'11 
 
 'e 
 
 fi^ 
 
 hA 
 
 \! 
 
 RURAL 
 
 tlch 
 
 i- <J 
 
 i;U- 
 
What Can the Teacher Do 
 for the Deficient Child? 
 
 A MANUAL FOR TEACHERS 
 IN RURAL AND GRADED SCHOOLS 
 
 By 
 ARNOLD GESELL, M. D. 
 
 School Psychologist for the State board of education 
 
 1918 
 
 State Board of Education 
 
 Hartford, Connecticut 
 
 X 
 
r k^ 
 
 tj 
 
 
 % 
 
 Members 
 
 of the 
 
 State Board of Education 
 
 1918 
 
 Marcus H Holcomb Governor 
 
 Clifford B Wilson Lieut-Governor 
 
 Schuyler Merritt . 
 
 Edward D Robbins . 
 
 Charles F Smith 
 
 Howell Cheney 
 
 Dr John G Stanton 
 
 Southington 
 Bridgeport 
 Stamtord 
 New Haven 
 New Britain 
 South Manchester 
 New London 
 
 OFFICE 
 
 Room 42 State Capitol Hartford 
 
 May 1918 
 
CONNECTICUT SCHOOL DOCUMENT 
 
 No. 5-1918 
 WHOLE NUMBER 425 
 
 WHAT CAN THE TEACHER DO 
 
 FOR 
 
 THE DEFICIENT CHILD? 
 
 A brief manual of explanations and suggestions concerning" 
 extremely backward children in rural, village and city schools, 
 who cannot have the benefit of training in a special class. 
 
 //; fJirce parts 
 
 I A primer of questions and answers on mental deficiency 
 
 II Illustrative case studies of deficient school children 
 
 III Suggestions for a special program for the deficient child 
 child 
 
 By 
 
 Arnold Gesell M D 
 School Psychologist for 
 the State Board of Education 
 of Connecticut 
 
PART I 
 
 A primer of questions and answers concerning the problem 
 of mental deficiencv 
 
Does the regular teacJicr have any responsibility in the problem 
 of mental deficiency f 
 
 All students of the subject agree that mental deficiency is 
 one of the greatest of our social problems. They also agree that 
 the problem is so complex and many sided that there is no one 
 simple remedy for it. The doctors alone cannot solve this prob- 
 lem; the psychologists alone cannot solve it; state institutions 
 and special class teachers cannot meet the whole situation. Many 
 minds and many hands must combine in lending assistance to the 
 deficient school child. The regular teacher has a part to play. 
 
 Some one asks, Why not exclude all mentally deficient chil- 
 dren from the public schools? The answer is, It cannot, at least 
 now, be done. We do not have the legal machinery nor the public 
 opinion to make it at all practical. There are a few exceptions, 
 when for peculiar reasons a child is an intolerable burden in 
 school, or a positive menace to other children. In such rare cases 
 exclusion is the only measure. 
 
 For a long time to come, then, there will be feebleminded 
 children in the rural schools, and in the regular classes of village 
 schools and in many of the regular classes of our city schools. 
 There is no reason for believing or even hoping that all these 
 abnormally backward children will be conveniently excluded 
 from the schools. There is no reason for thinking that they will 
 all be assigned to special state institutions. In the great majority 
 of cases mentally deficient children are destined to be reared in 
 the communities where their normal brothers and sisters are 
 attending school. 
 
 Let us admit that a special class, small in numbers, with a 
 special teacher, and a special program and equipment all adapted 
 to laggard minds, is the ideal arrangement for subnormal chil- 
 dren. Let us also admit, and just as freely, that we cannot ex- 
 pect too much of a regular teacher. Her responsibilities lie 
 chiefly with the normal children, and she is even open to criticism 
 if she gives a very disproportionate amount of attention to the 
 deficient child. What we are pleading for is that this child de- 
 serves at least a little more than the average share of attention, 
 and that this attention should be wisely directed. Our aim, in 
 this booklet of explanations and suggestions, is to help the regu- 
 
lar teacher to meet her responsihility in a situation which she is 
 bound to face. 
 
 And what is the best way to help her? \\'e hope it is. by 
 making her natural interest an intelligent one : by indicating what 
 can and what cannot be done, so that she will not do herself an 
 injustice with standards either too high or too low, as the case 
 may be. \Vc know only too well the aggravations and difficulties 
 which often lie in her way ; but we are also sure that it is a real, 
 human problem, and that there are rewards in meeting it. 
 
 Uliat is mental dcficicucy^^ 
 
 This, naturally, is the first (question. Mental deficiency is 
 something more than ordinary backwardness in studies ; and it 
 is something dift'erent. Ordinary l)ackwardness is comparatively 
 not very serious. A merely backward pupil will not graduate at 
 the average age ; Init there is no reason to believe that he will not 
 succeed in life. Ordinary backwardness is usually curable. It is 
 due to causes which can be remedied or removed. It is due to 
 irregular attendance, to poor nutrition, to adenoids, to haphazard 
 schooling, ])oor teaching, defective vision, lack of familiarity with 
 our language, and a long list of other causes which retard but 
 do not altogether destroy normal development. 
 
 Now, a mentally deficient child does not even have the 
 possibilities of normal development. His retardation is perma- 
 nent, and it is incurable. He may have poor eyesight and many 
 other defects, but they are not the cause of his deficiency. In 
 about eight cases out of ten his backwardness is inborn; it is an 
 hereditarv handicai). In the other two or three cases out of the 
 ten it has l)een an injury from disease or some other cause which 
 so damaged his immature brain that he can not enjoy normal 
 mental develo])ment. Like a plant that has been stunted, he fails 
 to reach a full mental stature. He, therefore, shows a certain 
 lack of mental vigor, and always a kind of immaturity. Un- 
 fortunately we cannot in any way remove such a fundamental 
 weakness and incompleteness. It is because the brain itself is 
 incompletely developed that we cannot make him normal. We 
 must admit, then, that mental deficiency is an extreme, constitu- 
 tional form of l)ackwardness \\hich dates from birth or earl_\- 
 infanc\'. and which is so serious that it ^vill i)revent the child 
 
from taking his j^lace either in school, or in the world, on a par 
 with his normal fellows. 
 
 WJiat arc the causes of mental deficiency^ 
 
 As already suggested, they are chiefly hereditary. In about 
 75% of the cases the mental deficiency traces back to a defect in 
 one or two of the parental germ cells from which the individual 
 was developed. The chief cause of feeblemindedness is feeble- 
 mindedness. If both parents are feebleminded the children are 
 bound to be so; if only one parent is feebleminded some of the 
 children or grandchildren are likely to be so. Sometimes, even 
 in hereditary feeblemindedness there is no defect apparent in the 
 father or mother. There is, however, a mental or nervous defect 
 of some kind somewhere in the family strain, Avhich accounts 
 for the condition. How important alcohol and syphilis are in the 
 production of inherited feeblemindedness is not fully known. 
 
 In about one case out of four, mental deficiency is due to 
 some damage to the child's organism, either in the prenatal 
 period, during birth, or in infancy. A direct injury to the braiii 
 by prolonged pressure or by a fall may be the cause, though 
 these cases are not numerous. In other instances the poison of 
 severe infectious diseases may irreparably damage the growing 
 brain cells causing mental deficiency. Or the brain and its mem- 
 branes (the meninges) may be affected by a disease like cerebro- 
 spinal meningitis. Finally, if a child has frequent epileptic con- 
 vulsions in his early years the after effect may be mental de- 
 ficiency. 
 
 In the great majority of cases feeblemindedness is due to 
 ancestral factors, and is transmissable. It is a jDity and a menace 
 that so many feebleminded have the opportunity to marry and 
 thus pass on the tradition. 
 
 Does the mentally deficient cliild look snbnornialf 
 
 Sometimes ; but, by no means necessarily. In countenance, 
 facial expression, and ordinary demeanor, he often is indistin- 
 guishable from normal children. It is rather dangerous to judge 
 too much by physical appearance. A child may look "queer" or 
 defective and vet be perfectly normal. Misshapen head, small 
 
head girtli, over-large or deformed ears, poorly formed nose, 
 open mouth, coarse flabby skin, thick, stumpy fingers, "peculiar" 
 hands, weak hand grasp, generally stupid cxj-jression, — these and 
 other physical signs have importance only when they are com- 
 bined with mental inferiority. It is much safer and more 
 scientific for the teacher to pay attention to how a child uses his 
 body and his hands, how he walks, climbs stairs, handles things ; 
 how he plays and works. For, after all, it is his mental char- 
 acteristics, and his behavior, that count. 
 
 Jlluit is tlic cJiicf 7vcakiicss of the deficient child? 
 
 First and foremost, he is deficient in intelligence. This is 
 his ftmdamental defect. By mental deficiency we mean deficiency 
 of intelligence. Intelligence is the most practical aspect of the 
 mind. It is the can:icity to profit by experience and the power to 
 make adaptations to new situations as they arise, or even before 
 they arise. It is thcit mental part of us which means preparedness 
 to meet the demands of life. And this is just what the mentally 
 deficient child lacks. To be sure, he has sonic intelligence; but 
 he does not have a normal amount. He is not strong minded 
 like his normal companions : he is so feeble of mind that he 
 falls far behind in the race. He falls behind his grade in school. 
 When he grows up he keeps on falling behind. He will stumble 
 into difficulties; he may fail altogether in the struggle for exist- 
 ence as he has failed in a struggle for education. A man with 
 a weak heart cannot climb a steep hill. In the feebleminded it is 
 the power of mental adaptation which is weak; and they cannot 
 surmount the obstacles which the requirements of ordinary com- 
 munity life present. They do not have the clearness of percep- 
 tion, nor the mental vigor to grasp and handle even the ordinary 
 problems of humai: existence. They are at the mercy of events. 
 Normal minded people are at least partial masters of their fate. 
 
