G^THE 
 
 SCHOOL BULLETIN PUBLICATIONS. 
 
 This series of Books for Teachers began with the issue in 1875 of 
 Common School Law for Common School Teachers. Within six years 
 more than one hundred books were issued, with an aggregate sale 
 exceeding three hundred thousand copies. That no teacher's library 
 is fairly complete without at least several of these books is com- 
 monly admitted, and the titles of some of the more important are 
 hereto appended, those most recently published being in CAPITALS. 
 
 Besides his own publications, the undersigned deals largely in all 
 Teacher's Supplies. He makes a specialty of works on Pedagogy; in 
 other words, of works intended for the use of Teachers, as distin- 
 guished from Educational Text-Books. His catalogue of over 400 
 such works will be sent for two three-cent stamps; and he will endeavor 
 to fill promptly and cheaply orders for any American or English 
 publications of this character. It is his intention to keep constantly 
 in stock every reputable pedagogical book now published; and he 
 also keeps close watch of auction sales, both in this country and 
 abroad, in order to secure such works as are now "out of print." but 
 which have present or historical value. Correspondence is solicited, 
 and will receive attention. C. W. BARDEEN, Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
 Agalite S' 
 
 new re^ 
 
 deen. 
 
 POST-1 
 
 satis/acj 
 To cove 
 10') fee 
 200 feel 
 400 feel 
 
 Aids to S« 
 
 Checks, 
 
 i Library of ™™^ 
 
 .p. W. Bar- 
 
 
 \in tin boxes 
 (ted to give 
 
 L 
 
 
 1NITED STATES OP AMERICA* 
 
 1 00 
 1 75 
 3 25 
 6 00 
 jficates, 120 
 ^jwuj, iuu (jijj^io tii-na x-a«*xit irrar«iwr j J' Per box.. 1 25 
 Supplied separately, per hundred, Half Merits, 15 cts; Cards, 
 15cts; Checks, 40 cts; Certificates, 50 cts. 
 Alden (Joseph) First Principles of Political Economy. Cloth, 16 
 
 mo., pp. 153 75 
 
 Bradford (W. H.) The Thirty Possible Problems of Percentage. 
 embracing a full and exhaustive discussion of the theory of 
 General Percentage, with one hundred illustrative examples. 
 Second edition, revised and enlarged. Flexible Cloth, 16mo., 
 pp. 34 25 
 
Barcleen (C. W.) Common School Law. A digest of statute and 
 common law as to the relations of the Teacher to the Pupil, 
 the Parent, and the District. With 400 references to legal 
 decisions in 21 different states. To which are added the 
 1400 questions given at the first seven New York Examina- 
 tions for State Certificates. 7th thousand. Cloth, 12mo., pp. 
 
 188 and Appendix 50 
 
 Roderick Hume. The story of a New York Teacher. Cloth, 
 
 16mo., pp. 295 1 25 
 
 Beehe (Levi N.) First Steps among Figures. A Drill Book in the 
 Fundamental Rules of Arithmetic, based upon the Grube Meth- 
 od. Teacher's Edition. Cloth, 16mo., pp. 326 1 00 
 
 Pupil's Edition. Cloth, 16mo. , pp. 143 45 
 
 Buckham (Henry B.) HANDBOOKS FOR YOUNG TEACH- 
 ERS. No 1, FIRST STEPS. Cloth, 24 mo., pp. 152 75 
 
 No. 2, Lessons and Discipline. In preparation. 
 
 ! Bulletin Blank Speller. Designed by Principal H. B. Buckham, 
 
 Buffalo Normal School. Boards,5fx7|, round corners, pp. 40 15 
 — Book-Keeping Blanks. Day-Book, Journal, Ledger, Cash Book, 
 Sales Book. In sets or singly. Press board, 7x8£, pp. 28 15 
 
 Composition Book. Designed by Principal H. B. Buckham, 
 
 Buffalo Normal School. Manilla, 7x9, pp. 34 15 
 
 Class Register. Designed by Edward Smith, Superintendent of 
 
 Schools, Syracuse, N. Y. Press board covers, Two Sizes, (a) 
 6x7, for terms of twenty weeks, (b) 5x7, for terms of fourteen 
 weeks. When not otherwise specified the smaller size is always 
 sent. Pp.48 25 
 
 School Ruler, marked on one side by inches and metres, and 
 
 containing on the back an immense amount of condensed sta- 
 tistical information. Two Styles, (a) Manilla, 12 inch, (b) Card- 
 board, 6 inch. Each 3 cts. Per hundred 1 00 
 
 i Colored Crayon, for Blackboard, per box of one dozen, nine 
 different colors— Red, orange, yellow, green, lake, brown, 
 
 light brown, blue, lilac 25 
 
 Common School Thermometer, in box, post-paid 50 
 
 < Cooke (Sidney G.) Politics and Schools. Paper, 8vo., pp. 23 25 
 
 i Craig" (Asa H.) The Question Book. A general review of Com- 
 mon School Studies, to be read in schools in connection with 
 text-books. , Invaluable to teachers as a means of giving a 
 Normal Training. 42d Thousand. Cloth, 12mo., pp. 340 _T_. 1 50 
 
 ! Davis (W. W.) FRACTIONAL APPARATUS, consisting of 
 eight wooden balls, three inches in diameter, one whole, 
 and the others divided respectively into halves, thirds, 
 quarters, sixths, eighths, tenths and twelfths. In wooden box, 4 00 
 
 A MANUAL OF SUGGESTIONS FOR TEACHING 
 
 FRACTIONS, specially designed to accompany a Fractional 
 Apparatus for developing the idea of Fractions Paper, 12mo,, 
 PP 43 25 
 
SCHOOL BULLETIN PUBLICATIONS 
 
 MISTAKES 
 
 TEACHING, 
 
 V 
 
 JAMES Ur HUGHES, 
 H 
 
 Inspector of Public Schools, Toronto, Canada. 
 
 " If a teacher at all times keep a high aim steadily before 
 him. and struggle incessantly to retain it in spite of repeated 
 failures, his tery Mistakes, carefully noted and thought- 
 fully corrected, will lead to gradual improvement and ultimate 
 excellence." J. R. BLAKISTON. 
 
 Second Edition, with Contents and Index. 
 
 SYRACUSE, N. Y. : 
 C. W. Bardeen, Publisher, 
 
 188^ /3ft/o -; 
 
 Copyright, 1881, by C. W. Bardeen. 
 
Notices of Former Editions. 
 
 For young teachers I know of no book that contains, in the same compass, .so 
 much matter directly bearing on their work, and capable of being immediately 
 utilized. They cannot make a better investment of fifty cents. M. A. Newell, 
 State Supt., Maryland. 
 
 I have never seen a book of more practical value to teachers. At what rate, can 
 I procure twenty-five copies ? B. B. Snow, City Supt., Auburn, N. Y. 
 
 The " Mistakes in Teaching " has come and I have read it with interest. It is 
 a useful book, and should be in the hands of all teachers. It points out clearly 
 those things in which nearly all o*' us are guilty. I hope the book may meet a 
 ready and extensive sale. B. M. Reynolds, Supt. Schools, Fairbault, Minne- 
 sota. 
 
 Mr. Hughes evidences in this little manual the good results of careful observa- 
 tion and a thorough study of the philosophy of instruction, and shows practically 
 how to avoid the mistakes young and inexperienced teachers ate liable to make. In 
 this book he has condensed an immense amount of sound advice. We advise every 
 teacher to invest fifty cents in the purchase of this useful volume. New England 
 Journal of Education. 
 
 It will help any teacher to read this book and find out his own mistakes with a 
 view toward correcting them. New York School Journal. 
 
 All young teachers will find the book a help in their work— one of the best to 
 be had. Educational WeekIy. 
 
 We know of no book containing more valuable suggestions to teachers. Central 
 School Journal. 
 
 It contains more hints of practical value to teachers than any book of its size 
 known to us. Ohio Educational Monthly. 
 
 Clearly presented and distinctly expressed, and cannot fail to be useful to any 
 young teacher. The Schoolmaster, London. 
 
 Admirably executed. Educational Times, London. 
 
 In the elementary work of the first year in didactics, Mistakes in Teaching 
 has been recommended. It is believed that " the first step toward progress in any 
 department of work is to learn to avoid the mistakes one is liable to make. Young 
 teachers, before they begin to teach, should know the rocks that lie in their course." 
 A hundred common and almost universal errors in school management, discipline 
 method and manner, are here pointad out and corrected. Prof. S. N. Fellows, 
 Iowa University, in article on Normal Institutes,"IowA Normal Monthly. 
 
 In accordance with the above recommendation, nearly TEN THOUSAND 
 copies have been ordered for the Iowa County Institutes of 1881. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 Many good books have been written on 
 the subject of teaching. Most of them, 
 however, are too theoretical to be of much 
 practical use to teachers in Public Schools. 
 A knowledge of the general principles of 
 education is desirable, but a thorough ac- 
 quaintance with the details of school work 
 is essential to success in teaching. Famil- 
 iarity with the general principals of navi- 
 gation would be of little service to a 
 Captain on the Mississippi. 
 
 The first step toward progress in any 
 department of work, is to learn to avoid 
 the mistakes one is liable to make. Young 
 teachers should know the rocks which lie 
 in their course before they begin to teach. 
 Experience will then show how to shun 
 them. 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 A long experience in the training of 
 teachers convinced the author that men 
 of different ages and nationalities fall into 
 the same errors in management, discipline 
 and method. To point out some of these 
 is the aim of this book. A similar manual 
 may be expected which will treat of the 
 mistakes made in teaching particular sub- 
 jects. 
 
 Toronto, December, 1879. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 MISTAKES IN SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 
 
 I. Neglect of sundry details , , . . . 9 
 
 1. Entering school-room in line 11 
 
 2. Erect position in standing and walking 11 
 (a) But no walking on the toes. . . .... 12 
 
 3. Lightness of step on stairs 12 
 
 4. Standing while reciting 13 
 
 5. Book in left hand while reading 13 
 
 6. Near-sightedness avoided 14 
 
 7. No leaning permitted 14 
 
 8. Order in passing copy-books, etc. . 15 
 
 9. Neatness, cleanliness, punctuality 15 
 
 10. Leaving seat only by permission 16 
 
 11. A best way to do things 16 
 
 II. Yard supervision 17 
 
 III. Mingling with pupils at play 18 
 
 IV. Repressing youthful activities 21 
 
 V. Standing too near the class 22 
 
 VI. Taking hold of the pupil 23 
 
 VII. Giving too many demerit marks 23 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 VIII. Censuring trifling errors severely 24 
 
 IX. Continual grumbling 25 
 
 X. Whispering under plea of "assisting " 27 
 
 1. Cannot be so restricted 27 
 
 2. Children cannot teach each other 27 
 XI. Allowing disorder at recess 29 
 
 XII. Invoking higher authority 30 
 
 XIII. Giving of evidence not tale-bearing. . 31 
 
 XIV. Tardiness on part of the teacher. ... 33 
 XV. Carelessness in personal habits 34 
 
 XVI. Sitting while teaching 35 
 
 XVII. Commauds instead of suggestions. . . 36 
 
 XVIII. Notifying parents. . 37 
 
 XIX. Annoying parents unnecessarily 39 
 
 XX. Temper in dealing with parents ... 40 
 
 XXI. Disputing with parent before scholars 43 
 
 XXII. Spiteful remarks about parents 44 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE. 
 
 XXIII. Teaching without good order 45 
 
 XXIV. Securing vs. maintaining order 46 
 
 1. The teacher should be Argus-eyed 47 
 
 2. Must punish with decision 47 
 
 3. Must be master of his pupils. ... 48 
 XXV. Children do not want their own way 50 
 
 XXVI. Order does not mean stillness 50 
 
 XXVII. Do not startle class into order 51 
 
 XXVIII. The noisy teacher 52 
 
 XXIX. Disorder begins with individuals. ... 53 
 
 XXX. Few rules 53 
 
 XXXI. The best discipline undemonstrative. 55 
 
CONTENTS. Vll 
 
 XXXII. Her voice was ever soft ; gentle and 
 
 low. 58 
 
 XXXIII. Children should not sit still 60 
 
 XXXIV. No play in the schoolroom 62 
 
 XXXV. The bell not a signal for order. ... 64 
 
 XXXVI. Class should be kept in sight 65 
 
 XXXVII. Discipline should be invariable. .. . 66 
 
 XXXVIII. First control thyself 68 
 
 XXXIX. Pupils should control themselves. . 69 
 
 XL. . An order given must be obeyed ... 70 
 XLI. Disorderly propensities not to be 
 
 assumed 71 
 
 XLII. Ridicule not a means of discipline. . 72 
 
 XLIII. No punishment without explanation 73 
 
 XLIV. Whipping nut simply disciplinary. . 77 
 
 XLV. Whipping not a formality 78 
 
 XLVI. No pulling ears, slapping and the 
 
 like * 78 
 
 1. It indicates bad temper and in- 
 humanity 79 
 
 2. Explanation should precede. .. . 79 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 MISTAKES IN METHOD. 
 
 XLVII. Do not question in rotation 80 
 
 XLVIII. The question before naming the 
 
 pupil 80 
 
 XLIX. Question should not be repeated. . 81 
 L. Attention not to be fixed on pupil 
 
 reciting ...... 82 
 
 LI. Rid yourself of slavery to text-books 82 
 
 LII. Explain lessons before assigning. . , 83 
 
 LIII. Do not expect too much home-work 82 
 
 LIV, When lesson has been given, test it. 86 
 
Vlll 
 
 LV. 
 LVI. 
 LVII. 
 
 LVIII. 
 
 LIX. 
 
 LX. 
 
 LXI. 
 
 LXII. 
 
 LXIII. 
 
 LXIV. 
 
 LXV. 
 
 LXVI. 
 
 LXVII. 
 
 LXVIII. 
 
 LXIX. 
 
 LXX. 
 
 LXXI. 
 
 LXXII. 
 
 LXXIII. 
 
 LXXIV. 
 
 LXXV. 
 
 LXXVI. 
 
 LXXVII. 
 
 LXXVIII. 
 
 LXXIX. 
 
 LXXX. 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Do not continue lesson too long .... 87 
 
 Teaching once not sufficient 87 
 
 Repetition, repetition, repetition. . . 89 
 Detecting errors does not correct. . 90 
 
 One correction not enough 92 
 
 Not too many points in one lesson . 93 
 
 Indefiniteness in teaching 94 
 
 Smart pupils need least attention. . 95 
 Do not give information too soon. . 96 
 
 Do not use objects in reviewing 98 
 
 Do not accept partial answers 98 
 
 Do not repeat every answer 100 
 
 Vary in methods of presenting 100 
 
 Do not talk too much 101 
 
 Avoid sesquipedalious 102 
 
 Give ideas before words 102 
 
 Do not simplify too far 103 
 
 Make pupils work for themselves . . 105 
 The teacher's golden rule 109 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MISTAKES IN MANNER. 
 
 Don't scold 121 
 
 Don't threaten 121 
 
 Don't grumble 122 
 
 Don't be hasty 122 
 
 Show animation 133 
 
 Avoid cold formality 124 
 
 Do not assume to be immaculate. . .125 
 Index 129 
 
Mistakes in Teaching, 
 chapter I. 
 
 Mistakes in School Management. 
 
 It is a mistake to neglect the details 
 Of school management. What are re- 
 garded by many as " minor points," un- 
 worthy of attention, in reality form the 
 distinction between a well-managed and a 
 poorly conducted school. Minor points 
 they may be, but the mistake consists in 
 regarding them as therefore unimportant. 
 Mr. J. R. Blakiston, one of the most 
 thoughtful of Her Majesty's Inspectors of 
 Schools in England, says: "The least 
 gifted may take heart when he bethinks 
 him, that success in school management 
 
10 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 depends mainly on watchful and unremitting 
 attention to little deta Is and on conscientiously 
 grappling with every difficulty as it arises." 
 Without system no management can be 
 complete, and in this case the paradoxical 
 rule, the lesser includes the greater, is the 
 correct one. 
 
 He who is careful in the details of school 
 management will, in nearly all cases, at- 
 tend carefully to matters of larger scope. 
 He who attends to the " minor " points will 
 not need to attend to so many weighty 
 matters, because .they will not turn up. 
 The principle of " take care of the pence 
 and the pounds will take care of them- 
 selves " applies in school management. 
 There can be no doubt that uniform atten- 
 tion to particulars in connection with the 
 deportment of the pupils in the yard, in 
 line, and in the school-room, is a most 
 valuable disciplinary agent in forming 
 their characters. Habits are formed which 
 will do much to decide the degree of suc- 
 cess to which the pupils will attain, when 
 they become men and women. 
 
 Among the "minor" matters to which 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. II 
 
 it is of vital importance to attend are the 
 following : 
 
 1 . Lining the pupils at the close of all re- 
 cesses and marching them in regular order to 
 their school-rooms. This should be done in 
 a unitorm manner, and without haste, 
 pushing or any disorder. For lining, a 
 walk a single plank in width may be laid 
 down for each class, if the whole yard is 
 not planked. 
 
 2. Pupils should be taught to stand and walk 
 with the head erect, shoulders well back, hands 
 at the sides, and eyes to the front. The habit 
 of walking with the hands behind, while 
 it keeps the shoulders back, unfits the 
 pupils for walking properly, on the street, 
 in the drawing-room, or in the ranks as 
 soldiers. The experienced authors of How 
 to Teach, say well : " Education is unfin- 
 ished until the physical powers are brought 
 into subjection to the understanding and 
 the dictates of morality and social refine- 
 ment. Children should be taught how to sit, 
 to stand, to move, to walk. Rules are required 
 for this; but they need to be only few and 
 simple, and the nice and watchful observa- 
 
12 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 tion of children renders it quite easy to 
 enforce them, provided they are not 
 capriciously applied. Children must first 
 be taught them, and then never permitted 
 to violate them without admonition or 
 correction." 
 
 // is wrong to tell pupils to " ivalk on 
 their toes." This is very often done by 
 young teachers in order to prevent noise. 
 In fact, School Boards sometimes give di- 
 rections in their rules to have pupils walk 
 in this way. It is not right to do so : ( \) 
 because it makes pupils hobble; (2) be- 
 cause it leads to the turning in of the toes 
 in an awkward manner ; and (1) because it 
 prevents an easy and elegant gait in walk- 
 ing. Pupils can walk naturally without 
 making noise, and they should be com- 
 pelled to do so. 
 
