The teacher who has not had time to prepare a lesson will find it best
to be quite frank with his pupils; no mistake could be greater than to
pretend a knowledge which he does not have. Miss Kirk might have said to
her class on that first day,
“I have just come, and have not even read over today’s lesson; and it
has been several years since I read this play or saw it performed. So we
shall have to work it out together, and I’ve no doubt that you can tell
me many things I’ve forgotten.” Harold, who had had his father’s help in
studying the act, would have been delighted at the chance to contribute
his facts, and their gracious reception would have encouraged others to
prepare lessons in the same thorough way.