SCHOOL AND THE ADOLESCENT

Abstract

TO THE adolescent school is not only of great interest, it is his life, the activity that occupies the greater portion of his waking hours, the standard by which almost everything else is judged. If he does not like school, or does not do well in his studies, his future progress is almost always seriously impaired. Instances of aversion to school are numerous, so numerous in fact that it would not be possible to have all those older children who have a "school phobia," as it is sometimes called, treated by psychiatrists, desirable as that might be in theory. It is very much the business of the physician who sees young people to know some of the reasons why the adolescent and the school sometimes become at odds with one another. It is a reasonable assumption that if the young boy or girl has a natural curiosity (and almost all do), and his interest in the things about him and in the written word have been encouraged by his parents, he will almost always enjoy school and be able to put up with influences which would be highly harmful to a less fortunate youngster. We seldom have to worry about the adolescent who comes from a home where cultural things are valued, providing he has good intelligence and the school keeps his mind stimulated up to its capacity. Unfortunately, the opportunities for something to go wrong are numerous. The most important bit of good fortune a young person can have is to fall under the supervision of teachers who like children, who like books, are curious, secure within themselves, are able to maintain discipline by their manner and example rather than by authoritarian methods, and who think of their pupils as young, growing personalities to be given responsibility and helped into self control, rather than as wild animals to be kept caged and under control.