The Catholic bulletin. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1911-1995, 1915-07-31
WHAT OF THE BOY?

w &@&1f& O& 4&4GA 9~ -
& One of the peculiarities of our
educational system is that it binds
a boy down to fast rules Of study
for nine months Of the year, and
then turns him loose to wander
unchecked, and often completely
uncontrolled for three months.
The spirit that has been repressed
so long bursts it's bonds, and all
pent-up eagerness for diversion
soon asserts itself. Amusement,
play, adventure, all take hold Of
his life. The exuberance Of soul
that is found more fully in the
boy than anywhere else leads him
on to new fields. If he is con-
trolled in his play as well as in
his studies the possibilities for
good are incalculable. For there
is nothing that gives such impetus
to success as unbounded enthusi-
asm in the work at hand. And
where in the whole world can be
found enthusiasm to be compared
with that Of a sound, healthy,
normal boy. It is like the bub-
bling over of a fountain, but more
effervescent; like the roll of the
sea, but without the occasional
calm; like the movement Of the
planets, but more spectacular:
it has the softness Of the spring
rain, the fury of the gale, the
smile Of June, the care-free spirit
of the feathered songster, and the
irrepressible explosiveness Of
sputtering artillery.
All these qualities are pent up
in the normal boy: they clamor
for exit, for expression. Guided
by reason and judgment they have
been known to work wonders ::
left to their native responsibility
they soon lead the nnsuspecting
and unthinking lad into all kinds
of trouble and distress. 1t is too
much to expect the boy to be
1.-The captain of his own soul in
this maelstrom Of contending
impulses; it is unfair to leave him
to his fate at the mercy of these
dynamic forces within him, for
the rudder that should guide him
his own reasons not suffi-
ciently strong to enable him to
steer his craft safely through the
breakers that buffet him on every
side. Give him hand at the
wheel, apply the strength and the
experience of the matured pilot
the and his light but speedy
bark will ride every storm, will
avoid the whirlpool, and will ar
rive at the port of sterling man
hood.
It is precisely during the vaca-
ton period that the father should
enter intimately into the life of
his boy. Then it is that the youth
needs the strong, guiding hand
of the father, the companionship,
the camaraderie of dad. " Too
often, alas, the father is too en-
crossed in business or his own
pleasures to give more than a
cursory glance at the boy and his
pleasures. The girl of the family
has the companionship, if she so
wishes, Of the mother: the boy is
allowed to roam at will, to follow
his irrational impulses, to wander
from the path of rectitude, fire.
quently. Then after the boy has
been permitted to go unrestrained
for a few years the father
awakens to the fact that habits,
Icultivated without discipline, have
led his son into ways that are
hard to retrace. Then it is that
the young man is scolded, up
braided, appealed to, and some
/ times disOwned. The fault lies
not so much with the boy himself
as in the Indifference Of the ia
Their. Give me a healthy, normal
boy, with father who enters into
1.-THE life and thought of his son,
and / will present you with a
solid citizen, filial child, and an
upright gentleman Of society.
lNagging will spoil the best boy s
disposition that ever existed
enter into his life, make your
Influence felt there, and you will
have a undetermined man to soOthe
| you and to support your tottering
1steps when old age has silvered
i your locks and dimmed your
vision.
| CHRISTIANITY AND WAR.