Anthropological investigations on one thousand white and colored children of both sexes, the inmates of the New York Juvenile Asylum : with additional notes on one hundred colored children of the New York Colored Orphan Asylum / by Ales Hrdlicka.

  • Hrdlička, Aleš, 1869-1943.
Date:
[1899]
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Anthropological investigations on one thousand white and colored children of both sexes, the inmates of the New York Juvenile Asylum : with additional notes on one hundred colored children of the New York Colored Orphan Asylum / by Ales Hrdlicka. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The Royal College of Surgeons of England. The original may be consulted at The Royal College of Surgeons of England.

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    As to the abilities at learning of the criminal or vicious children, io out of 77, or 13 per cent., were found with inferior abilities; in 2 cases the children were extraordinarily bright; and in 65 cases, or 85 per cent, of the total, the abilities were equal to the average ability of children outside the institution. I may mention in this connection that I have considerable con- fidence in the data as to the ability of the children, for many of the teachers in the institution have had a long experience in teaching in the public schools. It may be interesting to remark that out of the 10 children with inferior abilities of learning, 6 were committed for larger trans- gressions (3 pilfering, 1 assault, 1 petit larceny, 1 burglary); the remaining 4 were ungovernable. Taking all the above data on this class of children into considera- tion, I think that the criminal and vicious subjects show very favor- ably, and with the proper treatment give great hopes as to their future. What seems to me of the greatest importance in connection with these children is that their sojourn in the asylum should be sufficiently prolonged so that the good new habits may become a part of the nature of these children. With such treatment I think this class would turn out exceedingly few inveterate criminals.