The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1913-11-28
WHY CHILDREN MAKE
THE BEST WITNESSES

What anatomy, astronomy and
klectricity were to Diogenes, so are
he science of child training, human
behavior and experimental educa-
ion to us to-day. Even the matter
bf common sense and intelligence
u the obviously sane person are be-
ginning to be investigated and
#hings about children formerly TAX
i for granted are now to be rigorous
" subjected to experimental re-
Hearch. esd
Il Thus, as an instance, the problem
bf inheritance and its role in the
&hild's intelligence, alertness, deX-
8erity, inattention, quickness, mem
Dry, power of recall and acquisitive
bowers must be looked into. These
anne aptitudes must be studied with
regard to acquired knowledge.
1t is already known that there is
Inherited so much that is good in the
worst of us and so much that is bad
n the best of us, that it i'll becomes
my of us to think we are more in
elligent than the rest of us. The
environment can be made to fit each
eparate distinct human being if, the
roper parental and pedagogic SUI
pervision is kept up. Thus, if the
J. Intelligence inherited is of defec-
i've or bad sort the methods of
raining such a child-now properly
Measured and adjusted by expert
Mental psychological be stand
rdized to dovetail into it's needs.
Intelligence and common sense
iffer only in degree, not in quality.
Hence the inherited superiority of
Bne person can be almost equaliZed
d other sane persons by proper cor
9ective measures. Experimental tests
ave now reached the point where
= Intelligence can be adequately gaug-
Id. Mothers and teachers are no
pnger justified in supposing, guess
hg or judging the liability or Gin
diligence" or horse sense" of chill
rem. The new psychology has de-
eloped instruments, devices and
machines of such precision that the
hental effort, the mental result, and
he time in every intelligent mani
estation can now be measured.
Thus, if a small girl asked to re-
eat in her own words little story
he time it takes her to tell it, the
egree of perfection of the story and
ther values can be recorded by prop
r instruments. Memory, clearness
T attention, brightness, alertness OF
he senses and the relative sensitive
ess of emotions, reason, logic, SUI
erstition, ETC., are all measured and
harked.
The capacity for originating
Imagining or conceiving abstract OF
oncrete ideas is all deciphered by
Greens, electrical clocks, color discs
raphaphones, blood pressure instru.
hents and other new marvels of the
sociological laboratory. Whether
child's intelligence is of the analy.
c, synthetic, destructive or wag.
ish type is no longer matter fol
azardous and harmful speculation
ut one for the laboratory and the
pecialist.
The adult is bad witness be.
huse he has had so many almost
/ imilar experiences and memories
- hat the occurrence in hand is less
ivid and more nearly like his
reams, memories and analogous ex.
II erience. He thus tells as true that
Fhich he has dreamed, remember
d, hoped, wished or imagined. The
hild, lacking such things, has 6
ivid novelty before it which be,
: ONES indelible and distinct from al
lse in its brief span of existence.
A child, on the other hand, car
Pstify accurately to all that it has
cen or heard-as far as it's memory
ill go.