The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1899-10-19

standing committee. Despite the oh
Vious Importance of the department
operations, the expenses incurred so ia
and anticipated in the near future ar
surprisingly small.
a Some of the statements and concIu
= sions of the report may be indicates
briefly here. For instance, it has beel
shown by the geographic records, ia
ken at the Alcott school. that the younj
chlld'S endurance is greater in proper
ton to its age than the endurance o
the older child 1t has been found ais,
that the endurance of girls does not in
crease in the same proportion with tn,
age as the endurance of boys, from
which it is suggested that after a Ger
tain age boys and girls should not bt
educated together, nor should girls beal
the same school burdens as boys after
that age. In lung capacity also the
boy increases much faster than the
girl after 8. though until that age they
are about on an equality in this respect
At ~ II there is wide difference in
favor of the boy.
IMPORTANT COMPARISONS.
Perhaps the most important facts
were obtained from comparing the
weight and height of the children with
their intellectual development. At all
! events, size and mental capacity have
ably few exceptions among the children
of the Alcott school. The diagrams show
mat as a rule the talleSt and heaVieSt
pupils of any given age are also fur
thereSt along in their studies and while
there are some abnomally small and
! light children who have outstrpped
their heavier fellows, the exceptions are
so few as to confirm rather than vitiate
the rule. From this the suggestion
/ comes naturally that the test for first
admittance of children to the public
! schools be based upon weight and
| helght, in connection with instead of
upon, age alone, as now. From the re-
suits obtained in the ungraded school
1t is hoped that in time much help may
be given to backward pupils by the
study of individual cases to be followed
by special training.
The physical force of the child has
been found to vary noteworthy
throughout the school day; thus, at
O'Clock in the morning it is fair at 10
IL is strong, at II decreasing, and at
noon very low At / there is a slight
revival, at it is fairly good, and at 3
there is a second decline. Continued
and closer study along this line may be /
OF great value. The degre of physical |
endurance shown by some of the pupils
IN the highest grade is almost as low |
as. the lowest shown in the lowest grade |
though the highest degre of endurance
in the highest school grade is much
higher than the highest in the lowest.
From this it follows that the grading
OF pupils for physical culture exercises
should be based on the bodily condition
of the children instead of their mental
status, as now. The extreme variations
OF strength shown in pupils of the
same age and the same mental grade
would seem to indicate that there
should BIZ increased elasticity in the
various school courses, particularly as
the upper grades are reached.
IL is held that standards fixed and
deductlons made from the examina-
tlon of children strictly American bv
birth and parentage may not fit at all
when children of other nationalities
are examined. Scientific investigation
is not necessary to show that Italian.
Swedish, Hungarian, Finnish and other
ch1ldren differ materially in mind and
body from American children. Yet ex-
actly how and in what degree they diff
fer cannot be determined accurately
until they are Systematically investi-
gated This may point the way to
of the school courses for
the benefit of children having different
racial qualities. The examining of
truant children may lead to much
good, on the basis that intense dislike
u sTHOoi anu consequent truancy may
depend largely upon abnormal physi-
cal conditions which, while not always s
may be modified materially
With regard to the thoroughness of the 6
it is realized that it is
lot feasible and would not be proper to |
AIRY them beyond certain limits, and q
hat much more can be done in some I
Individual cases, through private than 1
public agencies. But the records made S
~ the new department may suggest. f
extended investigations by the family b
physician. r
1t seems more than probable that the g
teps taken by the Chicago School a
5oard in establishing this department h
$ the beginning of sweeping reforms r
the American public school system e
generally, and in taking the initiative /
he Chicago School Board has shown n
tselt ready to adopt an advanced posi- n
ion in educational matters. The value f
f such department depends wholly. d
course, upon the nature of the men fl
rho attend to the detailed and general a
rork. They should be thoroughly com Il
etent and possessed of that strictly u
elentiflc spirit which seeks to prove :
o theory whatsoever, but to learn 81
ne facts exactly as they are and to W
ase all future operations upon them. 90
IF. Christopher, the head of the Chi Il
ago department, is almost an ideal h
erSon for the place. 1t was due to ia
is intelligent initiative and steady. til
existence that the department wac liz
Established. It's work is now being hi
by competent specialists In
ong lines laid down by him. and OF
lere is no doubt that future investiga c.
ons VIII equal or exceed in value &C
lose which have already been made. ar