he movement. This is illustrated in the case of a person who, when
unconsciously directing his bicycle along the road, comes to a narrow
plank over a culvert. Hereupon full attention may be given to the
movements, that is, the acts may come under conscious control.

FORMATION OF HABITS

It is evident from the nature of the structure and properties of the
nervous system, that man cannot possibly avoid the formation of habits.
Any act once performed will not only leave an indelible trace within the
nervous system, but will also set up in the system a tendency to repeat
the act. It is this fact that always makes the first false step
exceedingly dangerous. Moreover, every repetition further breaks down
the present resistance and, therefore, in a sense further enslaves the
individual to that mode of action. The word poorly articulated for the
first time, the letter incorrectly formed, the impatient shrug of the
shoulder--these set up their various tracks, create a tendency, and
soon, through the establishment of lower connections, become unconscious
habits. Thus it is that every one soon becomes a bundle of habits.

=Precautions to be Taken.=--A most important problem in relation to the
life of the young child is that he should at the outset form right
habits. This includes not only doing the right thing, but also doing it
in the right way. For this he must have the right impression, make the
right response, and continue this response until the proper paths are
established in the nervous system, or, in other words, until practically
all resistance within the system is overcome. It is here that teachers
are often very lax in dealing with the pupil in his various forms of
expressive work. They may indeed give the child the proper impression,
for example, the correct form of the letter, the correct pronunciation
of the new word, the correct position for the pen and the body, but too
often they do not exercise the vigilance necessary to have the first
responses develop into well-fixed habits. But it must be remembered that
the child's first response is necessarily crude; for as already seen,
there is always at first a certain resistance to the co-ordinated
movements, on account of the tracks within the nervous system not yet
being surely established. The result is that during the time this
resistance is being overcome, there is constant danger of variations
creeping into the child's responses. Unless, therefore, he is constan