64 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



the teacher must make the presentation. The consequence is, that 

 all the points of a subject are set forth as clearly as possible by 

 the teacher, and a summary closes the first stage of the instruc- 

 tion. Teachers often acquire excellent reputations by thus illus- 

 trating their skill in developing a subject logically and bracket- 

 ing out the syllabus of the work, as some one has said, " on a rod 

 of blackboard/' Then comes the reproduction or presentation by 

 the pupil, and, if he does not reproduce the instruction well, the 

 subject is thought not to have been presented clearly enough, and 

 often the presentation is repeated. This method is said to be psy- 

 chological and scientific ; nevertheless, it induces passivity, a habit 

 of waiting to be told what to do, and a wrong attitude for the 

 work of investigation. It is distinctively a literary method that 

 is carried over into science work with disastrous results. 



The best presentation of a thing is made by the thing itself, 

 which must be suitable for the grade in which it is used, being 

 simple in form, color, and parts for low grades not necessarily 

 of simple and regular form, nor of one color, nor of two parts. 

 "The presumption of brains" must apply to the youngest pupils 

 of school age. Experience shows that pupils who are permitted 

 to draw and describe in writing simple, natural objects, guided 

 only by a very few words written on the blackboard, acquire such 

 a habit of application and power of expression as can be developed 

 in no other way as well or as soon. They are so pleased with the 

 expression of their own ideas, when they have been well started, 

 that the disposition to appropriate other persons' ideas to save 

 themselves from thinking or to copy the expression of them is 

 counteracted. Their most imperative needs are opportunities 

 to ivork by themselves, skillful guidance, and generous encour- 

 agement. 



The question-and-answer method is the principal method of 

 instruction in both the normal schools and the scientific schools. 

 It appears to be the most scientific method generally known, and 

 accordingly is the method used in teaching science. The teacher, 

 in giving a lesson on a natural object, prepares her questions care- 

 fully in a systematic order, anticipates the probable answers of 

 the pupils, and determines the exact answers which they must 

 give at last. To do this heavy work a multitude of "leading 

 questions " is necessary, and to ask and answer the questions con- 

 sumes much time and calls for exhausting labor on the part of the 

 teacher. The questions are put in order with considerable diffi- 

 culty, which varies with the amount of freedom permitted, and 

 the pupils are said to be led to investigate for themselves. The 

 answers of the brightest pupils are frequently written on the 

 blackboard, where the dullest pupils may read them and try after- 

 ward to pass them off as their own. The process insures con- 



