Nor is it a serious objection that he may not at first
avail himself of the easiest method. The difference between methods or
ways is altogether a subordinate consideration. There may be many ways
of reaching a truth, but no one of them is as important as the truth
itself. The text-books should contain all the facts needed for the
comprehension and the solution of the examples given; the teacher should
furnish explanations and other aids, as they are needed; but the
practice of adopting a process and following it to an apparently
satisfactory conclusion, without comprehending the problem itself, is a
serious educational evil, and it exerts a permanent pernicious
influence.
The remarks I have now made upon methods of teaching, which may seem to
have been offered in a spirit of severe criticism, should be qualified
and relieved by the statement that our teachers are as well educated as
any in the country, and that they are yearly making progress in their
profession. Indeed, I am encouraged to suggest that better things are
possible, by the consideration that many instances of distinguished
success in teaching the alphabet, reading and grammar, are known to me;
and that teachers are themselves aware that the work is, upon the whole,
inadequately performed. If, as is generally conceded, the highest order
of teaching talent is required in the primary schools, then that talent
should be sought out by committees; the persons possessing it should
enjoy the best means of preparation; they should receive the highest
rewards, both in money and public consideration, and they should be
induced to labor, without change or interruption, in the same schools
and the same people.
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