The sun., 1912-07-14
LEARN HOW TO PICK
DEFECTIVE CHILDREN
New York University Giving 4
New Thing in Summer
Courses.
SIMPLE TESTS ARE USED
Aim Is to Aid Teachers to Do.
tcct Pupils United for
Class Work.

New York University is trying ou,
new idea in the field Of education in ,be
form Of a course for the training Of teachers
Of mentally deficient children. The nex
classes are a part Of the summer c,rric.
ulum and will continue until August 4,
Although entirely new In this part of the
country. and indeed a very recent sdvanc.
in the history Of teaching in any land the
course is successful In degree which vas
not expected even by it's directors. Si.,v
school teachers who intend TO take M
this special work and number Of social
workers interested in the problem ara
attending the school. and under their care
are sixty children who mentally have no,
developed in proportion to their years
The school IL under the direction Of
DR.. Henry Herbert Goddard. director Of
research in the Training School at vine-
land, n. j.. and DR.. Arnold l.. Gessen.
assistant professor Of education at Yale.
DR.. Goddard Is known the world over
az an authority on the training of defective
children and DR.. Gessell also is we'll known
in the field. As assistants they have a
number Of teachers who have had charge
of imbecile children and staK Of medical
men who take up that feature Of the work.
Both DR.. Goddard and Dr. Geesell are
Phi. De-, They have a thorough grasp
OF the clinical problems affecting their
work The summer school. which ia To-
Gated at 30 Waverley place in the New York
University Building. has as unique fea-
lures a model school in which the de.
fective children are taught under ths
observation OF the students and a clinic
in which the childrens mentality ia ex.
amined
This is the first Eastern university 10
take up the problem of training special
class teachers" said DR.. Gesseil This
University of Washington in Seattle was
the first American university to give
courses in this kind Of work. OF our
sixty registered students this summer
some come from Ohio others from Ten.
nessee. Wisconsin. Michigan and other
Western States. There are large nun.
ber from New Jersey.
-Please don't get the idea that We ara
attempting in a few weeks to turn OIL;
teachers who shall be experts in applying
the various methods of determining a
child's mental STANDARD and in tho o;he-
more intricate parts Of the work. Wea-e
simply trying to give tho teachers
general grasp OF the problem. and this We
do by conducting the model ,schooi bv
clinical teaching and by lecture courses.
These are supplemented by private con.
ferences in w,ich the work is discussed
and which takes the place Of uuizzcs
Glasses for feeble minded children
such as are being conducted here cannot
reform the child. for fechle minded child
is one who is incapable OF ever becoming
normal. He cannot he made to he self.
controlling or self-supporting. bur his
mental standard can be improved by
instruction in personal cleanliness, proper
methods Of walking and conducting ones
self. &c.
THE popular idea that all mentally
defective children are inmates Of ins,i-
tutions is only about one-tentn right.
The latest classification divides msn,a
detectives into idiots, imbeciles and
morons. The idiots are hopeless, the
imbeciles are middle grade and the morons
are high grade detectives. This last class
is the one most frequently met in the pub
lie schools although the others are some
times found 4 moron is very inter.
esting. He is often very attractive and
his deficiency is usually unknown 10 hi.
only by special methods. He passes for
normal in the community"
DR.. Goddard tells the classes in his
lectures about tho causes of backward.
ness and feeble mindedness. including
hcredity and the means Of dia gnosipc the
trouble. "SiNty per cent Of all cases of
mental Effectiveness can be traced TO
direct heredity." says Or. Goddard. BY
that I mean that the parents Of the child
were mentally deficient. II YOU mean hy
heredity morbid hcredi,y. which takes
into account all causes in parents leading
to imbecilty in children. Then at least
90 per cent Of cases are hereditary |
do not believe that lues is an important
cause OF mental effectiveness. or course
lues is hereditary. but when it afect the
nervous system Of the child il kills ;h'
infant and thus eliminates itself a.
cause Dr. Ccssell agrees with me IN
this statement. but by no means all heeS-
perts do.
The need for special classes or un.
graded classes for dull and backward
children is being recognized more fully
every day" saws the bulletin of III" uni
versiiy. 1T is highly probable ,hs
dren are mentally deficient to such an ey-
tent that they cnnno, possibl, do the
regular work Of the grades. II ANYTHING
il to he done for them the must be put
In special classes and led by specially
trained teacher. The state Of New Jer-
aey. for example has placed upon i's
n statute books n requirement that all such
children must be determined and classes
must I've established wherever there are
as many a. ten children IN any school
system These classes will bc cs'ab-
lished as RAPIDLY as teachers can be Sc
cured"
Perhaps the most interesting par ol
the work that Ia being done al IN" sum-
mer school ia that in the clinics wher" The
methods for detecting ahnormaitv IN
children are put into practice. IN" clin'r'
are conducted 10y Drs Goddard and GEES
sell and NV DIR Macy and Other ih,s'-
clans whose speciality is neurologv Bo'h
normal and suhnorrna, children are "N,
nmined The sixty pupils in tho schooi
ara for tho mos, part detectives from re
Now York school system and were hrough'
to tn" class by the school teachers "m.
are taking the course. They reprcs"n' ''
grades of deficiency. 40 that there is ah,i,'
aant material for the experts % WORK WIN
They picked mp two ragged, !:7fv mr.
'bcothlacks from Washington Square the
other day and brough, them in for eNam''
nation, -.
whats de game, mister9" ask" one
nf them. "Nonc Nv dis asylum gag ,'a
me Deres nothin' wrong wit my hu'