“Joseph and Sadie! Did anyone give you permission to talk?” she inquired. “I want you all to know (she rose from her seat and addressed the whole room) that hereafter there is to be no talking without permission. If it is absolutely necessary that you speak to someone, hold up your hand.” The next day Sadie “forgot.” Miss Bowen was busy helping another pupil. She waited until she had finished. In the meantime, several minutes had passed. Sadie had found out what she wanted and was working on her arithmetic lesson, when Miss Bowen went over to Sadie’s desk, pulled her out of the seat by her arm, and said so the whole room could hear, “Sadie Higgins, I’m not going to tell you more than once that you have to ask permission when you want to speak. Do you hear me?... Well, sit down and see that the next time you wish to speak, you ask my consent before doing so.” CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT Discuss matters of conduct with offenders, not with non-offenders. Because Sadie had spoken without permission, it is not therefore necessary to tell Joseph that he may not speak without permission. Address yourself to the one who needs the prohibition. Treat each case by itself. Wait until you have finished your immediate work, whether it is holding a recitation or writing on the blackboard. When the period is ended, quietly speak to Sadie in private, telling her she must ask permission when she wants to speak as you may be able to answer her question without bothering another pupil. “Just hold up your hand and if I think it is necessary, I shall nod my head, meaning ‘Yes’; this will not disturb the rest of the room.” COMMENTS Miss Bowen disturbed the whole room much more than any talking between Sadie and Joseph did when she called the attention of the other pupils to the fact that Joseph and Sadie were talking without permission. Every teacher should remember that children need constantly to be reminded of what they should do until the act becomes a habit. Miss Bowen did Sadie an injustice, since the child had not been accustomed to ask permission when she wished to speak. It was very well for Miss Bowen to wait until she had finished the work at hand before speaking to Sadie, but she should have remembered that the child had had time to forget that she had spoken. To pull her out of her seat and publicly scold her was entirely out of place. ILLUSTRATION (FIFTH GRADE) [Sidenote: Breaking An Old Habit] When Miss Lucas took charge of the fifth grade room in the Henry Clay Grammar School, Lexington, Kentucky, she was informed on the first day that the children were accustomed to speak to one another without permission. As this was often annoying, especially when three or four spoke at once, she decided that this must not be.