Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-10-20
Scholastic
Standing
Child
Train Youngsters
To Do Their Best
At All Times.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

JACOB is dong fine work in school.
~ No. in his class. The youngest
child ever to hold such record. He
is very smart. is Jacob
Good enough 1t is quite all right
to be No. /. Somebody has to be II
the class is to be counted and meas
ured, and it has to be in the usual
school. But there are some facts TO
be considered about this headship. the
first one being the effect that 1t Is
having on the child.
Being No. in any group is rela-
tive matter. If there are only three in
the class 1t might be easier to be No
| than when there are so or Ill. And
being No. / at the age Of in the ele-
mentary grades is not quite the same
thing as being No. / in high school,
and far different from being head Of
the class in senior year in college. And
being head Of the group at the age OF
50 is quite another matter and much
more significant.
What l want to emphasize is this:
1t Is mistake to allow child IN the
grades to take being No. l too seri-
ously, so seriously that he believes
that the head Of the group is his right
full place and the place of duty for
him. Don't burden child with the
idea that If he falls below IS that he
has disgraced himself and his family.
1t may not be true.
The child in an elementary class has
not so much competition as the child
in a high school class. Along the way
the weaker students have dropped out.
turned off the scholastic track toward
other goals. The further along the
road the, student goes the greater the
competition until at last in the uni
versity or in the business world he
must be a champion against cham
pions. Being No. /, being champion
in ones field, becomes. as time passes,
the flag bearers place, and few can
hope to attain it.
It is right to train child to do his
best, to make every effort to stand high
in his classes. It is right and wise to
teac', him to try for first place. There
Is no healthy growth without effort,
and effort sustained and directed de-
velops undreamed-of powers. But that
idea alone is not enough. Held too
long as q goal, it becomes a barrier
to growth and success. Along with it
must 70 the idea that the standard OF
measurement is on ones own best.
Don't accent child's class standing
beyond all else. Don't measure your
praise by his numerical standing.
did you do your utmost? Did you
stretch yourself in your effort? Did
you grow?" are the questions the child
should be trained to ask himself. Even
being No. l might not mean personal
growth through effort. The rest OF
the class might be most ordinary and
this No. an accident of association.
Make the child's personal power his
standard, not first place.
II we do this we don't have sensitive,
earnest children afraid to show their
cards to their fathers because they
took SO in solid geometry instead of
100.
Mr.. Patri has prepared leafiet en-
titled Lying" in which he tells par
ents the causes of this habit and how
to help children to overcome it. Send
for it, addressing your request to Mr..
Angelo patri, Child Psychology De-
partment of this paper. Inclose self
addressed (3-cent) envelope,
tccpyright. 1870