we continually changed, and it is well for us that we continue to do
the old way to which we have become accustomed, till a new and better
one is shown beyond doubt. Even then, it is probably better for an old
person to continue to use the accustomed methods of a lifetime. Although
better methods are developed, they will not be so good for the old
person as those modes of action that he is used to. The possibility of
progress is through new methods which come in with each succeeding
generation.

When we become old we are not willing to change, but the more reasonable
of us are willing that our children should be taught a better way.
Sometimes, of course, we find people who say that what was good enough
for them is good enough for their children. Most of us think better, and
wish to give our children a "better bringing up than ours has been."

These considerations make clear the importance of habit in life. They
should also make clear a very important corollary. If habits are
important in life, then it is the duty of parents and teachers to make a
careful selection of the habits that are to be formed by the children.
The habits that will be necessary for the child to form in order to meet
the various situations of his future life, should be determined. There
should be no vagueness about it. Definite habits, social, moral,
religious, intellectual, professional, etc., will be necessary for
efficiency. We should know what these various habits are, and should
then set about the work of establishing them with system and
determination, just as we would the building of a house. Much school
work and much home training is vague, indefinite, uncertain, done
without a clear understanding of the needs or of the results. We
therefore waste time, years of the child's life, and the results are
unsatisfactory.

=Drill in School Subjects.= In many school subjects, the main object is to
acquire skill in certain processes. As previously explained, we can
become skillful in an act only by repetition of the act. Therefore, in
those subjects in which the main object is the acquiring of skill, there
must be much repetition. This repetition is called drill. The matter of
economical procedure in drill has already been considered, but there are
certain problems connected with drill that must be further discussed.

Drill is usually the hardest part of school work. It becomes monotonous
and tiresome. Moreover, drill is always a means. It is the