Study must have, as has already been stated, a purpose. The individual,
in order to exercise his mind in a controlled way, must have an aim. The
clearer and more definite the aim, whether it be little or big, the
better the study will be. From the beginning, then, children must be
taught to make sure they know what they are going to do before beginning
to study. It may be necessary to teach them in the early grades to say
to themselves or to the class just what they are going to accomplish in
the study. Teach them when the lesson is assigned to write down in their
books just what the problem for study is. Warn them never to begin study
without definitely knowing the aim--if they don't know it, make them
realize that the first thing to do is to find out the purpose by asking
some one else. Better no study at all than aimless or misdirected
activity, because of lack of purpose.
No study worthy of the name can be carried on without interest. The
child who studies well must be brought to realize this. The value of
interest can be brought home to him by having him compare the work he
does, the time he spends, and how he feels when studying something in
which he has a vital interest with the results when the topic is
uninteresting. Of course, as will be pointed out later, much of the
gaining of interest lies in the hands of the teacher necessarily, but if
the child realizes the need of it in efficient study, some
responsibility will rest on him to find an interest if it is not already
there. No matter how expert the teacher may be, because of individual
differences no problem will be equally interesting to all pupils in
itself, and no incentive will have an equal appeal to all children.
Therefore children should be taught to find interest for themselves.
Certain devices can be suggested, such as working with another child and
competing with him, "making believe" in study, and finding some
connection with something in which he is interested, working against his
own score, and the like.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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