 3. They should be taught how to go up and 
 down stairs. Most pupils go up or down 
 three steps, while they ought to go but 
 one. Two or three lines can walk on a 
 proper school stair- way side by side, and 
 thus no time will be lost by a steady uni- 
 form step, Rapidity of step is, however, 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 1 3 
 
 by no means the worst evil in the walking 
 of pupils on a stair-case. It will take a 
 great deal of care and watchfulness to se- 
 cure proper lightness of step. Pupils are 
 inclined to stamp, when marching in time 
 on a floor, or in any place where they can 
 make a good deal of noise. They step as 
 though striking snow from their heels in 
 winter. They must be trained to hold the 
 feet with the muscles of their lower ex- 
 tremities and place them gently in the 
 proper positions, instead ot allowing them 
 to drop like inanimate weights. 
 
 4. They should be made to stand up to 
 answer questions or to read. Common 
 politeness would require this. The change 
 from the sitting posture, will be of great 
 physical advantage to the pupils. The 
 vocal organs have freer play when the 
 pupil is standing than while sitting. 
 Standing up should be done promptly. 
 The pupil should not roll up or grow up. 
 
 5 . They should be taught to hold the book in 
 the left hand when standing to read. " Book 
 in left hand, right foot slightly drawn 
 back," is the uniform rule given by au- 
 
14 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 thorities for the position of a reader. If 
 the book is held in both hands, it is 
 usually brought much too close to the eyes, 
 and the tendency is to round the shoulders. 
 
 6. All work should be kept far enough from 
 the eye. Near-sightedness is frightfully on 
 the increase. Statistics carefully made in 
 Europe and America show that, while 
 only a fractional percentage of children 
 are afflicted with myopia when they enter 
 school, about 60 per cent, of those who 
 leave it at eighteen are more or less affect- 
 ed by it. This is a startling statement, 
 and ought to cause every humane teacher 
 to consider carefully what he can do to 
 avert such a dreadful result. He can at 
 least try to have plenty of light admitted 
 to the school-room, only from the left side of 
 the pupils, or from left of rear, and never 
 from the front. He can also by constant 
 watchfulness insist that the eyes should be 
 kept far enough irom slates, reading books, 
 copy books, etc. 
 
 7 . If pupils are brought out in classes, they 
 should stand in line, not lean against the wall, 
 or on desks, etc. In fact whenever a pupil 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 1$ 
 
 stands up in school he should stand on 
 both feet and avoid leaning. 
 
 8. The passing of copy books, pens, etc., 
 should be done in a precise and orderly manner. 
 Writing books should be collected by- 
 being passed along the rows from side to 
 side, and taken up by one monitor after 
 they have been passed. He should turn 
 the piles on the several desks "end to 
 end," so that he can place them readily on 
 again when required. They should always 
 be handed from pupil to pupil in the same 
 order, so that they might be passed with 
 every eye in the room blindfolded, and 
 yet each pupil receive his own book with 
 unerring certainty. 
 
 9. Habits of neatness, cleanliness and punctu- 
 ality should be insisted on. These may do 
 more for the pupils than the mere knowl- 
 edge imparted in school. No paper or 
 rubbish of any kind should be allowed 
 to litter the floor. Each pupil should be 
 responsible for the part of the floor nearest 
 to his own desk. The teacher should fre- 
 quently examine the desks of his pupils to 
 see that they arrange their books properly. 
 
l6 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 10. No pupil should be allowed to leave his 
 seat without permission. If one has this 
 privilege all must be allowed to do so, and 
 all might choose to do so at the same time. 
 Monitors may have a standing permission 
 to attend to their duties without referring 
 to their teachers every day. 
 
 1 1 . The pupils should have a uniform 
 method of doing certain things. "Oh dear ! 
 you will destroy their originality and 
 make them mere machines by compelling 
 them to do everything in a fixed way." 
 So talk some teachers who are unable to 
 control their classes, and have therefore 
 to find some excuse for their neglect. 
 Does system wrevent the exercise of 
 originality ? Will methodical habits cramp 
 the "free exercise of individuality?" 
 Any originality or individuality so tram- 
 melled, must be of an evil nature which 
 ought to be restricted. 
 
 Pupils should place slate and books on 
 their desks in exactly the same way. 
 There must be one way, which is less 
 noisy and more appropriate than others. 
 Let the teacher decide on the best plan of 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 17 
 
 doing the work, and then carry it out in 
 the most regular manner. There should 
 be an unvarying signal for each move- 
 ment in taking or returning books, clean- 
 ing, and passing pens, etc. The aim 
 should be to save time and avoid noise ; 
 anything more than this is " over-drill." 
 
 It is a mistake to omit yard super- 
 vision. Pupils who are not controlled'in 
 the yard, are not easily managed in the 
 school-room. If children learn evil habits 
 or hear impure or profane language at 
 school, they do so chiefly during the re- 
 cesses. The presence of the teacher in 
 the play-ground should restrain what is 
 wrong, without in any way checking the 
 interest in healthful sports and innocent 
 recreation. Rough games which interfere 
 with the comfort of those not engaged in 
 them, or endanger the limbs of those who 
 are playing, would not be indulged in 
 under the eye of the teacher. Without 
 marching up and down with the air of a 
 soldier on guard, he prevents wanton 
 destruction of school property, or inten- 
 tional injury to clothing, such as kicking 
 
i8 
 
 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 of hats, and secures due attention to 
 propriety of language and courtesy of 
 manner. 
 
 It is a mistake for the teacher to 
 hold himself aloof from his pupils 
 while they are playing. The presence 
 of the teacher in the yard should have a 
 double effect : it should repress the evil 
 and develop the good. The child never 
 reveals his whole nature as he does when 
 playing- His physical, mental and moral 
 powers are all then called into vigorous 
 exercise. Professor Payne says : '* But 
 has the instinct for play no deeper signifi- 
 cance? Is it appointed by the Supreme 
 Being merely to fill up time? — merely to 
 form an occasion for fruitless exercise? — 
 merely to end in itself? No! I see now 
 that it is the constituted means for the un- 
 folding of all the child's powers. It is 
 through play that he learns the use of his 
 limbs, of all his bodily organs, and with 
 this use gains health and strength. 
 Through play he comes to know the ex- 
 ternal world, the physical qualities of the 
 objects which surround him, their motions, 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 19 
 
 action, and reaction upon each other, and 
 the relation of these phenomena to him- 
 self; a knowledge which forms the basis 
 of that which will be his permanent stock 
 for life. Through play, involving asso- 
 ciateship and combined action, he begins 
 to recognize moral relations, to feel that 
 he cannot live for himself alone, that he is 
 a member of a community, whose rights 
 he must acknowledge if his own are to be 
 acknowledged. In and through play, more- 
 over, he learns to contrive means for 
 securing his ends; to invent, construct, 
 discover, investigate, to bring by imagina- 
 tion the remote near, and, further, to 
 translate the language of facts into the 
 language of words, to learn the conven- 
 tionalities of his mother-tongue. Play, 
 then, I see, is the means by which the 
 entire being of the child develops and 
 grows into power, and, therefore, does not 
 end in itself." 
 
 Dr. Harris says : " There is a great deal of 
 talk about utilizing play, but play, strictly 
 as play, should not be utilized; there]should 
 be room for the spontaneous play of the 
 child, with no restraint whatever." 
 
20 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 The teacher who fails to recognize these 
 facts and make the most of them, never 
 becomes acquainted with his pupils 
 thoroughly, and fails to obtain his most 
 natural control over them. In every sit- 
 uation, except in the play-ground, there is 
 some portion of the child's nature veiled. 
 How important then that, instead of check- 
 ing the playful spirit of innocent and 
 healthful childhood, the teacher should 
 have sufficient sympathy for it to develop 
 it and turn it into right channels. What 
 true dignity there is, too, in the playing 
 of the full-grown man with the head of an 
 adult, and the heart and spirit of a boy ! 
 How different is this genuine dignity from 
 the enamelled variety which cannot bend 
 without cracking, and exposing the coarser 
 or weaker material beneath. The teacher 
 who cannot play with his pupils without 
 " putting on the brakes" is to be pitied. 
 One of the most valid reasons for not 
 placing large boys in the charge ot a female 
 teacher is, that she cannot, as a rule, take 
 part in their games and exercises. 
 
 It is a mistake to be continually re- 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 21 
 
 pressing the activities of childhood. 
 
 There are three classes of educators. One 
 dams up the fountains of the free tendencies 
 of childhood, and turns the stagnant waters 
 back upon the child life, so that they drown 
 it Out ; another goes to the other extreme^ 
 and says, " Let Dame Nature have her way 
 unrestrained, let childhood unfold itself." 
 He lets the waters flow freely enough, but 
 they unfortunately have a natural tendency 
 to flow in improper directions. Like real 
 water, they flow "down hill," and far too 
 frequently transform what might have been 
 a fertile valley into a marsh. The proper 
 method recognizes the necessity of a full 
 development of the natural faculties and 
 the free exercise of them, but it gives 
 them direction without seeming to do so. 
 It selects the channel in which the stream 
 should flow, and inclines each little rill 
 of character in that direction, so that as 
 the stream flows onward it gains more 
 breadth and depth and momentum, until 
 it becomes a mighty river, bearing on its 
 bosom freights of blessing toward the 
 great sea of life. 
 
22 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Some teachers are horrified if pupils 
 laugh in the school-room. The discipline 
 that cannot stand a frequent good laugh, 
 is unnatural and unsound. Giggling and 
 tittering should be forbidden as unbecom- 
 ing, but a genuine hearty laugh indulged 
 in by both teacher and pupils for a proper 
 reason, may be repeated often with the 
 best results even to the discipline of the 
 school. 
 
 It is a mistake to stand too near the 
 class. In a well-appointed school the 
 teacher has a platform about a foot high, 
 extending across the end of the room, from 
 which he teaches. This will give him a 
 position from which he will be able to see 
 every pupil. If he leaves it and moves 
 close to the front row of pupils, he cannot 
 take in the whole class with a single steady 
 glance. Those nearest to him will be un- 
 seen by him, and they will moreover be 
 unable to see him. The results are loss 
 of control by the teacher, and loss of 
 teaching by the pupils, as no pupils can 
 listen long with profit to a teacher at whom 
 they cannot look. 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 23 
 
 Whether in the school-room or in the 
 yard, the teacher should ahvays take such a 
 position as will enable him to see every pupil at 
 the same time. He should retain his posi- 
 tion without fail when " lining " or " drill- 
 ing "in the yard. 
 
 It is a mistake to take hold of a pupil 
 to put him in his place in Hue. If the 
 
 teacher stands as he should, so as to see 
 all his pupils at the same time, he cannot 
 make this grievous error. To shake a boy 
 violently into position arouses in him only 
 bad feelings. It can only be defended on 
 the plea of punishment for deliberate de- 
 fiance, or laziness in executing a move- 
 ment. In both cases the temptation to 
 seize the offender is very great. It is bet- 
 ter to resist the temptation, however. In 
 the first case, the delinquint should be 
 sent from the ranks altogether, and pun- 
 ished according to the nature of the 
 offence ; in the second, he should be placed 
 in the "awkward squad " for extra drills. 
 It is a mistake to give too many 
 demerit marks. There are continual 
 showers of bad marks in some classes. 
 
24 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Bad marks for conduct, and bad marks for 
 lessons. The teachers of such classes often 
 complain, that " their pupils do not attend 
 to the marks given." It would be sur- 
 prising if they did, or their parents either. 
 If the worst pupil in a well-organized 
 school, receives more than five or six mis- 
 demeanor marks in a month, there is cause 
 for alarm. The teacher should feel 
 ashamed. He has been giving marks to 
 save himself trouble, or because he is 
 afraid to grapple with a troublesome case 
 in the right way. 
 
 If a large number of bad marks is given 
 for lessons, it is the teacher s fault in nine 
 cases out of ten. The lessons are too diffi- 
 cult or too long; sufficient explanation 
 has not been given ; or else the pupils 
 have not been taught how to study, or have 
 not had proper incentives to study laid 
 earnestly before them. 
 
 It is a mistake to censure trifling 
 errors too severely. Some teachers pour 
 out their " vials of wrath " to the last drop 
 on the heads of those whose offences are 
 not of a very serious nature. Their stern- 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 25 
 
 est countenance and harshest language 
 are called into requisition to find fault 
 with the little unfortunate who carelessly 
 lets fall his slate, or turns to look at his 
 neighbor behind him. Pupils of such 
 teachers soon learn to disregard even a 
 command, unless it is accompanied by a 
 thunder-bolt. They place themselves in 
 an awkward position, too, for they are un- 
 able to adapt the severity of their censure 
 to the circumstances of the case. This 
 has a confusing effect on the moral natures 
 of children, by leading them to believe 
 that all offences are equally grave in their 
 nature. 
 
 It is of the utmost importance that the 
 teacher should never confound the accidental 
 with the incidental, or thoughtlessness with 
 design. 
 
 It is a mistake to complain or 
 grumble much. If there is one teacher 
 who more than any other is certain to be 
 disliked by pupils, parents, trustees, and 
 inspectors, it is the inveterate grumbler. 
 He would dislike himself if he had \he 
 honor of his own thorough acquaintance. 
 3 
 
26 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 He does not know how tiresome his com- 
 plaining becomes. " I never had such bad 
 pupils in my life ; I do not know whatever 
 to do with them," he says, when some one 
 in authority visits his .school; and his 
 pupils despise him for it, as they do the 
 tale-bearer of their own age. His visitor, 
 too, regards him with pity, as one who 
 seems to glory in his own utter weakness 
 or incompetency. No large class of genu- 
 ine boys or girls ever studied hard from the 
 love of study ; or deported themselves in a 
 uniformly gentle and becoming manner, 
 because of their natural amiability. It is 
 the teacher's duty to stimulate their love 
 of knowledge, and to develop the better 
 side of their natures, so that these qualities 
 may become strong aids in managing and 
 controlling his classes. Each pupil may 
 require diffrent treatment in some re- 
 spects. So much the grander does our 
 work as teachers become. 
 
 No teacher who scolds, or sneers, or grumbles 
 can ever have the sympathy of his pupils ; and 
 without it he can never control the?n, or secure 
 their best efforts in their school work. He 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 27 
 
 who recognizes and judiciously commends 
 the feeble efforts of his pupils will be cer- 
 tain by this means to induce greater zeal 
 and earnestness. 
 
 It is a mistake to allow whispering 
 on the plea of " allowing pupils to assist 
 each other." Whispering during study 
 hours is an unmitigated evil, and those 
 who permit it make a grievous error 
 There are some .vho, seeking for a justifi- 
 cation of what they are too weak or too 
 indolent to prohibit, defend whispering on 
 the plea that " pupils should be allowed to 
 assist each other in their work." 
 
 This plea is fallacious for two reasons, — 
 
 1 . Whispering can not be restricted to the 
 limit named. 
 
 5. Children can not teach each other. 
 
 Is the art of teaching so simple that every 
 child is capable of practising it ? No 
 indeed. Few adults naturally possess the 
 power ot teaching, and it requires a long 
 and careful course of training to make a 
 man of average ability and good culture 
 even a fair teacher. How ridiculous then 
 to allow every pupil to assume the duties 
 
28 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 of a teacher, when he chooses. But, if the 
 plea is a good one, we must allow all pupils 
 the privilege, for it will not do to show 
 partiality. There can be no favored few 
 with unsealed lips, while those of others 
 are locked. What good would result even 
 in the higher classes, if the pupils were 
 allowed to assist each other ? Brown can 
 not work his example, and calls on Smith 
 who sits beside him, for help. Smith says, 
 " Multiply the 4967 by 13 and extract the 
 square root of the product, etc." He 
 merely tells him what to do. Has Brown 
 been developed in any way by the process ? 
 Will he always have Smith by his side 
 through life to tell him when to multiply, 
 divide, etc., in solving his business prob- 
 lems ? 
 
 The teacher, who would allow this 
 highly educative (?) process to be per- 
 formed by their pupils, would be shocked 
 to find them copying from each other, 
 while solving their problems. 
 
 Wherein lies the difference ? The differ- 
 ence is simply this. Telling is a noisy 
 method of copying. Their results so far 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 29 
 
 as securing answers, and the mental 
 growth of the pupils, are the same. If 
 either plan has the advantage in securing 
 the advancement of the pupil, it is un- 
 doubtedly copying, because Brown must 
 do more work for himself if he copies, than 
 if he is told by Smith. Copying is also 
 the quieter method, and of the two evils 
 is decidedly the less objectionable. 
 
 It is a mistake to allow disorder in 
 the school-room during recess. Pupils 
 should not be allowed even to remain in 
 the school-room during recess, unless the 
 weather is unfavorable. Old and young, 
 male and female, should take the oppor- 
 tunity of breathing the fresh air, due pre- 
 caution as to clothing, etc., being taken 
 when the weather is cold. 
 
 During cold weather, those who have 
 any chest affliction may be permitted to 
 remain in and rest, but they should 
 not be allowed to move around the room, 
 unless they do so in a systematic and 
 orderly manner as directed by the teacher. 
 
 If the weather is too severe for the class 
 to go out, the relaxation should be taken 
 
30 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 as usual, and the time devoted to physical 
 exercises, the windows being open for 
 ventilation. Such exercises may be taken 
 with pleasure and profit to all concerned, 
 at the end of each hour for a couple of 
 minutes. 
 
 It is a mistake to invoke higher 
 authority except as a last resort. As- 
 sistant teachers otten send for the head 
 master to settle trivial affairs. Wise head 
 masters will, of course, prohibit such 
 childishness. A principal cannot afford 
 to neglect his own class to obey all the 
 calls of weak or whimsical assistants. If 
 a teacher could only realize how he humili- 
 ates himself in the eves of his pupils by 
 unnecessary appeals to the head master, 
 or the trustees, he would adopt that means 
 of escaping from a difficulty on very rare 
 occasions. How can pupils be expected 
 to respect a person, who .becomes merely 
 a self-appointed spy, to watch for wrong 
 doing in order that he may call in the 
 head master to inflict punishment ? 
 
