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A BRIEF COURSE IN THE
TEACHING PROCESS
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| |
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| Brief Course Series in Education |
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| EDITED BY |
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| PAUL MONROE, PH.D. |
| |
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| =BRIEF COURSE IN THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION.= PAUL MONROE, PH.D., |
| Professor of the History of Education, Teachers College, |
| Columbia University. |
| |
| =BRIEF COURSE IN THE TEACHING PROCESS.= GEORGE D. STRAYER, |
| PH.D., Professor of Educational Administration, Teachers |
| College, Columbia University. |
| |
| =BRIEF COURSE IN THE PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION.= JOHN DEWEY, |
| PH.D., LL.D., Professor of Philosophy, Columbia University. |
| |
| _In preparation._ |
| |
| |
+------------------------------------------------------------------+
A BRIEF COURSE
IN
THE TEACHING PROCESS
BY
GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER, PH.D.
PROFESSOR OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION, FORMERLY
ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF ELEMENTARY EDUCATION
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY
New York
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1916
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1911,
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published October, 1911. Reprinted January,
March, April, September, 1912; January, July, November, December,
1913; October, December, 1914; May, 1915; January, 1916.
Norwood Press
J. S. Cushing Co.—Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
TO MY WIFE
PREFACE
This book is the direct outcome of experience in trying to help
teachers grow in skill in the art of teaching and in power to
appreciate the work in which they are engaged. In the following
pages have been treated as concretely as possible the problems
which the teacher faces day after day in the classroom. Theories of
education have not been discussed at any great length, but rather
those processes through which these fundamental principles find their
expression in actual teaching.
Terminology which it is difficult for teachers to understand has been
avoided. Although the results of studies in educational psychology
and in experimental pedagogy have been included in the interpretation
of the problems discussed, it has not been thought advantageous to
discuss at any length any one of these investigations.
Many of the books which have been written for teachers have
discussed theories of teaching method without indicating clearly the
application of these principles in typical classroom exercises. In
other volumes a single type of teaching has been emphasized to the
exclusion of other equally valid methods of instruction. In this book
each of the several typical methods of instruction has been treated,
and the validity of the particular practice indicated in terms of
the end to be accomplished, as well as the technique to be used.
Since the technique of teaching method is not the only element in
determining the efficiency of the teacher, there is included in this
book a discussion of those other aspects of the teacher’s work which
determine the contribution which she makes to the education of the
children with whom she works.
In the chapter on lesson plans are given a number of illustrations
which conform to the types of exercises discussed earlier in the
book. One of the greatest needs in working with teachers is met by
this very definite provision for demonstrating the validity of the
types of teaching discussed. The exercises given at the end of each
chapter are intended to supplement the discussions of the book by
calling for an interpretation of the thought there presented in terms
of situations with which teachers are commonly familiar.
To Professors F. M. McMurry, Naomi Norsworthy, and L. D. Coffman,
each of whom has read the manuscript, I am indebted for many valuable
suggestions. To Miss Kirchwey of the Horace Mann School, Miss Steele
and Miss Wright of the Speyer School, to Miss Tall, Supervisor of
Grammar Grades in Baltimore County, Maryland, and to Dr. Lida B.
Earhart of the New York City Schools, I am indebted for lesson
plans. The outlines for the study of English, arithmetic, geography,
and history which are given in the appendix are published with the
permission of the authors and of the Teachers College Bureau of
Publications.
GEORGE DRAYTON STRAYER.
