322 METHODS IN TEACHING 



the ward is, they inquire at home and report in school about 

 some of the duties of a councilman toward his ward. Local 

 interest and patriotism quickly adapt themselves to the larger 

 units of city, state, nation; but if the local spirit has never 

 become real and intense, broad patriotism is never truly 

 quickened. Love for beautiful, sanitary, honestly won sur- 

 roundings in one's own neighborhood is the foundation on 

 which to build the desire for similar conditions in the wide 

 nation that is our heritage. 



In discussing with the children the desirability of such 

 moral attributes as honesty, bravery, truthfulness, unselfish- 

 ness, develop the reverse of the picture. 

 People That is, have them talk over why the oppo- 



site traits of character are dangerous to the 

 happiness and well-being of the home, the city, the state. 

 Include idleness, ignorance, and drunkenness in these dis- 

 cussions. Find out whether the laws concerning them 

 should be those of restraint or of training. 



An important part of the teacher's duty is to train pupils 

 in courteous habits. This is a part of the child's character 



formation that goes on steadily at school, it 

 Conduct 



is also one of the points of closest contact 



between the home and the school. The teacher deals with 

 the child in his relation to a larger, more formal society than 

 is met in the home life. The teacher should realize the 

 social as well as the intellectual meaning of this change and 

 should be equal to the needed guidance. Many a child is 

 more courteous, truthful, honest, and unselfish at home than 

 in school, and the opposite is also sometimes true. Either 

 condition is almost wholly dependent upon the atmosphere 



