Classification and Education of Afflicted Children
- Author:
Felix Arnold, Pd.D., Ph.D.,
New York City.
Classification in general. From an educational point of view, afflicted children may be defined as all children who are prevented from taking up regular class work with normal children because of mental, moral, or physical deficiencies. I use the term “afflicted” as a general category including all types of abnormal, defective, delinquent, or backward children who are not up to the average qualifications of the normal child. In the organization of special classes, as well as in many recent discussions of defectives, the difference between children, who have been usually lumped together as “bad,” “incorrigible,” “defective,” etc., have been ignored and these different types of children forced to work in the same treadmill under a single teacher. To be specific, I recall a small school set aside for the incorrigibles, truants and bad boys, from the neighboring schools in the district. It was a sort of half-way house between the regular school and the truant school. There I found various types of boys shoulder to shoulder in the same class. [Feebleminded children, underfed boys, criminal types, mentally dwarfed children, and the usual “bad” boys worked side by side. The dangers of such a lack of classification need hardly be emphasized. One or two vigorous criminal types, a few bad or wild children, several feebleminded children,?and the nucleus of a gang of thieves, pickpockets, etc., is formed. Further evils of a lack of proper classification I shall note in the course of this paper.
I would suggest the following classification of afflicted children:?(1) backward children, (2) crippled children, (3) deaf and dumb children, (4) blind children, (5) feebleminded children, (6) delinquents, and (7) moral defectives.
Backward children are those who seem unable to do the regular grade work even when minimum requirements are demanded. Three classes of such children may be distinguished according to the causes of their backwardness. In the first class may be placed (180) children or normal ability, who, because of change of residence, transfer from school to school, travel, ill health, etc., are not in the grade they should be when measured by the standard of age, general appearance, and general intelligence. Thus, I recall instances in which children fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, and even seventeen years of age were only in the seventh year of school, (first half), because of the reasons given above. Little would have been needed to bring these children up to the work of the eighth year. As it was, they were forced to do work far below their general ability. In the second class are children of foreign-born parents who may know the subjects of school instruction in their native tongue, but lack such command of English as enables them to express themselves properly and to understand the instruction given. Thus, children of fourteen, or over, may be compelled to struggle along in the fourth or fifth year of school, and finally to leave a year or two later. In the third class are children who are below mediocrity in intelligence, who are slow to understand the work, or who, because of nervous disposition, are unable to do the routine work, and to withstand the stress and strain of mass teaching. I may note that this class does not include such children as are specially gifted along manual or naturalistic lines. It is wrong to measure such children by the Procrustean bed of the “three R’s” and to declare them unfit.
Crippled children are those who are unable to walk without the aid of crutches, braces, or other assistance. In addition to their crippled condition they may be sickly, afflicted with tuberculosis in some form, weakened through malnutrition, etc. Usually they are extremely nervous and excitable when first taken in hand. Many crippled children are normal as far as intelligence and morality are concerned. Up to the present they have been practically shut out of the public schools because of the lack of adequate school furniture and means of transportation.
Deaf and dumb children need no special description. Usually a number are cared for in asylums. Many, however, remain at home, and, shut out of the public schools,. are denied the advantages of an education open to normal children. The same is true of blind children.
Feebleminded children are those who are deficient in mental equipment. They range all the way from idiots and imbeciles to children of weak intelligence. They should not be confused with the insane. As Barr1 points out, one who is insane may be cured. ^arr, M. W., Mental Defectives, Ch. III.
One who is feebleminded, however, has some defect which renders him incurable. The term, “mental defective,” is not advisable for several reasons. In the first place, deaf and dumb and blind children are defective. In the second place, some children are morally defective. Finally, “feebleminded” is an expression less repulsive than “idiot,” “imbecile,” or “defective.”2 The worst cases of feeblemindedness should have no place in the school. Idiots who are helpless and untrainable, and idio-imbeciles who are improvable. only to the extent of self-help and of training in simple, automatic actions, belong to the asylum. Imbeciles of a higher grade, feebleminded children, and those who have mental defects, however, should be cared for by the public school. Such care and education are especially needed when these children remain with their parents. In such cases they are often used as household drudges and may drift into vagabondage and crime. Without a proper education this is often their only means of living.