TEACHERS COLLEGE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY,
August 10, 1911.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
THE AIM OF EDUCATION
PAGES
Education measured by differences brought about in individuals—
Various statements of the aim—The individualistic point of view
has been emphasized—The social aim of education—Aim realized
in various types of education—Various teaching processes
contribute to the realization of the aim—Test of the teacher’s
work the _present_ realization of the aim 1-11
CHAPTER II
THE FACTORS CONDITIONING THE TEACHING PROCESS
Success in realizing the aim of education depends upon a clear
realization of the conditioning factors—The increased
responsibility of the school—The necessity for knowledge of the
home life of children—The instinctive equipment of children—
Play—Constructiveness—Imitation—Emulation—Pugnacity—Curiosity—
Ownership—The social instinct—Wonder—The importance of interest
in instruction—The danger of divided interest—Interest as means
and as end—Heredity—Individual differences 12-31
CHAPTER III
THE TEACHING PROCESS
Teaching a process of controlling adjustments—Types of
adjustment—The common element in these situations,
satisfaction—Types of attention corresponding to types of
adjustment—Passive, active, and secondary passive attention—
Illustrations of the types of attention—The problem of
securing continued attention—The importance of the problem
in teaching 32-40
CHAPTER IV
THE DRILL LESSON
The necessity for drill—The question of motive—Clear ideas of
the habit to be formed essential—Repetition with attention
essential in drill work—Attention held by initial motive, by
varying the procedure, by placing time limits, and by appealing
to emulation—Necessity for accuracy in practice—The periods
elapsing between repetitions or series of repetitions should
be gradually lengthened—Danger of the cramming method—In a
series of responses to be made automatic each member of the
series must be included—Drill especially on work that presents
peculiar difficulty 41-50
CHAPTER V
THE INDUCTIVE LESSON
The importance of thinking—Preparation should end with statement
of the problem by children—The gathering of data the work of
pupils in so far as is possible—Suggestions for conducting
excursions—The hypothesis in relation to comparison and
abstraction—Not everything can be developed—Respect for the
expert to be developed—Danger of helping children too much—The
steps of the process cannot be sharply differentiated—Teaching
by types 51-69
CHAPTER VI
THE DEDUCTIVE LESSON
The complete process of thought involves both induction and
deduction—The frequency of deductive thinking—The teacher in
relation to the thinking of children—Reflection—The problem
as essential in deductive as in inductive thinking—The search
for the principle or law which explains—The meaning of
inference—The importance of verification 70-77
CHAPTER VII
THE LESSON FOR APPRECIATION
Education should enable one to enjoy life—Power of appreciation
should be developed in our schools—Necessity for power of
appreciation on the part of the teacher—The relation of command
of technique involved in creation to power of appreciation—The
necessity for a right emotional attitude on part of children
at the beginning of such an exercise—Expression of feeling
should not be forced—The teacher as interpreter—Creative work
by children—Appreciation in fields other than those involving
the æsthetic emotions 78-85
CHAPTER VIII
THE STUDY LESSON
The importance of independent work—Children must become conscious
of the methods which can be most efficiently employed—Statement
of problem essential for study—Assignments—Children must be
taught how to collect data—Taking notes—Critical attitude
developed—Reflection—The importance of the habit of verification—
Teaching children to memorize by wholes—Importance of thought
in memory work—Children can be taught how to form habits 86-100
CHAPTER IX
REVIEW OR EXAMINATION LESSON
An examination involves a review—A review a summary and a new
view—Value of reviews—An abstract or topical outline a good
review—A review by application—The only real test of the
teacher’s work found in children’s everyday action—Examinations
as a test of the success of teaching—The needs for scales of
measurement 101-106
CHAPTER X
THE RECITATION LESSON
The weakness of this type of exercise as commonly conducted—The
topical recitation—The value of outlines prepared by pupils—Pupils
should learn how to use books—The danger of being satisfied
with words—Provision for supplementing the text—Danger of
accepting vague or incoherent answers—The danger in developing
an ultra-individualistic attitude—The recitation lesson
not comparable in importance to other types of exercises
discussed 107-113
CHAPTER XI
QUESTIONING
The importance of good questions—Types of questions—A lack of
scope a common fault in questions—Careful planning necessary—The
novelty of the form in which the question is put important—The
method of shock—The technique of questioning—The mistake of
asking questions in a definite order, of repeating questions,
of repeating answers—Questioning by pupils—Importance
of writing pivotal questions to be used in the recitation 114-128
CHAPTER XII
SOCIAL PHASES OF THE RECITATION
Social aim of education realized in the classroom—Motives commonly
operating in schools—Children naturally work together—Changes
in school work demanded by the aim of education—Illustrations
of coöperation in schools—Opportunity in manual work for group
work—Plan for individual contribution in all subjects—All kinds
of school exercises may lend themselves to the development of
the social spirit—Need for more purposeful work for children—
The social motive important in stimulating intellectual
activity 129-138
CHAPTER XIII
THE PHYSICAL WELFARE OF CHILDREN
The importance of physical efficiency—The teacher should know
something of the standards of lighting, heating, and
