Two Cases of Retardation due to Educational Deprivation
- Author:
Lorraine L. McNally, M.A.
Chief Social Worker, The Psychological Clinic, University of Pennsylvania I
Walter was brought to the Psychological Clinic by a social worker because of school retardation and a speech defect. He was a husky, well built lad of just ten years. He had a clear complexion, artistically touched by nature’s own rouge, and big blue eyes, deeply set, twinkling out glowing sparks of happiness. His large mouth and broad winning smile were indicative of his affable disposition. Walter had been promoted to the Third Grade but he was not actually ready to do the work required there. The examination in the Clinic showed that he did not have Second Grade proficiency in any school subject. He had entered school at eight years of age, and failed to make normal progress, having repeated the second grade. Walter’s parents died of tuberculosis when he was quite young. There was no immediate person interested or willing to care for him so that it was necessary for a social agency to take the matter in hand. His half brother, an epileptic, was in the Pennhurst Institution, his half sister worked out in a family. Walter’s home and school had been changed several times and the various changes did not have an encouraging effect on his educational progress. The social agency wished to have the examination made primarily to find out whether it was worth while to have Walter placed in a private home in the city in order that he might receive orthogenic teaching at the Clinic during the summer session. The speech defect was of minor significance.
Walter was given a psychological examination on July 14, 1924. His work on the performance tests was good. He completed the Witmer Cylinders, a test at the six year level and the Dearborn Formboard a test at the ten year level. On the latter test, his performance placed him in a group of ten per cent superior to sixty per cent and inferior to thirty per cent of ten year old boys. His rate of discharge was rapid. He had a tendency to over speed, which caused careless errors. The second performance showed a decrease in time and a qualitatively better performance, demonstrating trainability. An Intelligence Quotient was not obtained. His school proficiency was definitely not Second Grade. In fact his reading was very poor and barely of First Grade proficiency. His diction was poor and his speech was marred by a slight defect in the form of a lisp. He had possibly First Grade proficiency in arithmetic. As a result of the examination the diagnosis was deferred and it was recommended that Walter return to the Clinic for diagnostic teaching.
The diagnostic teaching was begun the next day. Walter attended the Clinic from July 15 until August 14, receiving one hour of individual instruction daily for five days a week. At the first contact, upon asking Walter what book he was able to read from, he immediately stated that it was a Second Grade reader. A tryout demonstrated that he knew only a few words and that he did not have the least idea how to pronounce a new word for himself. A First Grade reader was placed in his hands and the results were no better. It was evident that the foundation for reading had not as yet been established; he had no knowledge of phonic analysis. He wTould pronounce repeatedly the first letter of a word but could go no further. With his active imagination and a picture accompanying the story it was not difficult for him to make believe that he was reading. This was not long tolerated. A daily drill on phonic analysis was begun. The phonogram cards which supplement the Winston Primer and First Grade Books were used. The words which Walter recognized immediately, he practiced dividing into their syllables. Within a few days Walter had learned all the words on the phonogram cards for the Winston Primer, First Grade Reader and in addition the cards for the Second Grade Reader. The Third Grade Reader cards were studied in time and it was at this point that Walter met wTords that he had never seen before; they were considerably more difficult. He would analyze the words and give the correct pronunciation without help. Along with the analysis of words Walter had a daily reading lesson. The Winston First Year Reader wTas used. There were many new words that he did not know but made an attempt to analyze. He was more than anxious to wTork and put forth a great deal of effort. He recognized in his reading lesson the words that he had learned to pronounce on the phonogram cards. After six days of instruction there was a decided improvement. It was not long before he had completed the First Grade reader and was transferred to the Winston Second Grade Reader. Each reading lesson consisted of a review of the previous day’s work along with a new selection. He generally did very well in his review lessons, probably failing to pronounce correctly only two or three words. After spending eight hours on this reader it was decided to try him on a Third Grade reader, The Progressive Road to Reading. He read this practically as well as the second book. Success brought him so much pleasure that he pushed right along, full of energy and initiative. At the end of the period of diagnostic teaching he read with ease from the Third Grade reader. In this brief period of time he had learned the basic principles of reading and was well on the way to make normal progress. There was no question that he could go along with Third Grade reading when he returned to school.
Along with his reading and phonic analysis Walter received instruction in speech. The letters, th, f, I, s and r, gave him difficulty. His th’s were generally pronounced as f’s and vice versa. He made every effort to correct his speech after he was once shown. In reading he pronounced the words more distinctly than in his ordinary conversation. This was to be expected since he had the visual stimulus present. He had difficulty in pronouncing words containing a combination of the letters oi. With particular drill on this sound he improved. A daily spelling lesson supplemented both his reading and speech work. In either subject the words that gave him difficulty were used provided they were not too difficult. Walter also received training in arithmetic. Less time was devoted to this than to the other subjects. He was most interested in arithmetic probably because it gave him less trouble. A definite proficiency according to grade was hard to establish. He had the plus and minus combinations but much too often he resorted to counting on his fingers. By his own method he was able to add a single column of three or four digits. He had never learned to “carry” and in subtraction he had never learned to “borrow.” In multiplication he had been taught the first six tables but his results gave evidence that he needed a decided brushing up.
