“If your lessons are so easy that you learn them without much effort,” continued Marcus, “you are missing the real end of going to school. It is not the chief aim of education to give a child a smattering of knowledge, but the object should be to discipline his mind, and that cannot be done without real tasks—lessons that will make him study hard, and think closely. He needs something to rouse him to exertion, and then he will begin to find out what his powers are. I think I shall let you study book-keeping and algebra, with the third class, in addition to your other lessons.”
“Well, if you think best, I will try it,” said Ronald.
“I have another reason for this,” added Marcus. “You have too many idle moments, now. Your lessons are not hard enough to keep you out of mischief. I shall have to increase them until you have no time for idleness or mischief during study hours.”
Marcus imposed the additional studies upon Ronald, the next day. The salutary effects of this, and of the incidents of the previous afternoon, were soon apparent. He was careful, however, not to overtask the boy’s powers, which would have been a greater evil than the opposite error.
With Otis, Marcus found a different course of management necessary. He was more quiet and orderly in school than Ronald, but less perfect in his lessons. Indeed, he was not remarkably fond of study, and needed a little spurring, now and then, to prevent his falling below the average of his class. One afternoon, as he was walking home with Marcus, he said:—
“I can’t get that sixth sum right, any way. I’ve tried it half a dozen times, and I get it exactly the same every time. The answer in the book must be wrong, for I know I did it right. I did the other sums in just the same way, and they came right.”
“You are wrong,” replied Marcus, “for I happen to know that the answer in the book is right. Georgianna Ellis came to me this afternoon with the same story. She thought the answer in the book was a mistake. But I did the sum, and found it right.”
“How did you do it?” inquired Otis.
“That is for you to find out yourself, if you can,” replied Marcus, with a significant accent upon the last clause of the sentence.
“Didn’t you show Georgianna how to do it?” inquired Otis.