The teacher, speaking from a distance, said,
[Sidenote: Scattered Paper]
“Helen, pick up the paper that is under your desk.” Helen paid no heed
to the command. The teacher repeated her order,
“Helen, pick up that paper.” Still no response. Then said the teacher in
a threatening voice,
“Helen, are you going to pick up that paper?” All eyes were now turned
toward Helen. Here was an opportunity for notoriety.
“No, I don’t want to.”
The teacher now walked back to Helen; taking her by the shoulder she
pushed the girl toward the paper. Helen resisted. The teacher then gave
her two or three vigorous shakes and said in an angry tone, “Pick up
that paper!” Helen complied, but the instant the teacher’s back was
turned she made a wry face at her. During the recitation which
immediately followed, Helen’s answers were short and scornful. The
children all gave more attention to observing the relation between Helen
and the teacher than they did to the subject in hand.
The teacher was at a disadvantage for two reasons: first, she was not
near the child; second, she recalled home experiences by using a form of
request Helen had heard at home and disobeyed scores of times, “Pick
up,” etc.
Helen’s refusal attracted the attention of the other children to herself
and like most children Helen liked to be noticed. Her final attitude
toward the teacher paved the way for a repetition of the offense, with
its promise of further notoriety as a reward.
How would you have managed Helen had she been in your own school? We
suggest the following treatment for the next similar case that occurs.