River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1879-03-06
A METHOD OF CONDUCTING REQ
ITATIoNS.
BY G. L. BOWMAN.

For the benefit of the teachers who
are beginning, and those who are de-
sirous of improving their present
methods | give method which have
used with good success for several
terms in my experience as teacher. 1
do not claim that this is any new
method or any new departure, On the
contrary it has been used III many
other schools. But not in many in
Pierce county. 1t is briefly as fol-
lows:
On commencing your school, at the
classifying and examination, endeavor
to seat pupils of each class in groups
as much as possible. Commencing
with the highest reading class, seat
the next reading class near the high
est, and the next to that and so on
down to the lowest. After seating
them so, take your place in front of
your school. Stand, do not sit. You
should always stand as much as posi-
sible and never get in the habit of sit
ting to hear a recitation. Announce
the time for the recitation of the
highest class first. Do not use bell.
The voice is better. The class at this
prepare for the work of reciting by
taking their books or putting them
aside at the direction of the teacher.
Call upon pupils promiscuously 10 re-
cite, each pupil when called upon,
should stand, to recite. Here you can
use any method you please. But |
would recommend very strongly the
Socratic method, the Topical method
or the Discussion method, or some
combination of these methods. For
reading classes the Socratic method is
good provided you have it preceded
by written work. For history the
topical method is very good. But to
my method. After the recitation has
closed, announce the next recitation
and while that class prepares for its
work, the class that has just recited
can prepare to study the next lesson
on the programme. Hear this class
in a similar manner and do so through
the whole list.
Have least advanced classes near
the last part of the hour so that they
can have the time for preparation.
Some of the advantages in using this
method are these: 1t abolishes the
disturbance which accompanies class
movement. always found more OF
less noise according to the size of the
class, in calling classes to a recitation
seat and this caused disturbance
which | considered very great bar
rier against quiet school. Glass mo-
ton may be good thing, and, | do
not doubt some teachers make that a
success, but in district schools it is
time lost. Besides abolishing the
noise and disturbance it saves a deal
of time. This is al item which is
worthy the notice of every district
school teacher in Pierce county. The
ordinary teacher wastes from twenty
to thirty minutes in class movements.
1t gives the teacher chance to always
| face his school and therefore to con-
tinually oversee the actions of his pu-
pills. The teacher. as matter of
course, requires perfect quietude, and
hence very quiet school is the result.
If the school be not quiet. recitations
conducted in this manner cannot pro-
coed. It occurs very often that the
pupil reciting is some distance from
the teacher, aiId pupils are between,
therefore those must be quiet.
These are only few Of tile many
advantages which necessarily attend
this method. Now some Of the az
parent objections are these The pu.
pills not In the class recitins are inter.
rupted by the work Of the recitation.
This. however, is not true any further
/ than IL is when recitations are heard
/ in the ordinary manner. Pupils will
soon become accustomed to the social.
ed disturbance and win net mind it.
Besides they gain by becoming able to
study when pupil near them is talk.
ing. Another is that there is an I'd.