same business sense and
ability in running the church school that they would apply to any other
concern. The collection can be taken at the beginning of the lesson
period. The papers and lesson material can be in the classroom or in the
teacher's hands before the class assembles, and not require distribution
during the lesson period. In short, all matters of routine can be so
carefully foreseen and provided for that the class will be wholly free
from all unnecessary distractions from such sources.

Mischief and disorder.--An especially difficult kind of distraction to
control is the tendency to restlessness, mischief, and misbehavior which
prevails in certain classes or on the part of an occasional pupil.
Pupils sometimes feel that the teacher in the church school does not
possess the same authority as that exercised by the public-school
teacher, and so take advantage of this fact. The first safeguard against
disorder in the class is, of course, to secure the interest and loyalty
of the members. The ideal is for the children to be attentive,
respectful, and well behaved, not because they are required to, but
because their sense of duty and pride and their interest in the work
leads them to this kind of conduct. It is not possible, however,
continuously to reach this ideal with all children. There will be
occasional cases of tendency to disorder, and the spirit of mischief
will sometimes take possession of a class whose conduct is otherwise
good.

Whenever it becomes necessary, the teacher should not hesitate to take a
positive stand for order and quiet in the class. All inattention is
contagious. A small center of disturbance can easily spread until it
results in a whole storm of disorder. Mischief grows through the power
of suggestion, and a small beginning may soon involve a whole class.
There is no place for a spirit of irreverence and boisterousness in the
church school, and the teacher must have for one of his first principles
the maintenance of good conduct in his classroom. No one can tell any
teacher just how this is to be achieved in individual cases, but it must
be done. And the teacher who cannot win control over his class would
better surrender it to another who has more of the quality of leadership
or mastery in his make-up, for no worthy, lasting religious impressions
can be given to noisy, boisterous, and inattentive children.

Distractions by the teacher.--Strange as it may seem, the teacher may
himse