 This has all been well said by Miss Mary Dendy of Man- 
 chester, England. "To all of us birth happens and death 
 happens. Those of us who are sane knoic, whatever we may 
 think, that between birth and death we have the power, to a great 
 extent, of guiding our own lives ; we have the choice between 
 good and evil. To these less happy brethren of ours (the feeble- 
 
minded) not only do birth and death happen, but everything that 
 comes between ; their Hves are one long happening." 
 
 It is a deficiency of intelligence which makes their lives 
 "one long happening." 
 
 Can intcUigcncc be Pleasured? 
 
 Every person M'ho is at all observant of human nature makes 
 estimates of intelligence. He classifies his friends, — and his 
 enemies, — into various groups : — stupid, clever, mediocre, etc. 
 The school teacher estimates her children in a similar manner ; 
 and roughly separates them into two or three divisions : the 
 bright, the average, the dull. There is, however, one great source 
 of error in estimating the intelligence of children. They are con- 
 stantly growing, and it is difificult to keep definite standards in 
 mind. A boy of twelve may be doing excellent work in the fifth 
 grade; the teacher calls him bright. Another boy of ten may be 
 doing only passable work in the same grade, and the teacher calls 
 him average or dull. As a matter of fact the ten year old boy 
 may really be brighter than the older boy, if we take actual age 
 into account. Ability to do school Avork is a very proper measure 
 of intelligence; but the most important factor is the age of the 
 child. And we cannot make an adequate estimate of intelligence 
 until w^e take age into full consideration. 
 
 Can we do this with anything like accurate precision? The 
 great French psychologist, Alfred Binet, has shown us that we 
 can. After years of patient experimentation on his own chil- 
 dren, and on normal and deficient school children in Paris, he 
 devised a graded series of mental problems, or tests, which he 
 justly called a measuring scale of intelligence. No one pretends 
 that this scale has the accuracy of a clinical thermometer which 
 reads to a tenth of a degree, but it is a scale because it is made 
 up of standardized units. Judiciously apphed, this scale or one 
 of its improved revisions, furnishes us a rating of intelligence. 
 
 For example it was found after numerous comparative try- 
 outs on children of various ages, that at different levels of mental 
 development children respond differently to a picture. A child 
 of three will ordinarily look at a picture, and simply enumerate 
 all the objects in it: "man; river; boat, etc." On the average, 
 say seven cases out of ten, a child of seven will describe the 
 
picture : "The man is paddling. The boat is going down the 
 
 river." At the age of twelve the average normal response is an 
 
 interpretation of the picture. "They are fleeing from danger, 
 
 etc." This is the principle of a graded intelligence scale. Five or 
 
 six tests for each age from three to twelve or sixteen, furnish 
 
 the basis of measurement. What is normal or characteristic of a 
 
 given age being known, we can determine roughly whether a 
 
 child tests above age, below age or at age ; and we can tell how 
 
 much he deviates. We express his "score" by mental age. He is 
 
 actually eight years old ; that is known as his chronological age. 
 
 He tests six years of age by the scale; that is his mental age. 
 
 This mental age gives us some idea of his retardation ; but we 
 
 do not get a true conception of his intelligence calibre until we 
 
 compare mental age and chronological age. The ratio between 
 
 the two is the significant thing. This ratio is the intelligence 
 
 index. It is usually called the intelligence quotient (abbreviated. 
 
 I Q) ; because it is derived by dividing the mental age by the 
 
 M A (mental age) 
 chronological age. The formula isIQ=^.., , ., ^ 
 
 C A (chronological age). 
 
 If the numerator and denominator are equal we get unity or 
 ioo%, or an I O of lOO. If the numerator is 2, and the de- 
 nominator 3, we get a value below lOO, — I Q=67. If the num- 
 erator is 3 and the denominator 2, we get an I O of 150; which 
 indicates a very superior intelligence. An I Q of 67 or less, 
 however, nearly always means feeblemindedness. If we use the 
 carefully standardized methods of The Stanford Revision of the 
 Binet Scale, we may, safely say that the following ratio between 
 mental age and chronological age denotes definite mental de- 
 ficiency: — 2:7,; 4:6; 6:9; 8:12; 10:15. 
 
 VVJiat arc flic different degrees of iiifcllifjcjicef 
 
 For convenience we may say that there are three grades or 
 degrees of intelligence to be found among school children : 
 average, superior, inferior; normal, supernormal and subnormal. 
 By normal intelligence we mean that ordinary amount of intelli- 
 gence which most children have and which insures their ability 
 to meet the ordinary demands of life. Such children are neither 
 much retarded nor advanced in their schooling. They are neither 
 far below or above par. In terms of I Q (intelligence quotient) 
 
 10 
 
they rankj according to the Stanford-Binet ratings from 90 to 
 no. Children with an I Q above no may be regarded as more 
 or less superior. Children rating from 90 to 80 are usually dull. 
 From 70 to 80 is the region of "borderline deficiency." Some- 
 times these children are classifiable as dullards, sometimes as 
 mentally deficient (feebleminded). Below 70 points to definite 
 feeblemindedness. While the line must not be drawn too sharp 
 or too straight, we may regard this as the upper level of sub- 
 normal intelligence. 
 
 Mental deficiency or subnormal intelligence differs in grades 
 of severity. Three main grades are recognized : low, medium and 
 high grade ; idiot, imbecile and moron. The I Q for these classes 
 would range between 50 and 70 for moronity; between 20 or 25 
 and 50 for imbecility; and below 20 or 25 for idiocy. (Terman) 
 
 The idiot stands at the bottom of the scale. He is often 
 utterly helpless, and he very rarely enters a public school, be- 
 cause his mental age is less than three years. The Mental De- 
 ficiency Law of England defines idiots as "persons so deeply de- 
 fective in mind from birth, or from an early age, as to be unable 
 to guard themselves against common physical dangers." 
 
 The imbecile stands somewhat higher in the intelligence 
 scale. His mental level is between three and seven years. Im- 
 becile children sometimes find their way into public schools. The 
 Mental Deficiency Law defines imbeciles as "persons in whose 
 case there exists from birth or from an early age mental defec- 
 tiveness not amounting to idiocy, yet so pronounced that they are 
 incapable of managing themselves or their affairs, or, in the case 
 of children, of being taught to do so." 
 
 The most important and most numerous group is the moron. 
 He stands near the borderline of normality. He often looks 
 normal and so we allow him to drift into situations which he 
 cannot meet. It is the moron who makes so many problems for 
 the schools and for society. The moron mentality ranges in 
 terms of intelligence age, from seven to eleven years. The Eng- 
 lish legal definition of the moron is as follows : "Persons in 
 whose case there exists from birth or from an early age mental 
 defectiveness not amounting to imbecility, yet so pronounced that 
 they require care, supervision, and control for their own protec- 
 tion, or for the protection of others, or, in the case of children. 
 
 11 
 
that they, by reason of such defectiveness, appear to be perma- 
 nently incapable of receiving proper benefit from the instruction 
 in ordinary schools." 
 
 How many children arc nicntally dcficicntf 
 
 Our answer depends, of course, upon the standards which 
 we use and how accurately we apply them. Terman has found 
 that among looo unselected school children, i% have an I Q of 
 70 or less. By this standard it is safe to say that for a large 
 number of cases, i% of the elementary school enrollment is 
 definitely deficient. Since however many children with an I Q 
 of over 70 are deficient when judged by their social and indus- 
 trial capabilities, we may possibly be justified in considering the 
 proportion as high as 2%. One per cent is at present the least 
 disputed figure. 
 
 So far as the teacher is concerned this statistical question 
 has no practical importance. The figures hold only for a large 
 number of cases, and the distribution of cases in any school 
 building or school district will be uneven. For example one rural 
 school may not have a single mentally deficient pupil, another 
 may have two or three. There are similar variations in graded 
 school systems. One bviilding with 500 pupils may have only 
 four deficient pupils, another of the same size or even smaller 
 may have eight. The third and fourth grades are likely to have 
 more than the sixth and seventh, except when the deficient chil- 
 dren are promoted by courtesy. 
 
 What is tlic difference between a dullard and a deficient child? 
 
 It may not be altogether scientific to make a rigid distinc- 
 tion between the two. It has been maintained that grades of in- 
 telligence fade into each other like day, dusk, dark and dawn ; 
 and that it is arbitrary to draw sharp lines between the grades. 
 For practical reasons, however, we insist that a clear cut distinc- 
 tion should be made between the dullard and the deficient child. 
 And the distinction should be made in favor of the dullard. A 
 dullard is not a very high grade moron; he is not a super-moron. 
 He is to be regarded as a definitely normal individual, whose 
 faculties are simply below the average in quantity but closely 
 akin to the average in quality. He is organized along normal 
 
 12 
 
lines. He may be slow witted ; but he is not weak wittecl. He 
 has considerable mental stamina and stability. When we psycho- 
 logically describe him as a low grade normal, we do it in no 
 derogatory sense. He may be backward in school ; he may be 
 rather obtuse in abstract, academic subjects ; but in his natural 
 sphere he succeeds. He makes his way in the world ; because he 
 has enough mother wit to do so. This is more than we can say 
 of the moron ; for as Tregold has pointed out, even the highest 
 grade moron is lacking in "that essential to independent exist- 
 ence, common sense." 
 
 A deficient child is so defectively organized that he does not 
 promise even the modest success in life which the dullard attains. 
 The dullard profits much more from experience, and responds 
 much more to proper education. 
 
 JVJiat is tJie cJiief cJiaractcristic of tJic mentally deficient 
 
 adult F 
 
 The best, brief answer to this question is summed up in 
 Dr. Tregold's definition of feeblemindedness. In his words, 
 feeblemindedness is "a state of restricted potentiality for, or ar- 
 rest of, cerebral development, in consequence of which the per- 
 son afifected is incapable at maturity of so adapting himself to 
 his environment or to the requirements of the community as to 
 maintain existence independently of external support." 
 
