The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1911-07-11
OF Children in the Schools
and Getting Them Too
8 High or Too Low.

SAN FlFiAfN7G1l1o, Calf. July IL
The Enlightenment OF children in
schools, getting theun too high or toe
low for their mental capacity, is re-
sponstb1e for much OF the truancy and
incorrigtbiIlty. according to Henry H.
Goddard, OF the school for Feeble
Minded. VineIand. N. j., speaker at
ono OF the section meetings of the
national Education Association today.
The speaker said that studies at the
Vineland Institution have shown that
sixty-dlve per cent of feeble minded
ness Is hereditary The speaker dis
eussed particularly the BInet Measur-
Ing scale for Intelligence. which has
received Official sanction by the New
Jersey legislature. Mr.. Goddard said,
in part:
ssrhe Binet scale is a method of
marvelous accuracy and OF great
practical value. and can be applied to
help us solve some OF our problems
ana make our school system more eff
hcient.
1--WE are beginning to recognize
that mnny of our difficulties in school
are the result of differences in Unborn
capacity rather than in inborn wick
ednesE. 1t IS therefore necessary to
have some method OF measuring that
inborn capacity.
The Research Department OF the
New Jersey Training School for
Predetermined Children has carried
out a systematic testing of an entire
school population of 1000 children,
using this method. The results
amount to almost a mathematical
PROOF of the accuracy of the Binet
method It shows that there are four.
per cent OF children who are proco-
eious or better in mentality than the
average child. 10 per cent are nor
NAL, Is per cent are backward, and
three per cent are feeble-minded.
This ratio probably holds almost un-
Iversally.
ave should have schools or spe-
claI classes for these precoicIous chill
dren In order that the natural ad
vantage with which they are born
should not be lost, and that they
should not learn bad ways and bad
habits from being in classes that go
80 much slower than they are able to
go. The 1teen per cent that are
merely backward should be in spe-
cial classes too, that they may be
coached and helped along and en-
abled to. get through as much of the
school work as Is absolutely neces-
sary to make them useful. The three
per cent that are feeble-mindee
should be in colonies or institutions
where they ara cared for and en-
a61et4 to be happy and partially use
ful as ong as they live, but If this is
impossible, they must be cared for in
special classes in public schools
where they are not asked TO learn
reading, writing and arithmetic, but
are taught to do things with their
hands which they can do and the do
ing OF which makes them happy.
They must never marry because the
studies at the Vineland Institution
have shown that 65 per cent OF
feelble-,min dc dress Is hereditary.
Therefore, IL these children grow up
and marry, they simply perpetuate
the race OF feeble-minded persons.
''In this study of the entire school
population tested by the Binet meth
cd, it is shown that some children
are in classes that are way ahead OF
the mental capacity of the children.
these run all the way from the chill
dren that are in classes that are one
year ahead CT them to three years
In other cases, children are behind
what they ought to be from one to
three years. Twd tendencies are
shown to prevail. First, to keep all
children as nearly as possible at the
average keeping those that are dull
UP to the average, holding those that
are precocious down. The other
tendency is to, let those children that
are very backward go, and not CIV
ing them the attention they need,
they are as result farther back
than their mentality really warrants,
or on the upper scale, children who
are little precocious and encour-
aged and spurred on and placed in
classes that are even higher than
their mental attainments can reach
This is. an injustice both cases.
..In this displacement of children,
getting them too high or too LOW for
mental capacity. IS to be sought
large explanation OF truancy and in
corrsgibiIity, also the fact that pre-
cocious children often break down,
1t is not because they are precocious,
but because their precocity leads
teachers and parents to push them
too far ahead"