| Show KNOW I YOUR OWN CHILD The Child I By DR ALBERT LOYAL CRANE Our readers are Invited in invited In- In to address Dr Crane care the McClure Newspaper Syndicate Syndicate Syndi Syndi- cate Fou Fourth th avenue N Nw w York yoi-Ic City on all problems arisIng arising aris arising aris- aris ing either in the home or school concerning unusual or difficult children All letters will be acknowledged ac ac- ac- ac I Yesterday we were discussing the brilliant child who languished lang unI unrecognized unrecognized un un- un- un I recognized throughout his school career Let us consider today the child who is pushed through school at a rate more rapid than his natural natural nat nat- ural abilities would warrant There are arc two principal causes responsible for this forcing process namely unrestrained parental pride I and and the somewhat I machinelike grade age system of ot promotion practiced In our public schools I Nothing could be more natural I than for tOT parents to desire their children chil- chil dren to distinguish themselves In InI I I their school ork worl Yet such Is the i nature of 01 our parental affection for tor our that most of us quite I unconsciously tend to to overestimate I their abilities Quite naturally therefore when school progress lags lag we find ourselves ourselves our- our I selves sel urging and stimulating them to greater and greater effort And AndIn Andin in this process lies danger For If I i his present lack lick of school success Is due to the fact tact that your child Is i already tackling tasks beyond his j i powers then your our and your our urgingS can result only In further fur ther discouragement and failure for your our child Indeed we have even known a university professor protessor who was was so blind lind to his sons son's mental I Endowment that he practically wrecked the boys boy's sch school ol career b by prodding him and tutoring him through grade after alter grade for tor which th the youngster yas still mentally too Nor was this child in any s sense nse retarded or feeble minded He lie was merely an average son of or a superior father who persistently re refused refused refused re- re fused to believe that his son son had hadnot hadnot hadnot not inherited his own superior mental mental mental men men- tal endowment From Prom which we may draw this lesson When school failure looms ahead seek the cause before unduly prodding the child The other cause of ot unwarranted and unearned school promotion operates more commonly with that vast group of or children whose Intellectual Intellectual Intel Intel- growth tails falls to keep intel intel-I pace with their physical growth These children the school simply pushes ahead Sometimes it Is because I the teacher simply cannot endure the thought of having a child with her for tor another term Sometimes I It Is because the child is so large physically compared to the rest of the class that he is moved mo along to avoid embarrassment And yet again these misfits are iare passed on in a mistaken effort to avoid discouraging discouraging dis dis- dis- dis the child chUd We Ve have yet to learn that all men I are not born and created equal and that it Is the dut duty of ot our schools to provide an educational training gra grad graded d both to the inferior and the superior child as well as ts to the average av av- av- av erae But Its Us cause this effort effort ef ef- ef- ef fort Cort to teach leach th the child that which he is as yet et Incapable of learning II can produce nothing but nervous Irritability deep discouragement arid despair and a lack of conti- conti I conti-I d dice ce in in which the tho mis- mis I graded r ded child ina may carry with him through life Ute a I Dear Dr Crane Our eldest child is Just 10 years yeara old She is a a. very well child and never gets into trouble but for tor the thelast thelast thelast I last year she has been having havinga a la a great deal of or difficulty with her herI I school work She seems to W rk for hours and hours without really accomplishing anything and last term she was left back for the first time tithe an and Is now now repeating OB liB she feels terribly bad about it and we weare weare are ore very much distressed as the She he has always seemed like Ille a bright child to us and we would like to see her doing better Can you suggest suggest suggest sug sug- I gest any wa way vay to encourage her and stimulate her efficiency In school MRS t P. P E E. I. I Do you realize Mrs Irs I I. that your yourl l d daughter is 18 almost two y years S younger than the average child In BB What has clearl clearly happened is t that at you have permitted this naturally nat nat- bright girl to advance In hi school even more rapidly than she was able with the result that no now she is out beyond her depth and Is suffering all an the discouragement Incident to being left back The best thing y iou ou ou could possibly possibly possibly bly do would be to take your daughter daugh ter out of school for a year and then return her to the place in ir school where she now is You will of course fill In her time constructively I l el durIng the year if it It your our truancy laws make such suh a s step p impossible im- im possible you ha had l best have her hel transferred to another school school at once to save her from froni the embarrassment embar of a failure for tor which she was really not to blame l 1924 b by the McClure re Newspaper Syndicate |
