6Iass __ jj- i3 iQSlZ Book Jj__2£!_ COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT A NIANUAL THE ART OF QUESTIONING TRAINING CLASSES Compiled from various ^Arorks and especially from those ot JOSEPH LANDON, F.G.S. \'ice-principal and late niastiT of methods iu the Saltley Traiuiu^j colle>ie, author of "School ^ManuKement "' SYRACUSE, N. Y. C. W. BARDEEN, PUBLISHER 1899 Copyright, 1899, by C. W. Bardeen 39493 '^^A^OCOflf o KiCeiVED. f Mf.I]*Ji.M9 PREFACE The need of a book on the art of questioning which should cover the subject adequately and afford sufficient ^reparation for the examination of training classes has iong been manifest. The little treatises of Fitch and Young, excellent in their way, have not been compre- hensive enough. By gathering into this volume from various sources all that seemed most worthy of atten- tion and most useful to pupils, it has been attempted to furnish a volume that would cover the subject and .afford ample preparation. .Syeacuse, N. Y., March 13, 1899 (3) CONTENTS Page Chapter I — Introduction 1> history of the use of questions 9 use of questions indispensable 10 why brought into disrepute 11 objections sometimes urged 11 a valuable intellectual exercise 12 what skilful questioning depends upon 13 1. accurate and full knowledge 13 2. power to analyze rapidly 13 3. knowledge of the pupils 14 4. experience 14 5. mental quick-sightedness 14 6. brightness of manner 15 1. readiness of expression 15 Chapter II — Kinds of Questions 16 1. testing questions 16 a. at the opening of the lesson 17 h. during the teaching 18 c. at tbe end of the lesson 19 d. for examination 20 2. training questions 20 in the earlier stages 21 in the later stages 21 what success depends upon 22 Socratic questioning 22 6 THE ART OF QUESTIONING Page Socratic questioning, continued not proper training for children 22 negative in character 23 example of useful employment 24 ellipses 26 advantages 27 illustrations 27 1. a framework 30 2. less formal 30 3. brisk and animated 31 4. change and relief 31 5. rapid review 31 6. simple language training 31 cautions 32 1. not to be used exclusively 32 2. should both test and train 33 3. must be filled promptly 34 testing and training questions compared 34 chief purposes of questions 35 1. to develop information 35 2. to obtain the information required 35 3. to train the pupils 36 4. to stimulate the pupils 36 5. to focus attention 36 6. to fix ideas presented 36 7. to bring out the perspective 36 8. to give variety 36 Chapter III — Forms of Questions 37 1 . definite 37 2. direct 39 3. pointed 31) 4. unequivocal 40 CONTENTS 7 Page 5. simply expressed 40 6. requiring effort 42 echo questions 42 leading questions 43 yes-or-no questions 44 alternative questions 46 7. reasonably difficult 47 how to estimate the difficulty of questions 51 8. varied in form and difficulty 52 converse questions. 53 9. connected in series 54 rambling questions 57 examination questions more discursive 57 the steps from one question to another 57 10. conversational 58 questions should be spirited 59 the tone of voice CO 1 1 . well distributed 60 Chapter IV — Qualities and Treatment of Answers... 64 1. good answers 64 a. exact in thought 65 h. complete 66 r. exact in language 67 simplicity of wording 68 d. prompt 69 e. distinctly given 70 ■ 2. bad answers 70 o. guessing 70 b. reckless 71 c careless 72 d. volunteered information 73 8 THE ART OF QUESTIONING Page 2. bad answers, continued e. speculative 74- /. ridiculous 74 3. dealing with answers 75 a. commendation 70 h. correction 7() c. amend ment 77 d. repression 78 c. self-criticism 78 4. simultaneous answering 79 advantages 80 chief defects 80 vigilance on the part of the teacher 81 5. common mistakes 81 a. particular form of answer expected 81 h. answers unevenly distributed 82 c. impatience on the part of the teacher 82 d. prompting 8o e. repeating answers 8o f. wasting time 84 Index 88 THE ART OF QUESTIONING CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Questioning is perhaps the most valuable of all the teaching devices, and in one way or another it has been employed from quite early times. It was used, to the exclusion of other methods, by Socrates; and with him it was an instrument of discipline, as well as a means of unfolding information to the mind. Its value in restricting thought to one topic at a time doubtless led to its adoption in the preparation of those who were to be admitted into the early church; and, after the Re- formation, to the employment of " catechisms " and " question and answer books ". The distinct recogni- tion, however, of questioning as a device of great value in education, and one especially suited to the needs of school teaching, seems to have been the outcome of the impetus given to the development of new methods by such men as Pestalozzi, and does not date further back than the beginning of the present century ; while its common adoption in practice, and its employment in a deliberate and dexterous way, may be said to be the growth of the last fifty years. To question a class may seem, to one ignorant of teaching, a very simple thing to do, but it is not so (9) 10 QUESTIONING INDISPENSABLE easy as it looks. Bacon says, " A wise question is the half of knowledge." To question and to question efficiently are two very dilferent things; and so much is involved in the latter that it is really one of the most difficult matters the teacher has to learn. Few things mark off more clearly the able teacher than really felicitous questioning; and in many cases the character and success of the work are determined hy it. It must not be supposed, however, that any one can 1)ecome an expert questioner by merely reading about how it is to be done ; here, certainl}', " all is but lip-wis- dom thai wants experience.'" No device should be more persistently and patiently practised ; it should not be taken up in a mechanical half-hearted way, nor should the teacher rest content until he can question easily and skilfully in any direction needed. The frequent use of questions is absolutely indis- pensable in the teaching of the young, and no one who has learned to question well, and has realized the value of the process, will ever be likely to give it up. The fault, in the case of many teachers, is that they do 7iot use questioning nearly enough. At the same time, it must not be forgotten that questioning is not, as some would have us believe, the only device to be used in teaching, and is not to be used on all occasions and for all purposes. We do not cut bread with a razor, or prune trees with a sword, useful as the razor or the sword may be in its own particular way. Valuable as it is, (juestiouing cannot cover the whole work of teaching, and the attempt should not be made to stretch its province in this way. It is the natural complement of lecture and illustration, and should not imfropp:k methods 11 usurp their provinces, tliough it miiy always in teach- ing be used advamageously in connection with them. In order that the teacher may learn to recognize where questions may be judiciously employed, he must attend carefully to the results of his efforts, as the necessary insight is mainly the outcome of experience. Many teachers use questioning as though it were an end in itself, and fail to see that it is easy to over- question to such an extent as to retard the teaching and smother up the point to be learned in a cloud of answers. This purposeless questioning has done much to bring the device into disi'epute. Directly the object is gained, the teacher should pass on. Anything beyond what is necessary for clear understanding and firm grasp only bewilders the children, and darkens what it should illuminate. Not unfrequently, too, in teaching, a large amount of time is wasted in endeav- oring to question from children ordinary matters of fact, which they can only learn by being told directly. To question again and again in the hope that the point may be guessed, or arrived at by a process of exhaus- tion, is to misunderstand completely the use of ques- tioning, and is not only stupid but blame-worthy. The objections sometimes urged against the use of questions — that they are a round-about and tedious mode of teaching, that they encourage a habit of rash speculation and guessing, that they discourage children by presenting too many difficulties, and so on — are scarcely worth consideration. They arise usually from a misconception of the real nature of questioning, and apply only to its wrong employment or abuse. The fact that such defects are common, is no argument for 12 QUESTIONING A MEANS OF DISCIPLINE the abandonment of the device, but points distinctly to the necessity for learning to question properly. Questioning properly conducted is neither tedious nor confusing to children. As a matter of fact, they are always pleased to tell what they know; they like to be active, and to have their share in the work recog- nized. To answer questions is much more engaging work to them than to sit as passive listeners, and they are frequently more keenly alive, and more deeply in- terested, during questioning than in any other part of the work. As Richter says, "the questions of the teacher find more open ears than his answers." It is the teacher's fault if children feel answering to be a bore or are bewildered by a multiplicity of points of view. Good questioning is an intellectual exercise valuable to teacher and pupils alike, securing to the latter men- tal activity and clearness of comprehension,/ and keep- ing them constantly in contact with the work. It breaks down the formality of merely didactic teaching, gives a pleasant conversational tone to the lesson by allowing the children their share of the talking, and further it affords them a valuable training in readiness of thought and speech. In fact, questioning may be made one of the most powerful iiistruments at the teacher's disposal ; and this not only from the educa- tive side, but also from the disciplinary point of view. Effectively used it should spur the indolent, stimulate the sluggish, challenge the inattentive, restrain the forward, control the rash, expose the careless, encour- age the timid, and help the dull; and at the same time it should fully employ the more intelligent members ELEMENTS OF SKILFUL QUESTIONING 13 of the class in such a way as to make available the knowledge of individuals foi" the benefit of all. Xevertheless questioning is not a quick method, albeit a sure one: even where legitimately employed it will usually take more time to question a fact from a child than to tell it to him directly. This has led some teaeliers, especially in America, to prefer a more direct mode of proceeding. But the longer way round is often the shorter way home. In the one case the cliild is made to think consecutively, and express his thoughts clearly, and thus his mind is exercised in a way highly conducive to tlioroughness; while in the other case he has oidy to listen, and thl>< childreti do very inipcrjcrth/. Even where the teacher's statements are repeated again and again, the pupils are very ai)t to jjick up the words only, and to fail to acquire any real knowledge of the underlying truths. Skilful questioning- d^^pcuds upou — 1. Accurate and full kn(>wl. Briglitiiess of manner, and such strong sym- pathy with children that they feel the stimulus and enter into their share of the work with eagerness. Many a teacher's work is marred by hesitancy and heaviness of manner. Few things damp the natural vivacity of children more effectually; to keep them active and full of ardor is half the battle, and this is especially true in the employment of questioning. 7. Readiness of expression so as exactly to suit the questions to those under instruction, and to vary the form of a question on the instant if necessary. Ease in framing questions in a simple, brief, and direct way tells powerfully towards success in teach- ing, but it demands much cjuickness of appreciation and skill in the use of words. Teachers frequently fail in these particulars, and the questions are conse- quently clumsily-worded or round-abont, and the exer- cise becomes slow and uninteresting. CHAPTER II KINDS OF QUESTIONS It is quite common, in the treatment of questions from the theoretical standpoint, to find a more or less minute classification of them given, in which certain names are applied to the various groups according to the slightly different objects with which they are em- ployed. Thus at different times, though by no single writer, questions used in particular ways have been called preliminary, tentative, testing, assaying, recapit- ulatory, examinatory, experimental, catechetical, edu- cative, Socratic, illustrative, instructive, etc. Some of these terms are of course but different names for the same thing; but any such ehiborate scheme as is here referred to is of no practical value; in fact it is apt to confuse rather than assist the teacher, and tends to cloud over the essential features which mark the two great and distinct classes, viz.. Testing Questions and Training Questions. These differ in their nature, their aim, and their mode of use; and for the ordinary pur- poses of teaching it is heljiful, and it is sufficient, to consider all questions as belonging to one or other of these groups. 