newspaper in the drawing-room. The gentleman asked George to
bring the newspaper to him. George refused. The command was repeated.
“George, bring me the newspaper.” George refused. He again gave more
commands, in a louder tone of voice while George laughed at him. The
lecturer then started over to him and George ran behind a table. The man
soon managed to seize the boy’s hand and escorted him over to the
newspaper, whereupon he again commanded him to pick up the paper. George
refused. The gentleman took the boy’s hands and tried to force them to
grasp the newspaper but George’s fingers were lax. At this moment,
George received a keen slap on the side of the face. He was then told to
pick up the paper and he did so. Why? Merely through fear? (The fallacy
of this method will be discussed later on.)
The point of the above illustration is this: That man would treat all of
ten thousand other children in precisely the same way as he did George
if they refused to obey him. And yet this same lecturer is continually
going before mothers’ clubs and admonishing them thus: “Mothers,
mothers—know your individual child.” If his doctrine is so important,
why does he not practice what he preaches? A man or woman, parent or
teacher, who can not get a child to obey, without slapping him or
threatening him, has something fundamental to learn about child
training. This man not only failed to be influenced by the boy’s
_individual_ disposition but he showed by his method that he did not
understand the _fundamental_ nature of children.
To explain further the distinction between individual disposition and
fundamental nature, you have in your room five pupils: Ralph, Charley,
Miriam, Fay and Helen. Let us assume that these pupils are as different
in disposition as it is possible for them to be. Ralph is pessimistic,
secretive and has a bad temper. Charley is optimistic, frank and very
amiable. Miriam and Fay have certain other opposite characteristics and
Helen is in a class by herself—overbearing, spiteful, high tempered and
hard to approach.
Now what shall we do? Must we use a fundamentally different method on
each of these pupils in order to reach the same result? By no means.
While these five pupils have characteristics which are distinctly their
own and different from each other, yet they have precisely the _same
instincts underlying their actions_. They have the same _individual_
instincts, the same _adaptive_ instincts, the same _social_ instincts,
the same _regulative_ instincts and the same _parental_ instincts. If we
appeal to the same instinct in one child that we appeal to in another we
will get a similar result. The expression will not be exactly the same,
of course. One child may react more quickly than another or with more
enthusiasm but nevertheless the response will be similar. For example,
if I do something which Ralph sees is going to push forward his own
interests: if I praise Ralph for something which he has done, he will
react in the same direction as will Charley, Miriam, Fay and Helen when
I appeal to the same instinct in them, such as their instinctive desire
for approval.
Instead of only five pupils, we might take a hundred or a thousand
pupils, each one having a disposition slightly different from all the
others. Their natures are all based upon certain fundamental instincts
common to the race. Therefore, it is this fundamental nature of the
pupil which we must know. The disposition of the particular pupils is a
matter of detail as compared with the deep-seated and essential nature
and will not trouble us much after we have learned the fundamental
principles of child supervision, because _all_ children have the same
natural instincts and, in applying principles, we appeal to these
instincts. Part Four of this book is devoted exclusively to the naming
and explaining of these great fundamental principles.
A teacher who thoroughly understands each of these principles is in
possession of information that is really invaluable in discipline. It
would be well for each teacher to read over these important principles
several times during the school year. The reading can not fail to aid in
getting better discipline.
The best possible way to acquire skill in discipline is to study a great
variety of typical examples. In fact, the author has planned other
volumes devoted exclusively to concrete cases of discipline.
By a concrete case is meant an interruption or annoyance caused by one
or more pupils at a given time, which must be dealt with by the teacher
in one way or another.
Very often a teacher, after observing the results of a certain method,
will look back and say, “If I had that to do over again, I would treat
the case differently.” Perhaps he has asked a child a question which, on
account of the embarrassing circumstances, caused him to tell a
falsehood; perhaps he has tried to force obedience instead of attaining
the end in a better way. These and dozens of other cases might be
suggested which often confront a teacher and unless he has correct ideas
about disposing of them when they arise, he will have no small amount of
trouble before the year is over. That teacher is almost sure to fail who
waits for the occasion to select a method instead of preparing
beforehand for different emergencies.
Treatment of Cases According to Age
The proper decision in cases of discipline is so extremely important
that the cases which may arise in _each grade_ should be treated
separately. For example, all the problems which may present themselves
to the first grade teacher may be recorded under the head “First Grade”
and the remedy given for each case. The same is true of the second grade
and so on through the High School. Special and very definite
instructions should be framed for the proper discipline of pupils of
various ages in the same room of the country school.
The methods must be safe methods. Some times an unenlightened teacher
will use a method which not only fails to get good results but which
actually aggravates the trouble. The very nature of the methods given in
this Course is such that a teacher may be sure the best possible plan is
being employed, viewed from the standpoint of positive good results that
will surely follow.
The teacher will find it a great source of pleasure to have the subject
of discipline so well in mind and so thoroughly analyzed and thought out
that when a case arises, he can not only apply a method which he thinks
is right but one which he knows is right.
Oftentimes, a teacher is confronted with such a difficult situation that
no matter what method is applied, good results will not be seen
immediately. In such cases it is extremely assuring for a teacher to
_know_ that the particular method which he has applied is the best
possible method that could be used in that situation.
In the treatment of all cases, not only are the correct methods outlined
in detail, but fundamental reasons should be given showing _why_ the
method suggested is the best in each case. In the treatment of all
cases, applications are to be made of the fundamental principles.
There are not a few teachers, as well as parents, who continue to use
physical force in attempting to govern. It is indeed appalling how blind
some people are on matters of discipline.
They will get poor results repeatedly from applying a given method and
yet they fail to see that their child’s bad behavior is due to their own
faulty method. Why do not parents think about changing their own method
which _causes_ the child to misbehave instead of forever blaming the
child? This is a question that is not easy to answer. Business men,
after finding that a certain form of advertising does not pay,
discontinue that form of advertising and yet they are not half so
reasonable in their own homes.
For instance, it is a common occurrence for a parent to flog a child for
telling a falsehood. The child continues to tell falsehoods one day
after another and the parent continues to use the punishing method.
Seldom, if ever, does the parent think of changing his method.
Often, when interviewing parents about a child, they will offer some
reason for punishing which to them seems perfectly sound but they ignore
the fact that fear of punishment is one of the chief causes of
falsifying and that to punish for a known falsehood today makes the
child more secretive tomorrow.
Many persons likewise, base obedience upon fear of punishment. Their
children know that when they hear a command, they must obey at once or
receive a whipping. Here is a logical proposition: If obedience is based
upon fear instead of confidence; that is, if the child obeys only
through fear, then when fear is gradually removed (at fourteen or
fifteen when the child begins to feel the assurance of manhood)
obedience naturally becomes weaker. Many parents wonder what is wrong
when they lose control of their adolescent boys and girls; yet the
reason is perfectly obvious. If obedience is based upon confidence, as
it should be, the changes which accompany adolescence will not remove
the only basis of obedience, as in the case of fear, but will make the
parents’ grasp even more secure.
Many parents are thoughtful enough to have at least their own reason for
using a certain method, while others, unfortunately, hardly think at
all. They have one method which they attempt to use as a cure for all
bad traits as well as for particular misdemeanors. A situation presents
itself and because of some pre-conceived notion, the same old remedy is
suggested and administered.
What is true of a great many parents in this regard is also true of a
great many teachers. If parents and teachers were to try some practical
tests in discipline, keep a record on paper of the treatment of certain
offenses followed immediately by the obvious results of those methods,
and then draw reasonable conclusions at the end of a week or a month,
they would have something valuable to work upon.
Most educators advise the use of corporal punishment as a _last_ resort,
yet far too many teachers in carrying out this advice really use it not
only as a last resort but as a first, last and only resort. Here is the
situation—in fact, a very common situation for a teacher who does not
have the confidence of his pupils. A boy is told to do or not to do a
certain thing. He openly disobeys. The teacher feels that he must make
an example of him and humiliate him at once before the school.
“Let us conclude, then, that the day of corporal punishment as an
important agency in school discipline has passed never to return. And
let us also conclude that its passing is not yet complete and can not be
complete until social customs and prejudices have been thoroughly
adjusted to the new order and until effective methods of dealing with
acute disciplinary difficulties have been discovered, standardized and
made effective by general recognition.”[1]
In this brief Introductory Course, one can not go much into detail on
any one point. In regard to punishment, however, this hint is in place.
If anyone is interested enough to really find out for himself and settle
in his own mind once for all, questions concerning correct discipline,
let him personally interview a large number of boys. Let him get some of
their views. Let him talk over the matter frankly with some other
teacher’s pupils. He will thereby not only enlighten himself as to the
best policy about punishing boys but the experience of talking in a
confidential way with big-hearted boys (and they will all seem
big-hearted if only he assumes that they are) will give him a new
inspiration and a more optimistic view about his future discipline in
the school-room. He will feel more capable of appealing to the child’s
mind and heart and will see less necessity than ever before for having
to force even the most stubborn child to do his bidding.
The author’s own view on punishment is this: the more a teacher knows
about child nature and correct fundamental principles, the less he will
need to use corporal punishment. The aim of this Course is to present
the teacher with such concrete information, based upon a correct
knowledge of child nature, that its application by the teacher will
enable him to succeed in discipline without any corporal punishment
whatsoever.
Of course, there will always be exceptions. A certain pupil may be
apparently abnormal and extremely hard to govern. But even with the
proverbial exception, really surprising things can be accomplished by
the application of wise methods.
The aim, stated above, is not unreasonable. The author has clear
evidence of this. In his own town, the superintendent of schools went so
far as to allow even the _pupils_ to know that he would not punish them
with physical pain. He explained why he would not and the result was
wonderful, as he expected. Instead of the pupils taking advantage of
such a policy, it _appealed_ to them. They respected this
superintendent. They realized that he was there to help them and they
allowed him to do so.
-----
Footnote 1:
W. C. Bagley, School Discipline, p. 194. Macmillan.
A Real Accomplishment
Out of seventy pupils who attended the school at the opening of the
term, sixty-seven were in regular attendance throughout the year and two
of the three pupils who did drop out had very good outside reasons. This
record is astonishing but the discipline in that High School is also
remarkable. This superintendent has carried out with wonderful results
the principles explained in this Course.
The Common Sense Factor
Some people tell us that teachers are born and not made, that tact is an
innate quality. Of course, there is a certain amount of truth in this.
