is being properly watched by the pupils, shuffles his feet on the floor
and almost slips from his seat before he succeeds in “catching” his
“mink.” Then slowly he draws forth the mink skin, elbows boldly
projecting, and slams it down on Miss Green’s hand as if making a hasty
delivery of a longed-for treasure. She snatches her hand away in
ill-concealed terror and all eyes are turned on her.

“Take that thing from here instantly to Mr. Ensley’s office.”

Then an argument begins between her and Arthur. After several violent
thrusts of authority have been made, Arthur lumberingly ambles across
the room, out of the door and down the hall.

A partial quiet is restored while Arthur loiters a moment outside and
then enters, not having made the appointed call. He returns to his seat
feigning anger. Miss Green is sorry she has provoked Arthur so much as
to distract her mind while digging out thirty lines of Virgil.

Miss Green suspected what Arthur had done. Before now she had sent
Arthur to the principal for disciplinary purposes, and although he had
labored with Arthur, no good had come of it.

She later mentioned the incident to the principal, who promised to take
it up, wishing at the same time that his Latin teacher had a strong will
and a firm and effective method of discipline.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Study Hall Discipline]

Too much attention has been given to details of discipline and not
enough to the subject as a whole. Master the larger situation first. Too
much time is spent in inspecting assembly-room conduct. Your scrutiny
tends to provoke misconduct because you seem to pose as an expert in
detecting and suppressing disorder. You make the impression that the
study period is to be chiefly devoted to keeping good order. This
distracts and unnerves pupils of many types.

Instead of order, make study the chief concern for the period. Move
about the room in search of opportunities to help on difficult matters.
If no help is called for, chat with one and another (without creating
confusion) about important topics. Do not attempt to talk with some one
all the time, but take a genuine interest in, say, four or five pupils
during the period. Bring them something of value; draw their attention
to strong points and anchor their interest in matters worth
consideration.

In case something needs attention, do not respond to the alarm with a
shocked demeanor. The echoes of an explosion may die away and then you
can leisurely approach the scene and take action if any is needed. You
may need to say,

“Alfred, I should like a little conference with you at noon. Perhaps you
can clear up some of these matters.”

Be present at his desk if possible, or, better still, meet him privately
and receive a report of the transaction.

Many teachers avoid making appointments of this sort, but seize an
opportune moment for a decisive interview, after taking time to
formulate a course of action.

Avoid instantaneous decisions on negative action as far as possible.

COMMENTS

Few teachers realize how much of ill conduct is due to small
provocations from their own dress or manners. A woman with a towsled
head, a man with a shabby suit, may so grate on the nerves of pupils as
to contribute seriously to misconduct.

Every one engaged in study is more excitable than when free to move at
liberty and to give healthy exercise to a large number of the muscles of
the body. Irritations induce more numerous and more serious misbehavior
under these circumstances.

[Sidenote: Mannerisms of Teacher]

Some teachers have a mannerism of retreating the upper or lower lip, of
wringing their hands, of tripping noiselessly across the floor; such
actions are novel and distracting.

Over-caution as to good order or misapplied caution irritates every one
who takes note of it. One is tempted to say, “What a fool she is,” and
to spy on her as she attempts detective tricks. A pupil has the
opportunity of winning distinction if he can out-general such a
disciplinarian, both in his own esteem and in the opinion of his
schoolmates.

Pupils know what a study period is for. If the time is misspent in the
mere mechanics of the thing the power is all used before any work is
done. Any loose play in a method of handling a school begets distrust,
whether it be in athletic finances, the care of buildings, the
assignment of lessons or the management of a study period. Distrust in
one area soon spreads to others and weakens the whole school machine.

A short visit with a pupil from a well loaded teacher who knows her
business, who leaves a cheerful word, who senses the situation in which
a pupil finds himself, has a most stimulating effect. Even when no
problem is awaiting outside aid, the genuine interest of a supervising
teacher adds a great deal to the enjoyment of a day in school.

[Sidenote: Helping a Pupil]

Some strong teachers have the knack of making even a somewhat noisy
visit at a student’s desk without seriously distracting others from
their work; the noise is that of intensity, not of uncontrolled
explosiveness.

Such a visit combines in fine proportions approval and coöperation.

“You are doing good work there; let me see what you are working at.”
“Yes, now let’s see how that looks; perhaps I can help you just a
little.” Such suggestions as these put backbone into work that sooner or
later will need invigoration.

A teacher who attempts to deal with a matter in public always runs the
risk of making the matter worse. A pupil, however meek he is in private,
is bold and resistant when his fellow pupils are looking on if any
tendency to mischief is in him. He cares less for the teacher’s approval
than for the heroic honors awaiting him from at least some of his
schoolmates. By a loud voice, or casual remark, he may insult the
teacher effectively and yet so mildly that the offense dare not be dealt
with. This means instantaneous loss of prestige; the loss is very
difficult to make up.

If one is positively sure of his ground, then immediate dealing with the
case may be wise. High school pupils are less scrupulous and more
resourceful than other pupils and explosions or failures on the part of
the teacher carry much farther through the school because of the greater
significance attached to student criticism.

ILLUSTRATION

As an illustration of the better method of managing Arthur, no finer
case can be taken than that of Miss Featherstone, who taught English and
shared with Miss Green supervision of the high school.

In the classroom, the pupils were working on the debate to come off the
following Friday. “Arthur, let me see your outline,” said Miss
Featherstone. Arthur has struggled severely over this matter, but handed
in a much marked paper. “Thank you,” said Miss Featherstone with an air
of satisfaction and accomplishment and curiosity as she turned over the
sheets handed in. The class was in order and ready for work. At the
close of the hour Miss Featherstone said, “This has been a good hour
together. You have made the right beginning in your debate. I want to
see each of you before next Tuesday. Arrange privately with me for a
consultation date. Excused.”

Without tyranny or threat the hour had been quietly devoted to study and
now that Miss F. entered the study hall, the same methods brought good
order.

[Sidenote: A Masterly Disciplinarian]

Arthur had had time to forget any little pleasure there was in teasing
Miss Green. He saw a strong and significant eye of Miss F.’s looking at
him a moment from the desk. She stood slowly surveying the room, noting
the action or evident inattention of every pupil in the room.

When William was caught gazing for a long time out of the window, Miss
F.’s finger beckoned a new position, which he instantly assumed.

Arthur saw the whole thing. He did not wait to be directed how to spend
his time. His hands quietly reached for an algebra and he went to work.

Every time he looked up he saw a little strong-willed woman, who let no
event in the room escape her eye. Impulses to displease her with an
interruption of the school work died before they were scarcely noted by
the now industrious Arthur.

Miss Featherstone made no feature of her work of supervision, as such.
She worked; that is all. When she sat down by Alice Hinman a moment,
something happened.

“You’ll find a good illustration for that paragraph in your history in
the Dictionary of Biography, vol. IV., p. 29.”

Details were at her finger tips, and every piece of advice hit a point.

Her friends say, “She’ll sit up all night to help a person in distress.
She did that very thing when Maggie Henderson lost her oration in the
fire before she had it memorized. She was to leave for a week’s
vacation. She spent the whole night preceding her departure helping
Maggie reconstruct the lost oration.”

                       4. Pupils Agree to Disobey

Mass action presents problems different from those arising from
individual misconduct. Not only are the numbers to be dealt with larger,
but each member of the rebellious group is to a large degree different
in his attitude because of the effect of a mass influence.

CASE 16

In Welton, the superintendent of schools, J. Q. Jefferson, followed the
example of his predecessors and made elaborate arrangements for a team
of contestants to go up to Enfield in May to try for the district honors
in oratory, music and debate.

A few days before the 10th of May, the day set for the contest, a
conflict of which only the fewest rumors had been heard came to a head.
Mr. Jefferson was interviewed at a noon intermission by Harold Waterman:

[Sidenote: Students Strike]

“Mr. Jefferson, the members of the Delphian society have decided not to
participate in this contest. We have found that the Archimedeans have
concocted a plan by which all the best students of next year’s entering
class will be yoked up to join their society and we cannot agree to it.”

“But this has no immediate connection with the contest. Why not go on
with the contest and settle this matter on the outside?”

“I know; that plan has been discussed and some were willing to proceed,
but last night our society held a special meeting; the contestants
agreed to stand by the society and when the vote was taken the majority
decided not to go on with the contest.”

This was a fatal state of affairs, for as usual the Delphians were
furnishing two-thirds of the fifteen contestants.

The Delphians had broken no rules in their stand, since the contest
matter was a voluntary affair. But the Archimedeans were in the wrong.
Two years before an agreement had been made that no schemes for society
membership rushes were to be permitted until the last week of September
in each year. For two years this plan held, but now it failed.

Mr. Jefferson at once conferred with the Archimedeans. A part of the
interview ran as follows: “Mr. Jefferson, the Delphians have managed to
get in all the strong fellows in school. The plan has nearly ruined our
society. We are simply doing what we have to do. No, the society will
not change on this matter,” said the president, Kathleen Morris. A short
meeting of the Archimedeans was called at the superintendent’s request.
It resulted in no change of policy. Next Mr. Jefferson announced that
the Archimedeans would be forbidden to give any more programs or to hold
any meetings in the school building until they formally rescinded their
action and changed their stand.

The Delphians stood by their declaration and remained out of the
contest. The Archimedean contestants could only enter in oratory as the
debate team was weakened by the Delphian strike.

Much bitter feeling grew in a few weeks’ time. The matter stood in this
fashion until the end of the year. Mr. Jefferson was not reëlected at
the end of his first year.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Controlling Strikers]

Find out what all classes and societies are planning and doing in such
large matters as membership campaigns. Have a trusted student officer in
each society to confer with you as soon as serious problems arise.
Attend society meetings often enough to be counted an interested
adviser; or better still, have each society under the care of a teacher
who is expected to attend all meetings and coöperate with the officers
in keeping the society in a high state of efficiency. Assist in planning
affairs that are not officially under your direct control.

Be sure to avoid excessive encouragement of any one competing
organization in school. Competition is good in case the competitors are
nearly evenly matched. Help the under dog, in a wise manner. When a
society seems on the decline initiate some plan to revive its strength.
Coöperation at the right moment will win confidence and prevent clashes.

Make an appeal to the Delphian Society on the ground of their past
record. Display the details of their achievements, repeat the
announcements of the coming contest. Secure the assistance of some
graduate Delphians who are unconcerned in the present grievance. Apply
the method of approval on a large scale and show the society that its
members, the school and the town are hanging with expectancy on their
decision to continue preparation and again win the trophies. This should
be done privately to a large extent to avoid over-emphasizing the
importance of this one society.

Promise fair dealing with the Archimedeans, but make no pledges about
solving the problem instantly and in the way demanded by the Delphians.

Take plenty of time to correct an evil, if no urgency of growing habit
compels haste. Propose the substitution of a better method for
increasing membership in the Archimedean society. Perhaps new members
will be chosen by lot as fast as new pupils enroll. Issue no
prohibitions if they can be avoided.

Avoid calling a meeting of rebellious students unless you have a plan
that is acceptable to the leaders of the group. If negative action is
necessary deal with single students.

                  Man is a creature of a willful head
                  And hardly driven,—but is easily led.
                                          —_S. Daniel._

COMMENTS

[Sidenote: Getting the News]

Some executives have a fine ear for school news; they catch what is
passing, seemingly with little effort. They are not eavesdroppers or
spies, they do not employ informers, and yet they know everything that
goes on.

There is a good reason for their success; they are sought-out
counsellors. Their pupils have a sense of being team-mates with the
superintendent or principal and so are frequently in his company.

The scope of official jurisdiction is by no means sufficiently wide to
cover all the useful points of comradeship in school management. There
need to be occasions of voluntary assistance that extend beyond the
range of ordinary school routine. This coöperation is unofficial and
very powerful in dissipating mild antipathies between teacher and pupil.

 5. Disobedience Provoked by a Policy Contravening Community Sentiment

The eager, self-confident, strong-willed teacher often rushes into a
program of action that has unfortunate results. If in his own student
days he attended a large, highly organized school where the authorities
easily executed new school policies, he often blunders as a teacher when
beginning work in a smaller school because of unskilled imitation of the
methods of his former teachers.

[Sidenote: Know the Community]

Perry warns the teacher against neglecting to study the psychology of
the crowd. A pupil dealt with alone is but one individual. If another
shares in the conference you have a group. Any punishment shared with
another loses force. If another two are added to the number the
punishment ceases to have real worth. This does not mean that there is
no such thing as the punishment of a social group; but that what is a
punishment for one does not become a punishment for a crowd simply by
being extended to the crowd. The punishment of individuals and of groups
is essentially different, and must be differently planned.