Delinquents should be distinguished from moral defectives. Delinquents are normal children who, because of improper home training, of evil surroundings, etc., have little or no appreciation of the social standards of right and wrong. Such children may vary from the truant and disorderly child, to the child who, associating with adult criminals, may pilfer, steal, and commit petty crimes under the guidance of his elders.
The delinquent is the product of his environment. The moral defective, however, is such because of his inheritance and birth. Even if he has proper home surroundings, with a perversity which is innate, he will seek evil companions and do wrong because it is natural to him. If a moral defective is likely to become a social menace, his place is in some special institution.
Education in general. The education of special classes of children is possible under at least four conditions. They may be cared for, (1) in a private asylum, (2) in a public institution devoted wholly to one class of individuals, (3) in the home under private care, or (4) in classrooms in the regular schools. A word or two is necessary to bring out aspects peculiar to each of these conditions. In general it is advisable to regard the education of special classes from the same economical and educational standpoint as that from which the education of normal children is regarded. Thus, in the latter case, the state undertakes to educate the child, *ma., 88. but it does not undertake to feed,3 clothe, and shelter him into the bargain, when the parents are able to make adequate provison. On the other hand, if the state determines to educate its children, it should not neglect those who are afflicted in any way. The same rule should apply to all, weak and strong alike.
If a child is defective, crippled, etc., his parents may, as stated above, entrust him to the care of a private asylum or public institution. If the cost is met by private or public munificence, the care of the child is taken out of the parents’ hands, and they are relieved from all expense. Children are sent to such institutions because of the educational and other facilities offered. If, however, only the education of the child is in question, then the parents should undertake the other duties of feeding, clothing, and sheltering their offspring. Another objection to the institution which undertakes full charge of afflicted children is the relatively small area which it can conveniently cover. There are very few institutions devoted solely to one or another class of afflicted children. Children can not attend daily and so must usually either live at the institution or give up its advantages. In the first case, the child becomes a public charge soon after its birth while at the same time it loses the advantages, however poor, of home life and free association with children of normal social attainments. In the second case, the afflicted child becomes practically useless because of its lack of a proper education.
Education through private tuition is practically out of the question. Most families have all they can do to bring up their children in the usual way without the additional expense of private instruction and care. Special classes in the public schools, or small schools properly distributed, are a better solution of the problem.
Some care is needed to secure the proper location and distribution of these classes. There should be a class for each type of afflicted child within reach of all the children concerned. If the city or town is divided into a number of school districts, there should be a room in at least one school in each district for each of these special groups of children. Each district would then have a number of schools within easy reach of the children of the dis3Where of course normal children are partially fed, as with milk, soup, etc., the same should apply to afflicted children. I refer here rather to the total support of afflicted children that is given in some asylums.
trict, one school with, a class for crippled children, another with a class for deaf and dumb children, a third with one for mental defectives, and so on. By this means there would be a number of special classes so distributed as to be within reach of all the children in any district. Instead of having special classes distributed in this manner among the regular schools, it might be advisable to have a special building put up in each district and fitted for the various classes of afflicted children. Another plan would be to have small, onestory buildings put up for each of the special classes of afflicted children. Whichever plan is followed, the classes should be so distributed that all the afflicted children may be conveniently reached.
The purely pedagogic aspects of the training of afflicted children require some consideration. The accommodation for the entrance and dismissal of the pupils will depend upon the special class concerned. I shall deal with each class under the appropriate heading. In general, however, the classrooms should be on or near the ground floor. Pupils should be dismissed a quarter of an hour before the rest of the school, and should come a quarter of an hour after the regular pupils. In this way contact with the regular pupils will be avoided, and, moreover, the sessions being shorter the strain will be less.
The teachers selected for special classes should possess the spirit of the kindergarten. Before appointing a teacher regularly for special work the authorities should try him for one or more terms. As work in a special class requires unusual patience and fitness, no disgrace should be attached to a teacher’s failure. If he does not succeed he should be appointed to a regular class, provided of course he is otherwise qualified. It is better to have regular teachers qualify for such positions than to have raw students by the usual examiner’s tests. There is however some danger that the deadening routine of the grade may be carried into the special class and kill its spirit and purpose. It seems needless to add that properly qualified teachers of special classes should be put 011 salary schedules higher than the regulation schedules. If not, they should receive a bonus, or be permitted to work under specially favorable conditions. Teachers should not be assigned to special classes because they seem good for nothing else, or because a special class is a convenient means of getting them out of the way or of punishing them. Special qualifications over and above the regular qualifications must be required.
