Paste raat oy + iid ; ‘ ; : - et eg : ayy its MA ster ing eins atta ark Ech aS Sit i eepines teasrars a * ee = BN peak 38s Rear ean ; isa 5 ress LSPtg +2: rie +t <2 .: = : ‘ an Se oe aT Se : i “Taber ~abhbass “Dace 5 BY ear arc é : = ae 3 See te mths ae ro AN OF PRINGE > Sy y JAN 23 1029 XY “A “OL og ICAL SES BY; 45493 °\sM3 (1926 McKibben, Frank Melbourne, 1889- Intermediate method in the church school / if The Abingdon Religious Education Tex a ae Davis G. Bowney, General Editor OUGICAL SEO COMMUNITY TRAINING SCHOOL SERIES NORMAN E. RICHARDSON, Editor INTERMEDIATE METHOD IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL BY FRANK M. ‘McKIBBEN THE ABINGDON PRESS NEW YORK CINCINNATI Copyright, 1926, by FRANK M. McKIBBEN All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages, including the Scandinavian Printed in the United States of America First Edition Printed July, 1926 Reprinted December, 1926 DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF MY MOTHER (or rh] ‘ vie APL A if ot ahr, " CONTENTS ‘ PAGE ROCLOCIS) ITETOCECHON itt ak Une nk Muna aes ese ere stone 15 PART I. THE EARLY ADOLESCENT CHAPTER I. THE CHALLENGE OF YOUTH TO THE CHURCH......... 19 ERE CHAUEN EE OF MOUS RUM aL Ws ete a teva 21 Inherent worth of youth—Conditions surrounding youth—Challenge to put first things first. The Responsibusty of the Church 0. 005 5 oe ee ot 24 Society holds the church responsible—Leadership and programs need to be provided—The church an interpreter of religion—Positive moral training needed—Ideals of living necessary—Wholesome in- terpretation of life. The Challenge of Early Adolescence. .........2.0005 29 The Junior High School movement—Intermediate church-school program needed. eerie tee CROMCN SE i io epics «b)e's wi shen sine ss tee g ohn als 32 Ministry to the whole of life—A church-cen- tered program—Careful study and experimentation needed. EE APLIEP: SIMA VCR O RL Sue ental Wat, WN a tine 35 ORS TAT TREMP OCOD Pl yah chasse 2 sal alii: S Staeuler &decs 36 TIP ePHYSICAL, AND MENTAL, GROWTH 2.0 0056 lon oes Oo urges 37 The Nature and Meaning of Adolescence............ 37 Divisions of adolescence. PUSILOL, LODO OUNPE LON Ui Neils ca ol etal ide aunt moet 40 Nature of physical growth—Underlying cause of growth—Growth in muscular and skeletal systems —Growth of the respiratory, digestive, and circula- tory systems—Physical interests and needs—Physi- cal limitations. 5 6 CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE Mental Developments eet SAN ede cate ne 47 Contribution of childhood—Mental development rapid and complex—Acute self-awareness—New channels of impression—Increased mental alertness — Imagination greatly stimulated—Developing power of reason—Mental limitations and needs. FOr fUti her: SIUDY OORT EE CORE a aaa) oe 56 EOP fULi Rey: TEGdIRE ON RO ge ahs ota rete 56 III. SoctraL AND RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT............. 57 octal Development s/s fc nen Wi caliente tea tie eee 57 The “great social divide’’-—Manifestations of self- consciousness—lInfluence of sex-development—The gang and the group—Cooperation in work and play —Incomplete and defective social experiences—The social ideal of the kingdom of God. Reliprous! Develapment cl ea coos ciiien crea mae 63 Preadolescent religion—Early adolescent religion— The new self and religion—New moral sensitiveness —Search for sources of moral control—The out- reach toward God—Establishment of a personal ideal—Efforts to realize ideals in every-day living. Aspects of Religious Development.............0005- 72 How can religious development be measured?— Aspects of-religious development—1. Supreme loy- alty to God as Father and as sanctioner of the moral order—2. Recognition of self as a disciple of Christ—3. Social fellowship with the disciples of Christ— 4. Intelligent use of the accredited means of worship—s. Personal beliefs that are consistent with the best theological thinking of the church— 6. Intelligent use of the Bible and other devotional literature—7. Conformity to ethical ideals in daily living—8. Support of the social service and mission- ary programs of organized Christianity. For further: tudyc chars sa.) ee een 78 For further (20082 .!; 6, Oc. a vn ete pits a eleanor CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE PART II. MATERIALS AND METHODS IV. Tue Arm or RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR EARLY ADOLES- Nature and Function of Educational Aims.......... How are aims determined?—Of what use are aims? Objectives of Junior High-School Education......... Objectives of secondary education—Development of the Junior High School—Current emphasis on character education. General Aim of the Intermediate Church School...... “The fourfold life’’—Objectives of the International Council—Abundant life in Christ the great ob- jective. Particularized Objectives of the Intermediate Church RSCHOQE OEM HEME Ny Ate CeCe WMU as NT Ra UA Oe Ura oh Detailed aspects of religious development—Abun- dant life in Christ expressed in twelve ways:— Physical health and vitality—Mental health and alertness—Proper unspecialized social contacts— Right economic and business relationships—Voca- tional specialization and efficiency—Suitable avo- cational occupations—Right family relationships— Proper larger social and civic responsibilities and relationships—World friendship—Efficient church membership—Stewardship of money, time, personal influence and talents—Wholesome, personal devo- tional life. OR LUSTRE SERALY, OLN CN cist stare lahat ais o8inis inane faa Rist BOP TUPIBEL TROUSHE TIPE a tek cae k enaa ed ass wee foie V. THe CurRICULUM OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR IN- BERUEDIATHS aire ite sete ce ati Riaiis: 4 ahaa tn Seam wid yo Reasons for fresh study of the curriculum. Relation of Curriculum to Experience........++.44.. The curriculum should be experience-centered— “Education is life’—Education seeks to control and enrich experience. 83 84 87 gI 93 IIt II! IIi2 114 CHAPTER CONTENTS The Nature aud Scope of the Curriculum........... 118 What is the curriculum?—The curriculum may em- brace the entire life of the school—The relation of the curriculum to programs:—(1) The program of classroom instruction; (2) the program of worship; ~ (3) the program of leisure time activities; (4) the program of training in service; (5) the program of organization. The Program of Classroom Instruction ...........4. 123 The need of an enlarged program of instruction— Week-day religious instruction—What kinds of knowledge are needed? Corer ses OP Stady iia ety US ae AR aioe eam i eka eel a 127 The International Uniform Lessons—The Inter- national Group Graded Lessons—The International Graded Series—Other courses of study—Tendencies in curriculum making. For feeptiver SEMA yi yi et idl ae Gee Orca) Ale wera 132 Forsfurther: reading ova Oe ie tates Llp e an 133 VI. METHODS oF TEACHING INTERMEDIATES............. 134 The nature of method—Types of teaching suitable to Intermediates. The Project Mathed oes seb ally sade aoa 136 Nature of the project method—Suitability of the project method—Types of projects—Procedure in developing projects. The Problem-Discussion Method.............0.000: 141 Nature of the problem-discussion method—Steps in the use of this method—Important aspects of the problem-discussion method. The sory Method i. ee CS vac ce oa tn 145 The nature of a story—Principles of story-telling — Story interests of adolescents—Sources of suitable stories. The Topical or Research Method.............00.005. 150 Types of lessons suited to this method—How to use this method. CONTENTS , CHAPTER PAGE Other Methods That Have Limited Use............. 153 The lecture method—Dramatization—Catechetical teaching—Prerequisites to effective teaching. OPTUS ESET STUN Sat ihe alata, Save pw a RAG tera leh he Re ee 156 ROP USTED TARAS etn. ke ie abun a hemi Uly 156 VII. RELicious DEVELOPMENT THROUGH WORSHIP........ 157 Nature and Aim of Worshtd 00.66 eee cee cues 157 The nature of worship—Function of worship in the Intermediate church school. Intermediates’ Need of Training in Worship......... 160 Need of a quieting, steadying experience—Need of a vivid realization of God—Need to develop the affective side of nature. Conditions Favoring Training in Worship........... 162 X Habits and attitudes becoming personal and perma- nent—Unusual sensitiveness to spiritual influences —Responsiveness to appeal of symbolism and ritual —Change from child world to adult world. DA SEP TOL SOP MC OCSTED 8 si pues Sa eais x whee a Re 164 Music—Hymns—Prayer—Meditation—Scripture— The offering—Instruction and discussion—Ma- terials selected with reference to a theme. The Program of Worship for Intermediates.......... 170 Unity in planning the entire worship program— Class devotions—The Intermediate Department worship service—Intermediates worshiping with other groups—Devotional meetings—Intermediates and the regular church service—A church policy and program needed. Principles in Planning and Conducting Worship..... 179 Suitable physical conditions necessary—Oppor- tunity for pupil leadership—Provision for group participation—Unity and balance in the service— All materials should be graded. Poy further study. oe ac ccc kee tale ene seccwes 182 For further reaqing ii ovae oe cs eile e Decco eeene 182 IO CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE VIII. CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH LEISURE-TIME ACPYVITIES SI errs ta iy, ahah Seo eA a a Co The church’s new interest in play—Objectives of the recreational program. Recreational Interests and Needs of Early Adolescents. . Physical activity—Cooperation and competition— Acquisition of skills—Interest in reading—Voca- tional and avocational interests—Interest in nature —Desire for fun—Other interests. Types of Activities and Programs... .......ccceccees Games—Sports and athletics—Hikes, picnics and travel—Camping—Nature study—Home and hand crafts—Reading—Dramatics and entertainments— Fine arts—Specialized programs. Church Supervision of Recreation... .......ececeee Placing responsibility—-The committee on educa- tion—The department program—Natural social groupings—The class program—cCorrelation with specialized programs—A church-centered program the goal. Por further: SIUGY 3 Pee tony Corey Hil. Cee ena eee Hor farther Teagin gi UN ot e's cin eat ie wente ¢ IX. TRAINING INTERMEDIATES IN SERVICE...........---- Service the essence of religion—The general aim of training in service. Particular Objectives in Training in Service.......... An understanding of the service purpose and nature of the kingdom of God—Interest in other people— Ability to make definite contributions to social needs of the world. The Program of Service Activittes......c.cccccccees Personal service—Church activities—A local church project—Service within the community—A com- munity service project—World-wide service activ- ities—Special training in financial stewardship. Organization and Supervision of Service Activities..... Service activities an integral part of comprehensive program— heavenly Father and of the goodness of the universe about them. This childish faith should be made over into the intelligent personal faith of a maturing mind. This will not be achieved in its entirety by any means during early adolescence. However, the Intermediate may be judged with respect to whether or not he is coming into an appreciation of the fact that he should sustain a reverent, personal relationship to God. His Christian development may be considered defective if this loyalty is not being established. (2) Recognition of self as a disciple of Chrisi.— For the Christian religion, the acceptance of Christ as Lord and Master of the life is a supreme test. Normal religious development should lead naturally — during these years of spontaneous hero worship to the establishment of Christ as the transcendent hero * This list of phases of development is taken from an outline of a course of lec- tures delivered by Dr. Norman E. Richardson of Northwestern University. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL rE of the young life. The youth should find increas- ingly all his ideals of character and _ personality embodied and expressed in the person of Christ. Such acceptance should be more than a personal relationship to Christ. It should involve public acknowledgment of sincere discipleship. The religious development during these years involves the conscious assuming of the full obli- gations of discipleship of Christ. Young people should recognize themselves as champions of the cause of Christ in the world program. Nominal discipleship, or allegiance on the basis of family religion, should be superseded by a strong personal loyalty. The ultimate test of Christian develop- ment is a life and personality that are being inte- grated with reference to Jesus Christ. (3) Social fellowship with the disciples of Christ.— The Christian religion demands social expression. It involves social relationships. To be religious one should be disposed and able to maintain cordial, wholesome social fellowship with one’s fellow Chris- tians. This is a test which is particularly appro- priate with respect to the religious development of early adolescents. It implies profitable relationships within the larger social group, the community. They should be experiencing a definite sense of fellowship with some organized body of Christian believers, some church. This sense of kinship with other disciples should have as its natural outcome the desire to hold membership in the church of Christ. Young people should begin definitely to share the spirit, the enthusiasms, and the respon- sibilities of church-membership. (4) Intelligent use of the accredited means of 76 INTERMEDIATE METHOD worship.—Central in religious experience is the act of worship. Worship is as old and varied in its forms as/is religion itself. Protestant denomina- tions have developed a wide range of materials, methods, and forms of worship which are used in common. The Intermediate may be considered as developing an outstanding religious trait when he manifests a disposition to engage in the accredited modes of worship, when he makes intelligent use of the materials of worship, and when he endeavors to contribute to the worship experience of the social group. Development in this respect will be gradual. Very definite interests and habits with respect to worship should characterize Intermediates by the close of this period. (5) Personal beliefs that are consistent with the best theological thinking of the church.—Intelligence regarding the cardinal doctrines formulated by the best theological thinking of the church will be expected of one who is religiously educated. Hair- splitting metaphysical and theological discussions are not involved in this requirement. The Inter- mediate will manifest deeper interest in the more objective facts. Such matters as the personality and attributes of God, the person and work of Christ, the nature and power of the Holy Spirit, sin, salvation, faith, eternal life, and the sacraments should be assuming significance in the religious thinking of young people. They should be mani- festing a disposition and ability to make use of such materials in fashioning a personal working faith. (6) Intelligent use of the Bible and other devotional literature.—It is inconceivable that anyone could be IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 7 considered Christian who does not know and use in private devotions the Bible and other sources of religious knowledge. The experience of count- less numbers of Christians testifies to the fact that the Bible and such literature constitute virtually “the bread of life.’ In order to sustain a vital religious experience constant use of such literature is necessary. The religious development of the Inter- mediate will be determined, in part, by his famili- arity with and habitual use of the Bible and other devotional literature. (7) Conformity to ethical ideals in daily living.— One’s profession of Christianity, one’s assent to doctrinal beliefs, and one’s practice of worship are discounted if the daily life does not conform to the ideals of daily living as taught by Christ. This is a final and supreme test of religious development. Young people of Intermediate age will not be expected, of course, to meet an absolute test in conduct. But there should be observable in their lives an earnest effort and an increasing ability to make conduct conform to Christian standards of living. The social implications of religious faith should be increasingly appreciated. The early adolescent should be conscious that his failure or success in making conduct conform to Christian ideals is not alone a personal matter but that it has broad social results. (8) Support of the social service and missionary programs of organized Christianity.—The modern conception of Christianity requires that a strong emphasis be placed upon service. A true con- ception of Christian living includes devotion to the social service and missionary programs of the 78 INTERMEDIATE METHOD church. A Christian will be judged with respect to his interest in and contribution to the missionary and service programs of organized Christianity. Intermediates who are receiving effective religious training should be manifesting personal interest in the more extensive program of the church. They should be sensing the world-wide implications of the gospel of Christ and the meaning of his church to the entire world. As a result of this under- standing they should be seeking and using oppor- tunities to give assistance in the successful prosecu- tion of the great programs of organized Christianity. Their contributions may not be of large financial value to the church during these years, neverthe- less, the spirit and intelligence with which they are made have an important bearing upon their ultimate relationship to the work of the kingdom. Activities corresponding to the ideal of stewardship should characterize their conduct. For further study: 1. Observe carefully a group of early adolescents, noting their social attitudes and conduct. 2. In what way does group loyalty prepare young people for church membership? .. State specific ways in which young people may be brought into the social fellowship of the church during these years. . Indicate ways in which the physical, Paya and social growth of these years influences religious development. 5. Point out specific evidences of increasing moral sensitiveness among early adolescents of your acquaintance. W os IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 79 6. Suggest a more extended list of phases of growth which may serve to measure reli- gious development. For further reading: Tracy, Frederick, The Psychology of Adolescence. Richardson, Norman E., The Religious Education of Adolescents. Mudge, E. Leigh, The Psychology of Early Ado- lescence. Moxcey, Mary E., Girlhood and Character. Ja rive PART II MATERIALS AND METHODS Tht t Lye SN RS CHAPTER IV THE AIM OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION FOR EARLY ADOLESCENTS IT is impossible to build an effective program of religious education for early adolescents without a . clear conception of the objectives to be achieved. Workers with young people need to pause fre- quently to ask themselves the question, What is it all about? What purposes do the activities, meetings, organizations serve? Are they worthy of the time and effort given to them? Are clearly conceived objectives guiding in building and admin- istering the program of religious education for youth? The aim of religious education is conceived from widely different standpoints. On the one hand, it is considered to be essentially the memorization of Bible verses, the storing of the mind with materials from the Bible which, it is assumed, automatically will be applied to life as occasion may require. This notion of religious education carries with it the idea that education is primarily the transfer of materials from a book to the mind of the indi- vidual. In religious education the book is the Bible. Other widely accepted objectives include preparation for church membership, conversion, train- ing in the liturgy of the church, and indoctrination in some particular system of theological beliefs. All of these objectives have been the result of practical 83 84 INTERMEDIATE METHOD experience. They reflect the values which church leaders consider to be vital. On the other hand, attempts are being made to state the aim of religious education in terms in keeping with the most trustworthy principles of religious education. In the field of general educa- tion, efforts are being made to discover scientifically the nature of individual growth, the needs of the individual, the needs of society, and to shape the objectives which are to control the educative process in conformity with these needs and capabil- ities. From these scientific studies and experiments statements of the objectives of general education are coming, and then these statements are made the basis for the constant improvement of the curriculum of the public schools. Such scientific procedure will likewise come to characterize religious education. ‘The aims should be formulated upon the basis of a knowledge of the laws of the religious development of adolescents and of the needs of these young people and of society. NATURE AND FUNCTION OF EDUCATIONAL AIMS A distinction should be made between the means and the ends of religious education. A clear under- standing of the nature and function of the aim is prerequisite to an intelligent grasp of the materials and methods to be used. Such an understanding will help to make intelligible and practicable the task which confronts the leader. To be without such a clearly defined aim is to be as a ship with- out compass, rudder, and known destination. How are aims determined?—An aim implies IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 85 orderly procedure toward a_ predictable goal. Progress is made in line with one’s purpose as the goal is approached. Aims, therefore, should be flexible and capable of adaptation to conditions of change and growth. At all times the objectives set up will grow out of the needs of the individual as discovered in an analysis of the activities in which he engages and of the social order of which he is to become a member. The aim should be meaningful in the light of the current life activities of the young people. The objectives of religious education for early adoles- cents will be concerned primarily with the changes and development which should be brought about in their lives rather than with any materials, organ- izations, and activities which may be employed to bring about these changes. The objectives will be stated in terms of the attitudes, appreciations, dispositions, habits, and skills which constitute the character and personality of the youth. The objectives will be determined also by the needs of the social life which the young people are coming more fully to share. Each individual must live his life as a part of the complex social order about him. FEach individual, early in life, should learn to bring his interests, desires, and conduct into harmony with the best interests of society. His life is inextricably interwoven with that of the social group. The best interests of the individual and of society should be brought into harmonious adjustment through the program of religious education. It is exceedingly important that the finest social virtues and the noblest social attitudes be made central in the statement of the 86 INTERMEDIATE METHOD objectives of the moral and religious nurture of young people of this age. The objectives which are set up to guide the process of religious education should be such as can be realized in present experience. While the aim of religious education should point to the final results to be achieved through the program, yet it should also suggest definitely the phases of that growth which can be realized in the lives of the young people here and now. The immediate changes to be wrought in the lives of the young people are of vital concern to the leaders. With- out a knowledge of these the teacher or leader cannot intelligently plan the work of the day or the week. Of what use are aims?—The function of the aim has been suggested in part. Essentially it is to make procedure purposeful and intelligent. The teacher who has an aim acts with definite inten- tion, not haphazardly and blindly. He has a goal to be attained, an objective to be gained. As ob’ec- tives are selected, all the elements of the educative process take on meaning and find their respective places with reference thereto. Thus the aim serves to guide in the selection of the materials to be used, to determine the methods of teaching to be em- ployed, to indicate the organizational features to be included in the program, and to suggest the scope and nature of the activities to be engaged in. Properly selected objectives serve also as a standard by which progress and achievement may be measured. The religious educator will have need of criteria by which to determine the extent to which he is successful in his efforts. The value of IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL * 87 every phase of the program will need to be deter- mined by the extent to which it contributes to the final realization of the objective. OBJECTIVES OF JUNIOR HiGH ScHOOL EDUCATION The religious education of early adolescents is but one phase of their complete development. The education of the youth in the public school cannot be arbitrarily separated from that which occurs in the church school. Both types of education are concerned with the same individuals. General education and religious education have a task in common. Each aspect of training is bound to be influenced by the other. For all too long they have gone their individual ways without proper understanding of and regard for what each has been attempting to accomplish. Those responsible for the religious nurture of Intermediates should know what the public-school educators are endeav- oring to do for and with young people of this age. Objectives of secondary education.—The state- ment of the aim of secondary education as adopted by the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools is perhaps as representative as any of the many that are available. This will serve to acquaint leaders in religious education not only with the content of the aims but also with the methods employed to make them intelligible and helpful to the average teacher. The ultimate aim stated in terms of dispostitons and abilities may be summarized as follows: (1) To maintain health and physical fitness. (2) To use leisure time in right ways. 88 INTERMEDIATE METHOD (3) To engage successfully in vocational activities. (4) To sustain successfully certain definite social rela- tionships such as civic, domestic, community, and the like. ... The immediate aims, those which guide in the selec- tion of means, in the choice of method and in determin- ing school organization, need to be stated clearly and in detail. Ultimate aims are stated in terms of dispositions and abilities while the immediate ones are thought of in terms of acquiring and developing. The immediate aims may be summarized as follows: (1) Acquiring fruitful knowledge. (a) Preparatory to acquiring other knowledge. (b) Knowledge which functions directly in de- veloping abilities. (c) Knowledge which is useful in control of life situations. (2) Development of attitudes, interests, motives, ideals, and appreciations. (3) Development of definite mental techniques in memory, judgment, imagination, and the like. (4) Acquiring right habits and useful skills. Development of the Junior high school.—Striking changes have been occurring within the field of general education during the past two decades. The changes have resulted largely from the applica- tion of more nearly scientific method in determining the nature of growth, in defining the objectives of education, and in discovering the types of schools and programs which are best adapted to the differ- ent age-groups. It is out of this process that the Junior high school has come. It is the result of 1 Proceedings of the North Central Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools, 1923, pp. 34-35. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 89 the effort to determine the kind of program which is best adapted to those years during which young people are truly ‘intermediate,’ the years follow- ing their completion of the elementary work of the grade schools and preceding the more advanced work of the Senior high schools. A number of distinct features characterize the new Junior high school. These include a separate organization for grades 7, 8, and 9, a separate building in which they meet, a staff of teachers and officers especially trained to deal with this age, the organization of the subject matter on a partially or completely departmentalized basis, edu- cational and vocational guidance, elective studies, and the organization and supervision of pupil activity in such a manner as to secure the finest school spirit and discipline. ‘These features sug- gest the definiteness with which the objectives and methods of education are being determined in public-school education for this age. Current emphasis on character education.— Many admirable and helpful statements of the objectives of moral and character education have appeared in recent years, due to the increasing attention being given to character development by public-school educators and others. One.of the most suggestive of these is to be found in the Iowa Plan of Character Education Methods. This plan includes the fol- lowing list of life situations for which preparation on the part of the individual is demanded: prep- ' aration for health, preparation for life in the group, preparation for civic relations, preparation for indus- trial and economic relations, preparation for a vocation, preparation for parenthood and family go INTERMEDIATE METHOD life, the mastery of tradition, preparation for appre- ciation of beauty, preparation for the right use of leisure time, preparation for reverence, preparation for creative activity. The authors contend that “these main attitudes, constituting the life of the ordinary person, can be made the practical fulfill- ment of the moral law.’” Another suggestive statement is that contained in the “Course in Citizenship Through Character Development” of the Boston public schools. The program outlined calls for the training of the chil- dren to be good through the development of qualities of noble character. ‘“‘The following virtues are fundamental and therefore of vital importance: 1. Self-preservation through the reasonable observance of the laws of health. . Self-control. . Self-reliance. Truthfulness and reliability. . Justice as shown in clean, fair play. . Conscientiousness in the doing of one’s work to the best of one’s ability. 7. Faithfulness to duty. 8. Willingness to cooperate in working harmoniously and well with others. 9g. Kindness toward all. 10. Obedience to duly constituted authority. 11. Loyalty to home, to school, to country, to faith.’ An pwn This outline of virtues is based upon the well- known Hutchins Code of Morals. 2 Character Education Methods, The Iowa Plan, 4922 pp. 6-8, Character Edu- cation Institution, Chevy Chase, Washington, DG 3 “Course in Citizenship Through Character Development,” School Document No, 10, 1924, Boston Public Schools, p. 17. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL QI GENERAL AIM OF THE INTERMEDIATE CHURCH SCHOOL The objectives of the program of religious educa- tion for early adolescents should be stated with as much definiteness and intelligence as characterize the statements of aim in general education. Such a statement should have a sound basis in the religious experience of the young people. Religious educators can formulate a statement of objectives which not only will guide their procedure but which also will inform public-school educators and parents with regard to the purpose of religious education for the Junior high-school age. It will afford a basis for definite attempts to correlate and bring into more harmonious adjustment the efforts of all groups in the education of the same individuals. 22 corm oi tion for adolescents is that of the popular phrase “the fourfold life.’ This conception has grown out of the increasing emphasis which has been placed during the last two decades upon the ‘rounded development” which it is believed Christianity should bring to all young people. The fourfold life has reference to the development of the physical, mental, social, and religious aspects of life. This understanding of the broad nature of religious education has led leaders to place a very whole- some emphasis upon the physical welfare, the mental development, and the social growth of the young people. It has enabled large numbers of young people to gain a better understanding of the broad scope of the Christian religion in its personal appli- cation to their lives. 92 INTERMEDIATE METHOD For popular purposes this term will doubtless continue to be used for some time to come. ‘There is need, however, of an interpretation that is more explicit and detailed than this popular conception and yet one that is pedagogically and psycholog- ically sound. The fourfold terminology is becoming hackneyed in its use. It makes arbitrary and un- fortunate distinctions between the different aspects of life. It does not serve satisfactorily as a state- ment of either the general or the particularized aim of religious education for youth. For those respon- sible for building a program a more specific state- ment of the general and particularized objectives of religious education is required. Such a list of specific objectives will reveal many important phases within each of the “fourfold” aspects of development which need to be carefully considered. Objectives of the International Council of Reli- gious Education.—A helpful statement of objectives for early adolescent religious education is that formulated by the Sunday School Council of Evan- gelical Denominations several years ago. It was later revised and adopted by the International Council of Religious Education. It is concerned primarily with personal religious development and church relationships. According to this statement the definite aims of religious education for young people are: (a) The acceptance of Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour and Lord. (b) A knowledge of Christian ideals. (c) A personal acceptance and open acknowledgment of these ideals. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 93 (dq) A public acceptance of the privileges and oppor- tunities of church membership. (e) The development of the social consciousness, and the expression of the physical, social, mental, and religious life in service to others. (f) A knowledge of Christian principles in choosing a life work or vocation.‘ Abundant life in Christ the great objective.—The general aim of religious education is to lead the young people to experience abundant life in Christ. The supreme purpose is to secure Christlike living. The end of all religious nurture is Christian character which expresses itself adequately in all of life’s rela- uuonships. ‘The objective will be realized only when the young people are actually living the Christian way, are controlling their thought and conduct in terms of Christian ideals and motives. This is an objective which affects the everyday procedure of the religious educator, and it is an aim which will not be realized in a brief period of time. Its attain- ment will necessarily cover a long period of time and even then will only approximate the ideal. The goal is never more than partially realized, yet it constitutes the central objective in which all detailed aspects of religious education find at once their source and end. THE PARTICULARIZED OBJECTIVES OF THE INTERMEDIATE CHURCH SCHOOL The leader of early adolescents needs more than a knowledge of the general aim of religious educa- tion. He should have a thorough understanding of 4 Minades cs the Susday School Council of Evangelical Denominations, 1917, Pp. 5: Sava gaary ulletin, No. 2, April, 1923, International Council of Religious ca 94 INTERMEDIATE METHOD the specific objectives as they relate to young people of this age. These objectives serve to guide the individual steps in religious education. They point definitely to certain knowledge, attitudes, dispositions, ideals, motives, and habits which should come to characterize these young people here and now. While the particularized objectives include aspects of development which are continuous throughout the entire period of growth, neverthe- less they should indicate the degree of development desired and considered possible during the years twelve, thirteen, and fourteen. Detailed aspects of religious development.—In Chapter III, eight aspects of religious development were suggested. The practical implications of each of these phases of developing experience should be understood by those charged with the building and administering the program. The questions, ‘‘When are early adolescents religious?”’ and “‘How can we develop young people religiously?’ can be answered only as these specific objectives are pur- sued from day to day in the light of the changes they are causing in religious experience. These phases in religious development, it will be re- called, are: 1. Supreme loyalty to God as Father and sanc- tioner of a moral order. 2. Recognition of self as a disciple of Jesus Christ. . Social fellowship with his disciples. 4. Intelligent use of the accredited means of wor- ship. 5. Personal beliefs that are consistent with the best theological thinking of the church. 'P, 72, WwW IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 95 6. Intelligent use of the Bible and other devo- tional literature. 7. Conformity to ethical ideals in daily living. 8. Support of the social service and missionary _ programs of organized Christianity. In analyzing the specific objectives two factors Should be held in mind. First, the definite results to be obtained may be stated in terms of disposi- tions and abilities of one kind or another. Second, the detailed elements of the specific objectives may be grouped according to three major “centers of organization.”’ These centers are, first, knowledge; second, attitudes, appreciations, ideals, and mo- tives; and, third, habits and skills. Within the limits of this text, the analysis of these particular- ized objectives at best can be only suggestive of the careful study in which the individual workers may engage in their efforts to make the program minister in a most vital manner to the needs of the young people. Abundant life in Christ expressed in twelve ways. —A complete statement of the particularized objec- tives should emphasize all the important phases of the task of religiously educating early adolescents. A tentative statement of particularized objectives has resulted from studies undertaken at different times by different groups interested in a church- centered program for youth. According to this statement the abundant life in Christ expresses itself in the disposition and ability to achieve and maintain 6 These studies have been conducted for the most part by groups working under the direction of Professor Norman E. Richardson, Northwestern University. 96 INTERMEDIATE METHOD . Physical health and vitality. . Mental health and alertness. . Proper unspecialized social contacts. . Right economic and business relations. . Vocational specialization and efficiency. . Suitable avocational activities. . Right family relationships. . Proper larger social or civic responsibilities and relationships. 9. World friendship. 10. Efficient church membership. 11. Stewardship of money, time, personal influ- ence, and talents. 12. Wholesome personal devotional life. These objectives grow out of an analysis of the major activities and relationships in the lives of early adolescents and of society about them. Each specific objective represents a dominant life interest or need. Complete and rounded development of character involves an adequate expression of per- sonality through the achievements of these dis- positions and abilities. To fall short of the achieve- ment of any one of them is to lessen the strength and effectiveness of character. It is necessary in religious education to analyze in detail the atti- tudes, the knowledge, the ideals, and habits which are essential to the finest type of Christian living. This analysis is merely suggested in this treatment, but the individual student or worker will find it highly useful as an organization of particularized objectives. Physical health and vitality.