When Sadie Moore picked up a note from the floor and handed it to Miss Dietz, who taught the third grade, the teacher allowed no one to see her when she read the note. She said privately to Sadie: “I desire that you say nothing to any one about that note. That is the best way to help me in this matter.” She studied the handwriting and note paper and fixed the blame to a certainty upon Conrad James. She resolved at once to keep sharp eyes on that boy, unknown to him, and to see that he had no chance to have unrestricted conservation with other pupils for a while. She supervised all play periods and thereby assured herself that no harm should come to any one of her pupils through association with him. CASE 154 (SEVENTH GRADE) [Sidenote: Morbid Sex-consciousness] Pearl Goodwin’s mother was a widow of ill-repute in the village. The eighth grade girls slighted Pearl hourly. They avoided sitting with her whenever possible; they gave her too wide a space at the blackboard while the rest of them stood so close together as to crowd their work; she went sadly to and from school, walking alone, for none of the others would walk with her. The teacher, Miss Terman, herself a native of the village, understood, and made no effort to change the situation. One day Pearl brought a shameful note to Miss Terman, saying that she found it on her desk. Miss Terman was shocked and made public inquiry as to where the note came from. Some of the girls felt sorry for Pearl and showed it by their attitude toward her. The writer was not discovered. Every day, thereafter, for a week, Pearl showed a similar note to Miss Terman, and the mystery grew and with it sympathy for Pearl. Daily Miss Terman made a speech about the notes and asked help in finding out the writer. Finally, in despair, she consulted the superintendent of the school. When he heard the history of the case he said: “I believe that Pearl herself is the writer of those notes. Her mind has been poisoned on the sex subject by taunts. I believe she is the only one in your room who would write such notes.” With this thought in mind, Miss Terman sought evidence of Pearl’s guilt. She was not long in finding the half leaves in Pearl’s tablet from which the paper for the notes had been torn. She even found Pearl writing a note, and got her pitiful confession of taking this way to call attention and sympathy to herself. Miss Terman sentenced Pearl to isolation for the remainder of the school year (about two months). She was compelled to take her seat as soon as she arrived at school in the morning and at noon, to have a separate recess from the others, and remain in her seat after school closed until the other children had time to reach their homes. CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT