HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Advance-Times, 1968-12-05, Page 11English teacher must present his subje<
s a part of the student
ass
By O. R. MORRI$O
Irl •his book "Profession of
English ",, G* B. Harrison • tells
dne story of bow he was pressed
'by a graduate assistant for his
own personal a Swes`r to . the wets
tion of What be was trying to
accomplish; in his teaching ,and.
•
.study of English, and his reasons
for doing What he was doing,.
Because he young Man refilled
.... to be satisfied with being referi,.
red to a series of .books already
written on the subject, Harrison
undertook to give Pini a Sincere
answer't9 his question.
The result was the book,
"Profe#sion of English"... 'In the
book"he. reports the answers of
several. of his distinguished
"friends in the Department of
English of the University of
Michigan" to this same question,
and 4,e adds, "From these re-
plies 1 concluded that none of
them had ever before seriously
considered the - question. "
Although be makes it abund-
antly clear to the reader that°it
is his considered opinion that
therecan be "no final, object-
ive, or, statistical answer, " he
also leaves no doubt,in the
reader('s mind that he considers
the whole situation somewhat
deplorable and that. teachers of •
I: English should give some defin-
ite thought to`such imponder-
ables as'the role of the English
teacher. Now Harrison is talk-
ing about the university level,
�.
.but surely what he says applies
to the, Secondary School Ievel
too.
In order to solve such a prob
lem, 1where does one begin?
Will the answer be discovered
in. an examination 'of teaching
methods? Or of subject matter?
Or of aims? Should one turn
to students, parents, colleagues,
administrators, personal exper-
ience„ or philosophers of edu-
cation?
gO Perhaps one should consult
men of our time - novels and
novelists such as John Updike,
"The Centaur" or Bel Kaufman,
"Up the Down Staircase"? May-
be columnists like Richard
Needham .or even BillSmiley
have the answer. .Even some
contemporary authors 'and edi-
tors
bobks n
Eri 1is J
i
ns
er
uc
_
ten
eouldi lielpc' than ofthe
cstiihre F'l inirtiii "'
Gordon, Anderson, Evans, Hiltz
and Sweetkind.
Some of these suggestions
must be• immediately and ob-
viously rejected. The most
meritorious seem to be the phil-
osophers and the editors and
writers on education. The phil-
osophers,- though they do con=
$tantiy remind int of the fact poetry. , r Conversely ance and repetition should he
that our subject is not the only
one and that education
whole process (easily forgotten
by the English, tea,het I think),
can lead us away from our an-
swot by providing somanyseern
ingly conflicting views of edu»
cation; however they do serve' -:
to remind us that we must be ' .
aware as -constantly, as possible
of our ultimate purpose, "To
forget this is at best to become'
narrow; at worst to teach, with-
out thought. " Thatleaves us
with the writers and editors,
Like MacLeish and with apol-
ogies to him►, I decidedthat
"What one needs is ca reliable
-scoot, . a man who has unqu. es
tionaby been there and come
back - which means of course
. " an English teacher.
For my guide, 1 have chosen Dr.
Hans P. Guth and his book
English Today and Tomorrow.
He settled the question of how
to begin for me by beginning
with the aims of the English
teacher. Many authors have
tackled, this problem; for ex-
ample in one of our texts We
find fiances Erickson reducing
the aims of "the language arts
teacher" to five:
1. To develop in students -
the power to think clearly and
logically. .
2. To develop their power
to communicate that thought
with clarity and correctness.
3. To develop their sen-
sitivity to beauty and sensibil-
,ity of the feelings of others by
having them respond to imag-
inative literature.
4. To develop their inde-
pendence in finding, using and
evaluating language. materials.
That is books, magazines, etc.,,•
the written or the spoken word,
5. To develop in them an
awareness of the significance of
language and one's responsibil-
ity in, using it.
The teacher of English teach-
es students to understand and use
languages. Understanding lang-
uages means having an it form-
ed awareness of how language
works in utterances ranging
from a simple everyday state-
ment to a complex lyricpoem.
Coriipeter ce in using language
means being:,an articulate4and •
responsible ispeakeri and wrraiter,d.
but also being a perceptive, re-
sponsible listener and reader,
able to deal with material rang-
ing fromutilitarian prose to •
complex and demanding imag-
inative literature.
