Farm Boys and GirlsMcKeever, William A. (William Arch)
Science
Farm Boys and Girls
McKeever, William A. (William Arch)
Boys; Farm life; Girls
1. _Local and county athletic clubs._--The athletic event is one of the
easiest to put on in a newly organized boys' club. An able leader,
perhaps the county secretary, should be present to preside over the
event, inducing the boys to form a baseball club, or a basketball team;
or at least to arrange for some event in which they can all participate,
although that may be as simple a thing as swimming or jumping. Introduce
at once the thought of practice and the development of skill, holding
out the plan of a county organization and a county field meet in the
future, which all may attend and in which the ablest shall have promise
of a conspicuous part.
2. _Debating and literary clubs._--There is always the possibility of a
literary society, provided the thing be carefully instituted. The secret
of successful debates among persons of any class is to find a "burning"
question. So, avoid such matters as Tariff Reform and the World Peace
Movement and come right down home to some perplexing problem in the
lives of the boys of the club. Something about their work, their lack of
recreation, their chances against those of city boys, and so on, will
arouse interest and bring out rough debating material. Find latent
talent of other sorts in the club. Some boy can sing; perhaps another
can play a musical instrument; still another one may be a natural-born
storyteller; a fourth may be an expert acrobat and tree climber; a fifth
a shrewd hunter or trapper of wild animals. In this way, nearly every
boy can be led to take part in a general program.
Thus, while contributing something toward the entertainment of all, each
boy's active participation will go far by way of awakening his personal
interest in the new life.
3. _Receptions and suppers._--After the boys get fairly under way with
their club, they may need to arrange an oyster supper or some such
affair at which they will discuss their many mutual problems. On some
such occasions they may desire to invite their parents to come and enjoy
the program, also to participate in the discussion of their affairs.
This form of close association will be found especially enticing to the
boys, giving them a good, clean place to go for social enjoyment and
something to look forward to in their thoughts during the somewhat
prosaic hours of the day in the field.
4. _Educational tours and problems._--The boys may find it feasible to
go in a body once or twice a year on an educational tour--to the state
fair; to study some particular thing in the city; to gather data for the
solution of some local problem; to make a study of the habitat of some
bird or animal; to gather specimens of rocks or plants; and so on. In
case of any such trip there is not a little necessity of some
college-trained person as overseer, so that the study may be made
intensive and not become dissipated in mere sport and fun. It is usually
advisable to make a careful study of only one thing at a time.
[Illustration: PLATE XVIII.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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