Miss Olney made several mistakes. First of all, she made her pupils very
conscious of the visitors by putting them upon the platform and spending
her time during lesson-hours talking to them. Company should never be
put upon a platform unless they are to be looked at; for any child feels
that an unusual object, placed directly before him, must be meant to be
seen. Miss Olney had no business asking her pupils to do what she did
not herself do; she spent her time with the visitors, neglecting her
regular program, but asked her pupils to attend to their lessons. She
should have known that voluntary attention is weak in early childhood,
and needs every help to growth. She made Harvey, Sara, Mary and the
little Johnsons very self-conscious by correcting them before guests,
then reproved them for not going on with their work in complete
unconsciousness of anything unusual. In short, she ignored the value of
example in every way.
Dramatic exercises are a most effective means of reaching small
children, since they offer the elements of vividness and repetition.