William Lyon Phelps

Teaching in School and College William Lyon Phelps

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1912 edition. Excerpt: ...has said, "The capacity of the human mind to resist the introduction of knowledge cannot be overestimated." There is something distinctly histrionic about the teacher's art, which is one reason why it is so exciting to those who love it. Every recitation should be an event. Many people think a teacher's life must be monotonous, made up of dull routine, because he teaches the same subject and the same lessons over and over again. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I know of no profession more exciting, more stirring, more thrilling than teaching. No one believes that an actor who acts Hamlet finds it monotonous, although he repeats not only the same words, but the same gestures, the same attitudes, the same intonations. There is no monotony in teaching the same lesson to different pupils, not if the teacher is a good actor. In my first year at Yale, I taught short lessons in King Henry IV, Part I, to twelve different divisions: it was just as interesting the twelfth time as the first. In fact, the first time was a kind of dress rehearsal, and I think I did better the longer I kept at it. The main object of a recitation, with question, answer, and discussion, should be to educate: the chief object of a lecture must be instruction. In undergraduate work, education is more important than instruction, and therefore I believe that more lasting good is accomplished by recitations--the give and take--than by lectures. The ideal recitation is, of course, with a rather small class,--not too small to take away the spur of competition and the excitement of numbers,--but small enough for each man in the room to feel the teacher's personality and to know that there is a chance for him to display knowledge and ignorance. For this reason, it is always...