 This definition is well worth mastering. We r'ecommend that 
 the teacher memorize it, analyze it and interpret it. Notice that 
 the test or criterion of mental deficiency is a social one. A 
 feebleminded person cannot become an efficient, responsible 
 member of society. He cannot become an independent wage 
 earner or a self controlling citizen. A feebleminded man ought 
 never to be allowed to try to found a home and rear a family ; 
 a feebleminded woman cannot projDcrly manage a home and for 
 this reason alone, if for no other, she ought not to become a 
 mother of children. She does not possess the mental ability to 
 properly bring up children ; and if she did, the children often 
 would not have the mentality to properly respond to training. 
 
 The feebleminded are therefore at once mentally deficient 
 and socially deficient. They cannot function as normal members 
 of society because of subnormal mental endowment. It is not 
 
 13 
 
perversity, viciousness, or laziness which makes them fail. It is 
 a degree or a kind of mental incompetence. It is defective in- 
 telligence. 
 
 JVhat arc the social consequences of feebleiiiiiidediiess.' 
 
 When feeblemindedness is uncontrolled by society all sorts 
 of vocational, economic and moral problems arise. Many of our 
 social problems are caused by the vocational inefficiency of the 
 feebleminded. Vocational itiefficiency shows itself in so-called 
 shif tlessness, unemployment, irregular employment, begging, 
 vagrancy, pauperism. This does not of course mean to say that 
 every pauper is feebleminded. That would be a libel. But it does 
 mean that feeblemindedness is an important cause of pauperism 
 and indigence. A large portion of those who drift into alms- 
 houses, particularly those who are not of advanced age, have 
 failed in the struggle for economic existence because of the 
 feebleness of their wits. They did not have the mental tenacity 
 and good judgment to succeed from day to day, month to month, 
 and year to year. For the same reason the feebleminded earn 
 subnormal wages at piece work; or are "handed around" from 
 job to job without holding any position for a great length of 
 time Some become vagrants, ne'er-do-wells; many are wastrels; 
 to use an English term. "Good-for-nothing" we often call them. 
 As a matter of fact they are good-for-something; but only if we 
 put them into suitable surroundings where their weak intelli- 
 gence will not be overtaxed. 
 
 The foregoing failures we call economic failures. If the 
 same individual fails along legal lines we call it crime, de- 
 linquency or vice, l^conomic failure and moral failure are psy- 
 chologically akin. They both may be an expression of mental 
 weakness. It takes a reasonable amount of intelligence to recog- 
 nize right and wrong, to keep definitely in mind the conseciuences 
 of wrong, and to shape conduct in accordance with the ad- 
 vantages of right. For this reason it has been said l)y high 
 authority that every feebleminded person is a potential criminal. 
 As a matter of fact a remarkably large number of feebleminded 
 persons manage to keep out of jail; but a remarkably large pro- 
 portion of those who do not, and who serve long sentences in 
 reformatories and prisons are mentally deficient. P^asily one out 
 
 14 
 
of five of the inmates of penetentiaries is feebleminded. Like- 
 wise many of the boys and girls who are committed to reform 
 schools, particularly among those cases who do cannot be perma- 
 nently reformed are definitely deficient. When the impossibility 
 of reform is due to mental deficiency, we call the individual a 
 defeciive delinquent. A fraction of the incorrigible or disciplin- 
 ary cases among school children are defective delinquents. 
 
 Lack of intelligence may be at the basis of other forms of 
 subnormal control, such as alcoholism and sexual immorality. 
 Not all, but, again, a considerable percentage of inebriates and 
 of prostitutes are feebleminded. 
 
 Is it any wonder that we have so many social problems 
 directly due to mental deficiency? We can only rejoice in the 
 good fortune of those cases where a happy combination of favor- 
 able circumstances allows the feebleminded person to live a par- 
 tially useful or at least a harmless life. We wish it were possible 
 to always provide the external support which their mental fraility 
 needs. Perhaps we some day shall be able to do so, if we begin 
 near the bottom and cope with the problem as we find it in our 
 public schools. 
 
 Hoim does mental deficiency sJwzv itself in tJie school childf 
 
 Naturally, the failures of the neglected feebleminded adult 
 are foreshadowed in the school life of his childhood. The fail- 
 ures in school may not be so glaring because we do not expect 
 too much of the immature and because we naturally protect chil- 
 dren. Sometimes it even happens that the optimistic school 
 teacher does not recognize the existence of feeblemindedness in 
 a pupil ; particularly if the pupil is a docile and agreeable child. 
 But if the teacher has a proper appreciation of the fundamental 
 importance of intelligence, she is likely to see the signs of defect 
 in the school behavior of a deficient child. 
 
 What are these signs ? Let us enumerate them, cautioning 
 the teacher to use good judgment in interpreting them. 
 
 In the first place a deficient child does not play in a normal 
 manner. He never is a leader on the playground ; and often he 
 is not even a follower. He prefers to sit by idty, content to watch 
 others play ; and this, not because he is jDhysically weak, but be- 
 
 15 
 
cause he is mentally inert. He does not have ordinary, healthy 
 play interests; he is listless; and if he attemiots to play a game 
 beyond his mental and moral powers he gets into difficulties ; he 
 is not likely to be a popular playmate. There are some children 
 of high grade mental defect who manage to play pretty success- 
 fully ; but even they are usually fond of the simplest games 
 only, and they tend to play with companions below their own 
 age. 
 
 In work as well as in play the signs of deficiency show 
 themselves. If the child is of very low grade intelligence, say 
 that of an imbecile, he will not be able to acquire the 3 R's at all. 
 His writing will then be mostly scribbles ; he will probably be 
 unable to draw a copy of a diamond ; he might after much train- 
 ing, learn to recognize a few words, and do a few simple sums. 
 But when we recall that it is possible to teach almost as much to 
 an "educated horse," it does not follow that he can really read, 
 or that he has any comprehension of numbers, beyond a few, 
 concrete situations. 
 
 What can a moron do in ordinary scJiool ivork? 
 
 While an imbecile is almost entirely incompetent in the 
 ordinary school room, a high grade moron may accomplish a 
 good deal with the 3 R's. But it will be hard for him to learn. 
 By the time he gets to his teens he is usually three years or more 
 behind his grade ; and what he does learn he often fails to under- 
 stand. In rare cases he may have learned to perform long 
 division, but usually his comjDrehension of arithmetic is far below 
 that.- He always has great difficulty with fractions and with 
 problems requiring reasoning. There is a concrete kind of arith- 
 metic, however, in which he feels more at home; and this kind 
 only has any value for him. 
 
 A high grade moron may learn to write a simple letter. His 
 powers of composition, however, are usually below even that ; 
 and he is deficient in matters of punctuation; sentence structure 
 and of course in grammar. His penmanship is likely to be far 
 superor to his language power. This is because penmanship is 
 merely a motor habit, while written language makes demands 
 upon a higher kind of intelligence. A moron may learn to read ; 
 but he acquires the art with difficulty. His reading is always 
 
 16 
 
likely to be monotonous, and rather slow. While a normal child 
 usually learns to read with some expression and understanding 
 the feebleminded child tends merely to call off the separate 
 words, and is deficient in reproducing the thought of a selection. 
 A moderate ability to read in a child of twelve years or over 
 must not, however, be taken as a proof that the child is not men- 
 tally deficient. If he is seriously retarded in all his school work 
 and shows poor judgment and general lack of common sense ; he 
 may still be feebleminded. 
 
 We must never forget that academic attainments may be 
 largely mechanical, and simj^ly due to years of drill, drill, drill. 
 For example, I recall a deficient girl about eleven years old, a 
 third grade pupil, who could glibly recite the "five table." The 
 patient teacher had drilled so hard on that table, that the child 
 reproduced it perfectly. But it must have been a phonographic 
 kind of reproduction, because when I asked the child, "Which 
 is more : five or two ?" — she could not answer ! 
 
 In history, a mentally deficient pupil ordinarily makes very 
 little progress. He may learn a few simple facts, in a somewhat 
 parrot fashion, about George Washington, Columbus and Abra- 
 ham Lincoln ; but he often gets his historical characters sadly 
 mixed. He may say that Columbus was the first president, and if 
 you ask him who lived first, Columbus, Lincoln or Washington, 
 you cannot be at all certain that you will get a correct answer. 
 Though a mentally deficient child may learn simple stories about 
 historical men and events, he has a very meagre historical sense. 
 The teaching of history to the feebleminded is mainly a waste of 
 time, and often an absurd waste. 
 
 The same is true of geography. A few barren geographical 
 facts the feebleminded pupil can memorize. He may even learn 
 to recite after a fashion in a map study lesson. He may point out 
 South America, but ask him which is larger, Connecticut, New 
 Haven, or America, and you may get a wrong reply. He does 
 not grasp relations which are abstract. He often fails to grasp 
 concrete relations, when these are beyond the range of his own 
 immediate experience. 
 
