Finally, however, his mother made him see that the manly thing would be to take his punishment, even if he wasn’t to blame. So, on the following morning, he reported himself to the teacher of the next lower grade, and told her that he was to study there. Later in the day the superintendent made his rounds, and exclaimed surprisedly, when he saw George, “Why, you here? I didn’t expect to ever see you again!” Needless to say that was the last appearance of George at school, and a life that might have been helped was spoiled by an unjust punishment and a careless remark. Even superintendents may make mistakes! CONSTRUCTIVE TREATMENT Say to the mischief-loving boy, “George, we can not have these animals loose in the school-room; it disturbs our work entirely too much. But there is a way that we can have them here, some of them at least, and everybody enjoy them. How would you like to help me make a fresh water aquarium for the school?” “You would like it? Very well. We shall need one more to help us. Tell the boy who brought in the snake to come to me with you this afternoon and together we will plan how to make the aquarium. We’ll get it all ready and give the other children a surprise. I’ll help you until it is ready for the animals. You and he can get the specimens, and after that I would like to have you two take care of them. Meanwhile, we’ll get from the library all the books we can find about the animals you two select, and talk about them in the nature study period.” The aquarium, referred to above, need not be an expensive apparatus. In fact, most any kind of a vessel or a very large bottle would serve the purpose very well. Do not furnish this yourself but let one of the boys bring it. COMMENTS The fact that George was fond of animals, insects, snakes, etc., was the clew for the teacher to work upon in gaining the good will and coöperation of the troublesome boy. Knowing one strong interest that he had, the teacher should start with that and work out from it to other and broader fields of action. Unless the teacher had actual proof to the contrary, she should have accepted the boy’s statement that he did not bring in the snake. It is far better that a guilty boy go unpunished, than that an innocent person be punished. Take the initiative in coöperation with the troublesome pupil and the troubles will soon disappear. ILLUSTRATION 1 (THIRD GRADE) [Sidenote: The Pet Dog] Henry Gould was very fond of his collie and insisted upon having his company every day at school. His teacher, Miss Greenway, probably would have made no objection to this had it not been for a fact that the dog was inclined to snap at any child except his master and thus endanger the safety of the other children. How to forbid the presence of the dog without arousing the antagonism of his owner was the problem. She resolved to try approval and initiative in coöperation. So she called Henry to her at noon time and said: