CHAPTER II

EDUCATION OF EXCEPTIONAL CHILDREN

1. Need of Classification of Children.

The first step in a program of education for the mentally subnormal groups consists in testing and grading the mentality of the children. In this way the mental age of a child will be discovered and the plan for his education will be simplified. Such tests should be made of all backward and defective children coming under the notice of the school authorities, of the children sent to institutions for defectives, and of all delinquents brought into the juvenile courts. A special test should be made of those sent to reformatory institutions. A wide-awake attendance department of the local school system will discover every child of school age regardless of mentality, and each doubtful case will then be referred to the proper school officials for examination. If the Binet test or some similar test is applied, the child will be properly classified as to mentality, and steps can then be taken to assign him to the institution or type of school to which he belongs, if suitable facilities for such disposition are available. The work of the educational authorities of Cleveland serves as an illustration:

In 1912, 1281 children of doubtful classification were examined by a psychological expert. Of this number 469 or 36.5 per cent were found to be feeble-minded, 281 or 22 per cent were backward, while the remainder were slightly retarded or normal. In Chicago the Department of Child Study and Educational Research, organized in 1899, carries on similar work, but includes other defective groups. Many cities have made a beginning in the study and examination of their backward and defective children. Adequate facilities for mental tests in the cities will result in the development of educational provision for the group that can be successfully handled by the school authorities.

Bulletin, 1911, number 14 of the United States Bureau of Education classifies exceptional children in respect to administrative oversight, education, and care. Although both the physically and the mentally defective are classified by the Bureau, only the latter group will be included in the classification that follows:

Institutional cases, to be dismissed from care and oversight of school authorities; insane and demented children, feebleminded, below middle grade imbeciles, high grade moral imbeciles, and epileptics.

Cases for special instruction in schools; backward but capable of restoration to normal grade, dull, retarded through physical defects, and the gifted.

Uncertain classification; high grade imbeciles, feeble-minded above this grade, and mild cases of epilepsy.

From the administrative point of view these groups contain three definite types of children: first, the untrainable; second, those trainable to some degree, but needing constant supervision and oversight; third, the group capable of considerable training and of partial or even complete self-support, and not needing institutional care. The duty of the public school and of the state directly to these groups is determined largely by the conditions which underlie this classification; that is, the grade of mentality. The state is justified in supporting individuals if necessary, and also providing training; the schools give institutional care only to groups that can be restored to normal conditions, such as truants and delinquents.

2. Care of the Idiot.

Beginning with the lowest groups we have the idiots and other untrainable classes which need institutional care and protection. Accordingly it is not the function of the school to deal with this class of defectives, but it is the duty of the state to place them under custodial care. For this purpose every state needs one or more institutions. According to the best estimates only a small proportion - perhaps one-third of the feeble-minded are in institutions at the present time, although the percentage

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of idiots given custodial care may be larger because of their helplessness and the trouble they cause in private homes. Since they are incapable of self-support, cannot be trained, and may become a public menace, they should be permanently committed to a state institution for the feeble-minded. This applies especially to women, who otherwise frequently become the mothers of illegitimate and feeble-minded children.

3. Education of the Feeble-minded.

The trainable groups should be educated as far as their capacity allows. If, however, they cannot become self-supporting, they will also need institutional care. Furthermore, they are a greater racial menace than the idiots, because they are more likely to indulge in sex irregularities. They are very prolific, and the women are the constant prey of the immoral men of the communities in which they live. For this group, again, the state must make provision. Colonies for the feeble-minded should be established, and training provided for every inmate capable of making advance.

The first attempts to educate the feeble-minded were made in France by the physician, Itard, and the physician and educator, Seguin. The latter experimented for many years, and finally in 1842 he began to train a small class of feeble-minded children. His method was given to the world, and in a few years training schools for the feeble-minded were established in various countries. These schools also provided institutional care, but detention was not made permanent. Massachusetts was the first American state to establish a school, which dates from 1849. The larger and more populous states have established similar institutions, several of them each having more than one, but in 1912, 24 of the 49 states were still without public institutions of this kind. In all there were 33 state schools and 20 private schools, some of the latter being in states making no public provision for the feeble-minded. In all of these institutions children are divided into two groups: the trainable and the untrainable. In 1912 the state schools reported 21,357 inmates, 62 per cent of which were neither in school nor in kindergarten; that is, were incapable of literary instruction. Many of these,

however, were being trained in the industrial departments of the school. A very small percentage of all the children attained the equivalent of a fifth grade education. The private institutions are very small, and in 1912 contained only 749 inmates, and they are therefore of but little aid in the training of the feeble-minded, but the majority of their inmates belong to the trainable class. Nineteen states have neither public nor private provision for the feeble-minded, who, if given any care at all, are confined in almshouses, asylums, children's institutions, etc., where they receive no training adapted to their needs.

In attempting to educate the trainable imbeciles and morons, several principles are observed.

Careful attention is given to the amount and quality of food consumed by the inmates, since the development of the body reacts profoundly on the mind.

Adequate medical care is provided so as to enable every organ of the body to function to the best advantage.

Exercise and outdoor recreation are used as a physical and mental tonic. Fresh air invigorates and stimulates.

Manual training and the correlation of hand and brain, or the development of the brain through the hand, furnish the best methods of education.

Industrial classes are considered the best supplement to manual training.

The development of individual aptitudes and of capacity along the lines of least resistance is the most promising ideal of training.

Class work is ungraded, so as to allow every inmate to progress as rapidly as he can.

The inability of the state to provide institutional facilities for all of its feeble-minded necessitates an extension of the work of the public schools to include the education of the most advanced children of the moron type. Such children can be gathered at the most convenient centers for individual instruction in day schools. Many can come to the schools unattended and can go about without danger to themselves. The only hope of educating the bulk of these subnormal children under

present conditions lies in the widening functions of the schools. In many cities where special provision has been made for backward children, some provision is also made for children of this lower type of mentality. In 1911, out of 898 cities reporting to the United States Bureau of Education, 94 maintained schools or classes for defective children, most of these cities being located in the North Atlantic and North Central states. Unless eugenic considerations forbid, the public schools can well supplement the work of the state.

4. Education of Backward Children.

The education of the backward children is a problem of special importance because of the large number of children involved. It is distinctly a question to be solved by the public school, for these children have an undoubted right to an education.

a. Methods of Providing for Education.

Backward children can be handled in several ways. In the first place they may receive individual help from teachers employed for this special purpose. The ordinary teacher has not time to devote to children who cannot remain abreast of their grade, because of the volume of work that devolves upon her. Consequently many children, when once retarded, fall farther and farther behind. This difficulty can be met, in part, by a plan of individual instruction and help such as the so-called "Batavia plan," which consists of the employment of additional teachers to assist the backward pupils. Under certain conditions this plan has been successful, but its application has been largely limited to assistance for the retarded rather than the backward. The latter group really require a different variety of instruction from that given in the regular classroom; special aid in school work, therefore, does not solve the problem. In a number of cities, however, special teachers for this purpose are placed in the schools where individual instruction is most necessary.

The second method of care is through the special class for backward children. Instruction adapted to the children can be provided, and teachers specially trained for such work can be secured. The plan does not involve the expenditure of money for a building equipment and the playgrounds can be used by all.