CASE 17

[Sidenote: Dancing]

Miss Allison took charge of the Reynolds High School as principal under
a mediocre superintendent. After the term was well under way she made
this announcement one morning at general exercises, “Owing to the fact
that the work of the high school has been suffering seriously for some
weeks past by reason of an excessive number of social affairs, it has
been decided to ask you all to refrain from social dancing during the
remainder of the year.”

After a few more words in which Miss Allison disclosed the fact that the
announcement had the approval of the board of education and the
superintendent, the matter was dropped.

Not many days passed until the following conversation took place:

“Edith, didn’t you plainly understand the announcement made in the
assembly-room some time ago?”

“Yes, Miss Allison, I understood. But you know we have all been
accustomed to dancing for years and years back and it seems hard to have
our fun all taken away from us.”

“But you are asked to give up dancing only during the school term.”

Edith continues, “All the other young folks not in school go on with
their fun; they invite us and we want to dance.”

“Well,” said Miss Allison, “all I can say is that the high school pupils
are not to dance while attending this school. You have not followed the
rule of the school. This is your first dance and if you do not repeat it
we can let the matter rest.”

But things took a turn for the worse. Community sentiment was not strong
enough to sustain Miss Allison, although official consent had been
readily obtained.

At a senior class social the whole company fell back into the old ways
and dancing lasted until midnight. When Miss Allison learned of it she
reported the matter to her superintendent. He sympathized with her and
then left the difficulty largely in her own hands.

She decided finally to drop any further consideration of the question of
dancing. She heard occasional remarks of mingled curiosity and scorn and
found her influence on the school sadly weakened.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: A Substitute for Prohibition]

Instead of the plan that Miss Allison followed we suggest the following
procedure. Remain silent on the matter of dancing as a cause of
insufficient lesson preparation. Your private opinion on the propriety
of dancing can of course be modestly disclosed.

To secure better results in class work consider again the length of
lesson assignments, interesting matter for recitations, and whatever
accessory means are needed to make class work of great interest. Review
again details of modern plans of teaching high school subjects. Accept
as a probable fact that laxity in preparation for a recitation is
chiefly the fault of the teachers in that subject. Confer with each
teacher privately on this problem of better teaching methods.

The following seems a tactful method of approach.

“Mr. Pingree, just a moment, please. I ran across some announcements
lately that I think might interest you. They deal with the use of
reproductions of famous paintings for use in high school Latin courses.
After you look them over I should like to confer with you and perhaps
plan to introduce them into our work here.”

Attend pupil social affairs sufficiently to gain the reputation of
genuine interest in high school social events. Secure a firm hold by
this means on the affections of the pupils and ascertain by direct
observation the actual distraction traceable to social diversions.

If necessary plan a few little social affairs for some of the leaders of
high school sentiment. In these demonstrate some novelties in the way of
entertainment plans. Choose schemes that are not so elaborate or
exhausting as those in use by the high school pupils and so introduce
substitutes for them.

Ascertain if you can lay hands on one or two trusted pupil-leaders and
persuade them to agitate quietly and unofficially for a moderation in
evening or other distracting social affairs. Take no chance at this
point; if in doubt omit the attempt.

COMMENTS

A teacher often over-estimates the connection of certain supposed causes
with the known conduct of pupils. There are always several reasons why a
pupil acts as he does; if reform can be secured by dealing with a
manageable cause it is better by far than to attack the most difficult
one.

These acts of disobedience were clearly provoked by a mistaken policy
instituted by the principal. The method suggested eliminates this
provocation and leads to coöperation instead of antagonism.

Pupils rebel naturally against being rounded up for lessons either
mediocre or positively distasteful. Nearly all pupils respond
appreciably to a first-class attempt to teach a subject. Substitute
excellence in class work for coercion in social affairs and you appeal
to the common sense of every one concerned. Poor teaching leaves the
pupil unsatisfied and disposed to fill up his life with that which
pleases him most.

[Sidenote: Direction Not Suppression]

Suppression of social interest is impossible. Education of high school
pupils in social intercourse and recreation is a necessary part of
school training. A teacher may easily be as lax in caring for this phase
of his duty as a pupil is in preparing his lessons.

The art of holding an interview with a pupil is not easily learned. Let
us see how a boy describes a conversation with a strong, fine man who
knows how to make men out of boys.

“Well, I just told him all about it. You can’t think how kind and gentle
he was, the great grim man, whom I’ve feared more than anybody on earth.
When I stuck he lifted me, just as if I had been a little child. And he
seemed to know all I’d felt, and to have gone through it all. And I
burst out crying more than I’ve done this five years; and he sat down by
me, and stroked my head; and I went blundering on and told him all; much
worse things than I’ve told you. And he wasn’t shocked a bit, and didn’t
snub me or tell me I was a fool and it was all nothing but pride and
wickedness, though I dare say it was. And he didn’t tell me not to
follow out my thoughts, and he didn’t give me any cut-and-dried
explanation. But when I’d done he just talked a bit—I can hardly
remember what he said; but it seemed it spread round me like healing and
strength, and light; and to bear me up, and plant me on a rock, where I
could hold my footing and fight for myself.”[5]

Footnote 5:

  Hughes, Tom Brown’s Schooldays. Macmillan.

Again, it is clear that if disobedience grows out of the certainty on
the part of pupils that the community will support them rather than the
teacher, the logical thing for a teacher to do is to deal with that
community sentiment, in its adult and influential exponents, rather than
in the children whose attitudes are formed by it.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Gambling]

Thomas Mallory was principal of a high school in a suburban town where
practically all the citizens were well-to-do people. In November of his
first year, he noticed that at noons the students who in fine weather
walked or played tennis after eating luncheon, on stormy days were
playing cards. This in itself was not serious, but a little observation
showed him that gambling in a small way was being carried on. He did not
pretend to be greatly shocked by these discoveries, for he knew that
most of the students had taken a hand in card games in their own homes
without restraint, and that many of them knew that their fathers played
for small sums at their clubs and that their mothers won valuable prizes
at bridge parties. To most of them, the staking of their pin money but
lent a pleasurable zest to a game of cards.

But Mr. Mallory had a horror of gambling. After much thought upon the
matter, and several interviews with boys and girls who liked to make
bets, he decided to submit the problem to the parents themselves. He
sent out with the November report of each pupil a mimeographed and
signed note to the parent or guardian, explaining the situation and
saying that he thought that, owing to the abuses that young people were
liable to make of the privilege of playing cards, they would better not
be allowed to play at all, especially as it was impracticable for
teachers to oversee personally the conduct of each group during the noon
recess, even if such espionage were wise. He called attention to the
importance of the formation of right habits during adolescence, and
asked each parent if a prohibition of card-playing in the high school
would not meet with his approval.

The response was everything that could have been wished. Even those
parents who were themselves gamblers in one way or another, did not want
their children to gamble even in a small way at school. Having, then,
the practically undivided support of his patronage (a few parents were
not sufficiently interested to reply, but none opposed his measure) Mr.
Mallory made a rule that no card-playing was to take place upon the
school premises, and without any trouble more wholesome recreations took
its place.

       6. Disobedience Growing Out of Unbridled Pleasure Seeking

There come times when the usual routine of school life is suspended and
the pent up enthusiasm or passion for play seems to run wild.

High school pupils find it particularly difficult to keep within the
established limits on such occasions.

CASE 18

[Sidenote: A Big Celebration]

Five other boys went with the six debaters of the Roylston High School,
when they went to Barrymore, twenty miles away, for their annual debate.
The principal, Mr. Knapp, always had gone with them on these trips; but
this time he was detained by illness in his family, which developed too
late for him to find a substitute. He therefore gave them last
instructions at the station and hurried home, the boys’ assurances that
they would “do him proud” ringing in his ears.

At twelve o’clock a worried mother called up to know what was the
trouble; at half-past twelve an irate father wanted to know why his boy
had not returned. Mr. Knapp asked his assistant to make inquiries, and
at two the assistant telephoned that the eleven boys, very hilarious,
had just come in from Barrymore, where they had eaten a late supper at
the hotel after the debate. Mr. Knapp, thoroughly out of patience with
them for their duplicity and lack of honor, resolved to make an example
of them the next Monday morning.

On Monday morning, therefore, at chapel, Mr. Knapp read the names of the
eleven boys distinctly. He said the debaters had won the contest with
Barrymore, but had lost all credit for the victory through a breach of
good faith. Because he could not go with them, they had remained until
the last car and had indulged in a celebration supper. Therefore, he
thus publicly withdrew from each boy in that group the privileges of
representing the high school in any contest the school might thereafter
hold during the year. He did this because a boy who could not be
depended upon was unworthy to represent Roylston High School.

Addressing the boys personally he said:

“You have been guilty of a breach of good faith, boys, in that you did a
thing when I was not with you, which your knowledge of our customs and
our standards makes every one of you know to be wrong. You took
advantage of my absence in a dishonorable way. I dislike to take from
the six debaters the privileges of debating for the school, for that
seems unjust to the school. I hesitate to forbid these five boys to go
with the team again, for I am as anxious as I suppose they are, for the
boys to redeem themselves by good behavior next time.”

The result was a scarcely concealed spirit of defiance in that high
school. The students were indignant that a victory had been so lightly
acknowledged; that what they thought a slight offense had been so
severely punished; above all, at the _ex post facto_ nature of the
punishment, for the boys had not been told they were to return at once
after the debate. This had been their custom always and Mr. Knapp had
not thought it needful to give specific directions. There was a feeling
that Mr. Knapp was unjustly severe; and his influence and authority
weakened perceptibly as a result.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Hold a private interview with the eleven pupils after definitely
deciding on a course of action. In the interview these matters should be
covered: the honors brought to the school by the victory; the plans for
the next debate; the changes in personnel if any; an account of the
after-debate celebration held at Barrymore. Do not disclose any
faultfinding attitude toward the group. Make no statements about their
delinquency; ascertain their motives and attitudes toward their
misconduct.

Later after discovering the ring-leader, meet him privately and go over
the affair in detail. Make him admit the error by tactful questions and
lead him to accept your plan to hold celebrations on home ground in the
future.

Proceed in like manner until a strong minority accepts your policy. At a
regular meeting of the debaters make brief announcement of the opinions,
judgments and resolutions thus accumulated. Reinforce them by a few
strong statements full of enthusiasm and subdued firmness in a way to
show that you stand positively behind the decision to maintain the
school policy.

In your own mind accept the chief responsibility for having so loosely
managed affairs as to make the delinquency complained of a possibility.

COMMENTS

Mr. Knapp made two mistakes in this case. First, he failed to provide
for a situation which, had he been less preoccupied, he might have
foreseen; that, if they won, these boys would consider a late supper a
manly and smart way of celebrating. Second, he punished them, not by
taking away a personal pleasure from each, but by cutting them off from
a social enterprise for the good of the school, an enterprise which was
a means of growth in just that very sense of responsibility which the
boys lacked when they took advantage of their principal’s absence.

If a punishment is too severe in the minds of the pupils, the
administrator loses the possible endorsement of the penalty which would
in fact effectively reinforce it. A punishment that does not accurately
represent social conscience can have almost no value. It generates
repugnance.

“The mood of repugnance tends to give rise to and to be accompanied by
either a mood of anger or of sorrow, according to the degree of
opposition to which it is subjected and the degree of energy available
for resistance.”[6]

Footnote 6:

  Shand, _The Foundations of Character_, 406. Macmillan.

[Sidenote: Do Not Fight Instinct]

He made too much of a misdeed that grew out of very natural instinctive
impulses. The public announcement was a flaunt in the face of the entire
school and a severe attack on a matter which had strong public sentiment
behind it. It is unwise to launch one’s self against a small misdeed in
a way to make one an enemy to a popular movement which one after all
desires to promote. Confidence in high school pupils must be genuine,
yet a principal must safeguard them against overstrain on matters where
adolescent enthusiasm easily runs wild. There is a way of trusting
pupils and at the same time “fixing” circumstances so that disobedience
is not likely to occur.

         7. Disobedience Due to the Inefficiency of the Teacher

High school pupils become very expert in detecting the real from the
imitation in the matter of character and ability in teachers. They have,
as a rule, a keen respect for intellect; so much so that they will
usually yield ready obedience to a teacher who can really open their
eyes to the wonders that lie in the world of lessons. Intellectual
attainment alone is not enough, but real learning, combined with the
rare art of imparting it, will almost always win admiration and
following.

[Sidenote: The Bluffing Teacher]

One of the great hindrances to good feeling and ready obedience in our
American high schools is the comparatively low standard of preparation
of many of their teachers. Teachers who are too young, too quickly and
too superficially trained, very seldom succeed in keeping the pupils
long in ignorance of their shortcomings.

Some teachers who have felt a lack of respect and a tendency to
disobedience and disorder, have found the atmosphere of the school to
change as if by magic when better preparation of lessons on their own
part has been made. Pupils who have once known the joy of having a
wide-awake, well-prepared, and keen teacher are especially quick to
detect low scholarship and faulty training in subsequent instructors.