 17 
 
What docs the deficient school child need most of all/ 
 
 Most of all. he needs to be understood. Wlien teachers, 
 parents, and elder schoolmates begin to understand him. the 
 chances are that he will be made more happy and more useful. 
 At least, the teacher who is with him every day can make a 
 determined efifort to understand him. She can observe his be- 
 havior and note his limitations, and get some conception of his 
 mentality. Of what value is all our psychology, if we cannot 
 use it in order to interpret a feebleminded child? Let the teacher 
 once really appreciate the nature of such a child and she will 
 soon find some devices by which he can best be treated. The 
 teacher can do much to make the lot of the deficient child a more 
 comfortable one. She can treat him with such consideration that 
 the whole schoolroom will respond to the suggestion. If the child 
 is a butt of teasing and other forms of mental cruelty, the teacher 
 is the one to change all this for the better. W'e must all begin to 
 look upon the feebleminded more as we look upon the cri])pled 
 and physically infirm. A crippled child is the object of peculiar 
 concern and consideration. W'e do not expect too much of the 
 cripple. Least of all do we regard his weakness as in any way a 
 disgrace. Yet, when it comes to the feebleminded we often 
 wrongly attach a stigma to their condition. The rural teacher, 
 the village teacher, and in city schools, the principals, can do a 
 great deal toward removing this stigma. No teacher or principal 
 should tolerate in the vicinity of the school grounds the calling 
 of names and the tormenting which are still too commonly the 
 lot of the deficient child. By indirect suggestions, and sometimes 
 by a little plain talking, the teacher can make the attitude of the 
 normal children one of wholesome sympathy and appreciation 
 for the subnormal member of the group. If these normal children 
 need a little sermon on the subject, why not recall to them the 
 kind instincts which they ordinarily display toward the crippled, 
 the paralytic and the blind ; and make them realize that the 
 feebleminded are in need of the same kindness? 
 
 The solution of the problem of feeblemindedness depends to 
 a large extent upon general mutual understanding. It might al- 
 most be said that if everybody concerned, really understood the 
 feebleminded members of their community, it would be possible 
 
 18 
 
for a great many of these members to lead a fairly satisfactory 
 life outside of an institution. 
 
 The place to begin this policy of mutual understanding is 
 right in the schoolroom. Begin it, by not expecting anything of 
 the feebleminded child which he is not equal to. Make allow- 
 ances for him. If necessary, make a special program for him. 
 If necessary, give him a special table and a little work bench in 
 the corner of the room ; and instead of fearing the consecpiences 
 which such special attention will have upon "the discipline" of 
 the room and upon the regular pupils, enlist the interest and co- 
 operation of these pupils in solving the problem. The problem 
 is this : How can we keep a feebleminded child in an ordinary 
 school room, and yet serve his best interests ? He is bound to 
 get more than his share of attention in any case. Make the atten- 
 tion intelligent; and if the routine is somewhat disturbed the 
 educational benefit for the whole group may be all the greater. 
 
 In the lower grade cases, where the child is conspicuously 
 below the mental level of his schoolmates, the problem will be 
 greatly simi^lified by delegating much of the special work to 
 bright monitor pupils. These pupils will take a pride in helping 
 the teacher and the child. Make it a family problem; encourage 
 cooperation and the subnormal pupil instead of being a drag 
 upon the room may furnish a real stimulus to the social educa- 
 tion of the whole group. Let us so change the situation that the 
 deficient child will become an educational asset. This will be for 
 his own benefit and for ours. 
 
 Ji'lw sJiould make the diagnosis of feehJeuiiudcdness? 
 
 The teacher should never make an official diagnosis. That 
 is the business of a qualified examiner. Should the teacher, 
 then, regard every child as normal until she is notified to the 
 contrary ? That would be too much to expect. Every intelligent 
 teacher is bound to make some kind of judgment in regard to her 
 pupils, and sometimes this judgment must amount to a convic- 
 tion that a child is definitely feebleminded. When a case is doubt- 
 ful it is her duty to suspend her judgment ; but when she has 
 ample evidence of real deficiency, such as is described in this 
 booklet, it is her duty to shape her policy with respect to the 
 child in accordance with that evidence. In consulting with in- 
 
 19 • ' 
 
telligent parents of the child, she may then, go so far as to say 
 something hke this : "In my opinion the child is seriously back- 
 ward, he will never accomplish what the average pupil accom- 
 plishes, and he should have special attention during his school 
 life and after he leaves school." This is going far enough ; she 
 should not undertake to make a formal diagnosis, and she is not 
 called upon to use the term feeblemindedness. The most con- 
 venient term to use, if any be necessary, is "deficient." This is 
 sufficiently accurate, but it is not a harsh designation, because 
 teachers often use a similar ex2:)ression with normal children 
 who are reported "deficient in arithmetic," "deficient in reading," 
 etc. We recommend then, that instead of using such unreserved 
 terms as feebleminded, abnormal, degenerate or imbecile, teach- 
 ers will simply say "a deficient child" or "a seriously backward 
 child." 
 
 Ca)i teachers he of any assistance to parents of a deficient cliildf 
 
 They can when the parents do not appreciate their problem. 
 When the child has been definitely diagnosed as mentally de- 
 ficient, or when the evidence points decisively to mental de- 
 ficiency, the teacher and supervisor can be of real assistance to 
 the parents by making suggestions concerning the treatment of 
 the deficient child at home. Parents should realize that this 
 home-training is often very important. So far as possible, the 
 child should learn in his home the fundamental personal habits 
 that have to do with his cleanliness, neatness, and every day de- 
 portment. Does he know how to wash himself ? Does he comb 
 his own hair ? Can he tie his shoestrings ? Does he know how 
 and when to use his handkerchief? Some of the simplest things 
 are often neglected. Families fall into the habit of helping the 
 deficient child too much. By patient drill he must be taught 
 those personal habits which will make him less burdensome 
 and more attractive to others. Above all the child should be 
 taught how to work with his hands, he should learn to assist in 
 the labor of the home, the farm, the shop. So far as practical, 
 he should have definite chores. A deficient child can often be 
 trained into a considerable degree of usefulness. The one thing 
 that can not be taught him is good judgment ; and it is for this 
 reason the parents must never expect too much of him. 
 
 20 
 
Tact is always necessary in discussing such questions, but 
 when the teacher is sure of her ground, a positive use of tact is 
 surely much better than a policy of silence or neglect. As a 
 matter of justice to the child, everything should be done to pro- 
 tect his future. 
 
 How should parents be advised in regard to that future? So 
 much depends upon each individual case, that we will give only 
 a few general suggestions. 
 
 1. If the child is an excessive burden and a real menace, 
 steps should be taken to have him committed to an institution. 
 You may write to the office of the state board of education or to 
 your supervisor for advice in regard to such steps. 
 
 2. If the child is apparently "harmless" and can do a little 
 work, the parents must be made to realize that the child will 
 probably always lack the judgment to take entire care of himself, 
 and that he should always be kept near friends and relatives who 
 will guard him against pitfalls and dangers. A defective young 
 man must not be permitted to try to make his way in the world. 
 A defective young woman should be guarded against every dan- 
 ger. Neither, of course, should marry. 
 
 3. The only hope of keeping a feebleminded person safe 
 and happy outside of a colony or institution is to find the right 
 kind of work for that person. Let the occupation be simple and 
 let the Avorker be protected from dangers, and the problem is 
 often solved. 
 
 But if the parents are blind to the situation, and persist in 
 hoping that the child will yet grow up and become independent, 
 they are doomed to much worry and disappointment. A mentally 
 deficient child lacks the capacity for normal independence and 
 self-control. Under favorable, supervised conditions, he may 
 when he is grown make his living, but he always needs some 
 external support, some guidance. When a teacher can sym- 
 pathetically help a parent to see the problem in its true light, she 
 will be rendering a service not only to the child and to the family, 
 but also to the state of which she is a public servant. 
 
 21 
 
PART J I 
 
 A mental classitication of children and illustrative 
 case studies of deficient ])upils 
 
Types of deficient school children 
 
 For the convenience of the reader we insert a tabular 
 psychological classification of children, which furnishes a bird's- 
 eye summary of some of the main facts. As a simple standard 
 of reference for the teacher, we also add a few case studies or 
 school children illustrating different types of mentality. Three 
 girls, Harriet, Sarah, Helen, representing respectively low grade 
 deficiency, dullness, and mental superiority are briefly described, 
 and specimens of their writing and drawing are shown. 
 
 Following this, is a comparative description of three 
 brothers, who are in the same public school, who are of exactly 
 the same Binet age, who have substantially the same school at- 
 tainments, but who represent because of their differences in 
 chronological age, three descending degrees of mental de- 
 ficiency. These boys, of course, belong to the hereditary type 
 of mental deficiency. 
 
 A few samples of their school work and mental output are 
 shown in the illustrations. Each boy was able to write without 
 assistance a sentence stating his approximate age. Below this 
 sentence is reproduced a "letter" telling "What I did on last 
 Saturday." The drawings portray a house, a man and tree. The 
 circle represents the results of the Ball and Field Test, an inter- 
 esting intelligence test, which is embodied in the Stanford Re- 
 vision of the Binet measuring scale. Briefly, we said to each 
 child, "Let us suppose that your ball has been lost in this round 
 field. You have no idea what part of the field it is in ; but you 
 know it is there somewhere. Now take this pencil and begin at 
 the gate, and mark out a path to show me how you would hunt 
 for the ball, so as to be sure not to miss it." This test demands 
 a little practical judgment on the part of the child. We consider 
 that a child fails, if he cannot comprehend the instructions. Such 
 was the case with Harriet. The three brothers grasped the in- 
 structions but failed to show any definite plan in carrying out the 
 search for the ball. At the mental level of eight years we expect 
 evidence of at least a little foresight, an inferior plan of search. 
 Sarah, the dull girl, made a path around the margin of the field, 
 an inferior plan ; while a normal or superior girl of twelve like 
 Helen, meets the logical requirements of the problem, with a su- 
 perior plan of search, which covers the whole field with a spiral 
 or fan shaped path. 
 
 23 
 
& " 
 
 M U 
 
 
 
 u u 
 
 •li^ tz 
 
 
 -a c 
 o 'oc 
 
 Jp 
 
 n s 
 
 ^"5 
 
 
 <-> o 
 
 
 >^ OJ 
 
 'Ei; 
 
 o •- 
 
 5Q 
 
 >^ 
 
 J3 M-. 
 
