LETTER IX.

RECITATIONS.

MY DEAR FRIEND:

MUCH of your success and usefulness as a teacher will depend upon the manner in which you conduct recitations. In some schools but little benefit results from these exercises; indeed, in some cases they are prejudicial to the true advancement and improvement of the pupils.

For what are recitations designed? I answer, briefly, to afford the teacher an opportunity, not only for ascertaining what the pupil does know in relation to the passing lesson, but also (and this is more important) what he does not know, that light may be imparted when and where really needed, and that more effort on the part of the learners may be required and encouraged, when and where it may seem desirable and essential. will give you a few brief hints on several points.

I

care and judg Lessons should It would not be

Assignment of Lessons.- Much ment should be used on this point. be neither too long nor too short. well to assign a lesson that would severely tax the

System.Record.

ability of the best pupil in the class, nor would it be well to give one that the dullest member could readily learn. A lesson adapted to the capacity of the medium talent of the class will be right, one that will require close application on the part of the dullest members.

Regularity and System. - Have a regular time for each exercise, and let it receive attention at the right time. Let not one lesson encroach upon the time that belongs to another. After classifying your school, and learning what is to be done, strive judiciously to apportion your time and attention to the several classes as circumstances may require,neglecting none, giving no undue prominence to any. See that your pupils move in an orderly and quiet way to and from the place of recitation.

Keep a Record of each Recitation. This will have a good influence over the pupils, and incite them to diligence. It will also be a convenient form in which to exhibit to parents and visitors the character of the various recitations. The scale for marking may vary according to circumstances or range of studies. From 0 to 3 will answer in most schools. If a recitation is perfectly satisfactory, let it be indicated by 3; if a little defective, by 2; if unsatisfactory, by 1; and if entirely faulty, by 0. The scale of marking may in some cases be extended to 5, or even to 10. At another time I will give you a form of record. (See Appendix.)

Teach the Subject.

Though

Make Preparation for the Recitation. the lesson may be one which has previously received attention, and occupy ground that may seem familiar to you, it will still be desirable for you to examine the same with reference to the anticipated recitation. Perhaps some new mode of explaining principles, or some anecdote for illustrating, may occur to your mind whereby you may impart fresh interest to the lesson. So far as possible, I would advise that you examine each lesson with a special reference to its proposed recitation.

It

too much

Teach the Subject, and not mere Words. has been a very common fault of the teaching in our schools, that it has been too formal, confined to the language of the text-books. Teachers have asked the questions from the books, and pupils have repeated the answers as contained in the book. This may be well to a certain extent, and yet such a course alone constitutes but a small part of a true recitation. Words without ideas are but little worth, but little worth only as the clear exponents of ideas. A pupil may be able to repeat the words of a grammar from beginning to end, and yet have no clear and well-defined ideas of the structure or analysis of language. If he has learned mechanically, no thoughts have been awakened, no valuable impressions have been made. With a view to testing the understanding of your pupils, and awakening thoughts, ask many incidental questions, such as are not contained in the text

Attention. Exactness.

book, but such as are pertinent to the subject under consideration. It is not unfrequently the case that a pupil may perform certain operations with the text-book or a given model under his eye, and yet not clearly comprehend the principles involved. In all your teaching, consider that your true duty is to awaken thought, to encourage investigation, to lead your pupils to examine, to think for themselves.

Insist on Attention. It is too often the case, that the benefits of a recitation are lost through the listlessness or inattention of members of the class. Let your pupils clearly understand that you will proceed with no exercise, unless you can have their strict attention. As one means of securing this, adopt no undeviating order for asking questions at a recitation. Ask the question, and then designate some one to answer the same. It should be deemed sufficient if the question is asked once distinctly, with the understanding that any and every member of the class is liable to be called upon for an answer. It is a good way to place the names of the class in a small box, and then, as you ask the question, take some name from the box, and have that decide from whom an answer is expected.

Insist on Exactness, Promptness, and Energy.Pupils are prone to give partial or imperfect answers. These should not be regarded as satisfactory. One of the greatest advantages of a recitation

Explanations should be Clear.

consists in the accuracy, precision, and clearness with which questions are answered. Require answers that shall be perfectly intelligible to all, such as will give the clearest evidence that the pupil comprehends the subject, and is not merely repeating words that are to him meaningless. Also insist that answers be given promptly and energetically. Avoid, assiduously, a dull, monotonous, indistinct mode of reciting; and with equal care avoid the "drawing-out process," by means of which "piecemeal" answers are obtained, or drawn out, by asking certain leading questions. Let it be always remembered, that a pupil is not, in any true sense, prepared with his lesson unless he can promptly, and without aid from any one, give a clear and full answer to the question proposed.

Make all Explanations and Corrections plain and intelligible. — This is not always done by teachers. They seem not to realize the difference between their own minds and those of their pupils, and they are often too ready to believe that a principle or explanation must be as clear to the minds of their pupils as it is to their own, and yet the truth may be far otherwise. Two or three amusing illustrations occur to my mind. A certain teacher was preparing his pupils for examination, and, I am sorry to say, practising a little special drill preparatory to the occasion. One pupil was to define "Faith," and, with a view to prepare the boy for his part, the teacher illustrated by using a teacup and an apple.