such as spelling, and
penmanship, and the fundamental tables of arithmetic. It is already
clearly demonstrated that brief periods of intense concentration are
more economical than longer periods during which the monotony of
repetition fags the mind to a point where it can no longer work
effectively. We are also beginning to see from these tests, that a
systematic method of attacking such a problem as the memorizing of the
tables will do much to save time and promote efficiency. We are finding
that it is extremely profitable to instruct children in the technique of
learning,--to start them out in the right way by careful example, so
that much of the time and energy that was formerly dissipated, may now
be conserved.

And there is a suggestion, also, that in the average school, the vast
possibilities of the child's latent energy are only imperfectly
realized. A friend of mine stumbled accidentally upon this fact by
introducing a new method of grading. He divided his pupils into three
groups or streams. The group that progressed the fastest was made up of
those who averaged 85 per cent and over in their work. A middle group
averaged between 75 per cent and 85 per cent in their work, and a third,
slow group was made up of those who averaged below 75 per cent. At the
end of the first month, he found that a certain proportion of his
pupils, who had formerly hovered around the passing grade of 70, began
to forge ahead. Many of them easily went into the fastest stream, but
they were still satisfied with the minimum standing for that group. In
other words, whether we like to admit it or not, most men and women and
boys and girls are content with the passing grades, both in school and
in life. So common is the phenomenon that we think of the matter
fatalistically. But supply a stimulus, raise the standard, and you will
find some of these individuals forging up to the next level.

Professor James's doctrine of latent energies bids fair to furnish the
solution of a vast number of perplexing educational problems. Certain it
is that our pupils of to-day are not overburdened with work. They are
sometimes irritated by too many tasks, sometimes dulled by dead routine,
sometimes exhilarated to the point of mental _ennui_ by spectacular
appeals to immediate interest. But they are seldom overworked, or even
worked to within a healthful degree of the fatigue point.

Elementary education has often been accused of transacting its business