Nor is any great expense involved.  The writer recalls visiting a kindergarten class in one of the schools in Salt Lake County.  The ward authorities had not been asked for a dollar to fit up the room, and yet it had one of the “homiest” atmospheres imaginable.  The teacher of the class, in addition to having an interest in the class, had an artistic temperament.  She had collected through a number of years the most beautiful pictures that had appeared in the magazines.  These in their home-made frames transformed the walls of her room into a veritable art gallery—­wherever the eye of the visitor rested, it was greeted by a picture that, through its beauty, drove home an appreciation of the finer things of life.  The children, too, had been stimulated to a pride in their room.  They had brought in the available old rags from their homes and, as the result of a Sunday School entertainment which they had put on with the co-operation of the other departments of the school, they had had the rags woven into one of those cheerful, old-fashioned home-made carpets.  It was perfectly clear that the children took delight in going to this “their room” each Sunday morning.  Their pride prompted them to take care of what they regarded as their room, and made for a spirit of quiet and good order hard to surpass.

During the course in teacher-training at Provo, last summer, one of the members of the class courteously took the pains to see that a bouquet of flowers adorned the teacher’s desk each day that the class met.  It is impossible to estimate the effect of those flowers.  Their beauty, coupled with the thoughtfulness that brought them in, made for a “fragrance of spirit” that exerted a remarkable influence.

Once the idea becomes established, pupils will take delight in making their classroom a place in which they will love to meet.

2. The Teacher. We have already discussed at length the personality of the teacher and its force in teaching.  We need only emphasize the fact here that the magnetism of the teacher, either through what he is or what he gives, is the one great factor that makes for class spirit.  The class inevitably reflects the attitude of the man who directs it.  He must radiate enthusiasm before it can be caught by his pupils.  His inspiration in making them feel that their class is “the one class” of an organization is only too gladly responded to by those whom he teaches.  If he impresses the class with the fact that he joins with them because he loves so to do rather than because he has a duty to perform—­if he makes suggestions in the interest of a better class—­if he starts out by doing something himself by way of a contribution to the class and its spirit—­he can be reasonably sure that his class will come more than half-way to join in his plans.