A fine old lady, in a work of
fiction, explained her mental acumen by the single statement, "I never
slouch." Every person must have observed many exemplifications of this
theory in his own experience even if he has not reduced it to a working
formula.
=Basic considerations.=--Any consideration of the time element, in
school work, must take into account, therefore, not only the number of
minutes involved in a given piece of work, but also the intensity of
effort during those minutes. Two minds, of equal natural strength, may
be fully employed during a given period and yet show a wide difference
in the quality and quantity of the results. The one may be busy all the
while but slouch through the minutes. The other may be taut and
intensive, working at white heat, and the output will be more extensive
and of better quality. The mind that ambles through the period shows
forth results that are both meager and mediocre; but the mind whose
impact is both forceful and incisive produces results that serve to
magnify the work of the school. Thus we have placed before us two basic
considerations, one of which is the time itself, in actual minutes, and
the other is the character of the reactions to external stimuli during
those minutes.
=Two teachers compared.=--In order to consider these factors of the
teaching process with some degree of definiteness it will be well to
have the ten-minute teacher and the thirty-minute teacher placed in
juxtaposition in our thinking.
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