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ART OF 
 
 CLASS MANAGEMENT 
 
 AND DISCIPLINE 
 
 By JOSEPH S. TAYLOR, Pd.D. 
 
 DISTRICT SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS, SEW YORK CITY 
 
 '. • .**.*'.•*•"*'•** I * 
 
 NEW YORK AND CHICAGO 
 
 E. L. KELLOGG & CO. 
 
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 r, 5 r 
 
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 Copyright 1903, 
 
 E. L. Kellogg & Co., 
 
 New Yobk. 
 
Preface. 
 
 There are many works on school management 
 that present the theory of school order and con- 
 trol from the point of view of the principal or 
 superintendent. The pedagogical student learns 
 in her normal or training school all about school 
 virtues and motives. She is made acquainted 
 with systematic treatises on the theory of school 
 government. But after she has graduated and 
 has come face to face with a class of mischievous 
 boys, the theories that seemed so reasonable be- 
 fore are now strangely impotent. She finds 
 that she is confronted by a condition, not a 
 theory. Class management is an art and a fine 
 art at that. An art must be acquired by prac- 
 tice ; and if one would make rapid progress and 
 avoid errors, a teacher is necessary. 
 
 This little book is intended as a slight contri- 
 bution to the art of class discipline. It is offered 
 to that hapless young woman who is just begin- 
 ning to teach. Such a person is frequently of all 
 
4 Preface. 
 
 mortals the most miserable. A few weeks ago she 
 came forth armed with a diploma eager to do 
 battle in the educational arena. The hour has 
 at last come, the battle is on, the odds are 
 against her ; and unless reinforcements come soon, 
 surrender is inevitable. A message is sent to the 
 commander-in-chief, who puts the enemy to flight 
 for the moment ; but to-morrow is coming, and 
 how can one live through another day? If only 
 the children kept quiet, how easy it would be to 
 teach ! 
 
 Each year a considerable number of teachers 
 suffer nervous prostration and are obliged to se- 
 cure leave of absence. Recovery from such a 
 collapse is exceedingly slow, and in many cases 
 the injury is irreparable. The testimony of the 
 majority of these unfortunate sufferers who are 
 known to the author, is to the effect that the 
 break-down was caused by the strain of disci- 
 pline. Many teachers of long experience, re- 
 puted excellent disciplinarians, are not really 
 successful, because, while the order is excellent, 
 the control costs too much in nervous expendi- 
 ture. The aim proposed in this book is pro- 
 gressive training in self-government, which, in 
 so far as it is accomplished, relieves the teacher 
 from the intolerable strain of control by re- 
 pression. 
 
 New York. Joseph S. Taylor. 
 
Contents. 
 
 Preface 3 
 
 Introduction 7 
 
 I. Justice the Basis of School Discipline 21 
 
 II. Characteristics of the Best Teacher 28 
 
 III. Some Factors of Discipline 38 
 
 IV. Devices of Class Government 49 
 
 V. Corporal Punishment 62 
 
 VI. Methods of Teaching Self-Govern- 
 
 ment 76 
 
 VII. Class Room Decoration 92 
 
 VIII. The Care of School Property 100 
 
 IX. The Class Library 108 
 
What one wishes to bring out here is that this new 
 spirit in class management, which has a first and 
 almost absolute regard for the cultivation of the power 
 of self-government in the pupils, is by common consent 
 part of the general movement which has been taking 
 place in recent years. . . On the surface, dis- 
 cipline would often appear to have ceased to be a 
 teacher's art, and to have become a pupil's art. . . 
 In reality, however, the art is the teacher s, whereas 
 the act is the scholar's. From the teacher's stand- 
 point, the art of allowing liberty which leads on to 
 self-government is quite as high an art as that of 
 repressing liberty, which is teacher government. This 
 is evidenced by the almost universal testimong that 
 old world educators generally fail in the handling oj 
 classes of American children. — Michael E. Sadler's 
 Report on American Education, London, 1902. 
 
Introduction. 
 
 The character of an education is necessarily 
 determined by the results which it is designed 
 to accomplish. Every age has its own ideals ; 
 hence the problem of education has to be restated 
 from time to time, and a final solution is impos- 
 sible. Among the factors involved in the ideals 
 of mankind are the progress of science and art, 
 the industrial and social conditions, the political 
 relations of citizens to the state and of the state 
 to other states, the religious opinions and aspir- 
 ations of the people, and their inherited physical, 
 mental, and moral characteristics. These con- 
 siderations should warn us against the folly of 
 attempting to import a ready-made system of 
 education from a foreign country. From the 
 nature of the case such a system would be a 
 misfit and, no matter how excellent in the ab- 
 stract, it could not long endure, unmodified, in 
 its new habitat. 
 
 Ideals of Education. 
 
 Plato says education is turning the soul 
 toward the light. This is what is meant in 
 
8 Introduction. 
 
 modern times by a "liberal"" education, — the 
 development of native capacity, the absorp- 
 tion of what is best in civilization, the enlighten- 
 ment of intellect, the refinement of taste, and all 
 quite regardless of any use, proximate or remote, 
 in the practical sense, that may be made of such 
 culture. "The term virtue, " says Herbart, "ex- 
 presses the whole purpose of education." This 
 ideal, like that of Plato, looks to the perfection 
 of the individual. Of like character is the edu- 
 cation advocated by Montaigne, who observes 
 that, whereas animals are guided by instincts 
 which never change, children's inclinations are 
 obscure and their promises uncertain ; hence they 
 should have a general culture first, before educa- 
 tion for utility is undertaken. Milton borrows 
 his ideal from Christian theology, claiming that 
 the end of education is " to repair the ruins of 
 our first parents by regaining to know God 
 aright, and out of that knowledge to love, imi- 
 tate, and be like him." Vastly more compre- 
 hensive than any of the preceding ideals is Spen- 
 cer's conception of education as a preparation 
 for " complete living," which comprises activi- 
 ties concerned in self-preservation, rearing of 
 children, social and political relations, and the 
 enjoyment of leisure. Still more radical is 
 Dewey's contention that education is not a prep- 
 
Introduction. 9 
 
 aration for living, but is life. Whatever maj' be 
 our intentions as adults, from the child's point 
 of view school is a very real part of the life he 
 is now living. His plays, his tasks, his joys 
 and sorrows, are just as real and serious to him 
 as the occupations and experiences of grown up 
 folks are to them. The problem of education, 
 according to this view, is to supply materials and 
 occupations which shall develop in the child 
 social insight and power; but what he does in 
 school must appeal to him as being worth doing 
 for itself. 
 
 It is evident that school-room practice will 
 in general be determined by the ideals thus set 
 up by society as the goal of education. If the 
 aim be individual perfection, the discipline will 
 seek to cultivate the virtues of man as man. 
 Thus Rousseau says of Emile : " On leaving my 
 hands, he will not, I admit, be a magistrate, a 
 soldier, or a priest ; first of all, he will be a man. 
 It is less important to keep him from dying 
 than it is to teach him how to live." A teacher 
 holding such views will employ a discipline that 
 gives free play to the spontaneity of children. 
 " True success," says President Charles W. Eliot, 
 " consists in making children as unlike as pos- 
 sible." The pupil, " in school government, 
 * * * must be his own dictator, judge, and 
 jury," says another advocate of individualism.* 
 
 "An Ideal School," P. W. Search, Appleton, 1901. 
 
10 Introduction. 
 
 Such a doctrine, literally applied, will produce a 
 state of disorder, which, in the case of weak 
 teachers, inevitably ends in anarchy and failure. 
 In like manner, the social ideal of education 
 will express itself in a peculiar school discipline. 
 The emphasis in this case is not upon the child as 
 an individual, but as a member of a community. 
 He is to develop all his power, not for mere per- 
 sonal advantage, but in order that he may be a 
 more useful member of society. In order thus to 
 prepare a pupil for social living, he is to be 
 trained in approved ways of thinking, feeling, 
 and doing. This gives him " social insight and 
 power." The aim is not to emphasize individual 
 preferences, but to subordinate self for the good 
 of the whole. In a sense it is the very antithesis 
 of the individual method. In the one case the 
 child is treated as if all the world existed for his 
 advantage ; his spontaneity is sacred, and if it 
 interferes with the spontaneity of other people, 
 so much the worse for other people. In the other 
 case, the child is taught to regard the social 
 whole as of the first importance, and himself as 
 a member of it. His highest achievement is ex- 
 pressed in terms of social service, even as Christ 
 has said : " Whosoever would become great 
 among you, shall be your minister: and who- 
 soever would be first among you, shall be servant 
 of all." 
 
Introduction. 1 1 
 
 Dogmas of Childhood, 
 (a) Pagan. — Of even greater consequence, in 
 matters of discipline, than the general theory of 
 education, is the attitude of an age toward child- 
 hood. We know that both the Greeks and the 
 Romans had so little reverence for childhood that 
 they frequently abandoned their offspring and 
 allowed them to perish in the public highways. 
 In Sparta, we are informed, the law required the 
 father to carry his new-born infant to the Elders 
 of the Community for inspection; if they found 
 its limbs straight and its general appearance 
 healthy, they returned it to be educated; other- 
 wise it was killed. " We cannot really doubt," 
 says Prof. John P. Mahaffy,* " from the free 
 use of the idea in Greek tragedies, in the com- 
 edies of ordinary life, and in theories of political 
 economy, that the exposing of new-born children 
 was not only sanctioned by public feeling, but 
 actually practiced throughout Greece." Even 
 Plato, " the attic Moses," and noblest of Greek 
 theorists, " sanctioned infanticide under certain 
 circumstances. In the genteel comedy it is often 
 mentioned as a somewhat painful necessity, but 
 enjoined by prudence. Nowhere does the agony 
 of the mother's heart reach us through their 
 literature, save in one illustration used by the 
 Platonic Socrates, where he compares the anger 
 *"01d Greek Education." 
 
12 Introduction. 
 
 of his pupils, when first confuted out of their 
 prejudices, to the fury of a young mother de- 
 prived of her first infant." 
 
 Among the Romans infanticide was a common 
 practice, and was boldly defended by their best 
 writers. " Monstrous offspring," says Seneca, 
 " we destroy : children, too, if weak and unnatur- 
 ally formed from birth, we drown. It is not 
 anger, but reason, thus to separate the useless 
 from the sound." 
 
 The theory underlying these horrible practices 
 was that the K'cak have no right to live. Ac- 
 cording to the Darwinian explanation of Evolu- 
 tion, nature, by a process called " natural selec- 
 tion," weeds out the weak and preserves the 
 strong. The Greeks and Romans were so anxious 
 to produce a race of invincible warriors that they 
 assisted nature by artificial selection. This is 
 the most charitable view to take of the matter. 
 They probably had other reasons for murdering 
 infants less creditable than the desire to improve 
 the human species. 
 
 (b) Christian. — The Founder of Christianity 
 brought a new view of childhood into the world. 
 From the accounts of his ministry in the Gospels 
 it is safe to infer that He was a favorite among 
 children and a defender of their rights. It is 
 recorded that on one occasion, " they were bring- 
 ing unto Him little children, that He should 
 
Introduction. 13 
 
 lay His hands on them and pray, but when the 
 disciples saw it, they rebuked them. But when 
 Jesus saw it He was moved with indignation, 
 and called them unto Him, and said unto them, 
 ' Suffer the little children to come unto Me ; 
 and forbid them not ; for to such belongeth the 
 Kingdom of God. Verily I say unto you, whoso- 
 ever shall not receive the Kingdom of God as 
 a little child, he shall in no wise enter therein,' 
 and He took them in His arms, and blessed them, 
 laving His hands upon them."* On another oc- 
 casion, when the disciples were quarreling as to 
 who should be the greatest in the new Kingdom, 
 " Jesus called to Him a little child, and took 
 him and set him by His side in the midst of them ; 
 and taking him in His arms, He said unto them, 
 ' Verily I say unto you, except ye turn, and be- 
 come as little children, ye shall in no wise enter 
 into the Kingdom of Heaven.' " 
 
 This tender regard for children and sympa- 
 thetic appreciation of child-nature is the germ 
 from which have come the orphan asylums, chil- 
 dren's hospitals, and all the numerous institu- 
 tions for the nurture of defective and dependent 
 children maintained by modern society. Not 
 only do we now hold that all children have a right 
 to live, but we try to thwart nature in her effort 
 to destroy the weak by protecting them with all 
 * Cadman's " Harmony of the Gospels," Revell, 1886. 
 
14 Introduction. 
 
 the resources of scientific discovery, human affec- 
 tion, and professional skill. 
 
 (c) Theological. — Such was in the beginning 
 and is now the Christian attitude toward the 
 child. But it was not always so. For hundreds 
 of years the theological dogma that children are 
 by nature depraved formed a part of the educa- 
 tional creed of Christendom. The government 
 of both the family and the school was based on 
 the theory of total depravity. It was the busi- 
 ness of education, not to develop the natural 
 powers of childhood, but to hinder and repress, 
 to crush and destroy all the natural bent of the 
 soul, and to produce a new creature. To use 
 a term of Riley's, we might describe it as a 
 process of " rearrangin' " nature. The will had 
 to be " broken." The natural inclinations of 
 the child, the spontaneous interests which are so 
 eagerly sought by the modern educator, were 
 regarded as the promptings of a sinful nature, 
 and treated as moral leprosy. " Let not Paula 
 be found in the ways of the world,'" wrote St. 
 Jerome, " but rather in the company of her 
 kindred and in retirement. She must not learn 
 the use of wine, eat principally vegetables, and 
 always be a little hungry." Milton's famous 
 definition of education as the process of " re- 
 gaining to know God " we have already quoted. 
 The various Acts and Preambles by which the 
 
Introduction. 15 
 
 Now England Fathers established free, public, 
 and compulsory education show that they had in 
 view two main obects : (1) To prepare intelligent 
 citizens for the commonwealth; (2) To enable 
 these citizens to study and understand the Scrip- 
 tures in their native tongue. Education was 
 intended to fit men to live properly in the Colony 
 of Massachusetts during this life, and in heaven 
 hereafter! There was no liberty, no individu- 
 ality, no spontaneity, for either parent or child. 
 Even religion was compulsory. The parent was 
 coerced by the State to pay his tax and to send 
 his children. There was no liberty for the child. 
 He was obliged to go to school, whether he liked 
 it or not ; and he was under harsh treatment 
 when he went. In Germany the remarkable 
 series of schools founded by Francke had for 
 their basic principle of discipline the proposition 
 that children are by nature bad and that it is 
 the object of education to uproot the evil and 
 implant the good. " Play," he insisted, " must 
 be forbidden in any and all of its forms. The 
 children shall be instructed in this matter in 
 such a way as to show them through the presen- 
 tation of religious principles, the wastefulness 
 and folly of all play." 
 
 (d) Romantic. — Rousseau was the first writer 
 that successfully attacked this doctrine of child- 
 ish depravity. His opening words of the first 
 
16 Introduction. 
 
 book of the Emile are : " Everything is good 
 as it comes from the hands of the Author of 
 things ; everything degenerates in the hands of 
 man." It follows from this that a child must 
 be allowed to follow his inclinations in every- 
 thing. Education is chiefly negative, and con- 
 sists in letting the child alone with nature. 
 There is no such thing as discipline. The only 
 habit Emile is to have is the habit of forming no 
 habits. Of course, Rousseau does not believe in 
 schools, but if he did, he would say with Mr. 
 Search that in school government the child must 
 " be his own dictator, judge, and jury." 
 
 (e) Evolutionary. — The theory of evolution 
 has superseded the theologic and romantic con- 
 ceptions of childhood in educational doctrine. 
 The one cried, " Crush nature," the other said, 
 " Reverently follow nature." The new says, in 
 the words of Froebel : " I see in every child the 
 possibility of a perfect man." The infant is 
 not wholly good, nor wholly bad. It has in it 
 tendencies of both kinds ; but it consists chiefly 
 of an undeveloped plastic organism, which may 
 be adapted to many kinds of environment. The 
 lower animals have a very brief period of in- 
 fancy and are governed by instinct. The bee 
 learns nothing from his parents ; he is perfectly 
 adapted to his environment at birth ; but he can 
 do his work in only one way. Man has a period 
 
Introduction. 17 
 
 of infancy enormously prolonged. " That is 
 to say, the length of time that it takes for the 
 human child in this generation so to adapt him- 
 self to his surroundings as to be able to succeed 
 in them, to make them his own, is almost, if not 
 quite thirty years."* Every educator of the 
 present generation conceives the process of edu- 
 cation in terms of adjustment. The Herbartian 
 has his " core " of literature and history, because 
 these put the pupil in possession of his race her- 
 itage. Dr. Harris believes that the pupil's " cor- 
 relation " with his environment of nature and 
 human nature can best be effected by a five-fold 
 co-ordination, j" Dewey would secure social " in- 
 sight " by making typical occupations the ar- 
 ticulating centers of school work.| Butler 
 thinks the pupil requires a five-fold " adapta- 
 tion " ; that is, human environment consists of 
 at least five elements which the child must appro- 
 priate in order to be really human. All these 
 writers are presenting an evolutionary view of 
 education. " The doctrine of development says 
 of the child, here is an immature being. He is 
 not adapted to the environment in which he has 
 to live. He does all sorts of things that would 
 
 * Butler: "The Meaning of Education," p. 12. Mac- 
 millan, 1898. 
 
 t Report of Committee of Fifteen. 
 
 t Dewey : " School and Society." University of Chi- 
 cago Press. 
 
18 Introduction. 
 
 injure him, and fails to do a great many things 
 that are quite essential to a happy and successful 
 life in this environment. In short, considered 
 with reference to the immediate present, this 
 child is about as poorly adapted to life as any 
 one easily could be. But, continues the doctrine 
 of development, this is, after all, not so bad as 
 it might be, for the child has certain redeeming 
 characteristics. He has the possibilities of varia- 
 tions and adjustments in a much higher degree 
 than we older people. Where we fail to fit our 
 environments, we are generally so fixed in our 
 habits that we cannot easily change. If we are 
 unadapted now, we continue unadapted to the 
 end. The child, on the other hand, has the lar- 
 gest possibilities of fitting himself to his environ- 
 ment."* 
 
 New Ideals of Discipline. 
 
 We are now prepared to see the relation of this 
 new ideal of education to the problem of dis- 
 cipline. We no longer look upon the child as a 
 depraved being whose spontaneous impulses are 
 to be suppressed. Nor do we look upon him 
 as a being wholly good, whose every whim is to 
 be regarded as an expression of the infallible 
 wisdom of nature. We regard him as an unde- 
 veloped and unadapted organism. " We do not 
 
 * Judd: "Genetic Psychology for Teachers," p. 113. 
 Appleton, 1903. 
 
Introduction. 19 
 
 punish a child now because we wish to mete out 
 to him vengeance for his infract ion of law. * * * 
 Teachers of to-day who understand the real 
 meaning of punishment do not get angry at chil- 
 dren. * * ' : We look upon the child's mistakes 
 and failures as phases [perfectly normal] of the 
 process of development. We correct these short- 
 comings as a part of our general duty of super- 
 vising development."* 
 
 Many children are unlovely, uncouth, unclean, 
 untruthful. A recent study of children's faults 
 shows that in the judgment of teachers, by far 
 the greatest source of anno3 T ance in school is 
 inattention. Parents find disobedience the car- 
 dinal sin, and children themselves think fighting 
 and bullying are their worst faults. "f In the 
 light of psychology, inattention is clearly the 
 result of lack of interest ; and lack of interest is 
 the result of poor teaching. Shall the teacher, 
 therefore, get angry and scold and punish 
 pupils? How much more rational it is to try to 
 find the cause of the trouble and remove it. 
 
 Investigation shows that about ten per cent. 
 of our pupils have some physical or intel- 
 lectual or moral defect. These are half blind 
 or half deaf, or suffer from some nervous 
 
 *Judd: "Genetic Psvehology for Teachers," p. 114. 
 Appleton, 1903. 
 
 f "A Study of the Faults of Children." Triplett, Ped. 
 Sem., Vol. X, p.. 200. 
 
20 Introduction. 
 
 disorder, or inherit some mental or moral pe- 
 culiarity which causes them to fall behind 
 in their lessons and become the butt of scorn 
 and ridicule, and subject to painful and hu- 
 miliating punishments. About one per cent, 
 of public school children are so defective that 
 they cannot profitably be taught with normal 
 children. It has been shown again and again 
 that the children who make trouble in class belong 
 in nearly every instance to the defective class. 
 Yet we constantly assume that a child who falls 
 behind is simply lazy ; one who cannot sit 
 still is wilfully disobedient; if he cannot march 
 in time, he falls out of step on purpose. Nine 
 times out of ten, if the truth were known, the 
 children who are punished and disliked in school 
 are more sinned against than sinning. A sym- 
 pathetic study of these perverts will show us 
 that what we call their faults are nearly always 
 their misfortunes. No child is habitually un- 
 lovely from choice. No child elects to be born 
 in a home of poverty, vice, or crime. He does 
 not select his parents, nor his training. He is 
 what he is by virtue of forces wholly without 
 his control. He is sent to school just because 
 he is mal-adjusted and needs guidance. They 
 that are whole need not a physician. If children 
 were perfect the school teacher would be quite 
 superfluous. 
 
1. 
 
 Justice the Basis of School Disci- 
 pline. 
 
 School Order Defined. 
 
 In every class there are some troublesome chil- 
 dren. How large a proportion of the class are 
 " bad " depends chiefly upon the skill of the 
 teacher. A very weak teacher is likely to call the 
 entire class bad. A very strong one may not ad- 
 mit that any are bad. But still, the best of teach- 
 ers is likely to have a number of pupils who are 
 less tractable and more mischievous than the 
 others. And if he have no reason to complain of 
 any one's disorder, he is certain to find fault with 
 some because they do not prepare their lessons 
 and are inattentive. 
 
 The economy of teaching demands that, there 
 shall be good order in the class so that all the 
 pupils may be able to receive the instruction of 
 the teacher without interruption or annoyance. 
 How to secure this order is the first problem the 
 
 21 
 
22 Class Discipline. 
 
 teacher is called upon to solve ; for without it his 
 teaching efforts are but a waste of time. 
 
 School order has been defined as " that state 
 or condition of a school in which the best educa- 
 tive work is done in the most economical man- 
 ner."* Good order does not consist primarily in 
 a given posture, but in that interested, uncon- 
 strained attitude of each pupil which in his case 
 produces the desired impression of the teacher in 
 the most economical and effective manner. Class 
 instruction, however, puts certain limitations 
 upon the conduct of pupils which do not appear 
 in individual instruction. One of these is that 
 they shall speak aloud only when asked or per- 
 mitted to do so ; for otherwise many pupils might 
 be speaking at once and so no profit could come 
 to any. As a rule in large classes good order de- 
 mands that pupils shall not whisper unless they 
 have permission to do so. There are occasions, 
 however, when it is a distinct advantage to allow 
 children to confer with each other, as for instance 
 before or after physical exercise, while the win- 
 dows are thrown open to ventilate the room. 
 Three or four times a day this should occur, and 
 then children, within reasonable limits, should be 
 allowed to do as they please. The relaxation 
 thus secured is a great relief to the pupil and 
 
 * " Talks on Pedagogics," Parker, p. 337, E. L. Kellogg 
 & Company, 1894, New York. 
 
Class Discipline. 23 
 
 enables him to take up his duties with renewed 
 
 pleasure and profit. 
 
 Order and Discipline. 
 
 It is well to bear in mind the distinction be- 
 tween order and discipline. Teachers often de- 
 ceive themselves by neglecting this important 
 difference ; but they seldom deceive an experi- 
 enced principal or superintendent. The order in 
 a class may be good ; there may be no uproar or 
 confusion ; the children may even sit in uniform 
 and erect positions ; and at the same time the 
 discipline may be bad. 
 
 I call a class badly disciplined if it cannot be 
 left in a room without a teacher. Order may be 
 the result of man} 7 other causes besides class dis- 
 cipline. It ma} 7 come from fear or love, or the 
 constant vigilance of the teacher, or the prin- 
 cipal's discipline of the school as a whole. Disci- 
 pline consists in the habit of obedience. It is re- 
 vealed in regularity and punctuality of attend- 
 ance ; in the self-control of the pupils in and out 
 of school ; in the personal appearance of children 
 — their habits of cleanliness and neatness ; and 
 in the care and fidelity with which they perform 
 their tasks. 
 
 Obedience and Command. 
 
 When a teacher selects a pupil to act as moni- 
 tor he always takes a " good " boy. The as- 
 
24 Class Discipline. 
 
 sumption underlying this fact is that a pupil who 
 is not himself obedient is unfit to govern others. 
 The same principle applies to a teacher. If he 
 expects to be obeyed he must himself be a model 
 of the obedience which he exacts from others. 
 The first step of a teacher in learning to govern 
 a class consists in obeying his principal and other 
 official superiors. If he is not willing cheerfully 
 and uncomplainingly to receive orders he is unfit 
 to give orders to others. That there is no such 
 thing as command without obedience is well illus- 
 trated by the disciplining of Captain Chadwick 
 of the United States navy. The New York 
 Times, in commenting editorially on this case, 
 said: 
 
 " We are in the habit of thinking of the officers 
 of our army and navy chiefly with reference to 
 the power they represent, the command they ex- 
 ercise, the obedience they can exact. We do not 
 realize, until some such incident as that of Capt. 
 Chadwick presents itself, that it is obedience and 
 not command that really is the controlling element 
 in their lives. And this is true throughout all ranks. 
 There is not a soldier or sailor from the recruit 
 enlisted last week to the general commanding or 
 the admiral of the navy who is not bound in honor 
 and in fact to the most complete obedience to his 
 superiors, and the lowest is not more bound than 
 the highest. At the summit stands the president 
 of the United States, the commander-in-chief of 
 
Class Discipline. 25 
 
 the army and the navy, and he in his turn is bound 
 by the constitution and the laws, and is subject 
 to trial before a tribunal duly provided." 
 
 The teacher may make clear to children the 
 reasonableness of a system of class government 
 by frequently calling their attention to these 
 hierarchies of duty and obedience. The teacher 
 must obey the principal ; the principal must obey 
 the superintendent ; and all three must obey the 
 board of education ; the board of education, the 
 mayor who appoints them ; and the mayor, the 
 laws made by the people through the legislature. 
 
 Teachers who are opinionated, intractable, and 
 inclined to demur at orders are frequently the 
 most rigid and uncompromising rulers of chil- 
 dren. Let all such reflect upon the relation of 
 obedience to command, and resolve to become 
 worthy of governing others by the loyal obedi- 
 ence which they render to their superiors. 
 
 Justice and Efficiency. 
 The two primary factors of good school gov- 
 ernment are justice and efficiency. Where either 
 or both of these qualities are lacking there can 
 be no good discipline. Children do not render 
 willing obedience to a teacher who is unfair. 
 They cannot define j ust government ; but they 
 intuitively perceive the difference between justice 
 and injustice in the authority to which they are 
 subject. Therefore a teacher must not be arbi- 
 
2G Class Discipline. 
 
 trary ; must not make a rule at ten o'clock and 
 ignore It at twelve ; must not have one rule for 
 " sood " children and another for " bad " chil- 
 dren. He must do exactly what he has prom- 
 ised — no more and no less. As a rule it is 
 better not to promise at all, nor to threaten ; but 
 to say little and act ; for actions speak louder 
 than words. The world never fears a boaster, 
 whose bark is worse than his bite. Children do 
 not fear a teacher who is constantly telling what 
 he will do if so-and-so happens. But they stand 
 in awe of the silent, self -centered man or woman 
 who wastes no time on words, but comes with swift 
 and certain retribution upon evil-doers. 
 
 Anger is a common source of injustice; there- 
 fore do not lose control of your temper. The 
 central fact of manhood and womanhood is self- 
 control. Every time a teacher loses this, he ex- 
 hibits to his class a defect of character which 
 undermines the respect of his pupils for himself. 
 If you must occasionally exhibit righteous indig- 
 nation, " be angry and sin not ;" do not, while 
 you are passionate, threaten or punish. If you 
 do, you are almost certain to be unjust. 
 
 Above all, as you value the good opinion of 
 your principal and fellow-teachers, and the re- 
 spect of 3'our pupils, do not scream nor scold! 
 The scold has been from time immemorial the butt 
 
Class Discipline. 27 
 
 of scorn. A scolding teacher is a nuisance in 
 any school. 
 
 Those who enter the profession cannot too 
 soon begin to watch their tongues and their tem- 
 pers ; for on the control of these two depends in 
 large measure their success. 
 
 Justice, however, is not the only essential of 
 good discipline. Class government may be just, 
 but inefficient. A state may have an excellent 
 system of courts and laws and civil administra- 
 tion; but unless there be also a military arm 
 strong enough to quell riot and repel invasion, 
 such government is a failure. A teacher must 
 be just, but he must also be strong. He is to be 
 quiet and self-possessed; but he must not mis- 
 take meekness for weakness. He is to be kind 
 and sympathetic, but firm. He can be generous 
 only after he has conquered; and for a teacher 
 to speak of gentleness in a disorderly class is as 
 if the lamb should talk of being kind to the 
 lion. Conquer at all hazards, first yourself and 
 then the class, remembering always that you must 
 be just. 
 
It 
 
 Characteristics of the Best Teacher 
 
 He Relies on Himself. 
 
 One of the Important elements of success in 
 class control is the early determination to rely 
 upon yourself. The first pronounced result of 
 such a course will be a greatly increased respect 
 of your pupils for yourself. Children admire a 
 teacher who can help himself. 
 
 Class control is the joint product of experience 
 and native endowment. Some people are natur- 
 ally gifted in the power of controlling others. 
 They govern classes easily without experience, 
 while others catch the trick only after years of 
 practice and partial failure. Some never learn 
 it at all. The old " Monitorial System " had 
 some good features in it that might well be 
 copied to-day. Pupils were put in charge of 
 classes, and only those who gave unmistakable 
 evidence of possessing the power of control were 
 
 38 
 
Class Discipline. 29 
 
 allowed to take the special training which quali- 
 fied them to become regular paid teachers. 
 
 If candidates for training and normal schools 
 were required to furnish proof of their possession 
 of the power to govern others as a prerequisite 
 for admission, it would save a great deal of 
 trouble in schools and protect many young 
 people against the fatal error of choosing the 
 wrong profession. 
 
 He Does Not Detain Children After School Hours. 
 
 Another characteristic which children admire 
 in a teacher almost as much as the ability to help 
 himself is the habit of dismissing the class 
 promptly at the close of school hours. I am con- 
 vinced that nothing is gained by habitually de- 
 taining pupils, that is not lost twice over in 
 some other way. I never knew a teacher with 
 the detaining habit who was not disliked by the 
 majority of her pupils. Nothing so embitters 
 children as being daily kept in after school. The 
 day is long ; the school-rooms are improperly ven- 
 tilated at best ; children love the free air ; many 
 of them have errands to run, music lessons to 
 take, newspapers to sell, etc. For all these rea- 
 sons they resent your infringement of their 
 liberty. 
 
 " Suppose a child refuses to do his work ; what 
 can we do if we don't keep him in?" You can 
 assign the task for a home lesson, provided it is 
 
30 Class Discipline. 
 
 not forbidden by the by-laws. " Suppose he still 
 refuses?" Assign it again and charge it up 
 against the pupil each day until it is done. At 
 the end of the day or week or month report to the 
 parents their child's neglect, being careful to se- 
 cure the principal's signature upon all such notes 
 or reports. If, after all these efforts on your 
 part, pupils still refuse to do their work, turn 
 them over to the principal. 
 
 He Secures the Respect of His Pupils. 
 
 The success of class government depends very 
 largely upon the pupil's opinion of his teacher. 
 The teacher is free to express his opinion of his 
 pupils and may think it of no consequence what 
 the pupils think of him. It is of infinite conse- 
 quence. If you will reflect a moment you will 
 see that your class discipline is your moral edu- 
 cation of the child. Can such moral education 
 be really ennobling unless the pupil have respect 
 for the teacher? You can not make all pupils 
 love you; but unless you have the respect of 
 your worst one, you have not altogether suc- 
 ceeded. 
 
 What is the basis of this respect? The ability 
 to take care of yourself — self-reliance — is one 
 source. That we have already shown. 
 
 Justice is another. Whatever you do in the 
 way of discipline must appeal to the pupil as 
 being just. For this reason class punishment is a 
 
Class Discipline. 31 
 
 mistake. The innocent feel that they arc un- 
 justly punished. Better to allow a few guilty 
 ones to escape than to lav yourself open to the 
 charge of having unjustly punished the ma- 
 jority. 
 
 The Good Teacher Described by Children. . 
 
 The discussion, by H. E. Kratz, of the 
 " Characteristics of the Best Teacher," presents 
 the matter from the pupil's point of view.* It 
 furnishes an answer to the question, What sort 
 of teacher do pupils admire? It will do us no 
 harm to compare ourselves with the ideal pictured 
 by the 2,400 children who were questioned by 
 Mr. Kratz. They were asked to think of the 
 best teacher they ever had, and then to write in 
 half a dozen sentences a description of her. The 
 following is a summary of their answers : 
 
 73 per cent, said she helped them in their 
 studies ; they felt that she made it worth while 
 for them to come to school. 
 
 58 per cent were attracted by the personal 
 appearance of the teacher. 
 
 55 per cent, said she was good or kind. 
 
 9 per cent, loved her for her patience. 
 
 7 per cent, were impressed by her politeness. 
 
 4 per cent, by her neatness. 
 
 2 per cent, liked her because she was cross. 
 
 ''Pedagogical Seminar)/, Vol. III., p 413, 
 
32 Class Discipline. 
 
 The following statements selected from various 
 papers show us still further the thought of chil- 
 dren in such matters: 
 
 " She could stand some fun." 
 
 " She had no pets." 
 
 " The children feel as if she was one of 
 them." 
 
 " She liked me and showed it once in a while." 
 
 " She always got our attention." 
 
 " She always wanted me to be thoughtful." 
 
 " Her actions helped me to do better." 
 
 " If you did not get your lessons, she was so 
 sorry that it made you ashamed." 
 
