The Barns Experiment

Description

Originally published in 1945, this is a concise account of the remarkable experiment with boys carried out by the author of The Hawkspur Experiment. The war put this latter experiment into abeyance, but gave its author an opportunity to practice his principles on a group of younger difficult boys. Aged from eight to fourteen, these boys were the "throw-outs" of the Evacuation Scheme, but before the Barns experiment had been long in operation troublesome boys were being evacuated not primarily to escape bombs, but in order that they might have the treatment that Barns provided. Barns was a Hostel-school initiated by the Society of Friends, where lawless boys made their own laws, and where the principle instrument in their reformation was not punishment but affection. So successful were the unconventional methods here described that sceptics were convinced, and Barns has now achieved a permanent place in the field of "the therapy of the dis-social." Today it would be described as a therapeutic community and is one of the earliest experiments of its kind that raised awareness and paved the way for further research in this area. Cover Half Title Title Page Copyright Page Frontispiece Original Title Page Original Copyright Page Preface Table of Contents List of Illustration Dedication Chapter I. Early Days Chapter II. Punishment Chapter III. Barns Boys Chapter IV. Sharing Responsibilities Chapter V. Responsibilities Shared Chapter VI. Counsels of Perfection Chapter VII. Psychological First-Aid Chapter VIII. Religion Chapter IX. Education Chapter X. Schooling Chapter XI. Re-Education Chapter XII. Prudes and Besoms Chapter XIII. The Sons of the Fathers Chapter XIV. Last Words Index