Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1910-12-29
.sUB-NORMALI1Y
AMONG CHILDREN.
Report Of the Special Committee
Of Utah State Teachers
Association.
,roDAY's SESSION FEATURE
Nccdful Steps Advocated in Behalf of
Mentally Deficient Pupils At
tending Public Schools.

vestlgate the subject of physical an,
mental subnormulity among the schoo
children OF the state, was read ut ;
session of the teachcrs convention iel,
in the Assembly hall at 0 O'Clock TIL.
morning. ID. Fl. christensen. supcrin
tcndcnt of the Salt Lake city publ,
schools, chairman Of the committee
read the report. The session was pre-
sided over by President Mathonihal
Thomas, and was well attended.
The report of the committee was reat
as follows:
Tho wounded buffalo is ostraciaed by
the members of his herd; the crippled
elk is driven into haunts of solitude by
his unsylnpathizing companions; the
sickly sparrow is fought by the healthy
bird that chances to see its suffering
and the dying pigeon is fastened unto
death by the cruel attacks of it's near
est kin.
Cruel as II is, the same biological in
stincts of animal life Is only too often
manifested on the playground. in the
street. and even in the school room, by
normal children in their conduct to-
ward the subnor1nal child. Too often.
also. THIS sometimes occurs entirely un-
suspected by the unnbserving teacher.
.'SFhe historical attitude of humanity
OF the biological instinct of animal ana
enid life. Natures afflicted children.
born under the impeachment of physical
or mental subnorlnality, were dsre-
gardcd by ancient Pagans as useless
left abandoned in the wilderness for
the wolves and tho vult,rcs. BY mo-
dicval churchmcn they were often tor
nlentcd rs being culpably possessed of
evil spirits. Even in modern times,
most Of these children have been neg
lectedfas sort OF disagrcenblc neccs-
sity that must be endured with as little
Inconvenience as possible.
One CT two decades ago, when COM
pulsory school attendance laws were
not enforced. mentally subnormal chill
dren were rather inconspicuous in the
schools: because, under the law OF the
elimination OF the unfit. these children
were absorbed in society before their
deficiency was made prominent by
repeated years of failure to progress
in school studies. But nowadays, I'M
der the common opportunity and the
more general necessity of every child
to attend school, the existence of SUBJ
normality is forced into public View.
sURNORMAL CHILDREN.
School attendance officers in recent
years have been compelled by sense of
duty to perform many IL painful task.
their books have been taken under
stress OF law out of fields and factories
where they were efficient workmen, and
forced into schools where they were
useless workers If not oilers. Eager
parents, too. inpellcd by tho popular
desire for education. have compelled
their subnormal children to go to school,
In school by compulslon becoming a,
burden to the teacher. Il detriment to
the other children. and largely useless
to themselves. these subnormal children
have often become subjects of expul-
sion. This again has forced still more
prominently into view the problem of
subnormnl mentality.
Besides forced school attendance
and forced non-attcndancc, still
another condition has served to bring
the subnormal child into prominence.
In rural districts and small towns
where population is not very n,Imer-
Gus. the proportion of suhnormul
children Is numerically small and
therefore not very conspicuous. But
in the larger ccntcrS of population, the
subnprmal children. although pro-
portionately the same in percentage
of population, become prominent by
reason OF larger, numbers being col
lected In one school building under
the observation of one school princi-
pal.
s,sE. FIELD LIMITED.
The field Of this investigation has
been purposcly limited. Although Il
committee on the physical basis OF
education could we'll have made in
Icsdgations into the physical welfare
Of normal children, the present sur
vcy Is confined to the more extreme
and perhaps more serious conditions
of subnormnl children.
Furthermore, not much more than
the first of two nccdful steps has been
taken by the present preliminary in
vestigation of mental and physical de-
1icicncY. Tho aim has been to present
observed conditions of fact with a few
recommendations of very general re-
mediable measures that are needed
Immediately. Thus It is aimed to cx-
pose the problem toAbo solved, ana to
outline only in a general way.what ap-
pears to be the best means for the
solution of the problem. The-heXt step
would be to present in detafl the more
important means and methods of adj
ministration, supervision, treatment.
and trimming needed for theS welfare
of subnormal children.
Just to what extent these obscrvn-
tons of mental and physical deficiency
made by the teachers can be relied
upon rs accurate data, Is perhaps 4
somewhat of Il question. IT seems
probable, however. that, crude ana
hasty as they are, the extent of
SuDnormality here reported. III regard
to both mental and physical deficiency,
Is mn undcreStimaIon. rather than an
overcStimut!on. Of the actual condi-
tionS.
NUMBER UNDEREsTIMATED.
This survey is probably deficient In
not including a full enumeration OF the
subnormal children who have been
withdrawn or excluded from the
schools. That the number here record
ed of this class Is undcrcstimated, we
may reasonably presume for the fol-
lowing reasons: First the compulsory
school attendance law has not been
strictly enforced In probably the ma
jority of school districts In the state,
thus leaving It an easy matter for de-
fectlve children to be hushed In UNI
obtrusiveness, Secondly very large
number of the teachers have only a
temporary residence In the community
in which they teach and, therefore. do
not become well enough acquainted
with the people to learn much of fam
lily histories, Fourth. family pride gen
orally operates In the direction OF con-
ceallng any known mental deficiency.
Fifth, the extreme haste with which
this survey was completed gave little
or no time for teachers to make In
Suirics among the people.
Some evidences of careless inncCuracy |
on the part OF a few Investigating rin-
cipnls were observed by their falling to
comnlyswi some Of the requests made