recitation seriously. It must not be a cause for levity when several
pupils fail. Failure must come to be looked forward to with
apprehension, and looked back upon with humiliation. And all this must
be done without scolding and bickering. It must be done with great
patience and good nature, but it must be done. The teacher must
himself have a high standard of excellence, and must persistently
impress this upon his class. Here again the ideals of the teacher are
contagious.


5. _A spirit of coöperation_

Much depends on the spirit with which class and teacher enter upon the
recitation. If the spirit of coöperation is lacking; if the relations
between teacher and pupils are strained or not cordial; if the class
look upon the recitation as a kind of game in which the teacher tries
to corner and catch the class, and the class try to avoid being
cornered and caught, then the recitation is certain to be a failure.

Under skillful teaching the pupils should come to look forward to the
recitation with pleasure and anticipation. It should be a time when
teacher and class work together in whole-hearted, enthusiastic effort,
with the common aim of bringing the class to master more fully the
matter of the lesson. There should be no feeling that the teacher has
one aim and the class another aim, or that their interests are in any
way antagonistic; no feeling that the teacher's highest ambition is to
catch pupils in errors, and the pupil's highest achievement to avoid
being caught. There should be no attempt at bluffing, or covering up
errors or points not understood.