Prof. Pierce of Lakeville High School has the habit of picking up books from pupils’ desks and glancing through them occasionally while recitations are going on. When he finds an exceptionally clean, well kept book he says, “I like to see a neat book like this. It is a good index to the kind of boy that owns it.” He has no trouble regarding marked up textbooks. [Sidenote: Lower Grade] (2) _Learning to write neatly._ It is not an easy task to take the early steps in writing which are so highly interesting for the first grade child. Still less easy is the training in carefulness, neatness and accuracy. Much of the difficulty is due, however, to the fact that the teacher attempts too much at one time, is not sufficiently explicit in giving directions, forgets that little children learn quickest through imitation, and lastly that they constantly need the stimulus of approval for effort, and coöperation in the mastery of new and difficult tasks. As an initial step toward overcoming any neglect in these directions we would suggest that whenever any task is assigned, you first tell the child very definitely how you want the work done. Assume that the child does not know as well as you just what you mean by the word “careful.” Show concretely just what you do mean. Take a blank piece of paper and write before him on his desk. Assign some simple, concrete thing for him to write and say, “Now, this is the way to do it.” Or, “Here is something I want you to write for me. Now I have found that a good way to do it is like this:” (then show the child your plan on paper). Take time enough at the child’s desk to say, “Do you see what I mean?” “Do you understand how I want it done?” No matter what the child says, repeat your plan briefly, so that he will be sure to remember. Leave his desk smiling and say, “I’ll come back to your desk after you have finished and see how well you did it.” Do not give the pupil a hard task. In fact, make it very easy and simple. Then go back to the pupil’s desk in ten or fifteen minutes, and make up your mind before you go back that you will not say anything at all to the pupil except to approve those parts of his work that are at all good. For example, say, “There’s a very good letter ‘O’; I am not sure that I could beat that myself, and there’s another good letter—and there’s another. Well, I should say! That’s all right. I am going to give you some more work like that tomorrow. I did not know you could do so good work.” Leave the desk while the child is feeling elated over what you have said.