3.9.1 Why Attention Is the Mother of Learning

In that stimulating little book, The Seven Laws of Teaching, by Gregory, et al, the second law is stated in these words:

“A learner is one who attends with interest to the lesson.”

Expressed as a rule of teaching, the law is made to read:

“Gain and keep the attention and interest of the pupils upon the lesson. Do not try to teach without attention.”

As a matter of fact, it is impossible to teach without attention. A person may hold class—go through the formality of a class exercise—but he can really teach only him who attends. The first big, outstanding thought with reference to attention is that we should secure it, not so much in the interest of order, important as it is in that connection, but because it is the sine qua non of learning.

A boy may sit in a class in algebra for weeks, with his mind far afield on some pet scheme, or building palatial edifices in the air, but not until he attends does he begin to grasp the problems presented. It is literally as well as scripturally possible “to have ears and hear not.” Attention is the mother of learning.

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