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EU5XETIN: NO. 3, 1907 WHOLE NUMBER 376
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR : : BUREAU OF EDUCATION
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF
GERMANY
SIX LECTURES BY B. MAENNEL
Rector of Mittelschule in Halle a. d, Saale
TRANSLATED BY FLETCHER BASCOM DRESSLAR
Associate Professor of the Science and Art of Teaching
in the University of California
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1907
BULLETIN: NO. 3, 1907 WHOLE NUMBER 376
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR : : BUREAU OF EDUCATION
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF
GERMANY
SIX LECTURES BY B. MAENNEL
Rector of Mittelschule in Halle a. d. Saale
TRANSLATED BY FLETCHER BASCOM DRESSLAR
Associate Professor of the Science and Art of Teaching
in the University of California
WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
1907
^i/V
>
6^^
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Letter of transmittal 7
Note by translator ^ 9
Author's preface 11
I. — Historical Sketch.
The first beginnings at Halle 13
Efforts of Kern and Stotzner I3
Establishment of auxiliary schools in the German industrial cities 14
Provisional establishment at Berlin 14
The royal Prussian educational administration and the movement for
auxiliary schools 15
Associations of coworkers; their press and literature 17
Provision for weakly endowed children in Austria-Hungary, Switzerland.
Italy, France, Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, Bel-
gium, England, and the United States 18
Unification and differentiation in their development 22
II. — Reasons for the Establishment of Auxiliary Schools.
The folk school and the task demanded of it up to this time_ 23
The fate of those pupils who do not make progress 24
Remedies proposed up to this time 25
How the " dregs " of the folk school are characterized 27
J. H. Witte opposes the establishment of special school institutions for
this "school ballast" 27
Special classes may be organized for higher schools also 30
III. — Admission Procedure.
Signs of the abnormal development of pupils 31
How their growth and progress before school age are to be investigated— 32
Questionnaires for physicians and school men 36
Questionnaires in use at Frankfort on the Main, at Brussels, at Leipzig,
and at Plauen 36
Sketch of admission procedure at Halle 42
The organization of the Mannheim schools and the auxiliary school 43
School compulsion, or parental decision 47
Must all auxiliary school pupils have previously spent two years uselessly
in the folk school 48
3
169942
4: CONTENTS.
IV. — The Pabents and the whole Environment of Auxiliary School
Pupils before and during the School Period.
Page.
How best to obtain information concerning parents 49
Procedure at Halle 51
What disclosures are to be obtained in this way 51
Home visitation and its value 52
Life conditions of auxiliary school pupils 52
V. — Health Conditions of Auxiliary School Pupils.
Duties of the auxiliary school physician 53
Various assistants of the auxiliary school physician 55
Data from the annual reports of the auxiliary school physician at Halle. 56
The physician in his relation to principals and teachers of auxiliary
schools 57
Demands on the auxiliary school physician 58
VI. — The Pupils of the Auxiliary School and their Characterization.
Photography as a help in characterization 59
Can characterization be numerically expressed? 61
The school register of the auxiliary school at Halle 61
Sample plans for characterization 61
Triiper's proposal 70
Lay's individual list as consummation of a suitable plan 70
Representations of pupils according to this plan 71
The cooperation of many is needful; worth of the characterizations 74
What value does this important work of the auxiliary school have at this
time? 74
VII. — The Building for the Auxiliary School.
The necessity of housing the auxiliary school in a building designed for
the folk school 76
The ideal building for the auxiliary school and its equipment 77
VIII. — Classification of Pupils in an Auxiliary School, and the j
Number in Each Class. fl
The single-classed auxiliary school as a beginning of the development 78
The number of pupils in the different classes 78
The number of auxiliary school pupils in proportion to the population of
a city . 79
IX. — The Daily Programme.
Length of the periods of instruction 81
Their order of succession 81
Simultaneous instruction in the same branches in different classes 82
Forenoon instruction 82
Recesses 83_
d
CONTENTS. 5
X. — The Curriculum.
Page.
The necessity of a plan of work for the auxiliary school 83
Attempts hitherto made 83
What will the auxiliary school as an institution accomplish? 84
The objects of individual branches of instruction 84
Sequence of the subjects , 85
The difficulty of the problem of the curriculum 85
Sample of a plan for the first and last school years ^__ 88
XI. — Methods of Instruction.
The number of periods for individual subjects and classes 92
Instruction in the lower classes must be special auxiliary school instruc-
tion \ 92
Play work and work through play 93
The means of instruction 93
"Die Eisheiligen " in Instruction 94
Varying the instruction 95
Guarding against the use of the "concentric circle" method 95
Special cultivation of the perceptions of space, time, and motion 96
The practical drift in instruction 97
XII. — Discipline in the Auxiliary School.
(a) The school's care of the soul :
The weak will of pupils and discipline in the auxiliary school 97
Habituation and example 98
Corporal punishment 98
(b) The school's care of the body :
Duties of physician, teachers, and parents '. 99
Social care 99
Shall the auxiliary school be a closed institution? 100
XIII. — Preparation of Auxiliary School Pupils for Confirmation.
Are mentally-dwarfed children specially gifted religiously? 101
Separate instruction for auxiliary school pupils for confirmation 101
Who gives the instruction for confirmation? 102
Material for instruction 103
XIV. — The Community and the State in Their Relations to the
Auxiliary School.
Weak endowment and industrial skill 103
Mental weakness and dislike for work; crime 104
What communities have done heretofore 104
What the state yet has to do : Compulsory schooling, lengthening the
school age, formation of continuation school classes, help in the
selection of an occupation, care at the age for military service,
consideration in cases before the courts - 104
Private endeavors in addition to those made by the state and community. 105
6 CONTENTS.
XV. — The Teachers and the Principal of the Auxiliary School.
Page.
Selection of teachers from among the folk school-teachers 114
Requirements in general 115
Special demands on the auxiliary school-teacher 115
Preparation for auxiliary school employment 116
The principal of the auxiliary school 118
Conferences 118
The woman teacher in the auxiliary school 118
XVI. — The Pedagogical Significance of the Auxiliary School.
The estimation of the abnormal amoilg the auxiliary school pupils helps
in the development of the normal 119
Experience in the auxiliary school can be of significance to the general
field of pedagogy 119
The auxiliary school is the pedagogical seminary for all kinds of schools— 119
Appendix 121
Bibliography . 125
Index 133
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL.
Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Education,
Washington^ October 12^ 1907.
Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a translation, prepared
at my request by Professor Dresslar, of the University of California,
of a recent account of the auxiliary schools (Hilfsschulen) of Ger-
many, and to recommend its publication as an issue of the Bulletin
of the Bureau of Education.
The problem of proper provision for exceptional children, and
especially for backward children, in our great city systems of schools,
has long been recognized as one of great importance. It has to do
not only with the welfare of the children immediately concerned, but
with that of all other children in the same schools ; for the necessity
of devoting extraordinary care and attention to a few backward
members of the class not infrequently prevents the teacher from
giving due care and attention to the larger number of normally en-
dowed members. For both reasons, our city school authorities within
the past few years have devoted much attention to ungraded classes
and other special provision for these exceptional children.
It is believed that an account of a parallel movement in Germany,
where it has had a longer history and has reached a more advanced
organization, will be of use to those w^ho are furthering this move-
ment in America. No one will suppose that German experience may
be fitted without modification into an American situation. Our peo-
ple welcome educational suggestions from abroad as they welcome
desirable immigrants. They recognize them as capable of naturali-
zation, with something good to offer that we did not have before.
In the second or third generation, if not earlier, these newcomers
become American through and through. Having a vigorous native
stock to begin with, we can exercise such hospitality with all freedom,
and in it lies the hope of a great enrichment of our national life.
The lectures of Doctor Maennel here presented in free translation,
together with his bibliographies, constitute the best account which
I have yet seen of this phase of German education, and as such I
believe the publication will be widely useful in this country.
Very respectfully,
Elmer Ellsworth Brown,
Commissioner.
The Secretary of the Interior.
7
NOTE BY TRANSLATOR.
The translation of " Vom Hilfsschulwesen " "here presented is not a
strictly literal one ; but it is hoped that the essential facts and argu-
ments have suffered no serious distortion nor inadequate expression.
There are doubtless errors, but some are almost unavoidable by reason
of the involved style of the author and the nature of the subject-matter
under consideration.
Special mention is due Miss Ida E. Hawes, M. A., reader in the
department of education of the University of California, for much
critical and willing help in making the translation. I have profited
also by the criticism of my colleagues. Prof. Alexis F. Lange, of the
Department of Education, and Clarence Paschall, M. A., instructor in
the department of German, and by that of Dr. Louis R. Klemm and
Mr. F. E. Upton, of the U. S. Bureau of Education.
F. B. Dresslar.
Berkeley, Cal., January ^4? 1^07,
a The original work is entitled " Vom Hilfsschulwesen : Sechs Vortrilge von Dr.
B. Maennel, Rektor. Druck und Verlag von B. G. Teubner in Leipzig, 1905."
140 p. D. cloth. It forms the 73d volume of the series, "Aus Natur und Geistes-
welt: Sammlung wissenschaftlich-gemeinverstandlicher Darstellungen." The
work is dedicated to W. Rein, Ph. D., Litt. D., professor of pedagogy in the
University of Jena.
9
AUTHOR'S PREFACE.
These lectures on auxiliary schools were delivered from the 4th
to the 10th of August, 1904, in the Ernst Abbe Yolkshaus at Jena,
as one of the vacation courses given there. Upon invitation of the
publishers, they are here presented to the public in an expanded form.
May they serve to convince the reader that a due estimation of those
children whom an unfortunate destiny has treated in a stepmotherly
fashion in various ways, is not only needful for the friend of new
methods in' the theory and practice of child study and education, but
also for all those who ought to stand for the welfare of the people.-
If the new helpers in counsel and action among school people, phy-
sicians, ministers, jurists, and all friends of the people, are won over
for the good cause, the following work will have served its purpose.
B. Maennel.
Halle, April, 1906.
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY,
L— HISTORICAL SKETCH.
The beginnings of auxiliary schools for defective children date
from the middle of the past century. These beginnings were not
called auxiliary schools, but auxiliary or assisting classes. The first
auxiliary class was established at Halle, in Prussian Saxony. In the
minutes of the meeting of the school board, held on the 28th and 29th
of September^ 1859, is found the following proposal of Mr. Haupt,
then principal of one of the schools : * * * " to form a special
class for defective children, now numbering 17, with possibly two
hours for instruction " * * *^ This proposal the city school ad-
ministration carried into effect, directing a teacher from a folk school
to give instruction for two hours daily to those children who from any
cause were not making progress in the folk school. Quite a period of
time passed by, however, before this new plan of instruction obtained
daily in a single room for a class made up of children from the schools
for the poor and from the folk schools, and finally included twenty
hours of work per week. Still, the credit of founding the first auxil-
iary class is to be conceded to Principal Haupt, who died in 1904,
after long and effective service as privy councillor and school super-
intendent at Merseburg.*
Meanwhile there was given to the project at Halle, which had been
undertaken offhand and with only practical ends in view, a theoretical
and more general foundation. K. F. Kern delivered in 1863 before
the pedagogical society of Leipzig his lecture on the education and
care of defective children, in which he set forth as generally desirable
the establishment of special schools for such children of the folk
schools as could not keep pace with other children. Th. Stotzner
published in 1864 the first pamphlet bearing on auxiliary schools,
giving it the title : " On schools for children of deficient capacity.
First draft of a plan for the establishment of the same." This little
book of 43 pages contained, in the first and theoretical part, an urgent
appeal to all school authorities of the larger cities to establish auxil-
iary schools, through which deficient children, who for the most part
later become burdensome to the community, may be developed into
o Chemnitz followed with the establishment of her first auxiliary class in 1860.
13
14 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
useful citizens through suitable teachers and properly adapted
instruction. Stotzner established, in cooperation with Kern, in 1865,
on the occasion of the meeting of the general German teachers' asso-
ciation at Leipzig, a section for pedagogical hygiene, and also in
the same year founded a short-lived society for the advancement of
the education of mentally deficient children, with Hanover as a
meeting place.
It is noteworthy, however, that these Kern-Stotzner suggestions
and appeals became effective in Dresden before they did in Leipzig.
In the year 1867 the school board of Dresden brought about the
establishment of an auxiliary class for 16 mentally deficient children.
During the seventies Gera and Elberfeld established their special
classes, while Brunswick and Leipzig first instituted similar school
organizations in 1881. In the ensuing rivalry of other municipal
governments not to be behindhand in organizing separate auxiliary
classes or entire auxiliary schools, the capital city of the Empire
took no part. While entire municipal congresses, as, for example,
that of Thuringia, held at Ilmenau in 1893, earnestly recommended
the organization of special auxiliary classes for mentally deficient
children, the school board at Berlin declined to maintain auxiliary
schools. As appears from two expositions which the Zeitschrift
fiir Schulgesundheitspflege published in 1900 and 1901, and accord-
ing to the statements of P. v. Gizycki, of Berlin, in 1903, the estab-
lishment of auxiliary schools was avoided, and instead auxiliary
classes were organized in 1898 for the weak ones among the pupils
of the common schools. To these classes those children of the com-
mon schools are assigned who can not on account of mental or bodily
deficiency take part with success in the regular programme of in-
struction. The instruction in the special classes is designed to so
advance the children that they may either become qualified for regu-
lar school work or acquire whatever preparation they are capable
of for the needs of later life.
Why they could not make up their minds to establish independent
auxiliary schools is made clear by the official report of the Berlin
city authorities for the year 1898-99, which contains the following:
"A considerable number of cities have sought to attain this philan-
thropic object by the establishment of special schools (auxiliary
schools). We have not undertaken this for two reasons: In the
first place, the distances to school would become too great; but in
the second place, the definitive assignment of children to such a
school would place upon them the stamp of inferiority for all time,
and often prematurely. We follow the plan of retaining the child
as a pupil in his own district, of placing him for instruction in small
classes, and of bringing him back into association with the other
children as soon as possible. While we now begin special instruction
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 15
with the children of the lowest classes, our plan is, step by step and
according to the quality of the pupils, to add to the lowest auxiliary
class a higher one, and so on, but always with the purpose of re-
placing the special instruction as soon as possible by the regular."
No class of this kind contains more than 12 children, and the num-
ber of periods of instruction amounts to 12 per week. Commonly
there are put into the special classes only such children as have
attended the school of the district for a period of two years without
progress. The fixed purpose of the school management of BerFn^
i. e., the return of the children from special instruction back to the
regular schools, has seldom been accomplished. Thus in the year
1903, out of the 91 special classes with 755 boys and 547 girls, only 38
boys and 29 girls were returned to the regular schools ; in consequence
of this, practical needs alone necessitated the development of the
system of special classes on the plan of the organized auxiliary
schools of other German cities. Several special classes were concen-
trated with that object in view and organized into grades, so that
already in the year 1903, according to the statements of P. v. Gizycki,
all the 91 special classes were distributed among 41 schools, and it is
to be hoped that Berlin will proceed further in this organization,
thus abandoning a position which hitherto no other city has thought
worthy of imitation.
It is of note also that the royal Prussian educational department has
not considered the above-described Berlin educational organization as
worthy of recommendation. This central authority has, on the con-
trary, put the stamp of its approval on that which has been built up
at Halle and in many other German cities. Indeed, with particular
sympathy for and regardful appreciation of what had been done, it
formulated regulations giving shape to the system of auxiliary schools
in Prussia, after it had realized how valuable and essential a develop-
ment of these new schools is to the state. " Das Zentralblatt fiir die
gesamte Unterrichtsverwaltung in Preussen " furnishes gratifying
information cojicerning this movement. In the first place, a circular
of the minister, under date of the 27th of October, 1892, criticised the
arrangement in vogue, especially in cities with great systems of folk
schools, of so-called " finishing classes " for those children who, from
any cause, were not able to reach the standard of the folk schools.
Next, on the 14th of November, 1892, an investigation was made of
such classes of this kind as had already been established in the different
provinces for children of school age not normally endowed. The
publication of the results of this investigation was accompanied on
June 16, 1894, by an ordinance establishing briefly nearly all those
points needed in the further development of auxiliary schools. The
minister already discriminates in this between those children neg-
lected at home and those deficient in natural endowment. Only such
16 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GEEMANY.
of the latter as, " during one or two years of attendance on the folk
school, have shown that, while they are capable of instruction, they
are not sufficiently endowed to work in cooperation Avith normal
children, are particularly indicated as needing special educational
provision. The cooperation of the physician in the assignment of
children who should be so provided for is of special importance,
inasmuch as physical deformities and former illnesses go hand in
hand with backward mental development. Besides, the records
of the development of individual children, such as have been re-
peatedly made with discriminating carefulness, are of great value."
Moreover, it was further suggested that in many of the larger cities
means are now supplied to the end that not more than 25 pupils need
be put into one class, and by means of proper salaries, in addition to
the regular budget, excellent teachers of both sexes from the folk
schools can be secured for the work in the auxiliary classes. The lat-
ter designation, viz, auxiliary classes (Hilfsklassen), for subnormally
endowed children, " seems to be regarded as the most suitable, in view
of the feelings of the parents concerned, and to be the one most often
used." Finally, the minister recommends that instruction be given
these classes for half an hour, that the standard of attainment be set
considerably lower for all such classes than for the corresponding
classes in the folk school, indeed, that the prescribed work for the
highest auxiliary class should not be more difficult than that for the
middle class of the regular folk school, and that special consideration
be given to such subjects as will develop bodily dexterity and prac-
tical skill.
The decree of the Prussian minister of April 6, 1901, supplies again
a detailed account of the then-existing school provision for subnor-
mally endowed children of school age. It was a cause of satisfaction
to him to know that at that time, in 42 cities of the monarchy, there
were 91 such schools, enrolling 4,728 children in 233 classes. In
respect to the question concerning the auxiliary school physician, the
following declaration is made : " The cooperation of the physician is
indispensable in these classes. I can only express a livelj^ wish, that
by the time the next report is made, no auxiliary school will be found
unprovided w^ith the regular aid of a physician." In regard to trans-
ferring individual children from the auxiliary school into the folk
school, the minister in the same report says : " In certain places older
children are put back into lower classes of the folk school. This ought
to be avoided. For the difference in age between children so trans-
ferred and their younger classmates produces the very difficulties
which the auxiliary classes are designed to prevent, and they would
soon go out into life from the lower classes with an education inade-
quate to earning a livelihood."
HISTOKICAL SKETCH. 17
Thus far the activity of the Prussian ministry of education touching
the development of instruction in auxiliar}^ schools has gone. It has
on the one hand approved of what already exists, and on the other has
stimulated the creation of that class of schools." The teacher of a
Prussian auxiliary school can congratulate himself on the point of
view taken b}^ the state authorities. Whenever a superior authority
has faith in the insight and generosity of the larger communities, and
in the zeal and devotion of all those who labor for the cause of aux-
iliary schools, then this cause will make better progress than when
individual initiative is smothered by legislative prescription. So far
as I know, the Prussian central authority has issued no coercive and
narrowing regulations whatsoever. At present certainly its concern
is merely to collect information regarding the measures that have been
taken and recommend them for general adoption if found worthy of
approval.
The other German states soon copied the praiseworthy example set
by Prussia; many of them, as the kingdom of Saxony and others,
entered simultaneously upon this work, the majority followed. The
summary appearing in the minutes of the fourth session of the
national association, and the proceedings relating to the foundation
of auxiliary schools in Germany, published in the " Hilfsschule,"
give the particulars concerning the provision made by German
municipalities for pupils of weak endowment. This provision has
reached such a point, according to a report in the school journal
(Schulblatt) of Saxony of January 11, 1905, that there are at this
time in Germany 180 cities giving instruction in auxiliary schools
to 492 classes enrolling 5,868 boys and 4,753 girls. Including Berlin,
we may say that there are in Germany 583 classes, enrolling 6,623
defective boys and 5,300 defective girls.
The formation of the principals, teachers, and promoters of auxil-
iary schools into associations is to be welcomed as a gratifying out-
come of the lively interest taken in this class of schools in Germany.
Not only did some of the pioneers in this field in 1898 form them-
selves into a national association of auxiliary schools with Doctor
Wehrhan, city superintendent of Hanover, as president, buf the
auxiliary school teachers of individual provinces, smaller civil divi-
sions, and neighboring cities also organized themselves into associa-
tions. In these associations the work of the auxiliary school finds a
steady encouragement, and everyone who serves the cause finds therein
incitement to f uther service.
a While this was in press a further report (Jan. 2, 1905) appeared, which
recounts with approbation the attainment during the meanwhile of what was
hoped for in the earlier official documents.
14659—07 2
18 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
Discussions on various subjects in this field are printed in the gen-
eral pedagogical press and in publications specially devoted to aux-
iliary school affairs. To the latter are to be added the oft-mentioned
proceedings of the sessions of the national association, the " Zeit-
schrift fiir die Behandlung Schwachsinniger und Epileptischer," the
" Kinderfehler " (the organ of the movement in Germany for aux-
iliary schools) , the " Zeitschrift fiir padagogische Psychologic und
Pathologic," the collections of dissertations from the field of peda-
gogical psychology and physiology, contributions to pedagogical
pathology, the " Hilfsschule," and the newly founded " Eos," a
quarterly journal for the knowledge and treatment of abnormal
youth. Besides these, there is an extensive independent literature on
the subject, so extensive, indeed, as to require a reliable bibliograph-
ical guide.
But the movement for auxiliary schools has won a foothold in other
countries. According to the " Zeitschrift fiir Schulgesundheitspflege,"
the special schooling of meagerly endowed children was first con-
sidered in Austria in 1895. At that time, in pursuance of a regulation
of a Vienna district school board, these children were sought out in
^he folk schools and " burgher " schools, and not only instructed in
, auxiliary classes, but a special department of instruction was organ-
ized for defective children of school age. In the year 1902 the organ-
ization of the association for the care of meagerly endowed children
w^as planned ; this union is striving to bring about a closer connection
between the existing schools of this kind, as well as the further
establishment of such institutions in the city, country, and community,
and, moreover, devotes itself to the care of those dismissed from
school and those in need of legal protection. But, on the whole, the
Austrian school provision for deficient children is yet on a very low
plane. "Austria has only half as many classes for deficient children
as the city of Hamburg. The great majority of her abnormal chil-
dren are without any instruction at all or remain as a burden upon
the general folk schools."
According to an account in the quarterly journal " Eos " in 1905,
the Kingdom of Hungary is also beginning to take an interest in the
partially abnormal child. However, since that time only one inde-
pendent auxiliary school, with several special classes, at Budapest,
has been reported. But it is to be hoped that the Commission for
School Hygiene will actively engage in organizing them and that the
admirable views urged by its chairman. Dr. A. v. Naray, of Szabo,
concerning the special scientific training of teachers for them will
produce their desired effect, so that a sufficient number of auxiliary
schools for the subnormally endowed may be established in Hungary.
In Sjzdteerland auxiliary classes have existed since 1888. Basel
and Bern each claim the credit for first establishing special instruc-
Jl
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 19
tion for subnormally endowed children in the Cantons. But they did
not long continue alone in this work. A great number of other cities
soon followed their example, so that by 1903 there were as many as
53 auxiliary classes in Switzerland, enrolling 1,096 children. In
these classes 55 teachers (12 men, 43 women) were giving instruction.
In order that they might secure as much uniformity as possible in
the development of auxiliary schools, the Swiss Public Welfare So-
ciety (Schweizerische Gemeinniitzige Gesellschaft) determined~lir
1898 to establish a course of instruction for teachers of special classes.
This plan was realized, and the course was given in the first quarter
of the school year 1899-1900 at Zurich with marked success.
In Italy there are at the present time no regular auxiliary classes.
In several of the larger cities of the Kingdom, however, the backward
pupils of the elementary schools are grouped together under the
instruction of a woman teacher. The national association for the
care of weak-minded children, which was organized in 1898, had in
mind, among other things, to urge that instruction in auxiliary classes
be given in connection with the regular elementary schools. All
pupils who were not too far below the normal in mental ability were
to have in these classes instruction within their power of comprehen-
sion. According to K. Richter's account, there was founded at Rome
in the year 1900 a kind of teachers' seminary, where teachers of both
sexes might be made familiar with the treatment of defectives and
with the means to serve and care for them. Independent of the
above-mentioned national association, an asylum school for poor chil-
dren of weak minds was started at Rome in 1899 by Dr. Sante de
Sanctis, a university professor. This school offers a day home to
about 40 pupils. The preceptress, who is an elementary school-
teacher, works under the direction of the founder, a prominent psy-
chiatrist. A teacher for training the children to speak normally, one
for physical training, and one for music cooperate with her in this
Avork. However, from the report of this institution made on April
16, 1903, and also from a letter written by the amiable and enthusiastic
director concerning the management, it is learned that no programme
of studies is regularly carried out. Since the so-called medico-peda-
gogical method prevails in this asylum school, more weight is given
to medical and general educational considerations in conducting it
than to formal school instruction. It is not in place here to pass
judgment on the scope of the work of Prof. Sante de Sanctis, also
described by K. Richter, or upon its practicability and results. It
may be said in passing that as compulsory school attendance obtains
only up to the tenth year of age, it is plain that it will require much
persistent labor before even the general aims of the national associa-
tion, the aims had in view by the philanthropic and intellectually
superior circles in Italy, can be even approximately attained.
20 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
In Eranee they are not yet fully convinced of the great value of a
general treatment for weakly endowed children. To be sure, accord-
ing to Dr. J. Morin in the Parisian journal, Foi et Vie, of November
16, 1904, Seguin, J. Bost, and Bourneville have made investigations,
respectively, upon the' mental, moral, and social capabilities of defec-
tives; but aside from the reports on the medico-pedagogical method
which is employed at Bicetre, near Paris, I know nothing of schools
for w eak-minded children in France. The complaint of the author
of the essay " Pour les enfants anormaux " in the " Manuel general de
I'instruction primaire " for 1904 is therefore warranted when he says :
" The most autocratically ruled States of Europe have made instruc-
tion democratic, and have opened schools for all their subjects, in
which nervous, deaf and dumb, or idiotic, as well as healthy children,
can be instructed. With us the opposite is the case; while our
scholars w^ere the first to point out the means to alleviate the natural
defects of mankind, the teaching of abnormals has become so exclu-
sive that the families concerned are often compelled to permit their
children to grow up as chance wills. Oh, you poor creatures, pre-
destined to remain unarmed in the struggle for existence."
Russia, Germany's eastern neighbor, also knows nothing of auxil-
iary classes. In St. Petersburg there has been, so far as can be
learned, since 1882 a medico-educational institution managed by
Doctor Maljarewski. Here are received idiots and feebly endowed
children from wealthy circles. Another institution at St. Petersburg,
maintained by the religious " Order of the Mother of God " and aided
by the empress dowager, receives, it is said, epileptic and idiotic
children from homes of poverty, and has been giving to them since
1903 school instruction also.
Richer and more positive, comparatively speaking, are the reports
from Sweden. According to the Swedish Teachers' Journal of
December, 1904 (Die schwedische Lehrerzeitung), Stockholm will
establish this year auxiliary classes in the folk schools. The folk
school teachers of the Swedish capital have, since 1900 and 1901,
directed the' attention of the school authorities to those " abnormal
children who are hindered in their development," and pointed out the
necessary methods of instruction for such children. At the same time
it was shown by Dr. G. Hellstrom that of the 25,089 pupils of the folk
schools in Stockholm, 87, or 0.35 per cent, were foolish, and 473, or
1.88 per cent, were backward. The superior authorities of the munici-
pal folk schools have determined, in cooperation with the folk school
teachers, to establish during the next year a number of auxiliary
classes for backward children, in each of which the number of children
shall not exceed 12. The children must have attended school from two
to six terms ("Termine") without making progress, and can be
admitted only after a medical examination. Instruction, which is
HISTORICAL SKETCH. 21
not to exceed four hours daily, is to be imparted by women teachers
who volunteer to do this work.
According to private information, auxiliary schools have been
established after the fashion of German models at Christiania, Ber-
gen, and Trondhjem, in Norway. Copenhagen in Denmark has had
an auxiliary school since 1900. We learn from the account of a
journey made by Schenk in Holland and Belgium in 1900, and
published in the " Kinderfehler," of the auxiliary school system
in these countries. He explains to the reader how actively, especially
on the part of physicians, they are meeting the educational needs of
their abnormal children.
Similar things can be said of England. Here the auxiliary school
system has been developed almost exactly according to the German
model. A so-called " permissive act " of the year 1899 puts the matter
in the hands of communities, who at their pleasure do or do not adopt
the statutory regulations for auxiliary school instruction. The adop-
tion of the provisions of the law makes it binding upon a city " to
place the auxiliar}^ schools founded by it under the supervision of
State authorities, but it thereby obtains a share in State aid, paid
according to the report of the inspector." One of the most important
provisions of the law is the rule for compulsory school attendance up
to the sixteenth year of age.^ The English auxiliary schools have
from one to three classes; women teachers give instruction in them.
The first school for the instruction of subnormally endowed children
was opened in London in the year 1892. Their number so increased
that in 1903 there were 60 schools with 3,063 pupils. Nevertheless
this number is not considered at all adequate ; for within a short time
almost as many more schools will be established, so that more than
5,000 children w^ill be enrolled. But London, w^ith perhaps 9,000 or
10,000 defective children to care for, is not alone in taking advantage
of the permissive act ; a great number of cities are following the lead
set by the capital city in the care of mental defectives, and in the j^ear
1903 at Manchester an auxiliary school association w^as formed after
the German type, to whose work belongs also the care of physically
defective children.
A plan for auxiliary schools in the United States was formulated
about the same time that one was in England. Up to the year 1894,
mentally backward children in the regular public school classes were
treated just as children spoiled by neglect. Both classes were sent
to so-called disciplinary schools. But when the character of minor
oThe legal requirements for schools for defective and epileptic children in
England provide that "no child may be admitted at less than 7 years of age, or
retained after reaching the age of IG." This is permissive rather than compul-
sory education in our sense of the term. — Translatob.
22 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
mental abnormalities was made known, at least to some degree,
through investigations in child study, public and private classes were
established for backward children in connection with the regular
public schools. There were in the United States last year, according
to private information, 27 State and 28 private schools of this nature.
According to the official advance sheets [of the Report of the Com-
missioner of Education] from Washington, there were, in 1903, 20
State schools with 277 teachers and 12,079 pupils enrolled, and 12
private institutions, with 62 teachers and 495 pupils. The great
majority of the pupils are put into schools of three classes, each of
which is limited to 15 pupils. The teachers are, for the most part,
women; for among the 277 teachers in the State schools there are
only 61 men. The superintendents of these schools are in the main
physicians and make annual reports to the Commissioner of Educa-
tion at Washington. In these reports, which are published in advance
sheets, the reader may find many valuable observations and much
practical information.
Finally, it should be mentioned that news has reached us from
Australia of an auxiliary school movement there. According to
private information, special classes have existed in Sydney and Mel-
bourne for several years.
The foregoing review of the widening movement for auxiliary
schools makes it clear that the idea has taken firm hold, not as the
" work of individual Hotspurs," but much more as a world-wide
call to duty of all those circles to which the culture of mankind makes
special and genuine appeal. Many a different conception with
respect to the tasks and their performance exists. Still, there is
much unanimity in those countries w^e have mentioned. The greater
cities, often the capitals of smaller or greater States, with their
industrial population, form the point of attack and the place for
the development of auxiliary schools. Now and then a private sani-
tarium which has the care of the abnormal children of well-to-do
parents becomes the pattern for school arrangements for the poorest
classes. The tendency ever^^where is to organize the single classes
into schools, either in connection with the public schools or in com-
plete independence. Often these newest forms of schools are in-
cluded in the highest school administration of the land in order to
guarantee a uniform development. The desire for uniformity pre-
vails over all, but not to such an extent as to crush individual differ-
ences, provided they are traditionally or scientifically grounded.
This freedom extends itself to the purposes, to the methods of
organization, to the colaborers, and not least of all, to the measures
employed. Indeed, the views concerning the children who are to
attend are willingly granted the widest scope. Hence, the weak-
minded pupils are not always clearly distinguished from the meagerly
REASONS FOR THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. 23
endowed. The consequence of this vague distinction is usually the
prevalence of idiotic children in the auxiliary schools and the repres-
sion of a rational didactic method in favor of a medico-pedagogical
method. In Germany, the native land of institutions for meagerly
endowed pupils, we hold firmly, and as I believe, rightly so, to the
didactic principle, and preserve the character of a school, and yet
with all due regard to the results of medical investigations. Expe-
rience teaches that the school administrations of different countries^
follow the example set by Germany and acknowledge her laudable
guidance in the auxiliary school movement.
II.— REASONS FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AUXIL-
IARY SCHOOLS.
Before the movement began which has just been mentioned it was
the task of the folk school to take charge of and advance all pupils,
even those who from the first were incapable of advancement. It
was taken as a matter of course, unworthy of special thought, that
that institution of learning which gave to the children the minimum
amount of that knowledge which a child of the lowest classes must
have, should also take care of such pupils as could not keep pace at all
with their fellows. Perhaps this matter-of-course attitude was, on the
one hand, the expression of a certain helplessness in the face of many
inexplicable psychical phenomena of childhood, but, on the other
hand, it was the manifestation of an opinion which even yet is not
entirely suppressed, that the folk school must not form too compre-
hensive ideas of the minimum of elementary education ; it must not
advance too quickly in the mastering of the subjects of instruction
and disregard the average endowment of the pupils ; so it will do no
harm if it is checked in its upward striving by some proper ballast.
