Lessons in the study of habits, for use in school and home

Preface

There is a growing conviction among thoughtful people that ethics should constitute an integral part of the education of the young. A demand for text books on this subject is sure to arise, both for the use of the school and the home. With this thought in -view, the author has been at work for several years on a graded scheme of ethical instruction for young people, covering the period from early childhood to adult life. Much of this material is* now in manuscript form, and he is venturing in this volume to present one of the series of Lessons more especially adapted for the age from nine to twelve years. The thread of subject has to do with Habits of Life. The next series would deal with "Duties in the Home and the Family," to be followed by a treatise on "Citizenship and the Duties of a Citizen." Then would come a further text book on the most practical subject of "Justice." These would constitute a grammar school course. The later volumes to appear would take up in separate treatises the subjects of "Dtaties Pertaining to One's Self," and "Man in Society." The greater part of all this material has already been tried in a special school in charge of the author and proved to be successful. After testing the work in this way, he has been putting it through a thorough revision, incorporating by this means the experience which has been gained in the class work where the Lessons have been used. The most serious problem in connection with the whole subject has been to arrange the line of work so that it should in no way interfere with the special religious standpoint of the schools or families where the Lessons are introduced. The author has sought with painstaking care to be neutral in this direction, developing the points in

4 PREFACE.

such a way that the teacher or parent might add on at any place the religious attitude desired, without making any confusion in the text. He believes, therefore, that such treatises could be employed in the home or the school room — in the grammar schools on the one hand, where any definite form of religious instruction would perhaps be excluded; and on the other hand, equally well in denominational Sunday-schools where doctrinal standpoints could be merged into the text at the judgment or discretion of the teacher. The main effort has been to sift out the great essentials of ethical conduct established by the long experience of ages of human history, and to impart them in conversational form to the young and growing mind before it has come into active contact with the world at large. It will be seen that each lesson as it is worked out usually contains a variety of material to be introduced by the teacher or parent according to circumstances. The body of each lesson will be found to consist of an imaginary Dialogue carried on between the child and the adult, and is intended either as a skeleton of method for the teacher, or as paragraphs to be read and studied by the pupil if preferred. At the outset there is a series of "Special Suggestions" to the parent or teacher which of course should be read with a great deal of care. In this special volume the material is of a miscellaneous character, with each Lesson standing by itself. But in the ensuing series, which may appear later on, the method becomes much more systematic, after the young people have become infused with the spirit which pervades this whole course of instruction. It is to be assumed that in such an important field where as yet so little has really been done, no two persons would quite agree on points of detail. Before many years have passed, a whole literature pertaining to this subject will have developed. The most that the author can hope, therefore, is to have helped in paving the way for better work to be done by others in coming years. Walter L. Sheldon.

Contents

PAGE.

Special Suggestions to Parents or Teachers .... 7

Meaning of Habit 18

Chapter I. The Meaning Of Habit

Proverbs or Verses.

"Habits if not resisted soon become necessities." — St. Augustine.

"Habit is second nature! Habit is ten times nature." — Wellington.

"Small habits well pursued betimes, May reach the dignity of crimes." — Hannah Moore.

"Ill habits gather by unseen degrees, As brooks make rivers, rivers run to seas."

"How use doth breed a habit in a man!" — Shakespeare.

"Unless above himself he can erect himself, how poor a thing is man." — Daniel.

"Habit in sinning takes away the sense of sin."

"It is a thousand times easier to contract a new habit than to get rid of an old one."

"Custom does often reason overrule, And only serves for reason to a fool. — Rochester.

"Custom makes all things easy."

"Tyrant Custom makes a slave of reason."

"Use can almost change the stamp of nature." — Shakespeare.

Dialogue.

What do we mean by habit? I suppose you know what habits are? Will you give me some idea of what the word suggests to you? "Why," you say, "it is doing something over and over again without thinking about it, just as if it were second nature."

Yes, that is all very true. But sometimes we do the same thing over and over again, and yet we may not call it a habit.

Did you ever watch a chicken just after it had come out of the shell ? Did you notice that it pecks at something, as if it had done that a great many times? Yet, had the chicken ever done that before? "No," you

A STUDY OF HABITS. I9

admit, "that would have been impossible, because it had just come out of the shell."

