APPENDIX 195 



prehensive view of the entire subject, to teach him 

 something that he does not know. 



Sometimes it is much more valuable to have a pupil 

 fail to answer a question than to have him answer it. 

 Especially if the question is held in reserve until by a 

 series of other questions that lead gradually from one 

 thing to another the pupil suddenly finds that " he knew 

 it all the time." It is possible in this way to teach a 

 pupil to think for himself by making him see the ques- 

 tions that he must ask himself, one at a time, until the 

 last one is so simple it presents no difficulty. 



The ability to ask good questions means a grasp of a 

 subject, therefore foster the question-asking habit in the 

 pupils. Set apart a day in the week when they may 

 ask anything they want to ask. Most children seem to 

 lose the question-habit as they grow older. It is a bad 

 sign. Reawaken it if possible, only do not tolerate a 

 thoughtless question. Children know very well when 

 they are asking a question merely for the sake of 

 talking. 



The experiment was tried with a class of first-year 

 high school pupils in botany. A month was spent in 

 establishing a viewpoint. Then, except for the occa- 

 sional laboratory periods and special discussions, the 

 classroom time was spent by the pupils in asking about 

 anything that interested them. Occasionally they wan- 

 dered far afield but never so far that the subject intro- 

 duced could not be made subservient for illustration. 

 The hour was a delight. Superstitions were weeded out 

 and light was let into dark corners. Sometimes the 

 questions were answered, sometimes they were kept for 



