San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1889-09-14
ABOUT THE TEACHER.
How He Should Teach His Scholars In
Order to Make Them Learn.

Order to Make Them Learn.
Teaching must be sensuous. Abstract teach
ing, like abstract poetry, is for the cultured
few The early bards sang not of abstrac
tons, but of realities; not of beauty, but Of
beautiful things; not of love, but of lovers;
not of heroism, but of heroes. Their poetry
was indeed, according to Aristotles dictum,
imitation, direct reproduction of such out
ward sights and sounds as might best excite
the emotions.
All really popular poetry contains abun
dance of imagery, and is rich with records
and suggestions of the objective world. In
the same way it is now truism in education
to say that all good teaching should appeal
at least in the earlier stages, to the senses, and
that the intellect, in its mastery of the alb
stract, should work upon firm basis of the
concrete Thus the history which a young
child may fifty learn consists of poetic, and
perhaps, mythiC stories of great and pictur
esque personages and events; Alfred, for the
time at least, must have his cakes, and Ca
mute his chair by the sea shore.
The child's ethical ideas are imbibed by
means of little studies in human nature
supplied by fables, fairy stories and childish
narratives 1t is vain to talk to him of
beauty, or to ,ay down rules of criticism, but
he may be shown beautiful things and
taught to admire them, and when they are
no longer present he may be reminded of
them and told of other things which resem
BILE them He does not understand the
term marine denudation," but he will no
tice the contour of a sea worn stiff and won
der about the heap of debris at its base. In
Juntipp oDA theory will lafar on nd
these will be sound and useful in proportion
as the preliminary teaching has been success
full in cultivating his observation and his
constructive imagination.
Accordingly the teacher who is to train
observers must himself observe, and that
alphabetically and patiently, all such phe-
nomena as are likely to interest the young
human beings to whose intellectual life he il
disappointed minister. He must take an af
fectionate child like interest in nature-in
her transformations, her curiosities and her
analogies. In reading some of the vivid
word pictures of Tennyson, one often mar
ves as much at the wealth of patient, minute
observations and intimate knowledge of the
external look of things which they reveal as
at the exquisite setting of polished phrase
1t is not too much to say that this same
power of insight should belong to the teacher,
that he should be constantly enriching his in.
tellectual stores by this same process of faith
full observation, that, like the poet he should
be ever gathering in the harvest of a quiet
eye"
Teaching must also be imprisoned. Pro
fessor Sully points out that some degree OF
Dleasurable excitement is necessary to the
assimilation of any kind of knowledge In
other words, there must be interest, and in.
terest is a form of emotion. If child feels
no interest in subject, all the labors of the
teacher to make the mind absorb it are in
vain. Now, emotion is largely matter of
rontagion, a great part of our emotional life
being derived from sympathy with others
A phlegmatic, Unconditional teacher obtains
only perfunctory work; whatever intellec
tual glow his pupils might possibly exhibit is
quenched and deadened by his unsympa-
thetic manner, whereas a really good teacher
will inspire an enthusiasm for every subject
which he teaches In those subjects which
are distinctly human in their tendencies
which have relation to conduct and to life,
such as literature or history, frigidi:y is
fatal.
The child is defrauded of his birthright
the teachers stolidity or Indifference pre-,
vents him from becoming conscious Of the
human spirit that is in him, and he is in dan.
ger of growing up narrow, selfish being
with straitened sympathies and an atrophied
moral sense.
We must not fall into the other extreme
and influence the child's mind with our OWL
red hot theories about religion or politics, for
this is to take an undue advantage Of his i'm
pressiOnability and our own relation TO him
But fortunately there is scant danger Of ex
pending too much enthusiasm in creating q
love for the beautiful, the true and the good
On any matter which may help TO make the
growing boy a responsible moral being, d
factor Tor good in his generation-if th8re b,
any virtue, if there DO any Praae-wo may
speak 10 him with a clear conscience, moi
with crude, unchastened vehemgnco indeed
but with wise, kindly enthusiasm, letting hin
see that we care for these things and would
lave him care for them too.SCor. Teacher