Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1904-12-08

else in the World but the knowledge
comes at last.
Usually it is some kind Of manual
work he grows fond of. 1t may be car
pentering. as in the case Of that boy.
| Miss Farrell nodded to youth who was
industriously planning piece OF wood.
He is never 50 happy as when working at
the bench. Or it may be merely driving
in nails, which one little fellow in my
class finds the plcasantcst Of all occupa-
tions This is some Of his work"
| From one of the cases Miss Farrell
took pieces of cork into which brass
headed tacks had been driven in the form
of circles, squares and trianglcs.
This work teaches precision and neat
ness in placing the nails exactly on the
! line, and also number and proportion by
| allowing just so many nails to each side
of the square and more for the long side
of the triangle than for the others she
explained.
Little can be done with these children
through ordinary instruction. They fail
to comprehend or benefit by it. Their
minds must be trained through their
muscular senses. Motor work, which in
cludes both manual and physical, must
precede all mental training \ boy, for
instance who cannot comprehend the
| fact that a square has four sides will
| gradually come TO understand it from
running his finger around the edge of a
| square surface. Thus. also, he will grasp
! the fact that a triangle has three sides
After he has acquainted himself with
these shapes he may be able to draw
| them on the blackboard.
1T is quite impossible for most Of
these children to understand that a
square cut in two diagonally will form
awo triangles; but given pieces of color,
ed paper to first form into squares and
later to fold and tear into triangIcs, they
gradually come to perceive this
Little things which would be play
to the normal child task the powers of
mentally defective children TO the ut
most. Most OF them have at first, no
sense whatever of direction ana proper
ton. All such children are anaemic and
! uudenorished, and have little or no
muscular control Their fingers work
with big objects only. Precise work
| such as sewing. threading beads, or even
cutting piece of ruled paper into strips
along the lines, cannot be done without
months Of patient effort.
1T j, quite impossible for these child
rem to sit still or manage their feet prop
crly-a fact which explains the case of
: ma "a E,It, l.4-s IL
restless or troublesome in the ordinary
school room. With constant practice
and perseverance these defects may be
/ lrssened or entirely removed. \ little
| boy who was in my class last year had
nfantile paralysis so badly that he could
not walk up or down stairs by himself
! Every day | had him mount the stairs
in the hall, few steps at first. then
more each day. until he had learned to
90 up and down the entire fight with
out assistance
| Il do not see that there can be ques-
ton as to the great necessity of special
| classes for mentally defective children
The defective child is in our schools,
whether We will or not Every day he
. is there he is forming habits of Incidence
to which he is naturally disposed. If
/ he is a borderland case-that is, Just
shade or two from the normal-he soon
/ becomes a catspaw for smaller boys
/ He follows with impunity the suggest
/ ions of others, assumes an attitude of
rebellion against the school and finally
! turns to a career of truancy. Many a
boy or girl who might have been made
self-supporting drifts into our institu-
/ tions in early manhood or womanhood,
and for lack of little proper training,
when young, must be supported at the
public expense for the rest of their
/ lives.
| But besides economic reasons, there
is a great moral responsibility TO care for
these children, not only for their own
sake, but for that of the community.
Before coming to a class like this they
\ have seldom known what love or sym
| pathy IS Made sulien and morose, tney
tart life feeling that the world is
against them, regarding all men as their
natural enemies.
Now there is boy" added Miss Far
Irell, smiling at dark haired youngster
whose face lighted up all over as he grin
ned bacl, at her. He was brought to
me with the explanation that he was an
uncomfortable little tough. He is a
sweet child. There is sweetness in every
one if we only know how to draw it out
"A little sympathy and encouragement
do wonders for these boys. 1t changes
their whole view OF life and sends them
ont anxious to live well and do their
best"
That mentally defective children can
be taught to work is shown by the story
OF boy who left Mis-, Fawcll's class
last year and who had never been able
to learn to read or write. Though he had
4 I.l q.