Schauffler.—­Lamoreaux-Brumbaugh-Lawrance.  Training the Teacher ($1.00).

XX

DANGER POINTS

A real danger lies in boys’ groups which are seemingly organized, yet which really have no organization.  A few Bible classes have officers, such as president, secretary, and treasurer, and a few standing committees, all of whom take no real part in the class life, the teacher doing everything himself and attempting to deceive the boys by giving them a show of organization.  Such classes are detrimental to the spirit of boys’ work, and should not be tolerated.

The teacher who cannot retire his leadership to the rear of the class, instead of posing at the front, is another serious damper to organized work with boys in the Sunday school.  A leader should have a strong Christian character, have the quality of commanding the respect of boys, have the ability to direct boys in doing things, be keen in his sympathy, have patience and persistence, and be absolutely natural in his bearing.  He encourages freedom of thought on the part of the boys, believes that a boy has brains enough of his own to think on any point that may be discussed, is open and above-board in his teaching, has a strong grip upon the practical truths of life, and tries to lead his boys out of doubt and difficulty by the path of service.

If dangers such as these be eliminated from boys’ work in connection with the Sunday school, and if the spirit of sincerity and earnestness pervades the work of the leaders, there should be little difficulty in raising the boy through the physical, social and mental to the larger spiritual expression for which the church stands.  Every week hundreds of boys of the adolescent years are lining up for Christian service all over our land, and if the ideas and directions given these boys are of the right sort, within one generation there will be no boy problem, for the boy problem of this generation is not the problem of the boys, but the problem of the men who are leading boys.

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON DANGER POINTS

The Older Boy Sunday School Superintendent (American Youth, October, 1912). (.20).

Robinson.—­The Adolescent Boy in the Sunday School (American Youth, April, 1911).  Single copies out of print but bound volume for 1911 may be obtained for $1.50.

Statten.—­Danger Lines in Using Boys (American Youth, June, 1912) (.20).

XXI

THE RURAL SUNDAY SCHOOL

The problem of the rural Sunday school is its size and equipment.  The average number in the school is around eighty, and the building is nearly always a single room.  Some very small villages, near great cities, and even some struggling mission Sunday schools in these cities have to contend with the same problem.  Some of this volume will apply to the rural Sunday school, and some will not.  It is the province of this chapter to point out the parts that apply.