talking it over with Dr. Clyde M. Narramore
Dr. Narramore, graduate of Columbia University, New York City, is a pschologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest school systems in the United States.
processes or the knowledge gained. Thoughtful parents and teachers can always find excellent ways of giving recognition to individual or group achievement. Skillful teachers know that cheat ing can be a symptom of poor motiva tion. But teachers w h o haven’t learned how to motivate often resort to marks, credits, graduation, failure, shame or ridicule to get pupils to do what they want them to do. Sunday school teachers as well as public school teachers could well spend more time learning desirable methods of motivation. I am sure that we have all had experiences of not wanting to study or learn, simply because adults did not point out how our study would meet an immediate need in our life. Adults who try to present subject matter that is out of step with the child’s needs and interests, are likely to cause children to cheat. If we un derstood the interests of various age levels, we would be more effective teachers. As a psychologist I have found that the guilt complex which develops as a result of cheating is no worse than the guilt complex which the parent or teacher suffers as he looks back on his life, realizing that he has caused others to practice cheating. Only recently an interesting case came to my attention. An elderly wo man told of her regret concerning her many years of teaching school. She had been a very strict, rigid teacher who had placed unusual em phasis on school marks. She made very few allowances for individual differences, and she had taught sub ject matter without regard for moti vation, and without regard for growth and development characteristics of children. As she looks back, she realizes that she forced unfair competition in her classrooms. Now as an elderly per son, she says that she has not been
able to find relief from guilt feelings. She is unable to sleep well. She awakens at night thinking of the harm she has done to children who were under her care. These feelings are so real and so deep that they have impaired her health. She has prayed much about it, but says that she has never been able to feel right about it. This is the story of many adults as they look back over their lives. Surely, young people cannot justify practices which foster cheating! W H Y DO T H E Y G E T DIVORCES? Q. Why is it that couples who are in the Lord’s work, divorce? Some say there are “personality clashes.” Oth ers say that the “old man” is still there. A . It seems to me that some couples marry out of the will of God. Those who do, are asking for trouble, and they usually get it, God’s teachings are clear along these lines. Some couples have no knowledge of reconciling their differences. There is really no such thing as a perfect re lationship, because we are all hu man. Every successful marriage is marked by forthright discussions — opportunities to talk about differ ences, likes and dislikes, and con trasting backgrounds. Finally, some couples need profes sional help. Those who need such counsel should not hesitate to seek it. I knew a fine, consecrated Christian man and his wife who had been mar ried seven years and who were about ready to leave the United States for the mission field. They were very much in love, but there was a serious maladjustment in their marriage re lationship. After much prayer and discussion, they decided to see a mar riage relations consultant. This story had two happy endings. After six ses sions with the consultant, they had achieved a very fine adjustment in their marriage.
C H E A T IN G Q. The other evening I heard, a group of high school boys and girls talking a b o u t cheating. Frankly, / was shocked to hear some of them agree ing that in certain classes it wasn’t right to cheat, but that in others, they were justified in cheating. I am a public school teacher as well as a Sunday school teacher, and 1 would like to have your reaction to this subject. A . In the Scriptures we are taught to “provide things honest in the sight of all men.” I am sure we agree that it is never right to cheat,, even though we seem justified in doing so. However, parents and teachers of ten place children or other adults in such a position that they are almost forced to cheat. In so doing, we are probably just as guilty as the cheat ers. One educator made a study of the frequency of cheating in classrooms of various types of teachers. He found that cheating in class has little to do with the honesty or dishonesty of the individual pupil. He found that it has more to do with the kind of class room atmosphere a teacher estab lishes. He states that less cheating took place in rooms where a friendly, democratic procedure prevailed; and more cheating in coldly formal class- r o o m s domineered by autocratic teachers. “Cheating,” he says, “is a symptom of poor class morale.” Another method of encouraging cheating is the use of unfair tests. Good teachers give much thought to the type of examinations they use. They discuss the matter with their students. The right kind of review or test should be a learning device and of course it should not foster cheat ing. Unsound grading methods also cause students to cheat. In many classes, more emphasis is placed on school “marks” than upon classroom
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THE KING'S BUSINESS
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