 " She took a great deal of interest in us." 
 
 " She was interested in her pupils' habits and 
 readings." 
 
 " Put us on our honor." 
 
 " By making things pleasant, so I felt like 
 working." 
 
 " Her manner seemed to give me an inspiration 
 to work." 
 
 " She never punished the pupils because she 
 didn't feel good." 
 
 " Does not scold us one time, then be awful 
 good for awhile." 
 
 " Never flew off the handle." 
 
 " Always meant what she said." 
 
 The following description was written by an 
 8th grade pupil : 
 
Class Discipline. 33 
 
 "The best teacher I ever had was kind and 
 gentle and had a beautiful character, but was 
 not at all ; soft.' She could change her disposi 
 tion at a moment's notice, if circumstances re- 
 quired it. But was not quite strict enough. She 
 acted on her pupil's honor and therefore pro- 
 cured better results than, I think, if she had kept 
 her eye on them all the time ; and one good thing 
 about her was that she did not make any foolish, 
 silly rules that were unnecessary, but the ones 
 she made the children must live up to." 
 
 Every phrase in this simple composition is 
 weighted with wisdom. In the first place, chil- 
 dren read your character : " Was kind and gentle 
 and had a beautiful character," says the little 
 philosopher. Their sharp eyes read us like an 
 open volume, and still more, their instinct guides 
 their unconscious judgments in these matters. 
 The} r know whether we are sincere or not, 
 whether we have any real interest in their wel- 
 fare, or teach simply to earn our salaries. 
 
 He Teaches Faithfully and Successfully. 
 From the above descriptions it is evident that 
 good teaching is an important element of success- 
 ful class discipline. Of the 2,400 children exam- 
 ined, seventy-three per cent, liked their teachers 
 because they could teach. The easiest way to 
 control a class is to keep it profitably employed 
 all the time. " Idleness is the devil's workshop." 
 
34 Class Discipline. 
 
 A busy child has no time or inclination to plot 
 mischief. In order to be able thus to furnish 
 steady employment to fifty or sixty busy brains 
 a teacher must carefully arrange the day's work 
 at home, so that he knows at any given moment 
 exactly what he is going to do next. 
 
 It is an excellent plan to have at hand some 
 extra work that is pleasant and profitable for 
 bright children who get through with their tasks 
 before the majority of the others have finished. 
 This is not to be mere " busy " work without 
 definite relation to the subject in hand, but is to 
 be as a rule a part of the same subject. If the 
 class are drawing, bright children can do two 
 specimens while mediocre and slow pupils com- 
 plete one. If the lesson is arithmetic, there may 
 be two grades of work, both of the same kind, 
 the bright pupils being permitted (not required) 
 to , -take the more difficult. Sometimes mischiev- 
 ous children have a special talent or interest, an 
 appeal to which may accomplish their control or 
 reformation. The talent may be drawing. In 
 this case let the pupil fill up spare time by draw- 
 ing maps, designs, illustrations, etc., for the 
 teacher. If his strong point is reading, let him 
 at the proper time read to the class out of supple- 
 mentary readers. If he can write well, there is 
 abundant opportunity to encourage him in that. 
 
Class Discipline. :i!i 
 
 He Encourages Children. 
 
 " By making things pleasant so I felt like 
 working," writes one pupil. Children need en- 
 couragement as much as adults need it. A 
 teacher known to the writer recently secured a 
 transfer from a certain school because her prin- 
 cipal had the peculiarity of always picking out 
 the flaws in her work and never praising the part 
 that had no flaws. Hundreds of children suffer 
 the same kind of thoughtless criticism. Their 
 teachers find fault with all their imperfec- 
 tions, but never encourage them by praise when 
 they do well. 
 
 Children are human as well as teachers. They 
 become discouraged if they think they are not 
 appreciated, and conclude that there is no use 
 in trying. When a child has made a reasonable 
 effort to do what he is told, even though he be not 
 entirely successful, give him some credit. Say, 
 " I believe John has tried ; and while the result is 
 not quite as good as I want it, I believe he will 
 do better next time." Be very sure, however, 
 that the pupil really has made an earnest effort 
 before you indulge in such speeches ; for if he 
 has not tried hard and knows it, he immediately 
 puts you in the class of teachers called " soft ;" 
 and from that day forward your discipline, so 
 far as he is concerned, will be a failure. You 
 
30 Class Discipline. 
 
 cannot morally train a child who considers you a 
 fool. 
 
 He Lays Great Stress Upon Honor. 
 
 " Truthfulness is better than the truth," 
 Phillips Brooks once said. So a good disciplin- 
 arian places truthfulness and honor above every 
 other school virtue. The ultimate object of 
 school government is to teach the pupil self- 
 control. Man alone of the animal creation is 
 destined to be governed by reason. This is his 
 steering gear, and the machinery is very imper- 
 fect at first ; only after a long period of tutelage 
 does he get possession of himself. He is not a 
 man until the stage of self-mastery has been 
 reached. A child who is watched and controlled 
 every moment of the day has no opportunity 
 to develop the power of self-direction. Hence 
 the teacher must get rid of the watching habit. 
 He is no detective ; and he must not treat the 
 child as if he were a thief. Pupils must under- 
 stand that it is dishonorable to misbehave in the 
 absence of the teacher. Classes can be so trained 
 that they may be left alone without danger of 
 disturbance. Even " bad " children like to be 
 trusted. If you find it necessary to leave the 
 room, say : " Shall I appoint a monitor to watch 
 you, or would you rather take care of your- 
 selves?" Children will always prefer the latter 
 course. Make it a rule that the one time of all 
 
Class Discipline. 37 
 
 times when the class and the individual must be 
 models of propriety is when the teacher's back 
 is turned or when he is out of the room. Have it 
 understood once for all that you allow no " tat- 
 tling ;" every child confesses his oicn sins, and not 
 his neighbors. The great majority of pupils 
 will confess what they have done in your absence ; 
 the few who are too mean and cowardly to do it, 
 should be made to feel the displeasure of the 
 teacher and class so keenly that they will find 
 " honesty the best policy " on the next similar 
 occasion. 
 
 Horace Mann once said : " Be ashamed to die 
 until you have won some victory for humanity." 
 I sometimes feel like saying to teachers: "Be 
 ashamed to get sick until your pupils can be put 
 upon their honor; for otherwise they will dis- 
 grace you every time you are away from school." 
 
 In a well-disciplined class the order so nearly 
 takes care of itself that the entire attention of 
 teacher and pupils is fixed upon the work in 
 hand. Only under such circumstances can the 
 best teaching be done. 
 
 No class should be required to sit very long in 
 a constrained position of attention. Vary the 
 exercises frequently, changing from written 
 work to oral, from hearing to speaking, from 
 impression to expression, from manual exercise 
 to thought work, etc. Half the disorder of 
 classes is caused by the fatigue of children. 
 
nun- 
 
 Some Factors of Discipline. 
 
 Executive Ability. 
 
 Executive ability is indispensable to good 
 discipline. Where this is wanting, nothing can 
 compensate for the deficiency Pestalozzi, it is 
 true, lacked it and was a great man still. But 
 his want of power in this respect made him a 
 failure as a practical teacher and organizer. If 
 his executive ability had been commensurate 
 with the greatness of his heart, he might have 
 avoided many of the sorrows of his life and 
 turned his numerous failures into successes. 
 
 Some one has defined executive ability as the 
 " power to get things done." The president of 
 the United States cannot run the government 
 alone. Of the millions of things for whose faith- 
 ful performance he is responsible he can himself 
 do only a few. Nevertheless, as the executive 
 of the nation he is sworn to see that all the laws 
 
Class Discipline. 39 
 
 of the United States are carried out. What lie 
 cannot do himself he must do by agents. There- 
 fore one of the most important functions of the 
 president is the appointment of subordinate of- 
 ficers to assist him in administering the govern- 
 ment. The management of a great commercial 
 establishment like Wanamaker's requires execu- 
 tive ability of a high order. Mr. Wanamaker 
 takes a man who has himself failed in business 
 and uses him to run a department successfully. 
 He himself cannot possibly know all the details 
 of his great establishments, but he manages to 
 get things done. Each department is ready 
 with appropriate goods in time for the seasons 
 as they come around, each is run at a profit 
 and is provided with clerks who know their busi- 
 ness and are polite to customers. The proprie- 
 tor does not directly look after any of these 
 details, probably, and yet it is through him that 
 everything is done; he is the life, the organic, 
 spirit, of the whole concern ; and when he dies 
 his business will doubtless die with him, as A. 
 T. Stewart's did when he died. 
 
 Coming down into a smaller field, the prin- 
 cipal of a school is held responsible for getting 
 things done. There is, however, an important 
 difference between this case and the others cited. 
 A business man selects his own subordinates ; if 
 they fail to get things done, they receive a 
 
40 Class Discipline. 
 
 little envelope with a note that runs like this : 
 " Dear Madam : You are hereby notified that 
 your services are no longer required." A prin- 
 cipal is not authorized to write notes of that 
 sort. He does not select his agents, nor does he 
 discharge them. Instead of dismissing incom- 
 petent assistants, he is required to train them 
 to do their work as required by law. This duty 
 is pleasant enough so long as he has apt pupils ; 
 but when these lack docility, it makes his path 
 a thorny one. 
 
 The class teacher needs executive ability. He 
 also must " get things done." And in this re- 
 spect teachers differ in glory as one star dif- 
 fereth from another. Some always have things 
 done at the required time. Roll books, progress 
 books, reports, are ready when called for ; a defi- 
 nite portion of the grade work in each subject is 
 completed every month ; at the end of the term 
 the entire grade is completed. Every sub- 
 ject is reviewed constantly, so that at any mo- 
 ment the class can give an intelligent and com- 
 prehensive retrospect of all that has been 
 studied. It is a common mistake of inexpe- 
 rienced teachers to suppose that when a thing is 
 once understood by a class no further effort is 
 required on the part of the teacher in that direc- 
 tion. On the contrary, mere instruction, the bare 
 statement of a fact, or explanation of a rule or 
 
Class Discipline. 41 
 
 principle, is but a small part of teaching. No 
 teacher can hope to succeed who docs not make 
 systematic provision for drill — constant and 
 thorough — in all the things he teaches. «At least 
 once a month all the ground that has been cov- 
 ered should be gone over again. The monthly 
 review should include not merely the month's 
 work, but all the previous work of the grade and 
 of every lower grade. In a very intimate way, 
 this review and drill work is related to the disci- 
 pline of a class. You rfeve^ifind mental alertness 
 in pupils where the discipline is poor ; nor do you 
 find thoroughness of review and drill in a dis- 
 orderly class. 
 
 Drill as Related to Discipline. 
 Hardly too much stress can be laid upon these 
 drills and reviews. They are the discipline of 
 instruction. When I go into a room and ask a 
 class what they have read a majority of pupils 
 should be able to give me not only the titles of 
 the pieces, but the substance of each lesson. And 
 then, when I turn to one of the lessons that have 
 been studied and call upon a pupil to read, he 
 should be able to do so intelligently and without 
 many hesitations and mispronunciations. A 
 teacher who so drills his pupils need be afraid of 
 no principal's test or superintendent's visit. I 
 hear much complaint about pupils being unpre- 
 pared for their grades. This is almost wholly 
 
42 Class Discipline. 
 
 due to the neglect of reviews and drills. All 
 teachers go over the grade in a way, but unless 
 the drills are kept up, the instruction fades 
 away in a night. 
 
 Discharging Pupils. 
 
 When you learn that a pupil is about to leave 
 school you should at once take steps to have his 
 books returned. These he received from you, 
 and to you he is primarily responsible. Do not 
 shift this duty upon the principal. His faithful 
 and efficient teachers always attend to this mat- 
 ter themselves. They also see that the pupil 
 who is leaving secures written authority from 
 his parents for his discharge. This note en- 
 dorsed by the teacher, with the additional state- 
 ment that the books have been returned in good 
 condition, is sent with the pupil to the principal, 
 who then has before him all the evidence required 
 for a legal discharge of the child. 
 Giving Out Material. 
 
 Order and system must be observed in all 
 things, especially in giving out and collecting 
 material. From time to time children require 
 pencils, pens, rulers, compasses, scissors, pal- 
 lettes, brushes, drawing kits, supplementary 
 readers, etc. There is a proper way to pass and 
 to return such things. The aim is to handle the 
 material in the shortest possible time, with the 
 least possible confusion, and with the absolute 
 
Class Discipline. 43 
 
 certainty that every article given out is returned 
 again. 
 
 When a young teacher first realizes the need 
 of system, in such matters, he sometimes over- 
 refines his method and invents a plan that con- 
 sumes too much time. The process should be as 
 simple as possible and should usually require but 
 a single order from the teacher. I have seen 
 classes that required five or six orders to pass a 
 set of pencils. Life is too short for so much 
 useless exertion. Let the teacher save his voice 
 for teaching. 
 
 There are so many good ways of doing such 
 things that no description of any process will 
 be attempted here. New teachers will do well to 
 seek information from their more experienced 
 brethren. One caution, however, is submitted; 
 namely : Do not allow pupils to use the school 
 rulers except during the drawing period. Rulers 
 are noisy and unnecessary. Children can be 
 trained to rule ordinary lesson papers without 
 a guide. Another precaution will save the be- 
 ginner much trouble. In giving out clothing, 
 never allow any pupil to put on his coat until 
 all the coats have been given out. 
 
 Class Spirit. 
 This is an index of good discipline. Many 
 classes are orderly enough, but manifest no class 
 spirit. By this is meant the pride or satisfaction 
 
44 Class Discipline. 
 
 a pupil feels in his class. It may be stimulated 
 by having a number of features peculiar to the 
 class, such as a class poet, class colors or badges, 
 decorations, plants, pets (like white rats, birds, 
 turtles, and rabbits). Of like value are class 
 scrap-books, collections, and libraries. Without 
 appealing to the vanity and selfish rivalry of 
 children, the teacher ought to create in his pupils 
 the feeling that Peter expressed on the Mount: 
 " It is good for us to be here! " 
 
 The Tone of a Class. 
 Another safe index of the discipline of a class 
 is a group of facts that constitute what may be 
 called the class tone. This is revealed by the 
 sentiments, manners, morals, and personal ap- 
 pearances of children. One becomes conscious 
 of the tone of a class by the voices in which the 
 members speak, the expression of their coun- 
 tenances, and the kind of language they use. 
 Loyalty to the class, school, teacher, and prin- 
 cipal, is evidence of a high tone. Cleanliness 
 and neatness of person and attire speak for 
 themselves. One often finds classes of which the 
 majority have clean hands and faces, well-kempt 
 hair, polished shoes ; and in the same school other 
 classes in which there is wholesale untidiness. 
 Filthy children have no self-respect. There is 
 little use in preaching of a clean heart to a 
 fellow who has not had a good bath within a 
 
Class Discipline, 45 
 
 month. The early Chistians did not associate 
 
 cleanliness and godliness as we are doing it now. 
 In fact, they distinctly taught that the body 
 must be condemned even if cleanliness is 
 neglected. That ancient, theology has a good 
 many devotees in these days. But a high-toned 
 class must propagate the gospel of soap. Every 
 public school ought to have a bath, or at least 
 a lavatory. If I had my choice between a model- 
 ing-room and a bath-room I should have the 
 bath. 
 
 In this matter, however, much can be ac- 
 complished by kindness and tact, even without 
 the facilities alluded to. The experienced teacher 
 picks out clean children and compliments them. 
 This suggestion, often repeated, is sufficient for 
 the majority of the unclean. Such gentle meas- 
 ures, if insufficient, may be supplemented by a 
 polite note to the mother requesting her co- 
 operation. 
 
 Punishments. 
 
 Up to this point we have discussed matters 
 upon which there is probably a general agree- 
 ment. Now we approach a theme on which there 
 exists a wide difference of opinion. Whatever 
 attitude one takes he is sure to be criticised by 
 one school of educators or another. We shall 
 therefore boldly advocate what experience has 
 taught us to be a necessity, regardless of utopian 
 
46 Class Discipline. 
 
 theories invented by people who are not engaged 
 in the actual work of teaching. 
 
 This discussion is intended primarily for be- 
 ginners. Beginners always have more or less 
 trouble with the discipline; so true is this, as 
 every principal knows, that too large a propor- 
 tion of novices will demoralize an entire school. 
 Ordinarily the resources of an inexperienced 
 teacher are exhausted in a few minutes or hours . 
 First lie scolds the children; then he whips them; 
 then he sends them to the principal. Where 
 corporal punishment is prohibited his armory 
 contains only the two weapons, scolding and 
 reporting. 
 
 It is intended by what follows to offer a 
 number of suggestions which will increase the 
 available means for maintaining order at the 
 disposal of the beginner. My reply to all critics 
 is in advance that order must he maintained at 
 all hazards, and if it cannot be done by the best 
 method, then let it be done by an inferior one. 
 It is better to appeal to motives which might 
 be open to criticism from the highest ideal point 
 of view than to attempt to teach under condi- 
 tions of disorder which offer no moral possibilities 
 whatever. Children have a wholesome contempt 
 for people who come into a class-room and de- 
 liver gentle homilies on virtue, but lack the moral 
 force to maintain order. Such teachers remind 
 
Class Discipline. 47 
 
 me of a missionary who proclaims peace and 
 good will among cannibals tnul is eaten up for 
 his pains! 
 
