The training of teachers in the United States of America
John Stuart Mill · en
(_G_) The work of the Seminary, once a week throughout the year, will
be, for the most part, adapted to individual students. It is hoped
that each student will select, after conference with President Hall
and Dr. Burnham, a topic for special investigation. The results of
such study may be published.
The courses as announced above may be modified somewhat as the needs of
the students or other circumstances may require.
The library of the department is especially rich in foreign educational
literature, and a considerable amount of illustrative apparatus has
been collected. The Worcester Public Library and the library of the
American Antiquarian Society are also accessible to students.
The _Pedagogical Seminary_ is published by this department, and offers
facilities for printing digests, reviews, and more valuable papers
prepared by the members of the department.
This department has the twofold aim of (1) preparing professors,
superintendents and teachers for their future work, and (2) making
contributions to the Science of Education. The second of these aims
is being vigorously taken up, research of some kind being expected
from every one. The fact that there is no school of observation in
connection with the University is of course a drawback to the complete
carrying out of both of the above aims. Visits, for purposes of
observation, are however made to schools in the neighbourhood, the
records now numbering some fifteen thousand made by the students of the
Worcester Normal School, in connection with the study of children, are
available for reference, and a scheme for establishing a University
School is even now under consideration. Should this scheme become a
reality, we might look forward hopefully to getting fresh light on many
school problems. One especially, to which Dr. Hall drew my attention,
might well have its solution attempted in such a school. It concerns
the duty of teachers toward the bright, quick-working children in a
school. In every class some will be found who work quicker and have
more intellectual power than the others, and at the same time some who
are dull and slow-witted. Now the power of detecting and directing
one’s teaching to the latter is often made the test of a good teacher,
and in a very true sense it may be said to be so. But there is
another side to the question, and those of us who have taught cannot
fail to have often been conscious that while the needed attention
and explanations are being given to the dull ones, the time of the
quick-working children is being practically wasted. As Dr. Hall points
out, we have perhaps not yet realized how much power is lost to the
world in consequence. It would be an interesting experiment to select
such bright, quick-witted children, and putting them into a class by
themselves, in charge of an able teacher, to note the results of thus
allowing them to work at their own rate.