Finally, the schoolman has also contributed his share that no segre-
gation in the folk school should be made. Impressed by the omnipo-
tence of the catechetical art of instruction and by the marvelous
power of discipline in the school, he would gladly believe that he
could always successfully influence in their intellectual development
all the pupils intrusted to him.
For these ideas suggested — ideas which nowadays may seem exag-
gerated — we can find, however, a real background when we think of
the school conditions of the not very distant past. We need only to
carry our thoughts back to the public school conditions under which
we lived in the seventies, and even in the eighties, of the last century.
The teacher of the primary class in the folk school has seventy or
more pupils assigned to him. Their parents do not consider it neces-
24 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
sary to give him any helpful information regarding certain peculiari-
ties of their little ones. For the most part they are happy to know
the little tormentors are in more or less capable hands. Now begins
the teacher's hard work. As far as he can, he tries to be of equal serv-
ice to all the children of his class, both as regards development and
instruction. As the teacher of a lower class is generally a beginner
in his art, a long time passes before his eyes are opened to the con-
duct of some of his pupils. In the normal school, to be sure, he was
told not to treat all children alike ; yet as a normal school student he
carried away the cheerful impression into his practical work that
instruction possessing logical sequence and clearness of thought and
consistent and inexorable discipline can be simply all-powerful in
the expansion and unfolding of little — ^yes, even the smallest — minds.
Soon, however, difficulties arose in his honest effort to satisfy
the demands of the prescribed course of study. Not only were there
children in the class who failed entirely to comprehend or repeat
the work, but gradually he found children from whom he could
not draw a single word. Other pupils, again, could not submit to
his discipline, and by their restlessness brought the whole class
into disorder. As a true follower of Pestalozzi, the teacher gave
himself up to these pupils, who were so much below the desired
average of the class, and tried to induce them to cooperate in the
class work; but even when his demands on them were but small,
his indulgence and patience were not rewarded in the least. Then
he lost his patience occasionally and became a stern judge of every
misbehavior and failure to do the work.
These judging scenes in the class, which came oftener and oftener,
and were a continual source of excitement and annoyance for the
teacher, afforded also a series of deep sorrows for the pupils in
question. They do not understand why the teacher is so strict
with them. They only feel that their comrades are not only indif-
ferent to their troubles, but even like to make fun of them. As a
result their sensitive natures harden and their weakened minds
are more and more stunted. Indifferently they sit there during
lessons, filled with the eager desire to stay far away from school.
If up to this time the teacher lost patience only now and again,
as he tried to benefit these pupils who hindered his progress so
greatly, now his whole interest in them disappears once for all.
Next he takes care that the pupils who sit near them are removed
from the sphere of their unwholesome influence. Then he leaves
them to themselves, and thus makes them entirely passive listeners.
But now comes the time for promotions. How happy the teacher
is to take his capable pupils on to the higher class and leave behind
those who only annoyed him. With the recommendation " irre-
claimable dregs" and "troublesome ballast," they are handed over
EEASONS i^OR THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. 25
to his successor, and a new year of troubles begins for pupils and
teacher. Indeed, shall the pupils who possibly even in the second
year do not reach the class standard continually remain in this one
class? The view that the perpetual sameness of the subjects must at
last deaden even the little intellect left leads to the final decision
that at least the oldest members of the " dregs," on account of their
age, should be allowed to go on to a higher class. It is thought that
the stimulus of new subjects may arouse new life in those minds
which gradually have become indifferent. Unfortunately the result
does not come up to the expectation. The scholars marked out in
their class by the difference of age must put up with much rudeness
from their fellows, and possibly often hear from the teacher himself
that nothing in the world can be done with them. So it is no wonder
if all self-respect finally dies out; they have no more confidence in
themselves, and are still more in the way in the school.
With each succeeding year the teacher wishes more earnestly to get
rid of those pupils who so entirely mar the favorable impression
which his class might make, but ever and again must he suppress
his desire; for only two possible ways are open to the folk school
to rid itself of burdensome and absolutely incapable pupils. In one
case it is the reformatory school, which opens its doors, however, only
to incorrigible vagabonds ; in the other, an institution for ^idijpts
can take in a child which is a common danger on account of its
entire helplessness or its imbecility. Whoever has tried to bring
either proposal before the authorities knows how hard it is to place
a child in either one of these institutions.
Taking for granted, then, that among the unpromoted pupils, who
in the course of time are pushed into the middle classes, only a very
small number are fit subjects for the above-mentioned institutions,
what is to become of the others, who are more numerous and whom
the folk school dare not and can not""shut out ? Since it has no right
to expel a child on account of lack of natural endowment, the arrival
of confirmation time must be awaited, when his dismissal from school
will be authorized.
Now, just imagine eight such lost years — years of unsatisfactory
work and annoyance for the teacher; years of handicapping and mis-
leading for the pupil of average ability, and, finally, years of stunting
of body and soul for the mentally deficient. Should not a change
have taken place early in order to prevent all the annoyance, all the
disappointments, and all the bodily as well as spiritual harm, for the
latter especially will stand in the way of the neglected pupil as he goes
out into life ?
And is it an honor for the honest work of the folk school when
pupils who have been confirmed in church are dismissed from its
lower and middle classes ? You will answer, " If nowadays such
26 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
things should happen in the folk school the inspectors of the city
school administration have probably not been able to effect what
proper earlier help would surely have brought about. They should
have proceeded as follows : The manufacturing places, which are here
specially in question, should build public schoolhouses for a small
number of classes in districts of equal size, in order to prevent free
wandering from school to school among the pupils; the number of
pupils in the classes should be lowered from 70 to 50 at the highest ;
the school principals are to be told to dispense with all unnecessary
material in the curriculum ; the educative influence of the personality
of a good teacher is not to be broken up or lost by a yearly change, or
even by departmental teaching in the different classes."
Any public school teacher or principal who has watched the rapid
growth of an industrial town will have to recognize the great
demands on the unselfishness of the city authorities and the best
insight of the city school directors into that which is for the good of
the school. What inspectors, school administrators, and argument
could do at the time has been done in the city communities. And yet
the goal is not reached, namely, that each year all the pupils should
be advanced equally, relatively speaking, in their education.
In a German educational paper of October 9, 1904 (Die Allge-
meine Deutsche Lehrerzeitung) , Mr. Wagner quotes a notice from the
Christian World, of Vienna, which may serve here as proof of this:
" Just visit once the folk schools in the so-called workingmens' dis-
tricts, in Favoriten and Ottakring, and see how many children of the
first or second class of the folk school have almost completed the
time of their compulsory attendance. Regarding how many children
is it written in the register : ' Promoted to next class only on account
of his age and size ! ' How many children leave school without
having mastered even the elements of reading and writing ! "
Mr. Wagner gives another similar statement from a daily news-
paper, which pictures the conditions in London. It is as follows :
Judge (to a 15-year-old boy who is physically extraordinarily well developed) :
*' Why don't you work? " Boy : " I can't." Mother : " He will be 15 this year
and can leave school." Judge to boy: "In which class were you?" Boy: "In
the first" (which corresponds to our lowest). Judge: "But that is the infant
class. Say, my boy, how many weeks are there in a year?" Boy: "I don't
know." Judge: "Did no one ever tell you?" Boy: "No." Judge: "How
many days are there in a week ? " Boy : " I don't know." Mother : " In cer-
tain lines he is not very talented, but in others he is just that much cleverer.
Yesterday morning he took a shilling out of his brother's pocket and spent two
hours eating and drinking in the public house. He won't work ; he only wants
to eat and drink."
Even if nowadays in Germany children are no longer sent out into
life from the lowest class, there are unfortunately still enough who
I
REASONS FOR THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. 27
leave with the very imperfect education of the third school grade,
having remained as the dregs of the school for eight years.
An analysis of the " dregs " which never advance properly in the
school would give lis perhaps the following groups of pupils :
1. Children who have difficulties of speech, are weak sighted, hard
of hearing, or epileptic. Some years there will be strikingly few of
these, others again, more. How they can hinder the teacher's work
ought to be well enough known. And yet even these pupils havB^ a
right to harmonious development in the school. For them, therefore,
a modern hygienic or curative pedagogy would make special pro-
vision in the form of courses for correcting their speech, or form
special classes for those hard of hearing, the weak sighted, and the
epileptic. This kind of separate treatment can really show great
results, but, unfortunately, in many a community the establishment
of such special classes is a wish which for many reasons can not be
realized.
2. Probably the pupils who have constantly lagged behind in the
lower classes of the folk school have healthy organs of sense and
speech, but they are not in a position to properly work over the
stimuli of the outer world into higher psychical products. Besides
this, many a time this working over process goes on so slowly that a
continuous forcing to strained attention, an endless drill in the folk
school class, really harm such a child. But would it therefore be
justifiable to take away from him all the influence of proper school
training ?
Decades passed in the folk school before the view became general,
first, that there can really be children who, as a result of their
abnormal psychical powers, prove the powerlessness of all didactic
art, and then that their condition should be the cause of the establish-
ment of a school specially adapted to their needs.^ Next, critical
observers among practical schoolmen awakened wider interest in
the various types established by such observations. Then the re-
search work of the exact psychologist and the psychiatrist began,
always helped on by the individual observer, and gradually developed
a more general insight into the abnormal development of the child,
a development which demands special treatment at home and in
school.
The presentation of the preceding course of development in the
matter of auxiliary schools has been able to show considerable una-
nimity in this insight. As far as I know, only one expression of the
other side of the question has been made public. J. H. Witte ascribes
the establishment of auxiliary schools to the influence of an almost
obtrusive activity on the part of certain hot-heads and their clever
scheming. That is a startling statement. However, Witte really
does not wish to startle. He gives reasons for his assertion. He
^8 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
thinks that the auxiliary schools withdraw the mentally deficient
pupils from the helpful influence of the more gifted, and that the
effort to benefit a class made up only of the deficients can never be
successful. Eather let the disobedient pupils be put in among the
obedient, one-third weak-minded pupils among two-thirds strong.
This old school recipe is certainly often applied by individualizing
teachers when they are dealing with pupils who are often inattentive,
frivolous at times, and now and then indolent. If, however, even
with the very best intentions, the pupil can not be attentive at all, if
he is continually forced by bodily deficiencies to remain mentally
indolent, if, further, his moral balance remains unsteady on account
of many illnesses, is it not better to bring about a separation as soon
as possible? The so-called better environment in the class can never
spur him on to anything better. To see oneself surpassed by those
about one embitters the mind, and this, during and after the gloomy
school days, may hasten on all kinds of moral defects, often to the
detriment of human society.
How different, on the other hand, is the mental attitude of a child
trained in an auxiliary class ! He is enlivened, stimulated, his whole
emotional attitude is changed. Now he soon notices that he makes
a certain progress with other fellow-pupils, that the teacher is con-
cerned with him as with all the others; now he is also withdrawn
from the scorn of his classmates, because the teacher's harsh words
and corporal punishment have been changed into kindly treatment.
•Besides, the instruction is now suited to his mental horizon, to his
field of view, so that rays of increasing enlightenment sometimes fall
into the gloomy twilight of his mind. Of course this mental progress
will not be seen at once. Time is needed for him to accustom himself
to new conditions, for a weakened or abnormal mind needs a longer
time and often, too, more powerful supports than a normal one.
But time will, finally, with the aid of the inspiriting consciousness of
being able to do something, make firm the unstable moral balance, so
that it is a real philanthropic duty to separate the mentally weak
pupils from tKe'mentally sti^ong. And when Witte calls '' the coup-
ling together of the weak • with the weak " a measure of superior
strength imposed upon burdensome weakness, he is overlooking the
fact that a child gets along best in that circle whose members are
nearest to his own mental condition. Thus, pedagogy makes no
confession of failure in speaking of separating the dull pupils from
the more gifted and placing them in a special class or school.
Witte advances further an objection of a hygienic nature against
the establishment of an auxiliary school. " The weak-minded, being
sickly and physically incapable of resisting disease, naturally become
sources of epidemics." But this contention is also unsound. To begin
with, at the suggestion of the State authorities, every auxiliary school
REASONS FOB THEIR ESTABLISHMENT. 29
in Prussia is under constant medical supervision ; in the next place, the
teachers are gradually so taught by practical experience that they are
finally able, working hand in hand with the physicians, to avoid the
spread of diseases ; moreover, whoever has observed health conditions
among auxiliary school pupils for a number of years, can prove that
they are attacked by children's diseases much less than folk school
pupils. The reason for this lies in the fact that these pupils have
already had nearly all the infectious diseases before coming to the
auxiliary school, and are now suffering from the results of these.
So these special classes can not very well be the points of departure
and the sources of epidemic diseases.
Finally, Witte is not afraid to accuse the champions of the auxil-
iary schools of materialistic tendencies. According to him, " they
fall for the most part victims to the superficial advocates of scien-
tific medical theories which are still unproved, and of the so-called
experimental psychology, according to which it is alleged that the
mental life is entirely dependent upon the physical, the spiritual
existence upon the bodily — a view which is as sad as it is false."
This is not the place to discuss the well-known " ignoramus," the
sad avowal that the investigator may be able to recognize individ-
ual expressions and workings of the spiritual life, and occasionally
to prove as well their dependence upon physical conditions, but that
it will always be impossible for him to arrive at a clear idea of the
unity of the mental and the physical. The practical schoolman
knows very well this limitation, and of course does not fall into a
materialistic channel when he asserts : " This child shows certain
mental peculiarities as a result of disease, which he either inherited
or contracted after birth, and does not make progress in the folk
school. But he is not responsible for his weak condition. He can
not make any intellectual progress in the ordinary school because his
organism is more or less abnormal." Let it be granted that the
brain processes give no direct clew as to how the spiritual life, as such,
comes to exist, and let a divine endowment be assumed to these proc-
esses; psychiatry and experimental psychology can unfortunately
reveal plainly enough at times that this divine gift in man is so
small, and in addition is so held within bodily limits, that a disre-
gard or even a contempt for the physical may be fatal to this
endowment. This view no practical schoolman can repudiate. Yet
he by no means needs to confess himself a disciple of the so-called
" medical pedagogy," which takes most delight in proving an inner
economic activitj^ of the brain and regards the whole convex cerebral
surface as a deposit of moving memory pictures.
It must indeed be recognized, says L. Striimpell, that medical
therapeutics has placed in a clear light the dependence of a normal
development of the bodily life upon a rightly directed psychic life,
30 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
and has pointed to the manifold injuries to the body resulting from a
false pedagogical practice. But therapeutics has its limits. Above
all, it can not be the guardian of the whole realm of pedagogy ; it
must hold itself aloof from speculations which lack the basis of
experience. And experience regarding the development of the bodily
and spiritual life of the child, for example, is comparatively recent,
and demands so much deepening and broadening that purely mate-
rialistic speculations are attended with risk.
But upon such data, which we may rightly call superficial, we do
not base the necessity for the auxiliary school. Rather it will help
to understand the child with his psychical deficiencies and good qual-
ities on a basis of observation already authenticated. For this pur-
pose the teacher uses the demonstrable results of child psychology,
and works especially in the field of so-called psychopathic deficiency
in childhood. This idea, used first by Koch and later by Triiper,
marks the great intervening realm between the sickly and the healthy
mind, which is as rich in its phenomena as it is difficult to recognize.
We shall not characterize them here. It is enough to have noted
their existence, which, with all due consideration of the physical
basis, can not make apparent the dependence of the spiritual being
upon the physical. As a result, the odium of materialism can never
be attached to the champions of the auxiliary school, and the basis
for the necessity of its establishment can not be called uncertain or
superficial.
The occasion for the establishment of auxiliary schools is there-
fore given, in spite of Witte, by the real — not imaginary — existence
of pupils who can not be advanced in the folk school. These chil-
dren are perhaps not simply dull, but those who, for various reasons,
do not think, feel, and will normally, and so are incapable of follow-
ing the regular school work. For them, therefore, the common
school — the ordinary school — is not the place which can awaken or
improve their weak or abnormal psychical qualities. On. the con-
trary, the regular school, with its order and activity, will be a place
of torture for them, which suppresses still more the little good that
remains in their weakened minds, and this to the detriment of
society, members of which they will be later on. For all larger
districts, in which a number of such children are found, it is there-
fore an absolute necessity to have a class for their special aid.
B\it is the folk school the only one having pupils who, for various
reasons, can not in any w^a^ be advanced? ?> The. teachers in the mid-
dle schools, the preparatory schools, as w^ell as 'in the higher schools
for boys and girls, will certainly be able to think of individual pupils
who might far better have stayed away from these schools. In his
school investigations, Leubuscher found two mentally abnormal
among 165 pupils at the Meininger Realgymnasium. Certainly this
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. , 31
one secondary school is not distinguished from all others in this
regard. Laquer says even that the defectives among the well-to-do
classes are, comparatively speaking, not less numerous than those
from the working classes. At first glance this seems exaggerated.
But whoever knows Benda's estimates and has read Altenburg's
splendid exposition of the art of psychological observation, will have
to agree with Laquer.
Now, the secondary school has an advantage over the folk school,
and in this case it is an enviable one, namely, the privilege of dis-
missing unfit pupils. Strangely enough, it seldom uses this privi-
lege. This is the case because the school directors seldom succeed
in making w^ell-educated people of high standing in society under-
stand that their deficient children suffer much from the work which
the school must demand and from the external organization of school
life. They torture the child with private lessons, or give him over
to pedagogical bunglers, before they realize that the work of the
higher school can not be accomplished and mastered by the untal-
ented, poorly endowed children of rich parents. For such children
special schools or special institutions, as, for example, Triiper's
" Erziehungsheim," are more appropriate than the regular school.
III.— ADMISSION PEOCEDURE.
We have previously shown that, to the detriment of the school,
children are frequently kept behind, some in the first year, others in
the second or third year, who might better be placed in an auxiliary
class or school. We have now these questions to answer: When is
the proper time to remove these children from the school, and how
can we be at all sure that no pupil is unjustly placed in the auxiliary
school ?
In the development of our pupils, which is often spasmodic and
sometimes very one-sided, it may happen that the teacher of the reg-
ular school, allowing himself to be guided by the mood of the mo-
ment, may without reflection deny that this or that pupil has any
talent whatever, and declare him a fit candidate for the auxiliary
school. Or it can easil}^ happen that by his unfortunate home condi-
tions, his being overburdened with manual labor outside of school
hours, and by irregular attendance at school, which is perhaps a re-
sult of frequent change of residence on the part of his parents, a
child may be mentally injured to such an extent that the teacher
becomes impatient and is soon ready to propose that he be placed in a
special class. Finally, it is possible in individual cases that, owing to
repeated instances of punishment, the pupil develops a certain de-
fiance which for the time being prevents all mental progress, and the
32 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
teacher develops an aversion which keeps alive in him the desire to
bring about the removal of such elements from the school. Are the
authorities, then, to consider the proposals in all the cases mentioned ?
But the fate of the pupils must not be dependent on the moods or
prejudices of the class teacher. Therefore the school principal
should advise every teacher who makes these proposals to spend more
time in wider observation. Sometimes, especially with children in
intermediate grades, it is helpful to transfer them to another teacher.
A change of classes often has the same effect as a change of air on a
sick person. Everything must be tried in order to prevent the dis-
missal from the public school, as incapable of learning, of any child
who can to any extent be benefited there. To do this the teacher of
the regular school must be more psychologically trained than form-
erly, that he may be more an educator than an instructor." And in
truth he must have developed not only a profound understanding of
normal children and a deep interest in their treatment, but he must
also show at least a general acquaintance with the development of
the child soul, which so easily becomes abnormal. Naturally, in
thinking of the physical and mental good of the individual pupil,
the teacher must not lose sight of the whole class ; but, at least in the
case of the most conspicuous pupils in his class, he has to give valid
reasons for his proposal of separation which are based upon con-
siderable observation. In other words, the folk-school teacher, as
well as every other teacher, must be able to detect readily the signs of
mental deficiency in children.
At present there is much discussion, to be sure, regarding the
proper representation of the conception " weak-mindedness "
(Schwachsinn), and regarding the classification of its various phe-
nomena; every investigator in this field tries to find other words
when he wishes to express the idea of weak-mindedness. In the
practical conduct of the public school, however, we are not con-
cerned with scientific definitions and distinctions, but with the
gradual understanding of the deviations of a child nature from its
normal path of development. And the school, with its systematic
activity, offers abundant and undoubtedly the best opportunity for
the determination of the spiritual condition of the child.
Many a child afflicted from birth may develop at home pretty
much as other children, except perhaps more slowly, but at school
it shows very strikingly that it is not able to meet the high demands
which, for example, the first two school years make upon every child.
Either it appears to be indifferent during the lessons (apathetic), or
apparently keenly interested, but without any deep mental participa-
oThis recommendation has recently again been made by G. Wanke, in his
PsychiatrJe vmd Padagogik (Wiesbaden, Bergmann, 1905).
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. 33
tion in them (erethistic). In the one case the child gets tired very
easily, and his eyes grow dull, because he can not grasp all the con-
crete details of the material of instruction, and because the reflec-
tion necessary for the comprehension of the subject presented is
wearisome. By an examination the teacher can very clearly see the
narrow range of his knowledge, and also that his ideas are discon-
nected and lack all systematic arrangement. As a result, his memory
seems to be a mere sieve, his judgments are never decided, and his
conceptions are never fully formed. In the other case, the pupil is
apparently very much interested in the subject presented by the
teacher, is probably very attentive, but his attention is soon dis-
tracted. Any object at all which appeals to his senses can not be
overlooked by him, but must be observed carefully. Continuous at-
tention is for him an utter impossibility. Even his tendency to
motor activity prevents him from carrying out any possible resolu-
tion he may have made to be attentive. Such a pupil simply can not
sit still; in spite of all the teacher's commands he has to move his
head, hands, and feet and would like best of all to run about the
class room.
Another case may come to the notice of the observant teacher.
Sometimes a child appears apathetic only because a defect of speech
has made him silent. Perhaps during the first weeks at school he
tried to take part in the lessons, but he was made conscious of his
deficiency by the teacher's criticisms and still more by his school-
mates' teasing, and now he can not be persuaded to reveal by speech
what all his brooding means. AVhen the defects of the child's organs
of speech are easily seen, his unwillingness to speak in the presence
of others is readily explained. But a divided palate, an abnormally
developed uvula, or an abnormal tongue are not so easily discovered
as being the causes of faulty speech. And when we think how^ nu-
merous are the difficulties of speech which come under the general
heads of stammering or stuttering, or when finally we consider how
often speech, and at the same time thought, are checked by patho-
logical conditions in the air passages, we open up fields which show
the teacher how hard it is to discover all the phases of the abnormal
child mind.
A further difficulty arises, however, when the talkative child con-
fronts the one who to all appearances is dumb. Talkativeness, like
restlessness of body, may be construed as a deviation from the normal
child development. Sometimes during the lesson the child who is
afflicted with too great talkativeness answers correctly. The teacher
is then inclined to declare that this pupil, who is apparently so well
developed as far as speech is concerned, is mentally capable. But
gradually the senselessness of his talk is revealed; for the most dif-
14659—07 3
34 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
/
ferent problems he has often only the one solution, and for one ques-
^tion, the wording of which is but slightly varied, he has at least one
hundred answers ready. These last are quite without meaning and
resemble the so-called reflex actions, which must be performed with-
out the cooperation of higher mental activity.
As a solution of the difficulties which are constantly arising, it
has been thought that certain typical signs can be pointed to whereby
fit candidates for an auxiliary school, or weak-minded persons in
general, can be detected. So in various writings we find references
to external marks of abnormal child nature which are easy to recog-
nize. According to their representations, nature has given the ob-
server distinct signs by which to fathom the inner man. This view
is confirmed, too, by experience. Now and then among deficient
children w^e come across some who have very large, almost square
heads, or very small, pointed ones. Now we see skulls which are
unsymmetrical, again we meet the so-called Mongolian type, and the
frog or the bird face. Since, however, other experiences may teach
the opposite, we have recently given up the theory of the so-called
signs of degeneration. They are not to be taken as sure signs of
mental deficiency; at most they can only serve in the way of con-
firmation.
It is very clear that in the teacher's observations lack of intelligence
will play a great part. But it is not the only standard by which to
judge abnormal psychical development in a child. Generally, in
addition to mental deficiencies there is a social and ethical defect,
and perhaps also a defect on the side of the emotions. The abnormal
child is not only mentally restricted, he is perverse in morals, hostile
to society, and either rough and coarse or all too gentle. He violates
the laws of good manners in every possible way, likes to do those
things which most children hate, and sometimes gives himself up to
those sexual errors which finally influence his health. Not until urged
will he take part in play with children of his own age; he would
rather brood in corners than play of his ow^n free will. And if he
does stay with his playmates he often gets into a passion ; either he
is irritable or a nuisance on account of over- sensitiveness. In these
abnormal pupils the teacher may also discover a tendency to damage
things, and if circumstances are favorable this may turn to the tor-
menting of animals and of human beings. They like to seize and
destroy what others cherish, and show malicious joy at the pain of
animals or the sufferings of their fellows. Further, the abnormal
pupil sometimes causes his parents and the whole school much anxiety
by wandering off; often without cause, often from fear of punish-
ment, he leaves the neighborhood, roams about in districts unfamiliar
to him, and passes the night in the most unheard-of places. After
some time he returns in a most deplorable condition and is usually
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. 35
unable to give any reason for his wanderings. If all these deeds and
improprieties of which this child is guilty are followed by warnings
and punishments, the teacher soon sees the uselessness of trying to
influence him. Neither words nor blows have any educative result;
even enticements and rewards fail.
But in thus characterizing the ethical and emotional defects, we
must not neglect to consider the extent of their connection with the
mental defects — for how many children, especially boys at the " awk-
ward age " and even girls in the years of development, deviate from
the normal in the development of their emotions and their will, and
yet are not subjects for an auxiliary school. For this deviation,
however, they are not always to blame; faulty training, unfortunate
home conditions, and unsuitable surroundings in general, often bring
about the child's demoralization rather than any pathological con-
dition. Moral defects in themselves, therefore, must not be taken
to indicate pathological conditions. Neglected children, as such,
do not then belong in the auxiliary school, or it would soon take the
form of an institution for the care and reformation of children, with
continually changing classes, while it should be, on the contrary, a
school tending to become, so to speak, a pedagogical sanitarium.
In the foregoing we have merely suggested the teacher's difficulty
in furnishing convincing evidence regarding the deficiencies and
peculiarities in the whole being of a pupil whom he contemplates
transferring from the folk school to an auxiliary school. Many
phenomena and manifestations seem to the teacher to be infallible
proofs of abnormality, while other observations cause him to hesitate.
And so, many a pupil becomes a psychological puzzle to him; but
should he continue to be so? The teacher must seek the solution
of this puzzle, and that by finding out the particulars of the develop-
ment of the pupil in question before he entered the school. Perhaps
the home may furnish the teacher a sufficient explanation of the
child's strange conduct.
To gain this end he may take one of tw^o ways. Either the mother
is asked to come to the school and give an explanation, or the
teacher seeks out the pupil in the parent's home. The first way is of
course the easier, but also the less satisfactory ; for it isn't everyone's
disposition to enter the house of the poorest of the poor. Even if the
visitor does not become a real martyr to this worthy cause, it requires
at any rate great self-command to call, possibly at houses of ill-
repute, and converse with people who are often coarse and vulgar.
For these reasons it is very doubtful whether a woman teacher can
or will decide to take this means. And yet the teacher must find out
definitely all about the pupil if he wishes to have valid grounds
for his proposal to place the child in an auxiliary school. But if you
depend upon the information given by the mother in the school, you
36 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
have by no means any guaranty of its truth. For at first we scarcely
realize how poverty, which often rules most cruelly in the families of
the candidates for the auxiliary school, causes them to deceive and lie,
and also how a certain pride and shame easily lead to false state-
ments. If therefore visits to the home are impossible, and the
mother's reports do not seem trustworthy, other sources must be
sought. The sisters of charity, the overseers of the poor, and the
information bureaus of the city poor and of the police administra-
tion must be called on for aid. The testimony of several trustworthy
and experienced persons can to some extent help to complete the
teacher's own judgments.
But compliance w ith this demand must always be upheld, namely :
the teacher must judge for himself, and confirm by visits to the home,
under what conditions the proposed auxiliary school pupil lives, what
diseases he has had to combat, and what bodily injuries have influ-
enced his abnormal development. In many cases the teacher's visits
to the parent's home will confirm w^hat he already suspected ; in other
cases he will discover entirely new signs, in the fateful stamp which
has influenced the course of the pupil's childhood before his school
days.
Kealizing that it is exceptionally hard for a folk school teacher to
follow all the paths leading to adequate research regarding child-
nature, and definitely to answer the question, " What must we do in
order to avoid unjustly transferring a pupil to the auxiliary school?"
question sheets, observation blanks, forms of proposal, and admission
blanks, have been prepared. They are to guide the teacher in his com-
prehensive study of the candidates for the auxiliary school. These
question sheets are very variously arranged ; almost every school uses
a different one. The explanation of this diversity may lie not only
in the individual opinions of the author, but also in the guiding prin-
ciple. The question is, " Shall the doctor or the teacher plan such a
sheet?" The physician, as is easily seen, will naturally consider some
questions pertinent which the school man will not. As proof of this,
some typical sheets are here given.
A. — Plan of the question sheet used at Frankfort on the Main.
Easter, 19__.
Residence
Date of birth
Pupil, No. of class in school year.
Parents Vocation
Home relations (name of guardian, if any)
Number of the mother's miscarriages Number of children
Birth: Legitimate or illegitimate
Inherited taint (diseases of the parents)
Mental disorders — lung troubles — dipsomania— crime — suicide — syphilis
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. 37
Brothers and sisters: Whether weak-minded, silly, epileptic, etc
Previous illnesses: Especially convulsions, paralysis, St. Vitus's dance, rickets,
bladder trouble, fainting spells, etc
Defective senses: Cross-eyed — blind — deaf — lame — difficulties of speech, etc.
Spiritual qualities : False — thievish — shy ^— restless — irritable — unsociable —
dull — tearful, etc
Opinions of teachers regarding industry, progress, formation of ideas (ideas of
number), reading, writing, etc
Was the child in any previous year recommended to the auxiliary school?
Other remarks
Rector School physician
-List of candidates proposed for the auxiliary school at Frankfort on the
Main, also the personal sheet of the auxiliary school.
Name in full
Date and place of birth .
Religion
Son 1
Daughter, f^^* ^^^^^^ ^^ father or guardian)
Residence , street , story
Is house in front or rear of lot?
Pupil of school, member of class, since.
Previously year__ in
Recommended to the auxiliary school (date)
Recommendation repeated?
Date of entrance to auxiliary school in class.
Date of dismissal from the auxiliary school
Cause
Chosen occupation
INFORMATION REGARDING PARENTS, CONDITION OF THE CHILD WHILE ATTENDING THE
REGULAR SCHOOL^ AT THE TIME OF HIS ENTRANCE TO THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL, AND
WHILE IN ATTENDANCE AT THIS SCHOOL FROM THE FIRST TO SIXTH YEAR.
1. Information regarding parents :
Birth, legitimate or illegitimate
Is father still living? Age at death
Is mother still living? Age at death
Cause of death
2. Regarding brothers and sisters:
Are they feebly endowed? Pupils of the auxiliary school? Epileptic?
Idiotic? Blind? Deaf?
Number of brothers and sisters living Ages
Number of brothers and sisters dead Ages at death
Cause of death
Number of miscarriages of the mother__
3. Home conditions: Poverty, poor dwelling, broken family life, incompetency
of father or mother to gain a livelihood
4. Inherited tendencies: Lung troubles, dipsomania, mental disorders, crime,
intermarriage of relatives, suicide
38 THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GEKMANY.
5. Diseases which the candidate has had: Measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria,
whooping cough, meningitis, rheumatism, paralysis, convulsions, St.
Vitus's dance, fainting spells, bladder troubles, rickets, severe head
wounds, accidents
6. Development : Learned to talk at years of age ; learned to walk at
years of age.
7. Diseases from which he still suffers: Headache, cough, indigestion, swell-
ing of the glands, cutaneous eruptions, bed wetting, convulsions
8. Hearing: Hard of hearing, festering of the ears
9. Sight: Short-sighted, weak-sighted, cross-eyed, inflammation of the eyes,
color blindness, quivering of the eyes
10. Speech organs and speech : Stuttering, stammering, lisping, malformation of
the jawbone, irregular teeth, tonsils, thick tongue
11. Respiration: Sleeps with mouth open, difficulty in breathing through nos-
trils, shortness of breath
12. Physical deformities: Lameness, curvature, rupture, shape of head, left
handed, chicken breasted ^
13. Physical conditions (see certificate of health).
14. Character and disposition : Serious, peevish, listless, sensitive, tearful, shy,
timid, cheerful, passionate, companionable, cruel (tortures animals), dis-
turbs the classes, restless, untidy, mendacious, thievish, excitable, slow,
superficial, quarrelsome
15. Mental condition :
Memory: (a) In general
(b) In particular directions (number, form, words, color,
locality
Power of thinking, attention, power of apprehension, observation, me-
chanical adaptation (poetry, melody, multiplication table), impression
made by mental effort, retention of ideas, formation of concepts (vague),
power of judgment (speed, accuracy), imagination (excitable)
16. Notes and counsel of the physician (see accompanying certificate) :
To be received in the auxiliary school
To be excused from certain subjects
17. Do the parents wish the child to enter the auxiliary school? Yes or No.
18. Result of the examination regarding his entrance into the auxiliary
school
DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD IN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL IN THE REGULAR SCHOOL IN SUM-
MER AND WINTER, IN THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL FROM THE FIRST TO SIXTH YEAR.