Then, was it a habit? If not, what is it that makes the chicken do that? "Oh," you assert, "the chicken acts in that way by instinct."

So then, it is instinct, you tell me. That is a new word. And what is the difference between instinct and habit? This is quite an important distinction. Be careful now in your answer. "Instinct," you explain, "is something that is born in a creature. It begins without the use of the mind." Yes, you are right. It is a sort of gift at the start.

Name over some of the instincts, for example. What about the birds ? Do you fancy, for instance, that if a little bird had never seen a nest made, it would go ahead nevertheless, when it grew up, and make a nesi all of its own ?

What do you think? "Oh, yes," you answer, "we are sure the bird would go ahead and make a nest just the same." I presume you are right. "Nest-making," then, is one of the beautiful instincts.

What about human beings ? Do they have instincts ? Is there anything that we do as something which is born in us, just as the chick pecks, or the bird goes about nest-making? "You doubt it," do you? "We act by reason and not by instinct," you insist.

Do not be too positive about that. Do you suppose that if a human creature had never been taught to eat, he would not put food in his mouth? I am quite certain he would, even if it had never been taught to him at all.

If a grain of dust falls against the eye, would you not wink, even if you had never learned how to do it ? [ am sure that the eye-lid would close all the same. Yes, we have instincts, just as the animals do.

And now another question. Which really have the greater number of instincts — the animal world or human beings? "Oh," you reply, "human beings would have more instincts, if they have instincts at all."

And why? I ask. "Because," you assert, "we are superior in every way, and so should have more of those gifts than the animals."

"Wait a moment now. How was it you said a creature acts, when guided by instinct? "Without reason?" Yes, without using his mind. Then are you sure that human beings, because they are superior, would have more instincts and act oftener without reason? No, it is really the other way. There are more instincts among the animals and fewer among human beings.

Can you see why? "It may be," you add, "because we exercise reason more than the animals do." Yes, that is it. Hence we have less need for instincts, inasmuch as we can make more use of our minds.

And now as to habits. If they are not born in us like instincts, where do they come from? Do they just happen? Do they come like second teeth? Do they drop down on us from the skies? "Oh no," you assure me, "because if they came that way, they would be a kind of instinct." Yes, you are right.

Where, then, do our habits come from? "Why," you point out, "we get them ourselves or we make them for ourselves." Do you really mean that? If you do, stop and reflect how important it is.

Appreciate what it signifies, that we form our own habits. Then what if we have bad habits; who is to blame for it? "We, ourselves," you confess. Yes, I suspect we are, if we form them ourselves.

Suppose we talk a little more now about the different kinds of habits. Then we shall be able to discuss this question in a more positive way. Mention some of the habits we may form.

Begin with the body. Did you ever see a girl throw a stone? Does she always throw it the same way that a boy does ? You are smiling at that, I notice. Well now, why not? How does it happen that boys may throw stones in one way with their arms, and girls another? Although of course in this matter there is great difference in girls.

Or suppose that a boy and girl are throwing a ball.

Would they usually toss it in the same way? "No." And why not ? Could not a girl learn how to throw a ball as well as a boy? I am strongly inclined to believe it. What is the difference?

"True," you continue, "but boys play ball a great deal and use their arms in throwing more, and so have a different habit of using the arm in throwing." Yes, and there comes in the word "habit." Did the boy definitely think just how to get his arm into a certain habit, so that it wouM throw the ball in a certain way ? "No, it was not quite like that," you say. "He just kept on throwing the ball until the arm did it in a certain manner that came naturally."

Then what was it, that the boy really, consciously got, and what was it that came unconsciously ? Would he ever have learned to throw a ball well, if he had not thought carefully how to do it? "No," you reply.

Do you assume, then, that he knew what he was doing in acquiring the habit of throwing the ball well, while the habit of moving the arm in a certain manner, came partly without his knowing it?

Please note that point very carefully, for it is very important. Some of our habits we form while we are thinking about it, or purposely trying to form those habits, and other habits are formed accidentally, as it were, while we are not conscious of it.

Can you name, for instance, some habits that are formed so early in life, that we know very little about how they started?

