Problems of the secondary teacher

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Preface

The problems of education take their character from the nature of man. The ideals of civilization, the social results of the achievements in any age, the impulse tovi^ards adventure and the undertaking of advance or reform, all issue somehow out of the nature of man. And in its fundamental aspects this nature is very much the same the w^orld over. When we note the differences of peoples and nations we find that we are dwelling on things they " have put on for the occasion." We are not yet at the bottom. Much of our philosophy, religion and education has been satisfied to build without going to this real foundation, the bedrock of human nature.

The market is flooded with pedagogic literature. It seems well-nigh a fad. There seem.s to be good sense in the demand that one should have some good reason for offering a new book in this field. My reason for offering this book in English dress is its splendid success in the effort to furnish insight into the rich problem.s of the Secondary School from the profound viewpoint of the fundamentals of human nature and of human society.

Jerusalem has cultivated the fields of philosophy, psychology and sociology and it is these that are peculiarly essential to an undertaking of the problems of pedagogy. He has learned much from Spencer in sociology, from Royce in philosophy and from James in psycholog)^ In the treatment of his problems he has dealt with an earnest frankness with everything, with the result that we have a book that must appeal to everyone who really cares for the advancement of the race and has anything like confidence that the school can be made an effective agent in effecting such advance.

In making the translation we have eliminated such portions of the book as would have little or no interest outside Austria. The translation is made from the second edition of the orignal. The following from the author's Preface will tell the story of the book:

6 Preface

In respect to subject matter my book bears an intimate relation to the Practical Pedagogics of Adolf Matthias and the Spirit of the Teacher of William Muench. Both men are in position to speak to teachers as from a higher platform and hence have a right to admonish, to suggest, and to impose a duty. They understand well how to take the viewpoint of the teacher, but they themselves are nevertheless no longer on that level. In this respect my position is entirely different. I have never been a Director nor an Inspector. Furthermore, during the twenty years of my professional life I have never risen beyond the position of Privatdozent. I, therefore, have neither the right nor the obligation, and least of all the inclination, to speak from above. I come as a teacher to address myself to my present and future colleagues with a view to impressing upon them the tremendous social significance of our school and of our profession. My most serious concern is to energize the teacher subjectively, to give new impulses to his ambition and in this way, which I regard the only possible and effective one, to contribute to the reform of our advanced school system for which there is such a crying need. But the first requirement to this end is the demand for uncompromising frankness. We must neither cover up nor apologize for the failures and weaknesses of which we teachers are so frequently guilty. I have touched upon a number of very tender spots and am prepared to expect that the painful touch will meet with some bitter resentment and some complaisant denial. I have spoken without equivocation on both the actual short-comings of our High School organization as well as the failures of our Boards of Instruction. And I have likewise spoken many plain truths to the parents of our pupils. But I have done all this solely from my interest in the great social service to which my book is devoted. My criticism is never merely negative. I have no desire to destroy, but rather to build anew from within. I have constantly directed my efforts towards the positive and the concrete. It is just in the very act of trying to give the vital energies of the teaching profession the direction which leads towards higher achievements that the errors which lead elsewhere are exposed automatically. As Spinoza has put it, the truth must illuminate both itself and error.

