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47
No mention has been made of under-feeding, because it is impossible to decide from the child's
appearance whether he is improperly fed or not, unless he is actually suffering from starvation, and,
indeed, whilst improper feeding may make a difference in a child's intelligence, it cannot be said to be
sufficient to make a naturally intelligent child dull, and this was the only point for consideration in
the enquiry.
The fallacies of the enquiry were not numerous as there were few matters of opinion, it was
matters of fact which were recorded. The only point open to doubt was whether a child was intelligent
or dull, and with the help of the teachers there seemed little opportunity for error in this respect. The
calculation of percentages from only GOO cases of course involves fallacy, but only the general
indications were required and the insufficient data can be further extended.
The obtaining of a reliable past history of the child, family history and earlier school history
sometimes made difficulties. The facts known to the teachers were generally, however, sufficient.
There are some considerations regarding fallacies in the estimation of backwardness that might
arise from different systems of promotion in different schools which would cause this enquiry to give
an underestimate of the backward; but to the children concerned this will, ultimately, make little
difference, as their school education ceases at 14 years of age, and after being employed for two or three
years as van boys, scavengers, rag-pickers, factory girls or hawkers they come gradually to unemployment
and have forgotten most of what was taught at school.
Finally, the children at present in the elementary schools may be divided into three classes
according to their mental capacity.
1. Those who, being intelligent, derive considerable benefit from their education during
school life.
2. Those who, being backward, fail to derive much benefit from their education, chiefly
because they leave school at 14 years of age, and have never reached the higher standards.
3. Those who, being dull, derive little or no benefit from the practical system of instruction
in the elementary schools.
In the Hoxton and Haggerston schools not more than 65 per cent. belong to the first class, and
a large number of these potentially able to reach Standard VII. fail to do so, or only stay a few months
before leaving. This is shown by the small number at the beginning of the school year on the rolls
of Standard VII. and ex-VII., which, together, should contain at least the same number of children
as any other standard, but by the end of the second quarter these numbers have dwindled to almost
nothing. The remaining 35 per cent. and more are divided between classes 2 and 3, and if it is fair
to form an estimate from the two schools examined, about 21 per cent. belong to class 2, and 14 per cent.
to class 3. In some of the schools class 3 is considerably higher, and it probably does not fall below
10 per cent, generally of the children in the elementary schools.
SCHOOLS FOR BACKWARD CHILDREN.
At present there are in the ordinary schools a considerable number of children who will leave
without getting beyond Standards I. and II., or at most Standards III. and IV. These children are
actually hindering the others in their classes, whilst they benefit little from the ordinary school
methods, but the cases of retarded development who ultimately become useful citizens, do not usually
present defect to this extent.
Other children present educational peculiarities. Dr. Fisher, in the schools of Deptford and
Lewisham, examined 2,166 children submitted by the teachers.
Speaking of the acquisition of the three R's he refers to 386 children seen for various grades of
mental dulness, of these 70 children over the age of 8 years, 10 at the age of 8, 3 at the age
of 9, 2 at the age of 10, 1 at the age of 11 could not do such simple sums as 2 + 3, 3 + 4, or 5 + 6
correctly, and one boy of 10 could not add 1+2. Of these 70 children some showed an idea of
numbers yet could not always name letters correctly ; of these there were 2 at the age of 8, and
3 others at the same age could only read a few two-letter words, but could multiply 3 by 5 or divide
12 by 4 correctly. An instance is a girl of 8; she added 26 + 13 + 2, answering 41 correctly, but could
name but few letters. She could write her own name Violet, but could not name the first letter and
called the 1, h, after years at school.
In addition to these, there are numbers of children who present conditions which are relatively
permanent in school life, and which render them unfit for ordinary school work, but who cannot
be profitably educated in the particular methods of the special schools.
A. The semi-deaf.—There is a considerable number of children hard of hearing, who have either
retained speech or gained it, who will not make progress in the ordinary school even if placed in the
front rows and on whom the training of the deaf school is wasted.
B. Semi-blind.—There is a very large number of children who for two, three or four years of
school life are useless so far as ordinary school tasks are concerned, but who have retained vision or
will regain it to such an extent that to teach them as "blind" will be wasted effort.
C. The nervous, debilitated, delicate and semi-convalescent children.—There is a pressing need
for relief from educational tasks on a certain section of the school community, not as an educational
question, but rather as one affecting the public health, so far as the burden can be lightened in the case
of those upon whom it presses hard, particularly the debilitated and nervous children.
In the second report to the late authority, my estimate of the total number of children unfit for
the ordinary elementary school was 10 per cent. Since then, although perhaps hardly comparable,