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Page 19
Our guiding principle, therefore, is to _keep close to the mind, heart,
and daily life of childhood._ Then _adapt the subject matter we teach to
the mind, interests, and needs of those we teach._ Definitions, rules,
abstract statements, general truths have little or no value with
children. It is the story, the concrete incident, the direct
application growing out of their own experiences that takes hold.
PRESENTING THE LESSON--INSTRUCTION
After the aim has been clearly conceived, and after the lesson material
has been wisely chosen and properly organized, there still remains the
most important part--that of "getting the lesson across" to the class.
Many a valuable lesson, full of helpfulness, has been lost to the pupils
because the teacher lacked the power to bring his class to the right
pitch for receiving and retaining impressions. Many a class period has
been wasted because the teacher failed to present the material of the
lesson so that it gripped interest and compelled attention.
Response a test of instruction.--The _first_ test of good instruction
is the _response of the class_. Are the children alert? Are they keen
for discussion, or for listening to stories told or applications made?
Do they think? Do they enjoy the lesson hour, and give themselves
happily and whole-heartedly to it? Is their conduct good, and their
attitude serious, reverent, and attentive? Are they all "in the game,"
or are there laggards, inattentive ones, and mischief-makers?
These questions are all crucial. For the first law of all learning is
_self-activity_. There is no possibility of teaching a child who is not
mentally awake. Only the active mind grasps, assimilates, remembers,
applies. The birth of new ideas, the reaching of convictions, the
arriving at decisions all come in moments of mental stress and tension.
Lethargy of thought and feeling is fatal to all classroom achievement.
Therefore, no matter how keenly alert the teacher's mind may be, no
matter how skillful his analysis of an important truth may be if his
class sit with flagging interest and lax attention.
Results a test of instruction.--The _second_ test of good instruction
is our skill in handling the material of the lesson, and _shaping the
trend of thought and discussion_. Are the children interested in the
right things? Are the central truths of the lesson being brought out and
applied? Is the discussion centered on topics set for our consideration,
or does it degenerate into aimless talk on matters of personal or local
interest which have no relation to the lesson? In short, does the
recitation period yield the _fruitful knowledge_ we had set as a goal
for this lesson? Does it stimulate the _attitudes_ and motives we had
meant to reach? Does it lead to the _applications_ in life and conduct
which were intended? _Does it get results?_
The four points of this lesson are of supreme importance in teaching
religion. The _aim_ must be clear, definite, and possible of attainment.
The _subject matter_ of instruction must be wisely selected as an
instrument for reaching the aim set forth. The _organization_ of this
material must adapt it to the mind and needs of the child. The
_presentation_ of the lesson material in the recitation must be such
that its full effect is brought to bear upon the mind and heart of those
we teach.
Each of these four points will be further elaborated in the chapters
which follow. In fact, the remainder of the text is chiefly a working
out and applying of these fundamental principles to the teaching of
religion.
1. To what extent would you say you have been directing your
teaching toward a definite aim? Just how does the problem of this
chapter relate itself to the preceding chapter on the "Great
Objective"?
2. Do you think the majority of those who have come up through the
church school possess as full and definite a knowledge of the Bible
and the fundamentals of religion as we have a right to expect? If
not, where is the trouble and what the remedy?
3. Have you been consciously emphasizing the creation of right
attitudes as one of the chief outcomes of your teaching? Do you
judge that you are as successful in the developing of religious
attitudes as in imparting information? If not, can you find a
remedy?
4. To what extent do you think your instruction is actually
carrying over into the immediate life and conduct of your class in
their home, school, etc.? If not to so great an extent as you could
wish, are you willing to make this one of the great aims of your
teaching from this time on, seeking earnestly throughout this text
and in other ways to learn how this may be done?
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