knowledge or because of
wrong knowledge. If I were to teach a boy my business I should tell him
everything that would make the business better, and say nothing of how
to put it "to the bad." Now what would we all do if our business was to
help boys to live clean lives, speak truth, bless the community with
unimpaired manhood and honor God with their united physical powers?

=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 S