2. _Fundamental principles of method_

There are certain fundamental principles of method which underlie all
teaching, and which, therefore, are to be sought in every recitation,
no matter what the special method used may chance to be. The first of
these principles may be stated as follows:--

_a. Interest is the first requisite for attention and all mental
activity._--A recitation without interest is a dead recitation.
Because it possesses no life it cannot lead to growth. Nothing can
take the place of interest. Fear may drive to work for a time, but it
does not result in development. Only interest can bring all the powers
and capacities of the child into play. Hence the teacher's first and
greatest problem in the recitation is the problem of interest. To
secure interest he must use every resource at his command. This does
not mean that he is to bid for the children's interest with
sensational methods and cheap devices. This is not the way to secure
true interest. It means, rather, that he is to offer to the class
subject-matter suited to their age and experience, and presented in a
way adapted to their capacity and understanding; that he is to have
all conditions surrounding the recitation as favorable as possible;
and that he is himself to be constantly a source of interest and
enthusiasm. If these conditions are all met the problem of interest
will present few difficulties.

_b. The natural mode of learning is to proceed from the known to the
related unknown._--This is a statement of what is known as the
principle of _apperception_ or the learning of the new by connecting