1. Religion: Idea, interest, knowledge and retention of passages from the
Bible, stories, songs
2. Object lessons : Knowledge of things, interest in his observations, fables
3. German:
(a) Reading: Printed and written alphabet, connecting of sounds, sylla-
bles, and words, sentence reading, reading of connected pieces, Ger-
man and Roman type, mechanical skill, intelligent reading, repro-
duction, typical mistakes in reading, tone of voice in speaking,
slurring of sounds and syllables
(b) Spelling: Tracing of letters or words, copying, analysis of words,
dictation, typical errors
4. Arithmetic : Series of numbers, how large numbers he can use, the primary
operations, mechanical skill, oral and written arithmetic, memory for num-
bers, ability to apply rules to problems
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. 39
5. Writing: Small letters or capitals, regularity of their formation
6. Singing : Hearing, sense of rhythm, memory for music, fondness for music
7. Gymnastics : Strength, power of endurance, sociability in playing
8. History : Interest in persons and events and memory for them
9. Geography : Sense of locality, fundamental principles, map reading
10. Natural history: Behavior when looking at objects, relation between struc-
ture and function r^ .
11. Drawing: Net-line and free-hand drawing, exercises in measuring with the
eye, neatness
12. Hand work: Kind, ability, interest
13. Conduct (legitimate reproofs- or punishments)
14. Industry and attention: Home work, additional occupations
15. Absences: (a) Excused _
(&) Unexcused
(c) On account of illness
C. — Question sheet of the Brussels auxiliary school.
Reasons for the examination of the child :
1. Inadequate or abnormal mental development.
2. Continual and notorious bad conduct. Inattention.
3. Three years behind in school training.
4. Serious difficulties of speech.
Documents which must accompany this form :
1. Report of child's school career.
2. Report regarding causes which led to the proposal that he be admitted.
This report must contain as detailed answers as possible to the follow-
ing questions :
(a) Are the parents in good health?
What is the state of their morals?
Do they drink?
(b) Has the child been ill?
Has he shown no imperfection in the activity of his senses (as
sight, hearing, feeling, muscle sense)?
Is he given to self-abuse?
In what branch of study has the child made greatest progress?
Is he attentive? idle? rude? bold? saucy?
Is his ill behavior continual or periodic?
Does he steal? lie? Is he boisterous?
(c) To what intellectual or educative treatment has the child been
subjected?
D. — Question sheet of the Leipzig school for mental defectives.'^
(A) 1. How many children are there in the school who are evidently weak-
minded?
2. How many children attend the school the first year and are not to be
promoted from the lowest class at Easter?
3. How many children attend school the second year even, and can not be
promoted at Easter from the lowest class?
4. How many still older children are there who are still in the lower
classes?
5. How many of the children under 2, 3, and 4 are weak-minded?
"From W. Reinke (op. clt.).
40
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
(B) In judging weak-minded children, the following points of view are the prin-
cipal ones to keep in mind:
1. Can the child distinguish right from left and make movements in accord-
ance with this distinction?
Does he know the colors?
2. What is the condition of the development of his power of speech? Can
he articulate all sounds, connect the sounds properly in words, speak
distinctly and connectedly, repeat a short sentence correctly, or does
he leave out whole words in speaking a sentence, is the order of
words in the sentence confused? Does he stammer or stutter?
3. Can he distinguish objects and representations of objects, and what
ones? Can he say something about objects which are close at hand,
follow a simple conversation, and also give information about things
which are not present?
4. What knowledge has he gained at school ? Does he know the alphabet ;
can he read words, does he know the letters of the different alphabets?
Can he write letters and words correctly from memory, or can he only
copy these mechanically, or can he not do even this correctly? How far
can he count forward? Can he also count backward, and from
what number? How many columns of figures can he add, how many
subtract? Has he any idea of multiplication and division? To what
number can he work out simple arithmetical problems in his head?:
To what number with the help of his fingers?
5. In disposition is he docile or stubborn and obstinate, good or ill natured,
quiet or lively, companionable or unsociable?
E. — Admission form of the auxiliary school at Plauen.
It is proposed that , No. of main register, pupil of
be received into the auxiliary school.
N. B. — Given name to be underlined.
school,
Date and place
of birth.
When and
where did he
enter school ?
How long has
he been in this
class?
How many times
has he failed to
be promoted?
Name and posi-
tion of father,
guardian.
Exact statement
of his last place of
residence.
Religion :
Of the father
Of the mother
Of the child
Vaccination scar
N. B. — Underline appropriate descriptive words and add anything important.
General impression : Mentally weak, very weak, imbecile. Dull, bright.
Disposition : Cheerful, tearful, changeable.
Character: Obliging, true, honest, kind, confidential, bold, eager, bashful, spite
ful, disobedient, untruthful, dishonest, unsociable, timorous, idle
impudent, inclined to vagrancy.
Interest: Is it easy or difficult to excite? Does he show it strongly, weakly
or does it vary?
Does his interest in one object last for too long, too short a time?
What line does he prefer? What does he neglect? __
Uninterested, distracted.
Apprehension : Quick, transient, uncertain, slow, vague, definite.
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. 41
Memory : Normal, weak, very weak. Intelligent, unintelligent observation.
Quick, slow in recalling ideas. Frequent confusion.
Speech: Normal, slow, rapid. Talks much, little, not at all, sensibly, unin-
telligently. Stammers, stutters.
Development: Child began to talk at years of age; to walk at years.
Movements: Gait ; arm and hand movement ; too hurried, clumsy ;
awkward, dextrous, left-handed.
Skill gained at school. (N. B. — Underline with black ink the letters he can read
in print ; in red those which he can write) : - -
1. Reading:
2. Writing : a o u e i — 1 m n r — h ch j — v f — s ss sch — a o ii — b d g — p t k —
X z — qu ng — ai au au — ei eu — y — O O A A — G Q — S Sch R N
M— V W P Z U— T J— K F— L B— H I>— D— X Y C.
3. Arithmetic:
How far can he count forward?
From what number can he count backward without leaving out a
single number?
How far can he add 1 + 1, etc.?
From what number on can he subtract 1?
What ideas of number has he?
What other operations of arithmetic has he mastered?
Parents' home:
Who looks after the child from day to day?
Has a change in bringing up taken place?
What was its nature?
What care is given to the child's body?
What to his education?
PHYSICAL.
Number of absences ; excused ; unexeused ; in how many
years of school?
Kept out of school on account of an especially long time,
namely, weeks.
The child can not follow the instruction on account of: Frequent headaches,
nausea, bowel trouble, general languor (falls asleep in class), sleeplessness,
epileptic fits, dizziness, involuntary twitching of the muscles.
Shortsighted, cross-eyed, hard of hearing, chronic inflammation of the eyes,
running from the ears (right, left), chronic nasal catarrh, swollen tonsils.
His meager ability can be traced back to: Inheritance, hard birth, a fall, fright,
illness. He has formerly suffered from : Brain disease, rachitis, eclampsia,
epileptic fits, measles, scarlet fever, diphtheria, inflammation of the lungs,
whooping cough, persistent skin eruptions.
The child is the first, last, th ; a twin.
Of brothers and sisters still living showed themselves weakly
endowed at school; not yet old enough to leave school; are behind
their classes. Of who have died were untalented;
mentally diseased. They died at the age of from
Of parents and other blood relatives are not gifted ; suffer from
tuberculosis of ; from syphilis ; from mental derangement
; from alcoholism
Summary of the above mental defects
Plauen (date)
Director Class teacher
[School stamp.]
42
THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GEKMANY.
F. — Admission blank of the auxiliary school at Halle.
No. in main register.
It is proposed tliat be received into tlie city
auxiliary school.
Born___ as legitimate child of (stm^iving.
In the care of , residence
Baptized , not baptized Vaccinated , not vaccinated
Since at school, years in the primary class, and years in
class next to the last.
Up to the present, years in the class of the j'"^^^^"^^^^*^ I school
1 primary j
under class teacher ^
Remarks of the present school principal
Opinion of the principal and the physician of the auxiliary school
Decision of the city school superintendent regarding final admission
(N. B. — Questions 1 to 8 following are to be answered after visiting the home. Ques-
tions 4 and 5 are to be answered at three different periods in the year. On completing
each series of observations, the answers are to be presented for examination to the school
principal.)
Points of view from which the observations are to be made :
1. What has been learned regarding the parents? (Conditions of life, what
care do they take of the child? No. of visits to the home )
2. What reports do the parents give regarding the child? (Illnesses, acci-
dents No. of visits )
3. What physical defects are noticeable, especially in the organs of sense
and in the movements of the muscles?
Observations.
4. Has the mental development in general been unsatisfactory ?
(a) Speech fluent or defective
(6) Participation and interest in the lessons
Weakness or unsteadiness of attention
Weakness of memory
(c) Strikingly good or bad characteristics
How does school work affect him?
5. Condition of his school work
In what subjects is he backward?
How far has he gone in arithmetic, reading, and writing?.
To last week
before sum-
mer holidays.
To Decem-
ber 1.
To Febru-
ary 1.
A comparison of these sheets brings to our notice the following
facts: Since in the first place schoolmen have to answer these
printed questions, they must be principally of a psychological and
pedagogical nature. At the same time the questions must be so
stated that they will cause repeated observations to be made, and
also so that they may be answered in the briefest possible way.
Finally, on looking them over, not only the one who has answered
them, but any reader, should be enabled to get at a glance a view of
the development of the child before his school years.
The question sheet used at Halle, which has been worked out hj
the auxiliary school staff and myself, and which has been tested for
several years, is put into the hands of the teachers of the lowest
ADMISSION PROCEDUKE. 43
classes in the primary and intermediate schools at the beginning of
each school year. Then, too, their observations must begin. If the
child does not seem normal to the teacher, data regarding him are
to be entered upon the front page. Questions 1 to 3, on the inside
page, are to be answered only after visits to the home, and 4 and 6
at three different periods; the entries are to be presented to the
school principal for examination at the close of each series of obser-
vations. Shortly before Easter the admission applications of all the
schools concerned which have been approved by the school princi-
pals are submitted to the director of the city school administration,
who in special cases seeks the opinion of the physician and the prin-
cipal of the auxiliary school, and only then delivers the final decision
regarding the admission of a child into the auxiliary school. Such
a method of procedure, though it may perhaps seem formal, com-
pels careful and repeated observation of a pupil who appears to be
abnormal, and generally it prevents his overhasty dismissal from
the regular school.
Ordinarily about 50 application forms are presented every year to
the head of the city school administration for his decision. Of these,
after consultation with the principal of the auxiliary school, gener-
ally 20' or 30 are sent back with the decision " to remain in the folk
school," or " to be proposed again next year." Forms with such
remarks are naturally not welcomed by the folk school teacher. He
must continue to put up patiently with the pupil who is such a burden
to him, and of whom the school principal, too, perhaps, wanted to
rid him.
Granted that 20 to 30 application forms come back to the different
school principals from the president of the school administration,
with the certificate of transferal to the auxiliary school, the pupils
so marked are removed from theiv respective schools at Easter, and
toward the end of March are given over to the principal of the aux-
iliary school. On the basis of the forms submitted, a preliminary
assignment of the children to the classes of the auxiliary school may
be made, so that they may find their places after the Easter holidays.
Having thus described the customary admission procedure at
Halle, we must now note the usual practice in the folk schools of
Mannheim. This practice must be mentioned here, because — as I
know from my own observation — the admission of candidates pro-
ceeds under even more difficult circumstances than at Halle.
In the year 1899 the city school superintendent of Mannheim,
Doctor Sickinger, made an attempt to classify the pupils of the folk
school according to their abilities, and to use the great number of
parallel classes of each grade in forming instruction groups having
each an individual character. As a result, in the school as a whole,
44
THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
there are different instruction routes, having different plans of studies.
In fact, three kinds of classes may be distinguished, as follows :
1. Classes for pupils capable of doing normal work, who at the
end of seven school years would be able to reach the highest class,
and who. form the advanced department having the regular eight
grades.
2. For those children who, as a result of inadequate ability, can
not be promoted to the next class, of which they would form the
" dregs " and " ballast," a special division of the school, aiming to do
simpler work, is organized.
This division of the school, with its special classes, which are also
called "repeating" or "furthering" classes, naturally does not let its
pupils advance as far as the normal pupils ; for it a special goal must
be set, when its work shall be declared finished. Therefore the last
years of these special classes are called "finishing" classes, too. In
them (in the lower grades it would still be possible for pupils to return
to the regular classes) the teacher who is inclined to make psycho-
logical observations finds abundant opportunity to individualize.
For the classes are but small (30), and "successive" instruction in the
section allows the teacher really to know his pupil and to reawaken in
him his desire for work, which may almost have disappeared. For this
purpose (i. e., successive instruction) the pupils are divided into two
sections; in one the weaker pupils are placed, in the other the
stronger ; part of their lessons are given in common, part separately.
So section A and section B receive thirteen hours' instruction in
common (3 religion -\- 7 German + 2 arithmetic + 1 singing) ; sec-
tion A has 6 J hours (4J German + 2 arithmetic) of separate instruc-
tion, and section B a similar amount. One section has a lesson the
first hour three days a week, the other section on the other three days.
The teacher of the regular school division does not transfer his pupils
to these special classes, which help individualization so much, until
he has filled out a transfer card of the following form :
FOLK
SCHOOL AT MANNHEIM SPECIAL CLASSES.
Educational progress of the child in the system of
special classes.
When?
Whither ?
School year.
Date.
School di-
vision.
Special
class.
TRANSFER CARD.
19
School year: 19.. to 19..
19
19
School division'
19 1
i9
At present in class.
Jg ""::::;;:;:;:::::
ig: t
Present teacher*
19 1
19 i
19 1 . . ..
i9::::::::::::::i:. :::::...
19
1
ADMISSION PKOCEDURE. 45
1. Personal history of the child.
Name of child
Date of birth
Place of birth
Religion
Name of father or guardian .
Position of father or guardian
Parents' residence
2. Home conditions of the child.
Are both parents still living?
Has it a stepfather, stepmother, only a father, only a mother; is it an orphan,
and under some one's care?
Is its education and care neglected?
3. Previous school attendance.
Has it attended only this school? •
Did it come from some other place? (from what school, class, and in what school
year was it?)
Was its attendance in any class irregular? (Why?)
4. The child's backwardness.
In what classes did it remain more than one year? (State briefly in what sub-
jects its work was unsatisfactory.)
5. Reason for its hackwardness.
On account of lack of talent? .
On account of lack of application?
Other causes (illness, transfer, home conditions)
(). Former diseases and accidents.
Fits? Dizziness? St. Vitus's dance? Brain troubles? Head injuries? Rickets?
Diphtheria? Measles? Scarlet fever? Whooping cough? etc
7. Physical anomalies and signs of degeneration.
Signs of paralysis? Headache? Speech? Hearing? Eyesight? Organs of
smell? Swelling of glands? Trembling and twitching of the muscles? Curva-
ture of the spine? Malformation of the limbs? Chronic diseases? etc
8. Psychical peculiarities.
Cleanly? Attentive? Good willed? Sociable? Mendacious? Thievish? Dull?
Excitable? Irritable? Sensitive? Passionate? Whimsical? Bashful?
Lazy? Imaginative? Forgetful? Superficial? Mean? etc 1—
9. Special inclinations and ahilities.
Singing? Writing? Drawing? Arithmetic? Hand work? etc
46
THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
10. Grade of school work reached.O'
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
School year
19-
19-
19—
19-
19—
19-
19-
19—
Class
Teacher
Number of pupils
Location
Industry
German
Arithmetic . . .
" The grade which the child reached in all his school work is to be entered here. This
is therefore a certificate for the past school years as well as for the future. For the
past years the entry is made at the time of the child's transfer to the special class ; for
the future, at the conclusion of the school year. Should he return to a regular class or
leave the school, a note is to be made of his leaving certificate ; if, on the contrary, he
merely changes to another special class, no entry is made to that efifect.
3. If it happens that a child in the lower " repeating " classes can
not be benefited at all because he is very meagerly endowed mentally,
he is transferred, with the cooperation of the school physician, to an
auxiliary school class, of which in the school year 1904-5 there were
four in existence, with a total of 67 children. From this small num-
ber of classes we may conclude that the Mannheim method of pro-
cedure leaves a considerable number of pupils in the repeating classes
in the regular school who at Halle, and probably in other cities, would
have been transferred to the auxiliary schools w^ithout hesitation.
The auxiliary school classes at Mannheim, therefore, are attended
by children w^ho show very inadequate mental development; and
yet we must not assert that idiots are sent there. It seems to me
that the school organization at Mannheim tends to change the whole
procedure of admission to the auxiliary school classes which up to
this time has been customary. Perhaps the Mannheim method is
the first to take into the auxiliary school only those pupils who
belong exclusively there, and the pursuance of it has the same result
as formerly in the case of institutions for idiots; for when the aux-
iliary schools were founded the institutions for idiots lost (to those
schools) a number of their inmates who were capable of being edu-
cated — those who were not the worst, not to call them " show pupils."
Now, according to the Mannheim plan, the auxiliary schools are not
to admit those pupils who, to be sure, are inferior, but whose minds,
which up to this time have been benumbed by all kinds of limita-
tions, can still be awakened by individual treatment according to
ADMISSION PROCEDURE. 47
psychological principles. Under this treatment they are still to be
helped to accomplish something in a simplified folk school. The
future will prove whether the Mannheim course of procedure will
have a lasting influence upon that which has existed up to the pres-
ent. At any rate, the question is worthy of our most careful con-
sideration, for admission to the auxiliary school can scarcely be too
carefully guarded. Just as we must avoid having children sent to
it who are suffering from a higher grade of imbecility or from idiocy,
who are blind, deaf-mutes, or morally depraved, so we must also
refuse to admit those who have been kept back only by reason of
unfavorable school conditions or on account of illness, and yet are
not to be called mentally subnormal.
Let, then, admission be according to the plan used either at Halle
or at Mannheim ; well for those children set apart if, while still at
the regular school, they did not frequently hear it said, " Oh, in the
auxiliary school, with the stupid children, you don't have to learn
anything ! ■' If the auxiliary school and its work have hitherto been
treated with scorn, if even school people regard it as a school Sibe-
ria, we can understand the disfavor with which it is viewed by the
children and their parents. Though man}^ parents have a very good
understanding of what the auxiliary school may mean for their chil-
dren, as well as for themselves, yet we can not expect parents in gen-
eral to appreciate its value. Therefore we need not be surprised if
many of them object to their children being placed in the auxiliary .
school. Parental pride, along with misunderstanding, thwarts a \
great deal of the school work. And Avhen the school raises doubts
and suspicions as to the parental darlings being altogether " sound
in their minds," and in addition to this neighbors speak now and
again of a " dunce school " or " mad school," to which they w^ouldn't
want to intrust their children, the best-intentioned counsels of school
people and physicians are of no avail; vanity and false shame pre-
vent them from seeing the matter in its true light. Therefore it is
advisable to ask the parents' consent before the children are finally
admitted to the school, for as yet they can not be forced to send
them to such a school. The stubborn opposition of some parents
makes us wish, however, that there might be laws passed which
would give over to the auxiliary school, even against the will of the
parents, such children as are known to be meagerly endowed. To
this end the fourth session of the German Auxiliary School Associa-
tion (1903) worked faithfully. Among other things, the discussion
resulted in the following declaration : " Compulsion should be used
only when parents stubbornly refuse to allow their children to enter
the auxiliary school, and can not prove that their education is being
sufficiently cared for in other ways." Of course compulsion can be
48 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
used only wheii perfectly clear and written proof can be given of the
mental deficiency of the child.
Now, this should be sufficiently proved by the question and trans-
fer sheets, when these are conscientiously filled out. If in spite of
these sheets there should still be difficulty, the authorities appealed
to must then decide on the basis of the sheets handed in to them.
To prevent further cases of this kind the authorities (for instance,
the school supervisors of the county or district) must make a special
regulation by which the following right is granted to the larger com-
munities: Upon the fulfillment of certain definite conditions their
agents may command and enforce compulsory entrance to the auxili-
ary school.
That there may be a uniform ruling in regard to this important
matter, all school directors w^ho desire a satisfactory solution of the
problem should meet together and ask the central authorities to issue
an order which shall be valid for one whole territorial division. Per-
haps the current year will bring a much-desired success to the efforts
which the president of the auxiliary school association has under-
taken to make before the authorities concerned. The admission pro-
cedure w^ould then be given a firm basis and much reflection and
painstaking on the part of the school people and physicians would
be followed by good results.
It would, however, be declaring that the popular common practice
is the only one if we were to say that any child should be admitted
to the auxiliary school only after he had remained to no purpose one
year, or even two years, in the folk school. That experience may be
valuable which teaches that the school period offers the best op-
portunity to recognize a child's normality or abnormality. But must
this long testing time be first passed in all cases before a decision
can be reached to transfer a child to the auxiliary school? Other
experience teaches that by the time a child reaches the age "of com-
pulsory school attendance a diagnosis of his abnormal development
can be made which Avill be more or less accurate. Naturally the
decision rests more in the hands of the physician than in those of the
educator. Many children show sure signs of defective mental de-
velopment very early. To send these defectives to the folk school
when a special institution is at hand for them would be doing them
a great injustice. From their first school days they belong in the
auxiliary school. If this decision is made and carried out, such an
auxiliary school pupil has a great advantage in his school life over
that one who must first endure a long martyrdom in the folk school.
For the sake of this advantage this second method of admission to
the auxiliary school must be called practicable and is to be recom-
mended.
HOME ENVIRONMENT OF THE PUPILS. 49
IV.— THE PARENTS AND THE WHOLE ENVIRONMENT
OF AUXILIARY SCHOOL PUPILS BEFORE AND DUR-
ING THE SCHOOL PERIOD.
Taking it for .granted that the newly admitted pupils remain in the
auxiliary school without interference on the part of the parents, what
work is then to be done? For the auxiliary school people the un-
ceasing work of observing the body and the soul of the new pupils
begins. But whoever would really know his pupils must first be-
come acquainted with their parents and their surroundings.
A twofold effort must be made in order to be able to understand the
parents. In the first place, the auxiliary school principal should send
to :the official information bureau of the city poor administration a
list of the new pupils, with the personal record of each as shown in
the admission blanks, with the request that from its records a state-
ment be prepared regarding the character of the parents in question.
On the whole, this confidential information may be accepted as true.
Two reports may serve as examples :
1. N. N. (dates of birth of parents find children are here given) was punished
in 1888 with two weeks' imprisonment on account of injury to the person ; in
1899 with one day imprisonment for fraud ; in 1901 with one day in confinement
for disorderly conduct; his reputation is bad. He associates with a married
woman who is living apart from her husband, from which alliance there is a
child. The child is idiotic and has been placed in the asylum at Neinstedter.
His wife has a good reputation; she has been suffering for a long time from
cancer of the breast. The child's surroundings are as bad as possible.
2. N. N. (dates of birth and vocations of parents and children are given) has
frequently been lightly punished on account of transgressions. Since 1902 he
has been in the insane asylum at Alt-Scherbitz as undoubtedly crazy. His wife
was punished in 1882 for infringement of police regulations ; otherwise she is of
good repute.
Most of the parents are in hard circumstances. In spite of this,
however, in great part they manage honestly to keep their heads
above Avater, as well as those of their often numerous children, with or
without the aid of public and private, benevolence. Others, how-
ever, and of these there is unfortunately no small number, have in
various Avays come into too close touch with the courts, or are alcohol
fiends who hate work and do not lead a model family life.
These facts ascertained, the second effort is made. The mothers or
guardians of the children are invited b}^ letter to confer with the
school principal at his office. To be sure, there are always some who
do not heed such an invitation, but the majority of the mothers
appear and also find time for conversation. This conference, at
which the class teacher is generally present too, is based on the fol-
lowing definite printed questions:
14659—07 4
50
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
O) a> ^; r S iT
o-^ 01 3 S >^
m 1^ '
' bo
0)
9 a ^ c3 e-. |»
1> '-' ?'> oS <l^ C O
! ?^
SSI a SSI'S
;,pnqo siqi JO
maiq JO aapao aqj ai ^'BqAV
•pauiBjjB aSB aqi jo
anauia^'Bis' v puB q^^ap jo
agnBO JO 'uoi^ipuoo q^iBan
25
•X9S
•9UIB^
53 ST^'^'B'O bo
H
O C O
• ^bCrt - -
g-^a
o o o
Si
.22
6
c
1
02
>.0J
o >.
!i
o
>1
X5
O u
°.2
1
a^
'bc'SW 03 03 S O O
„yS fl O ° S
j3 Oh";5 G •-S'2 fe
.^ o3 oj-M a> d -P
^"ll
Si
be •
o'^.i:
,+j
« "^
P
^b
o^O o
o
the
dis-
es
nea
bo
o
£
n
'S^
^rs
fl
iJ o o a-M^ o
- " ~ O a> ^
a >>°
ao
z; -. M ^ - a
^^aao
03 J=
a
pips-
«..|o_sbo|
+^~'^ . O)
)0 JH
o3 o 9 M a)t*H iH CD
o o 6
HOME ENVIRONMENT OF THE PUPILS. 51
Bringing together, then, the results of these two efforts, the teacher
has a working basis and may proceed to become better acquainted
with the child who is to be subjected to a pedagogical curative treat-
ment. When mothers do not respond to the friendly invitation of
the school principal this basis is built up much more slowly, and the
teacher in experimenting and feeling his way must depend upon
chance. In Halle I have had quite satisfactory results in my efforts.
And if I had on one or another occasion parents before me who re-
mained silent regarding important facts of their life and wished to
put themselves in a more favorable light, upon finding that I had got
my bearings from the official records they became more communica-
tive and made their statements correspond more closely to the truth.
As for the rest, I seldom met boldness or excessive frankness. Many
a fact regarding the home life was told with a heavy heart or merely
hinted at. Often in deep sympathy and with a certain appreciation
of the persons being questioned, I have anticipated answers. Many
of the mothers had entered a hard school of life when they married,
but they had struggled like heroes against the daily hardships of their
existence. Kepeatedly at the close of my questions I have had the
desire to help and encourage with more than words.
That the information won in these conferences through confidence
is to be treated as sacred goes without saying. I again cite two cases.**
1. Agnes N. is the stepdaughter of a turner. Her real father, a drunkard
who was often punished, died of fits. The mother married another drunlvard,
from whom she separated at the end of four years. At the time Agnes entered
the auxiliary school her stepfather was serving out in prison a four months'
sentence for attempted robbery. Before this he had often appeared in court on
account of disorderly conduct, begging, and injury to persons. The child's
mother, although as yet unpunished, is by no means irreproachable in her man-
ner of living, according to the opinion of the authorities. Her answers to my
questions, however, did not give the impression of coarseness or cynicism. She
has given birth in wedlock to five children, the first three of whom died of con-
vulsions while young. The youngest child, Agnes N., did not learn to talk and
walk till the age of four. She has had the measles and evidently has scrofula.
Convulsions, with which the child was formerly more afflicted than at present,
have left behind a twitching of the head. Her speech is also faulty.
2. Otto and Paul M., brothers. Their father, an occasional laborer, died of
tuberculosis. Of twelve children (Otto and Paul being the ninth and tenth)
the mother lost five, partly from convulsions, partly from lack of vital energy.
It is to be feared that the two youngest children, both girls, will some time have
to be sent to the auxiliary school. The birth of the two boys named was instru-
mental ; they suffered greatly while teething, also from measles. Their educa-
tion has been unusually neglected, because the mother has had to go to work
daily. One notices at once a difficulty of speech in the one boy, and of walking
in the other. Poverty, with the burden of the sickly father, has played a great
part in the abnormal mental development of the two boys,
« I acknowledge the help of the class teachers in completing the details of
these cases, which are later characterized still further.
52 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
Many other statements of parents might be cited here in detail.
You hear of marriages between near blood relations, of striking
differences of age, or of nervous diseases in the parents' relatives.
Or the mother tells of all kinds of serious accidents, or of trouble
during her period of pregnancy. Sometimes she can not give the
number of births exactly, as when there are something more than
a dozen or fifteen. It is striking how low the vital energy of such
all too numerous offspring is; and even when really and fully de-
veloped they are in many ways a prey to all kinds of developmental
and infectious diseases. In large families, where the care of the
children is faulty, falling out of bed, downstairs, or out of a carriage
often plays a fateful part. These accidents often explain clearly
the more or less abnormal development of the child. Finally, that
alcohol and syphilis leave their impression on the child mind can
be suspected rather than proven by the layman.
All of these results of examination, combined with proofs of ex-
ternal bodily failings and defects, can naturally not be established
regarding an auxiliary pupil at once. But this or that disclosure
from the record gives cause enough for the continuance of observa-
tion, in order that the proper vantage ground may be won for an
individual treatment during the auxiliary school period.
Foremost among the methods of securing the needed data are the
visits to the home, which can not be too strongly recommended,
in the first place, to the folk school teacher. These visits have
increased value when it is impossible to consult with the mother at
the school. How many questions the teacher now has on the end of
his tongue! And yet how careful he must be not to appear as a
secret-service policeman or detective. It requires a great deal of
tact to ask the right questions at the right time. But experience
soon teaches how to find out the necessary details. Among these,
the time of going to bed and getting up must be ascertained ; also
whether the child has regular nourishment and whether alcohol
plays a part in it ; further, what work the child has to do. Not less
important are the facts regarding his sleeping conditions.
All of these questions will perhaps not be needed in every family.
Experience and observation must suggest the appropriate questions
to the teacher. For example, the exceptionally languid appearance
of a pupil will lead to observations regarding his sleeping condi-
tions. The teacher's visit to the home reveals two facts: First, the
child is kept at work folding paper during the hours he is free from
school. (This is also the parent's business.) Instead, then, of re-
cuperating his energies in the fresh air, he has to sit in a damp
room and try to earn money. Secondly, the 12-year-old boy has
to share his scanty bed with a 10-year-old sister and an elder brother.
I
HEALTH CONDITIONS OF THE PUPILS. 53
The report of the observant, zealous teacher causes a general ques-
tioning in the auxiliary school regarding outside work and condi-
tions for sleeping. This questioning finally broadens out into a re-
search regarding the following conditions : Does the child sleep alone
in the bed (age and sex of his bedfellows) ? How many persons
sleep in one room? Is there an available separate bedroom? Does
he see his father before school hours? Does his mother prepare a
warm drink for him for breakfast? Is outside work done before
or after school hours? What time does he go to bed? Get up?
The resulting answers, indefinite and unreliable as some of them
always are, throw a certain light on the so-called environment of our
auxiliary school pupils fully sufficient to place the work of the aux-
iliary school teacher under the head of " home missions of a prac-
tical Christianity." But a person must- have looked into this envi-
ronment before he can begin the work in a personal and, therefore,
successful manner.
v.— HEALTH CONDITIONS OF AUXILIARY SCHOOL
PUPILS.
About the time that we are trying to find out the home conditions
of the pupils before they entered the auxiliary school, we must de-
termine also their physical development. This is carried on with the
help of the auxiliary school physician. This is not the place to dis-
cuss the necessity for a school physician. The question here is to
show the position and duties of the physician in the auxiliary school.
In Halle we were persuaded that such a physician was necessary,
although the numerous polyclinics of the university had rendered
service in many ways for years and could still do so. The work of
the auxiliary school physician, who was appointed four years ago, is
regulated by an order drawn up by me and approved by the municipal
council. It reads as follows:
THE DUTIES OF THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL PHYSICIAN IN HALLE.
1. The school physician must watch over the condition of the pupils' health
as well as the hygienic conditions in the school.
2. A physical examination of all children entering the auxiliary school is to
be made as soon as possible after their entrance, at most not later than three
weeks thereafter. This examination is to be repeated every quarter.
3. The results of the examination are entered on a printed form of health
record, which accompanies the child from class to class until he leaves the
school. If a child needs special medical treatment, a note is made to that effect
upon his record, and it is reported to the principal. This health record, vk^hen
filled out and provided with a number corresponding to the number in the
register, is placed in the principal's office, where it may be consulted by the
teachers or the physician of the auxiliary school.
54 THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
4. In addition to these periodic examinations, the school physician must make
weekly visits to the school. The teachers are to be informed of his presence
there by the principal, and must then present their observations to him, espe-
cially those which are of such a nature as to give rise to medical advice. The
hours for consultation are decided upon by the principal and the^ physician.
5. The school physician does not treat the pupils himself; on the contrary, the
parents are to be informed by printed notices, which must bear also the signa-
ture of the principal, that the child should be placed at once under the care of
a private physician or sent to a polyclinic.
6. Whenever the physician's advice has to do with the temporary exclusion of
pupils from school, or limiting their hours of study, or the assignment of special
seats to them, or a resort to curative pedagogical measures, he must arrange the
matter with the principal of the school in order to assure compliance with his
instructions.
7. At the end of every school year, the school physician, after conferring with
the principal, must present a report to the city council in which he is to give a
short resume of his medical supervision, pointing out any special cases and suc-
cessful means employed.
8. In case the school physician is prevented from visiting the school for more
than a week, the city council is to be promptly informed of the fact and a suit-
able substitute appointed. Three months' notice must be given before the con-
tract with the council can be annulled.
9. The council retains the right to change or extend these duties, with the
consent of the school board.
In accordance with this order, some time during the year all the
pupils are examined by the school physician in the presence of the
class teacher. The examination may take place in the principal's
office or in some unoccupied class room. The results of the medical
examination are entered in a specially prepared health record, which
is made use of throughout the whole school course. It is thus
arranged :
HEALTH RECORD.
