recitation.

Interest is contagious. No one ever saw an interested and enthusiastic
teacher with a dull and lifeless class. Nor can interest and
enthusiasm on the part of a class continue in the presence of a
mechanical and lifeless teacher. The teacher is the model, and he sets
the standard and pace for his class. Unconsciously the pupils come,
under the influence of the teacher's personality, to reflect his type
of mind and attitude toward the work of the school. The teacher's
interest and vivacity in the recitation depend on many factors, some
of which are largely under his own control.

_a. The teacher's command of the subject-matter of the recitation._--A
teacher whose grasp of the lesson is doubtful, who does not feel sure
that he is a master of all its points, who fears that questions may be
asked that he cannot answer or points raised that he cannot explain,
can hardly possess an attitude of true interest toward the recitation.
His mind is too full of worry and strain and embarrassment. He lacks
the sense of ease and freedom which comes from a feeling of mastery.

Command of the subject-matter of the recitation depends, _first_ on
the teacher's general mastery of the branch, and, _second_, on being
freshly prepared upon it. It behooves every young teacher, therefore,
to strive for mastery as he teaches.

But no matter how good the preliminary preparation, this cannot take
the place of the fresh daily review, which gives the mind a new
readiness and grasp on the subject. Let the teachers who feel that
their recitations are slow and dull, seek the cause first of all in
their own lack of preparation in one of the two lines mentioned.