ventilating—Right habits of posture under the control of
teachers—The schoolroom and infectious diseases—The teacher’s
responsibility for discovering defects of sight, hearing, and
the like—The teacher and the movement for better health
conditions in the community—The teacher’s right to health 139-144
CHAPTER XIV
MORAL TRAINING
Intellectual and moral training cannot be separated—School
conditions offer advantages for moral training—Increased
responsibility of schools for moral training—Individual
differences, due to heredity, environment, and age important
in moral training—Physical condition and morality—Direct and
indirect method of moral instruction—Morality and taste—
Importance of calling for an exercise of the moral judgment—
The reform of the wrong doer—The influence of the teacher 145-156
CHAPTER XV
CLASS MANAGEMENT
Class management as a means and as an end—Conditions under
which management should result in habit—Situations which
demand self-control—Pupil participation in school government—The
daily program—Group instruction—Children should be
individualized—Individual instruction will not make children
equal in ability nor in accomplishment—Management in relation
to teaching 157-166
CHAPTER XVI
LESSON PLANS
Necessity for planning work—Teacher’s lack of interest in work
often repeated—Change in subject matter—Preparation, not
inspiration, counts in teaching—Importance of good questions,
illustrations and illustrative material, reference material,
plans for constructive work—The elements in a good plan—
Organization—Pivotal questions—Provision for summaries—
Assignment 167-223
CHAPTER XVII
THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO SUPERVISION
The purpose of supervision—Criticism, its various types—When
to discuss work with supervisors—School exhibits—Visiting
within and outside of the system in which one works—Examinations
and supervision—The function of teachers’ meetings—Institutes,
the better type—Supervision and growth 224-231
CHAPTER XVIII
THE TEACHER IN RELATION TO THE COURSE OF STUDY
The course of study as a taskmaster—The real purpose of the
course of study—Provisions for minimum, alternative, and optional
work—How the course of study may help the teacher—The
teacher’s contribution to the making of the course of
study—The interpretation of the course of study to children—The
doctrine of formal discipline—The vitalization of the
curriculum 232-246
CHAPTER XIX
MEASURING RESULTS IN EDUCATION
Efficiency demands that we evaluate our results—Progress by the
method of trial and success—Reasons why scientific work in
education has progressed slowly—Results already achieved in
measuring the results of our practice—Education means change,
and these changes are measurable—Lack of adequate units of
measurement not an argument against measurement—The steps in
scientific investigation—The teacher in relation to scientific
work in education—The school a laboratory 247-265
A BRIEF COURSE IN THE
TEACHING PROCESS
CHAPTER I
THE AIM OF EDUCATION
Education is worth just the difference it makes in the activities
of the individual who has been educated. The question is not how
many books did we compel the child to read; how much does he know of
arithmetic, geography, history, music, art, and the like: but rather
what use does he make of this knowledge; how is he different from
the person who does not possess this information; and, still more
important, are these differences in his activity desirable from the
point of view of the group in which he lives. It is important, then,
that we should consider, before we discuss the function of teacher in
bringing about changes in children, the ends which it is desirable to
attain.
The aim of education has been variously stated. In the popular mind
the aim of education is usually interpreted in terms of knowledge,
or the ability to make a living. The theorists have been more apt to
define the purpose of education in terms of the development of the
abilities of the individual, of growth, of culture, or of morality.
It might be interesting to examine each of the aims which has been
advanced in some detail. It may be as significant to note the element
common to all.
It is safe to assume that the advocates of each statement of aim
believed that their conception was broad enough to insure success
for the individual educated in accordance with the particular ideal
embodied in their statement of purpose. No aim would be at all
acceptable which did not take account of the society in which the
individual must work. The education in a tribal society, which
consisted in learning how to protect one’s self and to provide for
one’s physical needs, the acquaintance with tribal ceremonies and
tribal lore, quite as truly as our modern education, fitted the
individual to get on in life. The individualistic point of view has
been constantly emphasized. It has been a case of earning a living
for one’s self, of getting culture for the satisfaction that it might
bring, of acquiring knowledge for the sake of the advancement which
was thus made possible, of moral growth for the sake of individual
salvation. More recently it has been common to state the aim of
education in terms of social efficiency. It is the purpose of this
discussion of aim to examine this concept in order to make clear its
significance.
When society reaches that stage of development in which progress is
definitely sought and planned for, the stage of conscious evolution,
it is not enough that the individual be educated simply so that he
may attain his own selfish ends. Each individual is a part of the
organic whole, and in his functioning it is the good of the whole
which is of paramount importance. The aim of education must, then, be
broad enough to include both the welfare of the individual and the
good of society. Is there any real opposition between these ends? If
we think most of all of the welfare of the whole organism, must we
sacrifice the interests of the constituent parts?
