PUBLICATIONS
of the
Council of Y. M. H. and
Kindred Associations

The Boys' Club in
the Y.M. H. A.
By
Harry L. Gliicksman
Superintendent, New Orleans Y. M, H. A,

Broadly speaking, the Young Men's Hebrew Association is one of the social forces working to give an all-around development to the young Jew. In aim, therefore, the Y. M. H. A. is not different from other Jewish or non-sectarian social institutions. It differs, however, from the synagogue or religious school, first, in that it restricts itself to young men, and secondly, because it attempts to influence character mainly through recreational activities. It differs from the settlement and non-sectarian social centers in that it reaches the individual through the Jewish group, and attempts also to make use of our Jewish background in influencing him.

The man over 22 or 23 is becoming engrossed in professional or business activities, or in study, fitting himself for a "career."

We should begin with the boy at an age when he is impressionable and plastic, easily influenced for good or bad. The Y. M. H. A. can at this time lay its foundation in the development of his character, as well as counteract undesirable influences to which many boys are subjected. How shall we know when this time has come in a boy's life, or in other words, how shall we know when to attract and influence him?

We can use this natural group to bring the boy under the influence of the Y. M. H. A., by making it the basis of the Y. M. H. A. club. On the street, the gang is an unre-

Members of a club should be brought together on the same basis as the gang; that is to say, the boys must come in groups. A club invariably fails if it be organized by boys who do not know one another well beforehand. One or two boys cannot be taken into a club as new members; they should always be encouraged to bring their own friends, in order to form the same coherent unit as the gang. For the same reason, two clubs which have dropped off in membership cannot be combined, for they soon develop into irreconcilable factions. Each club must be permitted to retain its identity and to develop from within.

Each club should have a leader. This brings up the most serious difficulty in the way of doing efficient club work,—that of obtaining reliable and interested leaders. The problem is made all the greater by the scarcity of available men and usually by the lack of funds with which to employ leaders who can be held to high standards of efficiency. Those who most often may be drawn into this work are teachers, students, young professional or business men, well-meaning and earnest, but without the time and in many cases, the inclination, to study the boy in relation to club activities. The burden of planning and organizing the leader's work and of furnishing him with the subject-matter for programs, must fall, therefore, on the superintendent. But the least to be expected of a leader, is

The experienced leader is successful in making a friend of each boy, and is thus given the opportunity of advising him at a critical stage of his development. By showing a kindly interest in the boy's welfare, he is frequently able to prevent his leaving school prematurely, to recommend certain courses of study, give information concerning higher schools, or vocations, and enlighten him on questions of sex-hygiene. But in all such matters, the superintendent must be ready to procure the necessary data for the leader, or perhaps advise directly with the boy and in some cases with his parents.

Now what shall be the activities of the club? The Y. M. H. A. aims to develop the highest

As a matter of fact, the club must recognize the normal demands of the boys, and approach the entire problem from the recreational standpoint. The boys come together for recreation, in some form or other; sometimes for athletics, sometimes for Scouting, and often in the case of older boys, for literary work. Thus there cannot be any fixed system of activities which may be applied effectively to every group. We can do no better than to use those activities which interest a group of

Under the business of a meeting are considered all questions of money, receipts and expenditures, arrangement of athletic meets, public entertainments, outings. These all involve the planning and carrying out of tasks which give valuable training to the boys in doing things for themselves,—a training which in later life, whether in school or in business,

The literary program is a far more intricate matter to consider. What applies to the general activities applies in particular to the literary program, namely, that the desires of the boys must be the determining factor at the outset in the choice of program material. This does not mean that the boys should be allowed to arrange their programs without the advice and direction of the leader. The idea of self-expression has been nowhere more abused than in permitting boys to organize intellectual activities for themselves. A program committee should be selected, and the leader should be an ex-officio member thereof, so that the inclina-

Obviously, we cannot enter in this paper, into a discussion of each of the subjects which may interest the boys. There are some general considerations, however, which apply to the program as a whole. Before a subject is finally assigned to a boy, the leader should make clear and definite what he is expected to do, and he should point out the methods and sources for getting the desired information, at the same time arousing an interest in the

Let us recall for a moment that the club is a recreational unit, that it does not take the place of the classroom, and that the function

The best means of preparation is to have the leader talk informally on the hero, then

3—Jewish holidays should be celebrated by all the clubs together drawing on as many of them as possible for active participation in the -event. These should be gala occasions, cheerful, joyous, entertaining and instructive. Whatever else may be on the program, it is wise to provide an experienced and mature speaker to relate the historic significance of the festival. Motion pictures and slides can be procured of most historical events, and may be used for these celebrations with good effect.

2—Members can be assigned to bring in information on the stores in the neighbor-

The value of working in this realistic way is perhaps best illustrated in connection with the tenement house department. It is not uncommon to meet with complete ignorance on the part of the parents of their rights and duties in connection with sanitary conditions in their dwelling-places. Thus, the boy becomes an educating influence in the household.

