Adam S. Bennion - Principles of Teaching

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Principles of
Teaching

BY ADAM S. BENNION
_Superintendent of Church Schools_

Designed for Quorum Instructors and Auxiliary Class
Teachers of the Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints.

Published by
THE GENERAL BOARDS OF THE AUXILIARY ORGANIZATIONS
OF THE CHURCH

1921

1952

Reprint of the original

FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEMS IN TEACHING RELIGION

Copyright, 1921

By Adam S. Bennion

For the General Boards of the
Auxiliary Organizations
of the Church

PREFACE
to the 1952 Edition

Two texts have been written for the teacher training program of the
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints since Dr. Adam S. Bennion's
Book _Principles of Teaching_ was published, yet in spite of the fact
that this book has been out of print several years so many requests for
it have poured in that the General Superintendency has decided to
satisfy the demand with this new edition.

This book with its classic qualities in many ways fits Shakespeare's
description of a beautiful woman when he said, "Age cannot wither her
nor custom dim her infinite variety." Anyone who knows Dr. Bennion or
has read his writings knows that neither custom nor age has dimmed his
infinite variety. Furthermore, a glance at the table of contents of this
book will reveal the fact that the problems and principles treated
herein are just as real today as they were when the text was written.

This little volume is republished in the hope that it again will become
one of the basic texts in the teacher training program and fulfill its
mission as an instrument in the hands of sincere people who have the
devout wish of learning how to teach the principles of the gospel by the
power of the Holy Spirit.

H.A. Dixon, Chairman
Teacher Training Committee

_Contents_

Chapter Page

Preface vii
I Purposes Behind Teaching 1
II What Is Teaching? 7
III The Joys of Teaching 14
IV Personality 20
V Personality 26
VI Attainment 33
VII Native Tendencies 40
VIII What to Do With Native Tendencies 46
IX Individual Differences 53
X Individual Differences and Teaching 61
XI Attention 68
XII What Makes for Interest 74
XIII A Laboratory Lesson in Interest 80
XIV The More Immediate Problems in Teaching 88
XV Organizing the Lesson 96
XVI Illustrating and Supplementing a Lesson 103
XVII The Aim 111
XVIII Application 116
XIX Methods of the Recitation 126
XX Review and Preview 134
XXI The Question as a Factor in Education 142
XXII The Problem of Discipline 149
XXIII Creating Class Spirit 157
XXIV Conversion--The Real Test of Teaching 164
Bibliography 171

_Preface_

That ever-old question, "How to Teach," becomes ever new when made to
read, "How to Teach Better." This volume aims to raise those problems
which every teacher sooner or later faces, and it attempts to suggest an
approach by way of solution which will insure at least some degree of
growth towards efficiency. These chapters originally were prepared for
the course offered to teacher-trainers in the Summer School of the
Brigham Young University, in 1920. The teachers in that course were an
inspiration to the author and are responsible for many of the thoughts
expressed in the pages of this book.

The successful teacher ever views his calling as an opportunity--not as
an obligation. To associate with young people is a rare privilege; to
teach them is an inspiration; to lead them into the glorious truths of
the Gospel of Jesus Christ is heavenly joy itself. This little volume
hopes to push open the door of opportunity a little wider, that more of
that joy may be realized.

"Perchance, in heaven, one day to me
Some blessed Saint will come and say,
'All hail, beloved; but for thee
My soul to death had fallen a prey';
And oh! what rapture in the thought,
One soul to glory to have brought."

ADAM S. BENNION.

CHAPTER I

PURPOSES BEHIND TEACHING

OUTLINE--CHAPTER I

The worth of souls.--The Father's joy in the soul that is
saved.--The teacher's responsibility.--Teaching, a sacred
calling.--Our Church a teaching Church.

Our three-fold purpose in Teaching:
a--To guarantee salvation of the individual members of the
Church.

b--To pass on the wonderful heritage handed down by our pioneer
forefathers.

c--To make more easily possible the conversion of the world.

"Remember the worth of souls is great in the sight of God;

"For, behold, the Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh;
wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent
and come unto him.

"And he hath risen again from the dead, that he might bring all men
unto him, on conditions of repentance;

"And how great is his joy in the soul that repenteth.

