Practical School Discipline Vol. 2 Part I

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Title: Practical School Discipline Vol. 2 Part I - Applied Methods
Author: Beery, Ray Coppock
Language: English
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PART I ***

PRACTICAL
SCHOOL DISCIPLINE

Applied Methods

_PART I_

_By_

RAY C. BEERY
_A. B._ (_Columbia_), _M. A._ (_Harvard_)

_President of_
INTERNATIONAL ACADEMY OF DISCIPLINE
PLEASANT HILL, OHIO, U. S. A.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

COPYRIGHTED, 1917, BY
RAY C. BEERY
────
COPYRIGHTED, GREAT BRITAIN, 1917
_All Rights Reserved_

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Dedicated

to the

Members of the J. A. D. Teachers’ Club

❧

“_He that ruleth his spirit is greater
than he that taketh a city._”

------------------------------------------------------------------------

GREETING

With this second book of Practical School Discipline, we wish to send to
each member of the Teachers’ Club our personal word of greeting. Applied
Methods was written for you. Primarily it was written for you only. It
is a book to help teachers, by means of teachers’ experiences. We
believe it will lighten your work, brighten your school room, and
lengthen your years of effective service by easing the friction in daily
school routine. Work can no longer be drudgery when conducted according
to principles which take the drudgery out of it.

Because we have faith in the principles herein discussed, we are
desirous to learn from each member of the “Teachers’ Club” what the
result has been in his or her individual case. Have you been
particularly successful in the management of some difficult situation?
Write and tell us about it. Have you failed to find your own specific
problem treated within these pages? Tell us that also. Perhaps we can
help you by letter.

The Teachers’ Club is a coöperative organization from which we expect
the most stimulating results—results which can be made much more
effective by personal correspondence with its members. Your experience
may help another who is still struggling with the difficulty which you
have overcome. Another teacher’s experience may help you. Our offices
are clearing houses for exchange of views and mutual aid. Coöperation we
believe to be the principle which eventually must supplant, throughout
the world, the cruder method of competition. The members of the
“Teacher’s Club,” the first and only one to be organized upon this plan,
will be quick to recognize the higher ideal and to respond thereto.

Finally, if the better understanding of the principles herein treated,
and the tonic effect of interchange of ideas with fellow teachers who
appreciate your difficulties and who desire to assist, should prove
helpful to you, then tell other teachers about your Club. Perhaps they
might profit also by the same mutual help. Meanwhile our thought for you
does not end with placing these Case Books on Discipline within your
hands.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

PREFACE

The readers of Applied Methods will note that in the discussion of
problems which confront the teacher the “case citation” plan peculiar to
legal and medical writers is here followed. That is to say, instead of
long enumerations of general principles relating to disobedience,
impoliteness, dishonesty, etc., specific cases or incidents are cited,
followed by “constructive treatment” or suggestions for treating each
specific case. It is believed that this method will be more helpful and
more suggestive to the ordinary teacher than is the usual method.

To make the suggestions still more helpful, because more personal, the
reader is asked to transfer himself after the citation of each case from
past time to present, and from the other teacher’s school to his own
room; and, in the “constructive treatment” which follows, imagine the
“Case” to be the reader’s individual problem, and the author to be
conversing with him personally.

In the preparation and collation of the cases it has been thought more
practicable and also more convenient for the teachers, to divide the
subject matter of the text into two volumes rather than to combine all
into one large book. There will be no break in the continuity of
thought, however. The second volume, like the present, will follow the
case citation plan and will continue the treatment of school
disturbances which develop for the most part out of natural instincts of
children.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

CONTENTS

----------

DIVISION I

PAGE
INTRODUCTION 13

DIVISION II

OBEDIENCE 27

DIVISION III

CONCRETE CASES ON OBEDIENCE 49

DIVISION IV

CONCRETE CASES ARISING OUT OF 129
SELF-PRESERVATIVE INSTINCTS

------------------------------------------------------------------------

DIVISION I

-------

DISCIPLINE

INTRODUCTION

Discipline is three-fourths of life.

—_Matthew Arnold._

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INTRODUCTION

1. Why Discipline Is Necessary

There are no two persons in all the world, however separated by space or
circumstances, who do not in some way affect each other. This influence
is unseen and untraceable in most cases; it is only when the relations
are very immediate and obvious that we realize how unified is the life
of the people on the earth. The welfare of the whole race is tied up in
the welfare of each man, woman and child; and so it is the duty of each
to work for the welfare of all his fellows. When each person controls
his actions and contributes his influence so as to further the interests
of all, present and future, the world is in harmony, civilization
progresses and happiness reigns on earth.

But it is not natural for people unselfishly to strive for the good of
all other people. All men are born with strong instincts of
self-preservation, and their limited outlook upon life, their small
knowledge of remote things, often prevents their seeing that, in the
end, social action best protects their own interests.

Instinct urges, “Look out for number one. Enjoy yourself. Catch at the
immediate good, for you are not sure of the future.” Something higher
than instinct in man says to him, on the other hand, “Deny yourself for
the good of others. Find a greater life in the life of the race. Endure
hardship now, submit to privation, that in the future you and others may
be more happy.”

It is this higher standard of thought and action which we call right; it
is passive submission to the dictates of selfish instincts which we call
wrong. Right and wrong have other phases than these of social effect,
but upon these most men, of whatever faith or philosophy, agree; and
these social phases are the ones which affect the whole problem of
discipline most. Briefly, then, we may say that for our purposes those
things are right which contribute to the welfare of men, and those
things are wrong which interfere with their happiness and progress.

The great men and women of the world are they who make the richest
contribution to human progress and happiness. They are the artists, the
thinkers, the givers of every kind, who leave their fellows better for
their passing by. They who in their coming and going add nothing to the
sum of human welfare, are the paupers, the criminals, the imbeciles.
Paupers may live in palaces, and criminals may for generations receive
great honor of men, but unless they have really made the world better,
men in their final judgment can not count such glorious rascals among
their friends. They are not civilization-builders, they are not
race-leaders, nor have they real strength in themselves, for they have
never conquered those selfish instincts which dominate men in the lowest
stages of their development.

The big problem of mankind, then, is to make of the naturally selfish
and self-centered individual a helper in a great social enterprise, that
is, to make him nothing less than a contributor to the evolution of the
whole race toward its final high estate. How can this be done? And who
is to do it? These questions are fundamental to human progress. Men have
been grappling with them for centuries. This is a great world-question
which, looming behind the more immediate problem of discipline, gives it
all the significance it has. It is because through disciplinary
processes the world is to be made better, and not primarily because such
processes will make schools more orderly and homes more delightful, that
we study the subject and hope to become skilled in the practice of its
technique.

The responsibility of making each person a contributor to social
progress rests largely with those who hold in their hands the training
of the young. Hence such training is, in a peculiar sense, the business
of parents and teachers. Not for long have people worked intelligently
toward the socialization of human interests. Christ taught this doctrine
nearly two thousand years ago in Galilee, but only lately have very many
persons realized that His message is a practicable one. The Middle Ages
were given to an effort to realize the gospel individually; today we see
a great effort to apply it universally. But the individualism of the
past still dominates the thinking of the older generation; selfishness
and prejudices, which are intrenched in tradition, seem altogether
justifiable to peoples whose children will fully realize their
inadequacy and falseness.

It is in these children that the hope of the race inheres; these are
they who must bring about the new order of things. Not in reforming the
adult criminal, not in making the adult pauper a producer, not in making
the adult individualist a humanitarian, lies the true secret of
world-betterment, but in rearing a new generation which shall meet the
old problems with instincts controlled, powers trained, and with a
potent altruism that has been developed from impulse to habit and from
habit to conviction.

Society is sadly taxed to care for its undisciplined members.
Alms-houses, slums, jails and prisons are filled with the more
hopelessly uncontrolled, while every forward movement is hampered by the
indifference or opposition of those whose individualism is of a more
mild and respectable type. It is from the ranks of the undisciplined
that all trouble-makers come; it is the disciplined soul who not only
makes his own life successful but who gives freely for the advancement
of others.

These premises involve strong claims for discipline. If it is true that
discipline bears this close and vital relation to human progress, then
it is indeed a topic for the closest and most careful study. Before the
reader can judge for himself of the claims made, he must know more of
the nature of the discipline for which so much is claimed. For the
discussion of its nature he is referred to the following paragraphs.

2. What Is Discipline?

We have seen that all human beings are closely knit together,
interdependent and mutually influential; and that the success of the
community depends upon the individual contributions made by persons
whose attitude is a socialized one. We have seen also that the
socialized attitude, the will to contribute to the general good, while
frequently conspicuous among even savage peoples, finds higher and ever
higher expression, as civilization advances. Since “the greatest good to
the greatest number” is “social good,” it follows that the more this
evolved, altruistic attitude can be made to exist and function, the
happier mankind will be; and persons who have the good of the race at
heart will try to find means of developing the socialized attitude in
large numbers of their fellow-men. Since it is easy to form the minds
and wills of children, and hard to remake grown persons who have become
fixed in individualistic ways of thinking, feeling and doing, this
hopeful process seems to belong inherently to childhood.

Discipline in its true meaning is not “punishment.” It is the training
of every power to the end that it may be controlled and used for
personal good and social service.

A well-disciplined person, may have every instinct, trait and ability
under perfect control and still not choose to use these highly-trained
powers for the good of mankind. For him discipline has failed of its
proper end.

A good disciplinarian, then, is one who helps each person for whom he is
responsible to bring those powers under control and to use them in such
a way that he shall become a useful member of society. The disciplinary
process may be subjective or objective—that is, it may be self-imposed,
or directed by another person. In most cases it is directed from without
in early childhood, but becomes more and more a matter of volition and
self-direction as the subject approaches maturity and realizes more the
necessity for self-control. He then becomes his own disciplinarian.

Whether the disciplinarian be engaged in his own training or that of
others, he must have a definite aim in view. The lack of such definite
aim is one reason why there is so much poor discipline.

“Say, ‘Thank you’ to the lady,” the mother directs her child, not
because she wants that child to develop a spontaneous skill in
expressing his sense of obligation to the society that has nourished
him, but because she has a vague feeling that this is the conventional
thing to do and so her child must do it. This imitative, traditional
type of disciplinary training is far better than none, but it fails of
the splendid results that come from training given with an intelligent
understanding of its nature and objects.

Therefore the trainer, to be the very best trainer possible, should have
an illuminating conception of the great trend of human progress which is
advancing the good of all. He should feel keenly that every thought and
act which contributes to human welfare accelerates the rate of progress;
that whenever an individualist opposes his will, his interests, his
institutions to that onward moving stream, he hinders its flow and
causes suffering to some one. Such an individualist needs discipline; he
needs to learn to subject his selfish ends to the social ends of the
race. Public opinion may open his eyes to his mistake; if he offends too
far, society may force him to stop stemming the tide, or put him
entirely out of the stream by shutting him up in prison, where he can do
less harm. Criminals, then, are those who retard the stream of progress.
They may do this in ways that society recognizes and punishes, or in
ways too slight for society to take notice of, or in ways which society
does not yet see to be really harmful. But whether their wrongdoing is
punished or not, they are the enemies of mankind. They are the
“undisciplined.”

Babies, and older persons of defective powers and limited training, are
solely the creatures of instinct. In a state of nature the immediate
ends of self-gratification and self-preservation are so urgent that any
others have little reality for primitive beings. The cave man could not
see that by coöperating with his neighbor, he gained more than he could
gain by fighting him. It required long, tedious trial and repeated
effort, to teach men that they might trust judgment to supplant instinct
or at least to control it. All these ages of experimentation and effort
since man was in a primitive condition are now compressed into the
childhood of every member of civilized society, through an elaborate
training process which we call education; and an “educated” person is
one who has learned to live with his fellow-men in cheerful and
profitable coöperation.

Having a clear idea of the nature and importance of discipline, two
kinds should be noted carefully. There is a discipline which takes the
child while still in a very plastic condition, and shapes each instinct
and ability as it develops toward usefulness and righteousness. There is
another which deals with children or grown persons whose habits and
attitudes are already formed, but wrongly formed. These persons seek to
change and remake until they approach at least a better standard. That
is to say, there is constructive or anticipatory discipline, and
corrective discipline.

Obviously, that type of training which works with fresh material in
Nature’s own time, is the more economical and efficient. The child who
learns right behavior at the start, whose growing powers are subjected
to proper control before they wax too lusty for easy government, is the
child who is best disciplined and therefore most amenable to high
appeal. Such a child is a fine citizen in the making. Wise parents and
teachers, therefore, watch for the appearance of new traits, and
anticipate the development of the successive instincts, by planning a
constructive treatment, for each situation. They do not allow things to
go wrong; _they keep them right_, rather than keep righting them. Even
with such watchfulness, as a matter of fact, much corrective discipline
is necessary, especially in schools; but the amount, even when dealing
with children from the worst homes, can greatly be reduced by employing
constructive methods consistently.

3. Causes of Children’s Wrongdoing

Much of the trouble with children could be obviated if teachers only
understood the real causes of wrongdoing. There are hardly more than six
such causes that are fundamental.

=1. Untrained Instinct.= This is the basic cause for trouble. The first
of all the instincts to develop, that of self-preservation, in its many
manifestations, brings one into endless conflict with social custom; and
so with each of the other instincts. The need here is for both
inhibitory and developmental training; the child must be led to deny
expression to his instincts if they are harmful to his social relations,
and must be encouraged to free and repeated expression of those impulses
which grow from his altruistic instincts.

It is instinctive for a child to give his attention to the most
appealing of the many stimuli about him. Therefore his natural impulse
is to look out of the window at the passing wagons, automobiles and
people, rather than to look at the uninteresting arithmetic which he is
supposed to be studying. When he has been led consciously to deny this
instinct until the lesson is learned he is well disciplined in this one
respect.

The development of judgment goes hand in hand with the growth of the
power of inhibition. Much trouble is caused because people expect, often
justly, a degree of judgment in a child which he has failed for some
reason to develop. A fifth grade boy, for instance, was very anxious to
make a perfect grade in spelling. His sister did this easily and his
family taunted him with being beaten by a girl. In his anxiety to win he
cheated, and was caught; whereupon he was driven to lying in an effort
at self-protection, and thus became enmeshed in a series of humiliating
and dishonest acts. Here the boy’s judgment, ideals and will-power were
all weaker than a fifth grade boy’s should be. His habits, heretofore
honest, yielded to the temptation of the situation, because his
instincts of emulation and self-esteem were stronger than the powers
developed by training.

At some point in this boy’s training, or more probably at many points,
the discipline which should have prepared him for such a situation was
weak or wanting. We may assume that every child will meet situations in
which he will find strong temptation to be dishonest, ungenerous,
unclean, lazy, self-indulgent. It is the disciplinarian’s duty to
prepare his charge for these situations, by seeing that the boy has
learned to keep his instincts in leash, and that he is supplied with
ethical standards, clearly and concretely defined, with which he may
compare the new situation in order to gain a standard for his decision.
Nor must he be unpracticed in making decisions at an age so critical; he
should often have gone through the process of examining, comparing,
evaluating and determining.

=2. Failure to Comprehend the Reason for Demands Made.= Man is a
reasonable creature, and one of the first signs of his growth is his
demand for reasons. There is no insult to authority in a request for
reasons, as so many parents and teachers seem to think; there is merely
the righteous wish to be an intelligent, rather than a blind
coöperator—to wish to play the social game with open eyes. Perhaps the
one greatest cause of trouble in home and school in disobedience. This
may come from a number of causes, but when it is not a bid for attention
or a mere imitative action, it comes from one of these two causes as a
rule:

(a) A resentful feeling that the act demanded is being imposed upon the
pupil without any adequate reason. This comes from a lack of knowledge
of the nature of things, and is best met by a frank explanation of the
reasons for asking the thing demanded.

(b) Lack of faith in the one who gives the direction. Often the reason
for giving the direction is beyond the comprehension of the child;
sometimes there is no time nor opportunity for explanation. In such
cases the child should obey, not because he knows why, but because he
believes that his parent or teacher has a good reason and is to be
trusted to direct wisely. Parents who never condescend to explain their
reasons, teachers, who say, “You are to do this because I say you are to
do it,” are not building up this kind of trust in children.

=3. Mere Imitation.= Imitation is really one of the instinctive causes,
but it persists past the stage when most of the other instincts have
been subjected to control, and it plays so important a part that it
needs a separate treatment. Bad manners of all kinds, vices, even the
attitudes of mind which dictate conduct are copied by children from
their elders and from each other. Children are often punished, when
parents or elder brothers and sisters are to blame. Teachers need to
know the home-life and environment of their charges, if for no other
reason than that they may analyze the influences that go to make up
their pupil’s attitude toward control.

=4. Desire to Attract Attention.= Teachers realize that what some pupils
do simply and directly as an unconscious expression of personality, good
or bad, others do because the doing of it puts them in the limelight.
They want attention, admiration, astonishment, sensationalism in some
form or other.

=5. Abnormal Physical Conditions.= When a teacher suspects that bad
behavior grows out of poor hearing, poor sight, adenoids, subnormal
mentality, malnutrition, nervous excitement, or any other physical
cause, he should apply a test at once and find out the truth. Tests,
simple enough to be used by any intelligent adult, have been devised for
all defects liable to be found in schools. Having ascertained where the
trouble lies, the teacher should next consult a specialist or physician
as to corrective measures. The attitude of teachers toward pupils who
offend, often changes abruptly when it is discovered that a
physiological defect lies back of the apparent badness; the pupil
becomes a patient, to be treated, rather than a criminal to be punished.
If teachers would remember that mental defects also are as real and as
amenable to treatment as physical ones, they would see themselves always
in their true characters of physicians to boys and girls who need a
specialist’s help.

=6. False and Perverted Ideals in Society.= Lastly, society, for whose
good we train the pupil out of his littleness and selfishness into
breadth and altruism, even society itself harms him frequently by
setting before him false ideals, bad examples, inadequate standards.
Society wants its members to practice self-control, but it allows them
to buy and sell drugs which destroy the power of self-control. It wants
them to lead moral lives, but allows every inducement to immorality to
be presented to them. It calls to unity and harmony, but fosters
discordant elements in its own fabric. Sometimes these social influences
for evil may be controlled by the teacher, sometimes they are beyond his
power to touch; but if only the teacher can learn to recognize the
sources of such influences when they affect his own problem, he has
gained much.

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DIVISION II

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OBEDIENCE

Where justice reigns, ’tis freedom to obey.

—_J. Montgomery._

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OBEDIENCE

Obedience is a subject of paramount interest in the minds of
administrators. They seek for hearty, sympathetic, genuine loyalty to
those in authority, for this constitutes the greatest safeguard against
failure as a teacher. Although obedience is but rarely alluded to in the
best schools, its very perfection is the explanation of this silence.
Nor is its value less because of the high standard of conduct in such a
school.

1. OBEDIENCE IN RELATION TO SCHOOL EFFICIENCY

Discipline and effective instruction in school are based upon obedience.
Disobedience, then, is the teacher’s most serious problem.

The school is an especially organized community. It has its internal
interests; its chief aim to be attained; its regular head and a variety
of relations between teacher and all who attend, patronize or support
the school.

School obedience is nothing more nor less than the continuous act of
fitting one’s self as a pupil into a social machine. A pupil who is
disobedient at every point can not be a pupil in fact. In proportion as
a child is disloyal to the school, he cuts himself off from connection
with it.

In the school community, adults are appointed to lead. The state, town,
school district appear before the child and say, “This way.” The school
board stands as an agent of the district or town, and actively
supervises the school. The superintendent and teacher make specific the
plans that have been broadly laid down by the state and school board.
Now a child has all of these individuals and bodies politic to heed if
he enters school. He places himself in their hands. When he enrolls he
pledges conformity to the plans established for the control of the
school. Consequently disobedience is rebellion and anarchy. Obedience is
quite as essential in a good school as in an effective army on a
military campaign.

Every child is a citizen in the making. A citizen must live and toil in
harness with his fellows. “Teamwork” is a necessity now more than ever
before in human history. The home and the school are the finest
training-grounds for developing skill in team-work. Obedience is the
essence of such coöperation.

The smooth running of the school machine conserves time for effective
instruction. Loose government wastes effort, is destructive to mental
training, and hence a fatal obstruction to school efficiency. Every
disaster in school management is more or less of a lesson in immorality,
whereas training in good morals is the duty of the teacher. A good
disciplinarian can, of course, turn these occasional errors in school
government into educative experiences, but the fewer they are the more
advantageously can the moral education of the pupils in school be
accomplished.

2. OBEDIENCE IN RELATION TO CHARACTER BUILDING

The law of obedience is the only fundamental formal law of character
building we know. Without yielding to some will other than our own we
can not become greater than our immature selves. Disobedience is the
pupil’s most serious offense against himself.

Perhaps it rarely needs to be said that until a pupil has learned at
home or at school the art of submitting his conduct to the direction of
another, he has no sure proof that he, himself, can guide his own
career. Every person needs, at some point, to learn the lesson of
self-direction. As a rule, this lesson is never learned except by social
contact. Only he who has found out how to work as a member of a group of
people has discovered the art of self-control.

As a matter of fact, every one is unsocial until by training he becomes
a social being. The school has for one of its essential duties, this
task of reorganizing the individual life so that the unsocial person
attains adequate adjustment in association with his fellows. The core of
this problem, therefore, is how to accept gracefully and heartily the
course of action laid down by another person.

The community has a will on a large number of points. Unless the
individual discovers and heeds this will, he must oftentimes run
contrary to established customs and laws.

Furthermore, if an immature person hopes to profit from the experience
of the past, he must show “docility.” That is to say, he must be willing
actually to change his way of acting because he finds that certain forms
of conduct do not turn out well. He must obey the “commands” that arise
from human experience. In the process of yielding up his own will to the
will of society, the child acquires the power to compel himself to obey
his own commands. The ideals of conduct which he develops at home or
school or elsewhere, will attain the force of commands and enable him to
subject his impulses, aspirations and hopes to the domination of his
noblest ideals.

We may point out, therefore, with certainty, that obedience is the law
of life. Everyone may well be concerned that little children and older
ones as well discover this fact.

3. THE ESSENTIAL NATURE OF DISOBEDIENCE

(1) _Instinctive factors._ In searching among the instinctive elements
of human nature for the chief inner stimulus to disobedience we are led
to that group which is designated by such terms as self-preservative,
individualistic or egoistic. Both obedience and disobedience seem to be
expressions of the same basal incitements. In the lower stages of
existence the free will of savage and child meets with circumstances in
which it must yield to an external plan of action if life is to be
preserved or self-gratification secured. Obedience is the price paid for
life and for the luxury of being satisfied.

In the case of disobedience the same stimuli operate; the proposed
course of action appears hostile to the interests of the self and the
person rebels. The gratification of the countless desires, tastes,
expectations, choices, hopes, rights, etc., that the human person
constantly carries with him occupy the forefront of attention always.
Disobedience is nothing more nor less than a decision that some one or
more of these egoistic demands is being carelessly or ruthlessly dealt
with and that the person is going to seek gratification in another
direction.

(2) _The element of choice._ We can analyze the disobedient state of
mind, at least to some extent. The first factor that we meet is choice.
Choice enters into disobedience in two forms: first, the choice between
courses of action, between ideals. The teacher proposes one line of
action. This suggests other alternatives; a choice is necessary. Second,
there must be choice between yielding to the teacher and resisting his
command.

The obedient child is hardly aware of this distinction as such. A
disobedient pupil may readily agree that a proposed action is wise and
opportune, but his dislike for the teacher appears in a decision not to
heed the command. Strictly speaking, this is a partial obedience, in
that the child consents to the wisdom and worth of the course of action,
although, for reasons of prejudice, he refuses to heed the command. The
decision not to heed the teacher is the crucial point in disobedience.
If unwilling to obey, the pupil weighs the gains and losses and decides
to disobey the teacher. Usually there is no very great gain to be had
when this sort of action follows. More than likely there is personal
prejudice, false pride, or some similar cause for the refusal to obey.

At times, to be sure, the disobedient pupil believes that he can not in
reality trust his teacher. Confidence in the teacher is impaired or
entirely lacking. Disobedience must follow in many cases where such is
the state of a pupil’s mind.

(3) _Confidence._ Confidence underlies all loyal obedience. Confidence
is faith in the person who proposes the action, a conviction that when
he himself acts, he will satisfy in a large degree, the expectations of
the one who obeys. A pupil always sets up certain standards by which he
measures a teacher. If a teacher gives ground for the anticipation that
his acts will conform to these standards, he has won his pupil’s
confidence.

The chief modes of winning the confidence of pupils may be briefly
stated: first, by the teacher’s loyalty to his own principles of
conduct; second, by revealing an identity between these principles and
those accepted by the school community and the pupil; third, by setting
before pupils courses of action which are seen to be primarily
developments of pupils’ own ideals.

Even kindergartners who do not secure obedience based on confidence,
fail. Some members of the circle of children may have no working ideals
of school behavior. These must be taught dogmatically to the child
before even mere outward conformity to rule can be secured. If properly
taught, if actually trained, in the essentials of good order, the child
accepts as his own these necessary ideals, and thereafter a call to
obedience is a demand for the child to do what he himself naturally
regards as the best thing to do under the given circumstances. His
reasons for deeming this the best thing to do may be few or entirely
wanting so far as fundamental grounds are concerned.

Whether it be suggestion or social impetus, the love of system, or
whatever it is that gives this ideal value in the mind of the child, we
need not try to comprehend. The only point is that the obedience that
belongs to good character is a willingness to do what the pupil regards
as right under the leadership of another person. These ideals in the
child’s mind that are reproduced in the commands of the teacher may be
simple, perhaps mere images of muscular activity; nevertheless, they are
the forecast of an activity which later develops into complex concepts
that cover worlds of thought.

4. STAGES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF OBEDIENCE

As a further preparation for the most fruitful study of the “cases” in
disobedience we must examine the several stages and types of obedience.

Obedience may occur in two forms: first, formal obedience in which the
will is not heartily enlisted in the act. Oftentimes there is positive
rebellion, opposition of will to the command given. Second, intelligent,
loyal obedience, in which the child yields the inner consent when he
outwardly conforms to the teacher’s instruction. With this loyalty there
may be, indeed, many counter attractions which occur to the child’s mind
and cause him to hesitate, in a way, or to meditate over the gains and
losses involved in his proposed course of action. He balances these
possible ways of acting, but conscience speaks up and he yields
obedience despite a lingering regret. As he reflects more and more, he
finds increasing satisfaction in having followed the commands given to
him.

(1) _Formal obedience._ The intellectual factor varies greatly in
different circumstances. “Blind obedience,” loyal conformity to commands
with no comprehension of the reasons for so acting, is a valuable asset.
It seems needful in many cases in the life of young children to require
conformity to unexplained commands. Says G. Stanley Hall, “About the
only duty of young children is implicit obedience,” yet Kate Douglas
Wiggin is right when she says, “Blind obedience to authority is not in
itself moral. It is necessary in order that we may save children from
dangers of which they know nothing. It is valuable also as a habit.”
This unthinking acquiescence to the will of another is neither moral nor
immoral; it is unmoral. It is a safety device for the young which
precedes the development of judgment, as habit-forming precedes the
making of moral choices.

As a child advances toward maturity he comes more and more to discover
the reason why certain commands are laid upon him. Formal obedience is
peculiarly likely to occur in younger children who for lack of
experience can give small consideration to the reasons that underlie
prudent action. They gradually shift from one type of obedience to the
other as they learn the grounds for the customary ways of doing things.

The habit of obedience need not be fundamentally changed by this
discovery of reasons. Children may well be expected to obey because they
have confidence in a superior. Whatever groundwork of reason may be
desired and granted will be a reinforcement of the impetus to obey; yet
confidence must always be the ground of the obedience we aim to secure.

Montessori finds that there are three periods in the development of
obedience in young children. In the first period, there is spiritual
disorder; the child seems to be physically deaf, unable to hear
commands.

In the second stage, the child understands the command and seems to
anticipate pleasure in realizing it; but there is a palsy of will: he
acts tardily and with dissatisfaction.

In the third stage, he obeys instantly, with pleasure and enthusiasm. As
he acquires skill, he takes pride in his new achievement. He will
readily learn to leave absorbing interests in order to obey.

Implicit obedience is to be required of children, even after they have
attained the power of fully comprehending requirements laid upon them.
There are often occasions in which time for explanation is insufficient.
If the child develops the habit of always insisting upon an explanation
simply because he can not understand it, teachers and parents will find
themselves seriously handicapped. Even adults find it necessary to give
instant and unexplained obedience when emergency calls reach them.

Again, explanations, though incomprehensible, are sometimes
embarrassing, owing to the presence of other people or of circumstances
in some involved situation. Explanation, in such cases, must be avoided,
and the pupil at once heed the request. As in the case of the youngest
child, so a mature person occasionally finds himself in a situation
where a crisis demands obedience without an instant’s delay.

(2) _Intelligent obedience._ In what we term intelligent obedience,
there is a fair understanding of why the act is required. For the most
part, the commands of teachers are well understood by children in the
public school. It takes but a short time to interpret the general
significance of school requirements. In the world at large, as, for
example, in manufactories, stores, mines and the like, the commands of
superiors, in nearly every instance, carry with them a large degree of
broad significance.

Without a doubt, a careful teacher discloses very generally the reasons
why a specific course of action is recommended and required. Such
procedure is a recognition of the mental powers of the pupils. They are
treated as intelligent human beings when reasons for commands are
offered. The teacher hopes to train pupils to use their power of free
choice intelligently. This is done by revealing the grounds for proper
conduct and securing the inner consent of the pupil’s intelligence to
natural commands.

The presentation of reasons for a command also appeals to the good-will
of the pupil. He presumes that his conduct is not always determined by
authority, but that he is expected to act on grounds of his own loyalty
and good-will. As a consequence, intelligent obedience normally results
in an excellent comradeship between pupil and teacher. It begets a
mutual understanding. It is a preventive of misconceptions and
complaints by the pupil. Clearly enough, intelligent obedience is the
mainstay in school discipline. The school, as a whole, is entitled to
know very many reasons why the customs and procedures laid down by
principal and teacher have been adopted.

To be sure, the giving of explanations to public school pupils will be
determined partially by the grade and circumstances in which each pupil
is found.

Willing obedience establishes a basis for any amount of moral
instruction that a teacher may desire to give. The moral influence of
the school wavers when uncontrolled, and the corresponding obedience
falters. After willing obedience has become a school tradition, or an
individual habit, the teacher needs no longer to exercise extreme
caution as to favorable conditions under which he may give commands for
new activities. He has established a general confidence. He is supposed
to be trustworthy in large and small matters, and he may take great
liberties in leading his pupils into new courses of action.

It is difficult for a teacher to believe that this high type of
obedience can really be secured. The occasional tilts with rebellious
pupils tend to cause him to adopt a method based upon blunt authority,
and to apply this method far too often. Confidence in human nature, we
may say then, has been shattered largely through applying to the
majority a method of treatment which has been provoked and deserved by
only a small minority. The teacher is too close to the details of
critical cases of discipline to see the whole situation in its true
perspective.

In other instances the teacher has an inordinate eagerness to use
authority. Young teachers often enter the schoolhouse vowing vengeance
on disobedient pupils. For such teachers to be over-severe is far too
easy. They need to take a second look at the situation before them,
instead of rushing in with heavy artillery. “A man who would regulate
his watch with a crowbar would be considered an ass, but a person who
thinks a child of delicate and nervous organization can be made bold by
bullying is no better.”

All pupils are “delicate and nervous” in respect to some matters, at
least. Even the roughest and crudest backwoods giant has a tender spot
around which the ennoblement of character can be developed; if this
point of vantage is lost, all hope of “saving” the boy’s better nature
is gone.

5. FACTORS THAT MAKE FOR OBEDIENCE

The teacher takes up his work in a community where already many ideas,
customs and standards of conduct are fully developed. He has much in his
favor when entering upon his duty in the schoolroom.

(1) _The public expects obedience._ The general supposition is that the
teacher is going to demand obedience. The community, the school
authority, the parents and the teacher all anticipate that school
obedience will be required. In many cases this is the chief virtue of a
schoolmaster. His success is determined in the popular mind by the
efficiency of his control in the schoolroom. This, all taken together,
is a powerful force operating already in the direction of good conduct.
Everybody’s mind is set, in a large degree, in favor of loyalty to the
school.

(2) _Pupils expect to obey._ Nevertheless, the most important fact is
that the pupil himself expects to obey. He may be watching for an
opportunity to disobey in some particular, but such a pupil plans, on
the whole, to heed his teacher’s requests.

“We need only reflect that this obedience which we treat so lightly,
occurs later, as a natural tendency in older children, and then as an
instinct in the adult to realize that it springs spontaneously into
being, and that it is one of the strongest instincts of humanity.”[1]

Footnote 1:

Doctor Montessori, _The Montessori Method_, p. 363. Stokes.

To be sure the child’s mind is often divided in a bewildering manner,
when choosing alternative courses of action. Incentives, motives,
tastes, longings, impel the pupil in many opposing directions. Education
has for one of its prominent functions, the training of a child so that
he may inhibit some tendencies and nourish others into action. A good
teacher prunes and prods; he culls out and represses; he approves and
disapproves (or ignores) what will make good character on the one hand,
or will mar a soul on the other.

This is the method of all great educators. The outcome is the
unification of personality; that is the organization of all the elements
of conduct into a system. Perfection of character is the crowning
achievement in such a program. For one whose character is correctly
formed, obedience is a mere name, for a perfect character acts nobly
always; the presence of another’s will wisely directing him adds no
stimulus to his, because there is no resistance to ideals which are
already sanctioned in his own soul. However, the teacher is dealing
almost exclusively with unformed character. The child needs support to
be enabled to do the thing he knows ought to be done. Speaking of a
former teacher a pupil said, “She was not a good teacher, she let us do
whatever we pleased.” This statement shows that the child recognized in
his own mind two planes of desirable action, the lower plane of “what he
pleases” and the higher plane of what he ought in justice to do. The
story shows furthermore that the child rightly expects the teacher to
hold him to the higher plane.

Dr. DeMott in his lecture on “The Harp of the Senses” says the boy was
right who blamed his mother because she did not call from the window
when she saw he was about to choose a wrong course of action. Even
adults need help to do what they regard as their best. We easily
understand the soldier boy who wrote from the Mexican border, “A fellow
needs the thought of home ties to keep him straight.” Who has not
understandingly read, “For the good which I would I do not; but the evil
which I would not, that I practice?”

Pupils expect, therefore, that teachers will render them substantial
assistance by training them to obey. They sense the presence of disorder
and weak-will in a teacher’s character, and scorn any substitutes for a
wholesome control of the school machine.

This fact constitutes a basis in the nature of the child upon which to
build, from the first moment of contact with him, a stable ground-work
of loyalty. With these conditions in favor of good government, and
obedience in particular, no teacher is predestined to fail when he
demands obedient conduct.

6. CAUSES OF DISOBEDIENCE

Any precise generalization covering all the causal factors that enter
into a disobedient attitude is of course impossible. Certain factors
obvious to all people and others discovered by careful observations
embrace only a fragment of the facts and yet they are worth careful
scrutiny.

(1) _Causes within the child._ As already noted the fundamental cause of
disobedience in the child is a vague perception, a suspicion or a
conviction that some of his interests are jeopardized by a proposed
course of action. Selfish interests are ready to speak up and dictate to
him what to do and what not to do. Lack of inhibitory habits often
permits a quick expression of the impulse to take good care of their
egoistic rights and interests.

The ordinary observer is prone to affirm that the chief causes for
disobedience are to be found in the child himself. It is easy to make a
long list of conditions which provoke him to disobey. Among these we may
mention the following: poor health, bad habits, natural stubbornness,
which is independence of spirit uncontrolled, mental dullness, eagerness
for action, delight in pleasure, desires for popular esteem, perverted
ideas of duty and the like. Beneath all these conditions the great
irrepressive incitement is the eagerness of the self to satisfy the
natural cravings that the inherited constitution continually develops.

(2) _Provocation by parents._ School administrators find it
impracticable to attempt accurately to survey home conditions in the
majority of cases, but many reports that filter into school through
children reveal fairly well the circumstances at home which make
obedience in school extremely difficult.

A genuine lover of children will make every effort to discern
instigation to disobedience. Parents may take what seems to be at the
time the easiest course: namely, to let the child do whatever he
chooses, or the mother may not have the time and strength to insist that
a child obey. Many parents sincerely desire to govern their children
properly, but are ignorant as to how they may accomplish it.

Oftentimes children disobey as a means to attract attention to
themselves; only in such a way do they receive consideration in the
home. They have found it highly entertaining to be the center of a furor
when they have been “naughty.” Parents have not learned to use the many
forms of approval to satisfy the call of the child for notoriety.

(3) _Causes in the teacher’s mismanagement._ The teacher’s mismanagement
must be named in enumerating the causes of disobedience. Here, perhaps,
a “challenge” is the chief incitement to the child of the choice of
obedience or disobedience, daring him to choose the latter.

