t their speech. Much of our criticism is given publicly, at least
before other children, some of whom are known to speak more fluently and
correctly than those whose errors are being criticized. In consequence,
the children begin to doubt themselves, to hesitate, and gradually to
lose their desire to talk. In fact, so timid and reluctant do they
become that by the time they have been in school a few years many
teachers find their greatest difficulty in getting pupils to recite well
or to talk naturally. Perhaps before and after school and at recess they
will converse freely and delightfully, but as soon as their classes are
called they become reticent and ill at ease. Not all of this lack of
spirit is due to the teacher, but some of it is. In any event it is an
unfortunate condition, and the teacher is anxious to remove it.

At home a similar condition prevails. If the parents are themselves
accurate in speech and alive to the importance of making their children
good talkers and users of correct English they will be ready with
criticism, and unless they are careful will do their share to repress
the natural frankness of child nature. Parents who have been teachers
are quite as liable to err as others are to remain in ignorance in
attempting to understand the psychology of the child mind. Freedom of
conversation on topics of interest where correct models of speech are
always before the child will accomplish more in making cultivated speech
than will twice as much direct instruction. If only parents will read
the things that the children are reading and affect an interest in those
things they can be certain of giving the best training, while they
themselves will grow in happiness and nearness to their offspring. In
the fields of literature they can stray together with the consciousness
that with all the beauty there is nothing to corrupt.

In a lesser degree, perhaps, the same facts are true in written
language, in composition. But in lessons of this type the instructor
will not find conditions so favorable: Talking is natural, writing is
artificial; to speak is instinctive, to write is an art of difficult
attainment. In the first place, a child must be taught to form strange
characters with his hand. After he acquires facility in that, he must
think, put this thoughts into words in his mind, and then laboriously
transfer his words, letter by letter, to the paper before him. Many a
child who talks well cannot write a resp