girl comes to the desk to ask a question, or make a request, and the
teacher sees in the cast of countenance, or in the bearing or tone of
the individual, something indicating a proud, or a sullen, or an
ill-humored disposition, and conceives a prejudice, often entirely
without foundation, which weeks perhaps do not wear away. Every
experienced teacher can recollect numerous cases of this sort, and he
learns, after a time, to suspend his judgment. Be cautious therefore on
this point, and in the survey of your pupils which you make during the
first few days of your school, trust to nothing but the most sure and
unequivocal evidences of character; for many of your most docile and
faithful pupils will be found among those whose appearance at first
prepossessed you strongly against them.

One other caution ought also to be given. Do not judge too severely in
respect to the ordinary cases of misconduct in school. The young teacher
almost invariably does judge too severely. While engaged himself in
hearing a recitation, or looking over a "sum," he hears a stifled laugh,
and, looking up, sees the little offender struggling with the muscles of
his countenance to restore their gravity. The teacher is vexed at the
interruption, and severely rebukes or punishes the boy,--when, after
all, the offence, in a moral point of view, was an exceedingly light
one; at least it might very probably have been so. In fact, a large
proportion of the offences against order committed in school are the
mere momentary action of the natural buoyancy and life of childhood.
This is no reason why they should be indulged, or why the order and
regularity of the school should be sacrificed, but it should prevent
their exciting feelings of anger or impatience, or very severe
reprehension. While the teacher should take effectual measures for
restraining all such irregularities, he should do it with the tone and
manner which will show that he understands their true moral character,
and deals with them, not as heinous sins which deserve severe
punishment, but as serious inconveniences which he is compelled to
repress.

There are often cases of real moral turpitude in school,--such as where
there is intentional, wilful mischief, or disturbance, or habitual
disobedience, and there may even be, in some cases, open rebellion. Now
the teacher should show that he distinguishes these cases from such
momentary acts of thoughtlessness as we have described; and a broad