Thirdly, the best way to have boys accomplish things is to allow them to do the things. Many a leader of boys thinks out a plan, gives it to a group of boys and then thinks that the boys are themselves doing it, whereas he is only trying to use the boys as his instrument. The most effectual way of getting boys to do things themselves is to let them do as much as they can and will do under adequate supervision. Lead by suggestion, so that unconsciously the boys follow your advice and dictation, giving them the benefit of their decisions and impulses. Pure self-government in which the boys are entirely the dictators of their policies and activities cannot be thought of, because such a course is so generally fatal to successful development. But self-government fostered and dealt with through suggestion by the adult mind is just what is needed, and should always be encouraged.
Fourth, in letting the boys run their own affairs in this way the Teacher must become a real leader. A real leader never stalks in front, nor gives orders openly. The generals of today fight their battles and win them twenty-five miles in the rear of the firing line. So it is with the Teacher. He must be the power behind the throne, rather than the throne itself. He must be as a conscience—to hold the boys back just a little when they go too fast and to push just a little when they are going too slow. The Teacher must recognize himself to be the impetus, not the goal. The solution of each problem that comes before the class should not only be considered by the whole group, but should be solved by the boys. The important thing for the Teacher to remember in these matters is that the method of practical American citizenship is the majority rule. But this boy majority rule should, of course, be tempered by governing leadership. Thus the Teacher will not do anything that the boy can do himself, and he will be continually placing responsibility on the lad. Responsibility is the great maker of men.
Fifth, there will be of course noticeable differences among the boys of any class. The most serious differences arise even among men. The boys will "scrap" at times, and there will sometimes be a tension and rigidity about their discussions that will approach the breaking point. Through it all it will be difficult for the Teacher to keep himself patiently aloof and allow the thing to work out its own way. Sometimes an appeal will be made to him to settle the dispute, and he will be tempted to do so, but often such action will imperil the object for which he is working. It is best to allow the boys to discuss, and try out all of their logic before he begins to make suggestions and, if he can get the boys to settle the matter themselves, it is to his interest to do so. If a deadlock threatens to exist, then by wise counsel and judicious suggestions he may be able to lead the boys out of a quandary in such a way that it will look as if the boys had gotten out of the difficulty themselves. This will certainly add strength to their organization, and they will settle their own quarrels with peace and dignity. Sometimes the break between the boys will be so bitter as to cause the formation of intensely hostile factions, and then the best thing the Teacher can do is not to try any new patching or drawing together of the opposing forces. There is no use trying to make boys who are bitterly antagonistic agreeable to each other. Let them make new alignments if necessary and in combinations of their own choosing, even if the result should be the formation of new classes.
Sixth, the boys should make their own rules for their own government, and they should also deal as a group with the infringement of their rules. This will solve the discipline problem of the Teacher. Responsibility should be the keynote of government, and the awakening of such a feeling in the boys should be the goal.
The Adolescent Change
Until about the age of twelve the boy is distinctly individualistic and selfish. At about twelve years of age his whole nature begins to change because of the change in his bodily functions. This change occurs anywhere from the twelfth to the sixteenth year and is really determined by his physical development rather than by his chronological age. The change of bodily functions gives him a new outlook upon life. He begins to see and understand that he is a part of the community in which he is living and begins to understand that the community life is made possible by a disposition on the part of his neighbors to help each other. He also begins to understand the institutional life about him and the family and sex tie on which it is based. He sees also the need of the school, the church and other public institutions. He also begins to appreciate the wider range of things. Nature has greater appeal to him now than ever. The woods and streams and outdoor life get a new significance, and the question of livelihood, whether rural and agricultural, or in the line of the various industries, takes a firm hold upon his imagination, and gives him a life-compelling purpose. He begins to feel the mating call and at its first impression is attracted to the other sex, with the result that by and by he also becomes a husband and father and a full-fledged citizen among his fellows. Up to the age of adolescence, however, none of these emotions stir the boy.
GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ADOLESCENT AGE
The interests of the adolescent boy are general and not specialized between the twelfth and eighteenth years. The boy gets his impressions of the community objectively, in addition to increasing his knowledge of the external world through his acquaintanceship with its phenomena. The Universe and the Community are extensive and many sided. The step also between twelve and eighteen years is short. The boy's contact with these, then, must be rapid and general.
CHARACTERISTICS OF THE EARLY ADOLESCENT AGE
The early adolescent age from twelve to fifteen years is characterized by a rapid and uneven growth during which vitality and energy alternate with languorousness, and the boy is awkward and lazy, with bones greatly outgrowing muscle. The boy also begins to take a new interest in sex and sex relations, his features and voice change, and the inherited tendencies begin to assert themselves. His health is usually at its best, and during his active moments he is boisterous and vigorously energetic. He is selfish, but shows signs of altruism; his regard for law increases; the spirit of gang leadership begins to show itself; his longing for friendship is noticeable; his sense of secretiveness is apparent; and his self-assertiveness first begins to be manifested. He is creative in imagination, shows marvelous powers of inference, becomes strongly intellectual, begins to manifest analytic reasoning, imitates the ideal, is uncertain in making decisions, is influenced by suggestion, and possesses generally a strong but not a logical memory. He develops natural religious notions, has strong impulses to do big things, has definite convictions as to his belief in God and Heaven and the understanding of traditional religious terms, shows a noticeable lack of interest in the forms of worship, but a keen appreciation of the spiritual, and is passing through a period when great resolves are most often made.