For son, daughter
of .
Born (date)
Vaccinated
Vaccinated second time
In the school since , 39
EXPLANATION OF THE FORM.
Columns 1, 3, 4, 9, and 10 and the head of the sheet are to be filled in by the teacher,
the rest by the physician.
Columns 3 and 4 are to be filled in every half year, (Correct to a half centimeter and
a quarter kilogram, respectively.)
The other columns are to be filled in by the physician when the pupil enters the
school (columns 5 and 8 only when it seems specially necessary), but subsequently only
when changes in the child are noticed.
In column 2, for perfect health " good " is to be written ; if there is pronounced
tendency to disease or chronic diseases, write *' bad ; " for other conditions write
" medium."
HEALTH CONDITIONS OF THE PUPILS.
56
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Class and
year.
General
constitu-
tion.
Height
in cm.
Weight
in kg.
Chest
measure.
(a)
Breast,
abdo-
men,
(b) Spinal
column,
extremi-
ties,
(c) Skin
diseases
(para-
sites).
(a) Eyes,
keenness
of vision.
(b) Ears,
hearing.
(c) Mouth,
nose,
teeth,
speech.
Com-
ments of
the phy-
sician.
Sugges-
tions for
treat-
ment in
school.
Signs of
disease.
Commu-
nications
sent to
the par-
ents on—
Com-
ments of
the
teachers.
If a child is in such a condition of health that medical treatment
seems necessary, the principal of the school informs the parents of
the fact. The following form of notice, usually sent by mail, has
always had very satisfactory results :
By order of the city authorities an examination of your child
was made. It was found that he is suffering from For the health of
the child, as well as for the good of the school, it is very essential that
Halle, (date) , 190__.
To ,
Rector.
With very few exceptions the parents have carried out the physi-
cian's suggestions, and the children in question have been placed in
clinical institutions or under other medical treatment.
In the course of a whole school year the school physician collects a
large amount of experience of interest to him and to the public. This
experience he condenses into an official yearly report; one of these
reports has been published in a daily newspaper in Halle, and now,
with the consent of the author, I quote from it the following :
In the two lower classes of the auxiliary school there were 47 pupils from 7
to 9 years of age. Of these, 21, or about 45 per cent, were in poor health, and
only 5, or about 10 per cent, were in perfect health. The children from 11 to 14
years of age showed the proportion reversed. The same result appeared when
those children were grouped together whose bodily condition could be called
perfect. While only 2 of the 47 younger children possessed no constitutional or
organic defects, those in the last school year showed the proportion of 13 out
of 21.
An especially convincing statement regarding the physical defects
of these auxiliary school pupils is found in the following summary :
On the whole, only 57 of the 215 children who were in attendance in the
auxiliary school at Halle during the year 1901 can be said to be free from defects,
even if in our definition of perfect we do not consider trivial defects, such as
slight difficulties of speech, abnormalities or diseases of the teeth, slight nervous
troubles, etc.
In the school year 1903-4 the results showed a still smaller num-
ber. Out of 209 children only 11 boys and 15 girls were in a perfect
general condition.
56 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
Exact measuring and weighing give a clear insight into the faulty
development of the bodj^ For measuring height a simple but very
useful apparatus has been placed at the disposal of the school phy-
sician by the city authorities; it reminds one forcibly of what goes
on at a mustering of soldiers. Quickly to determine the weight of
the body a scale (upon which the child sits) with a sliding weight
is used. With this apparatus it was discovered that of 47 auxiliary
school pupils from 7 to 9 years of age 30 fell beloAV the average
height (as given by Schmid-Monnard for example) and 31 below the
average weight. Only a few reached this average and a still smaller
number exceeded it. The report for the year 1903-4 showed that
in height 19 boys out of 105 exceeded the average, 30 reached it, and
56 fell below it, while among 104 girls 9 exceeded it, 33 reached it,
and 62 fell below it. Of 105 boys 24 exceeded the average weight,
31 reached it, and 50 fell below, while of 104 girls 9 exceeded it, 45
reached it, and 50 fell below it. Similarly small numbers were noted
in connection with the chest measure.
While these data can serve only as a basis of comparison and give
hints as to a certain connection between mental and physical defi-
ciencies, the following facts are generally of direct service to the
pupil himself. The medical examination of the body and its sepa-
rate parts sometimes reveals diseases about which the parents know
nothing. Often, also, suspicions of the teacher, who in his daily in-
tercourse with the pupil can of course note any striking change, are
confirmed. In most such cases advice can then be given and often a
permanent cure effected.
It was of great consequence that in stubborn cases the school phy-
sician could be helped by other city physicians. Various specialists
were so deeply interested in the auxiliary school that they placed
their knowledge and their art at the disposal of the little patients
in the most unselfish way. How often, for example, was a busy
oculist called on for aid, and he never refused our request. As a
result of his examinations a great many of the pupils were provided
with glasses, the cost of which was borne by the city poor adminis-
tration. It was with great satisfaction that we noted decided prog-
ress in the mental development of such pupils. But an ear and nose
specialist showed his benevolent spirit, too. In how many cases are
swollen tonsils and adenoid growths connected with the pupil's lan-
guor or dullness! The researches of M. Bresgens and others have
aroused the hope that certain operations upon the tonsils and nose
will be able to awaken the slumbering mind of the child. And in
the office of the principal at Halle there is a picture which shows
types of pupils " before the operation " and " after the operation,"
in order to illustrate the surprisingly good results of such operations.
Unfortunately, however, one wish, shared by parents and teacher
alike, is not realizable — that is, that by the removal of the swollen
.HEALTH CONDITIONS OF THE PUPILS. 57
tonsils and the adenoid growths every auxiliary school pupil might
be restored to the regular school. Unless these pathological phenom-
ena exclude pathological changes or defects in the central nervous
system, we can not count on the improvement of the mental powers.
But very often, at least, such operations relieve or do away with
annoying headaches, nasal speech, or troublesome hardness of hear-
ing, as w^ell as aversion or inability to follow a definite line of work
in the school ; and so the services of the ear and nose specialist may
be of great value to the auxiliary school pupils.
Since the auxiliary school physician most frequently meets with
nerve diseases, from abnormal excitability to the most serious phases
of brain troubles, it is highly necessary that he should study
deeply and carefully all neurological sciences and strive after the
skill in diagnosis possessed by a Ziehen or an Oppenheim. On ac-
count of the recognized difficulty of accurate diagnosis and the num-
ber of forms of nervous troubles, it is very desirable for the school
physician to have the aid of a specialist in this department. At Halle
we were very fortunate in this regard. A university professor
helped the school physician in his examinations and consented to
treat children afflicted with paralysis, epilepsy, or St. Vitus's dance.
Up to this time no dentist has been definitely connected with the
school. But the children's teeth, as well as their eyes, noses, and
ears, should be carefully examined. What suprisingly bad conditions
are revealed by the scrutiny of the teeth alone ! It is well known how
important healthy teeth are for digestion as w^ejl as for speech, and
therefore it is necessarily true that the dentist, too, can find in the
auxiliary school a rich field for the exercise of his benevolence.
Whenever the services of a specialist were required by the auxil-
iary school, it was taken for granted that, above all, humanity and
mercy should spur him on to help us. But with this mercy there
must be no inconsiderate desire for research which considers the
auxiliary school solely as a rich field for scientific observation and
study.
It is easy to see that, in addition to his many-sided professional as-
sistance, the physician is in other ways a blessing to the auxiliary
school. By his friendly counsel many improper foods and wrong
ways of treating the children have been abolished from the home.
In various ways the pupils' school work can be made easier, at his
suggestion. The united efforts of principal and physician have also
repeatedly succeeded in placing in hospitals or nurseries children who
were very delicate or in need of special care, or sometimes in placing
them in better surroundings in vacation colonies, and thus making
them more capable of resisting the attacks-of diseases.
Perhaps more cities with forests in the vicinity will take up the
idea which has been put into practice most successfully at Chariot-
58 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
tenburg, viz, to give lessons in the woods, not merely to individual
pupils who need recreation, but to whole classes of the auxiliary
school a week at a time. The school physician will certainly consent
to the temporary removal of the children to the forest.
From the foregoing statements the duties of the auxiliary school
physician can easily be deduced, as well as the number of demands to
be made upon him, and his relation to the principal and the teachers.
In the main, the physician has to help and advise both the parents and
the teachers. To be sure, the latter will often be able to help the
physician by their counsel, and in saying this I have in mind not
only suspicions of diseases, but also psychological observations re-
garding the talent and mental ability of the pupils. Every prudent
physician will therefore be willing to follow any suggestion made b}^
the principal to attend teachers' meetings or class instruction in order
to test his opinions in the light of the opinions of practical school
people. In this way many a prejudice can be removed from both
sides. If from the start the auxiliary school physician takes the
position outlined by Gorke, that " the physician must continually
help and control the teacher," he is making pretensions which can
only do injury to a good cause.
Of course the authorities will intrust an auxiliary school only to
a physician who has shown an interest either in school hygiene or
child study. But it is often very hard to find an experienced physi-
cian who is willing to accept the position of auxiliary school physi-
cian ; consequently the auxiliary school physicians are mostly younger
men. Should these have had as much preparation for their calling
as the president of the German Society for School Hygiene requires
of a physician for the regular school ? Professor Griesbach's require-
ment is as follows: To be a school physician a person should know
the human body accurately and have spent considerable time in a
hygienic laboratory — should be a medical man who, on examination,
shows exceptionally thorough knowledge of the principles of hy-
giene. The school physician should also attend pedagogical lectures,
and in case he is to teach in higher schools, seminaries, Oberrealschu-
len, and Gymnasien, he must give specimen lessons, just as every
candidate for the teacher's certificate must do. "A school physician
who, besides being an able medical man, is also qualified to teach
medicine, can and will be of great service to a school in both a peda-
gogical and a medical way, and will be able to exert a very beneficial
influence over the students."
Griesbach very properly lays great stress upon the physician's
knowledge of hygiene, but the auxiliary school physician will have
to show special ability in psychology and psychiatry, too. However,
with a knowledge of pedagogy we could very well dispense, for if
it can be only superficial the physician brings upon himself, from the
CHARACTERIZATION OF PUPILS. 59
start, a kind of odium which can help him very little in his position.
Rather let the auxiliary school doctor be a physician, and a first-
class one at that. No one will question the many-sidedness of his
training or regard his duties as of secondary importance. Physician
and teaching staff in the auxiliary school at Halle have never thought
of comparing the relative values of their work. As soon as the
physician realizes that the teacher's highest aim is to better the
physical as well as the mental condition of the pupils, he will co-
operate straightway, in the attainment of this aim. The result of
this association will be that the teacher will recognize in the physician
a necessary link in the chain of common medical and pedagogical
efforts being made. And in this way, in my opinion, the duties and
position of the physician in an auxiliary school of one of our larger
cities should be conceived.
Should it, on the other hand, be necessary for the auxiliary school
physician to give advice and instruction to the school principal with
regard to length of recitations, the number and use to be made of
intermissions, the order of subjects in the daily programme, etc.?
It is to be supposed that all such hygienic requirements . are already
commonly looked after at these schools. On looking into the real
working of the school he will soon see how the matter stands. Some-
times, as an expert in school hygiene, he finds another kind of im-
portant work. Suppose a city community is short of funds. It
declares that a certain room 'is good enough to be used for the aux-
iliary classes. Now, the teacher considers this room entirely unsuit-
able for many reasons. If the physician makes a statement that he
agrees with the teacher, or if he makes a report in professional terms
to the health commissioners in case of the larger cities, for example,
his word has often more weight than that of the schoolman. In his
professional capacity he can accomplish easily what the layman could
never succeed in doing.
Therefore it is evident that if physician and teacher have set up
the good of the pupils and the more complete development of the
auxiliary school as their aim, they will easily find the direction in
which the duties of each one should lead.
VI.— THE PUPILS OF THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL AND
THEIR CHARACTERIZATION.
The teacher of the regular school, especially if he meets his pupils
only as their instructor, probably in all cases does not worry very
much about the questions: "How does the material of instruction
presented affect the pupil, and what interest does he take in his school
work? " If he would fully answer these questions, he would have to
60 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
pass upon each pupil in the class separately, or as we say, indi-
vidualize him. But to do this the teacher, to begin with, must be
psychologically minded, as Altenburg has set forth so convincingly.
The high ideals of the teacher can be all too easily shattered by the
great amount of subject-matter to be covered and the excessive size of
the classes assigned to him, and he is forced to make continual com-
promises. He soon accustoms himself to a certain routine, treats his
subjects in a most mechanical way, but is adept at showing results
which satisfy the lay authorities. As circumstajices in general make
the man, the teacher first entering upon his duties with a thousand
ideals gradually, through the force of adverse circumstances, be-
comes a mere workman, and compromises his art.
But these teachers who work in a certain rut must by all means
be kept out of the auxiliary school. It must never happen that too
many subjects or too many children shall cause the teachers to treat
all pupils alike. Here the pupil must be judged according to psycho-
logical principles by a teacher who knows these principles well, i. e.,
the growth of every individual child must be watched in the auxiliary
school, and noted down in writing, so as to give a picture or charac-
terization of him. One may think that the auxiliary school teacher
really can form a pretty good idea of a pupil when his development,
before he entered the school, has already been traced out and written
down (in the special record), and his physical peculiarities (in the
health record) and even his conduct in the regular school (in his
certificates from this school) have become known to him. And cer-
tainly we can form a fairly reliable picture of the child from all these
statements. But this picture is not the picture of an auxiliary school
pupil ; that must now be attained. As is well known, the child who
comes from the regular school does not appear the same in the aux-
iliary school as he did in the other. Further, the time spent in the
auxiliary school is long enough to justify our speaking of a develop-
ment there.
Now, what written description has been given of this development,
and how is, on the whole, the auxiliary school pupil characterized?
In Leipzig the characterization of the pupil begins and ends with
taking a photograph of the individual. This method of preserving
the external appearance of a pupil at the beginning and end of his
school course is worthy of consideration. Even yet I remember dis-
tinctly one boy who, on entering the auxiliary school at Halle, was
almost speechless and without spirit, on account of having been
neglected at home; his " anthropoid " appearance incited one at once
to take his photograph. After some years the expression of his face
had changed so much that his second photograph seemed to represent
an entirely different human being. Photography can then give a
brief but eloquent characterization of a pupil which will reveal the
developing mind.
CHARACTERIZATION OF PUPILS. 61
For a long time it was considered sufficient to characterize the pupil
by reports, and this system comes down from the time of pedagogical
compromises. In most cases the teacher summed up in brief his
judgment, until at last a figure, given half-yearly, was used to mark
the growth in the mental, moral, and religious life of the pupil.
But can figures be so used? This question has been raised often
enough before, for every time these reports are made out the inade-
quacy of figures is felt anew. But tradition is so powerful, and it
is so easy to write figures, that even the auxiliary school teacher is
loath to give them up. Nevertheless, these meaningless figures must
not be used in the auxiliary school, of all places. With this in mind,
a school register was planned at Halle which, above all, did away with
the use of arbitrary signs in valuing mental qualities, and was
designed to offer opportunities for concrete expression and a written
statement of experiences and observations. This little book accom-
panies the pupil throughout his school course and causes the teacher
to express his opinion every half year regarding the conduct, atten-
tion, and interest of the pupil and his ability to express himself
orally and in writing. Remarks regarding any striking peculiari-
ties are followed by notes regarding progress in the various branches
of study. But the longer this register is used, the more clearly we
see how inadequate it is. Can, then, an observant teacher give in
such concise form a description of a pupil, so that another person can
form an accurate mental picture of him? It is indeed a truth that
here also brevity is the soul of wit. The fewer statements of obser-
vations a personal register or individual record requires, the surer
are we that every teacher will fill in the form and answer all the
questions.
We must remember that the auxiliary school teacher is, after all,
only human. At first full of enthusiasm for a matter which seems
so important to him, he sets conscientiously to work. But if the
work becomes continuous with increasing many-sidedness and the
short intervals of time permit but little progress to be noticed, his
ardor cools and idealism becomes mechanism. Mechanical treatment
of these evaluations of child life leads to their death. Some few
plans for evaluations have been published, but for widely different
reasons none of these can be recommended. How much scribbling is
often caused by these records ! To illustrate this, let us present three
plans — those of Gorke, Klabe, and Richter:
Form for the personal records of auxiliary school pupils (hy Dr. M. Oorke).
I. PERSONAL DATA.
(To be filled in by the teacher.)
1. Surname and Christian name.
2. Age, place of birth, and religion.
3. Name and station of the father and the mother.
62 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
II. ANAMNESIS (PAST HISTORY).
(To be filled in by the teacher.)
(a) Family anamnesis:
1. Illnesses or causes of death of the parents and brothers and sisters and
the present condition of their health.
2. Nerve troubles, mental diseases, deafness and dumbness in the family
connections.
3. Are the parents blood relations?
4. Economic conditions of the family.
(&) Personal anamnesis:
1. Course of birth.
2. Nourishment (mother's breast, artificial).
3. Physical development —
(1) Tooth formation.
(2) When did the child begin to walk?
(3) Development of senses.
(4) Previous diseases, especially epilepsy and other nerve troubles.
4. Intellectual development —
(1) Wlien did he begin to talk?
(2) When were difficulties in speech first noticeable?
(3) What was their nature?
(4) When was mental abnormality first noticed?
(5) How was this shown?
(6) What is its probable cause (accident, illness, serious mistakes in
education, such as the overtaxing of body or mind, or, on the
other hand, their inactivity; penury, privation, etc.)?
(7) Were the mental anomalies permanent or transient? Were they
of a progressive or fixed character?
(8) What medical or pedagogical correctives have been employed
against these anomalies, and with what result?
5. Ethical development. Did the child show special defects, impulses, and
abnormal tendencies (lying, rage, fearfulness, appetite, laziness)?
III. PRESENT STATUS.
[To be filled in by the physician.]
1. Physical condition :
(1) General condition of the body (weight, size, appearance, complexion,
nourishment, carriage, muscles, etc.; shape of head).
(2) Sense activity : (a) Eyes, (ft) ears, (c) smell and taste, (d) sensibility
to pain and touch,
(3) Abnormal formation of separate parts of the body (divided palate,
defects of teeth, etc. ) .
(4) Observable signs of disease (scrofula, rickets, kypho-skoliosus, struma,
condition of the internal organs, nasal breathing).
(5) Are paralysis (or paresis) or contractions present?
(6) Choreic movements, twitchings.
2. Emotional and nervous nature. ^ In making examination, do you come to
• clues which indicate any defect in the emotions or the will, as excitement,
fear, restlessness, low spirits, whimsicality? Are special inclinations or
interests shown?
CHARACTERIZATION OF PUPILS.
68
Intellectual activity :
(1) Attention.
(2) How does his thought proceed (with difficulty or quickly, smoothly or
disconnectedly) ?
Speech —
(a) Does the child speak of himself in the first person?
Does he use infinitives in sp^iking?
(&) Difficulties of speech (state them clearly).
Imagination.
Memory (is there one-sided development) ?
Formation of judgments and conclusions.
Ideas of number.
Sense of form.
Sense of color.
Has he any idea of time and space?
What has he accomplished in the several school subjects?
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)
Group III is to be carried on further by the teacher as long as the
child attends the school.
Characterization of pupils (according to K. Kldhe).
1. Name in full
2. Date and place of birth
3. Religion Baptized, when?.
4. Vaccinated: First time, when?
Second time, when?
5. Name and station of parents or guardian
6. Survey of the child's school course:
When admit-
ted.
School.
Class.
Duration of at-
tendance.
Notes regarding interruption of his school
work, promotion, change of schools, etc.
A. Remarks regarding the child's development previous to entering school
B. Stage of development the child had reached when he entered the auxiliary
school :
1. Physical condition
2. Mental development
3. Frame of mind (disposition)
4. Probable causes of the psychopathic phenomena
C. Additional remarks concerning the child throughout his school course '_
(Date of such remarks )
64
THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
D. Survey of the child's interest in the school work, his knowledge and skill
Date.
Easter,
19...
Michaelmas,
19...
Easter,
19...
Michaelmas,
Religion ,
German language:
Reading material
Ability to read
Ability to write
Ability to express his thoughts orally and in
writing
Numbers:
Comprehension of numbers
Skill
History
Home geography
Nature study ,
Drawing
Writing
Singing
Gymnastics
Technical work
Domestic economy
Absences:
Excused
Unexcused
Signature of the class teacher
E. Psychological exposition of the weak points in the child's endow-
ment
F. Dismissal :
1. Time and causes
2. How far advanced in the various school branches
3. Remarks in the dismissal certificate
4. How has the school made it easier for this child to enter life?
G. Additional notes regarding the pupil after his dismissal from school
K. Richter demands the greatest degree of detail and thorough-
ness in these characterizations. In this connection he states :
For such characterizations of pupils, the following points must be observed :
1. In the case of each child, only those characteristics are to be considered
which are peculiar to him ; all the others must be left unmentioned. The main
points in his moral conduct and his progress are always to be given.
2. Observations and information regarding the home training and its possible
influence upon the school training and instruction should be entered in the
proper place, as well as regarding differences in the conduct of the children in
and out of school toward other pupils when watched and when not watched by
the teacher, and regarding other points.
3. Regarding those children who attend another class for certain branches,
accurate reports should be made at Easter to the class teacher on whatever
concerns his conduct and progress in these branches that is to be noted in the
characterization.
4. In each later characterization, only the changes and new phenomena are
to be noted which have appeared in the course of the school year, as compared
with what has already been noted.
5. The characterizations are to be expressed in language which is concise and
to the point.
Characterization forfn of K. Richter.
A. PHYSICAL CONDITION.
Irregularity in structure and function :
1. Of the body in general, in regard to :
(a) Its size, as compared with that of normal children of the same age, and
the size of its parts in relation to one another.
CHARACTERIZATION OF PUPILS. 65
(b) Its posture in sitting, standing, walking.
(c) Its diseases and defects: Syphilis, scrofula, rickets, tuberculosis, epilepsy,
anaemia, indigestion (easily nauseated, evacuation of the bowels and
bladder), abnormal condition of the skin (chapped, flabby, wrinkled,
abnormal perspiration, etc.), trembling and twitching of the muscles,
easily provoked headache, illnesses during the school year, curvature
of the spine, chicken-breasted, narrow-chestedness (breathing), club-
foot, lack of symmetry in members of the body, paralysis, defective
sexual organs (puberty, influence of coming of puberty upon the
physical and mental life), etc.
2. Of the head : Size, shape, relation between skull and face, form of skull and
face (asymmetry), facial expression (play of expression).
,3. Of the eyes : Distance from one another, inflammation, paralysis of the lids,
squinting, rolling, cataracts and spots on the eyes, changeableness and
difference in size of the pupils, short-sightedness and weakness of vision,
dull, lifeless, restless, vacant gaze, lack of ability to keep the eyes fixed
upon one object, color-blindness, etc.
4. Of the ears : Exterior (outstanding, large, abnormal rim, folds, helixes, at-
tached lobes, lack of the same), diseases, hearing.
5. Of the nose and throat regarding smelling and breathing (chronic catarrh,
adenoid growths, ozena).
G. Of the mouth :
(a) The lips (distorted, thick, hare-lip).
(b) The chin (protruding or receding, etc.).
(c) The teeth (number, condition, position).
(d) Palate, uvula, tonsils.
(e) Tongue (thick, tongue-tied, taste, etc.).
(f) Secretion of saliva (slavering).
7. Of the skin: Sensitiveness to heat, blows (as in wounds), etc.
B. FRAME OF MIND AND CHARACTER.
Peculiarities in regard to :
1. Disposition : Quiet, serious, sad, melancholy, bad-humored, peevish, sullen,
morose, indifferent, sensitive, touchy, soft-hearted, tearful, emotional, whim-
sical, callous, shy, anxious, fearful, timid, bright, gay, lively, unruly, boister-
ous, irritable.
2. The sensuous feelings and impulses :
(a) Appetite: Eats too little, refuses food, eats a great deal, greedy, loves
sweets, is dainty, chews paper, wood, finger nails, etc., eats dirt, etc.
(b) Sexual impulses: Strongly developed; self -pollution.
(c) Impulse toward activity: Lack of physical activity, fond of ease, indo-
lent, lazy, easily enervated, sleepy, taciturn, restless, lively, moves con-
vulsively, always playing and toying with things, unsteady and pre-
cipitate in movements and actions, inclined to laugh (hysterical),
talkative, boisterous.
Automatic movements (sw^ayiug of parts of the body), gliding, stag-
gering, drumming, rubbing, movement of tongue and lips, making
faces, etc.
Clumsy, awkward, unsteady, ungainly in simple movements (spread-
ing and bending the fingers, grasping, throwing, rising up), weak
muscle feeling, faulty memory for connected movements (dressing and
undressing), left or right handed.
Imitation (mechanical or deliberate).
14G59— 07— 5 •
66 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
^
(d) Over-developed impulse for collecting articles, kleptomania, pyromania
(Kokeln), destroying things, running away, 'wandering about, con-
tradicting.
3. Moral feelings:
(a) Feelings toward self: With or without self-respect and self-confidence,
proud, haughty, honorable, ambitious, vain, love of admiration, boast-
ful, without sense of honor, courageous, bold, cowardly.
(b) Feelings toward others: Conduct toward adults and children: Faithful,
excessive love ; indifferent to parents, fellows, and familiar events ;
apathetic, repellant ; grateful and willing to acknowledge the kindness
of others ; polite and obliging, thoughtful, fawning, confidential, sus-
picious, modest, obtrusive, bold, shameless, disobedient, unruly, per-
verse, stubborn, indifferent to praise and blame.
Shares others' joys and sorrows, jealous, envious, malicious, scornful,
mischief-maker, mean, revengeful.
Sociable (pupil-friendships), tendency to avoid others, good-natured,
inoffensive, fond of teasing, touchy, quarrelsome, unsociable, domineer-
ing, leads others astray, fault-finding, tattling, violent, plays underhand
tricks, rough, cruel (torments animals).
(N. B. For the sake of brevity, the opposites of the qualities have in
most cases been omitted.)
(c) Feeling for right and duty: With or without sense of right, duty, and
propriety ; conscientious, negligent, fickle, thoughtless ; shame, repent-
ance ; selfish, covetous, deceitful, thievish, generous, dogmatic, arrogant,
well or ill behaved, sly; loves truth, sincere, mendacious (from intel-
lectual or moral weakness), hypocritical; behavior in sexual relations.
4. Religious feelings: With or without religious feeling, superstitious, cant-
ing, hypocritical, etc.
5. The esthetic feelings: Lack of sense of beauty (shapes, tones, colors), love of
that which is ugly and in bad taste, pleasure in rough talk, preference for
indecent language; love of order and cleanliness with respect to his own
body, clothes, school things, surroundings ; promptness.
6. Intellectual feelings: Pleasure in success, displeasure in failure, uncer-
tainty (doubt) regarding the accuracy of his own accomplishments, self-
satisfied, self-complacent, overestimating his own knowledge and ability,
easily surprised, curious, inquisitive.
With or without spontaneous, energetic impulse, indifferent, without
energy and weak of will, dependent upon the impressions of the moment,
easily managed and influenced, credulous and easily misled, soon wearied,
inconstant and fickle in desires, reluctant, lazy, fond of work, industrious,
docile.
C. INTELLECTUAL STATUS.
Special characteristics in regard to:
3 . Mental capacity in general :
(a) Incapable of training; is he nearer this or the normal?
(b) Symmetry in the development of the main faculties of the mind (mem-
ory, powers of thought) ; irregularity, special weakness or strength of
the one or the other.
(c) Time required by mental processes: Slow, mentally inert, averse to men-
tal work, lazy habits of thought, precipitate and rash, flighty, thought-
less.
OHABACTEBIZATION OF PUPILS. 67
2. Attentiveness during mental activity; voluntary and involuntary attention:
Attentive, inattentive, keenly observant, indifferent, persistent, soon
wearied, consistent, inconstant, easily distracted, jumping from one thing
to another, digressive, absent-minded, heedless, only attentive when recalled
frequently to the subject.
Interest in the work in general or in particular studies.
3. Particular mental powers:
(a) Conduct on receiving new impressions and sensations; receptivity, quick-
ness and power of apprehension ; difficult or easy, slow, quick, incom-
plete and inaccurate, complete and clear. Superficial in perception and
observation. Differences in the various senses. One-sided preference
for certain signs.
More or less weak or defective excitability and improvement of old
impressions by grasping something new; difficulty of understanding
and comprehending sense perceptions or language.
(b) Power to assimilate, retain, and recall (memory) : Hard or easy, more
or less complete assimilation of maxims, verses, poems, multiplication
table, and such mechanical material, or impression of that gained by
work in the several branches of study.
Shorter or longer retention of sense perceptions and images. For-
getfulness.
Many-sidedness of observation; strong or defective memory for
names, words, numbers, symbols (letters, figures), colors, places, tones,
successions of objects, connected movements, etc. Mental horizon ac-
cording to its extent, kind, and form.
Quicker or slower recollection ; faithfulness of reproduction without
omissions, inversions, confusion, additions, or the opposite.
(c) Power to work over and digest what has been acquired:
(1) In thinking: Hard and slow distinction of objects and their special
features, their resemblances, similarities, etc., and of the essential
from the nonessential. Difficult and imperfect abstraction (forma-
tion of concepts ) , does not advance beyond sense-images ; poverty of
general notions in certain directions, and in this or that department
of study ; unclear and vague ideas, confusion and intermixing of
ideas.
Accuracy, rapidity, certainty of judgments and conclusions in re-
gard to concrete and abstract things.
(2) In the activity of the imagination : Weak or easily excited imagination ;
difficulty in thinking of anything pictured, in imagining things not
present, or in placing himself in other times, in strange countries and
lands, in the frame of mind of people living under other conditions
(biblical history, compositions, etc.).
Imagination when at play (building, exercises in putting things
together, etc), in hand work (change of form and size), in drawing,
(form, color).
Fanciful (planning subterfuges, evil reports regarding others, often
quite credible).
4. Development of speech :
(a) The tone of speech as to its strength, timbre, pitch: Gentle, whispering,
loud, shrieking ; singing, monotonous, false or too much accented ; harsh,
hoarse, screeching ; sharp, squeaking, droning, restrained, nasal ; high,
deep (puberty).
68 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
(b) Pronunciation and rate of speaking: Impure tones, careless pronuncia-
tion of end-syllables, slow, long-drawn out, hesitating, jerky, stammer-
ing, stuttering (insertion of syllables and words), rapid, run together,
rattling, blundering, with the omission or repetition of syllables and
words.
(c) Organic and central defects of speech: Lisping, stammering, stuttering;
complete or partial inability to speak (only single sounds, syllables,
certain words and phrases can be spoken). Tripping on syllables.
Failure to see the connection between sense perception and the word,
letter and sound, figure and number, mental image and word ; word
deafness and word blindness. Confusion of words with each other
without noticing it (e. g., for wardrobe (Schrank), table; for table,
leg, etc.).
(d) Clearness and accuracy of speech: Clear, connected, parrot-like, defi-
cient vocabulary, inventing words, choice of expressions, use of collo-
quial expressions and dialect.
Development of feeling for language ( Sprachgef iihl ) : Difference in
ability to understand and speak the dialect and the written language.
Mistakes in the order of words, use of the infinitive in speaking, false
inflection, use of wrong tenses, prepositions, etc.
D. DEVELOPMENT IN KNOWLEDGE AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS.
Under this head will be considered the child's attitude toward the subject-
matter presented in particular branches, which is conditioned by his mental
and physical endowment. Therefore, by reference to the peculiarities given
under A, B, and C, we shall now show to what points the chief attention is to be
given in connection with the various branches of study.
1. Religious instruction: What religious conceptions, thoughts, and feelings
does he already possess? Is it easy or difficult for him to grasp religious
teachings? Interest in such instruction and understanding of it, especially
in regard to biblical material of the grade in question.
Stage of development of his thought in connection with religious mate-
rial (distinguishing, judging, and forming conclusions, especially regarding
the ethical and religious value of actions and the acquirement of ethical
and dogmatic teachings). Understanding, retention, and reproduction of
religious material. Application of the results to his own behavior.
2. Realien (subjects affording positive knowledge of things) :
(a) Object lessons: Powers to observe and describe the material presented
by nature, model, and picture. Differences in perception through the
different senses. Acquired knowledge of names, qualities, activities,
purpose, application, use, etc., of things and events in his environ-
ment.
Interest and manner of participation in a conversation. Under-
standing of a conversation regarding things present to the senses or
absent, and of those moral or religious impulses aroused by the same.
Thought and imagination in connection with the material presented.
Memory for fables connected with it, snatches of poetry, etc.
(b) Nature study : Power to see and recognize localities and objects in
nature, model, and picture. Greater or less possession of ideas gained
through his own experience or through instruction. Power of think-
ing regarding natural objects (relation between structure and function,
motive and result, cause and effect, etc.).
I
CHARACTERIZATION OF PUPILS. 69
(c) "Homeology" (Heimatkimde) and geography : Pupil's ability to observe
(what he sees when by himself and what takes place in class ram-
bles) ; activity of the memory and ability to transport himself (in
imagination) into districts previously seen (sense of locality). Skill
in transferring his ideas to a map. Skill in finding places on it and
interpreting it. Transferal of fundamental geographical ideas in
" homeology " to the chart.
Ability to compare geographical objects with each other, and to pre-
sent to his mind, in absence of a map, the objects in question. Power
to acquire and retain knowledge of his home environment and geog-
raphy.
