“Later in the day, two of the members in this man’s own class were interviewed, and, in answer to direct questions concerning the above two points, stated that during the winter months older boys and girls, many of whom attended that very school, went as often as three nights a week to a small pond in the community to skate, some of them traveling from three to four miles to get there.  Other sports were indulged in, according to the season, and, according to these boys, they seldom experienced great difficulty in getting ‘a crowd’ together.  Frequently their games wound up in a grand free-for-all fight.

“Now, had this teacher recognized the educative value of supervised play and planned to meet his fellows on the ice, as a class, he would have formed contacts there which he could never hope to form by simply meeting them in the Sunday afternoon session.  In addition to that he would have an opportunity to help the class to apply practically the truths of the Sunday lesson in the activities of everyday life.

“It would be well for such workers to remember that in some of our larger cities one must oftentimes travel from one to two hours on crowded trolley cars, in distance, perhaps, eight or ten miles, in order to meet with his class.  Again, in some sections of the city, populated mostly by foreigners, the Sunday schools are often smaller, in point of membership, than many of the rural schools.

“It matters not whether the boy or girl lives in the city or country, the needs are the same.  What is needed is ‘Visioned Leadership.’

“It is, in a sense, pathetic, to note that these objections are always of adult origin and are not the verdict of the boys.  They, however, must suffer in a handicapped development, through the shortsightedness of their leaders.  Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY ON THE RURAL SUNDAY SCHOOL

Cope.—­Efficiency in the Sunday School ($1.00).

Fiske.—­The Challenge of the Country (.75).

The Rural Church Message—­Men and Religion Movement ($1.00).

XXII

THE RELATION OF THE SUNDAY SCHOOL TO COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS

The church school is not, by any means, the only force in the community, as far as the boy is concerned, but it is destined to be the biggest force.  The church, itself, is the most permanent institution of the community, and will always be so, as long as humanity remains religious.  In the church are all the conserving elements of the community—­slow to change, it stands for the best.  Having adopted anything after approved worth commends it, it tenaciously holds it in trust.  Communities may have homes and schools, but, without the church, they are not good places in which to live.  The church, then, because it is most permanent, should tie the loyalty of the boy to herself.  This she best does through her school—­the Sunday school.