Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-23

vironment, has proved erratic and had no.
havior difaculties- temper outbarsts
rebelliousness and the like
Another boy. Blake, Is, as the authors REL
mark, "a broken reed" He had . very un1
fortunate heredity. with several uncles and
aunts who were insane, and several collateral
relatives Of low and criminal character. Blake
escaped from q detention no.. gently and
after q voyage on the high seas as common
seaman committed suicide in an Eastern cit
by swallowing poison because OF unsuccess-
full love affair.
gests that Of high-powered car capable d
the most perfect performance, which Is run b
an intoxicated driver A more strikine
example could hardly be found of the value
lessness of merely fine mental ability which Il
not supplemented by at least q normal emo
tional endowment wholesome attitudes and
sufficient power Of inhibition"
It Is these few tragic exception, however
that trtumphantly prove the rule. Even these
exceptions. sad 10 say are the fulnIlment Of
childhood prophecies. They chiefly the
one who showed unstable tendencies from early
childhood But their extreme rarity shows
there Is no greater tendency for the intel
lectually gifted to be unstable than for those Of
the common run. And the number Of positive
deltElquents ID far fewer than is true of
age environment
QUT let us turn to brighter side OF the pic
ture: A number have shown extraordinary
capacity TO meet and conquer both environment.
and hereditary obstacles. One boy Marshall of
Russian-Jewish parentage was frafl lame born
In poverty with bad heredity and bad environ
ment. Yet Marshal made brilliant high school
record, was noted as debater and Is now I'M
college. q member Of the freshman debatinga
team, FIRST man on the freshman chess team
and, despite his physical handicap, plays golfI
and tennis and swims wen and, as the research
says does everything thoroughly that he un-
Many other cases Of great persistence against
obstacles could be related They are extTenely'
interesting because persistence against obstacles
rising to greater efforts in the face of defeatl
was found by DR.. Cox TO be one of the OUT
standing characteristics of all her great his-'
toric child geniuses.
number Of the children who we're gifted fn|
music and In art are still showing high promo
Use. But one Of the most encouraging OUT
comes Of the study was large separate inves-|
tgatton made IN order to compare the literary
compositions Of the children who showed q lit
erary bent with the childhood writing Of cele-|
brated writer's. The comparisons were highly
favorable. DR.. Terman was led to say 70 mel
that this research alone left the impression that
possibly there are two or three times as many
geniuses in the general population as are ever
discovered and developed. This is probably true
in other lines as wen as In literature
Five outstanding results can be briefly stated:l
First, the notion that genius win out" in spite
Of circumstances and lack Of encouragement Isl
sheer nonsense. Second children of extraor-l
binary intelligence can be discovered by modern|
methods Of psychology almost in the cradle l
Third, prodigious intelligence alone is not AMI
absolute guarantee Of prodigious achievement
but It II only prodigious intelligence that can
possibly make prodigious achievement. Fourth; !
brilliant children in our public schools are nov,
as rule, from one to three years behind where
they ought TO be and could be by proper educa-
tional methods and where they actually are In a|
few advanced schools; the way we are dis
couraging genius in most public schools Is
truly the largest waste of our natural resources
Fifth, brilliant children, on the grand general
average, are superior human beings physically,
mentally and morally. @.Nss
In fact, had the children who were SUPERIOR
In intellect been found to be inferior in person.
atty traits and moral character. we should have
TO give up all hope Of human progress Butl
this great research proves absolutely the oppo-l
site TO be the truth; It also shows that, as our
methods OF education improve. as our phych0l-
ogy becomes more exact and as we become more
able, as we are every day, to penetrate deeper
into the mental structures of human nature;
we can discover and promote at a vastly higher
rate and with vastly greater certainty the only
sources from which human progress, achieve
ment and leadership spring namely, sound
moral character and rich intelligence: and the
grandest result Of this great study is the proof
1t furnishes that these priceless assets Of life
and society are all about us in the minds and
hearts of our children in a vastly greater degree
tnan we have heretofore suspected.
n