The sociological method of interpretation which I have

Preface 7

applied to our schools and their teachers may indeed appear new and unfamiliar to many of my colleagues. Sociology is still a new science and it is not yet in position to direct attention to an abundance of positive results. But as a method of interpretation it has justified itself in splendid fashion. In the investigation of the concept of general education it has been very fruitful. The ethical problems of the teacher are likewise brought into a new light by consideration from this point of view. We must constantly strive for a clearer conception of the social function of our high schools. It is only from this point of view that we can at present come to a correct understanding and evaluation of the insistent demands for far-reaching individualization and for the intensive development of personality. It is on this account that my book applies not only to specialists in the narrower sense. It is precisely among these that many of my suggestions will still meet with opposition, especially, for example, my effort at the reorganization of the curriculum and my requirements m reference to the pedagogical training of teachers. But if educated society will concern itself more than it has hitherto about the social problem of the secondary school with a view to attaining a clear understanding both of its importance and its unique position, many will certainly learn to see that the existing evils can never be overcome by mieans of superficial reforms, such for example as by a more strict supervision, or by a gradual reduction of the material of instruction, or by eliminating written exercises, or by the free elective system in the advanced classes. The state and society will then perhaps think through to the conviction that the clearly recognised aim or purpose of the secondary school can be attained only by means of a thoroughgoing internal reconstruction. Internal reconstruction, however, is possible only if the vital energies of the teachers and schools are aroused, disciplined, and directed upon the course which brings us closer to these aims. I may perhaps, therefore, be permitted to hope that I will find sympathizers among the large class of the educated in every calling, who will agree to an early introduction of my requirements and a much more thorough pedagogic preparation of teachers. The future generation of teachers, however, will soon likewise gratefully recognise the advantages of such a training themselves.

8 Preface

Finally, permit me to emphasize once more that this essayis a personal work, an expression that issues from the depth of my own heart. It is as such that I send it forth into the world with the epigrammatic blessing of Grillparzer's lines:

(Of all who have rich blessings shed, whether prince or king, None that ever lived more than himself has given. Here, take my very self, 'tis I who offer thee. Then let your own heart decide, whether it be much or little.)

C. F. Sanders.

Gettysburg, Pa., July 27, 1918.

Contents

CHAPTER PAGE

I The Secondary Teacher 7

1 Our Vocation 7

Chapter I

I. Our Vocation

THE teacher's vocation is unique. It is full of difficulty and it is charged with the highest responsibilities. The demands made upon him by official boards, parents, and more particularly by the pupils are boundless. But the obligations which the conscientious teacher imposes upon himself — he should at least — are of vastly greater consequence. Of the multitudes of young people expecting to teach in our secondary schools after graduation from college, but a very few have anything like a clear conception of the responsibilities involved. And even those of us who are in the active service, after having entered upon our difficult task, rarely find time, leisure and concentration, to reflect upon ourselves. It seems to me that the vague, uncertain and consequent unsatisfactory position of the secondary teacher at present is chiefly due to this lack of clearness concerning our duties, the utter failure to appreciate the social function of the secondary school and the teacher of the secondary school.

We are scientifically trained and we are, generally speaking, interested in science and accordingly we strive to keep in touch with the representatives of science, the University professors. We are teachers, we feel the need of discussion on method and the art of teaching and we occasionally visit the educational association conventions held by the teachers of the public schools.

S Problems of the Secondary Teacher

We come under criticism from various angles. The educational authorities on the one hand are critical from the viewpoint of the organized state, and society at large on the other is apt to approach us from a more individualistic point of view. Short-comings are as variously ascribed to tradition, to social conditions, or even to malignity, both on the part of the parents or the official boards. And we look for improvement of the conditions. But it seems to me that external remedies will not relieve the situation. It must proceed from within ourselves. It becomes imperative, therefore, that we apply ourselves diligently to self-study. We must first of all raise the very serious question whether we have reflected with sufficient seriousness on what we are and what we ought to be. Do we really have a clear conception of the nature and purpose of the secondary school in which we are engaged? Have we ever been fully conscious of all the problems which confront the secondary teacher? Do we understand the tremendously important social function which the secondary school, together with its teachers, is called upon and obliged to exercise in the social organization? I fear the most of us would not pass this self-examination, which seems to me indispensable to a proper appreciation of the purpose and dignity of the profession. The point at issue here is to show that we are really and truly teachers. We must announce the results of each examination clearly, with inexorable truthfulness and without regard for personal feelings, which in this case means ourselves. Whoever approaches the examination poorly prepared must fail. We require the courage therefore to permit ourselves at least for once in our lives to fail at our own hands and be required to repeat. This will mean severe application in order that we may make up quickly and thoroughly what has been neglected.

