[Sidenote: Excitement]
It was the day before the Christmas vacation. Poorly concealed
excitement was apparent in the actions of the children. Hazel Dare
laughed aloud. Miss Dean soon noted the cause of the outbreak of
merriment. Johnny Thomas had drawn a grotesque figure of Santa Claus
overloaded with bundles marked “for Johnny, the brave.” Miss Dean saw
that routine work could be pursued only with difficulty. She presently
asked to have all desks put in order. Unusual exercises in reading,
arithmetic and geography were introduced. At an early hour the children
were dismissed. The unusual excitement was met by an unusual program.
A fruitful cause for the giving of inopportune commands is an inherent
lack of sympathy with children, or perhaps a total lack of sense of
humor. Laughter in school, when spontaneous and genuine, is not a
misdemeanor, but a sign that normal, healthy conditions reign there.