PROFESSOR JOHN ADAMS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19261, 27 August 1924, Page 4

PROFESSOR JOHN ADAMS

ADDRESSES IN DUNEDIN. , 'SI! ' “TEACHING AS A FINE ART.’’ Tho Knox Sunday School Hall was again well tilled yesterday morning, when another address was given by Professor John Adams (emeritus professor of education in tho London University) The choir was occupied by Mr T. R. Fleming (chief inspector of schools in Otago), who briefly introduced Professor Adams. He said tho Training College students should feel it a great honour to Jtt£<jkT;..an aduress by such an educationist as, Professor Adams. The speaker remembered ono of Professor Adams's books whioh was published a number of years ti£d; add described it as a text-book lor fihose who were entering into an apprenticeship in teaching. It was a book for Sunday school teachers, but it was one for all young teachers to read. They would find in it material which was quite good to-day. [Professor Adams said that one of tho many brilliant but not quite true statements made by Bernard Shaw was: “He, who can does, and ho who cannot teaches.” Although tho statement was hot correct there was just enough truth in : it to warrant it being made. What Mr Shaw really meant was he could ho artisfio in ope way, and if he could not succeed in being artistic he became a teacher that was: if ho could not do a thing himself lie showed others how to do it. it was yery often tho case that man who could nbt things themselves could show others hdw ‘to do them. Ho had found that, out hlffiself when waa teaching French. To do a thing was one thing, and to he able to teach it was another. Mr Shaw conveyed a wrong impression by his statement. Ho conveyed the impression that all teachers were second-rate artiste, but that was not tho case. Tho groat majority of. teachers must bo comparatively ordinary people. Thor© was no reason why they should be superior to every other body. It waa very often taken for grunted that teachers were perfect, but those present knew that, that was not so. As teachers they oould rank as artists apart altogether from tho things they taught. In many cases an artist was not a real teacher. Ho might be described as inspired, if they liked. If they were going to be real teachers of pupils they must he able to do things and to explain how they could bp done- A really great teacher in doing his work was himself an artist. What Mr Shaw failed to see was that teaching vvAa a fine art. just as much as music or painting. What was a fine art? There were so many clever people ready to write about it that there were always some who were ready to find the opposite. He regarded as a fin© art anything that could bo done without fumbling. Anything (hat could be done without making blunders might be said to be a fine art. A teacher must know what was the matter with pupils, and must know what to do with them. It was a teacher’s business to know why a child made mistakes. Dealing with the question of “howlers,” Professor Adams said that if a child recognised them os funny they were no longer mistakes, but pieces of impudence. If a ho v who was able to state what a grass widow r was replied that she was the widow of a dead vegetarian the answer was funny to the teacher, but. not to the pupil, who bad done bis best. The work of n teacher in tho school should bo to avoid all fumbling. A teacher should go directly to the point, knowing the exact effect to be produced. Every time that pupils laughed when they were not expected to laugh there should ho a mark against the teacher, a skilful teacher who was a fin© artist was always on the look-out for unexpected responses. Teachers must put all thoir energy into finding out why. Instruction really 'meant the arrangement of ideas in the proper odder. It was a kind of line of battle after all, because knowledge was really, a manipulation of tho outer world turned into tho inner world. , Tho- arrangement of ideas corresponded to the’outer world, and the inner world was what the teachers created in the minds of their pupils day by day. The teachers so arranged (heir ideas that, tho pupils were able to act intelligently when they went into tho outer world. In teaching there #ere t -o processes going on—knowledge add the organisation of knowledge. Facts Were very often of little importance in tbhtnselvesi People went through the world with a wide knowledge of facta and a stui greater ignorance of facts without being any tho worse for it. They were (old i„lhat knowledge was power, but not a(l, knowledge was power. Knowledge, tKqn,- really meant the acquiring of things that counted. In teaching as a fine art (Tre Teacher gave a meaning to the facts already possessed. Teachers _ must know exactly what they were working for, and have a definite aim towards which they were working. They should present things in Such a way that there was no going back, to deal with points that had been missed. The subject matter should be sp gn-anged that one point led up to onothpc in exact order, and it should not be rtecessar’y to say: “I forgot so and so.” Once a teacher had begun he should go right through to tho end, studying ‘the order in which each point was to he presented as it was required. The three kinds of ideas that h© liked to work with war©?—‘“Similar. disparate, and contrary.” After giving illustrations of these ideas, Pnofetsor Adams want on to state that if a),'.certain proposition were presented to a qlftfy■ probably 60 per cent, of the pupils would understand it already. If an illustration wore given probably 5 per cent, metre would understand. With another iitiYstralion another 5 per cent, would understand, and so on until 95 per cent, understood. The remaining 5 per cent, might never understand it, but with a normal class and a capable teacher there should not b© 5 per cent, who did not master (he fact. If those ideas wore worked on the result should be vividness by fusion, enriched conception by complication, and then clearness and definition bv a process of arrest. A teacher must try to work out an organic whole. Teachers must regard their pupils as an organism and not as machines. Tho teacher and tho pupils were an. organism, and so the organism went on from lower to higher until the organism of the universe as a whole was reached. . _ A most hearty vote of thanks Jo Professor Adams for his very interesting and instructive address was moved bv Mr W. ,1, Morrell (rector of the Boys’ High School!The mover stated that if the abeence of fumbling was a mark of fine art they bad had an artistic product of the best doscrintion that day.—(Applause.) They could admire the brilliancy and clearness of Professor Adams’s exposition, which had been accompanied hy fidelity o! suggestion and illustration and aptness, readiness, and even chartning surpiae of his humour. Professor Adams gave not only nreccpt, hut what was much better—example. It was necessary that their teaching should lw “living.” and how to give life to it could hardly 1 bo better shown than it had been by Professor Adams. A teacher must hay© fresh ideas, and Professor Adams hat) shown them how to adopt ideas in their work. Their only regret was that the addresses were so few in number. It was a great gift that they should have great teachers coming from lands where intercourse was easier and giving the people here the benefit of thoir researches and their experience. THev were grateful to Professor Adams for all that_ he had told Ihctii and thev would read his works with now interest, feeling that they had in him a friend of whom any teacher might y,f, proud. Professor Adams had giver ihem a better understanding of their profession, and had shown them how to enjoy doing their work. Tho motion was earned acclamation. PERSONALITY IN SOCIAL LIFE. \t Burns Hall last, night Professor Adams delivered the last. of a series of interesting addresses, the subject on this occasion oemg “Pcraonality in Social Life. . Thor© was a large atfoadance, there being very few vacant seats either in tho body of the hah of in the tjallery_ . , , Protestor D. It. White, who presided, said it was rar© indeed that ho could be induced to attend all the lectures of a series, but on this occasion ho had attended •foupKJWijeeutive, lectures. Professor Adams had many excellent characteristics, and one was iWemarkable memory, which enabled him to speak without notes. Professor AdnMi* : lectures had been a great, source of .plijajWr® and joy, and bad been works of It had to b© remembered, of course, ihat Professor Adams had had many years’ experience as a leoturer. He was also tho fu'.#-«xiniiner appointed by tho Now Zealand Urfivorsity, and hi* reports were always very encouraging as far as New Zealand candidates were concerned. On ono occasion- he remembered that the average for the New Zealand candidates was higher thiU given to the London candidates. FfOtyMN* Adam* had shown his good judg-■mcOTfc-'SpLaughtor.) Th* chairman then wept pn to refer to Tfrofessor Adams’s uai«M cdtwk ft ft* educational world.