 It has already been said that the teacher must 
 rely upon himself if he would enjoy the respect 
 of his pupils. But in order to succeed thus he 
 should have a large reserve fund of resources. 
 It is quite impossible for a successful disciplina- 
 rian to explain how he governs. You may con- 
 trol by an occasional glance, by the tone of your 
 voice, by your mere presence. A skilful teacher 
 wields a subtle influence that cannot be weighed, 
 measured, or defined. Nevertheless, it is possible 
 to name some elements that we know to be present 
 in good discipline. Among these are the fol- 
 lowing : 
 
 (a) A pupil must be made to feel that you 
 are kind at heart and a friend of children. 
 
 (b) He should believe in your fairness and in 
 the absolute sincerity of all you do and say. 
 
 (c) He should know that you never punish 
 out of revenge, anger, or prejudice. A mother 
 came to my school one day in answer to a sum- 
 mons, because her boy had disobeyed, and said: 
 " Johnny acknowledges that he is in the wrong, 
 and speaks of his teacher in the highest terms." 
 That was the triumph of a fine character. There 
 are, however, mothers of a different type, who 
 tell you how good Johnny is at home and in 
 
48 Class Discipline. 
 
 Sunday school. They cannot understand why 
 he should be bad in your school. There is more 
 hope of reforming the worst little reprobate 
 out of jail who has no parents, than there is of 
 saving children who have been petted by doting 
 mammas into self-righteous sneaks and hyp- 
 ocrites. 
 
 (d) The public opinion of the class and 
 school is a powerful factor of discipline. This 
 attaches to each teacher a certain rank. The 
 teaching corps is organized by the little philos- 
 ophers into a hierarchy, in which the various 
 orders and ranks may or may not correspond 
 with the official rank. Teachers are discussed 
 in the playground and on the street. Things 
 that occur in the class-rooms become public 
 property in the little school world. And thus 
 a body of tradition grows up about each teacher. 
 Ask a pupil about a given teacher and he will 
 give you a more or less acurate estimate of his 
 character and success. When time for promo- 
 tion comes, he knows definitely that he would 
 like to go to A's class rather than B's for reasons 
 satisfactory to himself. The school world is 
 either for or against you, and your discipline 
 is correspondingly easy or difficult. 
 
 The number and importance of these silent 
 influences that work for or against you determine 
 to what extent your class government is accom- 
 plished by conscious control and the authority 
 of the principal. 
 
w. 
 
 Devices of Class Government. 
 
 Graded Punishments. 
 The strongest teacher usually has certain 
 devices by which he apparently governs his class. 
 Each teacher ultimately evolves a system pecul- 
 iar to himself. There may be a thousand ways 
 of accomplishing a given result. Weak teachers 
 usually make the mistake of firing their heaviest 
 guns at the start, and if they fail in this noth- 
 ing is left but to fall back upon the principal. 
 His assistance ought to be the very last factor 
 in your calculations. The following list com- 
 prises a few of the possible modes of correcting 
 disorder : 
 
 (a) A glance in the direction of the offender. 
 
 (b) A quiet summoning to the desk by beck- 
 oning, and a kind but firm reminder that his 
 conduct is obectionable. 
 
 (c) A second summoning and one demerit. 
 
 49 
 
50 Class Discipline. 
 
 (d) Two demerits. 
 
 (e) A reprimand and five demerits. 
 
 (f) Tell pupil to change his seat temporarily 
 and sit by his teacher's desk, informing him 
 quietly that inasmuch as it is necessary to watch 
 him you want to make it as convenient for 
 yourself as possible; this and five demerits more. 
 
 (g) Refuse to allow him to go on with the 
 lesson ; let him sit with his arms folded for five or 
 ten minutes, then let him write a careful letter 
 on the propriety of obeying one's teacher. If 
 this is not properly done, charge up a lesson 
 against him and ask him to bring it next morn- 
 ing. More demerits. 
 
 By this time the session is probably at an 
 end. Do all this with becoming dignity and 
 self-control. Do not betray anger or annoyance, 
 because that is a sign of weakness. As long as 
 you are cool he is afraid of you, because he in- 
 stinctively knows that you have power in re- 
 serve. When you get angry and threaten, he 
 knows that you have nearly reached the limit of 
 your resources. 
 
 Before the beginning of the new session, take 
 him aside and say to him, " My boy, I want you 
 to tell me now, before the lessons begin, what 
 you intend to do this afternoon. You know I 
 cannot allow you to interrupt the class again, 
 and I tell vou now that I would not allow it even 
 
Class Discipline. 51 
 
 if I could. What are you going to do about 
 it?" 
 
 My experience is that such a pupil will make 
 no more trouble that day. 
 
 Now, suppose a child talks when he has been 
 told to keep still. The teacher is angry and 
 says: " If you repeat that I shall send you to 
 the principal." The pupil does repeat it and 
 is sent to the office. This teacher has not ex- 
 hausted her resources. A hasty threat has made 
 it necessary for her to resort to the extreme pen- 
 alty at a single bound, when, if she had but kept 
 cool, she might have found a dozen remedies 
 within her own control. 
 
 You will notice that in the above list of class 
 punishments I have not included writing a note 
 to the parent or keeping in after school. These 
 are still in reserve before it is necessary to call 
 on the principal. 
 
 Debits and Credits. 
 
 In the preceding discussion I made some ref- 
 erence to demerits. The use of these marks can 
 be made a very effective force in class discipline. 
 The method is as follows: 
 
 Rule a book, as shown in the accompanying 
 diagram, and enter each day the merits or de- 
 merits of children. 
 
 A space is made for each day because a boy 
 often wants to know when he received his marks. 
 
52 Class Discipline. 
 
 It is important for pupils to believe that the 
 book is absolutely correct. It should be kept 
 in ink so that there may be no temptation to 
 erase marks. The pupil who keeps the book must 
 have the confidence of the class, and just as soon 
 as he loses that he should be discharged. 
 
 It is probably better to have two monitors, 
 one for the debits and one for the credits. These 
 monitors sit near the teacher and always put the 
 record into the teacher's desk before the class 
 is dismissed. 
 
 What are the credits? They are marks that 
 you allow for all forms of well-doing, either in 
 lessons or in conduct. After a writing lesson, 
 every boy who has satisfied you receives a credit ; 
 if his work is very good, two credits. If the 
 home work is neat he receives a credit. If he 
 copies something carefully into his note-book, 
 his reward is a credit. If he has been in dis- 
 order and bravely confessed it, he gets a credit 
 for his honesty, even if he receives demerits for 
 his offence. There is almost a magic power in 
 credits. To earn one of these marks a child will 
 perform marvels of industry and good behavior. 
 
 On Friday, at twelve o'clock, the monitors 
 make out their reports for the week. The 
 teacher then tabulates the results. The marks 
 for Friday afternoon are counted in the week 
 following;. 
 

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Class Discipline. 53 
 
 Before wc go any further with the debit and 
 credit record it is necessary to turn to the 
 diagram headed. Sections — March 18, 1899. 
 Such a paper is ruled each Friday at noon. It 
 classifies your pupils into three grades on the 
 basis of merit. It leaves almost no chance for 
 biased judgment. It is an automatic method 
 of finding out who is entitled to go home at two 
 o'clock.* Because it is based on merit, it appeals 
 to the child's sense of justice. If pupils have 
 to remain until three they do not blame you, 
 because 3-ou did not make the classification. 
 They did it themselves by their conduct and les- 
 sons. 
 
 First you find all the names of pupils whose 
 debits exceed their credits. These names you 
 write in the column headed " 3." This is your 
 third section for the week. No boy on that list 
 can have any privileges. No one can be a 
 monitor. In the same column you write the 
 name of every pupil who has been absent, tardy, 
 or late, no matter what the excuse may have 
 been. 
 
 The rest of the boys belong either to the first 
 or the second section. You then take your 
 record of lessons for the week. If these are upon 
 
 *The board of education of New York for many years 
 had a by-law which permitted teachers to dismiss "merito- 
 rious " pupils an hour before the rest on Friday afternoon. 
 
54 Class Discipline. 
 
 the whole satisfactory to you the name goes into 
 the first column. If they are not satisfactory, 
 or if a boy owes a home lesson, his name goes 
 into the second column. A cross will indicate 
 which pupils in the second section have, in your 
 judgment, done as well as they could. These 
 may go with the first section at two p. m. This 
 section sheet, together with the system of debits 
 and credits upon which it is based, is a very 
 effectual means, if conscientiously employed, in 
 the control of a class. 
 
 Other Uses of the Section Plan. 
 
 If the rules of the board of education or of 
 the superintendent do not permit the dismissal of 
 meritorious pupils an hour before the rest on 
 Friday, other privileges may be employed to re- 
 ward the members of the first section. There is 
 usually some unassigned time which may be em- 
 ployed at the discretion of the teacher. The last 
 hour on Friday is appropriate for general exer- 
 cises, which may take a great variety of forms. 
 One teacher known to the writer allows the first 
 and second sections to take turns in providing a 
 little entertainment each week. The exercises 
 consist of readings, recitations, book reviews, 
 stories, music, games, etc. The third section 
 meanwhile are employed in doing work which they 
 neglected during the week. 
 
 The objection sometimes urged against this 
 
Class Discipline. 55 
 
 plan, that it makes invidious distinctions and hu- 
 miliates some while exalting- others, is invalid be- 
 cause in any case the teacher is obliged to sift his 
 pupils before he can decide which are " merit- 
 orious " and entitled to be rated A or B at the end 
 of the month. It is far better to employ a system 
 which children can understand and the justice of 
 which they can appreciate, than to sift a class by 
 a mere arbitrary exercise of power. 
 
 The Star Sheet. 
 Another device, which is very effective in prim- 
 ary grades, is the use of little paper stars. The 
 names of all the children are written on a large 
 sheet, which is hung on the wall of the room. For 
 different forms of well-doing, children have stars 
 pasted on sheets opposite their names. A gold 
 star may mean excellence in conduct, a red star 
 excellence in writing, a green star success in 
 spelling, and so forth. The principal and super- 
 intendent can help to make this device effective by 
 showing constant interest in the number of stars 
 found after the several names on the sheet. 
 
 Atmosphere. 
 Some painters are known by the atmosphere 
 of their pictures. You would at once pick out 
 one of Millet's masterpieces by the indefinable 
 haze through which things are seen. The teacher 
 creates in the class-room, by his presence and 
 
56 Class Discipline. 
 
 conduct, a moral atmosphere. What should be the 
 nature of this atmosphere? 
 
 One element is warmth. Children, like plants, 
 must have an abundance of sunshine. Their 
 souls bloom only in a warm atmosphere. A 
 teacher who is habitually " cross " is like a biting 
 frost : she may subdue, but has no power to de- 
 velop. Let every teacher take the moral tem- 
 perature of her room and see if the conditions are 
 favorable for a kinder- garten (child garden). 
 Discipline of the right sort is impossible without 
 class-sunshine. One must be strict, but seldom 
 angry ; firm, but not gloomy ; sometimes severe, 
 but always cheerful. Especially on dark and 
 stormy days must a teacher make an effort to be 
 buoyant. On very warm days in summer a sim- 
 ilar effort is needed to keep a teacher's temper 
 sweet and calm. So sensitive are people to clim- 
 atic conditions that principals expect unusual 
 disorders on certain disagreeable days. This 
 would not be the case if teachers practiced a little 
 philosophy and fortified themselves against the 
 trials of these known conditions. 
 
 But this negative method of making sunshine 
 by inhibiting anger and controlling irritability 
 is not the only one. A positive method is a tem- 
 perate and wise use of humor. " A hearty laugh 
 does more to harmonize discordant notes of school 
 life than all the severe discipline." If a teacher 
 
Class Discipline. 57 
 
 laughs heartily it is easy for children to believe 
 her to be sympathetic and kind. Humor is to a 
 class what oil is to machinery ; it reduces fric- 
 tion. A normal class-room makes provision for 
 the fun-loving instinct of children. 
 
 Mr. John Adams,* in a most interesting and 
 valuable chapter, discusses humor under the title 
 of " A Neglected Educational Organon." The 
 entire volume of Mr. Adams is a capital illustra- 
 tion of the value of humor to the schoolmaster. 
 Herbartianism, as usually treated by its disciples, 
 is about as solemn as a funeral sermon. As pre- 
 sented by Mr. Adams, it reminds one of the 
 " Autocrat of the Breakfast Table," for it takes 
 the form of sprightly- discourse illuminated by 
 frequent flashes of wit and humor. 
 
 Mr. Adams introduces his discussion of the 
 
 " Neglected Organon " by quoting a well-known 
 
 London educator, who says : " All that a teacher 
 
 requires is a knowledge of his subject, and a 
 
 sense of humor." Then he quotes Goldsmith's 
 
 couplet — 
 
 " Full oft they laughed with counterfeited glee 
 At all his jokes, for many a joke had he." 
 
 This leads to the inquiry why the school- 
 master's jokes are so thin and coarse that chil- 
 dren laugh with " counterfeited glee." It is 
 
 *"The Herbartian Psychology Applied to Education," 
 by John Adams, Boston.' D. C.' Heath & Co., 18fl8. 
 
58 Class Discipline. 
 
 not our purpose here to discuss the causes; but 
 as a candid observer we must aq/nit and deplore 
 the fact that teachers' jokes are often thin and 
 coarse. As Mr. Adams says, " It is better to 
 laugh at a bad joke than to cry over a good 
 multiplication table' ' ;but there is nothing in the 
 nature of things that requires a school-room joke 
 to be bad. While we advise, therefore, the free 
 use of humor, we exhort teachers to watch the 
 quality of their jokes. Above all, beware of the 
 temptation to be sarcastic. Sarcasm is wit with 
 a sting in it ; and while it has the form of humor, 
 its essence is distinctly savage. The humor that 
 warms the atmosphere of a class-room is genial 
 and kind and pure. Many a tendency to dis- 
 order can be checked by creating a ripple of 
 laughter. The teacher's temper will keep much 
 sweeter under provocation if she keeps herself 
 ready to have a little fun now and then ; the ten- 
 sion of her nerves is greatly relieved by an occa- 
 sional laugh. Do not simulate hilarity by keep- 
 ing on your face a stage smile; but let there be 
 sincerity and heartiness in your fun as well as in 
 your serious work. 
 
 A Catechism of Discipline. 
 
 No one can become a good disciplinarian by 
 
 reading books or hearing lectures. Nevertheless, 
 
 books and lectures have their proper uses. An 
 
 effort has been made in the preceding pages to 
 
Class Discipline. 59 
 
 define and analyze certain elements which good 
 discipline always contains and to indicate some 
 devices which have been successfully employed 
 D V good disciplinarians. The first step in learn- 
 ing the art of government consists in the recog- 
 nition by the teacher that the disorder which he 
 attributes to the depravity of the children is in 
 most cases due to his own lack of skill. He must 
 learn to trace wholesale disorder to a defect in 
 himself — a defect of method, or of manner, or 
 of character. A large majority of the children 
 in any school will behave well if they are properly 
 handled. 
 
 Let the poor disciplinarian begin his improve- 
 ment b} r a searching self-examination. The fol- 
 lowing catchism may serve as a guide in this 
 test: 
 
 1. Do I know the difference between order and 
 discipline? What have I done to make my order 
 the effect of my discipline? 
 
 2. Have I developed a class-spirit? Has my 
 room any individuality that attracts my pupils? 
 
 3. Do I render to my superiors the obedience 
 which I exact from my pupils? 
 
 4. Am I just? Have I ever been capricious? 
 Have I punished children because I was angry? 
 Have I ever been guilty of inflicting class punish- 
 ment ? 
 
 5. Have I relied upon myself as much as 
 
60 Class Discipline. 
 
 possible? Have I acquired the habit of threaten- 
 ing children with the principal? 
 
 6. Am I in the habit of detaining my class 
 after school? Does it pay? 
 
 7. Do I enjoy the solid respect of my pupils? 
 If not, why not? 
 
 8. Do I teach so faithfully and successfully 
 that every pupil must feel that it is worth his 
 while to come to school? 
 
 9. What have I done to encourage children? 
 Have I ever encouraged my bad boys? Do I 
 recognize and reward fidelity as well as success? 
 
 10. Have I an honor class? What happens 
 when my back is turned or when I am out of my 
 room ? 
 
 11. Do I allow "tattling"? 
 
 12. Am I deficient in executive ability? Am 
 I on time with my records? Is my closet in 
 order ? 
 
 13. Am I drilling my children enough in their 
 studies ? 
 
 14. What is the tone of my class? What have 
 I done to improve it? 
 
 15. Are my punishments kind, fair, without 
 revenge, and approved by the public opinion of 
 the class? 
 
 16. Have I carefully studied and graded pun- 
 ishments? Do I realize that it is not the severity 
 
Class Discipline. 61 
 
 so much as the certainty of punishment that pre- 
 vents offenses? 
 
 IT. Do I have a cheerful atmosphere in my 
 room? Do I scold or lose my temper? Am I 
 glum most of the time? Have I employed suffi- 
 ciently the sense of humor? 
 