No one can do the most for the group of which he is a member who has
not realized in his education the development of those abilities with
which he is peculiarly endowed. The nurture of those abilities upon
which society places a premium, and the inhibition of non-social
tendencies, means greater opportunity for the exercise of whatever
strength the individual possesses, greater individual growth and
development, than would otherwise be possible. It is only through
participation in social life that the highest individual development
is possible, and it is true that “he who loseth his life” for the
good of the group “shall find it.” There is, then, no opposition
between that view of education which declares that the welfare of
society is of paramount importance, and that which demands individual
well-being. If we are successful in obtaining the former, we must
have secured the latter.
If the analysis of the relation of the individual to society is
correct, we are justified in claiming that any adequate statement
of the aim of education must point unmistakably to the idea of the
common good. Education aims so to adjust the individual to the
group that the welfare of society as a whole may be advanced. This
adjustment can be brought about only through participation in social
activities, and thus the aim is constantly realized in the process.
In our democratic society, which makes possible free education for
all of its members, there can be no question of the right of society
to demand that education aim to develop men and women who work for
the common good. It is necessary, then, to analyze this aim of social
efficiency in terms of our society. The equality of opportunity which
we profess to offer is to be thought of in terms of possible service
which may be rendered.
In any community the contribution to the general welfare which may be
made by any one of its members is conditioned by the interests which
the individual has in the general good. The unsocial individual, the
one who seldom responds to the needs of the group, is out of sympathy
with social problems, and contributes little to social welfare.
But it is not enough that the individual be interested in the common
welfare. Interest may lead him to do that which is harmful rather
than helpful, or it may be that his interest may have no result
except to give him certain pleasurable emotions. There must be added
to sympathy, knowledge. Interest or sympathy in the welfare of
society may furnish the propelling force, but knowledge is necessary
for effective action. The world is full of men and women with the
best intentions who hinder rather than advance the common good.
Since each is responsible not only for his own conduct, but also for
the welfare of the whole group, it is necessary that our education
provide opportunity for growth in intelligence. Our schools have
always emphasized this element in education. We have often defined
the aim of education in terms of the development of citizenship.
Usually the chief qualification of the citizen has been interpreted
to be that knowledge which would enable him to exercise the right of
suffrage with intelligence. We do well, however, to remember that
intelligence must be exercised in all of the activities of life. Our
education must strive constantly to develop men and women who will
be _rational_ at all times. But we may not forget that our schools
have been so much concerned with the intellectual side of education
that they have tended to neglect other elements which are equally
significant from the standpoint of social welfare.
There is still another element which must be added, the habit of
acting on behalf of the group. We all know people who know just
what is demanded in a given social situation; they profess to be
interested in the welfare of the group; but they never act. When
their own private interests are involved they are quick to seize the
opportunity for improving their condition; but in social matters they
are inactive. It is in this particular, rather than in any other,
that our schools fall short. We do much to arouse the sympathy of
children in the general welfare; we give them the knowledge by which
their action may be guided; but we give them little opportunity to
form the habit of social service. This is due to the fact that we
so often think of adult social activities as the only ones that are
worth while, forgetting that for the child the important thing is
social activity now and in his society, that the only way to prepare
for adult social effectiveness is to secure social efficiency on the
part of the child.
These questions still remain: how can we, through education, produce
the individual who, because of social sympathy, knowledge, and
activity, will tend to advance the welfare of all; and what kinds of
education meet the demands of the aim which we have set up.
First of all, we must endeavor to produce the individual who is
sound physically. Modern education recognizes the fact that a man’s
usefulness is conditioned by his bodily condition, and is also coming
to find that physical activity is not without its effect on the
mental development and life of the individual. There is, therefore,
one large division of our work which we may call _physical education_.
On the side of mental development, education consists in preserving
and stimulating the child’s interest in the materials and processes
with which he may come in contact. Intellectual training aims
to develop the man or woman who is mentally alert, active in
investigation, and controlled by reason. It is to this _intellectual
education_ that our schools have devoted the larger part of their
time. The school is the agency set aside by society for transmitting
culture, and the teacher must always concern herself largely with the
intellectual life of children.
