The Educational Writings of Richard MulcasterMulcaster, Richard
History
The Educational Writings of Richard Mulcaster
Mulcaster, Richard
Education -- History
But ye will perhaps say--what shall this man be able to perform
whom you are so anxious to have suitably maintained, and to whose
charge the youth of our country is to be committed? Surely that
charge is great, and if he is to discharge it well, he must be well
qualified for it, and ought to be very well requited for doing it
so well. Besides his manner and behaviour, which must be beyond
cavil, and his skill in exercising the body, he must be able to
teach the three learned tongues, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, if
these are required. And in these a mediocrity of knowledge is not
enough, for he who means to plant even a little well, must himself
far exceed mediocrity. He must be able to understand his author,
to correct misprints, the mistakes of unskilful dictionaries,
and the foolish comments of superficial writers on the matter he
is teaching, and he must be so well furnished before he begins
to teach that he can express himself readily, and not have to
be learning as he goes along, distracting his scholars by his
hesitations. Time and experience will do much to polish the manner
of teaching, but there must be knowledge of the matter from the
first. He must be acquainted with all the best grammars, so that
he can always add notes by the way, though not of course to the
burdening of the children’s memory. Besides these and other points
of learning, he must have determination to take pains, perseverance
to continue in his work without shrinking, discretion to judge
of circumstances, cheerfulness to delight in the success of his
labour, sympathy to encourage a promising youth, hopefulness to
think every child an Alexander, and courteous lowliness in his
opinion of himself. For even the smallest thing in learning will be
well done only by him who knows most, and by reason of his store of
knowledge is able to perform his task with pleasure and ease. These
qualities deserve much, and are not often found in our schools,
because the rewards of labour are so insufficient, but they would
soon be had if the maintenance were adequate.
The Training of Teachers.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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