 
 
 
 
 <J W) 
 
 
 '7'^''- 
 
 
 b !> 
 > ^ 
 
 
 > 
 
 O 
 
 -aiS 
 
 -.m'E 
 
 03 J= 
 
 '■'i 
 
 WAh 
 
 
 Ph 
 
 <5 
 
 
 ;a 
 
 
 y. 
 
 U, — — 
 
 rt O <u 
 
 ^ be 
 
 CO c 
 
 aJ 
 
 U 
 
 <£ oj 
 
 ^•o c i 
 
 C)-^^. 
 
 ' ^ <^ t, u 
 
 ^ 3 be 
 
 (^ c 
 
 
 :^ beS 
 
 O 3 O ' 
 
 ^ — • 
 
 
 ;:::; '-' 
 
 
 
 -- ci3 
 
 e C 
 
 
 <u 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 .= o 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^-^ t/-, lU 
 
 
 ^ -u 
 
 ns -^a 
 
 
 n! <U 
 
 -b .E 
 
 
 H'i^ 
 
 , aJ P 
 
 
 S.^ 
 
 
 
 O J3 OJ 
 
 
 c oJ 
 
 Injeri 
 ssifia 
 feebl 
 
 
 X3 
 
 rime 
 t cla 
 11 or 
 
 
 3 C 
 
 ^ o n 
 
 
 M aj 
 
 C-CI -^ 
 
 " oi 
 o 
 
 i^ "rt "O 
 
 ° C rt 
 
 3 p c 
 §•=.2 
 
 E O 
 
 
 
 
 oT-Td 
 
 tn 
 
 be c 
 
 
 W rt 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 3 
 
 o >, 
 
 O 
 
 U.ti 
 
 U 
 
 r; tn T3 
 
 3^ a 
 
 (U (U j_i ^- 
 O rt-^ ^ 
 
 Ph be rt Zl 
 
 + 
 
 1» o 
 
 V 3 1- 
 
 ■^ ^ C 
 ■S^O rt 
 
 <u u be 
 
 -v 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 c^ 
 
 tj 
 
 
 3 
 
 
 
 i- 
 
 
 <^ 'O 
 
 
 rrt 
 
 G 
 
 u 
 
 <u 
 
 < 
 
 
 
 
 
 a 
 
 G 
 
 
 o 
 
 W 
 
 3 
 
 , 
 
 ^ 
 
 *-; 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 3 
 
 ^ 
 
 w 3 -cJ 
 
 be rt or' .1/) 
 
 o-~ ^'^ ^'£ 
 
 'r. ^ 
 
 Vh rt 
 
 Sh' 
 
 rt 
 
 OJ 3 
 
 ' ^ d- 
 
 ^ o o o 
 UU 
 
 "^ Cd O 3 
 3 J-, Q .3 OJ 
 
 C^ CO 1^ J= t/) Oi 
 
 fe- 
 
 be o 
 
 ^H Td 
 a. rt 
 
 rt 3£ 
 
 [J^-^ «, C 
 
 .„ rt 
 c "h 
 
 .3 3 
 rt ;!i 
 
 3 o 
 
 3 "^ 
 
 S 5 
 
 >s-£ 
 
 ^ rt 
 
 !^ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 O _ 
 
 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 
 3 
 u 
 
 > rt 
 
 O 
 
 pendent 
 
 unde 
 
 es, bu 
 
 over 
 
 ons cai 
 
 rt-^ 
 
 U 
 
 ^§ 
 
 -i-; ij 'Si 
 
 57 be y "5 g 
 ;V-S rt rt g-i^ 
 
 nden 
 outin 
 aervi 
 
 sein 
 a li 
 cums 
 nee 
 rade 
 le w 
 
 <U Vh 3- 
 
 . - h,! ^-c-^ 
 
 >> o t"* -e 
 
 >.g- rt 
 
 ^ £ "5 ^ § 
 
 ;r: 3 t^ 
 
 S rt i;-? ° £ 
 
 rt ;;; 3 
 3 
 >, 
 
 z; rt -7: 
 
 
 rt o"^ 
 (J ° <u 
 
 r-* <=i M-i 3 t« TS 
 
 
 o ;i 
 £0 
 
 o be o 
 
 rt -^ tic 
 
 rt rt 
 
 i-OK) 
 
 ;0.t^ 
 
 G 
 
 3 
 
 aj 
 
 rt 
 
 
 
 u 
 
 
 LC 
 
 
 
 >^ 
 
 -O 
 
 r, >. 
 
 >. 
 
 rt . - 
 
 3-::: 
 
 --^ u 
 
 rt (-1 
 
 
 ^ rt 
 
 1^ 
 
 — 3< 
 
 1; '!i 
 
 
 
 en 
 
 
 5: « 
 
 ^ rt 
 
 a; 
 
 H-2 
 "S 
 
 U o 
 
 rt-^ 
 3 '^ 
 
 O OJ 
 
 >U 
 
M o i e I 
 
 Cofy 
 
 •^ 
 
 A 
 
 -.^ 
 
 Three Grades of Mentality 
 
 The drawings are by Harriet, age ii, lQ43- Mentally Deficient. 
 (Kindergarten) 
 
 The letter to Uncle William is by Sarah, age 14, IQ75- Dull. (Grade VI) 
 The other letter is by Helen, age 12, IQ137. Superior. (Grade VHTi 
 
4Mb- 
 
 7^r 
 
 cr-y\^ 
 
 
 5'- Z- 'J 
 
 ) 
 
 \ 
 
 / 
 
 
 ^J6¥"7^ 
 
 >y the younger brother, Mental Age /. 
 26 
 
^aymJ djjjtLxm JM4JU • (riiy^- 
 
 ^iM 
 
 ff.:-. -'. 
 
 p' 
 
 MS 
 
 m 
 
 mi 
 
 
 4 
 
 - '21 
 
 / 
 
 ' I 
 
 J 
 
 By the middle brother, iMental Age 7. 
 27 
 
aZijL^ 
 
 
 
 /., 
 
 A V - .>-- 
 
 1/1 
 
 'Aj~f-A \ I 
 
 ,-..,M.«.»-< : ' "— " 1 " ^ 
 
 f^ 
 
 t ■ 
 
 
 % ' H 
 
 X. JQ^ 
 
 \ i 
 
 ^r 
 
 2 7 .. 
 
 f;^" 
 
 / 
 
 By the older brother, Mental Age 7. 
 28 
 
■^Ut USL llX^ <ic^ 
 
 V 
 
 p 
 
 f 7^ i 
 
 E 
 
 ^^7 / 
 
 ,.,4:id.-l.ll^X-^-^^*^ -^ ^„.«X2i^i ^-/ A 
 
 F 
 
 '^■•^_: ^ <W^^1^L^^.....-^- , ^...--...^- 
 
 
 By Simon, Age ii, Mental Age 6, IQ54. 
 A. See the Utile boy, written from dictation. B. Spelling of dog d.x\A horse. C. Copy 
 of a square. D. Copy of a diamond. E. Example in multiplication. F. ''History Facts." 
 written without copy or help. 
 
 29 
 
Harriet. I. (J. 43 
 
 Here is a girl wiioni we first exauiined four years ago. She 
 was then seven years old. and although she had heen in the kin- 
 dergarten for two vears, she was r.ot ready for promotion into 
 the first grade. And the sad fact of the matter is, she never will 
 he ready. She is now eleven years old hut cannot he taught the 
 first rudiments of reading and writing and niunher. At the age 
 of seven she could not count four pennies ; she can do so now 
 in a rather mechanical manner, l)ut she has no clear concept of 
 even the number four. As for writing, she is still in the scribble 
 stage. In 1<;I4 she made the scrawl shown in figure to represent a 
 dolly. In ](ji8 she is unable to draw a steady straight line, and 
 cannot make a cross mark even when shown a model. 
 
 All of this tends to prove that her mental development has 
 been practically at a standstill ; and that six years of public 
 school life have had little effect upon her intelligence. This is 
 very neatly corroborated by the records of our two mental exam- 
 inations. In 1914 her mental age was exactly 3 years ; in 1918 it 
 was exactly four years by the same tests. It has taken her four 
 vears to make one year of normal intelligence progress as meas- 
 ured by these tests. F2vidently she has not "outgrown" her de- 
 ficiency as her mother hoped she would. Nor has she de- 
 teriorated. She has just about held her own; for her I. O. (in- 
 telligence quotient) in 1914 was 43 and now it is 37. a very close 
 correspondence. 
 
 What can Harriet do which she could not do four years 
 ago? She can give an acceptable definition of a chair and a 
 table ; she can tell you what one must do when cold or hungry ; 
 she can match a few simple geometrical forms; she can tell us 
 whether she is a girl or a boy. But she cannot yet give us the 
 names of colors, or of fannliar coins, nor distinguish l)etween 
 right and left. Why does she seem so much more deficient than 
 she did when she was in the kindergarten ? Simply because she 
 is older. While she was a mere child many allowances were 
 made for her; now more is expected; but relatively (as shown 
 by the I. Q.) she was about as defective in 1914 as in 1918. 
 
 This case is. therefore, instructive because it shows how im- 
 portant is the ratio between mental age and chronological age. 
 We can never make a satisfactory estimate of a child's intelli- 
 
 30 
 
gence calibre unless both standards are taken into account. 
 Harriet's case also illustrates the fact that even children of im- 
 becile grade are able to go to school, and that they can be main- 
 tained there if we make proper provision for them. Many, how- 
 ever, would consider her an institutional case because she is even 
 at best a very difficult child to manage, and does not get proper 
 chaperonage to and from school. ]\'tost deficient school children 
 are morons, similar to the type described further on ; and a great 
 deal can be done for them in the public school, even outside of a 
 special class. 
 
