--Methods such as outlined above are sometimes criticized
because of the crudity of the results. It is sometimes argued that the
crude work establishes low standards and that better finished work of a
more useful type is more desirable in school projects. Certainly
everything which is done in school should be useful. School years are too
precious to be wasted, in any degree, on a thing which is useless. But it
is important to have a right standard for measuring the usefulness of a
project. Since it is the child's interest and effort which are to be
stimulated, his work must be useful from his point of view. The things
that he works upon must be valuable to him personally. It is not enough
for the teacher to be satisfied with the value of the subject matter. It
must, as far as possible, be self-evident to the child himself.

In the growing period a child is always anxious to excel himself and
attain a higher level, nearer the adult standards. He measures his growth,
not only in inches, but in ability to run faster, jump farther, count
higher, and so on. So long as he is stimulated by an interesting motive he
puts forth his best effort. It is only when we set him tasks and demand
blind obedience that he lags. If his crude work represents his best
effort, honestly put forth, he will, and he does, desire to do something
better each time he tries. If he is permitted to work freely upon projects
of immediate interest to him, he not only becomes familiar with various
materials and the purposes they may serve, but he also begins to realize
his inability to make them always obey his impulse. As soon as he
discovers that there are better and easier ways of working which bring
about more satisfactory results, he is anxious to learn the tricks of the
trade; and he comes to the later, more technical courses in handwork, not
only with more intelligence, but also with an appreciation of their value
which is reflected in the quality of his work.

=Summary.=--The last word, as the first in this little book, would stress
the fact that it is always possible to improve present conditions.

Activity is an essential factor in a child's development in school as well
as out. Handwork is an important phase of this necessary activity. Neither
lack of time, scarcity of material, nor lack of training on the part of
the teacher is a sufficient excuse for failure to use some handwork in
every school. Much can be accomplished with materials which are