Principles of Teaching | Page 4

engaged in
other than parental teaching?
2. What significance is attached to calling our Church a teaching
Church?
3. Discuss the significance of Jesus' being a teacher.
4. Compare the responsibility of teaching with that of parenthood.
5. Enumerate the chief purposes behind teaching.
6. In your opinion, which is the greatest purpose? Why?
7. To what extent does the following statement apply to the welfare of
our Church:
"That nation that does not revere its past, plays little part in the present,
and soon finds that it has no future."
8. Discuss our obligation under the injunction to teach the gospel to the
world.
9. Discuss the need here at home of better teaching.
10. In what sense are we trustees of the heritage left by the pioneers?
HELPFUL REFERENCES
Doctrine & Covenants: James, _Talks on Psychology and Life's Ideals_;
Brumbaugh, _The Making of a Teacher_; Weigle, _Talks to Sunday
School Teachers_; Strayer, _A Brief Course in the Teaching Process_;
Betts, _How to Teach Religion_; Strayer and Norsworthy, _How to
Teach_; Sharp, Education for Character.

CHAPTER II
WHAT IS TEACHING?
OUTLINE--CHAPTER II
Teaching a complex art.--What teaching is not.--What teaching
is.--What it involves.--Presentation of facts.--Organization and
evaluation of knowledge.--Interpretation and elaboration of
truth.--Inspiration to high ideals.--Encouragement and direction given
to expression.--Discovery of pupils' better selves.--Inspiration of
example as well as precept.--Application of truths taught in lives of
pupils.
The query, "What constitutes teaching?" cannot be answered off-hand.
It is so complex an art, so fine an art, as Professor Driggs points out,
that it has to be pondered to be understood and appreciated. It is often
considered to be mere lesson-hearing and lesson-giving. The difference
between mere instructions and teaching is as great as the distinction
between eating and digestion.
The following definition of teaching, contributed by a former state
superintendent of schools, is rich in suggestion:
"Teaching is the process of training an individual through the formation
of habits, the acquisition of knowledge, the inculcation of ideals, and
the fixing of permanent interests so that he shall become a clean,
intelligent, self-supporting member of society, who has the power to
govern himself, can participate in noble enjoyments, and has the desire
and the courage to revere God and serve his fellows."
Teaching does not merely consist of an inquisition of questions with
appropriate answers thrown in; it surely is not mere reading; nor can it
be mistaken for preaching or lecturing. These are all means that may be
employed in the process of teaching. And they are important, too. We
have been cautioned much, of late years, not to lose ourselves in the
process of doling out facts--but that rather we should occupy ourselves
teaching boys and girls. That all sounds well--the writer of these

lessons has himself proclaimed this doctrine--but we have discovered
that you cannot teach boys and girls nothing. They no more can be
happy listening to nothing than they can be content doing nothing.
And so we now urge the significance of having a rich supply of subject
matter--a substantial content of lesson material. But the doctrine holds
that the teacher ought not to lose himself in mere facts--they are merely
the medium through which he arrives at, and drives home the truth.
"It is the teacher's task to make changes for the better in the abilities,
habits and attitudes of boys and girls. Her efficiency can be evaluated
fairly only in terms of her success at this task. In other words, if a
teacher is rated at all, she should be rated not only by the clothes she
wears, or the method she chooses, but by the results she
secures."--Journal of Educational Research, May, 1920.
We have said that teaching is a complex art. It consists of at least these
eight fundamentals, each one of which, or any combination of which,
may be featured in any one particular lesson:
1. Presentation of facts. 2. Organization and evaluation of knowledge. 3.
Interpretation and elaboration of truth. 4. Inspiration to high ideals. 5.
Encouragement and direction given to expression. 6. Discovery of
pupils' better selves. 7. Inspiration of example as well as precept. 8.
Application of truths taught in lives of the pupils.
I. PRESENTATION OF FACTS
Facts constitute the background upon which the mind operates. There
may be many or few--they may be presented in a lecture of thirty
minutes, in the reading of a dozen pages, or they may be called forth
out of the mind by a single stimulating question. But we ought not to
confuse the issue. If we are to discuss any matter in the hope of
reaching a conclusion in truth, we must have material upon which the
mind can build that conclusion. We are not concerned in this chapter
with method of procedure in getting the facts before a class--the