the "half-way house," but steadily to go on
until skill is obtained. He must be resourceful in methods and devices
which will relieve the monotony of repetition; he must be persistent
and patient, insisting on the attainment of skill, but realizing that
it takes time to develop it; he must possess a good pedagogical
conscience which will be satisfied with nothing short of success in
his aims.

6. _A desirable balance among the three aims_

The aims to be accomplished through the recitation are, then,
_testing_, _teaching_, and _drilling_. These three aims may, as said
before, all be carried on in the same recitation, or they may come in
different recitations, as the needs of the subject require. Not
infrequently they may alternate with each other within a few moments.
In every case, however, the teacher should have clearly in mind which
one of the three processes he is employing and why. Not that the
teacher must always stop to reason the matter out before he employs
one or the other, but that he should become so familiar with the
nature and use of each that he almost unconsciously passes from one to
the other as the need for it arises.

Not many teachers are equally skilled in the use of testing, teaching,
and drilling. Some have a tendency to put most of the recitation time
on testing whether the class have prepared the assignment, and devote
but little time to teaching or drilling. Others love to teach, but do
not like to test or drill. It is highly desirable that every teacher,
young or old in experience, should examine himself on this question
and, if he finds himself lacking in any one of the three, carefully
set to work to remedy the defect. The ideal for us all to reach is
equal skill in each of the three processes of the recitation, testing,
teaching, and drilling.

II

THE METHOD OF THE RECITATION

1. _Method varies with aim_

In the last chapter we discussed the aims or purposes of the
recitation. We now come to see how these aims affect the methods we
employ. For it is evident at the outset that the method we choose must
depend on the aim sought in the recitation. If we seek to-day to make
the recitation chiefly a test of how well the lesson has been
prepared, or how much of yesterday's work has been retained, we will
select a method suited for _testing_. If we aim to introduce the class
to the subject of percentage for the first time, the method must be
adapted to _teaching_. If we wish