ies for
practice both in free minutes during the school program, and outside of
school. He must be taught in habit formation to practice the new habit
in the way it is to be used: practicing the sounds of letters in words,
the writing movements in writing words, swimming movements in the water,
and so on. Practicing the whole movements, not trying to gain perfection
in parts of it and then putting it together. It is important also that
the learner be taught to keep his attention on the result to be
obtained, instead of the movements. He should attend to the swing of the
club, the lightness of the song, the cut the saw is making, the words he
is writing, instead of the muscle movements involved. In breaking up bad
habits it is sometimes necessary to concentrate on a part or a movement,
when that is the crux of the error, but in general it is a bad practice
when forming a new habit. The child must also learn to watch the habit
of skill he is forming for signs of improvement and then to try to find
out the reason for it. It has been proved experimentally that much of
the improvement in habits of skill comes unconsciously to the learner,
and necessarily so, but that in order for the improvement to continue
and be effective, it must become conscious. Of course, at the beginning
and for a long time it must be the teacher's duty to point out the
improvement and to help the child to think out the reasons for it, but
if he is to learn to study by himself the child must finally come to
habits of self-criticism which will enable him to recognize success or
failure in his own work. In all this discussion of teaching children to
study it must be constantly borne in mind that it is a gradual
process--and only very slowly does the child become conscious of the
technique. Which elements can be made conscious, how much he can be left
to himself, must depend on his maturity and previous training. In time,
however, he should be able to apply them all--for only by so doing will
he become capable of independent study.

When the study is primarily concerned with memory responses, all the
elements which have just been discussed in connection with habit apply,
for, after all, memory is but mental habit. There are other factors
which enter into and which should be used in this type of study. First,
the child should realize the need for understanding the material that is
to be learned, before beginning to memorize it. He will then be taught
to r