The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1886-08-05
Outline e,f the Work
IN HISTORY, AT sTAUNToN NORMAL
INSTITUTE.

/ ceSSfuly. must answer three question S
"What is it that am to teach Wha
elements does it include and what are il
limieati MS ~ 2 why do | teach thi
subject-ma.ter and not some other ?"
How, Or by what methrd shall teac
the srinj.c. -
/ What are the nature and limitations II
history I?
4 1t includes certain im!trsonal elements
These are /. Events. 2. Dates, -
chronology. 3. P:aess. or geography.
1t incin!rs. also, u personal rlrnlr"b .
biograi,i,.
The l;tttrr, ;.s pointed y i by Cot I
W. Higgnson. in his article, Why Ciil-
dren dislike History" IS the eleins Mt tina
lends interest to all history.
All four Of these elements must be
taught. bnt in due proportion. An ordI-
nary school Textbook contains 900 to | ,00t
dates. But any one of us, who may be
said TO know history passably well. coule
not give to exceed 25 dates with a sutf
Gent statement of fact to make clear the
event. This. tlien. shows the folly OF
stuning the pupils mind with bare chro-
nology Geography, Us an element OF
history, is greatly neglected. School
histories contain but few maps, only q
fraction of what should be used.
! Provision must be made to supply sufli-
Gent of the biographical element. How
ever much boy dislikes history, intro
duce him to the youth of Washington, t ie
| story Of Putnam and the Wolf, Marion,
and his Swamp Foxes, etc, and he at once
becomes interested.
Why? Some of tie reasons and motives
teachers have for teaching history:
/. Those who understand what they are
about teach it to make good men and
| women and to make good citizens.
| 2. Teachers gifted with great facility of
verbal memory often teach to show them
selves off.
3. Those who have great tact and power
of getting work out of others. sometimes
| teach 10 show off their classes and pupils
thereby showing their own power.
4. Time servers, who care for nothing
but the stipend they receive, teach history
because it is in the course of study.
5. A few teachers teach history BECAUSE
others do so.
g. Fact mongers who themselves de-
light to be walking encyclopedias, teach to
give their pupils facts, which facts are
generally memorized statements about
events.
Z. But the truest end or aim of this sub
ject, like any other subject, is a two-foid
one, viz: To develop the mind. in the
broad meaning of that term. and to give
organized information. These two aims
are really one. since we can develop the
mind only by giving organized information,
ton is given, development must follow as
a necessity.
How ply what method shall we teach
history?
Some of the devices or special methods
used by TEACHERS are these!
/. The verbal memory or text book
method. The grossest form of this is tina,
in which the teacher asks the question
printed at the bottom of the page and holds
the finger on the text while the pupil
repeats it by mere verbal memory. In
less gross form of the verbal method the
teacher knows the text by heart and asks
questions without the book. In either
case the pupil learns nothing but words,
words, words y
2. The topical method. In this the
teacher puts a great number OF so-called
topics on the board. The pupils mem
oriZe these and the answers to them. This
method differs from the former chiefly in
name.
8. The quiz method. This is means Of
pumping into the pupil number Of facts,
by means of questions, and then, by the
same means, pumping them out again.
Like everyone of the methods here named,
it has legitimate place. as device, but
Should not be used to the exclusion of
other methods.
A. The lecture method. By this plan
the teacher talks and tho pupils listen. 1t
is Put. by Edward Thring, under the figure
of pump and bucket. The pupil is the
bucket and soon becomes full after which
he simply runs over and receives nothing
more.
5. The true method employs all these
devices and many more, using each only so
long as it proves efficient and in such sit
uations as it suits. We will call this the
study method. Important events become
nuclei for the grouping of the less impor-
tant. Such important events are to be
studied under the relations of
l. Classification. What kind of event
is it?
@ Time.
g. Place.
A. What are the principal parts of the
eveltp Who are the principal actors and
participants?
S. What causes led to ftp
6. What results flowed from it?
T. What other events are like this one
s. What elements of unlikeness have
these similar events
8. Is this part OF some preconcerted plan
or action ? If so, what WAS its purpose !?
[Note.-The glass study two events to
Illustrate the method The discovery of
America by Columbus The settlement of
jamestown by the Englsh.]
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