Three elements of manner seem to me
an essential adjunct to the personality of a
teacher of little children: courtesy, repose
vitality. Repose and vitality explain themselves;
by courtesy I specifically do NOT
mean the habit of mind which contents
itself with drilling children in "Good-
mornings" and in hat-liftings. I mean
the attitude of mind which recognizes in
the youngest, commonest child, the potential
dignity, majesty, and mystery of the
developed human soul. Genuine reverence
for the humanity of the "other fellow"
marks a definite degree of courtesy in the
intercourse of adults, does it not? And
the same quality of respect, tempered by
the demands of a wise control, is exactly
what is needed among children. Again
and again, in dealing with young minds,
the teacher who respects personality as
sacred, no matter how embryonic it be,
wins the victories which count for true
education. Yet, all too often, we forget the
claims of this reverence, in the presence
of the annoyances and the needed corrections.

As for voice: work in schoolrooms brings
two opposing mistakes constantly before
me: one is the repressed voice, and the
other, the forced. The best way to avoid