Suppose you saw two persons with almost the same figure, walking in front of you along the street; perhaps they may be dressed just alike and look almost exactly like each other from behind. Would you know them apart? "Yes, you think you would." But how? In what way? "Oh," you tell me, "by their walk."

Yes, and how did they ever get that walk ? Did they learn it consciously ? Why is it that each person walks in a peculiar way, so that you can recognize him by this means. "As to that," you answer, "it is a kind of habit which he acquired while he was very young."

Yes, I agree with you. And so you notice that there are some habits that we get very early in life. How we form them will depend a little on what others teach us.

Let me suggest to you another habit peculiar to each person. What if I had some money in a bank, and sent an order there for them to pay it to somebody else. Would the bank do it? "Yes," you reply, "if they were sure that they knew the other person, and if they were also sure the order came from you."

And how would they know the order came from me ? Why could not somebody else write such an order in my place? "Yes," you exclaim, "but there would be the handwriting!"

Do you imply that each person has his own handwriting, a little unlike every other person's? "Yes," you insist, "each person has his own handwriting, and that is how the bank can know that the order came from the person who signed it."

Then what is that handwriting — a habit? True, it has been a habit we formed when quite young. Were we fully conscious when we were acquiring that habit ? "No, not altogether," you say. Evidently it belongs to those habits which depend a little on how we were taught. Suppose we call these the indirectly acquired habits.

On the other hand, name over some of the habits of the body we acquire while we know that we are forming them. Did you ever watch two persons passing along, one of them holding his shoulders straight and his head erect, and the other slouching in an awkward sort of a way, his shoulders bent over and his head at a curious angle?

Did the habit of carrying himself with straight shoulders and head ertect in a manly sort of way, come to one of those persons unconsciously, without his knowing it?

No, I can assure you that was a habit which the person had to learn; he had to be thinking about it a great deal and watching himself all the while.

A STUDY OF HABITS.

But now when he carries himself in that way, do you suppose he thinks about it? "No," you admit. Well, why not ? "Because," you answer, "it has now become a habit with him, and he does it without thinking."

How do such habits differ from those indirectly acquired? "We knozv we are getting them," you explain. Yes. We will call them directly acquired habits.

Note to the teacher: At this point, if desired, one could make a great deal of army discipline; telling how soldiers are trained; describing how many years men have to serve in the army over in Europe, in order to acquire the military habits, and why soldiers have to keep on doing the same thing over and over again in order to form those habits. The subject of military drill may splendidly illustrate the conscious acquisition of habits of the body, altho this will come in again in one of the later lessons.

Speaking about the indirectly acquired habits, you say that we know when we are forming the other kind, but are not usually conscious in the same way with these. Then do you assume that one may not be to blame for having any kind of indirectly acquired habits ? "No," you insist, "one cannot be to blame in this case because one is not directly aware of what is going on."

Yes, it would seem as if you were right. But stop a moment. Perhaps what you say is true about those indirectly acquired habits we form when we are very young.

But there are others of this kind which we may be on the lookout for. Suppose a person falls into the habit of always hitting against things when he is moving about the house. Was he aware that he was forming this habit ? "Not altogether," you answer.

But should he not have been on the lookout regarding it? Would you not blame him, after all, somewhat, for having that sort of a habit? "Yes, we think we should," you admit. Why? I ask. "Oh, because if he had been watchful, he might have seen that he was falling into that sort of a habit."

Then you would draw a line, would you not, between those indirectly acquired habits which we form when we are too young to know anything about them, and those we form later on, which might also come of themselves, and yet which we might control if we were on the lookout.

I wish you would remember that point, for it is very valuable. We may not always shirk the blame for a bad habit because we were not conscious of it when it was being formed. One should try to be conscious of it.

Points of the Lesson.

Count over now, the points we have learned about habits in this talk together.

In the first place, we described habit as "doing something we have done before, but doing it afterwards without thinking."

In the second place— about instincts, we have seen that instincts are inborn; but that habits are something we form or acquire for ourselves.

In the third place, we noted that we have fewer instincts and more habits, than animals; because we use reason more than they do.

In the fourth place, we have learned that some habits are for the most part acquired while we are not conscious of it at all. These we called "indirectly acquired habits," such as our walk or our handwriting.