Educationists, he said, would look upon these days as red-letter days in the history of thoir dominion. —(Loud applause.)

Professor Adams, who was loudly applauded on rising, said there were three words which ho desired particularly to refer to. These were; Personality, Character, and Individuality. These words, he said, were always getting in one another's way. The derivation of the word personality would not help (hem very much. It really meant "I sound through.’’ The lecturer then dealt at some length with how tho word probably was originated. In tho large Greek and Roman theatres there wore such, a number of auditors as a rule (hat it was very hard indeed to make thorn all hear. Some of those theatres were capable' of seating SO,OOO people, but the average theatre had a capacity of 20.000 people. It was obviously very difficult, to enable everyone io hear in such a large auditorium. To overcome the difficulty the speakers came on the stage and used trumpets to make thoir voices heard as best they'could. They not infrequently duplicated their parts, and a speaker wore a different coloured speaking trumpet to indicate tho character he was assuming. The dramatis persona; were only the persons in a ploy. There they got the idea of a personality. In dealing with personality everyone had to bn considered. lie did not mind stupid people so long as they were stupid people m their own stupid way. —(Laughter.) The lecturer then referred to tho saying of Kant. It said that I tic Labour Party in England at the present time was interesting itself in education. The better class of Labour people were doing everything they could to assist, education. What (hey wanted, however, was cultural education, rather than vocational education. Their idea was that a man should be trained as a man, not ns a machine. They were nil averse to being made cogs in the industrial machine. No one cared to lie a means to an end. We were, however, instruments as well as ends. AVc could all he means and ends without losing onr selfrespect, said the professor. He asked his hearers to consider the teacher’s personality. The ideal teacher did not tench so that he wonld got admiring pupils. He got his due reward. There was. said Professor Adams, a teacher in Illinois who was desirous of finding out the qualities which went, to make the ideal teacher. He. sent out circulars to 11)0 teachers, and they rsponded with 100 different characteristics of a really good teacher. Mr Clapp catalogned this list of good qualities. He was not at that stage going to toll when that quality was placed at the head of tho list. The second was personality, the third address or mode of approach, the fourth sincerity, the fifth optimism, the sixth enthusiasm, the seventh scholarship, tho eighth vital..y. the ninth fairness, and the tenth reserve or dignity. These replies were pigeon-holed for 12 months, and he again asked for information on the question of relating the qualities of teachers in order of merit. No. 1 was address, No. 2 was personal appearance. No. 3 optimism, No. 4 dignity, No. 3 enthusiasm, No. 6 fairness, No. 7 sincerity, No. 8 was first in original list, No. t» scholarship, and No. 10 vitality. Of course, his hearers wanted to know the first in the original list. It was Sympathy.— (Applause.) Sympathy was the. beginning, middle, and end of all the qualities. In England a similar test was made, and the result was; No. 1, sympathy. No. 2 patience. No. 3 taic.t, No. 4 scholarship, No. 3 hmrjour, No. 6 love of children, No. 7 cheerfulness, No. S personality, No. !) discipline, and No. 10 honesty in character. The speaker then dealt with the works of such great writers as Froebcl, Arnold, Bell, and Professor Huxley in their references to psychology. Mr S. G. Macfarlanc proposed a vote of thanks to the lecturer, and Mr Moore, on behalf of the educationists of Dunedin, presented Professor Adams with a handsomely bound book of views of Otago and Southland, for Which the recipient returned hearty thanks, tho gathering concluding with the Binging of a verse, of tho National Anthem, and with three cheers for Professor Adams..