L Our greatest need is to understand childrn

TEACHING TEACHERS TO TEACH_C. W. HUNNICUTT

WE ALL are trying to learn more aboutteaching. The problem of training teachersis so enormous because the art of effectiveteaching is itself so infinitely complex.Cooperation of both pre-service and in-service supervisors is essential in meetingthis problem.

Colleges can help select teachers-to-beand can give them basic knowledges, skills,and attitudes, both culturally and profes-sionally. But students too often emergeinadequate to their teaching responsibili-ties. When they are still undergraduates,"remote" future needs are an insufficientmotivation for thorough learning. More-over, good teaching requires maturity. Itis very difficult for an adolescent to riseabove his own pressing problems ofadolescence and to focus upon the prob-lems and personalities of children, andmost of our pre-service teachers are littlemore than adolescents. Furtlermore, stu-dents entering their first teaching posi-tions may be overly susceptible to re-actionary teachers who suggest thattheories good in college do not work inpractice. All of these factors point to theneed for a supervisory program whichpreserves the best of previous learningswhile keeping pace with new trends.

A good supervisor must be a good teacher, forit is his responsibility to kelp teachers dis-cover more effective ways of doing their jobs.C. W. Hunnicutt of Syracuse University tellsas that "the greatest need of teachers is abetter understanding of children as individ.uals." He discusses a number of areas of in-formation about children which teachers andsupervisors need to explore in order to gaina better understanding and then takes as onto the logical "'ext step'"-tkat of actuallyusing this information to broaden one's un-derstaxdixg.

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What factors enter into effective teach-ing? Obviously, teachers must have knowl-edge of content, of sources for materials,and of the many other aspects of teaching.But experience indicates that the greatestneed of teachers is a better understandingof children as individuals. Of course, it ismuch easier to teach without knowing thechildren individually-merely to presentcontent to the group as a whole. ButAmericans still have the ideal of a teacheron one end of a log and a student on theother.

Shortcuts to Getting Acquainted

In earlier societies it was possible for allmembers of a village really to know eachother with all their strengths and weak-nesses. A teacher not only knew each childthoroughly but knew all about his family.Today, a teacher who is with a group longenough may become equally familiar withthe children. Usually, however, there isnot time. Children are with a teacher foronly a few short months and then moveon to someone else. Consequently she, likethe rest of us, resorts to stereotypes. Thislittle girl has an "inferiority complex."That boy is a "rejected child." Anotheris a "bully."

Since they don't have time to learn byordinary observation alone, teachers needsome shortcuts to learning. Fortunately,research is providing us with an increasingarray of tools to probe into the innerworkings of human behavior. With these,a teacher can get acquainted more quickly.But such tools, like airplanes and otherscientific instruments, can be used to de-stroy, as well as to create happiness. Thewriter once entered a classroom and saw

Educational Leadership

a chart on the wall beside the door. On itwere each child's age, height, weight-and I.Q. The latter ranged from about75 to go. A little later the teacher ap-proached and in a stage whisper said, "Nowyou see why I can't be expected to teachthem much." Obviously, that tool wasbeing used to destroy. Teachers must knowthe limitations as well as the strengths oftesting instruments. They should knowsomething of probable errors and, more-over, should recognize and capitalize uponthe ability of children to improve.

A Child and His Pals

Several areas of information about chil-dren are important. The relations betweena child and those around him are of deepconcern to him and should be to us. Theyprofoundly affect his happiness, his be-havior, and his learning within a group.Sociometry is providing us with insightinto some of these relations.

For example, to discover the relativeisolation or popularity of children, theteacher asks each child to write down thenames of the children in the class withwhom he would most like and with whomhe would least like to play, or go to theshow, or sit beside. The number of chil-dren by whom a child is named providesan index to his relative position withinthe class. The writer' has obtained co-efficients of reliability above .90 with thisdevice.

Another useful instrument is the "guesswho" technique. It has many variationsand possibilities. For example, the teacherwill describe a fictitious incident-an in-cident that illustrates some trait of char-acter and personality. The children areasked to write down the name of theperson or persons within the group whothey think might have done it. It may be

'Unpublished dissertation, Stanford University.

January 1945

an unselfish act or one revealing leader-ship or originality. The important revela-tion is not whether a child so selectedreally has that type of personality. Theimportant point is that other children feelthat way about him. Children are sogreatly influenced by their environmentthat they tend to become what othersthink them to be. You have all seen thelittle red-head or the child with thepugnacious jaw who may innately havehad a very mild disposition but who waspractically forced to become war-like.