CASE 19

The Junior English class in the Warren High School was reading Macbeth
under the guidance of a teacher who had just come to take the place of
Miss Foster, the regular teacher, who was ill. They had reached the
second act.

“Sleep that knits up the ravell’d sleave of care,” read John Harris.
“What does that mean, Miss Kirk?”

Miss Kirk did not really know, for she was not a student of Shakespeare
and she had not had time to prepare the lesson. She considered hastily,
however, and made what she hoped was a shrewd guess.

“They wore knitted doublets in those days,” she said, “and of course
they would ravel out with wear and use. So the women used to knit them
up again when they needed it, in the sleeves for instance, just as we
darn hose now.”

John finished Macbeth’s speech, and sat down quite satisfied that he
understood it. But Harold Newcome, the minister’s son, waved his hand
vigorously, and Miss Kirk let him speak.

“Father and I read this over last night together,” he averred, “and we
found a different meaning from that. We found that sleave is a Scotch
word and means the silk before it’s spun into thread.”

Miss Kirk was shrewd enough to say, “That is a passage upon which the
authorities disagree. You may go on, Constance.” Harold, while
unconvinced, was silenced for the time being.

The class reached the third scene. “He should have old turning of the
key,” read Mary Bond. “Miss Kirk, I think there must be a misprint
here—I don’t make sense of it.”

“There is,” Miss Kirk replied, bluffing as before. “It should read, ‘He
should grow old turning the key.’ Go on.”

“But that isn’t it,” Harold cried out in his eagerness. “That expression
is just like one the girls use when they say, ‘You mean old thing.’”

“Harold, please get permission to speak next time,” Miss Kirk
admonished. “And don’t interrupt the reading.”

They reached the lines,

“Approach the chamber, and destroy your sight With a new Gorgon.”

“What is a Gorgon?” some one asked.

“Jennie, can you tell?” Miss Kirk was growing cautious. Jennie could
not, so she asked first one and then another. Harold, although he could
have told, shook his head, and waited with a sardonic smile to hear what
Miss Kirk would say. Feeling obliged to answer her own question, Miss
Kirk at last hazarded,

“It is a kind of weapon they had in those days. Tomorrow I want you all
to look up all the words you do not know.”

At this, Harold closed his book with a bang and grinned broadly. Miss
Kirk looked at him severely, and said,

“Harold, open your book and read the next lines.”

“Excuse me,” he answered, “I don’t believe I will. I’m learning so much
from your wonderful definitions that I think I’d rather listen to you.”

“Harold Newcome, open your book this instant. Do you mean to do as I
say?”

“I certainly do not. You don’t know as much as we do about this play.
You haven’t even read the notes at the back of the book, I bet.”

“You may leave the room this instant,” Miss Kirk commanded in a rage.
“Will you do that?”

“I certainly will, with pleasure,” and Harold left with a mocking bow.

At recess he gathered a group about him and explained his teacher’s
ignorant mistakes. The other pupils enjoyed the joke thoroughly, and did
not trouble that night to prepare the next day’s English lesson, feeling
that they could either bluff or excuse themselves with so “easy” a
teacher. Miss Kirk found them disrespectful and inattentive, listening
to her comments and instructions with amused smiles. Her work was a
total failure, and in a few days she had to give up to a more able
substitute, whose preparation was such as to command respect.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

The teacher who has not had time to prepare a lesson will find it best
to be quite frank with his pupils; no mistake could be greater than to
pretend a knowledge which he does not have. Miss Kirk might have said to
her class on that first day,

“I have just come, and have not even read over today’s lesson; and it
has been several years since I read this play or saw it performed. So we
shall have to work it out together, and I’ve no doubt that you can tell
me many things I’ve forgotten.” Harold, who had had his father’s help in
studying the act, would have been delighted at the chance to contribute
his facts, and their gracious reception would have encouraged others to
prepare lessons in the same thorough way.

COMMENTS

The authority of a teacher over his pupils rests upon the theory that
the teacher is fit to direct the conduct of those who are younger and
less able to select right courses of action. If the teacher be immature,
stupid, badly educated or uncultured, this theory breaks down; the
pupils themselves are quick to recognize the fact that the basis of
authority does not exist.

Even when they do not consciously reason out this cause for disrespect
and disobedience, they feel it, being logically minded and keenly
sensitive on the subject of obedience. They feel the injustice of being
asked to obey one whom they see to be unfit to control, because of his
dishonesty in pretending to be what he is not. If the teacher is frank,
pupils will often make generous allowances, but they rightly despise a
bluffer and decline to give him loyal support.

                              DIVISION IV

                                -------

CONCRETE CASES ARISING OUT OF SELF-PRESERVATIVE INSTINCTS

    “... The training of a child ... does not consist of elimination
    or suppression but of direction of the native impulses so that
    they co-operate in a rational and organized manner.”

    Angell, _Psychology_, p. 430.—_Holt._

            CASES ARISING OUT OF SELF-PRESERVATIVE INSTINCTS

[Sidenote: Function of Instincts]

By instincts are meant those natural impulses _to do_ which are “born in
a person,” and which are so strong in animal or man, that each goes on
to perform the act toward which he is impelled even though he has had no
previous instruction in performing that act, or even though he may not
be clearly conscious of what he is doing. The nesting and migrating
instincts in birds, the building of beaver dams, the hibernating of
certain animals, the swarming of bees, are examples of well marked
instincts among animals. Play, curiosity, and the dramatic tendencies,
are equally well marked examples of instincts in children.

[Sidenote: Their Classification]

Professor Kirkpatrick divides the instincts into several groups
according to the function they perform in the development of the
individual. Chief among these groups of instincts, and becoming
prominent in the child’s life in about the order named are (1) the
self-preservative and individualistic instincts, (2) the adaptive
instincts, (3) the gregarious or social instincts, (4) the parental
instincts, (5) the expressive and (6) the regulative instincts.

It will surprise the teacher whose attention has not already been called
to the matter to note how many of the disorders of the schoolroom grow
out of instincts which are entirely natural to the child and indeed
highly useful to the individual for the most part, their undesirability
in the schoolroom being due only to the lack of proper control, that is,
to a power which the child has not yet acquired, and which it is the
function of the school to teach.

Consider, for example, the lowest of these groups, the self-preservative
and individualistic, as opposed to the altruistic impulses. At first
thought such instincts as anger, fear, fighting, selfishness, and
acquisitiveness seem ignoble and unworthy of expression. Yet every one
of these impulses, undoubtedly, has a useful function to perform in the
child’s life, impelling to experiences and habits which lay the
foundation, at least, for the development of the higher instincts which
are to dominate later.

This is not the place to go into a detailed discussion of the various
instincts. The thing to remember is, first, that most of the impulses of
children have an instinctive basis hence are not, in themselves, wrong
but become wrong only as they fail to be brought under gradual control,
and, secondly, the impulses are not to be supressed, but rather the
energy found to be expended in harmful ways must be divided into
channels of legitimate action. We shall now consider some of the most
undesirable forms of the self-preservative and individualistic impulses.

      1. Disorders Due to Laziness, Clumsiness, Noise and Fidgets

(1) _Laziness._ It is almost absurd to advise a teacher what to do with
a lazy pupil in the first grade. However, lest there be some teachers
who may discover a lazy pupil among their number, it will not be amiss
to offer a few suggestions. If the first grade teacher can persuade
herself that there are no lazy first grade pupils, she will have gone a
long way toward an effective preventative of laziness. Too long has song
and story focused attention upon the lazy scholar by making him a
glaring example of failure only to suggest that he exists, when in
reality there are extremely few lazy first grade pupils.

It may be that a child is physically defective or is suffering from
languor due to poor food or a badly ventilated schoolroom. Pupils very
often are forced to sit near the stove or radiator and the continuous
heat makes them sleepy and the teacher accuses them of being lazy.
Sometimes parents are so short sighted as to deprive their children of
the required amount of sleep, then the child is sleepy the following
day, and the teacher mistakes it for laziness. Many children are so
active and alive that when they are required to sit still they become
drowsy. There are many causes that contribute to a child’s inactivity.
It is unnatural for a child to be slow and inactive. Perhaps it would be
better to assume that there can be no lazy children in the first grade.

The first thing to do toward a child that seems lazy is to study the
case carefully. If the child is inactive, thereby appearing lazy,
because of his physical condition or the wrong condition of any part of
his surroundings, the cause should be removed. Then, if the laziness
does not disappear, it becomes necessary to interest the pupil.
Practically the same methods can be used that are applied to the
indifferent child. It is only a matter of interesting the pupil. With
older children a confidential talk showing the unfortunate results of
neglect of work will often accomplish much.

[Sidenote: Lazy Pupil]

Sometimes a teacher has a pupil that is very slow, so slow that is
becomes a source of annoyance, because he is always behind. Not a word
or look of the teacher should suggest to the child that the teacher even
thinks him slow. Little tasks should be assigned and the command added
to see how quickly the work can be done. It is quite the wrong thing to
say, “Hurry up! Don’t be so slow!” On the contrary it will encourage the
child to say, “I want you to see how soon you can do this.” The
suggestion should be given in a kind and appreciative manner. As soon as
the child has done the task, though it may not have been in a hurry, the
teacher should say something to this effect, “I tell you, you can hurry,
can’t you! When I want something done quickly, I will ask you to do it.”
A smile and pat on the child’s head will encourage the pupil. Two or
three lessons a day for several weeks will change the child who is slow
merely through habit, and what is better the teacher is doing the child
a great service for future life. The teacher must remember that all
commands must be suggestive.

ILLUSTRATION 1

The morning after the report cards were given out in the Whittier School
in Hanover, Massachusetts, Miss Jamieson was met at the door of her room
by Anderson Wheeler, one of the smartest yet most mischievous boys in
her room.

“Miss Jamieson, why didn’t I get more than ‘Fair’ in geography? Harold
Stetson got ‘Excellent’ and I know as much as he does.”

“Come into the room, Anderson, and we’ll talk the matter over.”

“Bring your geography up to my desk.”

“Now do you remember the day I asked you to name the mountain ranges in
the eastern part of North America?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember that you said you had not studied your lesson?”

“Yes.”

“Do you remember the week we studied the industries of New England?”

Anderson nodded his head in assent.

“There was not one day that you could give me a correct answer to a
question.”

“Just how much time do you spend in studying geography, Anderson?”

“Not very much.”

“No, Anderson, you could get as high a mark as any boy in this room if
you wanted to. You really like geography, don’t you?”

“Yes, I do. My father is always talking about things that are in our
book.”

“Well, now, Anderson, why don’t you try to learn more about them? You
could be of so much help to us in our geography class if you would talk
over these subjects with your father.”

“Try this month to work up to an excellent grade. Will you?”

“Yes, Miss Jamieson. I believe I’ve fooled my time away this month.”

Thus, one teacher stimulated the worst laggard in her room.

(2) _Fidgets._ Teachers very often speak of certain pupils being
nervous, fidgety, or impatient. All these faults will respond to the
same treatment. As a rule they are due to the same cause. It is
necessary to discover the cause first. Generally, some physical defect
of the child causes him to be nervous or impatient. The teacher can not
remove this, hence, she must be patient with the child. Patience will
not remove the trouble but will go a great way in keeping the child
under control. The parents should be consulted and an attempt made to
have the child examined by a physician. Most parents will be glad to
coöperate with the teacher and soon the child will be happy and
contented. Whenever the teacher can not enlist the coöperation of the
parents she must do the next best thing. If the trouble can not be
entirely removed, it can be allayed. Care must be exercised not to keep
the pupil too long at any one occupation. It may be necessary to have
some extra busy work or interesting pictures or picture books, so that
frequent changes can be made in his work. A nervous child, too, needs
more exercise. Have him do some work for the school, e. g., collect
pencils or paper. Gradually the teacher should accustom the child to be
satisfied with what will interest and keep the other pupils quiet. This
can be done by withdrawing his extra attractions and indulgences until
he is under the same regime as the other pupils. If the child is nervous
and impatient, not as a result of some physical condition, then the
difficulty can be handled more easily, but by the same method as
described above. Children may be nervous and impatient because of home
conditions or simply as a habit. In either instance treat as above. A
nervous or impatient child should never be scolded for annoyances due to
nervousness. He can not help himself. He needs encouragement and kind
treatment.

