putterings 075 < 076 > 077 index
and so long as a blind trail
They seemed to
is enough to say in general terms that the
enjoy the puttering , and so long as they
passage of a given impulse from certain brain cells, or over certain
nerve fibers,
had any particular objection.
never did any actual...
— OCR cross-column confusion, at
Superintendent P. W. Horn, Houston, “Educational Principles VII — ‘Habit is Second Nature,’ Education is Habit Making,” in Texas School Journal 24:7 (March 1907) : 1-6
correct transcription —
You and I have known people who were said to “putter” about their work. They were always busy, but they never seemed to get anything done. They seemed to enjoy the puttering, and so long as they never did any actual harm, nobody had any particular objection.
Beware of tinkering with educational machinery, or of puttering about educational work. It is not worth while. It may be fascinating, but it is at a terrible risk for the living subject tinkered with.
Any educational work which does not lead to the formation of a habit is tinkering or puttering. Every educational trail that does not lead to a habit is a blind trail. Only that teaching which results in the children forming the habit of doing something in a better way than they had formerly done it, is worth while.