This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...the source of that repression that has been so severely condemned by unselfish educators for many years. There is hardly anything that pupils are required to put on paper, where supervisors can see it, that has not been overtaught, degraded and falsified by this warring of motives. And the way to get rid of all this ...
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This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1906 Excerpt: ...the source of that repression that has been so severely condemned by unselfish educators for many years. There is hardly anything that pupils are required to put on paper, where supervisors can see it, that has not been overtaught, degraded and falsified by this warring of motives. And the way to get rid of all this trouble is to let it alone, is it? In writing compositions pupils may be expected to carry out the policy of the school by writing out their own experiences, imagining their own stories, and correcting their own and each other's errors under judicious direction. But here again we find the conflict of motives, the pride of appearances preventing the gift of opportunities. The children's experiences may be considered so narrow or devoid of interest that the teacher is moved to interject her own, or to urge her pupils to imagine interesting experiences; and this conglomeration of fact and fiction is passed in with a calm conscience under the title of "experience." It looks well, reads well, reflects credit to the right party or parties; and so what is the use of inquiring how the work was done or how the pupils are affected by it? Many a pupil has confessed with humiliation to reading on graduation day a composition which he falsely professed to have written. And the deceit is to be eliminated by not mentioning it to the teacher! Let her alone! Suppose the teacher has been taught to regard the doctrine of never allowing a pupil to see an error as of vital importance. Her pupils' attempts to correct errors in composition, for instance, are often so futile, not to mention the errors they put in for corrections, that she is seriously disturbed in mind. No matter what the policy of the school may be in furnishing opportunities for pupils to c...
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