Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-12
THE MENTALLY DEFICIENT
Methods of Teaching the Children Of Weak
Intellects.
Interesting Session of Department
No 16 mt the Franklin school
Building-The Addresses.


| of teaching mentally deficient children &C.
cupied the attention of the y. f. A. dele
gates at the session of Department Six
teen" yesterday afternoon in the Franklin
School hall. The session continued four
hours, and the presentation of the subjects
was instructive and interesting
The chairman of the Local committee.
Prof. Bell in extending Washington well
come. said the members of the department
should be congratulated upon he fact that
this was the first meeting of the depart
ment since it was organized. DR.. Gailaudet
spoke brief word of welcome, referring
briefly to the Gallaudet school, and said it
was with especial pride he extended a
greeting on behalf of the Institution.
Annual Address.
In this opening annual address President
]. c. Gordon complimented the Washington
committee upon its admirable arrange
ments. Dr. Gordon briefly sketched the
history of the department, which was for
mally made part of the national assocla-
ton at the Milwaukee convention last year.
Many of the members, he said, had been
cautious in commencing the organization,
but he was thorough believer in the work
and had no doubt Of its continuous success.
The broad lines of the scheme of organic
alton We're briefly alluded to, and the presi-
dent then enumerated the lessons which
may be learned by taking an interest in the
work.
The department had been invited to be-
come part of the Associated Charities.
but he did not look with favor upon such a
movement, thinking the department Of
which he is the executive head should con-
tinue on the path now marked out for it.
1t was waste of energy for the depart
ment to ally itself with any of these out
side associations.
Lessons to He Learned.
The first paper was by Superintendent
Frank Hall of the Illinois State Institution
for the Blind, upon the subject of the les
sons to be learned from any educational
work. The mind is approached through the
senses, and the education of children de-
ponds upon the development of three
things-sight, hearing and touch.
Mr.. Hall compared the education of de-
formed children and those in normal con-
ditfon along these three lines, going into
minute details of the difference in educa-
ton required for the two classes Of chill
dren. The chief result of this education is
the requirement of unusual skill in con-
struction of sections. Blind children said
Mr.. Hall, are more apt in mathematics.
because the images of the figures are in
their Imagination.
Teachers of the blind should not expect
results when the forms which are illustra-
lions of the subject taught are not In the
these
teachers encourage the requirement of
knowledge the symbols of which he can see
with the minds eye and not with the act
uaL Reading beyond the power of his di-
sestion, attention. digestion and assimi-
lation OF the blind children should not he
allowed. The most difficult lesson for the
teacher to learn is that the blind do not
nor cannot receive that culture preparing
mem Tor the best usefulness in society
This is largely due to the fact that the
blind believe they are born to be waited
upon. Therefore the education of the blind
must be chiefly of a sociological charac-
Ter. Thus the task of the teacher to seq
regate the sociological and psych oIop+osI
Is not easy, but he believed when the So
Geological phase is made more prominent
the bhnd VIII be better educated and the
teachers task made much less difficult.
Trend of Training.
Or George Hemple of the Michigan State
University was the second speaker NAMED
on the program. His subject was nasaIoev
but as the professor was absent his paner
was left in the hands of the secretary. The
address of Miss Margaret Bancroft of Had
dontield, n. J.. upon the trend OF training
dren was substituted. In Miss Bancroft's
in backward and mentally deficient chill
opinion the laws governing the MANAGE
ment of schools for the mentally deficient
SHOULD prevent the admission of children
whose parents do not submit a sworn state
ment that they are unable to pay for the
childs tuition. The state should provide
the best school houses. Physical training
and manual training according to Miss
Bancroft should be thoroughly established.
with the best apparatus and tools
To secure the best results the obtaining
of the best teachers should be one of the
first efforts of the managers. The erection
of houses, to be the joint habitation of
teachers and pupils. in order that the for
mer should be better able to exercise more
influence upon the latter, was advocated
When these or similar suggestions were
adopted, she believed, the present errors
would be eradicable and the teachers work
become less iri<some.
President e. NJ. Gallaudet of the Column
bia Institution for the Instruction of the
Deaf and Dumb. located in this city spoke
at some length of the work of the college
which, he said is the only institution of its
kind III the world.
Brain Building.
Preliminary to a quite Lengthy paper on
brain building conducive to mind building
by Psychologist Elmer Gates of this city,
DR.. Krohm of Illinois explained the use of
apparatus for various sense tests. DR..
Gates discussed his subject with special ref
erence to the senses. training of the eye
and ear, and in conclusion gave the teach
erS some advice upon methods to be used in
teaching mentally backward children.
The relation of language teaching to
mental development was discussed by Prof.
S. G. Davidson of the Mount Airy school,
Philadelphia. and the session concluded