With a sufficient understanding of the work he was supposed to have covered, he was given a thorough review of the plus and minus combinations and the multiplication tables that he had had. There soon was a decided improvement. In addition he was taught to “carry.” At the end of his training he was able to do correctly a problem containing four columns of at least five digits in each. He would use the combinations and rarely resort to counting on his fingers. In subtraction he learned to “borrow” and soon picked up the method of proving the problem. In multiplication he learned five additional multiplication tables. He did exceptionally well in using the tables to work problems. He would continually ask for homework and never failed to bring it in the next day.
One of Walter’s most outstanding defects was his poor concentration of attention. During the first contacts with the Clinic he was never satisfied to sit still and work. Each object in the room caught his attention or in an excited way he would continually want to relate what happened the night before. With difficulty the lesson proceeded. A week or more of this conduct was sufficient to understand him. His reading lessons were selected with care so that the story would be most interesting to him and hold his attention. He had a great deal of surplus energy that needed to be guided. A daily review lesson established in him an assurance that he was able to read. He was goaded on and he made every effort to do well. As time went on he was able to concentrate for longer periods of time. He was interested in his work and liked to come to the Clinic. Considering the progress that Walter made in the short time that he attended the Clinic it seemed almost certain that with a favorable home environment and regular attendance at school he would be able to do the work of the Third Grade. His interest had been stimulated; his orientation shifted.
As a result of the diagnostic teaching the report went back to the Social Agency that Walter was a boy of normal mentality. The pedagogical retardation was due to educational deprivation. It was recommended that he attend school regularly and an effort be made to have him placed permanently so that he would not be moved from one school to another.
Five years after Walter’s last contact with the Clinic an investigation was made to find out what progress he had made. A reply from the social agency stated that he was still under their supervision. He has had in the meantime a number of psychological tests and each time was placed in the dull normal group. He has recently become a much better adjusted child and is doing excellent school work. For a time he had shown some resentment toward school, masturbated excessively and showed keen sex interest. Since 1928, he has been improving steadily. For a year and a half he was in a home where there were three or four boys. There were social contacts in the neighborhood in which he took part. His behavior was that of a normal boy and he was rather a leader in the group.
Walter is now past fifteen years of age and has about decided that he wants to be a farmer. Some years ago he had experience in this work and showed a liking for it. When the home in which he was living had to be closed this fall he was placed on a farm with a young couple who have a simple home life. They will teach him good habits and will be willing to pay him wages when he becomes sixteen. lie has not been there long enough to decide definitely whether or not this would be the best work for him to take up after he finishes school. At the present time he is attending a one room country school; is in Eighth Grade doing good work. II
In desperation Samuel was brought to the Psychological Clinic of the University of Pennsylvania on November 22, 1928, by his mother and a friend, a medical student who had become interested in the boy. At school Samuel had established for himself the reputation of being backward. From the progress ho had made the reputation was justifiable but from his appearance of alertness, his general comprehension and orientation there remained a question as to just why he was considered backward. The facts were that he was past ten years of age, had not learned to read and was very much retarded in school. He had attended kindergarten for two years and then entered First Grade at the age of six. At the close of one year in First Grade he was transferred to an Orthogenic Backward class. At the time of the psychological examination at the Clinic, Samuel was ten years, eight months of age, still in the O.B. class, and reported to be doing high third grade work. In reality his school proficiency as tested in the Clinic varied considerably. In arithmetic he had 3 A proficiency; in reading, 1 B. The difficulty which he had in learning to read was disturbing the members of his family and also his friends. The parents, who were foreign-born Eussian Jews, were prosperous business people. Samuel was the sixth of nine children ranging in age from twenty to four years. The oldest, a girl, had graduated from high school and was employed as a stenographer; the second child, a boy, was attending college; two other children were in high school; a girl twelve years of age was in Eighth Grade ; another girl eight years old was in Third Grade; and a girl six years of age was in First Grade; the youngest, a boy, was not in school. There was apparently nothing significant in Samuel’s mediEDUCATIONAL DEPRIVATION 279 cal history to account for his deficiency, his general health had always been good. In order to make sure of a clean bill of health, through the efforts of the medical student Samuel had been given a complete physical examination by one of the physicians at the University Hospital. The examination showed no evidence of organic disease. The physician considered Samuel high strung and nervous but added the note “a characteristic of his race.” In view of the results of the examination the physician recommended a psychological examination in order to determine whether there was any mental retardation or whether the methods of teaching had been incorrect.