Some foolish imp at times provokes teachers to lay before pupils very
clearly what are the alternatives between which they must choose. It may
go so far that the teacher says in so many words, “I dare you to break
the rule.” This is an outspoken challenge and incites all well-made
characters either to indignation or to actual rebellion. The implied
challenge appears in an aggravating espionage, watching from the corner
of the eye, too frequently questioning or checking up and snappish
manners generally in enforcing obedience. The challenge may appear in
the arrangement of circumstances, so that obedience is difficult, as
when the teacher leaves the room with an exhortation to maintain good
order during his absence. Every cautious teacher adopts the following
resolution, “I will never, by word or deed, plan or project, purposely
make it easier for a pupil to disobey than to obey.”

The second great fault in the teacher is blindness to actual conditions.
There are several forms of ignorance that may be cited. The teacher or
principal may not know that a whole body of pupils is prejudiced against
him, or ridicules him or is waiting to precipitate a collision; that he
is arousing community prejudice; that he has let slip clear evidence of
disobedience; that he accuses the wrong child; that his fellow teachers
despise him; that his manners are ridiculous and weaken his influence.

This disregard of facts may be due to lack of native insight,
heedlessness of daily experiences, lack of social training or an
exaggerated sense of self-sufficiency. Each teacher must find his own
cure. The careful assimilation of the instructions given herein should
effect a change in many a failing teacher.

Again, teachers usually fail to secure obedience if they themselves
refuse to submit to authority. It is difficult, sometimes, for a person
of strong will, well developed talents, and perhaps mature years, to
yield cheerful submission to the requirements of his superiors in the
school system; but the greater the personality, the more evident is the
power of self-control and the consequent skill in so ordering one’s
behavior as to fit properly into the school mechanism.

Sad to say, there are some teachers who are entirely out of place in the
schoolroom. Neither by natural endowment nor technical preparation have
they any equipment that suffices for the duties they have assumed.
School life is to them abnormal. They do not sense the fine adjustments
of pupil and teacher. They can not profit from experience as managers,
or as directors of social activities. They blunder and stumble and fail.
Perhaps for them the best hope is that they may soon discover their
mistake in attempting to teach.

(4) _Community conditions favoring disobedience._ Often a teacher finds
that the standards of action endorsed by the school community are such
as to make his work as a disciplinarian extraordinarily difficult. The
neighborhood heroes are those who have had long careers as bullies.
Conditions of frontier life when rowdyism was the avenue to popular
esteem still may dominate public opinion. There may be a general scorn
of education and the teacher is placed upon the defensive from the very
start. Very frequently religious and racial prejudices at once appear
when the teacher becomes a little known. Circumstances of this sort
require a broad knowledge of human nature and an ever resourceful tact
on the part of the teacher. If he is a man of wide sympathies and
considerable information, he will easily find a starting-point for a
campaign of reform. A cautious foresight will suggest to him that the
leaders of the community be enlisted as sympathetic patrons of the
school, and as his own personal friends. He frequently associates with
the people of the community in church and social affairs, and becomes
familiar with the public enterprises of the community. As rapidly as
possible, he makes himself a well-known exponent of the best sentiment
found in the neighborhood. By thus identifying himself with the most
progressive elements in the community, he leads by following, and
enrolls among his firm friends those who might have become enemies.

The theory of obedience herein expounded is based essentially on
comradeship between pupil and teacher. A good teacher and a typical
public school pupil can easily find common ground and discover a
satisfactory basis of coöperation. The teacher must lead, the pupil will
follow. Under proper conditions obedience comes as a matter of course.
When perplexities arise, specific counsel is needed, but the aim of
every good disciplinarian is to cultivate the soil in such a manner that
only the good fruit of loyal obedience will appear at the harvest.

In discussing the particular instances presented in the following cases,
the purpose is to guide the teacher so as to forestall acts of
disobedience as far as possible. With this, however, are numerous
suggestions as to the best methods of dealing with pupils when they
actually refuse to obey.

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DIVISION III

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CONCRETE CASES ON OBEDIENCE

Let thy child’s first lesson be obedience, and the second will be what
thou wilt.

—_Benjamin Franklin._

------------------------------------------------------------------------

OBEDIENCE

I. FIRST AND SECOND GRADES

1. Wilful Disobedience

Children in the first and second years will be willfully disobedient
only when they have not learned obedience at home. Children come to
school ready-made. Their habits and ideals have been developed at home
or upon the street. Many of these are entirely contrary to school
standards, and moreover, are disapproved by common conscience.

Parents are often quite unable to comprehend the necessity for strict
conformity to a teacher’s plans of instruction, or to the general rules
for good school procedure. Often this is due to the fact that the
parents have never taught the child the value of good order and
obedience. The child rather has learned the many different ways in which
he may evade his parents’ wishes. So he starts to school accustomed to
disobey commands, as in the following instance.

CASE 1

The teacher, speaking from a distance, said,

[Sidenote: Scattered Paper]

“Helen, pick up the paper that is under your desk.” Helen paid no heed
to the command. The teacher repeated her order,

“Helen, pick up that paper.” Still no response. Then said the teacher in
a threatening voice,

“Helen, are you going to pick up that paper?” All eyes were now turned
toward Helen. Here was an opportunity for notoriety.

“No, I don’t want to.”

The teacher now walked back to Helen; taking her by the shoulder she
pushed the girl toward the paper. Helen resisted. The teacher then gave
her two or three vigorous shakes and said in an angry tone, “Pick up
that paper!” Helen complied, but the instant the teacher’s back was
turned she made a wry face at her. During the recitation which
immediately followed, Helen’s answers were short and scornful. The
children all gave more attention to observing the relation between Helen
and the teacher than they did to the subject in hand.

The teacher was at a disadvantage for two reasons: first, she was not
near the child; second, she recalled home experiences by using a form of
request Helen had heard at home and disobeyed scores of times, “Pick
up,” etc.

Helen’s refusal attracted the attention of the other children to herself
and like most children Helen liked to be noticed. Her final attitude
toward the teacher paved the way for a repetition of the offense, with
its promise of further notoriety as a reward.

How would you have managed Helen had she been in your own school? We
suggest the following treatment for the next similar case that occurs.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Walk quietly back toward Helen’s desk. In a spirit of comradeship, make
comments to several children about their work on the way to Helen.

Pause near Helen and show your friendliness by smilingly commending her
work. Then center your attention upon the paper and putting out your
hand, say to her so quietly that no one else hears, “Kindly hand me that
paper.” Expect her to do so. There is little doubt but that she will
hand you the paper with a smile. If she does not do so, tell her quietly
that you will talk with her another time and rest the case there for the
present. On your way back to your desk speak to one or two other
children kindly about their work.

Make Helen your special study. See how she responds to the requests of
other children at play. For some days be perfectly sure that your
commands deal chiefly with acts which she wants to perform. For example,
“Helen, collect the pencils.” “Helen, tell which story you like best.”
“Helen, show Johnnie what page the lesson is on,” etc. Build up in her
mind the fact that you are always her friend. Before many days have gone
by she will obey any command you make.

COMMENTS

Addressing other children before and after speaking individually to
Helen makes less of an event of your interview with her. This will avoid
kindling her feelings of self-consciousness and gratification at being a
topic of general attention. It also shows that you are not greatly
disturbed by her attitude.

Nearness and friendliness envelop the interviews in the right
atmosphere. By centering attention upon the paper, the child will see
that you are not testing her suspiciously as to obedience. You simply
want the paper.

By taking special note of Helen’s behavior you can use various ways of
showing her your real attitude toward her, which is, of course, that of
comradeship and helpfulness. If Helen senses any antagonism in her
teacher, the breach will widen and obedience will be rendered the more
difficult.

Helen may need help to see that her own will can not be safely urged
against that of society as represented by pupils and teacher. She may be
led to comprehend this matter if you carefully show her how the other
pupils fall in with school ways of doing things.

How a tactful person may avoid a clash like that between Helen and her
teacher, may be shown by the following story.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Dealing with a Ringleader]

Some years ago a former teacher of experience, Mrs. J., was asked to
substitute for a day in the second grade of a city school.

She keenly studied her pupils as they gathered in the room before school
opened. Among them was a boy two feet taller than the rest, poorly
dressed, dirty and rude even to viciousness, as he dealt with other
boys. He heeded nobody’s request. Mrs. J. marked him as a typically
disobedient boy. She went to him before the first bell rang and asked
him in a very deferential way to lower the shades in the room to just
the length which _he_ thought would be best. As soon as school came to
order she asked him what desk books would be used the first session.
When the class was called for recitation she found something to commend
in his work while approving that done by other pupils.

She treated him as deferentially as if he were as tractable as any one
else and indeed he proved to be so. He studied hard all day. He spent
the last intermission telling her of home difficulties.

As she bade the children goodbye at the close of school he said,

“I wish you’d teach again tomorrow.” A spirit of comradeship had changed
the disobedient boy into a real friend.

2. Disobedience Due to Commands Unintelligibly Stated

A failure to obey a command may be wholly due to the child’s inability
to understand just what is required of him. This is not really a case of
disobedience at all. It only seems to be such. Since some teachers do
not distinguish between willful disobedience and any unintentional
failure to comply with a request, the following cases are treated under
the caption of disobedience.

CASE 2

[Sidenote: Penmanship]

The subject of the day’s lesson was penmanship. The teacher said,

“Fill the sheet of paper on your desk with ovals. Leave a margin at both
edges.”

The papers were collected and three out of twelve had no margins. Three
children had not yet learned what “margin” meant.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Before using a command in which the word “margin” is used, test the
dullest of the class by pointing to the margin in a book and asking what
this unused space is called.

COMMENTS

Habitual slighting of commands on the part of pupils, even though there
is a valid reason for it, has a tendency to make positive willful
disobedience easier. The removal of all cause of misunderstanding is
therefore important from a disciplinary point of view, as well as for
the sake of the instruction itself. That such cause of misunderstanding
may be removed by the teacher who is sufficiently thorough and
painstaking in preparing the way for the understanding of a new lesson,
is indicated below.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Busy Work]

For busy work, a teacher drew circles and divided each circle into
fourths. One fourth was left white, one colored red, one blue and one
yellow. To prepare for this exercise she drew a similar circle the day
before giving this work, and explained what “one fourth” meant.

Just preceding the exercise she tested the class by use of colored
papers to be sure that each child knew the colors: red, yellow and blue.

She gave her commands very definitely and clearly. The result was a set
of papers, on no one of which had a serious mistake been made. Every
such satisfactory result in obedience strengthens the bond between pupil
and teacher.

3. Disobedience Due to Inattention

Time spent in waiting to be sure every one can give his entire attention
to class instruction is never wasted.

CASE 3

While Arthur was collecting the drawing papers the teacher said,

[Sidenote: Getting Attention]

“Open your Reader at the story we read this morning.” Five out of
fourteen failed to obey this command. Attention was divided between
Arthur and the teacher. Some had forgotten what was read that morning.
The children looked at each other for the desired information. Both
teacher and pupils expected delay. A better method to pursue hereafter
would be the following.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

When all are in their seats, say quietly, “Take your Readers.” When
every one has his book in hand give the page at which it is to be
opened, or if the children do not yet read the numbers, turn the open
book face toward them and say,

“Find this page.” Commend those who find it quickly and noiselessly.

COMMENTS

Habitual repetition of commands cultivates inattention. Instruction
given in small sections seems to urge immediate attention. If no second
command is given until all have obeyed the first one, the laggards will
find the prompt pupils arrayed against them and they will try to
dispatch their own work more quickly.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Folding Papers]

The superintendent of a village school often brought visitors to the
primary room and asked the teacher to have the children fold papers. The
pupils had been taught to fold their arms after each step of work had
been taken. When all arms were folded, a new command was given. These
commands were given in a low tone of voice and it required only a very
little effort to obey each one. The directions were something like this,

“Lay your paper on the desk before you.”

“Take the edge next to you and fold it to the edge farthest from you.”

“Open the paper,” etc.

The teacher waited every time until the pupils all sat with folded arms
before the next command was given. This work was enjoyed by all, largely
because each command was so clearly stated that it was easy to obey.
There was no room for inattention.

II. THIRD AND FOURTH GRADES

1. Disobedience Due to Seemingly Impossible Commands

More and more frequently it is being discovered by teachers that what,
on the face of it, looked like down-right obstinacy or disobedience
really had behind it some physical or physiological handicap. Manifestly
it is the teacher’s duty to try to discover that handicap in each
individual pupil before administering a sharp reproof.

CASE 4

[Sidenote: Slouching]

Miss Snow’s experience will be of interest to teachers in the third and
fourth grades. One morning Miss Snow said,

“Fill one page with this exercise in writing. Put both feet on the
floor. Sit up straight and hold your pen correctly.”

James began his exercise but slouched over his work. Miss Snow saw him
and called out,

“James, sit up straight.” He sat up, but stopped writing. A sullen look
came over his face. Miss Snow said,

“James, you will get no recess until this writing is finished.” He
sneered and stopped writing altogether.

When the other children stood to pass out to recess, James stood with
them, and marched with them half way to the door before Miss Snow
remembered her command. She then went to him, took him by the hand and
none too gently led him to his seat saying,

“Do that writing before you leave this room.”

After the other children had all passed out, he took up the pen and
bending over his work wrote the page and sullenly handed it in three
minutes before the recess was ended. He was listless and inattentive
throughout the next session.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Use the method of approval. Stand near the laggard. Encourage him with
happy remarks about what he has already done soon after he begins. Give
him the benefit of your support throughout his work.

If he slouches over his work, find the _cause_ before trying to remedy
the result. At the next intermission determine whether or not his desk
is the correct height for him. Let another pupil his size see if it
seems right. Give James a simple test to find out whether he can see his
writing when sitting straight. If holding the pen bothers him, use the
Montessori method for establishing its correct manipulation.

COMMENTS

Approval of what he does shows the child your attitude toward him. It
helps to establish the friendship necessary between teacher and pupil in
order that the best work be made possible.

Miss Snow made her pupil pay too high a price for the written work. It
is deplorable to try to remedy a difficulty before its cause is
understood.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Adenoids]

Webbie sat with mouth open and tongue on under lip almost constantly. He
never instantly obeyed commands, but watched other children and followed
their lead. Work tired him too quickly. His teacher, Miss Smith, found
her commands for him to close his mouth heeded for half a minute only.
Her request, “Webbie, be ready to begin work,” was obeyed, but as soon
as class instruction began, in a panic he watched other children and
seemed to take his cue for work from them.

Miss Smith tested his hearing by standing behind him at recess time and
quietly speaking to him. She found his hearing to be very defective. She
decided by experiment on the playground that he could scarcely breathe
with his mouth closed.

His parents were tactfully consulted and following the advice of their
family physician, they had his adenoids removed. His hearing improved so
that he heard and obeyed the teacher’s instructions.

2. Disobedience Occasioned by the Teacher’s Suspicious Attitudes

A suspicious attitude on the part of the teacher as to whether or not
her commands are going to be obeyed weakens her control.

CASE 5

Miss Kuhn saw that Ella was slyly eating during school time. She said,

[Sidenote: Eating]

“Ella, stop eating in school.” Several times thereafter Miss Kuhn peered
round her desk at Ella as if expecting to find her still eating. When
her attention was called to the blackboard and her back was turned
toward the children, several times she turned suddenly and looked at
Ella. She was rewarded for her vigilance by finally seeing Ella chewing.
Miss Kuhn seemed to congratulate herself on her keenness by remarking,

“Ella, didn’t I tell you to stop eating? I can tell what is going on
even if my back is turned. You may stay in at recess.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

We would advise you in such a case to speak to Ella when no one else can
hear, at recess or before or after school. Tell her you do not blame her
for being tempted to eat, but that it is better not to eat during school
time.

Smilingly tell her that you sometimes become so hungry that you can
hardly wait until meal-time.

“What would you think of me if I walked about the room eating an apple
or a piece of pie?”

Select some item on the matter of eating that you know Ella will consent
to and ask for her compliance at that point. It might be this,

“If I find a better place to hang your lunch basket would you like to
use it?”

Having shared with Ella her concern on the care of her lunch, you can
offer suggestions that will lead her away from the practice of eating in
school.

Find out if she is willing to coöperate with you in correcting the
habit. As soon as this state of mind is apparent, if the circumstances
are favorable, in a kindly mood tell her that you will take care of her
lunch for her until recess so as to remove temptation from her. Extend
your hand and expect her to give you the basket. Take care of it
daintily for her and return it to her as soon as recess begins. Set the
example of confidence between teacher and pupil by feeling sure your
commands will be carried out. Show your confidence by your bodily
attitude, face and voice.

COMMENTS

This method is based upon the efficacy of the two principles of approval
and expectancy. Your approval is shown by the lack of faultfinding. You
put yourself in a right attitude of comradeship with Ella by speaking to
her in a kindly way about her misdemeanor. Your extended hand when
asking for the lunch shows that you expect obedience. Friendship is
further developed by your care for her property and prompt return of it
at recess. Children are quick to respond to either confidence or
suspicion.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Interruptions]

Miss Hill was called into the hall by a visitor. As she left her
schoolroom she gave no command as to what was to be done during her
absence. She made no effort to catch the pupils in mischief by thrusting
her head in at the door from time to time as some teachers do in like
circumstances. When she returned to her room she asked no question as to
what had been done during her few minutes of absence. She thus commended
those who were quietly working,

“I am glad to note that the interruption that took me out of the room
did not interfere with your work.”

3. Disobedience Due to Defective Motor Functions

CASE 6

[Sidenote: Awkwardness]

“Minnie, why don’t you rise and walk along with the other pupils when I
call your grade or dismiss the school?” said a third-grade teacher to
one of the older girls.

Ten-year-old Minnie stood by her teacher embarrassed and silent, her
hands making some mild contortions hardly noticeable to a casual
observer. She was not like other children in some ways.

“This morning every time I’ve called you, you have come late or waited
until I have jerked you along. Come, tell me. What’s the matter?”

Miss Jacobs had noted no marked peculiarity in the mental ability of
Minnie. She had been slow in making her grade, but was not at all the
poorest student in her class.

“Come, now, let me see you walk off across the floor. Can’t you walk?
What is the matter with you?” Minnie starts hesitatingly and walks
awkwardly for a few steps. She is plainly confused at the close scrutiny
of her teacher. She stares at Miss Jacobs.

“You may go now,” said the teacher; “but you must mind me next time more
promptly.”

In the afternoon Minnie repeats her dilatory movements. Miss Jacobs at
times forces her to a better speed and once remarked,

“I want you all to notice how lazily Minnie walks.” All eyes are fixed
on her, and with the memory of this painful moment she goes home.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

In such a case, abandon all attitudes of hostility toward the child,
including attempts to correct her conduct by calling her attention to
her “misdemeanors.” Make no mention of them to other pupils. Stand near
her oftentimes when she is obliged to start across the room; take her
hand with a gentle expectancy and urge her to immediate action. Do this
unobtrusively. If she delays, pay little heed to this fact.

Plan for Minnie to take active part in romping games. Induce several of
her schoolmates to take her by the hand and lead her into the games.
This is the best remedy available.

Ascertain if her general health is good. If not, report to the school
physician, nurse or parents if possible. No radical medical measures
will help this case; use methods of physical education, good hygiene,
training in muscular activity, and with these secure freedom from mental
discomfort.

Greet Minnie often with words of approval.

“I watched you girls from the window, Minnie, while you were out at
play. How pretty it is to see so many little girls enjoying themselves!”

“How hard you have been running; you are all out of breath!”

“It was such a fine thing for you to come to me so quickly!”

“Come here and see what I have in my box!”

“Here you are; as fast as a little bird, aren’t you?”

COMMENTS

Minnie is self-conscious regarding her difference from other children.
She needs stimuli to action, not repressive measures. Hostility
represses her; cheerfulness and comradeship incite her to act. All fear
must be eliminated. The teacher being often near her will kindle trust
and friendship. Her powers of imitation are the chief resources for
training in free bodily action. Focus her attention upon the activities
of the others, rather than upon her own awkwardness. The influence of
her playmates will be an almost irresistible suggestion to action of the
form desired. The teacher may note circumstances under which she acts
promptly and use the information in her management of Minnie.

General health and abundant play activity underlie the whole situation.
Neither one can succeed without the other. Minnie’s condition is largely
beyond her own voluntary control. She is suffering from
under-development of the motor side of her constitution. Defects in the
lower motor nerve centers are the prime cause of the ailment. A
corresponding retardation in the development in the cerebral motor areas
has taken place. The child can not image her bodily movements as normal
children do. This unbalanced development in the nervous organization has
been the chief cause of her low standing mentally. Approval will incite
complacency, good cheer, comradeship, hope and the like; these are all
strong contributions to good nerve activity.

Encouragement and gentle stimulation may often be combined.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Slowness]

Freddie Jones came to Darrtown school from a home in which children
received little attention from their parents. Naturally Freddie was
somewhat undeveloped physically, slow and clumsy in all his movements.

“Good morning, Freddie,” said his teacher as he came slowly up the
steps. Miss Patterson took him by the hand as soon as he was within
reach and walked at a smart gait across the floor.

Freddie would have pulled away, but the teacher’s hand felt so friendly
as it clasped his own and her pleasant chatter left no time for him to
plan resistance.

“Now run out and play until I ring the bell.” Freddie was willing to go,
but moved with a lazy deliberation. Just at that moment a group of noisy
players dashed past the door and Miss Patterson clasped Freddie by the
hand and fairly rushed him along, saying,

“Here we go”; and,

“We’ll soon catch up with them.”

As soon as she had landed Freddie among the romping children, she
stopped and waving her hand to Freddie, gave him another cheering word.

When the bell rang Freddie was the last to form in line. She gently
hastened his step and marched beside him, urging him with her hand to
keep the pace.

III. FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES

1. Disobedience as a Result of Parents Defaming a Teacher

Often parents are to blame for an attitude of antagonism which their
children take against the teacher. A case often found in the fifth or
sixth grade is presented.

CASE 7

[Sidenote: Sneering]

Miss Sheldon, a brilliant young teacher, had, in her school days, a
rival for school honors in the person of Mary Linton. When Miss Sheldon
began her school in District No. 20, Mary Linton’s brother’s children
were her pupils. The rivalry between the girls was dwelt upon and Miss
Sheldon’s scholarship was adversely criticized by the Lintons. As a
result Frank Linton, a bright boy aged eleven, began school with the
idea of finding fault with Miss Sheldon as to scholarly ability. His
constant reference to the dictionary when she used a word new to him,
his forever asking her to prove her statements, etc., irritated her. The
feeling of antagonism grew between them, until finally Frank often spoke
to her with a sneer. She commanded him to speak respectfully to her. He
disobeyed.

One recess Miss Sheldon said to a grown girl in the school,

“Cut me some switches from the willows out there and leave them on the
front porch by the door. I am going to whip Frank Linton after recess.”

The girl, a friend of Miss Sheldon, did as commanded.

Soon after recess Frank used his customary sneering tone in answer to
Miss Sheldon. She went to his seat near the back of the room, jerked him
to his feet, and started with him to the door. The hate in his face was
so marked as almost to distort his features. He clung with hands and
feet to every desk he passed, while she, with great effort, loosened his
hold upon one seat after another and steadily but slowly dragged him to
the door. When there, she literally used up the switches on him. He
cried from vexation rather than from pain, and was sullen for the
remainder of the day.

No marked change in Frank’s behavior followed this punishment. The feud
between Frank and Miss Sheldon lasted until school closed. The bright,
happy boy was in her presence a sullen little rebel.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Do not visit upon a child the misdemeanor of his elders. If you have
reason to believe that a child’s parents talk against you, visit them
with a determination to show them that you have their child’s best
welfare at heart. Show them that you understand him by pointing out
wherein he excels, and where you hope to strengthen him. Be sure that
they see your attitude of genuine friendliness.

Never attempt by force to make a child show friendliness to you.

COMMENTS

The trouble originated with the attitude of the parents toward Miss
Sheldon, therefore the first step in correction is to make the parents
her friends. It is really teaching a child to act a lie if you compel
him by force to treat you with kindness when he does not regard you as a
friend. Your business is to establish the proper relation between
yourself and your pupil. Forcing a semblance of right will never create
the reality.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Backwardness]

Let us take an illustration from a case just as it actually happened.
Will Taylor was sixteen years old. He was physically perfect, yet
scarcely able to do work in the fourth grade although actually in the
sixth. His father enjoyed outbreaking trouble. The home was just then in
turmoil over the disgrace of the eldest daughter. Mr. Taylor’s love for
getting even with fate somewhere would be satisfied if he could force a
combat between Will and his teacher, Mrs. Brown. Mrs. Brown’s control of
her school was excellent. Her friendship for the children was genuine.
Some of them told her that Will’s father had “put him up” to disobey her
and see what would happen.

Will was so much under his father’s influence that he openly and
purposely disobeyed Mrs. Brown. He forced an issue. She punished him and
he hurried home from school and told his father, whereupon his father
rode furiously to the schoolhouse in order to arrive before Mrs. Brown
left after school. He keyed up his anger on the road by uttering curses
as he went. During the two following days Taylor’s threats were so
serious that the board of education met with Mrs. Brown to discuss
matters. Taylor had demanded her resignation or threatened to make life
miserable for her.

She decided finally to go to his house and _make_ him see the truth.
When she announced her decision the members of the board said they
almost feared to have her encounter such a man. But she went to his
house. He was not at home, he was on his way home from the county seat
where he had been talking against Mrs. Brown to the county
superintendent.

On the arrival of Mrs. Brown at the house, Mrs. Taylor met her with
tears over the disgrace of her daughter.

Mrs. Brown forgot her own trouble in her sympathy with the mother. Her
words were so helpful to Mrs. Taylor that she asked Mrs. Brown to repeat
them to the daughter. This, Mrs. Brown was doing when Taylor returned
and, unseen by Mrs. Brown, entered the room where she was trying to
point out a hopeful course for the daughter.

A real insight into Mrs. Brown’s character was thus given to Taylor. He
came forward and apologized to Mrs. Brown for his behavior, dictated a
letter to the county superintendent telling him that all was peaceably
settled and that Taylor was ready to support Mrs. Brown. He further said
that Will should go to school and be obedient. Thereafter the Taylors
were staunch friends of Mrs. Brown. This good woman treasures the
incident in her memory with great satisfaction, and often relates it in
public with good effect.

“In brief, the truth is that savageness begets savageness, and
gentleness begets gentleness. Children who are unsympathetically
treated become relatively unsympathetic; whereas treating them
with due fellow-feeling is a means of cultivating their
fellow-feeling.”

—_Spencer_.

2. Disobedience Due to Imitation of Others

[Sidenote: Annoying Acts]

In every community there are leading families. The reason why they are
such is usually very apparent. Children of these families often set an
example of disobedience in school which has direful consequences.

CASE 8

Emma Gardner’s father was the leading member of the board of education
of a New England school. The Gardner home was the largest and finest in
the surrounding country. Mr. Gardner was a man of wealth and influence.
Emma was a leader in school.

One day in winter she put chestnuts on the stove at recess time and they
popped about the room after the next school session began.

“Who put those nuts on the stove?” asked Mr. Bain, the teacher, in a
loud voice. “Whoever did must pick them up and stand up here.”

Emma arose defiantly from her seat and said, “I did. I won’t touch them,
and if you touch me I’ll tell my father.”

Needless to say, Mr. Bain let the incident pass. Emma at the age of
sixty still boasted of her independence at school during her girlhood
days, because she was Squire Gardner’s daughter. She remembered further
that this was only the beginning of disobedience throughout the school.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Find out, even before school begins, if possible, who the leading
families are in the district. Study especially the children from such a
family and find what they excel in, or what they best like to do. Find a
means of organizing their followers into a sort of club. See that these
dominating personalities are elected as leaders. Dealing with the most
influential pupil, cause her to see what good she can accomplish by
contributing her time and efforts toward being a real leader in sewing,
drawing, music, composition, etc. If sewing is the particular art in
which she excels give space in the schoolroom for an exhibition of work
of that kind, ask the mothers on some Friday afternoon to inspect the
articles made. If drawing is the special subject, give a similar
exhibition. If music, let her prepare a musical program. If composition,
a contest can be arranged for best essays, poems, etc., or a school
paper edited and read.

COMMENTS

In cases like the foregoing the use of the principle of substitution is
almost a necessity. Emma wants distinction and leadership. Satisfy her
desire by letting her lead in some really beneficial work. She will
enjoy it and have no time for showing leadership in wrongdoing. By
turning her activities into right channels, not only her own tendency
toward disobedience is repressed, but her leadership saves others from
misbehavior. “The dictum, ‘Keep pupils busy,’ finds a much more
practical and dignified expression in what may be termed the ‘doctrine
of substitution.’ This doctrine would prevent the expression of
undesirable impulses by substituting some other form of activity rather
than by requiring an absolute inhibition of all movement.”[2]

Footnote 2:

Bagley, _Classroom Management_, p. 103. Macmillan.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Minister’s Son]

When Miss Travis was elected to teach the sixth grade at Concord, she
was told that it was a room in which it was hard to keep order. She
sought the former teacher of the room before the opening day, and was
told that John Loomis, the preacher’s son, was the leader in matters of
disorder among the boys. Miss Travis next called on Rev. Mr. Loomis and
learned that John had taken great interest in a museum which he had
visited that summer. Very early in the year she consulted John as to the
practicability of establishing a tiny museum in the sixth grade room. A
museum club was organized consisting of any one who brought a specimen
for the exhibit. John, of course, was elected president of the club. A
small cabinet was secured and its shelves began slowly to fill. The
leader was influencing his associates to follow him in doing a valuable
service.

3. Disobedience Due to Commanding at an Inopportune Time

There are times when the atmosphere of the schoolroom makes routine
almost impossible. The nearness of a long-looked-for event in which all
are interested very often is the occasion for a feeling of unrest to
pervade the room.

CASE 9

[Sidenote: Laughing]

It was the thirtieth of October. Ralph Davis brought a mask to school
and slipped it into his desk. During school he put down his head, put on
the ugly mask, and, peering ’round behind him, frightened John Lane into
a decided jump.

Mary Jones saw the whole performance. She was a nervous child and burst
out laughing. Miss Wallace, her teacher, said sternly,

“What are you laughing about, Mary?”

Mary was usually an obedient girl, but now she felt as if her
explanation would compromise her friends, so she made no reply. The
teacher repeated,

“Mary, what are you laughing at?” Again no response. Said Miss Wallace,

“Mary, are you going to tell me what you are laughing at?” Mary sat
perfectly quiet for a moment, and then decidedly shook her head. Miss
Wallace said, “Come and stand here.”

For the rest of that session Mary stood by the teacher’s desk. After
school closed Mary was informed that she could not go home until she
told what she was laughing at. After about ten minutes of endurance she
told Miss Wallace why she laughed and was excused. Mary knew injustice
had been done her, but her teacher apparently thought nothing about it.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

When a pupil laughs aloud, find out for yourself the cause without
trying to get a confession from the pupil. Use your eyes and ears and
you can discover the difficulty if there are repeated offences. When the
culprit is found, deal with him by using the method of substitution. In
other words, give him and his classmates some interesting task connected
with his lessons.

COMMENTS

It is often unfair to punish the pupil who laughs in school. People
seldom laugh aloud at their own mistakes. Nine times out of ten one
child must condemn another if he tells what he laughed at. A child’s
code of ethics often demands that he keep silent when his confession
involves another. If his loyalty to his comrades leads him to
disobedience, often the teacher forgets to deal with the real culprit,
having her attention now directed toward the disobedience of the one who
unwillingly brought the disturbance to notice.

ILLUSTRATION 1

[Sidenote: Excitement]

It was the day before the Christmas vacation. Poorly concealed
excitement was apparent in the actions of the children. Hazel Dare
laughed aloud. Miss Dean soon noted the cause of the outbreak of
merriment. Johnny Thomas had drawn a grotesque figure of Santa Claus
overloaded with bundles marked “for Johnny, the brave.” Miss Dean saw
that routine work could be pursued only with difficulty. She presently
asked to have all desks put in order. Unusual exercises in reading,
arithmetic and geography were introduced. At an early hour the children
were dismissed. The unusual excitement was met by an unusual program.

A fruitful cause for the giving of inopportune commands is an inherent
lack of sympathy with children, or perhaps a total lack of sense of
humor. Laughter in school, when spontaneous and genuine, is not a
misdemeanor, but a sign that normal, healthy conditions reign there.

ILLUSTRATION 2

[Sidenote: Fun]

One snowy afternoon in January, when the fifth grade of the Lincoln
School was busy to a man preparing the spelling lesson with which the
day closed, the energetic silence was broken suddenly by a little
gurgling giggle. It rippled through the room with almost electric
intensity, and every boy and girl looked up, on the _qui vive_ for the
joke.

Miss Key, who had been correcting papers at her desk, looked up, too, an
expectant smile upon her lips.

“Something funny, Bernice?” she said to the giggler, affectionate
tolerance in her voice.

“Yes’m,” answered Bernice. “Bert has a picture in his tablet of a big
pile of round things, and it says something funny underneath. He showed
it to me.”

“Bert shouldn’t have shown it to you when you were studying your
spelling lesson, should he?” suggested Miss Key.

“No’m, I know he oughtn’t to.”

“But since Bert showed it to you, I think he should show it to the rest
of us too, so we can all enjoy it together. What is it, Bert?”

Bert flushed, and rather shamefacedly held up his tablet. Under the “big
pile of round things” was this legend:

KIND REDER, THIS IS NOT A PILE OF ORNAGES. IT IS MY SPELING
GRADES FOR LAST MONTH.

As Bert was the poorest speller in the room, this exhibit caused a
general laugh. He had often been known to miss every word in the lesson.

Miss Key laughed with the rest, heartily; but when she raised her hand
after a moment, everyone stopped as though automatically shut off, and
settled down again to study as Miss Key said,

“You’ll try not to add another zero to your list tonight, won’t you,
Bert?”

Miss Key enjoyed fun, and was so close to her pupils that she
appreciated their kind of humor. It was understood in her room that if
an incident was funny enough to be laughed at, it should be shared by
all who might enjoy it.

The absence of an artificial condemnation of fun made Bernice and Bert
perfectly frank in explaining the cause of their mirth, which prevented
any misunderstanding with the teacher. The sunny atmosphere of trust and
humorous appreciation of situations made it possible for Miss Key to
secure strict observance of the signal to stop laughing and go to work.

IV. SEVENTH AND EIGHTH GRADES

1. Disobedience Due to Overemphasis of Rules

Every good school must proceed through an orderly series of typical
events. A school is not a mob wandering over square feet of ground,
meandering through wearisome ways. It is an organized mass of busy
workers taking one task after another and doing it in the best manner
its overseer can devise. Nevertheless some eager teachers stress order
and strain at system until both break. Here is the place of weakness and
blame when this occurs: these teachers talk too much about how the
children ought to act, instead of focusing attention upon the effect of
the act upon the school as a whole and upon the best way to coöperate in
preventing undesirable effects, expressing their ideas of good behavior
in rules. We have a sample of running a school by rules, where seventh
and eighth grade pupils are involved.

CASE 10

[Sidenote: Order]

“Now, children, I saw yesterday how muddy your feet were when you
stepped on to the walk from the playground; and then you marched
instantly into your schoolroom and muddied the floor all over.

“Remember, no more muddy feet in this school building this winter. Make
it a rule to scrape off the mud carefully before you come in. Be careful
now about the mud.”

There is a lapse of some minutes and this guide of youths again breaks
out:

“Jane, did you take your books home last night and work an hour on your
lessons? You know our rule about that. Why didn’t you do it?” No answer
and no defined idea of what her future conduct will be.

Just before intermission is announced Miss Petit again speaks out:

“Hereafter I want every boy and girl in this room to make a search for
scraps of paper. Our room looks so untidy unless we clean it up a bit.
Don’t forget, I want, every noon and night, each one of you to obey me
and pick up your scraps.”

Later: “Say there, Walter, you haven’t set your desk in order before
going home. Don’t you know what good schoolroom manners call for? Why
don’t you have good manners, such as your folks want you to have at
home?”

This was an unusually hard day. The last was a climax of irritations
that provoked Walter beyond the strength of his patience. “Miss Petit, I
don’t want to keep my desk in order; I’m tired of doing everything just
so.”

Miss Petit stared in pedagogical horror; this from Walter!

“Why, what do you mean, Walter? Aren’t you coming to school any more?”

“Yes, I s’pose I’ll come, but I can’t think of all these little things,
and I don’t care if I do forget ’em.”

This was a strange situation. Walter was not a boy who would provoke
trouble; surely something must be done to put this young man on the
track again.

Miss Petit knew something about keeping order. It had not been so long
since she had heard her teacher use some such words as these:

“Now, children, remember this is a new term. I want you to watch your
lessons. I’m going to have good lessons. There’s a lot of good hickory
sprouts growing nearby here and we’ll be cutting some of them if lessons
don’t come in right. I won’t hold back. You know the rules. I’ll break a
hickory for every rule you break and you’ll feel it breaking, now, you
may be sure.”

Miss Petit did not intend to make any such announcements. But
nevertheless she had been taught under the whipping system and the
effects were stored up among her ideas of how to conduct a school. In
reality she whipped very little; instead she lashed with her tongue. She
held up the rules and browbeat her pupils into obeying them. Here was
the result in Walter’s new conduct.

