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.
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