The Seminar Method for Grade XIII

Abstract

The old order changeth indeed, yielding place to the new. This is apparent everywhere. We see it in new social attitudes, in new industrial techniques, in the emergence of new geographical entities, or in the tides of new political re-alignments. And we even find it in educational methods. Yet evidence of dissatisfaction seems to be springing up all around-even, or particularly, in the classroom. "Confrontation", which had such de-gaulling effects in Paris a few months ago, has not only spread to other universities across the World, but is descending to the secondary schools, and may even be approaching the primary level of education. But pressure is not rising from below alone. Mr. Lloyd Dennis, for example, the co-author of the Hall-Dennis Report, was quoted recently as having accused Ontario teachers of preparing students for the 21st century by means of 19th century methods. It seems that our schools "stifle initiative, deny opportunities for creativity, are too authoritarian, arbitrary and dogmatic, and stress the acquisition of fact ahead of understanding."1 This, despite the fact that so much thought has been directed towards the new conditions, despite the fact that so much effort has been expended in our endeavours to solve the new problems. This in spite of the enormous sums which have been spent on new texts, electronic machinery, and on modern buildings. Being thus attacked from above and from below, teachers sometimes find it difficult to ignore certain nagging questions. For example, are our efforts to modernize our techniques going far enough ? Are we really developing new methods, or are we simply patching up old ones ?