Teacher monopoly, an educational waste.pdf

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extracted text: 5. Knowledge does not comprise all which is con tained in the large term of education. The feel ings are to he disciplined; the passions are to be restrained; true and worthy motives are to be inspired; a profound religious feeling is to be instilled, and pure morality inculcated under all circumstances. All this is comprised in educa tion.—Daniel Webster. 6. Education is a companion which no misfortune can depress—no crime destroy—no enemy alien ate—no despotism enslave, at home, a friend; abroad, an introduction; in solitude, a solace; and in society, an ornament. Without it, what is man?—a splendid slave, a reasoning savage.— Varle. 7. Modern education too often covers the fingers with rings, and at the same time cuts the sinews * at the wrists—Sterling. 8. Education should be a conscious, methodical ap plication of the best means in the wisdom of the - ages to the end that youth may know how to live completely.—Malley. 9. Education is the only cure for certain diseases the modern world has engendered, but if you don’t find the disease, the remedy is superfluous. —John Buchan. 10. The whole object of education is, or should be to develop mind. The mind should be a thing that works. It should be able to pass judgment on events as they arise, make decisions.—Sher wood Anderson. 11. The problem of education is twofold: first to know, and then to utter. Everyone who lives any semblance of an inner life thinks more nobly and profoundly than he speaks.—R. L. Steven son. 12. Observation more than books, experience rather than persons, are the prime educators.—A. B. Alcott. 13. Character development is the great, if not the sole, aim of education.—O’Shea. 14. There are five tests of the evidence of educa tion — correctness and precision in the use of the mother tongue; refined and gentle manners, the result of fixed habits of thought and action; sound standards of appreciation of beauty and of worth, and a character based on those stand ards; power and habit of reflection; efficiency or the power to do.—Nicholas Murray Butler. 15. The true order of learning should be, first, what is necessary; second, what is useful; and third, what is ornamental — To reverse this arrange ment, is like beginning to build at the top of the edifice.—Mrs. Sigourney 16. If we work upon marble, it will perish; if on brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples they will crumble into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, and imbue them with principles with the just fear of God and love of our fellow-men, we engrave on those tables something that will brighten to all eternity.— Daniel Webster. 17. The more purely intellectual aim of education should be the endeavor to make us see and ima gine the world in an objective manner as far as possible as it really is in itself, and not merely through the distorting medium of personal de sires.—Bertrand Russell. Teacher Monopoly: An Educational Waste By Francisco C. Alcantara /"AFTEN has it been said that a bright teacher begets bright children. In a limited sense, this may be true, depending upon the method of presentation that the teacher uses. But the question arises: Can pupils’ mental ability be improved ? Or, psycholo gically wording it, can one’s I. Q. be improved? Some educators are of the belief that one’s mentality or his index of brightness remains constant despite the increase in his chronological age. A number of edu cators, however, are of the belief that one’s mental ability can be improved. The teacher’s technique, the use of effective teaching aids and devices, the creation of proper learning atmosphere, and many other factors, tend to improve mental ability as claimed by the latter school of thought. Some teachers are inclined to believe in the plausi bility of these factors. In so believing they are apt to have a monopoly of classroom and off-campus actiFEBRUARY, 1958 PAGE 51 vities, hoping that the pupils, by their example, can effectively comprehend. In one school, the writer had the occasion to-observe a teacher, who, judging from her scholastic ratings while in college and from the ease in which she passed the Junior Teacher exam ination, is bright. Possibly conscious of her bright ness but unmindful of the capacities of her pupils, she speak in fast tempo and never pausing to allow the children time to deliberate or to think. This teacher possibly assumed that her pupils had her brightness and, therefore, had given them no time to reflect. Another teacher took pride in her mastery of the subject matter and spent the whole period lecturing with the pupils apparently listening to her but miser ably missing her point. Even occasional questions to check on their comprehension of her “lecture” were conspicuous in their absence. The blackboards re mained clean and the devices never touched. The period was almost wholly spent in useless lecturing. This particular teacher was often exhausted at the end of the day, but consoling herself at the thought that the day had ended perfectly. Child’s potentialities. A teacher should not lose sight of the fact that the child has a bundle of poten tialities. He has capabilities inherent in him. If the teacher monopolizes the recitation, how in the world can these potentialities be transformed into actualities. How can these inherent capabilities be allowed to play? Some pupils are shy and lack the enthusiasm to display their wares. Others are pas sive and care not whether or not they contribute something to the recitation. Good ideas that they may possess are not circulated because they are not given a chance to do so. Their ability to speak has no chance to improve. It should be remembered that no individual has a monopoly of everything. More minds produce greater results. Mort and Vincent in Modern Educa tional Practice rightly say that “no matter how bril liant or wise the professional staff, .they do not have a corner bn ideas.” This also applies"to the classroom teacher who believes that she knows better than her pupils. Because of this belief, he does not give them a chance to show to others what they know. Self-activity. It is a popular psychological truism that a child learns only by his own activity. There is no learning without the learner. The active parti cipation of the pupils in the recitation and in all other activities should, therefore, be encouraged. The learning-by-doing principle should be adhered to. It is said that the tongue is the only tool that sharpens with much use. So, a teacher who is conscious of this should refrain from monopolizing the recitation. The pupils should be called upon to recite often, thus giving them opportunity to exercise their potentiali ties. They should be encouraged to share what they have to others. Participation enhances learning. Over-dependence. Children who happen to be with teachers who have the tendency to monopolize cul tivate the habit of laziness and may become over-dependent. What is the use of studying when the teach er studies and recites for them, anyway? How many of our children are energetic enough to know things and acquire knowledges and facts by themselves?. Many pupils cannot express adequately what they want to say because they have been devoid of a chance to exercise their capabilities. Many pupils resort to copying because they lack the proper back ground and are not in possession of necessary skills and knowledges. They become so dependent that they are at a loss to perform tasks without the teacher actively participating instead of merely guiding. Discouragement. The writer once overheard a remark from a child: “I do not like my teacher.She talks very fast and she does not call me when I raise my hand.” This child is only one of the great number who go home disappointed because they can not display what they know. Prepared for the day’s grind but not given a chance to share with others what he knows, the child naturally goes home discouraged. Why some pupils select their teachers can be traced back to this fact. Jockett and Jacobsen in their book entitled Modern Practices in the Elementary School, said, “ALL human beings have in common certain fundamental urge?, needs, or drives to action. When the outlets em ployed by the individual bring satisfaction to himself and others because of the furtherance of some worthy purpose, the result is desirable.” And, of course, the reverse is true. Sociability. “The child becomes a social being only through sharing the aims, ideals, and activities of his social group.” Do not allow the child to share what he possesses and you have a child who is shut up from the social group. “Pupil participation is democracy in action,” says Mort and Vincent, and there can be no democracy without the group as a social nucleus. A child is socially efficient if he mixes freely with the group in an atmosphere of cooperation and in a spirit of comradeship be it in class discussions or in class activities. This is possible if and when teachers forget their monopolizing influence and instead en courage their pupils to be friendly to one another and to be desirable members of the social group. ♦ Summary. The writer has attempted to discourage teachers from monopolizing the classroom recitation and activities on one hand and to encourage active and free pupil participation on the other by asserting that teacher monopoly (1) inhibits pupil potentiali ties; (2) discourages self-activity; (3) encourages over-dependence; (4) promotes discouragement; and (5) curtails sociability. PAGE 52 THE PHILIPPINE EDUCATOR
Date: 1958
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