Read the following passage and answer questions given at the end:
Another intellectual effect of almost all teaching, except the highest grade of university tuition, is that it encourages docility and the belief that definite answers are known on questions which are legitimate matters of debate. I remember an occasion when a number of us were discussing which was the best of Shakespeare’s plays. Most of us were concerned in advancing arguments for unconventional opinions but a clever young man, who, from the elementary schools, had lately risen to the university, informed us, as a fact of which we were unaccountably ignorant, that Hamlet is the best of Shakespeare’s plays. After this the subject was closed. Every clergyman in America knows why Rome fell: it was owing to the corruption of morals depicted by Juvenal and Petronius. The fact that morals became exemplary about two centuries before the fall of the Western Empire is unknown or ignored. English children are taught one view of the French Revolution, French children are taught another, neither is true, but in each case it would be highly imprudent to disagree with the teacher, and few feel any inclination to do so. Teachers ought to encourage intelligent disagreement on the part of their pupils, even urging them to read books having opinions opposed to those of the instructor. But this is seldom done, with the result that much education consists in the instilling of unfounded dogmas in place of spirit of inquiry. This results, not necessarily from any fault in the teacher, but from a curriculum which demands too much apparent knowledge, with a consequent need of haste and definiteness.

1. What is the main defect of teaching? Describe in your own words.
The main defect of teaching is that it encourages subservience and aver that there are already clear-cut answers to questions that certainly need to be debated. It fails to foster the spirit of inquiry and critical thinking among students by instilling unfounded dogmas in their minds.

2. What are the causes of the instilling of unfounded dogmas in the mind of students?
Teachers, not because of fault of their own, do not encourage students to read books, form their own opinions, and challenge those of teachers’. This happens because of the extensive curriculum, which takes too much of their time and attention.

3. Briefly describe the main points presented by the writer of this passage.
The writer of this passage asserts that teachers do not encourage students to ask questions and debate about any topic. Students’ opinions are not developed properly. The profession of teaching demands absolute subservience – no questions asked. It also subverts any debate on the topic. Though teachers are not entirely to blame, this is due to an extensive curriculum that demands far too much time and attention from both students and teachers. The writer also mentions how education in different countries is based on different dogmas and how it is imprudent to disagree with the teacher.