What the boy does for the minister is as well emphasized in Professor Hoben’s suggestive little volume The Minister and the Boy, as what the minister may do for the boy. Basing his whole discussion upon a frank acceptance of the biological order and psychological development of boy life, Professor Hoben in a scholarly, yet very practical way, turns our newest knowledge and experience in dealing with boys to the right and feasible use of the ministers and church workers. Not the least valuable parts of the book are those which account for some of the defects and defaults of the boy, characteristic of certain periods of his development, on grounds which reasonably explain them and suggest ways of counteracting and correcting them. Self-knowledge and control are shown as failing to keep pace with the sense impressions and unorganized experiences of adolescence. The psychological analogy between play and worship is another interesting and original point developed. The instincts rooted in the sense of solidarity are treated as the basis of training for the family and communal relationships and responsibilities.
“Self-centering the experience of the boy short-circuits the religious life.” “Sex instruction should anticipate sex consciousness.” “The normal boy will not deliberately choose to sponge upon the world. He intends to do the fair thing and to amount to something. He dreams of making his life an actual contribution to the welfare and glory of humanity. When it is put before him rightly he will scorn a selfish misappropriation of his life and will enter the crusade for the city that hath foundations whose builder and maker is God.”
These sentences indicate the author’s abiding faith in boyhood and his epigrammatic, suggestive style. At the end of each chapter that deals with the more fundamental principles their most practical applications are given. Whole chapters are devoted to practical suggestions on such topics as The Boy in Village and Country; The Modern City and the Normal Boy; The Ethical Value of Organized Play; The Boy’s Choice of a Vocation; Training for Citizenship; The Church Boys’ Club. References to readily accessible books also add to the value of the volume.
The best supplement to Professor Hoben’s book is the interesting and useful handbook entitled Boy Life and Self-Government, which Professor George Walter Fiske of Oberlin Theological Seminary prepared for the International Committee of Young Men’s Christian Associations, for the use of those in charge of their boys’ departments and other boys’ club workers. With these two small volumes in hand and in use, the work of every church and minister for the boys of their parish and community cannot fail to be more effective.
As a fresh, original and well-balanced study of the boy, inspired by unusual insight and large experience, Kirtley’s That Boy of Yours is valuable for teachers, social workers, and above all for parents, to whom by its title it is addressed.
Thwing’s The Family has been for a generation so exclusively the one book combining for the general reader historical and social data, scholarly and practical purpose, that this revised and enlarged edition renders a public service. Unlike the more technical manuals on the family it takes for granted no special acquaintanceship with the history and literature of the subject, though it is introductory to and interpretative of both. The additional material includes the statistical and bibliographical data appearing since the first edition was published, and a new concluding chapter, significantly bearing the title, The Family Under a Socialized Society.
Graham Taylor.