Our Work: Class Methods; How to Conduct Recitations; Do Counselors Go Out of Office with Presidents?

IN LIGHTER MOOD. 311

skeleton within the cabinet to waggle its head and limbs in an appalling manner just as the messenger boy opened the door. With a yell of terror the boy fled. When the doctor had enjoyed a hearty laugh, he picked up a fine apple and followed the boy into the street to give it to him. "Come here, my boy!" he shouted, "Here is a fine apple for you."

"Not on your life!" replied the affrightened youngster, taking to his heels again, "You can't fool me with your clothes on."

They were crossing the Atlantic, English and Americans together, and they had fallen into the habit of poking a little harmless fun at each other's national peculiarities. Especially the English ridiculed the American hurry, while the Americans descanted upon the ponderosity of British jokes, and delicately hinted at a certain density of temperament in the typical Briton which made him impervious to humor that was of an airier or more elusive quality. "Well, now, I don't know," protested an Englishman. "I like a joke as well as anybody; quite depend on Punch, don't you know; never have any trouble to understand the fun when there is any; but the matter with your American humor is, so much of it hasn't any point. Now there's Life. Pretty paper to look at; well gotten up and all that —but the jokes! I've puzzled and puzzled over them, and they simply don't mean anything. When there isn't anything to understand, of course a fellow doesn't understand it." "But perhaps — began an American " girl; and then a look at the Englishman's countenance, so full of placid self-contentment and friendliness, stopped her short. There was a moment of respectful silence, in

which he cheerfully met the gaze of the company, with no suspicion that anybody could think there were two sides to the case between Life and himself; and then somebody changed the subject and the talk went on. Next day the same group were on deck at sunset, and the conversation chanced to turn on individual preference of color. "What is your favorite color? some one asked the American girl. She had none, it happened, so she answered carelessly, and with a smile: "Oh, I don't know— sky-blue pink!" The Englishman looked interested. "Really!" he exclaimed. "Rather an odd color, isn't it? Do you know, I don't think I ever heard of it. What is sky-blue pink?" "Look over there," said one of the Americans, before she could reply.

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312 IMPROVEMENT ERA.

"Don't you see where the blue water and the blue sky and that pink cloud all come together at the horizon? That's sky-blue pink." He looked earnestly. "No,I don't see it!" he declared. "I can see blue and I can see pink, but I don't see any shade between the two. Perhaps the glare on the water has dazzled my eyes; my sight is usually very good. Are you sure it's there? Is it quite distinct?"

"It's there if it's anywhere," said the American, feeling slightly ashamed of himself. He walked away hastily with the girl; but whea they returned ten minutes later from their promenade, there was the Englishman, a field-glass in hand, still searching the horizon with unabated interest and truly heroic persistence for the sky-blue pink he could not see. "This is terrible!" whispered the young man as they passed. "Don't you feel wicked?" "I feel," the girl answered, solemnly, "as if I had told a lie to my baby brother! And any one who lent that man Life ought to be prosecuted by the society with the long name for wanton cruelty." Youth'sr Companion. 4: 4: 4s

A man went home the other night and found his house locked up^ After infinite trouble he managed to gain entrance through a back window, and then discovered on the parlor table a note from his wife, reading; "I have gone out. You will find the key on the side of the step." * * *

"Oh! why art thou not near me? oh, my love!" sang a serenader in Glasgow, the other night, and yet when the girl, who was leaning too far out of the window, lost her balance and dropped right on him, the fellow acted as confused as could be. Some men cannot stand success.. * * *

"I believe you're a fool, John," testily exclaimed Mrs. Miggs, as her husband unwittingly presented her with -the hot end of a potato dish, which she promptly dropped and broke. "Yes," he added, resignedly; "that's what the clerk told me when I went to take out my marriage license." * 4: *

"Lay off your overcoat or you won't feel it when you go out," said the landlord of a western inn to a guest who was sitting by the fire. "That's what I'm afraid of," returned the man. "The last time I was here I laid off my overcoat. I didn't feel it when I went out, and haven't felt it since."

OUR WORK

CLASS METHODS.

Among the features of mutual improvement work in the Salt LakeStake of Zion is the holding of monthly officers' meetings, to which all the officers of the associations throughout the stake are invited. Before these meetings, business of a general character is presented that pertains to the welfare of the associations. Methods of conducting classes and rules for attending to other work, are also discussed. Lecturers from other parts of the state, and leading educators, are invited to speak before the officers. At a recent meeting Dr. George H. Brimhall spoke, treating upon methods of class work. He dwelt specially upon the need of obtaining the interest of the class before educational work could be properly accomplished. Interest is based upon faith, and attention is only obtained when interest can be aroused. He gave several illustrations of the necessity of arousing interest before attempting to teach, dwelling also, upon methods of arousing interest. If this cannot be done directly, then it should be attempted in an indirect way. Here is a clock hanging upon the wall. The sun shines in from a window in the west in the

opposite direction, the rays not striking the clock; but by taking a glass and holding it in the proper position, the indirect rays of the sun may be made to strike upon the clock. So in class teaching, if direct interest cannot be obtained, then some scheme should be adopted to obtain the indirect interest of those who are in the class. He analyzed interest, both direct and indirect, and stated that frequently we do a great deal of our work because of indirect interest^ rather than because we are directly interested in the work before us. He cited the instance of a young man who refused to study grammar in

314 IMPROVEMENT ERA. school. He found no interest in it, and came to his teacher and desired to give it up. The teacher said, "I tell you, for my sake, you take your grammar lessons and study them thoroughly, applying your entire mind thereto two hours a day for two or three weeks, and report the result." The young man said, "I will do it for your sake," and set to work to study his lessons in grammar. This was a clear case of indirect interest. He set his mind to the task not because of the lessons but to please his teacher, and in the course of a week reported to his teacher the result. As he proceeded he became more interested, and said in his first report that grammar was perhaps not so bad a study as he had formerly considered it to be. The teacher told him to continue, which he did, and at the end of two weeks the young man reported that he was becoming fully interested in the study. At the end of the three weeks he received direct interest in the study. This is an excellent example of how indirect interest may lead to direct interest. It should be adopted tactfully by teachers of classes. Teachers should learn what their students are interested in, and from this, whatever it may be, lead them to take interest in that which the teacher desires that they should study. So, if a young man is uninterested in the study of the Manual, the teacher should learn in what particular thing or study that young man is interested, and let him present his views and ideas upon the subject that pleases him, the teacher taking care that he is led indirectly to the study of that which the teacher desires him to become interested in. As an example: There was an old, simple-minded lady who lived with a family that was taking care of her. They could not get her to work at anything. Whatever they set her to do, she dropped, and carelessly wandered about. The family complained about her conduct, and she was removed to another guardian. This guardian told her to work at knitting, but could not get her to continue the work. Then she set about indirectly to interest her in the work, and took a stick of candy and enquired, "Do you like candy?" The old lady answered, "Yes." She told her then to knit so many rounds on her stocking, and she would give her the candy; then the knitting was done. She continued this, gradually lessening the amount of candy given, and increasing the amount of knitting, until finally interest became settled in the work of knitting instead of in the candy, and the old lady became one of the most inveterate knitters in the land. Thus indirect interest may become direct interest. Three essential points in successful teaching: order, attention and instruction. The last should never be placed before order or attention.