SCHOOL WORK.

MANAGING A CLASS.

CLASS-MANAGEMENT includes Control and Teaching.

Orderly attention a necessary preliminary to teaching.

Good teaching favours attention.

Control not to be put in the place of teaching.

Power to govern, not the same as power to teach; one chiefly moral, the other intellectual.

Both forms of power may be acquired.

Aptitude, study, practice, and the teacher's individuality, important factors.

Good Class-government is decided, yet kindly; despotic, yet wise and considerate.

The teacher must have his own way. Non-government a common fault.
Kindly influence, opposed to mere force.

Leading and Driving exemplify two modes of exercising power.

What Leading is, and what it requires.

Driving, and its dangers.

"Suaviter in modo, fortiter in re."

Hindrances to Control, some in teacher, some in scholars, individually and collectively.

Practical Control includes (1) Establishment, (2) Wise use of Authority.

Establishing Authority by self-reliant, modest gravity; assuming all will go right; not obtruding Authority, but vindicating it on occasion,

Checking beginnings of trouble.

Keeping Control in one's own hands.

Exercising Authority. Two chief rules; (1) Make obedience easy by consistent friendly action; not ready to fall foul of children. (2) Make children feel responsible by punishing every neglect or infraction of duty; (meaning of "Punishment " here).

Special note for Students in training.

MANAGING A CLASS (Preliminary).

Class Management includes Control and Teaching. A good class-manager can both govern and teach.

Obtaining orderly attention is a necessary preliminary to teaching, and the ability to obtain it easily, a necessary qualification in a teacher. No one can teach a class effectively until he can control it at will, until he is master of the situation, or until he can secure that degree of order and respectful attention he desires, whenever he likes, and without trouble.

Good teaching helps to secure and maintain orderly attention, and to make government easy; there is little difficulty in controlling a class which is interested in its work.

Control is a pre

Note that we govern in order that we may teach. requisite, but teaching is the main business; to put control in the place of teaching is therefore to mistake a means for the end.

Power to govern, and power to teach are distinct; they usually go together, but one is no guarantee of the other.

Controlling power depends chiefly on character and moral force, teaching skill on intellectual acquirements and aptitudes.

We sometimes hear a man described as "a good teacher, but a poor disciplinarian," and the phrase gives emphasis to the distinction between power to teach and power to govern. But it would be more correct to say, "he would be a good teacher, if he were a good disciplinarian," for successful teaching demands this double skill.

Controlling power and teaching power may be acquired, in fair degree at least.

Most of the power that we have has been obtained by watchful painstaking and much practice. We have learned by experience and intelligent application.