XIII The Acquisition of Ideas

James (1899/1962) briefly discusses how we acquire ideas little by little, and can then move to classify these thoughts into systems of knowledge.  He explains the levels of education and how children begin with constructing and interacting with their surroundings, and that it is not until their adolescence that they can begin examining more advanced, abstract ideas.  It is important to teach these at the right time, and to give multiple kinds of examples so that the students are not learning things incorrectly, or learning them but not being able to apply them properly.  

James (1899/1962) brings up the fact that “many another youth is spoiled for a certain subject of study (although he would have enjoyed it well if led into it at a later age) through having had it thrust upon him so prematurely that disgust was created, and the bloom quite taken off from future trials” (p. 73).  While it is true that improper timing can hinder a person’s interest in a subject, I think there are many other factors that can greatly impact a student’s like or dislike of a subject.  I already mentioned in a previous blog entry how I was influenced by my peers’ opinions of school and education, but I think the attitude of the instructor can also play a large role, both in helping students enjoy a subject when they are first learning it, and in keeping them interested in it over time.

I am reminded of my experience with an instructor in my senior year of my undergraduate courses.  I had been a Classics major for the previous three years, and had been taking Latin and Ancient Greek.  I began my first reading course in Greek that year, and was taking it with an instructor I had never had before.  I believe she wanted to challenge us so that we would progress quickly in our Greek skills, but her way of trying to achieve this was not affective.  Rather than challenging us in a positive and rewarding manner, she would embarrass us in front of the class if we were struggling with a passage.  She rarely ever gave out A grades, so that almost everyone in the class finished with a B or below, even though we had all been making A’s in our previous Greek classes and were progressing just as quickly.  It never seemed that she took a step back to see if maybe it was her teaching method that was causing us to perform poorly on her exams; instead, she assumed that we were lazy or not cut out to take Greek, and made sure that we knew that she felt that way.  This professor’s attitude caused me so many bad experiences in class, and so much stress while trying to complete my homework to her high standards, that I soon despised Greek, and have never taken a Greek class since then.  If she had been a supportive and encouraging teacher, I do not think that my opinion on the language that I had previously enjoyed would have changed so drastically.  I later found out that another student taking a different course with her had a similar experience, and also decided to leave his program because of it.  This shows that teachers need to be aware of how they are treating their students, and how their attitude can affect their student’s disposition.  How can teachers make sure that they are challenging their students, without embarrassing them or giving them a feeling of hopelessness?  What can another instructor do to help revivify students’ interests in a subject, after the students have had a bad experience with it?