The Psychological Clinic Copyright 1912, by Lightner Witmer, Editor.
/Vol. VI. ]STo. 5.
October 15, 1912.
HOW DETROIT CARES FOR HER BACKWARD CHILDREN. By W. C.
Superintendent of
Martindale,
Public Schools, Detroit, Mich.
While much has been said concerning the advisability of placing backward children in special classes, and the examination
given to such children upon entrance, little if anything has been said concerning the method of procedure to be followed before a child can be transferred from a regular room to one of the special
to be
classes.
In Detroit
has been worked out which has for the past two years, and is well operation worth consideration. for backward children education Special has been carried on in Detroit for the past ten years. Work was begun in 1901, with the opening of one room, and since that a
been in effective
systematic plan
additional rooms have been opened. From the beginfound that a great many low grade children were it was ning, To in rooms who were purely institutional cases. these placed eliminate these children, without giving offense to the parents, has
time, eight
been
a long and serious problem. From its introduction the work has been in
charge
of
a
Child
Study Committee, organized by Superintendent Martindale. This committee is made up of the President of the Board of Education, who acts member
as
ex
the Superintendent of Schools, who is a the Director of Kindergartens; Supervisor of Supervisor of Primary Grades; Principal of
president; officio;
Ungraded Kooms;
the School for the Deaf, and the General Supervisor, who acts as secretary of the committee. The committee assumes the entire responsibility for every pupil's admission to or exclusion from the special rooms, and that the work has been carried on in a wise
is proven by the fact that few, if any,parents have ever objected to the rulings of the committee. In the fall of 1910 the Department of Special Education was organized and the nine special rooms, the school for cripples and schools for stammerers were placed under the direct superviand
judicious
manner
(125)
s
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC.
126
sion of the General
Supervisor. special rooms, and assists gestions and sympathetic aid. of the
She
plans
and directs the work
the teachers
by
her
helpful
sug-
For the past two years the Binet-Simon tests for intelligence have been used as a basis to determine the mentality of backward children. When a principal or teacher arrives at the conclusion that
a
child is
backward,
is filled out and sent to the
physician concerning the principal then calls upon physical examination of
a
blank form called "Notice to
parent asking child. the
If
no
regular
parent" family
him to consult his results
school
follow, physician
the school to make
a
the child in order to ascertain if his defective vision, defective hearing, adenoids, enlarged tonsils, or nervousness. The principal reports the result of this examination to the parent. If the parent is unable to provide proper medical attention the principal then reports the This committee is able to case to the Child Study Committee. to all assistance medical free needy children through the provide of the best service specialists of Detroit. These specialvoluntary ists upon receipt of a note from the secretary of the Child Study Committee, examine free of charge any children who are brought to them, and if it is necessary to perform an operation for adenoids or enlarged tonsils, they will arrange that this be done. Where children cannot afford glasses, these too are provided without cost from a fund set aside by the Detroit Teachers' Association. Since September, 1911, two hundred and fifteen pupils have been treated for defective vision and provided with glasses. A large number of cases of adenoids and enlarged tonsils have been
backwardness is due
to
operated
upon and treatment given for nervousness, deafness, teeth, and infantile paralysis. After the child's physical defects have been remedied, if his
defective mental
condition
remains unchanged the case is again carefully by the parent and the principal. The latter explains to the parent just what has been the result of the investigation so far with regard to the child and the effect of his mental or physical disability upon his work in school. The principal then proceeds to question the parent regarding the ancestry of the child, his home peculiarities, any illnesses that he may have had and any hereditary diseases which might have been talked
still
over
The teacher fills out the school history of his personal characteristics. This with child, together report to the office of the Child Study Committee in is then sent duplicate. The Binet examiner, appointed by the Board of Education, then visits the school which the child attends and gives transmitted
the
to him.
DETROIT BACKWARD CHILDREN.
127
him the Binet test. Within a day or two the special physician appointed by the Board of Health to work under the direction of the Board of Education in its work of caring for the backward visits the school and makes a physical examination of The statement of the parent as given in the report sent to the secretary of the Child Study Committee by the principal, together with the child's school history, reports of the Binet examiner and of the school physician, are then passed upon by the
children,
the child.