1. Testing' questions. — The distinguishing mark of testing questions is that they seek to secure from the child the re-expression of something he is supposed to have learned — either during the lesson, or previously (16) TESTING QUESTIONS 17 — in order that he may know it more securely by hav- ing again to direct his attention to it, and in many cases by being made to state it in his own words. They demand for the most part an effort of memory in sup- plying the ideas asked for; and though the answers may necessitate clear understanding and some exercise of judgment, yet such questions turn the child's thoughts in a backward direction, and set him seeking for what is wanted among facts he has already acquired. It must not be supposed that questions of this kind do not require thought in order to answer them well, but they do not involve the discovery of anything new to the child. They should represent the ideas in the most natural order, and as far as possible cement them together in such a way as to form a coherent body of information; so tliat the recollection of them may be aided by the influence of that " association " which acts so powerfully in the case of memory. Nothing tells the teacher more about his work, or may be made more helpful in pointing out where his practice needs amendment, than a judicious use of questions. They test the ([uality of the teaching, by showing him how far the facts given have been well learned, and in what manner they are arranged in the child's mind; and they further afford the teacher actual proof of the amount of information which has been gained. Testing questions, then, ask directly for facts, and bring them to light again for various reasons and pur- poses. The chief of these are the following : — (a) At the opening? of a lesson they enlighten the teacher as to what knowledge the children possess, 18 KINDS OF (QUESTIONS either of a related or similar kind, which may be made the ground-work of the teaching; and show him not only how much it will be wise to attempt, but also where best to begin. They help the children to dis- criminate between what they know and what they do not know, and by thus defining the limits of the known enable them to make the passage to the unknown with greater certainty and success. Skilfully used such preliminary questions turn the minds of the scholars into the right groove, as it were, prepare them for what the teacher is going to say, and set them fairly on their course. They open up a subject ])y showing in what direction learning is to take place, arouse a desire for knowledge by exciting interest and curiosity, and stimulate the children by affording a glimpse of possibilities. (h) During' the teacliiiii? testing questions are in a high degree useful in directing the thought and effort of the children, and in banishing any haziness of conception or inaccuracy of apprehension; while at the same time they form the most serviceable and trust- worthy means which the teacher has at his disposal of discovering how far he has been understood, and the cause of any failure which may become apparent. He is thus able to determine readily where his work has been too difficult, too vague, or too hurried; and is led to see in what direction increased caution is necessary, what gaps leading to error have to be stopped, what weak places need strengthening, or where further ex- planation or illustration is required. Such question- ing also affords him opportunities of putting miscon- ceptions right; and offers him a safe guide, not only TESTING QITESTIONS 19 as to whether the lesson is level with the child's com- prehension, but also as to the speed with which the teaching should be given. Frequently, before an explanation is given, a few ques- tions are valuable to prepare the children's minds for what is coming, to narrow the mental view to the single diflficulty in hand, to remove obstacles to under- standing, and to enable the teacher to make out the best mode of approach. Unless the children are thus led to appreciate the nature of the diflficulty, and to feel their want, the explanation is apt to be unheeded. " Food proffered where there is no appetite is nauseat- ing; information proffered prematurely is worse than wasted." (c) At the eiul of the lesson questioning may be employed with great advantage for the purpose of fix- ing the facts taught, of making good the connection between them, and of giving emphasis to the most im- portant points in such a way as to put the whole into proper perspective. It is astonishing how little of a lesson children remember, even when well taught, and how fragmentary and unsatisfactory their informa- tion soon t)ecomes, unless it is tested and impressed again and again by rapid, searching, and vigorous questioning in the way of recapitulation or review. In many cases they fail to grasp the facts even at the time, and the systematic employment of testing ques- tions at stated periods in the lesson affords the best means of supplying deficiencies and of correcting errors. It is never safe to assume that children know what they are supposed to have learned until it has been proved by questioning. 20 KINDS OF QUESTIONS The practice of frequently testing knowledge by ques- tioning is valuable from both the point of view of learn- ing and that of discipline. If the child knows he will be required to give back what has l:)een presented to him he is much more likely to listen attentively than where such exercise is omitted. To ])e of use, how- ever, testing questions must be sufficiently searching to determine how far the child has understood and remembered what has been taught, and must not be confined to asking merely for a few points which even inattentive children can give. (d) For exaiuiiiatiou these are of course the kind of questions used. 2. Training qnestions. — The chief characteristic of training questions is that they seek to lead the child to discover new facts for himself by guiding him through easy processes of thought or reasoning. That which is known is used as material out of which, by suitable treatment, fresh ideas may be developed. The old information is brought to light that new may be evolved out of it, the one leading up to and into the other. Training questions thus involve a seeking for- ward, not backward. They may be said to put infor- mation into the mind, and this in such a way as to call out into active exercise such powers as the child pos- sesses. It is therefore easy to see why such questions have been termed educative or instructive. They are also illustrative, inasmuch as they throw light on what is known, and this in a manner calculated to bring out all it implies and show its bearings in relation to other matters. It is also clear that they cannot be used in all cases, but only where an extension of the child's TRAINING QUESTIONS 21 knowledge, or power, can be secured by bis own efforts, without direct communication from the teacher. Ill the earlier stagt^'^jj before the chikl can be prop- erly said to be able to reason, training questiorfs should be mainly directed to the eliciting of relationships be- tween the facts which are brought before him, these involving for the most part only such matters as can be observed; or interdependence of the simplest kind as cause and effect. In the later stages of a child's school career the great use of training questions is to present easy steps of analysis until a general conclusion can be reached; or to elicit inference after inference in a way which will lead to the appreciation of logical connection, and exercise the pupil in continuous thinking. A most valuable training of the intelligence is thus secured; and all investment in intellectual activity will pay a dividend. Nothing encourages a child more than to show him how much he can accomplish for himself, if he puts out his strength in the right way. The con- quest of difltii'ulty invigorates him; and what he thus learns has a fuller meaning for him, and is much more permanent, than what he is simply told. The comparative neglect into which training ques- tioning has fallen is doubtless to be traced to the crav- ing for putting everything into a cut-and-dried form, so that it may be ready for easy quotatiou during examination. It is urged, and correctly so far, that trainiiig questioning is not an m-s// and expeditiou--i means of storing information; but it is deplorable that this latter should be made almost the only end of educa- tion. " The time spent in questioning with a view to 22 KINDS OF QL'ESTIOXS train cannot be spent in carting in knowledge with a view to tnrn it ont again on demand.'" The success with which training questions are em- ployed will depend largely on the teacher's skill in suggesting lines of search, and in keeping the inquiry within projier limits. He has to stimulate the children to make the necessary effort, and to give help judiciously where a difficulty presents itself too great for them to overcome unaided. He must be perfectly clear as to what he wishes to arrive at, and must put his questions in sucli a way as to lead in the right direction. The most consummate adroitness is sometimes necessary in order to carry out these points ethciently. Socratic quest ioiiiii;;? and training questioning are often spoken of as though the two terms were in all respects synonymous; and specimens of Socratic dia- logue are frequently given, as though by imitation of these a correct method would be arrived at for use with children. But anything like a careful examination of the dialogues given by Plato and Xenophon will surely reveal how completely unlike, in most cases, the method is to proper training questioning for children. Commonly the teacher is not even warned that there are two very distinct phases of the Socratic method — the ironical one, and the developing one. True, the principle of the latter is a correct one in ordinary teach- ing, aiming as it does at giving birth to mental activity and discovery by the pupil himself; but even here it is the principle itself wliich is of value, not the way in which Socrates employed it, and the teacher who fashioned his teaching upon the model of Socrates's SOCRATIC QUESTIONING 23 ordinary method of procedure would almost inevitably go wrong. Socrates liad not the spirit of a teacher of little chil- dren, and judging from his practice as vve know it he would certainly in that capacity have been a failure. He usually drocc his hearers to the conclusion he wanted ; it is the business of the teacher of children to guide and lead, and they require much more help and direct explanation, interspersed with the questions, than the ordinary Socratic dialogue would give. Socrates was in almost all cases dealing with adults, and often well-trained and acute adults, so that in many instances he directed his questioning to convict them of ignorafuce, or to confound them by leading them into ditiiculties. His method was frequently subtle and artful; and he was not above leading his interlocutor astray in order to entrap him and jeer at his confusion. Now surely all this is wrong in dealing with children. Except in the rare case of a rash and conceited pupil, we do not want to disconcert them by convincing them how ignorant they are, and how value- less is what they know; but rather by our questioning to make clear to them how far they know accurately, and show them what they need. With children em- ployment of ridicule at all needs careful management, and it should form no regular part of a method of teaching. Apart even from the object ionable features men- tioned, the Socratic method, if carried out in detail, is too negative in character, and gives far too little in- formation, to be suitable for connnon use in schools. Employed, however, in a ki]idly way, for a s})ecial pur- 24 KINDS OF QUESTIONS pose, and with discrimination by a skilled teacher, the method may be used occasinally with good eifect. Fitch, in his "Art of Questioning " (pp. 53-55) gives an excellent example of the power of Socratic question- ing. The following dialogue from Mr. Thring's Theory .and Practice of Teaching is an admirable instance of this. Perhaps the most useful point for the teacher to remember about the Socratic dialogue is its sequence and amnection — the cross examination to bring out the truth without any break in thought. Mader. — Did you ever hear of Fortunatus's purse ? Birys (two or three). — Oh yes, it always had money in it. 71/. — Would you like to have one ? B. — I should just think so, rather. M. — Why don't you get one ? B. — Oh, ifs only a Fairy-story ; don't I wish I could ! M. — Wliat! you don't mean to say you don't be- lieve it ? B. — Of course not. Who believes in Fairy-stories ? M. — I do: really, now, don't you know where the jjurse hangs ? B. (quite puzzled). — No. il/. — Fairy purses hang on the Fairy-tree, to be sure; I have one. B. (incredulous). — You don't say so ? M. — But I do (pulling out a shilling); that came from it. B. (very much taken aback). — Are you serious V M. — Quite serious. AVhere did this shilling come from ? B. — Oh, it's yours. FKAMING QUESTIONS 25 M. — Xo doubt. I did not steal it, I hope, but how did it become mine ? B. — Oh, I suppose you were paid for keeping school, M. — Well, why don't you keep school ? You told me you would like some money. ^.