to modern views, contains the essence of a teacher's duty toward his pupils, first the physical, then the mental.

The question of oxygen is one of vital importance, as is the question of schoolroom ventilation, the latter being unsettled. Everybody is satisfied that the average schoolroom is stuffy, the air impure. How to remedy this is the question. With all our fine systems of ventilation there is still room for improvement. If this be true of the average room, what must be the condition of the many rooms below the average?

Coupled with the heating and ventilating problem comes another from a hygienic standpoint,—the question of cloak rooms. That the cloak rooms should be of ample size, so that the clothing of each child may have a separate place, free from contact with the clothing of other children; that the room should be well lighted and ventilated in order that the wet garments may be rid of offensive odors, and the danger of infection be reduced to the least possible, is unquestionable. These requirements do not seem too high, yet the cloak rooms in few of our modern buildings would meet the simple requirements suggested.

Cleanliness of dress, body and schoolroom is conducive to good health. That all the schoolrooms should be as thoroughly cleansed, and so kept as the rooms in our own homes in which we live, would not be controverted by any intelligent citizen.

An oculist of no mean reputation remarked that upon the most reliable medical authority it was safe to say that eighty per cent of the American children have some form of ametropia, i. e., a deviation from the normal eye, while only twenty per cent have emmetropia, or normal eyes. He goes on by saying, if proper care be given, many of these eighty per cent need never come under the oculist's care, as nature will help remedy the defects; but if conditions are unfavorable,—i. e., if the lighting be improper,—the trouble will be precipitated.

In discussing the essentials to the good health and general welfare of the child, it would be nothing short of an injustice to pass over unnoticed the one person who makes it possible that everything provided for the child's best interest be so usedthe teacher. As is the teacher, so is the school; the teacher is the life of the room, the leader, the child's ideal. She it is who comes in daily contact with the child, knows his wants, his defects, his weaknesses, his strong points, and his needs. It therefore be comes a duty to impart such knowledge and give such training along the lines mentioned as will qualify the child to take proper care of himself.

That the teacher be well fitted mentally and morally for her work is essential; and it is equally essential that she be well equipped physically.

The Program in Elementary Schools

PRINCIPAL EZRA M. SPARLIN, PH.D., ROCHESTER, N. Y.

NE of the great problems before the teacher is how to make out a good working program. It has been the cause of many failures, and hence it is of vital importance. The program is necessary to bring unity into the work, and much time and thought should be given to mapping out one that will be suitable and correct in principle. It is a difficult task, and requires very careful planning and study. This exhibits the teacher's knowledge of the fundamental principles and laws of psychology and pedagogy more than almost any other part of her work, with the exception, perhaps, of the method of the recitation. It is a factor in school economy, and a teacher's success may depend largely upon her ability to construct her program.

Let us review some of the principles that must be found in every well-regulated program. It is the chart by which the school is run, and if properly made will lead to methodical habits on the part of both teacher and pupils. It is a great saving of time and energy. There must of course be a time for recitation and one for study, and these should alternate, giving a definite amount of time for each. It is very important to look after the study part of the program. Here is where the teacher often fails. A certain amount of time is specified for the recitation, but no attention, or very little at least, is given to the study proper. This requires more emphasis. It is important that the teacher should look after the study part as well as the periods of recitation. A definite amount of work in a certain subject should be assigned for the pupils to accomplish in a specific time. Some might argue that there should be freedom; that the pupil should be permitted to study whatsoever subject he might desire. Not so. Some might, perhaps, wish to study arithmetic instead of language; some might want to play instead of studying, and it is plain that this could not be allowed. There should be a time for everything, and it should be done at that particular time. The teacher and pupils are obliged to con

form to the law that has been established for the school,-doing a certain definite thing at a certain time. It forms habits of regularity and cultivates the will.