I am rash enough to offer myself as a preceptor for the preparation for renewed self-examination. I offer the results of my experiences gathered from the practical life of a pedagogue, covering a period of thirty years, and latterly as instructor of pedagogy, together with my conclusions drawn from the study of psychology and sociology. I shall endeavor in the following pages to explain the nature and purpose of the secondary school more clearly, as it seems to me, than has hitherto been done. I shall discuss the scientific, the pedagogic-didactic and the social-ethical duties of the secondary teacher and thus be in a position not only to offer general principles to prospective teachers and to teachers with limited experience, who may care to make use of it, but likewise to give many practical suggestions directly applicable to the real work of the school. But my deepest concern in this whole matter is to show my present and future vocational colleagues that the secondary teacher possesses a field of influence at once profound and extensive, his exclusive possession, without any other occupants and beyond the possibility of any counter claimants, which furnishes the opportunity for personal development wholly unique and at the same time satisfying the highest ambitions. The secondary school has its own specific problems which are clearly definable and hence requires specially prepared teachers who understand its problems and devote themselves to their high social task. We have at least no need to obtrude ourselves upon anyone either above, below, or in any way beyond our circle. The association with our pupils and with our colleagues and the constant, quiet application to a fuller development of our own personality, furnishes us abundant satisfaction. We must first of all get a correct estimate of ourselves, we need to know exactly what we are and regulate our conduct, our life, accordingly. The more thoroughly we master this problem of self-knowledge and autonomous self-estimation, the more rapidly will we attain the respect among all classes of people, which corresponds to our high calling.

The mental task for which I am anxious to enlist my present, and more especially my future vocational colleagues is by no means easy nor insignificant. The first requirement is a definite, strong determination, a vigorous spiritual backbone, which will force us out of the customary ways of thinking and, more particularly, the customary thoughtlessness. As soon as we are thoroughly initiated to the new mental vision it will be necessary to review carefully and thoroughly the whole field of our preparation and of our vocational activity from this new viewpoint. The university courses already completed or still in prospect of completion, the further scientific education for the purpose of fixing and of extending knowledge, the preparation for teaching, the management of pupils, methods, the relation to school boards and to colleagues, to parents and to the genlO Problems of the Secondary Teacher

eral public, will all appear in a new light. We will then recognize clearly wherein the university fails by virtue of its regulations and wherein we have permitted it to fail by our own mistakes. The things we have learned there that seemed superfluous will then no longer appear superfluous, but as " superflu, chose tres necessaire." We will then be able to fill in the gaps which remain with genuine interest and undoubted gain. Once we are fully imbued with the great problem of our vocation, the conviction follows, that our purpose can be realized only by the slow, steady, consciously directed, daily occupation with small tasks and that on this account the things in our work which seem insignificant become important. The reproach of pedantry so often brought against school teachers will then appear in a new light and we will no longer regard it as a serious reproach.

2. The Synthesis of Science and Pedagogy

The first synthesis to be effected is that between the scholar and the teacher, or as I prefer to express it, between science and pedagogy. During the first half of the nineteenth century, when, especially in Prussia, but in other parts of Germany as well, the new-humanistic gymnasium founded under the auspices of Goethe and Herder and especially Fr. Aug. Wolf, the opinion generally prevailed that a strictly scientific education is quite sufficient for the gymnasial teacher. The school teachers of those days were all classsical philologists and they were particularly disdainful of pedagogy. And the educational consistory of Prussia likewise placed the greatest, almost exclusive, emphasis on the scientific, i. e., philological, education of teachers. Paulsen's History of Higher Education furnishes abundant proof of the prevalence of these views, and he constantly refers to the sources with great care. I quote several characteristic passages. Paulsen describes (vol. II, 269 ff) the development of the philosophical faculties in the nineteenth century and the Seminaries founded during the same period : " The philological Seminaries are the oldest institutions of this kind. Founded originally for the purpose of furnishing a thorough preparation for the teaching profession, during the nineteenth century they became places of scientific research pure and simple."