She sat down with Walter (he was good enough to wait according to her
command) and delivered a long harangue on the necessity for good order
in the school.

Every word was an insult to him and he knew it. He listened in silence,
with an occasional smile of irony and made some general promise,
secretly determined to try out these rules and see what was to happen if
“the old granny” couldn’t have her way about the forty-odd things that
she wanted to manage in the seventh grade room.

Thus matters stood. They did not improve until a new dawn broke in the
mind of Miss Petit.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Convert the statements about doing school duties in good fashion into a
form of coöperation between pupils and teacher. Drop out the first
personal pronoun and put the entire school behind the plans for a clean
schoolroom floor, about home study and all the other hundred things that
need to be done.

Taking up the matter of the disposal of wraps:

“All we want is to make ourselves as little trouble as possible. Do you
all understand? We are all going to hang our wraps up in the cloak-room
as we march into this room instead of coming in just before the bell
rings to form line. We’ll do this tomorrow and see if it suits our
convenience. Then we’ll decide on the future after that.”

Here the teacher drops the matter, leaving with the pupils before her a
conviction that the best thing for all concerned is to be done. She
speaks with a pleasant, confident voice, a faint smile creeping over her
face and her hands resting in a position of readiness for action of
whatever sort might be required.

In respect to the muddy feet—step to the children as they are coming
into the school building and show each one the scraper and see that the
proper precautions are taken. Have an object lesson first before
delivering a lecture and laying down rules, as neither one may be
needed.

And in the matter of picking up scraps:

“I see some paper on the floor. Of course we want to leave the room
neat, so let us allow a moment just before dismissal for picking up
anything that may have fallen on the floor, in spite of our care. And
what will be the quickest way of getting our scraps into the
waste-basket?”

“Let each person at the back of the row gather them up and carry them to
the basket,” suggests one boy.

“I think it would be better to let one of us carry the basket around to
all the desks,” says another.

“Suppose we try John’s method for three days, and then Marion’s for
three days, and see which is the quicker and works the smoother,” says
the teacher.

So the pupils experiment with methods, and finally agree upon a mode of
procedure.

In general, secure the coöperation of the pupils by leading them to do
what they themselves deem to be the best thing for the sake of pleasant
surroundings and of delightful work.

Build up their imperfect good taste rather than attempt to forcibly
direct their choices of standards of behavior.

Walter’s case needs no radical attention. The less said to him about
resolving to disobey the rules the better. He doubtless has enough sound
sense to see along with the rest that many people working together must
adopt certain ways of getting on. Take his superficial answers, if he
gives any, at full face value unless a genuine case of positive
rebellion arises. If a tactful request had been made respecting the
cleaning up of the desk, Walter would not have shown any resentment.

Give Walter an opportunity to act with independence. Assign him some
task of leadership among the pupils, along with others who also are
needed to make school work go well. Commend him for such coöperation. He
is spoiling for aggressive action; he chafes under domination—load him
heavily with something to do for the teacher, for his room, or for the
whole school.

COMMENTS

Pupils watch keenly to see if a teacher is over-conscious of his
authority. Possession of power easily leads a teacher to over-emphasize
rules. Faultfinding is the chief error into which this teacher has
fallen. A wise caution says things are not so bad as they seem, and
waits for the worst evils to appear before adopting radical measures.
Eagerness to reform generally hits upon the most obvious faults, not
upon the most serious ones. These facts together may overwhelm a
thoughtless teacher with disastrous blunders.

Prison rules kill men. School rules crush childhood if their importance
be too greatly magnified.

Pupils expect to follow a teacher’s example. “Children do not like to do
wrong better than to do right. They like to do the things they
themselves plan to do. They like to do the things that are interesting
to themselves.” If the teacher without public demonstrativeness first of
all acts in the manner she recommends, a strong suggestion is lodged in
the pupil’s mind. The most suitable bridge between the teacher’s ideal
of action for her school and the mind of those pupils is not a rule, but
coöperative action. Let her work with the pupils and induce them by
example to try gentle tones and kind words, while doing that which
interests them.

A foolish teacher attempts to cure every moody pupil by applying drastic
remedies to the specific attitude of mind which seems to her to be
undesirable. The wise teacher nurtures the good impulses and finds to
her delight that most of the evil ones ultimately drop out.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: “On Trust”]

Prisons are not much like schools. Nevertheless the great principles of
personal leadership appear in prison administration. Note in the
following incident how willing the response is to an opportunity for
independent, yet supervised action. Trustfulness (a typical form of
coöperation) begets confidence and self-control in using new
opportunities.

Thomas Mott Osborne records the following conversation with a prisoner.
It reveals in another level of society how trust begets fidelity. Jack,
a prisoner, speaks:

“I know this place through and through. I know these men; I’ve studied
them for years. And I tell you that the big majority of these fellows in
here will be square with you, if you give ’em a chance. The trouble is
we ain’t treated on the level. I could tell you all sorts of frame-ups
they give us. Now if you trust a man, he’ll try and do what’s right;
sure he will. That is, most men will. Of course, there are a few that
won’t. There are some dirty curs—degenerates—that will make trouble, but
there ain’t so very many of those.”

“Look at that road work,” he continues. “Haven’t the men done fine?”
“How many prisoners have you out on the roads? About one hundred and
thirty. And you ain’t had a single runaway yet. And if there should be
any runaways, you can just bet we’d show ’em what we think about it.”

“Do you really believe, Jack, that the superintendent and the warden
could trust you fellows out in the yard on Sunday afternoons in summer?”

“Sure they could,” responds Jack, his face beginning to flush with
pleasure at the thought.[3]

2. The Teacher Expects Disobedience

When we consider that some teachers expect children in general to be
untrustworthy, the marvel is that they ever find them otherwise.

CASE 11

[Sidenote: Theft]

It was the closing day of the school year in a Chicago ward school. The
manual training department was left open in order that those who had not
taken home their last piece of handiwork might get it as they left the
schoolhouse that day. Mr. Ireland, the director in this department, had
an errand on the floor above, so he called to two boys, Julius and
Henry, and said, “Boys, stay here till I come back, will you? Don’t let
anyone take anything out of the room while I’m gone.” “All right,” they
replied.

Footnote 3:

Osborne, _Society and Prisons_, p. 155. Yale Press.

Half an hour later Charles went to the room to get his finished
bird-house, and behold, it was gone! Julius and Henry joined Charles and
Mr. Ireland in the search. The bird-house was simply not in the room.
Mr. Ireland pointed out the exact spot where he left it. Julius and
Henry confessed to having seen it there, but said they knew nothing
about how it got away.

Mr. Ireland offered to make Charles a new bird-house, but Charles would
not accept the offer. Mr. Ireland gave his ’phone number to Julius and
Henry, telling them if they heard of the bird-house to let him know. He
also promised to let Charles know if anything was heard of it, and thus
dismissed the matter. Charles felt keenly that Mr. Ireland had taken the
whole matter too lightly. Nothing whatever was said about the
disobedience of Julius and Henry after promising to guard the room.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Responsibility]

Stiffen up your demands requiring fidelity in pupils. Give strict,
perhaps stern injunctions about guarding the treasures given into their
charge.

Say to Julius and Henry: “Charles has suffered a real loss and I know
you fellows are as sorry about it as I am. It’s just this way: suppose
you or I left a suit-case at the station and got a check for it,
wouldn’t we expect to get our suit-case back again? I really think I am
a good deal to blame for this myself. When you both said, ‘All right,’ I
might have made it a little plainer that I wanted you to keep a sharp
eye on this property.

“I tell you what you do; you get the bird-house for me. See if you can
get it to me by five o’clock this afternoon.”

When selecting custodians of property be sure that at least one of each
group is a pupil in which you have the utmost confidence. Nevertheless
assign duty of this sort to pupils who are not so dependable, linking
them up with trustworthy schoolmates; duty of this type should not be
confined to a favored few.

If a breach of confidence occurs, follow up the matter unrelentingly.
The words employed to secure the desired information may be well
tempered; but the certainty of rigid inquiry should not be suspended for
a moment.

Teacher and administrator are to maintain an atmosphere of unreserved
insistence that the common virtues be rigorously maintained by the
pupils and that fidelity when these virtues are involved in discharging
a duty must be preserved at all hazards.

The attitude of expectancy is one of the greatest safeguards against
criminal negligence.

COMMENTS

The majority of children too seldom meet with an unwavering demand that
a certain task be attended to in a given manner and at a specified time.

Lessons on such matters need not be frequent nor burdensome; but they
should not be lacking for every child in school.

General carelessness found in the ordinary experiences in dealing with
children, too readily leads a teacher to become lax in his demands upon
pupils. Infinite patience is needed in training those who have not
learned persistent devotion to a duty.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Detectives]

After Mr. Ireland had seemingly dismissed the subject of the stolen
bird-house from his mind, Charles reported his loss to the principal,
Mr. DeShane.

Mr. DeShane called Henry and Julius to him at once and said,

“You boys either know where that bird-house is or can find out inside of
an hour. Your honor demands that you get it. You are the detectives.
Deliver the house at Charles’ home before an hour goes by.”

The thief was found and the bird-house given to the owner, largely
because Mr. DeShane expected it.

3. Disobedience Due to Unregulated Independence in the Child

Children of the adolescent age often feel the impulse to avoid
supervision, and yet are not reasonable in their independence.

CASE 12

[Sidenote: Irresponsibility]

When Goldie Johnson reached the eighth grade her mother often remarked
to a neighbor,

“Goldie is in the graduating class now. She doesn’t have to take care of
little Joseph all the time. She is getting too big to be kept at
dish-washing and dusting, too.”

Goldie’s reaction to this treatment by her mother was carried into the
school where her independence and antipathy to authority were shown in
her determination to escape hard work. Accordingly, she repeatedly
failed to hand in the required home work in arithmetic.

The teacher, Miss Cook, undertook to command her to do her work. She
failed to comply. Disobedience and carelessness were shown in other
lines of work. Goldie failed to complete the eighth grade work. She
refused to go to school the following year. The result was that her
education ended here. She would have gone to high school had she not
been allowed to fail in the eighth grade.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Find out if possible the exact cause of Goldie’s failure to present work
the first time she brings none. Study her attitude when she disobeys
other commands. On some occasion outside of school hours meet Goldie and
explain why she should comply with school requirements, using some such
points as these:

“Goldie, the school is conducted for the pupils’ sake. After many
efforts to discover methods that will help pupils to learn as fast as
possible, we have adopted these now in use. Your father and mother
require us to use our best judgment; they trust to your good sense to
see that we are trying to select study plans, etc., that will bring you
the most good.

“With all sincerity I want to say that if at any time you see how we
could get better results by adopting some of your ideas, we shall
certainly be glad to get them. Be frank and tell us. Let me have a
chance to help you over difficult places before you get thoroughly
discouraged. I want to do everything I can to make your work a success.”

Show her your interest in her case by arranging to stay with her after
school while she does her extra work. See to it that she does the work
before she leaves the schoolroom. Expect the work to be done.

COMMENTS

Teachers often underestimate the efficacy of a pointed, sincere talk
with an eighth grade pupil. If all faultfinding is eliminated from this
interview, defense of his conduct seems less necessary to him and he
will be influenced by reason.

“A quiet, frank, heart-to-heart talk between disciplinarian and
disciplined, will often prove a revelation to both. The offending boy
has his point of view and has a full right to look at school matters
from his angle until, through tactful, kindly management he gains a new
viewpoint.”[4]

Footnote 4:

Pearson, _The High School Problem_, p. 106. Row, Peterson & Co.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Written Work]

A large class of eighth grade pupils had different teachers for
different subjects. Near the beginning of the school year, Mr. Smith,
one of the teachers, said to Mrs. Lathrop, a teacher of another subject,

“That class simply will not prepare written work for me. They
deliberately disobey me about it.”

Mrs. Lathrop had seen no signs of rebellion in the class. Soon she
ordered written work handed in for the next day. She made her
explanation of what she wanted done very exact. The task she set was
easy and required little time. She expected to have work from every
pupil. She was not disappointed. After the papers were handed in she
told the pupils how pleased she was to get a well-prepared paper from
each one. She talked a moment about the mental and moral strength of the
class, and of her hopes regarding a year’s work with them.

Needless to say, a very strong bond of good faith grew up between her
and the class. They never collectively or individually failed her. She
used with them the principles of expectancy and approval. Mr. Smith
failed with the same class through faultfinding.

A man may well bring a horse to the water
But he cannot make him drink without he will.
—_John Heywood._

V. THE HIGH SCHOOL

1. Disobedience Due to Faultfinding Resulting in Useless Punishment

CASE 13

[Sidenote: Destructiveness]

Charles and Henry are in the principal’s office. “Did you boys visit the
tower last night and write your names on the hands of the clock?” The
boys assent. “Did you know that that door is kept locked so as to
prevent people from going up in the tower?” Again the boys say, “Yes.”

“Let’s see! You boys have been in here several times, haven’t you? You
got a whipping for fighting. Again I punished you for playing ball in
the neighbors yards. And after that you were punished for repeatedly
abusing the apparatus in the gymnasium. At another time you two went
with a basket ball team contrary to my plan. What do you think is to
come of all this? Do you like the whippings?”

The boys are very quiet until the last question. Charles answers: “I
don’t think we have been bad, and—”

“Well, that’s not left for you to decide. We are trying to make
something of you, and all this rough treatment is brought on by your own
reckless disregard for the rules and orders in force in the school. You
will each bring in twenty extra problems in algebra and also pay for the
repairing of the tower clock. If I catch you in the tower again you will
both get a much more severe punishment. Do you understand?”

After the boys left, Mr. Elsworth remarked to one of his teachers:

“When I come to school in the morning I never feel quite sure that I
shall not have to whip one or both of these boys for some foolish,
thoughtless scrape. I quite dread seeing either Charles or Henry. I may
have to expel Charles.”

Charles has suffered occasional floggings all through the grades. When
another pupil reports to Charles the principal’s remark about expulsion,
he becomes alarmed. He is doing fair work in school; and has not failed
in winning promotion at the end of each year. His power over Henry is
irresistible; they are constant chums. Their escapades never have
provoked the severest penalties. They shared punishments because both
joined in accepting equal responsibility. They rarely lied about their
misdeeds and timed them so as to avoid cumulative indignation until the
last incident.

Charles is bold, venturesome, knows the country roads well all about
town, has some taste for animal study and easily takes the lead, but has
not been cultivated in this particular. He is just approaching his
fifteenth birthday.

The penalty method has failed. Only one aspect of it has had any
considerable influence with the boys—the possibility of expulsion.

The principal has let the matter drag along in a heedless fashion, with
no clear policy in mind.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Give the boys special attention, without disclosing it to the other
pupils. Adopt a well-thought-out policy. Watch the effect of every move
you make. Have a great deal more “up your sleeve” than the boys find
out.

Plan at once a series of excursions into the country in connection with
the science courses, not as a reward, but as a part of the school
program.

Assign certain important, though not conspicuous tasks, to several
members of the group, including Charles and Henry. At first keep the two
boys together on a task; later separate them and give each a new
team-mate.

On successive trips, as occasion suggests, ask Charles to lay out the
route for the party or to secure a conveyance to bring home a sick girl
or to gather information and report on habits of squirrels in the
region.

Give private verbal expression to Charles of your appreciation of his
work: “The trips to the country seem to depend very largely on you for
their success. You are taking a leading part in the management of these
affairs. We appreciate your service very much.”

On suitable occasions give Charles practice in obedience on small
points. For example, all are sitting about the lunch spread on the
ground in the woods. A beautiful butterfly alights in your easy reach.
Extend your hand with eager expectancy and some subdued haste and say,

“Charles, hand me the net please.” The task is very slight; there is
very little chance of disobedience. Repetition of such lessons should be
secured as often as possible and on each occasion express your
satisfaction and thanks.

If stronger reactions from the boys are needed, assign special congenial
tasks for the good of the school: erection of basket ball poles, laying
of tennis courts, handling of properties connected with class play. Work
with them.

Avoid all reference to past misconduct. Never use school duties as
penalties; it begets dislike for them.

COMMENTS

Boys become hardened to corporal or other severe punishments too often
repeated. Pain seems due to fate and loses nearly all of its little
corrective value. With rare exceptions penalties inflicted provoke
mutual antagonism between pupil and teacher. This inhibits the
development of character.

Mr. Elsworth made no headway with the punishment method. If he wisely
adopts the plan to direct the activities of the boys instead of
suppressing them, he can win the respect and good-will of the
disobedient boys. He must avoid “testing” their loyalty as far as
possible; any slight lapse is a serious backward step. Time is needed to
effect a cure; years of mismanagement cannot be remedied in a few days.

If Mr. Elsworth reverses his attitude toward the boys the method will be
effective; his opinion of, and known sentiments regarding, these boys
have more significance than all the plans he may adopt.

If practice in obedience is given on matters pertaining to the school
welfare, the boys will have a persistent social reason for doing right.
The principal is to convince them that he is merely expressing plans for
courses of action that the school welfare demands; he is not making a
private matter of his control of the boys.

2. Disobedience Due to Commands That Infringe on Personal Rights

There are many fine distinctions on what are a pupil’s remaining
personal rights after once he enters school. In many cases a teacher has
a right to know what a boy has in his pockets or what a girl has placed
in her lunch basket. A superintendent under some circumstances may order
a boy to bring from home a knife involved in a fight. Under other
circumstances such authority would not be granted either by law or by
public sentiment.

CASE 14

Mr. Herron went to the school board meeting and made a request.

[Sidenote: Dropping Things]

“The boys are not under good control. I think I need authority to use
corporal punishment. I would like you to grant this authority at this
meeting.” The request was granted.

Mr. Herron next day made the following announcement:

“No more painting pans to be dropped, not one. I was at the school board
meeting last night and my request for the right to use force to secure
obedience was granted.”

He seemed two inches taller for a moment as he came to the climax of his
speech. But the quality of his voice did not promise any stronger
manhood than he had displayed hitherto.

He had scarcely finished his talk until a “careless” elbow knocked a pan
to the floor and a long familiar rattle was again echoed over the
schoolroom.

Mr. Herron knew who was the offender, but did not disclose the fact.
Soon he walked nonchalantly up from a rear position toward Herbert
Brown. Herbert eyed him through the corner of his eye and squared
himself for trouble.

Presently Mr. Herron stepped up to Herbert and in a flash struck him a
light blow on the side of the head, saying in a strong voice,

“Take that.”

Herbert threw up his hand to shield his face from attack and said, “Take
what?”

“Put your hand down,” was the next command. No response, but a taunting
look from Herbert.

“Put down your hand, I tell you.”

Mr. Herron had forgotten all about the dropping of the paint pan and was
intent on securing obedience to another command. He failed. He allowed
his attention to be diverted to another part of the room, his attitude
of authority to subside, and Herbert to do whatever he found to do.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Reform Yourself First]

Instead of force, a reorganizing of the teacher’s ideas is the only
remedy. Forget all about coercion and compel yourself to solve the
problem by some other method. Keep your desk in order. Be absolutely
punctual. Carry out your personal and school program to the letter. Be
fully prepared to teach each subject interestingly. Expect to reform
yourself and your school on doing what is appointed to be done on time
and thoroughly. Stiffen up your thinking. Gather up anecdotes of
success, especially from the modern business world. Turn all the impulse
to use force on the pupils into will power to build up your own
character; compel yourself and the school will follow you.

The whole method of showing authority, threatening to use force,
attacking the noise problem with a mere “talk,” the cuffing of Herbert
on the head, the command to take down the hand, shows the folly of
leaning on coercion. Some schools suffer little from successful
coercion, but this teacher was a conspicuous failure. To this day his
pupils despise him. But a policy of force dare not be surrendered during
a conflict.

Thomas Hughes gave the following advice about fighting among boys; it
may be of interest to our Mr. Herron:

[Sidenote: When to Fight]

“As for fighting, keep out of it if you can, by all means. When the time
comes, if ever it should, that you have to say, ‘Yes,’ or ‘No,’ to a
challenge to fight, say, ‘No,’ if you can—only take care you make it
clear to yourself why you say, ‘No.’ It’s a proof of the highest
courage, if done from true Christian motives. It’s quite right and
justifiable, if done from simple aversion to physical pain and danger.
But don’t say, ‘No,’ because you fear a licking, and say or think it’s
because you fear God, for that’s neither Christian nor honest. And if
you do fight, fight it out; and don’t give in while you can stand and
see.”

Moreover, adopt a policy of active coöperation. Take the initiative in
this matter. Find the most suitable point of contact between your own
and your pupils’ individual interests and take a leading part in them.
Perhaps it is athletics; if your aid becomes almost a necessity,
disciplinary problems will no longer be your chief concern. If things
are in a bad way begin by planning with a few boys privately. You may
say,

“I’m just turning over in my mind the idea of organizing two or three
baseball teams in the eighth grade and in the high school. What do you
think of it?”

Take the matter up with each when he is alone or with two in a group, so
as to come close to as many boys as possible. Use plenty of time to
develop the idea. Spur the boys to take the lead, but maintain the
position of chief advisor. Plan out much more than can probably be
accomplished, so as to show intensity of interest and wealth of
resources for use in behalf of the boys.

Having once commanded Herbert to take down his hand, which was a
mistake, never give up until he obeys. Surrender at this point is fatal.
Make up your mind that it is important for his sake and for the school’s
sake. If necessary say: “Put your hand down, Herbert. You are not to be
punished further for this offense.” That is, give him a reason for
obeying.

If he still refuses, a courageous teacher having once chosen to use
force will compel the hand to go down even though he precipitates a
scuffle.

If the situation makes a scuffle impracticable, Herbert could be dealt
with privately and an adequate settlement of the issue secured.

COMMENTS

If the teacher maintains the attitude recommended, he will launch a
powerful suggestion which cannot fail to modify the conduct of the
school. He accomplishes far more by suggestion than he does by direct
instruction. The latter is subject to point-blank criticism; the former
enters the mind without deliberate scrutiny by the person influenced.

It does not take so much of a teacher’s time to enter sympathetically
into a pupil’s life as one might suppose. It is not a matter of hours,
but of conscious linkage with pupil interests.

[Sidenote: Who Is the Ringleader?]

_No one can manage a school who cannot discover ringleaders._ These must
be dealt with unobstrusively to avoid accusations of favoritism. Dealing
with persons one at a time saves a teacher from the cumulative pressure
of combined personal suggestion. If one pupil alone objects to an idea
he is not reinforced by the consensus of comrades. When the teacher has
won over, in part at least, a number of pupils singly, he can trust
himself to face the entire group for purposes of conference and decision
on a project.

Comradeship develops in forming plans, whether they are practical or
imaginative. The close adjustment of mind to mind, the pooling of
interests, the surrender of preferences all make coöperative planning
one of the richest sources of friendship. Moreover, it is an excellent
school for character building: it constrains one to adjust himself to
intimate life with other people.

“Let them obey that know not how to rule.”
—_Shakespeare._

3. Disobedience That Is Deliberate and Persistent

A willfully disobedient pupil is one who refuses to obey because of
intense resistance to control by another will. The rebellion is
deliberate and persistent. The disciplinarian needs good generalship
when confronting an aggravated instance of willful disobedience.

CASE 15

Arthur was not a vicious character, but life flowed at a fast pace
through his veins and at times he seemed hardly responsible for the wild
excursions he made into school adventures.

[Sidenote: The Fun-maker]

He came into high school well taught in all the devices for fun-making
used in all the school. He tested every teacher just as a driver snaps a
new whip—to see how much rebound there is in it. He entered every
opening for forbidden actions, but always stopped when compelled to
submit to authority. He did not merely drift into forbidden paths by
heedlessness.

A prohibition was a challenge to him. It offended him. He had a free
spirit. Scenting limitations, he chafed and tried to overleap bounds set
up by authority. On matters not mentioned for his admonition, he made
not the least trouble. There was nothing interesting to him in
undisturbed routine.

Only one instance can be given. He sat well back in the study hall and
when Miss Green kept study hour, life was a torment to her.

On Tuesday morning following some warm words from Miss Green on the
preceding day about better conduct, Arthur brought a mink skin to school
and stuffed it into his desk before school opened. During Miss Green’s
supervision of the study period, the following remarks were made:

“What’s the cause of all those grins, etc., back there?”

No answer, but a mild subsidence of noise, and some show of work. In a
few moments a girl’s scream shocks every one in the room. Miss Green
looks up quickly enough to see Arthur drawing in his arms from the seat
in front and stuffing something down under his desk.

“Arthur, what’s that you have there?” says Miss Green. No answer is
given her, and she nervously rises from her seat and marches to Arthur’s
desk.

“What is that you put in your desk?”

“A mink,” says Arthur with a look of hypocritical sheepishness.

“A mink! Get that thing out this minute.”

[Sidenote: The Mink skin]

Arthur fumbles, spills his books on the floor, looks around to see if he
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.

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DIVISION IV

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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._

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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
two others were industriously bringing food to put into their open
mouths, when one of the boys who was supposed to be watching the
performance, snatched a pencil out of the hands of his nearest neighbor,
Charles Drew. Charles, with fists upraised, was just about to administer
summary punishment upon the offender, when the teacher glanced up, and
immediately taking in the situation said,

“Oh, boys! The little birds are going to fly away in just a minute, and
you won’t see where they go to.”

Instantly the attention of both boys was riveted on the little birds.
Suggestion had averted a catastrophe.

5. Disrespect for the Teacher

The old idea that there must be enmity between teacher and pupils is of
course everywhere admitted to be wrong. Yet a surprisingly large number
of teachers show by both their words and actions that there still
lingers the thought that if only there is sufficient silence and
obedience in the schoolroom to allow the maximum amount of work to be
done the spirit of mutual trust is of minor importance. While modern
teachers realize the absurdity of Pete Jones’ motto, “No lickin’, no
larnin’,” many are slow to admit that there is no necessity for a show
of authority, for its own sake.

The teacher who talks of “breaking a child’s will” is the one who is in
danger of suffering from disrespect paid him by his pupils.

In one of our States foremost in education, a minister, who is a member
of the board of education governing his village school made a speech at
the beginning of the school year. He emphasized the thought that the
pupils _must_ behave, that the school board would back up the teachers
in the matter of keeping order. His speech left the feeling on the part
of the pupils that they were expected to lose in the combat between
teachers and pupils, but that there must be a continued combat there was
no question.

It is in localities where this old idea of enmity between the teacher
and the pupils still exists that we may expect to find real disrespect
for the teacher manifested.

Seeming disrespect may often be only the result of ignorance of good
manners and forms.

The boy, who wears his hat in the schoolroom, sits while his teacher
stands to converse with him at recess, says, “Teacher,” when he
addresses his instructor, and talks slang even in his recitations, may
have no idea that he is showing disrespect to anyone. He may have never
been taught on these subjects. According to the old “punishment method”
the teacher must wait for a specific “punishable” offense to occur
before discipline begins. According to the method laid down in this book
one is able to deal with an “atmosphere” of disobedience, and by
applying the five principles previously cited, to forestall the overt
act with all its undesirable results to both pupil and teacher.

(1) _Disrespect due to oversensitiveness of the teachers._ Teachers
sometimes encourage disrespect on the part of the pupils, merely by
being constantly on the lookout for it. Their attitude of suspicion is
itself a suggestion to do something that will justify the teacher’s
expectation.

CASE 27 (SECOND GRADE)

[Sidenote: Familiarity]

Miss Grace Eddy was a second grade teacher in Randolph, Vermont. It was
her first term and she so feared to be known as “a teacher who can’t
keep order” that she felt obliged to be always on the alert against any
appearance of evil. The school was working on the Christmas exercises
which were to be given a few days later. Full of the thought of
Christmas, one of the children wrote on the blackboard one day, “A Merry
Christmas to Grace Eddy.” As Miss Eddy came back from dinner she spied
the sentence on the board and resenting a little the familiar use of her
name, said, “Who wrote that?” The roguish face of Roland Churchill
looked up into hers and Roland answered, “I did.” “Rub it off,” said
Miss Eddy, severely. Unconscious of having done anything wrong and
feeling rebuffed by the severe tone, Roland turned and ran out of the
schoolroom. Miss Eddy not wishing to have the other children notice the
writing, erased the sentence herself and said to Roland later, “Roland,
you may stay in at recess, this afternoon.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Assume that the written sentence on the board was prompted by a genuine
wish of the writer. Say to the children, “Who wrote for me such a pretty
wish as that?” When Roland answers, “I did,” pick up the chalk and write
directly under his sentence, “Thank you, Roland Churchill.”

Your smile and your coöperation will stimulate his good wishes, and will
bring about his coöperation with you in the afternoon’s tasks.

COMMENTS

Never harbor the thought that every unconventional thing done by little
children is done “for meanness.” “We see what we look for,” hence it is
better to look for good than for evil.

(2) _Smartness._ Smartness may be the result of conceit or love of fun
or desire for approval of playmates, or may be simply ignorance of
polite manners.

CASE 28 (THIRD GRADE)

[Sidenote: Personal Remarks]

Miss McPheag was the teacher, red-haired and not to be imposed upon.
George Ray, also red-haired, was in her third grade. Seeing him the
center of a giggling circle one cold January day, Miss McPheag thought
mischief might be brewing, and kept a weather eye upon the group.
Suddenly, George raised his voice and called out,

“Say, Teacher, is your name Miss McFig or Miss McPig?” Quick as a flash
Miss McPheag answered, “It’s Miss McPheag, and if I ever hear you call
me anything else you’ll not know your own name when I catch you.”

This retort came with such energy that it awed George and all his
classmates. They never called her anything but her right name so long as
they were in the schoolhouse; but one afternoon, late in the year, Miss
McPheag found this couplet penciled on a fence near the schoolhouse;

“Miss McPhig,
She ain’t so big.”

It hurt her, for she knew the spirit that prompted the silly jingle. She
did not realize that she had signally failed to measure up to a great
opportunity to replace the manners of smartness and pertness with those
of respect and consideration.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Never meet pertness and flippancy with the same spirit. A fallacious
idea exists that evil must always be met in kind. This is not true. Miss
McPheag should have looked at George in steady silence for a few
seconds, and then quietly engaged him and his companions in some
entirely new activity that would draw their attention from the incident.
Later, she should have talked to him alone, kindly and with dignified
impersonality, upon his breach of good manners.

COMMENTS

The smartness would never have occurred to George if the children,
forced to stay within doors by the cold, had been engaged in some
healthy play under the teacher’s supervision. Here again preventive
measures are better than remedial ones; let them be effective and
constructive, not such as merely fix the fault by giving it an imitative
reinforcement.

ILLUSTRATION (UNGRADED SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Conceit]

Conquering pertness and conceit by an opposite spirit was practiced by
Fannie Fleming, who taught the district school on the upper Gila River,
New Mexico. She had Joe Rogers, a son of a Texas renegade, for a pupil.
He ranged over the whole program of studies and, backed by his father,
made himself independent of several regulations in the school.

“I don’t believe you know very much about how they grow rice. You never
was in Texas, was you?” said Joe one day in geography class. “I know,”
he continued, “I was born in Texas. I seen ’em raise rice.”

This outburst was not surprising in view of the pert attitudes and
assumptions Joe frequently displayed.

Miss Fleming looked straight into Joe’s eyes and let her countenance
show sternness without resentment, as she said, “Joe, I want to ask you
some questions so that you may tell the class all you know about the
rice culture.” She soon exhausted his resources and then continued,

“Well, I’ll help you out a little, Joe. You did very well, but there’s
more to say.”

She found Joe sinking away somewhat as she told one thing after another
which was new to him. This gave her a clue. Miss Fleming made it a point
to meet him on every issue by drawing out all his information until he
lay helpless, though uninjured, upon the dry land of his own ignorance.
Then she helped him. There was no ridicule, no faultfinding, no scorn in
manner or in voice, but an unrelenting exhaustion on every possible
occasion.

Joe recovered. He found that he could learn many new and interesting
facts from his teacher. Her unfailing politeness and uniform kindliness
toward him finally taught him good manners.

(3) _Laughing in school._ Occasionally a teacher goes _too_ far in
trying to meet the pupils half way.

CASE 29 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Teacher Laughs]

Mrs. Jewett taught in the Carthage High School. In order to get the
good-will of the pupils she feigned to understand them and tried to take
part in whatever affected them as a body, especially in the matter of
laughing. Whenever the pupils laughed she laughed with them no matter
whether she knew what caused the levity or not. As soon as the pupils
discovered this they laughed on purpose to make her laugh and she lost
their respect.

What would you do if you were elected to follow Mrs. Jewett the next
year?

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Laugh with the pupils when something unavoidably funny occurs; as, for
example, when a bird flying through an open window whizzes past a young
man at work at the blackboard, causing him to jump and make a wavy line
through his carefully drawn geometrical figure.

But be on the alert to discover mischief while it is being planned and
assign some interesting work in another direction.

Let it become a settled opinion of the pupils that you laugh when you
see a really good joke but that you do not laugh unless you see
something to laugh at.

COMMENTS

Pupils admire genuineness. Mrs. Jewett was too apparently currying favor
by laughing with her pupils on all occasions.

A wide-awake teacher can detect a situation of unrest and lack of
application to the subject in hand. This condition, which will ripen
into misbehavior, can be turned into the atmosphere of industry by
giving an interesting task to the leader or leaders in idleness.

ILLUSTRATION (HIGH SCHOOL)

Miss Horner, who was keeping order in the assembly room of a high
school, saw a girl making a form resembling a frog out of her
handkerchief while a boy who sat near was watching her intently.

[Sidenote: Pupils Laugh]

Miss Horner went to the girl and said, “I want some one, who can do it
well, to tell the story found on page 79 of ——’s Ancient History when we
recite today. You may go now to the book shelves and get the history.”
With a smile she continued, “I’ll tell you just when I want the story
told.”

The “frog” was forgotten, and the boy half suspected that Miss Horner
understood the entire situation and knew how to manage it.

(4) _Talking back._ One of the greatest annoyances of the teacher’s life
is the pupil who talks back.

CASE 30 (FOURTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: “Board Work”]

“Edmund, you may come to the front board for your arithmetic,” said Mr.
Spangler as he assigned places to his class of fifteen. Edmund had been
in school just long enough to decide where he might begin to test out
the new teacher.

“It’s dark up there. I’d rather go here by the window.”

“It’s not too dark for good work up here. Come up at once.”

Edmund did not feel the force of this urgency. So he loitered along
looking this way and that. His teacher hastened over to him and said,

“See here, young man, I don’t want to wait so long for you.”

“But I don’t want to go up front. I want to work here.”

“Edmund, no more back-talk if you please. You’ve said too much already.”

“You don’t make the other big boys go up front.”

This was too much for the patience of Mr. Spangler, so, quick as a flash
up flew his hand and struck Edmund a smart blow on the side of the head.
In a moment the boy’s nose began to bleed a trifle. This did not last
for long and the battle reopened as soon as the crying was hushed up.

“Will you go up to the board now as I told you to?” was the next thing
for the worried teacher to say.

Edmund drew back a little as he said, “I don’t feel like it now. I’d
rather stay down here.”

After this long parley, Mr. Spangler did the act heroic, seizing Edmund
by the right arm, he dragged him by successive jerks to his desk and in
the presence of the school gave him a sound whipping. Then he shoved him
to his place at the blackboard. Of course school work was sadly
interrupted. The success of the teacher’s method may be inferred from
the fact that at the end of three days essentially the same performance
was repeated almost literally.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Just the moment a spirit of back-talk is observed cease all ordinary
conversation with the child. Use signs almost wholly to indicate your
wishes and back them up with a demeanor and general program that checks
all opportunity for a spectacular prank. Dismiss the pupils for recess
or assign some duty that engages all the other pupils while you deal
with the insurgent pupil alone. Immediate action is necessary, even if
it is nothing more than to excuse the pupil from any further school work
for the time being.

Treat the pupil who talks back as you would an invalid to be cured
rather than as a criminal to be _paid_ back, thus laying aside all
evidence of hostility or displeasure; assume that his disability
necessitates separation from the others. Use pleasant conversation as a
means of establishing his confidence in you.

COMMENTS

The teacher fell into a trap when he forbade Edmund to indulge in
back-talk. This attention to a new offense is just the thing a
disrespectful pupil rejoices in. The attempt to deal with two offenses
at once is too hazardous.

ILLUSTRATION (SIXTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Country Boy]

When LeRoy Fennimore came back from the west he found himself in a novel
situation because, in the Pennsylvania village, manners were more
cultured than he had ever been taught in the little mountain home in
Dead Man’s Gulch.

“LeRoy, will you bring us the United States map from the hall, please?”
came as the first request from his new teacher. “Nope, I don’t know
anything about your maps here,” was the blunt reply of the
twelve-year-old boy, staring boldly into the eyes of his teacher.

“Why, LeRoy, I’m sorry to have surprised you with something too hard for
you.”

“No surprise on me. Only I don’t know nothing about maps.”

“Well, we’ll drop the matter this time. Next time, perhaps, you can get
it for me,” was the good-natured remark of the teacher.

“Don’t ’spect you can get me to do much. I tell you I don’t know your
ways of doing things here yet.” continued the irrepressible boy.

