Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-03-18

fitted and not one which is a blind
alley" from which they must start
all over.
a thing which would be of great
help is a little stronger emphasis on
the spiritual side of life. Much fine
| work is being done in this manner by
i the Y. NJ. c.. "A. and should be at
tempted by all schools.
Things of an intellectual nature
should also be taught such as music
and art as the boys are gradually
drifting from these things to the more
commercialized things of life.
Social guidance is one of the most
important things at this time, because
as DR.. Stevens said at another part of
the address, "the girls at this time are
but wax and whosoeyer will may
write" That the proper people may
write, it is necessary to have a woman
teacher who can breath the proper
spirit.
The subject of dances was then
taken up by the speaker who said
that if the school would not allow
dancing they We're simply putting the
responsibility of teaching the proper
dances upon the commercialized dance
hall proprietors whose only desire is
the making of money. 1t. is therefore
necessary that the school shall con-
duct the dances that they may be the
right kind.
All of these things then it is neces-
sary for the schools to do that the
world of today. may be a better place
for the girls who are the future moth
ers of a future generation.
Dr.. Arthur S. Otis
The final speaker of the evening
was DR.. Arthur S. Otis who spoke on
"Reclassifcation upon the basis of
intelligence tests" DR.. Otis talk was
very interesting but. as he said, he
was trying to tell in an hour what
most of the professors would take
summer term to tell. He told of the
method of determining the mental age
Of child. This mental age is best
explained by saying that the mental
ity of the average child of a given
age is the mental age of the child, or
in other words the mental age of the
average child of l. years is also II
years. But a child of IL need not
necessarily have a mental age of l."
He may be bright for his age and so
have a mental age of - or even Ia
years or he may have but the men
tafity of a 10 year old child.
Therefore. mental age and bright
ness are not SYNONYMOUS as the av-
eraSe child of IL co3ld not be con-
sidered bright but the 10 year old
child with Il mental age of l. would
be
lie explained the various systems Of
Redistribution. In one method the
grades are re-djvided so that the
quick student takes eight grades in
SIN years In another they stay to-
gethcr but the quick" student has
more work to do while the sub-normal
child is able to grasp but the funda-
mentals. still another is to teach
other things to the student who is
above normal, things that are extra
curriculum and tend to broaden the
mind.
This talk WAS brought TO a con-
clusion before the logical end was at
fland by the untimely arrival of the
time for departure for those who
were TO take the train. and the last
thought that DR.. Otis left was that
the test was based upon the assump
ton that all of the students had been
able to have the same advantages in
training 50 that the result o& the test
would depend upon The mentality, of
the child and not upon the adyan-
tages.