"The adults in Maycomb never discussed the case with Jem and me; it seemed that they discussed it with their children, and their attitude must have been that neither of us could help having Atticus for a parent, so their children must be nice to us in spite of him. The children would never have thought that up for themselves: had our classmates been left to their own devices, Jem and I would have had several swift, satisfying fist-fights apiece and ended the matter for good. As it was, we were compelled to hold our heads high and be, respectively, a gentleman and a lady." (Chapter 26)
Being faced with an adult conflict, Scout and Jem are forced to act like adults. It may be less violent than the kid's method of fighting it out, bottling up those emotions means that they are holding more than they would otherwise. The other children at school treat Jem and Scout differently; they also talk behind their backs. Jem and Scout are very mature for their ages; they see the world differently because they have been raised by a good father figure, Atticus. Atticus has taught them a lot about life in their youth. When children are faced with adults' conflicts they can either learn from them or become bitter. Scout and Jem could have chosen to be embarrassed that their dad was supporting a black man in a trial, but they were raised much more open-minded than that. Scout and Jem chose to see the bigger picture; they are proud of their dad for helping someone innocent.
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