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The Recitation by George Herbert Betts
page 64 of 86 (74%)
3. _Well-mastered lessons_

Probably the worst of all drawbacks to good recitations is poorly
prepared lessons. One of the greatest criticisms to which our
educational system is open is that teachers try to teach and pupils
try to recite lessons which are badly or indifferently prepared by
both. There is nothing more stupefying to the mind, or more fatal to
interest in school work than the halting, stumbling, ineffective
recitations heard in many schools. Teachers who try to teach lessons
with which they are not thoroughly familiar are but blind leaders of
the blind, and both they and their pupils are sure to fall into the
ditch.

_a. Preparation by the teacher._--The teacher is the key to the
situation. If he himself lacks in preparation, he can neither lead nor
compel his pupils to the preparation of their lessons. He sets the
standard. A stream does not rise higher than its source.

The teacher's preparation has two different aspects: (1) The general
fundamental knowledge of the subject as a whole obtained by previous
study; and (2) the daily preparation by study, thought, or reading for
the recitation.

In general it is safe to say that teachers enter upon their vocation
without sufficient education. Our certificate requirements are low,
and many enter upon teaching with little or no more schooling than
that obtained in the schools where they begin teaching. Of course this
is radically wrong, but it is the fault of our school system and not
of the teacher. It behooves teachers entering upon their work with
this scanty preparation to recognize their limitations, however, and
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