It is needless to say that not all teachers can attain the same high
degree of efficiency in controlling a school. But to say that a certain
teacher can never succeed, because he does not have tact, is to express
ignorance of the true nature of tact. Tact can not be entirely separated
from knowledge. Tact and common sense increase in direct proportion to
the advance of one’s knowledge.
One employs tact when he says and does the right thing at the right time
and place. Tact implies skill in dealing with immediate circumstances.
Therefore, the more experience one has in dealing with a given
circumstance the more proficient he should become. The mind profits by
experience. A wise teacher also profits by ideas. If someone relates a
case of discipline to you in which tact was used, you can use the same
idea in a similar circumstance and you will also be using tact.
For example, a certain teacher on entering a new school in the fall,
learns that five or six of the larger boys have been talking on the
street about whipping him out, in case he gets “cute.” If this teacher
allows his pupils to find out in any way whatever that his mind is
bothered about it; if he gets up before the school and attempts to make
a speech calling attention to the gossip, he will thereby show very
little tact and the offending pupils will most surely cause him more
trouble.
On the other hand, suppose that, sometime when he is with the boys,
without any evidence of anxiety, he incidentally remarks, “I see no need
of trying to correct pupils by whipping them. People have nearly always
treated me justly because I have dealt fairly with them.” This is using
tact. The boys will not annoy this man; they will respect him.
So with hundreds of cases. Having each instance worked out in detail,
the teacher may determine the minute application of good methods. In
this way he can avoid harmful schemes and employ only tactful plans.
It is the ignorant teacher who is untactful; it is the wise and
well-educated teacher who is tactful. By well-educated, here, is meant
educated in proper discipline. A teacher may be a good scholar and yet
be poorly trained in controlling a school.
The teacher who is well trained in matters of discipline does not look
upon the many so-called puzzling circumstances as problems at all,
because they so readily fit into his system of knowledge that he knows
at once how to prevent prospective difficulties.
There will never be a day in which you will not use the ideas in this
Course, consciously or unconsciously, in one way or another. The ideas
presented are fundamental.
There is only one more thought the author wishes to leave with you in
this Introductory Course before taking up the instructions in the
regular Course. That is this: a child is influenced more by those
teachers whom he likes and admires than by those whom he dislikes and
who antagonize him. Therefore, it is hoped that each teacher will begin
the reading of this Course with a strong conviction and a firm
determination to gain from it a means of getting the child’s confidence,
which will enable him to be a power for good in guiding young lives
aright.
No teacher has attained the greatest joy in his profession until he has
received from boys and girls letters of overflowing thanks for past
helpfulness. And every teacher will realize this joy who conducts his
school in a rational way and who learns methods by means of which he can
place discipline upon the natural basis of confidence.
When you have learned the relation of your own _conduct_ to discipline
and the relation of your _school_ to discipline; when you have come to
realize the real _province_ and true _end_ of discipline; when you have
completely learned the great fundamental and universal _principles_ of
discipline which work toward this ideal end and finally when you have
learned to apply these principles to the dozens of concrete, typical
_cases_ with which you will always be confronted in the school-room,
then you will be in possession of knowledge that will not only cause you
to be sought for by school authorities, to teach in better schools at
far better remuneration, but it will enable you to do infinitely more
for boys and girls, thus making life itself better for yourself and
others.
“What we need more than better brain inheritance is a better and more
scientific set of rules for developing the brains that we have, and such
rules of procedure should be made the common property of all who are in
any way related to rearing and educating children.”[2]
-----
Footnote 2:
McKeever, Psychologic Method in Teaching, p. 329.
CONFIDENCE
_Confidence, that basis of control which is necessary in dealing with a
youth who is physically too big to whip, is the best basis for dealing
with a child or adult of any age.—R. C. B._
PART ONE
THE TEACHER
Someone has truthfully said, “Without a teacher there can be no school.”
It is a university when a great teacher, like Mark Hopkins, sits on a
log with the lad, James A. Garfield, and pours forth his store of
knowledge for the eager mind of the backwoods boy. All other elements of
a school may be absent, except the teacher, who as a living fountain of
knowledge interests the mind of the lad because he possesses those
qualifications that are found in the true teacher. The vital factor of
the school—be it the humblest one room school; the best one room school;
a village school or the many roomed high school in the metropolis of the
land—the vital and all-important factor is the teacher. The teacher is
the inspiring force in the school-room, bringing light and hope and
accomplishing more by influence over the children than by any other
means.
The Teacher as a Leader
The teacher must be a leader—a true leader—a leader in social ethics, in
private morals, in character-building, in religion, in fact in all that
goes to make life worth while. This seems almost too much to demand of
the teacher but it should be expected nevertheless, for it is not
exaggeration to say that the teacher’s work is the greatest of all
tasks. His clay is God’s chosen material. Every great work needs a
controlling brain and a true heart and it is to be expected that God’s
greatest work needs them in a superlative degree. If they are absent,
the school is like a dead body without the vital spark. If the school is
without the true and faithful teacher—even though all else be present,
the best and most lasting results are impossible. The cry of the hearts
of the children is that they be instructed and nourished and, finally,
sent into the world fired with a zeal and purpose that will prompt them
to the most heroic efforts in the world’s work.
It is the dream of every child to worship some hero, to be held
spell-bound by some great life—a life that possesses some traits that
appeal to him. The teacher must be the hero; the teacher must embody
these traits. The child upon finding such a teacher will do his bidding
gladly, will start on any mission at his request, and will be proud to
serve the dictates of a master-will—a will influenced by the Divine
will. How many men and women will admit that all the good that is in
them and the usefulness they manifest, they owe to the example and
teaching, or to the memory of some sainted teacher—a teacher who
consecrated himself to God, thereby finding his place and wielding his
influence over child life for good.
Though the teacher’s task seems to be the most difficult, after all its
importance makes it the greatest and best, and what better or higher
work is there than to help children and young men and women to a clearer
vision of truth, to a nobler sense of duty, to encourage and inspire to
higher ideals and motives of life, that are bounded only by eternity? It
is the teacher, who at his best, stands between the child and the
various experiences that await him. The teacher, from his larger store
of knowledge, directs the child towards, and introduces him to, those
forms of experience which are especially adapted to bring out and
develop the element of perfect control.
Two teachers may use the same mechanism of methods—the one may fail and
the other succeed. They may be using the same system of marking and
grading, rewarding, and reporting to parents, still the one fails while
the other succeeds. Their environments, too, may be the same. The
failure of the one is to be sought in the teacher, so too, is the
success of the other. The vital need is the proper qualification of the
teacher.
“The responsibility of the schoolmaster does not end when the boy leaves
school any more than the responsibility of the ship-builder ends on the
day of the launch. Each is commissioned to construct a seaworthy vessel,
competent to sail either in calm or in stormy seas, and each neglects
his duty if he is content merely to build up a fairly handsome structure
which will glide gracefully off the ways and keep afloat until the crowd
has dispersed.”[3]
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Footnote 3:
Welton and Blandford, Principles and Methods of Moral Training, p.
173. Warwick and York.
Purpose of Teaching
Perhaps, no more important question should the teacher ask himself than
this, “Why am I teaching?” Is it because a brother or sister or parent
or friend has taught or is teaching, or because he must earn a
livelihood to support himself or family, or because he thinks he loves
children, or enjoys instructing, or glories in power, or believes he has
ability as a disciplinarian, or considers the work of teaching easy,
dignified and above reproach, or the day short, giving time for other
pursuits; or is it because he considers teaching a stepping stone to
some other life profession, or, as is the case with too many women,
employment to tide over the period between graduation from the high
school and matrimony; or that he feels he is capable of no other work
and is teaching because he believes himself small and fitted for doing a
small work; or, does he believe that there is in teaching an opportunity
to accomplish great good and to be of valuable service to mankind? There
may be some other motive or motives that induce the teacher to undertake
his work, but his should be the most worthy purpose. No teacher can
expect to do his fullest measure of service and gain that contentment
and happiness, that come to the good teacher, if his motive or motives
for teaching are not the noblest and best. If any teacher takes up the
profession of teaching—the art of arts—his must be a true aim to be of
service to mankind. No teacher can successfully control those under his
care and teaching, unless he believes that his work is the most vital.
His heart and interest must be in his work; otherwise, it is his duty to
leave the teaching profession.
Preparation
A requisite of the teacher that can not be overlooked is the ability to
teach. It is an unmistakable preface to teaching to have the proper
desire to teach. It is to be hoped that the day is not far distant, when
all teachers must have a normal training of not less than one year, and
that every Normal School be required to cultivate the natural qualities
most essential to teachers. Every student entering a Normal School
should satisfy his instructors that he possesses superior ability in his
chosen profession. The Normal School should be required to recommend,
without exception, to other fields of activity, all those who after a
sufficient time in the school do not promise to qualify as teachers of
ability. One does himself great injustice to enter a profession for
which he is not by nature and by training qualified; and a far greater
injury is done those who come under his instruction if he is not a
natural and trained teacher.
Scholarship
Without a doubt, a most important requisite of the teacher is good
scholarship—a thorough knowledge of the subjects to be taught. His
knowledge must be not only thorough, but fresh. He, too, must be a
broader student of the subjects he teaches than one who merely knows the
text he is using. It is evident that a teacher can not teach more than
he knows, and often the keen mind of a pupil leaves the realm of the
text-book and legitimately inquires into the depths of knowledge. He may
embarrass the unprepared teacher, or the teacher whose knowledge of the
subject is no broader than the text. The teacher’s preparation must not
be superficial, it must be like a fountain—ever fresh and flowing,
connecting that which has been passed over and that which is to come.
This is an essential element of successful instruction, but many can not
see why it should influence discipline.
The teacher who is a deep and inexhaustible fountain of knowledge wins
the confidence of his pupils, and whatever increases confidence
decreases the necessity of imposed discipline and control, and it is
true that whatever decreases the confidence of the pupils in the teacher
increases the necessity for outer control. Confidence in the ability and
preparation of the teacher is the basis of ready obedience. It is the
element that begets a prompt and cheerful yielding of the pupil’s will
to the will of the teacher.