 It is a mistake to confound giving 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 3 I 
 
 information or evidence with tale- 
 bearing. There are many things which 
 a teacher ought to know, which he cannot 
 possibly learn without the assistance of 
 his pupils. No proper rule should be in- 
 tentionally violated without the matter 
 being brought to the teacher's knowledge. 
 Some teachers hedge their pupils in with 
 so many cramping rules, that they cannot 
 be natural and indulge in healthful boyish 
 amusements without constant terror of 
 breaking some of them. The rules for 
 the guidance of pupils, when not under 
 the eye of the teacher, should be few, and 
 should relate to the protection of property, 
 or the suppression of vice If school 
 property is injured, defaced or destroyed, 
 or if the purity or morality of the pupils 
 generally is being ruined by the continued 
 bad language or bad habits of a few, it is 
 of the highest importance that the teacher 
 should be made acquainted with the facts 
 of the case. The tone of the school 
 should be such that a pupil on doing 
 wrong would report himself, if instructed 
 to do so by his fellow pupils, who are 
 justified in interfering to protect them- 
 
32 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 selves or their common property. If he 
 refuses to do so, it then becomes their 
 plain duty to report the matter, unless it 
 be an offence of a comparatively trifling 
 nature, for which the guilty one expresses 
 regret, and which he promises not to 
 repeat. To give information in a case of 
 this nature is in no way related to " tale- 
 bearing " in the usual meaning of that 
 term. •' Tale-bearing '' means giving in- 
 formation with mean motives : to expose 
 a rival, or to secure his punishment. On 
 the other hand, to give proper informa- 
 tion requires the highest moral courage, 
 and frequently necessitates self-sacrifice 
 for the general good. 
 
 There are some people who condemn as 
 unmanly the giving information, when 
 asked by the teacher conducting an in- 
 vestigation into some case of wrong-doing. 
 Whatever may be the opinion held in re- 
 gard to the voluntary statement ol in- 
 formation, there certainly is only one right 
 view in which to regard a pupil's duty 
 when required to give evidence by his 
 teacher. "Unmanly" indeed! Is it un- 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. ^3 
 
 manly for a witness to give evidence in 
 court? Is not the school a miniature 
 world, and a teacher's investigation a 
 school court ? 
 
 While "tale bearing" from mean and 
 selfish motives, ought to be condemned as 
 unmanly and ungenerous in the extreme, 
 the teacher will do well to spare no pains 
 to develop a spirit of frankness and honor 
 in his pupils, which will lead them to give 
 him assistance in every proper way to 
 control evil even when he is not present. 
 
 Wise teachers never seek occasion for 
 making investigations of a petty nature. 
 
 It is a mistake for tho teacher to be 
 late. It sets the pupil a bad example, and 
 is bad policy. Pupils will certainly not 
 be punctual, if the teacher is not. They 
 will be guided by his actions instead of 
 his words, or rather they will estimate the 
 value he sets upon his own instructions 
 by the way he follows them. He will thus 
 lose his power over his pupils in one ot 
 the most important directions in which he 
 can ever influence them. But it is bad 
 policy for him to be late, even for his own 
 
34 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 sake. He should be at the school at least 
 a quarter of an hour before the time for 
 opening in summer, and half an hour in 
 winter. If pupils get disorderly in the 
 school-house before the arrival of the 
 teacher, it need not surprise any one to 
 find them difficult to control during school 
 hours. Individual morning greeting for 
 each pupil, is one of the best ways for 
 gaining an influence over the class Their 
 peculiarities of temperament may be 
 recognized and treated then better than at 
 any other time during the day. 
 
 It is a mistake to be careless about 
 personal habits. The teacher should be 
 in ail respects a model for his pupils. His 
 manner and habits are sure to be imitated 
 by them. The best lessons he can give 
 on cleanliness and tidiness are not lectures 
 but good examples. He should do more 
 than be a pattern, however. He should talk 
 a little about manners, habits, methods of 
 dressing, etc., and he should act a good 
 deal. Inspection, without being a formal 
 ceremony, ought to be invariably made 
 daily. The boots may be noticed in line 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 35 
 
 before school ; the faces and dress at the 
 first "good morning" glance and the- 
 hands and nails during writing hour. All 
 may be noted without having a set time 
 for critical inspection. Delinquents, after 
 having been carefully warned previously,, 
 ought to be sent to attend to the matters 
 neglected. If it be a small matter it may be 
 attended to in the lobby, where the school 
 apparatus for washing, etc., is kept. If a 
 pupil often fails in any particular he 
 should be sent home, that the matter may 
 be brought to the notice of the parents. 
 All parents whose good opinion is worth 
 having will be under an obligation to a 
 teacher who calls their attention to any 
 bad habits on the part of their children. 
 
 It is a mistake to sit while teaching* 
 It is better for the health to stand, and 
 move around as much as may be done 
 without disturbing the class. The cease- 
 less tramp, tramp, of some teachers while 
 speaking to their pupils is to be avoided. 
 
 A teacher has more control of his class 
 when standing than while seated. He is 
 also certain to be more lively and ener- 
 getic in teaching. 
 
$6 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Of course if he feels wearied, he should 
 sit down for a while. Ladies especially 
 may be excused for doing so. 
 
 It is a mistake to give a command 
 when a suggestion will do instead. 
 
 Suggestion is a golden key that unlocks 
 many a gate in the management of pupils 
 ■and parents, which would forever resist the 
 battering ram of Demand and Compul- 
 sion. Suggest and recommend any im- 
 provement in dress, style, manner, con- 
 duct, or in any department of school work 
 or management, giving reasons in a clear 
 manner, and at least one-half of your 
 pupils will carry out your suggestion, 
 either to please you, or because they are 
 convinced that they will be benefitted by 
 doing so. With one-half on your side, it 
 will not be very difficult to establish a 
 public opinion in a quiet wav fthe quieter 
 the better^ in favor of the change. The 
 seeds having been planted, let them grow. 
 You only need to be patient and the good 
 work will spread. Probably only two or 
 three in a school will require much press- 
 ure to lead them to do what is desired. 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 37 
 
 It is a mistake to allow pupils to be 
 frequently troublesome without noti- 
 fying their parents. It is an axiom 
 that parents and teachers should work in 
 harmony. So far as possible and judicious, 
 the school discipline should correspond to 
 that of the home'. The teacher should re- 
 spect the rights and opinions of the parents, 
 and they in turn should sustain the au- 
 thority of the teacher. These desirable 
 ends can be secured only by some system 
 of communication between the parties 
 concerned. 
 
 There are always in a school a few pupils 
 who, without being guilty of any offences 
 of a very serious character, give the teacher 
 a vast amount of trouble. No other class 
 of pupils causes so much worry and annoy- 
 ance as these, and after a time it usually 
 becomes necessary to take decided action 
 and suspend the offenders, or admininister 
 a severe punishment of some kind. The 
 punishment, whether by suspension or 
 otherwise, is of course much too great for 
 the last act of wrong-doing. The trans- 
 gression is merely " the last straw that 
 
38 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 breaks the camel's back;" the penalty 
 ii covers a multitude of sins." The parent 
 of the offending child makes enquiry as to 
 the cause of the extreme punishment, and 
 receives from his own child or from others, 
 if he asks them, a statement of the last 
 offence only. He naturally concludes 
 that the teacher is unreasonably severe, if 
 not excessively unjust ; and unfortunately 
 in too many cases he expresses his opinions 
 in an emphatic manner in the presence of 
 his child. Sometimes indeed he makes 
 known his sentiments in a highly dramatic 
 manner before the whole school. In either 
 case the result must be a loss of respect 
 for the teacher on the part of his pupils. 
 Nor can the parent be blamed for the diffi- 
 culty, unless he has been promptly and 
 faithfully notified of the previous wrong- 
 doings of his child, as they accumulated. 
 It is well that these notifications should 
 be on paper, and that they should be re- 
 turned to the teacher signed by the parent, 
 and kept for reference when necessary. 
 If the pupil is old enough, it is best that 
 be should write the note according to di- 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 39 
 
 rections given by the teacher. This will 
 save time for the teacher, and have a good 
 effect on the pupil. Of course in most cases 
 such a note should be signed by the 
 teacher, not the pupil. Occasionally the 
 communination may be from the child 
 himself. 
 
 It is a mistake to annoy parents un- 
 necessarily. When calling the attention 
 of parents to any bad behavior of their 
 children, or notifying them of any care- 
 lessness or inattention to the cleanliness 
 or tidiness of their dress or persons, the 
 teacher is often unnecessarily sharp and 
 unkind in his language. So far as it is 
 possible to avoid it, the feelings of parents 
 should not be wounded at any time by 
 the teacher. He cannot hope to govern 
 his class easily and in a proper way, un- 
 less he has the sympathy of the parents, 
 and he cannot have that, if he is discourte- 
 ous or unduly severe towards them. Con- 
 ciliation should be his motto. Respectful 
 or even deferential interviews or corre- 
 spondence, will work wonders in awaken- 
 ing an interest in school matters on the 
 
40 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 part of parents, and in securing their co- 
 operation and support. The teacher who 
 can say to a parent, " I regret that Tom is 
 absent so frequently, he is a smart boy and 
 it gives the other children such an advan- 
 tage if he is not present ; or "It is a pity 
 .that such a pretty boy as James should 
 ever forget to wash his face and comb his 
 hair " will readily secure his objects, with- 
 out in any way making the parents feel 
 humiliated. 
 
 It is a mistake to show temper in 
 dealing with parents. Teachers will 
 very often have great provocation to anger, 
 on account of the injustice and sometimes 
 rudeness and impertinence of parents. 
 They will write the most cruelly unjust 
 accusations, and make the most bitter re- 
 marks about " paying taxes to keep the 
 teacher in bread and butter," etc. They 
 will even come to the school to browbeat 
 and abuse the teacher. Under all these 
 and similar circumstances he is the best 
 manager who shows a calm and deliberate 
 nature. He cannot be blamed for feeling 
 anger, but he must not show it. He should 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 41 
 
 remember that the parent, in nearly every 
 case, reasons correctly according to the in- 
 formation he has received. He has heard 
 only one side of the case, and that is 
 usually greatly exaggerated, if not grossly 
 misrepresented. True, he should not de- 
 cide until he has heard both sides, but 
 affection for his child, whom he regards 
 as unjustly treated, and whose rights he as 
 a parent is bound to maintain, makes him 
 forget this. He receives the child's state- 
 ments as facts, and naturally gets excited. 
 It is safe to say that very few parents get 
 angry at teachers without sufficient reason, 
 if the child's evidence is taken as correct. 
 Granted that the tacts are as stated, the 
 reasoning of parents is nearly always right, 
 and their anger but the expression of their 
 chivalrous feelings, as the natural pro- 
 tectors of the children God has given them. 
 But the facts are not usually as related by 
 the pupils. Without being guilty of any de- 
 liberate falsehood, they are not likely to 
 give a correct account of a punishment 
 they have received, or any circumstances 
 with which they are directly connected. 
 
42 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Herein lies the secret of the teacher's 
 power over angry parents, if he uses it 
 judiciously. 
 
 If an indignant parent finds an angry 
 teacher he receives the clearest proof pos- 
 sible that the teacher is unreasonable ; 
 and is certain to obtain sufficient evidence 
 to corroborate his child's statements. An 
 angry teacher will do as any other angry 
 person does. He will be sure to say 
 something unkind or unjust, and in this 
 way give the parent, what he had not 
 before, a good ground for complaint. If 
 the two charged batteries come together 
 there is certain to be an explosion. 
 
 If the teacher is cool, and in corre- 
 spondence or by personal interview shows 
 the parent that his child's version is incor- 
 rect, his victory is speedily secured, and 
 one such victory is sufficient. A parent 
 so convinced is convinced forever. Now, 
 no teacher can make a parent believe his 
 child to be guilty of misrepresentation, 
 unless he first convinces him that he is 
 absolutely impartial, and without the 
 slightest degree of animosity or prejudice 
 
SCHOOL MANAGEMENT. 43 
 
 against him. He cannot do this, if he 
 shows any temper in his dealings with the 
 parent. If, however, his manner is firm 
 but quiet, and his language definite but 
 moderate, he at once relieves the parent of 
 the impression that he has a prejudice 
 against the child, and the matter is amicably 
 settled. The teacher cannot achieve so 
 great a triumph in any other way. He 
 does not merely defeat an enemy,he secures 
 a friend. 
 
 It is a mistake to dispute with an 
 angry parent before the class. If the 
 
 teacher gets angry, too, the pupils witness 
 an unseemly quarrel ; if he does not, some 
 of his class will think he is afraid. In 
 either case the work of the school is inter- 
 rupted, and the respect ot the pupils for 
 the authority of the teacher is lessened. 
 They cannot regard his power as very 
 great, if a parent may come and question 
 it in an offensive and contemptuous 
 manner. If a parent comes for an expla- 
 nation of any misunderstanding in regard 
 to school management the teacher should 
 receive him courteously at the door, give 
 
44 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 his class some work to occupy it for a few 
 minutes, and step outside to make the 
 necessary explanation. If the parent is 
 exceedingly unreasonable, the teacher 
 should quietly inform him that his time 
 must now be devoted to his class, but that ifthe 
 parent will call again after school, or re- 
 ceive a call from him, he will be able to 
 give the matter further consideration. 
 
 It is a mistake to make spiteful re- 
 marks before the class about notes re- 
 ceived from parents. It shows a petty 
 spirit to do so, and allows the class to see 
 that the teacher is annoyed and worried by 
 the remarks of the parents. His dignity 
 is lowered, and when his pupils are not in 
 his presence they will laugh at nim. It 
 is unfair to parents to read their notes or 
 part of them before a class. These notes 
 are private communications, and as such 
 they should be regarded as too sacred for 
 public comment. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE, 
 
 It is a mistake to try to teach with- 
 out having good order. No teacher 
 should think of teaching at all, until he has 
 established between himself and his class 
 a perfect understanding regarding this 
 matter; until he has clearly shown his 
 pupils that it is necessary that one person 
 should be absolutely master, and that he 
 is the person entitled to that position by 
 virtue of his office, his superior intelli- 
 gence, experience, and force of character. 
 Without order in his affairs and among 
 those he employs, no business man can 
 hope to be successful. Without the per- 
 fect order called discipline in an army it 
 is a disorganized mob, incapable, unman- 
 ageable, and at the mercy of its foes. 
 
46 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Without order in a school, at least one- 
 half a teacher's power is wasted, partly- 
 through the inattention of the scholars, 
 and partly in reducing the disorder to 
 what some teachers regard as endurable 
 limits. Experience has proved this, and 
 therefore every good teacher insists on 
 having good order before attempting to 
 teach. " The husband who starts in his 
 matrimonial career as lieutenant never 
 gets promoted." A teacher is rarely pro- 
 moted in a school in which he has not 
 earned his position at the close of the first 
 day. There is a lamentable weakness 
 about a teacher who allows his scholars to 
 form the public opinion of his school, and 
 establish his character independent of him. 
 It is a mistake to confound " securing 
 order" with " maintaining order." 
 Many teachers forget, when taking charge 
 of a new class that they are dealing with 
 strangers, on whose sympathy and affec- 
 tion they have no claim. They often lose 
 control of their pupils on the first day by 
 practising the very principles which are 
 of highest service in securing the best dis- 
 
MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE. 47 
 
 cipline. They appeal to instincts which 
 are slumbering, and to motives which, so 
 far as they are concerned, have no exis- 
 tence. Pupils are at school on the open- 
 ing day to study the " new teacher," not 
 their lessons, and the more incomprehen- 
 sible and non-committal he is the more 
 they will respect him. Like their seniors, 
 they will regard mysterious silence as pro- 
 fundity, and a selt-contained manner as 
 indicative of great reserve power. No 
 rational teacher should expect to win the 
 love of his pupils at first sight. During 
 the first few days his great aim should be 
 to show them by his actions and manner, 
 not by words, that he understands himself, 
 his pupils, and their relations to each 
 other. To baffle their curiosity in regard 
 to himself, is the first step toward secur- 
 ing their respect. Beyond this only three 
 things are absolutely necessary during the 
 first week : — 
 
 1. He must show that he can see every- 
 body at all times, and that it is impossible 
 to do wrong without being detected. 
 
 2. He must be decided in awarding pun- 
 
48 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 ishment for an intentional offence. A 
 severe whipping promptly and coolly 
 given on the first day, may assist materially 
 in doing away with corporal punishment. 
 
 3. He must prove that he is master of 
 the subjects he has to teach. 
 
 A lady once subdued a rebellious pupil 
 by offering him her cane with the request 
 that he would whip her. She had pre- 
 viously shown him and the whole class in 
 a clear and feeling manner that he was 
 guilty of a serious offence for which some 
 one must be punished. At the right 
 moment she surprised him with her strange 
 request, and completely overpowered him. 
 This was natural, because her pupils were 
 young, and she had gained their affection 
 by a long course of kindness. The story 
 got into the papers, and an ardent youth, 
 about to take charge of a class of grown- 
 up boys, determined to adopt the young 
 lady's plan. He opened school on the 
 first morning with a fervid address, full of 
 what boys call " taffy," and calmly waited 
 for the hour to arrive, when by a single 
 exhibition of his generosity he would gain 
 
MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE. 49 
 
 permanent sway over their grateful hearts. 
 He was confident that his address must 
 have made an impression, and that the 
 noble boys would appreciate his self-sacri- 
 ficing spirit. The hour at length arrived, 
 and with due ceremony he called the cul- 
 prit before him, spoke to him in most feel- 
 ing terms, showed the necessity of punish- 
 ment for the offence, stated that rather 
 than punish a " dear pupil " he would sub- 
 mit to be punished himself, and finally 
 presented the delinquent with a bundle of 
 rods with the request that he would select 
 therefrom the largest and whip his <; dear 
 teacher." He turned his back expecting 
 to hear cries of penitence, but instead he 
 was astounded by shouts of encouragement 
 to the obedient pupil, who had faithfully 
 carried out instructions, and was now 
 wielding the largest rod with judgment 
 and power, in which invigorating exercise 
 he was quickly joined by as many pupils 
 as could get rods from the bundle. Those 
 who could not be accomodated pelted 
 him with every available missile, and 
 finally threw him out, after emptying the 
 ink bottles on his head. 
 
5° MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Kindness and affection are the strongest 
 elements of a teacher's power, but they 
 need a stable foundation to rest upon. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that 
 children like to have their own way at 
 school. No greater mistake could be 
 made. Children like order better than 
 disorder. So would all grown people, if 
 they had been properly trained at school. 
 Children are most joyous and happy, and 
 therefore most thoroughly educated, in 
 those schools where the discipline is strict 
 without being severe. There is no quicker 
 way for a teacher to lose the respect of 
 his pupils than by over-indulging them. 
 
 They will not chafe long under just re- 
 straint. Control develops reverence. 
 
 It is a mistake to think that order 
 means perfect quiet or stillness. Many 
 
 classes are quiet through sheer listlessnes 
 or dullness. What is needed in a school 
 is the order of life, not the order of death. 
 Order means having every child in school 
 attending to his own duty, and attending 
 to it, of course, in the quietest possible 
 manner. So long as no individual in a 
 
MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE. 5 I 
 
 school is attending to another's business, 
 or doing anything to attract the attention 
 of any person else, efficiency should not 
 be sacrificed for the sake of silence. A 
 good stiff breeze is better than a dead 
 calm. The breeze is all right if it does 
 not come in squalls. Perfect order may 
 be quite in harmony with a considerable 
 amount of noise. In a factory, for instance,, 
 although the noise of machinery may be 
 deafening, and the bustling of the work- 
 men may appear quite confusing to an 
 outsider, everything is usually in the most 
 perfect order. Order does not necessarily 
 mean repression. The order needed in 
 school is work systematized. This is 
 genuine order, the only kind that will 
 last. 
 
 It is a mistake to try to startle a 
 class into being orderly. Some teachers 
 strike the desk ; stamp on the floor; call 
 "order, order, order;" or ring the bell to 
 cause quietness. A thunder-clap startles 
 us into stillness for a few moments, but 
 even thunder would soon lose its effect, if 
 controlled by some teachers. Disorderly 
 
5 2 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 pupils should be subdued, not terrified. 
 It would be a poor way to calm a nervous 
 child by firing cannon near it. A teacher 
 must be deliberate, not impulsive and ex- 
 plosive. If he wishes to secure good order, 
 he must be orderly himself. Attention 
 gained by making any sudden noise is 
 only of a temporary kind. The noise of the 
 pupils yields for a time, but very soon it 
 re-asserts itself. To be valuable, attention 
 must be fixed. Teachers should, of course, 
 never forget that giving fixed, active at- 
 tention is an exhaustive exercise, and that 
 relaxation in some form — music, free 
 gymnastics, or both combined — should be 
 given to pupils at frequent intervals. 
 
 It is a mistake for Hie teacher to 
 try to drown the noise of bis pupils 
 by making a greater noise himself. 
 
 Some teachers attempt to force out dis- 
 order by talking in a loud tone, and in a 
 high key. They may avoid hearing any 
 noise except that made by themselves in 
 this way, but they are certain to increase 
 the noise made by their pupils. The 
 pupils will have to speak louder in order 
 
MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE. 53 
 
 to hear each other. A low tone is much 
 more certain to produce quietness than a 
 high tone. There are certain noises which 
 render children nervous and irritable. The 
 noise made in filing a saw, and that made 
 by a teacher talking in a high key, are two 
 of them. 
 
 It is a mistake to call for order in 
 general terms, however quietly it 
 may be done. Disorder always begins 
 with one or two, and no rational teacher 
 allows it to proceed until it has spread 
 throughout the whole class before stopping 
 it. It should be quieted as soon as it com- 
 mences. This should be done by a 
 meaning look, a question quietly asked, or 
 in some natural way that will attract 
 the attention of no person but those im- 
 mediately concerned. It is enough that 
 the disorderly pupil should lose his time, 
 without compelling the whole school to 
 listen to an absurd method of quieting him. 
 
 It is a mistake to make too many 
 rules. Some teachers make so many 
 rules, that they cannot remember them 
 themselves. Their pupils forget them 
 
54 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 too, and violate them without intendiug 
 any wrong. 
 
 The breaking of the law should be 
 a most serious offence. Children will 
 not be very good citizens, if they regard 
 the violation of laws as a trifling matter. 
 They cannot avoid coming to this con- 
 clusion, if a teacher has so many rules 
 that he forgets to punish for neglecting 
 them ; or if they are of so unimportant a 
 character, as not to command the respect 
 of the pupils. 
 
 There should be few cast iron rules 
 beginning with "Thoushalt," or ''Thou 
 shalt not." The rule should state general 
 principles, and each one should cover a 
 whole class of specific acts. 
 
 Rules in detail should not be formulated 
 in a code either written or printed. 
 
 No rule should be issued until some 
 wrong-doing makes it necessary. The 
 very prohibition may suggest the wrong 
 course to the pupils. 
 
 Pupils should learn rules as they should 
 learn everything else, by experiencing the 
 necessity of them, and by putting them in 
 
MISTAKES IN DISCIPLINE. 55 
 
 practice as they learn them The rules 
 that will be best learned and most consist- 
 ently obeyed are those that are not spoken 
 or written or printed, but regularly acted 
 by the pupils under the guidance of a 
 wise teacher. 
 
 The pupils should have the reason for 
 rules explained to them so far as to enable 
 them to see their justness; indeed judicious 
 teachers may allow their scholars to assist 
 them in framing rules. 
 
 While the teacher should issue as few 
 restraining rules as possible to his pupils, 
 he must not neglect to define clearly 
 their duties towards each other and to the 
 school, nor to explain fully the nature 
 and results of the offences which they 
 commit. 
 
 It is a mistake to foe demonstrative 
 in maintaining discipline. Some ma- 
 chines make a perpetual jarring noise 
 while running. Some schools are disci-^ 
 plined in such a way as to make them 
 really disorderly. Teachers are often dis- 
 orderly in attempting to secure order. 
 They may succeed in obtaining a kind of 
 
$6 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 discipline, but they lose much valuable 
 time in getting it; and when secured it 
 lacks many of the beneficial influences of 
 good discipline in forming the characters 
 of the pupils. Visitors at schools will 
 frequently hear the teacher cannonading 
 their pupils with such orders as these : 
 ''Take down your hand, sir;" "Turn 
 around in your seat, James ; " " Sit up, 
 Mary;" "Attention, Susan ;" etc. These 
 are commands, and the wise teacher will 
 never even make a request when a suggestion 
 will accomplish his purpose. There is 
 one fact always noticeable in schools in 
 which the teacher has to resort continually 
 to the above method of controlling his 
 class. His work is never done. The 
 supply of disorder never runs out. In 
 fact he does not notice and check, in most 
 cases, one-half the wrong-doing that goes 
 on, and at its best the order of the pupils is 
 only indifferent. Even if the best of 
 order on the part of the class could be 
 secured by such means, the disorder of the 
 teacher would neutralize its good effects. 
 There are classes always in order, whose 
 teachers do not seem to be controlling them 
 
DISCIPLINE. 57 
 
 at all. The teacher is teaching and the 
 pupils attending in a quiet and respectful 
 manner, when a visitor enters, and he 
 leaves after a stay of a couple of hours 
 without having heard a single child named 
 in connection with the violation of a rule 
 of any kind. The teacher was controlling 
 the class, but neither class nor visitor was 
 painfully conscious of the fact. 
 
 What causes the difference between the 
 two classes? Is the noisy, restless, forget- 
 ful class to be blamed for its delinquencies ? 
 Certainly not. The teacher is responsible 
 in. every sense. Let the two teachers ex- 
 change classes, and after a couple of 
 months the pupils will have altered their 
 characteristics. One teacher strives for 
 order merely for its own sake, the other 
 maintains discipline that he may teach. 
 One talks, preaches, and scolds about order, 
 and demands it with threats of "imposi- 
 tions " or punishments in case of refusal or 
 neglect by the pupils; the other secures 
 "the silent co-operation of natural laws, 
 by good organization, by careful fore- 
 thought, and by quiet self-control." 
 
58 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 It may be said by some, that the power 
 ot governing without apparent effort is a 
 natural gift, possessed by few, and beyond 
 the acquisition of those not so blest by 
 nature. Undoubtedly some possess this 
 power to a greater extent than others, but 
 all may learn the principles that underlie 
 good government; and no one should pre- 
 sume to teach, until he is able to practise 
 those which are essential. 
 
 The methods of securing order on first 
 taking charge of a class may vary, as they 
 will depend to a considerable extent on 
 circumstances, but good discipline can 
 only be maintained by the most careful at- 
 tention to the physical comfort, the in- 
 stincts, and the mental characteristics of 
 the children. 
 
 It is a mistake to speak in too high 
 a key. Probably no other error increases 
 the labor of the teacher and the disorder 
 of the class^to so great an extent as this. 
 Children soon cease to attend to a teacher 
 with a loud voice pitched on a high key. 
 It is not surprising that they do so. A 
 loud voice soon becomes monotonous, and 
 
DISCIPLINE. 59 
 
 loses its influence in securing attention 
 and order. It has, indeed, a positively in- 
 jurious influence on a class in two re- 
 spects: 
 
 i. It induces a corresponding loudness 
 and harshness of tone on the part of the 
 pupils, and leads them to speak and read 
 in a forced, unnatural manner. In this 
 way their voices lose all their sweetness 
 and half their influence. "Loudness," 
 says Emerson, "is always rude, quietness 
 always gentle." 
 
 2. It produces an irritating effect on 
 the nervous systems of children, which 
 prevents their being quiet and attentive. 
 
 The voice should be pitched rather below 
 than above the natural key, and used with 
 only moderate force in the school-room. 
 It is then much more impressive than a 
 high, loud voice, and infinitely more 
 effective in securing good discipline. 
 Children will learn much more rapidly too 
 if the teacher speaks in a quiet conversa- 
 tional tone. 
 
 It must be remembered, however, that 
 weakness of voice must not be contounded 
 
60 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 with good modulation. Weakness of voice 
 indicates some corresponding weakness in 
 body or character. Proper modulation, 
 on the contrary, conveys the impression 
 that the speaker thoroughly understands 
 himself and his surroundings, and has a 
 large amount of reserve force ready for 
 any emergency. Decision and sternness are 
 not synonymous. 
 
 It is a mistake to try to force chil- 
 dren to sit still even for half an hour 
 in the same position. It is right to in- 
 sist that all the pupils shall sit in a uniform 
 position while engaged at the same lesson. 
 It is wrong even to allow them to sit for a 
 minute in ungraceful, unhealthful posi- 
 tions. The teacher cannot be too exacting 
 in these particulars, but the same position 
 should not be continued too long. This 
 is especially true in the case of little chil- 
 dren, whose bones are not hardened. The 
 muscles will weary of sustaining the weight 
 of the body in any position too long, and 
 the weight being thrown on the flexible 
 bones will bend them out of their proper 
 shape. 
 
DISCIPLINE. 
 
 61 
 
 The judicious teacher will not attempt 
 to restrain the restlessness of junior chil- 
 dren, but will give it a natural outlet. 
 There is no other so good as light calis- 
 ■thenic exercises, accompanied by singing. 
 These are exceedingly interesting to the 
 pupil, and give the needed exercise and 
 change to the muscles that have been 
 wearied in one position. If teachers would 
 give their pupils two minutes' restful exer- 
 cise before each lesson, or at the close of 
 each hour, the pupils would make more 
 rapid progress in their studies, and the 
 teacher's work in preserving order be great- 
 ly lessened. "In the majority of cases 
 they break artificial rules in obedience to 
 powerful instincts, which the teacher has 
 failed to press into service. They are 
 largely under the influence of the instinct 
 of activity, and unless some safe provision 
 be made for satisfying this instinct, they 
 will be irresistibly impelled to satisfy it in 
 ways of their own. They will fidget when 
 they are expected to keep still : they will 
 grow weary of being treated as mere pas- 
 sive reservoirs into which knowledge is to 
 be perpetually pumped, and will seek oc- 
 
02 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 cupations,mental or bodily,for themselves ; 
 and in a variety of ways they will disobey 
 the teacher who persists in this unwise 
 defiance of natural laws. It is absurd to 
 blame them for their disobedience. They 
 cannot help it. They did not make them- 
 selves, and the laws of their being are only 
 partially under their control." 
 
 It is a mistake to allow pupils to 
 play in the school-room. There are 
 many stormy days, when no reasonable 
 teacher would compel his pupils to go 
 out at recess. Instead of doing so, it is 
 the custom in many schools to allow the 
 pupils to have their recess and play in the 
 school-room. It is desirable that a recess 
 should be given for relaxation from study. 
 The hygienic laws relating to both mind 
 and body demand frequent rests from 
 labor. If they were more frequent in 
 schools, and of shorter duration, there 
 would be more work, less scolding, and 
 better order in them. Relaxation and un- 
 restrained play are not synonymous, how- 
 ever,nor is the one the natural consequence 
 of the other. If children play as they 
 
DISCIPLINE. 63 
 
 choose in a school-room they are-certain to 
 make too much noise, and endanger the 
 safety of desks and other school property. 
 The worst effect of such a license is the loss 
 of proper feelings of respect for the school- 
 room. While children should not regard 
 the school-room as a place of solitary con- 
 finement or look upon the teacher with 
 dread, they should feel that there are pro- 
 prieties of conduct and manner insepara- 
 bly connected with entering the outer 
 door of a school building. They should 
 never be allowed to play even in the halls 
 of a school house. They may be allowed 
 to converse,or even move around the room 
 in a quiet and regular manner. There is 
 no harm, for instance, in pupils of the 
 same sex walking in couples around the 
 outside walls during the recess, provided 
 they all walk in procession in the same 
 direction, and with a slow, measured step. 
 Pupils may be very properly taught to 
 march by the teacher at these times, or 
 they may perform calisthentic exercises in 
 time with singing. Promiscuous playing 
 around the school-room should be prohib- 
 ited also on the part of those pupils who 
 
64 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 wish to stay in at noon, or who arrive too 
 early in the morning. It is best,- if possi- 
 ble, to have assembly rooms in the base- 
 ment of the building, but if these cannot 
 be secured one room should be set apart 
 for a lunch or assembly room. A teacher 
 should always have charge of it, and pupils 
 should understand clearly that good behavior 
 is the one condition on which they are 
 allowed to remain in it. 
 
 It is a mistake to use a bell as a 
 Signal lor order. It is purely a time or 
 movement signal. Even the occasional ring- 
 ing of the bell for order is a mistake. It 
 disturbs every pupil, while perhaps only 
 two or three are offending, and after a time 
 loses its effect, because it speaks directly 
 to no one, and gives in general terms to a 
 whole class what should be given particu- 
 larly to certain individuals. The bell is 
 a valuable aid in securing discipline. It 
 may be used with great profit instead of 
 the teacher's voice, as a signal for com- 
 mencing, changing, or closing exercises ; 
 or for standing up, sitting down, as- 
 sembling, dismissing, etc., but it never 
 
DISCIPLINE. 65 
 
 should be used to give a direct command 
 for order. It should never convey a command 
 that does not apply with equal force to each 
 member of the school. 
 
 It is a mistake to lose sight of the 
 Class. Control asserts itself chiefly 
 through the lip, the tongue and the eye. 
 They should be used in the inverse order 
 to that in which they are named. The 
 eye should be the exclusive medium of 
 control, so far as possible ; the tongue may 
 be called to its aid in cases of emergency ; 
 the lip should be used very sparingly. 
 The lip expresses firmness, combined 
 with scorn or contempt, and these are sure 
 to stir up active antagonism, rather than 
 submission. A pupil may be, and often is, 
 forced to yield without full obedience. 
 The eye alone can convey a message of 
 power and conciliation at the same time, 
 and these are the elements of genuine con- 
 trol. 
 
 If a pupil feels that his teacher's eye is 
 constantly and quietly taking note of all 
 that is going on in his class, he cannot 
 fail to be conscious of its controlling 
 
66 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 power. Unless he is defiant or exceed- 
 ingly thoughtless, he will need little more 
 than the teacher's untiring eye to restrain 
 him. The eye can be cultivated and its 
 range of vision greatly widened. Few 
 teachers have the power to see and watch 
 every pupil in a class of fifty at the same 
 instant, but every teacher may acquire the 
 ability to do so. It is astonishing to what 
 extent clearness of lateral vision may be 
 developed without rolling the eyes from 
 side to side. The influence of the eyes is 
 neutralized by an uneasy nervous move- 
 ment or fixed stare. The seeing should 
 be done wihout any apparent effort, but 
 it should be done, and done unerringly. 
 Even when using the blackboard the 
 teacher should avoid turning his back to 
 his class. 
 
 It is a mistake to be variable in dis- 
 cipline. Some teachers are intermittent 
 in their exercise of "will power." They 
 are fully charged with energy and force 
 one day, but seem to have lost connection 
 with their character batteries on the next. 
 Steady, even, regular, uniform control is 
 
discipline. 6y 
 
 the kind required. In the school-room 
 and in the yard, the teacher's influence 
 should be supreme, whether he himself is 
 present or absent. He must never be a 
 tyrant, he should always be a governor. 
 
 He should carefully study his proper 
 social and legal relationship to the pupils, 
 their parents, and the school authorities. 
 He should stand on a foundation of solid 
 rock, and be ready for prompt action in 
 cases of emergency. Promptness and de- 
 liberation should go hand in hand. 
 Promptitude and haste or excitement are 
 not synonymous. Hesitation and timidity 
 on the part of a teacher, will stir to life 
 germs of rebellion which otherwise might 
 have been left to die for lack of nutriment. 
 
 While a teacher should always pay due 
 respect and attention to the advice of his 
 friends, he should never allow either the 
 counsel of friends or the opposition of foes 
 to make him deviate from the course which, 
 he knows to be the right and just one. 
 Many men fail because when a wave of 
 opposition meets them they feebly yield to 
 its power and aimlessly drift with it ; when 
 
458 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 if they had met it bravely and remained 
 •firm it would soon have passed them and 
 left them better for its washing. The 
 teacher may yield many times with profit 
 to his school and himself, if he does it 
 gracefully, but he can never do so when 
 the question of control is at stake. He 
 must then assert his "will power" in a 
 •most determined manner, without making 
 himself offensive or tyrranical. 
 
