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Show I City Has H(r asmig 11 I Public School j. System Separates I Youngsters for I Training in Their ! Definite Grades I and Often Re-I Re-I ' claims Seemingly 1 Hopeless Cases. s jKAST'RrNG by mechanical de-llf de-llf I vices the force of child i li and thereby determining the stage of mental deelopment, resulting in the reclamation of aome who othor-w othor-w - wise would be lost to opportunities and j In directing Into proper channels others tao are mental defectives, the Psycho- Kducatlonal Clinic of the St. Louis pu"5- I lie schools Is still dally carrying on tho great work It was organized to perform For more than three and one-half years this branch of the city's educational educa-tional system has been In existence. During that time It has piled up dally l roof that It Is one of the city's greatest great-est single factors for human good. And j it still is only In Its Infancy, for tho j science of mechanically determining menta1 strength Is. In a measure, brand-I brand-I new. Since its organization and until the J close of last year's school period, the clinic made examination or Intelligence diagnosis of 1888 children, all of whom i were regarded as mentally deficient. Of that number, however, only 370 Wir found, by psychological tests, to i.c really feeble-minded In seventy-six J cases diagnosis was deferred vrh'Ic mentality was undetermined In six cases Two hundred and slxty-sem I children were found to be on tho bor- I der line of feeblc-mlndedness. 400 were found to be only backward, W retarJed for other than mental causes, and 00 were found to be normal. During the present school term, so fir as it has progressed, about the same ratio been shown. Determining Exact Degree. j Not so much In determining Just how deficient thoe of feeble mind are, but in finding cut to a positive degree Just how nearly normal other so-called feeble-minded children are. is the greatest great-est service the Psycho-Educational Clinic of the St. Louis public schools is perfoimr:g for humanity For, as a J result of the tests that have been car- r'ed on. almost 10(10 St. Louis schoolchildren, school-children, who otherwise would have 1 become purils in special schools de signed for those of weak mentality hive been placed In such other training train-ing as har helped them overcome various vari-ous obstacles that stood in their way. For the purpose It Is serving the clinic was instituted by the St. Louis ! schools in September, 1014. Putting I Into use the method of measuring a 1, human s mind by means of blocks and I rnapc and picture puzzles, it was a svstem about which St. Louisans, out side of scientific circles, knew little. I Strangely. the subject since has I brought forth little thought or dls- cusslon except by those whose work or those whose misfortunes have brought I them in touch with the system. Few 8t i Loulsans have known that almost a J thousand children, previously thought mentally weak, have been shown to be j of sound (mlnd and hayo been re- claimed from the opprobrium of sus- ! pldon. or that many otherwise believed normal have been found to be men- j tally Inferior and have been placed un- j der such direction of education and : training as will give them the most help. J Fo.- some six years before the estab- j llehment of the clinic, St Louis had J maintained Its present system of spe- J rial schools. From rcords compiled by teachers of the regular public echoo'ij who lid the best possible from data thev could obtain, the mental stage of the 'slow" pupils was Judged This determined deter-mined In Its limited way If & child should or should not be entered in a special school, where tho backward children were taught. Often a child that waa mentally normal would become be-come a pupil In one of theso schools because, on account of some physical weakness. It appeared to be mentally deficient. Such children were, of course, In the wrong channel, and were deprived of training that would have teen best In their Individual cases. Old Sy6tem in the Discard. .ut this haphazard way of determining determin-ing a child s eligibility to tho courso of training devised for the feeble-mind has gone Into the discard. For throe and a half years the menial stage of doubtful clil'dren has been measured by a scientific method. Involving for the most part, tho use of little blocks, colored col-ored cards, outline designs and plcturo and let'.er puzzles. Not alone Is the mental strength of a subject correctly measured by the psvchologlst, but the extent of the child's ability Is established, the test serving not only to prevent normal-minded normal-minded children from being placed In the class of feeble-minded, but establishes estab-lishes for the Instructor tho perfect rang of capabilities With such an understanding un-derstanding as to the subject's mental condition. It Is more nearly possible to pUico him in the peculiar training needed to develop what power ho possesses. In this way the system olds In directing the education of the weaker and that