you look upon this as altogether undesirable in a young child ? Do you find that he looks upon his parents as practically omniscient and infallible? Do you think it would be wise to interfere in any way with his filial confidence? Do you find that he argues a great deal from analogies, and often very loose analogies? Does he apparently take it for granted that the future will resemble the past, and the unknown the known? At what age does he finally get rid of the illusion that because his pet dog is gentle and harmless, therefore all dogs are so? (A child who had had but two teachers, the one a cross person who happened to be small of stature, the other a kindly teacher who was tall and thin, declared that he was sure the new teacher who was coming to take charge of the school would be cross; and when asked for his reason, said he had seen her and she was small). Do you find that in classifying objects he proceeds according to their relation to other objects, rather than according to the qualities they possess? A careful study of your pupils in regard to these and a multitude of other things connected with mind growth, will greatly assist you in the work of teaching.

XI.-EMOTIONAL CHARACTERISTICS:

If the teacher is to deal skilfully and successfully with the growing child, he must understand him as fully as possible as regards his sensibility or emotional disposition. And perhaps nowhere else will the teacher find so much individual difference as here. And certainly nothing else is more essential to successful discipline, than a thorough acquaintance with each pupil in this respect. If all children were alike emotionally, then possibly one and the same method of discipline might do for all. But such is very far from being the case. We have all varieties, from the child who seems to have no nerves, to the one who seems to be composed of but

little else. The stoical and the hysterical are equally undesirable types of child character. With the view of softening a little those who are too stoical, and hardening a little those who are too sentimental; with the view of chastening and purifying the emotional nature of all the pupils, it is of the utmost importance that the children should be carefully studied. Inquire of the parents as to any special emotional characteristics or experiences of early childhood. Has the child shown any unusual sensibility, and if so, in what special direction? Does sweet music move him to tears, or lively music set him dancing? Does he manifest particularly strong affection for human beings or for animals? Is he easily frightened, say of thunder and lightning, of an approaching locomotive, or of the dark? Has he ever been badly frightened in childhood? Is he naturally selfish or generous, truthful or deceptive, modest, or bold and vain? Has there been anything in his early home training to foster in a special way any of these traits, bad or good? E.g., perhaps he is an only child, of whom his parents are inordinately and foolishly fond; and perhaps they are in the habit of recounting to every visitor his clever sayings and doings, in his presence. Possibly, on the other hand, his treatment at home has been just the opposite of all this, so that his personal pride and selfrespect have been too effectually repressed. Your treatment of him ought to be carefully adjusted to all these circumstances. Take special notice of his temper. Observe in what spirit he receives any rebuke or punishment from the teacher, or any interference from the other pupils. Does he bear a little teasing in good humor; or does he fly into a passion; or does he come weeping to the teacher, to complain of his treatment; or does he go away by himself and brood over his wrongs? Observe whether he is sociable or reserved with his fellow-pupils. Does he stay by himself a great deal; or does he mingle freely with his companions? Does he

seem to be a general favorite; or has he only a few (very intimate) friends; or does he appear to be generally disliked? Above all, does he appear to be a recognized leader, with extraordinary influence over his companions, or does he appear to be a mere follower of someone else, always waiting for the initiative of another? Is he easily influenced by the opinions of others? Does he always agree with the last person who talks with him; or does he have strong and independent opinions of his own? The teacher's whole method of discipline should be determined very largely by the answers to these and other similar questions.

XII.—THE WILL:

As there are differences of emotional disposition, so there are peculiarities of volitional development. And the two sets of peculiarities are apt to be parallel in certain respects. A comparative bluntness of the sensibility is likely to be accompanied by a certain slowness of movement; general obtuseness lying at the source of both characteristics; while a somewhat sharp and sensitive temper is the frequent accompaniment of a quick and vigorous will. If you observe your pupils, you will find some that obey your commands almost before they are uttered; while others, equally obedient in spirit, exhaust your patience by their slowness. In the former case, do you find that the pupil hurries off to do your bidding without waiting to comprehend fully what your wishes are? In the latter case, do you find that any attempt to hurry the child results only in confusing him? Observe how far you may hurry him without throwing him into perplexity and preventing obedience altogether. In this connection it is well to notice whether he is of the sensory, or of the motor type of mind; i.e., whether he is absorbed in what he sees and hears, so that he forgets for the moment to

move; or whether he is so constantly keyed up for movement that he is oblivious to many sensations which are noticed by others. Notice, too, what is the natural order of muscular control. Do you find, for example, that the youngest pupils are able to make delicate movements accurately with the finer muscles, such as those of the fingers; or do you find that these develop later than the large muscles, such as those of the trunk, head, and whole-arm? If you find that the order of control is from the larger to the smaller muscles, what conclusion would you draw from this, as to the best method of teaching such subjects as drawing and writing?

What sort of work do you find causes your pupils in general the most fatigue? In the arrangement of your timetable, where do you put these subjects? Are all your pupils alike in this respect? Or do you find that some are at their best early in the day, while others appear very dull in the morning, and do not reach the summit of their vigor until toward noon, or even the middle of the afternoon? Do your pupils do good mental work immediately after meals, or after recess? Or do some pupils show extreme heaviness after eating, or a sort of nervous exhaustion after play? Some children sit still during recess; do you encourage such to play vigorously? And if they do so, are they the better for it, or the worse? At what time in the day do you get the best attention from the average pupil? And to what subjects does each child give most attention? Do you find great individual differences here? In your observations of each pupil, note carefully whether he is of the imitative, reflex type, doing what he sees others do, or whether he shows originality of disposition, and a tendency to strike out in new paths for himself.

XIII.-MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS:

In the preceding, a great deal has been omitted which the interested observer of children will not overlook. As these remarks are intended to be suggestive and not exhaustive, this was necessarily the case. Indeed, it is far better that the teacher should not be told of everything for which he should be on the alert; but should be left with abundance of scope for the exercise of his own originality in the study of his pupils. One or two remaining topics may here be mentioned in closing.

There are times when children grow much more rapidly than at other times. Do you find that mental vigor is in direct proportion to bodily growth, or in inverse proportion? At what age do you find the greatest self-consciousness; the most thoughtfulness; the greatest sentimentality; the strongest inclination to ask questions about God and the supernatural? At what age do children manifest most interest in tales of adventure? Note the difference between boys and girls in all these respects. When do they show inclination to read novels? When are they most superstitious? What superstitions do you find most common among them? What legends are rife among them, as to ghosts, fairies, witches, dreams, cures, (e.g., for warts, toothache, etc.,) falling stars howling dogs, etc.?

At what age does your pupil manifest the keenest moral sensibility? Is he truthful, and if so, with what motive, so far as you can judge? Is it from fear of punishment from the Divine Being, in the present or future life, or simply because it is right to tell the truth, and wrong to tell lies? If he tells a lie, what is the apparent motive? Does he ever tell the heroic lie, i.e., assume blame for some act which he did not commit, in order to shield the real offender from punishment?