Instruction must by the nature of the case be largely individual. The size of the class will depend upon its kind. In no case should it exceed fifteen or twenty pupils. It may be limited to as few as five or ten pupils.
As regards the subject matter of instruction there seems to be no reason why the children should not receive as much as, if not more, than is given to normal children. They should therefore be carried as far in the regular course of study as their mental and physical strength will permit. As a minimum they should be taught such expression as is necessary for human intercourse. In addition, if possible, they should be taught some pursuit, trade or occupation, by which they may become self-supporting. More specific suggestions on this point I shall give below under the different heads. I may here note that the usual methods of learning handicrafts are beyond the reach of afflicted children. The special methods which are necessary for routine instruction are necessary likewise for instruction in a trade, industry, or profession. Because of the practical impossibility of learning a trade or industry outside of the school, most afflicted children are left helpless, a burden to either their parents or the public, and often an object of ridicule to the neighborhood.
In general the periods of instruction should be shorter than normal periods. In the matter of program the teacher should be left free to do practically what he pleases. So long as the children are happy and contented, and are progressing in their work, no fault should be found with individual programs or arrangements of instruction periods, so long as the official requirements are met. The discipline in special classes should be especially mild and humane. Patience is here a cardinal virtue. The rigidity and uniformity which are forced upon normal children should have no place in special classes. Healthy children manage somehow to live through it all, but weakly or afflicted ones would be crushed beneath its weight.
The suggestions thus far are more or less general. More specific directions are conditioned by the particular class of afflicted children treated. I shall briefly take up each class separately. Backward children. A class of normal children who are backward in one or more subjects because of change from school to school, or of illness, etc., should contain not more than fifteen or twenty children. Individual instruction should be given in those subjects where the child is backward. In such subjects more time should be spent than in subjects in which the child is normal. The work of the teacher should be guided by the individual needs of the children. As soon as a child has made up what he has lost or failed to get he should be returned to the regular class. Children who are below average ability and intelligence should not be classed with those above mentioned. A class of twenty should be divided into two or three groups according to the age, ability, and attainments of the pupils. The regular school work should be pursued with special reference to practical application, and with special emphasis upon manual aids. Individual instruction should predominate. To encourage the children and to indicate their progress in some way the teacher should promote them from group to group and give them different books with each advance. As soon as a child has covered the minimum requirements of the course of study he should be allowed to graduate with the rest, even though he has done all his work in the special class.
Foreign-born children should form a class by themselves. Emphasis should be placed upon oral and written English. As soon as a child seems able to do the regular work he should be given special instruction for a few weeks in the grade work of the class which he seems ready to enter. He should then take up regular work in his proper grade.
A few misconceptions and some doubtful practices may be noted. The backward child is not one who can be hurriedly pushed through enough school work to make him eligible for working papers according to the law. Tie is less fitted to go to work than arc; his companions and so should be kept in school as long as possible. The school is not an instrument of selection (i. e., a machine for crushing the unfit), neither is it an institution for developing intellectual specialists or polishing material of finer fibre. Every child should receive the full benefit of everything which the school has to offer. If a child goes through the work more slowly he should remain at school so much longer, though not necessarily in the same grade.
Another doubtful practice results from the application of the “three R’s” fallacy to such special classes. It is just the barren and useless nature of much of these subjects which retards the backward child and makes him more eager to leave school. To narrow the curriculum in this manner will drive the backward child more quickly out of the school. An instance comes to my mind in which a class of backward pupils was given in charge of one of the most mechanical teachers in the place, and driven along a road composed of the dry bones of arithmetic, grammar and spellEDUCATION OF AFFLICTED CHILDREN. 187 ing. Such a scheme is often very convenient for a principal, since it rids him of objectionable pupils, children who will not show up well in examinations, and who may cast a shadow on the intellectual halo of the school. Under cloak of the Pecksniffian excuse of helping children to get their working papers, a principal may rid himself in this manner of pupils who are not wanted. A pernicious scheme which has been brought to my notice is to advance older pupils and to keep back younger pupils, even though the younger children may be far ahead of the older in school work. In this way, it will be seen, a principal can proudly point to the few children who are over age in the lower grades. Overage pupils should no doubt be advanced as rapidly as possible, but the younger pupils should not on that account be made to suffer. Crippled children. The chief problem in the case of crippled children is their transportation and their feeding at noon. They should be carried to and from school in stages. At noon they should be given a hot meal. Milk should be supplied at all times. Sessions should begin a quarter of an hour later than the regular sessions and should end a quarter of an hour before the regular sessions. If children remain at school for lunch the sessions should begin a half hour after and close a half hour before regular sessions.
