El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1913-12-22
Psychologist Aids Pupils
He Makes Mental Inventory of Pu-
nils and Tells What They Lack
end Suggests Remedy.
- By Frederic J. Hasktn-

! W had much to do with revo-
! iutionizing the work of the city
/ school Before the passage of such
/ laws it was only d selected class OF
| children who received an education.
! Those who possessed any physical
] disability or those whose mentality
J prevented their keeping up with the
I regular grade work fell by the way
| side. The school did not benefit them,
| SO they ceased to attend. Now con-
! sulting psychologists determine Wnat
! is lacking in children and Suggest
With the passage of the laws re-
| room until a certain age, came the
| necessity of providing special IN
| struction for the unusual child VINO
could not attend the regular classes
| with profit to himself, or without in
! terfering to a degree with the WORK
( of the normal children As fully ~
/ percent of the children of school age are
! in some respect unusual, the need OF
| separating them is especially ap-
| parent in the cOngested city district
| where large schools are located Inc
| deviatiOns from normal vary IN cnat-
| acter and degree. Many OF tnein
] may be corrected by proper treatment.
1t is the mental deYiauOnS when re-
! quire .Glosest study. The physical de-
| feet are more easily classl1led. Few
( cities having a population above lO,OOO
I now fail to make provision Tor Ine
| mentally exceptional child Frequent
( " this child also Will nave PnyslcaI
defects calling for professional treat
Have Psychologist Now.
The newest officer to be recognized
| in the city school organization IS the
consulting psychologist to whose
| judgment the provisions for the cnl-
| dren of unusual mentality are 70 De
referred in the future The PROVISIONS ,
for dealing with children deVlaIlnB
from normal are becoming mere com
pIete and satisfactory each year, al
/ though much yet remains &c De &C
| complished. When professor Royce
J OF Harvard university predicted the
| office of consulting psychologist Tor
| public school children, at a conference
of educators held 20 years. ago ne was
| laughed at Now that officer has &C
| tually arrived upon the school roll
! of a number of cities. He has come
! to stay, because his work demon
strates his value in every large city.
He makes an inventary of the different
I kinds of mental material with which
the teacher has to do, and suggests
the method by which the unusual case
should be handled he studies mental
| deviatiOns as an ordinary physician
studies physical deviatiOns from nor
nal. He diagnoses each Individual
case and prescribes its remedy.
The Unusual Child.
For years the unusual child has been
! classed either As detective or DEM
l ( quent, according to the manner IN
/ delphia, which was one OF the IlrSl
| cities to recognize the need OF speclai
: / classes for these children now 90
/ jects to the use to of these words IN
stead the children are to be classed
/ according to their disabilities. Inc
( term orthogenic is to be applied to
4 children who, for mental reasons. 81 7a y
Z / not be taught in the regular grades
The term OrthOpedic is applied 10
/ those who have some permanelnt
l ! physical disability. In addition 10
I hill wnr TTrh n
{ | signed to the open window classes
( | because they seem anemic or weak
and the tubercular children who are
J kept in outdoor classes because they
are prohibited by law from attending
the regular schools
The orthOgenic classes are divided
into three. grades The first includes
I children of low mentality who are
! ONLY to be held in school pending
1 their transfer TO institutional care
| Every large city school finds mum
= Der of these to deal with each year
Y The second class includes children OF
4 a little higher mentality, but who are
II I not able to attend the regular classe:
ii / with profit TO themselves They ShoulC
o be given a special education uttlns
m them for industrial work me JnirS
= grade has two divisions: The mrs
IL I consists of retarded puplls VINO II j
VI hoped can be returned to the reSuIal
: asses after a period of time in tn
: sDecial class. The second 1nclude
le children who are mentally able L
I Go Ee8uAaT MOIhr DuL w nv oNteAtAsl1 "
\ moral delinquency, cannot be KEEP
ia with normal children.
le Philadelphia Plan n Good One.
IF Few cities have worked out a plal
g of distinctions so clearly as TINS
il which has Just been announced iron
re Philadelphia. It can only be put mt
IS practical operation by the co-opera
- ton of a trained psychologist Work
IL ing with the school physicians ant
n. nurses. but its value to the econOm,
eff of the city school system is obvious
- The work of the psychologist IS &C
. cOmDlished through different meChOu
u leading TO the same results. In 10
Angeles and in Salt Lake CITY, pSy
Geological clinics are held TO whlcl
oil children oS GbnOrnal tende7cie
are sent. In Chicago the work of tn
psychologist comes under the depart
p ment of child study connected Wit
70 the superintendent office In Spring
- field. Mass, and Hartford, Conn.
80 psychological laboratories are main
tanned under the authority of IN
board of education.
Suecial Teacher for UnUsuaIs.
In Grand Rapids. Mich, special at
/ tentiOn is being paid TO the en- ar
who arc in any way unusual ana IN
| { teachers who have charge of them re
/ ! ceive much higher renunerau ton tina
Z for the ordinary grade work: Whe
n pupils fall two years behind thei
grade they are placed in charge OF
! specfal teacher Instead of trying t
II ! bring such a child to the regular Wor
II of the grade this teacher tries 10 I'M
II instruction best suited 10 Ille meet
NJ Of the child in order that he may b
III encouraged to continue his studie
Y These are the children who in n
n ! Philadelphia classification woul
II come under the second grade. An
Y other class of mentally defectiv
l children in Grand Rapids is cared "a
II in a special school having an all-da
II I session. They are taught to prepaI
II their own noon meals from foo
I brought from home. Only tWelv
II pupils are permitted to be in room
"a The girls are taught laundry an
8a general homework. and the bows ligl
I'll itcarpentry and other rudimental indu:
sl trial work The chief object IS
Sd provide some work by which each chill
~ may become self-suppOrung upo
"a leaving school Children with defe'
~ tive hearing also have excellent pro
81 vision made for their education
I'd Grand Rapids.
81 It is only within the last two {
II three years that teachers have mao
] any definite attempt to classify II
types of mentally defective childre
The Binet test, first published in 100
and improved uDOn in 1908 and l9l
can be mastered by the average eli
teacher with little difficulty tt