The teacher should never cease to be a student. Though he thinks himself
thoroughly educated, he should always go over the material which he
intends to teach; to this, he should add a wide range of reading outside
of the lesson proper, but bearing upon the lesson. In this way he will
be able to give to his pupils more than is found in the lesson. The
teacher who unceasingly pursues such tactics in the preparation of his
work will arouse interest in his classes and interest will secure
attention which in turn will produce diligence in study. It is a
self-evident principle, that interest on the part of the teacher will
produce interest on the part of the pupil and interest will promote
application and progress. Many a teacher who has been otherwise weak in
the ability to discipline properly, has easily controlled large classes
by the interest he has manifested in his work, because he was accurate
and full in his instruction.
As a Student of Nature
Aside from the teacher’s thorough preparation and knowledge of the
subjects he teaches, he must be well versed in other matters. No teacher
can fulfill the measure of his calling, unless he is a lover and student
of Nature. This may be difficult for the teacher within the confines of
a large city. However, no city is so large, that all phenomena of Nature
are shut out and whatever means are at hand, should be used and
thoroughly understood. Some tiny park, or well kept front yard, even a
stray bird, a sparrow, the rain, the clouds, and the snow flakes are
Nature’s property, and where is the teacher who should be unlearned in
any of these subjects? For the teacher whose happy lot it is to teach in
the rural districts or villages, it would be a shame indeed, if he did
not know the every pulse beat of Nature. Could there really be a teacher
who could not control a large band of boys and girls, if he were always
ready to expound the secrets of the forest, of the seasons, of the air,
and put life and breath into all the vast out-of-doors and her varied
phenomena?
It is almost a necessity that every teacher should have studied
psychology in his preparation for teaching; still the author has been in
states where there are no laws concerning this requirement for teachers;
there are scores of teachers who have not even read one text in
psychology.
Many have been the definitions given of psychology, but in the end they
do not differ seriously. Since psychology is the interpretation of human
nature, the admission must be made that every teacher should have a
clear knowledge of the subject. Psychology will not produce a teacher,
it is true, but teachers are compelled to study and to know human nature
and the laws governing it, so that common sense methods may be
developed. The study of psychology is usually involved in all discussion
of methods. The teaching process involves the mind of the child and it
is reasonable to demand that the teacher should know the main outlines
of modern psychology.
Without further argument, it is apparent that a clear and comprehensive
knowledge of psychology is necessary for the teacher. Not alone should
the teacher have an understanding knowledge of psychology, but he should
read some good texts on psychology and its allied branches every year.
Child Study
No teacher, then, should consider himself educated or prepared to teach
who has not given himself some preparation through child study, this
greatest of all school subjects, which is simply genetic psychology
practically applied. This subject is new, and at best, the teacher who
has carefully studied it will know too little. Still there is no excuse
for the teacher who does not know something about the following phases
of the psychology of children: the child’s soul or mind, acting as
memory, imagination and reason; the chief facts concerning the child’s
affections, ambitions, motives and ideals; adolescence—physical, mental
and moral phases; relations to other children and elders; his sense of
humor and responsibility; his moral obligations; his views concerning
himself, society, and the local community; his views of Nature; the
principles of child growth; the normal height and weight of children;
the common defects of children as weak eyes, defective hearing,
adenoids, spinal curvature and other ailments that attack childhood; the
child’s likes and dislikes and all the activities that most interest
him.
No sensible teacher will undertake to teach the child a new subject
until he understands just what the child can do. Then it is an evident
conclusion that the process of teaching can be elevated above the plane
of a haphazard undertaking to that of a systematic science by the
teacher who has studied the child in his manifold complexities. It
follows then that a teacher’s preparation at its best is not complete
until he has a workable knowledge of child psychology.
Reading
The teacher’s preparation is not complete without the reading of good
books. Every true teacher is a student, and to make it possible to
remain a student he can not neglect reading good books. Reading the best
books in every field of the teacher’s work, and even in many other
fields for the purpose of gaining new knowledge is a requirement of the
teacher that should not be overlooked. In reading for pleasure and
recreation, care must be exercised in choosing reading material. Only
the best should be selected by the teacher and that which will give the
most aid to his work.
The teacher must be a careful reader; he should not hasten through a
book, just to be reading. Important passages should be marked. Whatever
is of use to the teacher should be correlated to his work to add more to
the subject taught. The author in all his reading, even in fiction, has
made use of this method—marking all important passages and quotations as
he read; then, in the back of the book, he constructed a list of pages
where each passage or quotation was to be found. Following the number of
the page in his index, he put a brief note, or sometimes only a word to
explain the nature of the passage. To illustrate: quotations or passages
of general interest were marked (general); a passage bearing upon
history, marked (history), etc. When he sought some thought or passage
upon a certain subject, it was easy to look to the “homemade” index of
the books read and hastily locate such information.
Reading for a Purpose
To the teacher books are companions. He should go to them in time of
need. They will give assistance. For recreation they will afford rest,
and for information they will prove a never-ending source. Every book
the teacher reads, should be read for a purpose. It is a good plan to
discuss a book read with a friend or one who has read it and is
interested in the line of thought treated. Fiction usually portrays some
strong character types, as well as weak character types; these make
excellent themes for talks on moods and kindred issues. The wise teacher
is always ready to cite some good character study or tell some
interesting tale or anecdote bearing upon the subject being studied and
taught. When interest lags on a dreary day, or when the entire school
seems to have the “blues”—and every teacher knows that there are such
times—he can save the situation and avoid embarrassment by narrating
some interesting story. Fiction abounds in character portrayals,
anecdotes and stories. These can be marked and indexed as to kind as
explained above.
The question as to what kind of books a teacher should read may arise.
There can be no harm in reading every type of book—books that bear upon
every phase of life. However meager a teacher’s income may be or
uncertain the place of his abode, he should have a library. The word
library does not mean that he must have a hundred or more books. How
many great men have had only a Bible, Pilgrim’s Progress, and perhaps a
book or two of poems, and yet owned a library far more valuable than is
often possessed by the indiscriminate booklover! A few books well read
are better than many unread.
It may be well to add this precaution. There are scores of good books
bearing upon method, pedagogy and various phases of the teacher’s work.
Books written for the teacher are intended to inform, and not to give
exact directions for every activity of the teacher. There can be no such
book as the latter. It is true, every school bears the same aspects, and
fundamental principles underlie the teaching process, but “cut and
dried” rules and formulæ can work only for artificial ends. A good book
seeks to suggest, and the wise teacher improves every suggestion.
Papers and Magazines
In addition to the reading of good books the teacher should read several
good papers and magazines. Here the greatest caution is necessary. This
is an age of every kind of journalism, much of it really dangerous, and
frequently the most appealing paper or magazine may prove to be the most
harmful. It is a safe rule to read those papers and magazines that have
been proven worthy by time and use. One good daily is sufficient; in its
pages the teacher can scan the activities of the world. This need not
take much time. A few minutes each day will be ample. A teacher should
avoid sensational murder “writeups,” robberies and articles designed to
create curiosity rather than to give facts and information. However, the
tried and conservative daily avoids glaring headlines, announcing
atrocities of every kind.
What the teacher should know, is what the world is doing in commerce,
industry, science, invention, legislation, discovery, religion, arts,
manufacturing and those great events which shape history. The teacher
who reads papers and magazines for the above purpose will be abreast of
the times. He should read one good teacher’s paper. There should be no
trouble experienced in finding one as there are numerous excellent
magazines published. Yet, care must be exercised, for many teacher’s
papers and magazines are nothing less than trash. The editors, like so
many business men, hope to reap a harvest of money instead of following
the motive of service to their fellow men. A good magazine can not be
omitted from the teacher’s reading. While it is true, that much which
appears is written only for the remuneration; that is, each issue must
be filled and almost anything will do, and many of the stories appeal
only to a class of people who will read only the very poorest of
literature; still, the teacher need not despair in his choice. He must
read that journal the reputation of which has been established and the
pages of which are edited by live men and women who are discussing live
issues.
In concluding the discussion on the teacher’s preparation, it is obvious
from what has been said, that the teacher must always remain a student.
He must read to learn; he must investigate to know; he must delve into
Nature to learn, and it is not at all absurd for him to study again
those books which he faithfully studied during his Normal School
training.
The Teacher’s Morals
It seems almost unnecessary to say that a teacher should be moral. It is
an important requisite. Although the teacher’s choice of his profession,
his ability to teach and his preparation have been discussed first, the
reader may consider the teacher’s morality the first requisite. The
author can not conceive of a _successful_ teacher, who would possess
every essential quality except the quality of being moral. It is a
foregone conclusion that a teacher is supposed to be a moral person.
While this is true, sad to say there yet remain many teachers whose
notions of a moral code are crude. They violate some of the smallest
details of the moral code and thereby undermine their success, to say
nothing about lessening the service they are attempting to render to
mankind. It is not too radical to say that a teacher, above all other
professional people _must_ be moral. His idea of a moral code must not
be vague; it must not contain conflicting ideas. He, above all, must
have definite notions concerning morals. It is true that the term is too
generally misused. Many teachers attempt to teach morals in such a way
that the pupils have altogether a wrong idea of ethics and consequently,
in their daily lives are doing many things that are immoral, still
believing that they are shunning that which is not right.
It is the purpose of the following discussion to set the teacher right
on what the term “moral” in its strictest sense includes; and what
constitutes a breach of morality will be clearly set forth. For many
years educators have been examining the moral requisites in a teacher,
and there can be no doubt as to the correctness of these ideas. No
attempt will be made to generalize, but specific and concrete ideas will
be presented. In other words, what is immoral will be discussed in such
plain terms that the teacher can easily frame for himself a workable
moral code.
Meaning of Moral
At the outset, it will be well to explain the term, moral. Specifically,
to be moral is to act in accordance with the laws of right. At once, the
conflicting question arises: May not what one considers right another
consider wrong? But, this is not a difficult question. It is not what
one person or another may _think_ about it; it is what the _results_
will be. The past points unmistakably to the results of all that has
been done. In the dictionary of the past can be found the record of the
results of every action. Have the results been beneficial and
serviceable to mankind, then the action was moral; if the opposite, then
the action was immoral. Without further explanation, those actions that
injure the individual or society will be regarded as immoral.
It is granted that a teacher should not become intoxicated, or fight,
gamble, visit places of doubtful character, associate with persons whose
characters are questionable, violate the law in any way, break the
Sabbath, swear, or blaspheme, cheat, lie or be guilty of lewd conduct.
