there are several such stages. In the adolescent boy these may roughly
be classed as the heroic and reflective stages, or as early, middle, and
late adolescence. Boy activities, then, must group themselves to
minister to the needs of each separate stage in order to work
effectively. But psychology has also shown us that the activities of any
one stage must also be graded to meet the needs of that one stage. Thus
the heroic may run from the twelfth to the fifteenth year, and the
activities of this phase should be graded to meet the development of the
phase. This is well illustrated by the Tenderfoot Second Class Scout and
First Class Scout degrees of the Boy Scouts which operate in this
period.

The factors of the problem, then, to be considered in the method are:
First, Christian Manhood; second, the fact that there are distinct and
separate stages of growth in a boy's development, each stage having its
own well-defined steps of growth; and third, the selection of existing
boy organization activities to meet the need and produce the aim or
desired result.

By way of illustration, let us consider a group of boys just past their
twelfth year. All their physical, social, mental, and spiritual needs
are to be met. The boys are just adolescent and their outlook because of
that is altruistic. They have reached the "ganging" period, and so must
have some form of organization. What organizations can be used to lead
them into Christian manhood between the twelfth and fifteenth year?
There are the Knights of King Arthur, the Boy Scouts, the Junior
Brotherhood, the Christian Endeavor, and the Sunday School Bible Class.
There are others--hosts of them--but these widely known forms will suit
the purpose. For physical purposes we have the Scouts, for social
purposes the Scouts, Knights, and the Bible Class; for mental purposes