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Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, graduate of Columbia Uni versity, New York City, is a psychologist and Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest school systems in America.
best ways to gain their cooperation. A few minutes should be taken at every teacher training meeting to discuss “Ways of Improving Our Sun day School.” This simple procedure is very effective in getting teachers to improve. It avoids working on a personal and possibly an embarrass ing level. Let's Play Ball Q. Is it necessary for a 12-year-old boy to be accepted in athletic activi ties? My boy’s interest seems to be in the field of electronics. A. Skill in athletics and various games is highly important to boys in the American culture. Many boys suffer throughout life because they feel that they cannot compete with others. I think it is very important for parents and teachers to help chil dren develop skills in playing games and entering into various athletic ac tivities. It gives a person confidence and poise and also helps to develop one’s body. I would suggest that if your boy does not enter into games that you help him develop these skills. However, we all have different in terests and abilities and it may be that your son’s activities in electron ics are giving him as much satisfac tion as participation in athletics. You should examine his motives. Why is he so interested in electron ics? Is it because he has never de veloped skills for games and athletics or is it because he does have a genu ine fascination for it? Is he spending much time in electronics to dodge the world or is his interest in the field wholesome and natural? If I were you, I would make sure that if he continues in electronics, he is in volved with other children. Mixing with other boys and girls is one of the most important aspects of his life just now. Readers are invited to submit questions which will be answered in future issues. Address questions to Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, King's Business, 558 South Hope Street, Los' Angeles 17, California.— ED. 23
people about delicate points without offending them? A. This is a common problem, not only in Sunday schools but in in dustry and all types of business, as well as in school organizations. I believe that one of the very best solutions to your problem is the mimeographing or printing of a small policy handbook . This handbook should consist of basic guides, as well as a few detailed instructions for the carrying out of your Sunday school program. It might include such things as Purposes, Procedures, The Use of Ma te ria ls , Personnel, Administration, Evaluation, Parent Relations, etc. The advantage of having such a policy handbook, whether it be one or many pages, is that every teacher and officer in the Sunday school will be acquainted with policies and pro cedures. Therefore problems which arise never become personal prob lems, but rather, considerations re lating to established policy and pro cedure. I would suggest that this policy handbook be developed cooperatively by your Sunday school teachers and officers and your pastor, as well as any other members of your church whom you feel would make a real contribution to it. It should be voted upon and adopted by the Sunday school teachers so that it may of ficially represent your ways of work ing. All p ro sp e c tiv e Sunday school teachers should be asked to take the policy handbook and read it care fully. The Sunday school superin tendent or the departmental head should go over every point in the policy handbook with each prospec tive teacher. Naturally this will elim inate most personal problems which might otherwise arise. I would suggest that the policy handbook be distributed to all of the church officers so that they will un derstand the program and policies of the Sunday school. This is one of the
Adolescence Q. We have a 12-year-old daughter who is very moody. One minute she seems to be up in the clouds; the next she is down in the dumps. I am really worried about her. Do you think she is mentally unbalanced? A. No, I seriously doubt that she is mentally unbalanced. She has prob ably reached the age when her body is changing from that of a child to a young woman. This period of rapid growth is ac companied by glandular changes which sometimes cause moodiness of greater or lesser intensity. In fact it is unusual for boys and girls en tering adolescence not to be moody. This is especially true of girls the age of your own daughter because they develop as much as two years earlier than boys the same age. Accept her actions as a part of normal development, ignoring her ups and downs. It will do very little good to criticize her. Treat her in a kindly Christian manner, no matter what her mood may be and you will no doubt find in a year or two that she will have gained her emotional equilibrium. At this age especially, a firm be lief in Christ will help her more than anything else. An abiding faith in God will give her poise and stability. She can always depend on God. Few of us realize how the dynamic Christian life meets the basic psy chological needs of all human beings. Handle With Ca re Q. I am a Sunday school superin tendent for a medium-sized church. I am wondering if you could give me some suggestions on how to talk to certain Sunday school teachers who are not doing a very good job. I find it rather hard to talk to an individual teacher about her failures and yet I know that if we are going to |accomplish what we should with boys and girls we must have a very strong staff. How do you approach F E B R U A R Y , 1 9 5 6
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