London has a Clinical Psychologist for the Schools
NEWS AND COMMENT.
The Education Committee of the London County Council, at a meeting held June 26, 1912, appointed a psychologist to examine all pupils who are nominated by teachers of the regular grades, for admission to special schools. The school psychologist gives half his time to this work, and receives a salary of three hundred pounds per annum, about $1450. As the appointment was made for three years, the term contemplated has still two years to run, and there is reason to expect that the work will be extended and renewed for an indefinitely longer period.
Special Classes in Philadelphia Reorganized and Renamed. In response to a questionnaire sent to the superintendents of 883 large towns and cities of the United States last summer, asking about progress in work for exceptional children, the following most interesting letter was received from Philadelphia:
. . Little new provision in the way of additional classes and equipment was made during the year 1912-13. During that year, however, the entire corps of special class teachers, principals having special classes, and district superintendents interested were organized in a committee which did effective work in the study of problems connected with these classes, and in the preparation of suggestive outlines of work, daily programs, etc. This material will be mimeographed and tried out in the class room with the idea of printing it later with the modifications suggested by experience.
“You will be especially interested, I think, to learn that as a result of the consideration of the classification of the children of the so-called ‘disciplinary’ and ‘backward’ classes, a somewhat different scheme of grading and nomenclature than that heretofore used has been worked out. So many of the pupils of the disciplinary classes were found to be very backward, or even mentally deficient, and so many of the backward classes were of the mixed type, that the distinction did not seem useful enough to retain it. It seemed better to lay the emphasis entirely upon the ways and means of securing the better development of the pupil; using the term you use in The Psychological Clinic, the classes may be designated as ‘orthogenic,’ this term superseding the terms ‘backward’ and ‘disciplinary’ heretofore employed. It has the advantage of characterizing the classes by the aim or method rather than by terms more or less opprobriously descriptive of the children themselves. The same practice can be applied to other types of special classes; for example, ‘orthopedic’ for crippled children ‘open window’ for under-nourished and anemic children, ‘open air’ for those with active tuberculosis who must be by law segregated in separate buildings. “It has been customary heretofore to designate the grade of the children as nearly as possible in the special classes in rough accordance with the grading in the regular classes, the special class under such a plan having perhaps several of the eight elementary grades represented in its enrolment. This is so inaccurate and has so many other obvious disadvantages, that it seems better to employ a simpler grading, as follows:
” ‘A’ designating pupils of low mentality held in special classes pending proper institutional provision;
” ‘B’ designating pupils of a grade of mentality above the institutional type, but not to be regarded as candidates for return to regular classes; ” ‘C’ designating retarded pupils of higher mentality who ought to be restored, if possible, to regular grades; also pupils able mentally to do work of the regular grades, but who by reason of moral deficiency cannot be permitted to attend them, these pupils to remain in special classes until better provision can be made for them.
“It is believed that these classifications will encourage the teacher to approach the problem from other points of view than that of the regular class room, and assist her in escaping from some of the distinctions, ideals, and traditions of regular class work, which do not properly apply to the special class… . “Very truly yours, (Signed) “Oliver P. Cornman, “Associate Superintendent.”
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