"Wherefore, you are called to cry repentance unto this people;

"And if it so be that you should labor all your days in crying
repentance unto his people, and bring, save it be one soul unto me,
how great shall be your joy with him in the kingdom of my Father?

"And now, if your joy will be great with one soul that you have
brought unto me into the kingdom of my Father, how great will be your
joy if you should bring many souls unto me?" (Doc. & Cov., Sec.
18:10-16.)

"For behold, this is my work and my glory--to bring to pass the
immortality and eternal life of man." (Moses 1:39.)

If this is the work and glory of the Lord, how great must be the
responsibility of the teachers of Zion, His copartners in the business
of saving humankind! Next to parenthood, teaching involves us in the
most sacred relationship known to man. The teacher akin to the parent is
the steward of human souls--his purpose to bless and to elevate.

The first great question that should concern the Latter-day Saint
teacher is, "Why do I teach?" To appreciate fully the real purposes
behind teaching is the first great guarantee of success. For teaching is
"no mere job"--it is a sacred calling--a trust of the Lord Himself under
the divine injunction, "Feed my sheep" (John 21:15). For the teacher who
has caught a glimpse of his real responsibility there is no
indifference, no eleventh-hour preparation, no feeling of unconcern
about the welfare of his pupils between lessons--for him there is
constant inspiration in the thought, "To me is given the privilege of
being the cupbearer between the Master and His children who would drink
at His fountain of truth."

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has been variously
designated by those not of us: "The Great Industrial Church," "The
Church of Pioneers," "The Church of Wonderful Organization." It might
well be called "The Teaching Church." There is scarcely a man or woman
in it that has not at some time been asked to respond to the call of
teacher. Our people have been a remarkable people because they have been
remarkably taught--taught of the Lord and His prophets. Our future can
be secure only as it is guaranteed this same good teaching. Every
teacher must come to realize that "Mormonism" is at stake when he
teaches. "Why do I teach?" goes to the very heart of teaching.

The answer to this question is to be found, in part at least, in the
three-fold objectives of our Church. First, the salvation and exaltation
of the individual soul. As already pointed out, this is the very "work
and glory" of the Father. Man is born into the world a child of
divinity--born for the purpose of development and perfection. Life is
the great laboratory in which he works out his experiment of eternity.
In potentiality, a God--in actuality, a creature of heredity,
environment, and teaching. "Why do I teach?" To help someone else
realize his divinity--to assist him to become all that he might
become--to make of him what he might not be but for my teaching.

Someone has jocularly said: "The child is born into the world half
angel, half imp. The imp develops naturally, the angel has to be
cultivated." The teacher is the great cultivator of souls. Whether we
say the child is half angel and half imp, we know that he is capable of
doing both good and evil and that he develops character as he practices
virtue and avoids vice. We know, too, that he mentally develops. Born
with the capacity to do, he behaves to his own blessing or condemnation.
There is no such thing as static life. To the teacher is given the
privilege of pointing to the higher life. He is the gardener in the
garden of life. His task is to plant and to cultivate the flowers of
noble thoughts and deeds rather than to let the human soul grow up to
weeds. This purpose becomes all the more significant when we realize
that the effects of our teaching are not only to modify a life here of
three-score and ten--they are impressions attendant throughout eternity.
As the poet Goethe has said, "Life is the childhood of our immortality,"
and the teachings of childhood are what determine the character of
maturity. The thought is given additional emphasis in the beautiful
little poem, "Planting," by W. Lomax Childress:

Who plants a tree may live
To see its leaves unfold,
The greenness of its summer garb,
Its autumn tinge of gold.

Who plants a flower may live
To see its beauty grow,
The lily whiten on its stalk,
The rambler rose to blow.

Who sows the seed may find
The field of harvest fair,
The song of reapers ringing clear,
When all the sheaves are there.

But time will fell the tree,
The rose will fade and die,
The harvest time will pass away,
As does the song and sigh.

But whoso plants in love,
The word of hope and trust,
Shall find it still alive with God--
It is not made of dust.

It cannot fade nor change,
Though worlds may scattered be,
For love alone has high repose
In immortality.