 18. If I joke, are my jokes coarse or refined? 
 Genial or harsh? Am I habitually sarcastic? 
 
 19. Is my class-room as pleasant as I can 
 make it? What can I do to make my personal- 
 ity more winning? 
 
 20. To what extent is my class self-govern- 
 ing? 
 
ID. 
 
 Corporal Punishment. 
 
 The Spirit of the Preceding Discussion. 
 If you have followed the discussion attentively 
 thus far, you must have noticed that emphasis 
 was laid upon the self-control of the teacher 
 which is to be exhibited in a just and humane 
 treatment of children, in a quiet and dignified 
 bearing before the class, in mellow tones of voice, 
 gentle manners, and an air of repose signifying 
 reserved power. The ideal held up throughout 
 was an appeal to the personal influence of the 
 teacher rather than to the authority of her posi- 
 tion. She is to govern by force of character, by 
 inspiring respect and reverence, by suggestion, 
 by the public opinion of the class ; and she is 
 advised to reserve an appeal to the principal as 
 the very last resort. Moreover, if she is the kind 
 of teacher I should want for my own children, 
 she will constantly preach the doctrine of peace 
 
Class Discipline, 63 
 
 and good-will. She will make much of kindness 
 
 to animals; she will try to arouse in children a 
 love of life; and will endeavor to create the feel- 
 ing that it is better to cherish and preserve life 
 than to destroy it. A fly even is not to be killed 
 merely for amusement. The abuse of a homeless 
 cat on the street is to be unthinkable in my ideal 
 teacher's class ; and a boy in such a class would 
 as soon aim his bean-flipper at his sister's head 
 as at a harmless robin. The class-room is to be 
 full of the spirit of the home. There is to be 
 kindness, mutual forbearance and cooperation, 
 and an atmosphere of cheer. The place is to be 
 made as attractive as possible, so that the children 
 may become thoroughly attached to it. Every- 
 thing is to be pure, inspiring, uplifting ; and the 
 teacher's heart is to be the fountain of all this 
 cheer and holy influence. Nor is this a mere 
 dream. I can take you to a hundred class-rooms 
 which exhibit all the characteristics described 
 above ; and in such a class corporal punishment 
 can not possibly be employed as a means of disci- 
 pline. Its use would instantly destroy the moral 
 atmosphere of the room, and substitute the fear 
 of physical pain for the moral and spiritual re- 
 straint imposed by subtle suggestion, by respect 
 for character, and by the exaltation of justice, 
 kindness, and self-control. 
 
64 Class Discipline. 
 
 Corporal Punishment a Relic of Barbarism. 
 Time was when England had several hundred 
 offenses punishable by death. We have reduced 
 the number to two, — murder and treason. There 
 was a time within my own recollection when the 
 rod was the most conspicuous feature of the class- 
 room. My early teachers in rural Pennsylvania 
 had each a large collection of switches in a corner 
 of the room. These varied in length and thick- 
 ness to suit the age and character of the offender. 
 Little folks were punished with little whips; 
 while the big boys on the back seats were whaled 
 with hickory sticks six or eight feet in length. 
 It is often argued that the knowledge that cor- 
 poral punishment may be inflicted is enough to 
 terrify the unruly, and so its use is seldom 
 necessary. Experience proves, on the contrary, 
 that the more severe and frequent is corporal 
 punishment, the more hardened and reckless is 
 the sinner who endures it, It is notorious that 
 many of the most disorderly children in school 
 are the very ones who are beaten most unmerci- 
 fully at home. A rod in the hands of a teacher 
 has no terror for such children. A kind word, a 
 belief in your fairness and kindness and efficiency, 
 will do far more than violence to reclaim these. 
 In view of what has been done in the direction 
 of humane school government it seems incredible 
 that any intelligent teacher should advocate a 
 
Class Discipline. <;"> 
 
 return to the barbarous methods now happily so 
 largely abolished. It is absurd to say that a 
 school can not be well governed without the rod, 
 for the thing has been done in thousands of 
 schools. Government by the infliction of bodily 
 pain is crude and clumsy, whereas government by 
 gentler means is a fine art. He Avho advocates 
 corporal punishment simply confesses that he 
 has not yet acquired the art of control. In place 
 of skill he would employ brute force. The prop- 
 osition is repugnant to the sentiment of human- 
 ity. Let who will control a school that way. 
 As for me, if I had unlimited authority to em- 
 ploy the rod, I should frankly announce from 
 the desk to the assembled children that I intended 
 never to lay violent hands upon any of them, no 
 matter what the provocation might be. 
 
 Firmness without Anger or Cruelty. 
 A teacher known to the writer once visited a 
 certain model school in New York — a school 
 which is supposed to exhibit correct methods of 
 teaching and discipline — and, in the written re- 
 port of her observations, she naively commented 
 upon the order of the children in these words : 
 " There was more spontaneity in the children's 
 conduct than we find in the public schools. For 
 instance, some children were playing hide-and- 
 seek during the geography lesson. Of course, 
 
66 Class Discipline. 
 
 we could not allow quite so much freedom in our 
 schools." 
 
 I desire to make it very plain that I am no 
 friend of that kind of " spontaneity." On the 
 contrary, I believe in strict discipline. I believe 
 that when an order is given every child should 
 obey it. I believe that the habits of children 
 should be carefully looked after — habits of pos- 
 ture, of language, of silence, of attention, of 
 obedience, of cleanliness, etc. In many subjects, 
 like penmanship, drawing, and music, fifty per 
 cent, of the success or failure in the teaching is a 
 mere matter of discipline. If children have 
 slovenly habits, if they have not been carefully 
 trained to obey directions, the teacher's efforts 
 are largely wasted. 
 
 Standard of Discipline To Be Established and 
 Maintained by Principal. 
 
 The standard of discipline must be estab- 
 lished and maintained by the principal. If 
 he is indifferent or inefficient in this matter, the 
 individual teacher labors in vain to improve the 
 school. She may, by special exertion, maintain 
 good discipline in her own class ; but she must 
 expend far more of nervous energy than would 
 be required if the atmosphere of the whole school 
 were for her rather than against her. Many 
 principals who complain of the disorder and im- 
 pertinence of children, and lay the cause to the 
 
Class Discipline. 07 
 
 banishment of the rod, arc themselves responsible 
 for the conditions which they deplore. It may 
 be safely asserted that a principal who can not 
 discipline a school -without corporal punishment, 
 could not do so successfully with corporal punish- 
 ment. Eternal vigilance is the price of a well- 
 governed school. Self-direction is to be the 
 watchword; but, while children are allowed to 
 govern themselves, an efficient principal makes 
 the detection and punishment of infractions of 
 rules absolutely certain. He must hold himself 
 responsible for the proper behavior of children in 
 ever}* class. If there is gross disorder anywhere, 
 it is a reflection upon him ; for if any teacher is 
 unable to control the children, the principal must 
 do it for her. The head of the school must see 
 that every part of it is under the subjection of 
 his authority. 
 
 The class teacher, too, must be strict. One 
 can be firm without being angry. One can 
 say plain things without scolding. One can 
 command obedience without thrashing children. 
 One can be consistent and persistent without be- 
 ing cruel. Even in a kindergarten and a vaca- 
 tion school there must be control. There is a 
 great difference between freedom which children 
 take because the teacher is too weak to prevent it, 
 and freedom which a teacher grants because she 
 is so strong that she can afford to do so. An ex- 
 
68 Class Discipline. 
 
 perienced school officer will instantly detect the 
 difference between the two. Freedom which is 
 taken by children is bad everywhere, even in the 
 kindergarten ; and freedom which is granted 
 must never go to the point of interfering with 
 the effective work of the class. 
 
 Substitutes for Corporal Punishment. 
 According to the views here advocated, cor- 
 poral punishment should be strictly prohibited. 
 Neither the class teacher, nor the principal, nor 
 aiiy other representative of the school system 
 should be permitted to lay violent hands upon a 
 child. This rule being in force, it becomes neces- 
 sary for every teacher to set up, from the begin- 
 ning of her career in a school-room, the ideal of 
 discipline which relies upon spiritual forces for 
 control. The principal will be obliged to assume 
 the responsibility of her training ; which he can 
 accomplish by precept and example, in the case 
 of the average novice, in the course of two or 
 three years. By " precept " we mean that the 
 principal is to indoctrinate his teachers with 
 correct principles of government, and is to sug- 
 gest to them a variety of devices whereby good 
 order may be maintained. Every new teacher 
 is entitled to this help from her principal. By 
 " example " we mean that a principal is to be a 
 model of rational discipline and self-control. If 
 he himself shouts and scolds and loses his tern- 
 
Class Discipline. (><) 
 
 per and occasionally strikes children, he never 
 can expect the right kind of discipline in his 
 school. It is possible that sonic of the principals 
 who are clamoring for the return of the rod arc 
 guilty of some or all of these vices ; and the de- 
 fects of discipline which they attribute to lack 
 of authority are really due to frailties of their 
 own characters. 
 
 It is inevitable, of course, that there will be oc- 
 casional cases of defiance of school authority. 
 These must be provided for, because no govern- 
 ment can tolerate open defiance. Rebellion must 
 be put down at all hazards. Even corporal 
 punishment is no guarantee that the spirit of re- 
 bellion will not thrive ; for in the days of govern- 
 ment by the rod, it was customary for the big 
 boys to conspire and give the teacher a sound 
 thrashing when they thought he needed it. 
 Where corporal punishment is prohibited, the 
 following graded list of means is suggested for 
 dealing with incorrigible pupils : 
 
 (a) Notify the Parent. — When the teacher has 
 exhausted her resources, she calls upon the prin- 
 cipal. In such a case, however, the parents 
 should be notified of the trouble, by mail or 
 otherwise, and their cooperation should be re- 
 quested. The writer's experience is that seventy- 
 five per cent, of children reported to the prin- 
 
70 Class Discipline. 
 
 cipal never come a second time. One visit to the 
 office is enough to effect a cure. 
 
 (b) Send for Parent. — The authority to 
 send for parents should be conferred upon the 
 principal, never upon the teacher. Business 
 system requires that all communications to 
 parents should emanate from the principal. 
 He is the responsible head of the institution, 
 and hence it is necessary for him to have 
 personal knowledge of every transaction be- 
 tween the school and the homes. The rules 
 of the board of education should give the prin- 
 cipal authority to require parents to visit him 
 when their children are disobedient. Such a 
 visit in the majority of cases is sufficient to bring 
 about a reformation of the pupil ; because a 
 father who is compelled to lose a half day's pay 
 in order to straighten out the tangles of his boy 
 in school is likely to take some pains to prevent 
 the necessity of a second interview with the prin- 
 cipal. Here is where corporal punishment is likely 
 to begin ; and here is where it rightfully belongs. 
 If a parent thinks his child's education can be en- 
 hanced by the method of cutaneous irritation, let 
 him take the responsibility. 
 
 (c) Suspend the Pupil. — In every school 
 system there is lodged somewhere the power to 
 suspend incorrigible pupils. The power of sum- 
 mary dismissal should be given to the principal. 
 
Class Discipline. 71 
 
 After this there should be provided a formal trial 
 before the superintendent. He should have the 
 power, and in the State of New York it is his 
 duty, to commit such pupils to a truant school 
 or a similar institution during suspension. If 
 this power is rigorously exercised in all proper 
 cases, the last argument in favor of corporal 
 punishment disappears. In the City of New 
 York the principals and the superintendent have 
 precisely the powers here suggested ; and in the 
 Boroughs of Manhattan and the Bronx in that 
 city the schools have been successfully governed 
 for a generation without corporal punishment. 
 In Brooklyn corporal punishment was permitted 
 until the final consolidation of the school systems 
 under a central board of education in 1902, 
 when the Manhattan rule was extended to all 
 boroughs. 
 
 A Report on Corporal Punishment. 
 
 Many teachers and principals in New York 
 believe the rod should be restored to the school- 
 room. In the spring of 1903 a committee of 
 the Male Principals' Association, of Manhattan 
 Borough, made the following report:* 
 
 " 1. We are in accord with the general spirit 
 
 *It is proper to remark that up to the time of this writ- 
 ing the Male Principals' Association has taken no action 
 on this report, except to receive it at the hands of its 
 committee. 
 
72 Class Discipline. 
 
 of the laws governing punishments of refrac- 
 tory pupils ; at the same time we must confess 
 that there are children in our public shools upon 
 whom the prevailing method of discipline has 
 not the corrective influence it is intended to have. 
 2. We feel justified in recommending for 
 these pupils sterner measures, for the following 
 reasons : 
 
 (a) Every child, no matter how perverse he 
 is, has the right to demand of us, as the chief 
 element of his future welfare, that we train him 
 to a wholesome respect for law. Training im- 
 plies power to enforce obedience. 
 
 (b) The child's right is our duty, from which 
 we are not absolved by the mere plea of senti- 
 ment. 
 
 It is unjust repeatedly to subject the well- 
 behaved children to the contaminating influence 
 of one or two of their class-mates, for each act 
 of disobedience or of unseemly behavior leaves 
 its impress upon the minds and characters of the 
 youthful observers of it. The unruly children 
 of the class, taking advantage of the limitations 
 upon the powers of the teachers, waste the time 
 of other pupils, make class management a dif- 
 ficult task, and in many instances conduct them- 
 selves toward teachers in a manner that would 
 not be tolerated outside of a public school 
 building. 
 
Class Discipline. 73 
 
 We would, therefore, respectfully recommend 
 that any pupil who, upon trial by the proper 
 authorities, is adjudged unamenable to the pre- 
 vailing method of discipline, shall thereafter be 
 deemed subject to corporal punishment, to be 
 administered by the principal or by some teacher 
 designated by him." 
 
 In concluding this chapter I take the liberty 
 of suggesting the following amended version of 
 the above report. New matter is printed in 
 italics. The report as amended carries out the 
 spirit of the discipline recommended in this little 
 book, and at the same time is in complete accord 
 with the provisions of law now in force in the 
 City and State of New York : 
 
 The Report with Suggested Amendments. 
 
 1. We are in accord with the general spirit 
 of the laws governing punishments of refractory 
 pupils ; at the same time we must confess that 
 there are children in our public schools upon 
 whom the prevailing method of discipline has 
 not the corrective influence it is intended to have, 
 either because the principal is inefficient, or 
 because he has not availed himself of the author- 
 ity conferred upon him by the lares as they exist. 
 
 2. For reasons which follow, we feel justified in 
 recommending for these pupils a fearless ap- 
 plication of the sterner measures provided by the 
 
74 Class Discipline. 
 
 rule which authorizes the summary suspension 
 of incorrigible children by the principal. 
 
 (a) Every child, no matter how perverse he 
 is, has the right to demand of us that we train 
 him to a wholesome respect for law. Training 
 implies power to enforce obedience. A princi- 
 pal, therefore, who permits an incorrigible pupil 
 to remain in the class and school is unjust to his 
 teachers and derelict in his duty toward the of- 
 fender, besides being guilty of violating the 
 by-laws of the board of education. 
 
 (b) The child's right is our duty, from which 
 we are not absolved by the fear that his suspen- 
 sion may in some way count against our records, 
 or that the district superintendent may not sus- 
 tain our action. If we have a good case and all 
 the evidence is in proper form, public opinion 
 will sustain us in spite of the district super- 
 intendent. 
 
 It is unjust repeatedly to subject the well- 
 behaved children to the contaminating influence 
 of one or two of their classmates, for each act of 
 disobedience or of unseemly behavior leaves its 
 impress upon the minds and characters of the 
 youthful observers of it. The unruly children 
 of the class, taking advantage of the incompe- 
 tence of the teacher (for every school has its 
 share of beginners) or the timidity or careless- 
 ness of the principal, waste the time of other 
 
Class Discipline. 75 
 
 pupils, make class managemenl a difficult task, 
 and in many instances conduct themselves 
 toward teachers in a manner that would not be 
 tolerated outside of a public school building. 
 
 We would, therefore, rcspectfulty recommend 
 that am T pupil who, upon trial by the proper 
 authorities, is adjudged unamenable to the pre- 
 vailing method of discipline, shall hereafter be 
 promptly suspended by the principal in order 
 that the city superintendent may commit such 
 pupil to the truant school or similar institution, 
 in accordance with the provisions of existing 
 statutes and by-laws. 
 
IDi 
 
 Methods of 
 Teaching Self- Government. 
 
 Class Organization. 
 
 In the preceding chapters it is insisted on that 
 the basis of school government is justice and the 
 end of it is self-direction and self-control. Physi- 
 cal force is never to be used, and authority 
 only when influence fails. Self-government, how- 
 ever, is not attained in a day. It is a matter of 
 progressive development and the result of system- 
 atic training. In the lower grades there will be 
 relatively little, because the children lack both 
 the knowledge and the training necessary to gov- 
 ern themselves. But even in the lowest grades 
 the ideal of self-direction must be set up, and 
 all the discipline is to look toward this great 
 end. As the pupil advances in knowledge he 
 should also progress in moral freedom, and in 
 the highest grades his emancipation from outside 
 control should be relatively complete. 
 
