pupil activity usually took the form of recitation or written and oral examinations.It might be argued that such passivity on the pupil's part was not in harmony with the basic philosophy of traditionalism.Nevertheless,it was a characteristic of all traditional teaching methods.A second characteristic was the repression of the pupil's natural instincts and desires. In some instances educators such as Cotton Mather believed that education's most important task was to "drive the devil out" of the pupil. There fore,the naturalist objected to all harsh methods of discipline;he opposed the view that "Children are to be seen and not