already has resulted In many being made Into useful citizens Records from the special schools to date show that 4C 2 per cent of the children chil-dren who have been sent from the clinic to special schools and have since finished fin-ished there were so correctly placed In the training that- they were In thin great measure reclaimed and have since gone to work and are virtually earning their own way in the world Of thi3 number some are boys and some aro girls. By a system Inaugurated in the grade schools, all teachers are obliged to report re-port for clinical examinations 1 per cent of the slowest pupils In their respect ive rooms. This has the( effect of scndlng to the clinic all known and doubtful rases. Many of the latter, upon examination, exami-nation, are found to bo mentally do fectlvc These children then are placed In tho ungraded classes in tho grad school buildings, where they are usually helped to uvcrcomo whatever Influence that caused them to become backward Others aro found to be so far below norm.-'i as to be feeble-minded and the-.-arc placed In the .special schools. Some are found to have been backward because be-cause of defective speech or hearing and aro assigned to the Gallaudct School, where, sometimes In extreme cases, they are taught lip reading or even the finger alphabet. Stages of Development, The big work," said Dr. J W. Wal-lln, Wal-lln, superintendent of the clinic, "is to differentiate between the stages of mental men-tal development And one of tho most difficult features Is to establish the lino between the idiot, the Imbecile and the moron. The special school cannot reclaim re-claim the weak-minded, but It can, by knowing tho type It deals with, often direct the subject In a way to bring out that which is in him.'' Before the classifying system in examining ex-amining the child mind was made possible pos-sible by the Introduction of psychology, those who were mentally weak weru submerged by tho moss and still further fur-ther handicap given them But now It Is more nearly possible to give cacn chllrt what It needs In the way of special spe-cial training. About 10 per cent of their courso Is made up of' various forms of physical training and about it per cent is devoted to training tho motor "side" of the mind. . h6revcr a child has some f distinctive ftuiuvj .....- .juimo lu the very farthest point possible. An example of this Is to be seen In the manual training department of the special spe-cial schools, where boys of low mentality mental-ity aro often brought up to a high degree de-gree of efficiency In woodworking and other such employment. At the special school on South Grand avenue, where the Psycho-Educational Clinic Is. some remarkably clever work done by tne boys Is to be found. These pupils have not stopped short of actually furnishing the largo reception hall with fumlt:re they mado In the shop Each pleco shows splendid workmanship and would be n credit to any manual training exhibit. ex-hibit. The boys take to the work readily, read-ily, and besides learning to be efficient workmen, find what Is to them an unusual un-usual pleasure Work of the Girls. Similar example of the high stage of development to which tho motor phase of the feeble-minded may bo carrk-d under suitable Ir.rtructlon Is to be seen in articles made by the girls. On some of these is to be found the most dainty and best executed needlework to be Imagined, and at tho same time the little lit-tle misses show unusual speed in their work. Like the boys engaged In woodworking, wood-working, the Kirk take naturally to tho work and like It very much. Some or Chun have performed marvelous re. if In knitting, both for character of worn and for speed. Much attention Is given to teaching the children to sing. Some of tho youngest young-est and most backward show marked ability as singers and, although often they aro unable to learn anything ot moment in the way of reading or .nt-ln-,' or spelling, they memorize songs in a remarkable way. In their physical exercise they are taught to obey commands com-mands This results In proficiency in the performam of tasks cxpobted id the children. The psychological test Is comprised chiefly of exercises with devices called "form boards," which aro graded as to simplicity. One contains blocks of different dif-ferent shapes, another bas blocks of different sizes, still another contains blocks of different weights and others havo pons of varying sizes or shapes. Tho failure to properly replace the blocks or pons In the various form boards shows, to a decree, the deficiencies defi-ciencies of mentality Other devices are used, such as puzzle pictures, which tho subject Is expected to place together. Further tests aro made by the use of pictures, which are shown to tho child, who, after he had been given suttlcl nt time to view it well, la asked to tell what he saw. Theso ire graded ae to simplicity and complcxness One Inter- st lug l.