• A firm grasp of the lexical
and grammatical substance of
a sentence is as essential in
reading prose as in reading
adequate response to the images disguised by variety,
lnative and emotional dimen- a. The students must partite
Sid of language is as essential-eipate; learning is an active,
In reading a columnist ,as irn not a passive process.
reading, a sonneteer. Typically, . 4,.° A persona r latichip
. the English teacher's concerns must exist between teacher `,and
range from the mechanical to student*
the intangible, from, the tech-
The teacher's function is to
nical to the humane, from the
mediate, to interpret, to trans-
trival to the .sublime. late, He' must make his u b-
Traditionally, here in On -
ratio, English has been sub- acct matter accessible In more.
0144the ph ysi a1 se � h
� , qday, Pec, 5, —
iterature an ane c n e
divided into must help °his students absorb it
one hand and composition and
iin,such a way that it becomes
grammar on the other, Again . truly their own.
can such a division, this time
of subject "matter, offer any No instrugtion in Englsh.can
real" insight into ,our prroblem? be successfu1l that ignores. the ` •
Surely a further division into student as a person. More so
poetry, drama, novel, biogra- than teachers in more, convi.ent-
phy, short-story,essay, rhetoric. ly limited fields, the reacher
usage, linguistics, semantics, of'Engsh must try. to do justice
criticism, and the like would to the way in which i de as ,.
only further complicate mat- ' .'emotions, and values interact
ters, once more -we have to and shade over into each other
admit that little light can be in hiuxnan life.
shed on the role of the English
gdiening the lit- It is true in any field that"-
teacher by len the success of a teacher depends
any or any listing of the con- to a large extent on his person -
tent of the discipline of English.
Perhaps here would be an op- al qualities. It is truer than
portune moment to express- the- usual iii English, where.any.
minimal hope that each - teacher Judgment of the competence of
. of English is at least c'opetent either teacher or student is a. ,
enough in each of the c�mpart- judgment not only 9f his know-
merits of English studies to know � ledge but also of his articulate -
.where to go to find out what he Hess, maturity,.sensitivity... ,.
needs to know at a• specific In our use of language and our
time, and moderately expert in response to"li`terature more of
our full selves, is involved than
several of theme However
in other academic.fields. The
what, can on say but that the • 'teacher of English must com-
role of the English teacher is to bine a detailed and workman -
teach these various approaches
as the need arises? like competence inthe various
Although the subject matter areas of his discipline with an
andawareness of their relationship
of English, is so far-ranging and
complex, competent scholar- to each other as well as their
ship in the field is no guarantee human significance.
of good teaching. Every teach-
er of English must have some
knowledge of methods that are
"tried and true, " that do wont,
that have worked in the past,
and that probably will work ..
again.
The English teacher must be
familiar with the advantages
and disadvantages of many
methods and strategies of pres-
entation, s ch as: the lecture,
the Lclass .discussion, Socratic
questioning, drill, and so on.
Now'
a11 this' 1�
as Yhe
d
-
J
Ott that 'it .is -'the'role
Ell lisli iteaohet` 6` fire atiy e--"
these methods in his classroom.
He must .also be able to switch
methods mid -way in the lesson
should the need arise. To judge
his lesson' these four principles
may help:
L . Teaching is more than
presentation; it is meditation.
2. There is a great need for
time, and patience; perseyer-
*•
Gleaming corridor in one of the new wings
•
CONGRATULATIONS
to the board, teachers, students and citizens on
the° completion of the F. E. Madill Secondary
School. Our firm is pleased to have supplied
structural steel fused in the erection of the new
addition. /
5ENE<A
STEEL & IRON WORKS LTD.
R.R. #1, SANN RD. •-- BEAMSVILLE, ONT. ,
PHONE: WWINONA 6434$IS
BEAMSVILLE 563400S
, .This is the role of the Eng-
lish teacher. However since ant
instructor of creative writing
once impressed upon methe d ,
necessity of leaving one's read,-
ers or hearers with a definite
and concrete image, and lest
yon think that it's all very.sim-
ple and easy, may I return in
conclusion to the rtards of the
renowned G. B.- Harris n:
The responsibility of a teach-
er of English,. is indeed quite
frightenin . He, cannot he mere -
'1 a uiv o /J 1 ." iv Yd 'f�6IJV�YJ
e r of infor
atio
y
n
r 1 1, G
4 J .Al
1 whatlever"he o rs its in
iul-
;ence incalcuable. Even in
the dullest discussion' a spark
may be dropped which kindles a
forest fire in some dry mind.