 It is a mistake to get excited in 
 school. A man opens the gates of his 
 strong-hold when he becomes angry. A 
 teacher to exercise control must be calm 
 and patient. The quality of " will power " 
 is of great importance, the quantity of it at 
 a teacher's disposal is of far more conse- 
 quence. It must wear well. There is a 
 dignity and a majesty in the patient asser- 
 tion of the right and the ability to control, 
 which never fail to command respect. It 
 is well, especially when taking charge ot a 
 new class, not to try to compel absolute 
 order too suddenly. So long as pupils are 
 ready to do what the teacher wishes, he 
 will, if a reasonable man, overlook slight 
 
 
DISCIPLINE. 69 
 
 offences until good conduct has become a 
 habit. 
 
 Obedience on any terms is better than 
 disobedience, but willing obedience must 
 be obtained by the teacher if he wishes to 
 benefit his pupils. If " will power " is ex- 
 erted in a noisy and violent manner it is 
 offensive; if it is of the fussy kind it excites 
 ridicule, It must be calm if it would se- 
 cure control beneath whose placid surface 
 no rebelion lurks in ambush. 
 
 It is a mistake to he satisfied with 
 order which lasts only while the 
 teacher is present. There are teachers 
 who control their pupils merely by the 
 exercise of " will power." It is necessary 
 to do so sometimes, especially when the 
 teacher has lately taken charge of the class, 
 The teacher's " will power " should always 
 be held in reserve for an emergency, but 
 he should control his class by the expen- 
 diture of the smallest possible degree of it. 
 His engine should not always be running 
 at its highest pressure. The pupils have 
 powers of self control which require devel- 
 opment ; and they need to be trained to 
 
70 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 do right Irom a sense of duty, not from the 
 consciousness of subordination to a supe- 
 rior will, or tear of punishment, when the 
 teacher is present to detect the wrong. 
 
 Many boys go astray after leaving home, 
 because they have been controlled by the 
 sweetness of a mother's nature, or the 
 strength of a father's will. In either case 
 they were not acting on principle in 
 doing right, and no element of self-govern- 
 ment had been developed in them. Their 
 restraining influences were external to 
 themselves, hence they were rudderless 
 on removing beyond their power. 
 
 The same result is found in many a 
 school whose pupils are fairly orderly in 
 the presence of the teacher, but uncon- 
 trolled when he leaves the room. The 
 remedy is to be found in using influences 
 external to the pupils as sparingly as 
 possible, and developing to the fullest 
 extent those which may be awakened in 
 the pupil himself. 
 
 It is a mistake to give an order 
 without haying it obeyed by all to 
 whom it is given. A great deal of dis- 
 
DISCIPLINE. 71 
 
 order exists in some schools, because the 
 teacher, while changing exercises, or 
 dismissing his class, does not wait to have 
 one order obeyed before giving another. 
 Whether the signals be given by word of 
 mouth, by numbers, by touching a bell, or 
 otherwise, every pupil should have fully 
 completed the motion indicated by " one " 
 before " two " is given. If any other course 
 is adopted, confusion and disorder are in- 
 evitable, and the pupils learn to pay little 
 attention to the teacher's commands. 
 
 Obedience to an order, and submission 
 to a rule may be quite different. The one 
 should be prompt and decided, the other 
 should be intelligent and voluntary. 
 
 It is a mistake to tivat pupils as 
 though they were auxious to violate 
 the rules of the school. If a teacher 
 does not respect his pupils, they will not 
 respect him. Confidence is necessary on 
 the part of both teacher and pupils. A 
 threat implies that the teacher does not 
 trust his pupils, and prevents the class 
 having sympathy with him. " It is better 
 to assume that your pupils will be eager 
 
J2 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 to carry out your wishes, and so impose 
 upon them the obligation of honor, than to 
 take it for granted that the only motive 
 which will deter them from disregarding 
 your wishes will be the fear of a penalty." 
 Blind confidence must, however, be dis- 
 tinguished from honest trust in those who 
 have not proved unworthy. 
 
 It is a mistake to ridicule a pupil. 
 
 It is wrong to do so for bad conduct^ 
 neglect of lessons, or any breach of school 
 discipline. The pupil so treated loses to^ 
 a certain extent the respect of his class- 
 mates, and, what is of more consequence to 
 himself, he frequently sinks in his own 
 estimation. Sarcasm inflicts a poisoned 
 wound which does not heal. No personal, 
 or family weakness or peculiarity ought to^ 
 be publicly referred to by the teacher. 
 Hon. J. P. Wickersham, in his masterly 
 work on School Economy, says, " Sarcastic 
 remarks, or such names as numskull,, 
 block-head, dunce, etc., etc., do not become 
 a teacher in speaking either to or of his 
 pupils." Do not make a pupil lose his 
 own self-respect, or expose him to con- 
 
DISCIPLINE. 7$ 
 
 temptuous remarks by his companions. 
 To ridicule a feeble attempt may prevent 
 a stronger effort. 
 
 It is a mistake to punish without 
 explanation. Teachers sometimes say, 
 " Smith, take a misdemanor mark," or 
 " Mary, stay in at recess," or " Brown, 
 hold out your hand," etc., without taking 
 time to explain why the mark or the pro- 
 hibition or the whipping should be given. 
 " It would waste too much time; I could do 
 very little else in my school," is the jus- 
 tification given for such a course. The 
 answer given is likely to be correct in 
 schools in which such a method of punish- 
 ment is adopted. The teacher who adopts 
 such a course will soon have sufficient 
 reason to conclude from his stand-point 
 that explanations would "waste time." 
 
 Punishment is a judicial act, and it 
 should be administered judicially. A 
 boy has a right to know why he receives 
 punishment, before the punishment is in- 
 flicted. If the teacher does not take the 
 trouble to give him this explanation in a 
 perfectly candid manner, he gives the 
 
74 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 pupil just cause for regarding him as a petty- 
 tyrant, who punishes merely for the per- 
 sonal gratification it affords him. Punish- 
 ment produces good results, not according 
 to the amount of pain caused, but in pro- 
 portion to the clearness with, which pupils 
 see the nature of the offence and the 
 justness of the penalty. Pain, by itself, 
 causes anger, resentment, and a desire for 
 revenge; therefore, no teacher should cause 
 pain without taking care to neutralize its 
 evil effects. Whipping alone is brutal and 
 brutalizing. A pupil who receives such 
 treatment naturally grows sullen, and be- 
 comes doggedly resentful. He believes that 
 his teacher has a dislike to him, and he can- 
 not be blamed for coming to this conclu- 
 sion. It is the teacher's fault. Parents 
 get their impressions of the teacher from 
 their children, and so he loses the con- 
 fidence of both pupils and parents. There 
 is nothing that parents so quickly resent 
 as injustice to their children. Whether 
 the injustice be real or imaginary is not 
 of the slightest consequence so long as the 
 impression is made on their minds. The 
 teacher's influence is often paralyzed, 
 
DISCIPLINE. 75 
 
 therefore, by causes which he has himself 
 set in motion. He is shorn of more than 
 half his power if the parents of his pupils 
 lose confidence in his unswerving justice. 
 One of the quickest ways to secure the 
 distrust of the public is to inflict punish- 
 ment of any kind and leave the pupil to 
 decide its causes, as well as to suggest 
 the teacher's motives. 
 
 It is well to remember that the pupil 
 directly concerned is not the only one in- 
 terested in punishment. Great care should 
 be taken to make the whole class see the 
 justice and fairness of punishment before 
 administering it. They should not be 
 allowed to think that they have a right to 
 decide that punishment shall not be given 
 by the teacher as he deems proper ; but 
 they should be led to understand very 
 clearly that the teacher punishes solely 
 for the benefit of the individual or the gen- 
 eral good, that his decisions are uniform- 
 ly and impartially based on equitable 
 principles, and that he is always glad to 
 state his reasons for awarding punishment 
 of any kind. If the class does not approve 
 
j6 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 of the punishment, evil results are pro- 
 duced. 
 
 Punishment inflicted hastily will often 
 be unjustly given. It the teacher cannot 
 explain satisfactorily the reason for a pun- 
 ishment, he should doubt the propriety of 
 imposing it. The attempt to state his rea- 
 sons may often lead him to modify his 
 decisions. Horace Mann says, " I confess 
 that I have been amazed and overwhelmed to 
 see a teacher spend an hour at the black- 
 board explaining arithmetical questions, 
 and another hour on the reading or gram- 
 mar lesson ; and in the meantime,as though 
 it were only some interlude, seize a boy by 
 the collar, drag him to the floor, castigate 
 him, and remand him to his seat; the 
 whole process not occupying two min- 
 utes." A certain amount of formality 
 should accompany the infliction of pun- 
 ishment. 
 
 The marking sheet on which are entered 
 the marks for misconduct or imperfect les- 
 sons should always be hung near the door, 
 so that the pupils in passing may see at a 
 glance if any mark has been accidentally 
 
DISCIPLINE. 77 
 
 or incorrectly placed opposite their names. 
 Only in this way can full confidence be 
 established in the accuracy of monthly re- 
 ports to parents. 
 
 It is a mistake to whip for discipli- 
 nary purposes merely. Whipping should 
 be used as a reformatory agent only. It is 
 better for boys than confinement in jail. 
 It should rarely if ever be administered to 
 girls. The teacher who resorts to frequent 
 whipping as a means of securing disci- 
 pline, is either excessively lazy or weak. 
 He can have very little tact or will power. 
 A city superintendent says, " I find that 
 the good order of the classes varies with 
 the amount of whipping done, in inverse 
 ratio. Much whipping, bad order; little 
 whipping, better order; least whipping, 
 best order." This will be found to be the, 
 experience of all who have given the ques- 
 tion a fair trial. There are some who have 
 relied solely on whipping for many years, 
 and who have, therefore, no other means 
 of control but the cane. They and their 
 pupils are to be pitied. They were never 
 qualified to perform the high duties of 
 teachers. 
 
78 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 It is a mistake to whip pupils in a 
 merely formal manner. Some teachers 
 hold that the disgrace of receiving punish- 
 ment constitutes its chief restraining 
 power. This is a grievous error. If the 
 opinion were a correct one it would be one 
 of the strongest reasons against corporal 
 punishment. It is certainly not the teach- 
 er's aim to bring disgrace on his pupils. 
 Boys laugh at the credulity of a master 
 who takes it for granted that they feel in- 
 tensely humiliated by whipping. Whip 
 rarely but severely. Whip only for serious 
 or repeated offences, but let the whipping 
 be of such a character that it will not need 
 to be repeated often. 
 
 It is a mistake to punish by pulling 
 a child's ears, slapping his cheeks, 
 etc., etc. Punishment should subdue. 
 The horrible idea that the chief object of 
 punishment is to cause pain is not ac- 
 cepted by modern teachers. The punish- 
 ments referred to above always cause 
 rebellious feelings, and nothing but the 
 comparative weakness of the pupil ever 
 prevents his prompt resentment of such an 
 
DISCIPLINE. 79 
 
 indignity by the personal chastisement of 
 the teacher. Such punishments are im- 
 proper : 
 
 i. Because they indicate haste, bad 
 temper and inhumanity on the part of the 
 teacher. 
 
 2. Because they are inflicted without 
 any previous explanation of their neces- 
 sity and justness to the pupils. Expla- 
 nations should precede punishment. 
 
 No teacher should ever torture his 
 pupils by pinching, etc., or by compelling 
 them to keep the body long in an un- 
 natural position. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 MISTAKES IN METHOD. 
 
 It is a mistake to put questions to 
 pupils ill rotation. Many commence at 
 the head of the class, facing the pupil there, 
 and after putting him through as though 
 he were the only pupil in the class, they 
 get over number two in a similar manner, 
 and so on to the end of the class, if happily 
 that part be reached before the time for 
 closing the lesson. They can teach but 
 one at a time. The class of such a teacher 
 should consist ot one little pupil, so that he 
 could see the whole of it at once. 
 
 No pupil should ever know who is 
 likely to receive a question until it 
 has been given. No .name should be 
 mentioned, no motion made or look given 
 to indicate who is to answer, until the 
 question has been asked. Many teachers, 
 
METHOD. 8 1 
 
 while proposing a question, make the 
 mistake of looking steadily at the pupil 
 whom they expect to answer it. This 
 should be so carefully avoided as to leave 
 every pupil completely in the dark as to 
 the intentions of the teacher. Each pupil 
 should know that he may be asked to 
 answer every question. Every one will thus 
 be compelled to attend all the time ; while 
 if questions are asked in rotation, a pupil, 
 alter answering his question, may discuss 
 the circus, or the last lacrosse match, or 
 the next base ball match, or any other 
 appropriate topic that may chance to come 
 into his mind, until his turn is coming 
 again. It is impossible to maintain good 
 order in a natural way by such a method 
 of teaching. 
 
 It is a mistake to repeat a question 
 for the sake of those who do not hear 
 it the first time. To do so is simply an 
 extra inducement to the scholars to be 
 inattentive. If a pupil knows that your 
 question is to be asked once only, he will 
 listen to it the first time. If he knows 
 that, when you wish him to answer, you 
 
82 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 will shake him to get his attention,and then 
 repeat your question, he will wait for the 
 shaking. A pupil deserves more punish- 
 ment for not knowing the question than for 
 not being able to give the answer. 
 
 It is a mistake to look fixedly at 
 the pupil who is reading or answering. 
 If there is one pupil who does not need 
 watching, he is the one. He is certain to 
 be attending to his work. We should at- 
 tend to him with the ear, to all others with 
 the eye. Many teachers, while teaching a 
 reading lesson, divide their attention 
 about equally between their book and the 
 pupil who is reading. Such teachers 
 never have good order or interested classes. 
 In reality, neither the book nor the pupil 
 reading should need the attention of the 
 teacher's eye. 
 
 It is a mistake to he a slave of any 
 text-hook. The teacher should under- 
 stand principles, not certain statements, or 
 rules, or examples. The teacher who 
 merely hears recitations of words prepared 
 in a text-book has a poor estimate of his 
 true function. The pupils should do con- 
 
METHOD. 83 
 
 siderable independent work in the study 
 of their text-books, but the teacher should 
 test the results of their study by requiring 
 them to make a practical use of it, He should 
 not be satisfied with knowing that they 
 can use it with their tongues only. The text- 
 book can never be a substitute for the 
 teacher. 
 
 It is a mistake to assign lessons with- 
 out preyiously explaining them. One 
 of our most important duties as teachers 
 is to teach children how to study, and what to 
 study most carefully in connection with 
 each lesson. To assign a lesson to a child 
 without giving him some idea of its lead- 
 ing features — what you will expect him to 
 know, or explain or prove next day, and 
 how and where he can obtain most light 
 on difficult parts, — seems a good deal like 
 sending him into a wilderness to fetch some- 
 thing he has never seen, and which you have 
 not even described to him. 
 
 It is a mistake to assign much home 
 work to young children. The youthful 
 mind should not be forced to make too 
 great or too long continued effort in study 
 
84 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 If a child's brain is actively employed for 
 five or six hours per day in school, it must 
 have nearly reached the " fatigue point," 
 beyond which mental exertion is positive- 
 ly injurious. Physically and mentally it 
 is better for the child to have but little 
 home study until he reaches the age of 
 twelve. Home study at any period should 
 consist of work which the child can do 
 for himself without the aid of the teacher. 
 By doing it at home school time is saved, 
 and the pupil is allowed to do his fair 
 share of the work of learning. It is of 
 vital importance, however, that neither the 
 ambition of the teacher nor the vanity of 
 the parents should be allowed to dwarf 
 the intellects of children by forcing them 
 to make too great or too constant mental 
 effort while young. There is no doubt 
 that the majority of- those who have at- 
 tended the average school have had their 
 faculties blunted by such a course. Pro- 
 fessor Huxley says : " The educational 
 abomination of desolation of the present 
 day is the stimulation of young people to 
 work at high pressure by incessant and 
 competitive examinations. Some wise 
 
METHOD. 8$ 
 
 man fwho probably was not an early riser) 
 has said of early risers, in general, that 
 they are conceited all the forenoon, and 
 stupid all the afternoon. Now, whether 
 this is true of early risers in the common 
 acceptation of the word, or not, I will not 
 pretend to say; but it is too often true of 
 the unhappy children who are forced to 
 rise too early in their classes. They are 
 conceited all the forenoon of life, and 
 stupid all its afternoon. The vigor and 
 freshness which should have been stored 
 up for the purposes of the hard struggle 
 for existence in practical life, have been 
 washed out of them by precocious mental 
 debauchery, — by book-gluttony and les- 
 son-bibbing. Their faculties are worn 
 out by the strain put upon their callow 
 brains, and they are demoralized by worth- 
 less, childish triumphs before the real 
 work of life begins. I have no compassion 
 for sloth, but youth has more need for in- 
 tellectual rest than age ; and the cheerful- 
 ness, the tenacity of purrose, the power of 
 work, which make many a successful man 
 what he is, must often be placed to the 
 credit, not of his hours of industry, but to 
 
86 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 that of his hours of idleness, in boyhpod." 
 It is a mistake to assign a lesson 
 and not afterward test the class 
 to see whether it has heen pre- 
 pared. To do so is to encourage the 
 pupils to neglect their lessons regular- 
 ly. The act of assigning a lessson 
 should convey to the minds of the 
 pupils, without any words to that effect, 
 the statement, "I will examine you on this 
 portion of work to-morrow, or at our next 
 lesson on this subject." Some teachers 
 even require written exercises to be 
 brought in some subjects, and forget or 
 neglect to call for them. Some call for 
 them without ever returning them or re- 
 porting their corrections in any way. 
 These teachers are training their pupils to 
 be careless and indifferent, and often dis- 
 honest. Thev are also sinning against 
 themselves,for they are certain in this way 
 to secure the disrespect of their classes. 
 Pupils soon detect the weakness of their 
 teachers. They love system and definite- 
 ness of purpose. They respect a teacher 
 who attends to his own duty thoroughly 
 and at the right time. They lose confi- 
 
METHOD. 87 
 
 dence in a teacher who forgets or neglects 
 a duty. 
 
