possess inner qualities of love and goodwill towards all, a genuine spirit of helpfulness, coupled with a high ideal of the task in hand. If he is filled with such a spirit, his success is largely assured. Let no one misunderstand the expression, "love and goodwill towards all." This is not a namby-pamby, maudlin sentiment, but states the attitude of the teacher. If a child needs punishing, do it, but do it in love for his best good. If a boy needs a sound thrashing and you are convinced that nothing else will make himn a better boy, why, thrash him good and hard, but do it not in resentment and in malice, but in love, intending it for the boy's best good. WEAK PERSONALITY AND BAD DISCIPLINE. In the present discussion we have emphasized the postive and constructive elements of personality. It seems wise at this point to digress briefly and to call attention to the way in which certain characteristics react upon parents and pupils. 1. Tactlessness. Some men cannot get along smoothly with those with whom they come in contact. They needlessly offend their pupils when a different kind of treatment would win their approval. Parents sometimes have, or fancy they have, grievances. Occasionally a mother is loud in denouncing the methods of Miss A. If the tactful superintendent can get tactful Miss A and the mother together for ten minutes, he will see the two walking down the corridor arm in arm, happy and chummy as you please. Now Miss B may resent any interference, maintain her dignity as she sees it-and have a first class row. The tactful superintendent will not send an irate parent to Miss B. 2. Ill-breeding. If the teacher, instead of being quiet, dignified and reserved, is noisy, boisterous, undignified, rude and ungentlemanly in behavior, he will soon have the same kind of a school. It is quite true that the school reflects the teacher. For an ill-bred, boorish teacher to preside over a thoroughly orderly group of boys and girls is anomalous. Personality is too infectious to admit of such a possibility. 3. Voice. The importance of a clear, well-modulated voice is well stated by Bagley in his School Discipline, from which we quote: "The teacher's voice is a factor of large importance in discipline, and, in spite of the apparent difficulty in modifying the 'natural' tendencies in speaking, it is a factor that is controllable in a measure seldom recognized by those engaged in the training of teachers. The principal evils to be avoided or counteracted are: 1, the shrill, high-pitched, rasping voice; 2, unnecessarily loud or 'noisy' voice; 3, the inarticulate voice which fails to enunciate distinctly; 4, the thin, feeble voice which lacks vigor and force; and, 5, the monotonous voice which lulls pupils to somnolence through lack of emphasis. By taking thought each one of these defects may ordinarily be remedied, at least in part-and any slight improvement is a clear gain. The 'noisy' voice is perhaps the one most inimical to order, for, by suggestion, it gives rise to noise and confusion throughout the classroom. The feeble voice, the inarticulate voice, and the monotonous voice are usually amenable to treatment through appropriate exercises." 4. Lack of Sympathy. Some teachers have no sympathy with their pupils; teacher and pupil live and move in different worlds; between them there is a "great gulf fixed." In such cases misunderstandings continually arise. Some teachers realize this and desire to remedy it, but cannot. A good starting point is for teacher and pupils to get together on some common project, as a game, a Christmas tree, or a Thanksgiving dinner for some poor family. 6. 5. Ungoverned Temper. This is a frequent source of merriment to the pupils. If they find their teacher flies into a rage at slight provocation, they will give him ample opportunity to do so. No person is fit to govern others until he can govern himself. This holds good in other occupations as well as in teaching. Weakness of Will. This trait of personality is a frequent cause of failure to discipline, for the teacher yields when firmness is required; his will is dominated by a stronger will. If this weakness is incurable, an innate weakness of the soul, the young man would better seek some other occupation. If, on the other hand, it is due to lack of confidence in one's self, or to inexperi ence, this defect may be overcome. It is the duty of the supervisory officers to support and advise such a one. Weakness of will leads to procrastination. Punishment for wrong-doing is deferred or never inflicted. To be efficacious the penalty must follow surely and swiftly. In this discussion of school discipline the teacher is the great central fact. We assume that the school becomes what the teacher makes it, that normal children will as a rule respond to right influences, and that children prefer to be well-disciplined. Experience amply justifies the validity of these three assumptions. Wild Asters Without a touch from human hand Or glance of human love, These gypsy children of our land, Our snags and snarls, in gala dress, ALDA D. LEAW. American Notes-Editorial The colleges have shown to the entire world their remarkable versatility, in connection with the extraordinary conditions of the past four years of