(3) _Noise._ There are teachers who are constantly annoyed by a
ceaseless clatter of pencils, pencil-boxes, rulers, books and other
school paraphernalia. This constant din of noise is usually due to the
teacher’s bad management. The following was told the author by a teacher
who lived through her ignorance and arrived at the place where she saw
that she was the cause of the endless noise that pervaded her room. This
teacher had “little punishments” attached to various annoyances. One of
the most absurd was the requirement that if a pupil dropped a pencil or
other desk property, he had to pick up the object and then stand by the
side of the desk, as a punishment, until the teacher permitted him to be
seated. The most surprising thing about the method was that it did not
abate the number of so-called offenses. Little did this teacher remember
that she herself sometimes let something fall to the floor, and that the
same thing might happen in the case of the pupils. This teacher finally
discovered that the dropping of a pencil or book was but an accidental
occurrence; and was not at all to be termed an annoyance; and that if
she did not notice it no one else would. The teacher who thinks that an
occasional dropping of a pencil or other object to the floor is an
offense is to be pitied.

There is no such a thing as a schoolroom in which nothing ever falls to
the floor. It is true, it may become an intentional annoyance on the
part of the pupils. But it will not become such until the teacher makes
it such by her constant faultfinding about the annoyance. The teacher
must assume that pupils do not let things fall to the floor
intentionally. Whenever she has that attitude about it she will not be
annoyed by the trivial occurrence, and furthermore, her pupils will
never let things fall intentionally.

[Sidenote: Noiseless Movements]

Teachers often experience a great deal of trouble in having pupils
handle their books and other desk property quietly. Little wonder! What
boy or girl does not recall the following expression? “Oh my! Children
how much noise you make! Can’t you put your books away more quietly?”
Sometimes the expression is further emphasized by saying, “I will not
let you have any recess, if you can’t put your books away with less
noise.” The teacher who resorts to such expressions will not be able to
abate the noise attendant upon putting books away so long as she uses
this method. To pay attention to an annoyance of this nature is only to
aggravate it. But this is a very common schoolroom annoyance and must be
remedied. It can be remedied, but not by a foolish plan. The first grade
teacher on the first day must take occasion to suggest how she wants the
books, pencils and rulers put away. Her pupils will do as she has
commanded. Though they may have made more noise than she expected, she
will win her point if she says, “Thank you, children. I like to have you
put your books away like that.” The next time she must say, “Now,
children, let us put away our books, and let us see if we can do it as
nicely as we did this morning.” Such expressions of suggestive control
will work upon the children like a charm. They will put their books away
much more quietly than before. The teacher must always approve the
action of the preceding occasion. To make the method more effective, the
teacher may tell the pupils, when a visitor comes in, “Now, children,
show Mrs. B. how nicely you can put your books away.” The children will
try hard. It is only natural that they should. However, if they make
more noise than necessary, the teacher will strengthen her influence by
telling the visitor that she is trying to have the pupils put their
books away quietly and by approval she wishes to gain her point. There
is no doubt she will establish the habit among the pupils. She needs
only to keep at it for several weeks, until the putting away of books
and pencils will be done quietly as a habit.

[Sidenote: Passing Quietly]

Some teachers wonder why their pupils walk so noisily in the schoolroom.
There are few exceptions where it is not the teacher’s fault. Whenever
such an annoyance exists, it is necessary that the teacher have a
systematic method for passing about the room and in and out of the room.
To call a class and allow it to use its own pleasure in getting to the
recitation seat or the recitation room is a prolific source of confusion
and noise, and the most tactful methods to abate noise can not prevent
it. Pupils should be instructed to slip out of their seats to the right
or left, as the teacher desires, and then stand at the side of their
desks. At a signal of the teacher they should pass forward. If there are
several rows of pupils, and if they are required to come forward during
the recitation, one row should lead, the others following in order. They
should all approach the recitation seats from one side and seat
themselves in the same order as that observed in marching forward. In
passing from one room to another and in and out of the schoolroom,
system will aid materially in abating noise. The wise teacher will
remember that there must be some noise, but let it be “orderly noise.”

The following little incident explains a tactful teacher’s method of
dealing with unnecessary noise. A certain class had passed to the
recitation room quite noisily. The teacher kindly asked the class to
return to their seats. When they were seated, she said, with a smile on
her face, “Children, let us try to come to the recitation more quietly.”
Quite naturally, the class responded; not as the teacher wanted them to
do, but better than the first time. With a kindly look on her face, and
a smile indicating approval, she said, “Thank you; that was better.” For
the next recitation she intimated how pleased she was with their attempt
and asked them to repeat it. The teacher had pleased them by her kindly
manner, and the pupils responded by complying with her desire. Tactfully
she kept this up until it became a habit with the class. Never did she
scold or reprimand the class for noisily passing about the room. What
this teacher did can be done by every other teacher.

Sometimes a single pupil has the habit of dragging himself noisily about
the schoolroom. This, too, is easily remedied. The pupil should not be
reprimanded for it. The teacher should call him aside after school and
in a friendly way tell him about it. It will win the pupil to
carefulness if the teacher can say, “I know you never thought about it,
and of course I shall appreciate it if you will be more careful.” Now,
the pupil may not always be more careful, or may even forget. However,
the teacher should take the first occasion to say truthfully, “Thank
you; I knew you could get about more quietly.” It may be necessary to
use this method for several days, but the teacher should not despair. It
will effect a cure.

Every teacher recalls that when a visitor or visitors came in, pupils
were far more noisy than usual. It seemed as though they dropped every
article they had in their possession, walked as disorderly as they
could, and left the room without restraint. And nearly every teacher can
recall how she told the pupils, after the visitors were gone, that she
was ashamed of them. Telling them that their behavior caused the teacher
to feel ashamed did not lead them to act better upon another occasion.
It is a far better way kindly to inform the pupils of their mistake and
suggest what the teacher expects. Then when the visitor comes expect the
behavior desired, as well as see that the pupils are busy. When the
visitor is gone, approve whatever efforts the pupils made to do better.
It will encourage them to do their best on future occasions. The method
of approval will succeed, not the first or second time perhaps, but by
patient application.

Too much emphasis can not be placed upon the method of dealing with
general schoolroom noise. As a rule, not any single annoyance is marked
enough to be picked out and dealt with as an offense. General schoolroom
noise will always be aggravated by the teacher who treats it as an
offense and finds fault with it. The only method to use in dealing with
it is to propose a better way and then approve whatever the pupils do.
Keep on suggesting the better way and approving, and the desired results
will be obtained. The method properly applied can not fail. There is
much, too, in the very attitude of the teacher. A teacher who can make
her pupils feel that she expects nothing but their best efforts in
passing about the schoolroom or handling their schoolroom belongings,
will get the pupil’s very best efforts.

(4) _Clumsiness._ The human race wastes an incalculable amount of energy
and nervous force because of the unnecessary noise which it makes in its
thoughtless habit of doing things in the first way which presents
itself, rather than in a way which has been carefully devised to save
noise and confusion and needless expenditure of energy. One of the
finest things a good school aims to do is to teach its pupils how to
work quietly and to overcome clumsiness.

CASE 20 (EIGHTH GRADE)

John Creel wears big, heavy shoes of cowhide, and walks across the floor
with the tread of a small army. He hits a few desk-supports on his way
to the blackboard and knocks a paint box off a desk on his way back,
giving rise not only to its initial clatter, but to an indignant
splutter of protest from the small girl who owns the paint box. The
teacher, a nervous maiden lady of prim ideas, is greatly annoyed.

“John Creel!” she exclaims. “Do see if you can’t walk without making a
noise that would wake the dead, and do try not to hit everything within
a mile of you as you move about. If I were a boy of your size, I’d try
to overcome my awkwardness, instead of shambling about that way. Now try
to sit still until recess.”

John, within his outer mail of grinning indifference, has all a big
boy’s sensitiveness to ridicule and reproof. He pretends now, before the
other pupils in his school grade to regard the teacher’s reproof with
scorn, and frequently scrapes his feet along the floor, just to show
that he doesn’t care. But he really wishes that he didn’t fall over
everything as he does, and he wishes that his father could afford to buy
him the neatly fitting, lighter shoes that other boys wear. But he would
not have anyone know these secret longings, for the world, and there is
small chance that the prim one at the desk will have insight enough to
know what goes on in John Creel’s towsled head and never shows itself in
word or deed.

Shambling to a class the next day, John drops a book, from sheer
awkwardness, from sheer lack of muscular control. Miss Prunes-and-Prisms
quite loses patience at this, and calls out,

“John Creel, you may stand in the corner until you can learn to come to
class without making so much noise.”

John goes, stands there in a stoop-shouldered, grinning mockery of young
manhood, and becomes the devoted hater of Miss Prunes-and-Prisms. The
dislike and resentment, which has been undefined in him before,
formulates itself now into a powerful resolution to make her life
miserable for the rest of the term. And, being not without mental
resources, John is able to carry out this resolution; Miss
Prunes-and-Prisms has nervous prostration when school is over, as a
result, and both John and his school bear a bad reputation.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Treating the Fidgets]

Pay no attention to John at the moment. Merely say to yourself, “Here is
a bit of disorder for which I have not yet given any lessons in control.
I must remedy my neglect in this respect.”

Next analyze John’s problem into its elements. For him to get his drink
of water it is necessary that (1) he turn in his seat, (2) get out of
the seat, (3) turn toward the hallway door, (4) walk across the floor,
(5) open the hall door, (6) drink, (7) close the door, etc.

With these steps of the problem in mind, say to the whole school, later
in the day, when the pupils are beginning to get tired and “fidgety”:
“Children, you have worked first rate this afternoon. Now let’s play a
little while. All take good positions, and I’ll tell you just what to
do. I’m going to ask you to turn in your seats just as if you were going
to get up, only this time nobody gets up. You are to do it without
hitting your elbows against the desk or dragging your feet or doing
anything that will make any unnecessary noise. Be all ready when I say
‘one!’” [After a pause.] “‘One!’ One boy missed! Try it again! Position!
‘One!’ One girl missed! Once more! Good! Everybody right this time! Now
I am going to ask you to rise without making any noise and without
touching the desk with your hands. Be ready when I say, ‘Two.’ That was
good. Now we’ll try both movements together. ‘One, two!’ Right. Be
seated. It is recess time now, and I will count for you. You may turn,
rise, and turn again in the same way you did a moment ago. I wonder how
many will remember to come back from recess just as quietly!” Do not
forget to approve the children for coming in more quietly than formerly.

On the following day drill in the same way on the art of sitting down
quietly, as if the pupils had just come in from recess. Repeat these
drills whenever they are needed, until the habit is firmly established
of moving about quietly and in orderly sequence. Drill in a similar way
on other little disorders of the room until each difficulty, one by one,
is overcome.

COMMENTS

[Sidenote: Planning Reforms]

Keep in mind, while planning reforms, the several possible causes for
awkwardness and noise, namely:

1. The pupil may not yet have subdued his instinctive impulses to
conventional form or to regulation of any kind. All the impulses act at
once, we may say, and they get in the way of each other. The child needs
to be taught which part of an act to perform first, which second, etc.,
in order to perform it skillfully, just as in bicycle riding, playing
the scales on a musical instrument, etc.

2. When boys and girls reach the period of rapid growth, the body itself
is changing its proportions; naturally, it takes time to adjust one’s
self to one’s body. Meanwhile there is an “awkward age,” which is
annoying to the teacher, but much more so to the child. The teacher
should recognize the fact that this is transition time and treat it as a
perfectly natural physiological period, doing what she can all the while
to eradicate bad habits of posture and movement, but recognizing at the
same time that some patience is necessary on the part of both pupil and
teacher.

3. Awkwardness may be due to imperfect development of the muscles or of
the nerves which extend to the muscles.

None of these cases can be helped by scolding or nagging or impatience
of any kind. The first can be remedied by drills similar to those
indicated above. The second can be greatly helped by games requiring
exactness or grace of movement. The third can not be remedied except
sometimes indirectly when the trouble is due to illness or malnutrition,
where the cause of the difficulty may be within control.

The following illustration indicates how the drills may be utilized to
prevent disorder. The next shows how to make use of the games.

ILLUSTRATION 1 (FIRST GRADE)

Training muscles to unaccustomed work.

[Sidenote: Training Muscles]

Miss Kate Winslow was a first grade teacher who had just graduated from
a normal school in which great attention was paid to the use of water
colors as an aid to nature study and art. Miss Winslow was anxious to
introduce water color work in her own schoolroom.

“Take my advice,” said a fellow-teacher, “and do nothing of the kind! I
tried it once and it nearly gave me nervous prostration. Not a day
passed but somebody spilled the water or overturned his ‘paint,’ and
before the end of the first week the desks were daubed with pigments
from one end of the schoolroom to the other. If you are wise you’ll keep
out of it. First grade children are too young for that kind of work.”

Miss Winslow was not daunted, however. “I believe I can teach the
children how to handle the materials,” she said to herself. “If I use
the same methods which have already proved successful in training them
to put away their books, to care for their wraps, to come in quietly at
recess, and to keep the room tidy, and to take care of the plants and
the waste paper—I’m going to try it, anyway.”