As part of the psychological examination, Samuel was given the Stanford Revision of the Binet-Simon Test. His Intelligence Quotient was 87. His audito-vocal span for digits was five; the reverse span was three, both of which are below the average for boys of his age. His work on performance tests such as the Witmer Formboard, Cylinders, and Dearborn Formboard was slightly below average. On general competency he was rated as being inferior to seventy per cent and superior to twenty per cent of ten year old boys. The diagnosis was normal mentality. The examination did not disclose why Samuel had not learned to read. It was recommended that the Clinic Social Worker investigate the school which he attended and that Samuel return to the Clinic for diagnostic teaching.
The school visit was very significant and revealed important information. During the time Samuel attended the Orthogenic Backward Class it was known that the teacher was advanced in years, unprogressive and did practically nothing with the class. Six months prior to Samuel’s examination at the Clinic this particular teacher had been changed. The new teacher spent several months reorganizing the class. The results were surprising as children were found in the class who had been there one and two years and had not learned to read but did not seem to be lacking in mental ability in other respects. Samuel was one of this group. The teacher, realizing the situation, made every effort to give these children additional help. Samuel made a steady improvement not only in his work but in his general attitude. He was anxious to read. It was the teacher’s hope to prepare him for the regular Fourth Grade just as soon as possible. She felt certain that once he was caught up in reading he could go along in the regular grade.
The recommendation to return to the Clinic was carried out and with the splendid cooperation of the school the outlook was very hopeful. Samuel reported to the Clinic twice a week, receiving an hour of individual instruction each time. In all there were twenty-two hours of instruction which extended from November to June.
It has always been the opinion of Dr Witmer that only the best children in a group learn to read by the word and sentence method. These children of their own accord are breaking up the words into their different parts and realize, for example, that the word cat is made up of three different letters each with a different sound. The child who is unable to make this analysis without help in many cases has difficulty in learning to read. In view of the fact that Samuel, according to the general rating of his competency, was inferior to seventy per cent of children his age it was decided to abandon the word and sentence method and teach him to read by phonic analysis.
During the first hour of instruction at the Clinic it was evident that Samuel had never been taught phonic analysis in learning to read and also that he had gained very little from the word and sentence method. He recognized all the written and printed letters of the alphabet but was unaware of the various combinations of sounds made from them. At times he was able to recognize at sight a few words from his lesson in the primer. In a vain effort, possibly to cover up his inability to read, he would make an attempt to pronounce a new word. He would dwell on the first letter trying hard to sound it and then finally end up with an impossible explosion. His reading was so unevenly developed that it was necessary to establish a firm foundation in the mechanics of reading. The word-building cards were used to teach Samuel the different families of words. Not only did he learn to recognize these on the cards but he showed a great deal of initiative in making up additional words that fitted the family. This method was quite satisfactory. He was anxious to learn to read and showed great pride when he was able to analyze a word for himself. In the third hour of instruction he was allowed to read from a Winston First Grade Reader. All unfamiliar words he attempted to analyze with surprising results. His teacher, a student in Psychology 33?Orthogenic Methods, directed by Dr Witmer?noted at this time that she did not believe Samuel’s lack of progress was entirely due to inability on his part. He was willing, reasonably conscientious and ambitious to clear up his difficulties in reading. He showed less confusion and guessing when he came to a new word. If he was unable to pronounce the word himself, it was placed on the blackboard and divided into syllables. At the end of each lesson he would have several words to take home to study.
Samuel’s teacher found that he learned quickly but had a tendency to forget just as quickly. This may have been due to the fact that he reported to the Clinic but twice a week and the time intervening between each lesson was a little too long, and then too it must be remembered that Samuel was inferior to seventy per cent. The boy had many good qualities. His comprehension was good, he had persistent concentration of attention and he was not inclined to fatigue easily.
Samuel made steady progress. He completed most of the Winston First Reader, read part of Book Two and finally was reading from the Winston Third Grade Reader. Although advanced quickly he was able to handle the work. He comprehended the stories and read with facility. The foundation for reading had been established. It was only occasionally that he was unable to pronounce a word for himself. He was encouraged to do outside reading. Not long after this suggestion he came for his lesson one day and stated that he had become a member of the Public Library. Under his arm he carried “Alice in Wonderland.” He was interested in the story and had brought it along to show his teacher how well he could read it. As part of his lesson he was allowed to use this as a text two or three times. He had very little difficulty in mastering the new words. Just before he was dismissed from the Clinic in June, Samuel was reading from the Winston Fourth Grade Reader. When he first came in the previous November he could not read from a Primer. The following fall he was admitted to regular Fourth Grade. In January of 1930 a telephone conversation with the mother revealed that Samuel was doing well in his school work. She was so anxious that he keep up in his work, however, that she had provided a private tutor to help Samuel with his lessons twice a week.
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