Superintendent Finley called Henry in after his little one-act play in
the assembly room and the following interview occurred.
[Sidenote: Gymnasium]
“I have some facts about your affairs in the study period, Henry, that
need to be cleared up. Yesterday you are said to have denied making
faces when the fact was you had been guilty.”
[Sidenote: Remedy]
“Well, I’ll tell you just how it was. I was at my desk. Miss Gresham
thought something was off-color and came down to see me. I told her I
didn’t know and then I recalled and answered her. The pupils looked on
and laughed. Miss Gresham was nettled, I suppose. She walked down the
aisle, stopped at Ellen’s desk, her back to me, and said to Ellen,
“‘Look over to Henry’s desk and see what he is doing.’
“Ellen caught sight of me and must have told that I was making a face,
for Miss Gresham came to me and said: ‘What were you doing just now?’ I
said, ‘Nothing.’ She said, ‘You were making a face.’ I said, ‘I was
not.’ Then she sent me home.”
“Why did you deny making a face?”
“Because I hadn’t done it. I scowled but that was all. I didn’t do
anything that need excite Miss Gresham. She’s got it in for me.”
“Now that will do on that. You are not properly occupied some way in
your periods in the study room. I credit you with having intellect
enough to know how to play the gentleman. It’s a question of whether you
are always going to take advantage of opportunities to make sport at the
expense of pupils’ and teachers’ time, or whether you are going to help
make school work a success. I know pretty well what you think on these
matters, but I’d like to hear you express yourself on this point.”
Henry did discuss the matter; there were a few weak spots in his view of
school life. His evident restlessness during long school hours was a
predisposing cause of several troubles. For this and other reasons, Mr.
Finley decided to revise his schedule for use of the gymnasium during
school hours and to provide suitable interruptions of mental labor by
physical exercise of various sorts. This new program gratified the
pupils as well as relieved physical necessities.
The interview ended fortunately for both teacher and pupil and
eventually brought relief to several unfavorable conditions in the
school as a whole.
(2) _Teasing tricks._ Sometimes a pupil can cause no end of annoyance by
teasing others. This fault may have been trained into the child at home.