" The Institute completely devoted to the education of scholars; the actual future vocation of the majority of the members, that of teaching, as such, receives no consideration whatever." (270) '' Later statutes (e.g. Halle, 1857, Miinster, 1854) make express mention of the fact that they likewise give special attention to the preparation of teachers for the higher schools, but not indeed in the way of guidance in acquiring the art of teaching, but simply through furnishing a scientific training. These statutes do not provide, according to Wiese (Hist. Statis. Darst. I. 525) for the teaching of pedagogy, but that instruction shall be given to independent application and advancement of science. It is presumed that a thorough pursuit of scientific studies is at the same time a training in method, that systematically acquired science likewise enables a methodical application, whilst methods without any deeper comprehension of the subject-matter soon become an empty, mechanical routine." (271) '* It is indeed a noteworthy fact that the pedagogical enthusiasm of the eighteenth century was almost wholly extinguished by the scientific enthusiasm of the nineteenth century. Especially were the philologists outspoken in their contempt for pedagogy. Be enthusiastic and understand how to inspire enthusiasm, was the principle which gave rise to the whole pedagogy of Wolf. Ritschl thinks that teaching will come naturally to anyone who has the knowledge. And the youthful Lehrs, even while under appointment at a Konigsberg Gymnasium, in the customary biographic sketches introduced into the program of the institution, could not refrain from deliverances like the following : ' This conviction preserved me (notwithstanding the fact that the life of an educator was constantly hovering before my mind) from the digression, temptations to which were at that time not wanting, of dissipating and wasting my time with the study of pedagogy, as they call it.

Furthermore; for anyone to set limits to his science, to wish to master it for the sake of an immediate and pressing need, savors of the calculation of the trader, and the attempt to learn how to deal with men from a text book in psychology is childish.' " (253.) Principal Spilleke describes the slight esteem into which pedagogy had fallen among the philological governors of the schools as follows : " It is a most remarkable phenomenon that inasmuch as the elementary school organization has during the past thirty years shown extraordinary progress in matters of didactics and method and has trained a generation of teachers who deserve admiration for their ability to inspire the masses by their pedagogic skill and by their general adaptability, the Gymnasia have nevertheless taken no notice whatever, or at least very little, of the great changes taking place in the pedagogical world. A gymnasial teacher who had so far departed from the way as to read a book on pedagogy or to manifest an interest in the subject had almost to be ashamed in the presence of his colleagues and fear being regarded a poor schoolmaster deserving pity. Not a few of the gymnasial teachers hold it as a fundamental principle that a man can teach any subject in which he has been instructed. Baumeister, who quotes this passage in the introduction to his Handbook of Pedagogy j adds: ' One might almost think they had only recently been written.' " (276)

This onesided and almost exclusive concern for the scientific training of the gymnasial teacher has, at least in Germany during the first two-thirds of the nineteenth century, had a very wholesome result for our profession. It has enhanced the respect for the profession in an extraordinary manner. Paulsen describes this with his customary clearness and vividness (II, 387 ff. Esp 389). And it follows from this that we are obliged to insist with all emphasis and zeal that the scientific training of the secondary teacher must not be neglected or supplanted by any means. Our authority and our social position, as history shows, rests on our scientific training. The results of our instruction depend above all else upon our scientific efficiency, and the introductory ordinance of the second edition of the "Instructions"^ is perfectly right in saying: "The art of teaching, in so far as an art can be acquired, can, at least in the sphere of education to which these instructions apply, be acquired only under the presupposition that the teacher is complete master of his subject matter, in constant touch with the advances made by science and continually draws thence renewed strength and love for his arduous calling."

