urs one can teach a child, as matters of mere
knowledge, what he should do in all the important situations of life;
but this will not insure that he will henceforth do the right things.

There are only two ways by which we can obtain any assurance that right
action will come. The first way is to secure right habits of response.
We must build up tendencies to action. Tendencies depend upon previous
action. The second way is to help the child to analyze moral situations
and see what results will follow upon the different kinds of action.
There can be developed in a child a desire to do that which will bring
joy and happiness to others, rather than pain and sorrow. But this
analysis of moral situations is not enough to insure right moral action;
there must be practice in doing the right thing. The situation must go
over to the right response to insure its going there the next time. The
first thing in moral training is to develop habits. Then, as soon as
the child is old enough he can strengthen his habits by a careful
analysis of the problem why one should act one way rather than another.
This adds motive; and motive gives strength and assurance.

SUMMARY. Habits are acquired tendencies to specific actions in
definite situations. They are fixed through repetition. They give us
speed, accuracy, and certainty, they save energy and prevent
fatigue. They are performed with less attention and become
pleasurable. The main purpose of education is to form the
habits--moral, intellectual, vocational, cultural--necessary for
life. Habits and ideals are the basis of our mature life and
character. Moral training is essentially like other forms of
training, habit being the basis.

CLASS EXERCISES

1. Practice on the formation of some habit until considerable skill is
acquired. Draw a learning curve similar to the one on page 95, showing
the increase in skill. A class experiment can be performed by the use of
a substitution test. Take letters to represent the nine digits, then
transcribe numbers into the letters as described on page 192. Keep a
record of successive five-minute periods of practice till all have
practiced an hour. This gives twelve practice periods for the
construction of a learning curve. The individual experiments should be
more difficult and cover a longer period. Suitable experiments for
individual practice are: learning to operate a typewriter, pitching
marbles into a hole, writing with the le