Miss Faust bit her lips for a moment, under the conviction that she had
a new problem on her hands. LeRoy exhibited some ignorance of the
suitable words for the occasion, a little spunk, more laziness of
attitude due to association with cattle-men and miners.

Miss Faust cautiously watched LeRoy at the close of school. She helped
him find his lost cap and began a systematic plan of cultivating his
friendship. At her request he brought many interesting relics and curios
from home, she showed cheerfully on the map where he had lived some two
thousand miles distant. He continued his rough manners, but all the
disagreeable spirit vanished, as the two became good friends.

Occasionally, Miss Faust gave him some little hints on good manners. He
listened with bashful interest and in his crude way warmed up to her
kindly sympathy.

Not long after she asked LeRoy to bring her a box of chalk from the
store-room, but this time she immediately added, “Timothy (picking one
of the smallest boys), will you show LeRoy where the chalk is kept?”
LeRoy immediately responded and presented the box to Miss Faust, with an
air of satisfaction.

CASE 31 (SEVENTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Pertness]

(5) _Talking back for approval of mates._ Sometimes it is not the
dominant sentiment of a social unit, but the opinion and wishes of an
individual, according to which a wrong-doer shapes his deeds. In a
certain seventh grade in Ohio there was a little girl who possessed one
of these shy and cat-like natures which delight in making mischief but
seemed always to escape the consequences. She was pretty and had a
wonderful adaptability of manner. Dear old ladies said she was a sweet
and ladylike little thing, and the roughest boys in school pronounced
her a good fellow. She was essentially neither of these, but she was
always a good actress. Her name was Bernice Storrs.

One day Miss Coffee, the teacher, said to her class in geography, “Now
we’ll close our books and see how many of the products of South America
we can remember.”

“We don’t have to close our books to find that out, do we?” inquired
Horace Selfridge pertly.

“We certainly do! Close your book at once!” Miss Coffee was a
disciplinarian of the old school, and she bristled at this
insubordination. Horace’s book remained open.

“If we don’t look at them it’s the same thing, isn’t it?” he said.

“Horace Selfridge! What do you mean?”

“Nothing. Just what I said.”

“You are very impudent. You may go up to Miss Bell’s office.”

“I won’t do anything of the kind. I asked you a civil question, and you
ought to give me a civil answer.”

This undignified dialogue continued until the outraged Miss Coffee sent
for the principal. When Miss Bell came in, she found a tractable,
courteous and somewhat triumphant boy and a much flustered teacher.
Horace was given a punishment which he endured with admirable fortitude;
and, thereafter, Miss Coffee had trouble with him once in a while, for
he had learned that she could be worried and he loved to do it.

Now the inside history of Horace’s impudence was that Bernice Storrs was
using him as a means of amusement. Impeccable in her own school
behavior, she had skilfully suggested to Horace what a hero he would be
if only he could make the teacher “mad” and defy her authority. To stand
in Bernice’s graces, Horace thought up the spectacular defiance that so
stirred up Miss Coffee; and to stand in her graces, Horace repeatedly
made trouble during the year.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

If Miss Coffee had lived nearer her pupils she would have known the
source of Horace’s impudence. She might have known that a boy, formerly
tractable and courteous, would not change utterly without some strong
stimulus.

In such a case, never argue with pupils.

When Horace made his first pert inquiry, a tactful teacher would have
looked very surprised, then perhaps have inquired if he were well, and
so surprised him into a normal response; or engaged him in lively
conversation upon an entirely different topic; or, in case he would not
be diverted, have declined to talk with him at all, thus giving him
nothing to answer.

ILLUSTRATION (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Punning]

Frank Tyne, son of the richest merchant in N——, well-dressed, quick of
thought and spoiled at home, was in the habit of eliciting little
admiring giggles from the girls in his classes by making pert responses
and unnecessary comments when his teachers spoke. So many teachers had
endured this, fearing the parental influence, that Frank did it almost
unconsciously, although he was very conscious of being considered “cute”
by the girls. One day a new teacher, Miss Stone, announced that as the
day was dark, and there were no lights in the room, the writing lesson
would be omitted.

“Yes’m,” said Frank as he put away his copybook. “Light work for a dark
day, eh?”

Miss Stone tactfully used the following method: when her pupils giggled,
she seemed very unconcerned, she did not slam her book down or do
anything to indicate that she was annoyed in the least, but rather
calmly and slowly turned her face toward Frank and softly smiled. This
smile was not one which indicated that she was amused, but rather one
which showed clearly that her temper was not aroused. After looking at
Frank only a second or two she calmly directed the attention of her
class to an announcement which she had intended to make sometime during
the day, and which served her purpose of taking the attention entirely
away from Frank by directing it elsewhere.

Miss Stone next made an attempt to win Frank’s confidence which she
easily did by talking at recess about those things in which she knew he
was especially interested. She made it a point to ask him to do a few
little errands for her, errands which she knew he would like to do, and
after each one she took advantage of the occasion to establish a good
spirit by thanking him in this fashion: “Oh, Frank, you are so kind.
Thank you, ever so much.”

After thus gaining his confidence, one day after she had been talking to
him in a friendly manner, she said to him in a confidential way, “There
is another thing I wanted to speak to you about. I didn’t want to say
anything about this in front of any of the other pupils, so I thought I
would tell you now. Whenever anything comes up that’s funny or whenever
you think of anything funny, remember to keep it till after school
hours. I like to see people have fun and I like fun myself, but of
course we have to watch ourselves during school hours. I’d like to allow
you to talk, but if I would do that, I’d have to allow everyone else to,
so if you will remember this, I will appreciate it very much.”

Miss Stone by this method very soon succeeded in breaking Frank, not
only of his habit of talking in school, but of other annoying habits as
well.

(6) _Talking back to teacher._ Talking back is generally due to the fact
that the pupil has not been taught politeness at home; but the case is
frequently aggravated by an exhibition of the same sort of bad manners
on the teacher’s part.

CASE 32 (FOURTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Pulling Hair]

Miss Eastman, a teacher of the fourth grade in a small town in
Minnesota, was driven to her wit’s end when Benjamin McCloy repeatedly
refused to stop pulling the hair of the little girl who sat in front of
him.

“I guess this is the only thing that will do you any good, Benjamin
McCloy,” she said, as she drew a ruler from her desk drawer. “March
right up here to the front of the room. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

At the question, Benjamin bristled up to his full four feet, two inches.
“No, I’m not ashamed. She needn’t think I’m going to have hair all over
my desk,” thought Benjamin as he went up to take his beating like a man.

Miss Eastman seemed to make no impression upon him with the ruler.
Finally it broke in two.

“Loyd,” she addressed a boy in the room who never was known to do
anything wrong. “Take this money and go over to the little store and buy
me another ruler.”

“Gee! That’ll break you up,” came a muffled response from a ringleader
in the room.

“Well, that’s nothing out of your pocket, is it?” Miss Eastman remarked
with ill-concealed temper.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

When the complaint has been made by the girl, ask Benjamin to take the
seat back of James for the present, saying, “No, you need not move your
books, yet.” After the session make it a point to interview the boy.

“Benjamin, is there some reason why you pull Marjorie’s hair?”

“It is always in my way when I write.”

“I thought there must be some good reason. You would not act that way
unless you had a cause. There is a vacant seat, Benjamin, back of James
in row 1. You may change your books right now. You will not be troubled
there.”

Another course to pursue would be the following:

[Sidenote: Change Seat]

“Miss Eastman, Benjamin keeps pulling my hair.” “Benjamin, I believe you
will not be bothered, (inferring that he is), if you will take the seat
back of James for the morning.”

Benjamin slowly obeys your command—

“Thank you. As I was saying, this map shows the Mississippi valley.
James will you please step up to the map and point out the source of the
river?”

COMMENTS

Had Miss Eastman analyzed the situation before resorting to bodily
punishment, she might have found a better solution of her problem. In
this case, the boy’s action was founded on a legitimate cause of
irritation. It was Miss Eastman’s place to find out this cause and
remedy the matter at once.

But supposing the act had been committed for sheer meanness. It would
have been better, even so, to have changed the boy’s seat immediately,
without stressing the reason for doing so.

The fact that a boy in Miss Eastman’s room would feel free to make the
statement, “Gee! that’ll break you up,” was an index to the general
attitude of the pupils. Her answer to the boy’s remark was excuse in
itself for further talking back on their part.

Do not expect to cure rudeness with more rudeness.

(7) _Impudent replies._ Impudence is a form of disrespect which is hard
to deal with from the fact that it seems to be a definite personal
attack upon the teacher with a set purpose to belittle her opinions.
Because of its clearly understood purpose it is likely to anger the
teacher. This direct attack upon her authority as a scholar or
disciplinarian does not appear where the teacher has used correct
methods in accordance with the principle of initiative in coöperation.

CASE 33 (FOURTH GRADE)

Miss Willets, a young teacher of the fourth grade in an Oklahoma school,
was working at her desk one Monday morning, when just before the last
bell rang for the beginning of the morning session, one of her smartest
boys burst into the room, now full of children, and said in a spirit of
jest, “Miss Willets, how many chocolates did you eat last night?” Not a
word came to her aid to carry her over this embarrassing situation; what
was even worse, she could feel her cheeks flush as she recalled the
steady company entertained by her on the previous evening. The children
caught the spirit of the question, and when the bell rang, the room was
in an uproar.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

If a question is asked before the school session by a pupil in a joking
way, even though it has caused you some embarrassment, enter into the
spirit of fun and laugh as you give some witty reply.

But supposing the question to be asked during the school session for the
purpose of causing you embarrassment, ignore the question altogether.

COMMENTS

Miss Willets made a mistake by taking the boy’s question too seriously.
She would have saved embarrassment, if she had taken his question as a
joke and replied accordingly. Humor often lessens the tension in the
schoolroom, and where indulged in by the teacher, puts her into easier
relationship with her pupils.

ILLUSTRATION (FIFTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: “Steady Company”]

Miss Snow was talking to the children one noon about the moving pictures
which were to be exhibited in the neighboring church on the following
evening. “Can we go, Miss Snow?” asked the children.

“Those children can go whose parents accompany them,” was the reply.

“Humph,” remarked an overgrown girl. “Do your parents go along with
you?”

“O, Gordy takes her,” spoke up one of the older boys. Miss Snow looked
up just long enough to give the faintest little smile and then went on
with her conversation as though it had not been interrupted.

The big boy thought he “was going to have some fun with the teacher,”
but the results of his effort were so meagre that he was not encouraged
to try again.

CASE 34 (SIXTH GRADE)

(8) _Impudent replies due to father’s example._

[Sidenote: Imitative]

Tim Murphy was an Irish lad twelve years old. He was accustomed to rough
speech at home. His mother was not living and his father was a section
boss on the railroad. Mr. Murphy was accustomed to review the events of
the day for the benefit of Tim and his older brothers and sisters. Thus,
Tim came to believe that to be saucy and impudent was manly, for surely
it was by his rough speeches that his father managed his men and held
his job. Furthermore his father’s account of how he outwitted his men
who talked back was highly entertaining. Without forming a definite
resolution to have an exciting quarrel with Miss Deering, Tim was in
every sense ready for such a combat.

Miss Deering had a feeling that Tim was not exactly respectful and yet
the little pursings of his lips, the raising of his brows, and tiltings
of his chin when Miss Deering spoke to him were signs of disrespect too
slight to punish. She was annoyed, yes, even angered by them but she
felt helpless as to how to manage Tim. She feared her control of him was
lessening. Frankly, she thoroughly disliked him. Many an evening her
thoughts reverted to the ever disquieting act of Tim’s attitude and she
almost wished for an outbreak of such dimensions as to warrant her
giving him a sound whipping. She too was prepared for a conflict.

Tim’s strong point was arithmetic. One of the problems on a certain
Friday was: “A and B work together for 5 days and receive $25 and then A
works on alone 2 days for $4 more; how much does each receive?” This
problem was assigned to Delia Carrigan, one of the dullest in the class,
to be placed on the blackboard while each of the others were assigned
other problems. When Delia’s turn came to explain her problem, it was
found that she had divided the $25 equally between A and B and added $4
to A’s half of it. Miss Deering did not notice the mistake. When Delia
had finished her explanation Tim said,

“That ain’t right.”

Miss Deering said a little louder, “Next.”

“Delia didn’t do that right,” Tim said again.

“Tim, be quiet. Go on, Julia,” said Miss Deering, her look at Tim
expressing dislike as well as determination.

Tim answered that look by a roused temper; visibly he squared his
shoulders and clenched his hands, unconsciously falling into his
father’s mode of expression. “Ye’re wrong, Oi say, an ye’re a green un
not to know it, Oi tell ye to yer face yer no gud, and Oi won’t kape
quiet, begorrah!”

Her hour had come. Miss Deering felt perfectly justified in seizing the
pointer and beating Tim. He fought for a moment but she was taller and
stronger. Anger added to her strength. She broke the pointer, seized the
largest piece and used it till it, too, gave way.

Tim was now sniffling, more choked by anger than reduced to tears
through pain.

“Now will you be quiet?” panted Miss Deering.

“Faith an Oi will _not_,” said Tim.

Glancing about she saw a book strap on her desk. She jerked Tim a step
at a time toward her desk. Arriving there she belabored him with the
strap till she was tired. Then she sent him to his seat and went on with
her work. Every time her glance happened to meet Tim’s, the eyes of each
expressed their mutual hatred. During the days and weeks that followed
Miss Deering would plainly show her dislike for Tim every time she
addressed him. He did not really talk back again but his insolent
attitude was expressed in various ways which they both understood. Had
she heard Tim talking about her when out of her hearing she would have
better understood why so many of the pupils showed signs of resentment
toward her commands.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

As soon as you detect that any child dislikes you make it your study to
find out the reason, then if possible adjust matters so as to win his
confidence. If you can not conscientiously change your own attitude,
show him your interest in him by giving him something he would like to
have; some material gift or social pleasure. By wisely selected story
and studied comradeship assure him that you are able to satisfy his
wants along study and recreation lines.

If unexpectedly a pupil questions your knowledge in any line, say,
“Wait, let’s see about that.” If information on the subject can be had
at once, seek it immediately. If the facts can not be verified
immediately report it. Assume that the pupil who raises a question as to
your correctness of statement is seriously studying the point and that
his criticism is entirely impersonal. Treat him as you would a friend
who differs from you.

COMMENTS

You can do very little toward helping an antagonistic child. You wish,
however, _to benefit every child under your care_. Then your duty is to
have every child look upon you as his friend. In giving him something he
likes, you are not buying him: Not at all. You are simply letting him
get a glimpse of yourself. You are telling him in a way that he can
understand that his pleasure is your joy.

Assume that no child is calling your statements into question simply to
tease you. You can not err in doing this, whereas, you may seriously
commit an error by supposing that you were questioned merely to display
impudence. Treating a boy as if he were “on the square” often causes him
to be so. Just as surely treating him as if he were a rogue makes a
rogue of him. If you treat an innocent boy as if he were a culprit he
has nothing to lose, so far as your influence goes, by actually being
one.

ILLUSTRATION (SIXTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Familiarity]

Nina Blair had taken a course at the Illinois State Normal and had
returned home where she had charge of the sixth grade room.
Thirteen-year-old Wesley Hail, whose parents were friends of the Blair
family, stayed at Blair’s where he helped in the store evenings and
Saturdays and went to school to Nina. Being an old acquaintance and
seeing Nina at home daily he grew to feel very free to express himself
in her presence. She noticed that at school he frequently gave his
opinions unasked. He was especially interested in history.

One day he frankly said he thought Miss Blair wrong in her statement
about Grant’s campaign. Miss Blair said, “I am glad to see so much
interest manifested in this lesson. Mamie, please find out about this
and bring in a report tomorrow. Has anyone else a point he would like to
have further discussed?” No one had.

One evening soon after this Miss Blair found Wesley alone at home. She
said, “Father says you are a great help to him in the store. He
especially likes the carefulness with which you take orders. I, too,
foresee that you will be of great help to your classmates.” She then
told him that just as he needed courtesy in the store he would find it a
necessity throughout life and that his example in this respect had a
great influence upon the other boys. As a result of this treatment
Wesley cultivated amiability and soon came to realize its universal
value.

(9) _Impudence due to conceit of pupil._ It is difficult to see how
conceit can be cured by whipping. Such a punishment may silence but it
does not convince. “The man convinced against his will, is of the same
opinion still.” Silencing instead of convincing may induce still greater
evils on the pupil’s part.

CASE 35 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Disputing]

Miss Garber was hearing her eighth grade arithmetic class. When it came
Grant Langston’s turn to recite she told him that his problem was wrong.

“No, it isn’t, it’s right,” said the boy.

Now this boy had been showing a spirit of independence and indifference
to Miss Garber’s authority. This outbreak gave her the occasion she had
been waiting for to punish him. She used the county superintendent’s
prescribed instrument (a piece of rubber hose) and gave the boy one
hundred eight strokes with it, and asked him if he wanted another
whipping soon. Grant signified that the punishment was sufficient to be
effective and was allowed to go out to play.

While at play he told the boys that Miss Garber didn’t hurt him.
Somebody told Miss Garber what he said and so in the presence of the
whole room she said:

“Grant, you told me that the whipping I gave you this morning hurt and
you told the boys that it didn’t; to whom did you tell a falsehood?”

“To the boys,” answered Grant.

This confession was accepted as an apology and nothing done about the
telling of the falsehood. On the way home from school Grant again told
the boys that the whipping didn’t really hurt him.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

When you first discover that there is a spirit of opposition to you in a
pupil begin at once to establish right relations. The pupil who is thus
unruly has lost confidence in you as his dependable guide. Without this
confidence your work with him is handicapped. Secure this confidence by
studying his case, finding out his special needs—perhaps a book of
adventures to read, a start in studying birds, opportunity to earn a
little money, collateral reading or an explanation of some school
subject he does not like, etc. Give this aid in a tactful way. Make
nothing serious of it. When you find him alone, give your assistance as
a matter of course.

Let your chief question be, “How can I best serve this boy?” not, “How
can I coerce him into a public confession that I am his superior?”

COMMENTS

Miss Garber’s own intolerance may have been the provoking cause of
Grant’s resistance to her authority. If Grant sincerely believed he was
right and his teacher wrong, it was highly desirable that he should
maintain his position until he could be convinced of his error. Grant’s
real offense, then, was not the defense of his position, but the rude
manner in which he spoke. Had Miss Garber met rudeness with politeness
it might have been easier to straighten out the other difficulty. Had
she said, in a kindly manner, “Grant, I am glad you have thought over
the problem enough to feel sure about it, but you must prove to me that
your answer is right, because I think it is the other way: please
explain to the class just why you think your way is right,” her words
might have served as a challenge which would have awakened in Grant a
genuine interest in the problem. At the same time it would have given
Miss Garber an opportunity to show Grant just why his answer was wrong.

In regard to the remark on the school ground, she might better have paid
no attention to it since it was not made to her. Indeed, her own
question as to whether Grant wanted another whipping soon was quite as
impudent as Grant’s remark (about the whipping) was untruthful.

By laying too much stress upon minor points, a teacher weakens her
influence in weightier matters.

(11) _Impudence due to teacher not understanding the pupil._ Adults are
never able quite fully to appreciate the wide difference between their
knowledge and the small amount of general information which is found in
young children. A college instructor, accustomed to deal with college
students, has been known to severely reprimand a well-meaning high
school student for guilty, willful and malicious ignorance, when, as a
matter of fact, she was not yet equipped with the information which she
was supposed to possess.

In like manner, too often a teacher or a parent will lay severe
penalties upon a child who has unwittingly transgressed some law or
custom which has long been well known to adults, but which has never
been especially presented to the attention of the child.

Occasionally a mature pupil returns after a long absence from school
which leads him to ignore many of the little customs that pertain to
school life. The pupil has lost a sense of the relations which a pupil
has to his teacher and his fellows. When he returns, he is more or less
restless under the peculiar methods of association that belong to
typical school life.

Such a pupil is more or less of a misfit until he recognizes his former
adjustment to school conditions. He may behave like a visitor for a time
or act in some other adult fashion which more or less contravenes the
established school custom.

CASE 36 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Sensitiveness]

Andrew had been taught mainly at home until he had finished the work of
the grades. It had been a long time since he attended school. One
morning in the class in arithmetic in the Edgerton High School, Andrew
blurted out to his teacher, “I don’t like to have you talk about my
mistakes the way you do.”

Everybody was shocked, including the teacher, a man of experience and
large physical equipment.

“Why, what is the matter, Andrew?” said the teacher.

Immediately Andrew continued, “You just make a fool of me when I am
trying to solve problems on the blackboard.”

The point was that Andrew had been offended because of the just
criticisms of his teacher when reviewing Andrew’s blackboard work before
the class.

The teacher soon formed an opinion as to what was the matter with the
boy, and immediately delivered a caustic and sensational lecture.

The substance of it is the following: “Andrew, you have come to this
school thinking that you know about all there is to know. You have come
here as a spoiled boy, and you will have to be taken down in proper
fashion unless you change your attitude. The thing for you to do is to
keep your mouth shut and do what you are told to do. If you can’t do
this, we will make the way easy for you to step out of school.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Andrew should be taken into the office for private conference with the
teacher. Until the hour for the conference, Andrew should be dismissed
from the class and the sensational scene in the classroom avoided.
Andrew spoke out of a sense of growing injury. Help him to analyze his
attitudes and see how it has come about that he is over-sensitive to a
proper classroom discipline. The conversation with Andrew may include
some of the following statements:

“Andrew, you have been doing some very good work since you came into our
school. I have watched you with interest, and yet I have felt that you
need some further help in adjusting yourself to school conditions. You
tell me that the Rodger boys have stood behind you in this attitude of
criticism and defiance. What did they actually say to you?” ... “Well,
it would be better for you to attempt to understand this school, and its
way of doing work, and to avoid yielding to any such advice as that. You
need to remember that you are one of a number of pupils and that all are
receiving the same sort of treatment. I shall be very glad to give you
special help at any time when you may need it, while at the same time I
feel justified in discussing any mistakes that you may make. I want you
to be very cautious hereafter about how you address any of the teachers,
remembering that they are your friends and are laboring for your best
good always.”

COMMENTS

If the teacher speaks to Andrew in the presence of the class, he may
easily lose his temper, as was the actual case in the narrative recorded
above. The instructor uttered, perhaps, no very offensive sentiments,
but his manner, while suffering from mild rage, was entirely unbecoming
a teacher in the presence of his pupils. The offense was not so grievous
but that disposition of it could have been postponed; also, the teacher
is more likely to think out the best method of procedure, if he does not
act hastily. Andrew has become somewhat unbalanced and needs advice
rather than penalty in order that he may properly adjust himself. He is
unsocial in his sentiments, having grown up so largely in isolation from
other children. At best, his adjustment to life amongst a large number
of other persons will be difficult.

The method suggested above will avoid an estrangement and cement the
friendship between pupil and teacher, and make further coöperation in
the classroom and elsewhere more hearty and profitable.

(12) _Threatening the teacher._ Such an offense as this strikes at the
very roots of the social organization, for teachers are officers of the
state, intrusted with the great task of developing citizens. To threaten
their authority is to set one’s self against the social trend, to be an
individualist—which is to be an anarchist. The teacher who is threatened
by a pupil has only to fall back upon his ultimate authority, which is
the whole fabric of organized society, represented by whatever officers
he may count upon to support him—for sometimes society’s officers are
not true to their trust.

Two examples of this offense happened in one of the northwestern states,
and their respective treatments illustrate the point. The teachers in
both cases were stalwart six-footers, capable of whipping the young
bullies who challenged their authority; but neither of them believed in
corporal punishment.

CASE 37 (UNGRADED RURAL SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Anarchy]

Trygve Andreasen, the first teacher, was threatened with being “taken
outside and shown a thing or two” by a hulky young man who persisted in
talking in an undertone during school hours. Trygve believed in moral
suasion, and tried it:

“Yes, Olaf,” he said, “I suppose you could take me outside and show me
to a good licking if it happened that way. But suppose you did? Would
you be any better for it? It wouldn’t teach you one word or make you one
bit better educated. Here you are, nineteen years old, and only in the
Sixth Reader. It’s education that makes a man powerful, and you need it.
Brute force is an animal’s way of gaining his ends. Besides, I like you
and want to help you make the most of yourself. Let’s be friends—won’t
you?” Olaf listened with a grin to this touching appeal.

“So you don’t be too smart, I’ll be friends,” he replied; and turned
with a murmured sneer to the girl behind him, in whose eyes awe and
admiration were mingled.

Trygve sighed, but comforted himself with the idea that he had shown a
Christian spirit toward his unruly pupil. He tried to help him with his
lessons, in which Olaf took small interest; but Olaf received all his
advances with amused tolerance and slight response. In the hope of
finally winning him by patience and kindness, Trygve put up with much
annoyance and much interruption of work. In the spring Olaf, still
unconverted, left school to go to work.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Types differ. A good teacher will soon discover the characters of his
pupils, especially any who promise to make trouble. He must fit his
appeal to their stage of development and personality.

Trygve had abundant opportunity to share in the life of the community
and to show how brains could guide muscle and make it ten times more
effective. He must win Olaf’s admiration by an exploit; local conditions
must dictate just what to attempt.

COMMENTS

Trygve made the mistake of appealing to standards which Olaf did not
possess, and which he was incapable of appreciating. The men who were
his ideals have perhaps never reached the Sixth Reader, nor did the
lumber jacks among whom he had grown up yield loyalty to any power that
was not material. To be strong enough to “lick” any adversary was his
highest ideal, as well as that of the girls and boys in whose eyes he
wanted to appear a hero.

There is no need for kindness to content itself with weakness. A giant
will can act with the greatest sympathy. If Trygve strengthens his
attitude and plays the part of a full grown man, he can win the
allegiance of everybody in school.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Spit-balls]

The effective treatment for such a case was adopted by George Levenson,
who taught a school in the same neighborhood and met the same problem.
In his case the offender was a fiery young Irishman, Tim McCarthy, who
had an uncontrolled sense of humor which delighted in breaking up school
sessions with all sorts of mischief.

He was amusing himself one day by hitting his chum, Jim McClure, on the
ear with spit-balls. Mr. Levenson caught him throwing one, and told him
to go out into the hall.

“Go yourself!” sang out Tim, who was in a very cocky and exultant humor
that day.

“Tim, will you go at once into the hall? I don’t want to make you do
it.”

“I should say you don’t want to make me do it. If you try I’ll wipe up
the floor with ye, and there’ll be nothing but a grease-spot left.”

“I don’t intend to make you do it, now. You have committed a very
serious offense, Tim. I shall have to leave it to the authorities to
settle.”

“What is that ‘serious offense’?” demanded Tim.

“You threatened me. Of course I know I could whip you if I wanted to,
but I am here to teach school, not to fight. I don’t know what Mr.
Pearson will do; I shall have to report it to him.”

“You’d better not!” Tim muttered; but he was visibly impressed, and
threw no more spit-balls.

That night Mr. Levenson called on the district superintendent and had a
confidential talk with him. The superintendent was a clever man and knew
just what was needed. He spent a half of each day in the school and kept
a firm hand on discipline.

[Sidenote: A Striking Incident]

In the conversation that followed Mr. Pearson narrated a similar
incident in his early experience. After the offenses became numerous he
decided to call in the county superintendent. “In the conversation on
the telephone with Mr. Aldrich I asked him to come; in conclusion I
said,

“‘And by the way, you and the sheriff are good friends, aren’t you? Why
not bring him along with you? It would clinch matters.’

“‘Capital. Depend upon us if I can find him. If I can’t, it may be day
after tomorrow when we come.’

“They came the next day, however. When Mr. Aldrich’s familiar Ford drew
up before the schoolhouse there was a flutter of excitement among the
pupils, and when a second man followed him it became intense. They
entered, warmed themselves, and then Mr. Aldrich turned to me.

“‘I understand that you have a pupil who has threatened your person and
your authority here,’ he said. ‘Which boy is it, and what is his name?’

“Fred was pointed out. He had quite ceased to be a hero, and his face
was almost white. Very impressively Mr. Aldrich inquired the details of
the incident from the teacher, securing corroboration from Fred and
other pupils. The sheriff stood by like an avenging spirit.

“‘I wonder if you realize, my boy, that you committed an offense
punishable by law in threatening Mr. Pearson? As long as you attend this
school you are absolutely under his direction, and you must do as he
says if we have to call the state superintendent up here. However, this
is your first offense, I believe. Have you anything to say for
yourself?’

“‘I didn’t mean no harm,’ Fred parried.

“‘Yes, you did mean harm, but the point is you can’t _do harm_. The
whole state will prevent your _doing_ harm, but something’s going to
happen if you ever make any such threats again. What do you say,
Sheriff?’

“The sheriff considered gravely, cleared his throat, and finally
suggested that the young man be put on probation. This, after more
consideration, was agreed upon, and the subdued and puzzled Fred was
left in peace and to the digestion of several new ideas, chief of which
was the idea that a teacher does not depend upon unsupported authority
in his requirements.”

Mr. Pearson went on to say that he saw the complete folly of such a way
of dealing with the case.

[Sidenote: A Better Method]

“I have told you this story to show you how not to proceed with this
boy. I think you have made a mistake in not getting Tim tied up to you
in some way. Leave him to me. We’ll see what can be done.”

The superintendent met Tim the next morning early. The following
interview occurred:

“Tim, I’ve been looking over the batting averages made in our league
games. I see you stand next to the head of the list. I’m mighty proud of
this.”

“I’m glad I done it, Mr. Pearson. I wish I could ’a done better.”

“Well, Tim, you have a strong right arm. The next thing I want to do in
athletics is to get an outfit of boxing gloves. I want you boys to have
a chance to learn boxing.”

“Bully thing! Won’t we go to it, though!”

“I find that Mr. Levenson is a good hand with the gloves. He’s agreed to
coach you fellows, if the boys want to take up a new sport.”

“Well, I guess we do. I’ll see.” Tim spoke with less enthusiasm because
he would need to make some readjustments in his attitude toward Mr.
Levenson before taking boxing lessons.

In a short time Mr. Levenson was at work with the boys. The gloves
proved an effective medicine for Tim and all who chummed with him.

COMMENTS

The boy who threatens a teacher with personal violence is usually still
in the stage of control by force. He can understand a force weaker than
himself, he can understand a force stronger than himself, but he can not
understand a force which is essentially different from himself. What Mr.
Levenson and Mr. Pearson did was to show him a force which was both
stronger than and different from himself—the force of a thoughtful man
under control. In his limited experience he had never met this force in
opposition to himself, nor had he learned consciously to work with it
rather than against it.

The experience was his first conscious clash with social forces, and it
was so managed that he came out of the experience a more promising
citizen than before. Had he been arrested for assault, as he might have
been, he might have had a jail experience which would have left him
resentful and diminished his self-respect. However, Mr. Pearson’s object
was not to punish him unless that was absolutely necessary, but rather
to show him that the society approval he gained by insubordination was
as nothing compared to the greater satisfaction he might gain by
traveling with the social current.

6. Quarrelsomeness, Bullying and Fighting

Dissensions like small streams are first begun;
Scarce seen they rise but gather as they run!
So lines that from their parallels decline
More they proceed, the more they still disjoin.
—Garth.

It is distasteful to a first grade teacher to be called upon to pacify
the petty quarrels that children in the first grade sometimes have.
While this annoyance is not very marked in the first grade, still it is
prevalent enough to need discussion. Besides, the quarrelsome habits
that a child may acquire in the first year of school may cling to him
throughout life and prove a burden, seriously handicapping him in his
life’s vocation.

The first step toward preventing quarreling among children is to remove,
as far as possible, all causes that may instigate quarrels. Some pupils
who enter the school quarrel frequently in their homes and, much to the
discredit of the parents, quarrel with them even. Provoked by the least
pretext, such children will quarrel with their schoolmates. Children who
are not allowed to quarrel in their homes will often quarrel at school
enough to be annoying. Both types of pupils will respond to the same
treatment, but the method will only be completely effective in the
latter instance. The former class may cease to quarrel at school, but
they will undoubtedly continue it at home.

Punishment does the offender little good; it serves to drive the child
to quarrel at times when the teacher can not find out about it. This
will add to the quarreling habit, deception, which is a bad fault in
itself. It is too fundamental a rule to pass without mentioning at this
point, that punishment never removes the motive of any misdemeanor. The
desire to do the wrong remains, and what is worse, the tendency often
seems to be removed, when, in reality, the child, through a spirit of
revenge, resorts to some wrong act which can be hidden from the teacher,
but which will still satisfy the lower nature. In other words, to forbid
the performance of a misdemeanor in a child’s life and to substitute no
activity in its place leaves a gap in his life into which, if
undirected, he will probably put some wrong act.

Even in higher grades quarrels among children seem unavoidable, but are
not really so. Some one threatens injury and the response comes quickly
in the form of coercive measures for rescue or defense. Sometimes the
provocation is real, sometimes imagined.

The onset of the quarrel usually finds expression in faultfinding. The
offender’s sins are held up to view and satisfaction is demanded.
Failure on the part of a comrade to repudiate the irritating conduct
usually ends in anger, and sooner or later in a vigorous quarrel or even
fight.

The tendency to anger can not be eradicated. It is a self-preservative
instinct and hence must be controlled, not uprooted. By controlled is
meant that the emotions must be drained off into another channel, and
the quicker this is accomplished the better for all concerned, for, in
general, anger increases in intensity by being expressed, and also
begets a corresponding anger in one’s opponent.

CASE 38 (FIRST GRADE)

[Sidenote: Over Toys]

(1) _Quarreling on the school grounds._ Walter Hendricks and Teddy
Brownlow were children of well-to-do parents who supplied the boys
liberally with helps. Being surfeited with apparatus of all sorts,
nothing pleased them for long, hence they were constantly desiring each
other’s pencils, and, when no other way of getting them presented
itself, would snatch them from each other. This led to constant
bickerings between the two boys. Finally the teacher’s patience in
settling disputes became exhausted and she said, “Boys, I am going to
slap your hands the next time they do such naughty things!” After a few
experiences of this sort with the teacher, Walter and Teddy decided it
was the part of wisdom to avoid further quarreling in her presence, but
on the playgrounds no abatement of the nuisance was observable.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

The teacher who is eager to prevent quarreling and to eradicate it from
a child’s conduct, will first of all keep close watch over her pupils.
She will always be in the room before the time set for the pupils to
arrive. Each pupil as he comes will take his seat and as a result there
can be no quarreling, for the opportunity is removed. At recess time,
all play and recreational activities are supervised by the teacher or
physical director. Again the opportunity for quarreling is removed. This
same supervision is carried on during every play period. The teacher or
supervisor of play who is most discreet will make much headway in
keeping out of quarreling. However, should a quarrel arise in spite of
the teacher’s efforts, the teacher or supervisor should at once go to
the pupils and in a kindly manner command them to stop. She can add a
few words of kindly advice and then keep one of the offenders with her
during the rest of the play period.

COMMENTS

Being unkind or rough with the offenders, would only add antagonism to
hostility. The pupils are in belligerent moods and the least unkindness
of the teacher will meet opposition. The prudent teacher endeavors to
calm the ruffled spirits.

ILLUSTRATION (SECOND GRADE)

[Sidenote: Misunder-standings]

Prudence and Rebecca started to school together. In fact, even before
the beginning of their school days, they could have been seen playing
together, in the sandpile in Rebecca’s yard, sliding down the cellar
door in Rebecca’s yard, swinging in Rebecca’s swing in the barn. So it
was that they came to school ready-made friends, and were chums during
the first year.

With the beginning of the second year, however, Miss Bunthy noticed a
decided change in the attitude of the girls towards each other. No
longer would they come to school with locked arms. No longer would they
sit side by side during recess as they had done formerly. Then their
hostility broke into open battle. Prudence came running to Miss Bunthy
one recess crying, “’Becky hit me, she did!”

“What made her do that?” asked the teacher.

“Well, just ’cause I wouldn’t give her a piece off of my orange.”

The offending ’Becky was brought into the room and severely reprimanded.

Then later, “Prudence took a sheet of my tablet paper and didn’t give it
back.” This from ’Becky at the close of school one day.

The next morning Miss Bunthy gave a little talk about paying back small
obligations, and watched to see if Prudence returned the borrowed sheet.
Noticing that she did not do this, Miss Bunthy asked her to stay in
after school.

“Why didn’t you give Rebecca the sheet of paper you took from her
yesterday?” she asked Prudence in a confidential manner.

“’Cause her mamma borrowed our clothes-line and never gave it back. My
mamma had to buy a new one.”

“Well, but that doesn’t excuse you, Prudence. You must be fair and
square with ’Becky, and your mothers will have to settle their own
disputes.”

The next evening after school, before the children had time to reach
home, Miss Bunthy was in Rebecca’s home explaining about the
misunderstanding between Rebecca and Prudence, and its cause.

She learned that the matter of the clothes-line was an oversight on the
part of Rebecca’s mother, who, being very sensible, took the correct
view of the affair, and remedied it very tactfully.

Prudence and Rebecca again played together.