 Many devices which have been found useful 
 
 76 
 
Class Discipline. 77 
 
 in attaining this desirable result have already 
 
 boon suggested. There remains one which in the 
 writer's experience has boon more effective in 
 teaching self-government than any other. This 
 is an organization of the class under the rules and 
 forms of parliamentary procedure. 
 The Spellbinders. 
 
 For a number of years the successive graduat- 
 ing classes taught by myself in a public school of 
 Now York, wore organized as "The Spellbind- 
 ers," a title suggested by the political orators who 
 stumped the State of New York in the fall of 
 1894. This class organization had a president, 
 a vice-president, a secretary, a treasurer, and an 
 editor. The term of office was for two regular 
 meetings ; that is, for two weeks. This afforded 
 an opportunity for constant rotation in office. 
 About twenty bo} T s had a chance to serve as pres- 
 ident during the year. The teacher was simply 
 an ordinaiy member of the society. He had no 
 greater privileges than any one else, except that 
 he usurped the office of prompter. He insisted 
 upon a strict observance of all the parliament- 
 ary forms. The president was drilled until he 
 could call the meeting to order, put a motion, and 
 conduct business generally in language which 
 was not only grammatical, but was in accordance 
 with the correct usage of popular assemblies. 
 
 The treasury seems like a useless office, when 
 
78 Class Discipline. 
 
 it is recalled that the collection of money in a 
 New York public school is forbidden by the 
 board of education. Nevertheless, we found 
 a way of getting money which did not violate 
 the by-laws and was very effective in promoting 
 the efficiency of the organization. A rule was 
 adopted under which a member was fined one 
 cent for not wearing his society badge (a bow of 
 blue and white ribbon) during meetings, two 
 cents for failing to return his library book on 
 time, and five cents for neglecting a duty as- 
 signed to him on the program of any meeting. 
 These fines stimulated the members to perform 
 their duties, and at the same time gave us a 
 little fund to purchase ribbon for class badges, 
 books for the library, and occasionally ice cream 
 and lemonade. Candor compels me to say that 
 the teacher was fined about twice a month for 
 neglecting to wear his badge. It may be re- 
 marked incidentally that at that time class 
 libraries had not been officially established in New 
 York, and the teachers who had them secured, by 
 one means or another, their own books. In the 
 present instance the books had been contributed 
 by children, parents, and teacher, or purchased 
 out of the treasury. The library was a part of 
 the society organization, and the librarian was 
 elected by the members. He and the treasurer 
 were the only officers who held their positions 
 during good behavior. 
 
Class Discipline. 79 
 
 The editor prepared a manuscript paper which 
 he read at the meetings. Four contributors were 
 named for each issue. These were obliged to as- 
 sist the editor by furnishing original contribu- 
 tions. Every article, before it went into the 
 paper, had to be submitted to the teacher for 
 correction. All editorials and the paper as a 
 whole were submitted by the editor before he 
 read the same. As a device for developing in- 
 terest in composition the Spellbinder's Weekly 
 was highly successful. The paper was thoroughly 
 enjoyed by all, and every contributor had a mo- 
 tive for doing his best. Between serious articles 
 there usually were sandwiched original jokes 
 made at the expense of the members. In this 
 game of jokes the teacher enjoyed no immunity ; 
 and he usually turned contributor himself, some- 
 times taking occasion to hit off in a jolly little 
 paragraph the follies and foibles of the boys. 
 
 The secretary was obliged to write out his 
 minutes very carefully and completely, and after 
 correction by the teacher, to write them into the 
 minute book. Nine volumes of such minutes, 
 containing the doings of successive " Spellbind- 
 ers " during five years, are among the priceless 
 possessions of the writer. 
 
 During the meetings the order was entirely in 
 the hands of the president, assisted by a com- 
 mittee on order consisting of one person. 
 
80 Class Discipline. 
 
 The effect of this organization upon the 
 " Spellbinders " was very remarkable. It resulted 
 in revolutionizing the discipline of the class, put- 
 ting it on a basis of honor, and substituting 
 self-government for authority. Incidentally, 
 it furnished the teacher a philosophy of discipline 
 which he afterwards applied to the government 
 of an entire school with the happiest results. 
 
 There are many other forms of class organ- 
 ization that might be described, such as "the 
 school city," for instance; but in conformity 
 with the plan of this book, it is thought best to 
 present in detail one form, rather than vaguely 
 the features of many. 
 
 Below will be found a complete copy of the 
 constitution under which the class organization 
 here described was effected: 
 
 Constitution, By-Laws, and Rules of Order. 
 
 Article I. — Name. 
 This Association shall be known as " The Spellbinders." 
 
 Article II. — Object. 
 The object of this Society shall be general culture 
 and improvement in the art of public speaking. 
 Article III. — Membership. 
 All members of any class taught by Joseph S. Taylor 
 (together with the teacher of the same) are members 
 of the Spellbinders; but any member guilty of improper 
 conduct may be reproved, suspended, or expelled by a 
 two thirds vote of the members present at any regular 
 meeting. 
 
Class Discipline. 81 
 
 Article IV. — Officers. 
 
 The officers of this Society shall consist of a President, 
 Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Editor, and 
 Librarian. These officers shall perform the duties usually 
 pertaining to their respective offices. No person shall 
 hold two offices at the same time; and no person shall 
 be eligible to the same office twice in succession, except 
 the Treasurer and Librarian, who shall hold office until 
 their successors are elected. All officers except the 
 Treasurer and Librarian shall hold office for a term of 
 two regular meetings. 
 
 Article V. — Committees. 
 
 The following Committees shall be appointed by the 
 President to serve during one term of office: — 
 
 1. Committee on Arrangements, consisting of one 
 person, who shall have charge of the Society's property 
 and shall prepare the room for the meetings of the 
 Society. 
 
 2. Committee on Order, consisting of one person, who 
 shall assist the President in maintaining order. 
 
 3. A Programme Committee, consisting of three per- 
 sons. It shall be the duty of this Committee to submit 
 at each regular meeting a programme of exercises for 
 the meeting next following. 
 
 4. A Nominating Committee, consisting of three mem- 
 bers, whose duty it shall be to submit, at every alternate 
 regular meeting, a list of nominations for the offices 
 to be filled. It shall be their duty also to act as tellers 
 of election, and to provide the members with blanks for 
 ballots. 
 
 Article VI. — Meetings. 
 The regular meetings of this Society shall be held on 
 Friday afternoons, beginning and closing at such hours 
 as the Society may agree upon. The President shall 
 call a special meeting when, in his judgment, it is 
 necessary, or when requested in writing by five members. 
 A majority of all the members shall constitute a quorum 
 at all meetings. 
 
82 Class Discipline. 
 
 Article VII. — Order of Exercises. 
 The exercises of this Society shall be as follows: — 
 
 1. Calling to Order. 
 
 2. Reading of Minutes. 
 
 3. Reports of Officers or Special Committees. 
 
 4. Election of Officers. 
 
 1. Report of Nominating Committee. 
 
 2. Other Nominations (if any). 
 
 3. Balloting. 
 
 5. Miscellaneous Business. 
 
 1. Appointment of Committees. 
 
 2. Etc., etc. 
 
 6. Inaugural Address (Not more than 5 minutes in 
 
 length). 
 
 7. Debate (Every alternate meeting). 
 
 9' Esta-"" 1 QU6Sti0n " I When there is 
 
 c ^' T no Debate. 
 
 10. Recitation or Reading. ) 
 
 11. Decision of the House on the Merits of the Argu- 
 
 ments Produced. 
 
 12. General Debate. 
 
 13. Reading of Spellbinders' Weekly. 
 
 14. New Business. 
 
 Report of Programme Committee. 
 
 2. Report of Tellers. 
 
 3. Etc., etc., etc. 
 
 15. Adjournment. 
 
 Article VIII. — Debate. 
 
 Four persons shall be appointed by the Programme 
 Committee to speak in regular debate, two on each side 
 of the question; and these speakers, together with the 
 Referee of a question, the Essayist, Reciter, or Reader, 
 shall be limited to five minutes each. No person shall 
 speak more than once in General Debate, nor longer 
 than two minutes. 
 
 Article IX. — The Paper. 
 
 The paper of this Society shall be called " The Spell- 
 
Class Discipline. 83 
 
 hinder*' Weekly." It shall be edited and read by the 
 Editor; and it shall be the duty of the Programme 
 
 Committee to appoint four persons as contributors to 
 the paper for the meeting immediately following such 
 appointment. 
 
 Article X. — Parliamentary Law. 
 
 All points of order not defined by the Constitution 
 and By-Laws shall be decided on the authority of 
 Cushing's Manual. 
 
 Article XI. — Suspension. 
 
 Any part of the Constitution, except Art. XII, may 
 be suspended for a single session by a vote of three- 
 fourths of the members present. 
 
 Article XII. — Amendment. 
 
 This Constitution and By-Laws may be amended as 
 follows: The proposed amendment shall be submitted 
 in writing, and can not be acted on at the same meeting 
 at which it is proposed. Three-fourths of all the mem- 
 bers must vote for the proposed amendment, and a 
 quorum for amendment shall consist of four-fifths of 
 all the members of the Society. 
 
 BY-LAWS. 
 Article I. — The Library. 
 
 Sec. 1. — Books may be taken out only on Friday or 
 the last school day of the week; but they may be re- 
 turned on any day of the week. 
 
 Sec 2. — No books shall be kept out longer than two 
 school weeks. 
 
 Sec 3. — A member desiring a book shall write the 
 catalogue number of it upon a card and hand the same 
 to the Librarian on Thursday or the day preceding the 
 last school clay of the week. If several members call 
 for the same book, the member whose card is first re- 
 ceived shall be entitled to the book. 
 
 Sec 4. — Xo member shall mark or in any manner 
 injure a book. And it shall be the Librarian's duty to 
 
84 Class Discipline. 
 
 examine carefully each book when it is returned and 
 to report all violations of these By-Laws. A member 
 found guilty shall forfeit the privileges of the Library. 
 
 RULES OF ORDER. 
 The following Rules have been prepared chiefly from 
 Cushing's " Rules of Proceeding and Debate in De- 
 liberative Assemblies." The figures at the end of the 
 paragraphs refer to the sections in the Manual: 
 
 OFFICERS AND MEMBERS. 
 
 1. The President having taken the chair and called 
 the Society to order, the other officers shall, at his direc- 
 tion, take their respective seats. 
 
 2. The President shall restrain the members within 
 parliamentary usage (27). 
 
 3. The President shall have the preference to speak 
 on points of order, but should always give an opportun- 
 ity to any other member to express his opinions. 
 
 4. Any person addressing the Society or Chair shall 
 rise. 
 
 5. A member is not entitled to the floor until he has 
 addressed the Chair, and has been recognized by the 
 Chair (46). 
 
 6. If two or more members rise and address them- 
 selves to the Chair at the same time, or nearly so, he 
 should give the floor to the member whose voice he first 
 heard (47). 
 
 7. The person by whom a motion is made should be 
 entitled to the first speech (204). 
 
 8. If a member be misrepresented by a speaker, he 
 should be entitled to the floor to defend himself. 
 
 9. A member shall not be interrupted while speaking, 
 except to call him to order, to ask leave to explain, or 
 to state a matter of privilege. 
 
 10. A member digressing from the matter of the ques- 
 tion, or using improper language against the Society or 
 any member, shall be called to order (228). 
 
Class Discipline. 85 
 
 11. V member called to order shall take his seat until 
 
 the point is decided (unless lie is permitted to explain), 
 after which lie may continue his remarks if the Society 
 does not object. 
 
 APPEALS. 
 
 1?. If the decision of the Chair is not satisfactory, 
 an appeal may be made immediately after the decision 
 has been rendered by the President (154). 
 
 18. An appeal must be made in writing, signed by 
 three members (151). 
 
 14. The question is then stated by the President: 
 " Shall the decision of the Chair stand as Hie decision 
 of the Society?" After having been open for debate, 
 it is decided as any other question (154). 
 
 15. The President is allowed to take part in the debate, 
 either from the Chair, or by appointing a Chairman 
 pro tempore while he occupies the floor. 
 
 16. A motion to lay an appeal on the table is always 
 in order. 
 
 MOTION'S A> T D RESOLUTIONS. 
 
 17. "When a motion, made and seconded, has been 
 stated by the President, or caused by him to be read, 
 it is in the possession of the Society (56). 
 
 18. Before a motion is in the possession of the Society, 
 it is not in order for any other motion to be made, or 
 for any member to speak on it. 
 
 19. After a motion is in the possession of the Society, 
 it cannot be withdrawn by the mover, if objections are 
 made to the withdrawal, unless he obtains leave to do 
 so, by a motion made and seconded as in other cases 
 (56).' 
 
 20. Before a motion has been stated or read, it is 
 competent for the mover to withdraw or modify it with- 
 out any motion for the purpose (56). 
 
 21. "When a motion is regularly before the Society, 
 no other motion can be received unless it is privileged 
 (58). 
 
86 Class Discipline. 
 
 22. No motion can be made without rising and ad- 
 dressing the Chair, and being called to by the President 
 (200). 
 
 23. When a question has been decided, a motion to 
 reconsider it can not be made before some other motion 
 or business has intervened. 
 
 24. Motions to suppress a useless or inexpedient propo- 
 sition, are the previous question and indefinite postpone- 
 ment (60). 
 
 Motions to defer the consideration of a question are 
 j>ostponement to some future time, and to lie on the 
 table (60). 
 
 QUESTION OF ORDER. 
 
 25. A question of order may be raised by any member, 
 and is decided without discussion by the President, as 
 follows: " The point is well taken" or "The point is 
 not well taken," as the case may be. If his decision is 
 not satisfactory, however, any member may appeal from 
 it and have the question decided by the Society, subject 
 to the rules for appeal (154). 
 
 DEBATE. 
 
 26. No member shall interrupt another while speak- 
 ing, except in accordance with Rule No. 9. 
 
 27. No person in speaking shall be allowed to mention 
 a member then present by his name; but shall describe 
 him as the member who spoke last, or last but one, or 
 on the other side of the question, or by some other 
 equivalent expression. 
 
 28. No person shall digress from the matter of the 
 question under debate, to fall upon the person of an- 
 other, and to speak reviling, nipping, or unmannerly 
 words of or to him. 
 
 29. All motions, resolutions, etc., are debatable, ex- 
 cept : — 
 
 1. A motion to adjourn. 
 
 2. A motion to lie on the table. 
 
 3. A motion for the previous question. 
 
Class Discipline. NT 
 
 4. A motion to read a paper, pending a question. 
 
 ORDER AXD SUCCESSION OV QUESTION'S. 
 
 30. When a question is regularly before the Society 
 no other question can be put except, — 
 
 1st. Privileged Questions: 
 
 Motion to adjourn; 
 
 Question of privilege; 
 
 Motion for orders of the day. 
 2d. Incidental Questions: 
 
 Question of order; 
 
 Motion for the reading of papers; 
 
 Withdrawal of a motion; 
 
 Suspension of a rule; 
 
 Amendment of an amendment. 
 3d. Subsidiary Questions: 
 
 Motion to lie on the table; 
 
 Motion for previous question; 
 
 Postpone to a day certain; 
 
 Commitment ; 
 
 Amendment ; 
 
 Postpone indefiniteh'. 
 These motions are arranged in their order of pre- 
 cedence among themselves. 
 
 31. A motion to adjourn, unqualified, takes precedence 
 of all others, and is always in order, except, — 
 
 1st. When a member is speaking; 
 
 2d. When the. Society is voting; 
 
 3d. When no business has been transacted since 
 
 a motion to adjourn has been decided in 
 
 the negative. 
 
 32. When no other business is before the Society, a 
 motion to adjourn may be amended. When it supersedes 
 the pending question, it must simply be to " adjourn," 
 without any particular day added, and cannot be 
 amended (137). 
 
 33. A motion to adjourn except to a day certain, is 
 not debatable. 
 
88 Class Discipline. 
 
 34. A motion to lie on the table decided affirmatively, 
 removes the matter before the Society, until by a motion 
 and vote it be again taken up (173). 
 
 35. A motion to lie on the table cannot be amended 
 (170), nor can it be debated. 
 
 36. When a member moves the previous question, and 
 this is seconded, the Chair must immediately put the 
 question: "Shall the main question be noiv put?" A 
 negative decision suppresses the main question for the 
 day (64). If decided in the affirmative, the main ques- 
 tion is to be put immediately (65). 
 
 37. A motion for the previous question cannot be 
 amended (170), or debated. 
 
 38. A motion to postpone to a day certain may be 
 amended by substituting: one day for another (176). 
 
 39. A subject should be referred to a committee when 
 more careful consideration is required than can be given 
 in the Society. A subject may also be recommitted 
 (73). 
 
 40. A motion to commit or recommit may be amended 
 by substituting one committee for another, by altering 
 the number of members, or by instructions (181). 
 
 41. In form an amendment may be made by, — 
 
 1st. Inserting or adding certain words; 
 2d. Striking out certain words; 
 3d. Striking out certain words, and inserting or 
 adding others (94). 
 49. An amendment may be amended (96), but an 
 amendment to an amendment cannot be amended (97). 
 43. An amendment to an amendment must be decided 
 first (165). 
 
