ess, desire, and complete assent of the inner self to the tasks
imposed. There must be no lagging, nor holding back, nor partial use of
powers.

Religious education is, therefore, not simply a question of getting our
children into the church schools. That is easy. Parents who themselves
do not attend feel that they have more fully done their duty by their
children if they send them to the Sunday school. After securing the
attendance of the children the great question still remains--that of the
_response_, their attitude toward the activities of the school, the
completeness with which they give themselves to its work.

A friend who is a State inspector of public schools tells me that the
first thing he looks for when he visits a school is the _school spirit_,
the attitude of the pupils toward their teachers and the work of the
school. If this is good, there is a foundation upon which to build
fruitful work; if the spirit is bad, there is no possibility that the
work of the school can be up to standard. For it is out of the
schoolroom spirit, the classroom attitudes, that the effort necessary to
growth and achievement must come.

The spirit of the classroom.--_Do the children enjoy the lesson hour?_
The first of the motivating conditions to seek for our classroom is a
prevailing attitude of happiness, good cheer, enjoyment. These are the
natural attributes and attitudes of childhood. Unhappiness is an
abnormal state for the child. The child's nature unfolds and his mind
expands normally only when in an atmosphere of sympathy, kindness, and
good feeling. Our pupils must enjoy what they are doing, if they are to
give themselves whole-heartedly to it. If loyalty to the school and the
church is to result, they must not feel that the Sunday school hour is a
drag and a bore. If such is the case, they cannot be expected to carry
away lasting impressions for good. They must not look upon attendance as
an imposition, nor wait with eager impatience for the closing gong.

While loyalty should be permeated by a sense of duty and obligation, and
even of self-sacrifice, it cannot rest on this alone. Most children and
youth are loyal to their homes; but this loyalty rests chiefly on a
sentiment formed from day to day and year to year out of the satisfying
experiences connected with the love, care, protection, and associations
of the home. Let these happy, satisfying home experiences be lacking,
and loyalty to the home fails or loses