Windham County Observer

Dr. Willis A. Sutton, the recently elected president of the National Education Association, makes the startling assertion that he doesn't "believe there is such a thing as a bad boy, although there is such a thing as a bad adult." Furthermore he strengthens his assertion by the declaration that it is not a theory but a fact and that he is prepared to substantiate his statements by reasons and evidence.

Dr. Sutton is superintendent of schools at Atlanta, Ga., and for many years has been closely associated with boys as a superintendent. So strong was his faith in boys that as school principal he never suspended one boy, no matter what was the offense.

For this "heresy" he drew the criticism of other Atlanta school principals who did believe in suspending incorrigible youngsters.

"I won't suspend any boy from school and I carried this into practice," he says. "Finally I was urged to have some consideration for the other school principals, I suggested a solution".

"All right", I said, "although I won't suspend any of my boys I am willing to take charge of the boys suspended by other principals."

"They accepted the challenge and thirty seven boys suspended from other schools entered my school."

"It was the acid test, and don't think I didn't have my hands full—for not one was an angel by any stretch of the imagination."

"After I had exhausted every means of curbing, them I called in five dentists and five medical doctors to examine them."

"The results were startling. Not one of the thirty-seven had a clean mouth and a full set of sound teeth. One, I remember, had eleven abscesses in his mouth, and many of the others, in addition to dental defects, were afflicted with bad tonsils, adenoids and other defects."

"Their mouths were cleaned up and they were given proper medical treatment They were made healthy boys."

"That removed the cause of their troubles in school. Every one of them graduated from high school and all of them are doing well."

"That experience gave me my cue I emphasized a health program in the school of 987 students Examination showed that eighty-nine percent were under weight. Twenty-eight percent. of them failed in their classes, and in the aggregate they lost 5600 days from school in the school years."

"The health program was inaugurated with the result that the next year only twenty-eight percent. of them were under weight, only eight percent. failed. and the aggregate loss for the year of school days was reduced to 1300."

All of which not only makes interesting reading but it also seems to prove that the good Dr. Sutton's experience well warrants his belief in the theory that he advances and it should be added that modern thought is more and more tending to the belief that something preventably wrong is the unfortunate possession of the average "bad boys".