Child
Study
Committee.
whom the committee thinks it advisable to exclude, a second examination is made of the child by one of the mental specialists of the Child Study Committee consultation staff. If he classes the child in the low grade group In the
cases
of low
grade children
the
case is again brought to the Child Study Committee and usually results in the exclusion of the child. This is done by sending a notice to the parent stating that his child has been excluded. The report and the notice of exclusion are signed by the Child Study
Committee. No definite rule can be made to decide what children shall be admitted to a special room, as every child's case is unlike that of any other child. In general, children above the Third Grade
rooms, and no pupil under nine years, unless he is two years behind grade, or over nine years, unless he is three years behind grade. While this is the guiding principle, still it is by no means are not
admitted to Detroit
special
adhered to, as the condition of the child frequently shows that he should be placed in a special room, even though his After it has been decided to classification indicates otherwise. send a child to the special room, the principal of the school to
closely
which he
is notified. The principal in turn notifies the if there is no objection on the part of the parent,
belongs
parent, and
the child is transferred. If, on the contrary, the parent does object on account of the distance or for any other reason, the Since September, 1911, 488 cases case is dropped temporarily. The committee has recommended 190 of have been examined. this number to the special rooms. Out of this number, the parents only sixteen have refused to allow their children to attend. Thirty-five children, who have been examined, have been unable
of
attend because there was no special room accessible to them. Car fare is provided by the Board of Education in all cases where it is thought necessary by the principal, but it is not deemed to
advisable
it
by
a
to send
direct
car
children
line.
to a
special
room
unless
they
can
reach
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC.
128
Two years ago the new classification, which includes in the feebleminded group three classes of children, the moron, imbecile each of which is sub-divided into three grades, high, middle and low, was adopted by the Child Study Committee. It was decided to exclude from the Detroit public schools, all children and
idiot,
in the idiot group and also those in the middle and low grade imbecile groups. This rule has been rigidly adhered to, as it is considered a waste of public funds to attempt to teach children of these
classes,
who
regarded by
are
all
specialists
as
unteachable.
means the very children who have no of of numbers the streets thrusting upon other place to go, because in Michigan, as in every other state, provision for the feebleminded is far from satisfactory. It is
This
of the work
feature
is
it
important;
these severe measures to secure the establishment Home for Feebleminded Children, located in the vicinity of Detroit, the necessity for which can be shown in no better way than through letting the public know the number of children who are in the middle and low grade imbecile and idiot group. A recent mental and physical examination of all the pupils
hoped through of
a
in the
special without
room
that
a
special
has
rooms
While
facts disclosed. a
just
no
been
completed
child has
ever
physician's examination,
and
been
some
placed
this
was
interesting a special
in
the first time
mental examination had been made of pupils who were in rooms before the introduction of the Binet tests, two years
Department of Special Education has been kept so busy examining applicants for the special rooms since the introduction
ago.
The
of the new system that it had not been able before to make an examination of pupils already in the rooms. Of the 120 children examined, 1G were found to be of such low grade that have been excluded permanently from the
public schools; certain
they
57
degree by
were
found
who, while they
can
profit
to
a
continued attendance in these rooms, have no leaving the special room; 47 of the pupils have
prospects of ever prospects at some time within five months returned to their regular classes. The work of the Detroit special rooms three-fold:
year of
being
might be said
to be
or
a
1. It acts as a clearing house to eliminate low from the schools. 2. It provides a where middle
grade
children
place grade feebleminded children may be given the advantage of some slight educational training combined with a large amount of hand which is work,
DETROIT BACKWARD CHILDREN.
selected with a view toward its of livelihood later on. 3.
It
provides
a
place
providing
them with
where children who
are
129 some means
merely
back-
may be placed for a length of time, from one to two, in order that special assistance may varying year be given them to make up grade work. We are looking forward to the time when rooms will be ward for various
reasons
established where the children who
are now excluded, may attend receive attention in hand work and and perhaps day which will games vary the monotony of their lives. It is possible that in the near future we shall also again divide these rooms and have those children that are merely backward in one class of
for
half
a
rooms, while those for whom there is no hope of ever being returned to a regular grade shall remain in rooms by them-
selves. The present method, however, has its advantages in that there is less opposition to the segregation of feebleminded children where all are classed as backward, than there would be if these unfortunate children were placed in a room known to be maintained for- the express purpose for caring for mentally defective children. For the same reason special rooms in Detroit have not been centralized, but one room is set aside in each of nine different
buildings.
normal children
These children therefore come into contact with on their way to and from school and at recess
time, which is no doubt of much benefit to them, and at the same time it makes the special rooms of much easier access to the children who are enrolled there. The teaching corps is composed of some of the strongest and most progressive teachers in our teaching body. Three of the nine
teachers have had special courses at the Vineland Trainand University of Pennsylvania, and two others intend School ing to take up work at these institutions the coming summer.1 The General Supervisor in charge of the work has also had
special
advantage special course at Vineland, jN". J. Concerning the work of the children who will probably never be promoted from the backward room, very little is required of them in the line of reading and especially of number work. They are taught the ordinary school subjects individually, but their, life is not made miserable by trying to teach them something which we believe would be for them a physical and mental impossibility. For them great stress is placed upon the hand work which occupies practically all the time when they are not engaged of
a
in recitation work with the teacher. 1
This
article
was
written in the spring of 1912.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC.
