The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE. THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1915. BACKWARD CHILDREN

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 130, 4 February 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 1915. BACKWARD CHILDREN

(With which ii incorporated The Tui hnpo Poat vua Wiimarino News.)

Educationists in most Englishspeaking countries have, at var.iqiss times, urged, on- dual grounds, that children of : slow mentality, those lacking in mental conc-c ■•'ration, and right on through all de-

grees of ineptitude tor learning down to the intellectually weak, should be subjected to an altogether different method of leaching to that ordinarily followed in our puldie schools; and, although

authorities have been slow to make changes, the wisdom of their recommendations have never been doubted. A more than ordinarily large'number of such unfortunate children coming under any teach.er is obviously a serious detriment to the progress of other -scholars, besides being derogatory to the status of tlie school; it sets up a condition thai is unfair to--teacher and scholar as it involves .more work and a lesser percentage o<: passes. It is a'little surprising that nothing has hitherto been done in .this connection but now

.'that, the • Auckland . Education Board is.moving- in the direct ion of making special provision. Cor this, class of child it may lie expected that .-other Boards wilt soon follow. There are few com munities in which there are no intcj lectually dull children, therefore in.most schools in the ■Auckland district' special classes will be formed and qualified instructors, who are to he procured from (i'-reat Britain, will be 'ippointed. If is something the .State owes Lo these children and it will bring* relief long overdue to teacher* Some Continental nations realised long ago. that special methods were imperative if children of tin class in question were to b<

brought into, the category of useful citizens; to let them drift was to create a menace in many way:to the welfare of the whole,' and'so methods were evolved' and t/'a oilers specially trained, with a result of the most satisfactory character. Sluggish faculties' have been vitalised and even those bordering, on the' imbecile have been rescued and enabled to fight their own life battles and boeonm useful members of society. From a commercial point of view, even, ii is not good business to, allow the mentally deficient to drift into wasted lives. Statisticians in all countries are fairly well agreed that a life is worth £240 to the State'yet while all sorts of provi- ;

sions are made for getting the most out a .cow, horse, -or sheep, little or nothing has- been done to make the most of .some of out children; .Alt New Zealand will watch with interest tin 1 progress of the classes for dull and backward children''that the Auckland Education Board is now forming, but from the success alreacfv? achieved in other countries there' is no reason to have any doubt .about, satisfactory -results being attained. The segregation of inept children will remove a- bin- '■ drauee.to those of norma) intelligence and .lessen the handicap now severely felt by many of our' teachers in addition to the all-im-portant.rescue of thousands of intolligences fi'om.rhe human scrap- 1 heap. J