They lead the pupil to see that he must "make good," that he must retain enough of the facts in his course to satisfy the examiner. He takes notes, reviews, and compares his possessions with those of his classmates to insure his being able to meet the minimum requirements of his teacher. This caution on his part will not give him a greater relish for the subject-matter, but it will stimulate a more accurate mastery of the facts considered. These facts in turn may increase his interest in the subject itself. It may be necessary in an extreme situation to keep a daily record in class of the work done by each member of the class, though it is indeed a rare situation which warrants it. Such a practice is a reflection upon the teaching ability of him who resorts to it. It is distressing, indeed, to see a teacher recording what he thinks the various recitations are worth. It is a strange drama being enacted. It would seem tragic were it not for its comical aspect. It may be necessary for a relatively good teacher to resort to it, but it should be of short duration, and should be the occasion of professional embarrassment. Formal Reports to Parents. - Reports to parents may act either as a positive or a negative incentive. Occasionally pupils are stimulated by the appreciation they expect to receive when the report reaches home. Unfortunately, however, report cards more frequently serve as whips than pulls, and consequently are negative incentives. They have further administrative functions which need not be considered here, and which may justify a judicious use of them. Responsibility sub Definite Schoolroom Requirements. jectively considered is an aspect of character in which habit plays a large part. For this reason school manage ment is no small agency in establishing responsibility. An insistence upon punctuality alone often stimulates initiative, requires premeditated and systematic planning, and often secures a readjustment of old ways of living by a willed program to overcome physical inertia and social and economic irregularity. Working in unison with the social unit of which one is a part, even if it is a response to external requirement at first, ultimately has a wholesome effect. It awakens and enlivens a sense of social responsibility. Positive and not negative means should be employed first to remove tardiness as an obstacle to class unity. An intellectual appeal to cease being tardy may result from a careful estimate of the waste time forced upon the school by the distractions occasioned by a late comer. In a school of forty it is reasonable to suppose that the lost time occasioned by a late comer is on the average two minutes per pupil, or an equivalent of eighty minutes for one pupil. Since this is one-third of a pupil's daily study time it is clear that six tardies per day represent an actual educational loss equivalent to the absence of one pupil from school all of the time. An appeal to class pride secures wonderful results. A little rivalry with other grades and other schools gives a wholesome impetus to punctuality. It immediately puts the tardy pupil in a position of offending the class and subjects him to the condemnation of his associates. Few pupils are so non-social as to deliberately ignore this social pressure of the class. A high school which was notorious for its poor habits of attendance was practically cured of this ailment in a brief time by a class-coöperative scheme. A general plan was inaugurated whereby a wholesome rivalry between classes was sanctioned. A number of points were given for success in the various forms of gymnastics, music, public speaking, general scholarship, and habits of attendance, including punctuality and full time attendance. The last two items were given more points than the others for obvious reasons. The successful class was awarded at prize by the school, which in turn it gave to the school with its insignia upon it. The classes were not slow to see the effect of scholarship and punctuality upon the final outcome. The classes of poorest scholarship and most likely to be irregular at school were first to recognize that punctuality was more vital to them than to those of greater scholastic tendencies. Class meetings were held and the transgressors in the several classes were told in no uncertain terms by their associates that they must mend their ways in order to remain in good standing with the class organization and with the individual members composing it. The results were splendid. There are some weaknesses in a motivating device of this sort. It is meritorious in that it increases and intensifies the group consciousness and thereby tends to subordinate the self to the welfare of the group. Such consciousness and subordination are the essence of the responsibility needed in a democracy. Pupil Organizations. From the standpoint of leadership nothing the school can do is more helpful than wellsupervised pupil organizations. They impose a degree of self-direction unobtainable in the classroom. Opportunities are legion in this connection. A little encouragement, proper supervision, and adequate safeguards for the pre scribed work of the school are all that is necessary to make it a success. In a large high school there should be enough of this sort of activity to justify a supervisor who will give all of his time to directing these extra schoolroom enterprises. Certainly they are no less educative and far-reaching in their influence than other work now receiving the entire time of special supervisors. Standardized Tests. Standardized tests have not a little bearing upon individual responsibility. A consciousness on the part of the pupil, that his relative standing does not depend upon the biased judgment and the prejudices of his teacher, but upon an impartial comparison of his success with the average success of a large and widely distributed group, leads him to begin the process of selfevaluation, which usually results in a better perspective, a stronger reliance upon his own resources, and a more intelligent direction of his own schoolroom activities. CHAPTER X VALUE AND CHARACTER OF EFFECTIVE STIMULI The Use of Stimuli. The only contact which the embryonic consciousness of the child has with the outside world is through a complicated nerve system which terminates in the special senses. The character and variety of contacts which these special senses have with the environment determine in a large measure the development of this embryonic consciousness. In the early stages of the child's development there is no attempt on the part of his elders to systematize the stimuli which he receives. The contacts which he has are incidental and unorganized. Like the butterfly, he attends to one stimulus after another, each in turn producing intense but momentary rapture. He is yet unfamiliar with organized games. After a little while the development of the play instinct tends to stabilize and systematize his conduct. He now finds pleasure in doing a thing many times. The little games which he plays to satisfy these instincts require repeated attention to the things of his experience. This repetition of sensation enriches his percepts and lays the foundation of the fundamental habits. Again, the environment of the home, to which the child is exposed, provides the first systematized stimuli of his |