History: Interest in historical persons, facts, and events connected
with our immediate and more remote fatherland, and understanding
of the same. Memory for facts, names, etc.
3. German:
(a) Reading: Reading book and reading material (knowledge of printed and
written letters, formation of syllables and words, reading of sentences
and connected extracts. German or Roman type). Grade of mechani-
cal skill in reading, and the intelligent reading of this material.
Characteristic errors in reading. Reproduction of selections read,
and memory for these.
(b) Correct writing: Copying of written letters and words, with or without
knowledge of their meaning. Copying from print (German, Roman).
Power in the analysis and synthesis of words. Writing from dicta-
tion (mechanical or after reflection). Characteristic errors.
(c) Written compositions: Grade of ability to write down his own thoughts
or those of others. Errors in construction of sentences, order of words
and thoughts, choice of expressions, etc.
4. Arithmetic: Number work (knowledge of the order of numbers, counting,
and the writing of numbers). Mechanical skill in the first four rules,
stating how large numbers he can use in each. Differences in oral and
written arithmetic. Specially good memory for numbers, sequence of the
operations and results, or lack of the same. Understanding for the applica-
tions of arithmetic. Striking differences between the ability to handle
concrete and abstract examples.
5. Accomplishments:
(a) Calligraphy: Material presented. Knowledge of the forms of letters and
their differences. Aptitude for copying. Characteristics of writing
(direction, strength, spacing, relative size of letters, regularity of
letters, etc.).
(b) Drawing: Net line drawing (straight and curved lines), stigmographic
drawing (different distances of points), free-hand drawing. Under-
standing and copying different directions and sizes, singly and in
groups (figures). Manner of performance: Mechanical or after re-
flection, more or less independent, light or heavy hand, eye measure-
ment, accuracy, neatness. Imagination and taste in the matter of
forms and colors.
(c) Singing: Hearing, voice, sense of time, musical memory; special prefer-
ence for music, singing, certain songs, etc.
(d) Gymnastics: Strength, endurance, nimbleness and sense of rhythm in
executing the movements. Behavior during gymnastic and popular
games (sociability, defects of character, imagination).
(e) Handwork: Kind of activity. Cleverness in any special line. Special
interest in some one kind of activity. Method and manner of execu-
tion and degree of skill acquired.
n
70 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
But it is not only the amount of writing required which terrifies
one; the teacher who has any special interest in the finer shades of
the child's development feels it a burden to have to answer definite
printed questions. Let the scheme for a description of a pupil, there-
fore, be neither too comprehensive nor its questions too finely drawn.
It happens that not every auxiliary school teacher can be in a position
to propose a perfectly unobjectionable form. Triiper therefore
properly urged the joint action of many coworkers interested in the
subject ( Kinder fehler, 1897, 5-6) ; and if this cooperation led to
nothing else than the gaining of some common points of view from
which to work out a suitable scheme, this would be a great gain.
Unfortunately Triiper's plea was without effect. Few works have
appeared since then, and of none of them can it be said that they
help toward unity. Perhaps Lay's " individuality list ^' may serve
as a starting point. In his Experimental Didactics, Lay works out
his list from the following points of view :
A. Conditions and functions :
I. Inheritance.
II. Environment —
(a) Family —
1. Nourishment (mistakes, alcoholism).
2. Illnesses.
3. Amount of sleep (its depth, room, bedfellows).
4. Play and recreation (kind, time, work outside of school,
private lessons).
5. Bringing up (parents' view of life, mistakes, examples).
(b) Fellow-men —
1. Friendships and playmates.
2. Public life (street, religious and political companionship).
(c) Nature —
Natural surroundings (of the home, of place of residence).
III. Correlations of the sensory-motor mechanism —
(a) Physical and psychical energy.
(b) Exhaustibility.
(c) Talents.
(d) Traits of character.
B. Physical qualities:
General, constitution, size, weight, abnormalities, diseases.
C. Mental qualities :
I. Sensory : Type of observation.
II. Associative : Attention, memory, interest.
III. Motor : Movements, dexterity, actions.
While previous proposals dealt with details, Lay's plan rises to
a certain generality as a logical structure. Direct reference to the
departments of study is wanting to it. This apparent defect is to
be greeted as an advance. In Halle it is just the necessity of entering
up in the register every half-year a concise criticism of the work
in each subject which showed the inadequacy of that method. For
example, What can the teacher say regarding progress in religious
^
CHAKACTERIZATION OF PUPILS. 71
instruction? Is he to look over the work covered and then write:
"N. N. has learned well or poorly a number of biblical stories,
parts of the catechism, verses of songs, and maxims?" Or is he
rather to emphasize the greater appreciation of the subject-matter?
Or, finally, could a measure be applied to the increasing harmony
between the childish deeds and the religious and moral impera-
tives ? I am constrained to think that the auxiliary school teacher is
not at all qualified to indicate exactly progress made in the depart-
ment of religion. In examining other branches of study one will
come upon similar difficulties, and straightway speak of the trouble
in making these reports in the auxiliary school.
Although Lay does help the teacher out of this trouble, still many
other difficulties remain unsolved by his plan. If only every teacher
who fills out this " personality list " possessed all the psychological
insight which the composer of the questions presupposes! Besides
this, the many-sidedness and breadth of the points of view may
cause the old scruple to rise that more writing is required than is
absolutely necessary. But perhaps Lay's plan can be simplified and
so made more practicable. Of course there is always the danger that
an attempt at simplification will result only in abbreviating the
logical structure and not in building it up anew. Still, if an attempt
is made later it may at least incite others to continue the critical
work. Perhaps at one of the future meetings of our auxiliary school
association this important question, so vitally connected with the
good of the auxiliary school, will be taken up and made the subject of
general consideration.
To begin with, the whole field included under Lay's title of
"physical qualities" may be taken away from the teacher and given
to the school physician. The health record, as illustrated above, can
at any time be consulted by the principal or teachers of the auxiliary
school, so that the necessity of an isolated entry by the physician is
excluded. So there remain only three main divisions for the teacher,
the first of which, "inheritance," is to be treated summarily. The
other two are to be treated under the following heads : Environment
(family and home) : 1, vocation; 2, food; 3, number of children; 4,
illnesses; 5, parents' views of life; 6, recreation, work, and associa-
tions. Inheritance in sensory and motor fields: 1, physical and men-
tal powers of resistance; 2, power of observation; 3, attention, mem-
ory, special interests ; 4, movements, skill, actions, speech ; 5, traits of
character.
It might be of interest to look again at the two pictures of pupils,
which we already know, from the point of view of Lay's proposals.
In the broader framework, Agnes S. would appear as follows :
I. A. S., bom December 24, 1895, has evidently inherited the
effects of alcoholism.
72 * THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
II. Her father worked at odd jobs, and died under the influence
of liquor. The mother, not of irreproachable reputation, married
again, and this time an iron turner, who had often been punished for
drunkenness. At present she lives separated from him. The food in
the family has always been insufficient. The earnings do not yet
permit any improvement. Of the five children born of the first
marriage, three died young, of convulsions. The others suffered from
all the usual children's diseases. The mother, though not yet more
than 40 years old, has been delicate since the birth of the last child.
There is only one narrow sleeping room for the use of the whole
family. For the two girls there is only one couch, which is far from
being clean. Agnes gnashes her teeth in her sleep, and is very rest-
less. During the whole time she is free from school she wanders
about the streets with her sister ; they are not required to work. The
mother is not a model of industry or true motherhood. On the one
side of her scale of educational means stand hard words and blows;
on the other, pampering is considered to be a sign of mother love.
Agnes joins her playmates on the street or in the yard for a little
while; then she dreams by herself. Sometimes she embraces her
comrades; again, she causes them to cry out by her scratching and
biting.
III. As a result of insufficient nourishment, she is physically in-
capable of resisting disease. We can only speak of her perseverance
in mental lines when we mean her fixed tendency to do Avhatever is
forbidden or unseemly. Beyond this, Agnes is easily tired out; she
falls asleep during class instruction. Any development of talent is
impossible, since she can not follow a train of thought or stick to one
idea. At one time she is satisfied with her surroundings ; at another,
she is quarrelsome and peevish. On the slightest provocation her
laughter changes to tears ; she even laughs or cries sometimes without
any apparent reason. She seems quite unreceptive of any educative
influence, and has no sense of moral obligation.
In size, Agnes is below the average of children of her age. In re-
gard to general constitution, she belongs to the middle group. Size,
chest measure, and weight do not reach the average. She has a promi-
nent abdomen and a slight curvature of the spine; her walk is un-
steady, awkward, and waddling. She squints with her left eye;
otherwise eyes and ears are normal. She always keeps her mouth
open in breathing; her palate is very convex. Her teeth are irregu-
lar. Although no irregularity is found in the passages of the nose,
her speech is very defective.
It has been learned from the court records that an assault was
attempted upon her.
She receives impressions from the outer world only imperfectly.
This defect does not arise from faulty sense organs, but is a result
CHARACTEKIZATION OF PUPILS. 73
of mental restlessness. This restlessness causes an inattention and a
transiency of ideas, which make continuous concentration upon an
object or an occurrence impossible. Even if she seems to try to be
attentive in the classes she is soon distracted. Any sound, a sun-
beam, etc., throws the child into a new train of thought. Therefore,
her memory for words, relations of time and space, colors, and tones
is exceptionally weak. Not less faulty is her ability to talk. Her
interests are all those of the passing moment; permanent interests
have no place in her life. Characteristic of such a person is her
mobility; she can keep her limbs quiet only a very short time. It
seems as if the physical restlessness must correspond to the mental.
Manual skill is not shown, either in feminine occupations or in model-
ing or working with paper. This want of perseverance always se-
verely tries the patience of the instructor.
According to Lay's shortened plan, another picture would take
the following form :
I. Inheritance : Otto B., born 1892 ; has evidently inherited tuber-
culosis.
II. Environment: The father, a laborer at odd jobs, died of con-
sumption. The mother goes out washing every day from early morn-
ing till late in the evening. She has had 12 children, 2 of whom died
of convulsions while teething, 1 from premature birth, and a fourth
died young, owing to a fall. Otto is the ninth child of the family.
All the births were hard. Besides the prolonged illness of the father,
there were many children's diseases in the family. The parents
have no idea of the duty of educating their children. Otto never
knew the joys of family life. When with his playmates he is amiable
just so long as he can play the part of leader. If he thinks he is
getting the worst of it he avenges himself on those who seem to be
gaining the advantage over him. He is fond of doing mischief,
catching on street cars, and now and again he steals fruit from the
stands. Since his mother lives on the outskirts of the city, he wan-
ders about a great deal.
III. Inheritance in sensory and motor fields : Through being out of
doors a great deal Otto has become very strong, and can walk the long
distance to and from school without showing noticeable signs of
fatigue. But in the mental field it is different. Many days his inner
life seems to be quite extinguished. What he must have known and
what must have interested him does not exist for him at all in a short
space of time. Then, how^ever, his latent mind awakens and he ap-
pears again as a bright scholar. He can extend his field of observa-
tion very quickly. As a real street urchin he observes closely every
occurrence on the street which interests him at all. Already he
knows, too, the value of money. He prefers to spend his spare mo-
ments earning money by performing little services. The seventh
74 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GEEMAKY.
commandment is especially hard for him to keep. He is agile at run-
ning and climbing. His speech is not normal. In the first place, he
pays little attention to the proper formation of sounds and sometimes
stammers. Again, he leaves out words here and there or puts them
in their wrong places in the sentence. At heart Otto is a kind, good-
natured little fellow. Punishments, however, make him sullen and
defiant. He is most of all affected if his school companions show
malicious pleasure at his punishments. In these "cases he acts
impulsively.
His physical constitution may, in general, be called good. In size,
chest measure, and weight he is above the average. In chest, abdo-
men, spine, and the appearance of the skin there is nothing peculiar
to be noticed. His eyes are astigmatic. The oculist ordered glasses
for him, and these very materially improved his sight. His ears are
normal. He is a mouth breather, and speaks hoarsely and slovenly.
Otto B. belongs to those types who know how to enrich their inner
life from the impressions of the outer world. As long as the subject-
matter of instruction is concrete, he is attentive; but lessons com-
mitted to memory he can not be trusted to recollect. His defective
speech can not, indeed, give him the necessary help. Special inter-
ests or abilities which might give hints as to a future vocation have
not yet appeared. His activity, which is often uncontrollable, can
not be regarded as a diseased condition of the muscles. In his con-
duct he is in danger of going wrong just as soon as he knows that he
is not watched.
Even in this short characterization there may be many a super-
fluous remark; on the other hand, this or that characteristic point
may be missing. It is very hard to draw successfully a pupil's pic-
ture, harder perhaps than to show in his proper colors the external
man. Therefore repeated consultation in professional circles is very
necessary in order to improve the work. And how important this
matter is ! Think, in the first place, of the auxiliary school teacher !
Since he has this advantage over the teacher of the regular school,
that he is educator first of all, and only after that instructor, so the
opportunity of gaining a basis for his educative measures by means
of the personal record must be very welcome. That he can now lay
this foundation himself, increases its value for him. Further, every
stage of the building from this foundation is a test of its accuracy.
Of course this kind of guaranty must not lead him to the conviction
that, since some of the premises are correct, divers conclusions can in
all cases be taken for granted. And yet by constant observation and
consideration, and by carefully adding and taking away little points,
a picture can be formed which justifies the teacher in his medico-
pedagogical treatment of the child. And this justification secures
an ease of mind which raises him in his work far above manv who call
CHARACTEKIZATION OF PUPILS. 75
themselves teachers. It gives him that pleasure, too, which is always
found in scientific research, for every successful pupil characteriza-
tion serves in its small way the great purpose which the study of the
evolution of man has set up.
But it would be only pampering the vanity of the auxiliary school
teacher to say that the highest value of the personal record was to be
found on this side. All auxiliary school work is first and foremost
to serve the pupils. By all this tedious work the teacher should first
become really acquainted with his pupils, in order that he may then
properly judge and treat them. This aim is essential for any
teacher who has to influence a pupil. However, it is also important
for any other person who has occasion to work with the child in the
school. They all take up the work of others, continue the observa-
tions, and test and complete them, so that finally at the end of the
school period a fairly complete picture has been made.
But it is not alone during the school period that the auxiliary
school pupil is to be judged and treated properly. His whole life
long he is entitled to special consideration on the part of others.
Therefore at the end of his school career, as occasion requires, em-
ployers and military and court authorities are to be informed of
the existence of a personal record. Unfortunately these people are
still very ignorant of the use of this record. They all wish, more
or less, to have numbers, which seem to be no source of trouble to
them, as a summary of the acquirements of the school work, while
the more elaborate verbal picture of the piipil causes them to first
form a judgment, and therefore seems troublesome. If all would
agree to send half-yearly reports to the parents of auxiliary school
pupils, as is done at Plauen,*^ in order to keep before them that which
is characteristic of their children, employers and military and court
authorities would gradually have to learn to make use of these per-
sonal records in forming judgments. To make it simpler, the aux-
iliary school teacher or principal can make out an extract which
presents briefly the points desired for each particular case. Thus a
a Half-yearly statement to parents.
[Certificate in words and an expression to tlie parents of tlie teacher's wisties.]
Name of pupil: Class
Conduct and industry:
Mental progress:
Absences: Excused, Unexcused,
Auxiliary school (six-graded, regular folk school) at Plauen i. V., Michaelmas,
19__.
, Teacher.
(Signature of father or guardian.)
76 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
statement would have to be made out for an employer (of a servant,
etc.) different from that for' a master (of an apprentice). The mili-
tary authorities lay stress on different points from the courts. But
what has been so carefully worked out must find appreciation in
the quarter where appreciation is due. Unfortunately there are still
plenty of examples to show how little the humane, yet real, work of
the auxiliary school is appreciated. "VYhen people more generally
know what pains the auxiliary school workers take to get clear, ob-
jective pictures, and when the practical value of this careful work
is seen, then the time will have come when a proper value will be
placed on individual characterizations. Many a bitter experience,
many serious results of disregarding what the auxiliary school could
foretell, will point directly to the value of its work. Elsewhere we
shall show more fully what an important place the auxiliary school,
especially in connection with these pupil pictures, has to fill as a
social organization.
VII.— THE BUILDING FOE THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL.
Since the auxiliary school is the newest of all kinds of school in
any town, and always requires less space than the regular school, peo-
ple are not at all worried when it is given only indifferent accom-
modations. Generally it is established in connection with a folk
school and given rooms which are not needed by it. It must find a
place as best it can.
Poor quarters, however, do not always mean that the city authori-
ties wish to put the school in a Cinderella position. They really
can not act otherwise. Finances in large cities are rigorously admin-
istered, and the ideal conditions for a school organization Avhich is
still only in the stage of development, as is the auxiliary school at
present, can not so easily be secured, and yet they must be striven
after. What, then, would be suitable quarters for an auxiliary
school ? How could it be best fitted up ?
The situation of auxiliary school classes in a district is governed
mainly by the size of the district and the location of those parts
where the workingmen live. A smaller community will probably
found its first and perhaps only permanent special class in or near
the folk schoolhouse. When the district is quite large, it is advisable
to have two classes or groups of classes, one at each end of the dis-
trict, so that the children may not have to come too far to school.
For the sake of the school government, however, it will be desirable
that a number of classes should be built up into a whole school before
other combinations of classes are planned. There may be, however,
two auxiliary schools in a town under separate management; the
number of pupils, of course, determines the kind of organization.
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL BUILDING. 77
If, however, the special classes would fill a whole schoolhouse, the
city authorities would have to decide to erect a special building for
the auxiliary school. If those who own the land do not demand too
much for it, a favorable location can be selected. The best situation
is near the homes of the working people and at the same time near
some gardens. Besides the school building, a gymnasium should be
erected on this piece of land and these buildings should border on
playgrounds and a school garden.
The auxiliary school building, provided with living rooms for the
school principal and the janitor, should be a model institution as far
as hygienic conditions are concerned. The heating, ventilating, and
latrines should be according to the best approved systems. The floors
of the halls and rooms should be covered with linoleum, and the
class rooms, especially for the younger pupils, are best if arranged
in the form of an amphitheater, with suitable seating accommoda-
tions.
In addition to well-lighted class rooms the school should have a
bathroom, an infirmary, and a workshop. In connection with the
bathroom there should be dressing rooms. Enough showers should
be supplied so that all the boys or all the girls may bathe at once.
The floor of the bathroom should be warmed and so arranged as to
prevent slipping.
The room for the infirmary must be large enough to be used for
vaccinations and all examinations of the pupils. From time to time
those needing special attention or those who have fallen in a faint
or epileptics may be brought here. For this purpose mattresses
should be provided. A medicine cabinet should contain all kinds of
bandages, restoratives, and antiseptics ready for use. All the appa-
ratus necessary for the doctor's examination of the pupils should be
kept here, too.
The workshops should be fitted up for modeling and for paper
and wood work. For these purposes tables and stools should be pro-
vided, as well as chests for the material, for tools, and for overalls,'
aprons, etc. A joiner's bench and a turning lathe should also be
included in the equipment.
It is well to connect the gymnasium with the school by means of
a corridor, so that the children can take their walks in any kind of
w^eather. In the gymnasium, as well as in the schoolhouse itself,
many wall mottoes and pictures should be hung up, in order to make
the time spent in the school as pleasant and stimulating as possible.
The same apparatus can not be used in this gymnasium as in a regu-
lar school gymnasium. Here it is a case of hygienic gymnastics and
requires special apparatus. As an aid to exercises done together a
musical instrument should be provided. The auxiliary school must
have a playground and a school garden at its disposal, too. Sand
78 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
piles make good play centers, and garden beds offer splendid oppor-
tunities for the care and culture of useful and decorative plants.
Finally aquaria, caterpillar collections, and terraria may be placed
on the window sills in order to teach the pupils how to care for
animals.
VIII.— CLASSIFICATION OF PUPILS IN AN AUXILIARY
SCHOOL, AND THE NUMBER IN EACH CLASS.
After thus giving the main requirements for an ideal schoolhouse,
the next question to be answered is : How are the pupils to be classi-
fied ? Whoever has watched the development of an auxiliary school
in one of the larger cities will realize how long a time is needed
before the weakly endowed pupils can be separated into several
classes. Hence every incipient auxiliary school must have only one
class for a number of years. In this case the teacher will have to
group them in some way, but even with hard work will seem to accom-
plish very little. For in order that this new special organization may
become a part of the city school system and be shown to be highly
necessary, the auxiliary school teacher must receive all those pupils
whom the public school can and must discard.
Everywhere the problem has to be solved as to what pupils shall
be admitted to the auxiliary school. In Halle this part of the devel-
opment of the organization progressed quite slowly, and we may
assume that in other places fhere will be the same difficulty. Grad-
ually and carefully the pupils are sifted out, and so the picture
changes. When the city administration is once convinced that it is
not absolutely necessary that there should be pronounced weakness
of mind nor very marked signs of abnormal development before a
pupil can be admitted to the auxiliary school, then the meshes of the
sieve gradually become larger, and the expansion of a special class
into an auxiliary school comes about as a necessary and natural
result. Even here one must make haste slowly. Possibly this period
of development is shorter nowadays, and the desired goal is reached
more quickly. But everywhere we must begin with the auxiliary
school of a single class. How many pupils, however, would it be
proper to put in a class, and how many classes should there be in a
fully developed auxiliary school ?
Since each class of an auxiliary school makes up a portion of the
expenditure of a city community, it is hard for people to come to g
see that the auxiliary school pupils can really gain benefit from thefl|l
school work only if they are placed in very small classes. The Prus-
sian minister of education in his publication of June 16, 1894 (men-
tioned in Chapter I), recommends that city communities should
n^ver allow the number of pupils in an auxiliary class to exceed
CLASSIFICATION OF PUPILS. 79
25. His purpose, in my opinion, is not to frighten the cities away
from their praiseworthy efforts to help on the auxiliary school sys-
tem. Behind his statement lie financial considerations; were it not
for these he certainly would have lowered the number very materially.
This ministerial pronouncement has unfortunately been taken as
an official norm in many a community, and they like to stick to the
number 25. If, however, the teacher wishes to give individual
instruction, the number of pupils in a class must be less than 25.
This is especially necessary in the lower classes ; there not more than
15 pupils should really be taught together. There are already some
cities which declare this size of class proper and have introduced
it into their schools. It were to be wished that other cities would
follow their example, until finally it would be the rule everywhere
that not more than 15 pupils were found in the lower classes of the
auxiliary school, 20 in the intermediate, and 25 in the higher.
In this statement the membership of the auxiliary school has been
implied. This is largely determined by the size of the place. And
yet, on the other hand, we can not say that the size of the place abso-
lutely determines the number of pupils. Approximate statistics show
that on an average one-half of 1 per cent of the population of a city
is made up of weak-minded children. In a city of 100,000 inhabitants,
then, there would be 500 pupils for an auxiliary school. Fortunately
this estimate does not always hold good ; out of 160,000 inhabitants,
Halle has only admitted 210 to 225 children to its auxiliary school;
Mannheim, a city of almost the same size, cared for only 67 auxiliary
school pupils in the year 1903-4." So size alone can not determine the
number of pupils in an auxiliary school. Other factors play a part,
too.
But the conditions in Mannheim can not be taken as decisive here,
because, as we have shown elsewhere, their admission procedure dif-
fers from that of Halle. A glance at Wintermann's Survey of Ger-
man Auxiliary Schools and Auxiliary Classes (published in 1903)
would give us more definite information. The industrial towns, as
Aix la Chapelle, Barmen, Brunswick, Chemnitz, Cologne, Diissel-
dorf, Elberfeld, and many others, send more pupils to the auxiliary
school than other cities whose population is not made up largely of
workmen. Thus the kind of inhabitants and their vocations and
manner of life have more influence upon the number of pupils in an
auxiliary school than the size of the city.
Suppose, then, that in a city there are 100 or more pupils to be edu-
cated in an auxiliary school. How should the organization of the
« In the current year about 99 children attend the Mannheim auxiliary school.
Tliis is about O.G per cent of the total number of school children. There are six
classes in the auxiliary school,
80 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
school proceed? Though there will be all possible variations in the
answer to this question, one thing may be taken as generally recog-
nized and agreed to, namely, the weakest children who have not yet
been to school must first be brought together and a kind of prelimi-
nary grade formed. This preparatory grade can be in one or two
classes. In this division children will first be made ready for school
work and taught to talk properly. ^Vhat form the further establish-
ment of the auxiliary school must take depends not alone on the
pupils, but also upon the room, accommodations, etc., at their disposal.
In one city, three further stages are added to the preliminary one ; in
another, four, or even six. ' In still other places there is a tendency to
establish a class for every school year, as is done in the regular school.
But eight classes could really not be formed in the auxiliary school,
for many children have lost one or two years in fruitless attendance
on the folk school. Besides, only few children go through all the
classes of an auxiliary school. But the auxiliary school should have
as niany divisions as possible, and no class should have more than
two sections.
The question of organization demands consideration from two
points of view, namely, consideration of the religion and of the sex
of the auxiliary school pupils. Fortunately, there have as yet been
no quarrels in the auxiliary school over the predominance of one or
the other religious belief among the pupils. Action springing from
love for mankind in general is bound to no dogma. Consequently
it will not be necessary to divide the children according to their
beliefs. Whenever parents or the clergy of a city desire to have the
denominational feature preserved in the instruction, the religious
instruction of the child in question must be left to his denominational
preceptors, as in the regular school. Experience, however, has taught
that very seldom or never do parents or clergy insist on this right.
Especially if the religious instruction avoids all dogmas (and this
is very necessary in the auxiliary school), the evangelical and the
Catholic child can attend the classes in religion together without
friction until they reach the age of confirmation.
Just as little as religious faith can the sex of the pupils make de-
mands upon the school organization. Whether it has been from
economical or pedagogical considerations, coeducation in the auxil-
iary school has beeen regarded as essential and helpful from the very
first. Here, then, the problem of coeducation has been quickly solved,
and no one has yet found moral or other dangers for those boys and
girls who are taught together.
THE DAILY PROGKAMME. 81
IX.— THE DAILY PKOGRAMME.
Even in the regular school it is a difficult matter to plan a schedule
of exercises which fulfills the demands of hygiene and at the same
time answers the purposes of the school. With the very best inten-
tions it will not always be possible to absolutely subordinate the latter
to the former. Besides, in spite of the activity of physicians and
school people who are working in this field, there is still little agree-
ment when it comes to answering the following questions: What
studies evidently tire the pupil most, and what are sure methods of
recognizing and determining the intensity of fatigue? Names like
Kraepelin, Ebbinghaus, Lobsien, and Baur, who have made work and
fatigue in general the subject of their research; Erismann, Burger-
stein, and Schiller, who have included the division and length of
recesses in their sphere of work, as well as the order of lessons — these
names can serve as proof of this. But it is assumed as a matter of
course that weak-minded children show fatigue and exhaustion sooner
than normal children. There has been therefore little accurate re-
search in regard to auxiliary school pupils.
The lesson periods in the auxiliary school are of course shorter than
those in a regular school. Indeed, in many cases only half an hour
is given to each lesson. Further, the arrangement of subjects has
been carefully considered; difficult studies should alternate with
easier ones. So subjects which require special mental effort and deal
more or less with abstractions should not follow one another. As a
rule these are separated by introducing technical work, but some
kinds of technical work, too, are specially tiring for auxiliary school
pupils; consequently, great care must be used in making a choice.
If general principles can be set up at all to guide in the arrangement
of the programme the following may perhaps be of service :
1. The lessors of the day should be arranged according to the
amount of mental energy of the pupil required for each.
2. The first lessons in the morning should not always make the
greatest demands upon the pupil.
3. If one subject has specially stimulated one side of the child
nature, the following should waken the other side, which up to this
point has not been active.
Beyond these few general rules the teacher should be free to
change the daily programme in accordance with his discoveries and
experiences in the class. For it often happens that pupils come to
school half asleep and are then quite unfit for arithmetic or religious
reflection ; a walk is at such times much more useful than forced in-
struction in the school.
14659—07 6
82 THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
^
In auxiliary school literature a fourth, fifth, and sixth point is
often deemed authoritative in determining the school programme, as
follows : ^^1
4. The demand is made that in all classes 'the same subjects be^HJ
taught at the same hours. If, then, in one class arithmetic is assigned
to a certain hour, arithmetic must be written down in the programme
for the same hour in all the other classes. This is necessary, they
say, on account of the peculiar abilities of the children ; for many a
pupil can read but poorly, while he can talk quite well. Others can
advance quite normally in arithmetic, while lack of progress in speak-
ing and narrating keeps them far behind their fellow pupils. Shall
a pupil, so they argue, be kept back on account of deficiencies in one
subject, when he can accomplish more than the others, perhaps, in
other lines of work? Eather let each pupil advance in every sepa-
rate study according to his special ability. Taking it for granted
that all the auxiliary school classes are assembled in one building
and that the programme is arranged as indicated, the pupil can go
into that class in reading or arithmetic, for example, which corre-
sponds to his knowledge or ability. In the other subjects the child
remains in his own class and advances there with his own classmates.
This arrangement may have the advantage that individual talents
of a child can be brought to a certain development, that it can cipher
or read or narrate better than if it had advanced more slowly wdth its
classmates. But what do these single accomplishments signify when
compared with his backwardness in other branches? If a general
advance were only combined with this other ! And what restless-
ness would come into the school ! This wandering from one class to
another induces a moving about without restraint which tends to
make the school unsettled and so almost excludes any permanent edu-
cative influence.
5. The auxiliary school must, further, finish with its lessons in the
morning and avoid afternoon instruction. This demand, which has
lately been so strongly urged in connection with the regular schools
of our larger cities, has especial significance for the auxiliary school.
The auxiliary school pupils, in larger cities at least, have as a
rule a long way to go from home, because their school is the only one
in the place, and long walks to school are recognizedly a burden
under which delicate children very evidently suffer. Anyone who
has watched the children of the auxiliary school on their way to
school through a large city will be loath to require this of them twice
a day. Of course it can not always be helped in the higher classes.
An afternoon will have to be added if 32 lessons a week are to be
secured. In such cases, as in case of weak and delicate pupils, the
school directors can relieve the situation to some extent. They may
gain the consent of the city to allow those auxiliary school pupils
THE CURRICULUM. 83
who are evidently kept back in their school work on account of the
long walk to school to ride on the street cars at expense of the city.
6. Finally, intermissions in the auxiliary school's daily programme
must be more carefully considered than for the regular school. Gen-
erally these recesses are from fifteen to twenty minutes long. How-
ever, the main thing is not that during a succession of five lessons
lengthy and frequent pauses be made. Still more important is it
that these pauses should really be used to refresh and enliven the
weak pupils. They should breathe pure air free from dust, eat their
luncheon, and move their limbs unrestrainedly by playing together
or separately. To help them thus enjoy these recesses, the teacher in
charge must always be on the watch. Here he has rich opportunity
to make important observations and render valuable service to his
coworkers.
X.— THE CURRICULUM.
For the public school it is no easy matter to answer all the many
questions which arise in connection with the curriculum; especially
do the choice and arrangement of the subject-matter, as the most
important problems of this field, demand much discussion in order to
reach any satisfactory solution. The pedagogy of the auxiliary
school can claim still greater difficulty. The great differences exist-
ing among the pupils' natures give rise at the outset to the question :
Is it possible to have a course of study for the auxiliary school which
shall be adapted to the so-called average intellect? Of course, even
if we can not, in this discussion, reach any definite, valid conclusion
regarding particular points, we must recognize the necessity of a plan
of work even if it be only in broad outline, for without this no con-
scious, and so no successful, work can be accomplished.
Formerly it was mainly public school teachers who attempted to
draw up courses of study ; their work betrayed its origin. They had
generally brought with them from the public school a love of the
subject-matter which was too great for the auxiliary school. Natu-
rally a great deal of the subject-matter of the public school can not
be introduced into the auxiliary school. So they simply took up the
scissors and cut off a piece here and there — wherever there seemed
too much. But in spite of this the worshipper of subject-matter still
demanded his sacrifice.
Now, on the other hand, when teachers from institutions giving
instruction in hygiene set to work to make a plan they are sure to
fail, because they wish to have too little material. Naturally for-
mation of habit seems more important to them than learning, educa-
tion more valuable than mere instruction; and yet the auxiliary
84 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
school should, first of all, be a school in which stress is laid upon
knowing many things, even if within narrow limits. So the auxil-
iary school curriculum must have neither too much nor too little
material.
But how much material should it demand? No one will require
the auxiliary school to set the same goal for itself as the highest class
of the normal or regular school — not even a teacher who has com-
pletely fallen prey to didactic materialism.
Then let us lower our demands in general and ask only that the
goal of the middle grade of a folk school be reached. This demand,
so often expressed, has much in its favor. It emphasizes at the start
that the standard is to be kept low. But, on the other hand, it can
be said that the middle grade of a folk school does not attain all
those several goals which the auxiliary school pupil can reach who
meets with some little success. Let one only think of the realistic
subjects which must be pursued further in the auxiliary school than
in the middle grade of a folk school. Thus we see that it is not so
easy to set, even in the most general way, a goal for auxiliary school
work. To make any progress at all we must first be perfectly clear
as to the answer to this question: What is, on the whole, the pur-
pose of the auxiliary school ?
The auxiliary school is an independent institution of education
and instruction. It aims to develop in its pupils a standard of con-
duct which shall not differ from that of a worthy and useful mem-
ber of human society. To this end all those subjects of instruction
should be introduced into the auxiliary school which tend to awaken
and control the individual will and impulses to action. According to
their nature, such material must mainly be chosen from these subjects
as will pave the way to a comprehension of a worthy, purposeful life.
