Free trader-journal and Ottawa fair dealer. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1920-1927, 1921-03-07
EDUCATOR URGES.
THAT STUDENTS Be.
FITTED TO TEACH.
MRS. SUSAN M. DORSEY OF Los
ANGELES SAYS GUIDE THEIR
MINDS TO THIS VOCATION AND
BETTER TEACHING RESULTS"

better teaching throughout the coun.
try is to guide into the profession
those Of good intelligence and good
character that the teachers are in
structing Mrs. Susan NJ Dorsey OF
Los Angeles. told the department OF
superintendent of the National Ed.
ucational Association here today
While we are guiding into other
vacations, what is to prevent us from
pointing the way into our own? /
Mrs Dorsey asked. by seeing with
clear vision its regenerating dcstin. /
les, the road that leads to supreme /
service; by inviting the best Of those /.
whom we teach to enter a vocation /.
second to none in opportunity, we /
shall have better teaching
Public school teaching can be
greatly improved by a more intoIli- /
gent grouping OF children according .
to their intellectual capabilities and .
their general conduct so that instruc- .
ton may be adapted to their varying .
degrees of intelligence, and especially |
to the peculiar needs of the large .
group Of averaged children, Mrs.
Dorsey said,
There are those in the class doom.
ed to failure and this paraly2es teach.
er effort" she continued. "Of late,
emphasis has been placed and right
~, upon the necessity OF segrcgatng
the educatiOnally unfit, for the sake
Of the children. What ! wish to urge .
is the necessity OF such segrcEating
in the interests of good teaching.
by rterring to age.grade tables, ii /
Is found that about One-tbird of the |
children in the public schools are one |
year or more behind grade. When We
eliminate the two or three per cent .
that are actually feeble minded there .
still remain the thirty per cent who
could very. well get back to grade if
they could be given attention accord.
ing to their needs.
AN experiment in the interests Of
the thirty per cent has recently come
under my observation. Each child ,
has a portfolio containing series of
lesson exercises and questions in.
creasing in difficulty but expressed in
plain, understandable language; each .
lesson in the series forming dis. |
tinct unit which may require a long |
er or shorter time for mastery. A.
soon as one unit is mastered the
child passes on to the next. When
a difficulty is met, the teachers help
is asked, it being understood that the |
help given shall be such that the |
child will really solve the difficulty |
himself. This experiment undertake |
en- in the interest of insists and over
age children has resulted so helpful |
ly that in many instances belated chill
dren have covered two and even
three grades in half-year and been
entered into their regular grade, quite
able to move on with the success
full pupils of their own age
"The points of Improvement over
the ordinary type Of lesson are these: .
Supernuous material and yerbiage are
eliminated
"A third measure that will contrib |
ute to this end is a somewhat better
adjustment of teacher training sys-
TEN in departments Of education to /
the everyday needs of the child. .
of the departments of education and /
the public schools since the greater |
number OF those who graduate from
the schools Of education are to be- /
come the teachers of just boys and /
girls in the elementary or high /
schools These young instructors need |
to understand thoroughly two things,
First, that university methods, atti- !
tudea and even standards. cannot be /
carried into the teaching Of boys and |
girls; and second that a greater mum /
Der must be placed upon the develop.
ment Of children than upon the de- /
veiopment OF subject matter
Our departments Of education must |
train men and women of sympathy |
and OF understanding hearts who Will .
care az much for the present life
Of the child and for his future fate
as for the last jot and title of
finished recitation in a favorito sub |
ject They must understand that the !
Young have emotions as we'll as in /
tellect and unless those emotions are
educated to right expressions, they
Will turn and rend society
Il am not urging the increase of +.
underlined, aimless teaching Of ideals .
OF democracy, social service and pa
uiotism. | am asking that these
ideals be crystallized into a body Of
teaching material which shall clearly
define the underlying principles of
the governmental and social expert /
mont on which the American people
have embarked and in the midst Of
which we are living The place
which the public school holds in
the general scheme of this exper.
imont; how far the public school up
to this time has realized its duties
and possibilities in this general
scheme and what is the next step in
order to achieve a fuller realization
of the particular service to he render
ed by this American institution are
matters of first importance in teach
er training.
An occasional reminder to pros
pective teachers by those entrusted
with their training. that loyalty to
country and reverence for the flag
should be taught, will not suffice.
What we need is rich body OF in
formative material to illuminate and
illustrate the whole subject of the rn-
spOnsibility of the individual to So
ciety and to the state prepared from
the point of view of public school ed