The sun., 1910-02-10
DR.. MAXWELTS WRONG?
SCHOOL BOARD MAN SAYS ALL
ING PUPILS AREN'T BEHIND.
0u0tcs the Doctor Against HImselr- In
VestIgatiOn showed That Defects Dis
appear with Age and That Some Or
the Laggards Are Merely LaEEards.

NuOtcg the Doctor Against HI1usetr IN
VestIEatIOn showed That Defects Dis
appear with Age and That some Or
the Laggards Are Merely LagEards.
The Board OF Education was expected
30 take some action at its meeting on
Monday in regard to the recent report
OF City Superintendent Maxwell as.to the
large number of defective and sick chill
dren reported to be In the public schools.
Snch a serious situation as appeared
ffora che City Superintendent's report
seemed to many to demand remedial
meanlrea.
The subject, however. was not brought
up at all. A member OF the board was
asked yesterday whynot.
-Ehings are not always what they
seerh In fact clever mind can make
things seem to be what they are not,
There is nothing in the physical condi-
fion of the public school children that we
need be alarmed over responded the
School Commissioner.
4 Then he pointed out the fact as reported
by DR.. Maxwell that the children who
advanced more rapidly through the
grades had proportionately more physical
defects than those who advanced more
slowly. fhis seemed to the Commits
sioner to upset the theory that retarda-
ton of pupils was due to physical defects.
-Here is another cheering statement
made on the authority OF the City Super
intenAent,' continued the member OF
tho Board OF Education. -The percentage
Of defective children in the lower grades
10 decidedly greater than in the upper
grades. Let me quote DIR. Maxwell's
own words to refute City Superintendent
MexweA's alarInist report:
rIhe conclusion that will cause most
surprise is that physical defects play
q much less important part in retarding z
phIAtren's. progress in school than has
been suppoeed,'
st'f Course he didn't make the contra
dieiory statements at the came time.
When he said that physical defects did
not retard progress he had before him
tha reports in regard to an investlgH ton
that was made from the records of fifteen
schools with an enrolment of 1000 chill
dren. Some interesting information was
digQiosed by the investigation"
The Investigation was made With the
view OF discovering the reasons for so
many children being laggards, and these
are some OF the facts brought to light:
The smallest percentage OF retardat on
1e.u; the Italians have the highest; the
Annerican children come next 10 the
German with 1915 per cent. then the
Eunsians with 22-s per cent. and the
Irish with 2e.5 per cent. RetS rda ton
10 about the same among boys and girls.
just 80 per cent. OF children in normal
Glasses had physical defects. and only
~ per cent. OF the retarded pupils had
those defects. II was found that defective
children In the first grade had an avers ge
a. 3.s defects apiece, while those in the
dghth grade had only l.3. This seemed
10 show that the defects disa ppeared
40 the children grew older
There was one exception, defects Of
vision, which increased with advancing
age;
The enlarged glands and the adenoids
W1fph have been mentioned so often
as spelling the chances OF the pupils in
advancing in their studies are shown
20 disappear as the child grows older.
One-fourth Of the seven-year old pupils
examined had adenoids. but only per
cent. had them at the age OF Is years.
Al the cause for retardation could not
Be put wholly upon the occurrence OF
physical defects other reasons were
looked for. There was one very simple
reason found. and that was that three
tenths OF the retarded pupils didn't be-
gin their school experience at the normal
time. They took up their a-b-abs when
grade or two ahead Of them and they
couldn't catch up. Most children began
At years. while others started at 10.
n end IL years. Physical defects began
to disappear from years up.
The foregoing has a tendency to re-
strain the members q the Board Of Edu-
cation from getting excited over this
paragraph in the City superintendent
last report.
THAT physical defects. disease and
malnutrition retard the educational prog
res Of children and are to a considerable
extent the cause of the large number
OF Iaggards in our schools are facts that
may be regarded as established
But are they established some of the
board members ask.