Nor can he shield hi'nself be-
hind the authority of others.
The value of what he gives de-
pends upon himself and his per-
sonality. In the classroom he
stands alone.
w science h baratory has latest equipment
One section of the modern library facilities
,
hree courses are taught
two electronics shops
BY. R. W. WRAITH and B. ROB-
ERSON
ff
ereArpt
iF ,gadill Secornaak c
' wh ch are involved in' the teach-
ing of three electrically based
courses: (a) ;Basic Electricity
to grade 9 anis ;10 students of
the 4 and 5 -year Science Tech-
nology and Trade program; (b)
Electronics to the 5 -year 11 and
12 students and (c) Electrical
Technology (an integration "of
electronics and electrical
theory) to the specialized grade
11 and„A2 students of the 4 -year
ienc ' Technology and Trade
ell c3trohiceshop is a leg \ a
new shop which is almost com-
pleted. This shop has been 'de-
signed to serve a variety of
functions.. Basically it is
equipped to teach the funda-
mentals of electricity. In.
grade 9, students learn sorne.
of the basic electrical terms
and relationships' and begin to
, wire electrical circuits from
if
ii.
simple diagrams. In grade 10
simple circuit laws are intro-
duced, and the students learn
-to read Meters; to measure
'4 oltages and also to,dfscover
various current relationships
which exist in these types of
circuit.
At the grade ll level special
ization takes place. The 5 -
year S. T. &T. students receive
4 periods per week in Electron-
ics only for 2 years. Here they
become involved in building
vacuum tube circuits and learn
Total environment and man's role
are ;new aspects of geography course
By DAVID BENDER
The values or aims listed be-
low are certainly not the only
ones but they are some of, the
more important ones and are
unique to the teaching of geog-
raphy. • _
FACTS OF LOCATION: (i. e.
major rivers, cities, countries,
mountains, etc.).
Although this is the least
significant part of geography,
unfortunately it is the aim or
purpose which is most frequent-
ly associated with the study of
geography. The apology, by a
person for not knowing where a
prate is, .remains "I wasn't any
good at geography!” These
placenames are essential only
in that they serve as landmarks
or "jumping-off" places for a
more intensive study of a region.
MAP READING
Maps are the basic tool of
the geographer. Often more
about a country or county can
be learned from a series o f
traps than from the most de-
tailed textbook. The reading of
a neap so that it is meaningful.
is an art in itself and requires
years of study. At the lowest
level, it issurprising how much
information can be gleaned
from a road map. We would -
like to get away from the idea
that all maps must have United
States coloured in green and
have a "Neilson" chocolate bar
in the corner.
TO ENJOY A RICHER
t'SE OF LEISURE TIME
We are entering the age ofd!
the ""'j u in b o jets" and the
"shrinking world". People trav-
el more and farther. We hope
that students will grasp a great-
er understanding of landscapes
and an awareness of their sur-
roundings so that trips will be
more instructive and enjoyable..
Most people see only 10 feet on
„ether side of the highway. We;
have found field trips a reward-
ing experience in that students
are amazed at what can actu-
ally be seen if you know what
to look for. In past years, we
have travelled to Beaver Valley,
Lake Irut'on and in the local
townships.
INTERNATIONAL -
UNDERSTANDING
An appreciation and an un-
derstanding of other countries
and caltural groups is an im-
portant part of geography. It is
surprising how much bias or
ignorance shows itself when
we discuss various c u l t u r al
groups or countries. Through
pictures, descriptions, film-
strips and movies, a student
and for that matter every per-
son adopts an image of a eoun-
try. W e hope that students
will avoid the: exaggerations or
irrational fanatasies often ex-
pressed around them. We would
like to get away from the
"single concept" approach when
'discussing other countries.
For example: Florida, or-
anges; Brazil, coffee; Australia
sheep; Holland, tulips; Spain.
bullfighting; India, starving be-
cause they don't kill their cat-
P;
Israel, "the good guys";
Sweden, blondes.
