On the other hand, if
_instruction_ is all that is aimed at, and _recitation_ (by which I
mean, as above explained, such an examination of individuals as is
necessary to ascertain that they have faithfully performed the tasks
assigned) is neglected, the exercise soon becomes not much more than a
lecture, to which those, and those only, will attend who please.
The business, therefore, of a thorough examination of the class must not
be omitted. I do not mean that each individual scholar must every day be
examined, but simply that the teacher must, in some way or other,
satisfy himself by reasonable evidence that the whole class are really
prepared. A great deal of ingenuity may be exercised in contriving means
for effecting this object in the shortest possible time. I know of no
part of the field of a teacher's labors which may be more facilitated by
a little ingenuity than this.
One teacher, for instance, has a spelling lesson to hear. He begins at
the head of the line, and putting one word to each boy, goes regularly
down, each successive pupil calculating the chances whether a word which
he can accidentally spell will or will not come to him. If he spells it,
the teacher can not tell whether he is prepared or not. That word is
only one among fifty constituting the lesson. If he misses it, the
teacher can not decide that he was unprepared. It might have been a
single accidental error.
Another teacher, hearing the same lesson, requests the boys to bring
their slates, and, as he dictates the words one after another, requires
all to write them.
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