 It is a mistake to continue a lesson 
 too long in the school room. The atten- 
 tion will flag if confined too long to one 
 subject. The minds even of adults should 
 be rested occasionally while studying. 
 Recreation at the end of each hour for 
 five minutes will enable the student to 
 make more rapid progress than he would 
 otherwise make. The rests should come 
 more frequently in junior classes. Change 
 of work is one way ot securing rest. Some 
 lessons may be continued longer than 
 others, with profit. Those that exercise 
 the memory only, will not retain interest 
 so long as those which bring more of the 
 faculties into play. 
 
 It is a mistake to think that one 
 teaching of a subject will be sufficient. 
 
 It is necessary not only to i^epeat but to 
 review. One of the most discouraging 
 things in the experience of a young teach- 
 er is to find that, a month after 
 teaching a subject, his pupils seem 
 to remember very little about it. He 
 
OS MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 may have labored faithfully and skill- 
 fully to explain the mystery of frac- 
 tions, for instance; he may be proud and 
 justly proud of his success ; but if he rests 
 satisfied with a fine explanation of the 
 subject, he will find to his great disappoint- 
 ment that he has been merely writing in 
 the sand. He should have regular reviews 
 at times marked on his time table, and in 
 addition he should briefly review previous 
 lessons before beginning a new one in any 
 subject. The lesson of yesterday should 
 be reviewed before beginning the lesson 
 of to-day. It is only by thus repeating and 
 reviewing that permanent impressions can 
 be made. 
 
 " Repeat " is the most important word 
 in the teacher's guide book. " Practice 
 makes perfect ; " it is equally true and for a 
 similar reason, that repetition makes re- 
 membrance. No teacher experiences so 
 much difficulty in enabling his pupils to 
 comprehend a lesson, as he does in im- 
 pressing it upon their memories after it 
 has been explained. Memory's track, to be- 
 fit for travel, must be well beaten. Mem- 
 
METHOD. 89 
 
 ory, like a piece of shining metal, shines 
 more brightly the more frequently it is 
 burnished. 
 
 Explanation affords a teacher the widest 
 field for the display of his individuality 
 and teaching talent, but the permanency of 
 his teaching depends upon persistent rep- 
 etition and reviewing. The old lady's rule 
 for sweetening rhubarb: "Put in as 
 much sugar as your conscience will 
 allow you, and then shut your eyes 
 and throw in a handful more," if slightly 
 changed may be taken as a guide to teach- 
 ers. We must repeat and review, and 
 review and repeat until it seems absurd 
 to repeat any longer, and then experience 
 will show us the necessity for repeating 
 and reviewing again. 
 
 It is a mistake to be satisfied with 
 repetition at the time of teaching. 
 Some teachers repeat and have their classes 
 repeat the facts taught while teaching 
 them, and rest contented with this. This- 
 repetition is frequently carried to such an 
 extent as to weary the pupils and make 
 teaching a " mechanical grind of words."' 
 
90 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 It is moreover the least effective kind of 
 repetition. It is merely applying a second 
 coat of paint before the first has dried. 
 The repetition that teaches is that in which 
 the mind retraces its steps, and familiarizes 
 itself with what it has passed over. True 
 reviewing does not mean a tedious "wag- 
 ging of the tongue." 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that de- 
 tecting errors is equivalent to correct- 
 ing them. Many teachers simply test the 
 ability of their pupils to answer certain 
 questions relating to the subject in hand. 
 They ask the questions, and if they are 
 missed, they mark the result on the delin- 
 quent pupils themselves, or in the conduct 
 .and work register. Sometimes both 
 methods of marking- are adopted. The. 
 teacher seems to think that his whole duty 
 is performed when he has wisely shaken 
 ihis head and said "next," or "wrong," or 
 passed the question to some other pupil. 
 It is not enough to show the pupil that he 
 does not know the answer or understand 
 the subject. 
 
 To say, as a teacher once did to a boy, 
 
METHOD. 91 
 
 "You don't know nuthin' " is not a very 
 good educative process. To show a 
 pupil that he does not know a thing 
 is often a necessary part of the teacher's 
 duty, but it is never his whole duty. 
 He must make the pupil correct his error 
 by some method. If possible the pupil 
 who makes the mistake should be led to 
 see his own error, and to think out the 
 correct solution of the difficulty himself, 
 or find the answer in his text book by 
 study. The more independent the pupil 
 can be of the teacher in this respect the 
 better. Indeed, the teacher's whole duty 
 may be said to consist in aiding his pupils 
 to become independent men and women, 
 capable of grasping the problems of life, 
 and of solving them in a proper manner. 
 He can best do this by making them cor- 
 rect their own errors themselves. How- 
 ever, the errors must be corrected, whatever 
 be the method of doing so. The teacher 
 is not a mere machine for testing the ac- 
 curacy of answers, applying appropriate^?^ 
 punishments, and marking results. If one 
 or two or more pupils miss in answering, 
 
92 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 they should each repeat the right answer 
 before another question is asked. 
 
 It is a mistake to be satisfied with 
 one correction of an error. The teacher 
 should repeat and re-repeat the questions 
 that have been missed. He should not, of 
 course, repeat a question several times in 
 succession. Time will not admit of con- 
 secutive repetition by the same individual. 
 If several members of a class have failed 
 to answer a question properly, it is quite 
 right occasionally to have the answer 
 given in rapid succession a few times by 
 the class simultaneously. When an error 
 has been made and corrected by the pupil 
 who made it, the same question should be 
 given again to him a few mimates after- 
 wards. Impressions are rooted, and errors 
 eradicated [by repetition. Whenever it is 
 possible, as in spelling, composition, etc., 
 for the pupil to make a list of the mistakes 
 he makes, he should be required to do so. 
 These lists should be used frequently in 
 drills. The best spelling book a pupil 
 can have, is a list of the words he has 
 spelled inaccurately. The best pro- 
 
METHOD. 93 
 
 nouncing dictionary he can have, is a list 
 of the words he has mispronounced in 
 reading or in conversation with his teacher. 
 
 It is a mistake to try to teach too 
 many points in a single lesson. Many 
 teachers seem to think that their ability 
 as teachers is to be measured by the extent 
 of ground which they can cover in a les- 
 son. They reckon the progress of their 
 scholars by the number of pages passed 
 over. They measure the amount of their 
 mathematical knowledge by the square 
 yard. They forget that the pupils them- 
 selves have any part in the work of learn- 
 ing. The teacher gives information, the 
 pupil receives it. The result of teaching 
 depends much more on the receiving than 
 the giving. It is measured, not by what 
 the pupils hear, but by what they carry 
 with them from the class-room, and apply 
 in future life. 
 
 The facts stated by the teacher or drawn 
 by him from the pupils should be repeated 
 simultaneously by the class, and drilled 
 upon persistently by the teacher, while the 
 lesson is in progress. " Questioning in " is 
 
94 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 the grandest method of the trained and 
 cultured teacher in teaching new facts or 
 thoughts; "questioning out " is the only- 
 certain way of fastening them firmly in 
 the mind. Drill when about three facts 
 have been communicated, however simple 
 they may be ; then give three additional 
 facts and drill over the six, and so on to 
 the close of the lesson. This repetition 
 drill should be more thorough toward the 
 close of the lesson. It should be varied as 
 much as possible. The answering should 
 be partly simultaneous and partly individ- 
 ual, and always brisk and lively. 
 
 It is a mistake to be indefinite in 
 teaching. In teaching map geography 
 for instance, many teachers place the poin- 
 ter on the map in a sort of hap-hazard 
 manner, when indicating the position of a 
 place. The point, and the point only, 
 should be held firmly at the spot where the 
 place is situated. If this be not done, the 
 knowledge given will be inaccurate, and 
 habits of carelessness and superficial study 
 will be formed by the pupils. One of the 
 most important lessons we can teach in 
 
METHOD. 9^ 
 
 school is thoroughness. Knowledge is 
 valuable only when it is reliable. Be 
 accurate first, even if you have to make 
 apparently slow progres. Be sure that 
 one idea is clearly understood and im- 
 pressed before you proceed with another. 
 Avoid ambiguous expressions. Correct 
 them when used by your pupils either 
 orally or in their composition. 
 
 It is a mistake to devote attention 
 chiefly to the smart pupils in a class. 
 Too often the teacher neglects the duller 
 pupils in order to sweep triumphantly on 
 with those who are more brilliant. The 
 temptation to do so is great, even without 
 the additional stimulus given by compari- 
 son of results of test examinations. Such 
 a course is manifestly unfair, however, as 
 the teacher is aiding those who least re- 
 quire assistance, and neglecting those who 
 most need help. Archibishop Whately 
 relates that " a certain gardener always 
 outstripped his competitors by taking the 
 highest prizes for gooseberries. Time 
 after time he had been successful. The 
 reason of his success was a secret which 
 
96 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 his rivals determined to learn. They 
 accordingly watched him from an ambush 
 and found that he carefully stripped his 
 best bushes early in the season of all but a 
 few of their largest berries. He thus ob- 
 tained berries of a very great size ; but he 
 only raised a few quarts from bushes which 
 would have produced a large quantity ot 
 berries." Teachers should remember that 
 they should aim to give to all their pupils 
 the highest and best culture possible to 
 them under the circumstances in which 
 they are placed, and not merely to devel- 
 op a few " prize gooseberries," 
 
 It is a mistake to give information 
 to young children whih they cannot 
 use at OIICC This is not the way in which 
 they learned before they went to school, 
 and they learned more rapidly then, and 
 remembered what they learned better, 
 than they ever do afterwards. They ac- 
 quired knowledge by contact with things, 
 and they used the knowledge gained at once. 
 When the pupil can give the sound of two 
 letters he should form and name the words 
 that can be made with them. Another let- 
 
METHOD. 97 
 
 ter should then be sounded, and several new 
 words can be formed by combining the 
 three leetters, and so on. Even if the fos- 
 silized hl alphabetical " method is used, it is 
 absurd to keep the child droning at the 
 twenty-six letters when long sentences 
 might be prepared by using only a few of 
 them. Whatever method of teaching 
 word recognition be used, pupils should read 
 a line as soon as they can name the words 
 it contains. Most teachers are contented 
 with word naming throughout the whole 
 of the first reading book. This is a mis- 
 take ; word naming is not reading. Pupils 
 should not be compelled to go through the 
 drudgery of learning the whole of the 
 tables in arithmetic before they put a 
 part of them in practice. They should 
 apply the simpler portions of the addition 
 and multiplication tables for instance, 
 before completing the whole tables. The 
 teacher must of course carefully avoid any 
 work involving a knowledge of the tables 
 beyond the pupils' acquirements. Pupils 
 are frequently compelled to count their 
 fingers by the thoughtlessness of teachers 
 who scold them for it. 
 
9S MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 It is a mistake to use objects in re- 
 viewing or drilling. Objects should be 
 used in giving the ideas at first, but not in 
 repeating afterwards. The pupils should 
 deal with the abstractions as soon as they 
 have been clearly conceived by the aid of 
 the real things. In addition for instance, 
 it is necessary that the child should learn 
 the sum of seven and nine first by means 
 of balls, or beans, or some objects, but 
 having clearly learned the fact that seven 
 things added to nine things of the same 
 kind make sixteen things, he should only 
 add the numbers 9 and 7 in future. The 
 objects enable a teacher to communicate 
 a lesson more easily than he could do 
 without them, but once the lesson has been 
 learned the objects are only fetters which 
 prevent the freest development of the 
 mind. 
 
 It is a mistake to accept partial 
 answers. It is well to insist that pupils 
 should give their answers in the form of 
 complete sentences. The best language 
 lessons are the practical lessons given in 
 oral composition in the general work of 
 
METHOD. 99 
 
 the school-room. Good speaking is not 
 taught by rales but by correcting the 
 errors made in conversation, errors in pro- 
 nunciation as well as in grammar. The 
 pupils should express their ideas, therefore,, 
 at all times in the form of complete sen- 
 tences, to accustom them to the formation 
 of sentences which accurately express 
 their thoughts. This will give the teacher 
 his best opportunity for removing errors. 
 
 Questions whose answers can be given 
 by a single name or date need not be 
 answered as above directed. 
 
 Give the date of the battle of Hastings. 
 
 The date of the battle of Hastings is 
 ro66 A. D. 
 
 Name the commander of the British 
 forces at Waterloo. 
 
 Wellington was the commander of the 
 British forces at Waterloo. 
 
 To answer these and similar questions 
 in complete sentences is a waste of time, 
 without compensation in the way of de- 
 velopment. 
 
 The rule that should guide the teacher 
 in this matter is : whenever the answer 
 
ICO MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 expresses a thought of the pupil, it should 
 be expressed in his own language in the 
 form of a sentence. Mere repetition of 
 the question with the addition of a word 
 or a date is of little benefit. 
 
 It is a mistake to repeat every 
 answer. Teachers often acquire the 
 habit of repeating an answer insensibly as 
 it is given by a pupil. This is simply a 
 waste of time. Indeed, this method of 
 killing time is resorted to by many design - 
 edly. They repeat the answer to one 
 question while preparing to ask another, 
 This should not be necessary. The 
 teacher's questions should be ready, or 
 the answering will be slow and the at- 
 tention unsettled. Occasionally it may 
 be wise to repeat the answer in order to 
 impress it on the minds of the other mem- 
 bers of the class, or to emphasize some 
 essential part. 
 
 It is a mistake to have a stereotyped 
 plan of presenting a subject. It is 
 
 necessary to successful teaching that the 
 teacher should prepare his lessons, not his 
 subjects merely, carefully beforehand, 
 
METHOD. IOI 
 
 He should also arrange the general plan 
 of his lesson. This will prevent his 
 wandering while teaching. His plan 
 should be elastic, however, so as to allow 
 him to adapt it to the circumstances that 
 may arise, or the questions that may be 
 asked while teaching. The bones of the 
 plan should not be seen. The more 
 variety the teacher can give to the method 
 of presenting a subject the greater will be 
 the interest taken in it by the pupils. 
 
 It is a mistake to talk too much 
 while teaching. Some teachers are very 
 fond of " airing their knowledge of the 
 lesson." If a teacher talks a great deal he 
 is either too diffuse in the treatment of 
 his subject, or he offers his pupils more 
 thought than they can properly digest. It 
 is not possible for a class to attend hour 
 after hour and day after day to a teacher 
 who gives them no share in the work of 
 learning but as listeners. He is the best 
 teacher who can stimulate his pupils with 
 fewest words to greatest mental activity 
 and interest in their lessons. Most of the 
 talking should be done by the pupils as 
 
102 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 guided or led by the teacher. If the teacher 
 talks too much he wearies himself as well 
 as his class. Let the talking be reduced 
 to the minimum, and the working in- 
 creased to the maximum extent possible. 
 
 It is a mistake to use too many long 
 words in teaching. Great thoughts are 
 best expressed in simple language. Those 
 who teach children must use plain, familiar 
 words or they will be misunderstood. All 
 teachers are liable to forget the change 
 that has taken place in their own mental 
 development since they were children. 
 The minds of pupils are frequently con- 
 fused because their teachers take it for 
 granted that they understand the meaning 
 of words with whose use they are unac- 
 quainted. 
 
 The teacher should be as correct a model 
 as possible in his language. It should be 
 simple, carefully chosen, appropriate, and 
 accurate as regards pronunciation and 
 grammatical construction. 
 
 It is a mistake to give words before 
 ideas. Many teachers and parents object 
 to the use of such words as "parallelogram, 
 
METHOD. IO3 
 
 triangle, peninsula,'" etc., by young child- 
 ren, on the plea that they are beyond their 
 comprehension. That depends on how 
 the child has been taught. If it has 
 learned what a triangle is by actually 
 handling triangles, and becomes familiar 
 with their distinguishing characteristics 
 by using them, then it will use the word 
 ■" triangle " as intelligently as the word 
 "chair." The child five years of age uses 
 many words in its ordinary conversation, 
 which are in themselves more diffcult to 
 spell and utter than those above named. 
 The name of a thing is always a matter of 
 secondary importance to a child. What the 
 thing is or does is of supremest interest to 
 it. It this can be learned, and especially it 
 it can be learned practically, the name 
 will give no trouble either to the memory 
 or to the vocal organs. Without the idea, 
 the name is a mere sound with no educa- 
 tive power. 
 
 It is a mistake to try to make diffi- 
 culties too simple. The duty of a teach- 
 er in teaching is held by some to 'consist 
 in simplicity of explanation. The teacher 
 
104 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 is to make mild and sweetened decoctions 
 of knowledge, and give them in homoe- 
 opathic doses to the pupils. When the 
 scholars meet with any rocks in their 
 pathway, he is to remove them. Instead 
 of allowing them to climb the hill of 
 knowledge, he is told to level the hill and 
 even make a good road across the plain 
 for their accommodation. The teachers who 
 act on this principle necessarily dwarf the 
 minds of their pupils. 
 
 The teacher should aim : 
 
 i. To make the pupils^/ over difficul- 
 ties themselves. 
 
 2. To present the difficulties of a sub- 
 ject in their proper order, in a series of nat- 
 ural steps. 
 
 3. To graduate the steps to suit the ages 
 and advancement of the classes. They 
 should be very small indeed at first. 
 
 4. To avoid giving explanation as far as 
 possible. Explain the nature of the ma- 
 terials for thought which are presented in 
 the text books or in other ways; do not do 
 the thinking for the pupils. 
 
 5. When explanation is necessary it 
 should be clear, definite and brief, 
 
METHOD. 105 
 
 It is a mistake to neglect any oppor- 
 tunity for making the pupils do as 
 much as possible in learning. One of 
 
 the fundamental principles of Froebel's 
 system of education is, children learn by 
 doing. " Children in the Kindergarten learn 
 to observe, because they are constantly trying 
 to reproduce." They learn the character- 
 istics and relations of things by actually 
 handling them. They cannot, therefore, 
 learn superficially, and superficial teach- 
 ing in the public schools afterwards will 
 never satisfy them. 
 
