among them any very general disposition to be tardy, he ought
to seek for the fault mainly in himself and not in them.

The foregoing narratives and examples, it is hoped, may induce some of
the readers of this book to keep journals of their own experiments, and
of the incidents which may, from time to time, come under their notice,
illustrating the principles of education, or simply the characteristics
and tendencies of the youthful mind. The business of teaching will
excite interest and afford pleasure just in proportion to the degree in
which it is conducted by operations of mind upon mind, and the means of
making it most fully so are careful practice, based upon and regulated
by the results of careful observation. Every teacher, then, should make
observations and experiments upon mind a part of his daily duty, and
nothing will more facilitate this than keeping a record of results.
There can be no opportunity for studying human nature more favorable
than the teacher enjoys. The materials are all before him; his very
business, from day to day, brings him to act directly upon them; and the
study of the powers and tendencies of the human mind is not only the
most interesting and the noblest that can engage human attention, but
every step of progress he makes in it imparts an interest and charm to
what would otherwise be a weary toil. It at once relieves his labors,
while it doubles their efficiency and success.

CHAPTER IX.

THE TEACHER'S FIRST DAY.

[Illustration]

The teacher enters upon the duties of his office by a much more sudden
transition than is common in the other avocations and employments of
life. In ordinary cases, business comes at first by slow degrees, and
the beginner is introduced to the labors and responsibilities of his
employment in a very gradual manner. The young teacher, however, enters
by a single step into the very midst of his labors. Having, perhaps,
never even heard a class recite before, he takes a short walk some
winter morning, and suddenly finds himself instated at the desk, his
fifty scholars around him, all looking him in the face, and waiting to
be employed. Every thing comes upon him at once. He can do nothing until
the day and the hour for opening the school arrives--then he has every
thing to do.

Under these circumstances, it is not surprising that the young teacher
should look forward with unusual solicitude to his first day in school,
and he desires, ordinarily, s