In the fifth place, we discovered that we have other habits which we acquired only through close and watchful attention. These we called "directly acquired habits."

In the sixth place, we have seen that there are some of our indirectly acquired habits that we might control or avoid if we are on the lookout, although they seem to come partially of themselves.

Poem.

He liveth long who liveth well,

All else is life but flung away; He liveth longest who can tell

Of true things truly done each day.

Be wise and use thy wisdom well, _

Who wisdom speaks, must live it too;

He is the wisest who can tell

How first he lived, then spake, the true.

— HORATITTS BONAR.

Further Suggestions to the Teacher — For illustration tell Huxley's story of the veteran who was walking with his plate of dinner when somebody called out "Attention," and the man dropped his plate and dinner and mechanically threw his hands to his side. It will be recognized that this and the following lesson are merely introductory to the special discussions which are to come afterwards. The material can be amplified at discretion and the young people be encouraged to give anecdotes from their own experience. But there should be a pretty thorough understanding as to the meaning of habit and its distinguishing characteristics before the special habits are considered. It will be observed that the proverbs or verses at the beginning apply to each of the two lessons indiscriminately. There might also be some treatment of the word "custom," raising the question how it is related to "habit" and to what extent it has an independent meaning. So, too, with the words "use" and "usage." Additional points for consideration will be sure to occur to every teacher as he goes on with the discussions and the class members begin to raise issues for themselves.

Chapter II. A Fuethee Consideeation Of Habit

Proverbs or Verses.

"Whatever you would make habitual, practise it; and if you would not make a thing habitual, do not practise it, but habituate yourself to something else." — Epictetus.

"Powerful is the empire of habit." — Publius gyrus.

"Old inbred habits will make instances, but by better habits they shall be entirely overcome." — Thomas a Kempis.

"In the conduct of life habits count for more than maxims, because habit is a living maxim." — Amiel's Journal.

"Our deeds pursue us from afar, And what we have been, makes us what we are. ' '

— John Fletcher.

"He that sows thistles shall reap prickles." "They have sown the wind, they shall reap the whirlwind." — Bible.

Dialogue.

In our last talk together we dwelt more especially upon habits of the body. What about the other part of ourselves, that we call the mind? Do we have habits there, too, just as in the body?

Could we fall into a way of thinking or feeling after a certain manner, or acting in the mind from certain motives, without being conscious that those motives are there ? You do not quite understand what I mean, I can see that by your look. But suppose we illustrate.

Can you suggest any habits of the mind ? Think for a moment about school life. I wonder if you have observed the difference between children at their books.

Observe a boy or girl about ten or twelve years old. Have you ever noticed how some pupils keep their eyes steadily on their books for a long while at a time,

A STUDY OF HABITS. 2J

working away without stopping for a moment ? Then have you noticed how others may be looking up every minute or two, watching what is going on around them, glancing at their books and then glancing off again ?

What is the difference between these two classes of girls or boys? The same contrast is apparent when the teacher is addressing them? Have you detected how some boys and girls listen all the time; while others are looking out of the window every other minute or noticing what the other pupils are doing? What is the difference between the two ? What is it that the pupil is doing, who is listening to the teacher all the while ?

"Why," you say, "he is paying attention." And what was he doing when keeping his eyes steadily on his book during the study time ? Again you say, "paying attention to his work."

How does it happen that he does this; keeping his eye on his book, or listening attentively to the teacher who maybe is speaking to the class? Does he do it naturally? Is it perfectly easy for him to study hard for an hour without thinking of anything else? Can you listen without effort to a teacher when he is talking for a long while?

"No," you admit, "not at first." Why not? I ask. "Oh," you tell me, "it is hard work. It comes natural to look around and watch what is going on."

Then how is it that a certain pupil is able to pay attention for a long while in that way? "Why," you explain, "he got into the habit of it." But how did he get into the habit of it?

You say that he tried to pay attention, and not let his mind turn aside and think of something else, or watch what was going on ; that after he had done this a long while, however, it came easier ? But why ? I insist. "Oh," you reply, "because it has become a habit."

And here we meet with a habit of the mind, do we? And what do you call it? "The habit of attention?" Yes, and it is a very valuable habit.

Have you ever thought about habits of the feelings ? I wonder if you have ever seen persons who are disagreeable; boys or girls who may be "cross" or "snappish," as we say — I mean those who are that way very often ?

One can tell by the look on your faces that you have known such people. What makes them act in such a way, do you suppose? When they suddenly "snap" or say anything mean or disagreeable, what starts it, what is going on inside of them? "Why," you assure me, "a mean or bad feeling has been aroused, and that leads them to say something mean or disagreeable."

And do they always know that there is such a mean feeling in their hearts, when they suddenly make such disagreeable remarks? "You believe they are aware of it?" I am not so sure about that.

However, it depends. What if a person had said mean things of that kind a great many times, and been disagreeable very often. And then fancy another individual who had not usually done anything of that kind, suddenly becoming guilty of it for the first time.

Which one would be more conscious of the bad feeling that started it? "Why," you assert, "the person who did it for the first time." Yes, you are right.

I assure you that we can have habits of the feelings, just as of the intellect . We may fall into the habit of having bad feelings start up on all sorts of occasions when we are hardly conscious of it, leading us to say mean or bad things that we ought to be ashamed of.

I wonder if you have ever heard of jealousy? We will not talk about that special subject now ; but it, too, can be a habit of feeling. People may fall into the habit of jealousy who at first rarely ever showed any disposition of that kind.

But what about the control of habits? Have you considered that point? When is the easiest time to break off a habit — when it has become fully formed, for instance? "No," you assert, "that is just when it is hardest to break off."

A STUDY OF HABITS. 2Q

Then you assure me that the longer we are under the influence of a habit, the more difficulty we shall find in changing it, if we desire to do so? "Surely," you answer.

I am afraid that is true. Habits of long standing are very much like tight gloves. Did you ever watch a person trying to take off a very tight glove ? It comes hard, does it not ? I wonder if you ever tried to take off a wet under garment, that fits close to you?

You may never have fallen into the water and had that experience. But I can assure you the garment comes off with the greatest kind of difficulty. A longestablished habit is very much like a wet, close-fitting garment. It is no easy matter to get off.

On the other hand, suppose we want to acquire a good habit ? What is the easiest time of life for acquiring it? Why is it, for example, that a grown person who has never learned to play a piano, finds it hard to play, and really never learns to do it well? "Oh," you answer, "his fingers are stiff." Yes, surely. And when are the fingers less stiff for such a purpose? "When we are quite young," you say.

Very few persons, I can tell you, ever acquire strong, fixed, valuable habits after they are grown up. The boy or girl who does not form a habit of attention when he is young, will probably never have it at all.

By the way, what are habits good for? Would it not be better for us if we did not have them at all, but always used our reason when going to act or to do something ?

Is it not a little weak on our part to be subject to habits? Would you not say that there was something "slavish" about it? We are not free, are we, if we do something in that way without thinking about it or being conscious of it?

"True," you say, "one might prefer not to have habits, but to be free and always use one's reason." Then you are inclined to think that habits are really not good for anything?

If that is what you mean, suppose that every time you throw a ball, you had to stop and think how to fix your arm, in order to throw it. Would you like that? "Oh, no/' you admit.

But why not? Would you not be more free then? "Yes," you continue, "but if we had to stop and think about how to fix the arm every time, it would be pretty slow work/'

You are not quite sure, then, about your desire to be free of all habits ? It may, after all, be worth while to have some of them, at any rate. But what for? What service do they render? "Why," you explain, "they make the body do something of itself, so that one can attend to something else."

How about the mind and habits of the mind? When you are at work with your studies, would you feel more free and be more satisfied if you had to think all the time about being attentive, or would you prefer to be attentive without being obliged to think about it ?

After all, we should be glad to have certain habits of the mind, and not always be obliged to stop and act by reason. What do these habits of the mind, if they are good habits, do for us, then?

"Why," you assure me, "they help the mind to act for itself in some matters, so that we can have more time to attend to other matters."

Do you see any resemblance, then, between habits and machinery? Can you observe how it is that they may do for us with our bodies and minds, what machinery does in the outside world? What is the real purpose of machinery? "To save labor?" Yes, and in what way ? "Oh," you respond, "so that men may be free to do something else that cannot be done with machinery."