 Sarah, I. 0. 75 
 
 Sarah is physically a well developed girl ; she makes a fairly 
 pleasing impression, though she is somewhat slow and awkward 
 in her movements, and has a reputation of being rather slovenly. 
 She is fourteen years old and it is evident from her school work 
 that she is not very bright. She is in the sixth grade and is there- 
 fore retarded about two years. The intelligence tests show even 
 more retardation, for she earns a score of little over ten years. 
 She is slow in her responses and never brilliant; however she 
 makes no absurd replies, and shows a mild sense of humor, 
 which speaks well for her. A\'e know nothing in her history 
 which proves serious lack of good judgment. Though her school 
 work is only passable, it is evidently more than the product of 
 mechanical drill. The total impression is that Sarah is simply a 
 slow, dull girl. In spite of her marked retardation, we would not 
 consider her deficient. She has definite limitations, and should 
 not be considered a candidate for higher, academic education. It 
 is her modest ambition to become a seamstress ; and in all prob- 
 ability she will succeed, independent of external support. We 
 anticipate that she will be able to shift for herself, and show 
 ordinary prudence and good judgment. Therefore, we classify 
 this girl on the normal side of the borderline,— dull, but not 
 deficient. 
 
 Helen, I. Q. 137 
 
 Helen makes no doubtful or borderline impression. Intelli- 
 gence shines in her features ; as it shines in her school record and 
 in her responses to the psychological test. She mentally outranks 
 all her schoolmates many of whom are a few years older. She 
 
 31 
 
has an intelligence quotient almost thrice that of Harriet, and 
 almost twice that of Sarah. Helen is only twelve years old ; 
 but she is in the eighth grade, and her mental age is about i6. 
 Even so, she may be somewhat retarded, pedagogically ; for she 
 has been mentally ready for high school work for a year or more. 
 Her language reflects her mental maturity. She has a vocabulary 
 of over 10,000 words, almost that of an average adult ; and this 
 is particularly interesting because she has had a very unfavor- 
 able homelife. Her homelife has been so adverse tha if she were 
 dull (like Sarah) we might have been tempted to explain her 
 dullness by these home conditions. This would have been poor 
 logic, for intelligence calibre is primarily a matter of inheritance. 
 
 Helen freely uses such words as "depose" and "com- 
 passion." Asked to state the difiference betwen character and 
 reputation, she instantaneously replied with Na])oleonic pre- 
 cision and succinctness. Once hearing seven digits pronounced 
 at the rate of one per second, she can repeat them backwards. In 
 five seconds she solved an arithmetic problem which fourteen 
 year children often take a minute to work out. 
 
 So far as intellect is concerned, this girl will surely be able 
 to meet the ordinary demands of life, without external support. 
 She is not only normal ; she is superior, and as a matter of 
 justice and conservation she deserves superior educational ad- 
 vantages. 
 
 Three brothers, iiieiifal age 7 
 
 We discuss these three children together, because mentally 
 there happens to be a remarkable similarity between them. This 
 similarity emphasizes certain important differences. Almost to a 
 detail, they pass and fail the same tests in the measuring scale 
 of intelligence ; and their responses are much alike in quality. 
 This is suggested by the samples of school work shown in the 
 illustration. It is also shown in the estimates which the teachers 
 made of their school ability. In reading, writing, arithmetic and 
 spelling they were rated at second or in most cases third grade 
 ability. Have they all become permanently jTrrested just below 
 the level rej)resented by foin-th grade school work? 
 
 Let us see. Andrew is ten years old. He is doing passable 
 third grade work in all his subjects. This is not a serious re- 
 
 32 
 
tardation ; but by the intelligence tests, he is at the seven year 
 level, and his intelligence quotient is only 71. This is not very 
 reassuring; particularly under all the circumstances. He does 
 not show normal grasp of his school work ; and his teacher sus- 
 pects that he is going to have great difficulty in the fourth grade. 
 If he becomes stranded there, we shall be forced to conclude that 
 he is probably deficient; though at present he is both absolutely 
 and relatively the brighest of the three boys. We believe that he 
 is near the limits of his mental development, that the next five 
 years will accentuate his deficiency, and that he will not rise to 
 the eleven or twelve year mental level. We think, however, that 
 at his present age he should be given every advantage in his 
 school work ; but vocational and hand work are already indicated 
 in his case. 
 
 Elmer and Amos are decidedly inferior to Andrew, and un- 
 questionably deficient. By mental age these three brothers are 
 identical, but not by intelligence quotient. Andrew with an I. Q. 
 of 71 is near the borderline and at least a high grade moron : 
 Elmer being twelve years old has an I. O. of 64 and is much 
 more subnormal; Amos being over thirteen years old has an I. 
 O. of 54, and is a low grade moron. Elmer and Amos can never 
 do satisfactory fourth grade work, if they remain in school all 
 their lives. Much drilling has given them a little facility in add- 
 ing and multiplying and in reading. In some processes they are 
 even superior to their brighter brother, Andrew ; but that is due 
 simply to mechanical drill and repetition; and not to real su- 
 periority. Much of their present school ability is absolutely use- 
 less, and it probably has had no strengthening efl:'ect on their 
 minds. Their information is wofully meagre. They do not know 
 where leather comes from or why we celebrate the fourth of 
 July. Asked who Abraham Lincoln was ; they both paused a 
 long time in apparent reflection. Finally Elmer said, "He was a 
 man." Amos said he knew that, and added, "He was a poor boy 
 who got rich." 
 
 The children had gone to school for years. Do not their 
 replies show the futility of teaching them academic abstractions? 
 What they and the legion they represent, need is training along 
 concrete, practical, and vocational lines. 
 
 33 
 
Siiiioji, ]. (J. 54 
 
 On looking at the drawings and the written school work 
 of Simon, age eleven, one can hardly l)elieve that this hoy is 
 really only a little more than a high grade imhecile. His mental 
 ag:e is six, and on the intelligence scale his rank is that of a li w 
 grade moron. He is an instructive case for the teacher who is 
 inclined to place too much importance upon mechanical drill 
 and written work. Here we have a hoy who can not tie his 
 shoe strings, hut who can write out a long list of history facts 
 without making scarcely a mistake. Here is a boy who can 
 not discriminate between left and right, who can not tell time, 
 who would sooner have a nickel than a dime, who thinks that 
 leather grows on trees, — yet he caii write without any copy 
 historical statements about Columbus, Magellan, the Pilgrims 
 and Amerigo \'es])ucci. How can we explain this amazing 
 situation ? 
 
 One word holds the key to the explanation, and that word 
 is memory. ^Memory as, Binet reminded us, is the great simu- 
 lator of intelligence; but it is never a complete equivalent or 
 even a trust worth v symptom of intelligence. Practice so thor- 
 oughly familiarized Simon with the \\ritten history facts that 
 after a while the teacher could take the chart away and still the 
 boy was able to write out the sentences. Put a hungry white 
 rat into a complicated maze and after rei:)eated trials it will 
 learn the correct path and easily lind its way out. The creature 
 memorizes the maze; but it is a mechanical, motor kind of 
 memory. In a similar way Simon acquired the motor associa- 
 tions which result in his surprising ability to set down historical 
 facts. 
 
 That there was no true perception of these facts was 
 jjrettily demonstrated by a conversation I had with him, some- 
 what as follows: "\^d^o was Christopher Columbus?" I asked. 
 There was no repl}-. The question proved to be too abstract. 
 "What did Christojjher do?" Still no answer. Finally I i)Ut it 
 this w^ay : "Who discovered America?" and received the re- 
 sponse, "Christopher Columbus." I very much doubt, however, 
 that Simon even knows that Christopher Columbus was a man. 
 It is easy enough to say that he ought to know ; but it is better 
 
 34 
 
to possess one's patience because all that we are sure that he 
 does know is the motor trick of writing out the " history facts." 
 One of Simon's teachers lost her patience because of his 
 persistent refusal to recite. He was inveterately silent ; and be- 
 cause he was sometimes heard to talk on the playground, it be- 
 gan to look to the teacher as though the boy was simply ob- 
 stinate in his silence at lessons. She summoned his father to 
 school, one day, and Simon was rather severely disciplined for 
 his refusal to recite. What a comic tragedy it must have been 
 when poor Simon was scolded, upraided and finally beaten, be- 
 cause he w^ould not recite ! Like reproving a blind man be- 
 cause he will not see ! Although there is some timidity in this 
 boy he is very good hearted, and his silence was chiefly due to 
 a consistent lack of ideas and of comprehension. 
 
 This story contains a good deal of psychology, both ap- 
 plied and mis-applied. It warns us to be conservative in labelling 
 any pupil stubborn, lazy, wailful. Many a deficient child has 
 been unjustly described by such adjectives. Sometimes, to be 
 sure, the feebleminded are temporarily obstinate, but even then, 
 it is often an instinctive resistance against an educational treat- 
 ment for which they are not fitted. In such cases their obstinacy 
 is a self protective reaction against the wrong thing and a re- 
 minder of the fact that we ought to modify our program and 
 our pedagogical tactics. In general we may say, the special child 
 needs a special program. 
 
 35 
 
PART III 
 
 Practical suggestions 
 
 for 
 
 A special program for the deficient child 
 
 36 
 
Practical suggestions for a special program for the deficient child 
 
 If it is impossible for the teacher to put her deficient pupil 
 into a special class, let her make the best of the situation and de- 
 vise for him a special program. Under favorable conditions this 
 special program may be almost as beneficial for him as a special 
 classroom. The teacher can afford to give him at least some in- 
 dividual attention ; and as already suggested let her enlist the aid 
 of the brighter pupils, or even older schoolmates in the upper 
 grades. Naturally the deficient pupil will be permitted to share 
 in the regular school work, whenever he is at all fitted to do so ; 
 but during certain periods of the day he should be occupied along 
 special lines particularly suited to him. Gradually the teacher 
 should develop for him a special program or schedule of ac- 
 tivities which will keep him busy and contented during the school 
 day. Concrete suggestions for the making out of such a schedule 
 will now be given. These suggestions must of course be adapted 
 to each individual case ; and it is hoped that the teacher will sup- 
 plement them with ideas altogether her own. 
 