— I can't. 3f.— Why not ? B. — I don't know enough. M. — Oh! but what has that to do with it ? B. — Of course you must have knowledge to keep a school. M. — Indeed! Do you mean to tell me that my knowledge turned into money! 5'.— Yes. il/.— What! This shilling part of a Greek verb ? B. (laughing). — I suppose so. M. — What are you, pray, doing here ? B. — Oh! we come to learn. M. — N^ot to get knowledge, surely ? B. — Of course we do, though. M. — You don't mean to say you are climbing the tree of knowledge ? B. (twinkling somewhat). — Well! I suppose so. M. — To go back: Where does the Fairy-tree grow ? B. (promptly). — In Fairy-land, to be sure. M. — You forget. I said I had climbed it. B. (dubiously). — Xo, I don't. Is it the tree of knowledge ? 26 KINDS OF QUESTIONS M. — Where did my shilling come from ? B. — From the knowledge you have. M. — But where does the Fairy-purse hang ? B. — You told me on the Fairy-tree. M. — But the shilling came from the Fairy-purse. 5.— 0-o-h-h! ! M. — And you agreed that the Fairy-purse hangs on the Fairy-tree. Now, what is the Fairy-tree ? B. — It is the tree of knowledge. 31. — And yott told me that the Fairy-tree of coarse grew — in ? 73.— 0-o-h-h! Fairy-land. M. — And Fairy -land is ? B. (many broad grins). — School. Ellipses. — By an ellipsis in teaching is meant the omission of one or more words at the end of a state- ment, on the understanding that these missing words are to he supplied by the children. That ellipses may fulfil their object in the best way, they must not be mere chance statements made in the course of the teaching, but must be specially framed to admit of just that being supplied which the teacher wishes to obtain from the children. The function of ellipses is to a large extent that of easy questions, and they are often employed in ques- tions; but they are sufficiently distinct in form, and have sufficient advantages of their own, to render them worthy of consideration as a separate device. ELLIPSES — AN ILLUSTRATION 27 ^^•fe. David Stow, 1793-1864 Advantages. — We owe the introduction of ellipses into common use to David Stow, who made them a part of his system of training. He considered that their employ- ment aIo7i(j ivith questions formed a more efficient in- strument for developing the faculties than questions alone. However this may be, at least one thing is certain, that, employed in the right way and with proper restrictions, ellipses may be made of considerable service in teaching. The greater the number of the devices which the teacher can employ readily and effectively, that is, the greater the number of ways he has at his command of doing with skill and certainty what is required of him, the easier will be his work to himself and the more helpful and satisfactory to his pupils. As an illustration of Dr. Stow's system,. we quote the following from his " Training System " (edition of 1853, pp. o5G, 305) : " I must tell you that Saul, the king of Israel, hated David, because he knew that God had chosen David to succeed him, instead of Jonathan, Saul's son. He therefore persecuted David, and sought every oppor- tunity of killing him. David therefore was... afraid fmd //erf,* but God kept him from... Aarm. And after * " Every word in italics is supposed to be the answer of the children; the pauses marked thus... show where the trainer forms an ellipsis, which (by the children) 2>! KINDS OF QUESTIONS David was saved from his... enemies, what did he say? Look at your hooks... but the Lord was my stay. Tell me what the meaning of the word stay is '? What is a stay ? (Silent)^^ " Familiar Illustration. — Allow me to ask, have you seen peas growing in a garden ? Yes, Sir. When the peas were grown a few inches above ground, what have you seen the gardener do to them ? Stick them. What is the use of sticking them ? To keep them up. The gardener stayed or supported the... peas. One child calls out, he stayed the pea sticks, Sir. Think for a moment, children. Did the gardener stay the sticks ? He stayed the peas. Well, then, the gardener stayed or supported the peas hy... sticks. Each stick that sup- ported or held up one of the peas, was to that pea — is afterwards answered and filled up by the words in italics. While in the initiatory, or earliest stage, a single word or at most only two are left out, but which must of course embody the meaning of the sentence, else an ellipsis would be a mere guess, and not train- ing; yet as the children advance in knowledge and facility of expression, several words at a time may be left out. These ellipses fill in the innumerable inter- stices which no direct questions can supply." * "Unless the children have committed to memory some technical answer, generally speaking, they will remain silent. The trainer, therefore, may put the (question in two, or three, or more forms, before he receives, or even expects an answer — each question being more and more simple and apposite, and each, of course, exercising the understanding of his pupils." ELLIPSES — AX ILLUSTRATION 29 What was it '? A stay. The pea, you know, has little fibres, caWed... tendri Is ; you remember we had a gallery lesson upon creeping plants lately. The pea seizes hold of the. ..dicks with...it.-< tendrils. " Are the peas able to stand upright of themselves like a tree ? They are ircak — theij hare .stich. Very weak, and they would fall if they had no sticks to... keep them up. Very right. The pea requires something to keep it... /ro/;* /a// (■»//. And without being stayed it ...woiddnot grow. Would it not grow? It would not grow up. It would . . .fall. Tell me now what the stick is to the pea ? A sta}/. A staff to an old man on which he leans is... a stick. Very true, it is a stick; but the stick or staff to liim is...(; stay — it... keep.f him up. " And when the wall of a house threatens to fall, and beams of wood are placed against it to... keep it up — what are these beams called V They are thick. True, they are thick, bat what are they to the house ? (No answer. )* The stick kept the pea f rom. . .falling. What do the beams to the wall ? Keep it from jailing. — Stays, Sir. "• Anything on which we lean, or cling to for support may be called... a stay. If any of you children are acquainted with ships, you will know that part of the rigging is supported by stays. / k)toiv about ships, ma- ster, my grandfather lives (U the .sea-side. Very well, boy, you can tell what the rigging of a vessel is stayed by ':* Ropes. The ropes tied up in a particular way by... Whom'? The sailors — keep up the...sa'//,s and other * " The trainer must now go over the outlines of the former illustrations." 30 KINDS OF QUESTIONS parts... 0/ tlie rigging. What do you call the ropes when used in this way ? Stays. "A staff to an old frail man may be called... a stay. And you told me what the pea requires to keep it up ? A stick — or... stay. A beam to the gable of a house likely to fall, what did you say the beam was?. A stay. You will remember what was said about ivy clinging to trees, and... bushes; these trees and bushes were to the lYy... stays. Suppose I were weak and unable to stand upon my feet, and some of you held me up, what would you be to me ? A stay.''"' On this subject Young gives some excellent sugges- tions and illustrations (Art of Putting Questions, pp. 41-46). The following are some of the advantages of ellipses. 1. A framework. — iVs before mentioned the child's difficulties in answering a question are twofold — the finding of the right idea, and the expression of this in suitable language when found. Xow ellipses are pur- posely framed to remove, as far as needful, one of these difficulties by giving the framework of the reply, so that the mind is left free to exert its power on the dis- covery of the thought or fact required. 2. They are less formal, and affect the pupils less like a direct challenge, than questions. The teacher seems to the children to take his part more as one of themselves than as one intent upon giving them definite instruction, while his work is brought into such direct contract with theirs that the result appears as a joint effort. Hence ellipses tend to give confidence and encouragement to little children, who are apt to be shy ELLIPSES 31 and timorous when anything is demanded from them in a formal way. 3. The briskness and animation of the exercise are advantages. The ellipses are filled in rapidly and the lesson kept moving ; and if they are skilfully put the interest of the children is excited, and consequently their attention arrested. Further, activity and cheer- fulness are secured; and, after all, these are two very important things in the case of young children, even if but little information is given. 4. (Ihailge and relief from severer questioning are considerations. To continue any one device, no mat- ter how valuable, for too long a time is simply to weary the children; and after more dii^icult work a short series of ellipses will be found to refresh and brighten the class. 5. Rapid review. — They are useful also in running quickly over a series of points again to bring the latter distinctly before the children's minds before proceed- ing to some further point, so that the connection may be clear; and in summing up or rapid review they may frequently be made to serve a similar purpose. 0. Simple laiiguag:e-tr{iiuiiig". — To some extent the employment of ellipses affords a simple and useful training in language. The complete statements accus- tom the child to correct forms, and serve the purpose pretty much of a series of model answers to more direct and difficult questions which might have been asked. In fact in some cases it is useful, after an ellipsis has been filled in, to put a question demanding the complete statement for answer. By filling in 32 KINDS OF QUESTIONS ellipses, too, the child learns the correct use of the words supplied, and so improves his vocabulary. Cautions. — The considerations given above lead dis- tinctly to the conclusion that ellipses may be suitably and wisely resorted to as a common device in the teach- ing of young children ; but that the higher we go in the school the less frequent should be their employ- ment, until in the upper classes their use should be confined to special cases, or cease altogether. With infant classes they form a stirring and encour- aging exercise ; but, since, as a rule, they demand but little thought, anything like frequent employment with elder classes would lead to a waste of time and eventu- ally to a disinclination to the strenuous and continuous effort to which it is important to accustom older schol- ars. Much will, however, depend upon the good judg- ment and skill of the teacher, and it would be unwise to lay down any hard and fast rule as to how far the use of ellipses should extend. 1. Not to be used exclusively. — In no case should the teacher rely solely upon the use of ellipses. If these are employed exclusively, the children soon learn to fill them in mechanically, and a superficiality of attention is engendered, which looks only for tlie word without proper grasp of the underlying idea. Stow insists very strongly on the constant admixture of questions and ellipses in differing proportions accord- ing to the age of the class. Used in connection they assist and support each other. Stow says: " Questioning is simply developing or leading out. It is not training until the child's ideas ELLIPSES 33 are not merely led out by questioning, but led on by ellipses and questions combined There must uni- formly be an analysis, based on siviple familiar illustra- tmis, and conducted by questions and ellipses mixed, which must be within the extent of the knowledge and experience of the children present." 