These are immoral acts. There is no question as to their nature. They
_are_ wrong. Still the author has met teachers who committed some of the
above wrongs. At a certain board meeting a young man was asked to
present his resignation, because he was proven guilty of a grossly
immoral act. It is hard to understand why any teacher should even be
guilty of minor wrongs, much less, any of the larger offenses against
the moral code. It is to be hoped that this book will seldom fall into
the hands of any teacher who is so base as to be guilty of a wilful
wrong.
It is true that many questionable actions in which men and women indulge
themselves, are by them, not always considered wrong. While this may be
the case, it becomes necessary to inquire what influence such actions
may have or what the results may be. If evil alone can be traced back to
such actions, or results that are damaging, then such actions must be
conceded to be wrong, and therefore immoral by anyone, however ardent an
advocate of the questioned actions he may be.
Now, the application of the above principle to some concrete actions,
that are much disputed as to whether they are wrong or not, must tend to
satisfy the most doubting mind. _If injury can be shown as the result of
any action, that action must_ _then be wrong._ All must agree to this.
Then, the discussion must lead to the results of these disputed actions.
The first of these under consideration will be smoking. Every teacher
can recall an instance where some boy worshipped a certain man because
he found in him all those attributes that make a true man, except that
the man smoked. But the boy held him as a hero, and because the man
smoked, he believed there could be no harm in it. The influence of the
man induced the boy to smoke. The moulding of a human life is the most
important work in the world, and if this book can say something that
will cause a teacher to feel a keener responsibility in his work and
life than ever before, in the fulfilling of his most important position,
then it will not have been written in vain.
Consider Weakness of Others
The teacher may argue that no harm came to him from smoking because he
smoked moderately, and no harm can come to the boy if he will be
moderate. But, the teacher cannot insure _this_ influence of his action.
Every sensible teacher must admit that there are not a few instances
where positive harm has come to smokers. At this point it is well to say
that the pipe, the cigar, chewing tobacco, and the exceptional snuffing
of tobacco, are all related closely to the cigarette, which gets most of
the blame for the harm done by tobacco. They are all evil and their use
is immoral. That no teacher may be in doubt as to whether smoking a
cigarette, a cigar or a pipe, or chewing and snuffing tobacco have evil
results, it may be advisable to call attention to actual records of many
concrete cases; and cases in which much harm has been suffered are not
isolated, but are generally distributed. The records of any city
superintendent of schools will reveal scores of cases of boys whose
minds have been weakened, whose muscular organisms are shattered, whose
nervous systems are irresponsive and beyond the boy’s control, in fact,
whose entire lives are wrecks, because they indulged in the use of
tobacco. Every user of tobacco, at first, is a moderate user, but the
evil habit leads to demoralization and excessiveness. Any juvenile judge
can cite many instances of boys who were brought into the juvenile
court, because their minds were depraved and their passions all out of
restraint, because the use of tobacco had had its evil effect upon the
boys’ minds. If the reader will concede that some evil comes from the
use of tobacco, then the argument is complete; for any action that
necessarily has evil results is wrong, therefore, immoral and the
teacher has no right to perform that act.
Gossiping
No one questions the fact that gossiping and its attendant indulgences,
loafing, are evils. Nevertheless, teachers are too prone to indulge
themselves, thereby profoundly influencing their school associates in no
good way. It should be above every teacher to gossip about anyone. When
the time comes to report an insubordinate or bad pupil to the
superintendent or to the board of education, the facts should be told
and no more. The teacher—man or woman—has no right to report the evil of
one pupil to another pupil or to patrons or parents, even to members of
his or her immediate family. A safe rule to follow, is this: “If one can
say nothing good about anyone, say nothing at all.” This brings up the
question, can a teacher, with propriety, gossip about other teachers,
neighbors, patrons and parents? No. It is degrading. Avoid it. The city
club, the social gathering, the proverbial “husking bee,” the quilting,
or “gathering” of any kind is too often the hotbed where gossip thrives.
A teacher cannot afford to share in it. Better than take part, keep
silent. It is bad enough to listen.
Association with Loafers
Many a man teacher has thought in order to be a good mixer, he must be
friendly, or social and linger with the drug store crowd, or stop at the
street corner—where usually the loafers congregate—to take part in the
conversation. Not always, but generally the topic of conversation is
idle gossip, or worse than that, “smutty” stories are being told. To
listen is immoral; to indulge is worse. But, should the teacher pass by
without even so much as noticing the crowd? By no means. He should
cultivate the good will of all, even of the street corner gangs. Then
what must he do? He can give a friendly greeting and make a pleasant
remark, turning the tide of conversation toward right channels.
The story is told of Ulysses S. Grant, that when he was a boy, he came
one evening into one of the grocery stores of his home town, Galesburg,
Ill., and soon after entering, heard one of the loafers say, he would
tell a certain story if there were no women in the store. The idler
craned his neck and asked if there were any women near. At this point,
the youthful Grant said, “No, but there is a gentleman present.” The
story was not told. The writer recalls a superintendent of schools, who
attended a Men’s Church Banquet and told such offensive stories that
even men, who before thought little about telling an objectionable
story, were disgusted. The influence of this superintendent was so
extensive that he led many others to tell evil stories. The boys of the
entire school, as a consequence, were addicted to this vicious habit.
Many of them admitted to the writer the evil habit, and pointed to the
superintendent as the one who had influenced them to do what they
considered evil and immoral.
Further admission from the boys revealed that many of the girls told
shockingly offensive stories and that some of the boys followed the evil
stories by the evil actions suggested. _All_ because one man did not
have the moral stamina required of a decent teacher and superintendent.
To conclude, no teacher—man or woman—can afford to gossip, to talk about
anything, except that which the most refined and exacting mind may hear
without criticism.
There can be no question as to the impropriety of idle gossip and bad
stories, but there may be included the so-called “yarn,” and attempts at
humor designed to create laughter at the expense of a friend on account
of unavoidable defects, affected speech, “smart” expressions, and the
like. To the average child the above deviations from the correct usage
of language are repulsive. There are teachers who have the happy
characteristics of being humorous and can employ that trait to good
advantage but it should not be attempted, if it causes an auditor pain.
The teacher should use only good English; that is, pure English which
will serve the teacher who is inclined to indulge in trivialities of
speech.
Slang Expressions
It is needless to say that a teacher should not swear or use blasphemy.
But how disgusting it is to enter a school-room where the mistakes of
the pupils are corrected by “gracious,” “my land,” “gee,” and scores of
other useless words that are classed as slang. It is not unreasonable to
say that such words are nearly as bad in the school-room as the vilest
blasphemy is outside of the school-room. Pure English, with not an
unnecessary word, is beautiful. It excludes slang and blasphemy. Again,
the teacher should use only pure English in the school-room, and more
than that, outside of the school-room, in his every-day conversation.
Deception
It is a well established fact that everyone should be truthful, but to
the teacher this is all-important. This does not imply merely that the
teacher must tell no falsehood but he must, also, act no falsehood.
There are teachers who never tell a lie, but their actions often convey
untruth; such a teacher cannot expect his pupils to be truthful in word
or deed. Closely allied to this is the common fault of deception. No
teacher can afford to deceive his pupils. If he has promised his pupils
something, he should see that they get it. If some unavoidable
occurrence prevents this, it becomes necessary that the teacher should
explain the situation. Truthfulness and frankness on the part of the
teacher will beget the same on the part of the pupil.
Associations
May a young man or woman who is teaching, associate frequently with the
opposite sex? No one will attempt to deny that he or she may to a
limited extent. Evil results will follow when the association becomes
too frequent or too conspicuous, even though it is what the average
young American calls “just for a good time.” If these young teachers are
teaching in a high school, they will sow the seeds of free-for-all
courtship in their classes. Wise high school teachers, and very often
the upper grammar grade teachers, know that this will surely harm the
better interests of work and progress, that it will also breed the
abominable habit among the pupils of keeping late hours and being on the
streets too much. Association with the opposite sexes among high school
pupils is often romantic and beautiful and cannot be condemned. It is
not our purpose to object unqualifiedly to this practice but _safety_
and _common sense_ must be practiced, and at no time can a teacher
afford to act with more discretion than in his associations. The married
teacher is relieved of this caution, but even his associations and
relations with his lady teachers, mothers and often older pupils must be
carefully guarded and made only business-like.
This introduces the question of the kind of associates of the same sex a
teacher should allow in his company. The maxim, “The kind of companions
one has will reveal one’s character” answers the question. A teacher
must ignore no one, but only those people whose characters are above
reproach should become his companions. It is true, a teacher will, very
often have questionable pupils in his classes. Here the attitude should
be plainly missionary. Every effort should be made to improve the
pupils’ conduct and thereby reform their lives. Sometimes, it is wise to
have very objectional pupils removed permanently from the school. Their
influence on the other pupils may overbalance the good done in saving
them.
Example
The effect of example upon the pupils is remarkable, for no one can
doubt but that example strongly influences standards of morality. In
like manner the effect of the teacher’s life in establishing higher or
lower standards of morality is influenced by the associates which he
selects from the masses. A teacher should select such associations and
companions that his pupils will be influenced for the highest possible
good. A teacher should make it a positive rule never to associate with
any one whose companionship would cause an unwholesome influence upon
any of his pupils. The opportunities of the teacher are large in the
selection of his society. He is in line to choose the best; it is open
to him. He should choose to be a part of the highest and best society
and then should make it his province, his duty and privilege to help
mould and shape the social standards, and do all he can to uplift and
better the lives of those with whom he comes in contact.
Speaking of the child, Arthur Holmes says: “Imitation is his most
universal instinct. What he sees others do he will do naturally and
unthinkingly. It is as futile to teach honesty and to act dishonestly
before a child as it is to heap water in a sieve. The nervous mechanism
of the child is as hopeless and as helpless as a wireless receiver to
the influence of Hertzian waves.”[4]
The teacher should not neglect those who are worthy, but poor. Among
them he may find his best associates and friends. He should not seek to
escape the responsibilities that will accompany his dealings with the
less desirable elements of society; he should look down upon and ignore
none; he should touch elbows with those who are his intellectual
superiors and surpass him in strength of character; he should not lower
himself by stooping to that which is below the moral standard, but in
association with the masses he must elevate them, and lead them forward,
ever remembering, that as he points to a standard moral code as a sign
board, he himself must lead the way.
-----
Footnote 4:
Principles of Character Making, p. 297. Lippincott.