—The physical well- being of the early adolescent boy and girl is of vital concern to the religious educator. The most On AM PW DN IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 97 complete expression of Christianity is best expressed when there are abundant health and physical vitality. This is, of course, the conscious objective of the modern public school. It is also the recognized objective of numerous other agencies and organ- izations dealing with early adolescents. The church will not endeavor to compete with or duplicate the work of any or all of these agencies. Rather the policy will be one of cooperation. The first and vital concern of the church is to make sure that each of her youth is given abundant opportunity, in one form or another, to achieve and maintain physical fitness. In case the proper opportunity and stimulus for such achievement are not other- wise provided, it certainly becomes the responsibility of the church to extend her program to include this opportunity. Whatever may be the means through which physical health and vitality are promoted, the church has an inescapable responsibility. It is that of supplying early adolescents with the right motives for proper physical development. It is that of establishing suitable ideals with respect to the care and use of bodily powers and the cultiva- tion of wholesome attitudes toward the physical self. The obligation resting upon the church pro- gram is that of leading the youth to appreciate the fact that his body is the temple of the Spirit and to understand the close relationship which exists between the care of this temple and spiritual wel- fare. A diseased, physically impotent society | contradicts the ideal of the kingdom of God. Such a society can be avoided only as its members are informed regarding the laws of physical well-being, 98 INTERMEDIATE METHOD are possessed of the right attitudes, and are skilled in achieving and maintaining physical health and hygiene both as individuals and as members of society. Mental health and alertness.— Mental soundness and alertness are prerequisites of the best moral conduct and religious development. Christianity places no premium upon ignorance. Moral conduct and an adequate expression of Christianity require a background of mental health and efficiency. The church, therefore, must be directly concerned with the development of the mental abilities of her young people. Mental health and alertness form a most definite objective of secondary education. The high school, however, does not have control over all the forces and influences which contribute to or hinder the achievement of this objective. One of the primary concerns of the high school is to enable the pupil to acquire certain bodies of information and to develop certain mental techniques. In many ways it aims also to develop healthy tastes and whole- some appreciations. But in the last analysis, the school can stop far short of what the church is interested in and consider its aim realized. For mental acumen is unsafe unless controlled by the highest spiritual motives. The church is concerned to make sure that proper mental attitudes are formed, that whole- some tastes and appreciations in literature and the various fields of learning are cultivated. It is interested in developing a wide range of cultural, avocational and recreational pursuits. Leaders of youth in the church are concerned to make sure IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 99 that a perspective is gained which will serve as an adequate basis for forming independent moral judgments. The church is interested to have the mental abilities and information gained in the public school serve the ends of religious education. All mental training should make it possible for young people to serve more effectively the interests of the Kingdom. Such abilities and information should help the Intermediates to become intelligent as well as devout Christians. All leaders of early adolescents should assume their share of the responsibility of guiding these young people past the mental shoals of cheap fiction, lewd movies, and from mental impressions coming from the uncensored trash and moral filth spread before them daily in the “yellow” press. A thoughtful review of the forces and influences play- ing upon the minds of the young people and making for low idealism and perverted moral tastes will reveal how great a struggle must be waged to insure mental soundness and health to the oncoming generation. Religious leaders should make sure that the early adolescent comes through these years free from undue anxiety, persistent worries, melan- cholia, and other abnormal mental states. Proper unspecialized social contacts.—The train- “ing of Intermediates in general social abilities and attitudes is greatly needed. Young people of this particular age need to know how to get along well with different individuals and groups under a wide variety of conditions. Excessive individualism, crude social behavior, embarrassment in the presence of others, and inability to cooperate are all handicaps to the early adolescent in his social life. Good 100 INTERMEDIATE METHOD manners, ability to cooperate with others, and social grace are assets in the religious life as well as in other aspects of living. This objective may be under- stood to include a wide range of social attitudes and practical social abilities. This objective bears directly upon the attainment of several of the standards of religious development. Satisfactory and profitable fellowship with other followers of Christ cannot be sustained without the realization of this objective. The youth who has achieved social grace and ease, who knows how to get along tactfully and sympathetically with those of his social environment, who knows how to co- operate in social enterprises either as follower or as leader, will be able to maintain a fellowship which will be profitable both to himself and to the group with which he is identified. For the youth to fail in such development will mean impoverishment of his own life and a loss to society. General social development will also be necessary in order that the early adolescent may be able to use the accredited means of worship. A socially untrained youth, one who does not know how to merge his interests and desires with those of the group, cannot enter spontaneously into worship as a great social experience. The knowledge, attitudes, and dispositions involved in the realization of this objective are quite essential as a part of the develop- ment of the young person who should be able to make a contribution to the social service and mis- sionary programs of the church. All class meetings, social activities, recreational programs which come within the life and under the supervision of the church should be of such char- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL Key acter as to cultivate the desirable and accredited social responses. Parties that stimulate boisterous- ness, that tend to encourage “roughhouse,”’ recre- ational activities that do not emphasize good sportsmanship, should be supplanted by those which bring about the establishment of right social attitudes and habits. The personal refinement and culture which result from the church’s program of social and recreational activity should make a real contribution to the social development of the young people. , Right economic and business relationships.— Vexing problems are encountered in the effort to apply Christian teachings to the modern business and industrial world. There is little hope that the teachings of Christ will dominate thought and guide practice in business unless the men and women who direct and control in this field are thoroughly committed to and trained in these teachings. This will be most effectively accom- plished through the proper instruction and training of the young people whose attitudes and ideals of business and economic relationships are still in the making. It is highly important, therefore, that early adolescents be carefully trained in the atti- tudes, ideals, understanding, and skills which will enable them more effectively to apply Christ’s teachings to modern business life as they come to take part in it. Involved in the achievement of this objective are such important matters as the individual’s knowledge of the New Testament standards oi human values and relationships; his understanding of the principles and proper methods of practicing 102 INTERMEDIATE METHOD Christian stewardship with respect to his possessions and abilities; his appreciation of money, property and labor values; his desire to contribute to social welfare through the proper use of personal pos- sessions, skills, and influence; his disposition and ability to work toward industrial justice and his habits of thrift, honesty, and fairness. Upon analysis, the meaning of this objective becomes apparent with respect to the standards of religious development. Fellowship with other disci- ples of Christ on a definitely Christian plane, con- formity to the finest ethical ideals in daily living, the disposition to contribute to social betterment and the Kingdom program cannot be realized as standards of personal Christian development with- out adequate training in right economic and business relationships. One cannot earn and spend money like a pagan and at the same time live up to the Christian economic ideals. Vocational specialization and efficiency.—It is a law of life that each individual must either choose or “drift into” some occupation. While the life- work each individual enters is) not usually chosen during the years of early adolescence, yet basic information and important attitudes should be acquired and proper motives regarding the final choice should be developed during these years. Prevocational skills may be developed as bases for the choices made in later years. Such training should be a definite part of the Intermediate church school program. It is important from the standpoint of religious education that the young person come to regard the various occupations and professions in the light IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 103 of their relation to the kingdom of God. Choices of life-work should be made with some conception of the contribution one can make to social welfare and the growth of the Kingdom through such a choice. The desire to have a vital share in the world’s activity and to do some creative work should have the sanction and support of the service motive. The disposition and ability to make a contribu- tion to the social welfare and missionary programs of organized Christianity should be based upon adequate knowledge regarding the wide range of vocations that are to be found in definitely religious or professional church work. ‘There should be an understanding of the contributions which can be made without entering into full-time, professional church work. It will be highly valuable to acquaint early adolescents with the life careers of outstanding leaders both within and outside of professional church work in the various lines of endeavor. They should be helped to know their own abilities, interests, and tastes through the pursuit of hob- bies, recreational activities, and special studies. The church school should endeavor to provide a basis whereby the life-work will be chosen and - pursued in accordance with the Christian principle of maximum service. Suitable avocational occupations.—The use young people make of their leisure time and their spare money, talents, and excess energy will have an important bearing upon their character develop- ment. This objective is assuming increasing im- portance in the program of moral education. The concern of the church in realizing this objective 104 INTERMEDIATE METHOD is not only to counteract the destructive influences of many of the social and recreational activities available to young people to-day, but also to pro- vide for positive moral training and character development through properly selected and care- fully supervised leisure-time activities. Physical health and vitality, mental soundness and alertness, the cultivation of appreciation in the fields of art, nature, literature, and the enrichment of social relations are all involved in the pursuit of this aim. Complete and wholesome develop- ment will not be achieved by early adolescents unless suitable activities, friendly and capable leadership, and favorable environmental conditions are provided for their leisure hours. The following items should enter into the realization of this objective: knowledge of Christian standards regard- ing recreational activities and of the most suitable leisure-time pursuits from the standpoint of per- sonal needs; the disposition to share with others wholesome fun and enjoyment; the disposition to learn and obey the rules of the game; appreciation of the beautiful, the true, and the good in life; the desire to promote Christian standards in social and play life; respect for the opposite sex; the cultiva- tion of elementary skills in nature craft; camper craft; art appreciation; and increasing ability to construct a balanced program of desirable leisure- time activities. Right family relationships.—The kind of home life the early adolescent is sharing and the kind he will be responsible for in the future are matters of great moral and religious significance. Young peo- ple cannot be held responsible to any large extent, IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 105 for the home life in which they have been reared. They are now of an age, however, when they can be trained to contribute something to their present home life and to maintain Christian family rela- tionships. They can also be given basic training regarding ideal family relations and home building in future years The church program of education is primarily responsible for interpreting the family and its relationships to youth from the kingdom point of view. Other agencies and individuals will make their contributions to the understanding which young people will come to possess regarding the purpose and significance of the family and the necessity and means of maintaining right relation- ships within the home. But it remains for the church to make sure that young people growing into manhood and womanhood come to appreciate the significance of the home as a divinely accredited basis of society and of the kingdom of God. The effort adequately to train early adolescents in the disposition and ability to help maintain right family relations within their present homes strikes at the very root of many difficulties encountered in the modern social life of young people. In addition to leading young people to under- stand the relation between the home and the king- dom of God, the Intermediate church school should seek to establish habits of cheerfulness, courtesy, and kindness within the home and the ability to share in and contribute to the spirit of family fellowship. It should strengthen home ties, and strive to bring about freedom in introducing friends into the home circle. If the Intermediate church ( 106 INTERMEDIATE METHOD school can in any effective manner increase the strength of home ties and of the intelligent and sympathetic control of parents, and can make the home truly a center of social life, it will be render- ing a most needed service. Proper larger social and civic responsibilities and relationships.—Outside and around the home group lie the neighborhood and community, and to this larger social group, organized and unorgan- ized, the darly adolescent must adjust himself. The manner in which this adjustment takes place determines in a measure the desirability and use- fulness of the individual as a neighbor and citizen and as a member of the kingdom of heaven. Mem- bers of society should no longer be left just “‘to grow up.” Both the state and the church are concerned about the type of citizen being developed. The state is interested in a citizenry that is intelli- gent, capable, and responsive to democratic ideals. The church is concerned to help develop a citizenry that cherishes kingdom ideals. Such citizens cannot be brought into existence except through a carefully conceived and effectively administered program of training. Not only should the early adolescent be thoroughly versed in the aims, forms, and loyalties of democratic govern- ment, but he should also understand the ideals of government and human relationship toward which a Christian society should be moving. He may be given instruction and training which will enable him to cooperate intelligently and enthusiastically with his fellows in building and maintaining his community and state according to the kingdom- of-God pattern. All the training given the youth IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 107 in the public school should be interpreted through the church school program from the standpoint of Jesus’ ideals of social living. World friendship.—Increasing emphasis is being placed to-day upon the world-wide aspects and applications of the teachings of Jesus. The more modern and progressive conception of Christianity requires that the individual possess the disposition and ability to help build a world society on a thor- oughly Christian basis. In endeavoring to realize this objective the church school has an opportunity to establish in young people attitudes, ideals, and motives with respect to the kingdom of God and to world brotherhood which will have incalculable influence in bringing about a new world order. In striving to achieve this objective in the lives of Intermediates, church-school leaders will seek to develop an understanding of other races and na- tions, an‘appreciation of their value to the world and in the sight of God, attitudes of friendliness and good will, and abilities in sustaining whole- some relationships with them. Intermediates should be prepared to help in some way to develop friendly attitudes, the spirit of cooperation, and mutual respect and helpfulness among the nations of the earth. Only as young people are thoroughly trained along these lines can there be any hope of building a Christian world society. Efficient church membership.—Efficient church membership is central among the objectives of the Intermediate church school. It is particularly significant for the Intermediate years. The period of early adolescence is generally recognized as a time when the majority of those people who become 108 INTERMEDIATE METHOD members of the church assume the responsibilities of full membership in the church. The social development characteristic of these years, the desire to “‘belong”’ to groups, and the increasing ability to cooperate in group enterprises are all factors forming a natural basis for effective church membership. Efficiency in church activities and relationships will not result from haphazard and inadequate training. It will require definite attention and intelligent effort on the part of those responsible for building and administering the Intermediate church school. In some manner provision will need to be made for increasing participation on the part of the young people in all the activities which con- stitute the normal relationship of adult membership. The achievement of this objective will include the training of the Intermediate in the history, sacraments, and program of his church. It should lead to an appreciation of the fellowship afforded through the church, and to the development of loyalty to the church of one’s choice. Such an objective would include the development of skills in service in and for the church. It should lead to the consecration of all that the individual has and is to the work of the church and the further realiza- tion of the Kingdom of which it is a part. Stewardship of money, time, personal influence, and talents.—Few things are more important from the standpoint of practical Christianity and the advancement of the Kingdom than the training of the next generation in the spirit and practice of stewardship. The experience of the present adult membership of the church testifies to the inade- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL _1o9 quacy of the program of such training in the past. lf Christianity demands the consecration of all that one has to its interests, each individual should be trained in both the disposition and the ability to practice stewardship. Certain aspects of steward- ship require special emphasis. These include the placing of one’s money, time, personal influence, and talents at the service of the church. The scope and full significance of stewardship should be clearly presented. Young people should be led to realize that true Christian stewardship embraces more than money. Careful and persistent training will ultimately bring the young people to the understanding that they are stewards of all they possess, that very truly ‘‘The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.’”? The financial requirements of the church in its program of expan- sion, the demands for trained leadership, and the needs with respect to volunteer time, talents, and energy will never be met in an adequate manner until a thoroughgoing and effective program of training in stewardship has been carried on during adolescence. Initial training in the spirit and practice of stewardship can and ought to be provided both preceding and during the years of early adoles- cence. Such training would include a knowledge of the claims of God and of the church upon such possessions and talents as one may have, of the dependence of the Kingdom in its program of world conquest on contributions of time, money, energy, and talents from its members, and an appreciation of the variety of needs which the church has. It includes the development of a desire to make a IIO INTERMEDIATE METHOD substantial contribution to the work of the church, either on a marginal or full-time basis, a desire to use one’s personal influence to strengthen the cause of the Kingdom and to win others to loyal support of the church. It would include efforts to lead the young people to discover their particular talents and the ways in which they can render some particular service, also, to prepare for increasing any specialized skill in serving the interests of the Kingdom. Wholesome, personal devotional life.—All the activities and interests which are involved in living the Christian life must have a source from which they arise and by which they are sustained. Such a source can be maintained permanently only in a wholesome, vital, personal devotional life. All that one says and does will become as “‘sounding brass and tinkling cymbal” if there is not cultivated and kept vigorously alive a sense of the presence and power of God in the life. The program of reli- gious education for Intermediates should emphasize the nurture of the devotional life. In such training particular attention should be given to the development of personal devotional habits. An intelligently appreciative knowledge of the best devotional literature, such as suitable passages of Scripture, prayers, and hymns, is also important. Young people should acquire the dis- position and ability to pray and to enter heartily and intelligently into public worship. As a result of their training during these years they should possess an inner source of peace and strength. They. will understand the psalmist when he said: | “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL II shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?’” For further study: 1. Formulate for yourself a statement of the aim of religious education for early adolescence. 2. Outline the points which the objectives of reli- gious education and public-school education hold in common. List the points at which religious education enlarges upon public- school objectives. 3. Of what value are the particularized objectives? 4. Distinguish between the aim of the general program of religious education and the aim of a particular lesson. 5. How can parents and others be made familiar with the aims of the Intermediate church school? For further reading: 1. Betts, George Herbert, and Hawthorne, M. O., Method in Teaching Religion, Chap. III. 2. Betts, George Herbert, How to Teach Religion, Chap. IT. 3. Bobbitt, Franklin, How to Make a Curriculum, Chaps. II, ITI. 4. Starbuck, et al., Character Education Methods, | The Iowa Plan, Character Education Insti- tution, Chevy Chase, Washington, D. C., 1922. 5. Versteeg, John M., The Deeper Meaning of Stewardship. 6. Versteeg, John M., Modern Meaning of Church Membership. ? Psa. 27. 1. 112 INTERMEDIATE METHOD CHAPTER V THE CURRICULUM OF RELIGIOUS EDU- CATION FOR INTERMEDIATES ONE of the most difficult problems encountered in building a program of religious education for Inter- mediate young people is that of selecting and organ- izing the curriculum. The curriculum les at the _ very center of, and to a large degree is, the program of religious education. All other important factors such as objectives, organization, teachers, time schedules, are vitally related to it. The value of the program and its ministry to youth will be determined in the last analysis by the curriculum. This problem is made more difficult by the fact that at the present moment confusion and difference of opinion exist regarding its exact nature and pur- pose. It is being made the subject of careful study and experimentation in both general and religious education. Reasons for fresh study of the curriculum.—A number of conditions are operating to bring about a thoroughgoing and scientific study of the cur- riculum. There is increasing recognition of the fact that the curriculum should never be considered static or final. It cannot be put into permanent form, for society is changing and the needs of chil- dren differ from age to age. These facts incline educators to bring the most recent knowledge of individual and social needs, of the most effective IN THE COURCH SCHOOL 113 means of stimulating growth, and of measuring results, to bear upon the curriculum problem. Another factor prompting scientific study in this field is the increasing disposition to place the pupils at the center of the educative process. ‘Their needs, interests, experiences, and .activities as individuals and as members of society are the beginning and the end of the curriculum. This fact should exercise a much stronger influence in determining the means and methods of religious education than in the past. In other words, the normal, everyday experiences and activities of Intermediate young people are be- coming the objects of scientific study in order that they may be most advantageously used in pro- moting growth in the right direction. The emphasis on the social requirements of religious education is being strongly felt in the study and reorganization of the curriculum. This increased emphasis suggests that the church school should be organized and maintained as a real Christian community. It should make concrete for the indi- vidual the kingdom of God as the end of both per- sonal and social education and effort. Therefore, the noblest social ideals, the most complete information regarding social problems and needs, the most com- pelling motives for social conduct, and the vitally necessary skills in social cooperation should be placed at a central position among the objectives and at the heart of the materials of religious edu- cation. The religious education of early adolescents cannot be considered complete without the attain- ment of skill in social living in the light of con- stantly enlarging conceptions of the kingdom of God. These facts are leading to a fresh study of II4 INTERMEDIATE METHOD the curriculum to make sure that it will contain an adequate social emphasis. The application of educational ideals and methods to religious education may be mentioned among the factors necessitating a renewed study of the prob- lem of the curriculum. ‘The recent scientific study of the objectives of general education, with the resulting reorganization of the curriculum and changes in the organization of the school itself, is exerting a definite influence, in at least an initial way, in the field of religious education. The dis- covery of the tendencies and outstanding needs of early adolescence which has brought about the development of the Junior high school will result in very definite modifications in the church’s pro- gram for Intermediates. It is essential that those who are responsible for providing the program and curriculum for Inter- mediates in the church should understand these factors. The nature of the process of religious edu- — cation, the nature and scope of the curriculum, as well as the resources at hand for improving it, will need to be studied carefully. A careful survey of existing curricula should be made in order that their limitations may be understood and overcome and their values intelligently appreciated and sup- plemented. Whatever character traits should appear in the lives of the pupils must first be presented as ideals in the curriculum. THE RELATION OF CURRICULUM TO EXPERIENCE The nature of the curriculum cannot be under- stood without a knowledge of what is involved in IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL IIS the educative process. The type of curriculum which will be used in the training of Intermediates will be determined largely by the conception of the process of religious education which the leaders hold. If religious education is conceived to be primarily the storing of information in the mind of the pupil, the memorization of Bible verses, or the study of the catechism, then the curriculum con- tent is predetermined. It is simply information selected and organized by adults, and not necessarily with any assurance that it is definitely related to the present experience, conduct, and needs of the learner. If, on the other hand, religious education is held to be the most effective method for con- trolling and directing the learner’s present expe- riences, then the study by both the pupils and the teacher of the everyday experiences and problem situations of the young people becomes a major consideration in curriculum building. - The curriculum should be experience-centered.-— The notion that the child, his needs, his capacities, and the processes of his development are the pri- mary factors in determining the nature and content of the curriculum is being accepted slowly by the rank and file of church leaders of young people. There is a general hesitation to attempt to analyze the process of religious education because of the feeling that so much of what is going on in the life of the pupil is the result of divine forces at work in their own mysterious and unknown way. While undoubtedly there are divine influences at work in the religious development of young people which are beyond the ken and control of the edu- cator, yet these influences will operate with greater 116 INTERMEDIATE METHOD effectiveness and power 7f the known laws of develop- ment are intelligenily obeyed. Religious education is a matter of acquiring cer- tain knowledge, of developing certain attitudes, appreciations, ideals, and motives that are expressed in religious conduct, and of achieving habits and skills that contribute to one’s ability to live in harmony with these ideals. The same mental abil- ities and processes are used in general and religious education. The religious educator should be able to make use of these mental abilities and processes in the most effective manner in securing religious and moral growth. This requires a knowledge of how life develops. Present powers in ‘the life of the early adolescent are to be cultivated, certain capacities are to be realized now, definite attitudes should now come to characterize life. Education is concerned, therefore, primarily with the vital life experiences of these young people here and now. The curriculum, therefore, is centered in the pupil’s experience. ‘*Education is life.’—The emphasis on experience naturally leads to the conception that “‘education is life.’ Actual life, itself, under proper super- vision and with a full range of normal activities, constitutes the process of religious education. When the objectives of religious education have been set up, the pupil’s activities and experiences are the primary means by which these objectives are to be achieved. As curriculum they become the object of study, enrichment, and redirection on the part of the teacher and pupils working together. The adolescent learns by sharing and doing. The best way to prepare him for life in the kingdom IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 117 of God is to have him practice living the kingdom way every day. Religious education should pro- vide the youth with opportunity, stimuli, and guidance for such “‘practice’”’ on the highest possible level of experience. As a result of the process of religious education the youth becomes capable of responding properly to all the normal life situations and demands. In other words, the dominant em- phasis in religious education is becoming that of the “enrichment and redirection of experience.’’ Education seeks to control and enrich expe- rience.'—Since religious education is concerned with the life experiences of young people, the direction and enrichment of these experiences become the chief concern of the religious educator. Religious education becomes primarily the creating and con- trolling of conditions through which experience may be modified in the direction growth should take. If the objectives of moral and religious education are to exert any influence upon the conduct of these young people they must enter experience as elements of control. Religious education will seek to bring typical experiences of the adolescents sharply into consciousness for reflection, interpretation and modi- fication in the light of helpful knowledge, worthy ideals, and Christian motives. These experiences will run the entire gamut sug- gested by the particularized objectives of religious education. They will have to do with all aspects of life, if the entire life is to be dominated by Chris- tian ideals and motives. The help of the adult leader is needed in the selection of the experiences 1 Adapted from Bower, William Clayton, The Curriculum of Religious Educa- tion, Chap. IV, Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925. Used by permission. 118 INTERMEDIATE METHOD for consideration which are real, typical and poten- tial for present and future development. The wider experience and more mature understanding of the adult leader will be of great value to the grow- ing youth. They will help in drawing out dynamic qualities in his present experiences. They are serviceable as revealing the outcomes of life processes.” Such elements as knowledge and formal instruc- tion will enter into the program of religious educa- tion. But they will be used as means to an end, not as ends in themselves. Not materials or mental processes, but self-realizing persons constitute the important concern of the religious educator. A middle-aged man, teacher of a class of young men in a Southern city, appealed to a leader in religious education. ‘‘I don’t know what to do,’ he said. ‘TI have to spend half the lesson period talking over the problems my young men want to discuss before we can get down to the study of the lesson.”’ “Thank God for it!’ replied the leader, ‘‘and spend all the time that way. Nothing could be more helpful to the young men than the solution of their own problems.” THE NATURE AND SCOPE OF THE CURRICULUM Every aspect of the program of religious educa- tion for Intermediates will be vitally affected by the conception held by leaders of the nature and scope of the curriculum. The solution of the present curriculum problem will depend largely upon the readiness and intelligence with which Intermediate leaders embrace a truly educational point of view. 2A method of studying these experiences is presented on pages 142-145. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 119 Teachers and leaders in the local church school may feel unequal to the task of building their own cur- riculum or of radically modifying the one now in use. Yet an understanding of the true nature of the curriculum will enable them to solve many practical problems and to enrich the program ma- terially at various points. What is the curriculum?—There are clearly dis- tinguishable a narrow and a broad conception of the curriculum. From the narrow point of view the curriculum is considered primarily as a body of knowledge, usually organized into textbooks. These textbooks or courses are to be used by the teachers and pupils in their class work as courses of study. Thus, from a traditional point of view, the curricu- lum is subject matter. These two terms have been used interchangeably for many years. To speak of textbooks, leaflets, quarterlies, catechisms, and even of the Bible, was to speak of the curriculum. This notion has led to a strong emphasis upon mem- orization of subject matter, chiefly from the Bible, in the form of selected passages, memory verses, and golden texts. All other forms of religious educa- tional activity have been considered as something apart from the “curriculum.” From the broader and more modern point of view, the curriculum is conceived of as including subject matter. But it is understood to embrace much more than mere textbook study. Textbooks and other forms of organized subject matter have, and doubtless always will have, an important place in the curriculum. It always will be profitable for the young people to master certain bodies of knowl- edge in their organized form in textbooks. It will 120 INTERMEDIATE METHOD be necessary for them to memorize certain classic passages which should always be available for use. These knowledge elements, however, are only a part of the curriculum of religious education. Other factors and activities, such as worship, recreation, service, free discussion, assume places of vital sig- nificance in the curriculum as broadly conceived. Some of these, in the thought of many leaders, out- rank the use of textbook material in effectiveness in securing character development. The main difference between the narrow traditional conception of the curriculum and that embraced in the modern program of religious education is clear. The former is built about subject matter and textbooks as the center, while for the latter the youth and his chang- ing experiences are the organizing center. Every aspect and factor of the early adolescent’s life that can be controlled by the leader suggests material which may be used as part of the curriculum. The curriculum may embrace the entire life of the school.?—All relationships between teachers and pupils, expressional activities and projects of service, all elements of worship, and social and recreational experiences, are “basic materials” of the curriculum of the Intermediate church school. Even the organ- izational aspects of the program, the manner in which they are formed and supervised, may be considered vital parts of the curriculum. All these relationships and activities involve normal, vital life experiences of the young people which have a profound significance for.their moral and religious development. They constitute the materials by _* Betts, George Herbert, and Hawthorne, Marion O., Method in Teaching Reli- gton. Starbuck, Character Education Methods, The Iowa Plan, 1922, pp. 9-12, 29-32. Bower, William Clayton, The Curriculum of Religious Education, IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 121 which life experiences may be brought before the young people for study and criticism. The relation of the curriculum to programs.— The broadest conception of the curriculum will be understood, therefore, to embrace all the programs and agencies of the church school which have to do with Intermediate young people. Greater em- phasis will need to be placed upon many of the activities, programs, and elements of the Inter- mediate church school, not as factors outside of or in addition to the curriculum, but as _ vital correlated parts of it. In this connection there is discernible a growing tendency to use the word ‘“program”’ interchangeably with the term ‘‘curricu- lum.”’ Whether or not this is justifiable it is im- possible to say. It is true, however, that leaders are thinking more and more in terms of program aspects of the Intermediate church school. In the interests of convenience the generally recognized activities or elements of the curriculum may be referred to as programs. The more important of these may be listed as follows: 1. The program of classroom instruction, which has to do primarily with the subject matter and activ- ities of the classroom. The program of instruction will be treated in detail in the latter part of this chapter. 2. The program of worship, including the pro- vision of genuine and vital experiences in worship and the definite training of the young people in the art of worship, in the knowledge of the elements of worship, and in the disposition and ability to engage regularly in worship. This important ele- ment of the curriculum deserves extended treatment 122 INTERMEDIATE METHOD which will be found in Chapter VII, ‘‘Religious De- velopment Through Worship.” 3. The program of leisure-time activities, including the provision the church makes for the supervision of the young people in character-forming social and recreational activities. This element of the cur- riculum is treated in Chapter VIII, ‘‘Character Development Through Leisure-Time Activities.” 