Children's social relations are not fixedand immutable but are always changing.All of the kinds of information men-tioned should form a part of the child'spermanent record, thereby shortening thetime a new teacher requires to become ac-quainted. But each teacher has the obliga-tion to continue observing and studyingeach child, revising and supplementing theinformation.

A Youngster's Opinion of Himself

A second important area of informationis the opinion a child has about himselfand about his relations to others. "As aman thinketh in his heart, so is he." Ishe self-confident, or self-doubtful? Doeshe feel secure or insecure? Is he strugglingwith problems so great that they are dis-ruptive? There are a number of effectiveinstruments on the market that yield in-sight into these and other attitudes. Forexample, the California Test of Personalityhas been found very useful. In this a childanswers "Yes" or "No" to such questionsas "Do you think that the boys and girlslike you as well as they should?" "Do youthink that the children would be happierif the teacher were not so strict?" "Is iteasy for you to recite or talk in class?"The answers reveal not the situations thatactually exist, but what the child thinksabout the situation. Through such ques-

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tions one may obtain some clue to a child'sfeelings in twelve areas within the twogeneral fields of self-adjustment and socialadjustment.

Closely allied to these attitudes is theyoungster's pattern of interests and pur-poses. Conversation and discussion amongthe children, reading choices, hobbies, aswell as interest questionnaires or checklists, all of these can be used to explorethis important portion of each child. Sinceinterests and purposes are such an impor-tant basis of motivation in modern teach-ing, most teachers have long been alert totheir value.

Out of School and Other YearsA third source of understanding lies in

knowledge of the life of children outsideof school Home conditions, sibling rela-tions, and parental attitudes all play a partin the way a child will respond in school.Must he share a bed so that when onemoves the muscles of the other involun-tarily become tense, or is he able to obtainadequate rest and relaxation? Does he haveany opportunity for privacy or must hebe perpetually reacting to others? Doeshe have reading materials and an environ-ment encouraging to learning or is his asterile environment educationally? Doeshe know that no matter what he does, hisparents will continue to love him, or isthere a nagging fear of rejection? Howmany older people are there in the housefor him to be bossed by? Is he constantlycompared to that smart young sister whoreads so well? Does he have decent playfacilities in the neighborhood? One couldgo on and on. This paper will not discussthe dangers and limitations of home visita-tion, but will only call attention to thevalue of understanding this part of chil-dren's lives.

A fourth area of information importantto teachers lies in the past history of a

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child's development. Are there any physi-cal handicaps? Did illness or moving causehim to miss any important school ex-periences? Was he taught a particular skillin a pattern different from other mem-bers of the class? For example, did helearn a subtraction process different fromthe one used in the current class and is hebecoming confused? Careful school rec-ords can be very helpful in understandingchildren's backgrounds.

Skills and Knowledges

Finally, there is the diagnostic analysisof each child's academic skills and knowl-edges, together with his special ways oflearning. This academic phase of the schoolprogram has received enough attentionfrom test-makers that there are many gooddiagnostic tests available. His best waysof learning are not so readily discoveredobjectively. Much depends upon theteacher. The skillful teacher is con-tinuously seeking added information.Again it should be stressed that carefulobservation recorded objectively throughanecdotes is extremely important as asource of insight. Needless to say, as anynew evidence helps in understanding achild, it should become a part of hispermanent record for use by subsequentteachers.

A major part of teaching teachers toteach, then, is teaching them how to obtaina full and growing understanding of eachdeveloping child as expeditiously as pos-sible. An even greater part, however, liesin teaching them how to use such under-standing when they have it.

To Praise or to Blame?Nineteen centuries ago Quintilian ob-

served that children differed greatly intheir responses. It is only slightly para-phrasing him when we note that somechildren profit most from a pat on the

Educational Leadership

back and others from a little harder patsomewhat lower down. There is not agreat deal known objectively about theeffects of various kinds of motivation ondifferent kinds of children.

Recently, in a simple little experiment 2

five classrooms of fifth-graders were givenone of the better measures of extroversionand introversion and each room was arbi-trarily divided into those above and thosebelow the median. They were then givena simple repetitive task and tried to im-prove their scores. Some were arbitrarilysubjected to praise and others to blamebefore each subsequent trial.

