ms rarely provide any periods of silence. They assume that to be
effective a school must be a place of bustle, and hurry, and excitement,
not to mention entertainment. Sometimes the child is intent upon
explorations among the infinities when the teacher summons him back to
earth to cross a _t_ or dot an _i_. The teacher who would implant a
thought-germ in the minds of her pupils and then allow fifteen minutes of
silence for the process of germination, should be ranked as an excellent
teacher. When the child is thinking out things for himself the process is
favorable to initiative; but when the teacher directs his every movement,
thought, and impulse, she is repressing the very quality that makes for
initiative and ultimate leadership. When the boy would do some things on
his own, the teacher is striving to force him to travel in her groove.

Henderson well says: "We do not invariably cultivate initiative by letting
children alone, but in nine cases out of ten it is a highly effective
method. In our honest desire for their betterment, the temptation is
always to jump in and to do for them, when we would much better keep hands
off, and allow them, under favorable conditions, to do for themselves.
They may do something which, from an objective point of view, is much less
excellent than our own well-considered plan. But education is not an
objective process. It is subjective and was wrapped up in the funny
blundering little enterprise of the child, rather than in our own
intrusive one." The crude product of the boy's work in manual training is
far better for him and for the whole process of education than the
finished product of the teacher's skill which sometimes passes for the
boy's own work. Some manual training teachers have many a sin charged to
their account in this line that stands in dire need of forgiveness.

There are many worthy enterprises through which initiative may be
fostered. Prominent among these are some of the home and school projects
that are in vogue. These projects, when wisely selected with reference to
the child's powers and inclination, give scope for the exercise of
ingenuity, resourcefulness, perseverance, and unhampered thinking and
acting. Besides, some of the by-products are of value, notably
self-reliance and self-respect. A child yearns to play a thinking part in
the drama of life and not the part of a marionette or jumping-jack that
moves only when someone pulls the string. He yearns to be a