vor, and explain the methods by which the
minority is then to be governed. I only mean here to say, that, by such
means, the teacher may easily interest a large proportion of the
scholars, in carrying his plans into effect, and that he must expect to
be prepared with other measures, for those, who will not be governed by
these.

You cannot reasonably expect however, that immediately after having
explained your plan, it will, at once, go into full and complete
operation. Even those who are firmly determined to keep the rule, will,
from inadvertence, for a day or two, make communication with each other.
They must be _trained_, not by threatening and punishment, but by your
good-humored assistance, to their new duties. When I first adopted this
plan in my school, something like the following proceedings took place.

"Do you suppose that you will perfectly keep this rule, from this time?"

"No sir," was the answer.

"I suppose you will not. Some, I am afraid, may not really be determined
to keep it, and others will forget. Now I wish every one would keep an
exact account to day, of all the instances of speaking and leaving
seats, out of the regular times, and be prepared to report them at the
close of the school. Of course, I shall have no punishment for it; but
it will very much assist you to watch yourselves, if you expect to make
a report at the end of the forenoon. Do you like this plan?"

"Yes sir," was the answer, and all seemed to enter into it with spirit.

In order to mark more definitely the times for communication I wrote,
in large letters, on a piece of pasteboard, "STUDY HOURS," and making a
hole over the centre of it, I hung it upon a nail, over my desk. At the
close of each half hour, a little bell was to be struck, and this card
was to be taken down. When it was up, they were, on no occasion
whatever, (except some such extraordinary occurrence as sickness, or my
sending one of them on a message to another, or something clearly out of
the common course,) to speak to each other; but were to wait, whatever
they wanted, until the _Study Card_, as they called it, was taken down.

"Suppose now," said I, "that a young lady has come into school, and has
accidentally left her book in the entry;--the book from which she is to
study during the first half hour of the school: she sits near the door,
and she might, in a moment, slip out and obtain it: if she does not, she
must spend the half hour in idleness, and be