James Talks to Teachers Chapter 15

Spinoza long ago wrote in his Ethics that anything that a man can avoid under the notion that it is bad he may also avoid under the notion that something else is good. He who habitually acts sub specie mali, under the negative notion, the notion of the bad, is called a slave by Spinoza. To him who acts habitually under the notion of good he gives the name of freeman. See to it now, I beg you, that you make freemen of your pupils by habituating them to act, whenever possible, under the notion of a good. Get them habitually to tell the truth, not so much through showing them the wickedness of lying as by arousing their enthusiasm for honor and veracity. Wean them from their native cruelty by imparting to them some of your own positive sympathy with an animal's inner springs of joy. (p. 94)

This is so powerful.  What a wonderful message to teachers and an awesome conclusion to a very lengthy and often difficult read.  James analogy by Spinoza of a freeman and that of a slave is so inspiring.  Then to follow up with the challenge of creating students that are free in their thinking and empowered to act on behalf of good.  

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 14

Now apperception is an extremely useful word in pedagogics, and offers a convenient name for a process to which every teacher must frequently refer. But it verily means nothing more than the act of taking a thing into the mind. It corresponds to nothing peculiar or elementary in psychology, being only one of the innumerable results of the psychological process of association of ideas; and psychology itself can easily dispense with the word, useful as it may be in pedagogics. (p.77)


James definition of appreciation reduces it to meaning simply that you take a thing into consideration.  I believe that there is a little more to it than thinking enough about something to give it attention.  He spends the rest of this lecture quantifying appreciation.  His examples of different countries and disciplines interpret then quantify it takes up much of the remaining discussion.  I wonder if much of the discussion here is still applicable, has the definition of appreciation changed?  He does however discusses the importance of youth and the building a foundation that will and can be structurally sound for life

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 13

Our modern reformers, in their books, write too exclusively of the earliest years of the pupil. These lend themselves better to explicit treatment; and I myself, in dwelling so much upon the native impulses, and object-teaching, and anecdotes, and all that, have paid my tribute to the line of least resistance in describing. (p. 74)


Jame is quite critical of teaching that dose not include the native impulses.  His assessment of the philosophy that we limit our teaching of abstract concepts to older student is almost an insult.  It definitely has the potential to stunt our children learning capabilities.  I myself find it somewhat difficult to ascertain what is too abstract versus too simplistic. I am discovering that young children are capable of great understanding.

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 12

 If our ability to recollect a thing be so largely a matter of its associations with other things which thus becomes its cues, an important pedagogic consequence follows. There can be no improvement of the general or elementary faculty of memory: there can only be improvement of our memory for special systems of associated things; and this latter improvement is due to the way in which the things in question are woven into association with each other in the mind. Intricately or profoundly woven, they are held: disconnected, they tend to drop out just in proportion as the native brain retentiveness is poor. (p. 61)


James discussion on memory and its relationship to association is not so far fetch.  Teachers utilize scaffolding consistently to teach new content.  It is a practice that is and should be a natural process for teachers.  Students associate the life cycle of a frog for instance with that of the butterfly if they learned this concept.  I agree that using these fundamental principle should be the foundation for creating more concrete memories of of complicated concepts. James believe that there is can be no improvement on general elementary faculty of memory, is this true, are there ever flaws is what we remember that can be corrected?

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 11

No matter how scatterbrained the type of a man's successive fields of consciousness may be, if he really care for a subject, be will return to it incessantly from his incessant wanderings, and first and last do more with it, and get more results from it, than another person whose attention may be more continuous during a given interval, but whose passion for the subject is of a more languid and less permanent sort. Some of the most efficient workers I know are of the ultra-scatterbrained type. One friend, who does a prodigious quantity of work, has in fact confessed to me that, if he wants to get ideas on any subject, he sits down to work at something else, his best results coming through his mind-wanderings. This is perhaps an epigrammatic exaggeration on his part; but I seriously think that no one of us need be too much distressed at his own shortcomings in this regard. (p, 57)

James discussion on the brains ability to pay attention is based on interest.  I find it interesting that some people are singularly focused while others possess the ability to multitask.  Unfortunately multitasking by students in the classroom is often seen as off task.  Commanding a student’s attention while presenting content, which they find uninteresting, is definitely challenging.  Ensuring that each student is gaining knowledge from the information that is being taught is often difficult to gauge.  Yes some student which may appear off task may have the intellect to consume all of the information that is presented in that setting.    

