Evening journal., 1914-01-13
SEGREGATION
OF DETECTIVES
IS ADVOCATED
Dr.. TWitmyer Tells School
Board Backward Child
Problem is Serious
FAVORS EXAMINATION
BY PSYCHOLOGISTS

most serious that the Board OF Edu- /
cation has to consider at the present |
time. and one of the most difficult to !
solve, was the consensus of opinion |
of the members of that body al the
meeting of the board last evening. |
Discussion upon the subject followed |
the presentation TO the board by SUI
/ perintendent of Schools George W.
( Twitmyer of a report in which he
| had made a careful summary of the
conditions of the city schools today
relative to the defective and suh-nor
! NAL pupils. The report was unani-
mously adopted. I'm his report DR..
/ rwitmyer urged that the defective
children he segregated at once and cX-
amined by physicians and expert
psychologists He stated that the
/ presence Of the unfit children in the
schools has a depressing effect upon
the normal children. and also retards
! them in their work Dr.Twitmyer be-
lieyes il unjust TO the normal chill
drcn TO subject them to this depress-
ing condition. Or. Twitmyer reports
there arc at present about 100 chill
/ dren between the ages of seven and
fourteen years who are so seriously
handicapped or so feebly endowed as
to be wholly unable to profit by the
regular work of the schools. and
there arc that many more who are
unable to provide suitable educa-
tional facilities for these children.
Following the reading OF the report
President Baynard remarked that Dr.
llwitmycr's report embodied one of the
lmost serious propositions that is before
the board and one that affects the home
las we'll as the schoal.
The question is a very serious one,
Mr.. Baynard remarked. lie believed
that tho public should be taken into the
lconiidonce of the board and that they
should cooperate in the solution OF the
lproblcm.
Dr. +. o. Cooper stated that an effort
had been made some years ago TO rem
ledy the condition mentioned ina the re-
port and that number of local phys-
clans had volunteered their ser, ice, TO
examine the children. lie declared.
however, that the child my physically
appear all right and still he defective,
and said that it would take more than
, a regular practicing physician TO pass
on all the childrcns falmgs. DR.
, Cooper further declared that the ordi-
nary physician is not qualified TO make
! such examination, but that the eXami-
! nations should be made by an expert on
such diseases. He stated that the board
had never had the money to do the
work as il should be done, and he
hoped the matter would he agitated so
that by cooperation something could
be done to remedy the conditions.
3 DR. Buckmaster declared that there
! had TO be "a line drawn somewhere. He
\ said that the sub-nqEmal, children are
going TO school and thc teachers do NOT
, have time to take care OF them, as II
: was all they could do to properly care
- for the normal ones, inasmuch as the
rooms are crowded with pupils.
a 1T is all the teachers can do to take
@ care of the normal children and DO them
e Justice DR.. Buckmaster declared, "and
. the time used ON the sub-normal child
n rem is time taken from the normal child
rcn of that much attention" Dr. Buck
: master declared that it fifty per cent
of the sub normal children now attend
ing The public schools had special train
in they could become good citizens.
DIR. Twitmycr remarked that he had
perhaps been little guarded in hi
r language in tho report. but that as an
actual fact about thrce-fourths OF tho
p. detectives he mentioned in tn, rcpol1
:. were institutional cases. He also sai'
that in addition to the 100 defective
% children he mentioned i'm the report
;, there are perhaps 1000 who arc dul
e through some little defect such as eye
D. sight or hearing, all OF which he dcclar
cd could be removed by proper medica
attention. He declared that in somI
e cases children of y and II years OF ag'
j. were doing the work of 6 and Z year ol,
/. H.. sN arHnNI
u "That indicates the lack of some
thing he concluded.
r., The report as adopted follows
To the board OF Education, VIII
IL mington, Delaware.
ID Gentlemen: During the last
y decade no phase of pedagogy. or
school administration has received
: as much attention as the study of
school organization in its bearing
on the individual child. Universities,
normal schools and cities have or
gsnized and maintained courses and
departments IN psychology, pedago
gv and school administration for
the study of children in every phase
of their developing nature. in order
that each individual might attain
the fullest development of which his
nature is capable and thus secure
the highest efficiency for the mdi-
vidual and community.
For several years ! have called
your attention, in my annual re-
ports. 10 the problems OF slow,
backward and retarded children,
and to the need for medical inspec-
tion. have also called attention
TO the special studies of individual
children which have been made by
the teachers of this city: how they
have begun To diiferentiatc the ahl-
ities OF children and 10 evaluate
school work in terms OF what each
individual is able to do within the
range of his ability rathcf than in
terms of a general standard, and TO
ft the work ol the schools to the
needs OF the children As 2 result
of these studies larger hoxibility
of method and material, and a more
humane Treatment have been
achieved; our teachers deserve
great credit for the canestness and
intelligence with which they have
attacked the problem. and for the
sympathetic treatment accorded TO
tho unfortunate and the handicap
ped.
In these studies the children are
roughly classified as normal and
sub-normal. The normal child or
dinarilv is able TO pass from grade
to Grade in the allotted time; nor
nal child may he backward OF re-
tarded. because of some untoward
circumstances. such as personal i'll
ness unayoidah HE absence etc