[Sidenote: Spite]

(2) _Spite between brother and sister._ It is only once in a great while
that a village or city first grade teacher may have two children from
the same family together. However, it is common to have brothers and
sisters together in rural schools. Because of poor home training, two
sisters, two brothers or a brother and sister may be antagonistic
towards each other. Perhaps no better word can describe their attitudes
than the word spiteful. This may spring from various sources, which, in
the end, matter little. It is the teacher’s aim to have such children
become amiable toward each other. Again it can not be unwise to teach
such children that it is not right for them to dislike each other. Such
instruction must be given in an affectionate manner.

A very good way to treat two children that are antagonistic toward each
other, is to lead them into fascinating school work. Another method is
to ask the two children to do some work for the teacher. Whatever the
teacher asks them to do she must be careful to supervise. The teacher is
to displace hostility by coöperative activity.

For example, a teacher may have some papers to sort, the erasers to
replace or some other trivial piece of work to do such as opening three
or four windows. She may say, “Come, children, let us open these
windows. You open that one, and you that one.” Whatever method she uses
to distract their minds from each other, she must continue it long
enough for the children to have forgotten their antagonism.

(3) _Quarreling while going to and from school._ By this time the
thoughtful teacher will have said, “Pupils are easily kept from
quarreling at school, but what about going to and from school?”

CASE 39 (FIRST GRADE)

[Sidenote: Habit]

Henry Sanderson was addicted to quarreling and also to fighting, both on
the school grounds and on his way home. Every morning some one or more
of the first grade children came to the teacher, Miss Burnham, with a
tale of woe regarding unkind words, or blows, or other annoyances for
which Henry had been responsible on the way home the night before.
Finally his teacher said, “Henry, every time I hear of your being
quarrelsome with the children, I’m going to have you stay in at recess
the next day.” For a day or two this plan worked and the teacher
congratulated herself that Henry’s fault was cured. The cure was of
short duration, however, and from this time on most of Henry’s recesses
were spent in the schoolhouse, thereby depriving the boy of rest and
recreation that he very much needed.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Use the same care as in previous cases with regard to supervision of
play and seating in the schoolroom. In addition to these precautions see
that Henry is sent home in the especial charge of some older pupil who
can be trusted with the responsibility of his deportment while on the
way home. If there is no such pupil who can be made the teacher’s ally,
win the affections of the child until he is willing to abstain from
quarrelsome ways in order to please his teacher. If even this fails,
retain him at the schoolhouse until the other children are out of the
way.

COMMENTS

Quarreling in Henry’s case had reached the stage of being a habit. A bad
habit can only be cured by establishing a good habit in its place.

Little children should rarely be deprived of recess periods. The
vigorous exercise of play is itself one of the best possible preventives
of quarrelsomeness and fighting. Absence of such rest after enforced
quiet and the restraints of the schoolroom will be one of the very best
provocatives for disturbances of all kinds. The teacher who, as a means
of punishment, frequently deprives pupils of the recess period, is not
only harming the child but is also inviting further trouble from other
disorders.

ILLUSTRATION (SECOND GRADE)

[Sidenote: Coöperation]

Miss Benedict, a second grade teacher in the town of Milford, had one
pupil, John Dwier, who was addicted not only to quarreling but to
fighting. All through his first year he had annoyed his teacher in this
way. Miss Benedict talked with John, urging him to give up this bad
habit, but to no avail. She decided that some new plan of overcoming
John’s tendencies must be devised. She began by making a careful study
of John’s interests. She made them her interests also. Often in the
morning when he came to his seat, she would sit down with him and talk
about those things she knew interested him. Before she knew his
interests she would show him puzzles on his slate, or she brought curios
from home to show him, and little by little she got into his life and
learned what he liked. At play she always managed to control John by
playing with him. She took Saturday afternoon to go out exploring, as
she and John called it. They named as many flowers as they could. Of
course, the teacher knew the names for but a very few flowers and weeds
and she told John that she did not know many, so they decided to call
the unknown ones “strangers.” They watched the birds, butterflies and
bugs.

One snowy Saturday afternoon, Miss Benedict went with John and several
children who took their sleds and spent the time coasting and studying
the tracks of birds and little animals.

However, all this time, John had some very heated quarrels on the way
home from school, and usually ended his quarrels with his fists. But the
teacher’s time had not yet come, she was patient.

Her next step was to ask John whether he would not stay with her each
evening, for a few days, to help her about ten minutes with some work.
John loved her and consented. The work was coloring drawings on the
blackboard and such other odds and ends as she knew John would like.
Then while he was helping his teacher, the other pupils got home. When
John was ready to go he walked part of the way with his teacher, who
would neither quarrel nor fight with him, and the rest of the way by
himself, another character with whom he could neither quarrel nor fight.
He always reached home happy. No one knew but the teacher that John was
being kept from the other pupils after school so he could not quarrel or
fight.

Finally, the day came when the teacher took John on her knee to have a
long and earnest talk with him. She had chosen the time after school
when all the pupils were gone. She had also chosen the evening of a
beautiful day, a day in which John had had all his lessons well. She
explained to John how she loved him. This he knew because she had
displayed it to him. He loved her. Then her conversation drifted into
what she felt would help him to be a good and useful man. He was keenly
interested.

At last she told him how she disliked quarreling and fighting. He agreed
with her. Then she asked him if, whenever she had no work after school
for him, he would not wait a few minutes until the other pupils were out
of his way so he could walk home by himself. “Or,” said she, “if you
care to do so, John, you can leave school ten or fifteen minutes before
it closes and be at home by the time the other pupils are dismissed.”

The teacher told John she was doing this to help him. He understood. Her
love and humane and square treatment of the little offender was such
that she had his confidence and good will. He obeyed her. During the
spring months John’s mother came to tell this wonderful teacher that
John was a different boy. That boy is now a young man, and the letters
he writes to that teacher are beautiful. They would stimulate any
teacher to greater efforts. But the teacher had paid the price. She had
sacrificed. Many teachers try for three or four days and lose patience,
give up and, what is worse, lay the blame for failure upon the boys and
girls.

(4) _Bullying._ Bullying is just a cowardly kind of unprovoked fighting,
and even more exasperating because of the contemptible spirit shown.

CASE 40 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Knocks Down a Boy]

Willard Helm, an eighth grade boy in the Parkington School, found the
most of his sport in teasing smaller boys. He was too lazy to get much
fun out of the games on the schoolground.

Friday on the way home from school, he fell in with Dee Longmans of the
sixth grade and soon found occasion to knock him down. Dee pulled
himself together and immediately reported the incident to Willard’s
teacher. On Monday morning the following conversation occurred between
Miss Frederick and Willard:

“Did you walk home with Dee on Friday?”

“Yes, I did,” said Willard with a forced frown.

“You knocked him down at the park corner, didn’t you? What did you do
that for?”

“Well, he said I was—”

“Never mind what he said. I want to know why you pick on smaller boys
and treat them so meanly,” said Miss Frederick, with a rising tone of
scorn.

“Well, we were just having some fun.”

“Yes, I know you; you’re just a little tough, aren’t you? You want to be
a sort of bully, don’t you? You’ll make a pretty sort of a man.”

“Well,” said Willard, a smile breaking over his face. Then he began to
laugh. He couldn’t help thinking how Dee had tumbled off into the
gutter. He began to think by this time that Miss Frederick’s talk was
“just talk” and so he grinned and then fairly rocked in laughter,
glancing at her with rolling eyes to see how she would take it.

Of course she made no impression on him after this state of affairs was
reached. But this was her parting shot.

“Willard, I don’t want to hear of your doing anything like this again.
Do you hear me?” and she shoved him toward his seat.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Instead of faultfinding and scolding, adopt an altogether different
plan. Make no mention of misconduct, but say to Willard,

“We have a number of boys in the lower grades that need to be looked
after a little. We teachers have been talking it over and we have
decided to ask some of the bigger boys to keep an eye on some of the
little fellows, particularly in the running games, where sometimes they
get knocked down and run over. Will you take a hand in this sort of
thing? Well, I’m glad. Really, we ought to do the same thing whenever we
meet the little fellows on the street or at home. We are to be big
brothers to the little fellows and see that they are not imposed upon.”

COMMENTS

[Sidenote: Substitution]

This method takes Willard by surprise and sets him to imagining himself
in his new role. He wants to be a hero of a novel type. His passion for
lording it over a smaller boy is gratified in a harmless way; he sees
nothing ridiculous in the fine self-control and good sense of his
teacher. This compels him to respond with an attitude of respect instead
of one of disrespect.

ILLUSTRATION (THIRD GRADE)

Mrs. Wheaton called to see Miss Bates, who was a teacher in the third
grade, and said:

“Hugh comes home from school crying almost every night. It seems that
Ira Hood throws his cap over the fence, pockets his ball, in fact,
teases him until he gets him to crying with vexation and then laughs at
him for crying. I know Ira is not in your room, but I thought maybe you
could do something about it.”

Miss Bates conferred with Ira’s teacher and they decided to make Ira the
custodian of a collection of insects, and another boy the custodian of a
collection of pressed leaves. The pupils in both rooms were divided into
two groups, one group to help each of these boys to collect specimens.
Hugh was given a place in Ira’s group and urged by Miss Bates to get as
many insects for him as possible.

Two weeks afterwards Miss Bates called upon Mrs. Wheaton and said: “How
is Hugh getting along with Ira now?”

“I have heard of no complaint for a long time; in fact, Hugh seems to
like Ira now and is doing his best to help him with his collection of
insects,” said Mrs. Wheaton.

(5) _Fighting as result of accident._ To the boy, as to the primitive
man, fighting is the simplest and readiest way of settling disputes.
Substitution is, perhaps, the principle which will oftenest avert a
conflict.

CASE 41 (SECOND GRADE)

[Sidenote: Snow Battles]

On a bright winter’s morning, Miss Elsie Wiseman was on her way to
school when one of her second grade pupils dashed through the gate and
walked beside her.

“Why, hello, Francis! How are you this morning? Have you had a fine time
in the snow?”

“Yes, we had a snow battle after school yesterday.”

“You did? Tell me all about it.”

“It was this way; we divided up into two sides, piled up a lot of snow
balls and then tried to capture the pile of balls on the opposite side.”

“Did you have a good time?”

“O, just a dandy time, ’cept Willie; he got hurt and I guess will have
to have a real fight to settle it,” said Francis with some alarm.

“Why, I hope not. Tell me more about it.”

“You see, some made ice balls and Willie got one on the ear. Now he says
I’ve got to fight him. He says we must each get two other boys and have
a fight to settle it. I ’spose we must or the scrap won’t end.”

Here is a situation that needs some careful handling. How would you
proceed?

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Your best plan is to continue the conversation as follows: “I suppose
you don’t really want to fight, do you? Now, I have a plan that seems a
good one. I think it will work all right, and then there will be no need
for any one to get hurt. You go to Willie and say, ‘I’m sorry that snow
ball hurt you’; then reach out your hand and shake hands. He will not
want to throw snow balls at you any more and he’ll think a lot more of
you than he would if you fought him. You try this plan, then come and
tell me how it works.”

Keep your ear open until you get a report from Francis. Almost certainly
he will announce that the proposed fight is off. If so, say:

“I’m glad you have fixed that up like gentlemen.”

COMMENTS

In most cases fights among children of the lower grades have very little
basis in reason. There is a tradition that makes fighting seem a good
thing, but there is not sufficient steadiness of nerve and purpose to
provoke much genuine fighting. Consequently the teacher does well not to
dignify these encounters either in her own opinion or in her talk with
boys. Allusions to fights may be passed over lightly in conversation,
even though a serious purpose to eliminate them is necessary.
Furthermore, it is easy to substitute some scheme that is only remotely
related to fighting as commonly understood. One can draw off this
combative impulse into some parallel activity with the greatest of ease.

ILLUSTRATION (THIRD GRADE)

[Sidenote: Diversion]

Miss Baker was sitting at her desk correcting papers after eating her
noon-time lunch, when in came a group of whispering little girls who
showed even in their manner of walking that they had something important
to tell.

When Miss Baker looked up, Nancy Reed said, “Orvil Harn and ‘Jud’ Hicks
are going to fight.”

“O, hurry up, Miss Baker, they are going to fight right now,” said Lora
Yoder.

Miss Baker hurried out and found a crowd of boys around Orvil and
Judson, urging them to fight.

She stepped into the middle of the ring and giving a hand to each of the
combatants said, “I want to hear about this; let us go into the house.”
The boys complied reluctantly.

On the way in, she noticed an ant hill by the walk and stopped a minute
to look at it, saying, “I am so much interested in ants. They have so
many sensible habits. Don’t you like to read about them?” she said,
smiling down at the boys.

On the way to the schoolroom she told a funny story about an ant that
floated down a river on a leaf. The boys were looking at each other
smiling before they thought of why they had come into the house.

“Now,” said Miss Baker, “you tell me what troubled you out there in the
yard, Orvil.”

“‘Jud’ took my cap and ran with it.”

“He pushed and kicked me as we went out to play,” said Judson.

Miss Baker looked out of the window a moment and then said,

“What do you think is best to do about it now, boys?”

“O, I guess it’s all right now,” said Orvil.

“Let’s go out and play. Will you come with us, Miss Baker?” said Judson.

“Gladly,” she replied.

She knew that the boys had lost their anger when they had laughed
together about the ants. She asked them what had been the trouble in
order to make them see that even their griefs were of interest to her.
She was not at all surprised to find their anger forgotten so soon. She
went to play with them in order that she might thus protect them from
the remarks of the other boys who would have enjoyed seeing a fight.

(6) _Fighting due to classmates’ ridicule._ Children are exceedingly
thoughtless in regard to making fun of individuals who are markedly
different from other members of the group. Only vigilance can forestall
the suffering so caused.

CASE 42 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Drunkard’s Son]

John Shoemaker and Carl Jones were classmates in the eighth grade. John
was a pale-faced, undersized boy, the son of a drunkard. Carl was a
plump-faced, rosy-cheeked son of a well-to-do farmer, the picture of
good health and physical energy. Carl’s parents had very strong opinions
regarding temperance, and they were very anxious that their only son
Carl should grow up with the same feelings as themselves about the use
of intoxicating liquors. They often talked to him, and in his presence,
to others, of the evils of intemperance, and by way of illustration, and
in order to give point to their instructions, would sometimes add, “Just
see what intoxicating liquors have done for the Shoemakers! Old man
Shoemaker is a disgrace to the town and John hasn’t a decent suit of
clothes to his back! He looks as if he never had enough to eat!”

Unfortunately, Carl had not learned during these otherwise wholesome
lessons to distinguish between the sin and the sinner, or even between
the sinner and innocent victims of another’s sin. One recess Carl, full
of the “I-am-more-righteous-than-thou” attitude in which most persons
who have never been tempted are wont to indulge, called out to John in a
mocking tone:

“O Shoe-shoe-Shoemaker,
When did you make your shoes?”

John’s pale face flushed, for he knew his toes were peeping through the
ragged shoes, and when a moment later the younger boys caught up the
jingle, repeating it in unison with great emphasis upon the accented
syllables, John suddenly sprang at Carl and in a moment both boys were
rolling on the ground in a desperate fight.

The teacher, Miss Black, called the boys to order, ascertained the cause
of the fight, and then said, “I am very sorry, boys, but I shall have to
keep both of you in from recess for a month. It is a very serious
offense to fight on the school grounds. Perhaps by the end of the month
both of you can learn to be gentlemen.”

Carl received the sentence angrily, as he thought of all the fun he
would miss, and John’s hurt face revealed how keenly he felt the
injustice of the situation.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Such a case as the above would better not be settled hastily. Be
deliberate enough in your proceedings to give anger time to cool and to
be replaced, in part at least, by more generous impulses.

Learn whether the motives and attitudes prompting the fight are
characteristic of Carl only, or whether they represent truly the
dominant feelings of the whole school. In the latter case the punishment
of the two boys must be followed by effort, on the teacher’s part, to
correct the crude ideals of the children as a whole.

This can be done through story work, or by coöperative work of some
kind, or by games, in which democracy reigns supreme and individual
distinctions are lost sight of in interest in the work itself.

After learning the main facts in the case—and these should usually be
left until the other children have gone home—say, “Boys, this trouble
which you have brought into the school is so serious, I want to think it
over. I would like you also to think it over and be ready to tell me
tomorrow what each one of you can do to right the wrong you have done.

“Remember, you have not only hurt yourselves and each other, but have
injured the good name of the school. This is all for tonight.”

[Sidenote: One at a Time]

On the following day, talk with the boys one at a time. You will need to
say things to each of the boys that you would not care to say in the
presence of the other. Talk with Carl first. He is in reality the
greater offender. John could be dismissed with the words, “John, I shall
not have time to talk with both of you this afternoon. I will see Carl
today. Tomorrow I will talk with you.”

Alone with Carl, lead him to confess that he was thoughtless on the
previous day. He will do it, for he will be only too glad to excuse
himself in this way. Then say, “Very well, Carl, if you did wrong
yesterday by ‘not thinking’ try to think hard tonight for the little
time we are together. Think out this problem for me. Does it take a
brave boy or a coward to keep coming to school day after day without
complaining, and without absences, when he has to come in ragged clothes
and when he knows the boys are likely to make fun of him?”

If for no other reason than to please his teacher, Carl will be sure to
say, “A brave boy.” Recall to Carl’s mind whatever is brave, unselfish,
or lovable in John, especially if you happen to know that John has given
up some happiness for Carl’s sake, or shared some pleasure with any
member of the school.

Then ask, purposely using the same form of question that you previously
used, “Carl, do you think it takes a brave boy or a coward to make fun
of such a person before his classmates—to taunt him about things he can
not help, and for which he is not to blame, and to hurt him so cruelly
that he is ready to fight even the boy for whom he did a kindness only a
few days ago?”

Very likely Carl may not answer quite so glibly this time, but do not
press him for an answer. Do not insist that he make any reply in words,
but do not be satisfied until you have led Carl to do something better
than to make a satisfactory verbal reply, namely, express in deeds that
he wishes to make reparation in some way for his unkindness.

Remain silent for a moment or two, while Carl digests the meaning of
your question. Then say, in a low, but distinct, firm voice, “Carl, I
asked you yesterday to be ready to tell me today how you can make amends
to John and to the school for your misconduct yesterday. What is your
plan?”

If Carl has really thought of some good thing to do, commend his plan
and coöperate with him immediately in carrying it out. If he has no plan
to suggest, ask his opinion about two or three courses of conduct which
you have thought of. Ask him to think these over during the evening and
report to you next morning as to what is best to do, or to suggest a
better plan himself if he can think of one.

Your knowledge of all the circumstances will be your guide in advising
Carl, but whatever it is that is decided upon, it must not be a
sentimental and (probably) hypocritical confession that, “I am sorry,”
but rather something boyish and genuine and generous; something
expressed in action rather than words. It may be a nutting party to
which John will be invited and where Carl will propose to the other boys
to put slyly a few of their own nuts into John’s bag; or a picnic where
Carl will suggest to the boys to bring a bit of fruit or some dainty to
fill John’s pockets with; or it may be a dozen other things that any
bright boy can think of—but something that will give the other boys as
well as John an opportunity to make amends for their thoughtless
unkindness. Carl, however, is to take the leading part and secure the
coöperation of the other boys.

Your conference with John will be the easier task to bring to a
successful conclusion, especially if Carl’s attitude toward John is, by
this time, such as to encourage John to believe that Carl regrets the
part he took in the affair and is willing to be friends once more. Yet
John is the one who has been most keenly hurt. You must make him
understand that you have not shared Carl’s contempt for him because of
his ragged clothes and his drunken father. You may say to him,

[Sidenote: Just Commendation]

“John, I have been so proud of you all this term because you have been
so regular in attendance, and because you have done such good work. Your
deportment, too, has been excellent until day before yesterday. Was it
worth while to lose your good name in school just for a silly,
thoughtless taunt from one of the boys?”

Here again you need not insist upon an answer. If John is truthful his
answer probably would not yet conform to the implication in your
question, and you may well wait until he has had longer time in which to
come to your way of thinking. But you may recall to his mind that all
persons have temptations to anger, of some sort or other. If they
habitually give way to it, _all_ their friends would be alienated before
long. Try to get him to do some act that will show Carl he is willing to
be friends again.

Never leave a person who has indulged in anger satisfied with himself
because of having done so. Never leave him holding fast his grudge.
Initiate activities of exactly the opposite tendencies to those which he
engaged in while under the influence of anger.

COMMENTS

Miss Black erred by placing more importance upon the punishment of the
offense than she did upon removing the causes which brought about the
offense.

She erred again in feeling that the case was disposed of with the
pronouncement of the punishment by herself and with the acceptance of
the same by the boys. In truth, she had not even touched upon the more
serious aspects of the case.

Had Miss Black been on the alert, she probably would have earlier
discovered tendencies among the children to make fun of John. This
should have been treated in a general way by means of story work, talks
on good manners, etc., and thus the quarrel very likely might have been
averted.

Miss Black erred again by being in too great haste to have the matter
settled. Very much is gained, in such a case, by waiting until the first
heat of passion has passed away. The settlement must not be too long
delayed, however. Once the incident is partly forgotten, the lesson
which might have been learned from it loses its force, by again dragging
back into consciousness the angry feelings which accompanied the
original act.

ILLUSTRATION (SEVENTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Stammering]

Sammy Hendrickson was a fiery little seventh grader who was always
having “scraps” with boys who mimicked his stammering speech. “Hit ’em
back,” was his father’s advice, and Sammy followed it, not because it
helped his stammering, but it relieved his feelings.

When he was promoted from the sixth grade to the seventh, his new
teacher, Miss Noyes, picked him out immediately as a child who was
likely to be teased by his classmates. She resolved that she would
forestall such conduct, with the resultant fights, if possible, and by
so doing shield Sammy from a torture which his thoughtless companions
were likely to inflict upon him.

With this in mind, she made it a point to be on the playground with the
children whenever it was possible, and in many little ways showed the
children by her own example that she expected Sammy to be treated with a
little more than usual consideration, yet so as not to make him feel
himself a privileged character, allowed to do things which other boys
might not do. In the games requiring choice of partners she often chose
Sammy. When the games were over she often took her place beside Sammy
and exchanged a few words with him partly to win his confidence, partly
that her presence might protect him from being made the sport of the
others. She realized, too, that if the other children were allowed to
mimic Sam, they, too, would soon be victims of the habit. Meanwhile she
quietly watched to see which children did amuse themselves at Sammy’s
expense. These she talked with privately one by one, showed them the
rudeness and cruelty of their sport and told them she should expect each
one to abstain from such acts hereafter.

[Sidenote: No More Mockery]

Finally, she called together half a dozen boys whom she had reproved at
different times for mocking Sam and said to them, “I am delighted to
find, boys, that you have been more thoughtful about this matter of
late, and now I am going to ask a great favor of you. Next week I shall
be especially busy and can not be out here as much as I have been. I
want to make you six a committee to preserve good order on the school
grounds and especially to see that no one teases Sam about his
stammering.”

The boys lived up to their responsibility so well that very little
further trouble was experienced with respect to mimicry.

Miss Noyes did not drop her efforts for Sammy at this point, however.
Already he had come to feel so trustful and kindly toward his teacher
that he could talk with her more freely than with most persons. When
they were alone together she would often say, when he stammered, “Wait a
minute, Sam. Take a deep breath. _Now_ tell me what you started to say.”
Generally by observing this precaution, Sam would be able to give the
sentences correctly. Miss Noyes never failed to encourage him. “That’s
better! That’s just fine! You can do it all right!”

During leisure hours she made a special study of stammering and
stuttering, and showed Sammy how, by taking a little forethought in
breathing carefully and in relaxing the chest muscles and in waiting
before speaking until he felt sure he could control his speech, he could
help himself greatly.

“Did you see the soap bubbles the kindergarten children were playing
with in the yard this morning?” she asked him one day; “and how any hard
thing pressing upon them would cause them to burst? Well, play that your
words are soap bubbles and let them float on the air just as gently as
the real soap bubbles do. Make all the muscles loose and easy as they
can be, because if you tighten them the least bit it will break the
words just as the soap bubbles break when you hit them with a stick. Now
then, gently!” Here she imitated by a motion of the hand the light
floating of the bubbles. “Talk just as my hand goes.”

Relieved from fear of being made the butt of the boys’ sport, and
finding a sympathetic helper in his teacher, Sammy improved considerably
before the end of the year. The other children meanwhile had learned a
lesson in consideration for others, which they did not forget after they
left Miss Noyes’ room to enter upon the eighth grade work. Furthermore,
the children who had learned that lesson best were the ones who most
needed to learn it. Coöperation of the teacher with Sammy, and, for the
other children, her approval and the substitution of the idea of
protection for that of teasing, had wrought the change, and,
incidentally, had banished fighting from the playground.

(7) _Fighting as an outgrowth of competition._ Competition is an
instinct that can be turned to excellent account in school life. It is
also a frequent source of trouble there.

CASE 43 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Football]

Elbert Morgan stood six feet in his socks and weighed half as much as
any other three men on the football team. He was a senior in the
Middletown High School and the darling of the school because of his
unfailing attacks and unflinching defense.

Reginald Phelps, his nearest competitor for honors, had the ill grace to
be jealous and to hold a festering grudge against Elbert. In a school of
five hundred pupils small quarrels readily become large issues. Reginald
easily linked two or three chums into a cabal to pull Elbert down from
his pedestal of glory. Their first plan was to convince the coach that
Elbert was weak in head work in critical moments and that he should be
removed from the position as center. After a few ludicrous failures to
make any progress in this project, Reginald next tried to get even with
Elbert by provoking a fight.

The coach occasionally split his squad and made two teams by adding a
few “subs” to complete the quota. One Tuesday afternoon Elbert being on
one team and Reginald with two comrades, being on the other team, the
opportunity came for revenge. In the scrimmage Reginald gave Elbert a
heavy knee punch on his “wind,” in a way to disclose his venom and
enmity.

“You rascal, I know what you are about. I’ll pay you for this,” said
Elbert, groaning with a terrible pain.

Soon his hurt eased up and with but little help he rose to his feet,
glowered at Reginald, ten feet distant, and fairly leaped across the
intervening space.

[Sidenote: The Fight]

Then followed the fight. All the resentment, suspicion, rumors, vows of
vengeance, arose to mind in a moment as the two stalwarts came to blows.
When Reginald showed his inferiority in strength two friends attempted
to intervene. Elbert suspected their partisanship and drove with a hard
fist on each chest, sending them to the ground in a heap.

By this time Principal Maxwell made his appearance.

“Elbert, shame on you! Fighting over a game! Reginald, stop it at once.
Off these grounds at once, both of you,” were the principal’s words, all
in one breath.

“But Mr. Maxwell,” began Elbert.

“No, no explanation! I saw you. You got up from the scrimmage and
deliberately began a fight. You needn’t explain it. You two boys are
suspended from the school until the board of education permits you to
return. I’ll see that you are not on the football squad again this
year.”

With this last speech a howl arose from the players. In a moment more a
swift runner reached the grandstand and quickly the news spread among
the assembled high school pupils as if it had been the report of a
murder.

The team was nearly frantic at the principal’s action. The board,
however, decided to restore the boys to school after one week’s
suspension and requested the principal to adjust the matter so they
could again play on the team.

“Are you going to let them play out the season?” was provokingly asked
many times. Mr. Maxwell found, moreover, that unless he restored these
boys to their places at least three desperate revolts would break out.
He finally yielded and gave the football team, the senior class, and the
glee club (of which Elbert was a member) the whip over him for the
remainder of the year.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Play More Fight Less]

Approach the fighting players with a determination to act very slowly.
Take a stand, say, ten feet away from them, and after notifying the
coach to call the teams for more practice, say to Elbert and Reginald,
“Look here, boys, put all this muscle into another scrimmage. Go into it
hard. But do it in the right spirit.”

Let the coach blow his whistle and sweep all the players toward the spot
of taking position. Let one or the other of the fighters come up by you,
but do not act as though you were a policeman or an executioner. Ignore
the fight now that it is over, but see to it that the practice is free
from brutality. Have a word with Elbert and Reginald privately to show
that you expect fair play in the practice and a manly spirit on the
athletic field.

The next day call in each boy separately. Let the boys do nearly all the
talking. In a very brief statement confirm their own assertions of what
constitutes manly conduct in athletics. Put them on their honor and rely
on their self-respect. Inject into your few words a powerful expectation
of fair play that will compel them to act as trained athletes, not as
quarrelsome children. Coöperation, expectation on the teacher’s part and
substitution with a large stock of patience are your best assets in a
case like the above.

COMMENTS

Mr. Maxwell failed in trying to solve his problem on the spot and with
strict administration of justice, rather than with a spirit of
coöperation, and a re-direction of energy. In fact he entered the
situation with indignation and actually seemed to be fighting also. He
was trying to “down” the two boys with words and gave them harder blows
because of his superior authority.

He projected the fighting spirit into the school board and the school
societies. Vengeance aroused hostility. If suspension were necessary, it
should have been announced privately to each boy. No mention of
exclusion from the football team should have been made until after more
time had been given for deliberation. If exclusion should finally be
necessary, settle the matter between yourself, the coach, and the two
boys.

However, this fight could not have occurred if the principal had watched
his boys closely enough. High school athletes are eager to have an
unsullied reputation. “A good spirit” in practice and contest games is
so urgently demanded in, and usually exhibited, by college athletes,
that the high school boys readily imitate them. On many occasions before
this the principal should have coached his boys so that Elbert and
Reginald would not have dared to harbor ideas of physical violence in an
effort to gain vengeance.

ILLUSTRATION (HIGH SCHOOL)

The way in which the principle of substitution was made to assist in
settling class difficulties is illustrated in the following story.

[Sidenote: Class Flag]

Mr. Hatch was principal of the East High School in a small city in
Missouri. His splendid executive ability and marked insight into the
life of the school had made his name highly reverenced in the community.

It had long been the custom in the school to have class distinctions.
Mr. Hatch heartily sanctioned the custom, as one which would promote
class unity and wholesome rivalry for leadership in the affairs of the
school. It drew the pupils of one year into closer relationship and
instilled in them a desire to make their class stand out in the
estimation of the others.

It was October. The usual class spirit was in the air. Mr. Hatch
announced at the morning assembly that class meetings would be held that
afternoon for the election of officers and the choosing of the class
flag.

About seven o’clock the following morning, Mr. Hatch was surprised by a
telephone call from the school janitor:

[Sidenote: Flag Torn Down]

“Last night a bunch of rowdy schoolboys broke into the school, went up
into the tower, and tore down the school flag. When I came to work this
morning I saw a piece of blue and white cloth up instead.”

Before Mr. Hatch arrived at school he heard from another source of the
hand to hand fight between the freshmen and sophomores in the school
yard the previous evening. And the torn up turf stood as evidence in the
case.

“That is only natural,” thought Mr. Hatch. “I’ll have to give that
surplus energy another outlet.”

He sent a notice to the teachers to say nothing about the class fight
that day. A faculty meeting would be held in the afternoon to decide
upon a course of action.

Through his suggestion, the motion was carried to have two class games
of field hockey; one, between the first and second years; the other,
between the third and fourth years; the dates to be arranged by the
athletic board. The victors of the first day would be honored by having
their class flag put up with the school flag the day following the game.

In the same way, the victors of the second day were to be designated. A
final game was to take place between the two successful teams; the
winners would receive a trophy.

In order to lodge this idea, not as an order but as a suggestion, Mr.
Hatch privately conferred with the athletic board, submitting only a
bare outline of procedure and leaving the details of the program to be
worked out as each class saw fit. This action on the principal’s part
transferred any responsibility which he had assumed to the body of
pupils.

When the classes took up the suggestion in their subsequent meetings, it
came, not as a ruling of the faculty, but as an original idea on the
part of the athletic board.

So an antagonistic school spirit was turned into a wholesome channel.
The class spirit was not crushed, the pupils were satisfied to turn
their class loyalty to the support of a contest sanctioned by the
school, and a custom was established which was handed down from year to
year, a heritage of good sportsmanship instead of a barbarous practice
of giving vent to ill-will.

7. Instinctive Fear

Fear is plainly a self-preservative instinct which is of great value to
the child in keeping him away from dangers which might easily result in
serious injury. But fear has little value in the schoolroom. Instead of
aiding the child it cripples, hinders, even paralyzes, his action so
that he not only does his daily work with less freedom, but frequently
fails outright to perform the task assigned, even with his most
conscientious effort. If teachers doubt this statement let them observe
the effects of fear upon themselves and note whether they have more or
less self-control when under the influence of strong fear. Fortunately,
few teachers resort to this method of control at the present time, but
here and there one may still be found who has not yet learned the fact
that ruling pupils by fear is a confession on his part that he is a poor
disciplinarian.

[Sidenote: First Grade]

The first grade teacher, however, through no fault of his own, is often
confronted on the first day with a great many children who are afraid of
him. This characteristic is not so marked in the village or city
schools, where children are accustomed to strangers, as in the rural
school, where children come in who have seen but few strangers. It is
not uncommon for a teacher himself, who, for the first time, steps into
an unfamiliar school, to be afraid. This fear is written on his face;
then it is little wonder that the children display fear. All that such
teachers need to do is to put on a smiling face and meet the children
with kindly greetings. A “Good morning, how are you?” and other cordial
expressions will reassure the children. Through the day the teacher will
be friendly and kind, complimenting each about something done; show some
novelty or even give the shy child a pencil or picture. Within one week
any child who is afraid of the teacher should have learned not to fear
him. Every unkindness will aggravate the fear and only make it more
difficult to remove.

A pupil who will not recite is sometimes considered a problem in the
schoolroom. Such a pupil will not often appear in any grade except the
first, and as a rule only in country schools. Then, usually, it is not
because the pupil is stubborn or possesses some other vicious trait; he
may be bashful or may have received inhumane treatment at home. Whenever
a teacher finds that he has such a pupil it is not wise to attempt to
make him recite. That will only aggravate the bashfulness or fear, and
may even antagonize the pupil, making the trouble worse.

The first thing for the teacher to do is to be kind to the child. Show
him some little favor. Instead of attempting to make him do school work,
he should not be required to do any for a week or more. This time is
given to aid him in becoming accustomed to new associates and
surroundings. There should be no hint as to work. The week should be
well used in getting the child’s interest and confidence. Besides, he is
childish enough to watch the other pupils at work and feel an innermost
interest in their activities. The teacher can loan him picture books and
other interesting objects. He, too, can show some of the other pupils’
work. Finally, he can allow some other pupil to sit with him and teach
him how to draw with colored pencils. It is only natural that a child
who is doing school work should be interested and attempt to tell what
he knows to another. The teacher must not let the children sit together
too long. In about six or seven days at most the first grade child that
refused to recite will begin to manifest an interest and join the
classes without further effort on the part of the teacher.

[Sidenote: Crying]

Crying is often very annoying in the first grade. It may be due to fear,
illness, an accident causing pain, a habit, or it may constitute the
child’s chief means of securing what he desires.

If a child is suffering from some malady, as bad digestion, earache or
other pains, the parents must be consulted, and an attempt made to have
them put the child under a physician’s care until cured. It is most
lamentable, indeed, that so many parents pay no attention to the
ailments that so often worry little children. If the parents will not
coöperate with the teacher, then all the teacher can do is to be
sympathetic with the child and attempt to alleviate the pain. Such a
child should not be treated harshly, that would only add to his
suffering.

Whenever a child is hurt, the teacher should go to his aid, offering
sympathy. However, it is not judicious to say, “That is too bad.” This
may frighten the child and make him cry the harder. It is better to say
to the child, “Never mind, I’ll fix that in a second and then you can
play again.” Even though the accident is serious and requires the
attention of a physician, the teacher should relieve the child from
anxiety. Do not allow other pupils to exaggerate the accident.

Crying merely as a habit is quite prevalent in the first grade and is
caused by poor methods of child training at home. Find out what usually
causes the child to cry. Remove these causes as far as possible.
Avoiding the things that cause the child to cry will help cure the
habit. Whenever the child cries, go to him at once and in a pleasing
manner say, “Just wait! I want to get you something.” Such a statement
will attract the child’s attention and he will stop crying long enough
to see what you are getting. Then get something that will interest him.
Do all of this quickly so that the child will not have time to go back
to crying. Keep the child interested until he forgets to cry. Common
sense with this method will cure almost any child that habitually cries.
Treat repeated offenses in the same way. The wording of the requests can
be changed, if only they are suggestive and gain the child’s attention.

The child that cries to gain what he desires has been so trained at
home. It is, indeed, a bad type of training, but the teacher can improve
the child in such a way that the parents will wonder what influences are
at work. Should a child cry for something he wants, it will only
intensify the habit to grant him his desire. A typical case is a child
crying to go home. The method of procedure is the one given above. Apply
the principle of suggestion, and follow the suggestion by quick
substitution of the thing that will interest the child. All requests
should be made by the teacher in an attitude that will make the child
feel that the teacher expects nothing else but compliance with her
requests.

(1) _Governing through fear._ Teachers intimidate their pupils; they try
to scare them into getting their lessons and behaving properly. While
this may accomplish the desired results in a measure, it does not bring
out the best a child is capable of, or help him to gain a real education
in self-reliance, control, etc.