Idleness
“Idleness leads to vice,” is a truth that the teacher should ponder who
spends his Saturdays and Sundays, and his summer vacations in idleness,
spending what he has earned during the winter. Work is honorable. It is
commendable for a teacher to labor during the summer vacation. He may go
to the Summer School, but if he does not do so, he should find other
work. The so-called rest at summer resorts and the seaside may mean only
idleness and evil. The teacher whose life is worth while will have no
time to waste on Saturdays.
Three of the most disputed social activities are dancing, card playing
and pool, including billiards. Much has been said as to the rightness
and wrongness of these actions and still doubt exists. The very fact
that doubt exists should satisfy the teacher that he cannot indulge in
them, and still do the greatest amount of good in his community. It may
not be that dancing in itself is wrong, but the past unmistakably gives
evidence of the fact that evil attends the dance. The modern dance is
disgusting to say nothing about its evil influence. The author is a
promoter of æsthetic dancing. Such recreation properly supervised
possesses great value. Dancing as a part of physical education, under a
competent director, is quite another thing from the social or public
dance to which hundreds of young people go, not for physical education,
to be sure, but for worse than idle pastime. The teacher must carefully
discriminate here. He should shun the social and public dance.
Perhaps less dispute attends card playing as an evil. It is conceded as
such by all right thinking persons. Every one knows how easily gambling
results from card playing. There are numbers of cases on record of lives
wasted and crimes committed over the card table as well as in pool and
billiard rooms. Cards, pool and billiards are tools of indolence; they
are evil and spread ruin in their wake. No teacher who cares for the
boys and girls under his instruction and guidance will dance, play
cards, pool or billiards. He, too, will not play to excess checkers,
chess, dice, or kindred games. There are too many good books to read
from which the teacher can gain inspiration and knowledge to _waste_
time playing either of the above or any similar games. A word must be
added relative to gambling or betting. Both are evils and have a bad
influence upon the lives of the young. The wise teacher will refrain
from them.
Intemperance
Reference has been made to intoxication which is intemperance, but
intemperance is a much broader term and implies much more than getting
drunk. It is well not to think of intemperance as belonging only to the
use of intoxicating beverages. Every pleasurable activity is liable to
be carried to excess. Teachers often need relaxation from the wearisome
routine of school-room duty. When seeking rest and relief in legitimate
recreation care must be taken to avoid excess.
Even in matters of food and drink, dress and social pleasures this
caution is needed. The teacher with common sense knows where to draw the
line. One can be intemperate in many things, always to his own harm. In
passing, the definition of intemperance will indicate just where the
thoughtful teacher must stop not to become intemperate. Intemperance is
a want of moderation or self-restraint; indulging of any appetite or
passion to excess.
Honesty
Honesty is commonly thought of as trustworthiness in the conduct of
business dealings, as opposed to fraud and cheating. It is all that and
much more. It implies sincerity, uprightness, truth, honor, integrity,
justice, chastity, decency, propriety, virtue and frankness. The word
honesty implies much, and there is too great danger that the teacher
practice it in its common meaning only, forgetting that its application
is broad. It is very essential that he should not overlook any of its
implications. A teacher cannot be said to be honest when he merely
returns a dollar’s worth of service for a dollar. That does not exactly
constitute honesty, though it may seem to do so. The teacher who shirks
a duty, which he should do, because he finds it is not in his province
is like the man who did not pay his street car fare because the
conductor forgot to call upon him for his ticket. He argued that it was
the conductor’s duty to call for it but honesty demands that he should
have paid it.
A teacher should be sincere; he should do nothing for effect. All his
actions should be genuine, arising from true motives. The term upright
is indeed vague. In its usual meaning it signifies an adherence to moral
principles. It can be easily understood and applied, if the teacher will
remember to admonish his pupils not to do anything which he would not do
himself. If the teacher undertakes to teach a moral principle, he must
first live it himself and then he will have weight in his arguments for
righteousness.
Honor is that trait of character which holds one to the practice of all
the laws of the strictest moral code. The teacher whose integrity cannot
be questioned is the teacher who has fulfilled, in his life, all those
demands that are set forth in the laws of the Master Teacher. He has
lived up to the Golden Rule. Justice demands that all shall be given
their rights. The teacher can do no better than to be just to all. When
one has decided notions of right and wrong upon the basis of results in
the lives of his fellows, he has reached the exact idea of propriety.
Virtue is a broad term, but a word that is significant. That life is
virtuous whose every deed promotes the common good.
A teacher should not practice Sunday honesty—that kind of honesty which
works under certain conditions and lapses at intervals. Everyone, no
doubt, is inclined to reach high water marks of absolute truthfulness,
and must beware of lapses into error, even falling below the ordinary
standards of every day life. The honesty that is commendable is clean,
out-in-the-open honesty that is always active, not simply when great
issues are at stake. No other profession demands honesty more than that
of the teacher. His attitude here must be real, not affected. If there
is pretence or sham, the first to become aware of it will be the pupil;
and the effect upon him is that he loses confidence in the teacher who
should be his model.
Temper
The question of temper should not be omitted from a full discussion of a
teacher’s moral code. How often has a teacher boasted to a friend or
fellow-teacher that he indulged himself in a frenzy of temper before his
school, thereby “scaring the wits out of the pupils” and remarked
further that the pupils feared him thereafter for a week. Such an action
on the part of a teacher is almost criminal. A teacher cannot afford to
lower his dignity by such methods. While no attempt is being made to
discuss methods at this point, for they will be discussed in following
chapters, yet it is the aim to point out those immoral actions from
which a teacher should be free. It is foolish for anyone to allow his
temper to get away from his control. A teacher should cultivate an
amiable disposition. It is _never_ necessary to permit one’s temper to
override his common sense.
“When I taught school, there were many times when the indifference,
stupidity, flippancy, or silliness of the class brought me to such a
pitch of rage, that I dared not trust myself to speak. I would clutch
the arms of my chair, and swallow foam until I felt complete
self-command; then I would speak with quiet gravity. The boys all saw
what was the matter with me, and learned something not in the book.”
(Phelps.)[5]
-----
Footnote 5:
Bagley, op. cit. p. 42.
Curiosity
In passing, it might be well to mention the not uncommon fault of
meddling. The teacher’s province is the school and all its attendant
activities. It will not make him more efficient to know the common
affairs of every family of his school. He will be no better off if he
knows all the happenings of the neighborhood, the village or city-block.
Many times it is necessary for the teacher to repress a pupil who is
prone to be a news monger. Frequently, teachers plunge themselves into
serious difficulties by meddling in affairs that do not concern their
school. Such difficulties are unfortunate and always weaken the
teacher’s ability to govern his school.
Questionable Acts
It has been assumed that all those actions from which evil only may
result, are contrary to the standards of the moral code. Consequently,
some deeds which the teacher commonly does not consider as questionable
activities will be discussed. No lengthy treatment will be given them
since common sense—the safe standard for the teacher—will help decide
the correctness of the ideas set forth. No teacher can afford, in school
or out, to make unkind remarks about the poor, the aged, the
weak-minded, the crippled, the peculiar, the poorly dressed, the tramp,
the gypsy, the prisoner, or that unfortunate whose appetite is beyond
his control and causes him to become drunken. The teacher is an agent
who is expected to help, to lift to higher planes of life. Frequently,
thoughtless teachers have joined pupils in jeering at a beggar and
thereby created a habit in some child of making sport of the
unfortunate. The author calls to mind the elevating influence of a
little woman who, when the boys pelted a hungry tramp with snow-balls,
took him into the warm room and shared with him her luncheon and sent
him on his way happier in heart because he had met a kind-hearted woman.
Who knows but that this act of kindness may have helped to turn the
tramp from his vagrant life to a life of usefulness? A teacher cannot
lower his standards of life by helping the aged, the poor, the weak, the
fallen. A good deed is never lost.
Neatness and Cleanliness
What is the influence of the teacher—man or woman—whose clothing is
untidy, hair and scalp unclean, finger nails untrimmed and filled with
dirt? There need be no discussion; the prudent teacher knows the answer.
The teacher who is attempting to follow a standard of morals will not
allow his body to be unclean and unkempt. His attire, though it may not
be in the latest style, will be neat and clean; his teeth will be clean,
his finger nails well kept, and his shoes clean and polished and every
detail will evidence his careful attention. Such a teacher will take
active daily exercise, will not forget a daily walk, that will lead out
to some haunt of Nature where a new lesson is in store for the observing
teacher. Nature has a lesson for him every day of the year.
It is safe to assume that the teacher who guards carefully his actions
in the school, out of school, in his every day life, and above all when
hundreds of miles away from home, is a safe teacher. He need not give
stated lectures on morals. His life and deeds will be monitors to the
youth under his tutelage. Moral education is not knowledge, it is life.
Therefore, a teacher cannot educate pupils by stated and set lessons in
morals, if he has none himself, but on the other hand, his life can be a
standard of morals in itself and thus furnish a living model for action
to those about him. A teacher has no right to teach good conduct and
morals, or any attributes of a moral nature, if he is guilty of repeated
immoral acts, open or hidden. It must be remembered that morality is not
inherent, but developed. From this it can be clearly deduced that this
moral development receives direction from the moral life of the teacher.
The young teacher, who on his first day enters the school-room and is
face to face, for the first time with the responsibility of his
profession, casts about for a model teacher. He will find many
successful teachers whose lives are above reproach, even some of his own
colleagues may be those who will influence him for great good. He may be
compelled to look back to a teacher who has been a vital factor in his
development. However, he is young, and is surrounded by a world of
temptation, and his searching mind need not go far until it can single
out a teacher whose life is very questionable, but who is popular,
receives a good salary, and possibly secures the best school positions.
These are poor standards by which to measure real life and success, but
the young teacher wants popularity, money, and a good position. Real
success is stable and lasting. The teacher with a questionable
reputation, will doubtless before the end of his career find his proper
level. To measure a man by his apparent success is not always safe. It
is his character that counts in the end. Time may be necessary in which
to estimate moral worth correctly, but the effort to truly weigh a
person’s character is well spent.
The Teacher’s Religion
The inquiring teacher by this time may have asked, “What about a
teacher’s religion?” A teacher should know his Bible, be a regular
communicant of some church, and a Sunday School worker. Fanaticism must
be avoided. But the sane and mellowing influence of religion has a great
effect upon character. No teacher should make it a practice to inject
his religious ideas into his school work. His every day life should
indicate his obedience to the Master Teacher. He must not attack any
religious denomination as that is not his province. Some child may be
offended or over influenced by his views. The tenets of every child’s
church are sacred to him and the teacher should not attack them. Often
it is argued that a teacher should not teach a Sunday School class. If
the teacher does not find it too great an addition to his already heavy
work, there can be no good reason why he may not teach in the Sunday
School.