MAN AND ITIS
ENVIRONMENT"
This idca is the core of the
subject. (That is the relation-
ship titan has with his environ-
ment). We study the cnviron-
inent;,in a various number of
ways, (weathcrscope: maps of
soil. geology, vegetation,
rainfall; stream table; rockcol-
lcctions; landform models and
a dozen other ways.) The en-
vironment however is always
related to than and how he uses
it, hero he is,challenged by it
and how he has made mistakes
•
b
when he has ignored it.
This is a very difficult study
because' these relationships are
very complex. For example :a
simple :fact like tie location of
a factory usually involves many
rational and/or irrational de-
cisions by man. Each land-
scape whether it be urban or
rural is the expression of a cer-
tain organization of space.
This organization by man can
be spontaneous or deliberate,
conscious or unconscious. Men
have organized this space, their
environment, in a way deter:-
mined
eter-mined by their needs, their jI
techniques and their technol-
ogy. For .example Wingham is
trying to organize its space
with a town plan and Huron
County is trying by a broader
governmental base and wider
planning goals.
"Thus.a humanized land-
scape is indeed the visible geo-
graphical expression of a civil-
ization, and of the whole of its
economic and social life".
In conclusion, if students
leave our classrooms with a
"geographical outlook" --we
are satisfied.
Library i�
place in modern
secondary ukod
Ely G. NOUNTFORD
In the modern secondary
school the function of the Li-
brary or, as It is called inn any
schools,,. the Resource Centre, Is
varied and important. Working.
directlywith both teachers and:
students the Library provides x
necessary, area fax individual
research.
because it is so °central to
the educative process the opera
tion of the Library, mpg be,
closely integrated: with the
o ses of study, taught at .any
school.. It is no longer (if, it-►
deed, It ever :was.), a place
where one goes to supplement
the teaching which : he receives
in. the. classroom, It isnow a •
central and essential part of
that teaching. Students art
'being iricouraged more. and
more .td be self-starters-,,-to'work' their:own--and,: in-
evitably, the Library m the
place' where this work should be
,.The resources, of the school •
Library .today are not limited to:
books. The Library is also pro-
vided with' tapes,records, film-
Strips and other nonibookima-
terials which students should use,
where applicable, to :aid'thein
in their research.
A.student of today should not
ignore the research possibilities;
of the school'Library and use it
as a glorified sstudy hall„ or
:homework. room,
. The possibilities of'the school
Library are 'endless and are ,lim-
ited only. by the intellierice;
and imagination of the;situdenrs
and teachers involved, in its opt''
enation. .
o use more sophisticated equip-
ment, such as oscilloscopes,
signal generators and vacuum,
tube voltmeters. The 4 -year. ,
S'T., &T. students, on the
other hand, take approximate-'
ly 8 periods per week in Elec-
tricity and Electronics in_both
grade.
11 and
grade
12.
d.
It i&'ffa r ti';t'!r
tvoi, oLE1 Aniq arid: l ct,
itftal theory i-1 -pr'ovide a ' '
sufficiently broad educational.
base for further study in either
of these two important areas.
In -addition, an attempt is made
to give each student an under-
standing
of basic principles and
-to provide enough practical
.straining in basic skills so that,
at the completion of grade 12,
he will be able to take up em-
ployment in either the elec-
tronics or electrical field,. if
he so desires.
As in all of the technical.
areas, ,we try to use practical
projects as an aid to the under-
standing of otherwise abstract
mathematical and scientific
principles inherent in any study
of this important subject.
The electronics part of the
-electrical technology course
begins then with a study of"
vacuum tube circuits, where
the students learn to use more
specialized test equipment to
examine circuit operation. In
grade .12 the students advance
to a study of transistors and
circuits involving other solid-
state devices. Through individ-
ual research projects they are
encouraged to discover the •
basics of digital computer cir-
cuits, the ,elements of radio
and TV servicing and the prin-
ciples of industrial electronics,
•
ford &3urnhainvited
� m l
ore ; n . use Design
Manufacture & Sine' 1856
CONGRATULATE THE SCHOOL BOARD ON THE OPENING OF THE'
F. E. MADILL SECONDARY SCHOOL.
WE ARE ROUD TO HAVE TAKEN AN ACTIVE PART
IN THIS PROJECT:
Lord & Burnham limited
The Glasshouse Design Centre of Canada
325 Welland Avenue, St: Catharines, Ont,