Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-09-25
TEACHERS GET
80 PUZZLES IN PSYCHOLOGY
DR.. F. A. Moss of George
Washington University
Conducts Tests.
Variety of PoserS Asked in
Effort to Weed Out
Unsuitable.

When some bright little girl or boy
pops up in class with a question
| which teacher can't answer 1t is an
embarrassing moment for teacher
Her prestige is threatened. What
can she do about it?
-Four ways out of the difficulty are
open to her. She can frankly admit
that she doesn't know. She can prom.
Use to answer the question at another
time, and then go home and look up
the correct answer. She can say:
why, Mary Jones, l am surprised
t e very idea of a ig girl like you
not knowing a thing like that; don't
you come back here without knowing
the answer" The fourth alternative
is TO answer the question somehow
right or wrong-the way smart col
lege students do when confronted
with a quiz upon lessons they have
neglected.
Which way should she take? All
four ways are feasible. At least two
Of them are perfectly honest.
Test for Teaching.
This is one Of 80 such puzzlers on
the science of dealing with human
nature as it Is exemplif1ed in chill.
uTen. winch the SCHOOL ledCueIS vi
Montgomery County. Md, have re.
Gently been sweating mentally to
answer It is a part of a new Kind
of psychological tests devised by DR..
F. A. Moss. professor of psychology
at George Washington University. to
determine a persons aptitude for the
profession Of teaching.
Skill in teaching, Of course. demands
not only knowledge of the subject
taught, but patience. sympathetic per
sonality. and keen Judgment of typical
situations which arise among chill.
dren. A great many persons never
would make competent teachers, re.
CARELESS of educational qualifications.
Wedding Out Unfit.
The aim of Prof. Moss and his as.
sociates, +. c. Wallace and T. Hunt,
in drawing up the test, is to provide
at least a tentative way of wedding
out the UNFIT before they get behind
Il teachers desk-even before they
enter normal school. A bad teacher.
it is considered, can do an inestimabe
amount of damage.
A teacher who lies or bluffs, for
instance. is sure to be caught in the
act sooner or later-and then her use
fulness as a builder of character in
the young diminishes sadly to the
vanishing point. A liar or a buffer
has been set up as a model; the chill
dren experience the deterioratine
effects of premature disillusion con-
corning moral standards. A nagging
teacher, or one Of such confirmed
maturity of mind that she never can
look back into the sunrise days Of
life and understand the child mind
may produce even more lamentable
results than the liar and buffer.
Cover Fine Points.
Yet all these misfits may be adopt.
ing the course which in their blind.
ness they consider right. Even the
liar may be fundamentally honest.
She fears the deterioration OF morale
which might follow confession of ig-
norance and considers that she is do
ing her duty by taking this way out.
She simply is an example of the type
of personality which, in the great ma.
jority of cases at least, is not fitted
for teaching.
The 80 questions asked the Mont.
gomery County teachers In this part
Of the test covered a good many Of
the fine points of judgment in deal
ing with human nature which con.
lHudHy are dilSiHS III the CIdSSIoOIH'
For instance:
On April folls' day group of chill.
dren bring teacher what looks like a
box Of candy. She opens it and finds
sand. Naturally she it a little bit
mad. Should she tell the class in no
uncertain terms her opinion of such
embarrassing practical jokes, should
she say nothing but indicate her dis.
approval by her manner. should she
take the whole affair as a joke or
should she try to work a joke equally
good on her would-be tormentors?
Or teacher finds some pretty little
curly head in the fourth grade cheat
ing for the first time. Should she
before the class, send him to the
or have a quiet, heart-to.
heart talk with him after school? A
very important element OF the child's
character may be nodded at this mo-
ment according to the skill or whim
Of the teacher.
Groups of Questions.
After answering these 80 questions,
the Montgomery County teachers were
asked a group of questions to deter
mine their fundamental understand
ing or the science of education. Most
of these questions required reason
ing and exercise of judgment.
For example. they were asked:
Is 1t unwise for young lady teach
ing in small town elementary school
to have dates" with high school
boys?
Should a teacher hold herself aloof
from the religious and social life of
the community?
Is it waste of time to encourage
pupils to study those things in which
they are interested because they will
learn about them of their own accord?
One Of the most interesting Of the
five tests to which the teachers sub.
mitted was designed o determine their
ability to read mental states from
faces--to tell what a child is think
ing.
Pictures Gauge Aptncss.
Ten child pictures are shown--each
portraying a different mental state.
running from anger through bashful
appeal. coquetry, delight. despair, dis
appointment, disgust. fear, interest.
physical suffering, reverence. scorn.
surprise, suspicion. The person TAX
ing the examination was asked to put
Iah