Evening star., 1937-03-05

Children
Who Fail
Students Need Help
and Not Punishment
for Poor Work.
BY ANGELO PATRI.

BY ANGELO PATRI.
CHILDREN who are struggling with
~ their lessons need hope and en-
couragement more than they need
criticism and correction. One little
boy could not spell. Every day his
paper was handed back with column
of crosses down the side. A big mum.
ber at the top, in red, so all who
looked might see, said, Mine wrong"
Nine words out of ten wrong.
Dreadful! Complete failure. Your
spelling is simply awful, George john
son. You remain in at recess time and
write every word ten times. Maybe
you'll learn to spell another one"
Nothing worse than that could hap
pen to George johnson. OF all the
children in the class he needed en-
couragement. More than any of them
he needed the teachers smile and a
word of understanding to give him
hope of better day. More than any
of them he needed to play with
light heart for the few minutes Of
the recess. None of the help he
needed was allowed him. He was
shamed and punished and deprived
of the relief he needed, deprived OF
the power he must have to succeed.
It is always better to show child
! how many he had right than to put
the emphasis on the number he had
wrong. He will not forget them, never
fear. The ones he missed stand out
like sore thumbs in his memory. He
did not fail because he wanted to.
He would love to have hundred per
cent, love to have the teacher say.
"And George johnson has the best
paper, the neatest, the best written
in the whole class. Stand up, George.
and let the class look ct a fine pupil"
How he would love that. He even
dreams about it. And then he gets
eight, nine, ten wrong
When a pupil fails like that don't
stop to worry about the number ne
has wrong. Tell him he is going 10
do better by and by and that you are
going to help him. Take him for an
examination by specialist. Find
why he cannot see and hear and feel
the right way to spell a word. There
is a reason, and it is beyond his con-
troll.
Scolding children who fail spec
tacularly Is useless. Furnishing them
is cruel. BY sorting the work in the
class for few weeks the teacher soon
sees the group that cannot do the
work. What they need most Is TO
discover a way to succeed in some
thing. Success is tonic to the body
and mind. The first task OF the
teacher is to find a way that allows
each child in the lowest quarter OF the
class to shine, If not in the field of
the curriculum, then in some other
field.
After winning the children's con-
fidence and trust in this way have
them tested. If there Is no possi-
bility of this, get hold of some tests
and practice giving them, according
to directions, until you are sure you
can give them the right way. Don't
be satisfied with one test. Keep CIV
ing it, in different forms, until you
are sure you have the right answer
Ask the nearest doctor for help.
He will have eye and ear tests and
some other tests that will help you
get to the root of the children's trou-
bles. Doctors in country towns are
proverbially kind. Ask them for help.
Keep searching for ways to help these
failing ones and you will at least make
them happy, at least find way to
make them useful to themselves and
other people.
Begin by marking how many they
got right, and smiling encours yingly
at them.
Mr.. Patri will give personal atten-
ton to inquiries from parents and
school teachers on the care and de-
velopment of children. Write him In
care of this paper, inclosing a three
cent stamped, self-addressed envelope
for reply.