“That will do. George, go on.”
Again George lost his chance to recite, not because he did not know the
lesson, but because he had not been listening to Stephen. In his
confusion his face flushed, especially when Miss Stanton said, in a low
tone:
“How is this, George? Two failures in one day? I shall expect a better
lesson than this tomorrow. Wilbur, will you finish the recitation?”
George sat quietly for the remainder of the recitation, thinking to
himself:
“Well, if she has called on me twice, she may get around again. Gee! I
knew all that.”
Miss Stanton did not call upon him again, however, that day. On the
following day George decided that it would be well to give enough
attention to the recitation, at least to “keep tab” on what the others
were reciting, and gradually he learned that he was likely to be called
up at any time that he allowed his attention to wander far away from the
work of the hour. Not a word had been said about his pranks, but they
ceased to be troublesome to teacher or class.
Some children are natural actors. They mimic grown-ups in a ludicrous
way. This may be done unconsciously, but sometimes pupils purposely
imitate a teacher’s walk, attitude, voice or phraseology, just out of a
desire to raise a laugh at the teacher’s expense.