As the time for the opening of the colleges approaches, the methods of teaching again present themselves for discussion. Shall the teaching be by lectures, or recitations, or some other method?
By the recitation method the contents of a text-book can be very thoroughly learned by the student; the exact meaning of the language employed can be made clear. A text-book, to be of special advantage, must be accepted in its entirety, or practically so. All successful teaching is dogmatic. If the teacher lectures he may be dogmatic, but if he uses a text-book, he must surrender his dogmatism, his position as master, to the text-book, for there cannot be two masters in the same house. To use a text-book, and then make frequent additions to the text, or differ from it frequently, can only introduce confusion. The recitation method of teaching then necessitates the use of a text-book which