Within the preface for The Art of Teaching, Gilbert Highet includes that, “Teaching is not like inducing a chemical reaction: it is much more like painting a picture or making a piece of music, or… like planting a garden or writing a friendly letter.” And, although there are certain prescribed characteristics of “good teaching”, there is no such thing as a scientific method for teaching—instead there is a “teaching method.” Highet includes two essential components for a successful method of teaching—preparation and fixing the impression.
The first stage of methodical teaching includes a preparation of the subject. Of course, no successful teacher cannot prepare for a class (note: double negative). Contrapositively, therefore, only a successful teacher prepares for a class. Now, preparation of a class includes three vital sections: a broad explanation of the class material’s importance, maintaining a firm grasp on contemporary issues pertaining to the class’s material, and an outline of anticipated material to be covered during the class. Highet warns, however, “A teacher who maps out his course badly, and neither sees where he is going nor tells his class what to expect, usually fails because he does not quite command his material” (147).
Many times, a teacher will begin class by “diving right into the material.” Students, however, remain bewildered as to the subject’s importance or relevance to his life—much less the subject itself. During my senior year in high school, my Calculus teacher neglected to tell me what a “derivative” was. I spent the whole first semester calculating derivatives, not knowing what they were or why they were important to the subject of Calculus. Had he simply said, “A derivative is a slope of a function,” on the first day of class, I would have understood Calculus with greater clarity—and perhaps received a better grade. Even Highet mentions that, “[A teacher] must explain [the subject], allow its merits to display themselves, fill in a suitable background” (73).
Next, Highet emphasizes that, “teaching the same old stuff year after year,” should be, “avoided at all costs by every good teacher” (81). Because most subjects are “living subjects”—meaning that information or perspectives change on the subjects over time—a teacher ought to grow and live along with the subject. In particular, teaching requires assimilation of contemporary issues relevant and pertinent to the subject—for fear that a student refers to the class as monotony. Even Highet exclaims, “Monotony in teaching is a fault” (81)!
Now, by constructing an outline of expected material to be covered during the semester, the students gain a better understanding of interconnectedness with respect to the subject. Also, an outline provides an adequate pacemaker—and just like a heart’s pacemaker, regulates the “beat” of the class—creating both expectations for the teacher and students. For, with a class outline, the class gains a purpose—and can visibly see its design for an end. Even Highet articulates that, “One of the aids to learning is the sense of purpose. One of [purpose’s] chief rewards is the sense of achievement” (69).
Highet makes note of historically successful educators—the Jesuit Order. Although Highet comes from a secular university (i.e. Columbia), he recognizes the Jesuit perfection of “fixing the impression.” One word, coined by the Jesuits, can sufficiently create an impressionable mark upon a student—repeat, repeat, repeat! (cf. 148) As a student who has experienced Jesuit education, I can attest to the effectiveness of the “repeat” strategy. For, the Jesuits “watch carefully and vary his questions to ensure that there is nothing mechanical about this repetition, but then urge once more repeat and once more repeat” (148). Obviously, repetition imprints the information upon a student’s mind and, in turn, remains readily available due to retention.
Hopefully, a teacher aspires to more than just giving information to his students. As Highet alludes, the methods of a teacher ought to bring a classroom into a “joint enterprise of a group of friendly human beings who like using their brains” (153)—for this is what Highet describes as the “best type of teaching.”
