Seven Laws of Teaching

  Excellent Principles

Mystie Winckler of WA, 3/4/2011

John Milton Gregory defines education as “embrac[ing] all the steps and processes by which an infant is gradually transformed into a full-grown and intelligent man.” There are two facets of this transformation: development of capacities and acquisition of experience. An important part of the latter is “furnishing the child with the heritage of the race.” He also points out that our goal is "a full-grown physical, intellectual, and moral manhood, with such resources as are necessary to make life useful and happy and as will enable the individual to go on learning from all the activities of life."

Toward this end, Gregory offers seven statements about the learning process so that by understanding what and how learning happens, we can more successfully guide our students into such full-grown manhood.

One statement from the book that I think summarizes his view well was this: “The work of education, contrary to the common understanding, is much more the work of the pupil than of the teacher.”

His goal in this overview is neatly contained in this paragraph from his introduction:

"The teacher with these clearly in view will observe more easily and estimate more intelligently the real progress of his pupils. He will not be content with a dry daily drill which keeps his pupils at work as in a treadmill, nor will he be satisfied with cramming their minds with useless facts and names. He will carefully note both sides of his pupils’ education, and will direct his labors and adapt his lessons wisely and skilfully to secure both of the ends in view."