CASE 44 (FOURTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Spelling]

Miss Stevens had taught the fourth grade for twenty years, and was one
of the old-fashioned pedagogues who always kept a whip in her desk and
believed in governing her charges by the fear of it.

“Now get to work on your spelling lessons, everybody. James McGuire, if
you miss a single word I’m going to whip you. You can learn to spell if
you make up your mind to, and I’m going to see to it that you do.”

And poor James studied his spelling frenziedly, with the cold
perspiration breaking out on his forehead. When called upon to spell in
his turn he got successfully through the ordeal the first time, though
he trembled so violently that he could hardly stand up. But the second
time his turn came around, his word was _miracle_.

“M-i-r,” started James, and then a cold shiver ran up his back as he
realized, terror-stricken, that he couldn’t remember whether it was an
_e_ that came next, or an _a_. “M-i-r,” and another pause during which
poor James screwed his face into an awful scowl in the intensity of his
effort to remember just how that word looked on page 48 of his speller.

“Yes, yes, hurry up, James,” said Miss Stevens sharply.

“M-i-r-e-c-l-e,” said James, with his eyes shut.

“Next,” Miss Stevens’ voice rasped, and she glared fiercely at James.

A little later Miss Stevens’ eagle eye discerned numerous scraps of
paper around Eugene’s desk. Eugene really wasn’t responsible for their
being there, for a careless girl had torn up her arithmetic paper and
the scraps had blown over there when the windows were open at recess.

“Eugene, pick up those scraps of paper under your desk. And you will
stay half an hour after school tonight for being so untidy.”

Eugene was a lad of spirit and had a strong sense of justice. It made
him angry to be punished for another’s fault.

“I didn’t scatter that paper on the floor,” he said, rather vehemently.

“Who did?”

“I don’t know,” the answer was quick and a little saucy, though Eugene
didn’t mean it to be. He was only defending his rights in the matter.

“It’s around your desk and I guess you’d _know_ who let it get there if
you’d think hard enough,” Miss Stevens said sarcastically.

But Eugene made no move to pick up the paper.

“Will you pick up that paper, as I told you to?”

The authoritative, harsh tone roused Eugene to fighting pitch and he
continued to sit still in his seat, resolved that he _wouldn’t_ pick up
the paper, because it wasn’t fair anyway—blaming him for what he hadn’t
done.

Miss Stevens drew out the little leather lash from her desk drawer, and,
though Eugene’s heart jumped into his throat at the sight of it, he
still sat motionless.

She jerked him out of his seat to a standing posture.

[Sidenote: Pick Up That Paper]

“Pick up that paper,” she commanded. But he stood still, a strained,
defiant look on his face. She brought the lash down on the calves of his
legs sharply three times before he even winced. At the fifth blow his
eyes filled with tears for he was still a little boy, only nine years
old, and he had not yet learned the stoicism which bears physical pain
unflinchingly.

The blows fell faster and harder and the smart of them became
unendurable. Miss Stevens forced him down into a stooping posture with
one hand, plying the whip vigorously with the other.

Gropingly, the tears blinding his eyes and sobs shaking his body, Eugene
picked up a few of the scraps. Miss Stevens stopped beating him, but
stood over him menacingly until every piece had been removed.

Then, leaving a broken, humiliated, little Eugene, with his face buried
in his arms, she turned to the rest of the awe-struck school and resumed
the work of the day, a smile of self-satisfaction spreading over her
face.

“Let this be a lesson to you to do as I say, at once, without delay. You
children are here to study and to do as you are told, and the sooner you
learn to do it the better it will be for you.”

She whipped James after school for failing in his spelling.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Instead of helping James’ mind to develop, this teacher actually
inhibited its progress.

She might better have said, “James, let’s see if we can’t have every one
of those spelling words right this time, so that a nice fat 100 will go
down in my book opposite your name. Just think hard every minute of the
study period, and I know you can do it.”

And when James spelled the first word rightly, a wise teacher—one who
understood and loved children—would have nodded approvingly, or smiled a
little in recognition of the fact that James had done well, thus
encouraging him to go on and do his best the next time. With this
treatment he probably would not have failed the second time.

Always give the child a fair chance to state his case. When Eugene said
he didn’t scatter the paper, the teacher should have taken him at his
word even at the risk of being deceived, for not trusting a child’s word
when he is speaking the truth does more harm than believing several
liars.

“All right, Eugene, even if it isn’t your paper, don’t you think our
schoolroom would look better if it were picked up?”

And Eugene would pick up the paper—grudgingly perhaps, but much more
willingly and with much better results to himself than after he had
received a whipping.

COMMENTS

The teacher who governs through fear loses all the confidence of her
pupils, and because of this lack she can not reach the heart, can not
effectively get hold of the child.

Instead of helping the child, fear prevents him from doing his best, it
wastes his energy and distracts his attention. It may sometimes be used
as a check to suppress activity, but should never be employed as a spur
to incite pupils to effort.

[Sidenote: When Not To Whip]

Sometimes, for incompetent teachers, there is nothing else to do but to
whip a child, no other way of curing him of his fault. But children like
Eugene in the incident related should never be whipped. Such treatment
irritates them, makes them defiant and more unruly than before; and when
they are conquered in this spirit they are harmed infinitely more than
they are helped.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Examinations]

In speaking of the effect of fear in the schoolroom, ex-President
Harrison said, “Perhaps the stress is applied too early to our little
ones; and I throw out this word of caution to our good lady friends here
who have them in charge. Some years ago I was passing down a street in
Indianapolis from my residence to my office, on which was situated one
of our public schools. The children were just gathering in the morning.
As I came near the corner, two sweet little girls, evidently chums,
approached from different directions, and, meeting at the crossing, soon
had their heads close together, but not so close but that I caught the
conversation. One said to the other, ‘Oh, I had such an awful dream last
night.’ Her sympathizing little mate put her head still closer, and
said, ‘What was it?’—‘Oh!’ said the trembling little one, ‘I dreamed I
did not pass!’ It is safer to allow such little ones to dream, as in my
careless country boyhood I was wont to dream about bears.”—Address at
Saratoga, July 12, 1892.

(2) _Fear in reciting._ A pupil treated for a series of years as was
James in the previous case will likely develop an almost pathological
fear of the oral recitation by the time he has reached the high school
or even earlier. Pathological fear, from any cause, is difficult to
handle.

CASE 45 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Nervousness]

Blythe MacLane was in her senior year of high school in Middlebury,
Connecticut. She was a very nervous child and because of this, had
always been allowed extra privileges in the school, which other pupils
did not have.

When called upon to recite, she would say, “Please don’t make me rise,
Miss Hutchins. I get so scared when I get up, I forget everything I
know.”

Miss Hutchins always gave in. “All right, you may remain seated if you
wish.”

Or, when certain papers were chosen to be read at the literary society,
Blythe was always excused from reading hers.

If her paper was especially good, Miss Hutchins would say in class, “I
wish Blythe’s paper could be read at the meeting tomorrow. Will you read
it for her, Josephine?”

Later, when Miss Hutchins was working out the details for the
Commencement program, she said to Blythe, “I’m going to seat you at the
end of the front row, Blythe, so that you will not have to walk across
the stage for your diploma.”

And again, “I did not give you a special part on the program, Blythe,
because I know how frightened you get when you have to speak before an
audience.”

“Thank you, Miss Hutchins. I think I should die if I had to walk across
that platform, and as for taking part in the program, I know I should
just sink through the floor when I got up to speak.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Encourage in every possible way a child who is afraid to speak before
people. In the classroom, insist that she rise when reciting but be
careful at first to keep her standing only a moment or two at a time.
Pay no attention to the fact that she is nervous or that her parents
have given in to her because of this. Treat her as if she had no fear.
Frame your questions and modulate your voice in such a manner as to
develop confidence in your pupils. Instead of saying in a blunt,
unsympathetic way, “Why did Lincoln issue the Emancipation
Proclamation?” say, “Blythe was talking with me in the library one
evening last week about her life in the South. It was especially
interesting to me because of our study of the Civil War. I am sure the
class will enjoy hearing it, too. Blythe, repeat to me what you said
that day.”

If a literary program is being planned, provide a place for the girl who
is afraid to speak before an audience, if it be only to read a familiar
passage. If a dramatic sketch is to be given by the school, select a
part for such a girl, if it be only to walk across the stage with a
tray. Try always, and in every situation to center her thought upon the
thing done, thus diverting her consciousness from herself.

COMMENTS

Miss Hutchins made a great mistake in giving in to Blythe’s weakness.
The girl would not have begged to remain seated, would not have excused
herself because of nervousness, if Miss Hutchins’ attitude had been one
to instil confidence in the girl.

Miss Hutchins only encouraged her pupil to further fear by providing a
means by which Blythe would not have to read her paper before the
literary society, and still further by speaking of this before the
entire class.

So again, when Miss Hutchins was making out the program for
Commencement, even if she thought it was necessary to seat Blythe as she
did, she should not have called the girl’s attention to the cause. Such
evidence that Miss Hutchins recognized her pupil’s fear, served only to
augment this weakness, as was seen in Blythe’s final remarks.

By appealing to the pupil’s personal experience, any fear she may have
will be likely to be dispelled, since she is on perfectly familiar
ground. By saying, “I am sure the class will enjoy hearing it, too,” you
are establishing in the girl’s mind your confidence that she _will_
recite. Further by implying your question in a declarative form of
statement, you are driving out the fear that a direct question often
suggests.

Pupils of high school age are old enough to be stimulated by the
suggestion that it is becoming more and more necessary now-a-days for
women to preside over meetings and in many ways take the lead in
circumstances that bring them more or less into prominence; and that the
very best place to train one’s self for such work is in the little class
affairs where only kindly sympathy will be felt for any one who is a
little timid; and, furthermore, that a few triumphs over self will
banish the fear.

ILLUSTRATION (HIGH SCHOOL)

Miss Halleck was an English instructor in a high school in a small town
in Pennsylvania. She had the reputation of being closer in touch with
her pupils than any other teacher in the school.

[Sidenote: Leading Suggestions]

She learned the temperament of every pupil and never failed to give
careful consideration to the laggard, the listless, or the nervous
child.

One young girl had such fear when called upon to recite, that she could
hardly stand up.

“Muriel, you are interested in gardening, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” (This was said while Muriel remained seated.)

“I knew you were. Do you remember what you told me about your dahlias?”

“Yes.” (This is said in a more interested tone of voice.)

“The class should know this, Muriel. Stand up and tell them what you
told me.”

Muriel responded with flushed cheeks, embarrassed, to be sure, but not
to the degree that fear was foremost in her mind. A substitute in the
form of a personal interest had taken its place.

8. Cheating

(1) _How it is provoked._ The teacher who walks about the schoolroom,
first looking to the right, then to the left and finally spinning around
to look back of himself, is casting dares at his pupils. If such pupils
do sneaking tricks and acts, it is no one’s fault but the teacher’s. By
acting the spy in the schoolroom, a teacher does not need to tell his
pupils he mistrusts them; his actions speak louder than words. Pupils
who have no confidence in their teachers will do almost anything to
provoke them. To get the confidence of a pupil is to train him so that
he will respect the wishes and requests of the teacher enough to obey
them cheerfully.

Among the various activities of the sneak, none is more frequent than
cheating. Cheating belongs, probably, under disorders arising out of
self-preservative impulses, since it has in it a large element of
fear—fear of failing to get a coveted standing, fear of losing the
approval of teachers and admiration of classmates, and fear of too
inquisitive questions or possible reprimands at home because of low
standings. Usually it is the weakling who cheats. The strong pupil has
no need of such cowardly devices hence is not greatly tempted to use
them. If bright pupils do cheat it is chiefly because a habit of doing
so has been formed in the class as a whole, and when a habit of cheating
is general it certainly should be laid to unwise handling of the matter
on the part of the teachers.

(2) _Two methods of procedure._ Two general plans of procedure are
indicated in the constructive treatment of such cases. The first aims to
reduce to a minimum the element of fear; the second to build up a public
sentiment against it.

With a view to the first step, do not talk too much before the pupils
regarding examinations and never in a way to make pupils feel that they
are a frightful bugbear to be constantly kept in mind and struggled for.
The thought of the lesson, and its practical uses should be kept
uppermost, not the examination. If the lessons are as well adapted to
the pupils as they should be the interest in the lessons themselves will
absorb the attention of the pupil and not much thought will be given to
the examination. The pupils should know beforehand, however, about what
time the test will come, so that any child who has been ill, or who is
otherwise conscious of weak places in his work, may be amply prepared
for examination day. This of itself will remove much of the temptation
to dishonesty.

On the day before the test (or earlier) tell the pupils just what
subjects to be prepared upon. Meanwhile allow any pupil who honestly
needs assistance to come to you for it. Never allow him to think,
however, that you will give to him any help that all the others might
not have in preparation for the test.

Write the questions for the test or examination with extreme care. The
slightest ambiguity in wording of the questions will lead some pupils to
be mystified and to ask for explanations as to the meaning of this or
that. Such questions of necessity lead to confusion and this confusion
will be utilized by the dishonest members of the class for communicating
with classmates or otherwise cheating in regard to their work.

[Sidenote: Explain Your Meaning]

The day before the test, give all directions necessary regarding
seating, paper, form of writing, material for writing, etc., so that the
element of uncertainty and fear as to what is coming may still further
be removed. Explain the object of the test. It is an extra day thrown
into the routine work, giving opportunity for the pupil to review the
past work, to look up and strengthen any weak places in his study and
then to test his knowledge by putting it down on paper. Explain how just
the act of writing out one’s thought makes that thought clearer, how it
shows each one whether he has really mastered his lessons as well as he
had supposed. Tell how it helps the teacher also because it shows her
that some points have not been explained by her as carefully as they
should have been and after reading the papers she knows just what points
need further explanation or review. Let the talk show the pupils that
their papers give the teacher information that she really needs to
know—that they are helping her as well as themselves in taking the test
and let the whole impression of the talk be that of mutual helpfulness
in the matter. Correct the impression that most children have, that the
greatest favor they can do the teacher is to _get the right answer_.
Show them that it is much more important for her to know if the work has
been understood. Make out the questions, not for the brightest pupils in
the class but for the average pupil.

The majority of your pupils are average pupils. It is not fair to them
to include in test questions (unless they are made optional) certain
ones that only the most advanced pupil in the class, or the child who
has had exceptional advantages could answer. Avoid all possible
suspicion of unfairness and in so doing remove another possible stimulus
for cheating. In other words give pupils every possible reason for
confidence in your justice. Never hold up examinations as bugbears to be
feared.

The first test of the school year should be given early in the year,
before much ground has been covered. The first two or three weeks’ work
is likely to be less good than that which follows even where pupils and
teacher are all doing their best. A few pupils have been late. Two or
three have been transferred from other schools. There has been slight
delay in getting books in one or two cases and even under the best
circumstances it takes a little time for both pupils and teacher
thoroughly to readjust themselves to the new work of the schoolroom
after the very different life of vacation time. For all these reasons
the first test should not cover so much ground that the pupils may not
have ample time to make a thorough review of the work done thus far. As
soon as possible after the examination the teacher should review the
general results with the class, being careful to commend every good
feature, something after this fashion:

“I was very much pleased to find questions 2 and 5 so well answered. We
will take a few minutes for further discussion of question 6. It is
necessary to understand this point in order to have a good foundation
laid for our next work. I am sure that your next test will be better
still now that you know just about what to regard as the most important
things to study.” Let all your conversations about tests and
examinations be in a cheerful tone of voice, never giving the suggestion
in any way that they are anything to dread or that you expect anything
from the pupils but the same frank statement on paper that you
ordinarily expect from the same pupils when conversing with them.

[Sidenote: Question Carefully]

Very much can be done by a tactful teacher to prevent cheating by asking
the questions in such a way as to remove the temptation. “Do you think
Gen. Grant’s plan of the campaign (that we have been studying) was wise
or unwise? Give your reasons for thinking so,” is a better form of
question for a test than to say “State Gen. Grant’s plan of a campaign
and give his reasons for the same.” The first question takes the
emphasis off of the mere memorizing of words and places it upon the
child’s individual judgment, thus giving him confidence in writing his
answer since his statement may be very different from his neighbor’s
answer and still be right. With confidence in himself and in the justice
of his teacher there is little encouragement to cheat.

In the meantime while avoiding any act or word which would tempt a child
to cheat, by your own example and by suggestion build up a sentiment of
honor among the pupils in regard to honest work. Above all when you make
mistakes, and all teachers do make them, yourself admit them freely in
the presence of the pupils. Show them that correcting a mistake is the
important thing, not covering it up, or pretending to a knowledge that
one does not possess.

(3) _Cheating by the pupils._

CASE 46 (THIRD GRADE)

Alma Montrose raised her hand and Miss Noles said, “What is it, Alma?”

“Ike Saunders is cheating,” said Alma in a reproving tone of voice.

“Isaac, are you cheating?” sternly inquired Miss Noles.

[Sidenote: Copying Arithmetic]

“No, ma’am,” answered Isaac while he hastily slipped into his desk the
arithmetic paper from which he was copying the work of the boy in front
of him. Miss Noles continued the recitation.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Never ask a pupil in the presence of others if he is cheating. Determine
by observation or by private questioning of some one else. Remove all
incentive for cheating that you possibly can, such as proximity to
another who is doing the work, notebooks on desks, etc.

COMMENTS

Cheating is a kind of falsehood. One who cheats will ordinarily tell a
falsehood to defend himself. The wisest treatment of the one who is
suspected of cheating is to place not only him but others of his class
in a situation where it is practically impossible to carry on cheating
without detection.

ILLUSTRATION (THIRD GRADE)

[Sidenote: Reading Answers]

Clarence Stover was hearing a third grade arithmetic lesson. He noticed
that Louis Lebenburger kept his eyes downcast while he recited. Stepping
quietly to one side as if to arrange the curtain shade, the teacher
could see that Louis had his book open and was reading his
multiplication table from it.

Returning to his desk, Mr. Stover said: “That was very good, Louis. Come
here, please.”

As Louis stepped to the desk Mr. Stover said, “Louis, I am very much
pleased that you know your 7’s so well. Turn to the school and say them
to all the children.”

Louis begin glibly:

“7 times 1 are 7

7 times 2 are 14

7 times 3 are 25

7 times 4 are—”

“Wait a minute,” said Mr. Stover, “7 times 3 are how many?”

“25,” answered Louis.

“How many children think Louis is right? Hands up!” Not a hand was
raised.

“How many think he was wrong?” All over the room hands came up.

“Go on, Louis,” continued the teacher, “7 times 4.”

“7 times 4 are 32,” said Louis.

“Right or wrong, children?”

“Wrong!” shouted a chorus of children.

“Why, how is this, Louis?” said Mr. Stover. “You knew these numbers
perfectly a moment ago. Come here, Louis.” Louis stepped to the desk.
His back was now turned to the school.

“Louis,” said Mr. Stover in a voice purposely lowered that the other
children might not hear. “Were you cheating when I called on you a
moment ago?” Crestfallen, Louis knew he was caught, so nodded his head
in the affirmative.

“I am so sorry!” Mr. Stover continued. “I was trusting you as an honest
boy. You have shown me that you were not worthy of such confidence.
(After a pause.) Louis, do you know any grown person who is so tricky
and so dishonest that everybody despises him?”

“Yes, Mr. T.,” answered Louis.

“Do you know any man who is so strictly honest and reliable that
everybody trusts him?”

“Yes, Mr. L——.”

“Which would you rather be like, Louis?”

“Like Mr. L——.”

“Very well, sit down on this front seat and learn this table of 7’s. I
will hear you recite it at the recess period.”

In a few minutes the lesson was learned and recited. Louis was dismissed
to finish the period on the playground.

CASE 47 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Passing Answers]

“You may all take your books home tonight—every one. Don’t bring any
pencils or paper with you to school tomorrow. Don’t bring any notebooks
or any notes in your pockets.” This was Miss Justin’s announcement to
her eighth graders in preparation for a coming examination.

The next day she shifted her classes so that no one sat in front of a
classmate, and gave a history and a German test at the same time.
Clarabelle sat at the rear of the second tier of seats; across the aisle
sat Thurman.

“Thurman, what was that you picked up from the floor just now?”

“I don’t know. I h’ain’t picked up nothin’,” was Thurman’s confused
reply.

“Now see here, Thurman, I saw you pick up a small piece of paper. Don’t
you make a move until you hand me that paper.”

Thurman could hardly obey this order, though he did make some effort to
keep quiet. Miss Justin came to him, demanded the paper, was refused,
boxed Thurman savagely on the left ear and went back to her desk.

Thurman had said he had no paper and Miss J. could not be sure that he
lied. After school Phronsie came to her teacher, saying, “Here is a
paper that seemed to blow over to my desk. I thought I should give it to
you since you told us we could not have notes in school today.”

Miss Justin looked through her papers and found that Clarabelle’s hand
had written the notes on the history lesson—dates of the presidential
administration with one error. Turning to Thurman’s paper she found the
list, including the error; the proof was conclusive.

She thought, “Thurman has already had one smart blow from me today. I’ll
mark his paper off 20% for cheating. That gives him two penalties. But
Clarabelle! She’s taken a fancy to that boy and stops at nothing. I must
give her a penalty.”

Next morning she confronted her pupil with the evidence and gave her a
choice between two alternatives: to write a letter describing her act of
helping another to cheat and to read it to the pupils in her room; or
she might face the superintendent with Miss Justin, who would tell the
story and abide by his decision.

Clarabelle got permission to take a day for deliberation. Her parents
were angered and decided to take her out of school. She never returned.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Miss Justin was decidedly wrong. Study the methods of such famous
teachers as Mrs. Johnson of Fairhope, Alabama. Conduct tests sometimes
with books open, not to have pupils show off their powers of memory but
to show how they can use books to solve problems and to reveal their
power of doing new tasks. Let the history “exam” be a contest in story
telling: some pupils telling the story completely; at other times have
three pupils tell the story in relays. In German let pupils have all the
books they want but prepare an examination that requires speed so that
amount of accurate work shall be the basis of grading; have more
questions than any one pupil can get over. Divide your class into three
groups, rapid, medium, slow and make allowances for the medium and slow
so that justice shall be done to all.

Do not talk about cheating. There will be no chance to cheat if you
follow the plan just described. Deal with any flagrant case of cheating
with extreme privacy; it is a disgrace to provoke children to cheat and
you should try to hide the affair and save the culprit from yielding to
a similar temptation should you be so unfortunate as to place another
one in his way.

COMMENTS

There is no way of escaping examinations. But only weak teachers resort
to the old-fashioned typical memory test as their main stay for
examination. With very moderate inventive powers a teacher can easily
rise far above the level of prying bits of formal knowledge out of a
child’s brain by means of set questions. Many an examination can be
passed through with the pupil unaware of the fact that he has been
examined. The problems have been so dressed up as to become discussions,
reports or even questions proposed by the pupils. It often takes as much
information to ask detailed questions as it does to answer them. By
sharing the dignity of asking test questions, pupils come to enjoy the
“game” of the day and refuse to consider unfair means.

Miss Justin did not make nearly enough of such pupils as Phronsie. The
honest, painstaking pupils are usually far more numerous than they are
supposed to be. Every one of them must be yoked into the school “team,”
so that the pull of the careless ones will have very little effect.
Sometimes, indeed, a pupil’s influence will do even more than the
teacher’s to eliminate the habit of cheating, as in the case cited
below.

ILLUSTRATION (EIGHTH GRADE)

Miss Nelson, the eighth grade teacher, had the reputation of being
“stiff.” She assigned long, hard lessons every day, and her examinations
were nightmares to her scholars. But she was near-sighted and her pupils
had formed the habit of cheating—peeping into the book during a
recitation, and helping each other in tests.

Gertrude Hayes entered the eighth grade long after the year’s work had
begun. She had been there a week only when Miss Nelson gave the class a
particularly hard examination in geography.

“How did you answer the third question?” was written on a slip of paper
handed to Gertrude by her neighbor across the aisle.

Gertrude went on writing, paying no heed.

[Sidenote: Refused to Cheat]

“I’ve got the exports of the South written on a piece of paper. Do you
want it?” whispered the boy back of her.

Gertrude shook her head.

The next day in history class she was called on to give the details of
Sherman’s march to the sea, which was in the latter part of the
assignment. Before the class was called she had told Grace, who sat in
front of her, that she hadn’t read all the lesson.

While Gertrude was thinking what answer she could make, Grace opened her
book at the page on Sherman’s march, pointing with her pencil to the
lines which would help Gertrude out.

“I don’t know,” said Gertrude, and saw a 0 go down in the class book for
that day’s recitation.

Grace looked at Gertrude in round-eyed astonishment. At noon she asked,
“Why in the world didn’t you let me help you in history class? She’s as
blind as a bat and wouldn’t know it.”

“Because I didn’t have my lesson and I wasn’t going to cheat about it.”

Grace felt rather uncomfortable and decided that she wouldn’t let
Gertrude see her cheat after this, anyway.

Before long everyone in the room knew that Gertrude never had cheated
and couldn’t be persuaded to do so. Several of the girls followed her
example and refused to help or be helped when it was not fair. By the
end of the year cheating in the eighth grade was still carried on, but
surreptitiously, for those who still cheated were ashamed of their
dishonesty and were anxious to be thought as honorable as their
classmates who had given it up.

Thus was a new standard of honor set up in the eighth grade room by the
persevering honesty of one little girl. To the credit of Miss Nelson it
should be said that quietly she had taken note of Gertrude’s conduct and
influence. There was no public demonstration, but by silent
communication and little individual signs Gertrude was made fully aware
that she held the fullest esteem and confidence of her teacher.

CASE 48 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Copies Science]

It was the evening of the first day of mid-year examinations at Mount
Hope High School. Miss Noland was correcting algebra papers and wore a
troubled frown as she glanced over Oliver Geigler’s paper, not because
it was so incorrect but because it was so well done. Oliver could never
have written it unaided. That she knew. She resolved to keep a lookout
the next day while Oliver was writing examination papers, and if she
could get conclusive evidence that he had cheated she would deal with
him accordingly.

Fifteen minutes after the class in general science began to write their
examination, Miss Noland very stealthily crossed the room apparently to
get a pamphlet from the bookcase, but really to see why Oliver Geigler
was sitting back so far from his desk while he wrote. Sure enough, his
open science book was halfway out of his desk on his lap and he was
looking at it. The slight noise made by the shutting of the bookcase
door caused Oliver to look up and to see that Miss Noland was near. He
instantly moved up nearer to his desk, thus shoving the open book into
it and assuming studiousness, gazed fixedly across the room as if trying
to recall the answer to a question.

Miss Noland went to him, reached into his desk and took out the open
book and said:

“You march right into the office and tell Mr. Russel that you were
cheating! I’ll be in there as soon as I can get away from here to see
what you have told him. Nobody can cheat in this room and escape being
caught at it.”

Resentment was marked even in the boy’s slow movements as he got up and
went to the office. Mr. Russel suspended him from school for a week and
told him that he must promise to stop cheating when he returned to
school.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

When you have reason to believe that cheating is going on in your
classes, create a class sentiment against it and as far as possible
remove the temptation to dishonesty. You can create a sentiment against
it by talks and stories upon the subject of honesty given before the
entire school and by appealing privately to individual students whom you
know to be honest and saying to them something like this:

“I believe you are perfectly honest and would like to have others to be
so. You can help to eliminate cheating from our school by talking
against it whenever you have an opportunity. Of course we will not talk
about individuals who cheat, but will say what we think about the bad
effects of cheating itself.”

To remove temptation to dishonesty, be sure that you are fair. Make very
definite assignments of what is to be learned so that nobody can
possibly be in doubt as to what you will ask. If the lesson is in
American history, say, “Tomorrow I shall ask each one of you to write
the full name of each of the first ten Presidents of the United States
in the order in which they served.” The next day pass out small papers
and give them five minutes in which to write the Presidents’ names. Have
them exchange papers, let some one read what is on the paper he has
while the others check errors on the papers they have. Correct erroneous
answers as the reading proceeds. Ask pupils to grade the papers and
return them to their owners. Call the roll and have each pupil respond
by telling what grade he received. Gather up the papers and verify
grades, returning the papers the next day. For the following day give a
similar assignment.

[Sidenote: Five Minutes Test]

Use the five minute test method on any assigned lesson until pupils
become thoroughly familiarized with the writing of tests and come to
regard it as a usual—not an unusual—experience. Say, “Study this lesson
carefully. I will give you a little test on it tomorrow.” Until you can
trust the class, give many questions with short answers, rather than few
questions with long answers. The pupil who is trying to cheat can not
stop to hunt up answers in his book, where things are moving so rapidly.
Suppose the science lesson is on water. The day after the assignment,
pass out slips of paper about three by six inches in size. Say, “Put
your name at the top of the paper and number up to ten along the left
margin. Answer each question in one word if possible.”

“No. 1. Water is made up of two elements. One of them is hydrogen. Write
the name of the other after 1 on your paper.”

“No. 2. Write one word in answer to this question, Which is heavier,
water or ice?”

“No. 3. Write in figures a number. At what degree Fahrenheit does water
boil?”

“No. 4. Write ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to this question: Can you tell pure water
from impure by sight?” Continue up to ten, asking such questions as may
be answered by one word or one number. Have papers corrected as
indicated above and keep record of the grades.

COMMENTS

The child who cheats has not been educated correctly and so has not
sufficient prejudice against dishonesty. He needs to be educated. The
dread of tests and examinations can be almost entirely overcome by
giving, almost daily, tests which take up little time, accentuate
important features of the lesson, and give equal chances to test the
knowledge of all on a few important points. Pupils invariably like tests
under the above conditions.

CASE 49 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Undeserved Standings]

(4) _Cheating by teacher to please principal._ There are times when an
almost irresistible pressure is brought to bear upon teachers to yield
to custom or concede to circumstance. James C— was a junior in the State
University of Iowa when it became necessary for him to teach to earn
money for his senior year. He secured a position in a small town as
science teacher in a high school which had a staff of three—the
principal, a good-natured time-server with an eye to reappointment at an
advanced salary, and a very pretty and popular young English teacher,
whose easy standards and sweet helpfulness endeared her to all her
students.

Now football ruled the day at North Burley High School. The team had
beaten every town within a radius of fifty miles the year before, and
now they proposed to play the teams from some of the larger towns of the
state. The coach, an old college player, was exceptionally good, and his
team worked like a machine. The star player was Leslie Linwood, a boy
who passed his days in sleepy toleration of lessons, only to wake up on
the gridiron to a mechanical perfection of response and a cool
initiative of successful leadership that insured the winning of games.
He was the idol of the school, although he could do nothing but play his
wonderful games. Every one bowed down to him as the chief element in a
proudly-maintained championship.

There was, however, one old-fashioned board member who thought football
an unimportant side-line in a high school, and it was through his
influence that a rule existed to the effect that no student who had not
passed in three studies for a month previous to the playing of a game
should participate in a game. The rule had not troubled the football
team—all its members always had 70 or above each month.

But Leslie Linwood took two sciences that year under Mr. C—. He failed
outright in physics, which seemed to be worlds beyond his mentality; and
he delayed the preparation of the notebook in biology until Mr. C— was
compelled to fail him in that study also. He was therefore ineligible to
play upon the team, and three big games were coming. Leslie, at the
suggestion of the coach, went to Mr. C— and asked for more time for his
notebook.

“You had all month in which to write it up,” replied Mr. C—. “Two girls
failed to get theirs in, and I failed them. You were not ill; you were
just lazy and indifferent. I don’t see why I should give you a chance
that the others don’t have.”

“Will you let me have another examination in physics then?” asked
Leslie.

“I don’t see why I should. But you can ask Mr. Rounds, and if he says to
do it, I will.”

Leslie did ask Mr. Rounds, and Mr. Rounds consented. So Mr. C— gave
Leslie another examination in physics, in which Leslie made the grade of
35; and things were worse than they were before.

“But see here, C—,” said the astute Mr. Rounds, “you know you must
manage to pass Leslie in one or the other before next Saturday. The
whole school expects it; we need him for the Patterson game.”

“But I don’t know how to pass a boy who simply doesn’t know an induction
coil from an apple pie,” replied the innocent Mr. C—. “I can’t tell a
lie, can I?”

“No, you don’t need to do that, of course. But you must get him through
some way. Give him some coaching, can’t you? Of course every one knows
he’s stupid; but he can play football, and the school simply wouldn’t
stand for his being off the team—to say nothing of the townspeople.”

To Mr. Rounds’ representations the pretty English teacher added some
pretty advice, and a score of students haunted his footsteps to know how
Linwood was coming on in biology; “Well, then, in physics?” Mr. C— grew
a bit thin, as men do who fight a hard fight; for Mr. C— was fighting
for his honor.

Mr. C—’s honor lost. To make a long story short, he gave Leslie Linwood
another examination on Friday afternoon; and when he had reached his
room, he deliberately burned the paper in the Franklin stove without
looking at it. He had no delusions as to what he did; he grimly called
himself a name that he knew he deserved as the bright flames flashed
into his face.

Mr. C— went to the game the next day, and received the smiles of a
pleased community with outward calmness. His inward writhings smoothed
themselves out after a few days; he found a certain pleasure in being
popular, and the contempt of the few people who knew just what he had
done did not show itself openly. He finished the year without
unpleasantness of any kind, and was “regretted by a large circle of
friends” when he declined reappointment in June. He looked like the same
man who had gone out to teach the fall before, but he had lost an
inestimable treasure; the greatest tragedy that can happen to man had
happened to him—he had deliberately sold himself to the public. A chance
to work a great reform, to replace a low ideal with a high one, to teach
the plastic minds of a whole school the difference between the
worth-while and the not-worth while, had been lost. All that had taken
place because he had not courage to take a stand upon a plain question
of truth and falsehood. He had yielded to mob control.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Evidently Mr. C— had time to measure the situation with care. This
matter of failing students is so familiar that he can be prepared,
without uncertainty, for puzzling situations.

[Sidenote: Refuses to Lie]

Mr. C— can proceed as follows: ask the high school teachers privately
the following question, “If after a teacher has done his best with a
student and he fails, is it right to give him a passing grade?” The
answer, “Yes” or “No,” is to be secured from each teacher. Nine times
out of ten the answer will be “No.”

Make a record of every effort and failure of Leslie, and at the end make
a memorandum of the teacher’s opinion and file it with the principal.
Then when questioned by pupils, refer to the facts on this report and
say, “I have turned the matter over to the principal.” Have a frank talk
with Leslie if you have managed him without friction so far, and if he
begs to be allowed to play anyway in spite of the rules, say, “You do
not want me to do what is not fair, do you?”

Hold out to the end without flinching, and take the consequences. Have
Leslie informed on every step you take.

COMMENTS

The chief difficulty is the over-emphasis which schools place on winning
games. If no one takes a stand against dishonesty in giving grades, the
reform will never be instituted. If one is willing to leave the school
at the end of the year because of his conscience, he would far better
leave earlier with a clear conscience and the passing disfavor of the
school.

The actual procedure must be determined by the rules in force. The
Inter-High School Athletic Association rules must be followed at all
hazards. By following the principal’s instructions, turning over
Leslie’s papers and assuming that the principal wants the right thing
done, he can be made to share the responsibility of keeping Leslie out
of the game.

By keeping a few persons informed with regard to your management of
every step of the procedure, you will be saved from being falsely
accused of giving an undeserved passing grade, or of wrongly depriving
the pupil of the same.

ILLUSTRATION (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Boy’s Admission]

Silas Harper taught German at the Crossville High School with fourteen
pupils in the second year class. The same old story of failure to pass
threatened to keep Thornton Tanner out of the next football game. Just
as soon as the complication took shape, Harper had a clear understanding
with the principal, who, not knowing that the star player was in danger
of losing his standing, said in faculty meeting, “No pupil who fails in
one study can play on the scheduled games.”

All the usual devices for pulling Thornton through failed. The day
before the game the following conversation occurred:

“Thornton, have I given you all the help you needed to get your German
up?”

“Yes, Mr. Harper, you have. You aren’t to blame if I don’t play.”

“I’m exceedingly sorry; I don’t know any way out. Thornton (looking the
boy in the eye), can you say that you have had a square deal and that
you are not entitled to play?”

“Yes, I believe I can. But I don’t see that that does any particular
good. The fellows don’t care about my studies; they want me to play.
They think if I don’t we shall lose.”

Thus the matter ended with the two. When the coach inquired of Harper
about Thornton, the situation was explained and no hope of relief
developed. The principal was deeply annoyed over the situation. He said:

“I’m afraid we made a mistake somewhere. I think we’d better let
Thornton drop German from his schedule and so free him from the record
of a failure.” Mr. Harper remained silent for a moment; then he
remarked:

“I can’t agree to that. I will make my written report to you and to the
superintendent and explain the situation to my German class. The
athletic rules as understood by the boys themselves will not allow
Thornton to play. I can’t yield to popular clamor and give a grade where
the boy himself affirms he doesn’t deserve it. Your plan will put him on
the team, but it will not make him respect honor or law.”

The principal carried out his plan. The pupils knew all about it; they
rejoiced over the splendid victory; but their respect for the dishonored
principal was easily eclipsed by their silent admiration for Silas
Harper, their enthusiastic supporter in athletics, but unflinching
champion of right.