“Yes, I think you can manage it. If only you are not in too great a
hurry to get at the real work of painting,” said her principal when Miss
Winslow proposed her venture to him. “Better take a few days just for
drill, and not try to do any real work of painting until all the
preliminaries can be successfully executed by the children without loss
of time and without confusion.”

Thus encouraged, Miss Winslow analyzed the process of distributing the
materials that would be needed, into its elements, and then took the
whole time of the lesson period for one week for teaching the children
how to distribute and handle the material. She first told the children
that she had planned a great pleasure for them in their school work,
arousing their interest and curiosity and desire to coöperate with her
in the attempt to reproduce in colors some of the beautiful things they
had been studying in the nature study period. “Only careful children can
do such wonderful work as this,” she said, “so the very first thing we
have to learn is how to do every part of the work in a careful way.
These little dishes that I have in my hand are for the water. You may
name one boy and one girl whom you think could pass all these little
dishes to the children without making a noise when they are placed on
the desks.

“Very well—George and Mary. I have found two little trays just large
enough for first grade children to carry. George may take one tray of
water dishes and Mary the other. The children at the seats may watch and
tell, by and by, which was the more quiet, George or Mary.”

In watching, comparing one with the other, and deciding between the two
pupils chosen, the onlookers are also learning how to do the work
properly; but the teacher must not fail to commend both the children who
have passed the dishes, and then may say:

“Mary, you may choose another careful girl and George may choose another
careful boy to gather up the dishes without making any noise that can be
helped. That was well done. Now, this time I am going to choose a boy
and a girl to pass them a second time. They are going to try just as
hard as George and Mary did.”

This time the teacher will choose a clumsy boy and a clumsy girl to do
the work. They will have had the example of the more deft children to
help them, and at the same time are getting a lesson in motor control
that will soon be needed.

The teacher must not blame the children if they do less well. Say,
rather:

“Thank you, children. You did try, didn’t you?” Then, turning to the
school, say: “How many of you would like to see when you go home tonight
if you can place some hard thing like a salt-cellar or jackknife or
little dish down on a hard table and do it so quietly that nobody can
hear you? I’ll ask you tomorrow to tell me how many could do it, and
tomorrow we are going to do something even harder than we have done
today. I’m going to let you choose some one _to fill all these little
dishes with water and not spill one drop_. You be thinking tonight whom
we can ask to do such a very hard thing as that.”

In this way, Miss Winslow drilled the children on every part of the
process of water color painting, including the mixing of the pigments,
so that when the actual use of the pigments began it was done without
noise or confusion or loss of time, and with only very rare accidents.
The children were delighted and asked for no higher honor than to be
able to fill or empty the water glasses—the most difficult thing for
little children to do “without spilling.” So eager were they to be thus
honored that they frequently drilled themselves at noontime in carrying
a glass of water across the room on one of the little trays.

ILLUSTRATION 2

Use of games in securing motor control.

[Sidenote: Games]

Miss Winter, the efficient young principal of the city’s newest and
best-equipped grammar school, had realized keenly that her older pupils
were entering the “awkward age,” and she determined to eliminate that
uncomfortable time from her school so far as possible. She reasoned that
too much talking to the pupils about clumsiness and awkwardness would
merely make them self-conscious, and hence even more awkward to
coöperate with her and with each other in training to quiet and orderly
movements in the schoolroom. She realized that another effective aid in
this work would be the use of games requiring exact motor control. She
encouraged the use of basketball, croquet, tennis, games of skill of all
kinds. “House games” that could be adapted to the schoolroom were often
introduced into the regular routine as “rest periods,” after a
particularly fatiguing period of study. The children became very deft in
catching bean-bags, knocking down Indian clubs, hitting a mark, catching
balls, etc., and with each new accomplishment came a little better
control over the clumsy muscles, though, of course, the pupils were not
thinking much about this part of the program.

One part of Miss Winter’s plan for physical development was just now
causing her much perplexity, however. The big sanitary swimming tank in
the gymnasium was the chief pride of the school, and now the fond
mothers seemed leagued to prohibit its use. She had just received five
letters complaining that Johnnie, Bess, and Margaret had caught colds
from the frightful exposure of damp heads to the winter air. But that
was absurd. No gymnasium teacher could be more particular than hers
about dry heads after the water frolics. Colds that came from other
sources were being blamed on the innocent swimming tank by women who
believed it a new-fangled superfluity. Surely they did not understand
its significance in the lives and health and training of their children,
or they would coöperate instead of oppose!

Miss Winter reread the letters. Her impulse was to ignore and override
their protests. Didn’t the school board know better than the individual
parents the needs of the children at large? But—such a course would
generate antagonism between herself and the parents of her pupils, and
she wanted harmony. But how could she avoid the discord and induce the
mothers to applaud the innovation which they now resented? A solution
presented itself—a demonstration of the benefits of the tank! Rapidly
she sketched out ideas. Then she called a teachers’ meeting for the
afternoon and set her plan afoot. And the children were delighted with
its announcement next morning.

Three busy weeks passed, and then the day arrived for the swimming
exhibition. At two o’clock all the members of the school repaired to the
gymnasium and ranged themselves along the walls, smiling consciously up
at mother faces lining the balcony above. For the parents had responded
warmly to an attractive invitation and had come in a body, each bringing
a quarter to help pay for a wonderful new electrical apparatus for
drying hair. That precaution at least, if they must concede the tank,
was sensible and praise-worthy, they had said.

Such doings! Jimmy Cole exhibited his backward dive from the
spring-board; Frank Lane, his marvelous ability to swim under water; and
Alfreda Johnson floated serenely for five minutes while she smiled up at
her mother in the gallery. Then there was a model first swimming lesson,
and next somebody trod water, and after that a whole class joined in an
exciting game, amid so much splashing and laughing and rollicking fun
that the mothers felt young as they watched, and ceased to begrudge the
time filched from readin’, ’ritin’, and ’rithmetic and the dollars spent
on swimming suits.

And after two absorbing hours it was all over and the excellence of the
new drying instrument was proved.

The mothers were completely won over and proud of their young swimmers.
The big tank lacked no champions now, and Miss Winter as she looked upon
the radiant faces all about her, clasped her hands and was thankful that
a threatened opposition had melted into hearty approval.

Children are frequently blamed collectively for being a “hard school to
manage,” when the causes of ill-behavior might be found in schoolroom
conditions for which the children are not at all responsible.

CASE 21 (SEVENTH GRADE). IMPROPER PHYSICAL CONDITIONS

[Sidenote: Strained Eye]

Miss Cornelius was a thoroughly conscientious seventh grade teacher who
secured excellent results from most of her pupils but who had one row of
particularly troublesome children who frequently failed in their lessons
and still more frequently diverted her attention from her recitations by
their inattention to their studies and by fighting. It was not merely
these mild form of restlessness, however, which troubled Miss Cornelius
and violated her high ideals of what good order should be, but frequent
indisposition in the case of several of them kept them constantly behind
the other members of the class in their school work. Frequently one or
another of the children would be found with his arms folded on the desk
and his head in his arms, and when questioned would say, “O, Miss
Cornelius, my head aches. Won’t you please excuse me from reciting
today?”

At first Miss Cornelius did excuse the children when requested to do so,
but, finding these same children seemed perfectly well when they came to
school in the morning, and that they never moped very long on the school
grounds before joining in the games as heartily as the others, she
decided that the children were imposing upon her, and thereafter became
more and more severe in dealing with them, frequently keeping them after
school to make up the missed lessons.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Miss Cornelius received some light on the subject a few days later which
caused her to open her eyes widely.

[Sidenote: The “Trouble Department”]

“Oh, yes,” she said to the visiting nurse when she appeared at the
schoolroom door with a request that she might test the vision and
hearing of the children in that room; “test any of the children that you
want to. That row over there is my ‘Trouble Department,’” she added
jokingly. “Suppose you begin there. That will give me a chance to
conduct this geography lesson in peace.”

The nurse smiled and began calling one after another of the children to
the examiner’s office, where she tested each of the children for
adenoids, weak lungs, defective vision and hearing, etc. At the recess
period she came to Miss Cornelius with the query,

“Why did you tell me that this row of children was your ‘Trouble
Department’?” Miss Cornelius laughed a little.

“Because they make me so much trouble by just fidgeting and wriggling
about, and by having such poor lessons. They are always inventing some
excuse or other for not doing their work.”

“Why do you think they ‘invent’ their excuses?” asked the nurse, rather
gravely.

“Oh, because they are all right in the morning, and many times when I
stay here after school, for one reason or another, I see the very same
children going past with other boys or playing as I pass them on my way
home. They can’t be very ill if they recover so quickly.”

“At what time in the day do the children begin to be troublesome? You
say they are all right when they come to school in the morning.”

“About half past ten or eleven o’clock, I should think. I never noticed
particularly.”

“About what time does the sun begin to shine in at that row of windows?”

Miss Cornelius looked surprised, but answered, “About ten o’clock.”

“Are the text-books that the children are using printed on dull or
glazed paper?” pursued the nurse.

“Most of them are printed on glazed paper. We get the most attractive
books for the children that we can find,” answered Miss Cornelius
proudly.

“I see,” said the visiting nurse. “May I tell you what I have found in
this examination? Six of the children who sit in that row have defective
vision in the left eye, that is, in the eye next to that row of
windows.” It was Miss Cornelius’ turn to look grave.

“The glaring sunlight which streams in through those windows after ten
o’clock, shining on the glazed pages of those text-books, is ruining the
eyesight of your pupils. It is eyestrain that makes them so nervous and
fidgety. I shall immediately ask the board to change the lighting of the
room, and I advise you, when ordering more text-books, to see that you
get those which are printed on unglazed paper.”

COMMENTS

Two elements in this situation should have put Miss Cornelius on her
guard, (1) the fact that none of the children in the “window row” were
personally hostile toward the teacher, at least not before they were
kept after school so frequently to make up lessons; and, secondly, that
they were all located in one row. These considerations should have
suggested to the teacher that there must be some general cause, not yet
discovered, which would account for the apparently unaccountable
disorder of that particular group of pupils. Further analysis of the
situation would have disclosed the fact that after the sunlight became
very bright the children’s faces flushed, the eyes looked tired, heads
drooped on the hands, and finally on the folded arms, and in the case of
the children who were suffering most-real headaches, sometimes even
inducing nausea after the long-continued effort to keep looking at the
glazed page of the text-book.

It is a difficult matter at best to control the lighting of a schoolroom
so that no one will suffer. But something will be accomplished if
teachers will remember that too much light is just as harmful as too
little. The best results will perhaps be attained if the windows are
provided with shades which can be drawn for either the upper or lower
half of the window without covering both halves at the same time. This
can be accomplished by having two shades for each window instead of one,
one rolling from the top of the window down to the middle, the other
beginning at the middle and rolling down the remainder of the way, or
else rolling up from the bottom. Very few adults who are suffering from
eyestrain can sit quietly. Still less can children do so, especially
when they do not at all realize what is making them so uncomfortable.
Even if they could be made to sit quietly, this would not in any degree
justify the injury from eyestrain that is being wrought through
ignorance or neglect on the part of school authorities.

ILLUSTRATION (SECOND GRADE)

Miss Cornelius was not an intentionally negligent teacher. She simply
had not learned to keep on searching for the cause of trouble until the
real cause was found. Miss Jackson, referred to below, took a more
thorough method of testing out her difficulty.

[Sidenote: Sick Child Cannot Study]

Miss Jackson taught second grade, and took great delight in making her
school work as attractive as possible to the children. They rewarded
her, for the most part with unlimited devotion, but in spite of her best
effort she had never been able to awaken the interest of one of her
pupils, a beautiful, winsome child of nine years—a year older than most
of the children in the class. Jeanette was not obstinate. She tried to
get her lessons, but she never had them. She held her book patiently
before her eyes day after day, and, after long perusal of her lesson,
invariably answered, when the recitation period came, “I don’t know,
Miss Jackson.”

One day, when Miss Jackson’s patience was about exhausted, she sat down
by Jeanette’s side, determined to find out if her failure was due to
“just laziness.”

“Jeanette, tell me why you did not have your lesson today?”

“I don’t know, ma’am. I studied.”

“Are the lessons too hard? You understand them when I explain them, do
you not?” As Miss Jackson said this she reached out her hand hoping to
increase the confidence between herself and Jeanette, and clasped it
over hers. As she did so she noticed how hot was the little hand that
lay in her own. Surprised, she looked at Jeanette’s face. It was
beautifully flushed, though ordinarily rather pale, and the eyes were
bright but a little unnatural. “Never mind, dear!” said Miss Jackson,
without waiting for Jeanette to answer, “I know you try. I see you try
every day. Some day you are going to understand it all. That is enough
for today. I want you to have a nice play now. Would you like this
orange?”

Miss Jackson went home very much dissatisfied, and hardly able to wait
for the following day to come when she would see Jeanette again. Miss
Jackson had taken a course of lectures in nursing one year when she had
been ill herself and was not yet strong enough to teach, but she thought
the lectures on nursing would be a help sometime in taking care both of
herself and her pupils. The little hot hand of Jeanette had brought all
those hospital lectures vividly to mind again.

Next morning she slipped her clinical thermometer into her hand bag, and
before school opened she called Jeanette and said:

“Was the orange good? Let’s play this morning that Miss Jackson is the
doctor and is going to take Jeanette’s temperature. Open your mouth,
dear.”

It was as Miss Jackson suspected. The thermometer read 101.2 degrees.
Miss Jackson immediately phoned a request for the visiting nurse to
call. The nurse looked even more grave over Jeanette’s case than Miss
Jackson did, when she said,

“I’m afraid, Miss Jackson, that it’s a case of incipient tuberculosis.
We must notify the parents at once.”

The result of the interview was that Jeanette was taken out of school
and put under the doctor’s care. Later when much better she was
transferred to the open air school and today she thanks Miss Jackson for
being a comparatively strong girl, fully up to grade and no longer
struggling with lessons which could not be learned. Miss Jackson had
gone to the bottom of Jeanette’s laziness.

                            2. Indifference

(1) _Indifference due to lack of accord between school requirements and
instinctive interests._ Frequently, a teacher complains that certain
pupils can not be kept at work. This is due to indifference, and in some
instances affects an entire room or school. Often the physiological
conditions of the child or of the schoolroom are such as to make the
pupil dull. If a pupil is indifferent because of such conditions, it is
necessary to remove the defect. The parent must be enlisted. If this can
not be done, then the teacher must do the best that can be done to
interest the child. This may help, but it will not remove the condition
of indifference, for no one can manifest an interest in that which
surrounds him when his ailing body demands his attention.

If inattention or indifference is due to improper physical conditions of
the schoolroom, then the teacher must shoulder the blame. There is no
excuse for such conditions. The schoolroom must be properly heated. No
teacher should be so indifferent himself as to allow a room to become
too hot or stuffy when an open window or two would remedy either
condition. Ventilation is one of the most important features of
schoolroom sanitation. Study it carefully and then see that the
ventilation is as nearly perfect as it can be made. Even though there is
a janitor, by no means depend upon him entirely to care for the
ventilation; look after it personally.

Sometimes pupils may be indifferent because they fail to find enough in
their school work to interest them. When such is the case it is a
tell-tale condition, and means that the teacher is failing to do her
duty. It is not a difficult matter for a primary teacher to interest
every pupil. It is her business to see that the little ones have
something to do, and that that something shall interest them and advance
their development.

[Sidenote: Hates School]

The primary teacher is sometimes confronted by a pupil who does not like
to go to school. Even after several weeks, when the teacher believes she
has done all she can do to interest the child, he still insists he does
not like to go to school. What is worse, the dislike is growing and
retarding the child’s progress.

A procedure that has saved many a child that disliked the school is to
go to the parents and in a friendly way take up the matter. The teacher
should not try to evade the matter, but tell the mother plainly that the
child dislikes school, and assume that it may be the teacher’s fault.
The teacher should inform the mother that if she is at fault she would
consider it a great favor if the mother would tell her just where the
trouble lies. Assurance should be given that the teacher will be glad to
remedy any defects on her part. At this point the teacher must not fail
to approve of the child in any way she can. She should compliment the
work he has done, and point out what the possibilities are in the child.
The child’s deportment should be complimented also. No teacher knows
until she has tried what effect it may have upon a mother, especially if
she adds to her remarks, “I really like your little boy (or girl),” and
then states just why. Usually, this method will effect the remedy. When
the child learns from his mother of the teacher’s interest, he will look
upon the teacher as upon one who loves him.

The teacher should then make the most of the advantages gained by the
visit to the mother. Show the child every consideration in the
schoolroom. If he does not have his lessons as he should, there should
not be a word or sign of faultfinding. That would off-set all the good
done by the visit. Whatever the child does accomplish should be approved
and assistance given where needed.

Within a few days the teacher should make it her business to visit the
home again, and if the child has shown the slightest increase in
interest the teacher should very tactfully approve it. Care must be
taken not to overdraw the situation, since, to the parent, such
statements may seem to be false. No one knows a child’s likes and
dislikes better than the mother knows them.

(2) _Indifference due to parent’s attitude._ Sometimes the parents
themselves through suggestion unconsciously stimulate a feeling of
indifference on the part of the children which handicaps them throughout
all their school life.

CASE 22 (FIRST GRADE)

[Sidenote: Beginning School]

“John is six years old today and I’m going to start him off to school.
I’ll be thankful enough to be rid of his noise for a few hours in the
day and to get a chance to do my work in peace. John is _such_ a noisy
boy! He nearly drives me distracted sometimes!”

It was Mrs. Basset who was speaking. John continued ‘playing sojer’ long
enough to give his drum an extra loud banging, as he remarked, “I ain’t
going to school. I’m a sojer. Sojers don’t have to go to school.”

The truth was that John, having no older brothers and sisters to
instruct him in such matters, had very little idea what sort of a place
school was, but from the irritation expressed by his mother’s words, and
the slight whine in her voice, he not unnaturally drew the inference
that school was a place where mothers sent children to get rid of them
and to punish them. Naturally this impression did not cause John to be
kindly disposed toward his new environment. He left home crying, was
still crying when he reached the school room, and sulked and wept by
turns throughout the day, remembering meanwhile his beloved drum and the
disillusionment of “sojer” life. “Time softened somewhat the poignancy
of his grief” at having to go to school but he never got over the
feeling that school was a place of punishment—a feeling that grew
stronger rather than weaker as days went by, because of various and
frequent punishments, which his teacher felt bound to administer as a
result of his indifference and in order to keep him up to grade. John
never learned to like school.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Treat with redoubled kindness the child who is doubly handicapped by not
only being suddenly thrown into new surroundings, but by being obliged
to meet this ordeal without the active encouragement and sympathetic
coöperation of members of his home. During his first year his attitude
toward school is being formed for all future years. The teacher then may
well make a special effort in behalf of such a child in order to win his
confidence and secure his hearty coöperation in the daily lessons.

All the while the teacher is working to gain the child’s liking for
school, he may encourage the child with little expressions of approval,
play with him on the schoolground and see that he enjoys himself in
school. The teacher can walk home with him and tell him fascinating
stories, or it would not at all be out of the way to give him some
little favor as candy, pencil, or a picture. There can be no question
that the child will learn to like school if the teacher tactfully uses
this method.

Never try to conquer a child’s dislike for school by punishments.
Unhappiness can not be cured by adding more unhappiness.

COMMENTS

John’s teacher did not analyze the situation sufficiently to discover
the relation between John’s attitude toward school and the home attitude
toward John and toward his individual interests. The mother was wrong,
of course, in feeling that peace and quiet and the accomplishment of a
certain amount of work was of more importance than intelligent
understanding of John’s childish impulses, interests and instincts; but
John’s teacher made exactly the same mistake in feeling that by
accomplishing a certain amount of work, “keeping up to grade,” her
responsibility was discharged. Both parent and teacher failed to apply
the principle of initiative in coöperation. Both tried to suppress
John’s individualistic instincts rather than to utilize them for his
advancement.

ILLUSTRATION (THIRD GRADE)

[Sidenote: Dislike of School]

Mr. James was a teacher in a private school in Kentucky. He had one
third grade pupil who threatened to leave school. Mr. James could not
learn why, but decided he would visit the home. He took initiative and
told the pupil that he would spend Sunday in the home. While there he
said nothing about the child’s dislike for school, but tactfully
approved all his good traits. When the parent spoke of the child’s
dislike for school he remarked, “When he has gone a little longer, he
will like school so well you can’t coax him away.” Mr. James strove to
make himself genial and jovial in the home. He showed an interest in the
other children, in the home itself and in its activities, and he
captivated the child when he went out in the afternoon with the father
to look at the cows, horses, and swine, and to take a walk over the
farm. All the while he had the child by the hand and manifested no end
of pleasure in the farm products. The visit had the desired effect. The
child never again even hinted at a dislike of the school. He came
regularly and was one of the best pupils.

CASE 23 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Truancy]

(3) _Indifference due to truancy._ The Milville School was noted for the
good attendance of its pupils. Mr. Benson of the eighth grade had been
especially anxious that his room should be the “banner room” in that
respect. He often said to the pupils, “You know, boys and girls, that
you are the highest grade. You are older than the other pupils and
surely you should have the best record of any grade in town.”

One warm, dull, spring day, three of the eighth grade boys were absent.
Mr. Benson’s inquiries as to their whereabouts failed to bring the
desired information but as he was going home that night, one of the
smaller boys confided to him, “I saw some of the big boys goin’
a-fishin’.”

The following day Mr. Benson requested the three boys to remain after
school. They admitted the truth of the charge that they had played
truant in order to go fishing, but promised not to offend again in this
way if they could be excused for this once.

“Boys, I can not let this pass without a punishment,” said Mr. Benson.
“Your offense is too serious. You not only have broken the regulations
of the school but you are now behind in your lessons and, furthermore,
you have lost for the grade the chance of being the ‘banner grade’ in
attendance. I shall punish each of you severely.” Taking a rule from the
desk he struck several severe blows upon the palm of each boy’s hand.

The boys never absented themselves from school again, but, on the other
hand, their indifference toward their studies was even more marked than
before.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Fishing]

1. In dealing with such a case remember, first of all, that the liking
which the boys have for fishing is not something wrong in itself. It
will help to soften your own anger and disappointment in losing the
“banner” for attendance, to picture to yourself the coolness and
sweetness and lure of the woodsy stream which tempted the boys away.

2. Admit to yourself that the reason the boys went was because the woods
and its game were vastly more interesting to them than the schoolroom.
Then say to yourself, “Have I made the schoolroom work just as
interesting as it is possible to make it? Would the boys have done this
thing if I had joined in their sports on the playground, or if I had had
a nature study lesson planned for that afternoon with some one of their
animal pets as the subject of the study?”

3. Do not allow your personal feelings of disappointment to have an
influence in determining the form and degree of punishment. Whipping a
boy may relieve your own disappointment and indignation, but it does not
cure the disease for which it is administered, namely, indifference or
lack of interest toward the school work.

4. The regulations of towns, cities and states regarding what kind of
punishments a teacher may or may not administer differ so much in
different places that it is impossible to give a rule that can be
followed in every case. Every teacher should inform himself as to the
law in his particular state or city. But if there is no regulation to
the contrary, the following course of treatment would doubtless be a
more effective punishment than whipping, and at the same time leave less
resentment in the minds of the pupils:

As soon as you are certain that the boys really went fishing write a
note to each of the fathers of the three boys as follows:—“Dear Sir: I
dismissed your son this morning for truancy from school. He may return
if you will guarantee his satisfactory conduct from this time on.” Send
these letters by mail, not by the boys.

The probability is that in a very short time the boys will return with
the father, or with the father’s guarantee, and you will receive them on
the same terms as before their offense. But meanwhile resolve to make
good use of the principles of substitution and initiative in
coöperation. If the boys may not be allowed to go fishing in school
hours, try to have some part at least of the day’s work equally
attractive. Share in the personal life of the boys on the schoolground
and at home. Study to further their plans in all good things, and to
coöperate with them whenever there is opportunity. Plan a fishing party
for Saturday afternoon that all the boys can join in, and go with them.
They will be the more ready to coöperate with you in enforcing
regulations that are laid down for the good of all.

5. Boys in the eighth grade are old enough to understand and respond to
the appeal of altruism or coöperation. Make very clear to the school in
general talk some day how much the whole body suffers, (as in the loss
of the “banner”) when one member allows his individualistic impulses to
carry him too far.

ILLUSTRATION 1 (SEVENTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Goldfish]

Rudolph was a mischievous, meddlesome boy. At least his teacher, Miss
Green, thought so. He was forever bringing to school grasshoppers,
toads, white mice, fish-worms and small snakes. He delighted in
tormenting the little girls by parading his pets when Miss G. was not
looking.

One day in geography class he drew from his pocket a toad, and sent it
hopping down the aisle. The toad performed its feats gracefully and the
children on both sides of the aisle watched it with keen interest, the
boys leaning over in order to see it better, and the girls drawing their
skirts around them and uttering little broken exclamations. Miss G.,
sitting at her desk, could not see the disturbing toad and corrected the
children several times for making so much noise.

Then, at last, she saw the toad, and anticipating its source, told
Rudolph to take the toad to his home.

In the meantime Miss G. had formulated a plan to outwit and interest
Rudolph.

The next day at recess, Miss G. called Rudolph to her and said,

“Rudolph, I’m going to bring some goldfish to school and I want you to
take care of them.”

Now this just suited Rudolph, for he had always admired the goldfish he
had seen in the pond in Central Park and was anxious to have some to
take care of himself. He was at school early next morning and fed the
fish before school began.

For two weeks he daily changed the water on the fish and fed them every
day. Then Miss G. passed the privilege of caring for the fish around the
room, giving each pupil the care of the fish for one week. There was the
ever-present interest of watching the growth of the fish, their frantic
maneuvers when being fed, and their skillful swimming. There was also
the admiration of the beautiful colorings of the fish—the pearl fish
with its many gleams and shades, the goldfish with its gorgeous, flaming
brilliancy, and the red fish with its darker tones, suggesting depths of
beauty.

Then one day Miss Green realized that Rudolph was an obedient, orderly,
altogether changed boy.

ILLUSTRATION 2 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Milk-Testing]

The new superintendent had arrived in town and was lunching at the
restaurant. A youth of fifteen was serving him.

“My name’s Joe Jones and they always say I can cause more trouble in
school than most anybody else,” volunteered the lad behind the counter.

“Well, I guess we won’t have any trouble,” said the schoolman. “I am
sure we can be friends at least.”

The superintendent’s inquires brought out the facts that Joe was working
in the agricultural department and that his school record had not been
the best. If something else interested him more than school, away he
would go to that. He was afflicted with the “wanderlust” and apparently
could not help himself at times. He did not always mean to transgress
but his lack of self-control asserted itself now and then and off he
would go.

As a result he would get behind in his school work and then lose
interest. He was a bright, capable, good-hearted boy when he wanted to
be. His home environment was poor so that he largely looked out for
himself.

“Say, Joe, I have a problem here for you,” said the superintendent one
day as Joe was returning from one of his periodical absences.

“Humph, no arithmetic in mine. Them problems are not in my line,”
responded Joe with more enthusiasm than grammar.

“Oh, this problem isn’t in arithmetic, Joe, it’s a real live problem.”

Joe’s face brightened, for real live problems did interest him.

“What’s your problem, then,” said Joe with a great deal of curiosity.

Now Joe liked to work but he was not overfond of books. One thing
connected with school he especially liked was milk-testing. He needed no
books in this after he was once started.

“Well, Joe, these other boys here have no system of keeping a record of
their tests and I want you to help them in the testing; keep a record of
all the tests yourself, and show _them_ how to keep a good record. Will
you do it?”

“Guess I can,” returned Joe, taking charge of things at once as they
reached the classroom.

For two months, during the testing, Joe was always on hand, the most
enthusiastic fellow in the class. During this time, by occasional
suggestions on the part of his teacher, he also kept up his regular work
in good shape.

The testing over, however, Joe began to get back into his old habits.

About this time a new savings bank system was started in connection with
the school. Each pupil must be provided with blanks whenever he might
call for them.

“Joe,” said the teacher one day, “how would you like to take charge of
giving out the blanks and keeping a record of them? Your work in keeping
testing records was so good I want to give you first chance here.”

“Suits me all right,” said Joe, with a smiling face. “Guess I can do it,
if anybody can.”

Joe’s new responsibility required him to be present every day. He became
very much interested in his work and really did it remarkably well.

Thus, by a little praise and a little responsibility placed on Joe, he
gradually became regular in his habits and later completed his school
work. He is now a very successful business man.

                            3. Stubbornness

Stubbornness is closely related to temper, still what may subdue an
ungovernable temper will not always pacify stubbornness. There are on
record but few cases of stubbornness in which it did not result in some
outbreak of ill-temper. Stubbornness is generally considered an
inherited trait; it naturally gives rise to certain habits. These
habitual states of mind and forms of conduct require treatment according
to the principles of this Course, with due patience on the part of the
disciplinarian, until a cure is effected. It may take several years of
patient training. Then, too, the teacher must remember that she can deal
with stubbornness in older pupils better than in first grade pupils.
However, much valuable training can begin—and it is most imperative that
this training should begin in the first grade.

The first step in dealing with a stubborn child is to learn what causes
the child to become stubborn. Whatever it is that will provoke the child
into stubbornness must be avoided by the teacher. The teacher must go
further, she must arrange the child’s work and play and his associations
with the other pupils as to avoid any and all causes for stubbornness.
Could this plan be worked out perfectly, the child would have no
occasion for becoming stubborn. After several months or a year of such
close supervision, the trait would become weakened and the tendency to
become stubborn would be less marked. It is a fact that any trait in an
individual is strengthened by using it. The opposite also is true, that
any trait in an individual will be weakened and finally die out if it is
not used or exercised.

If the teacher were able to keep up a close supervision of the child she
could hope to effect a complete cure; but with so many things in the
schoolroom to occupy his attention, there will be times when the child
will find a reason for being stubborn. Whenever that happens, the
teacher must remember that to notice the stubbornness will only
intensify it. Assuming that the pupil is in a recitation and the teacher
calls upon him or asks a question and fails to get a response, the
teacher should pass on the recitation to another pupil, paying no
attention to the child. The chances are that he will respond in a very
indifferent way. By no means should the teacher fail to accept it, nor
should he make any adverse criticism upon it, even though the recitation
may have been wrong. Instead the teacher should approve the effort. A
winning smile and words to this effect will rock the child’s citadel of
stubbornness. “That was good; I am glad you tried. Thank you.” The child
may not be cured of stubbornness; however, by calling on him to recite,
the teacher has taken a step in the right direction, she has done all
she can under the circumstances; the child has responded, at least, with
some little feeling of gratitude. This lays the basis for confidence and
complete obedience.

At the close of the recitation, if busy work is to be assigned, the
teacher should give it to each pupil, and the stubborn child, alike. If
he does not respond, nothing should be said. No look or word of
disapproval should be given by the teacher. A special trip to his seat
and very kind assistance will get some work from him. This work should
be approved. The child should now be left alone. Just as soon as he
shows signs of coöperation, the teacher should talk in a friendly way,
show some puzzle, or give some kind notice. This method will, as a rule,
effect a check to stubbornness in any first grade pupil.

In addition the teacher may tell stories and give direct instructions
against stubbornness, but the most emphatic caution is necessary. Such
instruction must be given when the child is in his very best mood. The
teacher must do such instructing in all kindness, never once hinting to
the child that she is instructing in this way because of his
stubbornness. This last method may be effective in some cases. Really it
should be a last resort, and if possible it should not be used at all.
The first two methods will effect prevention if consistently and
persistently used. Do not whip a child for stubbornness. Such action may
stop it for the time being, but whipping does nothing to remove the
trait. Any kind of discipline that does not eradicate traits and habits,
considered misdemeanors, is not discipline but cruelty. The kind of
discipline that is corrective and worth while is that which is lasting:
that which helps the child for all his life by aiding him to control
himself.

CASE 24 (SIXTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Sulks]

(1) _Stubbornness due to an unwise parent._ Olive Montgomery was an only
and a spoiled child. She had a sunny temper usually, but there were
times when her face was clouded, her brows contracted, her lips
protruded and her whole attitude one of gloomy defiance. At such times
her mother was wont to say, “When Olive looks like that, there’s no use
to try to do anything with her. You just have to let her alone until she
gets over it.” In spite of the fact that her mother unintentionally
strengthened this trait she was outgrowing it somewhat, because of the
daily association with other children.

When she was twelve years old there was one day on which she was
especially tried.

She had attended a party the night before. Miss Rhodes, her teacher, had
found fault with her for not knowing her lessons. She had borrowed
Miriam Sharpe’s problems in arithmetic to copy and lost them. Miriam
threatened her with exposure if she didn’t return the problems. She now
borrowed Lucy Partridge’s problems and was expecting to stay in at
recess and make one copy of them for herself and one for Miriam. She was
angered at the thought of losing her recess, and moreover was tired and
half ill.

When Miss Rhodes said, “Put your books in order,” Olive sat up but left
her arithmetic open on her desk. This book she placed there to hide the
fact that she had been copying and to give a pretense of original work.
Miss Rhodes said, “Olive, put your books in order.” Olive began to pout
and did not obey; when the others arose to pass out she remained in her
seat. “Olive, you must go out and play with the rest,” said Miss Rhodes.
Olive sat inactive, with a defiant look upon her face.

As Miss Rhodes started toward her she hastily concealed Lucy’s paper but
settled more defiantly into her seat. Miss Rhodes now said, “Olive,
don’t you hear me?” No answer. “Olive, I am talking to you,” in a
sterner tone, “you must go out and play.” Still no response. “Olive, you
_must_ put your desk in order. If you don’t I’ll punish you.” Olive gave
no sign of hearing this threat.

Miss Rhodes took from her desk a ruler and told Olive to put out her
hand. Olive sat like a statue of gloom personified. Finally, Miss Rhodes
seized her hand and struck the palm with the ruler. A few tears slid
over Olive’s cheeks but that was the only visible effect of the stroke.
Puzzled Miss Rhodes again struct her hand two sharp blows. Still Olive
scarcely moved.

Anger showed plainly in the teacher’s voice and face. Brute force was
going to settle the question of which was to be the winner. Miss Rhodes
slammed the arithmetic into the desk; in doing so the lost arithmetic
paper fell, name uppermost, at her feet. She was too blinded by anger to
see it. She jerked Olive out of the seat and literally put her out of
the room. She thought her duty was _well done_!

Olive felt greatly “insulted” by the treatment she had received. She
used her influence to have Miss Rhodes dubbed “Miss Highway” when she
seemed especially lofty to her pupils and “Miss Alley” when she reproved
them. These nicknames were shortened to the deaf and dumb A and H and
were soon signalled back and forth across the room by all the pupils. It
was impossible for Miss Rhodes to build up confidence and a coöperative
atmosphere in the face of this great obstacle.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Determine at once when some one fails to comply with a request made to
all pupils at the same time whether the cause is inattention or
rebellion.

As Olive’s case is one of rebellion let her alone until the others have
left the room, then in a kindly manner find out the cause of her
disobedience. If she refuses to talk, take no further notice of it at
that time, being sure that the fault lies in part with yourself. While
you are resting the case for the time being, review your attitude toward
the child and plan with great care the right approach for the next
interview.

The next day, at some moment when you are sure that Olive is her normal
self again and no one is about you, talk frankly with her about her
stubborn conduct.

Do not use the word “stubborn” or any accusing term in talking about it.
Begin something like this: “Olive, yesterday at recess when you seemed
not to hear me, I may have been at fault. I wanted more than anything
else to help you over a hard day. Perhaps my manner or voice did not
tell you that but I just wanted you to know how I really felt about it.”

COMMENTS

There seems to be no more frequent blunder in a teacher’s management of
an insubordinate child than that of acting without foresight.

What diagnosis is, in medicine, analysis of a child’s thoughts and
feelings is for the teacher.

This injunction can not be too often repeated since each instance of
disobedience or other wrong action has unique features that require
unique treatment.

Miss Rhodes gave not one moment to seeking a cause for Olive’s
misbehavior; her attention was devoted wholly to getting the girl to
“obey.”

By this neglect Miss Rhodes lost a good opportunity, and delayed a much
needed reform. In this instance Olive showed a rebellious spirit. Her
classmates had been carefully drilled so that nearly all of them
pleasantly accepted the orderly methods of their teacher. They enjoyed
having their desks in good order and liked the class exercises that
involved rhythmic movements and team-work. There was left little
opportunity for inattention or tendency toward it.

Having decided that the child is sulking there is nothing to be
permanently gained for Olive by _forcing_ her to obey. A rebellious mood
is not dissipated by coercion; one must wait until the wave of
resentment has passed. Unless physical danger or great disaster
threatens, because of a retarded obedience, it is better to let the
child alone until the rebellious feeling has passed away.

[Sidenote: Novelty Cures Moodiness]

The only alternative is to distract the mind by presenting objects of
interest. No one, child or adult, is able to maintain moods of
resentment, rebellion, or injured pride very long if he can be induced
to attend closely to some neutral object.

One of the richest sources of information on the control of children is
observation of children as they associate together. For example,
children do not often parley long with a moody playmate. They leave her
out of their plans; she soon begins drinking of the bitter dregs of
isolation and abandons her unsocial attitudes.

The teacher has no need to fear that her control of other children who
witness a stubborn child’s behavior will be threatened if she does not
at the moment enforce obedience. They will understand that this child is
simply being “left out of the game” until she gets ready to “play”
again. If the teacher has not yet established confidence between herself
and her pupils by use of methods of coöperation and feels forced to
compel obedience at the moment, she must be absolutely sure that the
child is given no cause for suspecting any antagonism whatever in the
teacher’s attitude. The use of the ruler was wrong because it brought in
the element of vengeance or reciprocal antagonism. If the stubborn child
is constrained to fall into line with commands the forcing should be
done in a happy, helpful spirit, so that the child may say to herself,
“Miss Rhodes is helping me to do what I know I really should do.”