4. The program of training in service, embracing the definite training of the young people in the meaning of service, the development of the spirit of service, and the acquisition of skills necessary in carrying on service projects. This program receives detailed treatment in Chapter IX, ‘“‘Training Inter- mediates in Service.” 5. Ihe program of organization, wherein are empha- sized the developmental values of the proper pro- cedure in the organization of Intermediates into classes, departments, and other groupings. The right kind of procedure in the organization of these groups will produce splendid results in character development. This aspect of the curriculum is treated in Chapters XI and XII, where ‘‘Class Organiza- tion and Program” and ‘“‘Principles and Methods of Departmental Organization” are discussed. Relation of curriculum to method.—From the standpoint of the curriculum here presented, method and curriculum become somewhat indistinguishable. They merge in the process of developing the indi- vidual. Method and curriculum are each and both “the setting of conditions of development,’’ whether these conditions be the outlining of a given lesson, the planning of a worship experience, the direction of expression in service, the supervision of leisure- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 123 time activities, or the selection of courses of study. Method and curriculum unite in the formulation of the educative process as a way in which moral and religious growth may best take place. Just as the curriculum has been defined in terms of the experience of the pupils, so method is concerned with the most effective ways of reconstructing and enriching their experiences. Method is concerned, therefore, with special classroom technique and also with the more comprehensive method forms, such aS worship, service, leisure-time activities, and evangelism. The curriculum for Intermediates, in the broader sense, consists of methods of realizing the objectives of the program. THE PROGRAM OF CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION The interpretation of the curriculum in terms of experience does not lessen the emphasis upon ade- quate knowledge as a part of the equipment of Intermediates for life. It becomes all the more important as a means of interpreting and enriching experience. Information will be needed by the pupils in order that they may understand the Christian way of life, develop a proper conception of social obligations and duties, and be trained in the privileges and duties of church membership. Information will be needed in meeting all the other vital problems of everyday living which are sug- gested by the objectives. The need of an enlarged program of instruction. —Those intimately in touch with Intermediate young people appreciate the failure of the present program of religious training to provide a sufficient amount of the right kind of knowledge. This is 124 INTERMEDIATE METHOD true despite the fact that the present curriculum for Intermediates is knowledge-centered. Senior high schools of to-day are sending out graduates with a seventeen-year-old understanding of liter- ature, sociology, history, and science. Yet many of these same young people are going out into the world of business or to institutions of higher learning with only a ten-year-old understanding of religion and the Bible. The Intermediate church school should make pro- vision for a more adequate time-program of instruc- tion. The knowledge needed by early adolescents in meeting successfully the problems of their present experience and in preparing them for maturity cannot possibly be provided in a single hour or half-hour session on Sunday. ‘This represents the maximum time most Intermediates spend in the classroom of the church school. The low average of attendance cuts this amount almost in half. In the majority of church schools the Sunday session provides for an average of thirty minutes for class- room instruction. When the time actually spent in instruction and recitation is carefully computed with the moments lost through business, announce- ments, making records, and late dismissal from the worship service subtracted, the total will run con- siderably under an average of thirty minutes. Such a time-program of instruction will never result in the adequate training of the young people. Week-day religious instruction.—The meagerness of the church’s program of instruction is being realized by leaders in many churches and in. every section of the country. It is a situation that affects the entire immature constituency of the church. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 125 A direct effort is being made to correct this monu- mental defect in the educational program of the church and of the nation through the development of week-day schools of religious education. This movement is spreading with great rapidity through- out the country. At present it seems to be fraught with great significance for the more adequate moral and religious training of young people. In order to develop this week-day program, the churches are | endeavoring to secure the release of the pupils from the public schools during school hours for from one to three hours each week, during which time the church may provide formal religious instruction. In hundreds of communities and churches to-day Intermediate young people are receiving from one to four times as much formal religious instruction in these week-day classes as they receive in the Sunday session of the church school. What the future of this movement will be no one can say at present. But the facts that it is growing with phenomenal rapidity, that it seeks to remedy a fundamental defect in the nation’s program of education as well as of that of the church, and that it has great possibilities, suggest that it will become one of the most important aspects of the modern program of religious instruction for the Intermediate young people. This movement would seem to offer the church opportunity to match or parallel each year of progress in the public school with a comparable year of growth and development in religion. The expansion of the church-school program of instruction into the week time raises a very important and difficult problem with respect to the relation of the instruction given in the week- 126 INTERMEDIATE METHOD day session to that given in the Sunday session and in the public schools. This problem has scarcely been realized. Its solution will require immediate and serious consideration by those charged with the task of building a comprehensive program of Chris- tian education for the youth of the church. What kinds of knowledge are needed?—The answer to this question has been suggested in the statement of objectives of religious education for Intermediates. A careful study and analysis of these particularized objectives will make very clear the broad scope of information which must be included in the adequate training of Intermediates. The eightfold standard for determining when a youth is religiously developed, suggested in Chap- ter III, indicates the points at which an abundance of information should be secured. These include information regarding the person, work, and teach- ings of Jesus, of the privileges and duties in sustain- ing fellowship with Christ’s disciples, of the materials involved in intelligent and effective worship, of the doctrinal beliefs of the church, of the Bible and other devotional literature, of accredited ethical ideals in daily living, and of the social, benevolent, service, and missionary programs of the church. The knowledge suggested above is of a definitely religious character. In addition to this there are fields of knowledge which should be explored, at least in an elementary manner, by the young people, in order that they may be “thoroughly furnished unto every good jwork.” This broader range is suggested in the) twelvefold statement of obiectives. A careful study of these objectives will acquaint any leader of early adolescents with vital interests, IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 127 activities, and needs of these young people which may be treated with very great helpfulness in the classroom. The teacher’s ability to minister to the young people of his class will be greatly increased if he is thoroughly familiar with this broad range of life interests, needs, and activities. A unique opportunity to meet the needs of Inter- mediates for more adequate knowledge is to be found in connection with the public-school program. A thoroughgoing religious interpretation of the rich funds of information they are now receiving in their courses in the public school should be given to Intermediates. History, geography, literature, nature, and social studies and science all represent fields of study to which the young people are giving much time and thought five days of the week. A great responsibility and opportunity is presented to the church to attempt to interpret these interests and studies from the Christian point of view. A considerable gain in the direction of religious train- ing will be made if these studies can be definitely correlated with the instruction that occurs in the classroom of the religious education program. CouURSES OF STUDY _ The teacher of Intermediates should be familiar with the full range of courses available for class work. A number of courses are at present being widely used. They leave much to be desired, how- ever, in providing the kinds and amount of knowl- edge needed by early adolescents. They are concerned largely with logically arranged lesson materials which these young people are “supposed’’ to need. They have slight actual reference to 128 INTERMEDIATE METHOD personal problems of the young people’s present-day living. Yet they represent the best material avail- able. They will supply the courses of study for Intermediates until experience-centered courses are developed. The International Uniform Lessons.—These les- sons and modifications of them are doubtless the most widely used throughout the country at present. It is estimated that fully sixty per cent of the Sunday schools now operating use the Uniform series. Yet it is of the many series least acceptable. This series represents the selection of “lessons” from the Bible which are supposed to contain “applications” to the lives of those who study them, whether the students are of Primary, Inter- mediate, or Adult age. If the teacher is more concerned ‘‘to teach the lesson’? than to teach Intermediate young people, he may find satisfaction with the Uniform Lessons. From the standpoint of bringing to early adolescents vital, gripping, helpful material they are seriously lacking. Teachers are often compelled to go outside of the lessons to find material that has direct application to the lives of the young people. In the use of this Uniform material no adequate provision is made for the thorough mastery of definite sections of the Bible or for purposeful activities on the part of the pupils. They offer little help to the untrained teacher. The International Group Graded Lessons.—In this series an effort has been made to grade the lessons to the needs and capacities of the pupils. The Group Graded Lessons are organized on a three-year teaching plan. The lessons cover the three-year period of the department with each IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 129 year’s lessons interchangeable with the other two. This series is much better adapted to the smaller schools inasmuch as it makes possible the grouping of the three years of early adolescence into the same class. This class would then proceed through the three years to cover the entire group of lessons together. While these lessons are primarily material- centered, and roughly graded, they represent great advance over the Uniform Lessons. Their arrange- ment is an adaptation in part of the closely graded series to make provision for meeting the needs of the smaller schools. The International Graded Series.—This series, together with the denominational courses closely related to it, is built upon a closely graded scheme. This plan provides for one distinct year-course of lessons for each year of the department. Each year’s lessons are supposed to represent a suitable advance over the previous year’s work. These lessons are as closely graded as any series that have been prepared until very recent times. In outline they are as follows: First year (Grade VII), Gospel Stories. This course consists of twenty-six lessons on the Gospel of Mark, eight dealing with missionary heroes, five dealing with “Our Bible and How It Came to Us,” and twelve studies in the Acts. Second year (Grade VIII), age thirteen, ‘‘Leaders of Israel,” containing thirty-nine lessons on the leaders of Israel as studied in the Old Testament and thirteen lessons dealing with religious leaders of North America. Third year (Grade IX), age fourteen, ‘‘Christian Leaders.” Jn this course thirteen lessons deal with 130 INTERMEDIATE METHOD early Christian leaders of the time of Christ, thirteen treat of Paul the Missionary, thirteen present stud- ies in later Christian leaders, and thirteen deal with ‘‘Some Famous Friendships.’’ In organization and content this series represents a great advance over the Uniform Lessons. It constitutes a serious attempt at gradation. Scores of teachers have testified in various ways, however, to their failure to interest Intermediate young people in these lessons. A number of reasons for this are obvious upon close examination of this series. ‘For the three Intermediate courses, as. for the Junior, we must conclude that the chief objective seems to be located in the materials instead of in the pupil. Out of one hundred and fifty-six lessons for the three years only thirty-four are from outside the Bible. At an age when history and geography are exerting a strong appeal only four lessons other than biblical are directly on this interest. The rich field of religious literature outside the sacred writings is left wholly untouched. Nature is ignored. No social or vocational topics are introduced. For three years, and this during a very critical period of development, the definition of religion held before the youth is almost wholly that which comes from an ancient people, and from times very unlike our own. Little is offered that is concrete, immediate, and definite in its bearing on the pupil’s life. Can we expect other than that children brought up under such a curriculum will have difficulty in con- ceiving religion as an integral part of life—of their own lives!’” ‘Betts, George Herbert, The Curriculum of Religious Education, pp. 376-377, The Abingdon, Press, 1925. Used by permission. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 131 Other courses of study.—A variety of courses and textbooks are available from other series. No more than the briefest mention of some of these is possible here: The Constructive Studies in Religion offer three well-made, mechanically attractive texts for the Intermediate Department. Grade VII, The Story of Paul of Tarsus, Atkinson. Grade VIII, Studies in the Gospel According to Mark, Burton; Studies in Mark, Willett. Grade IX, The Life of Christ, Burgess. These texts are material-centered, dealing wholly with biblical materials. They are planned and written from the adult point of view. The Grade VII text is the most usable of the four. The Completely Graded Series includes three texts for Intermediates: Grade VII, Christian A posiles and Missionaries, Hunting. Grade VIII, Heroes of the Faith, Gates. Grade IX, Christian Life and Conduct, Hunting. These texts are worthy of care- ful consideration on the part of teachers and super- visors of Intermediates. The course for Grade IX seems to offer the most helpful and suggestive study of the three. Among The Abingdon Week Day Texts are several which are being used in the different departments of the church schools. Those prepared for Interme- diate grades include the following: Grade VII, Citizen, Jr., Espey. Grade VIII, Living at Our Best, Sharp-Hill; Hebrew Life and Times, Hunting. Grade IX, The Life and Times of Jesus, Grant; and Early Days of Christianity, Grant. In these books there is a more definite and successful effort to include a wide range of activity, interests, and materials. Conscious effort is made, 132 INTERMEDIATE METHOD either in the courses themselves or in the teacher’s manual accompanying each, to motivate the pupil’s study of these texts. Tendencies in curriculum making.—The rapid growth of the program of religious education adds to the-difficulty and uncertainty of the curriculum situation. With the development of week-day and vacation schools the whole problem of the expan- sion and reorganization of the curriculum of all the schools is raised. Experimentation upon a comprehensive and scientific basis will need to be carried forward before any permanent solution can be achieved. For the immediate present teachers and super- visors of Intermediates should endeavor to find and use the best courses obtainable. Teachers who are trained should not feel under compulsion to follow slavishly any “‘series’? when the courses for Intermediates fail to interest or help their pupils. On the other hand, the teacher should be able to supplement unsatisfactory courses with other ma- terials and to improve them through the use of effective methods of teaching. There is nothing to prevent a teacher from enlisting the young people in the selection and earnest study of problems they themselves are facing in their daily living. Such a procedure would make of any teacher a builder of the curriculum for the Intermediate church school in a most vital manner. For further study: 1. Write out your own definition of the curricu- lum. ee a . IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 133 2. Contrast more in detail the narrow and the broad conception of the curriculum. 3. Write out your own argument for including all the activities and relationships of the school in the curriculum. 4. Indicate how greater unity may be achieved in your church in the “‘program aspects”’ of the curriculum. 5. Make a list of experiences typical of the lives of Intermediates and tell how they might be used as curriculum content. 6. Outline a method by which these experiences may be reviewed and interpreted in a class session. 7. Make a list of the courses being used with Intermediate classes in your church and indi- cate where improvement may be made. For further reading: Betts, George Herbert, The Curriculum of Re- ligtous Education. Betts, George Herbert, How to Teach Religion. Bower, William Clayton, The Curriculum of Religious Education. Character Education Methods, Iowa Plan, Char- acter Education Institution, Chevy Chase, Washington, D. C. Simons, George T., The California League of Y outh. 134 INTERMEDIATE METHOD CHAPTER VI METHODS OF TEACHING INTERMEDIATES THERE are certain elements in religion that can be taught. Such teaching should proceed accord- ing to the known laws of learning. ‘The religious educator is directly concerned with the ordinary powers and processes over which he can exercise control. Memory, imagination, attention, emotions, concepts, desires, and habits are as much involved in coming to a proper understanding and expression of religion as they are in any other subject. The religious teacher cannot safely proceed on the basis of ignorance of the laws of learning and the special methods of stimulating pupils to proper thinking, feeling, and action. ~Before the teacher of Inter- mediates can be assured of success in making class- room procedure effective, the nature of general method needs to be fully understood and the tech- nique of teaching religion mastered. The nature of method.—Method in teaching religion cannot be considered apart from the gen- eral nature of the process of religious education. Method in the broad and specific sense is closely related to the curriculum. The two elements merge in the process of religious development. This interrelatedness has been treated more at length in Chapter V. Method in general is a formulation of the educative process as a way in which growth may best take place. It has been pointed out that IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 135 actual life situations, under proper supervision and with a full range of activities, constitute the basis _ for securing religious growth. Within this general process of religious education, the teacher of Inter- mediates finds recurring opportunities to set con- ditions of development through the proper control and direction of the teaching situation. While in the classroom, Intermediates should be given oppor- tunities to study their own life experiences. Thus they come to have an intelligent understanding of personal religion. In a very real sense teaching is more than the setting of conditions for the acquiring of information. It is the purpose of the teaching situation to stimulate and direct the reactions of pupils in acquiring new knowledge, in developing new ideals and attitudes, in cultivating new appre- ciations and in realizing new types of conduct. Types of teaching suitable for Intermediates.— The full range of suitable classroom methods should be understood by those who aspire to effectiveness in teaching Intermediates. The problems and diffi- cult conditions with which teachers will be con- fronted in the course of a year’s teaching will be many. Versatility, resourcefulness, understanding, _and skills will be required constantly. The following types of teaching will be found best adapted to this age: the projeet method, the problein-discussion method, the stery method, and the topical-research method. Other methods will find infrequent use and deserve study by those teaching Intermediates, such as dramatization, hand- work, and the lecture method. A brief study will be made of the methods best suited to Intermediates, with suggestions regarding the uses of the methods 136 INTERMEDIATE METHOD to be employed occasionally. Relatively few situa-_ tions will be faced which will require the use of one type of teaching exclusively. In most instances features of all the types named will be combined in a fruitful hour of teaching. Tue Proyect METHOD The term “‘project’”’ describes a cardinal principle of educational procedure which is being effectively applied. In general, it is concerned with large units of religious educational activity. It may also be used as a principle or method of conducting a single class recitation. It is meriting increasing use in the formal teaching of religion. It is imperative that teachers of Intermediates come to understand the nature of the project method, types of projects which may be used, and correct procedure in carry- ing them through to successful completion. Nature of the project method.—The project method may be defined as a procedure whereby a group undertakes to carry through a purposive activity. Or it may be defined as a problem which is set before a group, the solution of which requires study and creative thinking on the part of the members. Ww IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 173 the goodness thou hast shown unto us. We pray that thou wilt help us in our efforts to live true Christian lives. Help us to be strong and cour- ageous to do right. May we be of service to thee and to those about us, we ask in the name of Jesus, who taught us when we pray to say, . The Lord’s Prayer (in unison). Hymn. . Scripture Selection. . Thoughts for the Day (or special feature). . Prayer. . Offering—Offertory hymn (in unison): “We give thee but thine own, Whate’er the gift may be: All that we have is thine alone, A trust, O Lord, from thee. Amen.”’ 1r. Hymn (optional). 12. Announcements and Business. Dismissal to Class Sessions: 10:15. 0O Os Own It should be noted that in the program outlined above the first five numbers call definitely for the participation of the entire group. This makes it unlikely that any members will be mere onlookers. Again, the printed outline places the announce- ments and business of the department at the close of the worship session. From the very first number, the effort is made to cultivate a worship response on the part of the young people. How unfortunate it would be to interrupt this approach to God with business and announcements! The service referred to was built as a unit. The time was sacred to wor- ship. Entrance to the room was denied alike to pupils and teachers during the period. ‘A natural break in the program came at the close of this session when the dismissal of the group to 174 INTERMEDIATE METHOD their classes occurred. Announcements and busi- ness were taken up at the time of this natural break in the spirit and program of the department. Some might prefer that the announcements be given at the beginning. ‘The time is somewhat imma- terial so long as it does not come in the middle of the worship session. Intermediates worshiping with other groups.— In the majority of schools conditions do not permit of a separate departmental worship service for the Intermediate group. ‘The problem then becomes that of knowing how to make the most of a diffi- cult situation. There are a number of things which can be done to offset some of the disadvantages of an ungraded service. The Intermediate group may be asked to provide the entire program occa- sionally or with some regularity, such as on a certain Sunday of the month. This stimulates interest, provides for training, and enables the Intermediates to make a contribution to the entire church school. The same results may be secured when Intermediates are permitted to provide a special feature for the worship service. This may take the form of music, dramatization, reading, or other feature. In addition to these suggestions it will be found helpful to encourage the general leadership of the worship hour to adapt the service to the needs and interests of the young people rather than to the adults, as is so often the case. Furthermore, care should be exercised to seat the young people where they will feel that they are a vital part of the wor- shiping group. Lack of interest and participation on the part of young people is due frequently to IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 175 the fact that they are seated at one side, or in a partially segregated room, or are in some far-away corner in the gallery. They doubtless feel more like spectators than participants in such a service. Devotional meetings.—In some churches the Sunday-evening devotional society provides a part of the worship experience of Intermediate-age young people. It is not, however, a_ universal experience. Intermediate young people’s devotional societies are not found in all the churches. Unfor- tunately, devotional society activity is carried on in many local churches independently of the rest of the program as provided by the church school board. Frequently it has lacked that degree of adult supervision which characterizes the work of the same young people in the church school. Devotional societies are supposed to include in their membership all the young people of early adolescent age in the church. But, as a matter of fact, only a small percentage share in the activ- ities of the society. Where none exists specifically for the Intermediates, it is found that the society that does exist is so largely dominated by older young people that the early adolescents feel they have no real share in its management. These conditions emphasize the need of consider- - ing the problems of the evening devotional society in conjunction with the problem of the entire wor- ship program for Intermediates. The necessity and value of an evening devotional society meeting should be determined in the light of a knowledge of the full program as planned for the young people. Where the group is well organized in a department with a separate worship session in the 176 INTERMEDIATE METHOD morning, the question naturally arises regarding the necessity and purpose of a second devotional meet- ing of the same group on Sunday evening. If the complete program of worship, as outlined by the church committee on education in coopera- tion with the Intermediate council, calls for an evening devotional service, it should be carefully planned in harmony with the principles governing and materials entering into the other services of the day. If, on the other hand, these groups feel that an evening devotional hour is unnecessary, it should not be perpetuated or introduced merely because of tradition or the enthusiastic promotion of a small number of members. Intermediates and the regular church service.— Should Intermediate young people be expected to attend the regular church service of worship? This question is puzzling leaders in many churches. There has been a general assumption in most churches that they should share with adults in this major worship service of the church. But the fact that they are not atiending this service in the majority of churches is mute testimony that must be considered. It may mean that the service is uninteresting to them, that it is completely ‘‘adult- ized.”” It may mean that their training in previous years has been so incomplete and unsatisfactory that they are unable to enter such a service with intelligence and profit. Certainly, the “family pew” has disappeared from most churches. There is little question but that the church has been failing to provide young people with suitable worship experiences and proper training during childhood. In addition to this, as the family pew IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 7 has disappeared and less insistence has been placed upon attendance by parents, the church has carried forward no systematic effort to induce young people to attend the church service. It might almost be successfully contended that the young people have been trained to leave the church building after dismissal from the church-school session. A church policy and program needed.—Should Intermediates have their major worship experiences of the Sunday in the regular preaching service? Or should their major experience of worship come in the departmental session of the church school? What other services of worship are needed in addi- tion to one genuinely rich experience in worship? The answers to these questions call for the estab- lishment of a definite policy and program within each local church. If the church’s committee on education, or other authorities responsible for de- cision, believe that Intermediates should have their major experience of worship at the regular church service, then all those dealing with these young people—pastor, teachers, parents—should unite in a carefully planned and persistently promoted cam- paign to enlist them in attendance and to provide a program suited to their interests and needs. A casual invitation will not secure the regular atten- dance of the entire group. Neither will they come long if the program is either uninteresting or domi- nantly keyed to adult life. If, on the other hand, it is decided that the young people should have their primary experience of worship in the graded church school, then the leadership of the church should actively and intel- ligently support such a program to make it gen- 178 INTERMEDIATE METHOD uinely successful. The policy adopted by the church should likewise determine what other wor- ship services the young people should be expected to attend. It should bring unity and effectiveness into the complete worship program for Intermediates in the local church. The complete worship program should make pro- vision for a period during which Intermediates may be given definite training in the use of forms of wor- ship. They should be instructed regarding prayer and trained to sing suitable hymns.’ All of this training in the use of the materials and the tech- nique of worship should not occur at the time the young people are expected actually to worship. A careful distinction should always be made between the effort to lead Intermediates into an actual expe- rience of worship and the provision for drill in and instruction regarding the materials and methods of worship. If the church worship service provides Intermediates with their major experience in worship, then whatever time is available in the church school hour may be spent in training them in the meaning and proper use of the materials and forms of worship and in the art of leadership. The study of the psychology of early adoles- cence, an understanding of the objectives of reli- gious’ education for this age, and an appraisal of current church life, all tend to suggest the advis- ability of organizing the program for Intermediates to the end that regular attendance upon the church service of worship is a major requirement. Most churches plan to receive their young people into full membership during early adolescence. ‘They should be surrounded with every inducement to ee Te —_. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 170 share fully in the adult life of the church. The morning service of worship is the outstanding experience of fellowship in the average church. It would seem logical and natural for those who are assuming the privileges and obligations of church membership to share increasingly in this service. This will mean, however, that in the majority of churches this service will need to be modified or adapted in a manner to make it more interesting and helpful to young people of Intermediate age. PRINCIPLES IN PLANNING AND CONDUCTING WORSHIP Certain principles have been followed in plan- ning and conducting Intermediate worship services. Suitable physical conditions necessary.—It is exceedingly difficult for young people to worship in a cluttered-up workshop or in a cold and unin- viting room. It is worse than useless to endeavor to conduct worship services under the handicap of distracting noises coming from adjacent rooms, constant traffic through the department quarters, noisy furniture, interruptions, announcements, and unwholesome atmospheric conditions. These all work against the primary objectives of the service. _ The leader of worship should give considerable thought to these matters inasmuch as they very frequently defeat the purpose of the service. Opportunity for pupil leadership.—One of the purposes sought in organized departmental work is the training of young leaders. The worship service provides splendid opportunities for developing pupils in the abilities of leadership, in planning programs, and in the discharge of responsibility. A wise 180 INTERMEDIATE METHOD leader of Intermediates will place upon pupil officers and others all the responsibility they can well care for. It should be remembered, however, that not all Intermediates possess the ability, skill and self-control required for successful leadership. Only those who give evidence of having such ability should be given actual charge of the service. On the other hand, adequate adult supervision will be required. Young people of this age will need constant assistance and close supervision. Only in the case of the more experienced will they be able to proceed without detailed help. Many services are unsuccessful simply because adult leaders assume that Intermediates have more ability than they really possess. As the young people of any given group develop in leadership ability adult supervision may be gradually withdrawn. Provision for group participation.—Every oppor- tunity should be sought to help the entire group to participate in the service. Intermediates should share in the activities of the service rather than have someone worship for them. Scripture re- sponses, unison prayers, familiar hymns should be selected with a view to their suitability for the entire group. Participation should be made possible in the worship services shared with the entire school. Unity and balance in the service.—Uniformity in procedure and balance in materials should not be sacrificed in the quest for variety. Frequently one hears that what young people want is variety, something different in each worship service. Cer- tainly the service should never become monotonous and uninteresting. If one of the objectives of training in worship is to enable the young people IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 181 to participate with profit in the regular church service, then something of the uniformity and order of procedure in church worship may be introduced into the Intermediate Department service. Suspense and a feeling of wonder as to what is coming next may arouse interest and excite curi- osity, but it is doubtful if they will stimulate a true spirit of worship. Variety may be introduced through a change of leadership, in the choice of materials, and in the special features used. Such a service as has been outlined meets both needs. All materials should be graded.—It is just as essential that the forms and materials of worship should be graded as it is in the case of instruction. The degree of gradation will influence the degree of intelligence and sincerity characterizing the wor- ship of the members of the group. Intermediates are not interested in prayers, hymns, and scripture that are unrelated to their interests and needs. They do respond to those which touch their lives. It seems unnecessary to suggest that the Inter- mediate worship service should be characterized by sincerity. Yet one frequently finds services where most of these principles are being observed, and yet the note of sincerity is almost completely lacking. It is easily possible for a group of young people to “‘go through” a service without really entering into a genuine worship experience, with- out any vital contribution being made to their lives. Few things are more to be avoided in wor- ship than insincerity and mere formality. These can easily characterize the service unless real effort is made to keep it vital and appealing. 182 INTERMEDIATE METHOD For further study: 1. Formulate your own definition of worship. 2. Why is the Intermediate age important from the standpoint of training in worship? 3. Make a careful study of appropriate hymns for Intermediates with the history and inter- pretation of each. 4. Outline themes for worship services for a three- months’ period. 5. Should Intermediate young people be expected to attend the regular church service of wor- ship? Why? 6. If well-planned, pupil-led worship services are held in the morning is there need for a devo- tional meeting in the evening? Why? 7. How can greater unity be achieved in your church in the worship experiences of Inter- mediates? For further reading: Hartshorne, Hugh, Manual for Training in Wor- ship. Weigle, Luther Allan, and Tweedy, Henry Hallam, Training the Devotional Life. Kennedy, Minnie E., and Meyer, Minna M., The Training of the Devotional Life. Verkuyl, Gerrit, Devotional Leadership. Stowell, Jay S., Story-Worship Programs for the Church School Year. Mattoon, Laura I., and Bragdon, Helen D., Services for the Open. Smith, H. Augustine, Hymnal for American Youth. Betts, George Herbert, and Hawthorne, Marion, Method in Teaching Religion, Chap. XVIII. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 183 CHAPTER VIII / CHARACTER-DEVELOPMENT THROUGH LEISURE-TIME ACTIVITIES THERE are a number of reasons for the increasing interest in the play life of young people on the part of those concerned with character-develop- ment. One important factor is the increasing amount of leisure time at the disposal of the youth of to-day. Another is the prevalence of morally injurious, commercialized amusements. A _ third element is the growing appreciation of the influ- ence of the leisure-time activities upon character- development. Religious education is not solely a matter of formal classroom instruction. Life’s ideals and motives are profoundly influenced by free-time environment and activities. Church leaders are coming to understand that steps toward Christian manhood and womanhood may be taken in properly selected and adequately supervised play activities. There is a growing determination to include leisure- _ time occupations in the curriculum of religious edu- cation. The church’s new interest in play.—This change from neglect to positive interest is indicated in the official pronouncement of one of the larger denom- inations. ‘‘While we are aware that improper amusements are a ‘fruitful source of spiritual de- cline,’ we also believe that the social and recrea- tional instinct is God-given and, if properly guided, 184 INTERMEDIATE METHOD will strengthen rather than injure the spiritual life. The church must no longer allow her youth to ‘go into near-by villages and buy themselves the vic- tuals of social life,’ but, rather, should say, ‘Sit down and eat’ of the clean, wholesome things pro- vided by the church, which seeks to build a social and recreational life that is spiritual and a spiritual life that is social and recreational.’” There are many evidences of this new attitude and interest on the part of the church. Church buildings are being built or remodeled in a multi- tude of communities in order to provide adequate social and recreational facilities. Most churches are providing for increased midweek activity. Many churches formerly opened only on Sunday and on prayer-meeting night are seldom without at least one meeting of some group of young people each day of the week. Greater effort is being put forth to discover and train leaders to supervise these young people in their social and recreational activ- ities. The success of organizations and protrams out- side the church has demonstrated the possibility of character-development through properly selected leisure-time activities. But the church cannot and need not always depend upon outside organizations for recreational leadership and programs. If she is to become the great central agency for securing moral growth and is to win the loyalty of her young people, the church must consider seriously and intelligently the problem of the play interests and activities of her youth. If the church makes adequate provision for 1 Doctrines and Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 1924, J 69, $3, D- 64. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 185 suitable, appealing, wholesome leisure-time activ- ities with trained leadership, she will render a real service to youth and will guarantee for herself a larger and more permanent place in the lives of the young people. This will require on the part of her leadership a knowledge of the recreational interests and needs of Intermediate young people, of the educational objectives in ministering to these needs, of the best methods of character-development through leisure-time activities and of the special responsibility of the church for the supervision of play life. Objectives of the recreational program.—Ref- erence to the full list of objectives of religious edu- cation will readily reveal those directly involved in the program of supervised, leisure-time activ- ities. These include particularly: physical health and fitness, mental alertness and health, ability properly to make unspecialized social contacts, the ability to maintain right economic relations, the practice of thrift and financial self-control, and the ability to use surplus time, money and _ talents properly. The achievement of practically all the objectives is furthered by the provision of an adequate program of recreation. _ The church’s program of supervised recreation should aim definitely fo build common standards and ideals of social and recreational activity within each community. It should seek to establish among young people of the various churches high standards of social life and refined tastes for pleasures. It should encourage participation in only those types of recreation which recreate the body and mind, provide general culture, and strengthen moral char- 186 INTERMEDIATE METHOD acter. Constant pressure is exerted upon them in a multitude of ways to accept loose, low standards of social life. Churches facing each other across the street are setting before their young people widely different ideals of social life. The result is confusion concerning what is right and what is wrong. Christian young people should be brought together to make their united idealism and support of high standards of social life felt among young people throughout the community. In one city” several hundred young people, repre- senting most of the local Protestant churches, met and discussed the question of social and recrea- tional standards. They voted to accept personally and to seek to lead others to adopt the following pledge: “T Go tHE HicHway” Desirous of keeping my whole life clean and whole- some, and of helping others to climb the Highway of a Clean Social Life, I pledge myself to a sincere effort to apply the following standard: I will engage in those forms of social and recreational life only which Keep me physically recreated, Make me mentally alert, Give me a higher regard of those of the opposite sex, Help me to be spiritually sensitive, and Help build higher standards of social life among young people in my church and community. RECREATIONAL INTERESTS AND NEEDS OF | EARLY ADOLESCENTS The program of play should be carefully correlated with the interests, needs, and limitations of the 2 South Bend, Indiana, IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 187 young people themselves. It cannot have educa- tional value outside of these factors. A knowledge of these needs and interests is essential to suc- cessful leadership. There are definite play interests upon which the church’s recreational program should be built. Leaders of youth should use these spon- taneous leisure-time interests. Play is the natural and spontaneous expression of certain impulses. The educator’s great opportunity will be found in guiding these impulses into appropriate and pleas- urable forms of activity. The task of the leader is that of helping the young people to discover and to engage in those forms of play-life which not only yield wholesome satisfaction but which also facilitate physical, moral, and social growth. The following are some of the more important play interests: Physical activity.—There is an instinctive interest in physical action. A group of boys and girls left to themselves in any situation will almost inevitably become involved in activity of some sort, usually physical in nature. Anyone coming unexpectedly upon a Boy Scout troop ten minutes before the Scout master has arrived, will inevitably witness lively action. It will probably be a case of the boys chasing each other around the room with no particular purpose in view, or engaging in a free- for-all scramble on the floor with a similar lack of purpose. An Intermediate church-school class left for the briefest time without leadership will not remain inactive. The Intermediate youth possesses an instinctive interest in physical action. If he is normal, he must be doing something. It is nature’s provision for growth. 188 INTERMEDIATE METHOD Cooperation and competition.—The normal youth of this age is manifesting a strong desire for coop- erative and competitive activity. Youth is usually more active when with others than when alone. This instinctive desire is the source of much of the group activity, cooperative play, and team-work characteristic of these years. To the strong indi- vidualistic attitudes and interests are added a growing disposition and ability to play and work with others or in competition with them. In play this interest in and desire for cooperative activity finds a most fruitful form of expression. Leaders of inter-school athletic competition find a ready response to the challenge for supremacy. Acquisition of skills.—The interest in activity is more than merely a desire for action or even for social cooperation. It generally takes the form of interest in the acquisition of particular skills. What boy does not long ardently or seek earnestly to be skillful in certain types of activity? To be the performer of stunts is to be the man of the hour. Boys and girls want to be able to do some one thing or a few things well. The particular skills desired in any given group of young people will usually cover a wide range of activities. They will include the ability to handle one’s body grace- fully in the company of others, mastery of canoeing or the ability to pitch for the team. Each youth sees in himself or herself the possibility of out- standing future achievement. Opportunities to acquire skill and to develop his particular abilities are eagerly seized. Interest in reading.—During these years there is a marked increase of interest in reading. An un- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 189 usual fondness for stories that appeal to the imag- ination develops. With many young people this interest is broadened to include a fondness for travel, science, history, biography, nature study, and mechanics. However, with altogether too many young people it is directed toward stories which not only appeal to the imagination but which also stimulate the emotions excessively and in an unwholesome way. It is important that this reading craze be guided into wholesome chan- nels and a wide range of cultural interests. Vocational and avocational interests.—An awak- ening interest in vocational and prevocational pur- suits is manifested in early adolescence. Spontaneous interest in the world’s work develops. Youth does not pass through these years without a disposition to imitate his elders in the selection of both voca- tional and avocational-pursuits. In many cases it is much more than imitation. It represents the early expression of particular impulses and abil- ities. Interests may be stimulated at this time which will have profound influence upon later choices of life-work. Most of the well-organized recreational programs list prevocational interests covering a wide range of life pursuits. Young people are entitled to an acquaintanceship with a broad range of vocational and avocational activities that both early and later choices may be made with intelligence and profit. Interest in nature.—These years are marked by a responsiveness to the appeal of nature and the out-of-doors. Under favorable conditions, interest in camping, in woodcraft, in hunting, fire-building, study of birds and animals, and in all varieties of 190 INTERMEDIATE METHOD first-hand contacts with nature develops naturally with the first years of adolescence. If contacts with nature are provided, these responses are natural and spontaneous. All youth needs is the oppor- tunity to develop these interests under wholesome conditions and in ways which are morally, men- tally, and religiously beneficial. Desire for fun.—In and through all these inter- ests is the ever-present desire for fun. This, doubt- less, seems to be the conscious objective of much of youth’s play. And this is entirely proper. No one would think of trying to prevent the young “‘adolescent”’ colt from his developmental frolics in pasture and barn lot. It is, the ‘“‘frolic” time in his life. Likewise, let no one seek to restrain or smother the innate desire of young people to have fun. The desire ‘“‘will out.’”? Let youth have their fuh, for this is predominantly the “fun time” of life. One of the great tasks confronting leaders is to provide fun situations which will prove bene- ficial to youth. To learn that clean, wholesome fun is not in any sense incompatable with the Chris- tian way of life is a valuable lesson. Other interests.—A more complete list of play interests will be found in The Church at Play,’ where the following nineteen interests and motives are analyzed: the desire for free, exuberant self- expression; desire for sensory contacts; muscular control; manipulation and construction; curiosity or exploration; delight in pleasant surprise; sense of abode, or home feeling; hunting; fighting; bar- tering; collecting; rhythm; nurturing or mother A arpa ie! Norman E., The Church at Play, pp. 59-72, The Abingdon Press, IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL IQ instinct; dramatic imitation; love of nature and the out-of-doors; rivalry or competition; team play or cooperation; adventure or the desire to escape the commonplace; comradeship or partnership. TYpPrEs OF ACTIVITIES AND PROGRAMS A wide variety of recreational activities and programs is available to groups of Intermediates and their leaders. Their number and variety are constantly being increased. Leaders face the respon- sibility of helping individuals and groups to build a well-balanced program, one that contributes to the development of a well-rounded personality. A variety of activity that is too limited is to be avoided as well as a program that is too complex and taxing. The helpfulness and attractiveness of the church’s program of recreation will be determined in part by the leader’s knowledge of available and suitable source materials. ‘The following list is presented, not as a complete outline but, rather, as a sug- gestive grouping of the types of recreational activ- ities which meet the interests and needs of Inter- mediates. This may form a basis for the individual worker in building his own list of practical sug- gestions for use in the local situation. The bibli- ography at the end of the chapter includes some of the sources of material treating these types of recreation in detail. Games.—One of the commonest forms of recrea- tion is that of games, indoor and outdoor. Within each type there is a wide variety of games suitable for every type of Intermediate groups. Of the indoor games the following have always been popular: paper-and-pencil games; guessing, mystery 192 INTERMEDIATE METHOD and curiosity games; social mixers and ‘“‘get- acquainted” activities; group competition and line- opposition games. Of the outdoor games, those calling for abundant physical activity, group co- operation and competition, display of skill, daring, and endurance are popular with Intermediates. Outdoor recreation will include, of course, many of the sports and popular forms of athletic compe- tition. In addition such games as fag, dare base, three-deep, ‘‘snap,” and many forms of opposed-line games, will be found suitable. Those responsible for the social and recreational life of early adoles- cents should strive to build their own list of games for all occasions with a knowledge of how to use them. The trouble of recording and filing mem- oranda regarding an unusually successful game will be richly repaid to the leader when he is able to use that game at some critical time in his own program. Sports and athletics.—Athletic activities such as group games, field and track events, tennis, skating, aquatics, croquet and setting-up exercises, represent vital interests on the part of these young people. They are beginning to take part in practically all such sports. ‘These years constitute a time when the young person is becoming familiar with the wide range of athletic activities. He is discovering his own interests and abilities as well as develop- ing skills and improved abilities. Health, normal physical growth, and protection from excessive strain should be items of primary concern to the recreational leader of early adolescents. In addition to the recognized track events un- usual sport may be found in mock track meets in IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 193 which such events as the potato race, Indian-club relay, sack race, three-legged race, crab-race, and wheel-barrow race are major events. These involve humor, exercise, group cooperation and competition, and ingenuity, Interchurch athletic contests involv- ing both the serious and the comic games, will grow in popularity during these years. Many cities have well developed interchurch athletic associations promoting seasonal competition in base- ball, volley ball, and basket ball. Hikes, picnics, and travel.—This group of activ- ities includes some that. are formal and others that are quite informal. They are, however, almost universal in their appeal to young people. For the most part they involve group action and provide physical activity, social enjoyment, and knowledge of various kinds. Opportunity is provided for establishing social contacts between the leader and members of the group. Young people may be given the opportunity to develop skill in planning for and serving food. Places of interest, routes for hikes involving difficulties, the location of points affording beautiful scenery, and suitable sites for overnight hikes and brief camping expeditions, should be carefully listed by the leader and com- mittee in charge of recreation. Camping.—Few forms of recreation have grown in popularity among young people and their leaders as rapidly as camping. The camp offers an unusual opportunity for training young people in a great variety of ways. Camp craft has become a subject of extensive study and practice in recreational circles. It involves a knowledge of camping equip- ment, methods of handling this equipment, ability 194 INTERMEDIATE METHOD to select and prepare camp sites, skill in tent pitch- ing, the ability to build and tend fires, formation of camp programs, ability to render first aid, skill in camp cookery, knowledge of woodcraft, and an understanding of desirable camp discipline. Many churches are providing church camps for their own young people. A still larger number are looking to interdenominational and extra-church agencies to provide opportunity for such young people as can be sent to summer camps. Most cities provide camps through such organizations as the Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Girl Scouts, WitMe Co Ay and Yo (WiC AS WD heseé: Camipaaaase for part or all of the summer. As the churches sense the responsibility of making adequate pro- vision for recreation they will undoubtedly increase the number of camping opportunities for the aver- age group of Intermediates. City and county councils of religious education, established to de- velop interdenominational religious education, will undoubtedly include interchurch camps for Inter- mediates as a part of their local program. Nature study.—Practically all specialized pro- grams which have won an enthusiastic following among Intermediate young people have emphasized nature study. These studies are not elaborate. They call for the development of interest on the part of young people in the wonders and beauties of nature. They encourage the acquisition of elementary knowledge about such objects of nature as the stars, birds, flowers, trees, insects, fish, animals, geology, and weather signs. There is increasing recognition of the value of having young people of this age come into contact IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 195 with nature with its suggestiveness of health, strength, purity, and beauty. Such an emphasis in the church program of recreation will necessitate a trained adult leadership and suitable materials. A number of programs which provide leadership and activities for Intermediates call for the services of specialists in various aspects of nature study. An effort should be made to eliminate overlapping and to strive for unification in this field of recreation. Home and hand crafts.—The cultivation of right attitudes and relationships with respect to the home, the development of special skills in home tasks, and the acquisition of abilities to make con- tributions to home life, all lie within the aim of the recreational program. Home craft and hand craft include such activities as the following: dress- making, collecting and organizing and filing recipes and menus, mending, housekeeping, entertaining, interior decorating, child care, radio activity, car- pentry and mechanical skills, music, needlework, book-binding, and the handling of money. To some these activities might seem to suggest work instead of recreation. They represent dom- inant interests of scores of young people, however, and include a wide range of Jezsure-time activities. Through the direction of recreation, the church is endeavoring to motivate just such leisure-time occupations, to introduce into the pursuit of such interests the real play spirit, and to cultivate a sense of satisfaction in creative employment. Reading.—This form of recreation is natural to young people. The major concern of the reli- gious educator in it is to make provision for the right kind of books and magazines and to estab- 196 INTERMEDIATE METHOD lish proper literary tastes. The kind of books early adolescents read will have a determining influence upon character development. Through careful and timely suggestions, leaders can give valuable help in leading young people into the right expression of this vigorous desire. In addition to the best in romance, books deal- ing with history, biography, exploration, scientific achievements, adventure, and travel, should be made available to Intermediates in abundance. Definite results are achieved in the Junior high- school literature classes because definite lists and instructions are provided. Such assistance might well be rendered by the church-school worker. Lists made available to the entire department or class groups or suggestions given to individual members will frequently be of great help. A sug- gestive list of books suitable for girls may be found in Leadership of Girls’ Activities* The Boy Scouts organization and the Y. M. C. A. have made careful lists of suitable material for boys which may be had upon application at their central offices.® Dramatics and entertainments.—The production of dramas, pageants, and other entertainments is not an uncommon endeavor of Intermediates. Sometimes these are for tHe pleasure of those par- ticipating, and again they are for the benefit of those witnessing the production. Frequently the motive in producing such programs is found in the desire to raise funds with which to carry on service projects. A number of vital interests and needs may be met in this form of recreational activity. 4 Moxcey, Mary E., Leadership of Girls’ Activities. ® Boy Scouts of America, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York. International Council of Young Men’s Christian Associations, 347 Madison Avenue, New York. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 197 The increase of suitable materials for dramatiza- tion, the availability of suggestions in staging them, and the disposition of leaders to train themselves for the task of directing such activities, are tending to bring about increased emphasis upon drama- tization in the local church. In addition, there is provided to young people opportunity to express themselves, to develop skills, and to make_con- tributions to group life. Miscellaneous entertain- ments with little educational value will undoubtedly give way to the finer types of pageantry and dramatization. Biblical, missionary, patriotic, mo- rality, biographical, and historical subjects will find a place in a year’s program of dramatization. Fine arts.—Dramatization is a part of a larger field of recreational activities and interests. The fine arts represent a variety of cultural interests and pursuits. In addition to dramatization, various forms of musical appreciations and skills, art inter- pretation, classic forms of literature, and some of the forms of hand craft are attractive to Inter- mediates and may be presented to them in such a way as to claim some of their leisure hours. Much of art in its various forms rests upon religion for its inspiration and themes. It will be possible to develop appreciations and interests in the fine arts only to the extent to which leaders themselves are interested in and familiar with them. Programs calling for the study and enjoyment of some of the musical masterpieces, trips to the art museums, the use of small reproductions of master- pieces in class and club meetings, and group dis- cussions of the literary classics, may profitably be included in the church’s program of supervised 198 INTERMEDIATE METHOD leisure-time activities. Young people are receiving orientation and instruction in these fields in public school. The religious educator should capitalize these interests and skills in enriching the church’s program. Specialized programs.—A listing of types of supervised leisure-time activities would not be com- plete without reference to the specialized programs promoted by various organizations. It is possible only to mention them in this connection. Their programs embrace most of the types of recreational activities suggested above. They have developed to a remarkable degree the technique of organ- izing and supervising these activities. They have called into service and trained thousands of leaders. Whether or not church leaders of recreation deem it wise to use these programs with their groups of Intermediates, they will profit by careful study of the technique, materials, and training programs of these various agencies. The desirability and methods of correlating these programs with the Intermediate Department program is discussed on pages 201 and 295. The more familiar of these programs are the following: The Boy Scouts, The Christian Citizen- ship Training Program of the Y. M. C. A. (Pioneers), The Trail Rangers (Canadian), The Camp Fire Girls, The Girl Reserves of the Y. W. C..A., The Girl Scouts, and The Canadian Girls in Training. The manuals that go with these programs and the sources of securing them are listed in the bibli- ography at the close of this chapter. An extensive survey has been made of the service rendered by these organizations to the youth of the country IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 199 communities. The results of this study are worthy of careful consideration.® | CHURCH SUPERVISION OF RECREATION In assuming this newly sensed responsibility the church will need to discover how her interest and resources are to serve most effectively in providing and directing suitable recreational activity for the Intermediates. Problems of organization, program- making, correlation, equipment, supervision and leadership are pressing for solution. Will the church combine with her own directly supervised program the best of activities provided by the various agen- cies operating independently in this field, or build her own distinctive complete program? Among leaders of youth in the churches sentiment is devel- oping in favor of a unified, church-centered program of recreation for each age group of adolescence. Placing responsibility.—Definite responsibility for the development and supervision of such a program should be assigned in each church. It ought not to be left to chance. The church needs to become definitely committed to the leadership, equipment, and money involved. Certain individuals and committees should be assigned to the task of devel- oping and supervising this phase of the work. The program for any particular age-group cannot well be considered apart from the general program of play life of the church. The recreational activities of the Intermediate young people should be planned in general by or in cooperation with the same com- mittee or leadership which plans the other pro- 6 Douglass, H. Paul, How Shall Country Youth Be Served? George H. Doran Com- pany, 1926, 200 INTERMEDIATE METHOD grams for the Intermediates of the entire church constituency. The committee on education.—The leisure-time activities of Intermediate young people constitute a part of their moral and religious education. The general responsibility and supervision of this part of the program rests upon the committee on educa- tion of the local church. While the detailed organ- ization and supervision of these activities may be cared for by certain individuals or committees, the committee on education is the body which should assign these responsibilities, determine the policy and attitude of the church, study local conditions and determine future plans. This committee through such a study should determine the policy of the church toward the specialized organizations and programs operating in this field. It is this group which, acting upon the advice and counsel of those more closely associated with the young people, should decide to use such programs as the Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, or to develop or adopt a church-centered program independent of these. The department program.—Eventually, with any kind of overhead supervision, or none, the recre- ational and social program for Intermediates will be administered on the basis of age-grouping. The department group represents a practical unit for organizing the young people for such activity. The group is large enough in most churches to enjoy a social life by itself, and yet small enough to develop social intimacy and group fellowship. It provides opportunity for active pupil participation in the direction and leadership of the activities it fosters. The organization of the recreational and social IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 201 program on the departmental age-grouping basis tends to utilize and also to strengthen that group- ing as a basis for the administration of all aspects of the religious educational program. Intermediate departments are being organized in increasing number. In addition to being effective units for worship and for service programs, they constitute the most natural means of providing leisure-time activities. There are already provided an adminis- trative force and a leadership which can function in this field. There should be that provision of activity which will cause the young people to look to the department council as the source of real leadership in this field. Natural social groupings.—A vital problem at this point is that of how to make the group meeting as a department, and the smaller units meeting as classes, natural social groups. Young people are frequently brought together in classes and depart- ments who sustain different social relationships outside the church school. If the church is to grip and hold these young people, it should seek to build them into permanent social relationships. In other words, it is essential that the young people coming together as. a department or as a class should find this association the most vital of the entire week. This can be done only as appealing, worthwhile social and recreational activities are provided for them as part of their educational program. In many instances, young people will be led into real participation in the class and depart- ment life only as they share in wholesome social activities during the week. The class program.—The Intermediate class is a 202 INTERMEDIATE METHOD natural unit for group activity in social and recre- ational life. It is usually closely graded. It is small in number. Its members should sustain intimate relationships with each other and their teacher. The leadership is, or should be, con- tinuous. The regularity and frequency of the meetings make possible the promotion of activities with a minimum of effort. Local conditions will determine largely the extent and nature of the activity that will be developed by the class. : The field of leisure-time activities is very broad. It provides more possibilities suitable for class activity than the average leader realizes. A care- ful review of the list of types of activity on pages 191-8, will reveal the wide range of opportunities presented to any class. The teacher and the social committee of the class should carefully canvass the needs and opportunities of the membership of the class. Upon the basis of this study those types of activities should be promoted, either as a class or in conjunction with other classes, which give promise of making the largest contribution to the members of the group. Correlation with specialized programs.—Church leaders of the leisure-time activities of young people face a difficult problem in the establishment of satisfactory relationships between the recreational activities of the Intermediate class and depart- ment and those specialized programs for early adolescent youth, such as the Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, Girl Reserves, Girl Scouts, and Christian Citizenship Training, if these programs have been officially adopted. The Boy Scout movement has enrolled more than six hundred thousand boys IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 203 and one hundred and twenty-five thousand adult leaders. It has been officially adopted in many churches and unofficially accepted by hundreds of churches as the midweek recreational program for Intermediate boys. Altogether, these extra-church programs are making a rich contribution to the physical, mental, social, and moral development of these young people. However, with the church’s awakening interest and the increased activity in this field, confusion exists as to the proper relation of these agencies to the program of the church itself. At present there is a great lack of correlation at this point. These specialized organizations have built strong promotional units in city, county, and State. In recent years only has there been real accomplish- ment in developing mutual understanding and in providing for partial correlation. In many cases Boy Scout troops have been organized in local churches with little or no conference with the com- mittee on education. Boys of entire classes are frequently asked to join troops without the consent and knowledge of the teacher. Girls hold member- ship in one of these programs for months without the knowledge of the church-school teacher. A number of these organizations are frequently touch- ing youth in the local church without any formal, organized effort to unite them into a complete program providing suitable activity for all. This is by no means the fault solely of any particular organization. More frequently it results from the failure of the church leaders to respond to needs and opportunities for midweek activity. A church-centered program the goal.—At present 204 INTERMEDIATE METHOD the thought and activity of leaders of early adoles- cents in the church are turning definitely in the direction of the ultimate provision of a Christ- centered, church-centered program of supervised leisure-time activities. This, or a near approach to it, represents the present goal. Church leaders are confronted with the task of creative work in this field. Such a program when completed must possess high merit and provide for Intermediates and their leaders an attractive and rich variety of activities. Whether or not this can be done is a question that will be answered in the next few years. In the meantime here are the pressing needs of thousands of young people. Certain programs that have proven their merit are at hand. It would seem a matter of wisdom to attempt such definite correlation of these programs with the church program as is possible while church leaders are engaged in creating a new program. A temporary solution to the existing situation will need to be worked out by each denomination and in turn by each local church. The supreme concern at all times will be the provision of an abundance of the most suitable leisure-time activity and a skilled and masterful leadership. For further study: 1. Suggest in detail the contributions which prop- erly supervised leisure-time activities may make to character development. 2. Make your own extended list of play interests and needs of early adolescents. 3. Using the outline in this chapter (or some other scheme), make a more complete list of the IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 205 various activities that come within each type of recreation. 4. Outline a month’s recreational program for a class of Intermediate girls. Do the same for boys. 5. Make a study of the recreational life of the Intermediate group in your church from which to make plans for its improvement. 6. Outline a plan for bringing about better corre- lation between the class and department programs and the specialized program, such as, the Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls. For further reading: Richardson, Norman E., The Church At Play. Powell, Warren T., Recreational Leadership For Church and Community. Gates, Herbert T., Recreation and the Church. Moxcey, Mary E., The Leadership of Girls’ Activities. Moxcey, Mary E., Physical Health and Recreation. La Porte, Ralph, Handbook of Games. Bancroft, Jessie, Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gymnasium. Gibson, H. W., Camping for Boys. Kephart, Horace, Camping and Woodcraft. Douglass, A. Paul, How Shall Country Youth Be Served? Meredith, William V., Pageanitry and Dramatics in Religious Education. Knight, Howard R., and Williams, Marguerita P., Sources of Information on Play and Recre- ation, Department of Recreation, Russell Sage 206 INTERMEDIATE METHOD Foundation, 130 East 23rd Street, New York, N.Y: Benton, Rita, The Bible Play Workshop. Edland,. Elisabeth, Principles and Teachings in Religious Dramatics. MANUALS OF SPECIAL PROGRAMS Christian Citizenship Training Program: Handbook for Pioneers, Manual for Leaders; Pioneers, Inter- national Council of Young Men’s Christian Asso- ciation, 347 Madison Avenue, New York City, Nv Boy Scout Handbook, Boy Scouts of America, 200 Fifth Avenue, New York City, N. Y. The Book of the Camp Fire Girls, Camp Fire Girls, 31 East Seventeenth Street, New York City, N. Y. The Girl Reserve Movement, 600 Lexington Avenue, New York, N. Y. Canadian Girls in Training, National Girls’ Work Board, 523 Wesley Buildings, Toronto, Canada. Scouting for Girls, Girl Scouts, Inc., 13 West Twenty- ninth Street, New York City, N. Y. Handy, the official manual of the Social Recreation Union, Lynn Rohrbaugh, 510 Wellington Avenue, Chicago, Ill. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 207 CHAPTER Ix TRAINING INTERMEDIATES IN SERVICE THE story of Jesus in the Gospels is largely a record of “fone who went about doing good.” It is an absorbing recitation of his deeds of kindness and his ministry to those who were :sick, in sor- row, in trouble or otherwise in need. He announced at the beginning that his was a mission to unfor- tunate and neglected groups. He came that they might “‘have life, and... have it more abundantly.””! Jesus had a positive concern for the welfare of people. His was a mighty passion to minister to all human needs. He identified himself with human need wherever it was found. ‘‘Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me’” was his inter- pretation of his relation to human need. And in the end he took upon himself the sins, the burdens, ‘the wrongs of the entire world, that through that act of all-embracing love, his followers might come to understand his spirit of love and service and share with him the task of redeeming the world. He set up his standard of judgment of true disci- pleship in terms of service to one’s fellow men.? Service the essence of religion.—Since the day the fires of Pentecost kindled in his immediate 1 John 10, 10. 2 Matt. 25. 40. 3 Matt. 25. 31-46. 208 INTERMEDIATE METHOD followers a mighty passion to minister to the needs of men, there has been organized effort of one kind or another to fulfill this ministry of Jesus. This project has taken the name and form of Christian social service. The gigantic missionary and service programs of to-day are a direct expression of his passion. They have as their goal the deliverance of human society from sin, moral delinquency, dis- ease, poverty, crime, misery, ignorance, and super- stition of every sort. They aim at the development and perfection of the institutions of man’s asso- ciated life, and the development of a social order that is the city of God on earth. It is for this com- bined service offered in the name of Christ and carried forward by his church that Intermediate young people should be trained. Only in this way will they come to know and experience true religion. Leaders need to have a knowledge of the specific objectives of the program of training in service. They should also understand the principles which should guide in the selection, organization; and supervision of service activities. They should possess a knowledge of the full range of means and activities to be employed with this particular age in making participation in the work of the Chris- tian Church a vital and satisfying experience, as well as a training for larger responsibilities later in life. Skill in the administration of the service program of the Intermediate Department will help to insure the achieving of true discipleship on the part of its members. The general aim of training in service.—The aim of training in service cannot be conceived apart from the aim of religious education in general. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 209 The aim of religious education has been stated as “Christian character functioning successfully in all of life’s relationships.’’ Social service may be con- sidered as the expression of Christian character in all those relationships with one’s fellow beings wherein contributions to their welfare may be made. ‘There was a time when religion was con- ceived largely in terms of personal piety. Christian people are realizing to-day as never before the broad and specific social implications of the life and teachings of Jesus. The modern conception of religious education requires training which will insure the ability to express fittingly such character traits as kindness, unselfishness, and generosity. A trained Christian is one who is able to enrich the lives of others out of the storehouse of his own enriched personality. The general aim of training Intermediate young people in service is designated as the establishment in their lives of right attitudes toward others and training in the disposition and ability to serve their fellow men fittingly. Training in service should awaken and enlarge the sympathies. It should aim “to reach the springs of action, the native social impulses and feelings, and to strengthen and direct them through use. It will endeavor to incul- cate high and adequate missionary ideals as the goals of Christian living, and will train a growing generation to be loyal to a world-wide brotherhood. It will relate individuals and groups to the needs of the world in service, and will endeavor to produce a generation intelligently in touch with the prin- ciples, history, and present status of the kingdom of God and to enlist every Christian as an active 210 INTERMEDIATE METHOD agent tirelessly working for the establishment of the Kingdom.’” PARTICULAR OBJECTIVES IN TRAINING IN SERVICE In order to achieve the general objective sought in the service program it will be necessary to em- _phasize certain specific aims. Thus definite guidance may be secured in the selection of activities and in the methods by which they are carried forward. It will readily be seen that these specific objectives have reference to the relationships included in the twelvefold statement of objectives of religious edu- cation for this age. These include the development of avocational pursuits that are wholesome; larger social, community, and civic responsibilities; mis- sionary interests and Christian world-brotherhood; church membership efficiency; and stewardship, with all of the enrichment of the personal devo- tional life which comes from the achievement of these objectives. The following list is not complete or exhaustive but is a restatement of objectives that may prove suggestive of the ends that must receive emphasis. An understanding of the service purpose and nature of the kingdom of God.—The building of permanent social attitudes and skills that are dis- tinctly Christian involves a thorough understanding of Jesus’ conception of social relationships and of the ways in which he and his followers through the ages have interpreted them. Simple practical instruction in the teachings of Jesus regarding the kingdom of heaven and one’s duties to one’s fellows 4 Diffendorfer, Ralph E., Missionary Education in*Home and School, p. 36, The Abingdon Press, 1917. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 211 is a primary requisite in training in service. A rich fund of inspiring information may be found in the lives of the heroes of the church, both ancient and modern. Young people should become intelligently fa- miliar with the great social issues now confronting the church, the problems of war, oppression, dis- ease, ignorance, and injustice of every kind. These things must be brought to their attention in such a manner as to enkindle great admiration for the heroic lives that have been given to world better- ment and in such a way as to arouse a personal desire to share in the struggle for universal right- eousness. Nothing short of genuine participation in this world-wide struggle will secure the degree of development necessary. Young people should have an intelligent appre- ciation of the social program of the Kingdom, | especially as it is embraced in the plans and projects of their own denomination. This objective is of particular significance to Intermediates, for it is at this time that most of them are assuming definite relationships with the church by becoming members. Few things can do more to make the church a vital fellowship to them than an understanding of her _ struggle for the cause of world-brotherhood and universal righteousness. The sharing of the church’s resources with a needy world should be magnified in their thought and experience as much as is the ministry of their church to their own lives. Membership may easily become nominal to Inter- mediates, or, through an actual sharing of its proj- ects of missions and service, a very vital and sustained experience. The basis for increasingly 212 INTERMEDIATE METHOD effective participation in the full life of the church and the kingdom of God as young people grow to maturity, may be laid only as they are led step by step through these years to sympathetic under- standing of what the church is trying to do to meet the needs of society and to an enlarging responsibility in helping to serve. Interest in other people.—Where information is properly provided regarding other people, espe- cially those less fortunate or greatly different, keen interest and sympathy are not wanting. A broad and effective program of instruction is needed to bring before the growing mind the needs and social interests of the world. The ever-widening circles of group relationships, home, school, community, nation, and world, must be made vital in the thought and experience of the young people and should be permeated with the Christian spirit. Only as instruction is given, interpreting the character- istics, ideals, needs, and contributions of different people, can a basis.be laid for a proper under- standing of the common interests of humanity. Prejudice, hatred, strife, and suspicion will be made unlikely in the lives of young people if they are led early into a sympathetic understanding of other people through participation in activities designed to benefit them. Knowledge of certain peoples and of their needs must be transformed into positive, outgoing concern to be of help to them. Training in social service should not stop short of the estab- lishment of vital and intelligent interest in and sympathy with all people. Ability to make definite contributions to the social needs of the world.—Haphazard training in IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 213 service is in danger of stopping short of carrying the pupils through to the actual acquisition of skills in social service. Mere good will and friendly sentiment are not sufficient. It is when young people are led actually to do something for those about them that they experience the true joy of Christian service. Young people will experience intelligent satisfaction in the church’s program of social service only as they are trained in definite ways of sharing the activities of the program. Altruistic motives, attitudes of good will, the spirit of tolerance for those who are different, and deep sympathies for those who are in need should find expression in practical ways. Therefore, one specific aim of the program of social service should be the definite training of Intermediates in the technique of Christian service, in the ability to use their time, talents, money, and influence for the betterment of their fellows. Actual situations in which they definitely minister to the needs of others or support a righteous cause should be provided. THE PROGRAM OF SERVICE ACTIVITIES The particular activities that will enter into the program of service with any group of Intermediates will be determined by the following factors: The training and experience of the leaders; the size, resources, and general character of the group; the local church and community conditions, and the previous training and experience of the members of the group. Care should be taken not to attempt to use a program of activities in one group Just because it has proven successful with another. 214 INTERMEDIATE METHOD Those of value and interest to one group may not be of interest to another. The initiative and dem- ocratic spirit of the group is lessened if activities are imposed from without rather than developed from within. General types of service activity, however, can be suggested. Within these types a great variety of suitable developmental projects may be found. A successful program of training in service usually will result from the resourcefulness of the adult leader in keeping at hand a rich fund of suitable service project possibilities to meet the varying moods and dominant interests of the group. The point to be borne in mind constantly is that service activities must begin in the realm of the present experience and knowledge of the members of the group. Not only is it important to develop the proper motive for service, but it is exceedingly important that this developing motive have oppor- tunity for expression in lines of activity that are within the range of the understanding and social imagination of the pupils. For that reason there will be a strong emphasis with Intermediates upon engaging in service activities that involve relation- ships with people who are relatively near at hand. The circle of interests and activities may be widened as the spirit of Christian fellowship and respon- sibility is expanded. The following list and classification of service activities is intended to be merely suggestive. It would be advisable for leaders to begin building their own lists and classification, adding to them as they learn of projects that have been successful in other churches. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 215 Personal service.—Not all of the service activ- ities that may be engaged in call for group partici- pation. There are many personal aspects of social service that should have emphasis. The service motive is intensely personal as well as social in character. In fact, it never will be thoroughly social until it reaches individuals. It will be easy for leaders to limit their consideration of service to group activities. Many of the activities are of such character that they can be carried on either as individual or group projects. Acting as aides to the minister or other officers of the church, running errands, giving assistance in clerical work, messenger activity, assuming responsibility for pro- viding flowers for a department and for sick people, carrying church bulletins to shut-ins, piano-playing, rendering special contributions in the form of pro- gram features, assisting in a children’s nursery dur- ing church hour, and making posters are some activities that individuals may engage in without consideration of a group. Intermediate years are not primarily the time for intensive preparation for specialized types of service, such as teaching a class or serving as school pianist, nevertheless the interest of the pupils may be guided in this direction. An adult leader’s attention was called to a girl fourteen years old who manifested unusual talent at the piano. She could play lively jazz music with great skill and apparent satisfaction. The leader called upon her to play for the singing at a young people’s devo- tional society. Her playing was not devotionally helpful to say the least. After the leader had tact- fully opened the way in a conference, she expressed 216 INTERMEDIATE METHOD a real desire to learn how to play hymns and to render that service to the church. A number of conferences and practice periods followed with the result that a valuable leader in music was dis- covered, and talent which might otherwise have been lost was turned into service in the church. The wholesome effect on the girl herself and her devotion to the church were outstanding results. Church activities.—For Intermediate young peo- ple the starting point for much of their development and training in service will be in the local church. Its needs are concrete and near at hand. Such suggestions as the following come out of experience with Intermediate groups: providing, repairing, and supervising the use of equipment in certain parts of the church; assuming as a group, definite respon- sibility for secretarial and office help in the church office with definite records and reports made on the service of each member; calling on the sick according to a definite plan with reports; assuming messenger service in taking flowers, bulletins, and papers to sick and shut-ins; seasonal care for the church grounds; taking an assignment on Sunday school or Sunday-evening ushering; forming an Intermediate choir for singing in the church, for shut-ins and the sick; assisting in a nursery during the church service; assisting in daily vacation church schools; helping with refreshments at social gather- ings; participating definitely in the financial support of the church; helping to discover needy families within the constituency; preparing dramas and pageants for special occasions and needs in the church life. A local church project.—A combined group of IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 217 Intermediate-Senior young people discovered that the Beginners Department of the church school had no adequate room in which to meet on Sunday morning. A committee ‘was appointed at a council meeting with instructions to go over the situation with the leader of the Beginners Department and the superintendent of the church school. The result was that they reported to the council at the next meeting that a small, well-equipped, tastily decorated room was greatly needed. Conversation with the superintendent brought out the fact that the general ‘“‘storeroom”’ on the ground floor was serving no real purpose and might be considered as a possibility for housing the Beginners. An inspection of this room by the committee did not greatly impress them at first, but as they studied into the requirements of a suitable room and drew upon their imagination, they decided that an attempt should be made to transform the old store- room into a “beautiful cozy Beginners’ room.” Three committees were appointed with specific tasks. Each committee had an adult counselor. One committee was assigned the task of cleaning the room. Another with carrying forward the redecoration. A third was asked to confer with the Beginners Department superintendent to dis- cover the equipment needed and to assign the responsibilities for making such equipment as the young people could provide. The result was a revelation not only to the young people themselves but to the entire church. The dark, dirty store- room was transformed in the course of five weeks into a room with bright walls, clean floor, clean windows with tasty curtains, and with sand table 218 INTERMEDIATE METHOD and other equipment suitable to the children. From among its older members assistants were enlisted for service. From time to time through a two-year period additional equipment found its way into the department as a gift from the young people. Service within the community.—The ‘“commu- nity” is a somewhat vague and indefinite field, yet it has a certain meaning to young people. It may mean an entire city that is small and its immediately surrounding territory. On the other hand, it may mean a certain section of a large city with which the young people are more or less familiar. In any event, it represents a geographical section and grouping of people which young people can readily encompass in their thought and activity. It pre- sents a good opportunity for carrying them in their thought, sympathy, and activity beyond the confines of their own particular church. For that reason certain activities ought to be planned on a community basis. The following suggestions may prove helpful: Make a study of the community life to discover some needs that can be met better by this par- ticular group than by any other in the church; this might center in a study of the social and recrea- tional life of the young people as a whole. If such a study is made, be sure it leads to something definite in the way of helpfulness. A list of the places, hospitals, orphan homes, and needy chil- dren should be made to have on hand for seasonal service projects. Contributions to these various groups may take a number of forms, visits, money, toys, or gifts that are made, special programs and IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 219 religious services, clothes. The provision of inter- church athletics and socials, especially for groups which do not have normal recreational advantages, may be made. Cooperation in civic movements, such as fire prevention, clean streets and alleys, assisting in parades, appeals especially to boys. All will enjoy making a special study of civic prob- lems of government, in order to become more intel- ligent and useful members of the community. Intermediates will need the help of capable adult leaders in all of these activities. A community service project.—It was early in the fall. An Intermediate council was in session. The worship theme the previous Sunday had been, “Inasmuch as ye did it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.” In the council meeting discussion had arisen regard- ing the actual service the department could render to the needs of unfortunate people in the com- munity. A committee was appointed to make an investi- gation. Among the places they called for informa- tion was the social service office of the city. The secretary informed them of a family in which there were three undernourished children. Somewhat dubious about the result, she informed them that what the children needed more than anything else was a steady supply of pure, wholesome milk. The committee made an enthusiastic report includ- ing figures regarding the amount of money that would be required to supply the milk each week. The council voted to guarantee milk for the children for a period of three months. The members of the department were given opportunity at the close 220 INTERMEDIATE METHOD of another worship service to indicate the amount they would bring “faithfully” each Sunday. The children were given a steady supply of milk the entire winter. As time passed, the young people sent a com- mittee of girls to investigate the situation. They reported great poverty in the home. This first visit happened three weeks before Thanksgiving. Again the council had the family before them for consideration. This resulted in another committee of three girls and two boys taking three well-filled baskets of food and fruit for the Thanksgiving dinner of the family. The enthusiasm of the young people in reporting upon their visit was genuine and pronounced. By this time the family had become a definitely assumed responsibility of the department. Christ- mas immediately suggested further help. The adult counselor was wise enough to lead the young people into a careful discussion of the most useful gifts that could be provided for the family. It was decided that the members should singly or in groups make their gifts. Through three weeks of enthusiastic planning and working the young people continued their preparation for a ‘‘Merry Christmas for their family.’”’ But a committee would not suffice for this presentation. The entire department went in a body to the home presenting their gifts with a happy period of carol singing. World-wide service activities.—The following con- siderations should be taken into account with respect to world-wide service activities. The definite edu- cational value of service activities in cultivating a world-outlook and sympathetic understanding of IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 221 world conditions needs to be fully recognized. World- friendship and universal brotherhood are concepts and objectives lying at the very heart of the modern program of religious education. There is increasing recognition of the fact that only as we train up a generation of world-minded, large visioned men and women can we ever hope to have universal brother- hood and peace. The seeds of good will, peace, and universal righteousness must be more securely sown in the hearts of the rising generation than has been the case in the past. For this reason the service activities that include world-wide relation- ships and embrace the people of all lands in friend- ship and good will have unusual significance. The leader who has an adequate conception of the possibilities and needs with respect to training in world brotherhood will not be content to have Intermediates ‘“‘merely do things for others.”’ Back of every project there will be a passion to develop in the young people permanent and effective atti- tudes which will render them capable of entering an enlarging ‘fellowship of humankind.’ The emphasis on the world-wide interest and service may well be carried into all the educational plans of the department—in instruction, worship, recre- ation, as well as in the service field. In this way a cumulative result will be achieved. The following are some suggestive activities which have come out of experience and have proven fruitful in the lives of Intermediate young people: Study the missionary program of the denomina- tion and of the local church, first to gain knowl- edge about it, and, second, to help discover some definite part that may be taken in it. Either 222 INTERMEDIATE METHOD through cooperation with the local church program or independently of it, the group may undertake the full or partial support of some missionary enterprise. If a long-time project is desired, the support of a worker covering several months or a year might be advisable. If a short-time project is preferable, the group might be led to contribute to the equipment of a room in a mission hospital, the relief of suffering, aid to famine, flood, or tornado- stricken people. Providing for the care of an orphan or a native youth at a mission or school can easily be made an interesting and worth-while project of service. Participation in the relief drives for clothing and food is representative of the projects in which Intermediate young people may become interested. Knowledge of what is going on in the world, through the denominational papers and programs, through magazines and newspapers and _ special suggestions coming from denominational headquar- ters, is indispensable to a rich and varied program. Leaders of young people will find it profitable to keep in close touch with their denominational church school and mission boards. Appeals for help from over the world are received there in large numbers. Many of these boards are eager to get in touch with groups of young people to advise them of opportunities to serve the world-wide interests of the Kingdom. Special training in financial stewardship.—Train- ing in giving is interwoven with most of the forms of service mentioned above. Yet there is a growing appreciation of the fact that the present generation of adults has not been trained adequately and IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 223 systematically in the stewardship of money. Gigan- tic and costly campaigns of education have been necessary to secure the money needed to advance the cause of missions in practically every denom- ination. The Kingdom program is suffering to-day in every field of attempted advance for lack of funds. There is no scarcity of money among Christian people. There is a lack of the spirit and practice of giving. Two problems are faced here. One is the lack of definite instruction and training in the steward- ship of money. The other is the complexity and competitiveness of appeals for funds within the local church. Eventually there must be greater simplification of church financial systems and greater unity in the appeals that are made to the constituency. This is being accomplished where all funds are included in one budget. The second feature can be corrected for the Intermediate Department only as leaders discover the range of interests that should command the financial support of this particular group and help them to determine the extent of their responsibility concerning them. This will inevitably mean a system of pledges and envelopes for the Intermediate young people, with as great regularity of contribu- tion and accuracy of bookkeeping as that which characterizes the adult church. Nothing short of such a definite program of giving and training in giving will lead young people to an intelligent understanding of the great usefulness of money in the program of the Kingdom and develop the disposition and ability to contribute of their means to the needs of the world. 224 INTERMEDIATE METHOD ORGANIZATION AND SUPERVISION OF SERVICE ACTIVITIES Conditions in the local church will determine many aspects of the program of service activities. The program should be developed by or in coopera- tion with the service committee of the Intermediate Department. The following principles and sug- gestions will be found helpful in their application to most local situations: Service activities an integral part of compre- hensive program.—Careful correlation of the train- ing in service with the instructional phase of the program is needed. Worship may be so planned as to strengthen the service motive. The desire to participate in and carry through such service activities as have been decided upon may be real- ized as being in keeping with God’s will. Service projects may be vitally related to all the activities of the department. Instruction, worship, social life should center in or be related to the specific project being promoted. In this way it will be possible to bring about a cumulative result in the lives of the young people. The careful observance of this principle will integrate service training with all other aspects of personal development. It will lessen the likelihood that such training will be brushed aside in the interest of something ‘‘more pressing’ or that it will be carelessly ‘‘tacked on” to the rest of the program—an ‘‘elective’ to be taken or refused as the individual leader or pupil prefers. Activities graded according to pupil interests, needs, and capacities.—The success of efforts to lead young people into developmental service activ- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 225 ities will be determined in large measure by the ability of leaders to select activities which are appropriate in view of their age and that come naturally within the range of their interests and abilities. All the arguments used in support of gradation in other elements of the program of religious education apply here. For this reason care should be exercised in attempting to identify these young people too closely with the adults in their service program. They should have a vital part in the work of the church, but let it be, rather, the full direction of the activities appropriate to an Intermediate church rather than ineffective par- ticipation in adult or ungraded social service activ- ities. Development of those taking part, a major con- cern.—In carrying forward any service project, the training the pupils receive is of greater significance than the amount of money that is given or the service actually rendered. Yet training in service and actual participation in service projects may and should proceed at one and the same time. Intermediate young people should be led to feel that they have a part in real service activities. In the mind of the leader this is also a time when, through these experiences, interests are developed, - sympathies broadened, and skills in service acquired. Thus, when young people, later in life, come face to face with much more significant opportunities and responsibilities, they will not be lacking in the interest and ability necessary to meet them. The application of this principle rules out the practice of thrusting upon young people activities and duties that are conceived and initiated only 226 INTERMEDIATE METHOD by adults. Using the challenge to service as a cover, adult leaders sometimes place upon young people tasks in which no interest has been developed and for which no motive is aroused. This is espe- cially true of many of the lesser tasks in the home and church. In many cases, development through service activities is incomplete because of no pre- liminary conference and no carefully developed plan of action, and the utter lack of a suitable follow-up program. Or, again, all too frequently the effects upon young people are lost sight of in the zeal of adults to attain some given end. Educational values are lost sight of and, while the motive or ends attained may be entirely worthy from the adult standpoint, the young people are exploited and educational results are not realized. The principle of self-determination.—This prin- ciple does not mean that adult leaders may not and should not suggest and develop interests. But it does mean that self-determination is a law of development here as elsewhere in adolescent education. For young people themselves to initiate a project of service, select the means of its accom- plishment, and carry it through in their own way will mean greater enthusiasm and more complete participation on their part. It affords practice for the young people in making decisions, in discover- ing all the elements in a given life situation, and develops resourcefulness in action. Adults may feel tempted to take matters into their own hands, especially when dealing with Intermediates whose intelligence and abilities do not match their own enthusiasm and energy. Nevertheless, even unwise decisions and mistakes in methods of carrying IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 227 forward projects may contain valuable lessons for young people, if the right motive is present. The Intermediate council or its service committee should have the responsibility of selecting and initiating service projects. Careful adult super- vision will, of course, be an essential factor. But in order to give supervision a leader need not be a dictator nor be unduly generous with advice and criticism. Close supervision will in many instances be a saving factor, preventing rashness, mistakes in judgment, and lack of persistent effort on the part of the young people. The tactful leaders can suggest lines of action in such a way as to lead young people to consider themselves as the orig- inators of the action. Supervision will need to be adapted to the ability of the group, the main con- cern being to exercise it only as and when it is needed. fe Avoid undertaking too many projects.—Inter- mediates are apt suddenly to become enthusiastic about a certain activity and to abandon it almost as quickly. There will be found a lack of sustained purpose, fitfulness of interest, and a disposition to give up any line of activity as soon as some slight difficulty is encountered. Projects should not be entered upon unless there is reasonable likeli- hood of their being carried through to completion. At this point, particularly, adult supervision will prove valuable. The length of time required for the completion of a project of service is, therefore, a matter of vital concern. The older the young people, every- thing else being equal, the more apt they are to maintain interest in and enthusiasm for activities 228 INTERMEDIATE METHOD covering considerable time. On the whole, it will be wise to confine service activities for this age to briefer periods of time. One or two real projects each quarter involving correlation with the other elements in the program, may constitute a reason- able objective in some departments. Local condi- tions and the nature of the project alone will deter- mine the length of time which the project should cover. Fortunately, many projects are capable of considerable expansion in ways promising splendid results. Leaders will always find it necessary to watch carefully for signs of growing or decreasing interest and act accordingly. For further study: 1. What agencies in your church are promoting service programs? 2. How do these organizations affect the Inter- mediate program? 3. Give reasons for or against asking Intermediate young people to contribute to the local church budget. 4. Outline a program of training young people in financial stewardship. 5. Outline a definite project designed to create loyalty on the part of Intermediates to the church and its missionary program. 6. Outline another, to develop sentiment for world peace, and one to create favorable attitudes toward other races. For further reading: Hutchins, W. Norman, Graded Social Service in the Sunday School. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 220 Loveland, Gilbert, Training World Citizens. Diffendorfer, Ralph E., Missionary Education in Home and School. Betts, George Herbert, and Hawthorne, Marion O., Method in Teaching Religion, Chapter XVII. Lobingier, John Leslie, World-Friendship Through the Church School. Lobingier, John Leslie, Projects in World Friend- ship. Towner, Milton Carsley, One Hundred Projects for the Church School. 230 INTERMEDIATE METHOD CHAPTER X EVANGELISM IN THE INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT A COMPLETE program of religious nurture for Intermediate young people includes a proper em- phasis on evangelism. Many workers find diffi- culty in relating evangelism to the modern program of religious education. To the superficial student the two terms may seem to be mutually exclusive. But this is not the fact. The difficulty grows out of a lack of understanding of both terms or a failure properly to interpret them. Evangelism and reli- gious education both need to be fully comprehended. The whole range of means used to achieve their objectives should be taken into account. A com- plete program of religious education cannot be — developed apart from a wholesome spirit of evan-~ gelism with strong emphasis thereon. The years of adolescence are especially critical from the standpoint of evangelism. The particular aim of evangelistic activity for this age needs to be thoroughly understood. ‘The means to be em- ployed in securing the fuller development in char- acter and growth in religious experience likewise should be carefully chosen. Leaders of youth may so understand the nature of and control the process of religious education as to be able to effect the thorough evangelization of their young people. For leaders of youth to understand the laws of religious IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 231 development characteristic of years twelve, thirteen, and fourteen will mean the possibility of coopera- tion with divinely established forces within the individual, making for religious experience and growth. A wide range of opportunities and means are available in leading adolescent young people into a more complete acceptance of Christ. Those applicable to the Intermediate age should be made the subject of careful study. The place of evangelism in religious education. —Evangelism cannot properly be considered apart from the general process and program of religious education. It is an emphasis which should be felt throughout the entire program of religious nurture. Evangelism has to do with the understanding, the will, affections, motives, and habits of life. It is aS comprehensive as education itself. However, it is only as it is considered in the light of the aims and methods of religious education that it finds a place in the program. As an emphasis in the program of religious education it will take various forms according to the age and needs of the pupils. Some of the traditional conceptions of adult evangelism have little in common with the methods of educational evangelism. Efforts to seek a short cut to adequate Christian living have small place in religious nurture. Neither are those methods of evangelism acceptable which attempt to force growth or lead to unnatural or unwholesome condi- tions of development. On the other hand, an education that does not emphasize the necessity of a definite personal choice of spiritual relationships and trustful self-commitment to Christ on the part of the young person fails to meet the requirements 232 INTERMEDIATE METHOD of religious nurture. Education should be evan- gelistic. Evangelism should be educational. In the religious development of youth, the ideals of evan- gelism and education should unite. The nature of educational evangelism.—Christian character is a fruit which matures through a long period of growth. It is the result of training care- fully planned and finely adjusted to the known laws of spiritual development. It is not the result solely of a suddenly completed experience. The task of religious education is so to nurture children that they will never consider themselves as other than members of the Christian family. For those who grow up in Christian homes and are subject to wholesome Christian influences the natural expe- rience is that of the gradual unfolding of the life through the normal process of Christian nurture and “the caressing touch of God’s Spirit.” Educational evangelism recognizes the “tides of the Spirit” and makes provision for natural results to follow the “‘high tides’ of each life. It seeks to secure normal responses by arranging suitable studies and by awakening those thoughts, desires, motives, which result in the conscious and con- tinuous determination to live a life of love and service. While the fact of gradual growth must be strongly emphasized, the elements of decision and definite reaction to the influences of the pro- gram must be taken into account at all times. Definite personal responses are especially normal to young people. They will usually be expressed vigorously in terms of conduct and action. Positive “forward steps’ which are recognized as acts of genuine self-expression are to be sought as a part IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 233 of the educational program. These definite responses will vary in form and nature with the different periods of development and with different indi- viduals. The point to be borne in mind here is that within the program of educational evangelism there is need of occasions for bringing religious growth to definite, conscious focus. Appeals to the will are made at different times and in different ways. The individual is urged to adjust his entire life consciously to the will of God—to accept and under- take to realize the ideals embodied in the person and teachings of Jesus Christ. THE AIM OF EVANGELISM FOR EARLY ADOLESCENTS What objectives are sought through the emphasis on evangelism in the Intermediate Department? Until leaders have a clear conception of what results are to be obtained they cannot intelligently select methods and determine upon materials to be used. Inasmuch as evangelism may not be considered as something apart from the program of religious education, the ultimate aim of such activity must, of course, lie within the general aim of religious education. The objectives of religious education.—The end of all religious education is the abundant life in Christ, Christian character expressing itself ade- quately in all of life’s relationships. A statement of the objectives of religious education which has significance for this discussion was presented in Chapter IV. It is as follows: (a) The acceptance of Jesus Christ as a personal Saviour and Lord. 234 INTERMEDIATE METHOD ‘“‘(b) A knowledge of Christian ideals. “‘(c) A personal acceptance and open acknowledg- ment of these ideals. “(d) A public acceptance of the privilege and opportunities of church membership. “(e) The development of the social consciousness and its expression of the physical, social, mental and Fel gious life in service to others. “(f) A knowledge of Christian eS a in choos- ing a life work or vocation.’” While this statement of aim covers many phases of the development sought through religious educa- tion it states most specifically the objectives sought through evangelism. Specific objectives of evangelism.—The program of religious nurture may easily become too general. It may take too much in the way of development for granted. ‘The experience of leaders of youth and the known laws of religious development indi- cate both the value and the necessity of decisive moments and experiences in the life of the growing youth. Young people should not be forced in the matter of religious awakenings and moral decisions. However, tides and seasons of spiritual respon- siveness and crises in moral development should not be passed by and carelessly neglected. The program of religious education should make certain that no child in the church constituency is allowed to pass through the seasons of possible religious awakening without ample opportunity to make or reaffirm his decision to follow Christ. The years of early adolescence are fruitful years for decisions. A wide variety of previous experiences and previous 1P. 92. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 235 training which will be represented in the typical group of Intermediates. Therefore a number of specific objectives in evangelism will need to be held in mind by those who work with them. Among these the following should be included. First definite decisions for Christ as a personal ideal.— Constant effort should be made to help growing children to recognize the highest loyalties. Teachers cannot safely assume that all pupils enrolled in the Intermediate Department have been carefully nurtured in religion from childhood or that their religious development has proceeded without interruption and with the proper arrange- ment of values. The aggressive church school will seek constantly to bring new recruits into its mem- bership and into the nurture of the program. Such youth as are brought into the department may or may not have had proper previous training. All should come face to face with the challenge of discipleship to Christ. In many instances this will mean definite conversion, a turning about in ways of living and thinking with a sharp consciousness of moral shortcomings. The personality may have taken definite form and become ‘“‘set’? around a false center of loyalty. A sharp check upon the _ life, a commanding challenge in the name of Christ, with the emotional responsiveness of these years, will doubtless result in a decisive experience. The effort should be made carefully but definitely to lead such young people to a personal acceptance of Christ as Lord of their lives. Salvation from sin.