Difficulties must be explained; questions must
be answered; the path must be smoothed, and the way pointed out by a
guide who has traveled it before, or it will be impossible for the pupil
to go on. This is the part of our subject which we now approach.
The great principle which is to guide the teacher in this part of his
duty is this: _Assist your pupils in such a way as to lead them, as soon
as possible, to do without assistance._ This is fundamental. In a short
time they will be away from your reach; they will have no teacher to
consult; and unless you teach them how to understand books themselves,
they must necessarily stop suddenly in their course the moment you cease
to help them forward. I shall proceed, therefore, to consider the
subject in the following plan:
1. Means of exciting interest in study.
2. The kind and decree of assistance to be rendered.
3. Miscellaneous suggestions.
1. Interesting the pupils in their studies. There are various
principles of human nature which may be of great avail in accomplishing
this object. Making intellectual effort and acquiring knowledge are
always pleasant to the human mind, unless some peculiar circumstances
render them otherwise. The teacher has, therefore, only to remove
obstructions and sources of pain, and the employment of his pupils will
be of itself a pleasure.
"I am going to give you a new exercise to-day," said a teacher to a
class of boys in Latin.
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