Through such a choice overcrowding of the curriculum is prevented,
as well as mere preparation for a possible vocation. Taking this,
then, as our general aim, we can now proceed to assign the scope of
the several subjects:
1. Religion: The auxiliary school pupil must be led to an appre-
hension of the Divine. His duties to his neighbor and to himself, as
well as to God, are to be brought to his comprehension. As an aid to
his moral and religious feelings and actions he must accept the most
important truths of Christianity, so as to be ready for confirmation
in church.
2. By practice in observation, speaking, reading, and writing, he
should be helped to understand and reproduce orally and in writing
whatever he has seen, heard, or experienced.
3. History: By studying the lives of men and women who have
worthily served home and fatherland^ he should be taught to be
willing to sacrifice anything for home and country. From a due
THE CURRICULUM. 85
estimation of the present the problems arising out of it for each
auxiliary school pupil are to be solved.
4. Drawing is to be used in every class as a means of expressing
what the pupil has seen and heard. As such it offers a standard by
which progress in intellectual and esthetic fields can be measured.
5. Manual labor : Like drawing, manual training, with its various
branches, should direct the activities of auxiliary school pupils into
those lines opened up by the other studies, and should facilitate the
choice of a vocation later in life.
6. Singing and gymnastics: Both these departments have in the
first place special hygienic purposes. Then, however, together they
regulate, especially by their rhythmical ' character, the movements
and with these the volitional life of the pupil. Finally, their com-
mon esthetic and recreative influence must not be undervalued.
7. Home geography (Heimatkunde) and general geography: The
auxiliary school pupil is first of all to be made acquainted with his
home surroundings; nevertheless, he must not be ignorant of any
parts of the world with which his home has lively intercourse.
8. Arithmetic: Instruction in arithmetic shall present and show
the application of those simple problems which are most often needed
in daily life.
9. Natural history and nature study: The change of seasons is to
be observed in the child's surroundings and the human body is to be
made a subject of study, in the interest of his self-preservation and
his life in common with others.
Having thus stated the aims of each subject, we must consider
what subjects should come together and what should be the order of
succession. Even if the old saying still holds good in the auxiliary
school, " Proceed from the simple to the difficult," yet the simple
must always predominate in the choice of material. A mastery of the
whole of the elementary subject-matter of the folk school is not to
be thought of. But in the arrangement of even the simple material
the striving toward a whole, the outlook toward something complete,
must be evident. Even if only small domains of thought can be
mastered, they must be domains of thought which are connected with
the developing, growling self, so that they form a foundation for the
building up of moral and religious personality. But for this, it is
not necessary that religious or objective fields should predominate
and all others be subordinate to these. Triiper undertakes, it is true,
and very laudably, to let the culture epochs, as worked out by Rein,
act as centers around which the work is to be concentrated. So for
children from 8 to 10 years old Robinson Crusoe is chosen as the
basis of instruction in nature study, home geography, as well as for
modeling, drawing, singing, German, and arithmetic. Fuchs recom-
mends Robinson Crusoe as a suitable center for the concentration of
86 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
the auxiliary school pupils' studies, and really, if you have in mind
training for work and for will power and control, you must agree
with this recommendation. Robinson Crusoe is a classical model for
the auxiliary school pupil with a weak will. But his example has
more evident influence in a secluded educational institution than in a
public school. The pupils of the latter already see too much of the
world about them, with its devices and expedients. As a result, Rob-
inson Crusoe does not concern them so much in his original helpless-
ness as we should like to think. Taking into consideration the fact
that many subjects do not adapt themselves to such correlation, but
must be treated independently, as history and arithmetic with relig-
ion, we see that it is impossible to present plans for concentration as
closely connected, organically related wholes. It will be difficult to
make the auxiliary school pupil comprehend social aggregations in
his vicinity which may, perhaps, be easily seen, such as the groupings
of family, work, trade, etc. If, however, such social groups with
their common needs are indicated in the plan of studies as home phe-
nomena, and further appear more clearly in the plan of subject-
matter, the auxiliary school is thereby preparing for practical life by
giving circles of thought which are to a certain extent complete, and
therefore effective. This completeness is as difficult as it is necessary.
Whoever has undertaken to make a sketch of a curriculum or a
course of study will confirm this and know that up to this time no
model of value has been furnished. No individual worker will be
able, on the whole, to solve the problem of the curriculum. Much
preliminary work is lacking — for instance, there is no suitable read-
ing book," primer, or arithmetic for the auxiliary school. Therefore
the staff of an auxiliary school must annually consult together and
decide what is to be accomplished by the different classes and each
half year select subjects of study for them. This laborious work will
gradually lead not only to a single core of material, but also to a rich
selection of reading and memory pieces and arithmetical problems,
which can finally be included in a reader and a sum book. How far
this work has progressed at Halle may be seen from the following
plans for the first and last school years. (See pp. 88-91.)
A course of study for the last school year presents the most diffi-
culties and is therefore in its aims easily modified. If success has
been met with in giving it a local and home background, then at
least one kind of unity has been effected. The discovery of further
threads of connection between the individual subjects must be held
in reserve until it is more fully worked out, as by good fortune can
be done on a uniform plan in the auxiliary school.
When we compare the requirements of the course of study in the
finishing class with the ability of the pupils of the auxiliary school
oAttempts have already been made at Leipzig and in Switzerland.
THE CURRICULUM. 87
and see how high the final goals are set in one auxiliary school and
how low in another, we must here express a wish that a unity may be
evolved from out of this diversity. In this striving we must also
decide whether the auxiliary school has to make provision for an
education designed to help the girls for domestic service and to pre-
pare the boys for manual labor. Finally, this question must be
answered : How is the course of study of the auxiliary school to make
room for that work which has to do with correcting errors in speak-
ing, since we know a great many of the abnormal pupils frequently
suffer from inability to speak properly. There has been introduced
into many auxiliary schools special drill in articulation. In this re-
gard the instructions of the Gutzmanns, of Berlin (father and son),
certainly have a value. It may be well, also, to call favorably to
mind at this time the prevailing practice which Auxiliary School
Principal Godtfring, of Kiel, has introduced in the province of
Schleswig-Holstein. Godtfring, who has also repeatedly published
articles touching these matters, arranges to correct the speech of the
children even before they reach school age. He gathers together into
a sort of speech kindergarten all those children who do not speak
normally and who will be of school age within half a year. Gradu-
ally he separates from these all those who, in spite of opportunity
and drill in technical methods of speaking, are not cured of stam-
mering and stuttering. The latter then are put into courses for
curative pedagogical treatment, and in ca!se of relapse after being
cured are placed in the so-called " repetition " course for individual
instruction. Godtfring's plan, which must have a special value in
the auxiliary school, has the active support of the school authorities
in Schleswig-Holstein.
88
THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
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92
THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GEKMANY.
XI.— METHODS OF INSTRUCTION.
Before we can present the methods of teaching used in the auxiliary
school we must show how much time each branch of study may claim
during the week. This will be most quickly done by giving a sum-
mary in the form of a table. In the auxiliary school at Halle we
have used the following plan :
Hours per week given to the several branches of study in the auxiliary school
at Halle.
Branches of study.
Religion
Arithmetic (geometry).
German
Writing
Object lessons
Drawing
History
Geography
Nature study
Singing
Gymnastics
Handwork
Total
Class.
(5)
2 (1)
2
2
2
2
2
4
n.
in.
28
IV.
26
22
In the summer term a slight change is made on account of instruc-
tion in agriculture. The number of hours for hand work, gymnastic
exercises, and singing is shortened so that four hours a week are left
for garden work; the school excursions, too, often disarrange the
tabulated numbers.
If the instruction given in the higher classes is considered, scarcely
any difference will be noticed between the methods of the auxiliary
school and those of the regular school ; the intermediate classes have
much the same management as that which promises success in the
lower grades of the folk school; in the lower classes, however, the
instruction given in the auxiliary school must be quite peculiar to it.
The characteristic points of auxiliary school instruction have been
clothed in many imperatives, as the instruction must be objective,
concrete, personal, etc. However, these imperatives should apply to
all instruction. In the lower classes of the auxiliary school the
teacher has still other considerations to occupy him. The children
just transferred from the regular to the auxiliary school are either
incapable of receiving instruction, or are completely tired of school.
Then he has not merely to awaken powers, but also to prevent many
an intermitted development from remaining at a standstill. Besides
this, he must see to it that his instruction has an educative influence
upon the pupil, and this while he simplifies the subject-matter as
much as possible. To fulfill these three demands in detail is very
METHODS OF INSTKUCTION. 93
hard, and yet we must strive to do this if we would make our auxil-
iary school instruction successful.
If mental powers are to be aroused, we must begin with that which
stimulates them spontaneously and yet harmoniously, i. e., play. And
it must be, of course, play which teaches the children so to use their
limbs and sense organs that they will later obey a rational will and
lead to such a doing of work as will effect the desired purpose. If
one were to begin by making definite demands upon the will and to
do work, his misdirected efforts would result only in frightening and
dulling the pupil. The spontaneous use of limbs and sense organs
first leads the teacher to take the proper direction. At this point he
sees clearly how far — to agree with Boodstein — the limbs of a pupil
are free in their movements and to what extent the sense organs can
serve his attention by making his impressions precise and definite.
Therefore we must first exercise the limbs by means of interesting
plays, explore the circle of ideas and the powers of the will, that we
may then proceed systematically to finally awaken the soul's slum-
bering powers."
These are then guided in various directions, as in that of speaking,
drawing or painting, modeling or stick laying. -Speech often be-
comes intelligible and fluent only after long-continued instruction in
articulation; for this the teacher requires special preparation.
Drawing or painting gives a still more exact test of what the pupil
has taken in through his senses than speaking does. When no great
demands are made upon him, fear is banished from his mind, and
even the most easily discouraged pupil will soon try to do something.
Therefore, after a short time the teacher can discover from what he
has done what sort of a mind the little artist with the slate pencil
has ; and the teacher will see, too, the progress the pupil is making,
if his drawings are collected and made into a book.
Similar insight into the inner life of the pupil is given by model-
ing, though this is a great deal more difficult. For this reason it is
often left out of the school work; it is important, however, and an
attempt should be made to introduce it even into the lowest class.
Stick laying is, indeed, much sinipler; the Froebelian occupations in
connection with the " gifts " are similarly easy. How active are the
little minds when they can do something, accomplish something!
They must be kept continually active during the lessons, must always
be seeing, observing, feeling, measuring, placing, arranging, compar-
ing, distinguishing, hearing, smelling, or tasting, whatever the work
oDelitzsch recommends an exact psychological diagnosis in order to find out
definitely regarding defects in the senses, i. e., of sight, touch, hearing, taste,
smell, the feeling of heat, cold, or pain, as well as a diagnosis of the associa-
tion of ideas, speech, and the emotional and volitional life.
94 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
may be. At the same time they must be allowed to talk. While
playing at work and working at play they should express their opin-
ions, ask questions, and give answers.
If during the child's instruction he is striving to seek and to find,
and to change his impressions into action, into movements, then the
auxiliary school instruction serves a double purpose: (1) It avoids
mere mechanical training and reducing to a uniform level; (2) it
develops the motor center of the brain as the basis of the intellectual,
and especially of the volitional, life. The children are then not
merely receptive, passive, but always active and interested. They
live through in a measure what the instruction offers them. This is
the case in the school garden and the school excursions even more
than in the class room, and there can not possibly be too many of these
excursions. The teacher has but few devices to help him in such
instruction ; playthings and Froebelian " gifts " are probably his only
helpers during the first school year. Outside of these the teacher must
be all in all to his pupils. Therefore his task is not easy. Even the
primer is lacking, which so early pushes itself in between the teacher
of the regular school and his pupils as a dividing wall of paper.
Long may it be kept out of the lowest class of the auxiliary school !
There nothing should be read, written, or memorized which might be
found in a primer. Now, is the pupil not to read so soon, and write,
and memorize poems? If there is to be no drill in the auxiliary
school, then postpone the " drei Eisheiligen " « as long as possible,
for they soon kill the happy life — the cheerfulness — of the school. It
would probably be early enough if reading and writing were intro-
duced in the second year in connection with block and stick laying.
The memorizing of stories and poems can also be left till later if we
would continue to shield the children from indigestible " pebble-
stones " (Kieselsteine), i. e., give them bread instead of stones. If,
however, one desires to exercise the memory of the pupils, suitable
selections must be made, and an eagerness to learn them awakened in
the children. Trojan, Lowenstein, and others give excellent short
poems in their collections (Kinderlieder, Kindergarten, or Kinder-
lauben).
In this way, and by this method, the teacher may hope to awaken
the weak little minds. For those pupils, however, who already have
suffered shipwreck in their school life, and of whom people have
not hesitated to declare that their mental development was at a
standstill, another method of teaching must be chosen. For these
pupils the instruction must be such as will take right hold of their
o This expression refers to the cold and blighting weather which popular tra-
dition assigns to the 11th, 1 2th, and 13th of May. The cold of these saints'
days is frequently disastrous to budding fruit. — Tbanslatob.
METHODS OF INSTKUCTION. 95
minds. Therefore, for this purpose nothing colorless must be pre-
sented; the teacher must either proceed from the pupil's previous
experiences, or make the pupil live through the experiences of others
by a progressive portrayal of them. Of course, play and work will
still have their places in stimulating movements and ideas, but the
stimulations and demands upon the pupil must now be stronger
and more vigorous. Moreover, the instruction must var}^ as much
as possible, that the pupil's mental inertia may be overcome, and his
self-confidence developed.
Now, let no one think that continual stimulation and change, or
ceaseless activity during the lesson, injure the weak intellect rather
than benefit it. Let him not be afraid of over-stimulating erethistic
pupils (for example). If the teacher retains his fatherly attitude
toward the pupils and carefully watches over their mental qualities,
requires short steps of them, he will soon be encouraged by their
progress. And the progress is not merely intellectual in its nature,
no, there will be both physical and mental progress. The instruction
in the auxiliary school will therefore be harmoniously educative.
We have already shown that instruction in the lower grades of the
auxiliary school needs but few means of assistance ; Froebel's " gifts "
and all kinds of playthings are in the main to be regarded as suffi-
cient. In addition, biblical illustrations and Stowesand's picture of
the family, as well as pictures from magazines, are to be recom-
mended. The more capable the pupils become the more extensive
will be the use of illustrative material, until finally, in the interme-
diate and higher classes it must be used just as much as in a well-
equipped regular school.
To the statement made above, that the method of instruction in the
intermediate and higher classes will differ but little from that of the
folk school, we wish now to make several additions. It is the gen-
eral opinion that it is an advantage to connect the new material of
instruction with knowledge already possessed, but this connection of
old ideas and new must become a matter-of-course rule in auxiliary
school instruction. Whenever the case admits it, we must start out
from the relations in the home, outside the school, and on the street;
an effort must be made to make new material plain to the pupil by
means of plastic instruction. Only then will it be grasped and mere
verbal instruction kept aloof. Nevertheless, it will often be a long
time before the material of instruction can be treated logically. The
children are often easily wearied and refuse to respond, much to the
surprise of the teacher, who thought he was on the right track. To
prevent such surprises it has been suggested that the material of
instruction be mastered by a spiral method. This method of work-
ing through a subject, which is so much used, can not be regarded as
a " cure-all." Only mechanically is a little new connected with the
96 THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
old by it, and always a return must be made to the starting point. If
anyone is concerned with implanting mere word knowledge the spiral
method will seem easy and always applicable. If, however, one
wishes to educate by his instruction, to use the material of instruc-
tion for cultural purposes, he can get along without this method. If
only the teacher understands how to bring about immanent repetition,
i. e., to present the old in a new form through the new material or to
recall it to the pupil's mind from new points of view, he will make
progress, slowly, it is true, but surely. The children will not then
be wearied by mere repetition of subject-matter, but will be kept
always mentally active. The necessary condition for this is a teacher
who is himself active and never gets weary or doubts. His task is
therefore no easy one, as we have said before.
Since abnormal children often lack clear ideas regarding time,
motion, and space, the instruction in all the classes must especially
be directed to the development of these ideas by means of systematic
and suitable exercises. Demoor has very properly pointed this out.
Therefore the date of the birthdays of the children of every class, for
example, must be dwelt on; the time of happening of all kinds of
school events is to be determined, and the time of day read from the
clock. In their movements great stress must be laid upon accuracy
and proper rhythm. Music is of great assistance in this, and in the
Brussels auxiliary school the employment oi music has led to the
formation of so-called " eurhythmical " exercises, which we heartily
recommend. In order to accustom the eye to relations of magnitude
and estimating magnitudes in space, measuring sticks should be
kept in the class rooms and the school yard and compared with
newly found magnitudes. The school walks are constantly bringing
forward new space relations, and gradually help to arrange and make
clear the pupils' vague ideas on this subject.
Finally, in characterizing the auxiliary school instruction, it may
be well to refer to the thoroughly practical direction which it must
take in all its branches, if at all possible. Here we are thinking
especially of arithmetic, whose aims have been already characterized
as taking their rise in practical life. The teacher of arithmetic has
to illustrate the business dealings into which the auxiliary school
pupil will later enter. There must be in the school a kind of store,"
with merchandise, coins, and weights, so that he will become familiar
with the operations of buying and selling. Further, now and again a
newspaper is to be used in the higher class, so that the growing child
may learn something about the labor market, about supply and
demand, in order that he may later choose his field of work inde-
pendently. Brief compositions and letters may also serve the same
a Director Schwenk, of Idstein, makes use of such a store in his institution.
DISCIPLINE. 97
purpose, and these will be written willingly and with considerable
care.
We must not fail to mention here that the school can render val-
uable service to the candidates for confirmation by helping them to
be less awkward and showing them how lo conduct themselves on the
street and in all their circles of intercourse. The auxiliary school
teacher must do his best to keep his weakly endowed pupils from
stumbling on their later path of life and to help them to be as inde-
pendent as possible. Experience teaches that this kind of effort on
the part of the auxiliary school may bring about very satisfactory
results.
XII.— DISCIPLINE IN THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL.
Again and again it has been said that the auxiliary school should
retain its character as a school institution, but that, more than is the
case with any other, its instruction should be educative. Fortunately,
it has not to cover so much ground, and so it can make its subject-
matter cultural in its influence more easily than the regular school
can do, if only the right methods of teaching are used.
Of what value to the auxiliary school pupil is memory work, which
burdens rather than inspires? In his case, also, it is true that the
ability to do things is better than knowledge. But this ability must
be in the service of a rational will, if the youth just entering upon
life is to be a useful member of human society.
(a) THE school's care of the soul.
In this place we are not treating of education in general, but of
psychological dietetics, or care of the soul and discipline in the
school, in particular. In reality, these are not different in the auxil-
iary school from what they are in the normal or regular school. The
peculiarities of the pupils alone demand a special form. People
think in this way: The auxiliary school pupils have weak natures,
physically and mentally; consequently they claim consideration and
kindness as the only measures in the educational scale. Now, the aux-
iliary school teacher will certainly have to show great consideration
and kindness wherever it is a question of discipline in the auxiliary
school. But even in the case of normal children, kindness, if used
alone, will have anything but the desired results. How much more
is this true of weakly endowed children. They are just the ones who
need to strengthen their weak wills by contact with a firm, forceful
one. If the teacher always complies with their wishes and submits
to their wills, they will never learn to distinguish good and bad
14657—07 7
98 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GEEMANY.
desires and to suppress their selfish impulses. For this reason there
must be rigid discipline in the auxiliary school.
So also refusals and warnings must work upon the child soul.
But this must never develop into a drill which kills all love. More-
over, many words too often fail in their purpose, and as a rule impa-
tience works only lasting harm. Calmness and perseverance alone
lead to a good end, which is reached so much the more surely if a
friendly understanding is first arrived at and friendly stimulation
exerted. But in many cases a self-confidence which is almost dead
has to be reawakened and supported until it can make its way inde-
pendently.
The reign of firm discipline in the auxiliary school for the most
part does not first show itself in special regulations or warnings.
The spirit of order, of time distribution prevailing in it, the spirit
of punctuality and accuracy in work, will act effectively, especially
if the teacher sets a worthy, forcible example by his faithfulness in
little things and his own submission to the whole.
In addition to this example, which is always subject to change,
the ever unchanging in art can be brought in as an ally and helper
in the auxiliary school. In our sketch of the ideal schoolhouse we
said that it was desirable to have the walls of the class rooms deco-
rated with mottoes and pictures. We must now point out (as Pro-
fessor Sante de Sanctis has proven so convincingly in his annual
report of the asylum school at Rome) that works of art, as present-
ing to the view good deeds and beautiful examples, may also fur-
nish models for the auxiliary school pupil, who so constantly needs
good models. Recently it has been very properly brought into
prominence that the aesthetic can serve the moral. Therefore, let
the walls of the schoolrooms be decorated Avith suitable pictures, not
alone that the school may be made a pleasant place for the child
brought up in often miserable surroundings, but rather that by look-
ing so often at beautiful representations his memory for moral things
will develop, and al-t will thus have won a place as an educative influ-
ence in the auxiliary school.
But, besides this, the auxiliary school teacher will need to use other
and special direct means of discipline; certainly he can not dispense
with these. As is well known, there are a great many of them. But
he must not use the most extreme measures at once, even if this would
shorten the process for him. In the great majority of cases a well-
graded system of rewards will lead to more good than a scale of
punishments which is consistent, but carried out in a heartless way.
Encouragement and praise always help to arouse self-confidence,
while corporal punishment often brings about bad results. Conse-
quently corporal punishment has been condemned in all cases, and
that not alone by the doctors. But other voices have been raised in
DISCIPLINE. 99
advocating a resort to this means of discipline in the education of
abnormal children. Ziehen says : " Bodily punishments are not to be
entirely done away with, but they must never be inflicted on the
head;" and Schwenk declares: "If, therefore, the teacher is firmly
convinced that the pupil knows exactly what has been forbidden, and
in spite of repeated commands, reminders, admonitions, and warn-
ings, persists in carrying out his own bad will, then there is no other
way out of it, the proverb must be applied : ' Who will not hear must
feel,' and, as we know from experience, birch-rod writing (holzerne
Schrift) upon the boy's back does him exceptionally good service."
(h) THE schools' care OF THE BODY.
The physical condition of the auxiliary school pupil demands
continually the most careful consideration. Any injury to the body
often directty hinders the mental development. Therefore the
school physician has not only to establish the health condition of
the pupil, but he must also watch him continually. In this the
auxiliary school teachers can be of great service to him. They
observe the children every day in the classes, on the playground,
and in the garden, and if they are good observers and know some-
thing of hygiene, they acquire the faculty of noticing changes in
the appearance and conduct of their pupils. In cases of sudden
illnesses or slight accidents they can use for their relief medicines
which the medicine chest contains by the directions of the physician.
Their proper use may do a great deal of good and very materially
lighten the work of the physician. But much more could be done
for the care of the pupils' bodies if the parents would cooperate
with the physician and the teachers. It has already been shown
how the doctor may influence them when occasion offers. But how
often must it be done with the cooperation of the teachers, if the
physical condition of this or that pupil is really to be improved!
If many parents were not so inaccessible to well-meant advice,
special " parents' evenings " might be arranged for in the auxiliary
school. How many questions and problems demand a joint dis-
cussion and solution, and in how many cases must the parents'
consciences be sharpened in order to make them introduce a better
method of life into their homes ! Unfortunately the difficulties are
too great for us to aim at influencing in mass. Therefore there is
no way .out of it but summoning the individual parents to the
school and there giving them words of advice. They may also
be greatly helped in deeds by the public care for their weak children,
giving some free transportation on the street railways, others a
warm breakfast in winter.
The evident necessity of giving tonics to auxiliary school pupils,
and the want of understanding on the part of their parents, which
100 THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
is just as apparent, have brought up the following question: Is the
auxiliary school to remain simplj^ a day school, with a limited time
of influence, or is it to develop into a boarding school? Worthy
representatives of the "curative educational institutions" (Heiler-
ziehungsanstalten) consider the boarding school as the best arrange-
ment. In this connection Heller says : " We desire most heartily
that very many auxiliary schools may, in the course of time, even if
only gradually, become regular boarding schools." Piper says, to
be sure : " To be able to properly answer the question, 'Auxiliary
school or special institution ? ' one must spend years in careful
observation of individual cases in even their smallest details. * * *
The author indeed recognizes the value of day auxiliary schools,
but he also knows that the principals of auxiliary schools are striving
to make them boarding schools, and even now try to obtain the good
results of the latter by insisting on the schools' feeding the mentally
deficient children intrusted to them and on keeping them at the
school as long as possible. Serious enough does the question seem
to them, ' What becomes of our pupils daily when they leave our
care ? ' " Certainly everyone could agree in general w^ith these state-
ments. The longer the auxiliary school pupil is under the influence
of the school, the more effective its influence will be. Our auxiliary
school pupils can very seldom be well cared for in their homes. They
see there little that is good, and, on the other hand, often receive last-
ing impressions of unwholesome conditions. So the pupils' with-
drawal from parental influence may often be very desirable.
But even at Leipzig, where the pupils are not only fed, but formed
into voluntary classes for busy work, this step has not yet been taken,
and the school preserves its day character. At Halle also, and prob-
ably in other places with fully developed auxiliary schools, this step
will not be taken. In spite of certain undeniable imperfections, the
day school gives a better opportunity to fit the pupil for life in the
hard world than the closed institution. In the school the child must
be inured to resist the evil influences of his companions of the street,
and even of his family. He must not be kept in leading strings too
long. The pupils are not idiots, whose personality can never be
firmly established.
Besides all this, institutional education offers many difficulties.
Not only is it very expensive, but it demands also greater services
from the educators. Even a day school for mentally deficient children
makes serious demands upon the teacher, and the results of his efforts
are not always certain. Still less certain, perhaps, will they be in
an institution, which sometimes is, as Gorke asserts, a downright
breeding place for certain vices, such as masturbation, talebearing,
etc., if, we may add, the supervision is inadequate. At all events,
I
PEEPAEATION OF PUPILS FOR CONFIRMATION. 101
then, we must preserve the character of the day school, keep the
children at school as long as possible during the day, and send them
home for the night.
XIIL— PREPARATION OF AUXILIARY SCHOOL PUPILS
FOR CONFIRMATION.
For a long time people have had the idea that mentally deficient
children are especially gifted religiously; this gift has even been
pointed to as compensation for the lack of purely intellectual ability.
Such an opinion has repeatedly been supported by the fact that not
merely hysterical children tend to show religious enthusiasm, but
mentally weak children seem to be able to memorize a surprising
amount of religious material. Consequently, in religious instruction
such children have been overfed with biblical history and dogmas.
Since this instruction lias been given by auxiliary school teachers,
however, this overfeeding has been done away with by them. It is
probably now generally recognized as true, what was said by Inspector
Landenberger in the school and annual reports of the Hygienic Insti-
tution for the Care of Mental Defectives and Epileptics, and con-
firmed by the psychiatrists A. Romer and W. Weygandt, viz, that
one-sided overloading of the memory with religious material, as with
any other, is harmful rather than helpful.
If the teacher knows how to bring the pupil under the guidance
and chastening of God by his religious instruction, and to present the
divine guidance and chastening as much as possible from his own
experience and his own yielding to discipline, he does not need all
the helps which the mentally normal child requires, such as the his-
tory of the stages in the development of the kingdom of God, and the
established dogmas in epic or lyric form. And even in preparing
pupils for confirmation, he does not need to amplify all these. The
auxiliary school pupil will neither be an active vestryman, nor will
he take part in discussions regarding religions and creeds. But he
will manifest his Christianity just as everyone who can be only of
the " silent in the land." For this the instruction for confirmation
must prepare him. <
It must first be determined what ideas the children bring with them
from the public school. As a rule their religious knowledge will be
small ; besides this, the auxiliary school pupils bring with them, from
the various classes, varied powers of receptivity and varied degrees
of activity. Therefore the teacher must become very well acquainted
with the mental qualities of the candidates for confirmation if he
would properly estimate and benefit each one. Such an analytic and
personal method can not be used, however, when the pastor takes all
102 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
the children in hand for preparatory instruction, and the auxiliary
school pupil is placed among candidates for confirmation who come
from the regular school. The pastor may scatter as many seeds of
divine truth as he will, yet the auxiliary school pupil will go away
empty. And if, when among his cleverer fellows, he is asked even an
easy question, he Avill fail in these new surroundings and be made
sport of. The result will be that not merely a dissatisfied, but a con-
fused and puzzled soul will come up for confirmation. Such results
must and can be avoided. Above all things, the weakly endowed
pupils are to be kept away from the confirmation instruction in which
the normal children share.
If this is admitted, we must next decide who should instruct this
group of candidates from the auxiliary school — the pastor or the
teacher. In many cities, as, for example, in Halle, a clergyman takes
charge of this difficult task. Two days in the week the school prin-
cipal has a class room made ready for this purpose, so that the prepa-
ration for confirmation partakes, from the start, of the character of
school instruction. The pastor is in every case the youngest one in
the church parish in which the schoolhouse and its auxiliar}^ classes
are situated. As assistant pastor, he naturally will not stay very long
in this parish, so that frequent changes are made. This young
clergyman is not previously questioned by his superiors as to whether
he has sufficient inclination and ability to carry on this difficult work.
He does it as well as he can; his conscience is the only judge of his
performance. Would it not mean a desirable relieving of this con-
science if the church authorities in charge should declare: " He alone
is fitted to prepare the candidates from the auxiliary school for con-
firmation who has known the pupils the most intimately and for
the longest time ? " Since the older clergymen of the parish already
are burdened with several confirmation classes, they can not be
called upon to give this instruction, which would require special
study on their part. In the interest of the clergymen and of the
children of the auxiliary school, as. well as in the interest of the
kingdom of God upon earth, the instruction for confirmation must be
given into the hands of the oldest teacher, or of the principal, of the
auxiliary school. More or less recently this step has already been
taken in Brunswick, Breslau, Kassel, Dresden, Gorlitz, and Konigs-
berg. Generally this special duty is given over to the teacher or
principal by the consistory, with the privilege of recalling the ap-
pointment at any time. Beyond this, the higher church authorities
reserve the right of supervision. They cause the city superintendent
to visit the school once or twice a year, have him hold an examination
a short time before the confirmation, and allow the candidates for
confirmation from the auxiliary school to be handed over to their
parochial clergymen for, perhaps, three or four weeks more, that
THF S^AT^ AND THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL. 103
they may take their confirmation vows along with the other children
on the general day of confirmation. For this purpose, at the very
beginning of his preparation for confirmation, the personal record of
each shoidd be given to the clergyman in charge, so that he may in
good season influence, as spiritual guide, also those children who
have not yet come under his instruction, and their parents.
The confirmation ceremony and the first communion of the auxil-
iary school pupils at Halle, in the presence of the teachers of the
institution, was always quite solemn and impressive, but the ceremony
made the impression upon one, however, that the pupils of this insti-
tution for the care and education of defectives were being confirmed
under special and abnormal conditions. The auxiliary school pupils,
at the age of confirmation at least, should feel that they can live
among companions of their own age without noticeable peculiarities.
As material of instruction the Ten Commandments are, above all, to
be used, and these are to be treated with especial regard to prac-
tical life. Kielhom makes excellent suggestions regarding methods
of presenting them to candidates from the auxiliary school. Then,
in addition to the Commandments, there are the three articles of the
creed, the Lord's Prayer, the command for baptism, and the sacra-
mental words of the holy communion. Of course Luther's explana-
tion of these parts of the catechism is to be used. The purpose of
confirmation should be made very clear to the pupils.
XIV.— THE COMMUNITY AND THE STATE IN THEIR
RELATIONS TO THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL.
The modern State, and under it the community, have not merely
the right and the duty to care for the spreading and deepening of
culture; both have also to take charge of the economically inefficient.
As a rule^ the mentally weak are the economically inefficient ; there-
fore the auxiliary school is no matter of luxury or a play of surplus
financial powers. It is rather a humanitarian duty, which demands
true manhood. Nevertheless, in the social life of different com-
munities ideal impulses and philanthropic sentiments could not long
avail if the real background of self-preservation did not speak a
plain language.
Naumann very properly says: " To keep up the lowest class of the
people means insurance against great losses to the whole." The
auxiliary school pupils come from the lowest class of a city com-
munity. Since their ability to gain a livelihood is but small if they
have not been specially trained and accustomed to work, the whole
community has later to take action in their behalf. Either the aux-
104 THE AtrXlLlAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
iliary school pupil becomes a loafer and a tax upon the poor funds or
a vagabond upon the public highways. Both are unwelcome mem-
bers of a community. Not only are they unwelcome, they are highly
injurious to the social body. Mental deficiency, even in its lesser
forms and aspects, is, as is well known, often the cause of all kinds
of misdemeanors and crimes. Weak-mindedness, however, when
joined with a dislike of work, is still more detrimental. So by neg-
lecting the mentally and economically inefficient a city incurs ex-
penses for the care of the poor, expenses for the suppression of va-
grancy, and, finally, expenses for the maintenance of criminals. This
means, therefore, that the maintenance of auxiliary schools is an
insurance against greater losses. A comparison of expenses for the
year will probably show that money has been saved, for if the ejfforts
to make these weak ones capable of earning a livelihood and thus
to add useful members to a community are successful, its powers are
increased, even if they are but small factors in the community life.