If the teacher, as he stands before his class, could project his vision
into the future--could see his pupils developed into manhood and
womanhood, and could see all that he might do or fail to do, he would
read a meaning well-nigh beyond comprehension into the question, "Why do
I teach?"

A second answer to this query lies in our obligation to pass on the
wonderful heritage which we here received from our pioneer forefathers.
The story of their sacrifice, devotion, and achievement is unique in the
history of the world. Only recently a pioneer of 1852 thrilled a
parents' class in one of our wards with the simple narrative of his
early experiences. His account of Indian raids, of the experience with
Johnston's army, of privations and suffering, of social pastimes--all of
these things rang with a spirit of romance. None of his auditors will
ever forget the story of his aunt who gave up her seat in her wagon to a
sick friend for whom no provision had been made, and trudged across the
plains afoot that one more soul might rejoice in Zion. Every pioneer can
tell this sort of thrilling story. Could our young people enjoy the
companionship of these pioneers there would be little need of alarm
concerning their faith. Unfortunately, each year sees fewer of these
pioneers left to tell their story. It is to the teacher, both of the
fireside and the classroom, that we must look for the perpetuation of
the spirit of '47. The ideals and achievements of the pioneers are such
an inspiration, such a challenge to the youth of the Church today--that
teachers ought to glory in the opportunity to keep alive the memories of
the past. Our pioneer heritage ought never to be forfeited to
indifference. It is a heritage that could come only out of pioneer life.
Such courage to face sacrifice, such devotion to God, such loyalty to
government, such consecration to the task of conquering an unpromising
and forbidding desert, such determination to secure the advantages of
education, such unselfish devotion to the welfare of their
fellows--where could we turn for such inspiration to one who would
teach?

Nor is it enough that we strive to perfect the individual membership of
the Church and preserve the social heritage out of the past--we assume
to become the teachers of the world. It is our blessing to belong to a
Church built upon revelation--a Church established and taught of the
Lord. But with that blessing comes the injunction to carry this gospel
of the kingdom to every nation and clime. "Mormonism" was not revealed
for a few Saints alone who were to establish Zion--it was to be
proclaimed to all the world. Every Latter-day Saint is enjoined to teach
the truth. Whether called as a missionary, or pursuing his regular
calling at home, his privilege and his obligation is to cry repentance
and preach the plan of salvation. The better we teach, the sooner we
shall make possible the realization of God's purposes in the world. The
two thousand young men and women who go out each year to represent us
in the ministry should go out well trained, not only that they may
represent our Church as an institution which believes that "the glory of
God is intelligence," but also that they may win intelligent men and
women to the truth. Only he who is well taught may become a good
teacher--hence the need of intelligent, devoted service. "Why do I
teach?" far from being an idle question, goes to the very heart of the
future of the Church.

* * * * *

QUESTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS--CHAPTER I

1. How many of the members of your ward are actively engaged in other
than parental teaching?

2. What significance is attached to calling our Church a teaching
Church?

3. Discuss the significance of Jesus' being a teacher.

4. Compare the responsibility of teaching with that of parenthood.

5. Enumerate the chief purposes behind teaching.

6. In your opinion, which is the greatest purpose? Why?

7. To what extent does the following statement apply to the welfare of
our Church:

"That nation that does not revere its past, plays little part in the
present, and soon finds that it has no future."

8. Discuss our obligation under the injunction to teach the gospel to
the world.

9. Discuss the need here at home of better teaching.

10. In what sense are we trustees of the heritage left by the pioneers?

HELPFUL REFERENCES

Doctrine & Covenants: James, _Talks on Psychology and Life's Ideals_;
Brumbaugh, _The Making of a Teacher_; Weigle, _Talks to Sunday School
Teachers_; Strayer, _A Brief Course in the Teaching Process_; Betts,
_How to Teach Religion_; Strayer and Norsworthy, _How to Teach_; Sharp,
_Education for Character_.

CHAPTER II

WHAT IS TEACHING?

