Buster
- Author:
Kathleen A. McIlvaine and Charlotte Easby, Clinic
Teacher, University of Pennsylvania Brown eyes, light hair, delicate features and a firm chin?
rather an interesting inventory of the face of a six year old whose outward appearance is not unlike most children of his age who have been brought up in a cultured environment by intelligent parents, whose best interests are centered in their eldest child. Buster came to the Psychological Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania as a member of a group of three children, subjects of an experiment to determine whether slightly superior children of five, six and seven years, can acquire as much elementary knowledge of school subjects during one hour of individual, concentrated instruction as children of the same age acquire during five hours of regular class instruction.
The general plan of the experiment, which extended over a period of about three months, was that each of the three members of the group receive an hour of actual instruction from individual teachers in separate rooms. At the expiration of the lesson period, the children assembled in a common play room where they were served milk and crackers, after which they were supervised in some form of organized play. Thus, the children could be studied not only as individuals but also as members of a group.
Upon his first appearance in the clinic, Buster was given the regular psychological examination, including a battery of six-yearold tests, which he solved efficiently and planfully. His mental age on the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon scale was 7 years, 3 months. He was able to recognize and name both small and capital letters on a printed page, to count by one’s, five’s, ten’s, to one hundred, and to do the “plus one” table.
As a result of the first contact, it was decided that Buster was of somewhat superior mentality and well qualified to become a member of the experimental group.
In the three months during which Buster attended clinic, he learned to write all the letters of the alphabet in small and capital letters; to read all of the Winston Primer and the first few pages of the Winston First Reader; to spell most three letter words and a few four letter words; to do addition and subtraction of digits to the sum of ten, and the two multiplication table. BUSTER 215
During the lesson period, Buster was usually cooperative and anxious to learn. He fatigued rather easily if kept at a given task too long, a reaction expected at his age level, but it was seldom difficult to arouse new interest and enthusiasm by the presentation of a new problem. Thus, our program usually started with reading, which was continued until there was evidence of fatigue; then spelling for a short period of possibly ten minutes, followed by some drill on the recognition of new words found in the reading lesson of the day. Arithmetic seemed to have a very special appeal for Buster, and was often used to revive a fluctuating interest. When tired of writing, which was especially difficult and by far the poorest of Buster’s performances, he would ask to be allowed to do some arithmetic. It was not difficult to hold him down to the completion of a writing lesson by the prospect of getting on to addition or multiplication when the writing lesson was finished. The fact that Buster became fatigued so easily gave evidence of a lack of energy which lowered his endurance. These factors seemed to be bound up with his general health condition which is reported as merely “fair.” On the other hand, Buster attacks his new problems with such vivacity and carries on with such a show of concentrated analytical and persistent attention until the fatigue element enters, that he is likely to do as much or even more than a child who is less alert and interested, but who is able to resist fatigue.
Buster’s school work on the whole was entirely satisfactory and his case has helped to show the value of the experiment by proving that a child of intelligence rated slightly better than average was able, in three months of concentrated individual instruction for an hour a day, to do the work required of a child in a regular grade in a prescribed school day. So much for individual instruction, but we must not lose sight of the possibilities of group organization. During the play hour, in which the children worked together, Buster displayed a distinctly social attitude. He was pleased to be a member of the group, friendly and cooperative. He seemed quick to observe and understand the behavior of the other children. Always he was willing to consider the other fellow in his plans for Play!
Buster took great pleasure in his own accomplishments and proudly took home evidences of work performed, whether it was a lesson in writing, or a toy made during the play hour. Buster displays the ability to solve new problems, which enables him to achieve new successes with little effort. His analytic and persistent concentration of attention figure largely in his successes. Buster’s home environment is a decided asset to a child of his type, so that it is possible for him to go on being the ” Pride and Joy,” not only of his small family circle, but of his teachers and instructors who will naturally welcome a child of his status as he progresses academically.
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