9. Lying

No more harmful misdemeanor than lying can be discussed. It is fortunate
that it is not very prevalent in the first grade; still that does not
remove the very urgent importance of using every caution to prevent and
cure it whenever and wherever it is found. When one learns that most of
the great newspapers of the country will flagrantly print lies to make
otherwise unnoticeable articles of news “catchy” and exciting; that
great stores, and small ones as well, have systems of lying devised to
allure trade; that everywhere in this busy world lying is the basis of
all dishonesty and graft, the teacher can not fail to see the necessity
for right training in this direction. A lie is not so many untrue words;
it may be work not done as agreed upon, a contract worded in such a way
as to evade responsibility, or a thousand other ways of deceiving. Lying
has crept into every avenue of municipal, state and national affairs. In
view of all this, the teacher must do all in her power to prevent and
cure lying.

[Sidenote: Types of Lies]

Lying may be variously classified, according to motives. However, for
the teacher’s purpose, it is only necessary to recognize four types of
lying according to the motive.

First, a pupil is often forced to lie, because the teacher pursues some
indiscreet method which he mistakes for shrewdness, but which, in
reality, is only a trap in which to catch pupils, with the result that a
lie is the product of the method.

Second, pupils that have very imaginative minds often tell the teacher a
story or some incident which they color to suit their keen imaginations
and thereby strain the truth.

Third, children lie very frequently because of fear.

Fourth, perhaps the worst form of lying is that by which children try to
obtain things they want, believing they can not secure them by being
truthful.

In a certain school some petty offense had been committed on the
playground. The teacher did not know who had done it. After the bell
rang and every pupil was in his place, the teacher passed from pupil to
pupil down and up each row of seats asking, “Was it you?” To make her
questions more imperative she punctuated them by a sharp look or
pointing her finger at each pupil as she asked the question. From each
little tot came a simple, “No.” But some one of the pupils had committed
the offense and all replied, “No,” therefore one of the pupils had lied.
Why? The teacher had instigated the lie. Little do teachers think that
such methods as this are productive of more harm than good. Finally this
same teacher will ask, “Does any one know who did it?” All are afraid to
admit who did the act in spite of the fact that every pupil knows just
who committed the offense. In the last round of what the teacher deems
her shrewdness, she has led every pupil to lie. Teachers who follow such
tactics know little or nothing about human nature or child psychology.

[Sidenote: A Teacher’s Blunder]

The teacher who bluntly asks a pupil, “Did you do that?” is paving the
way for a falsehood. Again, what teacher can not recall entering the
schoolroom and finding a vase broken, a window pane broken, or a choice
sentence erased from the board and at once commenting in a strained tone
of voice, “That is too bad! I wonder who did it.” Again the opportunity
for a falsehood is provided. The thoughtful teacher, from the above
suggestions, will be able to recall many instances where she in effect
forced pupils to tell falsehoods.

To prevent all such lying, the teacher must carefully study the method
she is planning to use in ferreting out some mischief, before she uses
it. _She must study its effect upon the children; if it has the
slightest tendency to cause them to prevaricate, then it is far better
to leave the mischief unnoticed than to cause pupils to tell lies._

[Sidenote: Talking on Truth-Telling]

In this instance the teacher would have done the right thing had she
explained to the pupils the value of truth and how she appreciated a
child that told the truth. She should have explained that older people
break things, commit offenses and make other mistakes. The mistake is
not so bad in itself, for every one is liable to make a mistake.
Further, the teacher should plainly point out to the pupils that when
any one has made a mistake or committed an offense, or broken something,
the deed is smoothed over and mitigated when the offender tells the
truth about it. Teachers have no right to make a new law for themselves;
it is God’s law to forgive any and all offenders, if they will but come
to him and confess. What is confession but telling the truth?

Children in the first grade are not too young to have the matter of
truth put before them in this manner. After the talk the teacher must
avoid any attitude of questioning or even of suspicion, but go on about
her work in the kindest mood. As a rule, before many hours her patience
will be repaid by a little form at her side, whose eyes fill with
penitent tears, and she will hear a story of truth that will gratify her
heart.

What should the teacher do with such an admission? Approve such a child
for its truthfulness. Thank him. He deserves all the kindness and
sympathy a teacher can extend. To treat a child like this about an
offense will remove the motive for lying and the chance for offenses.
Besides he has been encouraged in telling the truth and afterward will
doubtless continue to be truthful.

Every community has its liars. Some communities have more than their
share. Who knows but that these liars may not, once, have been children
who told incidents, accidents and stories to parents, playmates and
teachers and, by reason of an imaginative mind, added little flourishes
of their own. Some teachers do not call such statements lies, but
whatever part of the incident, experience, or story, was recited for the
purpose of deceiving was false. It is true, children are called upon in
language classes to write about such subjects as, “A Ride on an Ocean
Steamer,” “A Street Car Accident,” and many others that describe
something that has never entered into their experience. This is
imagination, and while it has its value, it has its dangers also. There
is a movement away from the practice of having children write about
imaginary things; instead they are instructed to write about real
things. This tendency is very proper, but does not mean a total neglect
of the cultivation of imagination.

[Sidenote: The Imaginative Lie]

To illustrate just what is meant by the lie that may grow out of the
imagination, a child comes to the teacher and begins telling her about
the antics of a little baby brother or sister. The teacher shows an
interest in what the child is telling. Every child likes to be admired
and approved because of what he can do or tell. The teacher’s pleased
look and smile stimulate the child to make his conversation as
interesting as possible, and almost without any effort he can put
touches of exaggeration into the conversation about the baby.

Again, who has not watched a group of first grade pupils at play, and
overheard them telling things to each other which could not possibly be
true? They imagine themselves merchants, aunties and uncles, and concoct
conversations that would rival the art of any story-teller. It is this
imaginative impulse that prompts them to color so many of the incidents
they relate and often leads them to tell for the truth things that never
happened.

It is a question whether it is best to throttle the imaginative
wanderings of the child mind or not. It is doubtful if harm can come
from the imaginary conversations of children at play. In reality they
are getting themselves ready for the activities of adult life and mayhap
it is the best wisely to guide them in their play activities rather than
suppress them.

But should a child let his fancy persuade him to strain the truth when
he tells an actual occurrence? The teacher can very easily curb this
tendency by not showing an interest in what the child is telling. How
should this be done?

Every teacher knows that as the child talks he looks into the face of
the teacher. There he notes the raising of the eyebrows, the twinkle of
the eyes, the faint trace of a smile, and the line of the lips, all of
which are indices of the mind of the teacher. Every teacher knows quite
well that his face indicates to a pupil whether the answer he is giving
to a question she asked, is right or wrong. These signs in the teacher’s
face either encourage or discourage a child. The teacher who wishes to
disapprove of any untruths a child may weave into his conversations,
needs but to lower his eyes at those points of the conversation where
she feels that the child is not relating the truth. Care should be taken
not to discourage him in what he is telling. Rather do the opposite. It
is the province of the school to enable children to express freely and
in good English, those things they know, see and experience. Then it is
expedient to show, by the features, disapproval of that part of the
conversation only that is untruthful. Encourage conversation about the
real. Such a method will hold the child to the truth and will tend to
make him strive to tell the truth under all circumstances. However, the
teacher must remember that he may still continue to speak of fanciful
things, and it is well for her not to attempt to remedy that.

There can be no mistake in using the direct method of teaching
truthfulness. To do this a teacher need not say, “Do not lie.” She
should use the positive method—tell stories bearing upon the value of
truth. She can weave truth into her every day life, the daily lessons,
and all other activities of the schoolroom and the playground.

The teacher who tells the pupils how fine it is to be truthful, is
dropping a seed which will grow into a great plant of truthfulness in
the child’s life.

[Sidenote: The Lie of Fear]

There is no excuse for the teacher who has a pupil in her room who tells
lies because of fear of her. How true it is that so many children tell
falsehoods because of fear. In the home, of all places where love and
confidence should reign supreme, children are taught to lie because they
fear the unreasonable punishments of parents. These children enter
school where a cruel teacher sets up a code of rules that she can not
obey herself, but expects the pupils to obey. Naturally, in the
activities of the schoolroom these children trespass on the teacher’s
sacred rules. Then they fear punishment. In order to escape this
punishment they tell falsehoods. This is all wrong, and childhood cries
out against it. Why can not parents win the confidence of their children
by love and sympathetic guidance and treatment, so that they will openly
and frankly admit when they have been mischievous? Why can they not so
teach their children that they will tell the truth about their petty
offenses? Why, then, can they not pardon them and confidently admonish
them to offend no more? Parents are too prone to forget that as children
they, too, were mischievous. This is not a discussion for parents, but
what has been said is also of value to the teacher, for the teacher
receives these children at the age of six and is expected to cure them
of all the evils that short-sighted and inexcusable parents have taught;
hence, it becomes the teacher’s duty to correct the child that tells
falsehoods because of fear.

Heroic measures are not needed. The prudent teacher will have no
alarming code of rules or other guideposts to right conduct displayed in
her schoolroom. She will act as the guidepost herself. She will
discreetly lead the young lives intrusted to her by love and sympathy. A
six-year-old child needs direction and instruction, and not punishment,
as so many teachers believe. Then the teacher who loves and controls her
pupils aright will have the confidence of her pupils. They will not fear
her. They will not need to lie to cover up their misdemeanors. They will
tell them to the teacher, because they know she will wisely counsel
them. Fear being removed, truthfulness will naturally follow.

[Sidenote: Lying for Gain]

The pupil that has acquired the habit of lying to obtain the many things
he wants is the most difficult to handle. This habit is usually the
result of very poor home training, but in many instances the child
resorts to falsehoods to obtain his ends in school, and the habit is
begun after the child enters school. While all types of lying are
pernicious, none is worse than the one which tempts a child to lie to
gain some material end.

In many instances a pupil secures something from the teacher by means of
a misrepresentation and the teacher is not aware of it, but later learns
that the pupil has secured the coveted object by false methods. There is
nothing left for the teacher to do, except to tell the child about his
misrepresentation and request him not to repeat it. This must not be
done in a faultfinding way, but as a means of instruction. Sometimes the
misdemeanor may be of such proportions, that all that can be done is to
give direct instructions against it; but when this becomes necessary,
the teacher must do it in a way that will win the child’s confidence.
Not a word nor look of criticism should escape the teacher. Her
instruction should make plain to the child the evil results that will
arise from such falsehoods. If the teacher is not careful she will make
the child more evasive in his attempts to misrepresent. After that he
will use all the tact he can, to keep his falsehoods hidden; so it
becomes very imperative that the teacher give direct instructions with
the utmost care. It is indispensable that she remain within the child’s
confidence. It can not be emphasized too much, that but little can be
done for a child in the way of direct or indirect instruction, if the
teacher has lost the confidence of the offender.

Usually the teacher can detect from the child’s manner, that he is lying
to obtain what he wants. In such a case the teacher can more easily
apply an effective method and one that will in due time remove the habit
from the child. Often the teacher can lead the child to the truth by a
series of careful questions. Answers to the questions are the child’s
gradual admission of the truth. These admissions can be drawn from the
child by facial suggestion; that is, the teacher can approve by a
pleased countenance that reply which she deems the truth and disapprove
that reply which she deems a falsehood by merely assuming an unmoved
countenance or expressing negation. Also, negative movements of the
head, suggest, “No,” to the child when he is telling a falsehood and
this suggested “No” will bring out the truth. The positive movement of
the head consents to the truth when stated by the child.

CASE 50 (KINDERGARTEN AGE)

(1) _Lying in order to accomplish a desired end._ The following
occurrence very nicely illustrates the method. A little girl had secured
permission from her mother to visit the home of a young man who was
doing some experiments in child psychology. While there he used her as a
subject for an experiment. The experience pleased the little girl, and
in a few days she wished to make another visit, but knew that her mother
would not grant the privilege. The little girl went to the young man’s
home without her mother’s consent. Upon arriving there the little girl
suggested that they go into the kitchen. The experiment of a few days
before had been performed in the kitchen. The experimenter knew the
mother well enough to question whether the little girl had secured her
mother’s consent. When he asked her if her mother had allowed her to
come, she replied, “Yes,” but the young man saw at once that the child
was lying and determined to get the truth without the child’s knowledge
of his object or without forcing her to tell the truth as so many unwise
teachers attempt to do, and fail.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

[Sidenote: Suggestion As a Remedy]

The following is the exact conversation: The young man said, “Your
mother allowed you to come the other day, did she not?” This he
emphasized by a positive nod of his head. The little girl readily
replied, “Yes.” Then the young man said, “But today your mother did not
allow you to come? No, no.” This question he emphasized by a negative
nod of his head. The little girl hesitated, and told her wavering
falsehood. Her reply was, “Yes, she said I could go into the kitchen.”
Again he asked his questions, emphasizing each by the proper motions of
his head. To the last question, the little girl replied, “She did not
say I could come today.” He had used the principle of leading
suggestion, and had led the little girl to tell the truth. He did not
change his attitude toward the child. He was firm and kind. She was old
enough to understand the significance of the lesson and did not attempt
to tell the young man another falsehood, and he had occasion to have the
little girl about him almost every day.

COMMENTS

It is worth consideration, that to this tendency to misrepresent in
order to secure an end or desire, teachers apply such crude and
unskilled methods of prevention, they really force children to tell more
falsehoods. It is urgent that a teacher should always study all cases of
falsehood coming up and then with common sense approach them in such a
way as to prevent, instead of intensify, the habit of lying.

(2) _Lying in order to cover up a wrong act._ Very much of what has been
said regarding the method of dealing with very young children applies
with equal force to older children, except that the older ones have more
definitely formed ideas of what is right and wrong.

CASE 51 (SECOND GRADE)

[Sidenote: Marking Desks]

Miss Simons looked down the row of seats in the second grade room and
saw that Forrest Short was drawing on his desk with his lead pencil. She
walked back to his seat and saw that the drawing represented an apple.
She said, “Forrest, how did this drawing of an apple get on your desk?”

Startled and abashed, Forrest whispered, “I don’t know anything about
it.”

Miss Simons walked away and said no more.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Do not ask a child, who has done some misdemeanor, whether or not he did
it; especially, if you already know that he did it.

Miss Simons should have said privately to Forrest: “I saw you drawing on
your desk. These desks and this schoolhouse belong to everybody who
lives near here. We can benefit all of them by keeping the desks and the
entire room as neat and clean as possible. See if you can not get the
marks off of your desk. I will show you how. We want the next child who
uses it to find it just as nicely kept as you found it.”

COMMENTS

Miss Simons could reasonably expect nothing else than that Forrest would
tell a falsehood when the truth would condemn him. Furthermore, she
acted a lie herself if she pretended not to know how the drawing came to
be on the desk. A teacher who wishes to foster truthfulness in a child
will not wittingly tempt him to tell an untruth. Miss Simons made the
untruth too easy. Had she assumed in talking with Forrest that he had
made the drawing, he would have admitted it.

ILLUSTRATION

[Sidenote: Drawing]

Miss Cate, who was teaching the second grade in a village school, saw
that Edward Marsh and Rolland Gray were both drawing on their tablets
during the period when they should have been preparing their arithmetic
lesson.

She said to Edward, “I see you are drawing. Have you finished your
arithmetic problems, Edward?”

“Yes, Miss Cate,” he replied.

“Drawing is a good pastime when you have your lessons prepared,” said
Miss Cate. “Here is a piece of paper and a model. Copy this for me as
accurately as you can and I shall be pleased to see it when you have
finished it.”

She then said to Rolland, “I see that you too are drawing; have you
finished your arithmetic?”

“No, Miss Cate,” he said.

“Drawing is a fine, noiseless pastime,” she said, “but just now I wish
you to do your problems in arithmetic. As soon as you have finished
them, raise your hand and I will give you a good, easy model to draw
from.” Both children went happily to work.

(3) _Teaching untruthfulness._ Many a teacher gives her pupils lessons
in untruthfulness by practicing upon them what she considers to be
harmless deceptions. It is a weak teacher who finds such aids to
discipline necessary.

CASE 52 (THIRD GRADE)

It was Miss Weber’s first day of school in Roxbury, Missouri. She came
as a new teacher from a nearby normal school.

[Sidenote: Teacher Falsifies]

In outlining her first day’s work the evening before, the words of her
training teacher had been in her mind, “As the first day goes, so goes
the year.”

“I’ll take the first five minutes tomorrow,” thought Miss Weber, “to
tell the children what I hope from them. They will then be pretty sure
to meet my expectations.”

After a cheery “Good morning, children,” she said, “I’m going to take a
few minutes this morning to talk with you. I want you to be very good
children this year. I’ve got eyes in the back of my head and when my
face is turned away from you I can see what is going on back of me.”

Some of the pupils in her room actually believed this for about a week,
when one day Jimmie Knox decided he would test Miss Weber’s “double
eyes.” He had not studied his spelling lesson; so when the papers were
exchanged for correction (his among them) and Miss Weber was writing
some words on the board, he made another copy from his spelling book
which lay open before him.

When the papers were returned the next morning Miss Weber said, “I was
sorry to find out that Jimmie Knox could not be trusted while my back
was turned.”

All eyes were on Jimmie while she went on to give a long talk on
“Deceit,” bringing out such points as:

“A deceitful child is handicapped. Any boy who cheats is almost sure to
be a liar and a thief also.”

“There is very little hope that a child who cheats will ever become a
great and good man.”

Several days later Miss Weber said, “If you all get 100 in spelling
today, I’ll be so proud of you I shall have to give you each a gold
medal.”

“Oh, shall we have gold medals, Miss Weber?” asked one enthusiastic
little boy.

“No, not really. You mustn’t believe everything I say, William.”

“Did you mean,” asked Jimmie, “what you said yesterday about cheating?”

Miss Weber paused a moment, then said, “That’s enough from you, Jimmie.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Make only such resolutions and statements at the beginning of the term
as you know you will be able to carry out. If you should happen to make
a remark that the children may be likely to interpret too literally, be
sure to amend it immediately, so that your idea will be clear to them.
Do not claim greater powers than you possess nor hope to prevent
deception on the part of the pupils by practicing deceit upon them.

If you find out that a certain pupil has cheated in his work, give all
the children a short talk, every word of which is constructive. That is,
do not speak on the negative topic “Deceit,” but on the positive
opposite virtue, “Honesty”; it will be much more effective. Illustrate
each of your statements by an actual experience showing the desirability
of possessing a strictly honest character.

COMMENTS

Miss Weber had the right idea when she said to herself that children
will meet their teacher’s expectation of them, but she applied a wrong
method to bring this about. It is not necessary to give a formal talk on
what you expect in the way of behavior. Your every movement in the room
should disclose your expectation and your confidence in the pupils.

Jimmie Knox should not have been made the target for Miss Weber’s talk
on Deceit. She further made the mistake of expressing utter hopelessness
for the child who deceives, as if his fault were an inherent wickedness,
and, therefore, not to be remedied.

Jimmie Knox was not altogether to blame for his cheating. Miss Weber had
challenged his act by saying that she could see what was going on even
though her back was turned. His natural inquisitiveness led him to test
her statement.

A teacher may never hope to have the confidence of her pupils if she
says to them, even in a joking way, as Miss Weber did, “You must not
believe everything I say.” Could she blame her pupils for doubting her
word after making statements to them which even she herself admitted to
be untrue?

Occasionally it is well to turn a class discussion in such a way as to
have a direct bearing on a local situation, if this can be done without
special allusion to any offender. The following story shows how this may
be done. It also illustrates the method of throwing emphasis upon the
positive virtue desired rather than upon the fault to be eliminated.

ILLUSTRATION (FOURTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Cheating]

Miss Hancock, a teacher in the fourth grade of a small town in New York
State, discovered from the results of two papers in arithmetic that one
of her pupils had cheated.

The next morning an opportunity came in the history lesson to emphasize
Lincoln’s honesty.

“He was so honest that when he was keeping a store as a young man in
Illinois, he walked several miles one night to return two pennies to a
woman whom he had overcharged for a purchase.

“It was upon such a characteristic that his whole public life and policy
were founded and the world pays tribute to this quality when it
celebrates his birthday.

“Now I have some quotations on honesty that I shall distribute to each
one. By tomorrow morning when we review Lincoln’s life, you will have
them memorized.”

CASE 53 (SIXTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Paper Wads]

(4) _Lying aggravated by teacher’s wrong method of dealing with case._
Miss Graves was teaching in the sixth grade of a city school. One day a
paper wad went “thud” against the blackboard behind her. Notwithstanding
that she was hearing a class at the time, she sprang to her feet at once
and said, as she gazed about the room, “Who threw that paper wad? I’m
going to find out right now who threw it.” Thereupon she began at one
side of the room, asking the children one after another in order, “Did
you throw it? Did you? Did you?” etc.

She seemed surprised when every one of the pupils in the room had
answered, “No, ma’am.” She said, “Someone has told a lie about this. I
shall endeavor to find out who it is. The one who did it will be
severely punished.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Do not question pupils in public as to whether or not they have done a
certain misdeed. Simply keep a closer watch than before. Look at no one
in particular, but lift your eyes a little above the heads of the
pupils, so that you can watch what is going on without seeming to do so,
and let your face show neither anger nor annoyance. Do not accuse
anyone. Even after you think you know who is guilty, do not say you
know; on the other hand, do not suggest in any way that you are not
sure. If you are sure that a certain pupil is guilty, ask him to see you
a moment after school. Then talk with him in a friendly way, smiling
frequently, so he will be in the mood to confess. When he does confess,
thank him for his admission and tell him you know he will not bother you
any more. Treat him kindly after the interview.

COMMENTS

It takes more courage than ordinary children have to answer, “Yes,” when
others are listening, to a question whether they have done wrong. After
hearing a number of pupils answer, “No,” it is extremely unlikely that
the culprit will be honest enough to answer “Yes.” The more the teacher
threatens the wrong-doer the less likely she is to find out by public
questioning which one he is. It is possible to handle a case so
tactfully that there is no danger of leading the offender to be
dishonest. Besides, leading him to confess his fault you can, by showing
comradeship and understanding of the case, make him feel that you are
treating him so fairly that he has no desire to annoy you further. Do
not say much after his confession. Show by your smile and manner that
you are satisfied with the child’s acknowledgment.

ILLUSTRATION (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Throw Shot]

Shot had been thrown in Prof. Lyon’s recitation room at Huron High
School. He suspected that Paul Robinson was the offender and when he and
Paul were alone together Prof. Lyon smiled and said, “Paul, there was
some little shot or something rolling over the floor today. I want you
to help me find where they came from. Wait a minute, let me show you
what one of these shot looks like.”

While Prof. Lyon was feigning to look over the floor for one of the
shot, Paul said, “O, I know what they look like.” Prof. Lyon smiled at
the boy’s confession and dismissed him. Paul didn’t feel like throwing
shot in Prof. Lyon’s room again, because of this considerate treatment.

10. Acquisitiveness

(1) _Making collections of curiosities—Legitimate acquisition._ Probably
every person who reaches adult life has made collections of something or
other during boyhood or girlhood. Stones, stamps, “memory buttons,”
flowers, etc., all take their turn in the childish museum of
curiosities. The wise teacher will utilize this tendency rather than try
to suppress it.

CASE 54 (UNGRADED SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Disorder]

The county superintendent of Tazewell County, Illinois, was visiting a
rural school. The teacher, Mr. Owens, was nervous, and the children
responded to his unusual manner with general agitation. When he called
the grammar class to stand preparatory to going forward to the
recitation seats, Andrew Willis accidentally knocked a stone off his
desk. It fell upon the bare foot of a boy sitting just opposite to him.
The boy gave a little yelp of pain and catching up his foot rocked to
and fro a moment. Mr. Owens was more embarrassed than ever. His pupils
liked him. He had encouraged them in their natural instinct to collect
what seemed to them curious, useful or beautiful as they walked to and
from school. He now glanced over the schoolroom, actually seeing for the
first time how untidy many of the desks were. Stones, flowers, one clump
of moss, one butterfly and oddly bent twigs and collections of leaves
adorned the desks. He resolved to make some provision at once for
keeping the desks clean.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Provide proper places, a cabinet or table where pupils may bring their
treasures and where the various objects can be utilized in the nature
study lessons. They can also often be used in the geography and history
work and will add much to the interest of those subjects.

COMMENTS

The habit of seeing whatever comes within the range of vision is a good
one and should be cultivated by the teacher. A love of flowers—a
refining emotion—will usually follow persistent attention to them. For
this reason it is well to acquaint children with their names, usual
location, change through culture, etc. Much can also be learned from
talking often about rock formations, leaves, etc. A teacher who cares to
do so will find a way to make such collections instructive, and yet keep
the discussion of them as well as the objects themselves in the proper
place.

ILLUSTRATION (UNGRADED SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Nature Study]

A few mornings after the visit of the county superintendent to his
school Mr. Owens said to his pupils:

“In the southwest corner of the room I have placed a table. On this
table we will put a collection of beautiful stones and curios of all
sorts. When visitors come I can tell them that the pupils brought all of
these things for our natural science table. On this you may place
anything suitable which you find on the school ground, on the way to
school, or which you already have on your desks.

“This will make more room for your books and the desks will look much
better besides.

“If any one has anything in his desk which he does not care to put on
our table, he should bring a cloth bag from home with a string attached
to it so that he can tie it to the side of his desk. Or, if he prefers,
he may bring it for the other children to see, then take it home.

“Just back of my desk here, where all of us can see them, I have placed
this small table of vases in which to put all of our flowers.”

Neatness, with its attendant beneficial effect upon discipline, followed
this new arrangement.

(2) _Gambling—Acquiring dishonorably._ Frequently the acquisitive
instinct takes on a less innocent form. Then it becomes the teacher’s
duty, not to suppress the instinct, perhaps, but to see to it that it is
expended in ways that will leave no habits of dishonesty ingrained in
the pupil’s character.

CASE 55 (FOURTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Marbles]

Rattle-te-bang!—a big noise rolled all through the room where young Miss
McGuire had charge of thirty fourth-graders. Everybody knew what caused
the uproar, for the marbles immediately began to stream slowly in every
direction over the schoolroom floor.

“Where did they come from?” was Miss McGuire’s first thought. She had
not long to wait, for Lucius’ terror-stricken face was seen intently
gazing at his teacher in anticipation of some further misfortune.

“Lucius, were those your marbles?” was her first question.

“Yes, ma’am,” timidly said Lucius, fearing that he might lose his
treasures.

“Children, you may all pick up the marbles near you. Perry, you may pass
down the aisles with the crayon box and collect them and bring them to
my desk,” were Miss McGuire’s orders. After school she detained Lucius.

“Lucius, how did you get so many marbles?”

“I bought them with a nickel daddy gave me.”

“Surely not this box nearly full of marbles for a nickel.”

“Well, Walton gave me some.”

“Did any one else give you marbles?”

“Ye-e-es, some of the other boys.”

“Now, see here, Lucius; you’ve been playing for keeps, haven’t you?”

Lucius saw no way out but to admit the fact, though he knew it meant
trouble.

“Lucius,” said Miss McGuire, “you are a little gambler, so you are; so
are all these boys who play for keeps. I’m going to throw these marbles
into the sewer and any others I get hold of. Now you go home and keep
straight after this.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Miss McGuire’s procedure must be condemned from the moment she began her
interview with Lucius; instead of her method the following is
recommended:

“How did your marbles get away from you?” should be the first question.
Put the boy entirely at ease if possible.

“What a fine lot of marbles you have. How do you keep them; your pockets
are too small, aren’t they!”

“Now, I tell you—I have room in the bottom drawer of this desk for them.
Put them in there and get them when you need them.”

[Sidenote: Keep Score-card]

Let the matter rest for that day. Next day, in a chatty fashion, get
Lucius to tell about his games. Let him tell about playing for keeps. At
a still later time begin giving him your ideas on gambling. Do not
disclose the fact that you have seen the boys playing for keeps. Lay a
foundation about stealing, leading up to getting something for nothing,
and thus help the boy to draw his own inferences as to gambling.

Finally, insist that common conscience forbids gambling, and that all
strong boys avoid it. Offer to keep records on a chart instead of
keeping the marbles that formerly have been won. Next year be on hand
with the records plan when the marble season opens and encourage
competition for championship in marbles.

COMMENTS

Boys take up gambling with very few scruples. Even though some adults do
not condemn playing marbles for keeps, teachers can be on the safe side
only when they take a firm stand against it and institute a reform in a
tactful way.

The chief interest in the sport is the exhibition of skill demonstrated
by the winning of marbles. After a boy has a few marbles he finds no
great delight in mere possession of a large number. Therefore, the cure
for the gambling features of the game of marbles is to provide for due
recognition of skill in some harmless fashion.

If you want the boys to talk about their habits and customs, all
strenuous efforts at reform must be reserved until you have led the boys
to see your viewpoint. Therefore, lead up to the point you wish to make
with the boys in a way that will carry them along with you.

ILLUSTRATION (SIXTH GRADE)

Miss Henry was teaching in a St. Louis school and was face to face with
the question of how to control the game of matching pennies; she
followed out a new plan. Fortunately the policeman who was on the
nearest beat was one of the best friends of the school children and was
occasionally asked to step into a room and say a few words to them. He
was greeted with enthusiasm, for he knew how to tell a story and how to
teach a lesson on good conduct.

[Sidenote: Policeman’s Story]

Instead of faultfinding or even alluding to the boys’ misconduct Miss
Henry asked Mr. Clanahan to describe briefly the careers of four boys
whom he had watched as they grew up on St. Louis streets and who
indulged in the several gambling games known to boys and men. None of
the boys became successful and honored men. Following this talk the
teacher kept a mild surveillance over the guilty boys. A few persisted
in the practice; this she ignored for the time being. For those who
would accept her plans she brought to school several new games; they
could not fail to be interested in them because of the chance for skill
and for definite records of achievement. These partly replaced the
gambling games in interest. But Miss Henry rightly felt that displacing
the game of matching pennies with other games did not in itself, and
alone, fully solve her problem. The boys must understand _why_ playing
for keeps is wrong if the lesson was to safeguard them in any way from
other gambling games. She therefore gave the school another talk soon
after the policeman’s visit, and after the pupils had had time to think
out for themselves the moral of his story.

Miss Henry recalled the story and asked, “Why should the boys’ gambling
habits have anything to do with the failure of these men to ‘make good’?
Who sees any harm in gambling?” Some of the boys _didn’t_ see any harm
in it and a short discussion followed, mostly by the children
themselves, during which the thought was developed of taking something
valuable from one’s fellows without giving back to him any just
equivalent for the marbles, or money, or whatever had been taken.

“What sort of person do you like best yourselves, boys?” Miss Henry
asked, when public sentiment in the class had reached a point where it
seemed safe to ask so direct a question; “the man who gives you back
good, square, full measure for your money or the one who gives you just
as little as he possibly can, even nothing at all, if he dares to go so
far as that?”

“Well, the principle is the same in matching pennies,” she continued,
“and I’m just wondering if you wouldn’t have equally as much fun and
feel a good deal more manly about it if you should keep the pennies you
win until the game is finished and then re-distribute them and give back
to each fellow all that belongs to him. Think it over a day or two and
tell me your decision.” The boys finally agreed to Miss Henry’s
proposition.

CASE 56 (EIGHTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Bicycles Won]

Superintendent Rittenhouse had the problem of gambling in the eighth
grade to deal with, because the county fair had been so conducted as to
permit much semi-public gambling, in consequence of which there was talk
about town sufficient to charge the atmosphere with interest in
gambling. It turned out that Saturday afternoon, nine grammar room boys
conducted several bicycle and foot-races, with a crude attempt at
gambling attached to the whole affair. The story came out because Jay
Belding had to turn over his bicycle to August Bachman, and the Belding
family lodged a protest with the superintendent.

The next morning he entered the eighth grade room, called out the boys
involved and put them through a series of questions. “Who planned this
thing? Who got permission to use the race track? Who raced? Who put up
bets? Who paid bets? How much money was involved in the bets?” and so on
to the end of the chapter. The boys told the truth. When the grilling
was over, he said, “You boys go home, tell your fathers all the facts
and bring me at note tomorrow saying that the fathers will guarantee
that you never will do this again. Each boy’s father must sign a note.
When you hand me the note you may come to your room and not until then.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

A better plan is to propose to make such races, school affairs. Offer to
plan with groups in any grade for small “stunts” as well as for the
larger affairs. Have it understood that the school will help even ten
boys to have a good time, on a suitable occasion. Put a bomb of
disapproval under gambling by men in connection with sports. Show
deepest disgust for the depraved natures of men who indulge in and
practice it.

Entirely out of connection with any school event, explain simply and
clearly why gambling is wrong. Be careful to make a clear distinction
between the play which is entirely right in itself and the betting or
gambling accompanying the play which is wholly wrong in principle.

COMMENTS

Mr. Rittenhouse, after getting the truth, should have followed the
matter out in a sympathetic fashion. Several of the boys will be likely
to forge the father’s name after composing the note. Some fathers will
not relish giving such a guarantee as is required. They will send word
to the teacher to keep the boys from gambling.

The better plan takes in the boys’ natural impulses to have novel fun
and makes the school a continuous influence in their lives. If we avoid
over-condemnation, the boys can be led out of a type of conduct which
otherwise will be established as a vicious habit.

Resistance to the teacher’s advice is usually due to a conviction,
warranted or unwarranted, that the child is being imposed upon. This
conviction must be met by a kindness which restores confidence, or an
explanation of conditions which shows the requirements to be reasonable.

ILLUSTRATION (SEVENTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Matching Pennies]

Miss Starr had one pupil, a little Italian, who interested her greatly.
He sold papers before and after school and had the sharpness and
suspicion of character which much familiarity with hard conditions gives
even a child. He resisted all her friendly advances with a
“No-you-don’t” caution that both amused and nettled her.

One day ’Tonio indulged in a form of mischief at which he was an adept.
He matched pennies with Grover Helm, the affluent son of the corner
grocer. When they had been at it for about ten minutes, Grover was no
longer affluent, and therefore he complained to Miss Starr.

“’Tonio wanted to match pennies and he got me into it, and I said I
would just for fun, not for keeps. Now he has all my pennies and won’t
give them back to me. Please make him give them back to me.”

“You two boys may stay after school, and we’ll talk about it then,” Miss
Starr directed.

When the other pupils left ’Tonio considered the situation and decided
that discretion was the better part of valor. He had often been severely
whipped for matching pennies; he had no doubt that another beating was
due for this offense.

“’Tonio, will you come up here?” Miss Starr’s voice sounded kind, but
’Tonio had experienced the honeyed tones of an authority, which has not
yet captured its victim, before. He rose promptly, but instead of coming
directly forward passed back of the rows of desks, and then suddenly
bolted for the door and escaped, leaving Grover to tell his
incriminating tale unchallenged.

The truant officer brought him in two days later, after a hard hunt. He
looked pinched and hungry, but still defiant, and faced Miss Starr like
a chased animal at bay.

“Grover, he began it,” was his only defense. “You should whip him, too.”

“No one has said anything about whipping. Did you think I was going to
whip you? Is that why you ran away?”

“Don’t you whip?” ’Tonio asked.

“I never have, ’Tonio. Now, I should like to talk to you about matching
pennies. I don’t know how it is done, even. You don’t need to be afraid.
Will you stay tonight and talk to me? I don’t want to hurt you; I want
to help you.”

’Tonio stayed that night, and they had a long talk. Miss Starr could not
quite bring Tonio to her way of thinking; his inherent bent to gambling
was too well ingrained for that. What she did do was to persuade him
thoroughly, by the kindness of her manner, that she was his true friend.
’Tonio trusted her utterly from that day, and for love of her abstained
from penny-matching and all other mischief in school. Miss Starr sighed
because his regeneration was not more thorough than it was, for she
heard sometimes of his misdeeds with the gang he belonged to; but in her
own domain he was a loyal and helpful citizen. She had removed that
distrust of authority which his former experiences had built up in him,
and which was the cause of his resistance.

CASE 57 (HIGH SCHOOL)

[Sidenote: Playing for Money]

Champ Underwood and Virgil Rutherford were returning from a week-end
visit at the home of an old friend. On the train they ran across Chancey
Prime, only two years ago a school favorite and friend of the two
travelers, but now a salesman for an automobile house.

“Hello, fellows. Glad to see you! Sit down! Whither wend ye?”

“On our way home after a week-end over at Bloomburg. How goes it with
you?”

In ten minutes the cards were out. With some qualms of conscience Champ
and Virgil laid down their dimes and took hands in the game. They saw no
acquaintance on the train and expected nothing to come of it.

The boys reached home by noon. The next day the principal took the boys
into his office at the end of the morning session and made the following
speech:

“You spent Sunday at Bloomburg. You came home with Chancey Prime and
were caught gambling on the train. It is also reported that you were
with him all day Sunday and that some way the two of you spent $50 in
having a good time, supposedly in gambling and the like. You know that
we don’t stand for any of these things. I know your parents do a little
of this sort of thing, but they gave me to understand that you are
forbidden to indulge in gambling. You must each get up before the high
school and state the facts as I have reviewed them, apologize and
promise never to do these things again, or drop your membership in every
high school club, society and team for the remainder of the year.”