A word as to the interval that may elapse between an offense and the
interview between teacher and pupil. As a rule it is best to confer with
a pupil as soon after the misdeed as his mind is free from the peculiar
feelings generated in the wrong act and when his thought is closely
associated with it.

A delay of several days makes a review of the incident out-of-date,
disagreeable and unduly antagonizes the pupil. He tends to forget the
incident; its revival even under the best circumstances is an occasion
of strain between pupil and teacher.

It is therefore an economy to settle the whole matter while it is of
necessity fresh in the pupil’s mind and yet when his passions have
cooled down. This will relieve the dread of all persons involved and
will restore speedily the usual flow of personal relations.

The basis of Olive’s trouble was the oft-repeated word of her mother,
“When Olive looks like that you can’t do anything with her.”

This has possessed her mind until, by prolonging her negative mood she
has been able to create a considerable stir in the family life and to
make a record to which no one else in the family has attained.

The school has a duty in killing this sort of impulse to win attention.
The method of starvation will work the best cure. That is, if Olive
receives no “credit” at school for her “excellence” in pouting, the
desire to try for honors in this matter will finally vanish.

The teacher must find out this small fact and conduct her treatment as
suggested, omitting allusions to “sulkiness,” “rebellion,”
“stubbornness” so as to make room for positive and constructive
suggestions.

A huge wave of good feeling and sympathetic interest from Miss Rhodes
with suitable coöperative action will have the desired effect.

ILLUSTRATION (SIXTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: The Cure]

Dorothy Jones had been stubborn from babyhood. Her mother had very
frequently said to her father: “Dorothy had one of her stubborn spells
today. I can’t make her do a single thing when she takes one of these
spells.” Her father would give a sly wink at Dorothy and reply, “O,
she’ll outgrow it.”

The injured tone which her mother used when speaking of the matter gave
Dorothy the opinion that her stubbornness was a good means of punishing
her mother for putting her under too many restrictions and her father’s
attitude caused her to believe that her conduct was a shrewd procedure.

When Dorothy started to school Mrs. Jones accompanied her and told her
teacher that the child was dreadfully stubborn at times. True to her
mother’s prophecy Dorothy was stubborn and this trait of hers was
displayed to successive teachers until she reached the sixth grade.

Miss Schilling, her sixth grade teacher, decided to cure her. She
secured the child’s friendship by giving her to understand that she knew
Dorothy’s wishes and enjoyed granting them whenever possible. One cold
day, however, Dorothy wished to go out to play without wraps. Miss
Schilling asked her to put them on. She was out of sorts already because
Neva Yoder had been chosen queen in a game called, “Queen of the May.”
When Miss Schilling asked Dorothy to put on her sweater she stalked into
the room and flung herself into her seat, pouting. The girls gathered
round her and said, “O, come on Dorothy, come on Dorothy, hurry up,
hurry up, let’s play.” Dorothy gave no heed except to cast a furtive
glance at Miss Schilling to see how she was taking her punishment. What
was her surprise to find that Miss Schilling was taking no notice
whatever of her mood. Dorothy supposed that surely Miss Schilling had
not noticed her, and resolved to make her do so. The girls soon tired of
talking to her and ran out to play. She still sat there and pouted. Now
and then she shuffled her feet or slightly coughed to attract Miss
Schilling’s attention. And her wonder grew when her teacher only looked
at her and smiled. She determined to make the desired impression: viz.,
that she had been wronged and was accordingly punishing her tormentor.
So she kept her seat and pouted through the recess and into the next
session. When her first class was called, she expected to match wills
with Miss Schilling but to her surprise Miss Schilling simply said to
the girls who glanced round to see if Dorothy was coming, “Please excuse
Dorothy, she doesn’t wish to recite this time.”

Five minutes afterwards she stealthily took out a book and began to
study. When her next class was called she was her usual self.

CASE 25 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Recitation]

(2) _Stubbornness due to fear._ Miss Scott taught in the country at
District No. 10. She was hearing a geography class recite when Mr.
Blanden, a director, came to visit the school. Miss Scott was nervous
herself and so the pupils were ill at ease.

“What’s the capital of Oklahoma?” she asked.

Susie Fry, who stood trembling ready to recite, couldn’t remember.

“What! Don’t you know that!” exclaimed Miss Scott. “Who does know?”

No hands went up. Everybody was embarrassed.

“It can’t be possible that none of you know that!” she said as she
quickly pointed a threatening finger at Elmer and said, “What is the
capital of Oklahoma?” All eyes turned toward Elmer. He instinctively
slid down a little lower in his seat and said nothing.

“Elmer, stand up and recite,” said Miss Scott in a threatening tone.
Elmer looked dogged and defiant but made no effort to stand. Miss Scott
repeated her command. Elmer stubbornly remained silent. She then went to
him and not very gently stood him on his feet and pushed him up beside
her desk and went on with the recitation.

Greatly exasperated, she struggled on with the lesson and wondered at
Elmer’s unusual stubbornness.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Do not unexpectedly spring questions upon a child. Ask the pupil to
stand and then put your question. Do not suggest by your statements that
nobody in the class knows the answer to your question. Strive to control
your own fear or embarrassment in the presence of visitors. It will
certainly prove contagious.

COMMENTS

Elmer was startled by Miss Scott’s sudden pouncing upon him and then,
after having all eyes turned upon him, was either too embarrassed or too
offended to reply. The more she urged the more embarrassed he became.
Miss Scott not only startled Elmer into silence by her method, but
prolonged it into stubbornness by her untactfulness. If a child seems to
be unusually self-conscious he may need special gentleness.

ILLUSTRATION (UNGRADED SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Coaching]

Miss Curtis, who taught in the country, had noticed that Rena Brewer was
an especially self-conscious child and was very reluctant to recite,
especially when she had to put work on the blackboard in the presence of
all the pupils. So she asked her to come to school a little early in the
morning. While she and Rena were alone together she gave her an
arithmetic problem to put on the blackboard, commended the straight rows
of numbers, pointed out the well-made figures and said, “Now, today I
shall ask you to put this same problem on the board at recitation time.
I’m sure you can do it well.”

A few morning drills like this gave Rena self-confidence and she worked
with ease and pleasure in the presence of others.

                             4. Ill-Temper

Whether ill-temper is an inherited trait or not does not belong in this
discussion. Nor is it worth while to explain just how a little temper
may or may not be helpful. If the teacher can realize that some of the
most dastardly acts and crimes committed were done in moments of
ungoverned temper, then she will understand the necessity of controlling
temper wherever and whenever its tendencies are displayed in any child.

(1) _Ill-temper in the first year of school._ It is true that outbursts
of ill-temper often take place among first grade pupils, not necessarily
because the teacher causes them but something a playmate may have said
or done, or something about school work that may have gone wrong, causes
temper to exhibit itself. It is, indeed, a disgusting trait and needs
wise control.

CASE 26 (FIRST GRADE)

[Sidenote: Busy Work]

Elsie Johnson was the happiest girl in Camden, when her mother said to
her one morning, “Elsie, mother is going to let you go to school this
year along with sister Jane. Won’t that be fun?” It was indeed “fun” for
Elsie Johnson. She liked the teacher, the other little girls, the
wonderful action songs and the music, but best of all the “busy work.”

One day as a special treat Elsie’s teacher, Miss Wells, gave her a box
of wooden kindergarten beads to string. All too soon the warning bell
rang, notifying the children that it was time for school to close and
work must be put away. But Elsie had just invented a new design. To lay
aside her precious beads in the midst of working it out was the last
thing she desired to do. “Elsie, put up your work now,” said the
teacher. The nervous fingers only worked the faster.

“Put up your work, Elsie,” repeated the teacher. No response save a
tighter clutch on the beloved beads. Miss Wells stepped up to the desk,
took the string of beads forcibly, and not very gently, out of Elsie’s
hands, and was just reaching for the box containing the unstrung beads,
with the intention of putting them away for the night, when Elsie
suddenly stamped her foot in a rage, threw the box on the floor, the
beads rolling in all directions, and burst into a violent fit of
weeping.

“Why, Elsie Johnson! What a naughty, naughty girl!” said Miss Wells. She
dismissed the other children, then, taking hold of Elsie’s arm, she
lifted her quickly out of her seat, partly carried, partly dragged her
to the wardrobe, and forcibly put on Elsie’s wraps. When Jane came to
take her sister home, Miss Wells pointed to the beads still lying on the
floor and said, “Tell your mother, Jane, that Elsie has been a bad, bad
girl today. She did not mind when told to put away her work; she threw
the beads on the floor, then kicked, cried and stamped her feet when I
told her to put on her wraps. I am very, very much ashamed of her.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

In such a case as this, use the principles of expectancy and suggestion.
Say, “Elsie, it’s time to go home now. We’re all going; everybody is
waiting on us.”

Generally, the sight of all the other children with folded arms, and
position of waiting for dismissal, will lead the child, through
imitation, to take the same position; but if Elsie continues to work in
spite of this, step to the desk and say, “Let me see the pretty thing
you have made.” Elsie will probably reach it toward you. You will admire
it and approve her good work and then say, “I will let you play with the
beads tomorrow. Hand me the box.” (Hold out your hand at the same time
as a further definite suggestion.) “Tell mother when you get home what a
nice time you had with them today.”

The moment’s conversation, your suggestion of the pleasure awaiting
Elsie on the morrow and the substituted pleasure of “telling mother”
will lead Elsie to place the beads cheerfully in your hands and to
assume the position which she sees the other children to be in as they
wait to be dismissed.

Imagination can often be used by the teacher with the greatest advantage
in dealing with children of this age. For example, in the present case,
the teacher might have said to Elsie (who delights in brownie and fairy
stories), “Your little (bead) brownies have played a long time with you.
They are tired now. Let’s put them all to bed so they can rest and be
ready to play with you again tomorrow. We’ll have to get them to bed
quickly, for the little children are getting tired too.”

Generally speaking the teacher should so closely supervise all his
school work and play and recreation that there will be no chance for the
pupil to be irritated or provoked into an outburst of ungovernable
temper. The teacher who can succeed in doing this will need no further
advice on remedying the annoyance, as he will not be annoyed.

However, in an unguarded moment even with the best of care, a pupil may
have his temper upset. The teacher must remember that his pupil is but a
child, nearly a baby, and by kindness can easily be governed. A few kind
words and a sympathetic suggestion about something that will divert the
child’s mind from that which provokes, will effect a remedy. For
example, the teacher can say, “Just wait a minute, I will get you
something you never saw before.” This will arouse the childish curiosity
and, while the teacher is getting the something, will tend to allay the
child’s temper. The teacher who is discreet always has a curious
“something” to get. What is there to prevent him from having in a box on
his desk the first book he ever had, the little book he read in the
first day he went to school, the first picture he ever drew, a curious
bird’s nest, or a score of other articles that will capture the
attention of any child, regardless of whether he is indifferent, lazy,
slow, stubborn or in a “fit of temper.” Each time the child exhibits
ill-temper, the teacher can pursue some method similar to those
indicated above. In a comparatively short time, he will be cured of his
exhibitions of temper.

Never snatch anything from a child nor take it from him forcibly if it
can be avoided. Even an adult would resent this manner of treatment. Do
not make the mistake of supposing that “obedience” and “yielding to
force” are synonymous terms.

Try to put yourself in the child’s place and discover the instinct
underlying the act. Then you will be able to utilize and satisfy the
instinct even while checking the undesirable specific act.

COMMENTS

Miss Wells’ first mistake was in dealing too abruptly with Elsie.
Elsie’s failure to respond to her teacher’s signal was not due in the
slightest degree to disrespect for her teacher, but rather to intense
absorption in her work. She was thinking out a design and it irritated
her to be disturbed, just as it irritates her teacher to be disturbed
while planning a Christmas program, or while reading the most
interesting chapter of an exciting novel. But there was this difference
between Elsie and her teacher. While the latter understood the necessity
for interruptions, and immediately though reluctantly, responded to them
when necessity required it, Elsie had not yet reached the age when she
could understand why she might not go on as long as she desired. Bells
and signals meant no more to her than an arbitrary desire on the
teacher’s part to interfere with something Elsie desired to do. Until a
habit of acting in response to given signals is formed, first grade
children will need to be told repeatedly the meaning of the signal.

While it was necessary in this instance that Elsie should lay aside her
work, yet the value of the individualistic instinct that impelled Elsie
to stick to her work until it was accomplished should be fully
recognized by the teacher, not regarded by her as something evil, in
itself, or as “pure obstinacy.”

ILLUSTRATION (FIRST GRADE)

[Sidenote: Snatching Pencils]

Miss Donaldson, a first grade teacher in Davenport, was one day
conducting a nature study lesson, in which the children were dramatizing
the care of the parent birds for the little ones. Five children had
cuddled into the corner to represent the little birds in the nest and