The establishment and maintenance of auxiliary schools is therefore
not merely a worthy humanitarian duty, but also a social necessity;
and economic considerations generally speak convincingly in the
larger administrative bodies. Now, the larger cities have, indeed,
shown hitherto a gratifying rivalry in the matter of auxiliary schools,
and the State has not only given its customary consent, but has not
refused to recognize the newly created institutions.
But the task of the State and the community by no means ends with
the present auxiliary school organization. A whole series of long-
ings, which now and again have been clearly enough expressed, must
still be realized. In the first place, compulsory attendance on the
auxiliary school, which has elsewhere (p. 47) been demanded, should
be enforced by the State. Under the conditions specified, parents
should be obliged by law to send their children to an auxiliary school.
Next, the school period should be extended to the end of the four-
teenth year. It has been suggested that it would be well to keep all
auxiliary school pupils in the school at least one year after the age of^i
confirmation. "Jl
More far-reaching and beneficial, however, is the demand that a
special continuation school, with compulsory attendance and a course
covering several years, should be established for poorly endowed
children. Really it is not advisable to transfer confirmed pupils from
the auxiliary school to the continuation trade schools of the cities;
that would mean that all those evil conditions would again be brought
about which the auxiliary school has tried so hard to do away with.
The difference in the school knowledge of the former auxiliary school
pupils would of itself be especially troublesome to the teacher of the
continuation school. Consequently a special class would have to
1
THE STATE AND THE AtJXlLlABY SCHOOL. 106
instituted in that school. That religion, reading, writing, and arith-
metic would have to be continued in it is probably not questioned by
anyone, but at the same time economic, civic, and religious virtues
must be cultivated.
Besides these indispensable theoretical duties, the continuation
school for poorly endowed children has also purely practical ones to
perform. For this purpose, therefore, so-called " preparatory work-
shops " must be established, which teach objectively the most ele-
mentary forms of those trades which are to be most highly recom-
mended to pupils from the auxiliary school. Mental defectives will
seldom be able to create masterpieces. It is enough if they only
become intelligent underworkers and helpers in straw plaiting, bas-
ket making, bookbinding, cabinetmaking, or to stone masons, shoe-
makers, gardeners, farm hands, bricklayers, etc. Even if many of
these trades can not be taught in workshops, visits to places where
work is being done, followed by discussions, will partially make up
for this. If emphasis is laid upon this practical training, the con-
tinuation school for mental defectives can give a vocation to hundreds
of unfortunates who would otherwise fail hi life, and this vocation
will make them efficient and therefore useful and respectable members
of human society.
For the auxiliary school pupil, moreover, the choice of a vocation
would be postponed for years by the continuation school, and so he
would be enabled to make a wiser decision. It is always hard to
discover in good season the best line of work for young people. The
children of the auxiliary school consent to all kinds of proposals, and
the parents seldom show understanding or deep interest in this mat-
ter. So the decision often rests with the teacher and the physician.
They can surmise, if they can not know exactly, what the child's
mental and physical equipment will be, as well as his later desires
and abilities. By their counsel they can prevent the changes in voca-
tion which the weak-minded pupil is so prone to make.
The most important thing of all, however, they can not do alone,
i. e., seek out suitable positions. How often parents who have been
turned away by employers come to the auxiliary school principal and
beg him to try to help their child to secure a position. Sometimes,
indeed, the school's intercession is of service, but master mechanics
do not care to have much to do with apprentices from the auxiliary
school. Therefore K. Kichter's wish is justifiable: " Would that our
master mechanics at home would realize that the children who go out
from the auxiliary schools are not as incompetent as is generally
thought, but that, on the contrary, they often excel in practical
affairs boys taken into apprenticeship from the country or elsewhere
without anything being known aboiit them, and doubly reward the
106 THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
benevolent work of instructing them, if only the master does not
leave this teaching in the hands of an assistant, but looks after it
himself and is kind and patient with the boys."
A similar wish might be expressed in regard to the placing of
girls in stores and factories, as in families which need servants or
waiting maids. But will both wishes be considered carefully enough,
and will masters and employers of servants use the personal records
and individual lists of the auxiliary school? The realization of
these wishes presupposes much benevolence of spirit. The State,
however, could aid in this, as could private benevolence, to some
extent at least: Let the State set aside rewards for such master
mechanics as can prove that former auxiliary school pupils have
answered all the demands of a guild in their training. According
to K. Richter's reports, on special motion of the Royal Saxon minis-
ter of the interior, a premium of 150 marks is granted in such a case.
Perhaps this example will be imitated in other States. A wider
influence can be exerted, however, by the activities of associations in
cities having auxiliary schools. In Leipzig, Konigsberg, and Berlin
auxiliary school societies, and associations for the care of backward
children already exist. The characteristic portions of the statutes of
the associations of these cities are as follows :
ASSOCIATION FOR THE EDUCATION AND CARE OF BACKWARD
(MENTALLY DEFICIENT) CHILDREN. (BERLIN.)
[Chartered association.]
■ I. NAME, LOCATION, AND PURPOSE OF THE ASSOCIATION.
§ 1. The Association for the Education and Care of Backward (Mentally
Deficient) Children, founded March 26, 1903, has its headquarters in Berlin,
§2. The Association for the Education and Care of Backward (Mentally
Deficient) Children aims to awaken and promote interest in and understanding
of the culture and education of backward (mentally deficient) children and to
cooperate in the mental, physical, moral, and economic advancement of these
minors.
§ 3. This aim is attained :
A.
1. By lectures and discussions of topics in the fields of instruction and educa-
tion in question, especially of the present practice in the care of mental de-
fectives at home and abroad, by the description of typical institutions and typ-
ical organizations before the association, before other associations, or public
assemblies.
2. By the discussion of pertinent literature, of ordinances and decrees of
State and district authorities.
3. By scientific treatment of pertinent questions, the publication of suitable
aids to teaching, etc., discussions in professional magazines and in the daily
press.
4. By visiting establishments (classes, schools, institutions) for the care ol
mental defectives, meetings of societies, and conventions.
5. By establishing a central bureau of information.
THE STATE AND THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL. 107
By the development of practical care taking. This care taking shall strive
to bring about —
1. For all mental defectives tcho need it —
(a) Provision for better care, clothing, and food.
(b) The establishment of homes for children, refuges (day homes with
board), and suitable care during vacations.
(c) The placing of the children under proper care, either private or in
some institution, according to the nature of the case.
(d) Their seasonable committal to suitable educational institutions.
(e). The appointment of care takers arid professional assistants, who are
continually to watch over the education of the children, have super-
vision of the proper use of materials at the disposal of the execu-
tive council, instruct and advise parents, guardians, care takers,
overseers, and employers of labor.
(f) The formation of school committees in connection with the schools
concerned.
2. For those who have got through school —
(a) In cooperation with parents, guardians, and teachers, to advise the
children as soon as possible before their dismissal from the school
regarding their choice of a vocation.
(b) To point out reliable foremen and employers of labor who would be
likely to exert a beneficial and educative influence upon these
youths and further their technical training.
(c) To take care of these children when they are not cared for in homes.
(d) In connection with the school, to establish continuation courses, even-
ing technical classes, and homes for apprentices and girls in order to
help those who have left school to make proper use of their spare
time.
(e) To help specially needy children to gain a more adequate education by
means of stipends, assistance from existing benevolent foundations,
associations, and funds.
(f) To grant aid in special cases of need and when dangers threaten them
in public life on account of their deficient ability.
II. MEMBERSHIP.
§ 4. Adults of both sexes, without distinction of vocation, political party, or
religion, as well as organizations, officials, and corporations, may be members
of this association.
§ 5. Membership may be gained by declaring one's intention to enter as —
(a) helper.
(b) professional assistant.
(c) paying member.
(d) life member.
(e) patron.
§ 6. Members of the association have equal rights regarding the management
of the association. In the general assembly each member of the association has
a vote, in the council e;ich of its own members has a vote, and in neither case
is vote by proxy permitted.
108 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
§ 7. The helpers, who work in connection with the schools, bind themselves to
do their utmost to accomplish the purposes set forth in § 2 and § 3, according to
a special regulation.
§ 8. Whea requested by the council or its individual members, each professional
assistant must give information regarding his own vocation or his chosen field
of work, and also must give advice of his own accord regarding affairs in his
department which can have significance in the education of mentally deficient
children, as in connection with apprenticeship, labor, wages.
§ 9. The professional assistants and helpers do not need to pay any membership
fee. Each year the paying members pay into the treasury of the association
any amount they choose, at least, however, three marks.
§ 10. Life members make one payment of at least a hundred marks ; patrons
at least five hundred marks. Persons who serve the association in any special
way may be elected honorary members of the main body.
§ 11. Membership is lost —
(a) by expressed desire to withdraw.
(b) for paying members, by two failures to pay the annual fee.
(c) by decision of the general assembly upon recommendation of the
' council.
III. ORGANIZATION OF THE ASSOCIATION.
§ 12. The work of the association is carried on by an executive council and
the general assembly. Both bodies can appoint committees and commissions for
special service, and to these t)thers beside the members of the executive council
may be appointed.
A pedagogical commission, whose president must always be a teacher, enters
upon its work at once, and its duties are regulated by special by-laws. This
commission has the right to expend, for its own purposes, moneys which have
been appropriated for its special work without having to gain the permission
of the executive council.
The treasurer of the association is required to keep special account of the
same.
A. THE EXECUTIVE COUNCIL.
§ 13. The executive council is elected by the general assembly for a period of
three years beginning January 1 ; one-third go out each year. Re-election is
permissible. The first elections are for the period from 1903 to December 31,
1905. Lots shall be cast to determine whose terms shall expire in 1903 and
1904.
§ 14. The executive council consists of —
(a) a president and two vice-presidents.
(&) a secretary and two assistant secretaries,
(c) a treasurer and his assistant.
{d) six other members.
§ 15. A special schedule of work specifies the duties of each member of the
executive council.
§ 16. The executive council carries on the current business of the association.
It meets when occasion demands, if possible, at least once a month.
§ 17. The executive council represents the association in all its relations, and
especially in court. The president and a second member of the executive coun-
cil may sign papers in the name of the association.
§ 18. The secretary must do all the written work for the associatipn.
THE STATE AND THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL. 109
§ 19. The treasurer must collect the revenues of the association, take charge
of the treasury and the funds of the association, make payment when directed to
do so by the president, and keep all accounts.
§ 20. In case any officer is unable to perform his duties his assistant is pro-
moted to the position.
§ 21. All moneys which in the opinion of the executive council are not needed
to carry on its regular work are to be invested as securely as are the funds of
minor children. The council has the power to decide regarding the withdrawal
of such funds from investment.
B. THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.
§ 22. The general assembly meets at least once a year. With it alone lies the
power to examine into the affairs of the executive council, as well as into the
report of its work (especially of the treasurer), to elect new members of the
executive council, and finally to .decide regarding the expulsion of a member
and regarding changes in the statutes of the association. The report of the
treasurer is accepted only after his accounts have been audited by two mem-
bers of the association appointed each year by the general assembly. These
must not be members of the executive council.
IV. SPECIAL RULES FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF THE ASSOCIATION.
§ 23. In addition to the regulations laid down in the schedule of work, the
following special rules guide in the management of the association :
The president sets the date for the regular meetings of the executive council
as long beforehand as practicable. To other meetings the members of the execu-
tive council are given written invitations ; the call for meetings of the general
assembly shall be published at least fourteen days before the date of meeting
in the following newspapers : Die Vossische Zeitung, Die Post, Das Berliner
Tageblatt, and Der Lokalanzeiger. The executive council may publish other
notices of any meeting of the general assembly if it is deemed advisable.
§ 24. The president must call a special meeting of the executive council when
three members make a written motion to that effect, stating the object; an
extra session of the general assembly when one-fourth of the members of the
association propose it in like manner.
§ 25. For the regular meetings of the executive council one-third of the mem-
bers constitute a quorum ; in the general assembly no quorum is necessary.
§ 26. A majority vote carries a measure ; in case of a tie the president casts
the deciding vote. For the expulsion of a member or a change in the statutes
a two-thirds majority of the voting members is required.
§ 27. If a member of the executive council can not or will not accept an office
to which he has been chosen or continue therein, the members have the right to
appoint one of their number in his place for the rest of his term of office. In
like manner the executive council may complete its membership from the mem-
bership of the association.
§ 28. The minutes of the executive council are authenticated by the signa-
tures of the president and secretary, those of the general assembly by the signa-
tures of the president, secretary, and three members of the executive council.
§ 29. Only a vote of three-fourths of the members present in the general assem-
bly can dissolve the association after it has been decided in a previous meeting
by a two-thirds majority that the question of the dissolution of the association
will be brought up at its next meeting.
If the dissolution of the association is decided upon, its possessions are turned
over, conserving the rights of third parties, to the municipal authorities of Ber-
lin, requiring them to use them in the spirit of the constitution of this associa-
tion.
110 THE AUXILIAKY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
ORDER OF BUSINESS OF THE COMMISSION FOR THE INSTRUCTION
AND EDUCATION OF BACKWARD (MENTALLY DEFICIENT) CHIL-
DREN. (LEIPZIG.)
1. Purpose.
The Commission for the Instruction and Education of Mentally Deficient
Children aims to gain a pedagogical insight into the real nature of these chil-
dren, to discover the best methods which lead to the instruction and education
of them, as well as the school organization which would best meet their needs.
2. Organization.
The commission will strive to gain this purpose by holding meetings, by ar-
ranging for courses of lectures, by founding a library with pertinent literature,
by maintaining a reading room with suitable magazines, by arranging journeys
for information, by sending delegates, etc.
Proceedings at meetings will consist of lectures, exchanges of collected experi-
ences, discussions of. books, references to new data, specimen teaching, exhibi-
tions of teaching appliances, etc.
3. Management.
The executive officers of the commission consist of the president and a vice-
president, secretary, assistant secretary, and librarian.
Only teachers may be chosen as presidents and secretaries.
Members of the executive body are elected for one year ; reelection is permis-
sible.
AUXILIARY SCHOOL ASSOCIATION AT KONIGSBERG.
[According to Fr. Frenzel.]
§ 1. The purpose of the association is to cooperate with the auxiliary school
in caring for the physical and mental development of weak-minded children,
viz:
1. Of those who have left school.
2. Of those still compelled to go to school.
3. Of other mental defectives, i. e., those who are still very young.
To this is joined the further purpose of spreading information regarding the
real significance and value of the auxiliary school and of combating the prej-
udices of the public against It.
§ 2. The care of boys and girls who have left the Konigsberg Auxiliary School
will, among other things, consist in :
(a) The training of children for a practical calling in life. For this work
competent and morally unobjectionable masters, overseers, and guard-
ians must be secured,
(ft) The continuous supervision and education of the children,
(c) The granting of assistance in cases of need, as well as protection against
the dangers arising from their meager endowment, and against
those of public life (injuries caused by negligence, acute mental
disturbances, alcohol, prostitution, conflicts with the authorities).
{d) The placing of children under proper care, either private or in some
institution, according to the nature of the case.
1
THE STATE AND THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL. Ill
§ 3. The care of children who are still of school age shall, among other things,
consist in —
(a) Placing them as soon as possible in the auxiliary school ;
(b) Providing better care for the pupils as an aid to the accomplishment
of the school purposes, especially by the establishment of a home
for children (day home with board) and by providing special care
during vacations.
§ 4. To carry on this worlc helpers are appointed by the association, who are
to watch over the pupils and instruct the persons in their environment (parents,
guardians, former teachers, etc.).
§ 5. Any man or woman who is interested in this sphere of benevolent activity
may become a member of the association. Societies are also accepted as mem-
bers. Applications for admission are to be made to the president. Every
member pays an optional fee (at least 2 marks) during the year.
Notice of withdrawal from the association must be presented in writing before
the close of the year to the executive council.
Every member is asked to further the interests of the association as far as
he can by spreading information regarding its purposes, and by accepting
responsible positions and i^osts of honor in it.
§ 6. The executive council consists of sixteen members, men and women, in-
cluding the president, vice-president, secretary, assistant secretary, treasurer,
and eleven other members. The executive council conducts all the affairs of
the association and holds monthly meetings to discuss the progress of its work.
The members of the executive council are chosen at the first general meeting
of the year. If a member withdraws before the expiration of his term of office,
some one else is elected to take his place.
§ 7. The association year begins January the first. Meetings are called by
the executive council when occasion demands. The principal meeting of the
year is held in January, when the secretary's and the treasurer's reports are
given and the executive council elected. This annual meeting, the objects of
which are stated in the call, requires no quorum. A majority vote will pass
any resolution ; to change or amend the constitution a two-thirds majority of
the members present is required. A two-thirds majority vote of all the members
of the association is necessary to disband the association. In case of the dis-
solution of the association, all its possessions are to be handed over to some
institution for the care of mental defectives.
At Cologne, too, as well as at Frankfort on the Main and Brussels,
the auxiliary school, assisted by associations, cares for the further
development of its pupils who have been confirmed and have left
the school. It is very important, also, that the auxiliary school
teachers should carry on research work regarding the success of
auxiliary school instruction, as is done at Leipzig. At the instigation
of K. Richter (Leipzig) every six years questionnaires are sent out.
These seek information regarding the ability to earn a livelihood,
the conduct, and the desire for further education of former pupils
who can still be found. Such work causes the teacher much trouble,
and yet it furnishes a splendid test of the success of the school as
a whole. The results of the Leipzig experiments are gratifying, and
encourage us to continue the work along this line. We may expect
that such research work will be successful in other cities, too. Of
course the results of all efforts in the auxiliary school will be more
112 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
certain and greater when State and community, cooperating with
private persons, labor in the interest of those mental defectives who
have left the school.
Boys must be cared for till they reach the age when they must
serve in the army: That such care is very necessary has been proved
by H. Kielhorn, and he has also done much to bring it about. Much
of the mistreatment of soldiers, which is always mentioned in the
press and parliamentary speeches, comes about because the mental
condition of the youths who enter the army is not considered. If
when recruits were being examined the doctor would only take the
time to glance over the " personal records " of the auxiliary school,
many an evil report concerning the army could be stopped. And
much " ballast," too, many a drag on the military training, would
be done away with; indeed, the number of deserters and suicides
would be greatly lessened, if the previous life of the recruits were
known, on the basis of statements made by auxiliary school teachers.
And if only during recruiting, at least the question, " What school
have you attended ? " were asked, then, if an auxiliary school were
mentioned, a special examination would have to be made. To pre-
vent the misuse of this simple method, the military authorities might
demand lists of pupils of the auxiliary schools of any particular re-
cruiting district. In all cases it would be wiser not to allow any
former pupil of an auxiliary school to serve in the army, no matter
how physically capable he may seem ; and this from humanitarian as
well as from technically military and patriotic considerations.
A special administration of justice is recommended for weak-
minded, abnormal boys and girls who have left school. To be sure,
while attending the auxiliary school, they should learn to distinguish
more clearh^ right and wrong, good and evil ; but a pupil Avill never
leave tlie auxiliary school with firm principles of right in his mind ;
his social conscience will always be wavering. At least he will never
be able to resist the manifold temptations of his surroundings as a
mentally normal person could do. At times, too, physical conditions
will obscure his weak sense of right, so that deeds will be committed
which human society calls misdeeds, and punishes. The so-called
"changed accountability" (veranderte Zurechnungsfahigkeit) must
here be considered. When the layman, who criticises harshly and
hastily, hears this ncAvly-coined legal term, he speaks lightly of a
ridiculous lowering of our standards of discipline. Indeed, in view
of the increasing number of mental defectives among those to be
punished, he sees the administration of justice in a precarious posi-
tion, if punishment in a great number of cases is lessened as a result
of individual consideration of the mental condition of the offenders.
But criminal psychology is neither a philanthropic or scientific sport ;
the knowledge of psychopathology in its connection with misde-
THE STATE AND THE AUXILIARY SCHOOL. 113
meanors and crimes is nowadays rather a necessity, which can pre-
vent the infliction of punishment from being dislodged from its posi-
tion. Whoever has watched the development of an auxiliary school
pupil will know how easily guided he is, as long as those around him
understand him, and further, as long as this or that nervous condi-
tion does not handicap him.
Further, the health educator knows how sensitive he may become,
and fall into passions of the worst kind, if his short and disconnected
trains of thought become confused on account of some cause lying
entirely outside the sphere of his will. In such a case the slightly
abnormal child will generally act without reflection; but sometimes
he may, after mature but one-sided deliberation, do wrong, and then
his " changed accountability " can scarcely be assumed. In both
cases the judge must decide from a humanitarian point of view, i. e.,
he must consider the inner man in the offender, particularly if the
offender has passed through the auxiliary school in his youth. To
regard him as completely responsible, and to punish him as one would
a mentally normal person, would be to chastise a cripple merely be-
cause he was born a cripple, and to deform him still further. Para-
graph 51 « of the penal code of the German Empire gives the
judge the right to take into consideration a mental condition —
" unconsciousness " or " morbid excitement," by which free-will
action is absolutely prevented. Not a word, however, is said of
mental deficiency as a condition which also may hinder the free
action of the will. The twenty-seventh conference of German jurists
has recently tried to remedy this defect; and upon the advice of
Professors Kahl and Leppman (Berlin), the following recommenda-
tions have been made to the judicial authorities by Professors Cramer
(Gottingen), Kriipelin (Munich), and Kleinfeller (Kiel) :
1. Anyone who, at the time of committing a criminal act, is in a
diseased condition which is not merely temporary, and which has
lessened his ability to see the culpability of his actions, or his power to
resist temptation, is to be punished according to the law governing
punishment for petty offenses.
2. In the case of young offenders, more extensive use is to be made
of the principle recommended by the twenty-seventh conference of
jurists, viz, that educative measures, under the direction of the state,
be substituted for punishment.
3. Punishment may be postponed according to the general rule
permitting it, and we recommend that this rule be applied as widely
as possible.
4. Commitment is made to the usual penal institution, where the
conditions which brought about mental deficiency are given special
consideration.
a Compare Biirgerliches Gesetzbuch f .. d. Deutsche Reich, par. 827.
14659—07 8
114 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
5. Mental defectives in the sense of paragraph 1 who do not belong
in the usual penal institution are to be committed to a state reform-
atory, and youthful offenders are to be committed to educational
institutions.
6. Mental defectives who are dangerous to society must be kept in
suitable institutions until such time as they are considered fit to be
discharged, even though their sentences have been fulfilled or re-
mitted.
7. The discharge is only provisional and may be revoked during a
time fixed by law.
8. The health of mental defectives who are not dangerous to so-
ciety must be watched over by the State after their discharge or the
remission of their sentence ; they may be placed in families or private
institutions or given over to specially appointed guardians. Legal
limits should be set to the period of such supervision.
9. Special means are to be taken to determine the necessity and
advisability of any protective measures to be used in connection with
mental defectives, but this procedure is to be kept entirely distinct
from that concerned with the deprivation of the right of independent
action (on account of mental derangement or reckless expenditure).
In these recommendations a very important role is given to the
physician in connection with penal sentences. It is desirable, how-
ever, that the advice of the auxiliary school teacher be taken as an
expert when judgment is to be passed upon those who have formerly
attended an auxiliary school. At least the previous life and develop-
ment of the accused, as shown by the individual records kept by the
auxiliary school, must be taken into consideration. Many milder
sentences would then be given and further culpable deeds prevented
by proper treatment. Perhaps help may come from auxiliary school
and other societies in cities Avhose members can secure legal counsel
when former auxiliary school pupils are accused in court. This
counsel will always meet with obliging assistance among auxiliary
school people.**
XV.— THE TEACHERS AND THE PRINCIPAL OF THE
AUXILIARY SCHOOL.
The rapid development of the auxiliary school system explains the
fact that teachers and head masters have received no special training
for their work. Up to the present this could not be thought of. The
appointment officials were always satisfied if they could secure folk-
a The " Hilfsschule," No. 3, publishes an account of the committee for the
legal protection of mental defectives. This committee was appointed at the
instance of the executive council of the German Auxiliary School Association.
TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS. 115
school teachers who were willing to apply for the position. It was
taken for granted that a teacher accepted the position on account of
his interest in the cause, for the small remuneration ^iven to auxili-
ary school teachers could scarcely be an inducement. It was thought
that/interest in the cause, first of all, was the only and best prepa-
ration for the work, but still they were anxious to secure the most
competent and experienced teachers, especially successful teachers of
the lower classes of the folk school. The teacher of these lower
classes, therefore, who would give his undivided attention to his new
work, seemed to be by far the most suitable person for the position.
Many times experience showed that this was the case. Yet many of
the beginners were disappointed; they were neither satisfied with
their work nor successful in it. For the auxiliary school, as well as
for the teachers in question, it was then fortunate if withdrawal was
still possible. In their places new teachers would then have to be
chosen and with greater care than before. |Next, the auxiliary school
authorities were glad if they could secure teachers from among those
who had taught in curative educational institutions, as asylums for
idiots, institutes for the deaf and dumb, and the blind.
Unfortunately, as a rule but few applications were received from
that quarter. Consequently dependence had to be placed almost en-
tirely upon former tfolk-school teachers, and in fact only upon the
younger ones of these. For if a folk-school teacher has for years been
teaching his pupils as a mass, he has gradually become unfitted for
the individual instruction required in the auxiliary school. It is too
hard for him to accustom himself to new methods, and he finds no
pleasure in the work. In many cases he is thoroughly convinced of
the power of discipline and drill in the school. Now, both of these
may be very necessary in a large folk-school class, but in the auxiliary
school they are injurious rather than beneficial. The auxiliary
school teacher must not be an unsympathetic disciplinarian. He must
have his own feelings fully under his control. If he is irritable and
if anger easily gains power over him, he had better turn his back
upon the auxiliary school. In dealing with mental defectives, as well
as with poorly endowed children, the teacher must always practice
self-control. Any expression of impatience, as hasty and harsh words,
would be quite useless and his work as an educator quite without
effect. A^Tiims and moods must also be suppressed by one undertak-
ing this work. Therefore, a person who is physically sound should
be chosen. A nervous, melancholy person would never be equal to
the demands made by auxiliary school instruction, and the children
would be deprived of all the freshness and brightness which school
work should possess.
To be sure, experienced folk-school teachers can become models of
self-control and able to spread sunshine and gladness about them;
116 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
probably, however, they will prefer to remain in their usual field of
work rather than accustom themselves to a new one when well up in
years. This adaptation to new situations is sooner to be expected of
the newer members of the profession. Even when w^e were convinced
that one of these members, who stood ready to serve the auxiliary
school, was really interested in its welfare, and we knew his power
of self-control, as also the cheerfulness of his disposition, and speedy
adjustment to the new duties could be expected, even then we were
not certain that the right choice had been made. Little by little
people came to see that experimentation by a teacher is nowhere more
injurious than among children who are abnormal and constantly in
danger of injury by being led in this or that direction. Consequently
all kinds of proposals were made, especially by auxiliary school
teachers themselves, by which the folk-school teacher might be made
competent to take up the work of the auxiliary school in such a way
that he would without loss of time become a blessing to the school
and a satisfaction to himself.
First, it was recommended that the new teacher be allowed to visit
tlie classes of experienced auxiliary school teachers frequently. To
begin with, the higher classes, then the intermediate, and finally the
lower classes should be visited before he attempts to teach at all.
This proposal deserves serious consideration. The visitor should be
permitted to ask questions, to which instructive answers are to be
given^by the teacher in charge of the class. It is not less important
that he should attend conferences of the auxiliary school instructors.
Secondly, candidates for positions in the auxiliary school are to be
advised to acquaint themselves with the literature of the subject and
to make themselves at home in all fields of knowledge and technical
work which bear upon auxiliary school instruction. Above all, the
following books are to be studied : Demoor, Die anormalen Kinder und
ihre erziehliche Behandlung in Haus und Schule; Fuchs, Schwach-
sinnige Kinder, ihre sittliche und intellektuelle Rettung; Striimpell,
Die padagogische Pathologic oder die Lehre von den Fehlern der
Kinder ; Heller, Grundriss der Heilpadagogik. He should also make
himself acquainted with the reports of the meetings of the German
Auxiliary School Association and of the conferences regarding auxil-
iary schools and schools for idiots, as well as with the Zeitschrift fiir
die Behandlung Schwachsinniger und Epileptischer, and further, with
the " Kinder fehler." In consequence of this knowledge of the litera-
ture, not only will he become desirous of familiarizing himself with
the history and organization of the auxiliary school system, but also
of occupying himself with social and scientific pedagogical questions
and individual departments of the work. Further, t he auxilia ry
school teacher must know the sociological efforts being "made in our
time ; also school hygiene, how to cure difficulties of speech, child and
TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS. 117
folk psychology, as well as the broad field which the physician in-
cludes under the term " etiology of psychosis."
Thirdly, the auxiliary school teacher is recommended to increase
hig knowledge by attendance upon suitable series of lectures. These
lectures have hitherto been given rarely. In 1899 was established
at Zurich the first course for teachers in special schools. As is seen
from the reports published in the " Kinderfehler," this laudable un-
dertaking reckoned more upon the attendance of teachers from the
medico-pedagogical establishments than from the auxiliary schools.
In 1904 an attempt was made at Jena to adapt these courses specially
to the needs of auxiliary school teachers. The pedagogical depart-
ment of the vacation schools which have been organized for many
years presented lectures regarding defects of character in childhood
and youth, child psychology, the auxiliary school system, difficulties
of speech in childhood, the physiology of the brain, and demonstra-
tions by reference to meagerly endowed and defective children.
These lectures will maintain their significance as a kind of intro-
ductory preparation so long as a fourth demand is not met by the
state, which is that auxiliary school teachers be trained in specially
constituted seminaries.
We can not demand that the state establish a number of training
schools whose graduates shall be competent auxiliary school teachers.
Neither can we expect the normal school student to decide before he
completes his training whether he will teach in a folk or auxiliary
school. That would be possible if all teachers' seminaries had a spe-
cial course in auxiliary school pedagogy. In my opinion the highest
educational authorities would only have to take another st^p in the
same direction in which they are already working, and (to quote
from a Prussian resolution of 1901 regarding the training of teach-
ers) give the seminary students sound pedagogical training regard-
ing the' development of the spiritual life of the child in its normal
course and its most important pathological conditions. Overcrowded
as the pedagogical curriculum is to-day with material, it would
seem that this thoroughness of training in these regards, which is so
much to be desired, must remain as an unrealized hope. Specialists
can not and should not be reared in the schools for the training of
folk school teachers. However, greater interest may be aroused in
the various branches of curative pedagogy; and as in recent years
pupils have been allowed to visit now and again institutions for the
deaf and dumb, the blind, or idiots, he might now also be permitted
to see the workings of an auxiliary school. Then he might be given
a short introduction to the history, organization, and literature of
the auxiliary school system. It would not be a bad idea if there
should be a division for mentally deficient children in the practice
school; the seminary student would be able to learn a great deal
118 THE AUXILIARY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
there. Of course the work in this department would be hard and
not very pleasant for a beginner. On account of this the wish can
not be realized.
Therefore an effort should be made in another direction. Let the
state establish, in a university town, a center for the auxiliary
school teachers of a whole district. Let auxiliary school teachers,
well versed in theory and practice, be called to positions there in a
model auxiliary school. These teachers, together with medical men,
jurists, and political economists from the university, should hold lec-
tures each year for such seminary graduates as have been chosen at
its recommendation by the official authorities. A final examination,
which would be considered equal to the examination for teachers in
the intermediate schools or institutions of the deaf and dumb, would
qualify the candidate to accept a position in the auxiliary school.
Later it can be decided whether an examination for school principal
is essential. At present such an examination is considered unneces-
sary. A folk school rector is still always chosen as principal of an
auxiliary school, who then has to direct the affairs of a folk school
along with those of an auxiliary school. • This conception of the
auxiliary school principal hitherto is not entirely false. The folk
school rector who performs the duties connected with the auxiliary
school with zeal and love may be of great service to it. Yet the more
the before-mentioned desires regarding the preparation of auxiliary
school teachers are fulfilled, the more must consideration be given to
the auxiliary school having its own director. Of course he must be a
teacher, not a physician, for even the medical questions, which are of
the utmost importance, are to be considered from a pedagogical point
of view. This will be seen again and again at teachers' meetings.
At these conferences questions regarding organization, methods, care
of the soul, and psychological problems, as well as discussions on
literature, may compose the entire programme. In many cases the
school physician must be present at such meetings. It will then be
helpful to have model lessons, particularly when it is a question of
change of method. Each year principals and teachers are to be
given opportunity to attend meetings of associations and societies in
the interests of the auxiliary school work.
In this section we have been speaking of male teachers and school-
men ; yet we do not wish to suggest that women should be excluded
from auxiliary school work. Even though it would not be advisable
to have only women to care for the education and instruction of men-
tal defectives, as is often the case in other countries, yet we can not
entirely dispense with the aid of women teachers. Strange to say,
there are but few of these in German, and especially in Prussian
auxiliary schools. For a long time their services in technical work
THEIR PEDAGOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE. 119
(hand work and gymnastics in girls' classes) have been desired;
but so far as I know there are still very few auxiliary schools in the
Empire which have any women teachers. And yet the auxiliary
school could only gain by it if the motherh^ influence of women
teachers were added to the fatherly influence of the men. To be
sure, it will be harder for a woman to handle a mixed class than for
a man, but deep interest in the welfare of the weakly endowed ones
will probably be able to overcome even this.
XV^I.— THE PEDAGOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE
AUXILIARY SCHOOL.
The auxiliary school question may truly be said to be many-sided;
it interests the philanthropist as well as the political economist and
the jurist; it also concerns pastors, doctors, and military officers.
Naturally the educator is the one chiefly interested; but before all
the practical expert, who never gives up on account of difficulties,
finds his profit here.