James discusses the term scatter brains.  This whole notion of scatter brains being a type of methodology to focus on necessary task is interesting. I think that the term scatter brains is such a negative concept so to assume that some one is a scatter brain implies they do not have the ability to focus and understand complex concepts.  Why are we so tied to labels that define every aspect of humanity? I think that this is more an individual that has unique interests and therefore perceives things differently.   

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 10

                                                                             

If, then, you wish to insure the interest of your pupils, there is only one way to do it; and that is to make certain that they have something in their minds to attend with, when you begin to talk. That something can consist in nothing but a previous lot of ideas already interesting in themselves, and of such a nature that the incoming novel objects which you present can dovetail into them and form with them some kind of a logically associated or systematic whole. (p. 49)

Interest must have a practical connection.  James is correct that if we are to engage and then maintain our student’s interest then the instruction must tie into to something that they are already interested in.  Or at least the instruction must be exciting enough as to compete and overshadow whatever episode that may be playing in the conscious of their mind.  I am in agreement that association can play a vital role in making a subject that is not necessarily interesting take on a completely different view, but is association enough.  What appears to be the mundane suddenly has a place of prominence.  If you are able to accomplish this task with the most disengaged of all the students, then the battle for interest and focus becomes much more attainable.

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 9

I cannot too strongly urge you to acquire a habit of thinking of your pupils in associative terms. All governors of mankind, from doctors and jail-wardens to demagogues and statesmen, instinctively come so to conceive their charges. If you do the same, thinking of them (however else you may think of them besides) as so many little systems of associating machinery, you will be astonished at the intimacy of insight into their operations and at the practicality of the results which you will gain. (p. 45)

James encourages us to consider our students in associative terms.  I am still trying to digest how this would look. I understand the importance of seeing the uniqueness that all children bring to the classroom, and thereby teaching based on their uniqueness.  I assume that fundamentally it means that the manner in which all students process and interpret information is different.  We then must tailor our instruction to meet the needs of the individuals.  Many schools, if I am interpreting the meaning correctly, have adopted a policy of individual lesson plans for all its students regardless of academic ability or disability.  This approach truly does focus on the distinctiveness and the will of the student.  However encouraging our teachers and administrators to support such monumental shift of philosophy is a great undertaking.

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 8

Seize the very first possible opportunity to act on every resolution you make, and on every emotional prompting you may experience in the direction of the habits you aspire to gain. It is not in the moment of their forming, but in the moment of their producing motor effects, that resolves and aspirations communicate the new 'set' to the brain.  (p.35)  By neglecting the necessary concrete labor, by sparing ourselves the little daily tax, we are positively digging the graves of our higher possibilities. (p. 36)

James contention of our perception of habits has been enlightening.  He makes a very convincing case for teachers to actively engage in habits that will benefit our moral character as well as our students.  It is not enough to have good intentions, we must implement our intentions in order to be affective. We are limited in our scope of life when we do not act upon our intentions.  What are the implications for not implementing the new habits? James encourages us not to delay the actions, which can and often becomes procrastination, and ultimately stagnation. A little investment daily is all that is required.  We cannot afford the lack of discipline necessary to implement these habits.  We have failed each other for so long. 

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 7

FIRST of all, Fear. Fear of punishment has always been the great weapon of the teacher, and will always, of course, retain some place in the conditions of the schoolroom. The subject is so familiar that nothing more need be said about it.
The same is true of Love, and the instinctive desire to please those whom we love. The teacher who succeeds in getting herself loved by the pupils will obtain results which one of a more forbidding temperament finds it impossible to secure. (p,25)


James is correct on both of these accounts.  Fear continues to be a tool that holds a place of honor in most classrooms.  While most teachers understand the impact of connecting with a student to solicit a positive response to love and kindness unfortunately this one sometimes takes a back sear.  I believe most teachers would prefer to teach from the position of love, it is very difficult to be consistent.  I wonder if why teachers that begin their career because of their love for children often end up managing the classroom with fear.  Or maybe it is because of how they were taught.  There is a part of me that believes that as long as we live in a society in that maintains boundaries and rules for its citizens then we must as teachers let students know that there are consequences for their actions.  But my first position is that kids want to please and once they recognized the love that a teachers has for her students they are constantly seeking that affirmation.