 The eye has been lauded to such an ex- 
 tent as a means of education, that many 
 teachers have received very erroneous 
 ideas in regard to its true function. "We 
 learn through the eye," " cultivate the eye," 
 " teach pupils to observe," &c, &c, are 
 rules which have been given forth as sum- 
 maries of the whole art of teaching. The 
 eye is by far the most important of all the 
 senses, from an educational standpoint,but 
 it must be remembered that the senses at best 
 are merely servants of the mind. They con- 
 vey impressions to the brain, but the accu- 
 8 
 
106 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 racy, the intensity, and the permanency of 
 these impressions depend upon the brain 
 itself. The senses do not mould thought; 
 they supply the materials from which 
 thoughts are formed. They carry to the 
 brain an infinite number of impressions to 
 which it pays little or no attention. Unless 
 the mind assumes a receptive attitude, 
 thought is not developed at all, and even if 
 thoughts are formed in the mind, they do not 
 remain there unless they are used. To require 
 pupils to learn by doing is the only method 
 which absolutely demands the fulfilment of 
 all the conditions necessary to secure clear- 
 ness and permanency of thought. The 
 attention is thus fixed, and the brain does 
 not merely receive impressions but moulds 
 them into thoughts which it uses at once 
 in performing the work. Knowledge 
 should be not only acquired but applied, 
 and whenever possible applied through 
 the instrumentality of the hands with nat- 
 ural things. 
 
 At one time the teacher of chemistry 
 was satisfied with learned statements of 
 the facts of his subject, accompanied with 
 
METHOD. IO7 
 
 blackboard illustrations. Then actual 
 experiments were performed in the pres- 
 ence of the class to illustrate and confirm 
 the teaching. A still further step was 
 made when the experiments preceded the 
 explanation, and the pupils were required 
 to notice and account for the results. 
 Now, however, the teacher who wishes to 
 make definite and lasting impressions, 
 requires each student to perform the experi- 
 ments for himself . It is only by doing this,and 
 by frequently repeating the same experiment 
 that the chemical theories will maintain 
 themselves in the student's mind, in compe- 
 tition with the vast accumulation of 
 thoughts which are forced into it .in prac- 
 tical life. 
 
 Botany is not now regarded as taught 
 unless the student actually handles typical 
 specimens. 
 
 A student may look for years at a map 
 without getting a definite idea of the re- 
 lations of the various parts of the coun- 
 tries outlined on it. For this as well as 
 other reasons good teachers now depend 
 mainly on map-sketching as a means of 
 
T08 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 teaching geography. They do not simply 
 draw a map themselves on the black-board, 
 but every pupil sketches the map for him- 
 self as the teaching progresses, and part 
 by part is added to the map. If the pupils 
 cut the forms of countries in paper or 
 make them in any other way, they will find 
 that one effort of this kind will make more 
 lasting impressions than a dozen repeti- 
 tions. It is an excellent plan to have a 
 broad shallow box with sand or moulder's 
 earth in it, so that the beginners in geog- 
 raphy may actually shape for themselves 
 the various divisions of land in learning 
 the definitions. Continents may also be 
 formed in this way with their mountain 
 ranges, valleys, peninsulas, capes, etc. 
 Wooden blocks may be used to represent 
 cities. If the bottom of the box is painted 
 blue it will serve to represent water. The 
 principle of learning by doing is recognized 
 by most teachers in teaching some subjects. 
 In writing, drawing, reading, and the 
 mathematical subjects, the pupils are 
 allowed to perform their fair share of the 
 work. No teacher is satisfied with merely 
 giving them the necessary ideas. They 
 
METHOD. 10 9 
 
 put the theories into practice at once. 
 This should be done to the fullest extent 
 possible in teaching all subjects. 
 
 It is a mistake to tell pupils anything 
 they should know or can be led to find 
 out by judicious teaching. This is the 
 Teacher's Golden Rule. If only this 
 one rule was carried out, the teaching, in 
 most schools would be revolutionized. 
 Young teachers should repeat it every 
 morning on their way to school, and ask 
 themselves every evening wherein they 
 have violated it. It will form a pruning 
 hook to cut away most of the errors in 
 method, if it is intelligently used. 
 
 Telling is not teaching. Lecturing or 
 sermonizing is not teaching. The teacher 
 should lead or guide his pupils through 
 the garden of knowledge, and show them 
 which kinds of fruit are beneficial and 
 which injurious; he should also show 
 them the best means of obtaining the fruit, 
 but he should not pluck it for them, and 
 eat it for them, and digest it for them. He 
 should teach his scholars how to think : he 
 should not do the thinking for them. 
 
110 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 This will make them develop, byj giving 
 their mental activity the work for which 
 it so ardently longs. 
 
 Professor Tyndall says: "Looking 
 backward from my present stand-point 
 over the earnest past, a boyhood fond of 
 play and physical action, but averse to 
 school-work, lies before me. The aversion 
 did not arise from intellectual apathy or 
 want of appetite for knowledge, but mainly 
 from the fact that my earliest teachers 
 lacked the power of imparting vitality to 
 what they taught." 
 
 No wonder that little fellows with so 
 many germs of life and power in them 
 waiting to be stirred into activity and 
 vigor, should have an aversion to attend 
 such a school. If a teacher is not ac- 
 quainted with the wonderful nature of the 
 mind he has to develop, and the natural 
 order of the growth of its faculties, he 
 should be very tolerant of truancy. The 
 temptation to play "hookey" may some- 
 times come from imprisoned faculties 
 protesting against their most unjust neg- 
 lect. Certain it is that, independent of 
 
METHOD. Ill 
 
 the most evil effects resulting from known 
 disobedience, a boy would learn more in 
 the fields and woods with the flowers and 
 birds, than in many a school. 
 
 Sir William Hamilton says, "The pri- 
 mary principle of education is the determi- 
 nation of the pupil to self-activity — the 
 doing nothing for him which he is able to 
 do for himself." 
 
 Herbert Spencer says, " In education 
 the process of self-development should be 
 encouraged to the fullest extent. Child- 
 ren should be led to make their own 
 investigations and to draw their own 
 inferences. They should be told as little 
 as possible, and induced to discover &s much 
 as possible. Self-evolution guarantees a 
 vividness and permanency of impression 
 which the usual methods can never pro- 
 duce. Any piece of knowledge which 
 the pupil has himself acquired, any 
 problem which he has himself solved, 
 becomes by virtue of the conquest much 
 more thoroughly his than it could else be. 
 The preliminary activity of mind which 
 his success implies, the concentration of 
 
112 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 thought necessary to it, and the excite- 
 ment consequent on his triumph conspire 
 to register all the facts in his memory in 
 a way that no mere information heard 
 from a teacher or read in a school book, 
 can be registered. Even if he fail the 
 tension to which his faculties have been 
 wound up, insures his remembrance of the 
 solution when given to him, better than 
 half a dozen repetitions would. Observe 
 again, that this discipline necessitates a 
 continuous organization of the knowledge 
 he acquires. It is in the very nature of facts 
 and inferences, assimilated in this normal 
 manner, that they successively become the 
 premises of further conclusions — the 
 means of solving still lurther questions. 
 The solution ot yesterday's problem helps 
 the pupil in mastering to-day's. Thus 
 knowledge is turned into a faculty as soon 
 as it is taken in, and forthwith aids in the 
 general function of thinking — does not lie 
 merely written in the pages of an internal 
 library, as when rote learnt." 
 
 Fellenberg held, " That the individual, 
 independent activity of the pupil is of 
 
METHOD. 113 
 
 much greater importance than the ordinary 
 busy officiousness of many who assume 
 the office of educators." 
 
 Rosenkranz says, ''Mind is essentially 
 self-activity. Mind lets nothing act upon 
 it unless it has rendered itself receptive 
 to it." 
 
 Horace Mann wrote, " Unfortunately 
 education amongst us at present consists 
 too much in telling, not in training." 
 
 Let the pupils have a chance to enjoy 
 the pleasure of discovering for themselves 
 and school will be to them not a prison, 
 but a temple of joy. How children delight 
 in overcoming a difficulty ! How much 
 greater is their satisfaction when they 
 overcome it without aid from the teacher ! 
 The honor is then entirely their own. 
 What a difference there is, too, in the re- 
 mits of teaching, when the pupil is allowed 
 to do his own share of the work ! If an 
 infant were always carried in arms, 
 it would never learn to walk. Each little 
 effort it makes for itself gives new power 
 and vigor to its muscles. So the child 
 that is lifted over every obstacle by 
 
114 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 the strong mental arm ot its teacher 
 will become mentally crippled, and depen- 
 dent upon others. It will lean if it is 
 trained to do so; and when it has to go 
 forth into the world without its teacher 
 for a helper, it will be unable to surmount 
 the difficulties in its path. A pupil can 
 never forget a fact learned practically, as 
 the result of his own investigation. One 
 boy learns by actually mixing yellow and 
 blue colors that they form green, and dis- 
 covers the effects of all the primary colors 
 in forming secondary colors. Another is 
 to/</ the results of the combinations of the 
 primary colors. He may even have these 
 results exhibited by means of the most 
 ingenious and elaborately colored charts. 
 The results in the two cases will be vastly 
 different. The second boy, ten years after 
 leaving school, may remember, after a pro- 
 cess of thought, that red and blue produce 
 purple. The first does not need to go 
 through any processs of reasoning. He is 
 not conscious of an effort in remembering. 
 He knows it as he knows his name; that 
 he has two hands, ten toes, etc.; that the 
 weather is cold in winter; or as he knows 
 
METHOD. 115 
 
 any of a thousand and one facts which he 
 has learned for himself practically. 
 
 There is more unnecessary telling done 
 in teaching arithmetic than any other sub- 
 ject. Long, hard, unmeaning rules are 
 memorized, often without even being ex- 
 plained by the teacher. The pupil is told 
 to multiply at a certain time by a certain 
 number, and then divide by something else, 
 and so on, and he will get the answer. 
 The class reaches a new exercise, say ad- 
 dition of fractions, and the teacher pro- 
 ceeds to show them 'how to do the work. 
 He writes on the blackboard f+&, and 
 says, frequently with his back to the 
 class, " Now the L. C, M. of 8 and 12 is 24. 
 8 into 24 goes 3 times ; t>^7 = ^- I2 i nt0 
 24 goes twice; 2X5=^. Then fi+M= 
 fi=lsrr. How many think they can do 
 another like that ? " And an example is 
 given them on which they experiment. 
 This is not an exaggerated specimen. The 
 teacher does all. No use is made of the 
 knowledge already possessed by the pupils. 
 They are not asked whether the things to 
 be added have the same name or not,. 
 
Il6 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 whether they can add numbers of different 
 denominations or not, so as to show the 
 necessity for reducing the fraction to a 
 common denominator How easy it would 
 be to ask the pupils to add £6 and 4s , to 
 lead them to see that before adding them 
 together they would have to be changed to 
 the same name. How natural then to 
 make the step from pounds and shillings to 
 eighths and twelfths. This point having 
 been reached by the class without any 
 telling by the teacher, why should he do the 
 work of reducing to a common denomina- 
 tor? The pupils can do this before they 
 reach addition. Having done the reduc- 
 tion and obtained % \ -\ \% they should be 
 told to add the two. No doubt more than 
 half the class will obtain fi as the answer. 
 How can they be led to see their error? 
 Will it not do for the teacher to say " We 
 never add the denominators ? " Certainly 
 not. Perhaps the best way to prevent such 
 a mistake is to ask the class to write down 
 li in some other way. After a little 
 thought one at least will suggest 21 twenty- 
 fourths. This fact clearly understood, that 
 the denominator is merely the name, and 
 
METHOD. 117 
 
 that it can be written in letters as well as 
 figures, one-half the difficulty in teaching 
 fractions is removed Having got this 
 from the class, the example should 
 be written down thus on the board : 
 21 twenty -fourths , ., , , , 
 
 .0 twenty- fourths and another P laced be " 
 
 side it, such as 21 \\f s Then ask the 
 10 apples. 
 
 class, if they would add the letters in the 
 names of the things to be added ? The re- 
 sult will be gratifying. The class will not 
 add navies again. 
 
 To reduce a mixed number to an im- 
 proper fraction the pupils are told to " mul- 
 tiply the whole number by the denomina- 
 tor and add in the numerator, and under 
 the result place the denominator." When 
 they can repeat this to them meaningless 
 sentence, the teacher places an example 
 on the board, and, without even question- 
 ing his cla.ss to make them apply the rule 
 they have learned, he proceeds to " do " 
 it. He says, 8f ; 8 X 7 = 56+ 3 = 59 ; now 
 put 7 under the 59 and we get the answer 
 V. Why not let the class see that they 
 
Il8 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 are merely to work a simple example in 
 reduction descending, the principles of 
 which they learned long ago? To do so 
 is only necessary to write down an exam- 
 
 Wholes. Sevenths. 
 
 pie thus: 8 . 3 . It is then exactly 
 
 lbs. oz. 
 
 similar to reducing 8 . 3 to ounces. 
 The method of solution can then be drawn 
 from the class, as well as the reason for put- 
 ting the denominator under the answer. 
 Writing 7 under 59 is merely an abbrevia- 
 tion to save writing " sevenths " after it. 
 
 Subtraction of mixed numbers, should in 
 a similar way be explained to the classs to 
 be a form of compound subtraction. 
 
 In reduction of denominate tractions 
 the rules and telling are even worse than in 
 any of the cases mentioned. When it is 
 necessary to reduce f of a £ to the frac- 
 tion of a farthing, instead of giving a long 
 rule absolutely without any living mean- 
 ing to a child, why not say, If you had 
 three pounds to reduce to farthings, what 
 would you first do ? " Multiply by 20 to 
 reduce the pounds to shillings." Then do 
 the same with fractions as with whole 
 
METHOD. 119 
 
 numbers. Multiply first by 20. But ' 
 which shall we multiply, the 3 or the 7 ? 
 What is the 7 ? "The name of the fraction." 
 Would you multiply the name? " No, not 
 the name, but the number." Reduction 
 descending in fractions will require no 
 further explanation, and no rule need be 
 given other than the rule given in dealing 
 with whole numbers. 
 
 In reduction ascending a similar course 
 may be adopted. Get the pupils to make 
 the rule for fractions by basing it on the 
 rule already taught for whole numbers. 
 For example reduce f of a farthing to the 
 fraction of a pound. What would you 
 first do if this was a whole number ? 
 " Divide by 4." What part of a number 
 do you take when you divide by 4 ? " The 
 one-fourth." If we take the £ of a number 
 then, what do we really do to it ? " We di- 
 vide it by 4." Then if I take £ of f do I di- 
 vide it by 4?" "Yes." Let us indicate 
 the work and we have £ of f. To divide 
 this by 12, we take T ^ of it, and so on. 
 When all the work is indicated, we have a 
 compound fraction, which the pupils of 
 
120 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 course already know how to reduce to a 
 simple one. 
 
 These few examples in tractions have 
 been selected because it is in this subject 
 that many teachers do their most meaning- 
 less teaching. Similar errors are commit- 
 ted all through the arithmetic. The 
 pupils are told that 16 ozs. make a lb., in- 
 stead of being set to work to find out the 
 tact for themselves with a pair of scales. 
 They are informed that 12 inches make one 
 foot, etc., instead of being compelled to 
 discover for themselves, by actual exami- 
 nation and comparison of the measures, 
 the relations of the various lengths to each 
 other. The " compound rules " and re- 
 ductions are unfathomable mysteries to 
 most children, because they are told to 
 follow certain formal rules, instead of 
 being allowed first to perform the various 
 operations with actual money, or measures, 
 and then to do mentally or on the slate 
 the work which they have been doing with 
 the real things. 
 
 It may be well to caution the teacher 
 against the idea that he has nothing to do 
 
METHOD. 121 
 
 but remain an idle observer when pupils 
 are making their discoveries. They must 
 not be left to their own ingenuity in 
 making experiments to arrive at certain 
 conclusions. The teacher must be the 
 guide, and the source from which infor- 
 mation should mainly flow. He should 
 not make them mere receptacles for infor- 
 mation, however, he should see to it that 
 each fact is used as it is received. 
 
. CHAPTER IV. 
 
 MISTAKES IN MANNER. 
 
 It is a mistake to scold. To do so 
 
 merely irritates a class at first, and excites 
 their ridicule and contempt afterwards. 
 No person tells the exact truth when he 
 scolds ; and it is a bad thing for a teacher 
 to get ^credit for making unjust accusa- 
 tion, or saying what he does not really 
 mean. 
 
 It is a mistake to threaten. Penalties 
 should be learned practically. If a teacher 
 makes threats that a certain punishment 
 shall follow- the doing of certain things, 
 he robs himself of one of the highest pre- 
 rogatives — the power of adjusting punish- 
 ment to the peculiar circumstances of each 
 individual case. The very making of a 
 threat erects a barrier between the teacher 
 and his class which prevents sympathy 
 
MANNER. 123 
 
 between them. It clearly implies that he 
 doubts their honesty and purpose. 
 
 It is a mistake to grumble. Pupils 
 may occasionally deserve censure. Their 
 intentional faults should always be cor- 
 rected and the errors resulting from acci- 
 dent or inexperience should always be 
 clearly and fearlessly pointed out. They 
 will not improve either in lessons or con- 
 duet so long as they are not shown to be 
 defective in these respects. Grumbling 
 is, however, quite a different matter. Com- 
 plaining soon becomes a habit, and when 
 done mechanically it loses its effect. Mar- 
 tin Luther says, " I blame those teachers 
 who make of their schools a place of tor- 
 ture and misery, and never cease to blame 
 their pupils instead of instructing them." 
 
 It is a mistake to be hasty. He who 
 
 loses control of himself loses at the same 
 time the power to control others. The 
 man of calm, even temper, who holds his 
 head erect, walks' in a dignified manner, 
 looks unembarrassed, and speaks deliber- 
 ately, rarely has any trouble in managing 
 a school. The confident man is ever cool. 
 
124 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 " Excitability and haste weaken the teach- 
 er's influence ; impair the accuracy of 
 his judgment ; complicate his administra- 
 tion of discipline; occasion positive 'in- 
 justice ; and stimulate and strengthen 
 both by example and direct collision the 
 fierce passions of the pupils." 
 
 It is a mistake to show lack of ani- 
 mation or enthusiasm. Lifeless teach- 
 ing does not secure attention or stimulate 
 mental activity. The pupils will insensi- 
 bly grow like the teacher. The men and 
 women who accomplish great good are 
 those who have energy and enthusiasm. 
 Let the teacher be in earnest; let him 
 show that he believes what be does to be 
 worth doing well. The " unconscious 
 tuition " of good teachers is often the best 
 gift they give their pupils. 
 