Our modern view of education is leading us to stress, along with
physical and intellectual education, a kind of training which aims to
develop the individual whose moral standards are positive rather than
negative. _Moral-social education_ should establish ideals of social
service as well as standards of individual righteousness.
Along with physical, moral-social, and intellectual-cultural
education, there is need for that type of training which will enable
each individual to do some particular work with a high degree of
efficiency. This type of education we commonly call vocational. It
is only recently that we have come to realize that it is not enough
to train an individual with respect to general intelligence and
morality, but that it is also just as fundamental that our education
provide the training necessary for success in the particular calling
which each individual is to enter. For the preparation of clergymen,
doctors, lawyers, teachers, and engineers, whose vocations require
a maximum of intellectual achievement, it is true that we have long
had our vocational schools. We are coming now to appreciate the fact
that equality of opportunity demands that special training be given
to those who are to enter the industries. Indeed, our vocational
schools must multiply until there is training offered for each and
every calling before we can claim to provide that training which is
essential for social efficiency.
Another problem is that of the training for leisure. In society as
at present constituted, it is possible for many individuals, and it
should ultimately be possible for all, to have a considerable amount
of leisure time. The contribution of each individual in his special
line of work, and his general interest in the whole community, will
depend in a considerable degree upon the proper use of leisure time.
Our education must, therefore, attempt to equip men with interests
and ideals which make for the nobler enjoyments.
Keeping in mind the sympathetic, wise, active social individual, made
so by the process of acquiring experience or making of adjustments,
both physical and mental, we have yet to reduce our aim to the terms
of schoolroom practice. What can a teacher hope to do in this hour,
with this group of children to work with?
First of all the teacher can work for the formation of habits which
are socially desirable and for the inhibition of those which are
undesirable. “Education is for behavior, and habits are the stuff
of which behavior consists.”[1] The school may be a very important
factor in the formation of habits in each of the fields of education
mentioned above. If the school is organized on a rational social
basis, it must continually present opportunities for actions which
should become habitual, and the future efficiency of the learner
depends upon gaining such control of much of the knowledge which
we teach that the response desired becomes habitual. The social
virtues of promptness, regularity, helpfulness, industry, fidelity,
honesty, truthfulness, cleanliness, both physical and mental,
patriotism, and the like, should be made habitual in connection with
the situations which demand their exercise. The physical habits
acquired in childhood are of the utmost significance throughout life.
Much of arithmetic, spelling, writing, geography, history, and even
of literature and art, will be significant in proportion as we have
reduced our knowledge to the automatic basis of habit. One cannot
stop to reason everything out; life is too short. We gain time and
energy for the higher activities of life in proportion as we reduce
the responses which occur frequently to the basis of habits. In
vocational schools one of the chief aims is the formation of habits
of skill. Later we shall want to discuss in detail the methodology of
habit formation.
Every teacher recognizes that one of the ends which must be achieved
by the school is knowledge. We shall not here enter into the
discussion of the problem of what knowledge is of most worth, since
for the teacher this choice is usually made and prescribed in the
course of study. One cannot, however, refrain from suggesting that
much that is taught would be eliminated, if we kept constantly in
mind the end for which we strive. The following criteria, proposed by
Professor Frank M. McMurry, will be suggestive from the standpoint of
teaching, whether the teacher determines the curriculum or not.
“We hold to the following propositions in the rejection of subject
matter.[2]
“1. Whatever cannot be shown to have a plain relation to some real
need of life, whether æsthetic, ethical, or utilitarian in the
narrower sense, must be dropped.
“2. Whatever is not reasonably within the child’s comprehension.
“3. Whatever is unlikely to appeal to his interest; unless it is
positively demanded for the first very weighty reason.
“4. Whatever topics and details are so isolated or irrelevant that
they fail to be a part of any series or chain of ideas, and therefore
fail to be necessary for the appreciation of any large point. This
standard, however, not to apply to the three R’s and spelling.”
These criteria indicate clearly that knowledge can never be in itself
an end of teaching. It is not that the child may have knowledge
merely, but that he shall have knowledge which will function. This
knowledge which we seek to have the child master will concern his
physical life, his social relationships, his vocation; and in each
field the knowledge he possesses will limit his intellectual activity.
The school must keep alive, or, in some cases, awaken those interests
which are socially desirable. It is not enough that habits have
been formed and knowledge acquired. Much of the usefulness of the
individual after he leaves school will depend on his interests which
lead him to acquire new knowledge, or to attempt some new activity.
