Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 119, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 19 May 1911 — MAKE PUPILS GOOD [ARTICLE]

MAKE PUPILS GOOD

Graphic Method of Recording Attendance and Standing. New Jersey Teacher’s Principle Attended With Such Success It Is Likely to Meet With Gen- ‘ ersl Approval. New York.—Practical application of one of the principles whldh he was teaching in class to some of the activities of the pupils by the principal of' a echoed in New Jersey has been attended with such success that it is likely to meet with general adoption. During a lesson on the graphic method of representing variations of quantities •/ with time this teacher conceived the idea that the method might be used very easily to show the variation of one of the quantities which was at that particular time giving him a certain amount of food for thought The regularity of attendance at his classes was not what he thought it ought to be, and he was on the lookout for something to improve it The leßson he was teaching suggested a possible method of improvement. Suppoee he were to represent the variation in attendance graphically and post it in a place where his pupils could see it at any time. He tried the method and it had good results. On a large piece of paper he set up the attendance figure each day, and drew the curye showing the variations. The pupils at once became Interested In what they were doing, and whenever the curve Bhowed signs of wilting they began to look around for the delinquents / who had caused It Such was the general .desire .to see the line on the upward grade rather than going down that not only did individuals alter their conduct of their own accord, but pressure was brought to bear on erring members of thg class, which resulted In further Improvement A list of numbers used in the same way made practically no Impression, but the graphic method, with Its powerful appeal to the eye, produced results. At the same time the value of the method was so admirably illustrated to the pupils that much class room talk and work was saved. The same idea used in another connection has produced corresponding results. In the weekly report of position of pupils figures were used to show the percentages of marks obtained each week. Instead of noting

that the pupil got 80 this week, 75 last week and gfc the week before, this teacher plotted the percentages on paper and enabled the pupils to see much more clearly just what they were doing. Such was the desire for continued improvement, and the opposite was so clearly shown that the efforts put forward by the pupils were found to be very much Increased. By marking the curve of the best boy pupil alongside of that of any particular pupil, as well as that of the average of the class, the standing of any individual can be clearly shown, and the power of emulation utilized. Besides pitting the pupil against himself it Is possible to pit him against the rest of his class.