MENTAL HYGIENE IN THE CLASSROOM
 No conscientious teacher can escape the problem of mental hygiene in the classroom. She faces it daily
in the fesh, not in theory. The problem has been studied by many groups outside of British Honduras and it
seems worthwhile to give at length the conclusions of one group of experts. The pamphlet "Mental Hygiene in
the Classroom" obtained through the courtesy of the Bureau of Health Education of the American Medical
Association was consulted by all the members of the workshop. The following principles of mental hygiene,
taken from this report should be useful to all teachers:
1. Mental health in its broadest sense has come to mean the measure of a person's ability to shape his en-
 vironment, to adjust himself to conditions of life around him and to do so with a reasonable amount of
 satisfaction and efficiency.
 2. It is unwise to use fear as a means of forcing the child into desirable patterns of behaviour.
 3. Many social maladjustments are caused from a feeling of insecurity. A child should not be censured for
 his failures, but causes should be discovered and removed and opportunities given for successful
 experiences.
 4. One of the surest means of including feelings of inferiority is ridicule. Where this is practised by other
 children, the teacher should attempt to divert the tendency. If it occurs in spite of her efforts, she should
 try to neutralize its effects.
 5. A child with a tendency towards inferiority may develop traits opposite to his original characteristic;
 that is, he may become domineering, self-centred, a bully or a "show-off".
 6. An attempt to suppress the "show-off" is likely to accentuate the behaviour. It is better to ignore the
 tendency and to give attention to the child when he really warrants it.
 7. The timid child is apt to substitute excessive reading and day-dreaming for aggressive activity.
 8. In overcoming feelings of inferiority and developing a wholesome personality, it is highly important that
 the child experiences success and that he develops special skill in some field. Each success gives the child
 added confidence, while repeated failures rob him of the feeling of self-reliance.
 9. The school should understand the child's limitations and help him to counterbalance them fully enough
 to face them.
10. Instead of facing realities some people evade them in various ways. Some of these are temper tantrums,
 sulkiness, invalidism, forgetfulness, sleep, hysteria, rationalization and criticism of others.
11. A child who is given responsibility up to his capacity and who learns to tackle difficult problems, meets
 school difficulties with less emotion than the one who has had the protection of his elders in everything.
12. In child development, permanent success is more likely to follow treatment of the causes of the behaviour
 disorder, than superficial treatment of the symptoms.
13. Teachers should not become angry with behaviour maladjustments in children any more than they
 should become angry with the child for having fever or tonsillitis; for behind behaviour disorders lie
 causes to be understood and treated.
14. Independent, aggressive, experimental behaviour is natural to a child. It is wiser for the parent and teacher
 to direct this behaviour into productive channels than to suppress or punish the child.
15. Usually, discipline which humiliates the child and so decreases his self-respect or personal integrity, is
 injurious.
16. The child's recognition of the natural disadvantages of misbehaviour is ultimately more helpful to him
 than obedience obtained through fear.
17. Children of low intelligence should have their education fitted to their capacities and needs. This should
 not mean merely doing less of the type of work planned for those of higher Intelligence.
18. An over-worked teacher runs the risk of developing emotional maladjustment toward her work. This may
 result in more severe emotional ills.