A wise teacher does not make so much ado about one aspect of school-room
management. Mr. MacFarland could easily have foreseen that he was
introducing another evil along with his reform. Reverse the process.
Arrange that the wastebasket be passed around mid-way between
intermissions according to a definite schedule. Let the passing of the
basket be a privilege that is handed down from one pupil to another
according as they are seated, beginning with the pupil who sits to the
extreme right of the teacher’s desk. One pupil each day is appointed as
guardian of waste. The privilege and honor will be appreciated, and with
a word of caution, the service can be performed with the very slightest
interruption.
The following instructions might be properly given to the children when
the new system is established:
“We are going to save time as much as possible. Four times every day we
shall pass the wastebasket and you may put into it whatever you have on
hand to be thrown away. Nothing is to be said to the person who carries
the basket. He will go quietly, promptly, passing down the aisles, doing
a favor to everyone in the room by his careful attention to this
matter.”