E We do not mean to assert that there are only two kinds of teaching or only two classes of teachers, but we wish to speak now of but two which are often to be met with. 1. The teacher who does all the work for the pupil. There are many of this class,-kind hearted souls,-who help their pupils over all hard places; gifted talkers,-who do all the reciting for their scholars. We often meet such and were it not for the thought that the children were sufferers,-we might be amused at their proceedings. Visit the school of one of these teachers and you will find the pupils constantly saying to the teacher, "I can't do this" or "I don't under. stand that," and the teacher readily answering, or doing the work for the pupil. Now this may be well or it may not. If it is the result of a sort of habit,-fostered by the teacher, —of giving up at the slightest appearance of difficulty and seeking aid from others, it is all wrong. One prominent object in attending school is to learn how to study and how to surmount difficulties. It is the teacher's duty, not to do al VOL. XI. 11 162 Two Kinds of Teachers. the "hard sums," or answer all the difficult questions, but rather to encourage the pupils to persevere, to work for themselves, and, occasionally, to give them a suggestive hint which will prove a little aid to help them get at the truth Really the teacher's main work is to incite and encourage pupils to learn for themselves,-occasionally giving a suggestion which will serve as a sort of "key" for unlocking the difficult point. But this "key" should be applied and used by the pupil, and not by the teacher. We recently heard a young lady speaking to another of her teacher somewhat thus: "O, I do like our teacher so much. He makes everything so easy and explains every thing for us so nicely. If we have a hard example in arithmetic or algebra, he always goes to the board and performs it for us. Why, we can't help learning, he tells us every thing, and all we have to do is to listen." Now, to say the least, this was no compliment to the teacher, though intended as such. To our mind it went far to prove that that he was simply a talker and not a teacher. This young lady was captivated by his "gift of gab,”—and he made all difficult examples so easy and simple by doing them himself, and thus relieving her from all thought and effort, that she felt perfectly satisfied, and thought the teacher was just the best teacher that ever was,-and she will not discover the error until the "leading string" is cut and she is left to act for herself. Then, too late, perhaps, she will learn that mere talking is not teaching,-that being told is not learning. Teachers of this class are somewhat numerous, and, for the time, they are popular. But their work will not stand the test, and the future will show that they were not, in the true and best sense,-teachers. They are com 2. The true teacher who inspires his pupils with a desire to learn and then teaches them how to learn. The number in this class is much less than in the preceding. paratively rare and their true worth is not easily estimated. They enter upon their work with a real fitness for it and a spirit of devotion which can only attend a love for a work. They aim principally to create or cultivate a love for informa Talks about Teaching. 163 tion, a desire to learn and then strive to guide in the right way. Instead of telling the pupils every thing, or performing the difficult problems for them, they inspire them with confidence in their own ability, and cause them not only to feel that they can and will overcome difficulties, but also that their true intellectual growth demands that they should do so. When the pupil, as the best sometimes will, comes to some problem or principle which is really above his comprehension he will need, and should have some aid. But this the true teacher will not give in the direct doing of the work, or solving the problem. He will rather strive to awaken the mind and stimulate thought by a few incidental and appropriate questions, and by a slight indirect aid will lead the pupil to take the main step himself and to feel that his mind has really grasped the subject. While the true teacher will never allow his pupils to become discouraged, or to feel that they are expected to do what they really can not do, he will earnestly endeavor to incite in them a spirit of patient and persevering thought and investigation. He will make constant efforts to teach them how to learn, and so to learn that they will clearly understand and also be able to give a clear expression of their understanding. In other words, he will teach them both how to learn and how to tell what they have learned. Reader, to which of the two classes have you attached yourself? TALKS ABOUT TEACHING. BY TOCK-A LA DIO. WHISPERING in school is a cause of much mischief-and wherever it prevails to any extent, there will be found its twin companions, disorder and bad lessons. Hence, to eject this unruly elf from the school room is highly necessary. But as regards the manner in which the thing is to be accomplished, there exists a wide diversity of opinions. Some recommend a self-reporting system which is of itself a very 164 Talks About Teaching. good system, provided you are blessed with the right sort of pupils to deal with, as it tends to relieve the teacher of much watchfulness and care. But unfortunately the children of our schools are not all perfect embodiments of honesty and truth. Too many of them have been taught, at their own homes perhaps, either by pecept or example, prevarication and falsehood, and how can they be expected to be in all instances themselves truthful and honest. Other teachers promulgate some kind of a law against this offense, and for every transgression thereof threaten a punishment. The object of such a law is, through the terrors of the annexed penalty to drive whispering from the school room. But it seldom succeeds for in such instances, the almost universal and inherent impression among the scholars will be, that every whisper which they can effect, and every communication which they can make unseen by the teacher, is "lawful plunder" and Argos-eyed indeed will the teacher be, who with such an understanding among his pupils, is yet able to detect every violation of his rules. I have now in my mind a school which is managed upon this very principle. Being upon intimate terms with the teacher, I occasionally visit him while at his daily duties; and it is really amusing to notice, as I have at such times, the various shifts which those scholars who are disposed to communicate will resort to, in order to accomplish their purpose. For instance, Thomas thinks of something that he would like to say to John, who sits two or three seats ahead of him in the same range. Accordingly he takes his slate, indites. upon it the particular message, directing in capitals "For John." He then places it quietly upon the floor, and with his foot gently moves it forward beneath the next desk, the occupant of which, understanding its destination, passes it in the same manner forward to the next, and so on until it reaches John, who, watching his teacher's eye, takes up the slate, reads the message and by the same underground railroad process returns an answer. Susan wishes to say something to Mary who occupies the seat directly in front of her. Placing her Arithmetic upon the desk she bends her face Talks About Teaching 165 over it, as if zealously studying a rule, while in reality she is but telling her friend of a new dress or anticipated holiday. Others will take the occasion to whisper whenever any particular movement is made, such as going to or from recitations. passing in and out of school, etc., well knowing that in the little confusion and noise attending such changes, any chance of detection is lessened. Others, as I have observed, have become such experts in the art of dissimulation as to be able to sit upon the recitation bench with closed books, folded arms, and eyes upon the teacher, and at the same time whisper to those sitting on either side, without moving their lips or making a sound sufficiently audible to reach the teacher's ears. Occasionally an offender is caught, and then woe betide the unfortunate delinquent. But where one is detected ten escape. And this same teacher once remarked to me that he was troubled with but very little whispering in his school, when as any visitor or disinterested third person might readily observe, whispering and communicating are frequent, and only to the teacher are they "out of sight." Now it is evident that these two systems are but two opposite extremes, in which one trusts everything to the pupils, and the other trusts nothing to them. Obviously then, the proper medium is between the two. Very seldom should pupils be required to report, in a body, either their own or others' delinquencies, for there will always be some who will seek to shield themselves behind others, and thus a false or very imperfect report of the school as a whole is obtained. If self-reporting is to be encouraged at all-let it be voluntary, alone, and in person to the teacher. Again, it is well enough to make a few rules but utter folly to affix an inexorable penalty for every violation thereof. Leave that to be determined by the time, place, character of of the offense, etc. Generally speaking that system is the most efficacious, as well as the easiest to sustain, which appeals the most directly and powerfully to the self-respect and standing of the child. If he can be made to realize that every violation of the rules |