The third thing that matters belongs more especially to the intellectual life; it might be described as the making of right associations.  More than any other side of training, the making of associations means the making of the intelligent person.  To see life in patches is to see pieces of a great picture by the square inch, and never to see the relationship of these to each other—­never to see the whole.

The fourth thing that matters is the making of good and serviceable habits:  much has been said on this, in connection with the nursery class, and it is at that stage that the process is most important, but it should never cease.  If a child is to have time and opportunity to develop his individuality he must not be hampered by having to be conscious of things that belong to the subconscious region.  To start a child with a foundation of good habits is better than riches.

The fifth thing that matters is the realisation by teachers that opportunities matter more than results; opportunities to discover, to learn, to comprehend all sides of life, to be an individual, to appreciate beauty, to go at one’s own rate; some are material in their nature, such as the actual surroundings of the child in school; others are rather in the atmosphere, such as refraining from interference, encouragement, suggestion, spirituality.  The teacher has the making of opportunities largely in her own hands.

The sixth thing, that matters is the cultivation of the divine gift of imagination; both morality and spirituality spring from this; meanness, cowardice, lack of sympathy, sensuality, materialism, quickly grow where there is no imagination.  It refines and intensifies personality, it opens a door to things beyond the senses.  It makes possible appreciation of the things of the spirit, and appreciation is a thousand times more important than knowledge.

The last thing that matters is the need for freedom from bondage, of the body and of the soul.  Only from a free atmosphere can come the best things—­personality, imagination and opportunity; and all are great needs, but the greatest of all is freedom.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

FROEBEL.  The Education of Man. (Appleton.)
MACDOUGALL.  Social Psychology. (Methuen.)
GROOS.  The Play of Man. (Heinemann.)
DRUMMOND.  An Introduction to Child Study. (Arnold.)
KIRKPATRICK.  Fundamentals of Child Study. (Macmillan.)
DEWEY.  The School and the Child. (Blackie.)
The Dewey School. (The Froebel Society.)
STANLEY HALL.  Aspects of Education. 
FINDLAY.  School and Life. (G.  Philip & Son.)
SULLY.  Children’s Ways. (Longmans.)
CALDWELL COOK.  The Play Way. (Heinemann.)
E.R.  MURRAY.  Froebel as a Pioneer in Modern Psychology. (G.  Philip & Son.)
Edited by H. BROWN SMITH.  Education by Life. (G.  Philip & Son.)
MARGARET DRUMMOND.  The Dawn of Mind. (Arnold.)