2. Should botli test and train. — In the first case, they must not be given in a haphazard way, but should be expressly framed to elicit jvhat the children have learned: for, if they require points upon which no pre- vious teaching has been given, tbey will not be filled in with the requisite certainty. In the second case, they must be sufficiently easy for each step to be readily followed, so that the children are assisted in reasoning in a very simple way for themselves. They must not be too easy ; the word or words left for the pupils to fill in should necessitate the finding of an idea, and must be sufficiently important to ensure a certaiii amoimt of effort. Care should also be taken to avoid the common fault of suggesting too much. In no case should merely half a word be required, so that only the final syllable, perhaps, remains to be given. The difficulty of what is to be supplied will depend upon the class : with the younger children it should be a single and fairly obvious word; with more advanced scholars it may be a more difficult word or phrase. Vagueness is another fault to be avoided. This is pretty certain to lead to guessing of a useless and harm- ful kind. If ellipses are so framed that a number of different words may be filled in, and yet make sense of the statement, the definite and uniform answer which o4 KINDS OF QUESTIONS the teacher wants is not forthcoming. Some say one thing and some another, and confusion results. 3. Promptness. — The usefulness of ellipses depends in a great measure on their being filled in simultane- ously ; hence, except in very special cases, they should be addressed to the class as a whole, and the reply should be given by all. Smartness and movement are essential. If an ellipsis is not filled in, it is rarely of use to put it over again in the same form ; as a rule it is better to go back a step and approach the point again in another way. Ellipses are subject to the same defects, and liable to the same abuses, as questions to which simultaneous answers are expected. Where they are not well em- ployed they lead to much unnecessary noise, and may readily become absolutely worthless. The ease with which they may be used is seductive but delusive, for their skilful employment is much more difficult than it seems; and the show of work made is very apt to deceive the teacher as to the reality of what is done. Unless he is vigilant in looking out for those who do not reply, and listens carefully for imperfect responses, a considerable proportion of the pupils may be mentally idle, and either not take the trouble to answer at all, or trust to their neighbors to give them the cue to the right word. The evil effects of the bad habits thus formed it is unnecessary to dwell upon ; but the teacher should be fully alive to the fact that ellipses need quite as much care and Judgment to use properly as any other teaching device. The iiietliods eoiiipjired. — It will perhaps assist THE METHODS COMPAKED 35 the clear appreciation of the characteristics of testing and training questions if we map out their chief points of contrast as follows: Testing Questions 1. Appeal mainly to memory and iinderstandinfT. 9. Turn attention backwards upon the known. 3. Travel over ground already sur- veyed for the purpose of testing the quality and quantity of the work. Discover what the pupil has found out. 4. Fix acquired truths t)y bringing them again to light, and are thus said to question information out of the child's mind. 5. Call upon the child to pause and examine what he has acquired. 6. Demand answers depending up- on accurate knowledge and readi- ness in finding and expressing it. 7. May be employed in connection with all subjects. 8. Enlighten the teacher as to the nature of his success and the value of his method. Training QtrESTioNS 1. Appeal chiefly to reasoning and the conceptive faculty. 2. Direct attention forwards to the unknown. 3. Carry thought into new regions so as to lead to further acquisition of knowledge. Find out what the pupil can discover. 4. Develop new truths out of what is already known, and are thus said to question information into the child's mind. 5. Call upon the child to progress by mean.s of what he has acquired. 6. Demand answers depending up- on insight and the power of the children to think connectedly. 7. Are limited in application main- ly to matters which can be reasoned out. 8. Enlighten the children as to the bearing and development of what they know. The chief purposes for which questions may be profitably employed in teaching are the following: 1. To develop iiiforniatioii by appealing to the children's reason, previous experience, or • present observation. The questioning should give point and meaning to what is already known, and open up a view of the details which probably has not before attracted attention. 2. To test the iiifonuatioii supposed to have been gained, either from previous work, or as a result of the teaching given in the lesson, and so to enable the 36 KINDS OF QUESTIONS teacher to adapt his procedure exactly to the require- ments of the case. 3. To train tlie pupils by guiding them through easy processes of observation, thought, or conception ; as well as to afford them a useful exercise in rapidity of apprehension, and in ready expression of their ideas with neatness, exactness, and force. 4. To stimulate the pupils to use to the utmost such power as they possess ; to awaken curiosity as to coming knowledge, so that they may have a desire to know more; and to increase interest in the work by calling upon them to take their proper share in it. 5. To focus attention and intellectual effort upon one point at a time, and so help the children by direct- ing the mental gaze and excluding the consideration of everything but the matter in hand. (>. To fix the ideas which have been presented to the child by causing them to be again l^rought into conscious existence in varied form and definite order — through the agency of repetition, recapitulation, or review — a sufficient number of times to secure per- manency. 7. To hrini;? out the perspective of facts by dwell- ing most forcibly upon the more essential matters, and to assist the children in realizing the logical connection and relationship of the ideas. 8. To g'ive variety in the method of teaching, and prevent the deadening effect of sameness of treatment ; or possibly to inspirit a flagging class, and give bright- ness, pleasantness, and " go " to the lesson. CHAPTER III FORMS OF QUESTIONS Questions, as applied to children in teaching, should, as we have seen, turn the mind's energy in one direc- tion, and thus, by narrowing the range of effort, put the pupil in the best position for performing his part in the lesson. They should guide him in his search for new facts, and exact of him in a reasonable way the reproduction of that which he has learned. Hence questions should be — 1. Definite. — A very common defect in questions is their want of definiteness as to what is required. They should ask exactly for what is needed, and nothing but that. Thus, as far as possible, a question should admit of only one answer, and though the teacher may not always be able to reach this standard it should be aimed at. Vagueness in the questions is a great enemy to anything like clear and exact thought on the part of the child. An ambiguous question, to which it is pos- sible for him to give several answers, each of which is a correct reply to the question, is apt to confuse him by the possibilities open to him; and, feeling that the teacher only wants one reply, he either hazards a guess, or lets the opportunity pass in trying to decide what answer to give. All such ambiguous questions as " What is the river Severn like?" "What sort of story is the one you (87) 38 FORMS OF QUESTIONS have been reading?" "What do they do in quar- ries ? " " What should you say Gibraltar is made of ? "" " What do we eat to keep us alive?" are to be care- fully avoided. They simply diffuse instead of concen- trating the child's attention, and serve no useful pur- pose whatever. Young gives this illustration : '" Who was Joshua?" " The son of Xun." " No, no; I mean what was Joshua ? " " The leader of the Israelites." " Well, yes; but what was he in relation to Moses?"' " He was no relation to Moses, sir." " Well, but in his office what was he ? " (Xo answer.) " Boys! was he not the successor to Moses ? " Then follows a loud " Yes, sir ", and a considerable confusion and clearing of throats. Fitch well says (p. G7) : " Vague and indefinite questions, I have always observed, produce three different results, according to the class of children to whom they are addressed. The really thoughtful and sensible boy is simply bewildered by them. He is very anxious to be right, but he is not clear as to what answer his teacher expects; so he is silent, looks puzzled, and is, perhaps, mistaken for a dunce. The bold and confident boy who does not think, when he hears a vague question answers at ran- dom ; he is not quite sure whether he is right or wrong, but he tries the experiment, and is thus strengthened in a habit of inaccuracy, and encouraged in the mis- chievous practice of guessing. There is a third class of children whom I have noticed, not very keen, but DEFINITE, DIRECT, POINTED 39 sly and knowing nevertheless, who watch the teacher's peculiarities, know his methods, and soon acquire the knack of observing the structure of his sentences, so as to find out which answer he expects. They do not understand the subject so well, perhaps, as many others; but they understand the teacher better, and can more quickly pronounce the characteristic word or the particular answer he expects. Now I do not hesitate to say that, as far as real education and development of thought are concerned, each of these three classes of children is injured by the habit of vague, wide, and ambiguous questioning which is so common among teachers." '2. Direct. — Nor must the questions be allowed to wander from the subject, as they are very apt to do unless the teacher has his lesson well in hand, and frames his inquiries to elicit just what he wants. Ir- relevant questioning is oftener the result of indolence than of lack of skill. Something more is required in teaching than the loose and indirect form of question- ing commonly employed in ordinary conversation, al- though there should be the same freedom and ease. If the teacher asks questions without knowing where he is going, he will soon find both himself and his chil- dren adrift, and no real progress being made. 3. Pointed. — Every question should be of value as a real part of the teaching, and have some distinct bearing and influence on the lesson. Sometimes a number of questions are asked without order, and in an aimless, drifting sort of way, merely to occupy time, or because the teacher feels that some questions ought 40 FOEMS OF QUESTIONS to be asked. They begin anywhere and lead nowhere. The utter worthlessness of such questioning has been already referred to. 4. ITiiequivocal. — If the child is to grasp the bear- ing of a question readily, it must be unequivocal in meaning, and sufficiently simple both in thought and language. The ideas must be well within the child's comprehension; and so long as clearness is secured, the shorter the question the better. 