A class should not exceed twenty pupils. Boys and girls ot all ages may be instructed together. If there are two or more classes in a district it might be well to send the boys to one class and the girls to another. Groups in a class should be formed according to the ability and .attainments of the children. The children should be carried ahead in the grade work just as far and as fast as their physical and mental condition will allow. A healthy child may cover the course in the regular time, or if he is beyond the normal age on entrance, he may, by reason of his greater maturity, cover it in less time. If some mental defect accompanies the child’s disabled condition, much less can be accomplished.
Deaf and dumb children. Classes for deaf and dumb children should not exceed ten children, especially in the early stages of instruction. When the children are more advanced, classes may be somewhat larger.
Pupils should be instructed in the German or oral method of expression and also in the sign or manual method. The two should go side by side. In the oral method the children learn to read the motions of the lips of one speaking and also to talk. In the latter case they are guided by feeling the throat muscles, etc., and by closely watching the position of the mouth, lips, tongue and teeth, of one talking. Lip reading and talking, however, are somewhat difficult, and all can not obtain the same proficiency in them. The sign or manual method is the one in use among the deaf and dumb themselves. An ingenious method of finger language, devised by Dalgarno in 1680, and revived by Bell, enables mutes to talk into each other’s hands. Each space between the finger tips and portions of the palm corresponds to a letter of the alphabet,.4 Individual instruction should be used so that brighter pupils may not be kept back by the others. The regular course of instruction should be followed, the teacher, however, being allowed great freedom in mapping out and presenting it to the class. Promotion should be from group to group, if there is only one class. When a pupil has finished the minimum requirements of the course he should be allowed to graduate with the regular class.5 Blind children. Much of what has been said in the preceding section holds for classes of blind children. Classes should number not more than ten pupils. Advanced classes may be slightly larger. As regards the transportation to and from school the plan pursued in the case of crippled children might be followed. Children should be taught how to read raised print and words in braille or point alphabet. They may also be taught how to print and write. The regular course of study should be pursued, with special emphasis upon music and manual work.0 Feebleminded children. Children who are feebleminded? mental defectives as they are sometimes called?are usually marked by features and expression varying greatly from the normal. Asymmetric, flattened, or misshapen head, deformed ears, flattened or rudimentary nose, large, coarse mouth, thick lips, thin, inexpressive lips, bnd teeth, these are some of the stigmata. In addition there may be imperfect articulation or stammering, shambling gait, weak powers of attention, erratic conduct, marked ability in some special line with complete lack of power in other subjects, etc.7 jSTo child should be assigned to a class for such defectives 4See Love, J. K., Deaf Mutism, 23fi. BFor special methods see Arnold, T., On the Education of the Deaf, Revised and Rewritten by A. Farrar. “For interesting accounts of the education of blind children see Keller, Helen, The Story of My Life; Howe, Maud, and Hall, Florence Howe, Laura Bridgman, and others. (See bibliography in last named.) ‘See Barr, M. W., Mental Defectives, Ch. V. until he has been tried under a number of teachers and until his case has been diagnosed by a competent specialist. Some investigation should be made into the conditions surrounding the life of the child, his birth, family history, health, peculiarities, etc. The notion that a “class” is simply a roomful of children, should have no place in the organization of classes of defectives. I recall in this connection a somewhat miscellaneous collection of such roomfuls, in which defectives proper were placed side beside with moral defectives and with normal children, who happened to be “bad” boys or boys who were unruly in the regular classes. To make matters worse, these various aggregations were placed in charge of new, inexperienced, and substitute teachers, who had neither special preparation nor special aptitude for the work. The main object seems to have been achieved when these children were removed from the regular classes of the neighboring schools in the district. The room and the school surroundings should be made as cheerful as possible. Physiological conditions should be looked after. Exercise, play, bathing, and feeding should form a part of the class work. Milk and bread should be supplied. According to Barr,8 “statistics show that 10 ounces of bread and 1 pint of skimmed milk equal in nutriment a diet composed of 8 ounces of soup, 2 ounces of beef, 2 ounces of potatoes, 1 ounce of turnips, 4 ounces of bread, % ounce of butter, and 1 cup of coffee containing 1 ounce of new milk and l/o ounce of sugar.” The only