—Sin is a factor to be reckoned with in every life. The entrance of sin into the life at any point in its development is an ever- 236 INTERMEDIATE METHOD present possibility. When once it has taken hold on the life its grip may be tenacious. It may easily become a most disastrous experience in early adoles- cent life, inaugurating a series of unfortunate expe- riences. This may be true of those who have been subject to a continuous program of religious nurture as well as of those whose religious training has been neglected. Young people who are conscious that sin has entered their lives in one or more of its varied forms will need to realize Christ as their Saviour. They must be led to victory over their sins through confessions and repentance, and through the exercise of faith in Jesus Christ. The sins of which early adolescent young people become conscious are usually not of a gross char- acter. But because of the nature of moral growth at this time, their consciousness of wrongdoing easily assumes great proportions. The conscience is exceedingly tender. It lacks experience and moral perspective. It should be brought into whole- some and normal functioning through the removal of the sense of guilt and the development of moral perspective. Moral carelessness and the consequent dulling of conscience during these years have a profound influence upon later development. It is imperative that leaders help each individual to victory in the struggle for moral self-control and for freedom from the consciousness of sin. Con- fession of sins and shortcomings to a sympathetic Christ, consciousness of sins forgiven, and expres- sions of faith in the personal moral leadership of Christ are vital factors in the program of evan- gelism among Intermediates. A religious awakening.—What is meant here is IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 237 a deepening of the current of the religious life rather than the changing of the direction of the current. Life is expanding in all directions. New interests, powers, feelings, and temptations are flooding in upon the life. The individual is sensitive and responsive in a manner distinctly new. There should be a corresponding responsiveness to the newer appeal and larger challenge of religion, a sensitiveness of the youthful spirit to divine influ- ence. A quickening of the impulses toward right living, a new warmth of devotion, a keener appre- ciation of spiritual values, and a greater realization of what it means to be a Christian are all forms which the religious awakening may naturally assume. Any one or all of these experiences may be incident to and a part of the steady-going process of the more nearly complete integration of the personality about a dominant religious ideal. The ‘‘forward step.’’—Youth is visionary and idealistic. There is present during these years a consciousness of the stirring appeal of personal ideals, the lure of something higher and finer be- yond the present. It may be during early adoles- cence that the first call will come to “step forward,” to press vigorously onward to find that which satis- fies the vague longing and the spiritual hunger felt but not understood. Opportunity should be made for any forward step that may be made as an act of genuine moral and religious self-expression. It may be a forward step in the direction of newly sensed religious duties, in the line of one’s sense of right. It may be a forward move in the effort to appropriate more fully the privilege and oppor- tunities of church membership. There is always 238 INTERMEDIATE METHOD an appeal to greater loyalty, to new allegiance, to be expressed in acts of service. Youth feels the call to heroic living. He feels the challenge to resist evil and to struggle for righteousness. ‘‘Who is on the Lord’s side?” has in it a new note of personal challenge. Neither the youth himself nor his closest adult companion will be able to foretell when this challenge will be felt in the more personal and enlarged sense. The appeal of a forward step has always been and always will be an effective and popular part of early adoles- cent evangelism. Here again care must be exercised to make sure that it does not represent merely a quickly passing emotional reaction. When taken, it should be made to register permanently in the life of the individual and in the work of the church. A Christ-centered church membership.—The young person should be led naturally to assume the responsibilities of church membership at least by the close of the early adolescent period. In a large number of cases membership is entered into at an earlier age. The largest number of persons join the church between the eleventh and fifteenth years. Early adolescence is the most significant of all age groupings in the life of the average church from the standpoint of recruiting the church member- ship. This is, of course, a matter that cannot be handled arbitrarily by years. Some may join the church naturally and spontaneously at the age of nine, others at eleven, and still others not until the fourteenth or fifteenth year. These facts suggest the imperative need of press- ing consistently upon early adolescents the oppor- tunity and responsibility they have of sharing the IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 230 life of the church. The instinctive desire to ‘“‘belong”’ to larger groups and to share group activities characteristic of these years should find one of its most permanent and profitable modes of expression in active membership in the church. The spirit and method of evangelism may well characterize the work with early adolescents who are already members of the church. It is one thing to lead young people to become formal members of the church. It is another thing to lead them step by step to understand and accept the full spiritual meaning of such membership. It is during the years of adolescence that the opportunities, respon- sibilities, and claims of membership in the church must be made clear to the young people and enthusi- astically accepted by them. They should accept them with something of the vision and sacrificial spirit of Christ. All their relationships to the church should be Christ-centered. In the case of many young people this will be accomplished with- out marked experiences or prolonged struggle. With others, however, the facing of crises, the meeting of compelling challenges, the struggle against a narrow and selfish outlook will be expe- rienced. Not only is an oft-repeated challenge necessary, but continuous instruction and training in the meaning of membership must be a part of the program for this age. RECOGNIZE THE LAWS OF RELIGIOUS DEVELOPMENT Educational evangelism should be based upon a definite knowledge of the laws of religious growth. It is through the study of the psychology of reli- gious development, of the definite ways in which 240 INTERMEDIATE METHOD the powers, capacities, and interests of the individual unfold, that certain fundamental laws of growth are discovered. Efforts to bring about religious development should recognize and conform to these fundamental laws. The point at which much of the evangelistic activity of the past has broken with sound educational procedure has been in the disregard of the normal processes of development. Evangelism properly interpreted is not a method of securing religious decisions or other reactions in violation of these principles of natural religious growth. Inherent within each individual are the “drives,” the instinctive interests, and the capac- ities which condition the realization of character traits. It is the part of religious education, of all education, to create situations, to direct external controls, in such a manner as to make possible the most normal and effective functioning of these inner forces. Natural religious experience sought.—Injury is sometimes done to young people by trying to lead them all into a stereotyped religious experience or by striving to secure identical responses from them, irrespective of age and previous training. All too frequently the methods of adult evangel- ism have been taken over without adaptation. The methods used to win to Christ men and women who have lived for years in sin and disobedience are not the methods to be used with young people, who for the most part have lived in conscious and unbroken allegiance to Christ. It is not desirable to seek to develop in early adolescence a religious experience common to adulthood, or common even to middle or later adolescence. The only religious IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 241 experience or type of commitment which should be sought is that which is natural to early adolescent years. This will vary also according to individual differences and previous training. Evangelism, as far as it relates to the matter of bringing religious development to sharp focus through definite decisions, is not to be carried on in mass fashion. Individual differences make necessary an approach that is primarily personal and individual. Each individual is a law unto himself in the development of his religious life. This consideration determines very definitely some of the methods by which educational evangelism should be carried on during early adolescence. The ‘Tides of the Spirit.’,—It has long been recognized that the great majority of conversions and religious awakenings occur during the years of adolescence. It is safe to say that three fifths of all people who yield to the call of the Master do so by the fifteenth year. With all individual differ- ences taken into account, there are certain years during the span of childhood and youth when the majority of people pass through more or less marked religious experiences. These ‘‘seasons of the soul” or conditions of readiness to respond to an evan- _gelistic appeal have special significance for the religious educator. The worker with youth should seek to understand them and thus cooperate with God in observing the seasons which he has pro- vided in the nature of youth. “There are definite seasons of the soul, just as truly as there are seasons of the year, ... and study of the developing life shows that life does not go steadily up nor steadily down. All life is in rhythm. 242 INTERMEDIATE METHOD It is like the rise and fall of the tide. There are periods in youth when the soul is more sensitive than others. These periods are quite well defined.’ Students of religious psychology have recognized in the past, four periods in which there are marked responses to the appeals of religion. ‘These have been described as occurring (1) between the ninth and tenth, (2) between the twelith and thirteenth, (3) between the fifteenth and sixteenth, and (4) between the eighteenth and nineteenth years. Such an outline of ‘‘definite periods,’ however, can be said to apply only in a general way. They may reflect organized efforts that are no longer used. Such factors as individual differences in rate of development, previous training, and environ- ment make it impossible to fit every individual arbitrarily into such an outline. Religious awaken- ings come at many other times. They may come at any time. Uniformity should not be expected. In many cases no distinct experience is felt, the religious development is gradual. The natural responsiveness on the part of youth to religion should be made the subject of special and careful study by all teachers of the Christian religion but particularly by those who teach early adolescents. ‘‘High tide’? of early adolescence.—One of the high tides of religious responsiveness occurs during early adolescence. There are many factors oper- ating to make boys and girls of this age naturally responsive to religion. ‘The problem is not that of striving to awaken in youth an interest in religion. It is more that of directing this natural 2 Gage, Albert H., Evangelism of Youth, 1923, pp. 9-12. Used by permission of the Judson Press. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 243 responsiveness in such a way that it will result in deeper experiences of religion. As young people pass from childhood to man- hood and womanhood, religious growth should keep pace with other phases of development. There is a definite relationship between the religious development and the physical, intellectual, social, and emotional changes characteristic of the three recognized periods of adolescence. Out of this physical transformation comes the new impulse to love. While physical in origin it does not flower until it expresses itself in noble affection and in pure and holy love. This new and broad power of affection should be definitely directed toward God and trained in adequate forms of religious expression. Integration of personality about Christ.—It is during this period that a new, self-conscious, self- directing personality emerges. This emergence of a consciously directed personality affords a new opportunity to present the claims of Christ and to secure the more intelligent and conscious accept- ance of him as Master of the enlarging life. The new sense of selfhood involves a consciousness of new and personal relationships to God. All the new powers, interests, capacities must be brought into _ proper relationship to the Kingdom and its claims. While the uncertainties, doubts, and distress inci- dent to the rapid growth of this period have been greatly exaggerated, there is a distinct spiritual yearning, an uneasiness, a veritable new “hunger and thirst after righteousness.”” Though distinctly felt, this feeling is not easily understood by those experiencing it. It is the search of the expanding personality for a satisfying sense of moral right- 244 INTERMEDIATE METHOD ness, a seeking for a satisfying experience of God in the life. Educational evangelism must make sure that the search is not in vain. The sprightly idealism of early adolescence is making itself felt. The disparity between ideals or standards of achievement and actual experience may be painfully evident at times. Is it any won- der that these young people respond quickly to appeals to take more fully into their lives the One who can help them and to associate with those who are banded together for the cause of personal and social righteousness? During these years when the worship of heroes is dominant, the masterful- ness of Christ should be held steadily before the youth. Christ may become the transcendent Hero of every young life. If the evangelism of early adolescence is undertaken with intelligence, sym- pathy, and earnestness, the natural ‘“‘high-tide” experiences at this time should leave on the shores of life rich fruitage of Christian ideals and conduct. METHODS OF EVANGELISM The most effective means of securing the thorough evangelization of Intermediate young people may be discovered within the educational program and organization of the church. No agency, no single element, or type of activity has a claim to a place in the program of religious education except as it makes a definite contribution to the complete development of the individual as a Christian. The entire curriculum and the complete organiza- tion of the church school are intended either directly or indirectly to secure the results sought through the emphasis on evangelism. But the specific IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 245 means to be employed are most effective when they are intelligently and purposefully used. The warm spirit and definite purpose of evangelism should characterize the entire program. Yet these are not sufficient. The special opportunities, agencies, and forms of activities to be used, as well as the personal relationships to be sustained, must be emphasized in certain definite ways in order to achieve the best results. Deepening religious experiences through worship. —The function of worship in religious education has already been pointed out in Chapter VII. Special mention may be made in this connection of its effectiveness in bringing the individual into identity of purpose and feeling with God the Father. Worship is a necessary and natural form of expres- sion of the individual. It is one of the most power- ful means at the command of religious leaders for shaping ideals, forming sentiments, and developing appreciations. Hence, training in worship is an essential factor and method in securing the complete evangeliza- tion of Intermediates. It constitutes a means of direct communion with the Father. It affords an effective appeal to the emotions and the will. Ideas, ideals, standards of conduct, and challenges to service are brought to a focus before the mind of the individual and imbedded in a wealth of emo- tion seldom found elsewhere in the program. Im- portant decisions and heartfelt responses frequently become explicit in moments of sincere worship. Some of the most significant decisions of a lifetime may come to young people during the moments of quiet prayer, while a meaningful hymn 246 INTERMEDIATE METHOD is being sung, or during the reading of Scripture. For a youth to speak out spontaneously in audible prayer or testimony in a departmental worship service may mean a spiritual victory and a for- ward step of incalculable importance. Worship programs may be conducted at certain times so as to constitute a definitely evangelistic service. Self-commitment to high ideals may come in re- sponse to a service of worship. The fruits.of the spirit mature slowly and only partly under the control of outside influences. Inner adjustments need to be made. It is the responsibility and oppor- tunity of those in charge to make the weekly wor- ship service a definite means of insuring the realiza- tion of Christlike ideals in attitudes and conduct. The class, a center of evangelistic activity.— Several factors combine to make the Intermediate class a natural social setting for evangelistic activ- ity. Individual differences make it imperative that some adult leader keep close to and know intimately each pupil. Only thus can the particular season of each individual life be known. Intermediates should not be dealt with in mass fashion. The class group is not so large but that the teacher will be able to give individual attention to its members. Its organization and life provide opportunity for the most normal and continuous contact between each pupil and the leader. The influence and example of various members of the class circle and the fellowship that centers in it are important factors in determining the atti- tudes of the several members. Young people of this age feel the pull of group sentiment and action. What all the members of the group are doing has IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 247 great weight with each member. The winning of the pupil leader of the class may and frequently does mean the enlistment of the entire class for Christ, for service in his kingdom, and for member- ship in his church. This group influence is not so powerful as to destroy the sincerity of individual responses. As special seasons of evangelistic activity are approached, certain limited responsibilities may be placed upon the organized, self-governed class. The powerful spirit of team play operates among the members as a strong incentive to work for others and to respond personally to the standards adopted by the class. Young people of Inter- mediate age when properly motivated and guided will work earnestly to win unconverted members of their group. Special sessions of the class for prayer for themselves, for their teacher, or for unresponsive members, make religion a very real experience in their lives. To start a class of boys and girls on a carefully planned crusade to win other boys and girls in their school, church, and community as members of the church school, as followers of Christ as Saviour, and as church mem- bers, will mean the release of strong forces for - evangelism. Teaching should be definitely evangelistic. It has as its objective the helping of pupils to live the Christian life. It includes the enlistment and training of the pupils in active and intelligent participation in the work of the Kingdom. It is not necessary or desirable to make each class ses- sion a “revival meeting.”’ Yet the realization of the unique opportunity to “‘persuade,”’ to stimulate 248 INTERMEDIATE METHOD devotion to Christ-centered ideals, to develop stronger loyalties, and to deepen religious experience always should be present in the thought and work of the teacher. ‘The teacher’s work should result in new religious interests, keener spiritual appre- ciations, finer moral discrimination, more intelligent attitudes, and more firmly developed habits among the pupils. These, gathered up and integrated into strong, capable, and attractive Christian person- ality, constitute the ends of evangelism. Personal interviews between the teacher and _ individual pupils may prove decidedly fruitful in achieving such attitudes and decisions. The devotional moments of the class session may contribute definitely to the work of evangelism. The class devotional period is similar to the depart- mental worship service in the opportunities it presents to bring young people into more nearly complete fellowship with Christ. Participation in class circle prayers may mean a definite forward step. A quieting, steadying influence is exerted in the life of young people through sincere and whole- hearted participation in a class devotional period. Special days and occasions.—In work with young people, as with the cultivation of nature’s products, there are a time of sowing and a time of reaping. While the observance of ‘decision day” in many churches has resulted in a disproportionate emphasis on periodical evangelism, yet some cumulative effort should characterize the program of evan- gelistic activity. Decision Day may be considered the climax of the entire evangelistic emphasis in the program of the church school. It is not in any sense a substitute for continuous effort through- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 249 out “decision years.’”? The Easter season repre- sents perhaps the time of greatest ‘‘reaping.” It is customary to make a concentrated effort during the Easter period to bring children, youth, and adults into closer fellowship with the Christ, whose suffering, death, and resurrection are the subjects of remembrance and meditation. Decision day has long been observed in schools and churches as a significant part of the program of evangelism. It will doubtless continue as such. However, care should be exercised that the efforts centering in such special occasions may not be un- natural or artificially forced. With greater propriety it might be designated “recognition day,” a time when recognition is made of the decisions of those who have already joined the church and manifested other overt forms of Christian growth during the year. The same principle applies to the observance of any other day of special evangelistic emphasis. Additional factors in evangelism.—Contact be- tween personalities is one of the most effective means of evangelism. ‘The daily and weekly asso- ciation of pupils with mature, capable Christian characters is one of the most dynamic factors in developing character. The superintendent of a certain church school refused persistently to pro- mote a certain teacher of Intermediates with her class. Each year her pupils became so attached to her that they insisted on having her advanced with them on Promotion Day. But the superin- tendent refused year after year. He gave his reason. No pupil ever spent a year with her with- out making or remaking an open confession of Christ and joining the church. She was averaging one 250 INTERMEDIATE METHOD hundred-per-cent efficiency as a teacher-evangelist. He wanted as many pupils as possible to come under her influence. Many mature Christians to-day, looking back over their early training, cannot recall distinctly any specific teaching they received in the church school. They do have vivid recollection of the influence exerted in their lives by some teacher whose luminous Christian personality left an indel- ible impression upon their lives. What the teacher is speaks most eloquently to early adolescents. The pastor’s part in winning youth to Christ and the church will be great or small depending upon a number of factors. These include his gen- eral interest in young people, his ability to win their confidence and esteem, the time he may have or be disposed to take to secure first-hand contact with the young people, and the manner in which the program of evangelism is organized. At some point in the program during these years the pastor should come into intimate, friendly contact with these young people. Time spent by the pastor in personal work with them, caring for them as ‘“‘hand-picked’’ fruit, knowing each case personally, following each indi- vidual through to definite ends, will be well spent. He should be available and approachable for per- sonal conferences. Upon him will rest a good share of responsibility for training young people in the meaning of membership in the church. ‘The ‘“‘pas- tor’s class” and similar efforts at training for church membership are promoted in many churches in a rather haphazard manner. They should be care- fully correlated with the other elements in the IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 251 Intermediate Department program. Here is found a unique opportunity for the pastor to have direct influence in determining the intelligence and effi- ciency with which these young people assume membership in his church. For further study: 1. Make a careful study to discover at what age each of the young people of your church (1) Publicly acknowledged Christ. (2) Joined the church. 2. To what extent is a “definite” conversion expe- rience a necessary part of religious growth? 3. What are the values and dangers of young people’s monthly consecration meetings? 4. Observe the program of Decision Day, watch- ing particularly its immediate and permanent effect upon the Intermediates. 5. To what extent should young people be urged during early adolescence to commit their lives to full time service in the church? 6. In what ways can the results of evangelism be conserved? For further reading: McKinley, C. E., Educational Evangelism. Betts, George Herbert, The New Program of Religious Education. Gage, Herbert, The Evangelism of Youth. Tracy, Frederick, The Psychology of Adolescence. Pratt, A. B., The Religious Consciousness. Hannan, F. Watson, Evangelism. Denominational Sunday School Boards usually publish helpful pamphlets on evangelism for free distribution. PART III ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION fips CHAPTER XI CLASS ORGANIZATION AND PROGRAM IN securing suitable class organization and in building a comprehensive class program the worker with Intermediates should be guided by three fundamental principles, namely: (1) the law of learning through voluntary self-activity, (2) the law of social development through group activity, and (3) the law of leadership training through the distribution of responsibility. He is working in harmony with spontaneous social or group interests. The process of religious nurture is greatly facilitated through the opportunity afforded in the class for self-activity, activity as an ordinary member of a group and as a group leader. Young people of this age have a natural dis- position to form themselves into groups or gangs. Intermediates spontaneously seek to achieve mem- bership in one or more small groups. Religious leaders may determine by careful provision through what kind of club or organization this membership interest will find expression. The problem is often that of developing the Christian motives in a group already formed and of providing means by which the energy and loyalty generated by these associa- tions may be released in character-forming activities and in Kingdom-building projects. This oppor- tunity calls for a thorough understanding of the most successful methods of stimulating class organ- 255 256 INTERMEDIATE METHOD ization and of building and sustaining developmental class programs. PRINCIPLES OF GROUPING Certain definite aims should govern the organ- ization of pupils into classes. One aim may be designated as that of economizing the teaching power of the school. Education usually proceeds on the basis of a teacher or leader directing the activities of a relatively small group. It does not proceed advantageously on a mass basis. It would be im- possible to provide as many teachers as there are pupils. The problem is to find how many pupils one teacher can teach to advantage. The class facilitates the teaching process by affording means of frequent and intimate contact between learners and the teacher. The influence of one adult per- sonality is made available to a group with whose needs and interests that leader is familiar. It makes possible economy of time, effort, and other resources of both the school and the teachers. Grouping into classes provides a unique oppor- tunity for education through directed group activity. Religious education is not merely a matter of individual development. The individual must be trained to take part in the life and activity of social groups. Provision is made for this type of experience in a most helpful and economical way through the church-school class. Lessons in coop- eration are learned. The pupil learns to assume and follow leadership. In the social group, motives and incentives for study and effort are developed which do not characterize the individual working alone. The stimuli of cooperation, competition, IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 257 group pride and social disapproval are present in the classroom as important factors in learning. Again, the organization of the school into classes simplifies the problem of school administration. Dis- tribution of responsibility for leadership, record keeping, pupil accounting, discipline, and group activity are secured through the division of the school into classes. The following principles have largely determined the size and nature of the groupings into which Intermediate pupils are placed: Groupings should be natural.—Early adolescence is a time when the unsupervised social contacts result in natural, spontaneous groupings. The tendency among young people in a neighborhood to form group relationships that are spontaneous and natural usually follows along lines of common interests, needs, and experiences. Not infrequently group consciousness and loyalty hold members of a gang together for several years. The group spirit of gangs organized for criminal purposes has been found to be exceedingly binding, frequently feder- ating boys of various nationalities. This unifying power must be made an asset in training youth in right conduct. The most prevalent method of grouping pupils into classes has been by their chronological age. The contribution being made to religious education by general education and psychology is that of causing gradation to be made upon the basis of social and mental development. Mental age and achievement ability determine the public-school grading of pupils. Social development usually determines the groupings on the streets and at play. Gradation in the church school follows 258 INTERMEDIATE METHOD closely that of the public school. If groupings in the church schools correspond to spontaneous social relationships outside the school, this will inevitably secure for the class the strongest social supports. Boys and girls who have interests, needs, and expe- riences in common will thus be brought together for a common program of religious nurture. Sexes grouped separately.—Boys and girls should be separated into different classes. It has been pointed out previously that the sex-aversion man- ifested in late childhood carries over into this period. This aversion is frequently so stimulated as to make it impossible to bring the boys and girls together profitably in classroom activities in the church school. While it is true that boys and girls of this age are not separated in public school, the two situations are not completely analogous. The church-school attendance is voluntary and lacks many of the educational conditions which result in effective work in the public school even where the sexes are not segregated. The fact that one will find few classes in church schools to-day in which boys and girls are associated together testifies to the results of experience. Again, a class is a group- ing of pupils through which specific and common interests should be met. There is less of common interest and need where the two sexes are together than where they are kept apart. Furthermore, the type of midweek activity which the classes adopt will usually tend to keep the sexes separated. Groups sufficiently small to provide intimate contacts.—The value of class organization and activ- ity is to be found largely in the opportunity they afford for intimate association of young people IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 259 with worthy adult leaders. A strong personality directing the activities of a small group is recog- nized as one of the most effective means of securing religious development. In local situations several practical considerations determine the actual size of the classes. The number of available teachers, the number of pupils enrolled, and especially the working conditions, must all be taken into account. Under the usual conditions of congested quarters, poor working facilities, untrained leadership and low standards of discipline found in most church schools the typical Intermediate classes number in membership between seven and fourteen. As conditions in the church school improve it will usually be found advisable to group Inter- mediates in larger classes. The public schools have demonstrated the fact that where favorable condi- tions prevail, the best results are obtained with classes whose membership runs between twenty and thirty. When church schools are able to provide separate classrooms free from noise and distraction, suitable working equipment and materials, and trained teachers, the tendency will undoubtedly be in the direction of having larger classes. Such is already the case in week-day religious education. One excellent teacher with twenty in the class is better than two poor teachers each having ten pupils. Simple organization is essential.—The class organ- ization should be no more elaborate than the activ- ities of the group as a unit require and the abilities of its members can sustain. The ordinary class will need a president, a vice-president, and a secretary- treasurer. These officers, together with the teacher, usually will serve as an executive committee. The 200 INTERMEDIATE METHOD permanency of the class organization will depend upon a number of factors, chief of which is con- tinuous adult supervision. The nature of the midweek program and the manner in which it is promoted will, in many instances, determine just how the class should be organized and with what degree of permanency. If a class of boys is to be grouped as a patrol in a Boy Scout troop, it should be organized to include both the adult and pupil leadership involved. Likewise, if a girls’ class adopts the Camp Fire Girls’ or Girls Reserve pro- gram, its leader becomes also the counselor. Specific projects that the class may engage in from time to time may best be cared for by regular committees or by committees formed for these special tasks. In the class organization, as in the department, the test of the particular form of organization is, Does it work, and what does it contribute to the life and development of the group? METHODS OF CLASS ORGANIZATION No gang or group, formed naturally on the street or elsewhere, is without a leader, an organization and government of some kind, and a program. Likewise with the class, some kind of organization is necessary for its complete functioning. Organ- ization makes possible the full realization of the potential group life. It provides for leadership and definite ways of carrying on group activity. The organization of the class may transform it from a teacher-project into a pupil-enterprise. It will afford a valuable opportunity for encouraging and training pupils in resourcefulness, ingenuity, and activity. It makes possible the cultivation of the IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 261 democratic spirit which encourages the enlistment of each young person in cooperative and enthusiastic support of activities which represent the will or the wishes of others. It enables the teacher to direct and supervise rather than lead and dictate. The following are essential factors in building and sustaining class organization: Pupil officers should be elected.—Democracy should prevail in the organization and life of the class. Class organization and activity aim (1) to provide opportunity for self-expression, (2) to secure the development of leadership abilities, (3) to train in the discharge of responsibility, and (4) to cultivate the spirit of democracy. Some young people meet their first real social responsibility as class presidents. Many learn for the first time in a class group how to express themselves in demo- cratically determined activity. Each class should have its officers. These officers need the guidance of the teacher. But they must come to feel the responsibility of their positions and be permitted to exercise initiative in leading the class. Oppor- tunity for all members of the class to serve as leaders and to assume responsibility should be pro- vided by a short tenure of office. It should range between three and six months duration. Committees are important.—Two or three com- mittees usually will be found helpful in stimulating and directing class activities. An executive com- mittee has already been suggested, composed of- the officers and the teacher. This committee should outline the general program of the class and repre- sent the class in interclass or departmental activ- ities. A membership committee may be of great 262 INTERMEDIATE METHOD value in recruiting new members and in following up absentees. The opportunities in this field are many. A social and recreational committee may be held responsible for providing and working out in detail such social and recreational activities as the class may need and desire, or as cooperation with other classes within the department may require. Other committees may be created as occasions demand. A class should have only such committees as its activities call for. These committees should have specific tasks to perform. They should be held responsible for these duties until performed or until the committee is discharged. Generally, the per- sonnel of the regular or standing committee should be changed with the same frequency as the officers. Committee work may constitute excellent oppor- tunities for training young people in leadership, cooperation, faithfulness, and resourcefulness. The basis of future ability and fidelity under respon- sibility in church work may be laid during these years. Careful supervision of committee activity must be provided to insure the right kind of development. How to select class names.—Class names should mean something to the members of the class. The name adopted by a gang always has a meaning to the group that adopts it. Usually, it is a mistake to designate a class by the name of the teacher. Unfortunately ‘‘Mrs. Jones’ class’ too frequently means just what it implies, taken literally. The name of the class should grow out of the spirit, the common purpose, and the experience of the members. It should be thoroughly characteristic IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 263 of the class. The name should set a standard and should suggest a high degree of excellence or a virtue to be sought by its members. Such names as “‘The Loyalty Class,’’ “Count On Us,” “The Friendly Class,” ‘‘P-a-l-s” are suggestive. If the class is organized as a Camp Fire Girls or Boy Scout unit, its name might well represent one of the virtues, crafts, or laws of that program. The class should be registered.—Young people of this age are interested in movements of large numbers and of national and world significance. They like to “‘belong”’ to church-wide movements and nation-wide organizations. Many denomina- tions are encouraging registration at the central, denominational office and are endeavoring to provide uniform standards, helpful literature, and charter forms, all of which are made immediately available to classes that have registered. Application forms may be secured from denominational, State or at the International Council headquarters. After a charter has been secured, it should be well cared for and displayed as a symbol of the unity of the class. THE COMPREHENSIVE CLASS PROGRAM The discussion of a class organization presupposes, of course, a class program. ‘The religious education of adolescents calls for definite objectives and an outline of activities by which to achieve them. The aims of the complete program of religious education must be considered in order to determine the activities a class should promote. The class represents the normal unit by which much of the activity embraced in the objectives of religious education will be socially promoted. The executive + : 264 INTERMEDIATE METHOD committee and, especially, the teacher should have a knowledge of the total or comprehensive program. The relation of this program to the curriculum has been discussed on page 121. Ministry to the complete life.