5. Simply expressed. — In no part of his work is it more worth the teacher's while to be economical of words; and those used must be such as the child is accustomed to, so that whether the answer is forth- coming or not there is no doubt in his mind as to what is asked. There must be no useless verbiage in the way of introductory phrases, no round-about and con- sequently lengthy statements, and no unnecessary elaboration of idea. It is impossible to get children to think i^roperly when their energies are consumed in endeavoring to unravel the complexity of the question, or to discover its import. The proper choice of words in asking a question is a 2>oint deserving of much attention. Several short ques- tions are better than one long one; and if the teacher finds that he has in his question taken too great a step at once, or has employed words too difficult for the children to understand — as he may easily do, especially in using technical terms — it is better for him to break up his question into easier ones, or to put it into another form, than to fill in the answer himself and pass on. All such round-about ways of beginning a question SIMPLY EXPRESSED 4i as "Now, my good children " "I shall be glad if you can tell me ," " JS'ow, if you try I am sure you will be able to say ," etc., etc., are to be avoided, not only as a waste of time, but as tending to confuse the child by taking his attention from the point of the question. Those who are unaccustomed to talk to children often find great difficulty in framing suitable and sim- ple questions, and sometimes fall into ludicrous mis- takes. Xo teacher would ever think of asking such a question as the following: " Will you be good enough to tell me, if you happen to remember from what you have been told or from what you have read, under what circumstances mercury placed in a long^ tube, closed at the upper end, rises or falls ? " Such a ques- tion is full of faults. A question may be clear as to meaning, and yet framed in such a clumsy or slipshod way as to be ob- jectionable, especially so when addressed to children. A faulty form, of very frequent occurrence in teaching, is one in which what should be a statement, or an ellipsis, is changed into a question by the additioii of some word or phrase that ought in most cases to have come first. The words usually employed for this pur- pose are wJiat^ ivhen, ivhere, how, and the like. For instance: " Falstaff was a very what?" " The man we spoke of went where ? " "Botany is the sci- ence of what?" "He ascertained which of the two mountains?" Another rather common error is for the teacher, either from carelessness or from not having thought •out his lesson properly, to begin a question and then 42 FORMS OF QUESTIONS to alter the wording, it may be several times: e. g. " What is the function of what purpose do the leaves serve, of what use are they to the plant?" If a question has been begun wrongly, it is better to abandon it altogether than to patch and alter it until the children are confused. Sometimes again the mistake is made of welding into one two questions which ought to have been put sepa- rately, so that the children are in doubt as to which to answer first, and hence some say one thing some an- other. " What part of speech is the word sailed^ which word does it tell us something about?" "Who won the battle of Hastings, was it really fought at Hastings?" " Where does the river Thames rise, has it more than one source?" are instances, the climax of absurdity being reached in such forms as — " Who dragged whom round the walls of what city, and why?" 6. Requiring eit'ort. — Questions which may be answered without any exercise of mind are not only valueless, but give rise to bad habits, and are apt to delude both the teacher and the children as to the amount learned. At the best they give undue promi- nence to those who are merely smart and quick, and consequently discourage the thoughtful; while they are almost certain to lead to rash guessing, carelessness, inattention, and superficiality. There are various types of these objectionable questions. Eclio questions. — In some cases the worthlessness of the question arises from the fact tliat it asks for in- formation which has been given as a statement the REQUIRING EFFORT 43 moment before: as, "The Black Forest contains a great many fir-trees. What does tlie Black Forest con- tain ? " It is very easy for a teacher to get into a habit of using these "echo questions", as they have been termed. Leading" questions should be very rarely if ever employed in teaching. These merely ask for the assent of the pupil to something said by the teacher, or in some way or other suggest what is required. The clue to the answer may be conveyed to the pupil by the form of the question; by the emphasis laid, con- sciously or unconsciously, upon some particular word or phrase ; by inflection of the voice ; or, it may be, by some significant gesture, or the expression of the face. It is astonishing how quick children are in catching any suggestion from one they know, however uninten- tional it may be, and hence they may appear to answer well when questioned in this way while they really know little or nothing of the subject about which they are being asked. Aj^art even from any sug- gestion whatever, or fault in the questioning, they will answer a teacher to whom they are accustomed much more readily than when interrogated by a per- son whose manner and mode of questioning are quite strange to them. Such questions as — " Bricks are made of clay, are they not?" "Plants groio ; what is the difference between a plant and a Stone? " " Is not Snowdon a high mountain ? " " Does the Ganges enter the ocean by one mouth or by many channels f '' demand nothing from the child but a little attention. " Xever, if you can help it," says Fitch (p. 61) 44 FORMS OF QUESTIONS " communicate a fact in your question. Contrive to educe every fact from the class." His whole treat- ment of this subject (pp. G1-G6) is most instructive. An example of stupefying mind by this wrong ques- tioning is given in Page's Theory and Practice, Syra- cuse edition, page 107. Yes or no questions. — It is customary to condemn the use in teaching of all questions which require only yes or no for answer (sometimes, but improperly, called " direct " questions) ; but this general condemna- tioii is too sweeping. Much depends upon whether the question calls for a decision between two alterna- tives, or does not ; the real point is, not whether tjie answer is "yes" or "no" but whether the question appeals to the child in a useful manner. If, as is com- monly the case, questions of this kind are put in such a way that there is practically no doubt as to the nature of the reply exjjected, and even the most thoughtless can answer them, then by all means they should be avoided by the teacher. Thus it often hap- pens that children know the answer is to be yes if the question ends with the rising inflection, and no if it ends with the falling. Many cases, however, arise in teaching, where a question may only demand " yes " •or " no ", but to decide correctly which of the two necessitates an exercise of Judgment, and it may be a difficult one, on the part of the pupil. There seems to be no reason why such questions should not be used, if judiciously employed, and if guessing is dis- couraged by frequently following up the reply with •other questions respecting the grounds upon which the .answer is based. YES OR XO QUESTIONS 45 Sometimes a difficult question of the " yes " or " no " form is used merely to start an inquiry, or to direct attention to and excite an interest in the next point to be considered. The confirmation of either of the pos- sible replies is deferred for the time, and the matter decided by eliciting the facts which justify the one conclusion rather than the other, or l>y an appeal to experiment, or possibly by the association of both these plans. For instance, the teacher may have been explaining about the pressure of the air in all direc- tions, and ask, " If I fill a glass full of water, place a card over the mouth of the glass and turn it upside down, will the water run out ? " He listens to the expressions of opinion but does not definitely accept either one view or the other, and then proceeds to question those who take either side as to why they believe themselves to be correct. The children beinsf now thoroughly interested in the result, and fully pre- pared for the experiment, the teacher performs it and settles the point. In this way the experiment is much more clearly understood and remembered than if the result had been merely foretold by the teacher. The thoughtful members of tbe class are rewarded by the satisfaction of being right, and the rash or careless are tatight a useful lesson as to the necessity for cautious judgment, while both are stimulated to further effort. When children have been taught certain facts, and the teacher needs to gather up the ideas rapidly in order to pass to some further truth, the occasional tise of " yes or no " questions, mixed with others of easy form, is often justifiable as an expeditious method of marshalling his points in order that their bearing may 46 FORMS OF QUESTIONS be made out. It is not thought, so much as ra]nd review, which is here wanted. Ordinary questioning would he too slow, while the plan just mentioned is often to be preferred to direct address as giving more variety and brightness to the work. Something might also be said for the occasional use of questions demanding "yes" or "no" with small children, where much encouragement is often neces- sary to get answers given at all, and these must be of the simplest possible character. Alteriiative questions. — Allied to the forms dis- cussed above are the questions which contain their own answers, and simply offer a clioice between two things, as — " Is iron a hard or a soft metal ? " "Is this green or blue ? " "Is the sun a hot or a cold body '? " As a rule, questions of this kind should certainly be shunned ; for, apart from the fact that they involve no intellect- ual effort, no form of question is so likely to lead to guessing. Even if nothing in the question, or in the mode of putting it, suggests what is wanted, the child knows he will be able to give the correct answer at a second try, at most, and therefore makes a shot at it. It is often amusing to watch a class questioned in this way. The moment the teacher has pronounced one of the possible replies wrong, out go the hands of those on the watch for such a chance; and, though they may know absolutely nothing about the sul)ject, they phime themselves on having answered the ques- tion. Where such a method of questioning is common many of the children Avill make no effort themselves, and watch again and again for the second opportunity. REASONABLY DIFFICULT 47 7. Reasonably difficiilt. — It is not all uncommon to find teachers, who know little of children and are unable to look at things from their point of view, ask- ing questions which are far beyond the powers of those interrogated, and at times even such as would tax the powers of a trained mind to answer correctly. The difficulty to the pupil may arise from a variety of causes. In some instances the question includes so much as completely to bewilder the child, even when the de- tails are within his knowledge, and he would be able to give them correctly if asked for one at a time. He is unable to frame properly so long a statement as is re- quired; he finds great difficulty even in discovering where to begin, and being unable to think continuously without help he is pretty certain to give a very incom- plete reply, or to flounder his way through a sentence or two and break down. "How is a glacier formed?" "Why does a stick appear bent in water? " " What becomes of a shower of rain?" "What occurred when Cfesar came to Britain ? " " What were the circumstances in which William the conqueror met his death?" are examples of this kind of question. Sometimes the mistake is made of asking for informa- tion which the children cannot reasonably be expected to give. In many cases of this kind the facts asked for are such as it is the purpose of the lesson to teach , and, although they have not been touched upon in any way by the teacher, he puts the questions in the hope of their being answered from previous knowledge. He is misled by taking his own past experience for that 48 FORMS OF QUESTIONS of the children, and fails to see that what many have been for a long time perfectly familiar to him, or brought under his notice almost daily, may, from the different character of their surroundings, be quite un- known to them. Xot only are such questions useless, but, if at all frequent, the failure to answer them tends to relax effort and to discourage the children, while the long pauses which are likely to occur take all the spirit out of the lesion. It is easy to fall into the error described in the case of terms not generally current but common enough in certain districts. The following actually occurred. A teacher was giving a lesson on the Manufacture of a Tea-cup and Saucer, and after describing the various materials and the way they are ground and mixed, he said, " jS'ow what is the white liquid made of all these things called ? " As no hand was raised he proceeded: "Well, surely some of you can tell me that; what is the liquid called? Come, do think," Perhaps, in the district from which the teacher came, most boys would have been able to give the reply, but no amount of thought would have enabled those in front of him to do so. Another common case of demanding too much from the pupil is asking questions which call upon him to give a definition, when nothing in the lesson has led up to it. It may seem an easy thing to answer such questions as " What is an animal ? " " AVhat is salt ? " "What is a plant?" and so on. ^o doubt the child knows the things when he sees them, but to give an adequate answer in cases like these is a matter of con- siderable difficulty. He has not only to settle upon eeaso:n"ably difficult 49 the necessary distinguishing characteristics, but also to find the words whereby to express them in a neat and correct form ; and this he ought not to be expected to do until he has been prepared for it by the foregoing teaching. Even then it is generally better to direct attention to each point in turn by a series of questions, and to work up to the complete statement as the final step. When a child is asked point blank for a defini- tion he has not been taught, all he generally does is to give some obvious quality and omit the rest, or to