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fall into the category of mentally defective. Two courses are
now open to the Medical Officer—to leave him where he is, or
to pass him into some Special School or Class. In the former
case he progresses as above but he may develop what is known
to psychologists as an "inferiority complex," with consequent
deterioration of his character; in the latter he may be trained
to follow some useful trade or occupation.
Uudoubtedly, such children do remarkably well in residential
institutions and even in day schools, but is it correct to give
them even the temporary stigma of mental deficiency? Each
child must be judged on his own merits and under the present
system of education there is undoubtedly a loss. Of the 45
children judged "border-line" cases the great majority will
remain in the public elementary schools. Is there any other
solution?
I would advise the Wimbledon Education Authority to
consider the question of establishing two classes for
such children in two centrally placed schools (say Dundonald
and Queen's Road). Such classes would be under the Head
Teacher of the schools selected, but would be equipped on the
lines of a Special School and taught by specially trained
teachers. The scholars would be directly under the supervision
of the Medical Officer, and frequent re-examinations would be
carried out for more accurate re-grading. The formation of
such classes would undoubtedly be advantageous to scholars
and teachers, would be welcomed by parents, and would simplify
the work of the Medical Officer.
It should be noted that Wimbledon abounds with small
private schools, and it frequently happens that a parent, 011
receiving a hint that his child will be tested for the Special
School, withdraws his child from the public elementary school
and places him in a private school over which the Authority has
no jurisdiction. Two cases of this nature have occurred in
the last year. I also discovered that one child had been withdrawn
from and subsequently re-admitted to an elementary
school on change of Teacher or Medical Officer, while a second,
certified as "uneducable" had been enrolled in an ordinary
school without the parent divulging the fact that the child had
been previously examined and certified by the Medical Officer.
Mentally Defective Children.
Of the 23 children who were placed in this category, 12
were "high grade" the majority of whom were within a few
months of leaving school. In all, the behaviour was satisfactory
and nothing was to be gained by passing them into the
Special School. The presence of these 12 would indicate that
under strict supervision the numbers in the Special School
should have been higher in previous years, but no negligence
can be attributed to Medical Officers or Teachers. The
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