—The class program should embrace all the aspects of developing Chris- tian life and. character. While many activities coming into the experience of the members of the class may not be provided for directly by the class, nevertheless the “blue print” of the class program should point to the full range of activities. It is one thing for a class and their teacher complacently to ignore certain phases of growth, partly because equipment or other factors seem to be unavailable. It is a vastly different thing for a class and teacher to be vitally interested in and heartily supporting all the vital activities provided by a comprehensive program, stressing each one adequately as the equipment and program can be expanded. While unable to provide all the desirable activ- ities for the young people, the class and its leader facing a practical situation, may sanction and support such as are clean, wholesome, and character- building, even though they are maintained by some other organization. ‘This is particularly true of the contributions made by the enlarging public-school program through its gymnasium and playground, and, temporarily, of the missionary and young people’s devotional societies, and kindred organiza- tions, many of which have not yet been sufficiently related to the activities of the local church. Young people may thus come to understand that these activities are offered in the name of Christ and have the sanction and support of the church. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 265 There should be included, therefore, in the total class program an emphasis upon (1) supervised study and recitation, (2) training in devotional habits such as is found in the ordinary Sunday session of the church school and devotional meet- ings, (3) a complete social and recreational pro- gram and (4) a program of service.! Supervised study and recitation.—Lesson ma- terials and methods of teaching have already been discussed. The lesson zs the class program to many teachers. Indeed, all: too frequently, the teacher has no conception of a class program or session other than that which he may carry out in “teaching the lesson.”’ While emphasis should be placed upon the period during which the class joins with the teacher in the consideration of a “‘lesson,”’ it should be borne in mind that the ‘‘lesson”’ represents only a part of the program by which the development of the various capacities of the individuals is secured. The other elements in the procedure mentioned in this discussion have real significance in bringing about religious and social development. It makes little difference what ‘‘the lesson”? may be concerned with if the class session is void of pupil- interest, pupil-cooperation and real purpose on their part. Instruction, with all its inherent value, should have the active cooperation and response of pupils. The “lesson” proper may be considered as part of a class session in which class devotions, business, and other elements enter as vital parts. It is not a process in which the pupils are merely “sprayed” with biblical or other pious phrases. The skillful teacher of Intermediates will not 1See Chapter V, pp. 121-2. 266 INTERMEDIATE METHOD attempt to conduct the class work with the same degree of formality and inflexibility that character- ized the work with these pupils during the Junior age. Supervised study and recitation may legit- imately assume many forms. The members of the class should be led by the teacher in a sincere, purposeful, and successful study of moral and religious problems that are pertinent to their lives. Supervised study and recitation will be lost sight of as formal procedure if the students and teacher as they engage in a search for truth and solutions of certain problems lose themselves in a project or class discussion. The procedure will be supervised because of the guidance and stimulation given by the teacher. If vital problems and deep interests are devel- oped, worthwhile projects initiated in the class session on Sunday, these should also be the occasions of meetings during the week time. The alert teacher will seek to bring out in the class discussion the solutions of life problems that grow out of the various week-day activities in the pupil’s life. The preaching service, the evening devotional meeting, instruction in the public school, constitute materials which the able teacher can use in leading the pupil to a full understanding of the religious life. An acute problem is created by the diversity and separateness of the agencies by which religious truths are brought to the attention of the early adolescent. ‘The effective correlation of these frag- mentary and miscellaneous experiences should be the aim of all who teach early adolescents. Thor- ough understanding of the methods of teaching as discussed in Chapter VI is essential to success in the classroom. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 267 Developing personal devotional habits.—The cul- tivation of personal devotional habits and of the disposition to participate in social worship is the central objective in religious education for these years. Religion is becoming increasingly personal. Conditions are favorable for the establishment of the habit of private devotions. Young people should emerge from this period with this habit well established and with the desire and ability to par- ticipate with others in the worship of God. Group life in the class affords a unique opportunity for the stimulation of both types of devotional ex- pression. The close acquaintanceship in the class circle, the unity of endeavor along several lines, and the presence of a sympathetic adult leader to inspire and guide, make the class an important agency in the stimulation of religious thought and emotion and especially in their expression. Young people may be led here to take the first steps or more firmly to establish themselves in habits of devo- tions and social worship. Therefore the class pro- gram will include efforts to build these habits. The teacher, through class discussion, should lead the members of the group to take an active part in the devotional exercises of the class. In this way they come to have a clearer appreciation of the methods whereby the devotional life is nurtured. Few classes meet under conditions which make it impossible for the members to bow their heads in a moment of pupil-led prayer during a class session. Recreational activities.—The class program may also provide for a series of recreational activities. If the class is organized or is functioning as a unit, 268 INTERMEDIATE METHOD it will be only natural for its members to desire and to participate in certain forms of social and recreational life. The wise leader of either boys or girls will utilize this spontaneous desire and these natural groupings to secure their more com- plete development. The extent of activity along both lines will depend in part upon the size of the group, the ability and consecration of the leader, and the nature and extent of the program provided through the larger groupings, such as the depart- ment. The available energies and time of the pupils are determining factors also. A plan that is increasing in popularity is that of having an Intermediate girls’ church hour on Wednesday afternoon or some other convenient time, and similarly, an Intermediate boys’ church hour, usually in the early evening. Once a month the two groups may meet together as an entire department. Opportunities for both social and recreational activities are being greatly increased in the average community and church to-day. The problem in many Intermediate groups is that of trying to correlate certain of those provided outside the church with the class program. A serious problem in many churches consists in the fact that the mid- week social and recreational life of the class is identified with programs that practically ignore church loyalty, worship, stewardship, and the responsibility for Christian world-fellowship. In other cases it is the problem of getting the teachers to understand the value of carrying their interest and leadership over into the midweek life of the boys and girls with whom they are associated in IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 269 their church-school classes. Helpful personal con- tacts and carefully planned activities should not be confined to Sunday. This is one of the out- standing needs in the average church situation. It is becoming increasingly the policy with many church schools to seek to identify the Boy Scout patrol or troop with the membership of the class or department in the church school. In actual practice, however, this ideal is seldom realized. In some churches the troop membership comes solely or largely from the department. The patrol is identified, as far as practical, with the membership of a certain class. The teacher of the class should, of course, serve as the Scout master, if that is possi- ble. In case this is impossible, the Scout master should be identified in some effective manner with the class in its Sunday-morning session. The teacher’s interest and contact should in the same manner be felt in the Scout activities. This rela- tionship may well characterize all these groups and programs. The competitive and sometimes acrimonious rela- tionships existing among the various organizations promoting recreational and social programs for early adolescent groups have greatly embarrassed the churches that have sought to enlarge their programs for this age. Practical difficulties, such as diverted loyalties, unnecessary expense, and an absence of genuinely religious elements, have made the problem too difficult for the ordinary local leader or teacher to solve. For these and other reasons, the International Lesson Committee and several denominational boards of religious educa- tion, charged with the responsibility of creating 270 INTERMEDIATE METHOD church-centered programs for adolescent young people, are giving first consideration to the creation of a Christ-centered, church-centered program for the three age groups of adolescents. These pro- grams, when available, should provide the complete program for each Intermediate class. Class service projects.—Conditions are favorable in the normal class for the establishment of the service motive in the lives of its members and for the provision of suitable opportunities for its ex- pression. The teacher or leader has intimate and continued personal contact with the members of the class. The group is sufficiently small and meets with such frequency as to make easy the develop- ment of service projects. The capable, alert teacher will seek to stimulate the service motive and to provide it with opportunities for expression. The class organization with its officers and committees makes democratic purposeful procedure natural. A number of really worthwhile service activities should constitute part of the class program. Inter- mediate young people have much to learn and many experiences to pass through during these brief years. Training in service is but one phase of their development. Too great a strain, too heavy pressure must not be exerted in securing their cooperation in service projects. On the other hand, these years represent a normal period of rapid growth in the life of Intermediates. This period should be complete in all its various developmental experiences. With the altruistic interest and impulse budding and with. special interest in project work, these young people should have the experience of engaging in individual and IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 271 group service activities. Actual contacts with life should be provided and the habit of meeting life situations in a cheerful, helpful manner should be established in the growing life. The experience of joining in a class service project is frequently the forerunner and training experience for effective adult service in church and community life. THE SUNDAY SESSION OF THE CLASS The class session on Sunday has usually been considered the central part of Intermediate class life. While the program of the class is being greatly enlarged and enriched, the session on Sunday morn- ing will doubtless continue to be an outstanding part of its activities as a class. A casual survey of class sessions in church schools readily reveals the need of a better understanding of the most effective means of organizing and using the time during which the class meets by itself. The time is all too brief. Yet in spite of this, much time is wasted or used foolishly because there is no ade- quate knowledge on the part of the teacher or the class officers of a suitable class-session program. Such a program is the joint responsibility of the teacher and the class president or executive com- mittee. They should organize the time according to a definite order of procedure. This order of procedure will provide for the following items. The officers in charge.—In keeping with what has been said previously, each class session should open with the officers in charge. Through this democratic procedure, at least part of the respon- sibility for a successful class session is placed upon the members of the class. Many problems in 272 INTERMEDIATE METHOD discipline will disappear with this practice. It also provides training for those acting as officers. The busy teacher is not burdened with the details of records and collections, except to supervise them, if the class treasurer and secretary are assuming their responsibilities. The class is in proper form to conduct its business and to engage in pupil- led devotions. The close of the class session may also be in the hands of the class officers if certain objectives are set for accomplishment at that time. Business session.—The class organization is of value, as it builds and executes a program. This necessitates the transaction of business. Part of this business may best be conducted at the Sunday- morning meeting of the class. If there is a regular midweek meeting, some of it may be cared for at that time. In either case it must not consume much time. Three minutes or, at most, five at the Sunday session, should be ample to care for business which cannot be cared for at other meet- ings of the class. It will be necessary to guard against the class business taking time unduly from the other elements of the Sunday-morning class pro- gram. Class devotions.—Immediately following, or pre- ceding, the class business, the class may be engaged in its brief moment of devotions. Preparation should be made for this in advance in order to secure best results. From one to three minutes will be ample time to devote to this phase of class experience. The teacher who fails to develop pupil participation in this expression of the class is fail- ing to give to the members an experience which should be theirs during these years. It will mean IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 273 much to the members of the class to have, from Sunday to Sunday, the experience of group prayer and discussions covering some of their more inti- mate life problems the solutions of which are fur- nished by religion. The lesson period.—The lesson period and the class session need not and should not be identical. The former represents primarily the time for which the teacher is responsible. It is the teacher’s opportunity to lead the members into a formal, well-organized group study of a particular theme. Fortunate is the teacher who can preserve the democratic spirit and pupil participation of the previous moments of the class for this part of the class session. ‘The class session program includes all the activities that occur during the entire meet- ing time of the class. Outline of a class session.—The time of a class session may be organized as follows: 30-minute session: Class business—3 to 5 min- utes. Class devotions—r1 to 3 minutes. Lesson period—22 to 26 minutes. Special closing—optional. For further study: 45-minute session: Class business—3 to 5 minutes. Class devotions—1 to 5 minutes. Lesson period—30 to 4o minutes. Special closing—optional. 1. Study the Intermediate classes in your school to discover what principles govern their grouping. 2. Outline a program for a class session. 274 INTERMEDIATE METHOD 3. Make a list of worthwhile activities for each committee of the class to perform. 4. Outline reasons for and against grouping early adolescent boys and girls into separate classes. 5. Suggest ways and means of correlating more definitely the program of the class with that of the department. For further reading: Shaver, E. L., Teaching Adolescents in the Church School. Shaver, E. L., The Project Principle in Religious Education. Maus, Cynthia Pearl, Youth Organized for Reli- gious Education. Harris, Hugh Henry, The Organization and Admin- istration of the Intermediate Department. Alexander, John L., The Secondary Division Organ- ized for Service. Pamphlet material dealing with class organiza-— tion and program may be secured from many denominational Sunday school boards, and from the International and State Council of Religious Education. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 275 CHAPTER XII PRINCIPLES AND METHODS OF DEPART- MENTAL ORGANIZATION THE young people in the church to-day should be recognized through an organization that is suited to their own particular interests and needs. This can be done only by separating them from the other age-groups in the school. The difference between the interests and needs of Primary or. Junior pupils and of adults is easily recognized. Usually separate rooms and programs for each are provided. Intermediate-age young people, how- ever, are frequently grouped with adults or with older young people. This is due not alone to a lack of equipment. There is a failure to appreciate the distinct interests, enthusiasms, needs, and capacities of these young people. It is imperative that, wherever practicable, the natural age-group- ings be recognized through suitable organizations and programs. The importance of organization.—In view of the psychological characteristics of early adolescence, the program for these years should be built with great care. The leaders of public-school education are focusing particular attention upon this group. They are conscious that something has been at fault in a public-school program that places young people of early adolescence with either those in the elementary grades or those in the Senior high- 276 INTERMEDIATE METHOD school. The leakage from the school enrollment and the lack of adjustment of subjects and activ- ities to pupils are being recognized and made the basis of careful study, experimentation, and reorgan- ization. The outstanding result is the development of the Junior high-school movement which grows out of a distinct recognition of the fact that for this age a special school organization and curriculum ought to be provided. The church, too, has been suffering heavy losses of young life during these years. The great exodus of pupils after they have graduated from the Junior Department suggests that the proper organization and a sufficiently rich curricu- lum for this age have not been developed. Some of the considerations which have caused radical changes in public-school organization may be taken into account as suggestive of what should be the type of organization and program the church should build for the corresponding age-group. The losses of her own children should challenge the church to her utmost endeavor in discovering and adequately meeting their spiritual needs. The general dissatisfaction with present conditions is reflected in the remarks of a capable pastor of a large church who complained: “J do not know what is the matter with our church. We don’t seem to be getting anywhere with our young people. We have many organizations and programs but we seem to accomplish so little.”’ THE NEED OF EFFECTIVE ORGANIZATION Evidences of the need of an effective, compre- hensive organization for this age-group are found IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 277 in the overlapping of programs now being used, in the confusing appeals for loyalty, and in the excessive demands for leadership. A unified program lacking.—One of the evidences of defective organization is found in the existence of programs that compete for the loyalty and participation of the same group of pupils. Rela- tively few churches to-day have carefully planned, unified, and comprehensive programs of religious education for their Intermediates. This does not mean that they do not have elements of a program. Practically all churches have Sunday-school classes. Many have some kind of a more-or-less-successful young people’s society, unrelated to the church school. Some have partial programs, such as Boy Scouts or Camp Fire Girls, led in turn by people who may or may not have relation to either the church school classes or the devotional program. Many of these efforts are carried on without con- scious and serious effort to make them articulate with each other. Some churches emphasize the fourfold program of development, but have failed to understand how closely these four aspects of life are related to each other and how to bring the various activities into the unity of a complete and well-organized system. Overlapping organizations.—The lack of a unified program is seen in the presence of conflicting organ- izations. A committee of workers with young people was reviewing together their churches’ pro- grams for the high-school age. They found an average of eight distinct organizations in each church for this particular age. Each organization was putting forth well-meaning efforts to train 278 INTERMEDIATE METHOD young people for service in the church. This situation is typical of a multitude of churches. These overlapping organizations make excessive appeals to leaders and youth for time, energy, money, talents, and leadership. Such a condition is unwholesome for young people and discouraging to leaders. It is wasteful and ineffective. Leaders of Intermediates are aware that they have many organizations but not ihe organization, that there are many programs but no really complete and adequate program. ‘They are conscious of making multiplied appeals to young people for loyalty. They find themselves physically unable to sustain all the organizations which are officially or semi- officially authorized. Irregular development of the program.—The sit- uation referred to above raises a question concerning the origin of these competing organizations. Each one came into existence to meet a certain recog- nized need. The church did not become aware of all the needs of young life at the same time, nor has she always met these needs as they have arisen. Efforts have been made within and without the church to provide for various details of the total moral and religious development of the young people. This has resulted in the development and promotion of independently planned and_ super- vised organizations. Now that the larger possi- bilities of providing a comprehensive program of religious education in the local church are being realized, the present duplication and overlapping of efforts is becoming very apparent. While present- day leaders cannot undo the past, it will be unfor- tunate if old loyalties and habitual ways of doing IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 279 things improperly prevent vigorous and intelligent efforts to effect improvement. Confusing appeals for loyalty.—Each program, each leader, and each organization to be effective must have the loyalties of those benefited. Inter- mediates are incapable of sustaining the number of loyalties the average church situation seeks to develop. The youth is asked to be loyal to his Sunday-school class. His enthusiastic support is solicited for a young people’s society. In many cases a department in the Sunday school is devel- oped without proper relation to either of these. A boy’s loyalties are confused if his Sunday-school class and an unrelated Scout troop both claim him for an evening, both planning independently, their midweek activities. An Intermediate superintendent in a “live” church slapped one of his boys on the back with the remark, ‘‘Remember the Intermediate Depart- ment banquet Friday night, Harold.” The boy’s face showed disappointment. “Why, that is the night for my Scout troop meeting,” he replied. The superintendent in turn showed surprise. “Why, I didn’t know you belonged to a Scout troop. What troop do you belong to?” Harold replied, ‘‘The troop that was organized in our church a few months ago.”’ The superintendent seemed to know nothing about its existence. PRINCIPLES OF DEPARTMENTAL ORGANIZATION Rules or principles of procedure in organizing young people for group activities may be formulated 280 INTERMEDIATE METHOD in the light of general principles of religious educa- tion and also of wide practical experience. Effec- tive work with young people is more likely to occur where sound principles of departmental organiza- tion are being applied. Such principles are a guide for procedure in local situations. Conditions in the local churches need to be studied with reference to them. In most instances they constitute an ideal toward which to work. The following are some of the most important general principles of organization. Conformity to general educational program of the church.—This principle is supported by the theory, which is fundamental in the new conception of religious education, that the church must be sys- tematically and thoroughly organized for her great function of teaching. The ‘‘church school’ should mean the church at school, the church expressing itself in its educational ministry. The entire church should be organized in harmony with a general plan. The committee on education or the church- school board should determine upon definite educa- tional policies and principles for each of the age- groups. Each of the subdivisions of the church or of the school should be under the general direction and control of this governing body. General educational policies of the church deter- mined by a committee will eliminate much of the confusion of organizations and programs for the Intermediate age. These policies should lead to a thorough understanding of the proper relation of the Boy Scouts and all similar extra-church pro- grams to the Intermediate-Department class and devotional program. The relation of the Inter- ioe THE CHURCH SCHOOL 281 mediate One people’s society to the group of young people, meeting in one form or another on Sunday morning, should be determined by the policies and principles formulated by this central committee. These policies should be supplemented, of course, by the counsel of those who are in imme- diate contact with the young people as teachers and leaders and by the action of the young people themselves. If the Boy Scout activities, for instance, are to enter into the program of the church, they ought to be adopted by deliberate and intelligent action and be vigorously promoted by the committee on education. They should not be permitted indiffer- ently to come into the church merely because of the enthusiasm and persistence of some Scout executive or other leader. If an Intermediate Christian Endeavor Society or Epworth League is to function in the church, what reason can be dis- covered for its functioning as a religious educational agency in the lives of Intermediates wholly apart from and unrelated to the general program of education as outlined by a church school board or church committee on education? ‘The thorough application of this first principle will lay the basis for the application of the second principle of organ- ization. One inclusive organization for the early adoles- cents.—It should embrace in its membership all the boys and girls of this age in the entire church constituency. This should represent a cross-section of the life and membership of the church with one complete program administered by one unit of organization. This form of organization would not 282 INTERMEDIATE METHOD make impossible subdivisions of the group into smaller units of specialized activity. Such organ- izations as a Boy Scout troop, a Sunday-school class, an Intermediate young people’s society, or a missionary circle would have to reconstitute their organizations so as to conform to this principle of unity. It would provide that all these sub- divisions should be integral parts of one compre- hensive program and of the one inclusive organ- ization. It would mean that proper correlation would have to be effected between the different units which are now operating separately, and that they would be operated in harmony with this ideal of unity and comprehensiveness. This principle points the way in which the best leadership of the denominational and interdenom- inational groups are directing their study and experimentation. ‘The International Lesson Com- mittee, the Young People’s Department of the International Council of Religious Education, and several denominational boards are now engaged upon the task of building one complete church- centered program of religious education for youth. The “California League of Youth’ first developed under the direction of the Southern California Con- gregational Conference, and the Comprehensive Program developed by the Board of Christian Education of the Presbyterian Church are conspic- uous examples of programs now in operation in denominational groups. These programs call for the unification of all the various types or units of organization into one inclusive organization for each of the three adolescent age-groups. As these 1Simons, George T., The California League of Youth, The Pilgrim Press, 1925. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 283 ideals take definite form, local leaders of Inter- mediates should set themselves to the task of making whatever adjustments are possible looking toward the inauguration of such a completely integrated program. Pupil officers and pupil leadership.—No organ- ization of young people which is paternalistic or which does not provide that a large share of the leadership responsibility shall be assumed by the young people themselves, can be permanently successful. The best responses come from young people when they are presented with concrete opportunities to assume definite responsibilities. Young people have been most loyal in the past to those organizations which have belonged to them and for the success of which they have felt direct responsibility. No other organization and program in the church has commanded the loyalty of young people as have the young people’s devotional societies. This has been primarily because the organization has belonged to the young people, they have officered it, have planned its program, and in normal situations have felt the entire responsibility for its success. It has been characterized by failure in many cases because those who have outgrown the society in age, needs, and interests have per- sisted in retaining membership and leadership. It will be difficult to secure the full loyalty of the entire group of Intermediates in the church to a department until they are led to build, officer, and direct an organization of their own, an Inter- mediate Department of the church. Most of the Intermediate-age boys and girls in the life of the church are to be found in the Sunday school. As 284 INTERMEDIATE METHOD long as they are there without this provision of organization, a vital part of their preparation for eficient church membership and _ social living is thereby being omitted. Young people of Intermediate age need the experience which is provided in directing the affairs of their own organization. They need to feel the weight of properly placed responsibility. The Intermediate- Department organization and program should pro- vide actual life situations of leadership, responsibilities and service to its members. It should not be so much a preparation for something yet to come as the provision for a present developmental expe- rience. ‘This experience calls for the opportunity to control ‘‘their own church,’ making their own mistakes and achieving their own successes. Proper adult supervision.—This principle may seem somewhat in conflict with the one previously discussed. The two, however, are not incom- patible. In fact, the proper organization of the department cannot be effected without either. Young people of this age are not grown men and women. ‘They are lacking in judgment, foresight, control, and experience. They may easily and unintentionally wreck their own craft in the very earnestness of their effort to steer it. Many pastors and churches have grown skeptical and dubious regarding organizing this age because of the apparent inability of’ these young people “to behave them- selves,” because of their unbalanced judgment, unchecked enthusiasm, impractical idealisms, and the crudity of many of their social efforts. What is needed in these perfectly natural conditions is the presence and leadership of tactful, adult counselors. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 285 Intermediates require close, intelligent, and sym- pathetic supervision. The younger and less expe- rienced they are, the more they need this helpful contact with an adult. This adult should be more than a formal leader. ‘‘Counselor,” ‘‘friend,”’ and “adviser,” are terms that more accurately describe the relationship which should exist. As young people move through adolescence the kind of super- vision will change with each advancing year. The leader who endeavors. to work with young people fourteen years of age, using exactly the same meth- ods employed when those same young people were twelve, will be apt to experience difficulty. The problem faced at this point is that of deter- mining the exact degree of external control and guidance that should be exercised. Intermediates should not be robbed of their initiative and enthusi- asm. On the other hand, these very assets, unguided and unrestrained, may easily cause them to be obnoxious to the rest of the church and an embar- rassment to themselves. Whatever form the organ- ization shall take, provision should be made for practical, resourceful, and sympathetic adult super- vision. Democracy in form and operation.—This principle represents a spirit which should characterize the whole project. The whole-hearted cooperation of all the young people should be secured. The Inter- mediate-Department organization should reflect the best ideas and wishes of all members as well as those of adult leaders. This principle emphasizes again the value and necessity of provision for pupil officers and leadership. It makes provision for the full voice of the young people. Decisions made 286 INTERMEDIATE METHOD should represent the combined judgment of leaders and members of the department. It may seem much easier at times for leaders without consulting the pupils to make the decisions and to choose methods of action. But this is not the way of pupil development. Arbitrariness, dictation, dom- ination are less effective than confidence, coopera- tion, and the democratic vote in bringing about proper development and successful organization. Organization a means rather than an end.—The aim of work with all young people is the develop- ment of life. All factors, whether in the field of organization or of program activities, should serve as means to the achievement of that objective. An organization or program has no _ justification save the contribution it makes to this end. The final test is not how perfectly is the organization set up or how smoothly does it run, but just this, How does it aid in the complete development of youth? Even the most successful organization should be studied frequently in the light of its objectives and be judged from the standpoint of its actual product. The ill-effects of tradition and custom in church life are frequently seen in slavish devotion to past ways of doing things. ‘There is a tendency to promote an organization or a program for its own sake, making it an end in itself rather than a means to a worthy end. All too frequently attention is fixed upon the machinery. Having served a sacred purpose, it tends to become sacrosanct. Religious leaders are apt to be concerned too much with agencies and means. Those in charge should compel themselves constantly to evaluate the results of IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 287 their efforts and if necessary to revise the machinery by which these efforts are to be made more effec- tive. THE INTERMEDIATE DEPARTMENT OF THE CHURCH A consciousness of overorganization and con- fusion in existing programs should suggest to local leaders the importance of discovering and applying suitable and effective methods of organization. In this day of efficiency, the church can no longer tolerate the ineffectiveness of organizations which have no definite function or which have outgrown their usefulness. Certainly, no new form of organ- ization should be set up that means simply one more piece of machinery. Because of the many practical problems that inhere in the present sit- uation, the methods by which the number of organ- izations in the local church may be lessened and greater efficiency secured need to be studied care- fully” Certain principles of organization have been sug- gested to guide workers in reorganization and further development of their work. The attempt should be made to apply these to the local situation what- ever its peculiar conditions may be. Doubtless not all of these principles will be found to be equally valuable and immediately applicable to many local churches. But they point in the direction of the permanent improvement of the existing situation. Successful efforts to organize or reorganize Inter- mediate work will mean such gradual application of these principles as can be made from time to time. Methods of organization.—Practical efforts to 288 INTERMEDIATE METHOD provide departmental organization for Intermedi- ates according to the principles suggested are resulting in several methods of organizing Inter- mediate young people. The application of all the principles would lead immediately to a form of organization which would provide early adolescent life in the church with one inclusive organization, an Intermediate Depariment of the church. It might correctly be called “‘the Intermediate church.” It provides for the complete church experience of the pupils of Intermediate age in the church. It should build one comprehensive, unified program of religious education for this constituency. All the activities touching their lives would be under the direction of one central committee or council of the department. A separate depariment in the church school, built for the most part in harmony with the principles suggested, represents an immediate possibility for many churches. The prevalent type of organiza- tion, where definite organization has occurred, is that of a department meeting separately at the Sunday-school hour. In some cases it functions also in providing and supervising service and recreational activities. Wherever this type of organization has been established it represents substantial advance. Again, various methods of correlating the different existing organizations may be used to improve the local situation in the interests of better working conditions. Efforts at correlation represent widely varying attempts to bring about more wholesome and effective organization and administration of the Intermediate program. This has occurred in IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 289 many local churches throughout the country. It is occurring also on the part of denominational educational boards and with other supervisory agencies in the fields. But at best, a correlated program cannot be considered as an adequate substitute for one that is a unit. How to organize the Intermediate Department. —It is unnecessary to think in terms of a highly complex organization scheme. A relatively simple organization will suffice, at least, to begin with. The nature and extent of the program which is actually developed will determine the final form and scope of organization. It will be well to have in mind, however, at the very beginning the major lines of activity represented in a broad and bal- anced program and to create such a skeletal organ- ization as will be capable of sustaining the full program when it is under way. The following items are essential to a well-organized Intermediate Department. Membership.—The membership of the Inter- mediate Department of the church should include all early adolescent young people who are in the constituency of the church. It should represent the entire cross-section of life at this age, in the church. It naturally includes all who are members of Intermediate classes. Its membership should include those participating in clubs or midweek activities in the church. The arbitrary forming of smaller groups, making necessary the signing of a pledge or formal subscription to certain specified forms of allegiance, may easily prevent some young people from sharing in the benefits of the complete program. The effort should be 290 INTERMEDIATE METHOD made to secure participation on the part of all the young people in the church life in the full range of activities provided. Flexibility in chron- ological age limits should be provided. The mental and social rather than the physical or chronological age should determine membership. The governing body.