To this the reply came:

“But the facts didn’t come straight to you. We didn’t do....”

“Never mind about denials. I have two first-class witnesses and there is
no ground for a discussion. I want your answer immediately.”

After looking at each other a second the boys came to an agreement. “No,
sir, we’re not guilty of all these charges. We won’t accept either
penalty until our case is heard and properly dealt with,” said Virgil.

“Get your books; don’t return until you receive word from the
superintendent,” was the final shot from the principal.

As the two soberly marched home, they enumerated the errors the
principal had made as to the facts; they had not gambled except for a
short time on the train; they had been with Prime only a short interval;
their stay at Bloomburg had been spent according to school standards;
their parents had given up parlor gambling two years before when they
joined church; they were entirely willing to suffer a reasonable penalty
when the actual facts were made the basis of judgment.

“Well,” said Champ, “it’s all up. I’m not going to make the next move,
are you, old boy?”

“Not on your life. That monkey is also a fool. I won’t stir one peg
until he crawfishes, not one foot,” was Virgil’s indignant response.
They kept their agreement.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

The principal should go to the parents of these young men, lay the facts
before them as he understands them and insist that each boy meet him
privately the next day. At the interview the following questions are to
be answered: “How did you spend the week-end?” “What are your
convictions on gambling?” “What will be your conduct during the
remainder of your school course in the matter of gambling?” Leave these
questions on paper so that parents and son can fully discuss them.

[Sidenote: Parent’s Duty]

Thus throw the whole responsibility on parents and sons, making not one
remark as to your course of action in case the answers are
unsatisfactory. Listen to the boys as a friend and advocate, not as a
judge. If either boy fails to play the man, secure from his father a
verbal guarantee for his good conduct, in effect placing the boy on
probation. Avoid harsh language in dealing with the boys. At the first
interview draw out their endorsement of the school custom which
prohibits gambling. If they seem blind to its evils, briefly run over
the obvious facts, but it is preferable to stir up the parents to supply
any needed information. Do not place the boys in a position where you
must expel or suspend them if they refuse some unreasonable penalty.

COMMENTS

Credulity of rumors has led to a serious administrative blunder. One of
the finest disciplinary devices is to induce a guilty person to state
the facts relative to his misconduct. At the points where he is sorely
tempted to alter the facts, a few penetrating questions will place him
again on the right track.

Parents must be continually reminded that they share daily in the
responsibility of keeping good order in the school. It takes four people
to hold up a boy in the high school—a parent, a teacher, a chum and the
boy himself.

Boys who know so clearly that they have overstepped the bounds of sound
morals should be forced to solve the problem. Put it up to them to make
adjustments and to take a stand for the right regardless of any penalty
that might be devised.

(3) _Stealing._ Though the habit of stealing is not so frequent as
lying, among school children, yet it is of such widespread prevalence
that it needs careful consideration. It is true that many in this group
of offenders leave off the habit when they grow older—that is, outgrow
it; still there are others who become habitual thieves when older and
finally are detected and remanded to some penal institution. One form of
stealing is known as kleptomania, an abnormal disposition to steal. This
will not be discussed here, more than to say that a child who is a
kleptomaniac should not be kept in a public school, but placed under a
private tutor who can give especial and continual attention to the cure
of his habit or, more properly speaking, his malady. He should be
required to do or make something for the person whom he robs, every
time, something that will replace that which he wrongfully took from
them.

[Sidenote: Motives for Stealing]

The motives that prompt a young child to steal may be many. Likewise the
occasions that make it possible for a child to steal may be numerous. A
child may learn to steal because he has not been given sufficient food
of different varieties, and in order to satisfy his hunger, he may have
acquired the habit of stealing. He may have a liking for gaudy articles
and because this craving is not satisfied, he begins to steal those
articles that please his fancy. Playmates may have taught him to take
what does not belong to him. Parents may have very loosely conceived
notions on these matters and thereby teach their children, by example,
to steal.

However, it seems that the motives or causes for pilfering can have
little to do with the methods of prevention. Then, whatever the motives
or causes for stealing may be, one thing is certain—the method of
treatment need not be changed. At the outset the teacher must remember
that the law of suggestion may play a great part in diminishing or
increasing the tendency to pilfer. The unthoughtful teacher many times
increases the tendency to “take things” in her room when in reality she
is trying to prevent it. Her idea is that nothing shall lie before the
children to tempt them to take what is not theirs. She locks every
drawer in her room. She does it, too, in the presence of her pupils; she
is careful to leave nothing valuable on her desk. If a child brings her
a fine, luscious apple or orange, or a bit of candy, she at once
secretes it in one of the mysterious drawers. Little does she think she
is cultivating a tendency, not exactly to steal, but to peep into those
secretive places; that act, if ever performed, will be the first step
toward taking what is not theirs. For the child that must sneak to get a
look into a forbidden place, it is a wrong to satisfy that longing; and
pilfering easily attaches itself as a kindred wrong.

From this, the teacher must not conclude that to keep pupils from
pilfering, she must leave things lying about carelessly; that would be
going to the other extreme of placing temptation before them. A happy
medium is needful. To give the methods of a rural teacher of many years’
experience, who never was troubled by pupils’ stealing, will, no doubt,
be placing the situation before the teacher so it may be understood.
This teacher did not make it a practice to lock drawers, desks and
cabinets. When something of value was given her, she laid it upon her
desk. Apples, oranges, candy and money could be found on the desk,
almost any time. She never entertained the least fear that something
might be taken. Her pupils knew how she felt about it. They could see
her attitude in her actions, consequently they never took anything that
did not belong to them.

When evening came, she would very unassumingly take any articles that
had been given her, implying that she was not removing them because she
feared they might be stolen. On the other hand, she often forgot to take
money from her desk and it lay there over night, but she never worried a
moment about it. She always found it in the morning, just where she had
left it. She trusted her pupils and they trusted her. She was honest, so
were they. Sometimes a very amiable pupil would remark, “Miss Jenkins,
what would you do if some one were to take the money from your desk?”
Invariably there shone on her face that confident smile of trust in
every human heart and she would say, “Why, my dear, I do not need to
think about that. I have no pupils that would steal anything.” Every
word she uttered rang with trust and confidence. There need be no wonder
that she had no pupils that stole.

She would send any one of her pupils to her home to get any article she
wanted or to the store with money to buy some trifle for her. She
trusted them in every way; she avoided that suspicious look and action
that so many teachers have. No trait of the teacher will reproduce
itself so quickly in the lives of those whom she teaches as the trait of
trustfulness.

This teacher, once in a while, gathered her flock about her and told
them stories. One story may have been about Eskimos, told without any
attempt at moralizing; the next story referring to politeness; then she
would deftly fill in a story about the wrong there is in taking things
that do not belong to one. She avoided the harsh terms of pilfering or
stealing. She taught the children to ask for what they wanted. They did
not note that she was directly teaching them not to steal. Added to her
many stories along various lines of conduct was a simple life of trust
and confidence. There would be fewer thieves behind bars, could every
first grade teacher look with trust and confidence upon the boys and
girls that come under her care.

CASE 58 (FIRST GRADE)

[Sidenote: Of Flower]

(4) _Stealing—Acquiring dishonorably._ Cora Krebs was in the first
grade. She dearly loved her teacher, Miss Bowman. It seemed to the
little girl that Miss Bowman’s face was perfectly beautiful, her voice
delightful and her smile worth securing, even at a great sacrifice.

Myron Ware often brought flowers from his mother’s large garden to
present to Miss Bowman. She always thanked him so kindly and cared for
the flowers so tenderly that Cora longed for an opportunity to give
something beautiful to her teacher. Mrs. Krebs, her mother, had no
flowers. Cora’s best loved treasure was her character doll. She had
decided to give this doll to her teacher, but on second thought she knew
that Miss Bowman was too big to care for a doll. How often she had
thought of the joy it would be to give something fine to her teacher,
only she herself knew.

One morning, Cora walked to school behind Myrtle Dean, a ten-year-old
girl, who was taking a beautiful rose to school. When Cora first saw the
rose, she thought, “Oh, how I wish I had that rose to give to Miss
Bowman.” With this thought in mind, she kept close to Myrtle, eying the
rose longingly.

When they reached the schoolhouse, Myrtle hung her hat on a hook in the
hall, stuck the stem of the rose through the ribbon on the hat and
hurried on with one of the girls into the little library opening into
the hall. As soon as the girls closed the library door, Cora snatched
the rose from its place and dodged into the first grade room, where she
presented it to Miss Bowman, who graciously received it.

Myrtle hunted for her lost rose, and as soon as school began, asked her
teacher’s permission to go to the various rooms and inquire if any one
had seen it. Of course, she wanted the fun of going into the various
rooms more than she wanted the lost flower. When she entered the first
grade room and asked if Miss Bowman would inquire if anybody had seen
her red rose, Miss Bowman would not have suspected that the one given
her by Cora was the lost one, had not Cora blushed and nervously opened
and shut her hands and in every way appeared guilty. The sight of Cora,
thus confused, recalled to Miss Bowman’s mind that the child had given
her just such a rose, so she said,

“Cora, where did you get this rose?” holding it up before the school.

“From home,” answered Cora.

“I saw her standing in the hall looking at me when I put it into my hat,
and she didn’t have any rose in her hand,” said Myrtle.

“Cora, are you sure you brought it from home?” asked Miss Bowman,
looking at Cora accusingly.

“Yes, ma’am,” said Cora.

“Let me see it,” said Myrtle. “I pulled the thorns off of mine as I
walked to school. Has this one thorns?”

Miss Bowman examined it and found it had not. She gave it to Myrtle and
said:

“Shame, shame, Cora, you have done an awful thing. You have stolen and
then lied about it. You may stay after school.”

A very tearful, sad, little girl was whipped by her teacher that evening
after school. The whipping cured Cora, not only of stealing, but also of
ever caring again to give her teacher a present.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Miss Bowman should have gotten a description of Myrtle’s rose when she
first inquired about it, and then seeing that Cora looked guilty, she
should have said: “I am so glad that you thought of me and gave me this
beautiful flower, but I shall be all the happier to have you give it to
Myrtle now, and when you feel like it, tell me all about how you got
it.” Whether or not Cora confesses at once, Miss Bowman should have a
private talk with her later in which she tells her how certain things
come to belong to certain people and therefore must not be purloined.

COMMENTS

Stealing, if not skillfully handled, leads to lying. To punish a child
for either offense, without an attempt to teach him to despise such an
act, really adds to his other crimes, fear, deceit and hatred for the
one who punishes. Children should be taught to respect property rights
at school, since such education is so often neglected at home. To this
end, always be careful to respect the property rights of the children
when dealing with them.

ILLUSTRATION (SECOND GRADE)

[Sidenote: Property Rights]

Miss Ward realized that pilfering and abuse of the property of others
arises from lack of education, so she assigned certain days to talk of
property rights, using concrete examples like the following:

“Do you see this pretty bow of ribbon on Frieda’s head? How did it come
to be here? Whose pencil is this? May I use it?” She made a list of the
possessions of some of the children, as named by themselves. The
unfairness of stealing was clearly shown by asking, “Would it be right
for any one else to take and use these things? Why not?”

These lessons gave the children a prejudice against stealing.

CASE 59 (THIRD GRADE)

[Sidenote: Pencil]

Horace Brock had a new, red lead pencil. Even Miss Culver, the teacher,
had noticed its brightness as he wrote his morning spelling lesson. But
when the arithmetic preparation period arrived, his pencil was gone. He
searched through his desk carefully, then put up his hand, when Miss
Culver said, “What is it, Horace?”

“My new pencil is gone.”

“It must be about your desk,” she said, as she went to help him look for
it. They failed to find it.

Two days passed and nothing was seen of the missing pencil. In the
meantime several other pupils had bought new pencils just like it from
the new assortment at the drug store.

On the third day Lettie Crandall, who sat just in front of Horace, had a
shining red pencil.

At recess words were passed between Horace and Lettie somewhat as
follows:

“That’s my pencil you had this morning.”

“It is not.”

“I know it is; I marked mine.”

“I marked mine, too.”

Miss Culver stepped up and said:

“How did you mark yours, Lettie?”

Confused and surprised, Lettie hesitated and then said, “I sharpened it
long.”

“How did you mark yours, Horace?” Miss Culver asked.

“It had three little tacks to hold the tin that the rubber is fastened
in, onto the wood. Well, I took mother’s hammered brass punch and made
little dents all around there just for fun. She’s got my pencil. I saw
the dents in it.”

“Let me see the pencil,” said Miss Culver.

She compared it with other pencils and saw at once that it was
unmistakably marked just as Horace had said. She therefore felt sure it
belonged to him, and said:

“I’ll punish Lettie for stealing and lying.”

Lettie was whipped after school, not only in order to deter her from
stealing, but also as an example to other children. She was ostracised
by the girls for over a week, and in fact lost forever the intimate
association she had had with one little classmate. Miss Culver
understood this and believed it was just punishment for Lettie.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Return the pencil to Horace and tell him that you will attend to the
matter of Lettie’s conduct. Have a private talk with Lettie, finding out
just why she took the pencil, rather than ask at Lettie’s home to have
one bought. Have a talk with Lettie’s mother, telling her of Lettie’s
temptation and suggesting to her, as an aid in teaching property rights
to her children, to let each child have his own pencil, eraser, etc. Let
them even ask each other for a sheet of tablet paper, when one child
needs to borrow from another; to let each of the toys belong to
individual children, not to the group; often to call the attention of
the children to ownership and its attendant rights.

At school explain to the pupils the difference between public and
private property.

COMMENTS

Children who have no regard for each other’s property rights at home,
who wrest by force from each other the pencils, books, rulers, etc.,
which they desire, will carry these practices into school, where they
will be branded as thieves. The teacher should coöperate with the
parents of such children to teach them respect for property rights and
abhorrence of stealing.

ILLUSTRATION (FOURTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Pocket Knife]

Bernard Howe brought a new pocket knife to school. It was large and
heavy; in fact, a knife, cork-screw, screw-driver, tack-puller and many
other things combined—a veritable little tool chest in itself.

With pride he showed it to the boys, who admired it to his satisfaction.
One after another borrowed it. At the closing hour of school it was
gone.

In tears, Bernard told Miss Bushnell, his teacher, of his loss. She
suspected it had been taken by one of the boys. She kept Bernard after
school and asked where he got his knife. He said:

“Paw works fur Cushman (a contractor) and they are buildin’ a new home
on Park Street. The other day Paw found this knife in the buildin’ where
somebody dropped it out of his pocket. Paw picked it up and shoved it
into his pocket, quick, and brought it home. Yesterday Jerry (Bernard’s
older brother) sneaked it out of Paw’s coat that was hangin’ up. Last
night it fell out of Jerry’s pocket when he took off his clothes, and I
found it on the floor this morning. I know Jerry will lick me fur not
givin’ it back to him, and Paw will lick me ’cause I’ve lost it. Some
feller stole it from me, I bet you.”

Miss Bushnell was shocked at this revelation of Bernard’s home training.

The next day she kept the boys in and said: “Bernard had a knife here
that didn’t belong to him. He must find it if possible. It has somehow
gotten lost. I will be very grateful to the boy who helps us to find it.
As soon as it is found, please bring it to me, for I feel very anxious
about it.”

That afternoon Parke Dabney brought the knife to Miss Bushnell, who
returned it to Bernard, believing that some of the boys stole it from
him. She then planned talks and stories on property rights which would
be a lesson to all of the boys.

CASE 60 (SEVENTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Lunches]

Hapgood Cummings was the son of a wealthy merchant in Trenton, New
Jersey. He was the only child, and, accordingly, had been over-indulged
at home. Now in this, the seventh grade, he was looked upon by the rest
of the boys as a leader.

As several of the children in the school lived outside of the city
limits, they brought their lunches. One morning Hapgood said to a crowd
of boys in the school yard, “I bet I can carry off a stunt that the rest
of you can’t do.”

“What’s that?” came the response of his followers.

“I bet I can slip a lunch every recess from the dressing-room and no one
will be the wiser.”

“I dare you to do it.”

“All right.”

Hapgood asked to be excused from the room during the morning and took
the opportunity to empty a lunch box, which looked especially tempting,
into his pocket. At recess he said, “Look here, fellows. Don’t you wish
you were me?” At that he pulled a sandwich out of his pocket and
attacked it as if he had not eaten in days. His friends enviously looked
on.

The next day he was equally successful and correspondingly admired and
envied. After the third offense, Miss Nichols said, “Will the boy who
has taken a lunch from this dressing-room for the past three mornings,
please stand?”

Not a motion was made by anyone in the room. Hapgood sat rigidly still.

Not exactly sure what step to take next, Miss Nichols said, “If anyone
knows who took these lunches, he will help me by telling me.”

That noon a little girl who wanted to do as her teacher said told on
Hapgood.

At the beginning of the afternoon session, Miss Nichols said, “Hapgood
Cummings, why didn’t you tell me you stole the lunch from the
dressing-room? Don’t you know you were telling a lie by not standing
this morning?”

Hapgood had learned one thing at home: never to talk back, so he
thought, instead.

Misinterpreting his silence for meanness, Miss Nichols added, “You are
disgraced in the eyes of the room, Hapgood. You may stay after school
one hour every day, for one week.”

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Never urge the children to tell on one another until all other resources
have been exhausted. After assuring yourself who the culprit is, talk to
him privately in such a manner as this:

“Hapgood, for several mornings lunches have been taken from the
dressing-room,” and since you know the boy to have been truthful in all
other dealings with him, say, “Do you know anything about this?”

(On the other hand, if you deal with a boy who has lied on several
previous occasions, say, “Every evidence in this case points to you. You
can not wriggle out of it in any way.” Then proceed to tell him why you
know he is guilty, giving him no chance to defend himself.)

Knowing that Hapgood is a spoiled child and has never been put on his
own responsibility, say, “Hapgood, you know you were not playing fair
with those boys whose lunches you took. Supposing you had to go without
anything to eat, how would you feel?”

“Now, Hapgood, I know you didn’t think what a serious matter it was when
you did this, so I am not going to say anything about it to the rest of
the pupils. I am going to treat you like the honorable boy that I know
you want to be, but I expect you to _be_ honorable hereafter.”

COMMENTS

No boy is going to respond to such a command as Miss Nichols gave when
she said, “Will the boy who has taken a lunch from the dressing-room for
three mornings please stand?” Even if he has stolen, he does not want to
be treated as a thief, and the other children do not want to be known as
“tattlers.” By your request, you are only making matters worse. Any
respect the children may have had for Miss Nichols was seriously
weakened when she appealed to someone in the room to tell on the boy who
stole the lunches.

One can never expect to appeal to a boy’s better self by telling him he
is a liar. The boy showed he was well-bred when he refused to talk back
to Miss Nichols.

ILLUSTRATION (SEVENTH GRADE)

[Sidenote: Money]

When Miss Langly began to teach in the seventh grade in the foreign
district of a large city, she found out that Leonardo Coppetelli, a
twelve-year-old boy in her room, had the reputation among his
schoolmates of being a thief. She was bent on blotting out this stain in
his character, and knowing that if it were not destroyed he would
probably go through life with this stigma ever upon him, she decided to
win his confidence.

She had not been in the neighborhood many days when she heard that
Leonardo had stolen five dollars from a corner grocery. Immediately she
called upon the proprietor, who was an American, and said:

“How do you do, Mr. Johnson. I am a teacher in the Douglas School. I
have heard that Leonardo Coppetelli stole five dollars from you last
night. I have come to ask that you will not cause his arrest. I believe
if you will allow me to forward the money Leonardo stole from you, I can
help the boy so that he will not want to steal any more.”

Mr. Johnson and Miss Langly talked for some time, when Miss Langly
finally gained her point.

The next day she took pains to have a long talk with Leonardo, the trend
of which was as follows:

“Leonardo, I heard you talking to the boys yesterday about spending
money. Would you like a chance to earn some? I have an uncle in business
near here who is looking for an errand boy.”

“I have been talking with Mr. Johnson, Leonardo. He is not going to
arrest you this time for taking his money from him. I have made him
promise to say nothing more about it. I told him I believed you would be
willing to earn the money if you had a chance and would pay him back.”

“Do you think you could get me a job?”

“Come with me now. Tell your mother Miss Langly wants you to go on an
errand with her. We shall call on my uncle and see what he has for you.”

The result was that Leonardo went to work every afternoon, was thus kept
out of mischief and learned so to respect Miss Langly’s opinion that she
became an influential factor in his life.

CASE 61 (HIGH SCHOOL)

Cecelia Cortwright was a student in the high school of a suburban town.
She was not known as a popular girl, but was liked by all who knew her.

One morning Mr. Williams, the principal of the school, made the
following announcement:

[Sidenote: Check]

“A very grave thing has happened this morning. A check has been taken
from the pocket of a coat which hangs in the east dressing-room.
Fortunately, it was not endorsed. The affair will be brought to a speedy
close if the person who took this check will report in my office before
the close of the session today; otherwise a thorough investigation will
have to be made.”

School closed that day without any clue to the culprit. Several days
passed. In the meantime, the check had been illegally endorsed and
cashed at a local grocer’s. When turning in the check to be cashed at
the bank, he was informed that the check had been forged, as the legal
endorsee had stopped payment on the note.

The grocer immediately identified the girl as Cecelia Cortwright and
public exposure at school soon followed.

Although Miss Cortwright was not suspended from school, she suffered the
same injurious consequences which such a disgrace can bring. Shunned by
her friends, looked upon with question by her teachers, she was in every
sense of the word an outcast. When she could stand it no longer, she
left school to clerk in a store in the city.

CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT

Make a thorough investigation before announcing a theft before a body of
students. Publicity should be your last resource. Wait several days, if
necessary, until the affair has had time to circulate among the
students. It often happens that by observing these precautions the
principal will have the whole matter laid before him without any
particular effort on his part.

When the guilty one is found, take him into your trust; treat him as if
he were a man twice as big as he is. Privately tell him that his act is
to be looked upon with the gravest concern. Do not question his motive,
but consider together how reparation can be made.

COMMENTS

Theft in a school demands delicate handling by those in authority. It so
often occurs that the home training of a child leads him to have little
sense of moral responsibility. To pry into his motive and publicly
reveal his crime is often so to undermine the offender’s self-respect
that the results are disastrous.

ILLUSTRATION (HIGH SCHOOL)

Mr. Arnold, principal of a large city high school, was informed by
several girls one morning that their lunch money had been repeatedly
taken from their coat pockets.

[Sidenote: Money]

Mr. Arnold asked the girls to wait for several days; by that time he
would probably have some light on the affair. In the meantime, he asked
the head of the lunchroom if any pupil had been eating his lunch there
the past three days who had never done so before. Several were named.

He then asked the janitor to watch the dressing-rooms during the school
session. The teachers who had had charge of the assembly-room the past
three days were asked to report the name of any girl who had repeatedly
asked permission to leave the room. The three sources pointed to a
certain little girl who was known to come from a poor family where no
thought was given to proper training of the children.

Incidentally in a conversation with the girl, Mr. Arnold asked her to
stop in his office the last period of the day. Before the interview was
over, he had, through this effort, secured the whole story from the
child.

“I never have any money of my own for a hot lunch. One day when I was in
the dressing-room I happened to think, ‘Why not take money from the
pockets of the girls who never know what it is to be hungry for
something good to eat?’”

“I am very glad you have told me this,” said Mr. Arnold. “The matter
will go no farther than this office. It is an affair between just you
and me. Mrs. Arnold wants someone to take care of the children in the
afternoon after school. Wouldn’t you like to earn some money? Well, come
over to our house with me and talk it over with Mrs. Arnold. When you
have earned enough money to pay back what you have spent, I shall return
it to the girls and they need never know who took the money.”

END OF PART I

------------------------------------------------------------------------

INDEX

Adenoids, 58

Approval, 51, 53, 55, 58, 61, 63, 92, 103, 108, 132, 137, 139, 140,
147, 161, 171, 181, 190, 201, 210, 213, 215, 222, 235, 244, 247,
268, 272, 294, 303

Acquisitiveness, 309

Athletics, aid in discipline, 96
cheating for sake of, 284, 289
fights in, 249

Attention, desire to attract, cause of misconduct, 23, 50

Authority, excessive use of, 81, 94, 95

Awkwardness, 61, 141, 143, 148

Bluffing by teacher, cause of disobedience, 121

Bullying, 233

Busy work, 54, 171, 182

Card-playing, 115

Carelessness, 83

Cheating, on examination, 269
how provoked, 268
in recitation, 273
sentiment against, 269, 282

Choice and disobedience, 31

Class rivalry, 253

Cleanliness in school building, 76

Cloaks and overcoats, 79

Clumsiness, 140, 148

Collections of curios, 70, 236, 310, 311

Commands how to give
avoid repetition, 55
be alone with child, 60
be near the child, 50
what the child wants to do, chose, 51
privately, 103
rights of pupil to be conserved, 93
secure attention, 55
speak intelligibly, 53
time to be opportune, 72

Community, understanding conditions in, 43

Competition leading to fighting, 249

Conceit, 192

Confession, by pupils, 73, 163, 212, 242, 294, 302, 308, 309, 341
by teacher, 124

Confidence, 31, 32, 52, 60, 68, 71, 85, 89, 96, 105, 116, 121, 150,
167, 196, 201, 209, 212, 266, 299

Constructive treatment, special features of
courtesy, 53, 191
dealing with whole situation, 101, 142, 148
enlisting a pupil group, 79
explaining how to act, 79
impartiality, 108
knowing the pupil, 51, 52, 58, 59, 63, 87, 108, 131, 142, 151, 156,
176, 179, 186, 194, 200, 209, 212, 218, 226, 339
plan large, 91, 97
privacy in interview, 60, 96, 109, 119, 191, 215, 252, 302, 332, 340
quietness of movement, 50
reform of teacher, 95, 102, 124, 288
short assignments, 56
time opportune, 175, 177, 241, 242, 252
willingness of pupil considered, 60

Coöperation, initiative in, 45, 50, 51, 60, 62, 63, 65, 67, 70, 71, 74,
79, 81, 82, 87, 91, 96, 98, 103, 108, 114, 119, 124, 142, 149, 158,
160, 165, 166, 167, 171, 181, 182, 190, 198, 201, 203, 209, 210,
213, 222, 231, 241, 243, 256, 262, 265, 282, 313, 317, 320, 337

Crying, 257

Dancing, 111

Defamation of a teacher, causing disobedience, 65

Defying teacher, 69, 70, 73, 99, 101, 106, 111, 123, 168, 173, 180,
183, 189, 195, 199, 202, 208, 220

Desk order, 77

Destruction of property, 89, 254

Discipline, kinds of, 19

Disciplinarian, description of, 105

Discipline, what it is, 16
why necessary, 13

Dislike for school, 158, 162

Disobedience, causes of, 41
due to commands impossible to obey, 56
that infringe personal rights, 93
that are inopportune, 72
unintelligibly stated, 53
due to community conditions, 44
community sentiment, contravened, 110
due to defective motor functions, 61
due to faultfinding, 89
due to imitation of others, 69
due to inattention, 55
and instincts, 41
nature of, 30
due to parents, 42, 49, 65
due to pleasure-seeking, 117
due to pupils’ conspiracy, 106
due to rules overemphasized, 76
due to teacher’s suspicious attitudes, 42, 59, 83
due to unregulated independence in the child, 86
wilful, 49

Disputing with teacher, 123, 133, 199, 200, 211

Disrespect for teacher, 187

Drawing, as busy work, 303
provoking discord, 74

Eating during school hours, 59

Examinations, cheating at, 269
correct view of, 271
fear of, 264
plans for, 277, 282
questions for, 270, 272
when to give, 271

Exhibits at school, 70, 236, 310, 311

Expectation, 51, 58, 61, 62, 65, 79, 80, 85, 88, 92, 96, 104, 133, 137,
183, 231, 252

Faultfinding, 62, 66, 78, 89, 100, 141, 159, 173, 183, 215, 225, 234,
250, 261, 329

Fear, and cheating, 269
and discipline, 259
instinctive, 255
and examinations, 264, 284
and the lie, 297
in recitation, 264
and stubbornness, 180

Fidgets, 134, 142, 150

Fifth and Sixth Grades
disrespect, 197
gambling, 315
impudence, 206, 210
lying, 307
obedience, 65
stubbornness, 172, 178

Fighting, due to accidental situation, 236
due to competition, 249
due to ridicule, 239
Thomas Hughes’ advice on, 96

First and Second grades
crying, 257
disrespect, 189
fighting, 236
ill-temper, 182, 187
indifference to school, 159
lying, 300, 301
muscle training, 144
noise, 136
obedience, 49
quarreling, 225, 229, 231
refusal to recite, 256
sickness a cause of backwardness, 155
stealing, 327, 330
stubbornness, 170

Folding papers, First and Second Grades, 56

Friendship not won by force, 67

Gambling, 115, 312

Games in acquiring motor control, 148

Gymnasium, promoting use of, 149

Habit, of crying, 258
of quarreling, 230

Hair-pulling, 203

Helping pupil in study, 103, 105

High School, cheating by pupil, 281
by teacher, 284
fear, 264, 267
fighting, 249
gambling, 320
impudence, 217
indifference, 167
laughing, 193, 194
nervousness, 264
obedience, 89
stealing, 338
truancy, 167

Home study, 77, 87

Humor and discipline, 215

Ideals, false and perverted, 24

Ignoring misconduct, 142, 196, 200, 205, 238, 293

Ill-temper, 182

Imagination, use of in discipline, 184
and lying, 295

Imitation, and bodily action, 63
cause of misconduct, 23, 69
aid in discipline, 184
provoking impudence, 206

Impudence, 199, 207, 211, 213

Inattention, 55

Independence in the child causing disobedience, 86

Indifference as cause of disorder, 157

Inhibition and discipline, 21

Injured child, sympathy for, 258

Instincts, classification of, 129
relative to discipline, 13, 17, 19, 20, 21
and disobedience, 30
and fear, 255
function of, 129

Interruptions, 61

Interviews, 34, 52, 60, 62, 63, 68, 84, 86, 87, 88, 92, 96, 101, 112,
113, 114, 119, 132, 155, 174, 175, 177, 191, 215, 222, 232, 242,
251, 288, 302, 313, 320, 322, 332, 336

Joking the teacher, 205

Kindergarten, see First and Second Grades

Laboratory as an instrument of discipline, 167

Laughing in school, 72, 74, 75, 99, 193, 194, 234

Laziness, noise, clumsiness and fidgets as causes of disorders, 130

Lighting of a schoolroom, 154

Literary societies, troubles with, 106

Lunches, stealing of, 334

Lying, to conceal, 301
inquiry into, 212
for gain, 298, 300
and gambling, 313
and the imagination, 295
kinds of, 297
provoked by teacher, 67, 292, 303, 307
and stealing, 329, 335
teacher practices, 59, 288, 304

Mannerisms of teacher, 102

Marbles, gambling with, 312

Marking desks, 301

Matching pennies, 319

Mischief maker, 98

Money stolen, 337, 338, 340

Motor functions, defective, causing disobedience, 61

Noise, 94, 135, 143

Nervous child, 134

Obedience, factors making for, 38
Fifth and Sixth Grades, 65
First and Second Grades, 49
formal, 34
High School, 89
intelligent, 36
kinds of, 33, 186
public expects, 38
pupils expect to obey, 39
relations to character building, 29
relation to school efficiency, 27
Seventh and Eighth Grades, 76
stages in development of, 33
Third and Fourth Grades, 56

Observing children, 176

Order in schoolroom, 76, 135

Oversensitiveness, of pupil, 214
of teachers a cause of disrespect, 189

Paper wads, throwing, 219, 307

Parental, aid in keeping order, 116
responsibility for pupils’ good behavior, 165

Parents, causing a boy to tease, 240
defaming teacher, a cause of disobedience, 65
leading families, dealing with, 70
provoking disobedience, 41, 86
provoking impudence, 206
provoking indifference to school, 159
provoking quarrels, 228
provoking stubbornness, 172
responsibility in keeping order, 323
teacher visiting, 67, 68, 158, 228, 322

Passing quietly, 137

Pencil, dropping, 135
snatching, 187

Personal remarks, impudent, 190
rights of pupils, infringement of, 93

Pertness, 198

Physical conditions causing misconduct, 23, 61, 131, 134, 141, 143, 148

Play supervised, 226, 230, 317

Pleasure-seeking causing disobedience, 117

Preparation to teach, defective, 121

Prohibitions provoking disorder, 99, 111

Promise, making, to pupils, 109

Public opinion disregarded, 110

Punishment, apology, 321
corporal
boxing ears, 276
requesting right to use, 94
shaking, 50
whipping, 66, 68, 78, 89, 93, 163, 164, 172, 173, 195, 202, 211,
218, 261, 263, 319, 332
detention after school, 73, 151, 190, 230, 241, 260, 336
discipline not dependent upon, 17
grade lowered, 277
ineffective, 135, 141, 161
loss of privileges, 249, 321
provoking disobedience, 89
for quarreling, 224
school work, as, 90
suspension, 317, 282

Punning, 200

Paper scattered, 49, 77, 80, 260

Quarreling, from spite, 228
on school grounds, 225
on way to school, 229

Quarrelsomeness, bullying and fighting, 223

Questioning pupils about misconduct, 73, 90, 99, 213, 234, 273, 275,
276, 292, 301, 307, 317, 321, 335

Reasons, failure to comprehend cause of misconduct, 22
given with commands, 35, 36

Refusal, to do home work, 87, 88
to go to school, 87
to recite, 256

Responsibility, 84, 86

Retardation of a pupil, 67, 150

Ridicule provoking fighting, 239

Rights of child as to playthings, 313

Ringleader, dealing with, 52, 70
discovering, 98, 119

Rivalry between student groups, 106

Rules, over-emphasis of, causing disobedience, 76, 81

Rural School, special problems, 69, 76, 98, 140, 159, 180, 181, 192,
217, 229, 273, 276, 310, 327, 330

Schoolroom conditions related to discipline, 157

Self-preservative instinct, cases of discipline arising from, 129

Seventh and Eighth Grades
bullying, 240, 246
cheating, 276, 279
clumsiness, 140
disrespect, 198, 200
fighting, 240, 246
gambling, 316, 318
impudence, 211
indifference, 166
noise, 140
obedience, 76
stealing, 334, 337
strained eyes a cause of disorder, 150
stubbornness, 180
truancy, 163

Shot-throwing, 309

Sickness of child prevents study, 154

Slow pupil, 64, 132

Sneering, 65

Snowballing, 236

Social grounds for discipline, 93

Social impulses, how to control, 111

Socializing the individual, 14

Slouching, 57

Smartness, 190

Special methods a help in discipline, 53, 54, 55, 112, 144, 303

Spit-balls, throwing, 219, 307

Stammerer, assisting the, 248

Stammering as cause of fighting, 246

Stealing, motives for, 324
money, 337, 338
provoked by teacher, 83, 325

Strained eyes a cause of disorder, 150

Strike of students, 106

Stubbornness, 169, 180

Study room discipline, 59, 61, 69, 72, 94, 99, 104, 151, 194

Substitution, 52, 60, 62, 71, 91, 96, 109, 112, 149, 165, 166, 167,
176, 185, 191, 201, 218, 225, 228, 231, 235, 236, 237, 238, 241,
247, 251, 253, 258, 267, 313

Suggestion, 51, 52, 63, 64, 79, 80, 81, 86, 92, 96, 97, 105, 114, 140,
146, 181, 183, 254, 265, 267, 300, 325
leading, 92, 113, 119, 132, 146, 168, 198, 231, 267
negative, 50, 62, 77, 83, 304

Sulkiness, 172

Suspicious attitudes causing disobedience, 59

Tale-bearing, 73, 336, 337

Talking, back, 195
on misconduct, 62, 119, 293, 304, 305, 337
too much about conduct, 76, 80

Teasing, 240

Terrorizing the pupil, 221

Third and Fourth Grades
bullying, 235
cheating, 273, 274, 306
discipline through fear, 259
dislike of school, 162
disrespect, 190, 195, 202
fighting, 238
impudence, 205
lying, 303
obedience, 56
stealing, 331, 333

Threatening the teacher, 217

Threats, 57, 78, 94, 136, 173, 191, 221, 226, 259, 332

Trips out of town, a group of pupils on, 106, 117

Truancy, 163

Visitors present—discipline of children, 61, 139

Wilful disobedience, 49, 98

Words, choice of, 175, 178

Wrongdoing of children, causes of, 20, 70

------------------------------------------------------------------------

● Transcriber’s Notes:
○ Page 121 - the section header was missing an item number.
○ In DIVISION IV there is no CASE 25, but there were two CASE 26s.
The first CASE 26 on page 180 was changed to CASE 25.
○ On page 65, the “FIFTH AND SIXTH GRADES” section header was
missing a leading Roman numeral. “III” was added.
○ Missing or obscured punctuation was silently corrected.
○ Typographical errors were silently corrected.
○ Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation were made consistent only
when a predominant form was found in this book.
○ Text that was in italics is enclosed by underscores (_italics_);
text that was bold by “equal” signs (=bold=).

*** End of this LibraryBlog Digital Book "Practical School Discipline Vol. 2 Part I - Applied Methods" ***

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