8o4 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



"special methods/' because it deals minutely with tlie principles 

 of teaching each particular subject, and suggests also in some 

 measure the mechanics that has been found adapted to each sub- 

 ject ; and it is this latter kind of work that has brought more or 

 less disrepute upon the normal school. But when a teacher is re- 

 quired to continue with this phase of his work until he is thor- 

 oughly able to comprehend that all devices and forms of teach- 

 ing are but efforts of individuals to best illustrate the underlying 

 principles, and when he is expected to work out a system of de- 

 vices for himself before he leaves the school, then there is little 

 danger of his falling into mechanical habits that will interfere 

 with that spontaneity which is all-essential in spirited teaching. 

 The normal school does not now emphasize the mechanical side 

 of teaching as much as it did when the knowledge of psychology 

 was so meager that pupil teachers could not hope to be investi- 

 gators of the principles which underlie educational method, but 

 must be content to be imitators of those who had made researches, 

 and embodied these in an art which necessarily exhibited much 

 of their own individuality. Every trained teacher is required in 

 these times to study the mind of the child ; and he is led to see 

 that the whole realm of methods and devices must be built upon 

 the laws of mental growth, and everything that has not this scien- 

 tific basis is worthless and even injurious. 



As a necessary part of this work in the art of teaching there 

 is provision made in the normal school whereby theory may be 

 illustrated in actual practice in the model, or practice, school. It 

 is the aim in this school to show the application of principles and 

 the proper use of devices by an abundance of illustrative teaching 

 of such character that the apprentice may well emulate it in 

 all respects. It has become a familiar truth that it is with teach- 

 ing as with other callings in life that in order to become able 

 most speedily to do creditable work the candidate should have 

 his attention specially directed to those qualities and accomplish- 

 ments which mark successful teaching, because he will not, in all 

 probability, appreciate them unless they are thus pointed out to 

 him. It can not be too strongly emphasized that object lessons 

 in successful teaching are as important and exemplify the same 

 pedagogical doctrine as is the case in other departments of educa- 

 tional work. In this illustrative teaching the apprentice is re- 

 quired to analyze carefully and fully all the lessons which he ob- 

 serves, not only from the point of view of the essential principles 

 underlying them, but he must take into account also the surround- 

 ing and accompanying conditions which materially affect the les- 

 son favorably or unfavorably. Every student is trained to see and 

 appreciate pedagogical problems, and he is expected to become able 

 to point out an intelligent and practical way for their solution. 



