elves and to give their whole attention to a
thing that must be done. A desire for efficiency can be developed in
them. The spirit of competition can sometimes be effectively used to add
interest to drill. Of course, interest and attention there must be, and
if it cannot be secured in one way, it must be in another.

Experiments have abundantly shown the value of formal drill, that is to
say, drill for drill's sake. If an arithmetic class is divided, one half
being given a few minutes' drill on the fundamental operations each day
but otherwise doing exactly the same work as the other half of the
class, the half receiving the drill acquires much more skill in the
fundamental operations and, besides, is better at reasoning out problems
than the half that had no drill. The explanation of the latter fact is
doubtless that the pupils receiving the drill acquire such efficiency in
the fundamental operations that these cause no trouble, leaving all the
energies of the pupils for reasoning out the problems.

It has been shown experimentally that a direct method of teaching
spelling is more efficient than an indirect method. It is not to be
wondered at that such turns out to be the case. For in a direct
approach, the act that we are trying to habituate is brought more
directly before consciousness, receiving that focal attention which is
necessary for the most efficient practice in habit-formation. If one
wishes to be a good ball pitcher, one begins to pitch balls, and
continues pitching balls day after day, morning, noon, and night. One
does not go about it indirectly. If one wishes to be a good shot with a
rifle, one gets a rifle and goes to shooting. Similarly, if one wishes
to be a good adder, the way to do is to begin adding, not to begin doing
something else. Of course any method that will induce a child to realize
that he ought to acquire a certain habit, is right and proper. We must
do all we can to give a child a desire, an interest in the thing that he
is trying to do. But there is no reason why the thing should not be
faced directly.

=Rules for Habit Formation.= In the light of the various principles which
we have discussed, what rules can be given to one forming habits? The
evident answer is, to proceed in accordance with established principles.
We may, however, bring the most important of these principles together
in the form of rules which can serve as a guide and help to one forming
habits.

(1) _Get initiati