mention an instance or an illustration. For example, a child asked " What is sin '? " is pretty certain to give some such reply as " stealing," " using bad language," " telling a lie," " being cruel," etc. If, when the teacher is about to ask for a definition, he would think what answer he himself would give, the question would probably be at once changed in form, or broken up into several; and, at least, he would be saved from looking upon the children as stupid on account of their faulty replies. Even where the definition is correctly approached, unnecessary anxiety is often shown to set forth simple things in a cut-and-dried formula, when really all that the child needs is clear ideas. The story is told that a gentleman once asked a class, " What is a window?" and, after rejecting such answers as, "A hole in the wall to let in the light," complained of the want of intelligence shown by the children. On being requested to give the reply he expected, he hesitated, and then said: "A window is an aperture Everybody knows what a window is." 50 FOKMS OF QUESTIOXS Exactly, but it is not every oue who can express such knowledge in precisely the words expected. In dealing with young children the mistake is some- times made of asking questions which demand that a process of reasoning shall be gone through before the answer can be arrived at. Until the child's mind has been sufficiently developed it is impossible for him to give such a reply as is needed. He has first to be taught how to reason by placing before him two familiar things, directing attention to each in turn, then taking them in connection, and finally establish- ing a relation between them. Questions are bene of the greatest use, but they must be of the simplest description; and even wlien these early exercises can be managed with some success, a conclusion should be reached through a -serks- of questions,— not demanded as a single effort until the child can reason readily for himself. Some teachers are very fond of asking a simple ques- tion requiring a decision, and then following it up with — Why ? This is in many cases a more difficult exercise than is commonly recognized, and needs to be used with a good deal of discrimination. It may often be profitably employed in the case of elder chil- dren; but it should be borne in mind that to give reasons for a conclusion is generally more difficult than to arrive at a correct inference, and that consequently the question WJiy f should be sparingly used with little ones. A child will often, by a kind of instinctive judgment, arrive at the right answer, when he is quite unable to go back and state the grounds upon which he has based his reply. REASOJ^ABLY DIFFICULT 51 Occasional questions beyond the power of the major- ity of the children may be used with advantage, in order to give the brighter members of the class a chance of putting out their strength, and to prevent them from growing listless and inattentive. Care must be exercised, however, not to take up too mucli time with the answers to such q^^estions. Sometimes, too, a hard question at the close of a lesson may be left for the children to ponder over and try to find out the answer for themselves. The point may easily be taken up again when the next lesson of the kind is given. Young even suggests (p. 20) that questions impossi- ble of answer be sometimes asked; as, " Where did Elijah die ? " "How far must parallel lines be produced before they meet ? " "To which of the two poles is Quito nearer V " Of course the purpose here is to fix firmly in mind the fact which makes an answer im- possible. As to whether the questioning is to be considered difficult or not will depend upon the. circumstances. It is a relative matter, not an absolute one. The chief considerations to be kept in mind in estimating the ■difficulty of questions are the following: {a) The experience, knowledge, and power of appre- hension of the children. (b) The mode in which the questions are worded. (c) The nature of the mental exercise involved in giving the answers — e. l'. DeGnilT's method of presentation tliiit so ivaelies ,.^-— ,..,„^^ and holds the young ;e!ichfcr, it inisiht / "*». Ije hard to say : but he has never liad his equal as an institute instructor ia the inspiration he gave ; and superin- tiiidents everywhere agree that where "I her books are bouglit and put away, the "School-Room Guide" is bought ind kept on the desk, for daily use. Some books are recommended because it is creditable to own them ; this is recommended by those who know it because it will help. It is significant that this was one of the three books selected by the Examination Board of the State of New York as one of the three upon which all Uniform and State Examinations in Methods and School Economy should be based for the \ear 1895, ««/(/flj School Journal, March, 1893. Believing it to be the best book of its kind, I shall use it in my classes.— Prof. IF. M. iJ/ai /'.Normal Department, Salem College, W. Va., Nov. 21,1892 This book is better adapted to our use than any other we have found.— Principal f. C. Bovhih, New Hampshire State Normal School, Oct. 12, 1892. The volume is one of decided value, and is a miniature cyclopaedia of historical facts dating from the Eenaissance. — Keic York TIwW, Aug. 27, 1892 Sensible in its views, and correct and clear in style. Prof. Williams's book Is well worthy of a place in educational literature.— T/^e Critic, Sept. 10, 1S92. A book worthy to take its place in the teacher's library alongside of •Quick, Compayre, and Gill. — Western School Journal, Feb., 1893. It is not too much to say that for all ordinary purposes Prof. Williams's book is in Itself a much more valuable pedagogical library than could be formed with it omitted. — American Journal of Education, Sept., 1892. Throughout the book the author shows good sense in his judgment of men and methods; and, what is no small merit in the present age, he is ■entirely free from hobbies. — Science, Aug. 26, 1892. The title of this book can scarcely suggest the rich and varied interest of the materials which it includes. It sums up for us the story of educa- tional methods and systems in all countries, from the middle ages down to the present time. — Review of Reviews, Oct., 1892. I have received a copy of Williams's History of Modern Education, and having read three chapters I see it must be added to our library. Please «end us two copies more. — Principal IT'. E. Wilson, R. I. State Normal School, Nov. 15, 1892. The author's style is clear and readable, his criticisms without color, * * and the impression in our mind after perusal is that the author is not only one who /t«OMi/?, but one whose thoughts and conclusions are worthy of T^s^eat.— Popular Educator, Nov., 1892. It is a wonderful book for conciseness — a veritable miiltuin in parvo, and atill the narrative style is so constantly maintained that it reads more like A story than an encyclopaedia. It is both in one.— Principal O. D. Rolnmon, Albany High School, March 15, 1893. The outlook over the subject is broad, the views in many instances fresh, and the interpretation penetrating. The work is especially valuable as being at once comprehensive and compact, covering the whole ground, with each movement or phase of progress given in its due proportion.— Evangelist, Oct. 20, 1892. His method of treating the subject is eminently happy. The salient points of the history of education in that period are clearly indicated, and the as- cending curve of progress is sketched through them. Dr. Williams's style is delightful. Every teacher will be at odp«- oleased and instructed by a .perusal of the book. — Public Opinion. School Bulletin Publications NOTE.— Binding is indicated as follows : B hoards, C clolh, L leatherette, M maniila, T paper. Size as follows: 8:416 mdicates 8vo, pp. UH; l:i:393 in- dicates limo, pp. Silo ; 10:389 indicates 16»io, pp. SSU. Numbers preceding the binding and size give the pages in the Trade Sale catalogue of 1898 on which the books are described, the fullest description being placed first. Books preceded by a dagger (+) are selected by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction for the New York Teachers' Library. B(.)oks starred may be had also in the Standard Teachers" Library, manilla binding, at 50 cts. each. Unless expressly ordered to be sent in this binding, such volumes are always sent in cloth. A DAY of aiy Life, or Everyday Exj^enences at Eton. 15 C 10:184. ... $1 00 Ackermau (Mrs. M. B.) Hetiew QueMions to accompany llend.i^Vs UU- tonj of the Empire State. 58 P 12.15 05 Adams. Wall Map of the State of New York. 68x74 inches, 46 a 5 00 AhniF.) Method of Learning the Dutch Language. 43 C 13:135 125 Aids to School Discipline. 60, 58 Per box 4? 1:25 Supplied separately; per 100 Merits, 15 cts.; Half Merits. 15 cts.: Cards, 15 cts.; Checks, 40 cts.; Certificates, 50 cts. Aldein-Toseph). First Principles of Political Economy . 51 C 16:i,^3 75 Aldis (JIary E.) The Great Giant Arithmos. A most Elemeutar\- Arithmetic. C 16:224 1 00 Alesandrow (F.) Method of Learning Russian. 4:M' 12:i;)5, .$1.25; yuy -Jo Arabic Self -Taught. 43 C 12:104 1 25 * Arnold (Thomas). Stanley's Life of 3 .^.Va.v\\i\e. 18 C 10:252 100 Ascham (Uoger). Sketch of, by E. H. Quick. 18 P 16:.)5 15 * Biography, by Samuel Johnson. 18 C 16:2.52 1 00 ■ Compilete ^Yorks. 18 C 10:321, 273, 376, 374 4 vols 5 00 Attendance Blanks/o;- use under the Compulsory Law of JS'. Y. yn) First Notice to Parents; (6) Second Notice to Parents ; ('■) Notice to Attendance Officer. Manilla, 4x9, pp. 100 each. Per dozen, each. 2 00 ■t Authors' Birthday Exercises. First Series: Poe, Longfellow. Reed, Irving, Walt Whitman, Mrs. Stowe, Hawthorne, Holmes. Cooper, Bancroft, Bryant, Whittier. 42 C 16:320 1 00 Game of Fireside Authors, 52 cards, with Po: traits. 42 35 Young Foils' Farorite Authors, 52 cards, with Portraits. 42 :« Game of Poems Illustrated, 52 cards, with Pictures 35 BALL, (J. W.) 1000 Questions-and-Ansicers in Drawing. 52 L 16:67 40 ■ Instruction in Citizenship. L 12:03 40 * BaUard (Harlan H ) Pieces to Speak. 39 C ]C:19'J loo The same, Parts 1 and Y, each P 10:4 i 15 Barljera (Piero). Educational Publications in Italy. 15, 29, PS: 14 15 Bardeen (0. R.) Infection and ImmuniUj. P 8:20 :;5 (0. W.) * Manual of School Law. 54, 51. 53, 50. C 16:270 1 00 Bardeen (C. W.) ^Geography of the Empire State. 45, 53, 50 C 8:120..$ 75 * t Roderick Iham. The '6lo\-y of a Xew York Teaclier. 54, 13, 15, C 10:295 1 25 The Little Old Man, or the School for Illiberal Mothers. 13 C 16:31 ... 50 I- Verbal Pitfalls. A manual of 1500 misused words. 3G, 21 C 10:223. . 75 The Tax-Payer and the Township System. 39 P 8:20 25 Teaching as a Business for Men. 29 P 8:20 25 The Teacher's Commercial Value. 29 P 8:20 25 The Teaclier as He Should Be. 29 P 8:24 25 Fitting Teachers to Places. P 16:70 25 *-\ Teaching as a Business. The above four addresses in one vol- ume. C 16:100 1 00 Effect of the College-Preparatory High School. 28, 29 P 8:5 15 History of Educational Journalism in New York. 15, 29, 53 P 8:45. . . 40 The Song Budget. CO P small 4:76 15 The Song Century. 60 P small 4:87 15 The Song Patriot. 60 P small 4:80 15 Tli.s Song Budget Series Combined. 60 C small 4:350 50 Dime Question Books of Temperance Physiology, Book-Keeping, Li't- ter-Wriling. 41,56. Each 10 Barnard (Henry). American Journal of Education. Vols. I-XIII, X^'l, XVII, XXllI. XXIX. Each, Ilalf-turkey, 8: about 800 5 50 Letters, E.y U.B.. Clmdk. P 16:18 15 Bassett (.T. A.) Latitude, Longitude, and Time. 35, 32, 45, 56 M 10:42. . 25 Bates (S. P.) Methods of Teachers' Institutes. 31 C 12:76 60 Batsdorf (.1. B.) The Management of Couidry Schools. 29, 30 P 8:33.. .. 20 Beebe (Levi N.) First Steps among Figures. ;33, 33 C 16:336 1 00 PuinVs Edition. C 16:140 45 Beesau (Amable). The Spirit of Education. C 16:.335, and Portrait 125 Bell (Andrew). An Old Educational Reformer. 18 C 16:183 1 00 Bennett (C. W .) National Edvcation in Europe. 29 P 8:38 15 JTislory of the Philosophy of Pedagogics. 15 L 16:43 50 Benton (Hmily E.) The Iliippy Metliod in Number. 33 8:96 75 Bible in the Public Sehotds, Oinciniiati case, P 24:314, 233 50 Binner (Paul). O'd Sloi its Retold. 36,13 10:64 25 Ehickman (< ).) Graded Songs for Day Schools. P 16:39 10 Blukcly (W. A.) Chart of Parliamentary Rules. 37 P 16:4 35 Blodgett, O- B.) The Relatton.qf a Principal ti the Community. P8:19. 35 Bradford (\V. II.) Thirty Possible Proiyemsin Percentage. 32. 56 JI 16:34. 35 Briggs (F. IT.) Boys and How to Re-Make them. 29, 31 P 8:34 35 Indvstrial Training in Heformalot y Institutions.- 29 P 16:28 35 Bristol (H. O.) Honesty Cards in Arithmetic. 35 50 cards, .3.\4V^ 50 (3; Brown (I. H.) Popular Speaker. P 13:180 $ 25 Browne (M. Frances). A Glimpse of Grammar- Land. 36, 38 P 8:2-4 15 Browning, (Oscar). .1 Short. History of Education. 15 C 16:105 50 •Buckham (II. R.) Handhook for Yoi/ng Teachers. 21, 30, C 16:152. 75 ♦Buffalo Examination Questions. 59 1st 4 Years : 1892-6. 52 C 16:318 1 00 Bngbee (A. G.) Exercises in English Syntax. 41 L 16:85 35 Key to the .mine. L 16:36 .35 Bulletin Spelling Pads, 70 padres. Each 15 Absence Becord. 58 L pp. 400. llxlli.<; 3 00 Book- Keeping Blanks. Press-board, 7x8 J^, pp. 28. Each 15 Composition Book. M 8:44 15 Class Register. 58 Press-board cover, Three Sizes, (a) 6-k7, for terms of 20 weeks ; or {l>) 5x7, for terms of 14 weeks Pi). 48 25 (c) Like {tj) but with one-half more (72) pages 35 Pencil Holder, numbered for 60 pupils. 04 2 00 Ink- Well Filler, holding one quart. 04 1 25 Number Fan. 35 11x15 inches 1 00 Burnham (\V. P.) Duties of Outposts U. S. Army. C 24:171 50 Burrltt (,J. I..) Penmanship in Public Schools. V 12:02. and cliart 60 Butler (Nieliolas Murray). The Place of Comenius. 27, 19P1G:20 15 CABANO (I.opes dc). Method of Leaniin'j Port ugese. 43 C 12:175 I 25 K< y 25 Caesar's Consjriracy of the Helvetians. 57 P 16:20 10 ^Canfield (.James II.) Rural Higher Education. 28, 29 P 8:24 l.">. *|- Carlisle (J. 8.) Two Great Teachers, Asch a in ami Arnold. 18 016:252. 1 0(1 Catalogue of Rare Looks on Pedagogy. P 2 1:58 00 , Trade Sale, 1898, of School Bulletin Publications. P 8:04 00 Cheney (F.) A Globe Mannalfor Schools. 45 P 10:95 ;... 25 •Civil Service Question Book. 44 C 16:282 1 50 Clarke ( \i lah T. ) Chart of U. S. History. 49 P 81^x12. Each 5c. ; per d< .z. .50 Code of Publie Instruction, New York, 1888. 51, 53 L 8:1075, ml 2 50 Colored Crayon, for Blackboard, per box of one dozen, nine colors. . . 25 Collins (Henry). The International Date Line. 35, 33, 45 P 10:15 15 Comenius (John Amos). Orbis Pictns. 19 8:232 3 00 * t Lifeand Educational Works, by S. S. Laurie. 19, 18 C 10:272 1 00 sAvteAo/', by R. H. Quick. P 16:25. (Sec also Butler, Maxwell). .. . 15 Portrait of, 63 P 22x28 1 00 Comfort ((JeorKC F.) Modern Li nguages ii Education. 28, 29 P 16:40.. 25 ■ (Cieo. F. and Anna M.) Woinaiys Education and Woman's Health : chief y in reply to " Se.v in Education ". C 10:1.55 1 00 Constitution of the State of New York. P 16:03 10 Cooper (Oscar P.) Compulsory Laws anil their Eiforciment. 29 P 8:6. . 15 Craig (A. R.) The Philosophy of Training. 12:.377 2 00 Crain (.1. 11.) 70 Review Lessons in Geography, 45 P lii:(iO 25 Cul>e Koot Blocks, carried to 3 places. .35 1 00 C.v<'lopiedia of Kducation. 14 C 8:562 3 75 r)A>'TKI.S (Blanche R.) Outlines of English Literature. 42, .57 C 12:102. .50 Danisli anwnics. 30 C 10:108 75 ■ Pocket Pronunciation Book. 30 M 16 :47 15 ' * t The School-Kootn Guide. 22, 30, 31, 56 C 16:405 1 50 t Development Lessons. C 8:301 1 50 The School-Romn Chorus. 60 B small 4:147 35 ' Calisthenics and Disciplinary Exerciser. 3T M 16:.39 35 * t De Guimps (Rofrer). Pestalozzi, his Aim and Work. 20, 18 C 10:331 1 50 Denominational Schools. Discussion of 1889. 29 P 8:71 $ 25 Dickinson (John W.) The Limits of Oral Teaching. 27, 40 P 10:24 15 Dielil (Anna Randall-). A Practical Delsarte Primer. 36,37 10:00.... 50 Dime Question Books. See Soutuwick. Diplomas, printed to ordei" from any design furnished. Specimens sent. 01 (a) Bond paper, 14x17, for 25 or fewer 5 00 "50 50 (b) " " 10x20, '■ 25 or fewer 5 50 " " " 50 7 25 (c) Parchment, 15x20, " 1 3.50 Kach additional copy 75 T>onaldson (.James). Lecture i on Education. 15 10:185 100 Dudevant (A.) French and English Commercial Correspondence. 44 C 12:107 50 Durliam (W. II.) Carleton Island in the Pevoiuiion. 13 C 10:128 1 00 EDUCATIOM as Uewed by Thinkers. 27. P 10:47 15 * Intellectual, Moral, and Physical, Herbert Spencer. 24, C 10:331.. 1 00 for the People, in America, Europe, India, and Australia. 15 8:176. 1 25 Edwards (A. M.) Graded Lessons in Language. Nos. 1-6. 41 P 8:80, each per dozen $1 00 TiOO Every Day Husiness Problems in. Arithnutic. 34, 35 500 cai'ds, I}^x.3J^, with Key .50 600 Pertinent Questions in Civics, with Answers. 51, P 10:54 15 '/7te ««?»«, with Questions on 250 slips of cardboard, in box. 51... 50 Historical Game, " Our Country ". 50 100 cards, 234x3%. 31 50 Historical Cards. 50, 49 3J4x5i4. (a) General History. 200 cards 1 00 \{b) United States History, Part I. 92 cards .50 (c) United States Hisfory, Part II. 108 cards 50 ((/) United States History, Complete. 200 cards 1 00 Outline and Topic Pook in U. S. History. P 8 :21 3 50 Geographiccd Game, " Our Country ^\ 47, 40 ICO cards, 2^:4X.3?8 50 ■ Geographical Cards. 47, 40 3}4^'H. (a) Part I. Physical Geography and North America. 100 cards 50 (b) Part II. Th£ Best of the World. 100 cards 50 (c) Cainple'e. 200 cards 1 00 .. * Topical Questions in Geography, with Kegents' Questions 1S94-0. 45 O 10:211 1 00 (II Emersou(A. W.) Composition and Ciltidtim. 41 L lfi:82 $ 40 (11. S.) Laiin in nigh SclwoU. 38 P l(i:30 !i5 t Essays on the Kiiidergarteii. 20, 23 C 12:175 1 00 FAKNHAM (A. W.) + The Oswego Method of Teaching Geography. 45 C 10:127 •■>0 (Geo. L.) The Sentence Mel hod of Beading. 30 10:55 50 Fette (W. E.) Dialogues from Dickeng. 38 C 10::3:i5 1 00 Fitch (Joshua G ) The Art of Questioning. 36. 21, 27 P l(i:;3(; 15 The Art of Securing Attention. 21, 27 P 16:43 15 \ Lectures on Teaching, Rending Club Edition. 14(']2:130 1 25 Fletcher (A. E.) Sonnenschein" s Vijclopaedla of J-Sducation. 14 (' 8:562 -i 75 Foreign Languages. See pp. 43, 44 Fowie ( \Vm. B .) rh£ Teachers' Institute. 31 ( ' 12:238 f 1 00 Fraction Play. A Game for Young Arithmeticians. 35 52 cards 2J4x3}^ 25 Franck (F.) T'he German Letter-Writer, with the Forms of Polite Cor- respondence, and English Explanatory Notes. 43 1' lfi:l 12 40 * Franklin (Bent) Autobiography. 16:241 100 Froebel(Friedriuh). i Autobiography of . 20. is. -,'3 12.1S3 1 .50 Portrait. 03 P 22x28 25 ■ t Letters on the Kindergarttn. 12:331 1 50 ti>VINES (J. T.) Principles of Teaching. 20 P 8:63 20 Geometry Test Papers, by Wni. Smith. 35 Packafies of 100, 8JoXlO. ... 1 00 Geddes (Patrick). Indus'rial E.rhibUions. P 10:57 25 German Self -Taught. (See also Fraxck, Hahn, Meissner). 43 P 16:87 40 Gill (John). School Managemerd. 14, Zd 16:276 1 00 Globes. See page 46. Gortard (Harlow). An Ouutne Study of U. S. Histonj. 48, 56 L 16:146 50 Goethe (.J. F. von). Eginont. with English Xtes. 43 16:140 40 Gore (.1. Howard). Manual of Parliamentary Practice. ;37, 36 16:112. 50 Goulding (Matilda P.) Flore s .- A Botanical Game. 40 48 cards. 25,;x3i4 50 Granger (Oscar). Metric Tnblts a^d Problems. 32 M l(i:.';'i 25 Grant (.James). History of the Burgh Schools of Scotland. 15 8:.5!)1 3 00 Grasb.y (W. Oatton). \ Teaching in Three Continents. 15 O 12:;J44 150 Gray (Thos. J.) MctJiods a'ld Courses in Xor/nd Schools. 29 P 8:19 15 Griifin (Ida L.) Topical Geography, with Methods. 45 L 12:142 50 Grimth (Oeo.) Outline Blackboard Maps. 40. Per .set 8 00 Groszmann (M. P. E.) f A 'Working Manual of Child Study. 26 O 1():75 50 ■ The Common School and The New Education. P 16:46 25- HAHN (F.) The Child's German Book. 43 P 16:".7 40 Hailniann (W. N.) Primary Kindergarten Helps. 23, 20 1! 8:5H r."> Sketches from the History of h'duca'io,/. 15, 29 P 8:30 20 Hall ( Marcella W.) Orthoepy Made Easy. 30 16:1C0 75 Hamilton Declamation Quarterly. Vol. I. (all i)ublislu'd). :i'i, ;W 10:337 1 00 Harlow (W. B.) Early English Literature. 42 C ' l(;:i:K 75 Harris (W. T.) \ Natural Science in the Public Schools. 4() L l(;:(;i) 50 \Art Education Tlie True Ihdwtnal Education. 29 L 1(;;7;' 50 (5) Harris (W.T.) Hwace Mann. L 16:50 $ 50 The Theory of Education. 27 P IC:^ 15 The EducafAonal Value of Manual Training. 29, P 8:14 15 University and School Extension. 29 P 8:12 15 Tiie General Gomrnment and Public Education. 29 P 8:R 15 Report on Pedagogical and Psychological Observation. 29, 25 P 8:6. . . 15 Heermans (Forbes). Stories of the Ear West. C 16:260 1 25 Hegner (H. F.) The Ymng Scientist's Reader. C 16:189 50 "Helps to Self-Culture. C 16:241 1 00 Hen drick (Mary P\) Questions in Literature. 42 B 16:100 35 (W.) '' The Tablets Set." A Comedy for Schools. 38,36 16:30... 15 1 Brief History of the Empire State. 48, 53, 56 C 12 : 218 75 Review Questions for New York History. 58 P 16:16 05 Syllabuses of U. S. History, for Regents' Examinations. 49. 58 \>evduz. 50 Hennig (Carl Y.) Anatomical ManiMn. 37 M 8:18 1 CO Hinsdale (B. A.) Pedagogical Chairs in Colleges 29 P 8:11 15 Schools and Studies. C 12:362 1 50 Hoose (James II.) Studies in Articulation. 36 C 10:70 .50 t On the Province of Methods of Teaching 31 C 16:376 1 00 Pestalozzmn Eirst-Year Arithmetic. 33, 20. 32 B 16:217 50 Pupils' Edition. B 16:156 35 Second Year Aj'ilhmetic. B 10:230 50 Horastone Slating, the best crayon surface made. 62, persaHoii 8 00 Slated Paper, per square yard (if by mail, 60 cts.) 62 50 Hoss (Geo. H.) Memory Gems. 38, 36 P 16:40 15 Hotchkiss (Yiala P.) Lessons in Object Dratving. 52 L 4:82 50 Houghton {\\\ i;.) Political Conspectus of U. S. History. 49 (' 18x01... 2 00 Hughes (.Tames L.) t Mistakes in, Teaching. 2". 30, C 16:135 50 t How to Secure and Retain Attention. 27 C 16:98 50 The Teacher's Critic, containing both the above. 27 C 16:235 1 00 Huntington (Rt. Rev. F. D.) Unconscious TnU inn. 21, 27 P 10:15 15 Hutton (11. H.) .4 Manual of Mensuration. 35, 32 B 16:168 50 INTEKLINKAK German Reading-Book, Hamiltonian Method. 43 C l;:!:88 75 Irving (Washington). Rip Van Winkle, with Barley's Illustrations. P 16:.35. 15 Italian and English Correspondence. 44 P 12:90 50 Italian Self-Tanght. (See also Marchetti). 43, 44 P 16:80 40 JACKSON (E. P.) Class Record Cards. 58 90 white and 10 colored cards 50 Jaootot(J()sepli). SfeteAo/, by R. II. Quick. P10:28 15 Jennings (A. V.) Chronological Tables of Ancient History. 48 C 8:120. .. 1 00 Jewell (F. S.) Grammatical Diagrams. 41 C 12:207 75 Johnson's Chart of Astronomy. 46 On enamelled cloth, 40x46 inches.. 3 50 Jones (Richard). TJi.e Growth of the Idyls of the King. C 12:161 1 50 Juliand (Anna M.) Brief Views of U. S. History. 48 L 16:69 35 KAROLY(Akin). ^ T lie Dilemmas of Labor and Education. C 12:77... 100 Kay(David). 1 Education and Educators. C 12:490 2 00 Keller (C.) Monthly Repm^t Cards. .58 25^x4 inches. Per Iniiuh'ed. . . . 100 (0) Kennedy (John). The Philosophy of School Discipline. 27, 30, 31 P 16:23.$ 15 Must Greek Go ? 28 L ICkOG 50 Kiddle (Henry) 3,000 Grammar QvesUow, with Answers 41, 50 C 10:220. 1 00 tKindergarten Essays. S3 C 12:i;5 1 00 Knott (E. E.) The Ready Reference Law 'Slaniia^.. 51 C 8:381 2 00 *tLANDOX (Jos.) School Management. 30 C 16:370 1 25 Lane ( Fred II.) Elementary Greek Education. 15 L 16:85 50 *1Xaiirie (S. S.) John Amos Coinenius 19, 18 C 16:272 1 00 Lawrence (E. C.) Recreations In Ancient Fields. C 12-177 1 00 Lees (James T.) The Claims of Greek. 28 P 8:10 25 Lenstrom (C.) Easy Method of Learning Swedish. •43 C 12:160 1 .55 Lessing (G. E.) German Fables in Prose and Verse. 43 B 12:08 40 Locke (John). .%efcAo/, by R. H. Quick. P 16:27 15 Lowrie (U. W.) How to obtain Greatest Benefit fro7n a Book. 42 P 8:12.. 25 Lund (II.) Method of Learning Danish and Norwegian. 12:135, $1.25: A'ty 25 Lyttleton (E.) The Problem of Home Training. 31 C 12:200 1 50 MAC.VLPINE (Neil). English- Gmlic and GeeUc-English Dictionary. (See also Stewart). 43 C 12:069 3 00 M'Cully's Perforated Erasers. 63. Per doz 1 00 *Mace(W. n.) A Working Manual of American History. 48 10:297... 100 McCosh. (James), t Lfigher Education and a Common Language. 28 (' 8:120 75 M<-Kay (John S.) 100 Experiments in Natural Science. P ]0:,50 15 * Mann (Horace). Thoughts for a Young Man. C 10:241 1 00 Sketch of by W. T. Harris. L 10:50 50 Maps for the Wall. See page 46. Maps, Relief Maps. Switzerland. 46, 44 llxl7J4, $3..50; 23x34, $10.00. Palestine 22x35 10 00 Griffith's Outline Blackboard Maps. 46 Per set 8 00 Dissected Maps. United States sawn into States 75 The Same, New York State sawn into Counties 75 Onondaga County. 46 Cloth, ixAY^ feet 10 00 New York State. 46 Cloth, 61x76 inches 5 00 Outline Maps (6x9) of New York. 45. Per pad of 50 15 Political Maps. See page 46. Marble (A. P.) Powers of School Officers. 51 P 16:27 15 Marchetti (G.) Method of Learning Ralian. 43, 44 C 12:218, $1.20; Key. . 35 Italian Reader, with English Notes. 44 12:128 75 Marenholtz-Buelow (Baroness) School Work-shop. 27 P 16:27 15 \ Child and Child Nature. Frcsbel's Ed'lTheories. 20,23,25 012:207. 1 50 Maudsley (H.) Sex in Mind and Education. 25, 27 P 10:42 15 Maxwell (W. II.) Examinations as Tests for Promotion. 29 P 8:11 15 The Text-Books of Comenius, outs from Orbis Pictus. 19 8:24 '^7> Meese (John D.) Facts in Literature. 42 P 16:38 15 Meiklejotin (J. M. D.) The New Education. 20, 23, 27 L 16:47 50 An. Old Educational Reformer (Dr. Andrew Bell.) 18 16:182 100 Meissner (M.) Method of Learning German. 43 12:238 125 Michael (O. S.) Algebra for Beginners. 35, 56 16:120 75 (T) * Michigan, Government Class Bool: of, Nichols, C 10:308 $1 OO Mill (Jolm Stuart) Inaugural Address at St. Andrews. 