or
school-teacher. School-masters are no longer allowed to whip their
pupils, or even to cuff them.

The old adage is no longer in force--it has been thrown into the
discard. "Spare the rod--" yes, the rod _is_ spared, but it remains to
be seen whether on that account the child is necessarily spoiled.

"Children should be seen, not heard"--that idea, is also in the discard.
Boys and girls have as much right to their say as anybody else. At the
family table, in the home circle, the tendency is rather for their ideas
and their affairs to usurp the conversation. Their impressions are
fresher and more animated, and they are more abreast of the latest
up-to-date topics. An attitude of respect and reverence for the opinions
and notions of their parents, or grand-parents, would hardly be expected
of them. So many of the things to be talked about--motors, wireless,
airplanes, new wrinkles and changed conditions--are better understood by
them than the old people. It is easy for them to get the feeling that
the old people's ideas are rather moth-eaten and of not much account. It
is for the rising generation to tell and explain what's doing now and
for the setting generation to listen and make the most of it.

Of course, this is not meant to imply that children have ceased to have
any respect for their parents. In any particular case, it is a question
of degree, depending upon the quality of the children, the quality of
the parents, the various conditions and influences of the family life.
It is the general tendency we are looking for--the underlying
principle--which makes itself felt to a greater or less extent,
according to circumstances.

It is unquestionably true that the average child to-day is less often
and less severely punished than the child of the past. If it disobeys,
it has less fear of the consequences, so the importance of obedience
becomes a dwindling factor in its mental attitude and its behavior.

It learns to take orders with a grain of salt and as often as may be, it
disregards them, because they are not what it likes. That is the
beginning of a tendency--the first bending of a twig.

As the twig goes on growing with this slant, and the horizon of the boy
and girl opens out beyond the family circle to a larger world, existing
conditions are such as to encourage a continuation of the same tendency.
The selfish instincts and desires of the individual are opposed by the
same kind of influences and restraint