Evening star., 1949-10-01
Two Views of Teachers
OF Children in Atypical Schools.

OF Children in Atypical Schools.
| To the Editor of the Star:
I'm accustomed to writing for the news
pages rather than the editorial section OF
| newspaper. but somehow I felt I must
| answer the letter signed Teacher" on your
| editorial page of the edition of The Star,
| dated September %.
Strangely enough this stupid letter Il dare
call it stupid because believe I am better
informed) occupied much space on the letter
page Teachers" facts are forcefully stated
| and the letter seems authentic.
First of all she lays much stress on the
| fact that people like Unruh, the Camden.
N, j., killer are "atypical," meaning I pre-
| sumo different" backward" and mall
| adjusted" I differ with her. Unruh is
not backward. nor atypical. He never at
| tended the type of school she excoriates in
| the District of Columbia.
Its the r-brilliant smart aleck or just
plain bright" good or so-called good boy
| who occasionally goes berserk due to other
| strains and stresses than "atypical' causes.
Unruh was product of the "hate school"
| He had been taught to hate as child. And
| ne hated Mr.. Cohen the druggist next door
| who was prospering as pharmacist ne
| (Unruh) had attended school for phar-
| macy in Philadelphia. Unruh was educated,
had served honorably in the armed forces.
was devoted student OF the Bible: Is an
| that atypical or is this Teacher" really
stupid?
| 1t was envy and hatred of Mr.. Cohen
| the druggist which led him to hatred OF all
of his neighbors-all of those in business
| on the street where he ran wildly shootlng
down everyone in his way. They typlf1ed
success to him and he hadn't made the
grade in the pharmacy school. -
This Teacher fears for the atypical
| child of Washington. Well, she needn't.
| If she were reporting the truth she could
tell what actually happens in Washington
schools where the different child Is sent.
She could tell you that often this so-called
! different or atypical child needn't be sent
out of his regular school or grade. 1t Is
the lazy, stupid teacher who finds something
| wrong or unpleasant about a child and
condemns him to attendance at one OF
i these schools. But these boys usually are
nice youngsters. sometimes with speech
| difficulty and sometimes with very poor
parents who can't dress them respectfully.
They are not potential killers. They often
turn out to be artists-men who love their
| fellow men and try to help them. r. S.
To the Editor of the Star:
On September %. letter appeared in
your column regarding atyp.ca! children
The letter was signed Teacher" While
agree with most of the remarks in that
letter I would like to add few OF my own
NV son is attending one OF these classes
| provided by the District OF Columbia PUBIC
school system While there always IS ex-
treme need for further advancement In TINS
as in every field of education, feel that TINS
city is making great progress IN regard 10
the retarded child.
NV youngster has attended public and
zx;,o ec},oolS in several States. ! reel LlaC
he now is getting training and education
equivalent to one of the finest private
schools In the country where the tuition
was 5000 a month. He Is getting this same
schooling In the District OF Columbia WIN
no tuition although most OF the creolt LOT
that goes to his teacher who buys much OF
her working material with part OF her own
insufficient pay check
AS for inexperienced or unqualified teach
ers for special classes sincerely hope the
writer of the September % letter did not
mean to stress the number Of M. A. or Ph.D
degrees that teacher has, for 1T is my
| opinion that it takes far more. than de-
gree to make a good teacher. Many OF
these children are not maladJusted because
of wrong training or for lack OF lnterest In
the home Some have started life with less
than an average chance because OF oTth
injuries or prenatal lack OF development.
They are difficult to teach.
The real purpose of this letter is to give
a word of thanks for the D. c. teachers
who are doing this work despite the lack
of co-operation they sometimes find about
them and to express deep appreciation Tor
their patience, their ability to teach (Which
is not measured by a college degree) and
! above all for their continued interest IN
these children. A MoIhEH