HOW NATURE STUDY SHOULD BE TAUGHT 171 



way he does," and his clenched fist flew up and 

 down, and up and down, and banged the desk 

 every time it came down, and did it gladly, too. 



" Well, never mind," said the teacher ; " we 

 won't talk about that ; we are talking about physio- 

 logy now. We will consider that at some other 

 time. But, James, when you speak you should not 

 be so vehement, and your gestures should not be 

 so violent. You should cultivate repose, James." 



I was amazed, almost stunned, when that learned 

 professor of pedagogy commended the teacher's 

 action, as an excellent example of adroitness in 

 avoiding a confession of ignorance, and of her skill 

 in thus maintaining discipline. He claimed that 

 if she had admitted her error, she would, to a 

 certain extent, have allowed the school to get the 

 best of her, and would, therefore, have lost her 

 dignified hold of the discipline. 



I claimed then, and I claim now, that it was a 

 case in which knowledge was snubbed by igno- 

 rance, and the weak oppressed by the strong. 

 Talk about losing the respect of her little men 

 and little women ! In the schoolroom, as in the 

 greater world of which it is an epitome, there is 

 nothing more repugnant than deceit, hypocrisy, or 

 unfairness. 



