““Yet often they are neglected to the point that they become supplanted by “habits of hasty, heedless, impatient glancing over the surface … of haphazard, grasshopper-like guessing … of credulity alternating with flippant incredulity, belief or unbelief being based, in either case, upon whim, emotion, or accidental circumstances.” Dewey’s use-it-or-lose-it philosophy is that “the only way to achieve traits of carefulness, thoroughness, and continuity … is by exercising these traits from the beginning”—traits which we possess from the outset but must polish if they are to remain in good condition. He rues that many seem willfully to exorcise these traits in themselves and do further damage by allowing them to atrophy in children under their care.””
