Introduction
J.S. Mill was educated at home by his eminent father, and the experience was a bruising one. He wished that his father had been more patient, but he was profoundly grateful that, unlike many of his contemporaries, he had not merely been trained to meet conventional school targets, but empowered throughout his life to set his own.
MOST boys or youths who have had much knowledge drilled into them, have their mental capacities not strengthened, but overlaid by it.
They are crammed with mere facts, and with the opinions or phrases of other people, and these are accepted as a substitute for the power to form opinions of their own; and thus the sons of eminent fathers, who have spared no pains in their education, so often grow up mere parroters of what they have learnt, incapable of using their minds except in the furrows traced for them.
Mine, however, was not an education of cram. My father never permitted anything which I learnt to degenerate into a mere exercise of memory. He strove to make the understanding not only go along with every step of the teaching, but, if possible, precede it. Anything which could be found out by thinking I never was told, until I had exhausted my efforts to find it out for myself.
A pupil from whom nothing is ever demanded which he cannot do, never does all he can.
Précis
John Stuart Mill expressed his misgivings about the kind of education which buries a child’s natural curiosity and intelligence under a heap of of facts and ‘acceptable’ opinions. He contrasted it with his own home schooling, in which he was given as little direction as possible, and expected to work things out for himself. (54 / 60 words)
John Stuart Mill expressed his misgivings about the kind of education which buries a child’s natural curiosity and intelligence under a heap of of facts and ‘acceptable’ opinions. He contrasted it with his own home schooling, in which he was given as little direction as possible, and expected to work things out for himself.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: because, besides, despite, just, may, not, ought, unless.
Archive
Word Games
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Own. Son. Teach.
2 Eminent. Every. Permit.
3 Doe. Teaching. Youth.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
Subject and Object Find in Think and Speak
Use each word below in two sentences, first as the subject of a verb, and then as the object of a verb. It doesn’t have to be the same verb: some verbs can’t be paired with an object (e.g. arrive, happen), so watch out for these.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1. Knowledge. 2. Step. 3. Understanding. 4. Opinion. 5. Youth. 6. Possible. 7. Form. 8. Power. 9. Fact.
Variations: 1.use your noun in the plural (e.g. cat → cats), if possible. 2.give one of your sentences a future aspect (e.g. will, going to). 3.write sentences using negatives such as not, neither, nobody and never.
Add Vowels Find in Think and Speak
Make words by adding vowels to each group of consonants below. You may add as many vowels as you like before, between or after the consonants, but you may not add any consonants or change the order of those you have been given. See if you can beat our target of common words.
rds (14+2)
arduous. erodes. radios. radius. raids. readies. reads. reds. reeds. rides. rids. roads. rodeos. rods.
redoes. roadies.
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