It is well to discriminate carefully between a moral person and an
apparently religious person. Too often it is assumed that a pious person
is of necessity a safe moral guide. Sometimes unfortunately the teacher
who appears religious is not morally sound.
True religion includes an approved morality. But, it must be understood
that teaching religion does not necessarily indicate that good morals
are being taught. The author does not mean to criticise the Sunday
School, or even the Church—they are great and effective institutions—but
they are failing to teach morals as they should. The school teacher has
a great work to do at this point. The final admonition to the teacher
is, have a standard moral code, _live it_, and in pointing others to it
as a signboard of life, _be sure to heed it always yourself_.
Aesthetic Appreciation
A requisite of the teacher that cannot be overlooked is that he must
have a love for all that is good and beautiful: an æsthetic
appreciation. The teacher must appreciate and actually participate in
the noblest, best and most beautiful which the world possesses in song
and story, in conversation and poem, in landscape and sky, in art and
music. The sky with floating clouds, or when clear or starbedecked, a
silver moon hanging low over a dark-rimmed horizon, a towering cathedral
against a sunset sky, a brook stealing its way across a meadow, a
mountain torrent, a rainbow, the shadow and sheen in the depths of the
forest, a placid river on its way to the sea, a bird song, a meadow, a
field of ripening grain, a flower-hedged roadway, a path through the
valley and into the depths of a wood where it winds at will among the
mossy trunks of trees, over tufts of moss, beside quiet pools, through
rustling leaves—all these and many more objects in nature hold in store
inspiring and uplifting lessons of life. No teacher can contemplate
these beauties and not possess a nobler soul. Contact with Nature’s most
beautiful and best will strengthen his love for the beautiful and will
help him to keep the hearts of his pupils attuned to the helpful sights
and sounds that go to make up their surroundings.
The teacher who delights in the beautiful will find himself easily
winning the interests and attention of his pupils. Children are born
admirers of the beautiful.
“Constitutionally, he functions æsthetically just as really as he does
socially, although not to the same extent. Very early in his history he
manifests delight in beauty. The nature of these reactions will be
explained as we proceed with the chapter. Because of them, education
calls for the development of this aspect of the child’s nature, and
ethical culture demands its moralization. Morality is especially
concerned with æsthetic development, since there is an intimate relation
existing between the beautiful and the good.”[6]
No teacher can have an appreciative love for all that is beautiful and
good and not love children. The most beautiful thing in all the world is
the unfolding life of a child. Who has not stopped by the side of the
cradle and pushed aside a curl to look upon the face of a sleeping baby,
whose long eyelashes are sweeping over cheeks aglow with beauty, the
whole face portraying childhood’s charm. The first tottering steps of a
child are deeply interesting. His gleeful prattle, his silver laughter
are cheering to the most benighted. Could ever a human being think of
becoming a teacher who does not love children above all else?
Every teacher should love and appreciate good literature and good music,
and all that is beautiful in the arts. Whatever is cultural is æsthetic.
The beautiful, the true, the good are all æsthetic and therefore
profitable. Each day the teacher should renew and reinspire his soul and
life by contact with all that surrounds him that is æsthetic. He must
abhor wrong and love right. His character will then be strong and his
life filled with success, joy and peace.
-----
Footnote 6:
Sneath and Hodges, Moral Training in the School and Home, p. 167.
Macmillan.
Willingness to Learn
A requisite absolutely essential to the teacher is open-mindedness. He
should, of course, be stable; he should not be influenced by every
theory and idea that comes to his attention in his associations and
reading, but he must be ready and willing to learn. The teacher will
grow by experience who can say, “I want to learn more,” but he will just
as surely fossilize, if he thinks, “I know it all.” No mind can grow if
it draws its conclusions only to be in harmony with those already
framed. Sometimes, a pupil will suggest a thought, or even a truth, that
has never come to the teacher’s attention. How much better it is to
welcome the idea or truth, and so inform the pupil, than to ignore it
even though it is of value just because it came from one who is
inferior. The barefoot urchin may know secrets the teacher has never
learned.
Worry
The happy quality of mind that shuns worry is well worth a teacher’s
cultivation. Worry makes inroads into a teacher’s health. Sometimes, the
unthoughtful teacher concludes that work is impairing health when in
truth it is worry. It is true, many situations need careful
consideration, but never worry. Worry never yet solved a difficulty.
Cultivate a happy mood, resolve that where there is a will there is a
way, and all the school problems will seem less difficult after that
resolution.
Attitude Toward Criticism
Closely akin to worry is over-sensitiveness to criticism. The following
anonymous article appeared in a college paper some time ago. It is apt
and contains much truth. “‘Say nothing, do nothing, be nothing, then you
will escape criticism’, goes an old saying. Could anything ring truer?
The most maligned men and women are those who are doing the most and
doing it in a conscientious manner. Analyze the person who boasts of
never being criticised and you will find nothing. Some persons, to
escape criticism take a middle course; first catering toward this side,
then leaning toward the other. They call it tact; it is really moral
cowardice. Others allow the shafts of criticism to break down their
self-respect, their confidence in their own ability. This, too, is the
wrong attitude. Criticism is a recognition that you are of sufficient
importance to stimulate remarks from someone and besides, the right kind
of criticism is always constructive. The other kind, oh, it comes mostly
from the class who escape criticism.”
While the above is true it needs careful thought. It should not be
forgotten that criticism is often justly given, and means that the
ability of some one is not up to the standard or that they are failing
to do their best. The teacher, however, who does his duty as he knows it
best, need never allow criticism to give him any trouble or worry. It
may mean only that he is doing something worth talking about.
Self-confidence
Some teachers possess all those elements that contribute to successful
teaching, except self-confidence. Yet too much of that quality is more
dangerous than helpful. Self-confidence in one’s work when the elements
of preparation are lacking is foolhardy. When a teacher has given
himself that preparation that he knows is necessary and has done his
best to possess the qualities that should dominate a teacher, he has a
right to have self-confidence. Not alone is it necessary that he should
be self-confident, but it is highly essential that he should show it. He
knows what he can do and he should expect good results; if he does this
he can not miss success. Success crowns his work who has self-confidence
in possessed ability.
Common Sense
Too often the teacher is admonished to practice common sense. This is an
indefinite term and to many young and inexperienced teachers it means
nothing. Should they wish to practice common sense they would not be
able to do so, because they can not place a correct construction upon
the term. The teacher who observed that one of the boys sat still in his
seat and looked into space more than at his book, and then reprimanded
the boy because he failed to learn his lesson, did not use common sense.
Another teacher in the same high school observed the same boy, went to
him privately and inquired in a friendly way, if there could be any
wrong from which the boy was suffering. He was told by the boy that he
was worrying because he believed he had tuberculosis and furthermore
that his father mistreated him. This teacher used common sense, and also
the much recommended “tact,” another indefinite thing. This teacher
sympathized with the boy and sought to remove the obstacles. Success
crowned the teacher’s efforts.
Another illustration may serve to explain the term, “common sense.” The
teacher who scolded the boys for smoking cigarettes, and thereby won
their ill will and intensified the habit, did not use common sense.
Another teacher who won the confidence and good will of the boys and
then confidentially explained to them the evil results of smoking, used
common sense and tact. Did he succeed in getting all the boys to stop
smoking? No. Nor is there any tactful teacher who will succeed with all,
but he persuaded a great many of the boys to stop smoking. At this point
so many teachers fail just because the first effort, or even continued
effort does not save every boy. They condemn their methods and become
discouraged. An evil as great as smoking can not be abolished in one
year. Probably, it can not ever be entirely eradicated, but patience and
faithful service will finally reach results almost incredible. These
illustrations should serve to explain one concrete use of common sense
and tact. The observant and thoughtful teacher finds instances every day
where common sense and tact are used to advantage. It is the object of
this Course, in the presentation of many tactful methods, to increase
the teacher’s store of “Common Sense” plans of discipline.
Entering the Child’s Activities
It is, indeed, the discreet teacher who can place himself upon the level
of the child. There is no teacher who can expect to render to the child
the service due him, if he does not enter into his life. With propriety
can the teacher be one among the children. A boy with the boys or a girl
with the girls. It is imperative to enter into their interests. The
suggestion to enter into the lives of the pupils, has furnished many a
teacher with the means whereby he saved the wayward boy or girl. The
teacher who places himself above the children, either in the grades or
in the high school, by word and action, loses his influence for good and
useful service. Such a teacher cannot be a true teacher. Many of the
uplifting truths of his own life, if he may possess such, fail to
impress his pupils. Children of every school age love the teacher who
tactfully enters their activities and games—enters them in such a way as
to forget that he is a teacher, and his pupils subordinates, but as if
all are children having a good time. The Chinese sage, Mencius, said,
“The great man is he who does not lose his child’s heart.” Big boys and
girls always love and admire the teacher who can enter into their
sports, games and athletic activities. It pays men teachers to have some
knowledge of athletic sports.
Even a woman can do much in promoting athletic sports. The benefit is
two-fold; first, the health of the teacher demands the exercise which
athletics affords; secondly, the pupils can be much more easily
controlled by the teacher who enters their sports and activities. There
is a world of knowledge to be gained by entering into the child’s life.
Needless should be the caution that the teacher should not allow himself
to grow old in spirit. The teacher whose years may have reached the half
century mark can still have “that youthful spirit” and that sprightly
manner that will fire youth to its fullest activity. Such a teacher will
never grow really old. Of him it may well be said, that he grows younger
with the years until he reaches eternal youth.
Cheerfulness
It is often said that childhood is life’s happiest period. Where then is
the teacher who comes in contact with child life daily, who cannot be
happy, youthful and ever ready to bestow the cheerfulness, of a helpful
life? The happy-minded teacher will never pass his pupils anywhere
without leaving with them a sense of his kindly interest. He knows when
to enter the child’s world to share his joys—and his are real joys—when
to sympathize with him in sorrow. The teacher whose life has become
bitter, and who no longer can be happy-minded and cheerful, should leave
the profession. Everywhere is needed cheer; no place can be made better
by gloom, but especially should a companion of children be optimistic.