We now turn to the activities outside of the club-room. The more important of these we shall enumerate and discuss briefly—mainly from the standpoint of the peculiar position that each occupies in the scheme of club

Boys are naturally clannish, and therefore the individuality of the club must be respected. Each group should have its own period in the gymnasium, as well as its own teams. Tournaments should be frequent, as a means of bringing the clubs together, of satisfying the craving for competition, and of strengthening club loyalty. On the other hand, the strictest super-

2—If the boys could live and play in the open, gymnasia would be unnecessary, for they are but artificial substitutes for outdoor activities. The value of bringing boys regularly into the country cannot be overestimated. They not only enjoy it, but it is of such permanent help in character development, that club organization is decidedly incomplete without this activity. Aside from opening to the city boy, what is in reality a new world to him, these trips offer opportunity for making the boy self-reliant under conditions unusual to him. Under a proper leader, the boy's curiosity is stimulated, and a first-hand knowledge of nature is gained. In the beginning, inexperienced

3—Entertainments should not be given simply for the purpose of entertaining the boy, though that end may sometimes be sufficient in itself. Public meetings should be centered around great Jewish holidays, or patriotic celebrations, or perhaps on an occasion when there is a general meeting of the boys to elect representatives, to say, the editorial board, or house council. However amateurish it may be, the boys themselves should provide the entertainment, and in this connection a glee club is very useful.

5—There are two features in connection with the library that have direct bearing on the junior club work. In addition to the ordinary boys' library, ample reference material should be provided for the boys for use in. preparing programs. But the library can perform an even more important service by providing a place in which to study. In a big city, boys who come from the poorer sections live in small and congested apartments. They are thus prevented from doing their home studies properly, either because of lack of space at home or because younger children of the household make it impossible to have the necessary quiet; and sometimes because the occasional

8—The newspaper is the most effective means of acquainting the club members with what is going on, and what progress is being made in various activities. All the boys should be called together to elect members of the

Boys should not be expected to go through the regular club work when the warm weather sets in. Recreation assumes a new phase, and the boys naturally turn to outdoors for play. There must, of necessity, therefore, be a change of activities in the Association. Meetings should be held less frequently, or perhaps discontinued, and attention should be directed to an increase in the number of outings, baseball games, aquatic sports. Better than anything

Each boy is required, of course, to pay his dues to the club. If the boy does not pay directly to the Association, there may be a danger of his not feeling responsible to the Y. M. H. A. Means through which to develop organization spirit have already been pointed out to overcome this attitude. Then again, to pay to both club and Association would usually result in too great a financial strain, even though the amount be small. A happy medium seems to be to have the boys pay dues directly to the club, but to make the latter responsible for financing its own activities, such as outings, dues to the athletic league, and similar incidentals. The funds of the club should be deposited in a savings bank conducted by the Association, in which individual members should be encouraged to open accounts. Boys cannot begin learning too soon to be thrifty.

First, a House Council should be organized, its membership to comprise one delegate from each club. This body should formulate its own methods and rules of procedure. Its duties usually consist of arranging all inter-club and inter-Association contests, and also on occasion discussing old or contemplated activities. Under clearly defined limitations, it may be permitted to deal with breaches of discipline on the part of the club as such, but any infraction committed by the boys as individuals should be handled by the club of which they are members. The influence and power of the Council must remain indefinite, for after all, it is an experiment in self-government among boys. As a general rule, its development and importance should be gradual, and determined largely by the ability of its members to undertake responsibilities and to bring them to a successful conclusion. The superintendent, and perhaps the athletic director too, should be ex-officio members of the Council to serve in an advisory capacity. Not to supervise and guide such a group with tact and caution would ensure certain failure. At

The Scout movement also utilizes the natural desires of the boy as a means through which to develop character. It has thus far, given most emphasis to outdoor and civic activities. It is a non-sectarian organization, and has succeeded in attracting many Jewish boys. One great advantage that it offers is to bring Jewish and Christian boys together on a common basis of activity before prejudices, if they exist at all, have developed. Through the patrol and the troop it allows each element to develop its

*Pamphlet on the aims and methods of the Scout movement in relation to Y. M. H. A. work, may be secured upon application to the National Office.

The duty of the Association is to utilize the boy's leisure time so as to help him, not only in enjoying proper forms of recreation, but more directed in attaining success in his economic pursuit. Thus, while a good many activities intended for the school boy may meet the youthful worker's needs, his major interests are directly elsewhere and the Association must create new activities to meet his new interests. The underlying principle is simply this: The Association must correlate the

*This is not intended as a complete or even sufficient statement of the working boy's problems nor of the duties of the Association in this regard. More detailed information may be procured upon application to the National Office.

This statement gives: 1 — The basis and method of approach in attracting boys at a young age; 2—A system of activity organized on the basis of the normal desires and interests of the boy for the development of his character and, 3—Provides for the gradual correlation of the boy's work with the aims and aspirations of Y. M. H. A. endeavor.