Training the Teacher

by A. F. Schauffler; Martin Grove Brumbaugh; Antoinette Abernethy Lamoreaux; Marion Lawrance

What the Teacher Should Do

18. The teacher must have a purpose, must see the end of the teaching process, and the way to that end. Then he should endeavor in the best way to reach that goal. The goal is to achieve in the pupil the highest type of religious conduct: not a religious feeling nor a religious thought system; but feeling and thought crystallized into character, the standard coin of the soul. All the efforts of the teacher must be directed to the attainment of this purpose. Otherwise the recitation will be aimless and the result failure.

19. The teacher must have a plan of procedure in advance of the recitation. This plan he should map out carefully, and then on his knees ask God if it is the best plan. To plan carefully and then to execute skilfully is the prime test of teaching. This plan must include a study of each pupil as well as a study of each lesson. It is at this point that so many teachers go wrong. They seem to think that a knowledge of the lesson is the only preparation required. They overlook the fact that it is vastly more important to know the pupil than it is to know the lesson. Those that know the subject-matter only are scholars, not teachers. Those that add to their knowledge of the subject-matter a clear insight into the operations of their pupils' minds and also comprehend the fine art of fitting knowledge to the capacity of the learner, are the only real teachers.

20. The teacher must be ready to change his plan if it does not meet the conditions that arise in the class; but this is a critical procedure, and only the wise teacher may follow it with success. The teacher must not allow pupils to lead him into by-paths. Here tact and skill are of use in leading the class to the teacher's will and to the teacher's plan. The teacher's will must be supreme in it all. I have seen great opportunities lost absolutely because a weak teacher allowed the lesson to drift at the caprice of a pupil instead of following a well-conceived plan. A group of boys once told me that they did not need to prepare the Sunday-school lesson because they always asked the teacher some questions at the opening of the recitation, and the teacher took the entire time to discuss the questions. The pupils, the while, sat in their places smiling at the weakness of a teacher who lacked the discernment necessary to be master of the situation. The time given to the legitimate work of instruction is all too brief to be wasted in any such senseless ways.

21. The teacher must be alert and lead the recitation. This quality of leadership challenges interest and carries the pupil with a sweep of enthusiasm to the end. To lead most wisely is so to direct the current of thought as if it were not directed. The highest art in teaching is to conceal that art, to guide by suggestion and not by command.

22. The teacher will strive to secure a major part of the discussion from the pupil. He will know when not to talk. It must not be forgotten that it is the thing the teacher causes the pupil to do, not the thing the teacher does in the presence of the pupil, that is most significant. Many a class is talked into mental stupor and spiritual indifference. A garrulous teacher is an abomination.

23. A wise teacher will work for his pupils. His aim will be steadily to aid them out of class as well as in class. I know a teacher who meets his class occasionally for a social hour in an informal way. The boys of that class are enthusiastic believers in their teacher and in the power of practical Christian fellowship. Look into the Elder Brother movement, the value of an organized class, and kindred movements that give the teacher the power to direct conduct in the pupil. Here you will find the key to many successful avenues of usefulness to the pupil. The significance of all this lies in the general value of a teacher who by word and by deed makes easy the way of the pupil to the Master.

24. A good teacher will know when to commend and when not to commend. He will not open himself to the criticism that his praise is overdue; nor will he, on the other hand, constantly scold and complain and nag his pupils. He will insist upon order and industry and will labor assiduously to arouse enthusiasm in the class. He will constantly endeavor to see things from the pupils' point of view and sympathize with the pupils' plan of thought. He will not forget that he was once a child, and he will steadily pray for that wise charity that knows the difference between childish caprice and youthful viciousness. He will not seriously regard the former; he will not fail to check and rebuke the latter.

25. A wise teacher will aim at a few things and bend his energies to achieve them. He will not dissipate his power by undertaking to do too many things. He will fix upon some dominant purpose and cause it to run like a thread of gold throughout the recitation. I once heard a preacher begin his discourse with the Garden of Eden and end it with the New Jerusalem. He said so many things in an unrelated way that his effort was wholly wasted. It is a mark of weakness to engage in mental sauntering. The wise teacher will hold a thought before his pupils until, like a jewel, it flashes light from every facet. He will also use the best things done by some one pupil to stimulate like results in others. Above all, a consecrated teacher will not grow weary in well doing, for he should have an unflinching faith in God, in his pupil, and in the power of his teaching to produce Christian character.