=Methods of Instruction=

It is necessary to keep in mind the stage of development of the boy.  It certainly would be foolish to tell a lad of eight years the facts that should be given to a sixteen-year-old.  Great tact and intelligence, coupled with a knowledge of the stages of physical growth that a boy is passing through, are necessary.

A boy of under twelve years should be approached biologically:  the sex element in nature study should be gradually disclosed to him.  In this period, when the spirit of curiosity is strong in the boy and he is continually asking questions on the mystery of life—­for instance, how the stork or the doctor can bring the little brother or sister—­it is the best thing to answer the question with just enough truthful information to satisfy.  Great harm may be done by piling the mind of the child with facts that cannot but be misunderstood.  In the enthusiasm for doing things right, there must be a guard against going too far.

The second stage of a boy’s physical development, the early adolescent stage—­twelve to fifteen years—­is the physiological.  Puberty marks its advent, although the exact sign of its arrival is hard to determine.  It has been easy to discover it in a girl’s life, but it still remains a matter of some guessing in a boy. A recent work of Dr. Crompton states that the kinking of the hair upon the pubic bone is a sure sign of the beginning of the period.  Some physical directors have found this a satisfactory sign, and have made this the basis of a graded work with boys.  It is in this period, then, that the boy should learn something of the anatomy and physiology of the male sexual organs.

The third stage of sex instruction for boys is during the later adolescent period—­at least over fifteen years—­and this should be pathological.  A free discussion of the so-called social evil and the forms of venereal disease would certainly educate the boys to a proper conception of the entire subject.  All questions should be discussed in ordinary language and business-like style.

=Sources of Knowledge for Sex Instruction=

1.  THE BIOLOGICAL PERIOD (UNDER TWELVE YEARS).

—­A Frank Talk with Boys and Girls About Their Birth (Free).

—­A Straight Talk with Boys About Their Birth and Early Boyhood (Free).

Chapman.—­How Shall I Tell My Child? (.25).

Muncie.—­Four Epochs of Life (Chapters 7-12) ($1.50).

Thresher.—­Story of Life for Little Children (Free).

—­When and How to Tell Children. (Oregon State Board of Health.)

2.  THE PHYSIOLOGICAL PERIOD (TWELVE TO FIFTEEN YEARS).

Hall.—­From Youth Into Manhood (.50).

How My Uncle, the Doctor, Instructed Me in Matters of Sex (.10).

Lowry.—­Truths (.50).

—­The Secret of Strength (Social Hygiene Society of Portland, Oregon)
(Free).

—­Virility and Physical Development (Social Hygiene Society of Portland,
Oregon) (Free).