 The teacher must not mistake a noisy, 
 fussy, demonstrative manner for enthu- 
 siasm. Enthusiasm is earnestness without 
 undue excitement. 
 
 It is a mistake to he cold and formal. 
 
 No teacher can succeed without the sym- 
 pathy of his class. To secure this the teach- 
 
MANNER. 125 
 
 er must be ever genial and cheerful, as 
 well as straightforward. The sunshine of 
 a teacher's face, and the " song-shine " of 
 his tone and words, can penetrate the 
 darkest recesses of a child's nature, and 
 they often develop germs of power and 
 beauty of character which would have 
 died for lack of nourishment or grown to 
 be but sickly plants in the darkness. The 
 winds of censure, scolding and grumbling, 
 and the barren hills of formality and indif- 
 ference, only serve to make the timid na- 
 ture of the child shrink and hide. Kind- 
 ness in word and manner, a genuine 
 interest in the thoughts, feelings and 
 circumstances of a child, and the warmth 
 of an affectionate nature, will bring out 
 the tender buds of sweetness of temper and 
 purity of heart, and make them grow into 
 the most beautiful flowers of a noble char- 
 acter, A genial manner will enable the 
 teacher to deal with the thousand petty 
 annoyances of the school-room, without 
 allowing them to develop into great diffi- 
 culties. 
 
 It is a mistake to assume to be im- 
 maculate. The teacher ought to know 
 
126 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 all that his circumstances will permit in 
 relation to the subjects he has to teach. He 
 ought also to study the subjects related to 
 them, so that he may not have to show his 
 lack of general knowledge too frequently. 
 He is lacking in common sense, however, 
 if he professes to be an encyclopedia. A 
 mere storehouse for knowledge is of 
 little practical value. It is desirable that 
 pupils should have a respect for the teach- 
 er's acquirements, but it is of much greater 
 consequence that they have a profound 
 veneration for his honesty. Some teachers 
 sacrifice the good opinion of their pupils 
 in a weak attempt to get credit for having 
 more wisdom than they really possess. It 
 would be much more dignified for them to 
 acknowledge a deficiency of knowledge, 
 than a want of candor. 
 
 The attempts made by teachers some- 
 times to conceal their lack of knowledge, 
 are exceedingly ridiculous, A class in 
 charge ot a student teacher was reading 
 Moir's poem, " To a Dying Infant," in the 
 Provincial Model School, Toronto. The 
 lines, — 
 
MANNER. 127 
 
 " Yes, with the quiet dead, 
 
 Baby, thy rest shall be ; 
 Oh ! many a weary wight, 
 Weary of life and light, 
 
 Would fain lie down with thee," 
 
 had just been read, when a boy asked the 
 meaning of "wight." The student had 
 evidently labored under what once was a 
 popular delusion, that it was not necessary 
 to prepare a reading lesson. It was clear 
 that he did not know the meaning of the 
 word ; but with the assumption of the air 
 of one who " knoweth all " and who is just 
 considering " how best to explain it," he 
 said, as he read it over quickly to himself 
 in order, if possible, to catch the meaning 
 from the context, "Wight? — ah yes — the 
 word at the end of the line ? Yes — I am 
 glad you called my attention to it — that is 
 a misprint, boys ; it ought to be w-h-i-t-e. 
 You see this little dying infant was a col- 
 ored child, and the poet means that some 
 white people are so tired of living, that 
 they would even be willing to lie down 
 beside a little negro to get rid of their 
 troubles." 
 
INDEX TO MISTAKES IN TEACHING, 
 
 Accident to be distinguished from design 25 
 
 Activity of childhood not to be repressed 20,61 
 
 Animation and enthusiasm essential 124 
 
 Answers should not be partial 98 
 
 nor unnecessa- i!y minute 99 
 
 should not be repeated by teacher 100 
 
 Appeals to higher authority undesirable 30 
 
 Arithmetic, how best taught 97, 115 
 
 Assisting each other worse than direct copying. 29 
 
 Bell not to be used to signal for order 64 
 
 Blakiston, J. R., on importance of details 9 
 
 Botany, how taught 197 
 
 Censure must not be severe when fault is trifling 24 
 
 Cheerfulness important 125 
 
 Chemistry, changes in mode of teaching 106 
 
 Children cannot teach each other 27 
 
 learn their earliest lessons best 96 
 
 should learn to master difficulties. 103, 105, 109. 113 
 Classes -The teacher should not stand too near. . 22 
 
 Cleanliness to be insisted upon 15 
 
 Coldness and formality deaden 124 
 
 Colors, harmony of, how to teach 114 
 
 Commands seldom necessary 36 
 
 Copy-books and pens should be passed in orderly 
 manner » *-* 
 
130 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Corporal punishment must be judicious 23, 78 
 
 must be accompanied by explanations 74 
 
 is not for discipline alone 77 
 
 should not need repetition 78 
 
 Decision important in punishment 48 
 
 not synonymous with sternness 60 
 
 Details of management, their importance 9 
 
 Difficulties not to be made too simple. .103, 105, 109 
 
 should be presented in proper order 104 
 
 and by graduated steps 104 
 
 Dignity never to be a bugbear 20 
 
 Discipline should stand the test of laughter 22 
 
 should require no physical aid 23 
 
 should not be demonstrative. 55 
 
 must be constant 66 
 
 Early bird catches the worm, but early worm is 
 
 caught , 85 
 
 Effusiveness should not be displayed too early. 47, 48 
 
 Enthusaism to be desired 124 
 
 Errors not corrected because detected 90 
 
 one correction not enough 92 
 
 Explanation vs. repetition 89 
 
 should be as limited as possible 104 
 
 but clear, definite and brief 104 
 
 Eye, importance should not be exaggerated 105 
 
 should be guarded from short sightedness. ... 14 
 
 Fellenberg, Philip E. von, quoted 113 
 
 Fractions, how taught 116 
 
 Froebel, Frederick, quoted 105 
 
 Giggling and tittering vs. laughter 22 
 
INDEX. 131 
 
 Golden rule of the teacher 109 
 
 Good order an essential to teaching 45 
 
 Grumbling to be avoided 25, 123 
 
 Habits of neatness to be inculcated 15 
 
 Hamilton, Sir Wm., quoted Ill 
 
 Harris, W. T., quoted 19 
 
 Hasty action to be avoided .123 
 
 Home-work, too much not to be required 83 
 
 Honesty imperative 126 
 
 How to study, the pupils must be taught 24 
 
 Huxley, Prof., quoted 84 
 
 Ideas should precede words 102 
 
 Immacculateness not to be assumed 125 
 
 Indefiniteness to be avoided 94 
 
 Information not to be given till useful 96, 121 
 
 Individuality not to be a scare-crow 16 
 
 Kindness the supplement of discipline, not its 
 basis 50 
 
 Language of teacher should be simple 102 
 
 Laughter not undesirable in school room. 22 
 
 Lessons should be explained before assigning.. 83 
 
 should not be too long 83, 87 
 
 nor cover too many points 93 
 
 should not require much home-work 83 
 
 once assigned should be tested 86 
 
 Light in the school room from left and rear 14 
 
 Luther, Martin, quoted 123 
 
 Mann, Horace, quoted 76, 113 
 
 Map-teaching taught by map-sketching 108 
 
132 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Marching, position in 11 
 
 coming in from recesses 11 
 
 a desirable exercise at rainy recesses 30 
 
 Marking must not be too severe 23 
 
 if constantly low the fault is the teacher's-... 24 
 
 should be under pupil's eye, to prevent error. . 76 
 
 not the whole of teaching 90 
 
 Morning greeting of each pupil desirable 34 
 
 Notes from parents not subjects of comment. ... 44 
 
 Objects to be used in learning, not in reviewing. 98 
 
 Order an esential to teaching 45 
 
 securing order vs. maintaining it... . , 46 
 
 really preferred by the children 50 
 
 not to be confounded with stillness 50 
 
 not produced by startling sensations 51 
 
 nor by the teacher's trying to be noisier than 
 
 his pupils 52 
 
 and never by the bell 65 
 
 not to be demanded of all, but of individuals. . 53 
 
 not the product of multiplied rules 53 
 
 depends on principles 58 
 
 must not depend on presence of the teacher.. 69 
 must be obeyed by all to whom it is given. . . 70 
 Paradoxical rule " The less includes the greater,". 10 
 Parents should be notified when pupils misbe- 
 have 37 
 
 but not annoyed unnecessarily 39 
 
 should never see temper in the teacher .... 40 
 
 or be disputed with before the scholars 43 
 
 Payne, W. H., quoted 18 
 
 Personal neatness on part of teacher important. . 34 
 
INDEX. 133 
 
 Play should be a means of acquiring influence. . 18 
 
 Primary principle of education Ill 
 
 " Prize gooseberries," : 95 
 
 Profane and impure language heard at recess. . 17 
 
 Pronouncing dictionary — best kind to have 93 
 
 Property of the school to be protected 31, 63 
 
 Punctuality to be enforced as a habit 15 
 
 to be uniform on part of teacher 33 
 
 Punishment must be explained 73 
 
 must be somewhat formal 76 
 
 but not merely formal 78 
 
 <! Questioning in " ana " questioning out " 93 
 
 Questions should not be asked in rotation 80 
 
 should be asked before pupil is called on 80 
 
 should not be repeated on account of inatten- 
 tion r 81 
 
 should elicit complete but not prolix answers. . 99 
 attention not to be fixed on the one answering 82 
 
 Reading, proper position and hand 13 
 
 methods of teaching - 97 
 
 Recesses should be under supervision 17 
 
 no disorder allowed in school-room 29, 62 
 
 open-air exercise to be generally required... 29 
 
 pupils should march in from, in line 11 
 
 short exercises desirable before each lesson.. 61 
 
 Repetition makes remembrance 87 
 
 more important than explanation 89 
 
 must not be simply at time of lesson 89 
 
 Reserve on part of teacher at first desirable 47 
 
 Reviewing — objects should not be used 98 
 
 Ridicule never to be employed 72 
 
134 MISTAKES IN TEACHING. 
 
 Rosenkranz, Carl, quoted 113 
 
 Rules must not be too numerous 53 
 
 should not anticipate the necessity for them. 54, 51 
 
 should be explained and shown to be just 55 
 
 Sauce for the goose detects the gander 48 
 
 School-room should be orderly at recess 29, 62 
 
 Schoolyard should be under supervision 17 
 
 Scolding a mistake .122 
 
 Seat should not be left without permission 16 
 
 Self-activity the primary end of education Ill 
 
 Self control a prime essential G8 
 
 Senses only the servants of the mind 10" 
 
 Shaking, slapping, etc., must be avoided 23, 78 
 
 Short-sightedness, precautions against 14 
 
 Sitting, proper position to be insisted on 11,60 
 
 not to be a habit while teaching 35 
 
 Smart pupils need least attention ,-5 
 
 Spelling — the best kind of spelling-book 92 
 
 Spencer, Herbert, quoted Ill 
 
 Stairs, how to go up and down 12 
 
 Standing, proper position should be taught 11 
 
 no leaning when in class 14 
 
 required, when reading or reciting 13 
 
 Startling a class not a proper mode of discipline 51 
 
 Stereotyped methods to be avoided 100 
 
 Stillness and order not synonymous 50 
 
 in children not desirable 60 
 
 Suggestions better than commands 36, 56 
 
 Sympathy with pupils an absolute essential. .26, 124 
 Tale-bearing not to be confounded with giving 
 
 information 31 
 
INDEX. 135 
 
 Talking too much a serious evil 101 
 
 Teacher's golden rule 109 
 
 Tachnical names not necessarily obscure. 103 
 
 Telling not teaching 109 
 
 Temper should never be shown 14, 68, 79 
 
 Text-books should be servants, not masters. .. . 82 
 
 Threatening unwise 122 
 
 Trifling faults should not have serious censure. . 24 
 
 Tyndall, Professor, quoted 110 
 
 Unconscious tuition 124 
 
 Uniformity of method important 15, 16 
 
 Vitality should be imparted to subject taught. . .110 
 
 Voice should be pitched low. 58 
 
 Walking, proper position should be taught. .11, 63 
 
 never on the toes 12 
 
 up and down stairs 12 
 
 Watchfulness, constant and all-embracing. 23, 47, 65 
 
 Whately, Archbishop, quoted 95 
 
 Whispering not to be allowed to "assist" 27 
 
 Wickersham, J; P., quoted 72 
 
 Words should be brief and plain 102 
 
 should follow ideas, not precede 102 
 
De Graff (E. V.) PRACTICAL PHONICS. A comprehensive 
 study of Pronunciation, forming a complete guide to the study 
 of the elementary sounds of the English Language, and con- 
 taining 3000 words of difficult pronunciation, with diacritical 
 marks according to Webster's Dictionary. Cloth, 12mo., 
 pp. 108 .-_ 75 
 
 POCKET PRONUNCIATION BOOK, containing the 3000 
 
 words of difficult pronunciation, with diacritical marks accord- 
 ing to Webster's Dictionary. Manilla, 16mo., pp. 47 15 
 
 7 he School Room Guide, embodying the instruction given by 
 
 the author at Teacher's Institutes in New York and other 
 States, and especially intended to assist Public School Teach- 
 ers in the practical work of the school room. Tenth Edition, 
 with many additions and corrections. Cloth, 12mo., pp. 449.. 1 50 
 
 The Song Budget. A collection of Songsand Music for schools 
 
 and educational gatherings. Paper, small 4to., pp. 72 15 
 
 The School-Room Chorus. A collection of 200 Songs, suitable 
 
 for Public and Private Schools. Boards, small 4to., pp. 147.. 35 
 
 Farnliam (Geo. L.) THE SENTENCE METHOD of teaching 
 Reading, Writing, and Spelling. A Manual for Teachers. 
 Cloth, 12mo., pp. 50 50 
 
 Fitch (Joshua G.) The Art of Questioning. Second Edition. 
 
 Paper, l2mo., pp. 36 15 
 
 The Art of Securing Attention. Paper, 16mo., pp. 43 15 
 
 Hendrick (Mary F.) A series of Questions in English and Ameri- 
 can Literature, prepared for Class-Drill and Private Study. 
 Second Edition. Boards, 12mo., pp. 100, interleaved 35 
 
 S-Ioose (James H.) Studies in Articulation: a study and drill-book 
 in the alphabetic elements of the English language. Fourth 
 Thousand. Cloth, 16mo., pp. 70 50 
 
 On the Province of Methods of Teaching. A professional 
 
 study. With an introduction by Prof. Charles W. Bennett, 
 
 D. D. Cloth, 16mo., pp. 376 1 00 
 
 Hughes (James L.) MISTAKES IN TEACHING. American 
 
 Edition, with Contents and Index. Cloth, 16mo.,pp. 135 50 
 
 New York STATE EXAMINATION QUESTIONS. Being 
 the questions given at all the Examinations for State Certifi- 
 cates from the beginning to the present time, embracing 3000 
 questions in Reading, Writing, Drawing, Arithmetic, Geog- 
 raphy, Grammar, United States History, General History, 
 Algebra, Geometry, Book-Keeping, Composition, Rhetoric, 
 Literature, Civil Government, Physiology, Zoology, Botany, 
 Geology, Mineralogy, Physics, Methods, School Economy, 
 School Law, together with Latin as an optional in the place 
 of Geometry. To which is added a List of the Successful 
 Candidates. Flexible cloth, 16mo., pp. 191 25 
 
Huntington (Rt. Rev. F. D.) Unconscious Tuition. Second 
 
 Edition. Paper, 16mo., pp. 45. 15 
 
 Northam (Henry C.) Civil Government foi* Common Schools. 
 Prepared as a manual for Public Instruction in the State 
 of New York. To which are appended the Constitution of 
 the State of New York, as amended at the election of 1880, 
 the Constitution of the United States, and the Declaration of 
 Independence. Sixth Edition, mostly from entirely new 
 plates. Cloth, 16mo., pp. 185 75 
 
 Periodicals. The School Bulletin and New York State Educa- 
 tional Journal. Established 1874. Monthly, 16 pp., 10x14. 
 Per Year. - 1 00 
 
 Bound Vols. I— VII, Cloth, 200 pp. , each 2 00 
 
 The New Education and Kindergarten Messenger. Established 
 
 1877. Monthly, 16 pp., 7x10. Per year 1 00 
 
 TOPICS OF THE DAY, a Monthly Leaflet for Supplemen- 
 tary Reading in Public Schools. 2 pp., 6x9. Per year... 36 
 
 THE SCHOOL ROOM. A Monthly Journal of Practical 
 
 Help to Young Teachers. 16 pp., 7x11. Per year 50 
 
 Pooler (Charles T.) Chart of Civil Government. A list of the 
 Law-Making Powers and Officers, arranged according to 
 the similarity of their duties, in the United States, State of 
 New York, County, Town, School-District, City, and In- 
 corporated Village. Cloth, 16 mo., folded 25 
 
 The Same, in sheets 12x18, per hundred 5 00 
 
 HINTS ON TEACHING ORTHOEPY. Paper, 12mo„ 
 
 pp. 15... 10 
 
 Regents' Questions. Ten Editions. Complete iciih Key. The 
 Regents' Questions from the first examination in 1866. Being 
 the Questions for the preliminary examinations for admission 
 to the University of the State of New York, prepared by the 
 Regents of the University, and participated in simultaneously 
 "by more than 250 academies, forming a basis for the distri- 
 bution of more than a million of dollars. Jftd Edition, to 
 
 June, 1880. Cloth, 16mo., pp. 408 - 2 00 
 
 Complete, without Key -- 1 00 
 
 Arithmetic, 1153 Questions.. _ 25 
 
 Key to Arithmetic 25 
 
 Geography, 1687 Questions 25 
 
 Key to Geography 25 
 
 Grammar, 2665 Questions 25 
 
 Grammar and Key with References to Leading Grammars. .. 1 00 
 
 Spelling, 4400 Words.... 25 
 
 1000 Arithmetic Questions, Card board slips and Key 1 00 
 
 Any book in this list will be promptly sent on receipt of price. 
 Address C. W. BARDEEN, Syracuse, N. Y. 
 
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 
 
 021 360 835 6