hat the caution
given in a preceding part of this chapter, against devoting undue and
disproportionate attention to such persons must not be forgotten. Still,
these individuals will require, and it is right that they should
receive, a far greater degree of attention, so far as the moral
administration of the school is concerned, than their mere numbers would
appear to justify. This is the field in which the teacher is to study
human nature; for here it shows itself without disguise. It is through
this class, too, that a very powerful moral influence is to be exerted
upon the rest of the school. The manner in which such individuals are
managed; the tone the teacher assumes towards them; the gentleness with
which he speaks of their faults, and the unbending decision with which
he restrains them from wrong, will have a most powerful effect upon the
rest of the school. That he may occupy this field, therefore, to the
best advantage, it is necessary that he should first thoroughly explore
it.

By understanding the dispositions and characters of such a class of
pupils as I have described, I do not mean merely watching them, with
vigilance, in school, so that none of their transgressions shall go
unobserved and unpunished. I intend a far deeper and more thorough
examination of character. Every boy has something or other which is good
in his disposition and character, which he is aware of, and on which he
prides himself; find out what it is, for it may often be made the
foundation, on which you may build the superstructure of reform. Every
one has his peculiar sources of enjoyment,--and objects of pursuit,
which are before his mind from day to day; find out what they are, that
by taking an interest in what interests him, and perhaps sometimes
assisting him in his plans, you can bind him to you. Every boy is, from
the circumstances in which he is placed at home, exposed to temptations,
which have perhaps, had a far greater influence in the formation of his
character, than any deliberate and intentional depravity of his own;
ascertain what these temptations are, that you may know where to pity
him, and where to blame. The knowledge which such an examination of
character will give you, will not be confined to making you acquainted
with the individual. It will be the most valuable knowledge which a man
can possess, both to assist him in the general administration of the
school, and in his intercourse among mankind in the business o