OUTLINE--CHAPTER II

Teaching a complex art.--What teaching is not.--What teaching
is.--What it involves.--Presentation of facts.--Organization and
evaluation of knowledge.--Interpretation and elaboration of
truth.--Inspiration to high ideals.--Encouragement and direction
given to expression.--Discovery of pupils' better
selves.--Inspiration of example as well as precept.--Application of
truths taught in lives of pupils.

The query, "What constitutes teaching?" cannot be answered off-hand. It
is so complex an art, so fine an art, as Professor Driggs points out,
that it has to be pondered to be understood and appreciated. It is often
considered to be mere lesson-hearing and lesson-giving. The difference
between mere instructions and teaching is as great as the distinction
between eating and digestion.

The following definition of _teaching_, contributed by a former state
superintendent of schools, is rich in suggestion:

"Teaching is the process of training an individual through the
formation of habits, the acquisition of knowledge, the inculcation of
ideals, and the fixing of permanent interests so that he shall become
a clean, intelligent, self-supporting member of society, who has the
power to govern himself, can participate in noble enjoyments, and has
the desire and the courage to revere God and serve his fellows."

Teaching does not merely consist of an inquisition of questions with
appropriate answers thrown in; it surely is not mere reading; nor can it
be mistaken for preaching or lecturing. These are all means that may be
employed in the process of teaching. And they are important, too. We
have been cautioned much, of late years, not to lose ourselves in the
process of doling out facts--but that rather we should occupy ourselves
teaching boys and girls. That all sounds well--the writer of these
lessons has himself proclaimed this doctrine--but we have discovered
that you cannot teach boys and girls _nothing_. They no more can be
happy _listening_ to _nothing_ than they can be content _doing nothing_.

And so we now urge the significance of having a rich supply of subject
matter--a substantial content of lesson material. But the doctrine holds
that the teacher ought not to lose himself in mere facts--they are
merely the medium through which he arrives at, and drives home the
truth.

"It is the teacher's task to make changes for the better in the
abilities, habits and attitudes of boys and girls. Her efficiency can
be evaluated fairly only in terms of her success at this task. In
other words, if a teacher is rated at all, she should be rated not
only by the clothes she wears, or the method she chooses, but by the
results she secures."--_Journal of Educational Research_, May, 1920.

We have said that teaching is a complex art. It consists of at least
these eight fundamentals, each one of which, or any combination of
which, may be featured in any one particular lesson:

1. Presentation of facts.
2. Organization and evaluation of knowledge.
3. Interpretation and elaboration of truth.
4. Inspiration to high ideals.
5. Encouragement and direction given to expression.
6. Discovery of pupils' better selves.
7. Inspiration of example as well as precept.
8. Application of truths taught in lives of the pupils.

I. PRESENTATION OF FACTS

Facts constitute the background upon which the mind operates. There may
be many or few--they may be presented in a lecture of thirty minutes, in
the reading of a dozen pages, or they may be called forth out of the
mind by a single stimulating question. But we ought not to confuse the
issue. If we are to discuss any matter in the hope of reaching a
conclusion in truth, we must have material upon which the mind can build
that conclusion. We are not concerned in this chapter with method of
procedure in getting the facts before a class--the important thought
here is that the facts in rich abundance should be supplied. A certain
young lady protested recently against going to Sunday School. Her
explanation of her attitude is best expressed in her own words: "I get
sick and tired of going to a class where I never hear anything new or
worth while." Exaggerated, of course, but students are crying for bread,
and ought not to be turned away with a stone.

II. ORGANIZATION AND EVALUATION OF KNOWLEDGE

We have hinted that a lesson may not have facts enough to justify the
time it takes--there is, on the other hand, danger that the whole time
of the class may be consumed in a mere rehearsal of facts as facts. Only
recently a significant complaint was voiced by a young man who has gone
through training in practically all of our organizations. "I don't seem
to know anything at all," he said, "about the history of Israel, as a
whole. I can recall certain isolated facts about particular persons or
places, but I can't give any intelligent answer at all to such questions
as these:

"Who were the Israelites? What were their big movements relative to the
Promised Land? What is the history of Israel up to the time of the
Savior? What is their history subsequently? Are we of Israel and how?"

