(c) In giving a dictation, some teachers will habitually repeat twice; the consequence is that many do not listen the first time, and a third repetition is often asked for. Let it be understood that the sentence will be given distinctly, and not repeated.
(d) In English dictations do not ask that every word should be written, but emphasise those required—“Each separate parcel was received”. “I did not perceive his meaning.” “He did not succeed in persuading her to secede.”
(e) If a lesson has been set, we must ascertain that every one has learnt it, but there should be no questioning round and round a class. If a question and answer take one and a half minutes in a class of thirty, the whole time is gone, and the teacher has no distinct impression of which pupils have answered well; but if two questions in succession are asked of each and are promptly answered, the whole lesson may be considered to be known. Suppose there is a French dialogue to be heard, or an exercise has been learned, the teacher should not read the English; the sentences should all be numbered, the teacher call the number, and the child read the French from the English. The sentences in some books are not numbered, and some dialogue books are so printed, that the French cannot be covered; these are time-wasting books. A prompt reply must always be given; since we speak at the rate of over a hundred words in a minute, three children could say two short sentences each in half a minute. Thus a class of twenty could be heard in ten minutes, or if the class teacher is assisting, and takes half the class, five minutes only would be necessary, and time saved for oral composition, or reading exercises at sight, or training in pronunciation, etc. Some teachers, if unanswered, repeat a question. A girl who is not sure will often give an indistinct reply; one who does this robs her companions; the time of the class cannot be wasted thus, she must come in the afternoon and say it by herself; it will generally be found that her vocal powers are improved by this exercise.
(f) In many subjects a so-called written viva voce may be properly substituted—say six questions written on the blackboard with numbers, the answers promptly written in class, the papers of different girls exchanged, the faults underlined and the name of the corrector signed. The answers can be quickly marked by the class teacher at home. This has been dwelt on in Miss Andrews’ [paper].
If French verbs have to be heard, table should be suspended, and the teacher point to a tense and a number. Here is a portion of one:—
| Sing. | Plur. | |
|---|---|---|
| Indic. Pres. | 1, 2, 3. | 1, 2, 3. |
| Imperf. | ||
| Passé défini, etc. |
Of course this rapid questioning is suitable only when we wish to ascertain whether a lesson has been learned, not to such viva voces as are dialectic, intended to elucidate a subject and make pupils think.
Note-taking should never be allowed in junior classes; a syllabus may in some cases be profitably supplied, or the lesson may be an amplification of a text-book which the pupils have read, or questions may be set calculated to bring out the main points of the lesson. It should be an invariable rule that whatever is written is looked over and corrected; if this is not done, we shall certainly get bad writing, slovenly work and general inaccuracy. Should this not be possible without over-working the staff, the written work of the pupils must be diminished, or the number of teachers increased.
Corrections.The work of correcting is not mere drudgery, and it is essential, not for the sake of the pupil only, but of the teacher. Without written exercises she may imagine she is teaching, whilst her pupils are not learning. A lesson she felt to be good, she will find perhaps has been ill-adapted to the class, and therefore relatively bad. She will find she has not emphasised the important matters, she has given a confused picture in which one fails to see the wood for the trees. There are no teachers like one’s own pupils if one will learn of them: they convict us of disorder, inaccuracy, vagueness, etc.
It is important however that the teacher should be spared as much as possible unnecessary labour and waste of time. It is one of the most urgent duties of the head mistress to see that the teachers have not so much to do in the way of correcting, as to stupefy them, and deprive them of the time required for preparing lessons. The work of correcting should be reduced as far as practicable for the teacher, and made as profitable as possible for the pupil.