130
The backward children who
they
are
have fallen behind their class
cause
other than
a
physical
in the
on account
special
room
of illness
or
because of
some
mental defect, are given special them up to grade, and while they
or
assistance in order to bring do some hand work their time is
mostly occupied classes.
in
Children
doing
the
who have
assigned pupils of regular promotion are also sent to recite in one or more of the classes of the regular grade to which they belong. Here they are kept in touch with normal children and have the advantage of hearing the recitations. They are sent to the regular rooms for language and geography recitations, but in the preparation of the lessons are assisted in their own room by the special teacher. The privilege of attending manual training classes is given to all pupils of the special rooms, irrespective of their age and grade. Through this arrangement the pupils have the advantage of the guidance of a trained teacher, and in the three hours a week, which some of the boys spend in a carpenter shop, much' profitable work is done. While a number of the older girls have successfully attended the cooking classes, the work which is given them by the sewing teacher is, perhaps, on the whole more beneficial, and as a result, many of these girls may in time become tasks
prospects of
efficient seamstresses.
Basketry has grown to be such an important feature that it longer be regarded as anything less than an industry in
can no
the special
rooms
of Detroit.
Both reed and raffia baskets of all
sizes, shapes by the deft fingers of these boys styles and girls during a regular basketry lesson, as well as in all the spare minutes when they cannot profitably be employed upon ordinary school work. A new impetus has been given this work through the Board of Education having granted permission for the pupils to sell the products of their work done in school and to retain all of the selling price less the cost of the material. This plan has been the means of retaining the interest of a number of the older pupils in the work of the special room when the they become during period restive, after having been in the room for a length of time, and and
are
made
their parents wish them to leave school and go to work. it is indeed a difficult matter to
While
keep some of the older pupils in the special rooms, still the great good that will be done by keeping the border-line cases in school as long as possible, and t rough hand work, nature work and good literature fitting them to become self-sustaining and over-estimated.
self-respecting
citizens
cannot
be
/Vol. VI. ]STo. 5.
October 15, 1912.
HOW DETROIT CARES FOR HER BACKWARD CHILDREN. By W. C.
Superintendent of
Martindale,
Public Schools, Detroit, Mich.
While much has been said concerning the advisability of placing backward children in special classes, and the examination
given to such children upon entrance, little if anything has been said concerning the method of procedure to be followed before a child can be transferred from a regular room to one of the special
to be
classes.
In Detroit
has been worked out which has for the past two years, and is well operation worth consideration. for backward children education Special has been carried on in Detroit for the past ten years. Work was begun in 1901, with the opening of one room, and since that a
been in effective
systematic plan
additional rooms have been opened. From the beginfound that a great many low grade children were it was ning, To in rooms who were purely institutional cases. these placed eliminate these children, without giving offense to the parents, has
time, eight
been
a long and serious problem. From its introduction the work has been in
charge
of
a
Child
Study Committee, organized by Superintendent Martindale. This committee is made up of the President of the Board of Education, who acts member
as
ex
the Superintendent of Schools, who is a the Director of Kindergartens; Supervisor of Supervisor of Primary Grades; Principal of
president; officio;
Ungraded Kooms;
the School for the Deaf, and the General Supervisor, who acts as secretary of the committee. The committee assumes the entire responsibility for every pupil's admission to or exclusion from the special rooms, and that the work has been carried on in a wise
is proven by the fact that few, if any,parents have ever objected to the rulings of the committee. In the fall of 1910 the Department of Special Education was organized and the nine special rooms, the school for cripples and schools for stammerers were placed under the direct superviand
judicious
manner
(125)
s
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC.