Every program should have a period for assisting the slow and backward pupils. The teacher must know the danger points of each subject, and see that the pupils are safely over them. All of the pupils of any grade will not be of the same mental caliber, and it will be found necessary to render individual assistance. This period is very important. Many perplexing questions will arise, and the teacher should have a definite time to assist those pupils who may need it. This period gives her an opportunity to come in closer touch with the individual child, learning his needs and getting hold of his peculiarities. He will doubtless have hereditary tendencies and an environment that the teacher must learn. The more insight she has into the child's eccentricities, the greater her power as a teacher. At this time she can get closer to the child who needs assistance than she can in the presence of the other pupils in the regular recitation. The weak pupils are the ones whom she especially needs to study, and this is her golden opportunity.

There should be periods for rest and exercise. Pupils need a change and recreation. There should be at least two such periods in each morning and afternoon session. One may be used for some gymnastic exercise and the other as a whispering recess, when the pupils may have the liberty of the room and perhaps of the hall. These breaks may occur about the end of each hour, or when the session is about one third and two thirds over. The general recess should occur at the same time throughout the school, while the period for exercise may vary according to the grade and whenever the teacher thinks the fatigue point is reached and a change is wise. Extra periods of rest and exercise should be given to young children.

The program should not be ironclad, but flexible, and subject to change to keep it up to whatever may be required. It should be followed quite closely, although there may be occasions when it may be wise to deviate from it. There may be exceptionally strong interest in some particular subject; it

would take perhaps four or five minutes longer to finish the topic. To close without finishing it might mean a great loss of time and energy, and it would be wise to complete it, as the pupils might not get worked up to that point of interest again. They would now grasp the subject more readily, assimilate it more easily, and hold it more firmly.

The number of minutes devoted to a recitation should be given as well as the time when it is to occur. The program should be posted in the room, so that the pupils may know what it is and have the privilege of studying it.

Let us consider the length of the recitation periods. They ought not to be long. Children are not able to hold their attention to any given subject for a considerable length of time. Their power of concentration is weak. The will cannot hold the attention. The period of recitation should not exceed fifteen or twenty minutes in the primary department, while in the grammar department it should be from twenty to thirty. In the first grade ten minutes may be long enough. Avoid extremes. Have the periods long enough to cover and clinch the points of the lesson, but not so long that interest will be sacrificed. Of course the time will vary again according to the subject. Spelling, for example, will not require the amount of time that should be devoted to arithmetic or grammar. The teacher should aim to economize time in every possible way and to have something ready for any unoccupied minute if such should arise.

The first few minutes in the morning and afternoon should be devoted to some general exercises. This may include a song, a talk or story, memory gems, a lesson on morals and manners, a short drill in mental arithmetic and current topics in the upper grades. There is great value in these exercises. When the pupil first comes into the schoolroom his mind is filled with thoughts of his games or something in common with his playmates. He has not sufficient will power to take his thoughts away from the things without and concentrate them on his lessons or give attention to the recitation; but by means of the opening exercises in common with his companions, his thoughts are gradually drawn away from his sports and riveted to the work of the day in the schoolroom. While these distracting thoughts are in his mind he will accomplish but little. These

exercises drive them out and thus assist him in concentrating his mind on his work.

The program must distribute and arrange the various subjects, and this involves no little thought and difficulty. The teacher must take into consideration the order of the unfolding of the mental faculties and those that are required in each subject. The faculty that appears first will become stronger than the second, the second stronger than the third, and so on down the line, because the first will have had more exercise. The last to appear will be the weakest, and cannot stand as much exercise before the fatigue point is reached as those that precede it. Observation appears early, while reason comes last on the field of action. A subject in which reason predominates should not be given as much time as one where observation is the principal faculty. The following table will show the four faculties that are prominent in the various subjects, and they are given in the order in which they unfold :—

Several faculties may be used in any one subject, some requiring two, some three, etc. The degree in which the faculty enters the subject is designated by H for high and M for medium. Because no mark appears below a faculty and opposite a subject, it is not intended to indicate that the faculty does not enter into that subject. It means that if it does enter it is slight, and for our purpose we are dealing with the high and medium. No faculty has a high or medium force in all subjects, except of course memory. The degree in which any particular faculty will be employed in the several subjects will vary. Subjects should be so arranged that a high tension of the same faculty will not be required successively. There should be a change and this gives rest. While one is at work the others are resting. It would be wrong to have one subject follow another where both require a high exercise of the same