adult should possess the spirit of
conquest. The long history of conflict through which our race has come
has left its mark in our love of combat. The pugnacity of children,
especially of boys, is not so much to be deprecated and suppressed as
guided into right lines and rendered subject to right ideals. The boy
who picks a quarrel has been done a kindness when given a drubbing that
will check this tendency. On the other hand, one who risks battle in
defense of a weaker comrade does no ignoble thing. Children need very
early to be taught the baseness of fighting for the sake of conflict,
and the glory of going down to defeat fighting in a righteous cause. The
world could well stand more of this spirit among adults!

* * * * *

Let us then hear the conclusion of the whole matter. The undesirable
instincts do not need encouragement. It is better to let them fade away
from disuse, or in some cases even by attaching punishment to their
expression. They are echoes from a distant past, and not serviceable in
this better present. _The desirable instincts we are to seize upon and
utilize as starting points for the development of useful interests,
good habits, and the higher emotional life. We should take them as they
come, for their appearance is a sure sign that the organism is ready for
and needs the activity they foreshadow; and, furthermore, if they are
not used when they present themselves, they disappear, never to return._

8. PROBLEMS IN OBSERVATION AND INTROSPECTION

1. What instincts have you noticed developing in children? What ones
have you observed to fade away? Can you fix the age in both cases? Apply
these questions to your own development as you remember it or can get it
by tradition from your elders.

2. What use of imitation may be made in teaching (1) literature, (2)
composition, (3) music, (4) good manners, (5) morals?

3. Should children be _taught_ to play? Make a list of the games you
think all children should know and be able to play. It has been said
that it is as important for a people to be able to use their leisure
time wisely as to use their work time profitably. Why should this be
true?

4. Observe the instruction of children to discover the extent to which
use is made of the _constructive_ instinct. The _collecting_ instinct.
The _dramatic_ instinct. Describe a plan by which each of these
instincts can be successfully used in some branch of study.

5. What