Adolescence

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D.C. · Apr 1, 1909

THE following questions propounded by an English teacher in a private school through the New York Times are worthy of careful consideration:—

Really, it seems to me that the public-school training is not entirely responsible for the fact that the Lincoln essays of the eleven-year pupils proved fresh and original, while those of the older children verged on the commonplace. The child of eleven is a young Elizabethan, fired with the joy of endeavor, knowing no fear, and daring all things. The child of sixteen is self-critical and doubtful of his powers. This is not the result of school training, but of natural development.

I take it that Stevenson’s youthful efforts, hot with the fire of eleven years, were far more interesting reading than his more studied efforts of the late teens, when he was “mastering many styles.” Yet we know well that the Stevenson of thirty would not have been possible had the Stevenson of seventeen or so not labored and doubted his own powers.

Isn’t the stage of development responsible for the quality of the output? Are not the clever, original child of twelve, the conscious child of sixteen, overpowered it may be by the greatness and skill of the master minds, and the clever youth of the twenties, who is fast becoming master of himself and alive with enthusiasm, one and the same person?

This period of life is one of great storm and stress. The rapid growth, unprecedented in the life of the child, makes very heavy drafts on his fund of nervous force. Not only is the body passing through a period of rapid development, but the mind also is undergoing great changes. The strain on body and mind, in their intimate relations, is so great, as manhood and womanhood walk into the life of the boy and girl with such vigorous and strenuous strides, that it is small wonder that bright children tend to dulness and the even-tempered to irritableness. The possibilities which lie in these years of rapid development only make their importance the greater. And if treated tenderly and yet firmly; patiently, while spurring them to whole-souled effort, our children may be brought safely to strong and beautiful manhood and womanhood.