[2] For the Portland Home Credit Record card, see p. 120 _ff._
"Be careful about that voice, Ella," directed a teacher. Ella arose at her place, a thin, stooping girl of about thirteen. She read her passage of the lesson in a voice scarcely audible to the visitor across the room. A few minutes later the visitor was looking over some home credit report slips. "Here is a girl who did not sleep with her windows open," she said. The teacher took the blank, studied it a minute, then replied, "This is the first time that child has brought in a home credit slip. Do you recall my reminding a little girl about her voice? That is the girl, and this card may explain her voice quality."
All the pupils except two in a little Washington town learned to sleep with their windows open. Upon inquiry it was found that one girl could not open her window, as it was made for admitting light only, being built solidly into the wall. In the case of the other child, the parents absolutely refused to endanger their daughter's health by letting her breathe night air, no matter how many faddists insisted that it was necessary!
Some members of a church were discussing the problem of the spirit of incipient immorality that they felt was prevalent among children in the neighborhood. A home credit teacher showed the speakers a number of the first report cards she had received, which disclosed the fact that very few of the pupils under her care were ever in bed before nine o'clock. A few months later she took occasion to display again her pupils' home credit cards and with pride pointed out that almost every child was going to bed early, before nine o'clock. "It had grown to be a habit with the children to be up late," she said. "The immorality talked of was not yet in actual existence among the children, but through their outside evening associates was gradually working itself in. The children had only to be reminded in a substantial way that it was not only desirable for them physically to retire early, but that they were to receive recognition in their school standing for so doing, and they at once happily complied."
THAT OTHER TEACHER AND THAT TEACHER'S LABORATORY
We are just beginning to discover that the rural school has a fine laboratory for practical educational purposes, in the neighborhood environment of the school. With the development of scientific agriculture and domestic arts in many of our modern country homes this laboratory is constantly improving.