—A proper grouping of leaders and the definite placing of authority and responsibility are essential to success in any organ- ization. The responsibility for the department and the leadership of it will be assumed by two bodies. The Intermediate Department should operate under the general direction of the church committee on education. Detailed supervision should be given by the Intermediate council. The Intermediate council.—Self-direction should be provided through the creation of an Intermediate council. This council may be formed in a number of ways. But the nucleus of its membership will doubtless always be representatives from the various classes. In the average church, there are more Intermediate young people in classes on Sunday than come together in any other activity during the week. It will be found advisable to begin with this group, especially in the small school. The teacher and one or more representatives from each class may form the organizing center. To this group may be added others who sustain special relationships to the Intermediate group. These might well include the officers elected by the coun- cil, the adult adviser or department superintendent, the pastor, and leaders in midweek activities. Leaders of any specialized programs which include members of the department, but which are not IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 291 fully correlated with it, such as Boy Scouts, Camp Fire Girls, etc., should be included. This council should be responsible for outlining the entire program of activities to be carried on by the department. The policies and plans of the church committee on education should be _ pre- sented to it. It is essential that there be thorough understanding and full cooperation between these two groups. Dictation from the one and strong- headedness upon the part of the other may easily result in discord and inefficiency. The council may well care for such business as does not require action by the entire group. For this and other purposes it should meet frequently and regularly. The enthusiasm and faithfulness of these officers will determine to a large extent the success of the department. The council can be made an un- usually valuable means of training leaders and providing young people with helpful experiences in cooperation with such other people as it deems best. The main consideration in every case is to keep the council a sufficiently small unit of cooperative effort to be effective in its leader- ship. | Department officers.—The council or the depart- ment should elect from among their number a president, a vice-president, a secretary, and a treasurer. The usual duties of these offices should be assumed by these officers. They should work in close cooperation with and under the careful supervision of the adult counselor. Frequent change of officers has proven to be preferable to a long term of service. This will not only provide a means of removing ineffective We 292 INTERMEDIATE METHOD leaders but also will provide training and experience for a larger number. A term of office of three to six months’ duration with the possibility of reelec- tion should be provided. One purpose of this frequent rotation is the discovery as well as the training of leaders. Committees.—The full program of activity can best be carried forward through certain committees. The importance of the proper formation and func- tioning of committees cannot be overemphasized. In every organization, a considerable amount of work is assigned to and accomplished by commit- tees. Intermediates should learn during these years, for the first time perhaps, how to work together for the accomplishment of specific tasks and what it means to assume and discharge respon- sibility. They should learn that the work is not necessarily done when the committee has been appointed. Hence, it is of great importance that their initial experience in committee work be such as to train them in faithfulness and efficiency. Only such standing committees should be main- tained as represent real tasks, and then such frequent change should be made in committee personnel as will bring fresh enthusiasm and energy to the work. ‘Temporary committees should be formed only when something definite and worth- while is to be done. It is very important that the committee perform its duty faithfully and promptly and then be publicly discharged rather than that the beginning and end of its work should be care- lessly passed by. The specific duties and extent of responsibility should be carefully explained, with attention given to every detail. EE IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 293 The following standing committees, at least, will be required to carry forward the full program: | (1) Devotional. The duties of this committee include the supervision of the opening worship service in the morning session of the school, the evening devotional young people’s service, if such is desired, attendance of young people upon the regular church services of worship, and the pro- motion of class and personal devotions. It is through this committee that a definite department or church policy with respect to the entire worship program for Intermediates should be correlated. (2) Membership. This committee will care for such items as membership campaigns, follow-up of absentees, and publicity. Even though the depart- ment be formed to include all young people in its membership, this committee will face the task of developing many of these young people from nominal into active membership in the group life. (3) Soctal. The full range of social activities of the group will be directed by this committee. A live, resourceful committee can make a splendid contribution to the group life in providing a varied and appealing program of social activities. A good - deal of the social life during these years will be provided in segregated age groupings in connection with the recreational programs. (4) Service. This committee will provide such activities as afford practical opportunities for the expression of a vital spirit of service. It should promote among the members of the department a real program of practical Christian service in the home, the church, the community and the world. 204 INTERMEDIATE METHOD Its members should be instrumental in stimulating personal and class service activities. » (s) Recreation. This committee faces a most difficult and important task in most churches. If no sentiment for a recreational program has been developed, this committee should undertake the task of creating interest and support to a worth- while program. If a number of specialized recre- ational programs have been launched in the church, this committee faces the difficult task of securing careful unification of these programs and organiza- tions with the department program and bringing them into full alignment with the other activities of the group. It should also strive to enlist every Intermediate in some form of suitable midweek, recreational activity. Its duties should include the promotion of interchurch athletics for Intermediates. (6) Executive. If the council is large, it may be advisable to form an executive committee. This committee should be composed of the officers of the council, the chairmen of the regular committees, the adult counselor, and any others who will make the committee representative of the major activ- ities carried on by the council. It should meet frequently and care for matters that do not require department or council action. The number and function of these committees should be carefully adapted to meet local condi- tions and needs. Two things should be constantly borne in mind. A democratic spirit should charac- terize the planning and execution of the program. And, again, it should be remembered that these activities constitute the real church life and expe- rience of these young people. The program should IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 295 be real, worthwhile, and challenging, both as a training for service in the church to-morrow and as a present satisfying experience in religious activity. Methods of correlation.—The practical necessity of effecting unification and correlation of present methods of work with Intermediates will scarcely be questioned. The present situation in many churches demands very immediate and careful attention. It presents an unusual opportunity for organizing the Intermediate life of a church on an educationally sound basis. ‘The existing organiza- tions, loyalties, and leadership will have to be taken seriously into account. To a large extent they determine the actual mode of procedure in each local church. An immediate approach, however, can be made to practically any local situation. Efforts to unify must begin with conditions as they are. All correlation and unification of organizations should grow out of common agreement with respect to what are the aims, materials, and methods of a comprehensive program. Program unification pre- cedes organization unification. Before anything is attempted there should be a clear understanding of the purpose and method of such initial correla- tion as is considered possible. In most cases it will be necessary to move forward only as rapidly as it is possible to educate and build sentiment among the leaders and young people. The key leaders, especially, should be consulted and care- fully trained. A redistribution of responsibility can usually be effected without losing any leadership or other personal resources. Unification through the committee on education. 2096 INTERMEDIATE METHOD —If the church committee on education really functions, it has a unique part to play in bringing about the desired unification. This committee surveys the life of this group as a whole. It plans the complete program of religious education for each age-group. ‘The committee, in spite of some overlapping and competition among organizations, may plan the program so that each individual pupil will have ample opportunity to share in all activities and experiences that constitute a com- plete program. Such matters as the building of a church-school department, the creating of an Intermediate devotional society, the development of an adequate social-recreation program, all should come under the purview of this committee. It should strive to harmonize them into a unified program having distinct but complementary ele- ments. The major elements in the full program should be determined and controlled by this com- mittee, leaving as much details as possible to be cared for by the pupils themselves. Cooperation of leaders.—No effective unification can be secured without the mutual cooperation of leaders. Programs do not run themselves. A paper program may or may not have real value, depend- ing upon the attitude of leaders toward it. Two groups of leaders are involved here. First, the leaders of national organizations and denomina- tional boards are sensing the practical necessity of conference and cooperation. ‘The general dissatis- faction in the field and the challenge of the needs of the young people are demanding action on the part of these leaders. Second, leaders who are in immediate contact with the young people as teach- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 207 ers, guardians, Scout masters, or counselors, by forming themselves into a conference group for study and experimentation, can achieve splendid results. The programs of classes, the department, the Intermediate League or Endeavor, the missionary societies, and the recreational groups can thus be carefully compared and their respective functions studied. A group, meeting in this capacity, and with an understanding of a comprehensive program, will very soon discover some of the defects of the present situation and will be able to apply some corrective measures. For further study: 1. Make a survey of the organizations in your local church that include Intermediates to discover weaknesses in the present situation. How many officers and committee-men are needed in a non-correlated program? 2. How does this compare with the total enroll- ment? 3. How can class and department programs be brought into closer harmony? 4. If Intermediate young people have a _ well- organized department, should a separate and distinct devotional society be maintained? Give reasons. 5. Suggest means of effecting unification in your own church. 6. Outline the full duties of department com- mittees. 7. What relations are Intermediates capable of 298 INTERMEDIATE METHOD sustaining with larger groups, city, county, | and State groups of young people? For further reading: Maus, Cynthia Pearl, Youth and the Church. Maus, Cynthia Pearl, Youth Organized for Reli- gious Education. Harris, Hugh Henry, The Organization and Admin- istration of the Intermediate Depariment. Shaver, E. L., Teaching Adolescents in the Church School. Alexander, John L., The Rt Ca Division Organ- ized for Serie Stout, John E. Organization and Adminisiration of Ree Education. Simons, George T., The California League of Youth. : Denominational Sunday School Boards usually publish helpful pamphlets on organization. PART IV ADULT LEADERSHIP PANE CHAPTER XIII THE ADULT LEADER HIMSELF THE church faces the challenge of providing a masterful leadership for her Intermediate-age con- stituency. A leadership is required that is capable of building and administering an adequate Inter- © mediate-church-school program. The finest char- acter traits will need to be combined with definite skills in those who are to sustain intimate contact with early adolescents. To provide such a leader- ship it will be necessary for the church to be on the alert to discover, enlist, and train an increasing number of men and women for this significant task. THE NEED OF ADULT LEADERS As the local churches undertake to develop dis- tinct Intermediate programs, the quality, and in many instances, the number of teachers, coun- selors, or midweek leaders will need to be improved or increased. The diversity of skills and talents which will be required is suggested by the variety -and number of activities embraced in the program. Only men and women of strong personal faith in Christ and deep loyalty to the church will be able to build and administer a Christ-centered, church- centered program for these young people. Programs and organizations useless without lead- ers.—The success of the church in building a strong, comprehensive program of moral and religious 301 302 INTERMEDIATE METHOD education will depend, in the last analysis, upon the kind of leadership which is enlisted and trained. The most carefully built organization will be prac- tically useless unless trained and interested leaders are secured to make its operation effective. The best of programs possess no power of self-direction. In fact, there are no programs or organizations where there are no leaders. Programs are the result of the vision and skill of leaders applied to local situations. The ideal for the Intermediate church school is both well developed programs and capable and devoted leaders. The interests and loyalties of early adolescents naturally gather about personalities. In the ma- jority of cases where a comprehensive program has been created or a strong organization developed, some outstanding personality has been at the heart of it. Its life and character revolve about this person. This has been the case in many instances when noticeable results have been achieved and where, at the beginning, practically no organization has existed. The magnetic personality of Jesus outranked in importance any program or semblance of organization he created for his twelve disciples. ° There are, however, certain dangers to be guarded against where devotion and loyalty of young people center so completely in the personality of the leader. The young people are soon to pass from this period of spontaneous hero worship. They will outgrow many of the group relationships charac- teristic of these years. It is highly important that the leader be wise and efficient in gradually trans- ferring the loyalty of his group from himself to the larger organization which he may have developed IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 303 or of which his unit is a part and to the cause which he has championed. In this way all that has been gained will be conserved for the more permanent interests that are coming into the life. The value of personal contacts with leaders.— Ideals and truths make little appeal in abstract form. But they are made vivid and attractive when embodied in the personality and conduct of some individual. It was only when the personality of God was incarnated in the life and work of Jesus that men came most fully to understand the Father’s will and love. Intermediates long to see truth, ideals, and motives expressed in conduct and in the characters of those in their environment. In this fact is to be found one of the most significant aspects of religious education for this age. The influence and power of personality may easily out- weigh all other factors in effecting moral and reli- gious growth. In character education there is no substitute for masterful and attractive leaders. The extent and effectiveness of the religious training of young people, when poor equipment and ineffective materials have characterized the pro- gram, suggest the relative value of leaders. If trained workers are employed, they will improve the teaching facilities and build effective programs. The primary factor in the apparently hopeless situation of the past has been the personal influ- ence of leaders. The response of young life to some untrained, possibly illiterate person, who nevertheless possessed a magnetic and wholesome personality, is well known. The outstanding factors in the religious develop- ment of the twelve disciples whom Jesus chose 304 INTERMEDIATE METHOD to work with him were the daily companionship with the Master, the intimate fellowship sustained, the concrete demonstration in his life of his ideals and teachings, the mysterious influence his per- sonality exerted. Without in any sense minimizing the importance of Jesus’ sermons and discussions, it may be safely contended that these twelve ordinary, provincial, religiously inexperienced, and frequently self-centered men were transformed into soul- winning, kingdom-building apostles because of the personal contacts they sustained with this match- less Leader during three short years. Conditions are most favorable for securing moral and religious growth in the intimacy of a class circle, in the fellowship of the campfire side, in the quiet of a devotional hour, when the mind is open, the heart is responsive, and the whole nature of the young person is aglow with affection for a leader. Here will be found the supreme opportunity of the educator to mold character and to shape life destinies. } Diversity of leadership abilities required.—The leadership abilities and skills demanded will be as diversified as the range of activities embraced in the comprehensive program. The ideal leader is one who can “‘be all things to all’’ of his pupils. The limitations of personality, abilities and time, and the broad range of the program activities fre- quently make the realization of this ideal im- possible. A review of the program outlined in the foregoing chapters will suggest the variety of leadership skill required. Men and women will be needed who have a genius for leading Intermediates in the formation of effi- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 305 cient, pupil-officered organizations. Young people need to be inspired to carry on intelligent and continuous cooperation in building and administer- ing their own programs on Sunday and during the week. Mature leaders will be called upon to inter- pret by precept and example the truth of the Bible and to reveal the Christian way of life. Those who understand the art of worship will be priv- ileged to lead these young people into the mysteries and sacred joys of fellowship with the Divine Spirit. The church will be taxed to her utmost to provide a leadership for the wide range of activities included in the modern program of supervised leisure-time pursuits. QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP Because of the significance of the personal con- tacts leaders sustain with these young people, the most attractive and dynamic personalities should be enlisted. The church as an institution can be conserved and perpetuated only as she provides the right kind of leadership for those who are just entering into her membership. In the interest of enlisting the permanent loyalty of these young people, the church cannot afford to appoint less than her most representative workers for this task. The leadership which the church provides will need to compare favorably with the best men and women with whom early adolescents are sustaining con- tacts in other important relationships. Basic requirements.—Leaders of Intermediates should be spiritually dynamic, able so to interpret religion in their own lives as to make it attractive to the young people. They should possess those 306 INTERMEDIATE METHOD qualities which make them heroes in the estimation of their young associates. Enthusiasm, radiancy of health, optimism of spirit, and faith in God and in the goodness of the world will always appeal to early adolescents. Men and women who are outstanding leaders in their respective occupations supply added attrac- tiveness to the kind of religious living for which they stand. The secretary of one of the largest automobile manufacturing concerns in America is the enthusiastic superintendent of an Intermediate Department in a certain church. He is putting all of his executive skill, his force of personality, and his abilities of leadership into that department. Such a leader is a constant inspiration and chal- lenge to the members of that department. Scientific procedure is coming more and more to characterize business concerns and public schools in the solving of their personnel problems. Score cards are being devised for rating the personalities and abilities of teachers.’ These scales emphasize such important factors as native ability, personal equipment, social attitudes, attitudes toward their work, interest in pupils, scholarship and specific preparation, ability to manage pupils and to secure wholesome reactions from them. Each of these requirements can be analyzed in detail. Charts can be secured whereby a leader can analyze him- self with respect to abilities and desirable and undesirable character traits.” 1 Betts, ores Herbert, and Hawthorne, Marion, Method in Teaching Religion, 1925, Chapter X. Boyce, A. C., Methods of Measuring Teachers’ Efficiency, Fourteenth Year Book of the National "Society for the Study of Education, p. 45. 2 Character Education Methods, Iowa Plan, pp. 388. Betts, George Herbert, How to Teach Religion, pp. 19-21, The Abingdon Press. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 307 Such scientific procedure applied to the selection and placing of religious leaders will greatly assist the church in securing an adequate leadership. The value of placing a carefully developed scale or outline of desirable character traits, of qualities and skills necessary to effective leadership, into the hands of workers and prospective leaders can hardly be over-estimated. They will set ideals and prac- tical objectives before all workers by which they may work toward constant improvement of abili- ties and the enrichment of personalities. They will enable pastors, superintendents and supervisors to make selections and assignments with greater intel- ligence and effectiveness. Character traits that appeal to Intermediates.— The responsiveness of Intermediate young people to personal qualities of their leaders suggests the importance of a knowledge of the personal qual- ities and character traits that appeal to young people. Character traits, in part at least, are acquired by training and cultivation. A knowledge of those that are desirable will enable the individual worker to strive more intelligently for personal development. Irving King, in The High School Age, presents a very suggestive list of personal qualities and charac- teristics in teachers which appeal strongly to high- school students.* Practically all observant and experienced leaders of early adolescents will agree that those suggested in this list appeal to the aver- age Intermediate. The personal qualities that appealed most to boys were the following and in 8 King, Irving, The High School Age, pp. 143-144, Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1916. Used by permission. 308 INTERMEDIATE METHOD” the order named: well-poised and not easily ex- cited, pleasant in class and enjoys fun, young, dressed neatly and becomingly, dignified, sincere. With girls the following were of first importance: enjoys fun and pleasant in class, well-poised and not easily excited, dressed neatly and becomingly, dignified, and sincere. While the order of prefer- ence is slightly different with the two sexes, yet this list indicates beyond a doubt some of the outstanding personal qualities which appeal strongly to early adolescents. While these traits are concerned primarily with high-school teachers, yet they suggest many of the qualities and ideals of leadership most appreciated by the young people who are in the church. These lists include character traits and qualities without which church-school leaders cannot be fully suc- cessful. Nothing less than strong and vigorous manhood and winsome, wholesome womanhood are suggested by these traits of character. Practically all the characteristics and qualities listed, fortu- nately, may be acquired or developed through train- ing and personal cultivation. Just as truly, leaders need to know that the opposite of most of these traits are highly undesirable in leaders of Interme- diates. Such traits as snobbishness, sarcasm, sour- ness, partiality, impatience, lack of poise and self- control, egotism, superficiality, and insincerity will greatly handicap any leader in his work with boys and girls of this age. What the church requires of her leaders.— There are certain minimum requirements which the church will need to insist upon in recruiting and placing leaders. The first and primary essential IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL _ 309 is a personal faith in Jesus Christ. Supreme loyalty to the Head of the church is an indispensable require- ment of one who would seek to relate young people to the church. Unless the leader has found in Christ a Friend, Helper, and Saviour, he will not be able adequately to inspire young people to look to Christ for help and guidance. It is an axiom in education that a teacher cannot lead his pupils more deeply into a subject than he himself has penetrated. There is no substitute in a leader of early adolescents for a strong personal faith in Jesus Christ. Leaders of youth should also possess a belief in the mission of the church to society. In this day when young people are indulging in open, and sometimes unthinking, criticism of the historic institution of Christianity, it is exceedingly impor- tant that they be led by men and women who have clear insight into and strong convictions regarding the place and function of the church in modern society. Loyalty begets loyalty. The attitude of leaders toward the church is of significance also because early adolescents are at a period in their development when the desire to assume definite relationships with organizations and institutions is relatively strong. They should be inspired by their leaders to a love of the church and to a lifelong loyalty to her interests and program. It is in the interest of meeting these two require- ments—faith in Jesus Christ and loyalty to the church—that church leaders are finding it necessary to think and plan in terms of a Christ-centered, church-centered program for the youth of the church. Activities and motives need to be har- . Ny 310 INTERMEDIATE METHOD monized. This can occur only as the leadership is both skillful and motivated by the highest loyal- ties. A Christ-centered social and _ recreational program requires a leadership that is loyal to Christ. The church should also be concerned that the leaders of her youth have some conception of the kingdom-of-God ideal for society. Vexing social problems are forcing themselves upon the attention of thinking men and women. Teachers and coun- selors of Intermediates can train the oncoming generation aright only as they come to possess an adequate understanding of the nature, ideals, objec- tives, and methods involved in the realization of the kingdom of God in the life of present-day society. Problems of race, industrial injustice, religious prejudice, social inequalities, and war will enter into the broad curriculum of religious education for youth. Their solution can be realized only as the ideals and teachings of Jesus are fully under- stood and effectively applied to society. Teachers and leaders are needed who are mastered by the conviction that only in building the kingdom of heaven upon earth can men and society be saved. The hearty enlistment of early adolescents in some of the more elementary phases of this sublime project is one of the outstanding objectives of leadership of Intermediates. ENLISTING AND TRAINING LEADERS How may the church develop an effective method of discovering leadership and preparing that leader- ship for service in the Intermediate church school? Two answers are suggested, namely, (1) systematic recruiting and (2) adequate training. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL Et Systematic recruiting meeded.—No successful business concern, knowing in advance its personnel needs, would be as careless and inefficient in plan- ning to meet those needs as the church has been with respect to her leadership needs. A sufficient number of capable and trained leaders will be secured only as the church carries forward con- stantly a systematic program of recruiting. Leaders are not going to spring full-blown into the program from some mysterious source. Few churches have ever been embarrassed by an oversupply of trained and willing workers. The opposite is the experience of the majority. A definite plan of recruiting is an essential in securing the leadership personnel re- quired. Such organizations as the Boy Scouts, the Y. M. C. A. and others have demonstrated the necessity of and possibilities of systematic work along this line. Sources of leadership.—The question naturally arises, Where are leaders to be found? Every available source of supply will need to be canvassed. A church has taken the first step in the solution of the problem when she has come to regard her own constituency as the major field of recruiting. Within most local churches are to be found talented and capable men and women who simply have not been discovered. One of the tragedies in church work and Kingdom building lies in the fact that such a vast amount of latent ability and potential leadership skill is not used because of the church’s failure, through systematic searching, to discover it and to enlist in service those possessing it. In a certain church a pastor had fastened a large chart to the walls of his study. It covered the four 312 INTERMEDIATE METHOD sides of the room. On this chart were being entered the names of the entire adult constituency of that particular church. The types of activity requiring volunteer service in the church’s program were listed on the chart. Each person was being placed with respect to the pastor’s conception of that person’s ability to render service. Such a pro- cedure suggests the thoroughness with which a local church membership may be canvassed to discover the possible leadership for the Intermediate Depart- ment. The entire constituency should be sifted in the effort to secure the best available leader- ship. As the local field is canvassed, certain classes of people will stand out as possessing unusual possi- bilities for leadership. Among these will be those whose strength of personality and sheer native ability prompt the recruiting committee to approach them with the suggestion that they take training and enlist in service. There will also be found in most churches those who are or have been teachers in the corresponding grades in the public school. These people usually have a degree of training and experience which makes them effective as leaders and teachers in the Intermediate church school. Those who are willing to place their training and experience at the disposal of the church school should be carefully cultivated and encouraged to take special training in the technique and materials of religious education.* The most permanent and significant source of leadership supply, however, is to be found in the 4In rural communities it has been found that educators furnish as many volun- teer leaders as all other professions combined. See Douglass, H. Paul, How Shall Country Youth Be Served? p. 96, George H. Doran Company, 1926. IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL nhc: group of later adolescent young people in the local church. It is the recruiting ground all too fre- quently neglected. The early enlistment of large numbers of these young people and their thorough training for service represent the church’s most effective method of providing adequate leadership. These young people are at an age when they are forming attitudes toward definite service in the Kingdom, when the desire to have a part in worth- while enterprises is strong, and when the possi- bility of responding to the demands of training is greatest. The organization of a number of classes in this department for training is occurring in those churches which are planning most successfully for their future leadership. The program of training.—There is no short-cut to the realization of an adequate group of leaders for the Intermediate Department. A definitely outlined and vigorously promoted program of training is needed. Some leaders may possess that attractiveness of personality and native ability which enable them without formal training to hold a group of early adolescents together. Such are the exception rather than the rule. The majority will require both general and technical training in order to realize the objectives of the program. One of the most encouraging signs of the times is the earnestness and seriousness with which the leader- ship problem is being studied by the churches. Denominations, singly and cooperatively, are pro- moting nation-wide programs whereby thousands of teachers and prospective workers in the church school are receiving preparation for service. Efforts are being put forth to provide a universal oppor- 314 INTERMEDIATE METHOD tunity for all teachers to receive some kind of preparation. A variety of means of providing training are being employed. Some of these represent mere beginnings but are nevertheless of importance. Because of the increase in their number and their practical nature, books are assuming importance in the training of leaders. The spread of information regarding vital problems and helpful methods in religious education through books that are suitable for reading courses and training schools, is greatly on the increase. In one small county over two thousand dollars’ worth of religious education texts were placed in the hands of workers in local churches during a three-year period. It is difficult to esti- mate the influence of such wide reading. Practically all State councils of religious education are sending out reading lists, and are even providing libraries from which any worker in the State may borrow books dealing with problems in which he is inter- ested. Denominational headquarters are engaged in the same practice. Conferences and conventions are reaching thou- sands with messages of inspiration and helpfulness. Countless numbers of workers can testify to the fact that. they received a vision of the importance and possibilities of religious education at some one- or two-day convention. ‘To many, the con- tacts formed and the conferences enjoyed have been but the beginning of a definite program of training. These conventions usually combine inspiration and some study of materials and methods. The reading of books and occasional attendance upon conventions must not in any sense be con- IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 315 fused with the idea of definite and prolonged train- ing for the task of religious education. Both are splendid supplements to the more serious study, but fall far short of providing the kind of leader- ship training needed. In fact, with the emphasis now being placed upon regular class work covering a definite number of hours of high-grade instruc- tion, many leaders are feeling that there is no longer a place for the exclusively ‘“‘inspirational’’ type of meeting. They believe that the time and effort usually devoted to the planning of such meetings might result in a leadership school or training class where both inspiration and instruction are possible. The Standard Training Course.—One of the outstanding achievements of very recent years in this field has been the development of a standard course of training which is being followed with but little deviation by practically all denominations seriously endeavoring to promote leadership train- ing. This course is known as the Standard Train- ing Course.° For graduation from this course a student must have completed in some fully accred- ited school, one hundred and twenty hours of class work. The course attempts to provide each student with an elementary understanding of the prin- ciples and methods of organizing the church for its task of religious education. At the same time it requires that the student choose some division of the general work for specialized training. The leader preparing for work with Intermediates 5 The Committee on Education of the International Council of Religious Educa- tion took action at the annual meeting, December, 1925, changing the name of this course to the Normal School Course. This action was approved by the Executive Committee at its meeting, April 13, 1926. 316 INTERMEDIATE METHOD will be expected to complete six required general units. These are the following: A Study of the Pupil; The Principles of Teaching; The Old Testa- meni; The New Testament; The Message and Pro- gram of the Christian Religion; The Teaching Work of the Church. In addition, the student will be expected to select two other general courses from among a number that are listed. Intermediate leaders would undoubtedly be interested in such general elective courses as, The Life of Christ, Church History, Training in Worship and the Devo- tional Life, Dramaization and Pageaniry, and Social and Recreational Leadership. The Standard Course requires that the Inter- mediate leader take the following specialization courses: A Study of Early Adolescence; Inter- mediate Materials and Methods; and Intermediate Department Administration. In addition the Inter- mediate worker is required to elect and study one other specialization course chosen from among the following elective units: Intermediate Worship; Supervision of Adolescent Religious Education; Agen- cies for the Religious Education of Adolescents; Social and Recreational Leadership; Dramatization and Pageaniry; and Materials and Methods of Voca- tional Guidance. Experience has demonstrated the fact that in many churches and communities it is impossible for the Intermediate worker to secure the highly specialized courses. Provision is made in the Standard Course whereby the study of the Inter- mediate work may be combined where necessary with Senior specialization. This is designated “broad specialization” and is so indicated on the IN THE CHURCH SCHOOL 317 credit unit given out and on the diploma granted at the conclusion of the one hundred and twenty hours of work. Students should strive whenever possible, however, to take courses on the basis of close specialization. Standard Training Courses may be offered in a number of ways. When there is adequate leader- ship and sufficient interest, it is possible for a standard training class to be organized in the local church. That would seem to be a very natural place in which to promote such training. All instructors for accredited courses, however, must be approved by either a denominational leadership board or by the department of leadership training of the International Council of Religious Educa- tion. It is not an easy matter to discover those in a local church who meet the requirements for such teaching. Again, the difficulty of providing spe- cialization courses is obvious. Trained leaders and a sufficient number of students to justify certain classes are two factors that reduce the possibilities of extending training in many local churches. These considerations, however, should not deter leaders from promoting vigorously such courses as can be offered in the local church. The ieee © —_ mes Pathe RES aries athe ty. “ * = | oj Parcetem : st5 ret