No boy is going to respond to such a command as Miss Nichols gave when
she said, “Will the boy who has taken a lunch from the dressing-room for
three mornings please stand?” Even if he has stolen, he does not want to
be treated as a thief, and the other children do not want to be known as
“tattlers.” By your request, you are only making matters worse. Any
respect the children may have had for Miss Nichols was seriously
weakened when she appealed to someone in the room to tell on the boy who
stole the lunches.
One can never expect to appeal to a boy’s better self by telling him he
is a liar. The boy showed he was well-bred when he refused to talk back
to Miss Nichols.