The interesting and not unexpected re-sults were very striking. Introverted chil-dren subjected to repeated praise improvedmarkedly more than introverted childrensubjected to blame. Conversely, extrovertedchildren given repeated praise improvedmuch less than extroverted children givenblame. Extroverted children seemed toneed to be challenged, while introvertedseemed to require security. Needless tosay, the group that had neither praise norblame, no suggestion about how well theyhad done, improved least of all.

Helping a Child Set His Goal

A second interesting area of individualdifferences deals with aspiration levels.What kind of a goal does a child hold upfor himself? Some children are delightedor at least satisfied with mediocre results.Others are upset by any achievement lessthan perfect. What kinds of aspirationsresult in the greatest progress? Not agreat deal is known for sure, but presentevidences confirms common-sense observa-

2 Thompson, George, and Hunnicutt, C. W.: "TheEffect of Repeated Praise or Blame on the WorkAchievement of Introverts' and 'Extroverts,'" ournalof Educational Psychology, Vol. XXXV, No. 5,Pp. 257-266, May 1944.

a Studies reported, for example, by P. S. Sears andby E. R. Hilgard.

January 1945

tion. People who set their sights too low,who "have no ambition" as it were, makelittle progress. On the other hand, wheregoals are set unrealistically high, far be-yond reach, discouragement and slowprogress result. A part of a teacher'sresponsibilities appears to be to help eachchild keep his goals advancing just withinthe limits of his growing capabilities sothat by strenuous effort he can repeatedlyachieve success.

The use of individual interests and pur-poses in helping children learn has beenso greatly stressed in the modern programthat it is not necessary to elaborate onteachers' use of such information. Nor isit necessary to stress the obvious need tobreak away from the plan where all areexpected to cover the same route at thesame pace--the "convoy system." Individ-ualization in promotional practices and inreporting to parents as well as in cur-riculum content is becoming more feasiblewith the increasing understanding of howto evaluate progress.

Being One of the Group

More important than any of these prac-tices, though, is the skill teachers need inhelping children develop within some ofthe other and less tangible areas; in theirsocial relations, for example. Throughoutthe public schools children can be taughtto work effectively with each other. Thehealthy give-and-take of a dynamic school-room builds life-long habits. Thus one ofthe most important trainings for vocationaland civic success and personal satisfactionwhich schools can give is skill in socialrelations.

Earlier there were suggested some waysin which information about children'ssocial relations can be obtained. Obviously,if such information becomes mere grist forteachers-meeting gossip or even for help-less pity it would be better left unknown.

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On the other hand, there often are waysteachers can help when they really under-stand. Children, like other little animals,tend to resent the deviate. Perhaps a dif-ferent kind of dress or a new hair-do orsome other modifications of appearancewill mollify the hostility felt toward somelittle left-out girl Relatively simple meas-ures sometimes help.

Poise and status within the group areintimately related. The presence or lackof one contributes to the presence or lackof the other. It seems like a hopelesslyvicious circle. However, when we furtherconsider that poise or its lack is also in-timately dependent upon knowledge andskill in any given situation, hope appears.By helping each child learn the behaviorappropriate to such various situations asdancing or playing ball or jumping ropeor making committee reports, we offerhim a means to achieve group recogni-tion and status.

In the seventh grade a new little boyentered the class. He was very small andfrail and rather effeminate. He couldn'tdo much in baseball or basketball anddidn't amount to much in the group. Butwhen marble season came around and hewon all the marbles, his stock skyrocketed.Somehow, he had acquired a skill thatoffered group prestige.

Understanding Unspoken WordsA number of books4 and studies not

primarily directed to teachers or to class-rooms as such offer very useful approachesto helping children meet their difficultproblems. The dangers of over-simplifica-tion and action based on only partialunderstanding are very real. However, theimplications for teaching are so importantthat it is worth the risk to touch uponjust one insight and to hope that readers

4 Especially, Rogers, Carl R.: Counseling and Psy-chotherapy, Houghton-Mifflin, 1942, 450 PP.

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will study the whole approach more fully.This one point is the importance of a

non-directive technique in helping chil-dren meet their problems. A child whohas a gnawing fear or difficulty that hedoesn't quite dare face directly gives clueswhich an understanding teacher can recog-nize. Her function then is undramaticallyand without emotion, with neither con-demnation nor praise, to help him recog-nize this problem and bring it out intothe open where he can face it. But shemust not attempt to solve it and get himto accept her solution. Rather she musthelp him to work the thing out for him-self. The art lies to a great degree inrecognizing and reacting to the feelingbehind spoken or unspoken questions.

