3. When the teacher knows that the interests of pupils have much to do with determining their effort, he will endeavour to seize upon these interests when most active. He will thus be saved such blunders as teaching in December a literature lesson on _An Apple Orchard in the Spring_, or assigning a composition on "Tobogganing" in June, because he realizes that the interest in these topics is not then active. Each season, each month of the year, each festival and holiday has its own particular interests, which may be effectively utilized by the presentation of appropriate materials in literature, in composition, in nature study, and in history. A current event may be taken advantage of to teach an important lesson in history or civics. For instance, an election may be made the occasion of a lesson on voting by ballot, a miniature election being conducted for that purpose.
4. When the teacher appreciates the extent of the capacities of children, he will not make too heavy demands upon their powers of logical reasoning by introducing too soon the study of formal grammar or the solution of difficult arithmetical problems. When he knows that the period from eight to twelve is the habit-forming period, he will stress, during these years such things as mechanical accuracy in the fundamental rules in arithmetic, the memorization of gems of poetry, and the cultivation of right physical and moral habits. When he knows the influence of motor expression in giving definiteness, vividness, and permanency to ideas, he will have much work in drawing, modelling, constructive work, dramatization, and oral and written expression.
=A. Observation.=--From the teacher's standpoint the method of observation of individual children is the most practicable. He has the material for his observations constantly before him. He soon discovers that one pupil is clever, another dull; that one excels in arithmetic, another in history; that one is inclined to jump to conclusions, another is slow and deliberate. He is thus able to adapt his methods to meet individual requirements. But however advantageous this may be from the practical point of view, it must be noted that the facts thus secured are individual and not universal. Such child study does not in itself carry one very far. To be of real value to the teacher, these particular facts must be recognized as illustrative of a general law. When the teacher discovers, for instance, that nobody in his class responds very heartily to an abstract discussion of the rabbit, but that everybody is intensely interested when the actual rabbit is observed, he may regard the facts as illustrating the general principle that children need to be appealed to through the senses. Likewise when he obtains poor results in composition on the topic, "How I Spent My Summer Holidays," but excellent results on "How to Plant Bulbs," especially after the pupils have planted a bed of tulips on the front lawn, he may infer the law, that the best work is obtained when the matter is closely associated with the active interests of pupils. By watching the children when they are on the school grounds, the teacher may observe how far the occupations of the home, or a current event, such as a circus, an election, or a war, influences the play of the children. Thus the method of observation requires that not only individual facts should be obtained, but also that general principles should be inferred on the basis of these. Care must be taken, however, that the facts observed justify the inference.