The Boy and the Sunday School: A Manual of Principle and Method for the Work of the Sunday School with Teen Age BoysAlexander, John L.
Religion
The Boy and the Sunday School: A Manual of Principle and Method for the Work of the Sunday School with Teen Age Boys
Alexander, John L.
Sunday schools
The "smartie" and the joker types are thorns in the flesh. Just as
thorns when pressed in too deeply require a surgical operation to remove
them, so it may be necessary for the Teacher to "sit on" both the
"smartie" and the joker. If the other boys of the class make up their
minds to unite in the task, both the "smartie" and joker will become
normal boys in less than one season's activities, and the Teacher will
show his generalship to be of the real sort by enlisting the other boys
to do the job.
THE ECHO OR SHADOW TYPE
The echo or shadow type is a serious problem. He it is who generally
hinders the good things in life and helps the bad. He can swear by the
ward boss in party politics, or he can prove himself an obstacle in the
way of civic and national righteousness. The Teacher's task in his case
is to somehow or other strike the cord of independence, teach him to do
things by himself, think for himself and stand on his own feet. Along
the coasts of the North Sea, they teach boys to swim by throwing them
out beyond their depth. It may be necessary to awaken manhood and
independence in the echo by swamping him when he is alone.
THE BULLY
The bully will be the worst type for the Teacher until the right boy
comes along; there is no use in the Teacher worrying himself until he
does, because of the bully's bluster and bluff. Usually the normal boy
will accept him at his face value, and it is only when a lad with
self-assertion comes along that the sparks will fly. Then the bully will
have to back down or take his medicine. A fight between boys is usually
not a good thing, but when it comes to putting the bully in his place it
is one of the greatest institutions that the savage man has invented.
Once a bully has lost his place, he may bluster, but his bluff is over.
THE QUIET OR RETICENT BOY
The quiet or reticent fellow is like the mighty sweeping river. He has
depths which have been unsounded, and his life has promise of great
possibilities. Just the opposite of the bully, he never blusters but
thinks out everything as it comes to him. Every impression is stored
away and out of the countless impressions which are made upon him there
emerges a man of real and wide interests. The task of the Teacher in his
case will be to discover his interests and help him to discover himself.
THE GIRL-STRUCK BOY
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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