limit to the instruction given should be the pupil’s capacity to profit by it. Instruction should lay special emphasis on manual aids, as coarse weaving, simple modeling, easy shop work, and the like. Abstract work should be reduced to a minimum. Artificial incentives, mild discipline, and patient repetition are necessary. Games, entertainments, dancing, athletics, and other means of spontaneous expression may be directed and used for purposes of instruction and discipline.9 Delinquents. Delinquent children are those children who, otherwise normal, have not had proper bringing-up or who do not respond properly to the regular school regulations. They include the truant, the incorrigible, the spoiled child, and the child who 8Ibid., 170. “Ibid., Ch. VI. See also Seguin, Idiocy: And its Treatment by the Physiological Method, Columbia University, Teachers’ College, Educational Reprints; Tuke, Hack, A Dictionary of Psychological Medicine; “Idiots and Imbeciles,” The Psychological Clinic, 1907, 1908. has fallen among evil companions and criminal surroundings. A class should number about twenty pupils. Before putting a child into a class for delinquents he should have a fair trial with three or more different teachers.
Instruction should place emphasis upon manual aids, athletics, games, social entertainments, etc. On the side of discipline a special course in moral instruction and practice should be systematically followed. Class control should be mild and humane. The class surroundings should be pleasant and agreeable. The medieval notion that fear and intimidation are effective in guiding and correcting delinquents seems to have a hold on officials even to-day. In a report otherwise modern we find this astonishing statement, which, I may note, voices the sentiments of many. “For a disciplinary class the room should be as nearly like the rooms of the grade as possible. I do not belive that pure disciplinary cases should be ‘interested’ by special attractions, either in the way of classroom fittings, or extra and especially attractive subjects… . Care must be taken not to make the class so attractive that the boys seek admission or to remain in the class.”10 As regards the last statement, I should think that if the disciplinary class was such a success that pupils sought it, the regular class teachers might with advantage make a study of the methods followed in such a class.
Individual help and instruction should carry the pupils along as far and as fast as they can go. If they seem fit for it they should be placed in a regular class. If the home and the other surroundings are too strong to be overcome by the school, if criminal associates still guide the child’s conduct out of school, he should be taken out of his surroundings entirely and placed in some institution founded on the cottage plan.
Moral defectives. Moral imbeciles and defectives should be treated much like delinquent children, though they should be placed in a separate class. The physiological treatment suggested for mental defectives should also be given. Frequently moral defectives are also mentally defective. Instruction and discipline should then follow the method of educating mental defectives. Should a child prove to be beyond school control, and should the welfare of the community be endangered by his actions, he should 10Brovn, E. G., “Report 011 Special Classes for Defective Children,’ Seventh Annual Report of the City Superintendent. New York City, 1905. be placed in some special institution, or in some school for the purpose run on the cottage plan.11
Some general considerations. With schools overcrowded, with thousands of children in part-time classes, any extra demand on the schools may seem out of place. If the schools can not provide room for all the normal children who apply, if regular classes are filled to the limit, fifty, sixty, or even seventy children being crowded into a single room, it may reasonably be asked how room for extra classes can be formed. The only answer possible is, Build more schools. The fact that hundreds, perhaps thousands of afflicted children have heretofore been neglected does not justify continued neglect of them.
So long as the public allows afflicted children to be born into the world and to live, the only logical thing to do is to educate them on a par with normal children. !NTot to do so is to act in much the same spirit which impelled the ancient Greeks to expose children who seemed to be a hindrance to the state. In fact a sudden death in infancy is in many cases much better than the prolonged privation and misery which afflicted children have to suffer because of a lack of training, education, and occupation. So long as school boards look upon the school as instruments for turning out cheap clerks, salesmen, and the like, it is highly probable that plans for the education of afflicted children will meet with considerable opposition from them. Some steps have been taken in the larger cities, but the movement has not as yet gained much headway. In the meantime the afflicted children can do nothing but stand and wait.
“See Snedden, D. S., Administration and Educational Work of American Juvenile Reform Schools, Columbia University Contributions to Education
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