126
sion of the General
Supervisor. special rooms, and assists gestions and sympathetic aid. of the
She
plans
and directs the work
the teachers
by
her
helpful
sug-
For the past two years the Binet-Simon tests for intelligence have been used as a basis to determine the mentality of backward children. When a principal or teacher arrives at the conclusion that
a
child is
backward,
is filled out and sent to the
physician concerning the principal then calls upon physical examination of
a
blank form called "Notice to
parent asking child. the
If
no
regular
parent" family
him to consult his results
school
follow, physician
the school to make
a
the child in order to ascertain if his defective vision, defective hearing, adenoids, enlarged tonsils, or nervousness. The principal reports the result of this examination to the parent. If the parent is unable to provide proper medical attention the principal then reports the This committee is able to case to the Child Study Committee. to all assistance medical free needy children through the provide of the best service specialists of Detroit. These specialvoluntary ists upon receipt of a note from the secretary of the Child Study Committee, examine free of charge any children who are brought to them, and if it is necessary to perform an operation for adenoids or enlarged tonsils, they will arrange that this be done. Where children cannot afford glasses, these too are provided without cost from a fund set aside by the Detroit Teachers' Association. Since September, 1911, two hundred and fifteen pupils have been treated for defective vision and provided with glasses. A large number of cases of adenoids and enlarged tonsils have been
backwardness is due
to
operated
upon and treatment given for nervousness, deafness, teeth, and infantile paralysis. After the child's physical defects have been remedied, if his
defective mental
condition
remains unchanged the case is again carefully by the parent and the principal. The latter explains to the parent just what has been the result of the investigation so far with regard to the child and the effect of his mental or physical disability upon his work in school. The principal then proceeds to question the parent regarding the ancestry of the child, his home peculiarities, any illnesses that he may have had and any hereditary diseases which might have been talked
still
over
The teacher fills out the school history of his personal characteristics. This with child, together report to the office of the Child Study Committee in is then sent duplicate. The Binet examiner, appointed by the Board of Education, then visits the school which the child attends and gives transmitted
the
to him.
DETROIT BACKWARD CHILDREN.
127
him the Binet test. Within a day or two the special physician appointed by the Board of Health to work under the direction of the Board of Education in its work of caring for the backward visits the school and makes a physical examination of The statement of the parent as given in the report sent to the secretary of the Child Study Committee by the principal, together with the child's school history, reports of the Binet examiner and of the school physician, are then passed upon by the
children,
the child.
Child
Study
Committee.
whom the committee thinks it advisable to exclude, a second examination is made of the child by one of the mental specialists of the Child Study Committee consultation staff. If he classes the child in the low grade group In the
cases
of low
grade children
the
case is again brought to the Child Study Committee and usually results in the exclusion of the child. This is done by sending a notice to the parent stating that his child has been excluded. The report and the notice of exclusion are signed by the Child Study
Committee. No definite rule can be made to decide what children shall be admitted to a special room, as every child's case is unlike that of any other child. In general, children above the Third Grade
rooms, and no pupil under nine years, unless he is two years behind grade, or over nine years, unless he is three years behind grade. While this is the guiding principle, still it is by no means are not
admitted to Detroit
special
adhered to, as the condition of the child frequently shows that he should be placed in a special room, even though his After it has been decided to classification indicates otherwise. send a child to the special room, the principal of the school to
closely
which he
is notified. The principal in turn notifies the if there is no objection on the part of the parent,
belongs
parent, and
the child is transferred. If, on the contrary, the parent does object on account of the distance or for any other reason, the Since September, 1911, 488 cases case is dropped temporarily. The committee has recommended 190 of have been examined. this number to the special rooms. Out of this number, the parents only sixteen have refused to allow their children to attend. Thirty-five children, who have been examined, have been unable
of
attend because there was no special room accessible to them. Car fare is provided by the Board of Education in all cases where it is thought necessary by the principal, but it is not deemed to
advisable
it
by
a
to send
direct
car
children
line.
to a
special
room
unless
they
can
reach
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC.
128
Two years ago the new classification, which includes in the feebleminded group three classes of children, the moron, imbecile each of which is sub-divided into three grades, high, middle and low, was adopted by the Child Study Committee. It was decided to exclude from the Detroit public schools, all children and
idiot,
in the idiot group and also those in the middle and low grade imbecile groups. This rule has been rigidly adhered to, as it is considered a waste of public funds to attempt to teach children of these
classes,
who
regarded by
are
all
specialists
as
unteachable.
means the very children who have no of of numbers the streets thrusting upon other place to go, because in Michigan, as in every other state, provision for the feebleminded is far from satisfactory. It is
This
of the work
feature
is
it
important;
these severe measures to secure the establishment Home for Feebleminded Children, located in the vicinity of Detroit, the necessity for which can be shown in no better way than through letting the public know the number of children who are in the middle and low grade imbecile and idiot group. A recent mental and physical examination of all the pupils
hoped through of
a
in the
special without
room
that
a
special
has
rooms
While
facts disclosed. a
just
no
been
completed
child has
ever
physician's examination,
and
been
some
placed
this
was
interesting a special
in
the first time
mental examination had been made of pupils who were in rooms before the introduction of the Binet tests, two years
Department of Special Education has been kept so busy examining applicants for the special rooms since the introduction
ago.