Responsibility
Responsibility is an essential requirement of the teacher. He must be
absolutely trustworthy. The teacher who shoulders his responsibility,
will not neglect the least part of his work because he believes he is
underpaid. Should he know that the welfare of a child demands his
attention, outside of school hours, he should not fail to aid the child,
though it be really no part of his school duties. The rights of the
pupils will be guarded as sacred by the responsible teacher. He, too,
will care for the property of the school as though it were his, and even
more so, for he is entrusted with its care. The greatest safety for any
school is a conscientious teacher under whom parents can place their
children for moral, physical and spiritual instructions.
Courage
To be fearless in the performance of one’s duty is no easy matter. Least
of all for the teacher. Often in a community, the school is the only
active institution, during the school year. Its influence reaches every
home in the community through the children. Its every activity is
discussed by the well-meaning, as well as by the unthoughtful and
unscrupulous, the latter often criticising without the slightest
assurance that they are correct in their views. The teacher must stand
by with a fearless attitude. It is assumed that he has done what he
believes to be right—his own life being simple and his moral standards
at least no lower than those of his patrons. The teacher must possess
all the requisites of the true teacher to be able to stand against every
view that may become current. He must even decide to his hurt in order
to maintain the right when criticism and censure become slander and
falsehood. A teacher must be himself, not an imitator. His decisions
must be firm, yet kind. He must constantly hold in view the final end in
every action, which end is best for the welfare of the child. A teacher
who is fickle, doubts his ability, hesitates between opinions, is swayed
by every criticism that comes his way, seeks advice from those who are
not capable of giving it and finally deviates from the right, will not
succeed. He cannot be fearless.
Sensible Dressing
It seems almost useless to say that a strong element in the teacher’s
qualifications is his ability to discriminate carefully about his
attire. A certain grade teacher, who, as far as her principal could
judge, possessed every attribute that would constitute a successful
teacher, was wholly uncultivated in her tastes regarding dress. So
peculiar and often ridiculous was her attire that she became the
laughing stock of the community and finally her pupils, though they
respected her, made remarks about her appearance. She found her ability
to control her pupils weakened. Aside from a sensible choice of dress,
it is not to be overlooked that a teacher sets an example for neatness
and cleanliness when he attends to the careful selection of his attire
and then sees that his person and clothing are always neat, clean and
well kept. A teacher cannot afford to dress so as to draw special
attention to his clothes. He should follow the dictates of fashion as
long as that is in keeping with good common sense. To women teachers,
this is an important point. It is to be feared should a woman teacher
follow every whim of fashion, she would have little time left for her
actual duties. Plain, sensible clothing that allows freedom and ease
becomes a teacher—man or woman.
The Teacher’s Home
It is well to say something about the teacher’s home, or if the teacher
is boarding, something about his room. His immediate surroundings often
reflect his personal tastes as clearly as does his attire. All eyes are
on the teacher and his domestic policy cannot escape criticism. Not long
ago in one of the foremost school communities of Ohio lived a principal
of a high school whose home was little better than a hovel. A stranger
called there one day and found the front yard very untidy, several
calves were running loose there, while rubbish, such as barrels, broken
dishes, tin cans and a profusion of coal ashes were in evidence. He was
greeted by several children who, even to this lover of children, proved
almost repulsive. Each child was dressed in filthy clothing, with face
and hands unwashed and the hair matted with dirt. The father came next—a
principal of a small high school—whose appearance was no better than
that of the children. Instead of neat and cleanly attire, his clothing
was ragged and soiled, not even put on properly. As the stranger spoke
to the worthy principal he could look into a kind of shed room near the
house, in which a woman, no doubt the mother of the children, was
washing. She too, was unkempt and unclean. Her surroundings were so
disorderly and unclean that health was in danger.
The stranger’s curiosity was aroused and by a clever investigation he
learned that this particular high school was notorious, far and near,
for its rude boys and girls. He learned that just about six weeks before
his visit, thirteen of the high school boys had been before the Juvenile
Court for various offenses, and that many more should have been
summoned. This was an enormous percentage out of a possible enrollment
of one hundred and twenty pupils. Could this principal’s untidy home and
surroundings have played any part in this condition? Most certainly. Any
teacher who will allow himself to live in such a home cannot without
great injustice be retained as a teacher. Just as he allowed his
surroundings to become so wretched he would allow those with whom he
daily came in contact to become morally wrong. This man who cared
nothing for the beauty of his home and its environment lacked those
finer senses that make for useful lives. His influence was demoralizing.
A teacher’s home surroundings and tastes are sure indices to his state
of culture and refinement.
Work
No teacher whose labors are to be crowned with success and happiness,
the results that count, must be afraid of work. Work is the secret of
success. Its example tells. The teacher who can work willingly and
cheerfully and who shows that he is happy when he has something to do
needs never to complain that the pupils do not work. It is good for a
teacher to give the impression that he does home work, studies gladly,
is interested in every lesson that he hears, and knows his subject
thoroughly. Such a teacher will have pupils who study with zest, who
utilize their spare moments and above all, pupils who really are
interested in their work.
A teacher must not approach any task in a half-hearted way, but with all
the strength and energy he is able to command. Happiness and success and
a helpful optimism come from active participation in life’s battles. The
individual who likes work, likes play, likes to read, loves Nature, and
thereby finds diversity and recreation in the activities of life will
not find the work of the teacher too taxing. After a hard lesson in
mathematics, a real, live novel—written by a modern novelist—will often
rest the mind.
A walk after a hard day in school is restful.
The writer recalls a splendid, little, effective teacher who after a
hard and successful day in the school-room would go with her pupils to
hunt flowers, to row or ride, would often work in the garden, sometimes
play baseball, and could indulge in a snowballing that sent everyone
home with a feeling of good fellowship. She had some silver threads in
her hair and her years numbered more than a half century, still her
cheeks were ruddy and her eyes keen. She was young in spirit and the
children loved her. Her efficiency as a teacher was never questioned.
Many are the men and women who are making the world better because she
trained them when they were boys and girls. Work interspersed with the
proper exercise and recreation will _not_ injure any teacher’s health.
Worry as a rule is the undermining force at work. The teacher who
attempts to get along without exercise will sometime in his career,
though not always at first, become a miserable failure. Exercise is
necessary. It should be taken daily in the open air. Exercise and open
air are two elixirs of youth. The teacher needs them.
The Teacher’s Health
There can be no question about a teacher’s health being of the greatest
importance to effective and cheerful work. No fear as to health need be
experienced by the teacher who takes plenty of exercise and gets out
into God’s great out-of-doors for fresh air. There is no excuse for the
teacher who is cross and mistreats the pupils and scowls at their every
mistake or mischievous prank, and then justifies her attitude by saying,
“I do not feel well.” It should be an infallible rule with every teacher
to make no attempt to teach while ill. It is far better for a child to
miss a day or two of school than to be subjected to the rule of a cross,
peevish, fretful teacher. Only the teacher buoyant with good health
should be allowed in the school-room. Little needs to be said about the
many chronic diseases which are contagious, such as tuberculosis, and
are easily transmitted to the pupils by infected teachers. It is a
teacher’s plain duty to keep himself in good health.
System
The ability to have order and system in school work will go a great way
toward making the work easier and more effective. Method and order are
great time savers. A teacher is an architect. For every task there must
be a plan. Each lesson must have its place. Each step its reason. A
teacher who formulates and plans his work will accomplish much more than
the teacher who relies upon circumstances to point out to him his method
of procedure. To be careless, haphazard and aimless means to fail.
A teacher can learn a valuable lesson from studying any great factory
where labor and time saving devices are employed. In addition to these,
every means of system and order are used to secure the greatest
effectiveness of energy put forth. Many an individual has acquired an
education in spare moments, by putting system into his work, and thus
saved time and energy which could be expended in securing an education.
Unsystematic school work is a waste of energy. The teacher should have a
time for everything, as well as a place for everything. Begin school on
time, close on time. Regularity will bring good results. The slogan of
many advertisers is, “Do it now.” Time lost can rarely ever be regained.
The prudent teacher will use studied methods—methods that apply to the
lesson and class at hand. He who uses correct methods in the school-room
will doubtless use right methods in his study, and further will practice
regular habits in his life outside of the school-room. The regular
habits of a teacher in all of his activities will always be reproduced
in the work of his pupils.
It is true, that there are scores of “method books” claiming to give
needed “directions” for every detail of school work. It is foolish for a
teacher to rely upon such advice. Every so-called method is needful and
helpful, but a teacher must study his class and his lessons and apply
just such methods as his experience teaches him will secure the best and
most lasting results. How often can one visit certain schools and note
the effect of the weekly or monthly advent of the teacher’s paper. Such
teachers have no tried methods of their own but each week or month they
try out methods only to find many of them unsuited to their needs. Such
procedures prevent continuous progress. They are like a ship without a
rudder; they will finally run upon the rocks of failure.
It is easy for a teacher to develop a narrowness in his tastes that
forbids him to seek proper variation in his work. The more devoted a
teacher is the more he needs diversions quite disconnected from his
professional duties. The freshness of mind gained by digressions from
school routine is as necessary as the preparation of lesson material
itself.
Discrimination
The ability to discriminate carefully is one of the teacher’s most
valuable qualities. The discriminating and analytic mind is most
indispensable to good teaching. To see things in their proper light, to
place a fair estimate upon anything or any situation, to give due credit
where it belongs and reserve an opinion as long as doubt remains, are
needful qualities of the discriminating mind. Such a mind is broad and
liberal. The small details of life will not over influence such a mind.
It is able to discern between the trivial, the common-place, and the
useful and valuable in every action. Deliberation is a fundamental
antecedent of discrimination. The hasty mind jumping at conclusions,
before every detail has been examined and weighed, often plunges itself
into confusion. The discriminating teacher is able to rid himself of the
bondage of annoyances and petty grievances and rise above difficulties,
thereby gaining that magnanimity of spirit that leads to achievement and
success.
Judgment
The ability to form a quick and impartial judgment and to act upon that
judgment is even more important than to discriminate without bias.
Perhaps, it is only another way of saying that one should be
discriminating. Still, there is this distinction: a quick and clear
judgment can only be reached by a discriminating mind. To lose sight of
one’s own interests or one’s self is a basis for rare judgment. It is
necessary to lay aside all prejudice to be able to discriminate so as to
reach a clear and unbiased judgment.