-t is made by showing the child n diagram of what purports to be a round field with two gates. "Now," explains the examiner, "suppose "sup-pose you have lost your ball somewhere. In that round field, and you don't know how It got there or where It Is. How-would How-would you go about hunting for It?" Tno Instructor then give the child a pencil and tells him to trace the path ho would take looking (( r the ball Tho kind of path outlined by the subject helps Indicate to tho psychologist tho mental standard of the Mid. Simple stories are toll the child, after v hlch he Is asked to tell IT there Is anything any-thing wrong with the details. The answer an-swer will indicate mental strength nr weakness. One of these stories Is about r.s follows. "A little girl was fou'.d dead, cut In eighteen pieces. The poi'ce believe sho killed herself." A noin.al child, at a certain age. will seo what Is "wrong with the story," but one f lower mental force will not grasp tho point Numbers and letters also aro used In making tests of a chll 1 s ability to remember re-member and to think quickly Tho tests grow in their complleatuns In such a way as to seek tho menu: level of tho subject. In i he same way a cabinet of colored cards Is used. This cabinet comprises four compartments one for ai h color. The cards ure thoroughly , mixed and the child Is Instructed to sort them, placing each In tho proper compartment. As with most of tha teats, the subject Is timed. The time required and tho accuracy shown do-termlno do-termlno tho subject's rating. Speed of leactlon or motor speed is tested by an electrical device which records the speed of tho Mid In go'ng through un oxcrclso of rapping on a board with a stencil. In conducting such an examination many considerations must bo weigned, and no one or two or even half a dozen tests will necessarily Indicate the range of the mind Often a child who Is normal nor-mal will fall to solve some of the puzzles, puz-zles, while some deficients will work with speed and exactness. Hut each test brings out some certain point, and from the whole the diagnosis Is arrived at. That it is made correctly Is proved by the work that has been carried on In the special schools and the ungraded classes since tho new .system was Instituted. Many peculiar cases have arisen curing cur-ing th6 time the clinic has been In existence. ex-istence. One Instance pointed out is the cap of a lUVj-year-old boy who was , reported after he had boon In a grace scl'ool six years and had reached the fourth quarter of the fourth grade, although, al-though, In fact, he was able to do 'only serond-gradc work. Had "Word-Blindness." Tnls boy was very poor In reading, spelling and writing. To all outward appearance he was feeble-minded. But tests showed him to be retarded only seven months In mentality, while the motor side was about the same. He possessed fair i onstructive capacity and la.r Intelligence, and tcts showed htm to be virtually normal physically But he possessed a defective auditory Imagery Im-agery and auditory memory span. In this he was about what a normal 8-ycar-old child should no. lie had a gocd vlsunl Imagery. His vocabulary was better than normal for Ms ago. lie, suffered from what Is known as "word blindness.'' He f tumbled througn In J minutes and 17 seconds a reading test that requires but ''' seconds for a normal 10-year-old child. Such words as "near," "loss," "saving1 asleep. ' "burned,' "early" and "teacher" stumped Mm Hut after reading words i School of Mental deficients ho was able to memorize them and in memory was above tho average for Ms oars. He wan placed in tho channel of training which more nearly fit Mm and Is getting along well In all of hl-s studies except reading. Before being given tho special instruction the boy was handicapped because his ability to read affected Ms spelling and Ms writing. I'ndcr such conditions ne was overcome by the mass and so thoroughly thor-oughly 'swamped-' in the grade school that ho came to be looked upon as not merely a stupid child but ono whoso mental stago was very low. He Is now i elng oxrorlmcntcd with in the hopo that a method may be devised by whlcn ho can be taught to read. Had Five-Year-Old Vocabulary. Another case Is told which demonstrates demon-strates the necessity of having a child given the test upon the first appearance appear-ance of dullness. This is the caso of a girl who was II years old beforo she was brought ,to tho clinic. Sho was first In a public school for ono and a half years, then In a parochial school for two years and then kept at home two years Her defect was extreme. She entered tho public school again and was reported to the clinic a3 the 1 per cent of the most backward In her room. She was then doing first grade work, making her poorest showing In The test showed her to grade In mentality men-tality as a 7-year-old. Ordinarily v. hen a 11-year-old child Is as much as four years backward she Is classed as feebleminded. feeble-minded. But In the form board speed test she did It at 11 years She had limited vocabulary, however, and was not capable to do other tests better than a .Vyear-old. She had extremely limited ability to speak. She had good visual