How the Lessons Are Organized
Each lesson is set up in two parts: first, a Teacher Summary, which
gives an overview of the material to be read as an aid in preparing the lessons;
second, a Presentation to Pupils, which gives the step-by-step procedure
to follow in presenting each lesson to the class.
Each Teacher Summary includes the following sections: Theoretical
Basis, Resource Readings, Examples of Misevaluations in This Area, and Attitudes
and Habits We Desire Pupils to Develop. These sections are discussed below.
Teacher Summary
Theoretical Basis
This brief statement gives the basic idea or theory from which the lesson
is developed: It is this theory you are going to test with the class.
Resource Readings
These readings are brief selections from the writings of some of the general
semanticists. Each explains briefly the theory developed in the lesson. If you
wish to extend your reading in the field, you will find that Language Habits
in Human Affairs by Dr. Irving J. Lee is a very readable, understandable
book that has helpful exercises and activities.
The quotations for the readings have been taken from the following books
with the publishers’ permission:
Chase, Stuart. The Tyranny of Words. New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Company, 1938.
Hayakawa, S. I. Language in Thought and Action. New York: Harcourt, Brace
and Company, 1949.
___________, Language in Action. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company,
1941.
Johnson, Wendell. People in Quandaries. New York: Harper and Brothers,
1946.
Korzybski, Alfred. Science and Sanity. Lakeville, Conn.: International
Non-Aristotelian Library Publishing Company, 1948.
__________, Manhood of Humanity. New York: E. P. Dutton and Company,
1921. Renewed, 1948, Count Alfred Korzybski.
Lee, Irving J. Language Habits in Human Affairs. New York: Harper
and Brothers, 1941.
The author’s name, the title of the book, and the page number appear
after each quotation.
Examples of Misevaluations in This Area
Examples of misunderstandings, conflicts, and disagreements due to the particular
language habit that we are studying in the lesson are listed. We urge you to
add your own observations of misuses of language to this list.
Attitudes and Habits We Desire Pupils to Develop
If our teaching is to be worthwhile, we must expect to alter some of the
attitudes, appreciations, and habits of our students. We have listed specific
awarenesses, attitudes, appreciations, and habits as the desired outcomes of
each lesson. We don’t expect to achieve all of them, and there is no way
of gauging the exact measure of our success, but if we see any evidence of improvement
in attitudes and habits, we consider that we have made real progress.
The second part of each lesson is called Presentation to Pupils and
usually contains these sections: Theory, Experiments, Observation or Evidence,
Conclusion, Applications, and Question.
Presentation to Pupils
Theory
Say to the pupils, “Let’s test this idea,” or “Here
is a theory we might test. [1] Then
write a very brief statement of the theory on the board and explain any new
terms it contains. Let the class give a brief review of any previous lesson
that may have a bearing on the development of this idea if you feel that the
review will clarify the pupils’ thinking.
Give a number of examples within the experience of the pupils in order to
illustrate the implications or applications of this principle. We found that
if we illustrated those experiences on the blackboard by line drawings or stick
figures, a more lasting impression was made on the pupil. When the pupil recalled
the lesson later, he was likely to go to the board and diagram his idea with
the stick figures.
Experiments
The experiments are activities, games, or stunts in which a large percentage
or preferably all the class can participate. Conduct just as many of these experiments
as you can devise because the effectiveness of the entire lesson depends on
the pupils’ realization that they are testing the theory. They
are not accepting something that they are told to believe; they are finding
out for themselves. Avoid pointing out any conclusions to be made. Let the pupils
discover a common factor in the experiments and formulate their own conclusions.
The experiments are extremely important for another reason: they make multisensory
impressions on the child’s nervous system. This is the place where the
teaching goes more than skin-deep; it becomes part of the child. We made surveys
with ninety-six pupils to determine the effectiveness of the lessons and found
that the ones most often recalled with evident pleasure and understanding were
those in which the child had participated in a number of activities.
Observation or Evidence
Either one or both of these will be given in each lesson, depending on the
nature of the material presented. You may start with observations of your own
to “prime the pump,” or you may let the pupils challenge the theory
with their own observations. You may direct the discussion by asking the pupils
to challenge the observations of their classmates. The pupil-centered discussion
that follows is one of the most stimulating features of the lesson.
This is a good place to stress careful, courteous listening. You can develop
the pupils’ respect for each other and confidence in you by having an
informal, encouraging manner and by avoiding condemnations of honest opinions
or frequent criticism of form. We have watched a remarkable growth in form,
although all our emphasis has been on what the pupil was trying to say. We saw
pupils stimulated to enthusiastic participation and careful listening by an
occasional query, such as “Does anyone differ with the speaker?”
or “Who can add something to the last thought?” or “Who has
followed the speaker so closely that he can sum up what has just been said?”
Note-taking in class and written assignments tend to distract the pupils
from concentrating on the discussion. For this reason, both note-taking and
written assignments have been avoided. The development of the ideas is important,
and anything that detracts from that development is to be avoided.
Conclusion
Do not state a conclusion and ask the class to accept it. Sometimes we have
spent three or four periods on one lesson, experimenting or gathering evidence
until some pupil formulated a conclusion that was generally acceptable to the
other pupils. You must be alert for the first statement of the conclusion. Then
repeat it as if you were doubtful and ask, “Who differs or who agrees
with this pupil?” Allow the discussion to continue until the pupils agree
on a statement. When the pupils have once accepted a conclusion, make it a basis
for succeeding lessons, reminding the pupils that it was the outcome of their
experiments or activities.
Applications
At this point you may say to the pupils, “So what? Your conclusion
is interesting, but it has little value unless we can apply it to our everyday
situations. Where on the playground, or in your home have you seen a similar
situation?”
We have seen the creative drama technique used here most effectively. Let
the pupils volunteer to act out the application for their classmates. There
should be no direction or criticism from either class or teacher before or during
the performance. Make the actors responsible for the planning. If the actors
make their classmate-audience understand the patterns of evaluation they are
demonstrating, the dramatization is successful. The first performances may be
stiff and the actors self-conscious, but the pupils soon learn that their audience
is not satisfied unless the portrayal is lifelike.
A number of lessons conclude with a Question to be discussed by the
class. You will see the need for discussing these questions as the lessons begin
to affect the pupils’ thinking and acting. They are often so impressed
with their new ideas that they carry them to exaggerated lengths. We add the
Question to help clarify their thinking.
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