THE ABILITY TO SECURE RESULTS
There are few successful teachers who are not good psychologists and who therefore do not know the process by which growth is secured. Knowledge is the cornerstone of the foundation. However it is not enough that we know the subject which we are to teach; we must have the ability to impart knowledge that the self-activity of the pupils may induce growth.
All teachers are not endowed alike with this wonderful gift. It is also a truism that to realize one’s shortcomings in this direction is the first step. If the pupils are not interested, and response cannot be obtained, let us look for the direct cause in the teacher and for the indirect cause in the supervisor. The far seeing teacher will aim to surround the penmanship lesson with the proper atmosphere at the outset. As pupils are more interested in seeing what is done than by abstract explanation, a few skillful and telling strokes at the desk or on the blackboard will serve as a much greater inspiration than for the pupils to come into the room and sit before a model that has been executed while they were out of sight.
Skillful questioning and holding the entire class for answers is of great advantage when visualizing letter forms, and again when criticising and comparing results. The laws of cause and effect operate in penmanship as surely as they operate elsewhere. What is the cause of incorrect slant, a heavy stroke or a careless form? Pupils who know how to think may be put on the right road by being taught to criticize their own work.
It is one thing to impart the knowledge one may possess of correct execution; the obtaining of results is quite another. Many a teacher has been greatly discouraged when a view of the results was obtained because close observation revealed that pupils had not comprehended the idea which the teacher intended to convey. Let us adopt new methods or modify old ones until desirable results are obtained. The pupils are placed under our care that they may have an opportunity to gain some of the knowledge and skill of which we, as teachers, are supposed to be in possession.
The best proof that the imparting has been clear, logical, and effective is in the quality of the results so easily observed in the penmanship class. Every lesson is a new record of what has already been grasped by the pupils or a presentation of something new, or better still, a combination of both. Enthusiasm is one of the most essential points to be gained by the class. It must actually be experienced before it can be imparted to the pupil. If it is not felt by the teacher the next duty is to induce it by look and act.
The unconscious influence of the teacher cannot be measured. With pupils, teachers are more than ideals; they are realities. The personal influence is more lasting than the particular system that is taught. A competent teacher must be the master of the situation. Little inspiration can be created by the timid teacher. Originality, individuality, attractive personality, courage, confidence, ease of manner, firmness, tact, initiative—these are desirable assets for the penmanship leader. Such a leader has a ready following.
A penmanship teacher must balance enthusiasm with tact, system, and resourcefulness, and be ever on the alert to discover the individual needs. Tact plays a very important part in penmanship instruction for by the exercise of it we are led to say and do the right thing at the right time.
True, we get no more out of this subject than we put into it. Let us be more pedagogical in imparting this subject. Let us outline a penmanship lesson as carefully as we would other lessons. The result will justify the labor.