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Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals

This book is a compilation of talks that delve into psychological principles and explore various life ideals, intended for both teachers and students to gain insights and perspectives on these topics. more

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William James
William James

William James, born on January 11, 1842, and died on August 26, 1910, was an influential American philosopher, psychologist, and writer. He is considered one of the founders of functionalism in psychology and has had a profound impact on the fields of psychology, philosophy, and religion. more

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“The entire routine of our memorized acquisitions, for example, is a consequence of nothing but the Law of Contiguity. The words of a poem, the formulas of trigonometry, the facts of history, the properties of material things, are all known to us as definite systems or groups of objects which cohere in an order fixed by innumerable iterations, and of which any one part reminds us of the others.”

PhilosophyFactsLawOrderLiteratureKnownGroupsObjectsMaterialsConsequencePropertyEducationalFixedRoutineFormulasDefiniteAcquisitionMaterial ThingsTrigonometry
Author:William James
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“Any object not interesting in itself may become interesting through becoming associated with an object in which an interest already exists. The two associated objects grow, as it were, together; the interesting portion sheds its quality over the whole; and thus things not interesting in their own right borrow an interest which becomes as real and as strong as that of any natively interesting thing.”

MayTwoRealPhilosophyWholeTogetherLiteratureStrongGrowsInterestInterestingQualityObjectsBecomingEducationalPortionsShedInteresting Things
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“The most natively interesting object to a man is his own personal self and its fortunes. We accordingly see that the moment a thing becomes connected with the fortunes of the self, it forthwith becomes an interesting thing.”

MenSelfPhilosophyMomentsLiteratureInterestingObjectsFortuneEducationalConnectedInteresting Things
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“From all these facts there emerges a very simple abstract program for the teacher to follow in keeping the attention of the child: Begin with the line of his native interests, and offer him objects that have some immediate connection with these.”

ChildrenPhilosophyFactsLiteratureInterestLinesSimpleAttentionTeacherObjectsOffersProgramConnectionsEducationalAbstractNativeImmediate Connection
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“If, then, you wish to insure the interest of your pupils, there is only one way to do it; and that is to make certain that they have something in their minds to attend with, when you begin to talk. That something can consist in nothing but a previous lot of ideas already interesting in themselves, and of such a nature that the incoming novel objects which you present can dovetail into them and form with them some kind of a logically associated or systematic whole.”

IfsWayMindKindIdeasPhilosophyWholeFormCertainLiteratureWishInterestInterestingNovelObjectsEducationalOne WayPupilsSystematicIf Then
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology: And to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“All that we need explicitly to note is that, the more the passive attention is relied on, by keeping the material interesting; and the less the kind of attention requiring effort is appealed to; the more smoothly and pleasantly the classroom work goes on.”

NeedsKindPhilosophyLiteratureInterestingEffortAttentionMaterialsGoes OnNotesEducationalClassroomPassive
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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“But when all is said and done, the fact remains that some teachers have a naturally inspiring presence and can make their exercises interesting, whilst others simply cannot. And psychology and general pedagogy here confess their failure, and hand things over to the deeper spring of human personality to conduct the task.”

HumansSaidDonePhilosophyFactsHandsLiteratureInterestingPsychologyTeacherPersonalityExerciseSpringTasksRemainsEducationalDeeperSaid And DonePedagogyHuman Personality
Book:Talks to Teachers on Psychology and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals
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