We have shown in this chapter the fallacy of the assumption that a
student cannot become genuinely interested in a subject which at first
seems uninteresting.

We have shown that he may develop interest in any subject if he but
employs the proper psychological methods. That he must obey the
two-fold law--secure information about the subject (stating the new in
terms of the old) and exert activity toward it. That when he has thus
lighted the flame of interest, he will find his entire intellectual
life illuminated, glowing with purpose, resplendent with success.

In concluding this discussion we should note the wide difference
between the quality of study which is done with interest and that done
without it. Under the latter condition the student is a slave, a
drudge; under the former, a god, a creator. Touched by the galvanic
spark he sees new significance in every page, in every line. As his
vision enlarges, he perceives new relations between his study and his
future aims, indeed, between his study and the progress of the
universe. And he goes to his educational tasks not as a prisoner
weighted down by ball and chain, but as an eager prospector infatuated
by the lust for gold. Encouraged by the continual stores of new things
he uncovers, intoxicated by the ozone of mental activity, he delves
continually deeper until finally he emerges rich with knowledge and
full of power--the intellectual power that signifies mastery over a
subject.

READINGS AND EXERCISES

Readings: James (8) Chapters X and XI. Dewey (3)