that
will be interesting.

2. Why is it so essential that the teacher be interested in what he
hopes to interest his pupils in?

3. Show how preparation makes for interest.

4. Why is an intimate acquaintance with the lives of pupils so essential
a factor with the interesting teacher?

5. Illustrate concretely the force of each of the factors of
interestingness.

HELPFUL REFERENCES

Those listed in Chapter XI.

CHAPTER XIII

A LABORATORY LESSON IN INTEREST

OUTLINE--CHAPTER XIII

Interest should be inherent in the lesson taught.--An illustration
of "dragged in" interest.--Interest and the "easy" idea.--A proper
interpretation of interest.--How to make the subject of _Fasting_
interesting.--The various possibilities.--How to secure interest in
the Atonement.--How to secure interest in the Resurrection.--How to
secure interest in the story of Jonah.

"Oh, that's all right," says one. "It is easy enough to talk about
interest, and it's easy to be interesting if you can choose anything you
like to amuse a class. But if you have to teach them theology, and
especially some of the dry lessons that are outlined for us, I don't see
how we can be expected to make our work interesting."

Of course, there is some point to such an objection. Having been asked
to teach the truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we cannot defend the
practice of bringing in all kinds of material just because it is funny.
And, of course, it is true, too, that some lesson outlines upon first
thought do appear rather forbidding. But it is equally true that there
is a path of interest through the most unpromising material, though that
path does not always run alongside the teacher's highroad of ease and
unconcern. A false notion of interest is that it denotes mere
amusement--that it is something aside from serious and sober thought.

The writer recalls visiting a class taught by a person holding such a
notion. Having given his lesson but little thought he apologized for its
lack of interest by saying, "Now, boys and girls, if you will just be
quiet while we go over the lesson, even though it isn't very
interesting, I'll read you our next chapter of _Huckleberry Finn_." And
yet the lesson, hurried over, with a little intensive study could have
been made as fascinating as the reading of _Huckleberry Finn_ and
notably more profitable.

Another misconception relative to interest is the idea that to