Similarly, the tendency during adolescence to form numerous social organizations — boys' gangs, secret societies, literary societies, musi cal societies, sketch clubs, athletic associations and the like — demands a reasonable amount of judicious supervision on the part of parents and teachers. Without such supervision there is always danger of moral detenoration. Wit ness the very serious problem of the high school fraternity and sorority, which has grown to such dimensions and assumed such an aspect that secondary school teachers with almost no exception view the movement with alarm and have persuaded the legislatures of several States to forbid fraternity membership to high-school students under penalty of sus pension or expulsion.
Mental Religious conversion is essentially an adolescent phenomenon; the great majority of conversions occur during the ages of 15, 16 and 17. Even when the young man or young girl fails to experience the typical conversion of the evangelical sort, he may be expected to undergo what might be termed a "secular conversion," to turn from selfishness to unselfishness, to reconstruct his attitude toward his fellows, to readjust his thinking so as to give due heed to the rights of others as compared with his own desires. In the later years of adolescence many young men and women also pass through a period of doubt, of skepticism, often of a serious sort. It is, of course, to be expected that the broad ening intellectual horizon shall disclose incon sistencies between the newer views of life and the earlier notions of God, heaven, immor tality, the nature of evil, the efficacy of prayer, the possibility of miracles, etc. Whether a different form of instruction in childhood might obviate the necessity of this reconstruc tion may be debated; in any event, adolescents need and deserve the utmost sympathy from those who are watching over their religious and moral development.
Akin to the growth of religious interests and the widening of social interests is the strik ing increase during adolescence in the range and variety of ideals; these differ in the two sexes, differ in the poor and the rich, differ with race but in all cases are prone to shift rapidly during the high-school ages. Since ideals form incentives to conduct of the most powerful sort, it is, clear that parents and teachers must take definite measures to supply material for their formation, to check the un wholesome or unworthy, to encourage the wholesome and worthy.
In the opinions of some psychologists adolescence is accompanied by impulses which, if unchecked, would carry their possessor "with almost resistless fury toward a life of crime." It is true that there is a sudden in crease at this period in the commission of cer tain types of criminal offense, of which lying, stealing and vagabondage are most typical, and that we are prone to believe that all boys must sow their "wild oats." Apparently, the men tal turmoil of adolescence brings it about that certain young men and young women, before they have become °converted," before they have made the adjustment of self to society and taken on the responsible attitude of the adult, do exhibit for a time "streaks" of law lessness, or rebellion against authority, but it is rather too much to declare that adolescents as a group are predisposed toward criminality.
In the schooling of adoles cents there would appear to be almost equally good arguments for and against coeducation. In larger communities with two or more high schools, experience shows that a separation by sex works well on the whole. No one doubts that girls can do as good work as boys. But they may compete with boys at the risk of their health, and they may, by the practice of coinstruction, be led to pursue a curriculum that is less well adapted to their prospective lines of activity. See CO-EDUCATION.
Burnham, W. H.,