The weekly times-record. (Valley City, N.D.) 1912-1922, 1913-02-13
Weighing Instead OF
Furnishing the Child
PROF, ACAER GIVES FACTS IN
CURRENT BULLETIN ON THE
RECENT ADVANCES MADE
IN CHILD STUDY.

VOHHENI oOLI Nv Wv ''sS
RECENT ADVANCES MADE
IN CHILD STUDY.
During the past twenty years the
scientific study Of children has made
more progress than was accomplish
ed in centuries previous to this time"
is statement made by Prof Rudolph
Acher in an article entitled Recent
Advances in Child Study published
in the current number of The Bulletin.
DR.. Acher enumerates the many socie-
ties and organizations whose function
is it to study the child, and the meth
DDS involved in securing data and
then states:
The light which is being thrown
upon child nature and child education
from all these sources is making it
possible to establish the whole pro
gram of education upon scientific
basis. In short, we are beginning to
have enough scientific data about
child life to have real science of
education in the place of the merely
unverifed opinion of those in author
ity. ..... g.. ... ......
"No person who is preparing to be-
come teacher can afford to be
without this information Or the spirit
which Is prompting these investiga-
tons; for, if the prospective teacher
> receives even a partial baptism in this
new science of education, he will be
more likely to keep an open mind for
sr.. : - -a1sing the Nor
Stephen Young, reputed IS attitude
been near 1O1 year old, is dead at >aera
home near Neche, Pembina coulu any
Young was pioneer of that distrer for
settling near Neche in 1880, amos con-
has lived there constantly eve" only by
TN tn ~ +irn~ : . -5co.. a. .yute for upto-
date data on this subject that the
young teacher will be able to keep
mentally alive as the years go by.
Changing Attitude Of Parents and
Teachers.
what, in brief, are some of the
facts and principles which are being
established by these Investigations?
The one most far-reaching influence of
all these researches manifests itself
in the changed attitude of parents and
teachers towards children. The old
school of pedagogy first decided what
adults should know and be and then
proceeded ito force the child to con-
form to this goal. but We are grad
ually learning that the basis of this
procedure was mere opinion, and that
if we are to stand on firmer ground
we must get our cue of procedure
from the nature of the child itself
Thus, in order to deal intelligently
with any child the modern teacher
studies carefully each individual child
This includes a rather painstaking
consideration Of its ancestry in order
to see what traits and characteristics,
or perhaps defects. are inherited.
I'm the study of the child itself it is
gradually dawning upon the pedagogi-
cal consciousness that the child has
body and that this body is in some
way intimately connected with the
child's mind. With this in mind, the
child's growth is carefully measured
and studied from time to time. The
expert teacher frequently weighs and
measures the children in her charge
She knows what the standard of size
and weight for each age and sex is,
and if there is lack of growth for any
period she investigates the child's
food, sleep, recreation and general
home ENVIRONMENT knowing that there
can be little mental progress while
the physical growth is retarded.
Mental and Physical Tests Before
Punishment.
Before Furnishing child for ill.be-
havior, stubbornness, or neglect of
lessons, both mental and physical
tests are applied to see if there is not
some physical ailment which acts as
a casual agency. Instead OF whip
ping child it is weighed; and what
an insight is often obtained as to the
real causes of conduct by this simple
means. If a child is losing weight, or
is ct a standstill, that is hint sufficient
tor the wise teacher
TT is being discovered that lack of
normal lung capacity is directly re-
sponsible for low grades in class
work A. ain tho olr,oc,. .to,.+1;n,, ~,