Concentration
Concentration of mind and purpose go hand in hand with discrimination
and judgment. The teacher must be able to concentrate his mind upon his
work so as to get from it its fullest meaning and thereby make no
mistake in the presentation of any subject. To concentrate the mind in
every instance means a successful completion of every task undertaken.
It goes without question that such qualities in the teacher will make
pupils take a delight in the thorough preparation of their work.
Patience
Patience, unfaltering patience, has won the victory for many a teacher.
How often has a teacher labored hard to present a lesson, only to return
and find no good results from the effort. The teacher may not always be
at fault. Some child may have grasped every detail, another under the
same instruction, not even the larger facts; but we all know that not
all children are equal in the ability to comprehend. The conditions that
enable one to learn may not have been so advantageous for another. It is
not wise to become disheartened and scowl over the apparent failure of a
child. The teacher would fail if the same conditions hindered him. If
the teacher, after being sympathetic and taking into consideration the
environment of the child, then discovers indifference to studies, the
time may have come for firmer methods, but even then patience will go a
long way in obtaining results.
The Teacher’s Social Life
Another perplexing matter, hardly avoidable by the teacher, but a factor
that usually has a marked effect upon his work, is his social life. Just
how far is it safe to enter into the social life of the community?
Should a teacher share in the social life of his patrons? Yes. Carefully
discriminate how far this social activity may extend without harming a
teacher’s influence. A teacher must take interest in the social life of
a community, so as to harm no one, not even himself, and improve the
community life about him. Into some homes he can not go, but he must not
ignore or look down upon such homes. He must _show_ preference to none.
Otherwise his visits to certain homes will involve him in endless
gossip. Then, above all, it is a safe rule, whenever and wherever he
enters social life, to say nothing about his pupils, his school work, or
his patrons. Some unthinking person may repeat what he has said, and not
intentionally misconstrue his statements, thus causing him trouble and
weakening his influence. It is safer and far better to make no remark at
all about any individual if one can not say something good.
Treating All Alike
A teacher must be friendly to all, even though some are far beneath him
socially and others may spurn his friendship. His greetings should be
the same to all. Often a teacher discriminates against the outcast and
thus earns for himself the reputation of being proud. To be friendly to
all does not mean that one must be an associate of the outcast. It is a
matter of expediency to treat all alike so that one’s influence may work
for good and the uplift of the masses.
A True Leader
It is evident from the foregoing requisites of the teacher that if he
can acquire all the qualities set forth, he is a teacher who has himself
under control and can, first of all, discipline himself—a condition that
is necessary if the teacher expects to control and discipline those
under his tutelage.
“The well-trained man is the man whose mind is stored with a fund of
varied knowledge which he can promptly command when the necessity for it
arises; he is the man who can keep his attention upon the problem in
hand as long as necessary, and in the face of distraction; he is,
moreover, the man who, having paused long enough to see the situation
correctly and to bring to bear upon it all the relevant knowledge he
possesses, acts thereon promptly and forcefully.”[7]
Can he square up to every qualification? If so, he will be a true leader
and teacher. It may seem discouraging to be required to measure up to so
many requisites, but after all they will insure true contentment and
happiness—those qualities that come only to the really prepared—and
lasting success will most certainly crown the efforts of such a teacher.
While it is true and right that every teacher should demand his wages,
still, it is almost a crime for a teacher to measure his services by the
amount of his remuneration. The _true_ teacher’s services are rewarded
by the good he has done, by the useful lives that have grown under his
beneficent teaching, by the services rendered, by men and women, who as
boys and girls, have felt the influence of his life. Such a reward is
never ending. The good sown in one life will transplant itself into
another and another long after the teacher has received his final
reward. The teacher’s recompense is not measured by dollars and cents,
but by the good done to humanity.
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Footnote 7:
Angell, Psychology, p. 438. Holt.
Summary
1. The teacher’s is the noblest of all professions.
2. The teacher’s service is a service to mankind, moulding the child
life, thereby shaping the destinies of coming generations.
3. The teacher must have the right motive for teaching. His motive must
be true service to mankind. Should he not have such a motive, he should
leave the profession.
4. The teacher must be thoroughly prepared—his knowledge must be fresh
and ready for use. This will enable him to win the confidence of his
pupils and lessen the necessity for discipline. In other words:
(a) He must be educated and trained in a Normal School, having at least
one year of such training. A college education, while not absolutely
necessary, is a very great asset.
(b) He must be a lover of Nature. That is, he should have a profound
interest in all the phenomena of Nature.
(c) He must be a student of psychology since it is a needful adjunct to
the teacher’s education. It is an interpretation of human nature;
consequently, it has value in understanding child life. A teacher should
read good texts in psychology every year.
(d) He must be a student. He should always work over his lessons and
read in subjects related to the work in hand.
(e) He must be a reader of good books bearing upon the many phases of
learning. Fiction and poetry are real aids to a teacher’s preparation.
(f) He must not be superficial. If he follows slavishly books on method,
he is shallow. Such books are intended to suggest only. The discreet
teacher improves by every suggestion.
(g) He must be a reader of the daily paper, the magazine, and the
teacher’s paper. They are a part of his educational equipment. Only the
best should be read, and they not to the exclusion of other literature.
5. A teacher must possess the ability to teach. Ability includes a
natural fitness as well as scholastic preparation.
6. The first and greatest requisite of the teacher is morality. Its
simplest definition shows that it deals with the rightness or wrongness
of any action. Those actions are immoral that are followed by evil or
demoralizing results. A partial list of these follow and should be
labeled, “Don’ts for the Teacher.”
(a) Intoxication, fighting, gambling, visiting places of doubtful
character, associating with persons whose characters are suspected,
violating the laws, breaking the Sabbath, swearing, blaspheming,
cheating, falsifying and lewd conduct are immoral acts about which there
can be no question.
(b) The use of tobacco in any form is immoral. This is true, because
only evil results follow in many cases.
(c) Gossiping and loafing are evils for anyone. The teacher should avoid
them.
(d) The street-corner gang or the low-minded crowd are not fit for the
teacher’s company. He should avoid them.
(e) The so-called social gatherings are often hotbeds for gossip. When
they are such, men and women teachers do well to avoid them.
(f) “Smutty” stories, vicious “yarns” and senseless stories as well as
slang are objectionable. The teacher should avoid them.
(g) Attempts at humor at the expense of an auditor should be avoided.
(h) Tell no falsehood; act no falsehood.
(i) Associate only with those whose influence is for good. Unmarried
teachers can not be too thoughtful as to the extent of their
associations, with even the best of the opposite sex. It often weakens
influence and breeds unrestrained “courting” in the upper grades and the
high school.
(j) A teacher should avoid idleness. Duties outside of school hours will
be recreative.
(k) The modern dance, public or private, must be avoided by the
conscientious teacher.
(l) Card playing, pool and billiards are immoral. They lead to gambling.
A teacher’s influence may cause someone else to gamble. Checkers, chess,
dice, and other “time killers” should be practically avoided by the
teacher. Use leisure time in reading good books, or in out-of-door
exercise. Richer returns will accrue.
(m) Intemperance includes much. The teacher should investigate its
province and refrain from _all_ intemperance.
(n) The teacher must be honest in the strictest sense. Honesty implies
trustworthiness in dealings, trustworthiness in business,
trustworthiness in all other conduct, sincerity, truth, uprightness,
honor, integrity, justice, chastity, decency, propriety, virtue and
frankness. Each is so patent that it needs no discussion.
(o) A teacher must always hold his temper in restraint.
(p) A teacher can not afford to meddle in the affairs of others.
(q) A teacher should not make fun of the poor, the needy, the
weak-minded, the crippled, the aged, the peculiar, the poorly dressed,
the tramp, the gypsy, the prisoner, or even the intoxicated.
(r) Often a teacher’s moral attitude is revealed by his attire. Neat and
cleanly attire is required of a teacher.
(s) A teacher cannot afford to dress foppishly.
(t) A teacher’s conduct away from home should always be as good as when
at home.
7. No teacher can rightfully teach a moral code if he is repeatedly
guilty of any immoral act, open or hidden.
8. Often an immoral teacher seems successful; but his work is unstable
and cannot last. No young teacher should let such show of success
influence him in the least.
9. Morals and religion should not be confused. Morality is a condition
of religion. It does not follow that one who claims to be religious
practices good morals.
10. An important qualification of the teacher is that he must love all
that is good and beautiful. He must have an æsthetic appreciation. That
includes a love for all in Nature as well as the arts of man.
11. A teacher must love children. They are the most significant of all
God’s creations.
12. No teacher should worry. To do so undermines health.
13. Do not cease to do good because of criticism; very often it means
that the act criticised is worth while.
14. Common sense, often called tact, is a teacher’s much needed
qualification.
15. Every teacher who wishes to accomplish the greatest good, will enter
into the child’s life. Live on a level with the child. That means taking
part in the child’s joys and sorrows, his work and play.
16. Athletic education is necessary for every teacher. It has a two-fold
value. It is a health promoter. It aids in discipline.
17. A teacher needs to be happy-minded, young in spirit and gentle in
manners.
18. Responsibility should be felt by the teacher.
19. In every activity—in every crisis—the teacher must be fearless. He
must not be dependent upon some one else’s decisions but use his own
judgment and make his own decisions.
20. The teacher must possess the ability to discriminate, and to form
clear and quick judgments.
21. A teacher’s room at his boarding house or his home should be neat
and well kept.
22. The gospel of work is safe for the teacher whose efforts are to be
crowned with success.
23. It is necessary for health’s sake to take daily exercise
out-of-doors.
24. A teacher must keep in good health. An unhealthy teacher has no
business in the school-room.
25. System and order are qualifications of the teacher that make for
success.
26. A prudent teacher will use studied methods and plans, and not let
the occasion suggest the procedure. Avoid teaching according to method
books and teachers’ papers only.
27. Concentration of mind and purpose are essential to the successful
teacher.
28. Patience is a requisite for every teacher’s work.
29. A teacher should be religious. Refrain from talking religion in the
school-room. Attack no pupil’s religion. Sunday School can be attended,
with profit, by the teacher. He should judge for himself whether or not
he should teach a Sunday School class.
30. The teacher must exercise care as to the extent of his social
activities. He should not exclude himself from social gatherings, but
should use great caution about what he says of others.
31. Finally, the teacher must be a true leader. His reward must not be
measured in dollars and cents, but by results from service rendered.
PART TWO
THE SCHOOL