After a great deal of noisy inquiry, Bert held up his hand and said to the teacher: “I know something about that piano.” “What do you know, Bert?” said his teacher. “I’ll tell, but I want to know what you all will do with the kid, after I talk about him.” “We can’t say about that. Bert, if you know, it’s time for you to speak out and have it over.” “I don’t want to, now; I’ll tell some time,” was Bert’s final remark. Later he went to the superintendent and said: “Mr. Knowles, is your pianner hurt some? I hear some un’s been tinkering with it.” “I don’t know that it’s hurt much. But somebody has been doing a trick we simply can’t stand. Just think of it. You can see the whole thing has been in pieces. I’ll have to suspend the boy that did this thing, if I find him. I simply can’t stand it.” Nothing came immediately of this interview, but Bert went home, turned the matter over carefully in his mind, and in the morning came to school with a grim determination to act, and perish if need be. On the way he said to himself: “I’d eat fire, before I’d hurt the pianner. If I have hurt it, as they think, I’ll just take my medicine like a man.” And he did. He said very briefly: “I tore up your pianner, Mr. Knowles.” The superintendent replied very shortly: “I’m sorry, Bert, I’ll have to suspend you for a month for that, so as to keep other boys from doing the same thing, or something worse.” CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT Give Bert an opportunity to talk out all of his thought about the piano. Wait until he has told all, and you have planned a substitute for piano-wrecking before informing him of the gravity of his misconduct. Possibly that item can be passed over lightly. Get answers to these questions: “Are you particularly interested in pianos or do you take an interest in all kinds of mechanisms? What are you planning to do for a living? What would you do if I found you a place in a piano store, or in a machine shop, for spare time work? Would you stiffen up your studies? Would your parents be willing for me to make an arrangement of this sort? How will you pay for having a piano man go over our instrument and see that everything is in order?” COMMENTS This boy has broken out of the usual beat of pupil activities. The great question is, will his teachers be equal to their opportunity? Curiosity is hunger for experience; it lives at the basis of all knowledge. It is a capital stock for educators; it can not be wasted without impoverishing both the pupil and society. In dealing with Bert, motive counts for nearly everything. He must not be made to suffer for his mistake of judgment in such a way as to imperil his future interest in school or in his favorite inquiries. ILLUSTRATION (EIGHTH GRADE)