Education of the Slow-Learning Child
- Author:
Christine P. Ingram. .Published in U.b.A. by
the World Book Company, and in England by George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd. 1935. Price 7/6.
So little has been published dealing with the education of retarded children that many j-eachers will welcome the appearance of this book, in which Miss Ingram, Supervisor of the VePartment of Child Study and Special Education, Rochester, New York, gives the results of her experience and study of the problems.
She sets out in a logical fashion by describing jhe ” mentally retarded ” child, his nature and needs, distinguishing him from the ” dullformal ” child (I.Q. approximately 75-89), and showing in detail how he differs from the normal ?roup both with respect to intellectual and non^tellectual factors. Physical, psychological, s?cial and educational aspects are dealt with in SeParate chapters. In Part Two of the book, “A School Program for the Mentally Retarded,” she discusses at length the organisation of special classes, selection of pupils, general class routine and teaching conditions, record-keeping, health care and socal training, as well as attainments to be expected at various age levels. Most of the section on methods of teaching concerns itself with the use of the project method, based on ” units of work ” or ” centres of interest,” a method strongly commended by the author as specially suitable for retarded pupils. Many pages are devoted to sample ” units ” that have been actually worked out with special classes. Help is given on the choice and planning of units, as well as on the carrying out of them with pupils of different grades. Units based on “Music,” on “Lighting” and on “Cotton” are sketched in full. In the “Weekly Programs” suggested both for senior boys’ classes and for an intermediate group, we should like to see physical training taking a much larger place. Readers will be disappointed to find that only one chapter is given to discussion of difficulties met with in helping children to acquire the “tool subjects,” and the treatment cannot be regarded as throwing any fresh light on these problems. One is even doubtful if the author has given these topics any serious study. Had this section of the book been expanded and some other portions condensed, experienced teachers would have welcomed it with more enthusiasm.
One does appreciate, however, the emphasis laid throughout on social training and the abandonment of formal methods of instruction for an ” active ” programme much more likely to fit the child for community life. One gets rather bored with the extremely conscientious detailed analysis and listing of everything possible, and the frequent repetition of ideas in almost identical words, as, for example, ” development of interests, skills, habits and attitudes,” a phrase which occurs ad nauseam. The style makes one suspect that the book was based on notes of lectures given to students of rather poor mental calibre and almost no experience in teaching. Certainly there is much in the book that would be of help to teachers dealing with retarded children, if only they will have patience to wade through some rather dull pages. It will be specially useful to those who are unfamiliar with the working out of projects. For students in training it will be of great service.
At the end of each chapter are given lists of questions and suggestions for study. The reading references are all to American books.
An interesting description is given of the Special Class system in Rochester, where there are 35,500 pupils in the elementary and junior high schools, and approximately 800 pupils in the various special classes. The grade of pupil in these classes seems to be much the same as in our day special schools, but one envies them the smaller classes. E.L.S.R.
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