 The three R's 
 
 We will begin with the 3 R's ; but not because they are the 
 most important. They are not. It might even be said that a 
 feebleminded child is one who cannot be taught the 3 R's with 
 any marked advantage to himself or to society. It has been sug- 
 gested that the 3 R's constitute the fads and frills in the educa- 
 tion of the mentally deficient. This is not altogether true. Some 
 high grade children learn to write a simple letter, and sometimes 
 they put this ability to good use. Some learn to read the news- 
 papers sufficiently to look up Help Wanted ads when they are 
 out of a job ; and they have occasion to make use of some of their 
 arithmetic in handling their simple financial aft'airs. But after 
 making a few allowances like this, there is little to be said for the 
 practical importance of "the fundamentals"; for the simple rea- 
 son that they are not fundamental in the training of the mentally 
 deficient. They are secondary "cukural" subjects. 
 
 However, they are convenient subjects to teach; they furnish 
 occupation and often no little enjoyment to the children. If a 
 child will learn to take plesaure even in the simplest reading, 
 
 37 
 
that is enough to justify the teaching. Furthermore even a sHght 
 abihty in reading and writing serves to make the child seem more 
 Hke other children; and when he is a high grade deficient, he 
 should be given an opportunity to show how much he can master. 
 For all these reasons the 3 R's may find a place on the special 
 program of the deficient child; but the teacher should not go to 
 undue lengths in teaching these academic subjects. 
 
 When a child can do no more than scribble, when he can- 
 not even make a good kindergarten drawing of a house, do not 
 go to extremes to teach him penmanship. And if a child is so 
 deficient that he ordinarily talks only in phrases and short sen- 
 tences ; and if, after months in the schoolroom he is unable to 
 recognize a few primer words, do not worry about your failure 
 to teach him to read. He probably needs other kinds of instruc- 
 tion much more. I have known conscientious teachers to blame 
 themselves unjustly for failures which were due to the sheer in- 
 capacity of the pupil. 
 
 In arithmetic, when it can be taught at all, there is a happy 
 mean. Abstract number relations are beyond the feebleminded ; 
 and many of the processes which you can teach by dint of drill 
 will be pure acquisitions of memory, and will never be applied. 
 But there are concrete relations which are worth teaching, by 
 means of yard stick, foot rule, quart and pint measure, cloth, 
 paper, sand, water, coins, etc. Ideas of near and far, short and 
 long, longer, shorter, one half, one quarter, inch, foot, ten cents, 
 twenty-five cents, pound, diameter, circumference, etc., etc., can 
 'be taught by the well known methods of concrete arithmetic. It 
 is well to keep most of the work on this concrete level. Be con- 
 tent with a few fundamentals of every day importance like the 
 values of coins, making change, estimating and measuring di- 
 mensions, the length of a foot, one half, one third, one fourth, 
 the use of a ruler, telling time, writing numbers, and simple 
 problems. 
 
 Draiving 
 
 This is an excellent form of busy work for a deficient child. 
 Give him abundant paper eight by ten inches or larger in size ; 
 give him a supply of colored crayons and let him draw by the 
 hour, a half hour if he is interested. Wrapping paper may be 
 economically used. Magazine advertisements to color ofifer 
 
 38 
 
abundant material. This kind of work at least helps to keep the 
 child occupied and interested. It has educational values beside. 
 Any form of drawing or water color work, tracing, copying, etc., 
 may be used. Some children like to use a ruler and a compass, 
 and stiff pieces of cardboard cut into various shapes ; with these 
 they construct geometric designs which they fill in with color. 
 Drawing has this advantage, that all grades of children can en- 
 gage in it to some extent. 
 
 Bitsy-7vork 
 
 For a lower grade child who has difficulty in doing any 
 ordinary school work whatever, the teacher must provide vari- 
 ous forms of "busy work." It is better that such a child put 
 pegs in a peg board and pull them out and put them in again and 
 again, than that he should sit idle or disturb other children. 
 Have him paste, cut, sort, prick, match, fold, — anything to keep 
 him occupied. Busy work is often educative, it is always better 
 than neglect or a futile effort to make the child join in regular 
 class work. The teacher will have to make the plans and take 
 the initiative in starting this work, but once it is started a monitor 
 pupil, chosen from the brighter, older children, can easily keep 
 it going and can add to it. Make it a point to get these bright 
 children to make suggestions and to assist in every way possible. 
 Following are some concrete suggestions as to available kinds of 
 busy work. There are many others which the teacher herself 
 should invent. 
 
 1. Stringing beads. Beads may be supplied or made. 
 Straws, circles, acorns, rose hips, peas are available. 
 
 2. Making paper chains. Various sizes, colors, and ar- 
 rangements. 
 
 3. Sorting colors (worsted, paper, cloth, etc). 
 
 4. Sorting sizes (cards, sticks). 
 
 5. Outlining simple drawings, and designs with lentils 
 squash or melon seeds. The drawings are placed fiat on the desk 
 and the child overlays the outlines. 
 
 6. Sorting lengths (strings, etc., of various lengths). 
 
 7. Weaving with oilcloth or linen mats and colored splints, 
 and with paper mats. 
 
 39 
 
8. Sewing cards of simple design. 
 
 9. Covering picture frames (of cardboard) with worsted 
 or raffia (buttonhole stitch). 
 
 10. Paper cutting — Have the child cut out designs from 
 wall paper, advertisements from magazines, and human figures 
 from fashion books. 
 
 11. Tracing and coloring from large patterns. 
 
 12. Pasting colored forms in border designs. 
 
 13. Sewing large buttons on bright material, with colored 
 thread. 
 
 14. Spool knitting. 
 
 15. Modelling with clay, sand, plasticene. 
 
 16. Making scrapbooks. Pasting pictures into large and 
 small scrapbooks is an excellent form of past time work. 
 
 17. All forms of paper work. Free cutting, cutting to out- 
 line, paper mat weaving, paper flowers, paper dolls, transparen- 
 cies, silhouettes, holiday tokens, paper tearing, paper folding, etc. 
 (see Reference No. 8 in Book list). 
 
 Handicraft and vocational icork 
 
 Here is the teacher's greatest opportunity. It may seem 
 rather hopeless to undertake vocational work for the particular 
 benefit of one or two children, in a room with screwed down 
 seats, and in a day largely devoted to the task of teaching the 
 academic subjects. But the situation is not as hopeless as it 
 looks. There is a way when there is a will. In the first place 
 there are many forms of vocational activity which can be carried 
 out as seat work in an ordinary desk. In the second place, it 
 would really be an excellent thing if an enterprising teacher put 
 a work table in the corner of the room, or had her larger boys 
 make a small work bench with a vise or a loom for schoolroom 
 use. The fact that the normal children would sometimes use this 
 table or bench for their own interests would certainly not be an 
 objection. Nothing will make the deficient child so happy as vo- 
 cational work, nothing will better train and discipline him. While 
 it will take a little resourcefulness, planning and courage on the 
 part of the teacher to get vocational work started, the elTort will 
 
 40 
 
be repaid ; because the defective child will be less of burden. 
 And again, when once the work is started the older children can 
 help a great deal to keep it going. In fact in some schools a 
 committee of older children could be enlisted and take most of 
 the responsibility. In these days we do not have to justify such 
 a suggestion ; because it is recognized that such social coopera- 
 tion and helpfulness in the schoolroom are the best kind of edu- 
 cation for all concerned. The control of the great social problem 
 of feeblemindedness is a question of apphed sociology. And it 
 is chiefly a vocational problem. Why not take the first steps to- 
 ward this control in the schoolroom ; and let future citizens assist 
 where they can? 
 
 We make below a rather extended list of suggestions con- 
 cerning forms and methods of vocational work ; because this 
 vyork offers the largest possibilities. Some suggestions are very 
 readily put ii>to practice ; others will require a little scheming and 
 a slight expense ; but all of them are workable even under rural 
 school conditions. The teacher who becomes interested in a par- 
 ticular line of work like basketry or weaving will get assistance 
 from the handbooks mentioned at the end of this manual. In- 
 stead of trying to cover too many occupational activities, the 
 teacher will do well to single out a few, best adapted to her 
 children and to the circumstances. 
 
 Knit ling 
 
 This is a silent, simple and very useful form of handwork 
 to adopt. Children with only a six or seven year old intelligence 
 can knit ; and recent experiences with Red Cross work have 
 shown that knitting can easily be introduced into the schoolroom. 
 The following articles can be made : mufffer, wristlet, caps, socks, 
 mittens, doll's garments, afghan, wash glove, face cloth, cover 
 for baby's ball, etc. Simple arrangements can often be made for 
 the sale of articles, to at least repay the cost of materials. 
 
 Spool knitting 
 
 This form of toy knitting is adapted even to children of low 
 grade deficiency, and is excellent in many cases. Reins for play- 
 ing horse (colored or uncolored) are favorite articles of manu- 
 
 41 
 
facture Ijy this method. Mats, hot plate mats, and necklaces ot 
 Dexter cotton No. 6 can be made by the same method (see 
 Reference No. 8). 
 
 Crocheting 
 
 This is more difficult than knitting, but may be adapted to 
 middle and high grade children. Jute, Germantown, raffia twine, 
 carpet warj:) and crochet cotton may be used. The coarser mate- 
 rial, like carpet warp or strips of cotton an inch or two in width, 
 is usually preferable. Large wooden hooks may then be used; 
 and rugs, knitting bags, and book bags may then be made. 
 
 Sc7*.'iii(/ 
 
 This also is a most satisfactory form of handwork. An ex- 
 cellent outline, explaining different kinds of stitches, and giving 
 directions for making various articles is to be found in the 1917 
 edition of Plans for Progress (pp. 1 15-137) published by the 
 State board of education. Patterns, specifications, etc., are given 
 for towels, bags, aprons, waists, underwear, bathrobe, blouses, 
 pillowcases and dress skirts. Simple forms of sewing and easy 
 problems may be ada])ted to low grade children. Cross stitching 
 and darning designs are valuable. 
 
