Evening star., 1934-11-11
REVIEW
CHILD WELFARE
0ne-Day Conference Hears
DR.. White in Plea for
Gifted.
A proup of distinguished leaders in

n SIUup VI OlSIlIlS ulSIltO lcducIS IA
the many fields dedicated to child well
fare rendered an account Of the pres
ent condition of their specialties, with
recommendations for future improve
ments, at a one-day conference at
the Sulgrave Club yesterday under
the sponsorship of the Phoebe Hearst
Parent Teacher Foundation, Inc.
At the night session which brought
the conference to an end, group of
so persons heard addresses by Dr. Will
liam A White, superintendent of st.
Elizabeth's Hospital; Judge Fay Bent
ley of Juvenile Court, and Mrs. Kath-
crime Ansley, in charge of the school
lunch program.
Summing up the days work, Mrs
Joseph Saunders, who presided, said
that results of the conference would
be collected and published, to serve
as a guide for the AZ organizations
which sent representatives.
DR.. Whites speech was a plea for
special consideration for the gifted
child. During the years preceding the
present century," he said in part, lit
seems that the children who attracted
the most interest were the children
who were the most troublesome and
who we're considered bad, sinful chill
dren. Under the circumstances it is
not strange that exceptionally tai
ented children have not come in for
adequate recognition"
Necessity of Leaders.
A democracy without leaders, he
said, would be very sorry thing. and
if it is to have leaders, it might be
well to select them from among the
ranks of the gifted children who, con-
trary to earlier beliefs, usually turn
out to be gifted and brilliant adults.
He said there are techniques for
discovering who are the most promis-
ing among the children, although he
warned that a child's intelligence
quotient is not the sole measure of
his superiority.
I'VE must not be led astray." he
said, by our desire to represent
human qualities in mathematical
form. That cannot be done now;
perhaps it cannot be done. It is
possible that there Is some inher-
ent incapacity for translating one
into the other. I cannot answer
the question, but a great many ef-
forts are wasted along these lines, I
feel. sure, and at the present time less
tangible qualities, such as intuition
based upon large experience. are per-
haps more valuable than the mystic
signs of mathematical operations
Significant meaning, to my mind, is
what we want to read into the facts
Of observation of human beings; and
when We do that I think We will
realize on that investment only in
proportion to the wisdom with which
we can utilize this material for the
common good of the child itself and
the society of which he Is a factor"
Proper Nutrition.
Mrs. Ansley said that proper nutri-
ton could solve many problems Incl
dentally, as the well-nourished child
is usually the happy child The mall
nourished children, she said, are not
confined to the homes of the poor.
The wealthy make their children suf-
fer this i'll in some cases either
through ignorance or through lack of
control.
Miss Bentley, speaking of Social
rehabilitation" recounted the history
OF case coming before her court, ex-
planning how 1t was dealt with by the
investigator and various auxiliary
ofhclals. Rehabilitation, she said,
depended upon establishing security
and the opportunity for development.
Agencies Represented.
In the afternoon session representa-
tives Of social agencies engaged in
character building were heard. Miss
Sybil Baker Of the Fairgrounds sketch
ed the activities developed there in the
last quarter Of century. Washington
now has 54 year-round centers; So
part-time centers; swimming pools
and special playground at Children's
Hospital. The Fairgrounds cooperate
with is other agencies. Most Of the
recreation is out of doors. It is active
outdoor play every day Of the year.
1900 free swimming lessons were given
last Summer. Aside from physical
activity, music, handcrafts, basketry
and sewing are on the list Each play
ground has library. Dramatics and
folk dancing are also featured. The
whole purpose of playground activity.
Miss Baker said, is to teach young
people how to live in a social structure
containing many hazards.
Miss Baker said the Fairgrounds
give the children 10000, 900 hours of
recreational activity each year, q, 900
girls and $4,000 boys taking part.
DR.. Clinchy Speaker.
DR.. Russell ]. Clinchy, pastor of
the Mount Pleasant Congregational
Church, spoke on the development Of
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