By inferring the practical corollaries of the general fact.The second way in which an abstraction, or general principle, may prove useful in reflective thinking is by inferring what further consequences must follow from it. For example, suppose it is shown that original nature (inborn characteristics almost entirely hereditary in character) is a very powerful factor in determining an individual's achievements — that it determines his possibilities and sets definite limitations beyond which he cannot go. Given this as a starting point, the following practical corollaries might be inferred: (a) In the choice of vocations the most important thing is to determine first the individual's inborn capacities. (b) The school should provide a many-sided curriculum in order to determine students' capacities. (c) It should provide opportunities for students to specialize. (d) It should have a flexible system of promotion which would not retard a student because of lack of capacity in some special line. (e) The improvement of society depends to a large extent on the selection of the better individuals to have descendants. (ƒ) Idiots, imbeciles, etc. should not be permitted to have descendants. Thus, starting from a single fundamental general principle, a host of further practical consequences may be inferred.

Summary of discussion of reflective thinking. Thus we are brought back to the issues with which the chapter opened. The discussion began with an analysis of the part played by problem-solving in everyday life and an account of the provisions for such mental activity in schools. The reflective solution of a problem was then shown to involve the selection, from a mass of associated ideas, of those which seemed to bear upon the problem. Success in this process was shown to depend upon fertility of suggestion, critical evaluation of suggested methods from the standpoint of the problem in hand, and care in organizing the suggestions which were accepted. In connection with the discussion of fertility of suggestion it was shown that the recall of general principles which might

apply to the particular case in question is one effective method of solving problems. The ways in which these general principles or abstract and general meanings are learned were discussed in detail in the second section of the chapter, and the pedagogical principles which were developed were summarized on page 225. Finally, examples were given to show how these general ideas, when once acquired, do contribute to the solution of practical social problems.1

This will conclude our discussion of the third type of learning, namely, reflective thinking. This is the type that is most difficult to understand, but the one that pedagocical writers have often approached with the most assurance. Some of the books which deal with methods of teaching have been entirely devoted to a discussion of the teaching of lessons involving reflective thinking, and have completely neglected to discuss the other four types of learning which we outlined on pages 96-97 and which are of fundamental importance in social life and in the school. The first of these types of learning which we discussed was acquiring motor skill, as in learning gymnastic feats and acquiring vocal skill. The second type was associating symbols and meanings, especially in the learning of a foreign vocabulary. In the next chapter we shall take up the fourth type of learning that is to be considered, namely, acquiring habits of enjoyment, which is prominent in the arts and in sports and games.

1 Some instructors may wonder at two omissions from this chapter; namely, (1) of the distinction between inductive and deductive thinking, and (2) of the Herbartian five formal steps. The part played by induction and deduction in any example of thinking is so difficult to understand that its introduction into the discussion is of no help to the student. In fact, if Dewey's characterization of induction in connection with the burglar example on page 82 of his "How We Think" is correct, most of the pedagogical discussions use the term deduction incorrectly. Similarly, a study of the Herbartian formal steps does not contribute to an understanding of the thought process. As a method of planning lessons these steps will be discussed in Chapter XXI.

BIBLIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Scientific discussions. 1. BAGLEY, W. C. The Educative Process. (The Macmillan Company, 1905.) Pp. 128–168. Excellent summary paragraph in very technical language on page 150. See also pp. 284-315 for practical discussions.

2. Bonser, F. G. The Reasoning Ability of Children. (Teachers College, 1910.) Excellent investigation based on exact measurements in intermediate grades.

3. COLVIN, S. S. The Learning Process. (The Macmillan Company, 1911.) Pp. 295-329. Summary from Dewey's psychological point of view, with practical modifications; by an expert psychologist.

4. DE GARMO, C. Principles of Secondary Education. (The Macmillan Company, 1908.) Vol. II, Processes of Instruction. The whole book deals with reasoning, largely from the standpoint of the older traditional logic, with many practical examples.

5. Dewey, J. How We Think. (D. C. Heath & Co., 1910.) A masterly treatment. The best reference for mature students. Read the whole book several times. Source of many recent discussions.

