Principles of Teaching Part 16

CHAPTER XV

ORGANIZING A LESSON

OUTLINE--CHAPTER XV

A review of the steps in lesson preparation.--The values of outlining.--Objections answered.--Outlining a means, not an end.--The essentials in outlining.--An ill.u.s.trative outline on prayer.

Preparing a lesson is no easy matter, particularly for those teachers who are new to the calling. There are those, of course, for whom reading an a.s.signed chapter through const.i.tutes a preparation, but to the successful teacher this preliminary reading is only the initial step in the process. Adequate preparation involves the following questions:

What aim shall I select out of the material available as the focus for my day's work?

How shall I build about that aim a body of facts that will establish it as a fundamental truth in life?

How shall I ill.u.s.trate the truths presented so that they will strike home in the experiences of my boys and girls?

How shall I make sure that members of the cla.s.s will go out from the recitation to put into practice the teachings of the day?

What questions ought I to ask to emphasize the outstanding points of my lesson?

What method of presentation can I most safely follow to make my lesson effective?

How may I discipline my cla.s.s so that no disturbances will interfere with our discussions?

Reduced to simple terms, the matter of preparation together with presentation, involves the problems of

Organization Aim Ill.u.s.tration Application Methods of presentation Questioning

It is difficult to single out any one factor and treat it as if it were independent of the others--teaching is a complex art with all of these factors inseparably contributing to the results desired--but, for purposes of clearness, may we not proceed to give attention to each in its turn that in the end the teaching process may the more definitely stand out in all its aspects?

For convenience, then, let us in this chapter consider the problem of organization. How to outline a lesson is one of the most fundamental considerations involved in the teaching process. In fact, it is doubtful whether there is any one more helpful attainment than the ability clearly to outline subject matter. It not only enables the teacher to proceed systematically, thereby insuring clearness and adequate treatment of a lesson, but it makes it so easy and profitable for a cla.s.s to follow the discussion. Outlining to teaching is what organization is to business. Just as the aim points out the goal we seek, so the outline indicates the route we shall follow to attain the goal. Outlining is simply surveying the road before the concrete is laid.

Occasionally a teacher objects to outlining on the ground that it is too mechanical--that it destroys spontaneity and the flow of the Spirit of the Lord. It has always seemed to the writer that the Spirit of the Lord is quite as pleased to follow a straight path as it is to follow a crooked one. Outlining is not in any sense a subst.i.tute for inspiration--it is merely a guarantee, by way of preparation, that the teacher has done his part and can in good conscience ask for that spiritual aid and guidance which he then is ent.i.tled to. The fact that order is a law of heaven rather indicates that there is no divine injunction against outlining.

Of course, outlining is not an end in itself--it is a means merely to more systematic procedure. Two difficulties frequently attach to outlining: one is that the outline is made so complex that it hinders rather than helps in the matter of clearness; the other is that a teacher may become "outline bound," in which case his teaching becomes mechanical and labored. Such a teacher ill.u.s.trates clearly the force of the pa.s.sage, "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life."

But if the outline is made simple--if it is considered as merely a skeleton upon which is to be built the lesson--it is one of the greatest a.s.sets a teacher can have. Perhaps we can make the matter clearest by going through the process of outlining a lesson, indicating the essential steps involved.

Suppose we are asked to prepare a lesson on prayer. Keep in mind that in such a preparation we face the problems listed at the beginning of this chapter: the aim, the ill.u.s.tration, the application, etc., and keep in mind also that each of these subjects will be taken up in its turn and that for the present we are concerned primarily with the query, "How can I organize a lesson on prayer?" Let us a.s.sume, too, that we are preparing this lesson for young men and women about twenty years of age.

First of all, I must decide why I am to teach the subject of prayer. In view of the fact that the matter of the aim is to be considered fully in the succeeding chapter, suppose we agree that our purpose in this lesson shall be to establish prayer as a habit of life.

_Step number one_, then, is the selection of an aim--a focus for the thought of the lesson.

_Step number two_ is the collection of random thoughts. As I begin to ponder the subject of prayer and its influence on life, all sorts of ideas crowd into my mind. Perhaps I read some one's discussion of prayer--perhaps I talk to a friend relative to it--perhaps I just ran the subject over in my mind. The thoughts that come to me may be vague and wholly disconnected. My immediate concern is content--order will come later. And so I jot down, either in my mind or on paper, such ideas as these:

"Prayer is the soul's sincere desire."

The Song "Sweet hour of prayer."

What is the use of prayer?

Are prayers answered?

How often should I pray?

Does the Lord hear and answer our prayers, or do we answer them ourselves?

What kinds of prayers are there?

How may I know how to pray?

Should prayers always be answered affirmatively?

What are the characteristics of a good prayer?

What prayers have impressed me most?

And so I go on. My task in step two is to scout about intellectually in search of available, suitable material. Many of my jottings may duplicate others already set down; others may not be appropriate for my need; still others may be wholly irrelevant. But I am seeking a wealth of material that I may make my recitation as rich as possible.

Now, _step three_ becomes a process of correlation and elimination--a process of hitting upon my main headings--setting up the milestones to mark my course of development. And I so sift the material in my mind and sort it out under appropriate captions. After a good bit of intellectual rummaging about, I find that my random thoughts on prayer fall rather naturally into four main divisions, each capable of expression in a question:

I. What is prayer?

II. Why should I pray?

III. How should I pray?

IV. When should I pray?

But now that I have these major headings, I still face the problems of enriching them and elaborating them so that they will have body enough to stand. In other words, I build up my sub-headings. Under the first question, for instance, I group these thoughts:

I. What Is Prayer?

1. It is communion with G.o.d.

2. It is the key to G.o.d's storehouse.

3. It is the key to G.o.d's heart.

4. It is "The soul's sincere desire."

5. It is the great anchor of faith.

Under question two, I group:

II. Why Should I Pray?

1. Because I am commanded of the Lord to pray.

2. Because through prayer I keep in tune with the Spirit of the Lord.

3. Because it is through prayer that I acknowledge the goodness of G.o.d.

4. Because through prayer I pet.i.tion for needed blessings.

5. Because through prayer I establish and preserve an att.i.tude of humility.

Under question three:

III. How Should I Pray?

1. Simply.

2. Sincerely.

3. In spirit.

4. After the pattern of His prayer.

5. In secret as well as in public.

Under question four:

IV. When Should I Pray?

1. Regularly.

2. Morning and evening.