Children instantly detect the mawkish note in a teacher’s dealings with
them, and appreciate it keenly if they have any sense of humor. The most
of them have. Miss Haynes was over-emotional, and made the blunder of
appealing to feelings which Darrow did not possess. Never talk to a
child leader about his leadership. To do so either makes him vain, or
robs him of his ability through the development of self-consciousness.
Miss Haynes did not appeal to a boy’s interests. A boy does not usually
care to lead his companions to moral heights. He does not like “Sunday
language.” He does not think he is slipping into perdition when he plays
truant; and many grown people think he is right. Miss Haynes failed
because she did not know enough about boy nature to make a real appeal
to a boy. She had so little sympathy with the play spirit that she did
not even sympathize with the boys’ response to the call of a swimming
hole. Because she could not appeal to the leader, his leadership
continued to be against her authority and against the best interests of
the school.