lf be a distraction in the classroom. Any striking mannerism, any
peculiarity of manner or carriage, extreme types of dress, or any
personal quality that attracts attention to itself is a distraction to
the class. One teacher may have a very loud or ill-modulated voice;
another may speak too low to be heard without too much effort; another
may fail to articulate clearly. Whatever attracts attention to the
speech itself draws attention away from the thought back of the speech
and hinders the listener from giving his full powers to the lesson.

A distracting habit on the part of some teachers is to walk back and
forth before the class, or to assume awkward postures in standing or
sitting before the class, or nervously to finger a book or some object
held in the hands. All these may seem like small things, but success or
failure often depends upon a conjunction of many small things, each of
which in itself may seem unimportant. It is often "the little foxes that
spoil the vines."

Avoiding physical distractions.--In the church school, as in the
public school, the physical conditions surrounding the recitation should
be made as favorable as possible. Not infrequently the children are
placed for their lesson hour in seats that were intended for adults, and
which are extremely uncomfortable for smaller persons. The children's
feet do not touch the floor, and their backs can not secure a support;
weariness, wriggling and unrest are sure to follow. Sometimes the
ventilation of the classroom is bad, and the foul air breathed on one
Sunday is carefully shut in for use the next. Basement rooms are not
seldom damp, or they have a bad odor, or the lighting is unsatisfactory,
or the walls are streaked, dim and uninviting. If such things seem
relatively unimportant, we must remember that the child's spiritual life
is closely tied up with the whole range of his experiences, and that
such things as lack of oxygen in the classroom, tired legs whose feet
can not touch the floor, eyes offended by unloveliness, or nostrils
assailed by unpleasant odors may get in the way of the soul's
development. Our churches should not rest satisfied until children in
the church schools work under as hygienic and as pleasant conditions as
obtain in the best of our public schools.

DANGER POINTS IN INSTRUCTION

It is a well-known law in pedagogy that negatives are not often
inspiring, and that to hold before one his mistakes is not always the
best way