THE MASTERFUL BOY AND THE WEAK BOY

The masterful and weak boys represent the antipodes of boyhood.  The masterful boy will see things quickly, will be the leader of his gang, will instinctively dominate and run the class unless the Teacher is on his job.  The weak boy will follow anywhere, be the cause good or bad, and become either a devil or a saint.  The masterful boy may be handled by appealing to his sense of leadership.  Responsibility should be placed upon him.  The Teacher should make him feel that he is leaning heavily on him.  The weak boy on the other hand should be tied up to some steady phlegmatic fellow, the phlegmatic fellow being given the vision of how he can be an older brother to the boy not as strong as himself.  The result will be that the weak boy will catch some of the spirit of the phlegmatic chap, and gradually get some depth for himself.

THE MISCHIEVOUS BOY

Of all the boy types, the mischievous boy furnishes the real pleasure for the worker with boys.  The fellow whose eyes can twinkle and who will play a practical trick on the friend he most respects is always a delight.  It is he that keeps the crowd in good humor, who is generally deepest and most abiding in his affection, and who at the drop of the hat would fight to the last ditch for his friend.  To handle him rightly does not require a six-foot rod, or a half-inch rule.  But the Teacher must keep him so busy doing the things that he likes that he will have no dull moments in which to vent his inborn sense of humor.

THE BACKWARD BOY

The backward boy will need to be led out of himself.  Give him things to do which will make him forget himself and, by careful utilization of his time, gradually he will develop into a normal boy.

THE SHY BOY

The shy boy has merely become shy because of lack of association.  Usually he has been brought up with his mother and sisters and merely lacks the touch of a man and a man’s viewpoint.  After he comes in contact with other boys, this will wear away.  The problem of the Teacher is to get the other boys in his class to pilot the boy into the deeper waters.

“SMARTIE” AND JOKER TYPES

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