The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-10-15
SCHOOL CHILDREN STUDIED
,yruRTiNr EXPERIMENT NOW In
pROGRESS IN CHICAGO.
n. Purpose Is toDetermine the Relation OF
rh,sicaI Condition and Mental Capacity
rhc Case oi backward Pupiis-ChauKes
IL, the school system May Follow.

pn,sicnl Condition and Mental Capacity
rb,, Case oi Backward Pupils-ChauKes
In the school system May Follow.
rurAGo. oct lathe Chicago School
p.,,l has lcl;un an experiment which may bring
,,, awrcping changes in tho American school
,cp, Not satisfied with watching the mental
Establishment of the children II has gone into the
.r,,, NJ their physical development in the belief
,L,t b-1n growth in school children is much
,,,,. str.nely influenced by their physical CON
I,i,r irau has hitherto been realized. IL the
alan uo-,s mt She grading Of pupils and the mat
,,i .r,,luration in public school will bc great
!, sH.,l,l Many children now accepted ns
r,,r;. viii ~ sent tn their homes for physical
., and many who nrc now regarded as being
,.,,ri IN their studies will. through the opera
,.r - thr scientific school examiners and their
family PHYSICIANS. bc brought to a condition
,bc,,,rrir minds will work freely and quickly.
,,,c r,.auti'nc il may be found wise 10 separate
,..,r. and ,nys IN the pursuit Of education
Tin, u,.' t,'mrd visitor to the. \lcott School,
., WurHlvuud avenue and Orchard street, Chi
,a,. WIN should stray through the door marked
Of 1,.,,, on the second noor Of the building.
...rI .c, lN.> system at work and would I've puz-
,,,l d.,d~ily hg what he would see. All
,.-..r-b corh school day an intermittent process
,pn ~ pupils FROM 3 to 10 years Of age passes
rr, me library from the various grades, while
stu.tpcr procession moves constantly away. No
ono N the children remains in the library long.
Ian, while there each is measured and weighed
and lcscd in half dozen ways For the time
tcrr the little library is the laboratory Of the
,,v department. uf child study and pcdagogic
Investigation established AT the beginning Of
tho present. school ycat by the Chicago Board
, Education The measurements and tests
have ~, de- especially with the height, weight,
ranr- " endurance lung capacity. grip fright
and left hands, sight and hearing Of the pupil
Each boy or Curl who enters the library Is re-
c,, ted to step upon small platform at the back
Of which Is standard, with gauge, for taking
,Nr hpight hy tho method Of Bertillon Two
measurements arc taken height standing and
height sitting the figures being recorded, as
taken. On Individual cards, which already bear
one sci II figures, the result Of similar work done
early last spring and summer Very accurate
figures as TO height standing arc obtained by
the use OF little gauge which measures the thick.
ness Of the shoe heels Weighing comes after
The measuring and is quite carefully done.
Generally no comment is made when the new
figures and the earlier ones are compared, but IL
a. expected increase in height and weight be
Mt shown, the child is questioned regarding his
health in the vacation season. Lack Of normal
physical growth is considered bad sign by the
managers " the DEPARTMENT. and the cause there
n is a proper part of its records The child Is
asked 10 stretch his arms ont straight from the
shoulders and aitrrward 10 extend his hands
and spread his fingers II tremor OF the ex-
tended arms spread fingers is shown it would
he Clrar PERHAPS, that the boys condition is not
satisfactory and possibly tightening of his
rn,, w,.i would recommended. though as
vt the department confines itself mainly 10
making records. Later, after the value Of its
work has been clearly demonstrated by results
dcinlt" scheme Of recommendations will be
formulated and Adopted
Meet tie child Is ic,."i for lung capacity The
''i' rlNt"r used by thu department looks like a
miniature gasonletrr 1t consists Of a sheet Of
metal cylinder rloNcd al one end and open at tho
"H"'. Wh'cn Il immersed in second cylinder
obtaining water. The child TO be tested forces
lt' breath int The immersed cylinder by blowing
trough a flexible tub" and tn" lung capacity is
d'i"r mined by the height to which the cylinder
i raised IN" results obtained with this spironle-
- haze hr'n very satiSfa tory. The ergograph.