imagination and In the visual memory test passed as a M-year-old child. Her auditory memory was poor. She was found to bo totally deaf In one ear and the other ear could be impressed only with a shout. ' Records showed that sho was a normal child until she was 4 years old. at which time she suffered from scarlet fever. She then began to speak less and less. She could do well in hand work and homo work. Further tests showed tho reason she ranked so low In the beginning begin-ning of the examination was that she could not hear. Thus it proved that, with the exception of her hearing deficiency de-ficiency and tho result it had had in making her seem stupid, sho was a normal child. But for five years sho had missed tho opportunity to learn because sho had been simply smothered smoth-ered by the mass In her school work. Had sho been tested when first signs of so-called dullness developed she would have been placed in special training and would have been equal to other children of her age or nearly so. She was sent to Gallaudct and is there now. At the outset virtually all of her Instruction was dovoted to lip reading and development of oral expression. In pddition she Is now being given Instruction Instruc-tion in tho regular branches. It is feared by her teachers that sho is too old to be taught lip roadlng proficiently and it Is probable that It will be necessary neces-sary to teach her tho manual alphabet, which Is sign reading. An examination was. a few days ago. given a girl who was more than 15 years old. In mentality she registered no better than a 7-year-old child. Sho appeared for the examination too late in life for. at her ago. she cannot be advanced even In the special schools, 4iad she the opportunity of such a clinic and special schooling when she was small, she probably could ha. o been transformed. Dr Wallln Is the man who worked out tho system In St. Louis to such a high degree. He Is a psychologist of international fame ono of the leading men of the science today. It was following fol-lowing his visit hero four years ago, when he gave a series of lectures on the Psychology of Children beforo tho Har ris Teachers' College, that St Loul adopted the work as had been carried on In other largo centers and called Dr Wallln to the chair. Ho came from Pittsburgh, Pa,, where he had charge of the clinic In tho University of Pittsburgh. Pitts-burgh. Dr. John W. Withers, superintendent of the St Louis public schools, has Ions been an advocate of tho theory that th child mind could be automatically measured. meas-ured. At tho time Dr. Wallln appeared before tho Harris Teachers' College Dr. Wlthera was principal of that Institution. Institu-tion. The post left by Dr. Wallln in Pittsburg was different somowhat In character from the one he fills here. There the clinic admitted all comers, and Its work was not confined alone tc that of locating the mental range oi school children The test system as now employed waj worked out by a French psychologist Blnet It was soon afterwards adoptee in me l nuea states The system ha' been somewhat improved by Americans among thoso adding Improvement beinj Dr Wallln. The very first work of the kind was done In Pennsylvania twenty years ago It was first used in tho case of a child who was slow In spelling Since the system has become more thorough if lias h-on adopted in many cities of the Cnlted States. Us d by Police. The p- etiological test or examinaf.loi system has grown Into enormous use throughout tho country. In many Institutions Insti-tutions It Is being used to ascertain the mental state of criminals. This is s part of tho police system In New York Most on. Chicago and Los Angeles. In many places business men are Interested In-terested In the method of mind testing and frequently It is used In Judging tin-ability tin-ability of applicants to fill positions. Especially Is it being found useful by alea managers. A system has been devised de-vised by which those giving the test may determine if an applicant about whom nothing is known really has ihe ability that will make them successful salesmen. That tho world. Just now in lhe beginning be-ginning of a new era in many lines, Is also entering into a field of applied psychology there Is no reasonabl. grounds to doubt. Among those-whose activities are be lrg given over in a marked degree tc lhe spreading of tho general understanding under-standing of psychology as a means ol measuring the human mind is St. Louis Psychologist. Dr. Wallln. tho man who has made it a success in the public schools. Ho has offered courses in Harris Teachers' Collego and has perfected per-fected many as teachers in the work. Last summer he gave courses on tbe subject In the University of Iowa, receiving re-ceiving another call to teach there this summer. But ho will go to the Pacific Coait instead, having arranged to offer courses this summer at tho University of Callfornia- Bcsides being a teacher of clinical psychology. Dr. Wallln Is an author of many works on tho subject, having written some ten books and 110 monthly articles I |