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 6

Every acquired reaction is, as a rule, either a complication grafted on a native reaction, or a substitute for a native reaction, which the same object originally tended to provoke. (p. 20)

James discussion of how we learn and acquire knowledge is akin to the Pavlov’s Classical Conditioning.  The training and stimulus is built into both.  I am still grappling with this concept of education in this form I understand the implications and why this is considered basic. I am just not sure if I am totally sold on the fundamentals of this particular concept.  I believe that there are some alternative methods.

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 5

The most colossal improvement which recent years have seen in secondary education lies in the introduction of manual training schools; not because they will give us people that are more handy and practical for domestic life and better skilled in trades, but they will give us better citizens with an entirely different intellectual fiber.  (p. 18)

How insightful of James to understand and embrace the importance of training schools to a society.  Realizing that communities are comprised of individuals with varying interests and aptitude, all of which are required if we are to sustain and improve our quality of life.  It is incumbent upon the society to provide education and training to all of our citizens based these interests and aptitudes.  I do fear that we continue to struggle with the concept of hierarchy and status, which prevents us from fully appreciating the gifts and talents that are produced within these training institutions. How does a society that is so driven by superficial perceptions of success accept and appreciate the contribution of all its citizens? Is it possible to we are to attain a harmonious society?  How can we eradicate the prejudices which has plagued us?

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 4

One who is educated is able practically to extricate himself, by means of the example by which memory is stored and of the abstract conceptions which he has acquired, from circumstances in which he was never placed before.  Education, in short cannot be better described than by calling it the organization of acquired habits or conduct and tendencies to behavior. (p. 15)

James definition of education as it relates to habits and behavior is compelling.  It causes you to rethink and analyze your personal definition of education.   Does this definition then by default fits regardless of what field of education that maybe up for discussion?

James Talks to Teachers Chapter 3

As I talk here and you listen, it might seem as if no action followed.  You might call it a purely theoretic process, with no practical results.  But it must have a practical result.  It cannot take place at all and leave your conduct unaffected.  If not today then some far future day you will answer some question differently by reason of what you are thinking now. (p. 13)

This is an interesting concept.  I do believe that there is some validity in this argument.  However teachers in the school systems do not have the pleasure of purely assuming that learning has taken place, with the application to be implemented at a later day and time.  We unfortunately live a society whose focus is accountability.  We must produce data to demonstrate that what was taught said and presented has truly been recognized as learning.  I wonder what James would have to say regarding the system of teaching to the test.

Talks to Teacher by W. James Chapter 2

We have thus fields of consciousness, that is the first general fact: and the second general fact is that the concrete  are always complex. They contain sensations of our bodies and of the objects around us, memories of past experiences and thoughts of distant things, feelings of satisfaction and dissatisfaction, desires and aversions, and other emotional conditions, together with determination of the will, in every desire of permutation and combination. (p. 8)

James discussion of how the mind is always receiving, retrieving and analyzing information is very interesting.  I found that this particular passage I had to read several times, not because it was difficult to comprehend the concept but because there were so many other things I was thinking about.  I agree that we do drift in our thinking to areas that we tend to be more drawn to.  In the classroom day dreaming becomes a monumental challenge for any teacher, how does a teacher compete with all the external stimulus which dominate the mind of students?.

Talks to Teacher by W. James Chapter 1

In teaching, you must simply work your pupil into state of interest into what you are going to teach him that every other object of attention is banished from his mind; then reveal it to him so impressively that he will remember it until his dying day; and finally fill him with devouring curiosity to know what the next steps in connection with the subject are. (p. 4)

James begins this discussion by discussing the strategy to win a battle or to conquer an enemy in war.  He uses the illustration of forcing your enemy into a position of submission before destroying them.  I never considered the connection of teaching with such vigor that is any way related to a battle or conquest.  Does James believe that every lesson requires such attention?   I do appreciate the concept that when we present information it should be presented in such a fashion that a hunger for knowledge overwhelms our students.  To often we as teachers are so consumed with just making sure that the content is covered that the presentation takes a back seat. 

Joy EDP 610

Hi All
I am Helen Jones, I am the mother of three wonderful children, two girls and a boy.  My son is in the middle.  They dominate a large portion of my life.  I am married.  I am originally from a small rural town in Alabama. I moved to Detroit after high school and met my husband.  We moved to Lexington over eleven years ago.  I have been an elementary school teacher for 5 years.  I am currently completing my graduate degree in CI.  I hope to finish in the spring.  It is my intention to begin the doctoral program in the fall.  I have taken several on line classes and truly enjoy them.