h. which the tests Of endurance are made, is he
mo- l0tre'l'1E Apparatus used by the depart
m'I' Tl' N11i n7l am of the child undergo
- } - f-'pI TT H-r s. STRAPPED down that
IiI" il:,r only can he moved. Then this
NJ rlNL l'"t't IN al"pp connected with weight
"\''i, ny ''l' u' tn" chlli weight. and the
'uii Is requested to bend the finger and thus
a'h IN" w'iSht iprty iiv" times in minute and
sllli ~ a., "la' every two seconds du,ins that
ra7S'n,r', a record 81 the work done is made
40 ni'!c1!lv an IN" record is preSc rved 10 CORE
So II with the inividua card upon which the
culi> uin'r records are written Records unite
different III appearance are made by children who
sfe MT IN good shape physically, and il has been
found IN practice that the crroErarh TT Cncr ,e
vcaIs the nervous child the child Of hichstr,,np
temnrramcnt aud the child with irregular ca paCitv
for work. Thus the erCograph is supposed 10 in
dlrate nerve power, rather than muscular strength
Singular as II may seem, the results obtained
nlrar 10 bear out this notion, since il is not AT
all unusual for person Of delicate physique and
WIN comparatively undevelOped muscular sys
TEN to make better showing than a far more
muscular individual
The mRnunm-tCr, used for testing the prio 10
oithc ordinary type Ills little metal apparatus
whirh can be easily gras pcd, and contains ring
whl' may be rom PRESSED by closing the hand
To tie Sprlng Is attached an index which meas
Mrs tie muscular force dcvclo ,ed in kiloerammes
Tests Of sight and hearing are also made. the
sight tests being not dissimilar TO those of the
ordinary "pllclan The apparatus used in testing
thC hearing is the most delicate ever used
Similar study Of children has been carried on
IN me asst IN many places and by many nyesti.
gators but never before under the aus )ices Of a
mnnil @Ilty or State as Dart Of the regular
educational system or in conditions making II
possible =" study large number Of children by
exactly lnr sane methods of a considerable period
me rHtaMiNnm"nt Of the DEPARTMENT in connec,
Won WIN n" Chicago school system was brought
aUlut by |hr Efforts Of DR., W. s. Christopher a
member Of the Chicago School Board whose
s~clGy asa physician is the treatment of children
an has been convinced for years that The
Tntpncy "l III" public schools everywh here could
~. .E increased vastly were careful and scientific
~ HfN"pherS view. shared by many emf
rn'ruHrdl,fS, by the way, is not that the mcasuf-
!nE ana testing are Of value in themselves To the
Si"l department. but that, considered in re
iau2h y age and class standing, they may be
IoHe III" OASIS II deductions which will suggest
mHhE useful changes i'll the grading Of the chill
wren hhH ~ The school courses themselves. This
wi" S'rn'> borne out with special force by the rec
.N obtained IN one of Chicagus ungradcd
"1,HS only pupils who are backward in their
IiIhl development are sent To this school.
,,i"'rI'o ilr,r low standing has been attributed
p,.Nuhh'N ana vIClOusneSS III many instances,
wv. we fcryriN SHOW dearly that baCkwardncsS
,5nE +" AMI frequently is, due TO physical causes,
"" 10" m"1sl status Of the child being accom-
S'Mca by Npuy bodily defect in nearly every case.
n,nM were found 10 be victims Of insufficient
,"'u'u mother words they didn't have cnOug h
'aL ana, bctng partially starved II was im-
issue IN them to do the regular school work.
,'nr'N were Snort in lung capacity and close
i"~uEau"u showed that the nasal passages
~Hl 81 those suffering from this defect were
,mHII !" allow normal breathing. II was
i.'t mat one girl who had never been able Ia
-, fdalIy was partially deaf; not having heard
hh,,a N"Ir~ Glth dlstinCtncSs she was Of course,
I|d ua2hl" u Grticuate them properly. In
VI pr cent ~ all IN the school were below
~,"A 40 .r"Fu- Other backward children
IN iEn"1H'riy aSymmcuical or one sided
NJ "'N rh'sI"1l development, and various other
blS.GI cause, Tor intellectual slowness were