 44. A vote either adopting or rejecting an amend- 
 ment cannot afterward be altered (98), except to re- 
 consider (256). 
 
 45. A motion to postpone indefinitely may be amended 
 by making it to a day certain (176). A matter in- 
 definitely postponed cannot be renewed (67). 
 
Class Discipline. 89 
 
 TAKING THE QUESTION. 
 
 46. The President having stated the question, he puts 
 it in the affirmative, thus: "As main/ as arc of opinion 
 that [repeating the question] say Aye;" and then in the 
 
 negative, thus: "As many as arc of a (liferent opinion, 
 say No " (338). 
 
 +7. If the President is unable to decide the question 
 by his car. or if any member desires it, he shall direct 
 the Society to divide by rising, that the vote may be 
 counted (-41). 
 
 48. If the members are equally divided, it then be- 
 comes the duty of the President to give the casting vote; 
 in doing which he may jive his reasons (243). 
 
 YEAS AND NAYS. 
 
 49. Any vote may be decided by yeas and nays when 
 ordered by seven members. Every member present is 
 required to vote (244). 
 
 50. In order to take a question by yeas and nays both 
 sides are stated at once, as follows: "As many as are of 
 opinion that [stating the question] will, when their names 
 are called, answer Yes; and as many as are of a dif- 
 ferent opinion will, when their names are called, answer 
 Xo." 
 
 51. After the question has been thus put, the Secretary 
 shall call the roll, and each member, as his name is 
 called, shall rise and answer Yes or No (245). 
 
 52. When the vote has been taken, the Secretary shall 
 read over the list of names, first on the affirmative, 
 then on the negative, to afford an opportunity for cor- 
 recting any mistakes that may have been made in re- 
 cording the votes, after which he shall count the votes 
 and report the number to the President, who will then 
 declare the result to the Society (245). 
 
 53. During the progress of the vote, no motion is in 
 order, nor can the debate be renewed (247). 
 
 RECONSIDERATION. 
 
 54. Any motion may be reconsidered, provided the 
 
90 Class Discipline. 
 
 motion for reconsideration be made and seconded by 
 members who voted with the majority (257). 
 
 55. If the motion for reconsideration prevail, the 
 subject is again open for debate on the original motion, 
 in the same manner as if that motion had never been 
 passed (257). 
 
 COMMITTEES. 
 
 56. A Committee may be appointed to consider any 
 particular subject, to obtain information, or to perform 
 certain duties (261). 
 
 57. A Committee may be instructed by the Society at 
 the time of appointment, or while in the performance 
 of its duties, if necessary (262). 
 
 58. Standing Committees shall perform their duties 
 as designated in the Constitution and By-Laws of the 
 Society. 
 
 59. The number on a special Committee shall be deter- 
 mined by the President, or the members of the Society 
 (264). 
 
 60. The member first named by the President shall 
 act as Chairman, or the Committee shall elect its own 
 Chairman, unless he be designated by the mover of the 
 motion to appoint (273-274). 
 
 61. A Committee once discharged may be revived. 
 A Committee appointed for one purpose, may perforin 
 other duties of the same or a different character (269). 
 
 62. The Society may resolve itself into a Committee 
 of the Whole, on motion regularly made and carried for 
 the purpose. The President shall announce the result 
 of the vote, and designate some member to act as Chair- 
 man, or the Committee may, by regular motion, elect a 
 Chairman (297). 
 
 63. A Committee of the Whole shall observe the fol- 
 lowing rules: — 
 
 1 . The previous question cannot be moved by the 
 
 Committee (303). 
 
 2. The Committee cannot adjourn (304). 
 
Class Discipline. 91 
 
 3. It cannot refer any matter to another Com- 
 mittee (306). 
 •1. Every member may speak as often as he can 
 
 obtain the floor (305). 
 5. The President may take part in the debate and 
 proceedings (307 ) . 
 G-t. To dissolve a Committee of the Whole, a motion 
 that the Committee rise, must be made and seconded, 
 which being carried, the President of the Society shall 
 resume his seat (310). 
 
 65. A Committee of the Whole shall report through 
 its Chairman, or some other members, to the Society, at 
 any time fixed by the Society. 
 
 Joseph S. Taylor, 
 Henry J. Clixch, 
 Joseph T. O'Brien, 
 
 Committee on Constitution. 
 
iwi. 
 
 Class Room Decoration. 
 
 Why We Decorate. 
 
 (a) There is, first, the desire to adorn the 
 school-room. All normal persons love the beauti- 
 ful. Children feel more at home in a room that 
 is tastefully decorated than they do in one whose 
 aspect is plain or ugly. Superintendent Kratz 
 found that out of 2,411 children questioned fifty- 
 eight per cent, mentioned personal appearance 
 as one of the elements which attracted them. 
 Every legitimate effort should be made by the 
 teacher to make himself and the school-room at- 
 tractive to the child. Neatness in personal ap- 
 pearance and appropriate decoration of the room 
 are such legitimate* means. 
 
 * It may be added, by way of caution, that to bid for 
 popularity by catering to children's caprices and excus- 
 ing them when they ought to be punished, is not a 
 legitimate method of attracting them. They themselves 
 describe a teacher guilty of this practice as being 
 " soft." They admire a strict disciplinarian, if to his 
 rigor ho adds impartial justice. 
 92 
 
Class Discipline. 93 
 
 (b) But beautiful surroundings arc demanded 
 not merely for the purpose of attracting the child 
 in order that he may be successfully instructed 
 in the different branches of the curriculum. 
 There is education of the highest order in the 
 beautiful environment itself. Refinement can 
 never be taught merely by precept. Example, 
 in matters of taste, is far more potent with the 
 child than formal instruction. A neat teacher 
 begets neatness in his pupils. A slovenly teacher 
 finds his untidiness reproduced in his class, and 
 an exhortation from him on tidiness would 
 scarcely be taken seriously by the children. 
 
 A beautiful class-room is in itself an eloquent 
 teacher. The very walls become a means of 
 grace to the child. His aesthetic ideals are 
 refined, his judgment is cultivated, and he will 
 thus be prepared to enjoy the beautiful in nature 
 and art. It is not depreciating teachers to say 
 that they themselves are sometimes in need of the 
 culture that comes from systematic attention to 
 aesthetic details of school environment. Teachers, 
 even those who teach art, are often lacking 
 in good taste, particularly in matters of dress. 
 Intelligent and persistent effort to keep one's 
 self and the school-room tidy and attractive 
 must react and develop one's own aesthetic judg- 
 ment. 
 
94 Class Discipline. 
 
 How to Decorate. 
 
 Much may be accomplished in school decora- 
 tion, negatively, by the mere application of the 
 principles of good house-keeping. Window 
 sills covered with empty flower-pots, wash-basins, 
 and milk bottles can hardly be considered 
 evidences of tidiness and cleanliness. Walls, 
 doors, and desks bespattered with ink do not add 
 to the attractiveness of a room. Neatly painted 
 walls that have been carelessly soiled, or marked, 
 or defaced by the driving of nails betray a want 
 of taste as well as a lack of consideration for an- 
 other's property. The floors should be kept clear 
 of litter ; the blackboard should be washed at least 
 once a da} 7 ; the moldings and the work exhib- 
 ited on the walls should be frequently dusted. In 
 all these matters it is our duty to train the chil- 
 dren ; and how can we consistently require of 
 them what we ourselves do not practice? The 
 teacher will always find willing hands to do this 
 work of tidying up. He need not do any of it 
 himself, but he must assume the responsibility 
 of it and supervise the doing. 
 
 The bare room itself should be beautiful. 
 Here the work of the school architect is of the 
 highest consequence. He must consider it his 
 duty not only to render the room hygienic and 
 comfortable by regulating the size, light, ven- 
 tilation, disposition of seats, etc., but also to 
 
Class Discipline. 95 
 
 make it pleasant to the eye by reasonable archi- 
 tectural adornment and by providing agreeable 
 tints for the walls and ceiling. 
 
 The school authorities have in some cities ad- 
 ded to the features enumerated above pictures 
 and busts of recognized artistic merit. But 
 where school boards do not feel justified in using 
 public funds for the purchase of school-room 
 decorations, the ingenuity of the teachers must 
 be depended upon to supply the deficiency. Of 
 course, they cannot be expected to buy out of 
 their meager salaries works of art to adorn the 
 schools. They will, therefore, be obliged to rely 
 chiefly upon children's work and upon such 
 school property as may have decorative value. 
 
 Children's work, however, seldom possesses 
 genuine artistic merit. Yet it has other uses 
 which make it important as an aid in teaching. 
 Good school work of any kind stimulates pupils 
 to greater effort. The teacher's model may be 
 so perfect as to discourage the pupil ; but there 
 is always a measurable distance between the 
 achievement of one pupil and his less successful 
 companion. In penmanship, composition, and 
 drawing, very much may be accomplished by 
 putting up the work of the more successful pupils 
 as models. 
 
 At the beginning of a term the work of a 
 previous class may be used; but as soon as pos- 
 
96 Class Discipline. 
 
 sible this should give place to specimens produced 
 by the new class. 
 
 Work of unusual merit may be put up for the 
 term; but a great deal of work which is only 
 relatively good, though far from perfect, may be 
 temporarily employed as a stimulus during the 
 recitation period. Work that is put up for the 
 term should have no manifest or glaring errors 
 or deformities. For instance, if a letter is ex- 
 hibited it should be reasonably accurate as to 
 form and substance. If a drawing or painting 
 is shown, it must not be of a character to offend 
 the taste of cultivated persons. And — let it be 
 repeated again- — under no circumstances must 
 such work be allowed to accumulate heaps of 
 dust; nor must it be allowed to remain in place 
 after being torn, or curled, or otherwise damaged. 
 Just as soon as work ceases to be beautiful or 
 useful it becomes an offense. 
 
 A modicum of good taste, a liberal use of 
 common sense, and a cheerful spirit will accom- 
 plish wonders in making a room attractive with- 
 out the purchase of expensive pictures. 
 
 One of the most effective means for making a 
 room attractive is the use of tilings that are 
 alive — either plants or animals. In almost any 
 room at the beginning of a term, seeds may be 
 planted and left on the window sill. If the pots 
 are not themselves attractive their deformities 
 
Class Discipline. 07 
 
 may be readily covered over with tinted paper. 
 An aquarium or balanced jar is also ornamental 
 as well as useful. Such a jar should, as a rule, 
 be kept out of direct sunlight. It may be placed 
 on the teacher's desk, or, in a room with northern 
 exposure, there is no objection to having it near 
 the window. 
 
 In putting up work it is advisable to use tacks 
 sparingly and nails not at all. A small drawing 
 or composition fastened with four clumsy carpet 
 tacks is not an edifying spectacle. If thumb 
 tacks are not available pins are usually sufficient 
 to hold papers. Where a number of specimens 
 of the same kind are to be exhibited, the papers 
 should be of uniform size and pinned together in 
 strips, which are then suspended side by side ; or 
 they may be arranged horizontally in the form 
 cf a frieze or border. 
 
 Care should be taken to have specimens " well 
 placed ;" that is, placed with due regard to space- 
 filling, symmetry, and proportion. If a paper 
 is fastened against a panel it should be exactly 
 in the center. I have seen teachers spend much 
 energy in trying to get a pupil to " place " his 
 drawing well on paper, who afterwards took the 
 finished drawing and " placed " it very badly on 
 the wall of the class-room. 
 
 Much care should also be exercised as to the 
 appearance of the blackboard. Its daily washing 
 
98 Class Discipline. 
 
 is assumed. The teacher's penmanship should be 
 large and legible. Here also the " placing " of 
 matter is an item of importance. Matters of a 
 permanent character, like the history of the at- 
 tendance, should be neatly and compactly kept in 
 a corner. Work of a temporary character should 
 generally be immediately erased. For this pur- 
 pose it is well to have one or more monitors who 
 attend to the cleaning of the board without wait- 
 ing to be told. 
 
 Let every teacher who has not given this mat- 
 ter serious attention make up his mind to start im- 
 mediately. Let each devote a little thought to 
 the problem of his particular room. Begin with 
 the negative items by avoiding, as far as possible, 
 the features that disfigure — the litter on the 
 floor, the spatter on the wall or desk, the display 
 of ugly and dirty objects on the window sills. 
 If you have any pictures, consider well the most 
 appropriate place for each. Then hang them 
 without driving nails into the wall. If you have 
 display work made by your last class, select only 
 the best, and again make up your mind to put it 
 up without the use of nails. Take as much interest 
 in making your temporary quarters in the school 
 cozy and attractive as you would if they were 
 your permanent abode. And, above all, do noth- 
 ing to disfigure the rooms, nor allow the chil- 
 
Class Discipline. 99 
 
 dren to do anything which you would not do or 
 allow to be done in your own home. 
 
 In this discussion I have purposely refrained 
 from any reference to school decoration which in- 
 volves the outlay of money. The principal or the 
 club or the citizens' committee may do wonders 
 and transform a desert school-house into an art- 
 istic fairyland. This is the sort of work that is 
 usually described in articles and books on school 
 decoration. But the vast majority of class-rooms 
 in the public schools are dependent upon the re- 
 sources of the teacher for all the adornment they 
 ever possess. The most attractive feature in any 
 room is, of course, " the ornament of a meek and 
 quiet spirit " possessed by the teacher. But in 
 addition to this he may embellish the plain walls 
 of his room, cover up deformities, and make 
 vacancy eloquent with suggestion by the use 
 of the simple means I have endeavored to point 
 out. 
 
 LofC. 
 
Mfli 
 
 The Care of School Property. 
 
 The Ethics of the Case. 
 
 Benjamin Franklin was an uncommonly wise 
 man. On the subject of borrowing books he has 
 this to say: 
 
 " I now had access to better books. An ac- 
 quaintance with the apprentices of booksellers 
 enabled me sometimes to borrow a small one, 
 which I was careful to return soon and clean. 
 Often I sat up in my room reading the greatest 
 part of the night, when the book was borrowed 
 in the evening and to be returned early in the 
 morning, lest it should be missed or wanted." 
 
 The principle exemplified by Franklin's con- 
 duct is that you are to be more careful of bor- 
 rowed property than you would be if it were your 
 own. He not merely returned the books soon 
 and clean, but took extraordinary pains to be 
 punctual. 
 
 The teacher must make conscious and emphatic 
 100 
 
Class Discipline. 101 
 
 the ethics of the use of school property. But 
 here, as in all cases of discipline, practice must 
 tally with precept. If the teacher himself is 
 wasteful in the use of supplies, and careless with 
 school property in general, his good advice to 
 children will fall on deaf ears. " How econom- 
 ical shall we be?" teachers sometimes inquire. 
 The answer is, " Use school supplies as if you 
 owned them." What would you do if your class 
 were your private school and the tuition fees in- 
 cluded the necessary supplies? You would give 
 children everything they needed, but would be 
 careful not to waste anything. You would not 
 use a full sheet of white paper to spell ten w r ords. 
 You would not allow a dozen children each to de- 
 stroy three or four sheets of paper in the course 
 of a drawing lesson. You would not have great 
 stacks of new paper carelessly thrown on the 
 floor of a dirty closet, or left exposed where dis- 
 honest pupils might take it at pleasure. 
 
 The municipality is the proprietor of these 
 schools. You are the agent of the city. As 
 such agent you must adopt the motto : " Millions 
 for necessities, but not one cent for waste." 
 
 One of the first things you must impress upon 
 a new class is this ethical principle. Call the 
 attention of the children to the advantages they 
 possess. We are sheltered by a comfortable 
 building, furnished free by the liberality of 
 
102 Class Discipline. 
 
 the taxpayers. Our books, stationery, maps, 
 and appliances are freely offered in abun- 
 dance by the same liberal public. The very 
 least we can do to show our appreciation of 
 these gifts is to take good care of them. How 
 indecent, how wicked, is the pupil who wantonly 
 destroys or defaces school property ! 
 
 Furniture. 
 
 Having delivered this homily, it will not do to 
 drop the matter for the rest of the term. Nor 
 will it be wise for the teacher himself to climb, 
 a moment later, upon a desk and stand upon 
 the varnished top in order to reach a shelf in the 
 wall closet. No matter how old the furniture 
 is, as a matter of principle, no pupil should be 
 allowed to stand upon the unprotected top of a 
 desk for any purpose. If he is well trained he 
 Mould not thus stand upon a chair or piano or 
 bureau at home, and he should be so taught in 
 school that his habit, if not his instinct, will 
 induce him to protect school property from un- 
 necessary defacement. 
 
 If the importance of this matter is thus early 
 impressed upon a class, and if they are warned 
 against these least offenses, the graver matter 
 of carving desks will take care of itself. If a 
 boy finds that the smallest scarring or scratch- 
 ing is treated as a serious affair, it will never 
 occur to him to cut a desk. Whether the fur- 
 
Class Discipline. 10.3 
 
 niture be in good condition or had, the teacher 
 must make up his mind that it shall at least be 
 no worse when he is through with it than it was 
 when he took charge of it. 
 
 Text-books. 
 