29 P 8:31 25 3Iiller (Warner). Education as a DepH of Government. 29 P 8:12 15 Mills (C. De B.) Tlie Tree of Mijthology. C 8:281 3 00 Milue (James M.) Teachers' InsHtutes, Past and Present 15 P 8:22 25 Milton (John). ^4 Small Tractate of Education 27, 28 P 16:26 15 Sketch of by R. H. Quick. P 16:55 15 Minutes of the International Congress of Education. 1889. 28 C 12:4 vols. 5 00 Missouri, Civil Government ff, Northam. 51 C 16:151 75 Monroe (Will S.) \ Labors of Henry Barnard. 18, L 10:.35 50 Morey (Amelia). Outline of Work in Ekmentary Language. 41C1(J:13!). 50 Mottoes for the School Room. 7x14. Per set 1 00 NEW YORK Question Bool, with all the Questions of the Uniform. State, Cornell, Scholarship, and Normal Entrance Examinations, to March 31, 1890, with Answers. 56 8:461. P $1.00 ; C 2 00 The same. Supplement No. 1, to June, 1891. 56 M 8:63 25 The same. Supplement No. 2, to June, 1892. 56 M 8:139 35 T'Ae ^<;a»j«, Supplements Nos. 1 and 2, in one volume. C 8:202 1 00 New York Uniform Questions * The same. Uniform onlv. Supplements No. 3, 1892-3 ; No. 4, 1893-4 ; No. 5, 1894-5; No. 6, 1895-6; No. 7, 1896-7; No. 8, 1897-8; 56, each C. . . . 1 00 * The same, (Inestions in Drawing, 1892-96, 1890-98. 52,56, each, C 16:221 .■ 1 00 ■ TAcsame. Questions in Algebra, Book-keeping, Physics. 56 M 10:05. 25 The same. Questions in American History. 50 'S[ 10:78 25 The same, Questions in Arithmetic. 32, 56 M 16:49 25 The same, + Questions in Civil Gov't, and School Law, 50 M. 10:92.. 25 The same. Questions in Geography. 45, 56 M 16:73 25 The same, tQuestions in Grammar. 56 M 10:75 25 The same. Questions in Methods and School Economy. 50 M 10:05. 25 The sarris. Questions in Physiology. 56 M 16:09. . 25 * State Examination Questions to 1894. C 16:402 1 00 The same, for 1895, 96, 97, 98, each P 16:32 10 Tlie Questions in Book-lceeping, with Answers. 56 P 10:31 . 10 Geography of the Empire State 75 History of the Empire State, Hendrick. 48, 53, 56 C 13:303 75 Civil Government of the State of, Northam. 53 51, 52 C 16:331 75 Code of Public Instruction. Latest edition. 51,53 L 8:107.5 3 50 ■ — yatural History, and Cabinet Reports. Write for information. * >;i<'hols (Chas. 'W.) Government Class-Book of the State of Michigan. C 10:308 1 00 Northam (Henry C.) \ Civil Government of N. Y. .53, 51, 56 C 10:3:31 .. . 75 Tlie same for Missouri. ■ 51 C 10:151 75 ■ Fixing the Facts of American History. 48 C 10:300 75 Conversational Lessons Leading to Gtogruphy. P 10:39 35 Northend (Chas.) Memory Selections. Three Series. 38,36. Each 25 * t The Teacher and Parent. C 16:350 1 00 Nortlirop (B. G.) High Schools. 28, 29 P 8:26 25 Northrup (A. J.) Camps and Tramps in the Adir07idacks. 13 C 10:302. 1 25 (8) Norwegian Self -Taught (See also Lund). 43 P 12:87 $ 40 Number I^essons. On card-board, 7x11, after the Grube Method 10 Numeral Frames. 35 100 balls $1.25 ; 144 balls, $1.50. OSWALD (John). Dicaonary of EnglUh Etymology. 41 C 10:800 3 00 * + PAGE (David P.) The Theory and Practice of Teaching . 23,30,31 10:448 1 00 Palmer (C. S.) PA ywotoj/y C«nte, for Teachers. 37 70 cards, 2J^x3J^ .50 Pardon (Emma L.) Oral Tnsti-vction in Geography. 45 P 10:29 15 Parsons (James Russell, jr.) t Prussian Schools. 15 C 8:91 1 00 t French Schools through American Eyes. 15 V 8:130 1 00 * Patrick (J. N'.) Elements of Pedagogics. C 16:422 1 00 Pedagogical Pebbles. C 10:96 50 Pattee (P. L.) Literature in Public Schools. 29 P 8:48 20 Pa.vne (Joseph). 1 Lectures on the Art of Education. 14 C 10:'.si 100 Payne (W. n.) A Short History of Education. 15 C 10:105 50 Pedagoarieal Primers. Each 25 1. School Management. 30 M 10:45. 2. Letter-Writing. M 10:37... Perez (B.) 1' he First Three Years of Childhood. 20,23, 25 C 10:295 1 50 Tiedtmann's Pecord rf Infant Life. 27, 26 M 10:46 15 Periodicals. The School DulUtin. 12, 50 Jlonthlv, 10 pp., 10x14. Per year " 1 00 Bound Vols. I-XXIV. C 4:;200 pp., each 2 00 The Hamilton Declamation (Quarterly. Bound volume I. 38 C 10:337. 1 00 The School Room. Bound volumes I-V. Each 1 50 Pestalozzi (J. H.) * t His Aim and Work, De Guimps. 20, ISC 10:290. ... 1 50 ,S'fe('t7i 0/, by R. H. Quick. P tC:40 15 * t IfOJV Gertrude Teaches her Children. 20 C 10:400 1 50 * Letters on Early Education. 20 C 10:180 1 00 Pestalozztan Arith7netics. 20 B Is^t Year. 10:217. 2d Year, 10:230. Each 50 Portrait. 63, 20 P 22x28 25 Pick (Dr. E.) Dr. Pick's French Method. 44 L 10:118 1 00 Memory, and tlie Jiationcd Means of Improving it. 25, 44 C 10:193 1 00 Pitcher (James). Outlines of Surveying and Navigation. C 10:121, 50 Plumb (Chas. G.) Map Draioing of New York. M 8:16 25 Pooler (Chas. T.) Chart of Civil Government. 51, 53 P 12x18, per hun. ... 5 00 Illnis on Teaching Orthoepy. 30 P 16:15 10 Prcece (Mrs. Louise). Physical Culture. Illustrated. 37 C 4:292 2 00 Prentice (ilrs. J. B.) Peview Problems In Arithmetic. 57, 33 P 16:93 20 Key to the above. 57, 32 P 16:20 25 Review Questions in Geography. 57, 45 P 16:48 15 Primers of School Management and of Letter-Writing. 30 M pp. 45, 37. Each 25 * QUICK (R. H.) Essays on Educaiional Reformers. 16, 15, 18 C 12:331 .. 1 00 KANDALL-DIEHL, CMrs.Anna). A Practical Delsarte Primer. 36 C 16:00 50 Rask (E ) Easy Mtthod of Learning Icelandic. 43 12:126 1 25 Kedway (J. W.) School Geography of Pennsylvania. 45 L 16:98 35 Regents' Examination Paper. 58. Per 1,000 half-sheets 2 00 Examination Record. 58. For 432 scholars, $3.00 ; 864 scholars. 6 00 Examination Syllabus, in U. S. History. 49, 58. P per dozen 50 ■ (!') First Year Latin. Coemr's Conspiracy. 57 P 10:30 10 Questions to June, 1882. 57 Eleven editions. 1. Complete with Key. 57 016:476 2 00 2. Complete. Same as above, but witliout the answers. Pp. 333. . . 1 00 3. Arithmetic. The 1,393 questions in Arithmetic. 3S M 16:93 25 4. Key to A rithmetic. Answers to tlie above. M 16:20 25 5. Georjraphy. The 1,987 questions in Geography. 56, 45 M 16:70.. 25 6. Key to Geography. Answers to the above. M 16:;36 25 7. Grammar. The 2,976 questions in Grammar. M 10:109 25 8. Grammar and Key. 41 C 16:198 1 00 9. Key to Grammar. M 16:88 25 \0. Spelling. The 4,800 words given in Spelling. M 10:61 25 Entire Questions, all subjects (no answers), for years 1892-93, 93-94. 94-95, 95-96, 96-97, 97-98, 49. C 85:424, 500. 57 Eacll 1 00 Selections in American, German, and French Literature. 57, 42. 43, 44 L 10:93. 25 cents. With music, 35 cts, Eacli language separate, P. 10 * t Rein (^V^) Outlines of Pedagogics. 24 16:233 1 25 KeinhartCA.) Ne(ilect of Bodily Development of American Youth. 37 P 8:15 25 Richardson (B. \V.) Learning and Health. 27 P 10:39 15 Robinson (A. II .) Xumeral School Register. 58 M 3:16 35 Rooper (T. G.) 1 Apperception, or '" A Pot cf Green Feathers". 25 L 16:59 50 1 Object Teaching, or Words and Things. 40, 20 L 16:56 50 Rosevear (Elizabetli). t A Mamtcd of Needlewerk, Knitting, and Cut- ting Out. 16:136 ; 00 Rousseau (J. J.) Siffc^ of, by R. 11. Quick. P 16:30 15 Russian Conversation Book (See also Alexandrow). 43 24:130.. 75 Ryan (G. W.) School Pecord. 56 P 58 blanks on each of 14 sheets 50 SABIN (Heiu-y). " Organization " vs. " Individuality.'" 29 P 8:9 25 Salvo (D.) Metliod of Learning Spanish. 43, 44 C 12.216, $1.20 ; Key. P 13:33 25 Spanish and English Idiomatic Phrases. 43. 44 24:100 75 - — Spanish and English Commercial Correspondence. 43, 44 P 13: 109 50 Sanf ord (H. R ) The Word Method in Number. 34, .35 6x3, 45 cards. ... 50 — The Limited Speller. 56 L 16:104 35 Sayce (A. H.) An Assy Han Grammar. 43 12:204 3 00 Schepmoes (A. E.) Rise of the New York School System. L 16:32 35 SchiUer (J. 0. F. von). Marie Stuart. 43 B 10:103 40 Bie Jungfrau ron Orleans. 43 B 16 : 157 40 Wilhelm Tell. 43 B 10:165 40 Der Neffeals Onkd. 43 B 16:72 40 • Scliool Room Classics. 27 P 16:40, each ,. . 15 I. Huntington's Unconscious Tui- tion. IT. Fitch's Art of Questioning. III. Kennedy s Philosophy of School Biscipiine, IV. Fitch's Art of Securing Atten- tion. V. Richardson's Learning and nealth. VI. Meikle.iohn's New Education. VII. Milton's Tractate of Education. VIII. Von Buelow's School Work- shop. IX. Maudsley's Sex in Mind and in Education. X. Education as Viewed by Think- ers. XI. Harris'.s Horace Mann. XII. Dickinson's Oral Teacfiing. XIII. Tiedemann's Record of Infani Life. XIV. Butler's Tlace of Comenius in Education. XV. Harris's Theory of Education. (10) Schreber(D. G. 11.) Home Exercise fm- Ilealih and Cure. 37 C li;:f)l.. .$ no Shaw's Scholar's Recjister. 58 I' 12:10. Per doz 50 Sheldon (Edward A.) Port rait. C3 P 22x28 1 00 Sherrill (J. E.) The Normal QvesHon Book. V 12:lor) 1 00 Shirriff (Emily), f The Kindergarten System. 23 O 12:200 1 50 Skinner (c'has. li.) The Arbor Day Manual. 38, 13, 36, C 8:175 2 50 The New York Quesiion Book. C 8:461. See Neiv Yo7-k 2 00 Smith (C. F.) Honorary Degrees in American Colleges. 29 P 8:9 15 (Edward). Histary of the Schools of Syrgctise. 15 C 8:ai7 3 00 (Geo. M.) Vocabulary to Coisar's Gallic War. 57 C 16:07 50 (Wm.) Geometry Test I'apers 35 P Packase of 100, 8i,ijxlo 1 00 Song Biulsret, The. 250th Thousand. 60 P s 1:70 15 Century, The. 107tli Thousand. 60 P s 4:s; v> Patriot, l^ie. 130th Thousand. 60 P s 4:S0 15 Budget Music Scries, including all the above. (iO C pp. 243 50 Gymnast, The. (id. 37 10:100 50 Songs from Arbor Uay Manual. 00, 37 M 8:00 25 of the Lyeeuni Leagvie. 00 L 4:48 20 Sonnensehein's Cyclopaedia of Education. 14 (' 8:.562 3 75 Sornberger (S. J ) Nortnal Language Lessons, 41 15 16:75 50 Southwiek (.\. P.) Twenty Dime Question /foo/.', with full answers. Ties, etc. 59, 57 P 10:40. Each 10 notes, queri Eleuaentary Series 3. Physiology. .56 4. Theory and Praot ice. 30 6. U. S. History and Civil Gov't. 48 10. Algebra. 13. American Literature. 42 14. Gramniiir. 41 15. Ortho£;raphy&Etymoloory. 36. 11 18. Arithmetic. 32 19. Physical and Political Geotr. 45 20. Reading and Punctuation. 41 *The 10 in one book, C $1.00 Advanced Series, 1. Physics. 56 2. (ieneral Literature. 42 5. General History. 48 7. Astronomv. 8. :\Ivtholoj,''y. 9. Rhetoric. 41 11. Botany. 12. Zooloi:y. 16. Chemistry. 17. (leoloiiy. *'i"he 10 in one book, C $1.00 E.r.tra numbers, edited by C. W. Bardeen. 21. Temperance Physi- ology, 50 ; 22. Book-Keeping, 56 ; 2:3. Letter- Writing, 41. Each.. 10 Qufzzism. Quirks and Quibbles from Queer Quarters. P 16:25 25 A Qui- Book of Theory and Practice. 30. C 12:220 1 00 Spanish and English Correspondence. 43, 44 P 12:109 50 Spanisli Self-Taught (See also Salvo). 43, 44 P 10:84 40 •t Spencer (Herbert). Education. 24, 14. C 10:331 100 Spinoza (Benedict de). On the Training of the Intellect. 25 12:102... 100 ♦Standard Teachers' Library. 13 Includes all tho.se starred. * Stanley (A. P.) Life of Thomas Arnold. 18 C 16:252 1 00 Stanton (Th.) The Woman Question in Europe. C 8.190 3 50 t State Kducation for the People. 15 C 8:176 1 25 Steven, (Wm.) History of the Edinburgh High School. 15,28 16:590.... 2 00 Stewart (Alex). Elements of Gcelic Grammar {^ea'SlACAi.vm-E). C 16:20(' 1 00 Stilwell (Lament). Practical Question Book. C 12:400 ] .50 Stone (Isaac). The Teacher's E.va7niner, C 12:214 7.5 Straight (H. H.) Aspects of Industrial Education. 29 P 8:12 15 (11) 4 Swedish Conversation Book (See also Lensteo.m). 43 C lG:l-}2 "75', Swett (John). Manual of Elocution. 36 C 13:M0 ... 1 r.Cr. Syllabvis of the Regents'' Examinations in U. S. Jliston/. for each exam- ination. 49, 58 P 8:4 05 TARRING (C. J.) Practical Elementarrj Turkish Grammar. 43 C 12:014. 2 00 * t Tate (Th< )S.) The rhilosophy of Education. 14 C 16:400 1 50 Taylor (H. L.) Union School Record Cards oxS inches. Per hundred.. 2 00 *t Teacher's Mentor, The. 21 C 16:274 1 00 Thimiu (P.) Manual of Convermt'on. in 'Fom-Jjaivjiuages. 43 P 16:226. 60 7'he Literature of Oei'mamj. 43 C 12:264 1 00 Thomas (Flavel S.) University Degrees. 29 P 16:40 15 Thousand Questions in U. S. History. 48 C 16:200 1 00 Thoughts from Earnest Women. P 16:36 15 Thring (Edward). Addresses, ivith Portrait. 16:203 100 Thurber (Sam'l). English Routine in Schools. V 16:23 15 Tiedemann (D.) Record of Infant Life. 26, 27 P 16:46 15 Tilling:ha.«t ( VVm.) The Diadem of School Songs. 60 B s 4:100 50 Turkish Self-Taught (See also Taeeing). 43 C 12:144 1 25 UNDERAVOOD (L. M.) Systematic Plan t Record. M 4:52 30 Uniform Kxaiuination Paper, for Commissioners. 500 sheets 2 50 Examination Questions. See Xew York. VAN WIE (C. B.) Outlines in U. S. History. P 16:40 and map 15 Development Helps. 31 L 16:100 50 Methods in Common Branches. 31 C 16:197 75 Vincent (John H.) i A Study in Pedagogy. C 12:73 75 Vlachos(A.) Method of Learning Modern Greek. 43 C 12:144, $1.25; Key. 25 WEAVER (E. W.) Pictures in Language Work, 41 C 8:110 50 Welch (iMuma). InttDnediate Arithmetic Problems. 32 16:172 50 ■ Key to aljove, 16:30 50 Wells (0. R.) Natural movement Series of Writing Books. 52 Nos. 1, 2, per dozen 84 cts. Nos. 3-6, per dozen 96 Manual of the Movement 3rei hod in Writing. 52 P 4:44. Rl 25 A Lesson on Arm Movement in Writing. P 8:32 25