A simple example of this recognitionof feeling may occur when a little 3-year-old girl is standing at your knee achingfor attention. Her baby brother crawls inbetween and would normally steal all no-tice. As you pick her up you casuallysay, "Baby brothers are a nuisance some-times," and with a heartfelt, "Yeees," shesnuggles against you.

Or consider the harassed mother of alittle boy who repeatedly asks, "Mommy,do you love me?" despite her repeatedreassurances. Finally, she calmly says,"Sometimes it does seem as if Mommydoesn't love you," and he is satisfied. Hisfears have been recognized and found tobe not unbearable. One step forward hasbeen made.

Interpreting Through Actions

In recent years much publicity has beengiven to the various projective techniqueswhereby a child reveals his fears or prob-lems in the things he draws or paints, orthrough his play, or through the thingshe sees in the Rorschach file of pictures.Such techniques adapted to the classroommay also be useful in relieving tensions.

Educational Leadership

Jay' was a little colored boy with a badreputation and a very unfavorable attitudetoward school. He had a record of truancyeven though he was just 7 years old. Hewas very aggressive and seemed to be ableto express himself only with his fists. Inthis class he deliberately was not antagon-ized or forced to do those things for whichhe had neither the ability nor the desireto learn. He was slow of speech, con-fining most of his verbalism to a gutteralyes or no. However, on the way to andfrom school and on the playground thispoverty of language was enriched by someimpressive "cuss words."

One day Jay was "tooken to the office"by the patrol boys for disregarding theirtraffic signals and then "cussin them offthe street." As a result, Jay was paddledby the principal. During work period thatsame day Jay, who had his choice ofworking with wood, paint, crayons, games,or clay, selected clay for his medium ofexpression. He modeled a man, put on allthe details of his clothing: buttons, a hand-kerchief in the pocket, a hat on his headthat came off.

The teacher in an experimental moodasked, "Who is that?" "Dunno," said Jay."Maybe it is the principal," said theteacher. "He has a handkerchief in hispocket like that." Jay glared at the clayman. He glanced up at the teacher. "Yes,"

5Axline, Virginia Mae: "Morale on the SchoolFront," Journal of Educational Research, Vol. XXXVII,March, 1944, pp. 521-533.

he said. Then, very deliberately, he beganto twist the head off and when it came offin his hand he looked up and smiled. "Yousometimes feel like twisting his head off,don't you?" said the teacher. "Sometimes,you get so mad at him." Jay twisted offone of the arms. Then he twisted off theother. Then he laid it face down on thetable and beat it with his fist. One of theother boys sitting at the same table re-marked, "Jay is mad at Mr. Green be-cause he licked him this noon. He wantsto tear him to pieces." "Then you mustfeel lots better now," said the teacher. Jaygrinned and began to rebuild Mr. Green.

That evening on the way out of thebuilding Jay spoke to the principal, athing he had never done before. The prin-cipal informed the teacher and said, "Yousee. I whale the daylights out of them andthey like it so well they start speakingto me."

This paper has discussed a few of theproblems in the infinitely complex task ofeffective teaching and has indicated a fewof the steps that are being taken towardtheir solution. Only by study and thecontinued cooperation of all groups con-cerned, both pre-training and in-servicetraining personnel, can we really developpoised teachers who don't take out theirown frustrations on children, but who areable to guide them to fullest development.Only thus will we help teachers rise tothe challenge of teaching; only thus willwe really "teach teachers to teach."

Films Interpreting Children and Youth

If audio-visual aids help children to learn, how about trying them on ourselves?"Why not?" said the Committee on Interpreting Children and Youth-and set to workcompiling a list of films, film strips, and records which may help adults understand youngpeople. Members of the committee are DSCD, ACE, and Supervisors of Student Teach-ing. The information gathered by the committee should be helpful for pre-service andin-service education of teachers, for PTA's, clubs, and any group interested in under-standing children. This mimeographed pamphlet is now ready for distribution and maybe ordered for 15 cents from the Department of Supervision and Curriculum Develop-ment, NEA, 120o Sixteenth Street, N. W., Washington 6, D. C.

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Copyright © 1945 by the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. All rights reserved.