war. Their programs have been turned up-side-down, their teaching force has been disrupted, their income has been made uncertain, the student body has been decimated. Yet they have gone serenely on, altering their plans according to the demands of the hour and adapting themselves to new conditions with a promptness and serenity that calls forth admiration. The way they have demonstrated their fitness disarms criticism, proves their worth in the past and is a most encouraging augury for the future. As in the case of many a stalwart youth they have shown themselves to the whole world as physically and morally "fit." The colleges are fearlessly facing the future. There will be some new adaptations to changed conditions, but essentially we believe that their work will go on much as it has been in the past. The war has emphasized the need and value of technical and industrial education, to be sure. But it has also demonstrated the supreme value of capacity for leadership and for the command of men. The old college plan and discipline gave the country a large proportion of its officers in a time of need. The classroom, the ball field, the association of earnest, thoughtful men in the life of the college gave adaptability, poise, self-mastery, which made possible real leadership. These were more vital than mere matters of curriculum. The old debate will still go on, as to which is more important and useful, classical or industrial discipline. We are almost persuaded that it does not matter. President Eliot is said to have cured himself of credulity in the chemical laboratory. We believe that many a man has made himself a good salesman or an expert mechanic by the mental discipline which he obtained in the classical recitation room. The truth is, each individual must study himself, and whatever he plans to do in life he will need and find valuable any discipline which is undertaken in dead earnest with a view of getting for himself all there is in it and proving himself "fit." The mission of the colleges is to fit men to "go over the top" in whatever they undertake. They have done wonders in fulfilling this mission in the past. They will do the same in the future, with some slight changes, perhaps, but essentially as before. Long live the college! It is the "salvator" of the individual and of the social state. While the colleges are discontinuing their courses in Military scientific work, high schools here and there are just taking up military Training and swinging back into their pre-war lines of academic or work as a part of the prescribed course, with paid instructors whose whole time is to be devoted to this subject. We believe that there are advantages to be gained from this training which would justify its inclusion as a compulsory subject in all boys' high schools in the country. First, it teaches respect for authority and obedience to order, cardinal virtues which no longer seem to be included as part of the home training of the majority of our American youth. Then it teaches co-ordination of effort, or "teamwork;" requires the individual to bring himself into accord, mentally and physically, with a number of other individuals. Finally, it teaches the boy to stand erect, to throw his shoulders back, to breathe deeply, to maintain at all times an alert, manly bearing, instead of the shiftless, slouchy attitude habitual to so many boys. And since a well-trained, alert body is absolutely essential if one is to have an alert, well-trained mind, making good soldiers of the boys is taking a long step towards making them good scholars. Opponents of universal military training maintain that it is unnecessary, that it is expensive, that it savors of autocracy and has no place in a country of democratic ideals, and least of all in a public high school. The speed with which we raised, equipped, and trained an army after this country's entrance into the war shows that they are right so far as any actual military need of a student-army is concerned; but as we have shown above, there are other needs than the purely military one which will be served by this training, and we believe it to be, if not actually necessary, at least highly desirable. The expense is not great, and it is distributed. The city pays the instructor and buys the necessary arms when the work is started; the boys buy their own uniforms. There is no danger that the boys will become infected with the germs of autocracy in the one or two hours a week they are in the hands of the military instructor, and we are old-fashioned enough to believe that discipline, courtesy, respect for law and order, and willingness to submit to the commands of those in a position of authority are desirable qualities even in the most democratic of democracies. In times like the present the teacher has a legitimate and useful role to fill as a propagandist. Attention has frequently been drawn of late. by high officials of the government and others to the tremendous influence the teachers have in shaping public opinion. But in the exercise of this important function, judgment and tact should be used, or the well-meant efforts of the teacher may easily become an interference with the rights of the parents, and instead of being productive of good, |