rr~.N wE LEARN TO DI~IV~ an automobile， wasted time unless the illustration bears directly
play the piano， or make a cake. we may on the purpose of the lesson and will be effec-
hear someone tell us how it is done， or tive in accomplishing thai purpose.
we max read how it is to be done. We may even When a pupil reproduces in his own mind the
see someone else do it， but we still do not know truth being taught， he is learning. He is not
how to drive on automobile， play the piano， or learning until he participates in this manner.
make e cake. We must do it ourselves. The more Merely pouring out knowledge is not teach-
we do it， the better we do it. Practice makes per- ing. The teacher who talks on and on， telling
fact. This is known as learning by doing， or by what he knows without arousing mental re-
participation， or as educators say it， learning by sponse， is wasting his time and the pupil s time，
impression plus expression. He is getting nowhere，
When someone tells us or shows us， we are Nor is true learning mere memorization and
learning by impression. When we do it， we learn repetition of the words of the teacher， of a quar-
by expression. Both methods are necessary. {In terly， or， for that matter， of the Bible. Catechism
the preceding chapter， we considered the more may have its merits as a method of imparting
c on，non methods of teaching by impression.) truth. For children， particularly those in the ele-
5pplied to teaching in the Sunday school， the mentary grades， memorization is recommended.
expression method means that the teacher must But catechism alone is not education. It is mem-
gain the participation of the pupil. In the orization.
pupil s mind， consciously or unconsciously， is A pupil is sometimes said to have learned the
the principle of \"Use me or lose me.\" The lesson when he has committed it to memory and
teacher leads the pupil to learn by getting him can repeat or recite it word for word. Education
to participate in the class session and then to would be simple if this were true. It is not true.
practice in daily life the principles learned in however; when the pupil is merely reciting， he
the Bible class. The pupil learns by participat- is not participating at his most productive level.
ing in the learning process. The teacher s aim is to teach the pupil not only
Whether the aim of the lesson is for an under- the words， but the thought of Scripture. In teach-
standing of the Bible or the application of Bible ing the Bible， it is important to know and to re-
truth to life， the pupil must participate actively member words， but it is even more important to
and know that it is for a purpose. The pupil s ac- know and to remember the lesson thought.
tivity may be easily observed such as participa-
tion in a discussion. Or the activity may be Advancing in Participation
largely mental， such as thinking through a The pupil is to be encouraged m express the
proposition presented by the teacher， solving a lesson truth in his own words. Sometimes the
problem， or arriving at a general conclusion， thought will be expressed crudely. The capable
A class is much like a fruit tree--some pupils teacher will pardon the pupil s inability to ex-
are ripe and ready to understand what is being press the thought acceptably while he encour-
taught， some are nearly ripe， others are only ages the pupil to think more accurately in order
partly ripe， and some are entirely green. The to express himself more adequately.
teacher cannot pla~ for the advanced pupil or As the pupil advances in participation， he will
for the entirely green pupil， but he must plan to give a reason for that which he believes. He will
engage the participation of everyone. The discover a truth， seek proof for that which he
teacher will learn which methods are most effec- has discovered， voice these proofs， and thus be-
tire after he studies the pupils and after he has come a stronger believer than the one who be-
tried several methods， lieves but does not know why or who cannot
explain why. The Bible teaches that we are to
Activate Thinking find out for ourselves if these truths are so. The
Th opurpoae of pupil participation is the pupil will take a stronger hold of the truth if he
teacher s constant aim--to get the pupil to t]ztnk， can see a reason for it. In searching for proof， tha
Merely to give the pupil somethin~ to do to oc- pupil also encounters new knowledge on the
qupy the time is a ai~ul waste of opportunity， way， just like the mountain climber who finds
For example， engasiia$ the minds of an adult the landscape always widening around him. The
~s by mas~s of an tnterestia$ illusl~atiou is teacher s effort to encourage the pupil to seek
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