Report of the Departmental Committee on Defective and Epileptic Children.

  • Great Britain. Committee on Defective and Epileptic Children.
Date:
1898
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Report of the Departmental Committee on Defective and Epileptic Children. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service. The original may be consulted at London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine Library & Archives Service.

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    Defective Children. {Special Classes.) Appendix A, 9, 17. Kerr, 583- 97. Wsxlmsley, 4169-73. Du Port, 6883. Harris, 1240. A rather greater proportion of the time in Germany is given to reading, writing, and arithmetic, which occupy twelve hours in the week as against four or four and a half given to manual instruction, including needlework. Some of the witnesses have recommended that, in the English special classes, a greater proportion of the time should be given to manual instruction. Dr. Kerr would give ten or twelve hours out of twenty-five. Dr. Walmsley would give half the time. Mr. Du Port would make manual instruction the key of the whole training. On the other hand, Dr, Harris thinks that for younger children the time given at present to hand work is sufficient. We recommend that it should be a condition of the grant that not less than six hours a week should be given to suitable manual instruction, and, subject to the distribution of time being rearranged accordingly, the London time table may be taken as a good example. Subjects of Instruction. 49. Being worked at present under the rules for infant schools, some subjects are compulsory in the special classes, and some are optional. We recommend that the following subjects shall be compulsory in order to obtain any grant that may be proposed:—reading, writing, and arithmetic, drawing, singing, object lessons, suitable occupations, needlework for girls, and suitable manual instruction for older scholars, with sufficient recreation. If these are provided for, other subjects may be introduced if desired. Elementary Instruction. 50. It will be seen from the distribution of time, and the'list of compulsory subjects which we have recommended that we do not desire to see the three elementary subjects of reading, writing, and aritlimetic thrust into the background. The constant employment of children in manual occupations does not appear likely to lead to the best results, nor are there any instances in which any such system is at work, although* DuPort doubtless, some of the occupations, such as cookery and laundry work, may offer 6883. ' advantageous opportunities for the incidental introduction of elementary instruction. AppendixA., Officers of the institutions for idiots point out that a knowledge of reading and 25. writing is of great importance as opening up sources of information and recreation, Appendix C, <« ^^^^ affording means of keeping up communication with friends. Most imbeciles Hoatson great pleasure from receiving and writing letters. Miss Hoatson also finds lYgg ' that reading is the most interesting part of the mental work to her scholars who are imbeciles, and the three elementary subjects must also be for feeble-minded children a most important means, if properly applied, of cultivating their faculties and assisting them to live in the ordinary world under ordinary conditions. The importance of concrete teaching of arithmetic and of adapting various methods Whenman, q£ teaching children to read in a manner calculated to excite their interest is sufficiently Hoatson recognised ; we desire also to notice with special approval the use of the shop lesson, 2159-63'. which has been mentioned, as an aid to the teaching of arithmetic. As to the standard reached in the elementary subjects, the Teachers' Appendix shows that in more than half of the classes, the most advanced scholars are doing work which is usually done in the First Standard of an ordinary school, though in Appendix B., about 16 or 17 classes, work equivalent to the Second or Third Standard is being done. It must be remembered however that these classes include children physically, but not mentally, defective. Manual Instruction. 51. Manual instruction is at present the least satisfactory point in the instruction given in the special classes; but the evidence shows that those whoi are responsible for the classes are alive to this deficiency and intend to remedy it when circumstances permit. For the younger children of both sexes, kindergarten occupations form a satisfactory preparation for more advanced manual training, but a proper systenl requires that this should be completed by definite manual instruction for older children and for both sexes separately, devised with a view both to its educational value and to fitting the children for supporting themselves in after life. It may here be observed that the technical or manual instruction which may be given to blind and deaf children, and may also be extended to feeble-minded children, is not subject to the Technical Instruction Acts, and that the distinction which is