The young man was not complaining--he merely regretted his ignorance on
points of vital interest. He was in need of further organization of the
knowledge he had. He had not been given the big central ideas about
which to build the minor ones. Relative importance had not been taught
him through that organized review that is so valuable in review. The
teacher ought to come back time and again to pause on the big
essentials--the peaks of gospel teaching.

III. INTERPRETATION AND ELABORATION OF TRUTH

It is really surprising how many various notions of an idea will be
carried away by the members of a class from a single declaration on the
part of a teacher. A phase of a subject may be presented which links up
with a particular experience of one of the pupils. To him there is only
one interpretation. To another pupil the phase of the subject presented
might make no appeal at all, or linked up with a different experience
might lead to an entirely different conclusion. Truths need to be
elaborated and interpreted from all possible angles--all possible phases
should be developed. An interesting discussion recently took place with
a young man who had "gone off" on a pet doctrinal theory. His whole
conception built itself up about a single passage of scripture.
Satisfied with a single notion, he had shut his eyes to all else and
"knew that he was right." Properly to be taught, he needed to be trained
to suspend his judgment until _all the evidence_ was in.

IV. INSPIRATION TO HIGH IDEALS

Men and women like to be carried to the heights. They like to be lifted
out of their lower selves into what they may become. It is the teacher's
delight to let his class stand tip-toe on the facts of subject matter to
peep into the glories of the gospel plan of life and salvation. In 1903
Sanford Bell, of the University of Colorado, reported the results of a
survey conducted with 543 men and 488 women to ascertain whether they
liked male or female teachers better and just what it was that made them
like those teachers who had meant most in their lives. The survey showed
that the following influences stood out in the order named:

Moral uplift.
Inspiration.
Stimulus to intellectual awakening.
Spur to scholarship.
Help in getting a firm grip on the vital issues of life.
Personal kindness.
Encouragement in crises.

What a testimonial to the force of inspiration to higher ideals!

V. ENCOURAGEMENT AND DIRECTION GIVEN TO PUPILS' EXPRESSION

Most pupils in class are ordinarily inclined to sit silently by and let
someone else do the talking. And yet, everyone enjoys participating in a
lesson when once "the ice is broken." It is the teacher's task first of
all to create an atmosphere of easy expression and then later to help
make that expression adequate and effective. The bishop of one of our
wards in southern Utah declared, not long ago, that he traced the
beginning of his testimony back to a Primary lesson in which a skillful
teacher led him to commit himself very enthusiastically to the notion
that the Lord does answer prayers. He said he defended the proposition
so vigorously that he set about to make sure from experience that he was
right. The details of securing this expression will be more fully worked
out in the chapter on Methods of the Recitation.

VI. DISCOVERY OF PUPILS' BETTER SELVES

One of the most fascinating problems in teaching is to come to know the
real nature of our pupils--to get below surface appearances to the very
boy himself. Most of the work of solving this problem necessarily must
be done out of class. Such intimate knowledge is the result of personal
contact when no barriers of class recitation interfere. It involves time
and effort, of course, but it is really the key to genuine teaching. It
makes possible what we have named as factor number eight, which may be
disposed of here for present purposes. We read of bygone days largely
because in them we hope to find a solution to the problems of Jimmie
Livingston today. How can we effect the solution if all that we know of
Jimmie is that he is one of our fifteen scouts? We must see him in
action, must associate with him as he encounters his problems, if we
would help him solve them. Our discovery of our pupils' better selves,
and intelligent application, go together hand in hand.

VII. INSPIRATION OF EXAMPLE AS WELL AS PRECEPT

When Emerson declared, "What you are thunders so loudly in my ears that
I can't hear what you say," he sounded a mighty note to teachers.
Hundreds of boys and girls have been stimulated to better lives by the
desire "to be like teacher." "Come, follow me," is the great password to
the calling of teacher. The teacher conducts a class on Sunday
morning--he really teaches all during the week. When Elbert Hubbard
added his new commandment, "Remember the week-days, to keep them holy,"
he must have had teachers in mind. A student in one of our Church
schools was once heard to say, "My teacher teaches me more religion by
the way he plays basketball than by the way he teaches theology." It
was what Jesus did that made him Savior of the world. He was the
greatest _teacher_ because he was the greatest man.

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