Fear is plainly a self-preservative instinct which is of great value to
the child in keeping him away from dangers which might easily result in
serious injury. But fear has little value in the schoolroom. Instead of
aiding the child it cripples, hinders, even paralyzes, his action so
that he not only does his daily work with less freedom, but frequently
fails outright to perform the task assigned, even with his most
conscientious effort. If teachers doubt this statement let them observe
the effects of fear upon themselves and note whether they have more or
less self-control when under the influence of strong fear. Fortunately,
few teachers resort to this method of control at the present time, but
here and there one may still be found who has not yet learned the fact
that ruling pupils by fear is a confession on his part that he is a poor
disciplinarian.
[Sidenote: First Grade]
The first grade teacher, however, through no fault of his own, is often
confronted on the first day with a great many children who are afraid of
him. This characteristic is not so marked in the village or city
schools, where children are accustomed to strangers, as in the rural
school, where children come in who have seen but few strangers. It is
not uncommon for a teacher himself, who, for the first time, steps into
an unfamiliar school, to be afraid. This fear is written on his face;
then it is little wonder that the children display fear. All that such
teachers need to do is to put on a smiling face and meet the children
with kindly greetings. A “Good morning, how are you?” and other cordial
expressions will reassure the children. Through the day the teacher will
be friendly and kind, complimenting each about something done; show some
novelty or even give the shy child a pencil or picture. Within one week
any child who is afraid of the teacher should have learned not to fear
him. Every unkindness will aggravate the fear and only make it more
difficult to remove.
A pupil who will not recite is sometimes considered a problem in the
schoolroom. Such a pupil will not often appear in any grade except the
first, and as a rule only in country schools. Then, usually, it is not
because the pupil is stubborn or possesses some other vicious trait; he
may be bashful or may have received inhumane treatment at home. Whenever
a teacher finds that he has such a pupil it is not wise to attempt to
make him recite. That will only aggravate the bashfulness or fear, and
may even antagonize the pupil, making the trouble worse.
The first thing for the teacher to do is to be kind to the child. Show
him some little favor. Instead of attempting to make him do school work,
he should not be required to do any for a week or more. This time is
given to aid him in becoming accustomed to new associates and
surroundings. There should be no hint as to work. The week should be
well used in getting the child’s interest and confidence. Besides, he is
childish enough to watch the other pupils at work and feel an innermost
interest in their activities. The teacher can loan him picture books and
other interesting objects. He, too, can show some of the other pupils’
work. Finally, he can allow some other pupil to sit with him and teach
him how to draw with colored pencils. It is only natural that a child
who is doing school work should be interested and attempt to tell what
he knows to another. The teacher must not let the children sit together
too long. In about six or seven days at most the first grade child that
refused to recite will begin to manifest an interest and join the
classes without further effort on the part of the teacher.
[Sidenote: Crying]
Crying is often very annoying in the first grade. It may be due to fear,
illness, an accident causing pain, a habit, or it may constitute the
child’s chief means of securing what he desires.
If a child is suffering from some malady, as bad digestion, earache or
other pains, the parents must be consulted, and an attempt made to have
them put the child under a physician’s care until cured. It is most
lamentable, indeed, that so many parents pay no attention to the
ailments that so often worry little children. If the parents will not
coöperate with the teacher, then all the teacher can do is to be
sympathetic with the child and attempt to alleviate the pain. Such a
child should not be treated harshly, that would only add to his
suffering.
Whenever a child is hurt, the teacher should go to his aid, offering
sympathy. However, it is not judicious to say, “That is too bad.” This
may frighten the child and make him cry the harder. It is better to say
to the child, “Never mind, I’ll fix that in a second and then you can
play again.” Even though the accident is serious and requires the
attention of a physician, the teacher should relieve the child from
anxiety. Do not allow other pupils to exaggerate the accident.
Crying merely as a habit is quite prevalent in the first grade and is
caused by poor methods of child training at home. Find out what usually
causes the child to cry. Remove these causes as far as possible.
Avoiding the things that cause the child to cry will help cure the
habit. Whenever the child cries, go to him at once and in a pleasing
manner say, “Just wait! I want to get you something.” Such a statement
will attract the child’s attention and he will stop crying long enough
to see what you are getting. Then get something that will interest him.
Do all of this quickly so that the child will not have time to go back
to crying. Keep the child interested until he forgets to cry. Common
sense with this method will cure almost any child that habitually cries.
Treat repeated offenses in the same way. The wording of the requests can
be changed, if only they are suggestive and gain the child’s attention.
The child that cries to gain what he desires has been so trained at
home. It is, indeed, a bad type of training, but the teacher can improve
the child in such a way that the parents will wonder what influences are
at work. Should a child cry for something he wants, it will only
intensify the habit to grant him his desire. A typical case is a child
crying to go home. The method of procedure is the one given above. Apply
the principle of suggestion, and follow the suggestion by quick
substitution of the thing that will interest the child. All requests
should be made by the teacher in an attitude that will make the child
feel that the teacher expects nothing else but compliance with her
requests.
(1) _Governing through fear._ Teachers intimidate their pupils; they try
to scare them into getting their lessons and behaving properly. While
this may accomplish the desired results in a measure, it does not bring
out the best a child is capable of, or help him to gain a real education
in self-reliance, control, etc.