purses from ladies and, during any altercation which might ensue, to escape while the man came roughly to "the rescue." With this training, the boy had endured the physical corruption which naturally attends such an association. The boy's face, however, still retained a semblance of innocence, his voice had a possibly cultivated ring of the childlike; and it took time to discover how corrupt, deep, and cynical his mind really was. Here was a boy of thirteen, a thief first by training, next by habit, and finally inclination, doubly a menace to other boys because of his innocent bearing and winning ways. In school he was quiet and respectful, a naturally well-behaved, industrious boy, given an extra polish by artifice and cunning. While to a person newly acquainted with H—, he appeared like Han unusually promising and charming boy, to others who had followed him through many of his tricky dealings he would be called a veritable child of the devil in his smooth dissembling, delightful appearance, and persuasive leadership, not to mention his corrupt habits and purposes. No one who fears for the well-being of his own child can bear to think of his association with such a morally perverted companion. It is natural that we, who regard our public schools as fit for any child's education, are firmly of the opinion that the sooner such a boy as His caught and removed from the public schools, segregated from the society of other boys, the better for all concerned.

When a boy reaches this point it is customary for the public to lose interest. He has had his chance and he must now be "put away. His future is not of particular moment. He has not made good; he probably never will. He is probably abnormal and should be examined by the Binet System and "incarcerated in a custodial institution." By the law of the survival of the fittest, he should disappear and be forgotten. Those of us that know what real worth there is in boys of even such perversion, and how long the spark of life and hope lasts, are by no means ready to allow that such a boy has lost his chance. At the Berkshire Industrial Farm, and at other similar institutions, it is felt that we should work all the harder for the problem boy, both because, if we do not work hard now to overcome his perversity someone will have to pay for it later on, and because in these very boys there is sometimes concealed the choicest material for good manhood. And this is not mere optimism.

Let us follow the case of H. One April it was planned by the institution to undertake the reclamation of a valuable swamp. Since the boys were all occupied in their various departments, it was necessary to engage the services of two Italians to cut the roots of stumps, dig them out, and to make a system of ditches to drain out the water. One day the superintendent happened to be walking through the swamp with one of the boys. They watched the work of the Italians, and, remarking that it was not difficult, the superintendent asked the boy how he would like to try his hand at it. Together they worked for an hour at the stumps with axe and mattock. When they had finished, the superintendent suggested

that a few of the boys get up early the next morning to continue operations. The boy eagerly snatched at the idea. Later several other boys, hearing of the plan, volunteered to get up at four o'clock. The first morning four boys got up at that hour with the superintendent. The second morning twelve; and it was not long before as many as thirty boys were rising before the sun to do this volunteer work. Thinking that this was a spontaneous impulse that would not last, and seeing the possibility of valuable accomplishment if the boys kept at it, it was proposed that a Four O'clock Club be formed, that only boys having a reasonably steady attendance should be eligible, that the land reclaimed and the profits accruing from any crops sown on this land be given to the boys in the club, and finally that every two weeks the club go camping. It is needless to say that the boys, one and all, rose to this bait.

Among the number of this interesting aggregation was found the boy H—. Of all the number, he was soon one of the most enthusiastic. He showed up with regularity each morning, worked hard with mattock and potato-hook, attaching a chain to stumps and skilfully arranging the block and tackle with which to haul out the stumps. At the end of the season, this boy won the first prize, a watch,-for being the most regular and faithful member of the Four O'clock Club. The most interesting thing was the extraordinary change which came over H- during this period. He seemed to grow younger, simpler, more natural and childlike. His face gathered a new light; the worried expression disappeared, and his record went steadily up. His still at the Berkshire Industrial Farm and is making a fine record, though he is by no means cured of the wild habits of the street. It will require one campaign after another of applied interest to win this boy to his real self. And this is what can be done in an industrial school where there are so many appeals to the imagination of a boy.

Case 2. McW had been an institutional child up to his thirteenth year. His father and mother were dead. He had two bad brothers worse than himself, with records of a criminal nature. McW was a big, bullet-headed fellow, unprepossessing, and trained to think that the world owed him a living, the misfortune of a dependent child. At the orphan asylum where he had been for some years, he got to be too much of a problem, and he was therefore sent to the Berkshire Industrial Farm as a delinquent. Here he very soon showed a mind entirely corrupted. He was a thief and a bully and a very coarse, unpromising boy. The training of this boy was much more discouraging than that of some. For a long time it looked as if he were destined to become a criminal. Various appeals were made to the boy's interest. But he showed no particular aptitude for any industry. And he was entirely untrustworthy. It happened, however, that a lady gave a sum of money to the Farm to be devoted to the purchase of ten colonies of bees. The bees were duly bought, but before their appearance at the farm, volunteers were called for to take care

of them. This demanded some study, since bees have to be under the care of a person familiar with their life and habits. Among the number volunteering was McW, and as it seemed a good thing to apply a new line of interest to him, he was given the position of bee-keeper. Not long after, the bees arrived and we were notified by the station-master that they were at the freight house. He urged that some one be sent down at once to take the bees away, for "they were all over the place and nobody dared go anywhere near the station." McW -was promptly sent down to get the bees. Fear was not one of his failings; so he went right to work, put the bees on his cart, and drove back. He was well stung for his pains; but the bees stung his pride also. Upon reaching the farm, he soon had the bees established in their new home. From that hour we saw little of the boy. He literally "lived bees." They say that bees cure a person of rheumatism. In this case they cured the boy of his delinquency. McW looked after the bees for several months, and then he earned his discharge. He was a changed boy. From the Farm he went to a large apiary where he cared for five hundred colonies of bees. Here he made good, and I am glad to state that the young man has made a steady record ever since and is now earning an honest living.

