In about twentieth year of Meiji era, most elementary school teachers were more concerned about the teaching methods than the teaching theory. This was because they had little experience in mass teaching, and most teachers were not graduates of a Normal School. Consequently, a short teacher's course held from latter half of tenth year in Meiji, was an effective means of learning both teaching theory and methods. But really, many teachers were rather concerned with the teaching methods. Criticism of teaching was one of the subjects which included focussing on the fixation of learning the teaching methods. After that, criticism seperated from a short teacher's course, expanded into the critical seminors. In that place, teachers investigated the correspondence of teaching theory and practice, subjects of teaching practice and its methods of overcoming. In the context of developmental process of mass teaching, criticism had various meanings. The first was that it was beneficial to learning the teaching theory and methods. The second was that many teachers paid attention to the activities of the pupils in the teaching practice. So instead of automatically following the methods which teachers learned in the short teacher's course, teachers began to respond to their pupils, recognizing their needs and their thought, and to notice the importance of understanding their pupils. The third was that criticism developed the ability of the teaching practice. Criticism on other's practice of teaching promoted the improvement of their own practice.