Salt Lake Telegram | 1934-09-27 | Page 8 | Inferiority Inspires Youngsters to Excel in Eir Good or Bad

INFERIORITY INSPIRES YOUNGSTERS TO EXCEL IN EITHER GOOD OR BAD Desire Is Inherent to to- Keep Pace or Outdistance Others fly By MYRTLE l MEYER fEYER ELDRED Bring Briar your problems about diet general care and management management manage manage- ment to tol Mrs Eldred In care of the Your Baby and anti Mine department de dc of this newspaper Your questions will be answered promptly if you will a a. self addressed 3 cent stamped envelope en en- vel elope s-elope ope with your letter There is an Inherent desire in all normal individuals to keep pace or orto orto orto to outdistance companions relatives and friends If this were not true there would be no progress as everyone everyone every every- one would be quite content to remain whatever he was and make no Individual Indi vidual effort to improve It is obvious that because of mental mental men men- tal and physical differences as well as social and material handicaps it itis itis itis is harder for some than for others to meet even the ord ordinary ar competition of school This gives rise to a feeling feeling feel feel- ing of inferiority in the unsuccessful competitor This feeling is advantageouS advantageous advantageous when it spurs on the child to greater efforts in some particular i line of endeavor as a compensation for or inferiority interiority in situations over which he has no control This accounts in a measure for forthe forthe forthe the efforts of ot physically inferior children children children chil chil- dren to excel scholastically i It accounts for the ferocity with which mentally inferior children plunge Into athletics It accounts for the frequency with which the slightly younger child in a family manages to skip a grade and put him or herself on a scholastic level with an older brother or sister of whose age and privileges he is inwardly envious These are all legitimate ways by which we squelch feelings of inferiority infer infer- and compensate for them It is only when a child cannot find legitimate weapons with which to conquer this unhappy emotion t that tha at he hc develops other means of making makin himself outstanding He becomes become w worst boy in school the town tow bully the most amazing liar the cleverest clev clev- crest erest sneak thief the leader of th the incorrigible gang the most hard boiled thus achieving a spurious fam fame e. e A question all parents and teachers teacher ask themselves when a child chile becom becomes noticeably misbehaving having an and Ind unmanageable is Why is he forced force to act this way Is he being denied denic the opportunity to shine in some wa way among children with better social an and mental advantages Docs Does ho he neet need encouragement and new channels fo for the qualities he docs does possess Obviously he must have our greater great great- er wisdom in working out for him some way of livin living some school act ity which satisfies his desire to b bup be beup up on an equality or to rise superior to his peers Then and then only I can the child chUd be helped to conquer a sense of inferiority which h his conduct indicates is stifling him