It has sometimes been asserted that the school, as at present
organized, tends to kill rather than to preserve those interests
which are common to little children. It is probable that the passing
interests in things due to curiosity must disappear, regardless of
the education which we give; but it is a poor sort of education which
leaves the child without abiding interests which will help him not
only in making a living, but also in enjoying his life. Here, as
elsewhere in education, we may be satisfied with the result only when
we get the corresponding action. That child has an interest in good
literature who reads good literature. We can be sure that the boy
is interested in natural phenomena when he is willing to spend his
leisure time finding out more about nature’s ways. The only test that
we have of an abiding interest in the welfare of others is the fact
that the child is now active on behalf of others. In like manner are
we to judge of our success in arousing and maintaining those other
interests which are desirable.
Judgments of fact are called for constantly in acquiring knowledge
and in our everyday activity; but no less important in the life of
individuals are judgments of worth. Education must concern itself
with the ideals, purposes, and standards which should be acquired by
children. There is no field in which greater skill is demanded in
teaching than in bringing children to appreciate those things which
are good, true, and beautiful. Ideals, or, for those who do not agree
with them, prejudices, will always be of tremendous importance. They
determine the course of action a man will take. Because of their
ideals men have been willing to labor incessantly for a cause which
they considered just, to give up personal good in the pursuance of
public duty, to lose all, if they might but retain their honor, yes,
even to lose their lives because they felt that this extreme service
was demanded of them. The awakening and nurturing of ideals of work
(or industry), of honor, of duty, of purity, of service is the
greatest contribution of the best teacher.
There is one other aim which the teacher should have constantly in
mind, included possibly in the above, but which needs to be stated
separately for the sake of emphasis, _i.e._ that children should
be taught how to work independently. The best teacher is the one
who is constantly striving to render her services unnecessary.
There is nothing that the school can do which will take the place
of giving the child knowledge of the most economical means to be
employed in achieving desirable ends. Is it a matter of knowledge,
the child should be made conscious of the methods whereby truth may
be established; is it the need of establishing a new habit, or the
breaking up of the old one, we should make available for the pupil
the principles of habit formation so that he may apply them to his
own case; in matters of right and wrong, the school should have
supplied standards of reference which will help in the difficult
situation. Possibly the great weakness of many teachers in imparting
this knowledge of methods of work is best illustrated by citing the
well-known fact that children of high school, or even college age,
are found very frequently who do not know how to read a book, or
study a lesson assigned. This problem will be treated in considerable
detail when we come to consider the study lesson.
Pupils at work forming habits of thought, feeling, and action;
acquiring knowledge of nature and of society; forming ideals which
make for social well-being; and learning in all of this work to act
independently, to function in the society of which they are a part:
this is education, and these are the goals which we should strive to
achieve every day and every hour that we teach.
FOR COLLATERAL READING
Nicholas Murray Butler, _The Meaning of Education_, Chapter I.
W. C. Bagley, _The Educative Process_, Chapter III.
_Exercises._
1. How would you hope to contribute to the realization of the aim
of education in the teaching of English, arithmetic, cooking,
geography, or other school subjects?
2. How would you determine whether or not the children in your
grade are socially efficient?
3. What are the most important subjects, or parts of subjects,
which you teach? Why?
4. How would an application of the aim of education as discussed in
this chapter modify the work commonly done in arithmetic? In nature
study?
5. It has been claimed that education should provide for the
harmonious development of all of the powers. Criticize this
statement of aim.
6. Could you defend the statement that “the aim of education is to
produce socially efficient men and women,” and at the same time
deny that the greatest individual good comes from working for the
general welfare?
7. Why should education be free in a democracy?
8. Is society justified in offering special education to the
deficient and the delinquent? To the especially capable? Why?
9. Is the excessive rivalry which we sometimes foster in our
schools compatible with the aim of social efficiency?
10. Of the several types of education, physical, intellectual,
moral-social, vocational, and education for leisure, which is most
neglected?
11. How do you account for the fact that many children cease to
inquire, to investigate, or even to ask questions, although they
are regularly taught in our schools?
12. Why do you teach school? What do you hope to accomplish?
13. Can you name specific instances of changes brought about in
children under your instruction which justify you in believing that
you have fulfilled the aim of education in your teaching?
14. What justification is there for music, drawing, or literature
in the curriculum?
15. State briefly the aim of education.