Page:American Journal of Sociology Volume 5.djvu/217

 MORAL INFL UENCE OF PUBERAL DEVELOPMENT 203

serious manifestations. In fact, the director of the academy of Aosta, Professor Lanei, wrote that of the two bad pupils he had there one was expelled, while the other was improving.

One first result of my double inquiry I obtained from the let- ters with which some directors wished to accompany the sending of the table of conducts. Here are some of them :

"I can give a general opinion which cannot be erroneous: the boys are good, excellent, when they begin in the gymnasium ; they begin to become restless and ill-behaved in the second and third gymnasium class; in the upper gymnasium class they calm down a little and become more sensible. In the lycee, in gen- eral, they are quiet and serious." (G. B. dal Lago, director of the Liceo-Ginnasio of Taranto.)

" The boys up to eleven or twelve years, as a general thing, have no character ; rare are the cases where they show a person- ality ; they do not like to be ruled, directed, corrected. Between thirteen and fifteen their inclinations appear, and this is the most dangerous age. Animality, sensual needs, manifest themselves, and reason is not so developed that one is able to act effectively on it and constitute it a controller of the urgent instincts ; but after fifteen the case is different ; one may reason with the young men, and if their nature helps them, they are almost always saved. When their nature fails, every effort is in vain. In gen- eral, the boys of the dangerous age are found in the third (mili- tary) division of the students, and in school partly in the fourth, partly in the fifth class." (Professor L. Gambarale, Lucca.)

" The greater number of the pupils whose conduct is not satis- factory," writes one of these directors, "is found among the medium class, because the smaller boys make trouble, but are rarely bad ; the older boys, however, would be really bad if they were not in a boarding school. From my long experience I can assert that boys are generally restless from the thirteenth to the sixteenth years, and that all are more lively and more restless, according to their individual characters, in the spring. I have two observations to make in regard to conduct. One, that this makes me especially apprehensive during the months of April