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

at Wrightwood avenue and Orchard
street, Chicago, who should stray
through the door marked Library on
the second floor Of the building, would
see this system at work and be puzzled.
decidedly. by what he would see.
All through each school day an in
termittent procession Of pupils from
to is years Of age passes
into the library from the various
grades, while another procession moves
constantly away. No one of the chill
dren remains in the library long, but,
while there. each is measured and
weighed and tested in half dozen
ways, thus uncOnsclously playing a
highly important part in one of the
most interesting latter day develop
ments in the science of education. The
measuring and weighing and testing
are all parts OF a carefully thought
out scheme. For the time being the
little library is the laboratory of the
new department of child study and
pedagogic investigation established at
the beginning of the present school
year by the Chicago board of educa-
ton.
The measurements and tests made by
the new department have to do espec-
tally with the height. weight. power
of endurance. lung capacity, grip Fright
and left hands,, sight and hearing of
the pupil. Yet. while the work occu-
pies the entire attention of F. w
Smedley and c. V. Campbell, two eX-
perienced educators WHOSE training has
given them special qualifications for
The carrying on Of the departments
details, il has been so simplified and
systemarized that each child has to
give up only a few minutes OCCASION
ally while being examined.
WEIGHING AND MEASURING.
Each boy or girl who enters the
library of the Alcott school is request
ed TO step upon a small platform ait
the back of which is a. standard. with
gauge, for taking the height by the
celebrated method Of Bertllon Two
measurements are taken. height stand
ing and height sitting, the figures be- /
ing recorded, as taken. on individual /
cards. which already bear one set of |
figures the result of similar work done (
early last spring and summer Closely 4
approximate figures as to height stand I
ing are obtained by the use of a little /
gauge which measures the thickness /
of the shoe heels. When this is de-
Quoted from the gross the result is al 4
most exactly what it would be were
the measurement taken without the
shoes
Weighing comes after the measuring,
and is quite as carefully done Gener-
ally no comment is made when the new
figures and the earlier ones are COM
pared. but if the expected increase in
height and weight be not shown the
child is questioned regarding its health
in the vacation season. Lack of nor
NAL physical growth is considered a
bad sign by the managers of the de-
partnlent, and the cause thereof is a
proper part OF its records. A boy who
was weighed and measured while the
.fE-s we end
his arms out straight from the Shout
ders and afterwards to extend his hands
and spread his fingers. Had tremor of
the extended arms or spread fingers
been shown, il would have been clear.
perhaps. that the boys condition was
not satisfactory, and possibly a light
ening Of his school work would have
been recommended, though as yet the
department confines itself mainly to
making records. Later, after the Ealue
of its work has been clearly demon
strated by results, a definite scheme Of
concentrations viii be formulated
and adoDted.
LUNG TESTS AND NERVES.
Next the child is tested for lung
capacity. The spirometer used by the
department looks like a miniature gas
Ometer. It consists of a sheet of metal
cylinder closed at one end and open
at the other, which IS Immersed in a
second cylinder containing water. The
child to be tested forces its breath into
The immersed cylinder by blowing =
through a flexible tube, and the lung
capacity is determined by the height d
% which the cylinder is raised. The y
-esults obtained with this spirometer
nave been very satisfactory. y
The ergograph, by which the tests of Z
endurance are made. is unique APP "
laratus and much the mes. interesting "
# those used by the department. The q
land and arm of the child undergoing y
he ergOgraph test are so strapped ~
Town that the middle finger only can !"
,e moved Then this finger is inserted
"A loop connected with a weight ex-
ctly Z per cent of the child's weight, W
md the child is requested to bend the til
niger and thus raise the weight forty III
i've times in a minute and half. or pl
nee every two seconds during that OF
'eliod. BY a revolving scroll and al
<Ylus arrangement record of the i'm