Errors in school : their causes and treatment / by John Adams.

  • Adams, John, 1857-1934.
Date:
1927
Catalogue details

Licence: In copyright

Credit: Errors in school : their causes and treatment / by John Adams. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    but in the application to his particular case he must stand on his own feet. He must determine which errors map best be left untouched, and which demand immediate attention. His personal equation here deserves consideration. After all, he and his pupils between them make up the little world in which the struggle with error is to take place; he is the general, and is entitled to select the ground of battle. Rigidity is one of the dangers to be care¬ fully guarded against. There must be give and take all along the line. While attention is wisely concentrated on a selected group, certain general errors must be open to the attack of the teacher at any time. Occasional “close periods” for certain errors are admissible, but there are other persistent errors that must be treated as beyond the pale, and liable to be shot at sight. Throughout we have been assuming the co¬ operation of teacher and pupil. Unless this be secured there is small chance of real success in error-elimination. In our getting into touch, and in keeping in touch, with the pupils, the law of internal harmony is naturally of the first importance. We have seen that this law is always in active operation; that contradictions are continually arising in the pupil-mind and demanding some sort of reconciliation. This restoration of harmony would seem to be a matter that the pupil must work out for himself; the contradictions must be settled on the premises. Yet the teacher can help materially in the organisation of the struggle for tranquillity within the mind of the pupil. In that mind, the natural preference for the line of least resistance