QUESTION BOOK. A GRADED COURSE OF STUDY FOR BY EDWARD R. SHAW, SCHOOL DEVICES," and SELECTIONS FOR written rePRODUCTION;" EIGHTEENTH THOUSAND, NEW YORK AND CHICAGO: E. L. KELLOGG & CO. 1893. PREFACE. WITHIN the past few years there has arisen among all classes of teachers a desire for ampler qualification for their work. This is shown by the formation of Reading Circles, the large and constantly increasing number who subscribe for educational papers, the rapid issue of works upon education, and the establishment of Summer Schools of Methods. Not only are these various agencies indications of a desire for better preparation, but they also give evidence that there is an imperative demand for professional training or fitness. Professional fitness for teaching consists primarily in a thorough acquaintance with those fundamental studies which are employed to give mental discipline as well as to furnish that equipment of knowledge most useful in the transactions of every-day life. But to know merely the studies he is to teach is not sufficient for the teacher. He should, besides, pursue those branches of learning which give fulness and ripeness of scholarship. Whether a teacher's knowledge is broad and general, or whether it is only elementary, there must be coupled with it, to give proper fitness, a knowledge of Methods of Teaching. Certain principles recognized by educators underlie all methods of teaching, but the method itself results from actual practice and experience in applying |