Principles of Teaching | Page 5

important thought here is that the facts in rich abundance should be
supplied. A certain young lady protested recently against going to

Sunday School. Her explanation of her attitude is best expressed in her
own words: "I get sick and tired of going to a class where I never hear
anything new or worth while." Exaggerated, of course, but students are
crying for bread, and ought not to be turned away with a stone.
II. ORGANIZATION AND EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE
We have hinted that a lesson may not have facts enough to justify the
time it takes--there is, on the other hand, danger that the whole time of
the class may be consumed in a mere rehearsal of facts as facts. Only
recently a significant complaint was voiced by a young man who has
gone through training in practically all of our organizations. "I don't
seem to know anything at all," he said, "about the history of Israel, as a
whole. I can recall certain isolated facts about particular persons or
places, but I can't give any intelligent answer at all to such questions as
these:
"Who were the Israelites? What were their big movements relative to
the Promised Land? What is the history of Israel up to the time of the
Savior? What is their history subsequently? Are we of Israel and how?"
The young man was not complaining--he merely regretted his
ignorance on points of vital interest. He was in need of further
organization of the knowledge he had. He had not been given the big
central ideas about which to build the minor ones. Relative importance
had not been taught him through that organized review that is so
valuable in review. The teacher ought to come back time and again to
pause on the big essentials--the peaks of gospel teaching.
III. INTERPRETATION AND ELABORATION OF TRUTH
It is really surprising how many various notions of an idea will be
carried away by the members of a class from a single declaration on the
part of a teacher. A phase of a subject may be presented which links up
with a particular experience of one of the pupils. To him there is only
one interpretation. To another pupil the phase of the subject presented
might make no appeal at all, or linked up with a different experience
might lead to an entirely different conclusion. Truths need to be

elaborated and interpreted from all possible angles--all possible phases
should be developed. An interesting discussion recently took place with
a young man who had "gone off" on a pet doctrinal theory. His whole
conception built itself up about a single passage of scripture. Satisfied
with a single notion, he had shut his eyes to all else and "knew that he
was right." Properly to be taught, he needed to be trained to suspend his
judgment until all the evidence was in.
IV. INSPIRATION TO HIGH IDEALS
Men and women like to be carried to the heights. They like to be lifted
out of their lower selves into what they may become. It is the teacher's
delight to let his class stand tip-toe on the facts of subject matter to
peep into the glories of the gospel plan of life and salvation. In 1903
Sanford Bell, of the University of Colorado, reported the results of a
survey conducted with 543 men and 488 women to ascertain whether
they liked male or female teachers better and just what it was that made
them like those teachers who had meant most in their lives. The survey
showed that the following influences stood out in the order named:
Moral uplift. Inspiration. Stimulus to intellectual awakening. Spur to
scholarship. Help in getting a firm grip on the vital issues of life.
Personal kindness. Encouragement in crises.
What a testimonial to the force of inspiration to higher ideals!
V. ENCOURAGEMENT AND DIRECTION GIVEN TO PUPILS'
EXPRESSION
Most pupils in class are ordinarily inclined to sit silently by and let
someone else do the talking. And yet, everyone enjoys participating in
a lesson when once "the ice is broken." It is the teacher's task first of all
to create an atmosphere of easy expression and then later to help make
that expression adequate and effective. The bishop of one of our wards
in southern Utah declared, not long ago, that he traced the beginning of
his testimony back to a Primary lesson in which a skillful teacher led
him to commit himself very enthusiastically to the notion that the Lord
does answer prayers. He said he defended the proposition so vigorously

that he set about to make sure from experience that he was right. The
details of securing this expression will be more fully worked out in the
chapter on Methods of the Recitation.
VI. DISCOVERY OF PUPILS' BETTER SELVES