Omaha daily bee., 1899-10-15

Of the report may be indicated briefly here.
For instance, il has been shown by the
geographic records, taken at the Alcott
school, that the young child's endurance Is
greater in proportion to its age than the
endurance Of the older child. 1t has been
found, also that the endurance Of girls
does not increase in the same proportion
with the age as the endurance Of boys, from
which it is suggested that after a certain
age boys and girls should not be educated
together, nor should girls bear the same
school burdens as boys after that age. In
lung capacity also the boy increases much
faster than the girl after 0, though until
that age they are about on an equality
in this respect. At 16 or II there Is a wide
difference in favor OF the boy.
important Comparisons.
Perhaps the most important facts were OBJ
tainod from comparing the weight and
height of the children with their Intellectual
development. At all events size and mental
capacity have been found to go together
with remarkably few exceptions among the
children of the Alcott school The diagrams
chow that as a rule the tallest and heaviest
pupils of any given age are also furtherest
along in their studies and while there are
some abnormally small and light children
who have outstripped 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 height in
connection with, instead of upon, age alone,
as now. From the results obtained in the
ungraded school it is hoped that in time
much help may be given to backward pupils
g..I-l Il II
lowed 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 morn
ing it is fair, at 10 it is stronger, at II de-
creasing and at noon very low At l there
is slight revival, at it is fairly good and
at there is a second decline. Continued
and closer study along this line may be of
great value. The degree of physical en-
durance shown by some Of the pupils in the
highest grade is almost as low as the lowest
shown in the lowest grade, though the high
est degree of endurance in the high
est school grade is much higher than the
highest in the lowest. From this it follows
that the grading of pupils for physical cul-
ture exercises should be based on the bodily
condition of the children instead of their
mental status as now. The extreme varia-
tions of strength shown in pupils OF the
same age and the same mental grade would
seem to indicate that there should be in
creased elasticity in the various school
courses, particularly as the upper grades are
reached.
1t is held that standards fixed and de-
ductions made from the examination OF
children strictly American by birth and
parentage may not fit at all when children
OF other natonalities are examined Sci
entifc investigation is not necessary to
show that Italian, Swedish, Hungarian, Fin
nish and other children differ materially in
mind and body from American children. Yet
exactly how and in what degree they differ
cannot be determined accurately until they
are systematically Investigated. This may
point the way to modification 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 OF school
and consequent truancy may depend largely
upon abnormal physical conditions, which,
while not always removable, may be mod
flied materially.
With regard to the thoroughness OF the
examinations it is realized that it is not
feasible and would not be proper to carry
them beyond certain limits, and that much
more can be done in some individual cases,
through private than public agencies. But