 The pupil in the public school of to-day has 
 books literally thrust upon him. Not only does 
 he receive all text-books, pencils, pens, paper, 
 ink, drawing material, etc., free of charge, but 
 a school or class library is usually provided for 
 him, besides a large supply of supplementary 
 readers on music, literature, science, history, and 
 geography. Our first duty is to remind the 
 child that these things cost a lot of money (an 
 average of about two dollars for a grammar 
 pupil per year in New York city) and that some- 
 body has to pay for them. 
 
 In former times children were required to buy 
 their own books. This plan has some undoubted 
 advantages. One is that the pupil can keep his 
 books for future reference when he leaves school. 
 Another is that if he chooses to do so he may 
 make marks in his books, insert notes and ex- 
 planations in places where the same are needed, 
 emphasize thoughts or expressions of special 
 importance, and thus make such matters more 
 easily accessible and available for future use. 
 All accurate scholars like thus to mark their 
 books so that in case of need they may turn to 
 
104 Class Discipline. 
 
 them, as to old friends, for assistance. But our 
 inflexible rule in respect to a borrowed book is 
 that the pupil shall not mark it in any way. 
 One can hardly feel the same reverence for a book 
 that must be thus carefully handled and kept at 
 a safe distance, that he has for a book that is his 
 very own to have and to hold and to mark up as 
 he pleases. 
 
 1. Receipts. — When books are delivered by the 
 supply department to a school the principal is 
 obliged to give a receipt for the same. This 
 makes him the responsible custodian of such sup- 
 plies. The careful principal will probably 
 demand a similar receipt from teachers when he 
 gives out books at the beginning of a term. In 
 case of inquiry he will thus be in a position to 
 show what he has done with the books he receipted 
 for. But if the teacher is to receipt for books, 
 how is he to prove his faithful stewardship ? By 
 requiring in his turn a receipt from the pupil. 
 Let each child, when books are given out, write 
 upon a slip of paper the names of all the books he 
 receives, together with a mark indicating the con- 
 dition of each, and then sign and date the slip. 
 Let the teacher arrange these receipts in alpha- 
 betical order and file them away. When books 
 are returned the pupil may have his receipt or 
 it may be destroyed. If at any time a pupil 
 claims not to have received a certain book, his 
 
Class Discipline. 105 
 
 receipt will settle all doubt. Likewise, if he be 
 charged with having wantonly destroyed his 
 books, the receipt will either prove or disprove the 
 charge. 
 
 2. Covered. — Every book should be covered 
 at the beginning of each term and kept covered. 
 If the authorities furnish patent covers, the mat- 
 ter is easy. Where this is not the case, consider- 
 able vigilance on the part of the teacher will be 
 required to keep covers on the books. Flimsy 
 wrapping paper or newspaper covers should not 
 be accepted. Nothing but stout manila or cloth 
 will do. Cloth is sometimes objected to on 
 account of its germ-bearing capacity, but if all 
 books are recovered at the beginning of each 
 term, the argument against cloth is not valid, and 
 the advantages of such material are very decided. 
 It easily lasts a whole term, children are not 
 tempted to scribble on it, and the expense and 
 trouble involved are an additional incentive for 
 taking good care of the books. 
 
 Every pupil should be required, on receiving a 
 book, to enter in ink on the inside of the front 
 cover the following information: (1) Name; 
 (2) School and class ; (3) Condition; (4) Date. 
 
 Once a month the books should be inspected, 
 and their condition should be reported to the 
 parents as a part of the monthly record. 
 
106 Class Discipline. 
 
 Supplementary Reading. 
 
 These are usually kept in some closet in charge 
 of a particular teacher, where they are accessible 
 to all the classes of a given grade. When a 
 teacher sends for a set of supplementary readers 
 he should have them counted before they are 
 given out and again after they are collected. 
 He will then be able to testify from personal 
 knowledge, in case of need, that no book went 
 astray in his room. While the books are in use 
 he should be particularly careful that they are 
 not mutilated or marked by the children. The 
 temptation to injure such books seems to be very 
 great, because it is difficult to detect the culprit. 
 Unless the keenest vigilance is constantly exer- 
 cised it may happen, for instance, that a new set 
 of physiologies will be unfit for use at the end of 
 the first term. On the contrary, in a well-disci- 
 plined school, a set of readers will last for years. 
 
 Closets Locked. 
 Keep your closets locked. Children should not 
 be tempted by the exposure of attractive ma- 
 terial. When you least expect it something 
 valuable will disappear. Pupils from other clas- 
 ses passing through your room may turn thieves, 
 and, peradventure, your own may be guilty. It 
 is always easy to be wise after the event. After 
 your watch or purse or valuable wrap is gone, 
 
Class Discipline. 107 
 
 you realize how foolish it was to have been so 
 careless. It is difficult to catch the thief, and if 
 you accuse innocent children you are sure to get 
 into trouble with their parents. It is a safe rule 
 never to leave your room without locking up 
 ever\- closet and drawer. 
 
 The school authorities have provided locks, 
 and why should we not use them? Th^ very 
 moment a lock is broken or a key lost the princi- 
 pal should be notified, that he may take steps to 
 have the damage repaired. I have had more than 
 one teacher complain about the disappearance of 
 her supplies who, when questioned, admitted that 
 the lock of her closet was broken and that she 
 had never reported it. Good class management 
 includes proper care of the physical condition of 
 the classroom. 
 
 A teacher's artistic temperament should make 
 it intolerable for her to look upon a broken 
 window-shade, or a dilapidated wall map, or dis- 
 arranged and dusty decorations of any kind. 
 What she can mend should be attended to by her- 
 self ; the rest should be reported to the principal. 
 
H3C. 
 
 The Class Library. 
 
 How to Secure Books. 
 
 Whether the library of the school is to be ad- 
 ministered as a single institution or is to be 
 divided into as many sections as there are classes 
 is a matter for the decision of the principal or 
 superintendent. But in either case the teacher 
 has a certain responsibility. The suggestion^ 
 here made apply chiefly to the class library, but 
 the remarks on the " Purpose of a library," 
 " How to realize the object," and " Who may use 
 the library," arc equally pertinent in the case of 
 a general library. 
 
 The books should be supplied by the princi- 
 pal, either out of the special library fund or out 
 of the general supply fund, if this be permis- 
 sible. Resourceful teachers, however, find means 
 of establishing libraries even where no official as- 
 sistance is given. Pupils can be induced to loan 
 or contribute books out of their private stock at 
 
 108 
 
Class Discipline. 109 
 
 home. Sometimes a class paper is published 
 (possible only in the higher grades) at a profit, 
 and perhaps well-to-do parents who learn of the 
 ambitions of the class, insist on making a special 
 contribution. At any rate, in nearly all cases 
 where there is a will to gather a library, a way 
 is found to do it. 
 
 The teacher must exercise wise caution in ac- 
 cepting contributed books. He must rigidly 
 exclude all trashy stuff, all books whose print is 
 too small, everything of a sectarian character, 
 everything that is in any way morally unfit for 
 children. Some of the finest classics in English 
 will thus have to be rejected. " The Scarlet 
 Letter," for instance, or an un-edited copy of 
 " Gulliver's Travels " would, in my judgment, 
 be improper reading for a child in the grades. 
 
 The Catalogue. 
 A complete list of the books in the library with 
 title, author, and catalogue number should be ac- 
 cessible to every pupil. If the number of dif- 
 ferent books is small, children may copy the 
 catalogue into their note-books. If this involves 
 too much labor, let a single copy be posted in a 
 convenient place in the room. 
 
 Who May Use the Library. 
 Some teachers restrict the privileges of the 
 library to the use of meritorious pupils. This 
 
110 Class Discipline. 
 
 course is not to be commended. " Bad " boys 
 are such sometimes because they have not enough 
 work to keep them busy. The library books in 
 such cases are very useful in furnishing material 
 for the exercise of idle brains. Frequently, too, 
 an indifferent pupil becomes interested in reg- 
 ular school work through a skilful use of the li- 
 brary. The only children that are properly de- 
 nied access to the library are those who mark or 
 destroy books. A pupil who loses or fails to re- 
 turn a book when due, should be compelled to re- 
 place the same. Failing in this he must be 
 promptly sent to the principal. 
 
 The Limit of Time. 
 Two weeks is a reasonable time to allow for the 
 return of a book. Usually the reader should have 
 the privilege of renewal for a week or two longer. 
 
 Purpose of the Library. 
 The immediate and primary aim of the school 
 library is the enjoyment of good books. In this 
 respect the reading of library books is to be 
 sharply distinguished from other school reading. 
 Pleasure may be an incidental aim in other read- 
 ing, but here it is the chief one. Information, 
 which in " supplementary " reading is one of the 
 primary objects, in library reading is incidental. 
 We propose here the literal application of the 
 Herbartian doctrine of interest ; namely, that 
 
Class Discipline. Ill 
 
 interest: is the end of the whole business, and 
 knowledge a means of acquiring it. The object 
 of the library is to give the pupil an appetite for 
 good books. This can only be done by letting 
 him taste the literary dainties that tickle his own 
 palate. There is no use in telling him he ought 
 to read this and that, or he ought to read with 
 this and that purpose in view. Library reading, 
 to be effective, must be done by the pupil's vol- 
 untary effort ; and unless he is interested in the 
 books you give him, you have no guarantee that 
 he will read any of them to please you. 
 
 For these reasons the selection of books for a 
 class library is an exceedingly difficult task. 
 Publishers issue volumes by the thousand, but, 
 alas, how few of these are suitable for any given 
 grade ! If they possess interest, they lack liter- 
 ary merit. If they have this merit, they are too 
 difficult. Sometimes the text is suitable, but 
 the pictures offend. Then, again, both these 
 may pass muster, but the type is too small, or 
 the spacing is too narrow, or the paper is too 
 poor, or the binding is objectionable. The li- 
 brary catalogue of Manhattan Borough, New 
 York City, formerly contained more than three 
 thousand titles. Yet when one undertook to 
 select from it books for class reading he was 
 sorely puzzled to find material that was entirely 
 satisfactory from all points of view. 
 
112 Class Discipline. 
 
 How to Realize the Purpose. 
 
 Interest in reading being the primary aim of 
 the library, what can the teacher do to stimulate 
 that interest ? Providing the right kind of books 
 is, of course, the most effective means ; without 
 these the task is well-nigh hopeless. There are 
 a few master minds, like Franklin and Lincoln, 
 who in childhood devour with relish works on 
 divinity, philosophy, and other abstract themes; 
 but the majority of children are not attracted to 
 this class of reading. For them the book must 
 be simple in language and must treat subjects 
 specially adapted to the experiences and fancies 
 of childhood. 
 
 The reading may be done either at home or in 
 the class-room. If it is done in school there must 
 be a " reading hour," and enough copies of one 
 book to supply each pupil. It is better to have 
 fifty copies of one good book than one copy each 
 of fifty books. The advantage of having many 
 copies is (1) that the teacher is able to conduct 
 class exercises, and (2) the interest is greatly 
 intensified when all are reading and discussing 
 the same book at once. 
 
 Whether the reading be done at home or at 
 school, it should be carefully and appreciatively 
 done. Each pupil should give before the class 
 an oral or written account of at least one book 
 during each term. He should be taught to note 
 
Class Discipline. 118 
 
 the name of the author and to find out something 
 of his life and the names of other hooks he has 
 written. The teacher may, at convenient seasons, 
 read effective passages from works of class au- 
 thors not found in the school library, and thus 
 the interest is widened and deepened, so that chil- 
 dren will, of their own accord, join free libraries 
 and read books of winch they have heard from 
 their teachers. 
 
Index. 
 
 Anget 19,26, 66 
 
 &.< lams, John, on humor 51 
 
 Butler, N. M., on human 
 
 infancy 17 
 
 Busy work 34 
 
 Catalogue of library 100 
 
 Catechism on discipline 58 
 
 Carving desks 102 
 
 Characteristics of the best 
 
 teacher 2s 
 
 —he relies on hini?elf 28 
 
 —does not detain children 29 
 —secures pupil's respect 30 
 
 —described by children 31 
 
 - teaches faithfully 33 
 
 — encourages children 35 
 —lays stress upon honor 36 
 —employs humor 56; 58 
 Children's work for decorat- 
 ive purposes 96 
 
 Class organization 76 
 
 Class library 108 
 
 Class punishment 30 
 
 Class-room decoration 92 
 
 Cleanliness 44 
 
 Closets locked 106 
 
 Corporal pur-ishment 62 
 
 —spirit of this book 62 
 
 —a relic of barbarism 64 
 
 — firmnees -without anger 
 or cruelty 65 
 
 - standard of discipline estab- 
 lished by principal 66 
 
 —substitutes for 68, 71 
 
 —where it is proper 70 
 
 —report on, 71: suggested 
 
 amendments 73 
 
 Credits 52 
 
 Decoration of class-room 92 
 —why we decorate 92 
 
 —how to decorate 91 
 
 —children's work 96 
 
 — plants and animals 96 
 Devices of class government 
 
 It 
 
 , 47, 
 
 49 
 
 — graded punishments 
 
 
 49 
 
 - debits and credits 
 
 
 51 
 
 - sections 
 
 53, 
 
 54 
 
 -the star sheet 
 
 
 65 
 
 —atmosphere 
 
 
 55 
 
 —humor 
 
 56, 
 
 58 
 
 —standard of discipline 
 
 es- 
 
 
 tablished by principal 
 
 
 66 
 
 —notify parents 
 
 
 69 
 
 —send for parents 
 
 
 70 
 
 —suspend pupil 
 
 
 70 
 
 Dewey, John, ideal of 
 
 edu 
 
 
 cation 
 
 
 8 
 
 Tischarging pupils 
 
 
 42 
 
 Discipline and order 
 
 
 23 
 
 Degm.is of childhood 
 
 
 11 
 
 -pagan 
 
 
 11 
 
 — Christ ain 
 
 
 12 
 
 -theological 
 
 
 14 
 
 — romantic 
 
 
 15 
 
 —evolutionary 
 
 
 16 
 
 Drill 
 
 
 40 
 
 Economy in the use of 
 
 sup 
 
 
 plies 
 
 
 101 
 
 Eliot, Charles W., on 
 
 indi 
 
 
 vidualism 
 
 
 9 
 
 Ethics of the care of school 
 
 100 
 
 property 
 Executive ability 
 Factors of discipline 
 —executive ability 
 -drill 
 
 —discharging pupils 
 —giving out material 
 —class spirit 
 —class tone 
 —punishments 
 Faults of children 
 Firmness without anger or 
 
 cruelty 65 
 
 Franklin on care of property 100 
 Furniture, use of 102 
 
 Government, basis and end 76 
 Graded punishments 49 
 
 25, 38 
 
 45, 
 
Index. 
 
 fierbart's ideal of education 8 
 Incorrigible pupils 69, 70 
 
 Ideal of discipline 67, 68, 76 
 Ideals of education 7 
 
 Individualism in education 9 
 Infancy, Butler's definition 
 
 of 17 
 
 Judd, Charles H., on evolu- 
 tionary theory of educa- 
 tion 18 
 Justice and efficiency 25 
 Justice, the basis of school 
 government 21 
 Kratz, H. E., on character 
 
 istics of best teacher 31 
 
 Library, class 108 
 
 — how to secure books 108 
 
 —catalogue 109 
 
 —■who may use the library 109 
 —limit of time 110 
 
 —purpose of library read- 
 ing 110 
 —how to realize the purpose 112 
 Living things for class-room 96 
 Locking closets 106 
 Mahaffy on ancient child 
 
 murder 11 
 
 Material, passing of 43 
 
 Milton's ideal of education 8 
 Monitorial system 28 
 
 Montaigne's ideal of educa- 
 tion 8 
 Nails not to be driven into 
 
 walls 97 
 
 New ideals of discipline 18 
 
 Obedience and command 23, 66 
 Order and discpline 23 
 
 Order defined 2 
 
 Organization of class 76 
 
 Parker on school order 22 
 
 Parliamentary procedure 77 
 Plants and animals for class- 
 room 96 
 Practice and precept 101 
 
 responsible for 
 
 Principal 
 
 order 66 
 
 —must train new teachers 68 
 
 - a model of self-con*rol 68 
 Property, care of 100 
 —ethics of the case 100 
 —furniture 102 
 
 - text-books 103 
 
 - supplementary readers 106 
 
 - closets locked J06 
 Public opinion of the school 48 
 Punishments, graded 49 
 Rebellion not to be toler- 
 ated 69 
 
 Receipts for supplies 104 
 
 Report on corporal punish- 
 ment 71 
 Rousseau's ideal of educa- 
 tion 9, 15 
 Rules of order for Spell- 
 binders 81 
 School order defined 21 
 Scolding 26, 68 
 School room decoration 92 
 Search, P. W., on individual- 
 ism 9 
 Sections in class 53, 54 
 Self-government, methods 
 
 of teaching 36, 76 
 
 — class organization 76 
 
 —Spellbinders 77 
 
 —officers 78 
 
 - constitution 80 
 Social ideal in education 10 
 Spencer's conception of edu- 
 cation 8 
 
 Spontaneity 65, 67 
 
 Star sheet 55 
 
 Sup'n't'r'y readers, care of 106 
 Suspension of pupils, 70 
 
 Text-books, care of 103 
 
 Truant school for incorrigi- 
 ble pupils 71 
 Voice, use of 26 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 .