The Delta independent., 1890-02-25
How to Prepare the Lesson.

In answering this question, I shall have to
adopt the yankee practice OF asking another,
or rather two, 1st, who is to prepare the les
son? 2nd, What lesson is to be prepared?
slkre ws To consider how the teacher shall pre-
pare to come before the class, or how the pu.
pill shall prepare for recitation. In either
case, great deal will depend upon what les
son is to be learned. This is, you see, a most
comprehensive subject, that covers = great
deal Of school work; in fact, all Of the pu.
pills work.
How shall the teacher prepare the lesson
% as to get the best possible results from the
class? lst, he must have general prepara-
tion. The information gained from study
during his own school days: what he has
gained from reading or study, since, his for
mer work with pupils in the same study. all
may be used to handle the study before him.
Indeed, a teacher should be able to use all
the interesting incidents that come to his no.
tlce in general reading. or in the cureent
news. to illustrate or supplement the subject
before the class. The pupils should get the
idea that geography, history, or the natural
sciences, (u fact any study is not completed
at the present time, but that all human
knowledge is growing, changing in all di.
rections. New facts are being discovered
continually in the sciences, our knowledge
Of the earth is being enlarged, nations are
changing their government All these new
ideas should be given the class. especially
when they are established facts.
Teachers certainly have the advantage
over many other people. for however wise
they may be, however great and many their
gifts, however general their knowledge, all
may be brought into the schsol room. 1t is
1 fine plan to think Of our work In this way,
and q we read or reflect. think how these
facts or fancies may be applied to our work.
Like the bee that gathers honey from every
flower, the true teacher will seek and fluid in
every subject presented to his mind, some
s;,ing that may be used to illustrate or make
clear some point that is sure to come up in
his work. All this may be called general
preparation. We may easily imagine a
teacher who has good general preparation for
tssching any subject in the school curriculum
who cannot at sight, perform some difficult
operstiou in mathematics or analyse m OBJ
scure sentences. So special preparation ID
needed. How much and in what directions
depends wholly upon the teacher. The safs
rule is, to be certain 10 point will come up
In the recitations of the day. that he does
not fully understand, md cannot explain.
To be sure, we occasionally hear some one
tell how he took class through Cesar. or
book keeling, with no previous knowledge
OF the subject, preparing ut night the lesson
for the next day. Unless that preparation
bs very thorough. or the class unusually dull
It is easy to see how such a teacher might
b subjected to great embarrassment. re-
call certain "Prof.," an we called him. who
afforded us much amusement in the Latin
class, with his translations and references all
written ont, especially when his notes were
nissplaced.
b much for the teachers preparation.
Our next question Is, how shall the pupil
prepare his lesson? That will depend u.on
~ (rather his mestnl develop'nsnt) and the
lesson. We cannot expect the little ones TO
do much studing by themselves. The teacher
must exercise great care in explaining, sim.
plifying, the text for than. Never ask them
70 commit 70 memory words which 70 them
have NJ meaning. But 70 answsr.this ques-
IN general way we would say the ideal
preparation Of the pupil si,ouid include the
Knowledge Of the meaning of the text fnot
slnplv the woris) supplemented by an ex-
'haustive knowledge OF the subject drawn
fton outside sources " is reasonable 70 require