200 Social Training for Farm Boys and Girls 



organization are as yet few and far between. Mean- 

 while, the young are growing up and their present 

 social needs are very pressing. Individual farmers 

 cannot wait for neighborhood movements; and so 

 the parents of the children requiring the social life 

 must themselves take the initiative in the matter. 



CONDITIONS TO GUARD AGAINST 



Before proceeding to a detailed outline of various 

 plans for supplying the social needs of rural young 

 people, it may be well to point out a few of the pitfalls 

 to be guarded against. In reference to the latter, it 

 is not the purpose to advise parents to try to place 

 their children in an exclusive social set. Far from 

 that. The purpose is rather the converse; namely, 

 to urge parents to attempt to build up good, clean 

 characters in their boys and girls and yet permit the 

 latter to mingle freely with common humanity. An 

 aristocracy in the towns and cities is bad enough and 

 a thing wholly out of harmony with the best and high- 

 est interpretation of our national life; but an aris- 

 tocracy in the country neighborhood is an abomina- 

 tion. 



But while the so-called best families must think 

 of their young as growing members of the entire social 

 community and not as belonging to an exclusive set, 

 there is nevertheless great need of constant watchful- 

 ness in respect to certain evils that always threaten 

 the lives of farmers' sons and daughters. 