The
of the new system that it had not been able before to make an examination of pupils already in the rooms. Of the 120 children examined, 1G were found to be of such low grade that have been excluded permanently from the
public schools; certain
they
57
degree by
were
found
who, while they
can
profit
to
a
continued attendance in these rooms, have no leaving the special room; 47 of the pupils have
prospects of ever prospects at some time within five months returned to their regular classes. The work of the Detroit special rooms three-fold:
year of
being
might be said
to be
or
a
1. It acts as a clearing house to eliminate low from the schools. 2. It provides a where middle
grade
children
place grade feebleminded children may be given the advantage of some slight educational training combined with a large amount of hand which is work,
DETROIT BACKWARD CHILDREN.
selected with a view toward its of livelihood later on. 3.
It
provides
a
place
providing
them with
where children who
are
129 some means
merely
back-
may be placed for a length of time, from one to two, in order that special assistance may varying year be given them to make up grade work. We are looking forward to the time when rooms will be ward for various
reasons
established where the children who
are now excluded, may attend receive attention in hand work and and perhaps day which will games vary the monotony of their lives. It is possible that in the near future we shall also again divide these rooms and have those children that are merely backward in one class of
for
half
a
rooms, while those for whom there is no hope of ever being returned to a regular grade shall remain in rooms by them-
selves. The present method, however, has its advantages in that there is less opposition to the segregation of feebleminded children where all are classed as backward, than there would be if these unfortunate children were placed in a room known to be maintained for- the express purpose for caring for mentally defective children. For the same reason special rooms in Detroit have not been centralized, but one room is set aside in each of nine different
buildings.
normal children
These children therefore come into contact with on their way to and from school and at recess
time, which is no doubt of much benefit to them, and at the same time it makes the special rooms of much easier access to the children who are enrolled there. The teaching corps is composed of some of the strongest and most progressive teachers in our teaching body. Three of the nine
teachers have had special courses at the Vineland Trainand University of Pennsylvania, and two others intend School ing to take up work at these institutions the coming summer.1 The General Supervisor in charge of the work has also had
special
advantage special course at Vineland, jN". J. Concerning the work of the children who will probably never be promoted from the backward room, very little is required of them in the line of reading and especially of number work. They are taught the ordinary school subjects individually, but their, life is not made miserable by trying to teach them something which we believe would be for them a physical and mental impossibility. For them great stress is placed upon the hand work which occupies practically all the time when they are not engaged of
a
in recitation work with the teacher. 1
This
article
was
written in the spring of 1912.
THE PSYCHOLOGICAL CLINIC.
130
The backward children who
they
are
have fallen behind their class
cause
other than
a
physical
in the
on account
special
room
of illness
or
because of
some
mental defect, are given special them up to grade, and while they
or
assistance in order to bring do some hand work their time is
mostly occupied classes.
in
Children
doing
the
who have
assigned pupils of regular promotion are also sent to recite in one or more of the classes of the regular grade to which they belong. Here they are kept in touch with normal children and have the advantage of hearing the recitations. They are sent to the regular rooms for language and geography recitations, but in the preparation of the lessons are assisted in their own room by the special teacher. The privilege of attending manual training classes is given to all pupils of the special rooms, irrespective of their age and grade. Through this arrangement the pupils have the advantage of the guidance of a trained teacher, and in the three hours a week, which some of the boys spend in a carpenter shop, much' profitable work is done. While a number of the older girls have successfully attended the cooking classes, the work which is given them by the sewing teacher is, perhaps, on the whole more beneficial, and as a result, many of these girls may in time become tasks
prospects of
efficient seamstresses.
Basketry has grown to be such an important feature that it longer be regarded as anything less than an industry in
can no
the special
rooms
of Detroit.
Both reed and raffia baskets of all
sizes, shapes by the deft fingers of these boys styles and girls during a regular basketry lesson, as well as in all the spare minutes when they cannot profitably be employed upon ordinary school work. A new impetus has been given this work through the Board of Education having granted permission for the pupils to sell the products of their work done in school and to retain all of the selling price less the cost of the material. This plan has been the means of retaining the interest of a number of the older pupils in the work of the special room when the they become during period restive, after having been in the room for a length of time, and and
are
made
their parents wish them to leave school and go to work. it is indeed a difficult matter to
While
keep some of the older pupils in the special rooms, still the great good that will be done by keeping the border-line cases in school as long as possible, and t rough hand work, nature work and good literature fitting them to become self-sustaining and over-estimated.
self-respecting
citizens
cannot
be
