Have backbone enough to stick to the course of action which you know to be the best, in spite of the fact that you are tired and that four o’clock is almost at hand. All you need to do is to raise your hand in a gesture enforcing silence, but do it every time talking aloud occurs. The effect of quiet insistence upon the no-talking rule is much better than a hundred spells of violent housecleaning, with periods of laxness in between. COMMENTS A school can not run smoothly and be governed well if the authority of the teacher has to be constantly brought into view. It is the unseen authority which counts for the most. A teacher who is consistent, and who makes her pupils understand that she means what she says _always_—not just temporarily—gains their respect and confidence. She can govern them then without the prop of punishment or rewards, because they feel her strength and continuity of purpose—her ability to govern. ILLUSTRATION [Sidenote: Work Steadily] A certain young man who owned a fine colt undertook to break him himself, although he had had no experience in training horses. The colt was high-spirited and difficult to control, the young man impatient and nervous. When the colt did not do as he was expected to _immediately_, the young man was apt to lose his temper and use the lash pretty roughly. One day an experienced horseman watched such a performance from across the street. The young man gave the colt several beatings in succession, the horse becoming more and more difficult to handle all the while. After the horseman had watched a long time in silence, he called to the colt’s owner, “Put up your whip, young man, and hold the lines tight and steady and you will find that your colt will act differently.” The young man acted upon the suggestion and found that he could claim immediate success. CASE 112 (SEVENTH GRADE) [Sidenote: Too Great Absorption] Miss Bersley was a teacher in the fourth grade of a school in Brockton, Maine. She was an enthusiastic young woman, but there was one great drawback to her teaching. She became so interested in what she was saying, that she gave the backward pupils in her room no chance to recite. They were too slow. She was always sure of a quick reply from such children as Spencer Thorpe. He was ever ready to speak on every subject, even though he was not always informed. Miss Bersley would not have openly admitted this to be the situation, but her recitations disclosed her attitude. “Name the principal manufacturing towns in New England.” Up went Spencer’s hand. Miss Bersley hesitated. Spencer flung his arm around until she said, “All right! Spencer, since you are so anxious to recite, you may tell us.” Once on his feet, he named one town after another, as fast as they came into his mind, regardless of whether they were manufacturing towns or whether they were located in New England. “What natural advantages does New England have for manufacturing?”