Milford chronicle., 1947-05-02
z a c k lin g
At The Start
BY ADELAIDE KERR
AP Newsfeatures Writer

''A A'e"SicdtufcS WTItef
If Evelyn Adlerblum had been
content to become bridge-playing
housewife. something which may
change many lives might never
have been done. But Mrs. Adler
blum used her time between the
chores of housekeeping and mo-
therhood to do work she saw before
her, extending it step by step.
The result, after 20 years, is an
experiment in child development
sponsored by the National Com
mittee for Mental Hygiene as an
official demonstration for the New
York City Board of Education.
Mrs. Adlerblum says it can result
i'll changes in the public school
curriculum.
Put in capsule form, it is an
effort to locate the causes of chill
dren's character kinks and iron
them out before they have done
the damage that produces juve-
nile delinquency, social misfits and
in extreme cases-criminal ac-
ton and insanity.
The experiment stems from some
thing Mrs. Adlerblum learned from
the depression. After her marriage
to Cullen Adlerblum, New York
physician, she had won a Columbia
University B. A, and was lecturing
on books to Y. w. H. A. girls at
time when they were wrestling
with depression problems She saw
how characters buckled in the heat
of adversely and thought what
boon it would be if they could be
shaped in youth to get along with
others and withstand life's storms.
SO she went back to school, studied
counselling and emerged with an
M. A. from Teachers College, Col
umbia.
After she tried out her theories
in New York Y. w. H. A. nursery
school the Vocational Adjustment
Bureau Ga subcommittee for the
National Committee for Mental
Hygiene) asked her to tackle the
present experiment-first of it's
kind ever tried in a public school.
1t was begun in 1943 in the kim
dergarten and first grades of Pub
Tic School 33 on West 2Sth Street.
Mrs. Alderblum Joined the teacher
In class, spent weeks watching the
children, noted the behavior prob
lem children. talked to them, dis
cussed them with the teacher and
interpreted their character quirks
to her. Mrs. Adlerblum also took
the children in groups of five into
a play room for storytelling, draw
ing, conversation and dramatic
play and watched their reactions.
There was bombastic Johnny.
banging on the desk and always
watching to run around when the
others were sitting still. (He suf-
fered from sense of insecurity.
His father had deserted his fam
lily and his mother was trying to
support them and run the house
"a job too big for herr There
was shy withdrawn Jane. ALWAYS
watching the others wistfully. but
never having the courage to Join
their games. (She was overshad-
owed at home by a more brilliant
sister and thought she amounted
to nOthing.)
A very large percentage of these
character quirks in children stem
from family situations; so school
and the teacher mean a great deal
to them" said Mrs. AdlerbIum.
what we want to do" she went
on, is to give the children a good
emotional and mental start, to
help them shape sound character
foundation that will stand firm in
both fair weather and storms.
We know that certain children
we selected as behavior problems
are coming along quite well-often
much better than their brothers
and sisters who did not have this
help. Some noisy. aggressive ones
are quieter and do better team
work now. Shy ones have been
drawn into happy activity with the
others. Enough of this work should
produce good, sturdy individuals
VINO have a sound social attitude
and respect themselves. People
who respect themselves respect
others and their rights and hence
can get along with others.
This experiment could have def
mite and constructive influences on
the school curriculum. We see
that children need warmth and
more individual attention and un-
derstanding in the school pro-
gram, especially in the early grades. |
This would lead to smaller classes
(of about 20 perhaps), more mental
hygiene training for teachers and
the kind of class room programs
that is set up to free the emotional
needs. 1t would give the child A
chance to laugh. move about and
learn through everyday practical
problems.