River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1885-08-13
The Pedagogical Speculative.

/ ii, u. -.
A fondness for the superlative in
speech is very common trait of hu.
man nature. 1t begins with the young
miss, who pronounces everything at
all to her taste perfectly lovely" 1t
ends with, well, it is questionable
whether it ends ut all. 1t is general
| ~ supposed to end with the attain
ment of that phase of culture which
consists in sense of the balance or
| fitness of things. 1t certainly does
not end before we reach the pedagog-,
| zeal stage of mental developments
| wherever that may be. One does no .
have to attend many educational meete
ingS in order to discover that tn
teacher is nothing if not extreme.
"All this talk about methods" says
one, sis of no value whatever. Every
thing depends upon the teacher him
self" OF course our excited friend
does not mean what he says. lie does
not mean that natural teacher who
has given no thought to methods
would be just as successful as one who
has. He does not mean that there
would be no ground for selection
between Il person who has no native
| aptitude for teaching, but who is sup
piled with an outfit Of good methods,
and one who has neither the aptitude
nor the outfit, though it is to be re-
| GREETED that so sorry an alternative is
ever presented to a school director
| Very likely he means that he would
| prefer teacher with the aptitude but
| without the outfit, to one with the
outfit but without the aptitude. He
certainly means that you cannot,
merely by furnishing him with a
stock of cut-and dried methods, make
a good teacher out of person who
has no Unborn gift for the work. But
| that would be too commonplace way
of putting it,
1.-The methods of instruction hither-
to in vogue" says another, reversing
the opinion just quoted as to the rela-
| tive value of the method and the man,
"have served only to stultify and par
alyze, instead of developing the child s
mind" A person unfamiliar with the
/ pedagogical superlative is naturally
startled by the bold hyperbole, and
draws a sigh of relief as he reflects
how narrow an escape he and his faith
ers have had from mental annihila-
ton. But he soon comes to under
| stand that our enthusiastic apostle of
some new education does not mean
what he says. What he does mean is
| that, while the old methods accom-
plished some good, certain improved
methods which lie is advocating would
accomplish more. But that would be
too commonplace way of putting it.
At an educational conference in this
| State, a short time ago, an experience
ed teacher, in commenting on a GER
tain method of instruction in partic-
ular branch of study, remarked that,
sit would entirely defeat the end de-
| sired. OF course she did not mean
what she said, for she had had sever Il
years of observation, and was we'll
aware of the fact that the method
criticised did, in some degree, secure
| the end desired. What her poetical
exaggeration meant, when translated
into ordinary prose, was simply that
there was another method of securing
the result aimed at more expeditions
| ly and completely. But that would
| have been too commonplace way of
putting it.
One of the leading educators of Wis
consin remarked at meeting of
teachers, year or so ago, that it
would be better "to tell the truth,
even at some sacrifice of sensational
effect" At first sight there seems to
be wisdom in this remark. But on a
| little reflection it becomes obvious
that, though he may have been correct
Us regards literary taste, he misinter-
preted the situation in his implied
suggestion that there was any princi-
pie of morals involved.
The question can hardly be exalted
into the domain of ethics, as long as
it is so generally understood that
when teacher gets on his feet I'D
| public, whatever he says is to be TAX
en- with several grains of salt.