Evening journal., 1908-12-11
TREATMENT OF
BACKWARD PUPILS
DR.. Wilmer, Well Known Here,
Makes Suggestions on
the Subject.


DR.. Lightner Wilmer, of the Uni
versity Of Pennsylvania. who is well
known here by reason of having de-
livered several lectures before the pri-
mary Teachers Association, has writ
ten a paper on the treatment of back
ward children in the public schools
The problem is beginning to attract
widespread interest among educators
and is of particular interest to VIII
mington teachers.
Or. Wilmer says:
"A great deal of confusion exists
in the mind Of the people and also in
that of our educational authorities.
as to exactly what a backward child
IS. Just as soon as the. discovery is
made that some children manifest
baclSwardness or retardation IN their
school work. and special classes are
formed to facilitate the progress OF
these children, we find these classes
filed up with children who are incur
ably feebleminded. who cannot be
trained IN public day schools but
should be sent for training and care
to some special school like that at
Elwyn. Thus. / have had brought TO
me at the University of Pennsylvania
for examination and suggestion as to
!
been rejected from the Pennsylvania
Training School for Predetermined
Children, because they were below the
level OF children that could be educat-
ed-in that school. And yet these chill
dren We're applying and in some in
stances were to be found i'm the grades
for normal children. This failure to
recognize that there is a difference be-
tween feebeminded children who can
not be educated i'm public day schools,
and other children properly designated
backward, who can be trained in day
schools and some Of whom can be re-
stored to normal condition, results In
the calling Of many incuraby feeble
minded children. backward children"
However justifiable this may he to save
the sensibilities of parents, it simply
confuses the problem of remedying
the backwardness which is found
throughout the grades in many Of our
city schools.
Backwardness or retardation, meas
ured in terms of school progress, is
manifested by a surprisingly large
percentage of children. Thus, Or.
Cornman shows for five cities Of the
United States comprising one-ffth OF
the elementary school population, that
from 21.6 per cent to 1915 per cent are
one year or more behind the grade IN
which the school and the public expect
these children TO be: that from 7.3 per
cent to 26.3 per cent. are two years
or more behind the proper grade: that
from 2.1 per cent in one city to 12.7
per cent in another city are three years
or more behind grade; and in one city
as high as 81 per cent. are four years
or more behind the grade IN which
these children should be.
There is a manifest difference be-
tween the purpose Of the school laws
and the accomplishment of the school
administration. Normal progress
through school, with regular advance
from grade to grade each year. Is
rather the exception than the rule
Hence on reaching their fourteenth
year, when the compulsion of the law
ceases. instead OF finding themselves
at the end of their elementary school
work. most children find that they have
covered only a part of the course laid
down by the school authorities.
There is no problem before the
school world more pressing todav than
how to graduate a large nun'1er Of
pupils from the common schoolN II
should not be a matter of indifference
to the public at large that so many
pupils go out into the world with so
incomplete an elementary education.
If the accomplishment of our schools
were to be measured by the number
of children who finish their work in
them the result would be a confession
of pitiabe failure. Children who are
backward in their studies,-many OF
them not because they possess mental
defects or duh minds. but because OF
irregular attendance. illness. lack Of
interest or a hundred other reasons
have hitherto had no other treatment
than that Of neglect What they most
need is special study and special ef-
fort.
The school is not voluntary agency
which offers its facilities to those who
can avail themselves of them. It IS
in our democracy one of the organs
of the state. II can no more neglect
its inefficient pupils who are not in
curably reebleminded than the body
polite ran eject its undesirable mem
bers. 1t exists for all and should min
lister 90 all, according to their needs.
The needs of the backward, the retard-
ed. child are now pressing for atten-
tion. MAY we not hope that by pa
tient study and wise administration
the backward child may be brought
into his true place, and that the
schools may realize more fully than
they have thus far done, their ideal Of