 Rag carpet rugs 
 
 This is an occupation, at once so simple, interesting and use- 
 ful that we give directions in full. Any rural teacher can take 
 advantage of the opportunty offered in making these old 
 fashioned rugs. 
 
 Let the children bring to school cast off clothing like under 
 garments, stockings, dresses, coats and skirts. Let this material 
 be cut or torn into strips by the deficient child, and have the 
 strips of similar color sewn together, end to end ; roll the strips 
 into balls. 
 
 Take three of these balls and tie their three ends together, 
 and have the child braid these strips tightly together. This 
 braided material can then be sewed together and made into any 
 shape of rug desired. If a roimd rug is desired, start with the end 
 of a braid in the center and keep winding into a circle or spiral. 
 
 42 
 
The braids should be sewed so that both sides of the rug may be 
 used. If a square rug is desired, start in the center and shape in 
 square fashion. If an oval rug is desired, start at one side of 
 the center and lay the first coils of braid in j:)arallel straight lines, 
 gradually working to the oval shape. 
 
 J'Veaz'ing 
 
 Here is a field for work of many varieties. Small handlooms 
 may be obtained ; or may be improvised. A large frame for 
 shawl making could be made by a bright boy under direction. 
 Large and small mats, rugs and holders may be woven. Warp 
 thread, jute, and cotton or woolen strips may be used as mate- 
 rials. "Old knit underclothing is easily dyed and makes excellent 
 rugs." Hooked rugs may be made on a burlap foundation ; and 
 double braided rugs on wooden looms. Rag carpet may also be 
 woven. 
 
 Cord work 
 
 This is adapted to dift'erent grades of children and may be 
 attempted on either a small or large scale. Bracelets, doll's cur- 
 tains, shopping bags, watch fobs, hammocks may be mentioned. 
 
 Basketry 
 
 If the teacher has had experience in this handicraft or will 
 teach it to herself through one of the many practical handbooks, 
 she will find it an interesting occupation to introduce. Baskets 
 may be made of reed, or of reed or rope foundation with raffia. 
 Rope or twine has many advantages for children. Braided native 
 materials may also be used, like corn husks, willow, cat-tails. 
 
 Raffia work 
 
 Raffia is a strong, pliable grass, which may be obtained either 
 in natural or dyed colors. It lends itself to many uses besides 
 basketry ; for it may be wound, woven, knitted or braided- into 
 various articles like belts, picture frames, napkin rings, sewing 
 bags, etc. 
 
 43 
 
Woodzi'ork 
 
 The opportunities here are so man}- that it is hardly necessary 
 to detail them. If the teacher is ready to secure a few necessary 
 tools, and with the cooperation of some of the older boys (or 
 girls) will put up a simple bench in the shed, basement or even 
 in the corner of her schoolroom; many kinds of woodwork will 
 suggest themselves. It is not necessary for the teacher to be a 
 carpenter or a cabinet maker ; nor is it necessary to have a large 
 fund for materials. Old boxes and odds and ends of lumber can 
 be utilized. Stools, stands, shelves, pencil racks, bird houses, — 
 many simple things for the school or the home can be made. The 
 assistance of "monitor pupils" will be particularly helpful, and 
 relieve the teacher. 
 
 Coping saw zvork 
 
 This form of woodwork is peculiarly fitted to schoolroom 
 conditions and can be easily adapted to the needs of even rather 
 low grade children. The equipment and materials are inexpen- 
 sive ; a regular work bench may be dispensed with ; and the 
 work is clean. An unlimited variety of articles can be made, 
 presenting many degrees of difficulty to the child. Picture 
 puzzles (jig saw puzzles), are a favorite product. Dissected maps 
 can be made and used by the classes in geography. Indeed, much 
 of the handwork suggested can be correlated with the regular 
 school work of the normal children. The benefits are not limited 
 to the deficient child. 
 
 Special occupations 
 
 There is a group of occupations, which while not altogether 
 impractical in the ordinary schoolroom, require a little extra 
 equipment and training on the part of the teacher. Their value 
 in a special classroom has already been demonstrated ; and under 
 certain circumstances the regular teacher may find it well to 
 consider one or more of them. Handbooks giving detailed direc- 
 tions may be secvtred. Such occupations are brush-making; chair 
 caning; leather work; metal work; cobbling; toymaking. 
 
 Home and school chores 
 
 Whenever possible the deficient child should be taught to do 
 errands and small tasks. This is good training for him. makes 
 
 44 
 
him more useful and promotes his self-respect. At school he 
 may- be allowed to sweep and scrub the floors, dust, clean the 
 woodwork, clean the windows, fill the woodbox, black the stove, 
 collect the papers, sharpen the pencils, rake the 3'ard. This 
 furnishes such excellent vocational training that he may well be 
 given the opportunity to clean the windows, etc., even oftener 
 than is absolutely necessar}-. 
 
 Home chores are equally important, and parents should be 
 encouraged to assign regular definite tasks in the kitchen, bed- 
 room, farm and shop. As already suggested, teachers should 
 point out to parents the value of such work. The deficient child 
 should perform a certain number of these chores, even if it is 
 more convenient that they be attended to by some one else. As 
 the child grows older and no longer can get any benefit out of 
 the academic work of the school, the advisability of his spending 
 at least a half of each day in helping at home may well be con- 
 sidered. It should always be remembered that the right kind of 
 work trains him in just those habits which he most needs ; and 
 that reading and arithmetic have no power to strengthen his 
 mind. 
 
 PJiysical education 
 
 This is important, because motor or muscle training is 
 fundamental to other forms of training. Good posture, good 
 step, rhythm, quickness in muscular response, will improve the 
 general demeanor of the deficient child and help to make him 
 more alert. Therefore, any kind of setting-up exercises, march- 
 ing, calisthenics, and special physical exercises demanding motor 
 balance and control will have a value. Dancing and music are 
 often peculiarly effective. Games are beneficial both for mental 
 and physical reasons. So far as practical, the deficient child 
 should be permitted to join in the games and physical exercise 
 of the normal children. If some of these children are made to 
 take a responsible interest, they will arrange and adapt games 
 for the benefit of the deficient child. 
 
 Personal habits 
 
 Simple matters which often take care of themselves in 
 normal children, must be given special attention in the deficient 
 
 45 
 
child. His everyday personal habits are too important to be 
 neglected. While some of these things depend on the home, the 
 teacher can do a great deal to bring them up to standard. General 
 deportment, obedience, saying good morning, thank you, if you 
 please, etc., washing himself, tying his necktie and shoestrings, 
 keeping himself neat, shaking hands, showing signs of respect, — 
 all the little manners and courtesies of everyday life are im- 
 ])ortant, because taken altogether they will do more than anything 
 else to make the child like other children. They are the true 
 fundamentals in the education of the deficient child. Do not be 
 too zealous to teach him reading, when he does not know how 
 to use a handkerchief, and does not clean his nose. 
 
 A final -ci'ord to the teacher 
 
 While we ai)])reciate that many of the above suggestions 
 have no application to her particular problem, we hope that they 
 are numerous enough so that she can undertake to work out a 
 special program for her deficient jnipil. She can start by giving 
 him at least one period of special seatwork, and then she can 
 gradually add activities to this (often with the aid of her bright 
 jntpils) until she will have established a new schedule for him. 
 If she has any peculiar difficulties, we suggest that she address a 
 question to her supervisor or to the office of the state board of 
 education. There is a department in this office which is anxious 
 to help her. In special cases where a psychological examination 
 of a child is desired by the teacher or the parent, this can also 
 be arranged for through your su])ervisor. On the next page 
 we append a list of books which contain helpful information. 
 
 We wish to repeat that wherever possible the teacher 
 should make the deficient child "a family problem" in the 
 solution of which the older and brighter pupils may share. 
 Let her jiarcel out some of the minor responsibilities to these 
 pupils, and soon she will find that the special program 
 maintains itself and grows in possibilities. A little initiative 
 on the part of the teacher, combined with ingenuity and interest 
 will go a long way toward improving the status of the deficient 
 school child. 
 
 46 
 
SELECTED BOOK LIST 
 
 1. Anderson. Meta. Education of Defectives in the Public 
 
 Schools. World Book Co., Yonkers. 1917. 
 
 2. Bancroft, Jessie H. Games for Playground. Home, School 
 
 and Gymnasium. MacMillan Co., N. Y. 
 
 3. Oilman, Mary L. and Williams, Elizabeth. Seatzvork and 
 
 Industrial Occupations. MacMillan Co., N. Y. 191 3. 
 
 4. Jessup and Logue. Handicraft Book. 
 
 5. Johnson, George F. 7^03'^ and Toymaking. Longmans, 
 
 Green & Co., N. Y. 1912. 
 
 6. Plaisted, Laura L. Handzvork in Early Education. Ox- 
 
 ford University Press, Oxford. 1913. 
 
 7. Sage, Elizabeth and Cooley, Ana M. Occupations for 
 
 little Fingers. Scribners, N. Y. 1905. 
 
 (This book contains many practical suggestions and 
 
 helpful illustrations.) 
 
 8. Special Class Teachers of Boston. The Boston Way. 
 
 The Rumford Press, Concord, N. H. 191 /. 
 (This book is the united work of the special class 
 teachers of Boston and an outline of their united ex- 
 perience. It can be highly recommended. The treat- 
 ment is concrete and practical. 
 
 9. Tinsley, Laura R. Practical and Artistic Basketry. 
 
 10. Weaver, Emily. Paper and Scissors in the Schoolroom. 
 
 11. White, Mary. Hoiv to make Baskets. 
 
 47