It is impossible therefore to emphasize too strongly or too frequently that scientific efficiency is the vital source and sole justification of our profession. But we must nevertheless in-

1 Courses and Directions for Teaching in the Gymnasia of Austria, sist just as clearly and just as decidedly that the ability for scientific research, the thorough mastery of the methods and principles of science, the restriction to a limited field, indispensable to the scholar, are uttterly inadequate to a correct comprehension and the solution of the problems of the secondary school and of the secondary teacher. We must not only learn to understand and love science, but likewise our pupils. It is our business to quicken the mental powers of our pupils which ripen the desire and the ability to give a scientific account of their environment. But in order to do this it is necessary that we prepare ourselves thoroughly and at the proper time. Moreover the science and the art of education and instruction are not the mere inventions of yesterday. Great minds have reflected upon these problems for several thousand j^ears, and it is therefore a false procedure to direct the young teacher to begin at the beginning with these matters and draw everything from his own resources. At the beginning of the first Olympic oration Demosthenes speaks of two kinds of orators. The one come well prepared (xpr/o-t/xov laKefxiiivov) and present their plan systematically. The others depend on inspiration and speak from the stirrup {Ik rov TrapaxprjfJ^a) . They have hitherto for too long a time imposed the frequently very painful position of the stirrup-teacher upon us and left us to ourselves to adjust to the schools. I still remember quite vividly with what feeling of trepidation I entered the class-room as teacher for the first time more than thirty years ago. But in the course of recent decades there has been an increasing demand from the widest variety of vievv^-points that the secondary school teacher should likewise be pedagogically prepared for his calling.

The things which have been attempted and accomplished in this line, the probationarj^ year, the university and schoolseminars, the so-called further probationary years and ever}^- thing pertaining to these matters are carefully compiled and discussed in the important volume by William Fries, The Preparation of the Teacher for His Office. (Bau?neisters Handbook J vol. 2, first division B.) No arrangement meeting all the requirements has as yet been found, and we v/ili doubtless still have to expend much labor and reflection in order to meet the needs of the time in this respect. We shall have occasion to return to this point later. But we must observe this one thing in passing, namely, that in recent years the pedagogical preparation of the secondary teacher has been emphasized almost as onesidedly as was previously the case with the scientific preparation. Unfortunately it cannot be denied that there has been a marked decline in the scientific efficiency of the secondary school teachers during recent decades. Whether this fact can be adequately explained by the somewhat deeper interest in problems of method and didactics, I do not care to decide at present. One thing is nevertheless certain, namely, that at least with us in Austria the scientific regression has not enhanced the respect for our profession.

We must therefore never state the question alternatively, whether science or pedagogy is our chief concern. We must realize the synthesis emphasized above, the vital blending of the scholar and the teacher in us. We need scientific education most unqualifiedly. We must learn to understand the work of the investigator, since we are to participate in it. We must proceed far enough to be able alwa5^s to be above the text books. We must — and this is the essence of the desired synthesis — we must press forward to the conception that for us science is not an end in itself j but that it is only a means. Our end, our life's problem is the school. Inasmuch as we devote our whole energy to it, we have the best and surest opportunity to develop ourselves to complete, consciously purposeful, independent personalities. Here every slumbering energy is developed, here we must find our joys and satisfactions. All that w^e are and all that we are able to do belongs to the school. And for this reason too science is not an end for us, but a means.

This is in no sense a depreciation of science. It is not a matter of alternatives between the " heavenly goddess " and the " milking cow." In the light of modern psychology and sociology this conception can no longer be maintained. All the sciences owe their origin to practical needs, and the highest aim of human endeavor must forever consist of the effort to make the life of the individual and of the human race richer, more complete and happier. Whenever therefore v/e use science for the purpose of inspiring and educating the minds of our pupils, whenever we impart to them the necessary equipment for life by means of furnishing them with facts and byhabituating them to individual effort, it is then that we have applied science to that which by its real nature it is intended, the advancement of life.

If the secondary school teacher is at the same time able to engage in independent research work, it will be of advantage to him in his vocation, as we shall show farther on, and he will thus likewise contribute to the elevation of the dignity of the profession. However, if he has fully realized the desired synthesis, he will understand that his whole effort must nevertheless be devoted to the school and science be only a pastime. He will not forget the teacher for the scholar, not neglect or indeed despise, but know that he must likewise cultivate and foster those phases of his science which do not appeal to him as an investigator, wherever the school requires it. Whoever, like myself for example, who as a teacher of the classical languages and philosophical propadeutic, applies himself scientifically to psychology and philosophy, must at the same time be concerned about Latin style, German orthography, Greek meter and likewise be at home in Roman politics as well as in the Homeric problems and in the Attic system of legal procedure. As teachers we cannot by any means limit ourselves to a brief time period as the scholar is bound to do.

