Practice Based on what can be gleaned from her letters and journals and from annual reports, the Morley College Magazine and minutes of various Morley College committees, Virginia Stephen taught one course a term at Morley College in eight different terms over a span of four academic years, 1904–5 until 1907–8. In 1904–5, she taught a lecture series in the 1905 Lent Term and English History in the Easter Term. In 1905–6, she taught English Composition all three terms, Michaelmas, Lent and Easter. In 1906–7, she taught Advanced English Composition in Lent and Easter Terms 1907. And in 1907–8, she led a Reading Circle on Keats, Shelley and Browning in Michaelmas Term 1907. (See Appendix 3 for her Morley teaching schedule.) Her teaching threaded through four academic years but spanned three calendar years, from January 1905 to the end of December 1907. Plenty of time to practise.

Current teacher training in some countries such as the US includes learning a discipline and studying education history and theory, particularly theories about how people learn and how social, cultural and economic circumstances affect learning. It also includes discussion, feedback, experimentation and reflection on a lot of supervised experiential, hands-on application – observations, conversations, field experience, student teaching. As one learns in the classroom, one practises teaching with the support of classmates and experienced teachers. Virginia Stephen, without any disciplinary knowledge, any education history or theory, or much guidance, learned entirely by doing.

Although Miss Sheepshanks twice criticised her teaching, Morley's continued requests indicate Virginia Stephen must have been at least competent. Soon after Miss Sheepshanks told her she was doing the wrong thing in June 1905, Ella Crum wrote a long letter to tell her ‘what a wonderful thing’ it was to have her at Morley (L1 201), perhaps flattering her into continuing. At the Executive Committee meeting on 3 May 1907, it was reported Reading Circles were to be taken by Mr Trevelyan and Miss Stephen for Michaelmas Term 1907, but that teachers were still wanted for ‘Literature circles after Christmas’ (108), indicating Stephen may have turned down a request or a request was coming. Even after she gave up teaching in December 1907, May 1908 minutes say she and Mr Trevelyan were to be asked to take Reading Circles (MCECM3 132). We do not