Case 3. W- was an overgrown boy of fifteen. His home had always been a very unhappy one. His father was a hard, selfish, rather prosperous business man; his mother was a vain, frivolous, hysterical woman, flighty and nervous, always fussing about the boy who was an only child. Owing to the discord at home, resulting from incompatability of temperaments, the boy had been forced out upon the streets much of his time. Here he had fallen in with a rough lot of boys, and with them had gone steadily down hill. One day, having had a stormy time with his father, who had a violent temper and very little sympathy for the boy, the latter threatened to shoot his father with a pistol which he had secured from one of his companions of the street. At this point, the father took steps to have the boy sent to the Berkshire Industrial Farm. Upon arriving at Berkshire, the boy very soon declared himself to be abnormal both mentally and physically. Having been thrown out of school for some months owing to a serious illness, the boy found himself so behind that he was loath to go to school at all. He proved to be a morbid, hypersensitive fellow, introspective, brooding, freakish in behavior, acting irrationally and even criminally, yet most docile and timid when corrected. By reason of his peculiarities, he was an easy mark for the ridicule of other boys. This drove him sometimes almost to despair, and on one occasion he even armed himself with an axe and ran away into the woods. He came back, however, of his own accord, a very repentant boy.

Here was an abnormal boy, mentally unbalanced, physically poorly born and obviously inheriting some sort of taint, a victim of poor home conditions, an easy mark for the gang in the street, a problem in school, obviously headed for a life of crime. Yet I am glad to state that in two years' time

this boy returned to his home restored in mind and body and was able to take a good position in the General Electric Company and is today earning an honest living, appears to be happy and contented, and has been a great comfort to his home.

How was this brought about? In the following interesting manner: One day the boy was called upon to help operations on a new building which was being largely constructed by the labor of the boys on the Farm. This boy showed such interest that he was kept at work for several months. The outdoor work seemed to benefit him. The doctor advised taking him out of school for a time till he caught up physically. He had grown too fast for his strength. Consequently this boy was employed with skilled workmen and went through the whole process of building a house from foundations to placing the slate on the roof. He became so much absorbed in his work that he hardly cared to spend the time to eat or sleep. And when, at the end of the four months, the building was finished, he sighed for "more worlds to conquer. But what a changed boy! Physically he was restored. Mentally, a new interest shone in his eyes. He talked rationally, showed the maturity of a man, and altogether he seemed to have found a new being. It was not many months after that he left the farm to take a course at a technical school. From this he went into the General Electric, and he is holding his own well.

These cases of problem boys set right in an institution could be multiplied many times. These boys could probably not have been reclaimed anywhere but in an institution, where strong appeals of interest through industries can be applied.

One can strengthen the Band of Mercy work by appealing to tenderness for the young, the "baby-things" to offset that rush toward investigation and cruelty that comes to boy-nature at this season.

"The introduction of every method that appeals to the child's active powers, to his capacities in construction, production and creation, marks an opportunity to shift the center of ethical gravity from an absorption which is selfish to a service which is social."-John Dewey.

SUBJECT-MATTER AND METHODS

ILLUSTRATED STORIES FOR ORAL ENGLISH

The story, rightly used, is an invaluable aid in developing language power. A well-selected story, told to children, will come back naturally through three avenues of spontaneous creative activity. First, there is retelling the story; second, an expression through visualized form, such as drawing, paper cutting or modelling; third, playing the story. All these forms of expression may be used toward the definite end of bettering the child's grasp of language.

From a pedagogical point of view the use of good English is a habit. To fix that habit we must provide the same clearness of mental picture and the same processes of attentive repetition that are essential to all habit formation. The story furnishes that clearness of imagery and motive for repetition which are needed to make correct forms of speech an individual possession.

Our aim in dramatizing or illustrating a story is to utilize these natural modes of expression in directed language exercises. The method outlined below in working out "The Pied Piper" was used in a class of middle grade children. The adaptation used is in Sara Cone Bryant's "How to Tell Stories to Children."

The first step is to tell the story. Retell it if necessary to familiarize the children with details. Second, reproduce in sections, with dramatization according to the children's ability. Have them work out the situations themselves. When the little actors come to a place where their power of oral expression is inadequate or unsatisfactory, try to have others help out; failing in that, unobtrusively supply the needed phrasing. This is the time to watch closely and to be ready to help just when the child feels the need of ability to express his idea.

When the whole story has been dramatized, provide the need of repetition by preparing to give it before an audience, or before some interested auditor.

In the third place comes the telling of the story by the children. This demands a continuity of thought and a clearness of expression not so essential in the dramatization. To help the child to remember details and to keep the correct sequence of the story, and so give him more chance to think of his expression, some form of illustration which pictures the main points of the story in order is very helpful. The simplest is a chart. This is a large sheet of cardboard of suitable background color, on which is pasted in groups corresponding to the sections of the story, cut-out pictures, either freehand cuttings or magazine illustrations, which suggest the ideas and situations in the story. Six or more groups may easily be arranged on the cardboard if care is taken that the groups are not too elaborate.