This synthesis of science and pedagogy is an unqualified requirement for the secondary teacher. The sooner and the more completely we give ourselves this, — perhaps somewhat painful for many, — mental jolt, the better it will be for us. Whoever is so fortunate as to gain this insight while still at the university, will get great advantage from it In pursuing his studies. He will guard against undertaking scientific Investigations which will confine him for a number of years to a small part of his subject. He will rather seek themes which will furnish an opportunity to become acquainted with broader fields and furnish him with a comprehensive view. The classical philologist, who has rightly conceived his future vocation, will thus, for example, prefer investigations which will require him to study extensively Homer, the Tragedians or Plato, Thucydldes, Demosthenes and the other orators, or those which furnish an Intimate acquaintance with Virgil, Horace, Cicero, Tacitus or Livy. The historian will then scarcely devote six or eight semesters exclusively to the late Roman emperors. He will rather institute a limited investigation to the Pentekontatie, and afterwards another to the period of the Gracchii, and then again devote himself to the Hohenstaufen emperor Frederick II and undertake an essay on the period of Wallenstein and Napoleon.

But it will do no harm if this synthesis is realized first by the young teacher. The work of the school will show him best, what is still lacking in his training. If the university has given him the ability to work systematically; it will not be difficult for him to fill in the gaps gradually and to combine breadth with thoroughness. We will have occasion to illustrate this synthesis by examples at greater length when we come to discuss the duties of the secondary teacher. Here it is of primary importance to show that the only way we can properly conceive and discharge our vocation is under the clear conviction that we must put science into the service of the school. Whoever is filled with this conception will soon begin of his own accord to be interested in general principles of education and instruction as well as in the special methods of his subject. He will desire to be a teacher and educator, not a scholar and an investigator, and it is this desire that appears to me to be the important matter. Our calling verifies the old English proverb, where there is a will, there is a way, very uniquely. Whoever seeks earnestly will certainly find a way, and moreover, the way that is adapted to his own individuality. There are now an abundance of guides, so that everyone can select such as suits his purpose.

We find at present that the personality of the teacher receives more emphasis than formerly and rightly so. We have come to see that the best course and the best teaching art become effective only as they become vital forces through the personality of the teacher. But we are not always clear as to the nature and growth of personality. We frequently speak of individuality and personality and mean nothing more than an unorganized bundle of impulses, phantasms, passions, whims, peculiarities and bad habits. But whoever understands the development of mankind, whoever clearly conceives the significance of the process of differentiation in the civilization of man, must conclude that the individual can become a really complete and forceful personality only as he discovers some great fact of social importance to which he devotes himself and in which he is completely absorbed by his own resolve and volition. Josiah Royce, the American philosopher, brought this out very forcefully in his excellent book, The Philosophy of Loyalty, and it seems to me significant that this idea is reaching wider circles. Our calling is certainly an important one, of high social significance. Anyone who fully devotes himself to these matters will find abundant opportunity to unfold his individuality and to develop a forceful, complete personality. Devotion to these great matters quickens every hidden force, we recognize our strength and our weakness. Goethe observes, ^'Peculiarities will indeed remain, cultivate your capacities.^' The teacher who would struggle upwards to personality will follow this striking suggestion. He will have his peculiarities like everyone else, but that does no harm. He will however not find the essence of personality in these peculiarities, but in the deeper attributes of the soul which attain their complete development in vocational activity. Personality thus matured and refined is the only one that possesses the force which will really aifect the pupils. But it has thereby likewise acquired the right to be obeyed and respected. Anyone who has made of himself such a personality as this will arrange his own methods and discover the path to a pedagogy adapted to his needs. The beginning of this path however will always lead through science, through strict science which demands the whole man. We must adhere to this unflinchingly. It is the source of our power and of our distinction.