NOTES ON EDUCATION

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 678, 1 December 1909, Page 8

NOTES ON EDUCATION

[By SociuTEs.J

■ and instructive observations ? n # e care and education of-afflicted children in JNcw Zealand appear in an appendix l to : tho ?C p r T r u C N f % j? 3 "***. & Education (Hon. G. l'owlds), which was presented to Parliament .recently. Under the ' New Zealand educafaoa system Jt is j required : that, deaf, blind, feeble-minded, and epileptic children trocn the ages of seven,, and sixteen years Sfi suitable Auction. Ihe- institutions in. New Zealand that for the of educating children so afflicted are the School for the Deaf at Sumncr, the Special.School for mentally backward boys. at..Ofebriie, North OtKoll of Sch are maintained ,by the Goverainent-and the .InsbteteW tho Blind at Auckland! whjchis administered by a board .of nine tmv tees, rowor-whom are nominated by the' Goverrunefftj and .fiw/ by tho subscribers to the funds; of the. institute. The trustees are required by law .to, admit, children' of the eommS "f who are nominated by -Uie Minister i or Education, payment;from Government funds beingsat tho rate of per anpays for the tuition of; certain'adults at the rate of £U forihe first year ani £10 for tho second, but in. these cases makes no allowance for their maintenance With regard to the BfneraT functions of this department of education, the observation is made that it; should bo seriously consideredi 'Vhether it would riot be advisable to extend the, period of instruction for these afflicted young .people, making it begin at six years and continue to twentv?°V ear - S, '"w! 68 •S^? 1 " 1 ? evidence wero forthcoming that.the popiT was physically or mentally unfit to pursue ihe course of U s j , j° n i "that he had reached such a standard of efficiency, in eome' ait, handicraft, or calling as to enable' him to maintain himself without further assistance" '

Dtrnng MOB, iMOfl odd was spent in the ; purchase of, land, the erection of buildings supply pi equipment, and other inaWural expenses in connection with the Special' School for Boys .at Otokaike.- Mr; George' Benetead, t&o newly-appointed pnncipal of the' .institua™!i S,»m»iera . at Otekaike, in •April,_ 1908, >ut ,for several' reasons was thought advisable, however, not to admif-any P, U P"S™ 1 . sp.rpg was well advanced; and then, following the/example of other countries, to take only a yery/fow \o begin with. 1 Thus, at the;end .of'the year^there, were- only four boys m residence. The; present arrangements will not permit of the accommodation of more than about twenty-two; but the completion of' the home for special , cases'and other buildings 'now m course of ■ construction'' will' provide for nearly' seventy. It is evident that the. number of ,, clasee- wnero training- of this" kind is large,: for, although no systematic canvass .has yet been < made, there aro many applications for admission. For the ; tune being it has been decided to give preference to applicants of the compulsory school age—between seven and sixteen years. ■ , In an.interesting note on the principles unon which it is: proposed te under&e t£e education of- these mentally deficient boys at" Otokaike,_ tho' pnncipal observes:—"The normal baby has no innate notions or ideas, biit comes into the > world ignorant of overyUiing The prgans of sense are not'themselves sentienthe., thei.eye _does'. not see, nor the ear hear ion notice the normal baby commence'to explore, his surroundings!, probably, his- first- impression comes to him ■ through ■ the sense of. sight, as when i a bright light is brought near him,.or a highly-coloured ball. He will amuse himself for hours by "his sense of ■• touch, ex.: penenoing various; sensations, as, hardness or softness, .roughness or smoothness, heat or cold, roundness or extension, from the objects brought to him. He will, unconsciously at nrst, make comparisons of- these varbus forms of contact, and. note later'the differences, and in.the make some very simple reasonings or deductions. The impressions ho receives, m the first instance" through tho sense ot touch, are gradually amplified by, the sense ot sight, -and, eventually, some very slight knowledge of his,immediate.surroundings is gained- by the co-operation of his ' remaining senses-,, 1.M5 wo see that, in the normal child, with the evolution of : its senses' and perceptions its intelligence is constantly growing J.his normal development does not take "place with' the mentally child. We find; even quite late in' the'child's life, that it has gained very little such-knowledge as does the ordinary child. Naturally/ we can only assume that ■ some obstruction or hindrance either, serious or superficial, is '-causing • this delay: in development. We must approach, the bram through: the organs of sense. ■ The former is the_ first we- can set in action; the •physiological education, of the -senses must precede the. psychical education of the mind.' These points we shaU bear- in mind at- Otekaike, so that the. physiological education of the senses will.be taken early in All kinds of suitable, exercises will be taken in this connection, always bearing in" mind, as Dr. ■ Shuttleworth reminds; us in; his able work, that-'the- training of the muscular 'system- by snitablo exercises _to ready response—i.e., the-co-ordination of muscular movement, which is merely an estensidn of: the training of tho fehses—paves the way to the moro purely intellectual , taining.' \Ve-shall.endeavour to increase .the 1 intelligence of the cliildrei; by directing their attention to their own surroundings, and-inter-esting them\in every-day occupations. Feebleminded' children live a very, isolated kind of existence, until they are made to appreciate their own surroundings. With regard -to' the results we, hopo to. achieve; one cannot look into, the future and forecast. At the Royal. Albert Training Institution, Lancaster, England, Dr. Shuttleworth, who is recognised as one of the leading in England ' on tho treatment of feeble-minded persons, states that, with.regard to the after-career of pupils discharged from that institution— ..

"(1.) 10 per cent, were, or bad.been, earning wages; ■■■. ■■■ ■.'... ..-.-. ;.;. ■■ .;■■■ ■.■ , ■■•■. ■■ • "(2.) 5 per. cent, were .remuneratively employed at home. ..... ■..-, .■ ■.; .. ■■ . ■••. "(3.) 3.5 per cent, in addition, were capable of'earning wages if suitable situations could be found for them. '.-. ■, ..•-. ■ . / "{I.) 22 per cent, were reported to be more or, less useful.to friends at home. •■.■■ ■■-■: "(5.).22-per cent, wore said to bo of little or no use. ' ;; ■ .-, ■ . . . .... ... "(6.) 29 per cent, gravitated to workhouses or lunatic asylums. "(7.) 8.5 per cent, had died at the time'of report." . •.... ■' . .', Then follows an interesting report upon threo cases nt Otekaiko:— : ■ ' '■■.-.■ •■■ : "CapeO.— Ago.about 11 years. His chief occupation prior to-admission appeared to have been sitting out of doors and imitating tho cries of all the .'domestic animals and birde If set to do any kind of work, would immediately,- if left for a minute, revert to his own favourito pastime. This boy is now, a*-most useful worker, and has quite dropped ■ his hobby .of ..mimicry. . Owing to his pernicious habits, however, ho should be separated from the other boys. , , ■ "Case 2.—80y of seventeen.■• This lad' had /been for years loading an aimless sort bf ]jfo prior to admission. Pernicious habits had so weakened his will-power that ho was unabloto any effort of mind or.'body,, or to exert himself to ; do anythihg.: I'his lad has been-.Ucept under , constant. supen-ision, : anil never loft. Ho has improved wpndorfnlly, both physically and mentally, -and will now work well under supervision. .-.He'should^.bo treated in a separate cottago;with others of his class "Case.3—Boy of ten.' Tliis lad was practically unablo to.utter any intelligible sounds on admission and was extremely nervous. He ia now a, bright little chap.vand can say a greatnumber" of;- wordsJ , . .-'■ ; ~.:•; '■ : .■■■.■'■.■