Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-06-15
OUR CHILDREN
Won't and Cant.
BY ANGELO PATH.

WI anu 0uAA "
Over and over again 1t Is said, He
can but he simply won't" "she has q
high /. O., one Of the highest in the
class, but she won't apply herself and
fails every month" 1T isn't that the
child can't do the work. He won't con-
centrate."
Don't believe that. In the many
years that / have worked with children
have never found one who could and
would not. If he could. he did. and
wanted to do and couldn't. When that
happened the child had to find some
way out. Some gesture Of defense had
to be made. A mask of some kind had
to be worn to save his face. Nobody
likes to fail. Not even the toughest boy
in the neighborhood can stand failure.
Usually that Is what prompts his tough
ness.
Then instead Of thinking up ways to
punish the idle child and the lazy child
and the one who won't concentrate, It
behooves US to find the cause of the
child's difnculty, remove 1t and let him
advance as he longs to do. That Is
easier to say than 1t Is to do. Such
causes are often hidden In the mental
life Of the child and only patient, loving
search can bring them to the surface
where they can be recognized and adj
justed.
The first and easiest step Is the
mental measurement, the tests we give
children so as TO discover how they
compare with children of their own age
and experience. That usually gives
something to work on as q beginning.
Next. we examine his physical being and
while that seems easy, with all the
hospitals and physicians and experts
we have, 1t is rather difficult So few
doctors, so few specialists know about
children in their various stages Of
growth that thorough examination
and observation over sufficiently long
period OF time Is not at all easy to OBJ
TAIN. Still it grows easier every day,
and when more parents ask for such
service more specialists will be trained
to render it.
If the child is found to be mentally
defective, the only thing to do Is to
have him trained in the special schools
provided for such children. The usual
graded public school will not help him
at all.
But there Is a great group of normal
children who fail in school for causes
that are possible to remove. Defective
vision and hearing, malnutrition, physi-
cal disease. poor home training, improper
grading, lost lessons, stage of growth,
poor attendance, too frequent change
of school and of environment. Fear re-
tards many child. Afraid to show
his ignorance, afraid to ask for help,
the child loses the point of the lesson.
loses his hold on the subject, drops be-
hind the class and fails Confidence in
the teacher will prevent that. The re-
lationShiD between the failing child and
his teachers is one Of the utmost i'm
| portance.
When a child seems to be careless,
willfully neglectful, impudent, look
him over thoughtfully. impersonally.
Try to see him as he is, a frightened,
helpless child with his back to the wall,
| fighting for his life. Then, in all af-
lection and mercy, help him. You may
have to take him by the back of his
mental neck, still in kindness and un-
derstanding. to accomplish the task,
but, according to your faith and your
courage, success will meet you.
copyright. 1917