6. JAMES, W. Principles of Psychology. (Henry Holt and Company, 1910.) Vol. I, pp. 459-482, on conception; Vol. II, pp. 323360, on reasoning. A classic discussion. Attractive style. Large influence on recent thought.

7. MILLER, I. E. The Psychology of Thinking. (The Macmillan Company, 1909.) Dewey's theory summarized by one of his students.

8. WELTON, J. The Logical Bases of Education. (The Macmillan Company, 1899.) A simple treatment of logic and scientific method. Very readable. A wealth of illustrations. Exhibits some influence of James. See chaps. viii, ix, x, xiii, xiv, xv, on reasoning. See chap. xvi, on definition.

Practical discussions. See also numbers 14, 15, and 20 below, for excellent discussion of problem-solving methods in special subjects.

9. CHARTERS, W.W. Methods of Teaching. (Row, Peterson & Co., revised edition, 1912.) Chaps. xii, xiii, xix, and xx. Dewey's point of view, with modifications from older logic. Also influenced by Bagley and Thorndike. Criticizes Herbartian formal steps.

10. STRAYER, G. D. The Teaching Process. (The Macmillan Company, 1911.) Chaps. v and vi. Based on Herbartian formal steps, with modifications from Dewey, Thorndike, and Bagley.

II. THORNDIKE, E. L. Principles of Teaching. (A. G. Seiler, 1905.) Chaps. ix and x. The best discussion of helping students to reason. Has influenced many recent discussions.

Other books referred to in the chapter. 12. GALTON, F. Inquiries into Human Faculty and its Development. (The Macmillan Company, 1883.)

13. Dewey, J. Science as Subject-Matter and as Method. Science, January, 1910, Vol. XXXI, pp. 121–127.

14. DUNCALF, F., and KREY, A. C. Parallel Source Problems in Medieval History. (Harper & Brothers, 1912.)

15. KEATINGE, M. W. Studies in the Teaching of History. (A. and C. Black, 1910.)

16. MANN, C. R. The Teaching of Physics. (The Macmillan Company, 1912.)

17. MARSHALL, C. C., WRIGHT, C. W., and FIELD, J. A. Outlines of Economics developed as a Series of Problems. (The University of Chicago Press, 1912.)

18. Newell, L. C. Experimental Chemistry. (D. C. Heath & Co., 1900.)

19. PEARSON, KARL. The Grammar of Science. (A. and C. Black, 1911.)

20. REMSEN, I. Introduction to the Study of Chemistry. (Henry Holt and Company, 1893.)

21. SCHULTZE, A. The Teaching of Mathematics in Secondary Schools. (The Macmillan Company, 1912.)

22. STONE, J. C., and MILLIS, J. F. Essentials of Algebra. (Benj. H. Sanborn & Co., 1905.)

23. THORNDIKE, E. L. Elements of Psychology. (A. G. Seiler, 1905.)

24. WHEWELL, W. History of the Inductive Sciences. (D. Appleton and Company, 1901.) Vol. I.

CHAPTER X

FORMING HABITS OF HARMLESS ENJOYMENT

Main points of the chapter. 1. Since training for enjoyment of leisure time is one of the ultimate aims of education, the methods to be used deserve special consideration.

2. The examples to be discussed include training in the enjoyment of sports and games, clubs and parties, dancing, music, literature, and the drama.

3. In discussing music, literature, and the drama we shall avoid the use of the term appreciation in order to avoid confusing the issues.

4. We shall also assume that there is no necessary connection between the enjoyment of artistic productions and morality, that is, the desire and endeavor to work for the common good.

5. In all lines of enjoyment the educator must plan to develop such habits as are practiced by ordinary, well-behaved, cultivated people. In literature these include primarily the reading of books of fiction and the serious articles and fiction printed in contemporary magazines.

6. All selections and activities should be within the range of the interests and understanding of the students, and enjoyment should characterize every step of the development.

7. In the case of young people and most adults the relatively primitive forms of enjoyment connected with story, color, rhythm, melody, action, humor, etc. are more important than those related to structure, composition, meter, choice of words, figures of speech, technical analysis, etc. The former are just as good from the moral standpoint as are the latter.

8. Among teachers of English there is a very active radical movement for the humanizing of the study of literature by relating it to everyday interests.