Adolescence - with special reference to distinctions of sex

Abstract

Introduction: Between the ages of nine and sixteen is the most vital point in the life of the child for he is leaving his old joys and customs behind and entering upon a new existence. He is full of strange feelings, tempestuous passions, mysteries and perplexities which he cannot understand much less combat in anyway. This is the time when there is the most important change in his physical being from the foetal stage up; when the girl smiles her sweetest and loves the most; when the boy talks the deepest and fights the hardest. This is the period which gives the most trouble to the parent and to the teacher. Rarely, if ever, do we find the teacher having trouble with the pupil except during this transitory state. Rarely do we have pupils dying from brain fever before the age of nine or after seventeen. This, then, is the time when the boy or girl needs a tender, loving mother, a strong, reliant father and a tactful, helpful teacher. Are the fathers, mothers and teachers of our land fitted to bring out the best there is in the child during this period? Can they keep the confidence of the children entrusted to their care, and lead them safely thro this crisis? The discussion of separate cases as observed by a number of teachers thro out Kansas may help some in coming to an understanding of the child during this critical period- a period fraught with peril to many.