Page 38 - 1926 February - To Dragma

TO DRAGMA OF ALPHA OMICRON PI 201

neighbors. To accomplish this state of bliss, it lias been neces-
sary f o r him to learn to repress those desires which make for
the unhappiness of others and to take advantage of every oppor-
tunity to attain the satisfaction of his wants in ways that are
not h a r m f u l to society. I t is therefore necessary that the child
be trained f r o m his earliest infancy to so direct his efforts and
desires, that he can live successfully and happily in society. I n -
telligence and the ability to live in harmony with one's comrades,
count f o r far more than brute force, in the development of suc-
cessful citizenship, today.

Nothing can be a greater tragedy i n the life of a youth than
to be unable to " f i t i n . " W e have only to read the life of
Byron to realize what terrible tragedies result from such lack
of self-control and adaptability. Lack of training, as well as
lack of intelligent understanding, are largely responsible f o r
such tragedies in the lives of children, and i t is with the idea of
preventing such failures that social workers are now studying,
not only the family histories of the children who come under their
care, but also the personality and behavior of the individual child.
Persons who cannot fit into our ways of living are said to be
mal-adjusted, and our reform schools and penitentiaries are
filled with such mis-fits. A large proportion of the inmates of
such institutions are under twenty-five years of age. The causes
of the tragedies in the lives of these unhappy boys and girls are
many and varied. They may be physiological or they may be
mental. Economic conditions frequently bring about a home
situation that drives the youth to impulsive actions. Frequently
the child's emotional reaction to an unfavorable environment is
responsible for his becoming a behavior problem.

It is almost invariably the "poorly functioning home" that
provides the conditions out of which come our delinquent boys
and girls. The S. P. C. C , therefore, has to deal, not only with
a behavior problem, but also with a home problem. I n order to
understand the situation, we must begin by establishing friendly
relations with the child and with his family, and follow this up
by very careful study of the entire home situation. This study
includes having, not only the problem child, but all the family,
go through a general physical examination, and the child in
question is generally given a psychiatric examination besides.