A position in the auxiliary school is by no means a sinecure: but
the expert in this school is lead by just the difficult duties of his office
to make far-reaching theoretical researches. He discovers the vari-
ous methods of psychological observation, and comes to find that a
proper valuation of abnormal children may aid in the development
of normal pupils. So by thoughtful study he may become a path-
finder in the psycho-genetic field. His discoveries render service to
the whole field of pedagogy in one way or another.
This splendid outlook is not impossible, because the pedagogy of
the auxiliary school is not yet fully developed, and the auxiliary
school teacher for the present is still able to work without being
narrowly restricted by any laws. Also the whole field of pedagogy
is yet to-day undergoing further organization. Just think of the
complete change which has been made in the instruction of the first
school year, in the consideration of coeducation, etc. ! Therefore
experiments can be made in the auxiliary school; it can serve as a
pedagogical seminary in the broadest sense of the term for all schools.
We do not need to repeat that the auxiliary school is not to be a place
for pedagogical vivisection, and the auxiliary school pupil is not to
be made a mere subject for such experimentation, but it can very well
be made the university for all schools, and especially for the folk
schools, by the efforts of the theoretically and practically qualified
workers therein.
APPENDIX.
[The following additional notes were prepared by Dr. L. R. Klemm, of the Bureau of
Education.]
The idea of establishing separate classes in large schools, or special schools
in the more populous cities, for weak-minded and other backward children, is
not new in America. The first school of this kind was established by Superin-
tendent A. J. Rickoff in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1875. He adopted the idea from
the Germans, who had begun to agitate this question as early as 1860. Many
American educational thinkers and school officials have, it is true, for years
advocated semiannual promotions in school, so as to enable pupils who can not
be promoted to pick up the lost stitches of their course in four or five months,
instead of losing an entire year. Dr. W. T. Harris adopted this system in St.
Louis as early as 1875, and enlarged upon the subject in conventions and in the
press. In some other cities this arrangement and others designed for similar
purposes have been successfully carried into effect, and many a child who has
lost a grade through disease, truancy, or mental weakness has been saved from
being put back an entire year. Still, this does not protect the majority of pupils
from being retarded by the progress of the intellectual misfits.
The Germans seem to be imbued with the idea that saving a mentally weak
child for a life of usefulness will prevent a heavy drain upon the town poor fund
later on, hence that the outlay for special schools will result in a double saving —
a saving for the individual as well as for the community.
The Mannheim system of grading the pupils of the public schools has been
explained at some length on pages 43-47 of this work. As there stated, the
schools of Mannheim are organized with three parallel courses, namely : A regu-
lar course, which is followed by over 90 per cent of the pupils ; another to which
pupils are transferred who for any reason need temporary aid; and a special
course for weak-minded pupils. The diagram on page 122 illustrates this organ-
ization.
The school superintendent of Mannheim, Dr. A. Sickinger, argues that the
organization of any city school system should be adapted to the natural capaci-
ties of the children. In other words, as children should be clothed according to
their size and fed according to their appetites, they should be mentally nourished
and exercised according to their mental capacities and strength. He points to
the well-known fact that many children at some point of their eight years*
course fail to be promoted, while some fail repeatedly. Such children reach the
age for leaving school before completing the regular prescribed course, and
hence remain educational torsos or cripples, as they never get the chance of
rounding out their education. They fail to acquire the habit of intensive and
conscientious work, the most beneficial fruit of rational school training; they
are left without confidence in their own powers, without willingness to work or
joy in regular occupation.
Superintendent Sickinger suggests three ways for saving these elements of the
city's school population : ( 1 ) Decreasing the amount of matter to be learned by
all the pupils, for it is not the extent or breadth, but the depth and definiteness
121
122
THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
of the knowledge gained which decide the value of school education. This
method would, however, place all the schools on a lower plane of usefulness,
for it would effectually check the aspirations of gifted children to rise above
mediocrity. (2) Decreasing the number of pupils assigned to each teacher, so
Column A, — Regular grades containing more
than 90% of the pupils.
Column B, — Grades for temporary aid.
Column C,—Auxilary grades or special schools.
Column D, — Preparatory classes of high schools.
Regularly promoted,
laced temporarily in separate classes
for individual attention and returned
to regular grades.
Placed in special classes owing to
defective mentality.
Id. — Institution for idiots.
G. — Gymnasium.
Rg. — Realgymnasium.
0. —Oberrealschute.
R. — Reformgymnasium,
Id.
Diagram illustrating the organization of the elementary school system of Mannheim,
Germany. Reprinted, with slight alterations, from Julius Moses's Sonderklassensystem
der Mannheimer Volksschule (Mannheim, 1904).
as to facilitate more individual treatment. This would necessitate a much
greater outlay in maintaining the schools. (3) Sifting out the pupils unable to
keep pace with the normally endowed and giving them special courses, one
course being adapted to physically and intellectually weak children, another to
^j
APPENDIX. 123
those who by reason of absence or other unavoidable cause have fallen behind
their classes, though they be intelligent enough to keep pace with the majority
if given temporary aid. Doctor Sickinger's chief object in the latter case is to
avoid the repetition of a whole year's studies, because that would occasion not
only a great loss of time, but also a loss of self-respect, or else (if the attempt
is made to go on) a dissipation of youthful strength in keeping pace, which
strength might be better utilized after a few weeks of special attention.
The accompanying diagram is so easily understood that it requires no further
explanation. It will suffice here to call attention to the hygienic advantages
accruing from this plan of school organization. The special classes (columns
B and C) offer children with defective eyesight, hearing, etc., a treatment which
few, if any, regular schools could possibly give ; they also act as a sort of hos-
pital for poorly fed, anemic, and nervous children, many of whom can not keep
their attention fixed upon one subject for a long period of time, but who get
tired after a few minutes of concentrated attention.
SUPPLEMENTARY STATISTICS.
The " Zentralblatt fiir die gesamte Unterrichtsverwaltung in Preussen," the
official organ of the Prussian minister of public instruction, gives in its Sep-
tember-October number of 1907 comprehensive statistics (for 1907) of auxiliary
schools in the different provinces of Prussia. These are summarized as follows :
Auxiliary schools of Prussia.
Schools . 204
Pupils 12, 734
Classes and teachers 690
Men teachers 544
Women teachers 146
Average number of pupils to a school 62.4
Average number of pupils to a teacher 18. 5
BIBLIOGRAPHY.-
Note. — The brief bibliographies prefixed "to the several chapters in the original work
are here brought together in order to facilitate reference. The order of arrangement of
the original has been retained, so that the numbers and subjects of the different divisions
correspond with those of the chapters of the text.
I. — History of the Development of Auxiliary Schools.
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BosBAUER, H., MiKLAS, L., und ScHiNER, H. Handbuch der Schwachsinnigen-
fiirsorge. Leipzig und Wien, Teubner und Graeser, 1905. 173 Seiten.
Gerhardt, J. P. Zur Geschichte und Literatur des Idiotenwesens in Deutsch-
land. Alsterdorfer Anstalten bei Hamburg, Selbstverlag, 1904.
GizYCKi, P. VON. Der Unterriclit fiir schwaebsinnige Kinder. In Vossische
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HiNTz, O. Die Erziebung abnoriiier Kinder iu Normalschulen. In Neue Bah
uen, 1897, IV.
Welche padagogischen Massnahnien eignen sieh fiir den Unterricht solcher
Kinder, welche durch die Voll^sschule nicht geuiigende Forderung er-
fahren? Berlin, Loewenthal, 1898.
London School Board. Annual Report of the Special Schools Sub-Committee,
1903.
Mitteilungen des Vorstandes des deutschen Hilfsschulverbandes. In Die Hilfs-
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Nebenklassen fiir schwachbegabte Kinder in Berlin. In Zeitschrift fiir Schul-
gesundheitspflege, 1900, 1901.
Piper, H. Die Fiirsorge fiir die schwachsinnigen Kinder. In Deutsche Schule :
Monatsschrift. Leipzig, Klinckhardt, 1897, 3.
Reinke, W. Die Unterweisung und Erziebung schwachsinniger (schwachbe-
fahigter) Kinder. Berlin, L. Oehmigke, 1897.
Eichter, K. Die Bestrebungen fiir die Bildung und Erziebung schwachsin-
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Schenk, a. Reisebericht. In Kinderfehler, 1900.
Stotzner, H. iiber Schulen fur schwachbefahigte Kinder. Erster Entwurf zur
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sinnige Kinder zu errichten. In Zeitschrift fiir die Behandlung Schwach-
sinniger und Epileptischer, 1900.
° A much more comprehensive and systematically classified bibliography of auxiliary
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is in course of publication in monthly parts in Die Kinderfehler (Langensalza, H. Beyer
& Sohne). The publication began with the October number of 1906, and in September,
1907, had covered 19 of the 24 proposed classes or divisions of the subject.
125
126 THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
U. S. Bureau of Education. Schools for the defective classes. Report of the
Commissioner of Education. Washington, 1903.
Walker, W. Die neuesten Bestrebungen und Erfahrungen auf dem Gebiete
der Erziehung der Schwachen. Dissertation. Solothurn, 1903.
WiNTERMANN, A. Die Hilfsschulcn Deutschlands und der deutschen Schweiz.
Langensalza, Beyer und Sohne, 1898.
ZiEGLER, C. Hilfsschulen fiir Schwachbefahigte. In Reins Enzyklopadisches
Handbuch.
II. — Reasons for the Establishment of Auxiliary Schools.
Altenburg, O. Die Kunst des psychologischen Beobachtens. Berlin, Reuther
und Reichard, 1898.
Babthold, K. Die Idiotenanstalten und die Hilfsschulen, eine Grenzregulie-
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Benda, Th. Die Schwachbegabten auf den hoheren Schulen. Berlin und
Leipzig, Teubner, 1902. 18 Seiten.
Bericht iiber den I. Verbandstag der Hilfsschulen Deutschlands am 12.-13.
April 1898. Hannover.
GoBKE, M. Die Fiirsorge fiir geistig zuriickgebliebene Kinder. Ein Reise-
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Kielhorn, H. Die Erziehung geistig zuriickgebliebener Kinder in Hilfsschulen.
Osterwieck, Zickfeld, 1897.
Koch, J. L. A. Die psychopathischen Minderwertigkeiten in der Schule. In
A. Bauer : Das kranke Schulkind. Stuttgart, Enke, 1902.
Laquer, L. Hilfsschulen fiir schwachbefahigte Kinder, Ihre arztliche und
soziale Bedeutung. Wiesbaden, Bergmann, 1901.
tJber schwachsinnige Schulkinder. Halle, Marhold, 1902.
Leubuscher, G. Die schularztliche Tittigkeit in Stadten und auf dem Lande.
In Verhandlungen der III. Jnhresversammlung des Allgemeinen Deut-
schen Vereins fiir Schulgesundheitspflege. Berlin und Leipzig, Teubner,
1902.
Richter, K. Die Leipziger Schwachsinnigenschule. Leipzig, Hesse, 1893.
Strumpell, L. Padagogische Pathologic. Leipzig, Ungleich, 1897. 225 Seiten.
Tbijpeb, J. Die Anfange der abnormen Erscheinungen im kindlichen Seelen-
leben. Altenburg, O. Bonde, 1902. 32 Seiten.
White, J. H. Volksschule und Hilfsschule. Thorn, Lambeck, 1901. 43 Seiten.
III. — Admission Procedure.
Berkhan, O. tJber den angeborenen und friiherworbenen Schwachsinn. Braun-
schweig, Vieweg, 1904. 98 Seiten.
Delitzsch, F. Das schwachbegabte Kind im Hause und in der Schule. In
Bericht iiber den IV. Verbandstag der Hilfsschulen Deutschlands.
Fbenzel, Fr. Die Hilfsschulen fiir schwachbegabte Kinder. Hamburg, L. Voss,
1903. 88 Seiten.
Grote, F. Konnen Kinder zwangsweise der Hilfsschule zugefiihrt werden? In
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KiELHORN, H. Die Organisation der Hilfsselmle. In Bericht iiber den III.
Verbandstag der Ililfssclmlen Deutseblands. Beyer und Sohue, Laugeu-
salza, 1901.
Laqueb, L. Die arztlicbe Feststellmig der verscbledenen Formen des Scbwach-
sinns in den ersten Scbuljahren. Miincben, Seiz und Sehauer, 1904. 14
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tJber schwachsinnige Sebulkinder. Halle, C. Marbold, 1902. 44 Seiten.
LiEBMANN, A. Die Untersucbung und Bebandlung geistig zurxickgebliebener
Kinder. Berlin, Berliniscbe Verlagsanstalt, 1898. 170 Seiten.
Moses, J. Das Sonderklassensystem der Mannheimer Volksschule. Mann-
beim, Bensbeimer, 1904. 70 Seiten.
MtJLLER, F. W. tJber den Scbwacbsinn. In Bericbt liber den III. Verbands-
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Reinke, W. Die Unterweisung und Erziebung scbwacbsinniger Kinder.
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14659—07 9
130 THE AUXILIAEY SCHOOLS OF GERMANY.
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fiirsorge. Leipzig und Wien, Teubner und Graeser, 1905. 173 Seiten.
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Sachsische Schulzeitung, 1904.
Demoor, J. Die anormalen Kinder und ibre erziehliche Behandlung'in Haus
und Schule; deutsch von Chr. Ufer. Altenburg, Bonde, 1901.
Enderlin, M. Erziehung durch Arbeit. Leipzig, Frankenstein und Wagner,
1903. 112 Seiten.
FucHS, A. Schwachsinnige Kinder, ibre sittliche und intellektuelle Rettung.
Giitersloh, Bertelsmann, 1899.
Giese, J. Das Rechnen auf der Unterstufe der Hilfsschule. In Bericht iiber
den IV. Verbandstag der Hilfsschulen Deutschlands.
Groos, K. Die Spiele der Menschen. Jena, Fischer, 1897. 560 Seiten.
Heller, Th. Grundriss der Heilpadagogik. Leipzig, Engelmann, 1904.
Henck und Traudt. Schafft frohe Jugend. Thiiringer Verlagsanstalt von
Henck und Traudt, 1904. 156 Seiten.
Kielhorn, H. Die Organisation der Hilfsschule (Der Unterricht). In Bericht
iiber den IV. Verbandstag der Hilfsschulen Deutschlands. Hannover,
Schrader, 1903.
Mayer, O. Welche Besonderheiten ergeben sich fiir den Sachunterricht in
der Hilfsschule? In Bericht iiber den IV. Verbandstag der Hilfsschulen
Deutschlands.
Strakerjahn. Der erste Sprechunterricht in der Hilfsschule. In Bericht iiber
den II. Verbandstag der Hilfsschulen Deutschlands.
XII. — Discipline in Auxiliary Schools.
Boodstein, O. Fromme Wiinsche fiir den weiteren Ausbaw der Hilfsschule.
Dresden, Passler.
BosBAUER, H., Miklas, L., und Schiner, H. Handbuch der Schwachsinnigen-
fiirsorge. Leipzig und Wien, Teubner und Graeser, 1905. 173 Seiten.
Denkschrift betreffend die besonderen Verhaltnisse und Bediirfnisse der An-
stalten fiir Idioten und Epileptische im Rahmen der Irrengesetzgebung.
Idstein, Grandpierre, 1904.
GoRKE, M. Die Fiirsorge fiir geistig zuriickgebliebene Kinder. Breslau, Ge-
nossenschafts-Buchdruckerei, 1900.
Heller, Th. Grundriss der Heilpadagogik. Leipzig, Engelmann, 1904.
Piper, H. Die Fiirsorge fiir die schwachsinnigen Kinder. In Die deutsche
Schule, I, 3. Berlin, Klinkhardt.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. 131
ScHWENK. Die Zuchtmittel in unseren Anstalten. Verlag der Idsteiner An-
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XIII. — Prepabation of the Pupils for Church Communion.
KiELHOEN, H. Der Konfirmandenunterricht in der Hilfsschule. Langensalza,
Beyer und Sohne, 1904.
LuHMANN, F. VON. Der Konfirmandenunterricht bei Geistesschwachen. In
Bericht tiber die XI. Konferenz fiir das Idioten- und Hilfsschulwesen.
Idstein, Grandpierre, 1904.
XIV. — The Community and the State in their Relations to Auxiliary
Schools.
Bosbauer, H., Miklas, L., und Schiner, H. Handbuch der Schwachsinnigen-
fiirsorge. Leipzig und Wien, Teubner und Graeser, 1905.
Damaschke, a. Aufgaben der Gemeindepolitik. Jena, Fischer, 1901. 220
Seiten.
Frenzel, Fr. Die Hilfsschulen fiir schwachbegabte Kinder. Hamburg und
Leipzig, Voss, 1903. 88 Seiten.
Heller, Th. Grundriss der Heilpadagogili. Leipzig, Engelmann, 1904.
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Hesse und Becker.
Kielhorn, H. Der schwachsinnige Mensch im ofifentlichen Leben. In Zeit-
schrift fiir Schwachsinnige und Epileptische, 1889, 3-5.
Die Fiirsorge fiir geistig Minderwertige. In Jugendfiirsorge, 1901, VII.
Naumann, Fr. Der Wert der Schwachen fiir die Gesamtheit. Berlin-Schone-
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Schmid-Monnard und Hartmann, A. Soziale Fiirsorge fiir Kinder im schul-
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Wanke, G. Psychiatrie und Padagogik. Wiesbaden, Bergmann, 1905.
XV. — Teachers and Principals of Auxiliary Schools.
BooDSTEiN. Fromme Wiinsche fiir den weiteren Ausbau der Hilfsschule. Dres-
den, Piissler.
Bosbauer, H., Miklas, L., und Schiner, H. Handbuch der Schwachsinnigen-
ftirsorge. Leipzig und Wien, Teubner und Graeser.
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GoRKE, M. Die Fiirsorge fur geistig zurtickgebliebene Kinder. Breslau, 1900.
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Schreiber, H. Fiir das Wohl der Dummen in unseren ofifentlichen Schulen.
In Die Kinderfehler, 1900. -
XVI. — Pedagogical Significance of Auxiliary Schools.
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1898, 1-4.
1
INDEX.
[The following abbreviations are used in this index : a. s., auxiliary schooi
iliary schools ; assn., association.]
., aus
Accidents to children, relation to abnormal
development, 52.
Administration of justice, recommendation
for special treatment of defectives,
112.
Alcoholism in parents, relation to abnormal
development of children, 52.
Arithmetic, general rules for instruction
in, in a. ss., 85.
outline of instruction in a. s. of Halle,
88, 91.
practical instruction in a. ss., 96.
study of, in a. ss., 82.
Army, history of recruits for, with respect
to a. s. record, 112.
Articulation and speech correction in a. ss.,
87.
Associations for education and care of
defectives, outline of Berlin organi-
zation, 106-109.
outline of Konigsberg organization, 110-
111.
outline of Leipzig organization, 110.
Attendance at a. ss., factors determining, 79.
Australia, status of a. ss., 22.
Austria, status of a. s. instruction, 18.
Auxiliary school association, Konigsberg,
110.
Auxiliary schools, blanks suggested for the
teacher in transferring pupils to, 36.
buildings suggested for the use of, 76.
duties of the school physician, 53.
status and outline of organization of, at
Mannheim, 43-47.
Belgium, status of a. s. instruction, 21.
Berlin, association for the education and
care of backward children, 106.
plan for instruction of defectives, 15.
reasons advanced for nonestablishment
of a. ss., 15.
Bibliography of a. ss., 125-131.
Boarding schools for defectives, reasons
quoted for day schools becoming, 100.
Bresgens, M., researches respecting rela-
tion of diseases of tonsils and nose
to mental development, 56.
Brussels, blanks in use in the a. s., 39.
music in the a. s., 96.
*' Changed accountability," consideration of,
with respect to punishment of de-
fectives, 112.
Child psychology, results of its study in re-
vealing necessity for a. s., 29.
Church authorities, cooperation in giving
religious instruction in a. ss., 102.
Classification of pupils, in a. ss., 78.
results of plan followed at Mannheim, 44.
Coeducation in a. ss., 80.
Cologne, assistance of associations in car-
ing for a. s.,. Ill,
Commission for the instruction and educa-
tion of backward children, Leipzig,
110.
Common school, its failure to meet the
needs of defectives, 30.
Compulsory attendance on a. ss., demand
for laws as to, 104.
Compulsory power of transfer to a. s.,
recommendation for, by German
auxiliary school association, 47.
Confirmation of a. s. pupils, 101.
Continuation schools, demand for work of,
in connection with defectives, 104.
Corporal punishment, condemnation of its
use in a. ss., 98.
opinions of those favoring moderate
use • in a. s., 99.
Course of study for a. ss., arithmetic, 85.
drawing, 85.
history, 84.
home geography, 85.
natural history and nature study, 85.
outline used in Halle, 88.
preparation not to be intrusted to teach-
ers of regular schools, 83.
problems connected with, 86.
religion, 84.
singing and gymnastics, 85.
use of Robinson Crusoe in connection
with, 85.
Cramer, Professor, recommendations made
jointly with Professors Kr^pelin
and Kleinfeller as to judicial treat-
ment of defectives, 113.
Criminal psychology, consideration urged
in connection with defectives, 112.
Daily programmes of a. ss., general rules
for making, 81-83.
Day auxiliary schools, reasons for their
superiority over Iwarding schools,
100.
133
134
INDEX.
Defectives, general physical peculiayties,
34.
suggested methods for teachers in de-
termining who are, 35.
Demoor, J., suggested study by teachers of
his Die anormalen Kinder und ihre
erziehliche Behandlung in Haus und
Schule, 116.
Denmark, a. s. at Copenhagen, 21.
Denominational question as to conduct of
a. ss., 80.
Discipline in the a. s., 97, 101.
Diseases of children, revelation through
medical examination in a. s. of Halle,
56.
Drawing, outline of work in a. s. of Halle,
91.
place in course of study recommended,
85.
Dresden, establishment of auxiliary classes,
14.
Economic conditions of cities, relation to
number of defectives, 79.
Employments for former pupils of a. ss.,
the kinds in which they may suc-
ceed, 105.
England,"status of a. s. instruction, 21.
Epidemic diseases, claim by Witte that a.
ss. are sources of, 28.
Equipment of a. s. buildings and grounds,
general suggestions, 77.
Ethical and social defects of abnormal
children, 34.
Experimental psychology, denial by Witte
of its claim of entire dependence of
mental upon physical life, 29.
Eye diseases, relation to mental develop-
ment as noted in a. s. of Halle, 56.
Folk-school teachers, reasons for lack of
success as teachers of a. s., 116.
F^a^ce, lack of a. ss., 20.
Frankfort on the Main, blanks in use re-
lating to transfer of defectives, 36-
39.
Frenzel, Fr., report as to a. s. assn. at
Korrigsberg, 110.
Fuchs, A., suggested study by teachers of
his Schwachsinnige Kinder ihre sit-
tliche und intellektuelle Rettung,
116.
Geography, outline of work in a. s. of
Halle, 90.
its place in the a. s. course of study, 85.
Geometry, outline of instruction in a. s.
of Halle, 91.
German, outline of instruction in, in a. s.
of Halle, 91.
German, a. s. assn., its recommendation as
to compulsory transfer to a. s., 47.
study of reports of, suggested for teach-
ers, 116.
German jurists, twenty-seventh conference
of, consideration of legal status of
defectives, 113.
Gizycki, P. von, statement by, concerning
early a. ss. in Berlin, 14,
Godtfring, principal of a. s., plan of speech
correction introduced by, in Schles-
wig-Holstein a. s., 87.
Gorke, Dr. M., assertion of, as to corrupt
influence of public institutions for
defectives, 100.
suggested form for record of a. s. pupils,
61.
Grading in a. ss., 80.
Griesbach, Professor, statement as to neces-
sary qualifications for a. s. physi-
cian, 58.
Gymnasium of a. s., equipment suggested
for, 77.
Gymnastics, outline of work in a. s. of
Halle, 91.
Gymnastics, instruction in a. s., 85.
Gymnastics and singing, outline of first
year instruction in a. s. of Halle,
88.
Halle, admission blank used in a. s,, 42.
a. s. course of study for first year, 88.
a. s. course of study for last year, 90.
classification of pupils in a. s., 78.
duties of a. s. physician, 53.
general plan of a. s. course of study for
first and last years, 86.
method of collecting data from folk
schools as to defectives, 43.
religious instruction in a. s. given by
clergymen, 102.
satisfactory results of consultations with
parents of defectives, 51.
statistics of a. s. attendance, 79.
Hand work, outline of course in a. s. of
Halle, 91.
Harris, Dr. W. T., reference to adoption of
system of semiannual promotions
while superintendent at St. Louis,
121.
Haupt, Mr., proposal for establishing aux-
iliary classes in Halle, 13.
Health conditions of pupils in a. s. of
Halle, 55.
Health records of pupils in a. s. of Halle,
54.
Health statistics of pupils of a. s. of Halle,
55.
Heller, Th., suggested study by teachers of
his Grundriss der Heilpadagogik,
116.
Hellstrom, Dr. G., statistics of defectives in
Stockholm schools given by, 20.
History, general place in the course of
study of a. ss., 84.
outline of instruction in, in a. s. of
Halle, 90.
Holland, status of a. s. instruction, 21.
Home conditions of defectives, observation
of, by the teacher, 35.
recommendation that the teacher make
careful inquiry as to, 52.
Hours per week given to different studies
in a. s. of Halle, 92.
Hungary, awakening of interest in the edu-
cation of defectives. 18.
INDEX.
185
Hygienic conditions of buildings for a. s.,
general rules, 77.
Infirmary of a. s., suggestions concerning,
77.
Intermissions in daily programmes of a. s.,
83.
Italy, status of a. s. instruction, 19.
Kern, K. F., cooperation of, with Th.
Stotzner in establishing section for
pedagogical hygiene, 14.
lectures on education of defective chil-
dren, 13.
Kielhorn, H., reference to work for boys
after leaving a. s., 112.
suggestions regarding use of the Ten
Commandments, 103.
Klabe, K., record suggested by, for a. s.
pupils, 63.
Kleinfeller, Professor, recommendations
made jointly with Professors Krape-
lin and Cramer as to judicial treat-
ment of defectives, 113.
Klemm, Dr. L. R., article on auxiliary
school, particularly from American
point of view, 121.
Konigsberg, outline of purposes and organi-
zation of a. s. assn., 110.
Krapelin, Professor, recommendations made
jointly with Professors Cramer and
Kleinfeller as to judicial treatment
of defectives, 113.
Lay [W. A.], records of defectives illus-
trating plan proposed by, 71-74.
suggested points to be followed in making
record of defectives, 70.
Landenberger, Inspector, advice against
overloading the defective child with
religious material, 101.
Legal responsibility of defectives, conditions
to be considered in connection with
administration of justice, 113.
Leipzig, outline of organization of commis-
sion for the instruction and educa-
tion of backward children, 110.
plan of K. Richter of sending out ques-
tionnaires respecting former pupils,
111.
questionnaire in use for obtaining data as
to defectives, 39.
Lesson periods in a. ss., 81.
Literature of a. s. instruction, works rec-
ommended for teachers, 116.
Maljarewski, Doctor, reference to institu-
tion for defectives at St. Petersburg
managed by, 20.
Mannheim, procedure in admitting pupils
to a. s., 43-47.
number of pupils in a. s., 79.
reference to system of grading, 121.
Manual labor, general rules as to employ-
ment in a. ss., 85.
Marking pupils in a. ss., register in use at
Halle, 61.
Materialism, Witte's claim that the a.' s.
stands for, 29.
Medical examination of defectives, sug-
gested form of record, 54.
Medical examination of children in schools
of Halle, 54.
Medical specialists, their cooperation with
school physician at Halle, 56.
" Medical pedagogy," material view of
brain processes taken by, 29.
Medical treatment for defectives, notice to
parents of need of, in Halle, 55.
Memory, weakness of, in mental defectives,
33.
Mental defectives, advantages of sending
them to a. s. early, 48.
Mental deficiency, relation ta ethical and
social abnormality, 34.
relation to physical abnormality, 34.
Mental fatigue, liability of weak-minded
pupils to, 33.
programmes arranged to minimize in
a. ss., 81.
Method of instruction followed in the
school for defectives established at
Rome by Dr. Sante de Sanctis, 19.
Method of instruction in the a. s., neces-
sity of coordinating new material
with old, 95.
Model a. ss., suggested establishment of, in
university towns, 118.
Modeling, its importance in the a. s. course
of study, 93.
Moral defects in relation to mental defi-
ciency, 35.
Morin, Dr. J., his statement respecting lack
of a. ss. in France, 20.
Mothers of deficient children, consultation
with, by the teacher, 35.
Music, value in a. ss., 96.
Ndray, Dr. A. von, organization of a. ss.
in Hungary urged by, 18.
recommendations as to training of teach-
ers of Hungary for a. ss., 18.
Natural history instruction in a. ss., 85.
Natural science, outline of work in a. s. of
Halle, 90.
Nature study instruction in a. ss., 85.
Naumann, Fr., statement respecting the
state's duty to the lowest class of
society, 103.
Nerve diseases of children, duty of a. s.
physician to study, 57.
Newspapers, use in higher classes of a. ss., 96.
Norway, status of a. s. instruction, 21.
Parental cooperation, its desirability in
connection with transfer to a. s., 47.
" Parents' evenings," arrangements for, ad-
vised, to gain cooperation of pa-
rents, 99.
Parents of defectives, difficulty of gain-
ing their cooperation, 99.
general economic condition of, 49.
methods of getting data from, at Halle, 51.
opposition to transfer of pupils to a.
s., 47.
reasons for their unwillingness to place
children in a. s., 47.
suggested data concerning, 50.
suggested lines of inquiry as to history,
52.
136
INDEX.
Photographs, value in marking mental de-
velopment of a. s. pupils, 60.
Physical abnormalities in children, their
relation to mental, 34.
Physical condition of pupils, close study
of, advised, 99.
Physical defects of a. s. pupils, statistics
of, at Halle, 55.
Physical development, cooperation of phy-
sician in a. s. respecting, 53.
Physical examination of children in schools
of Halle, 54.
Physical measurements of pupils in a. s.
of Halle, 56.
Plauen, half-yearly reports to parents of
pupils in a. s., 75.
questionnaire used for obtaining data
as to defectives, 40-41.
Play, its place in the school curriculum,
93.
Playgrounds, outline of work in a. s. of
Halle, 88.
in connection with a. s., 77.
Preparation of teachers for a. s. work,
general suggestions as to, 116-119.
Programmes of a. ss., 81.
Psychiatry, need for the a. s. physician
having sound knowledge of, 58.
Pupils in a. ss., number to a class, 79.
Questionnaires for procuring data as to
defectives, Brussels, 39.
Frankfort on the Main, 36.
Halle, 42.
Leipzig; 36.
Mannheim, 44-46.
Plauen, 40.
Recesses in a. s., suggestions as to length,
frequency and purposes of, 83. ^
Records of a. s. pupils, form for keeping,
suggested by Dr. M. Gorke, 61.
suggested points to be followed in keep-
ing, 71.
Religion, general scope of instruction in,
in a. s., 84.
plan of instruction in a. s. of Halle,
88, 90.
Religious belief of defectives in a. s., gen-
eral factors for the teacher's consid-
eration, 80.
Religious instruction of defectives, coop-
eration, of church authorities in con-
nection with, 102.
advice to teachers respecting scope of,
101.
" Repeating " or " furthering " classes,
plan of work of, at Mannheim, 44.
Retardation of pupils, causes of, 27.
reasons for, other than mental defi-
ciency, 31.
Rewards, use of, instead of punishments
in a. ss,, 98.
Richter, K., account given by, of founding
of teachers' seminary at Rome, 19.
questionnaires sent out by, at Leipzig
regarding advancement of former pu-
pils, 111.
Richter, K., statement as to ability of
defectives to do certain kinds of work,
105.
statement from report of, as to rewards
for employers of defectives, 106.
suggested form for record of a. s. pupils,
63.
Rickoff, Superintendent A. J., reference to
establishment by, of first American a.
s., 121.
Robinson Crusoe, use of advised as basis
of instruction in nature study and
home geography, 85.
Romer, A., advice against overloading the
defective child with religious mate-
rial, 101.
Russia, lack of schools for defectives, 20.
Sanctis, Dr. Sante de, school for defectives
established by, at Rome, 19.
reference to the value of works of art
to a. s. pupils, 98.
School garden, its inclusion among the
needs of a. ss., 77.
outline of work in a. s. of Halle, 88.
Schoolhouse for the a. s., suggestions as to
site, equipment, etc., 77.
School hygiene, necessity for a. s. physi-
cian having interest in, 58.
School physician, assistance in securing
better hygienic conditions, 59.
duties in a. s. of Halle, 53.
reference to official yearly report for
Halle schools, 55.
required qualifications according to Pr
fessor Griesbach, 58.
School register, description of the kind
used in a. s. of Halle, 61.
Secondary schools, occurrence of abnormal
children in, 31.
Segregation of the weak-minded, reasons
for, 28.
Sickinger, Dr. A., classification of Mann-
heim pupils according to abilities,
43.
suggestions as to grading in city schools,
121.
Singing, general scope of, in the a. s. course
of study, 85.
outline of work in a. s. of Halle, 91.
Sleeping conditions of children, observation
by the teacher with respect to ab-
normal development, 52.
Social and ethical defects, their general
occurrence with mental deflciences,
34.
Special classes, organization of, at Mann-
heim, 44.
Speech correction as practiced by Godt-
fring in the province of Schleswig-
Holstein, 87.
Speech defects, relation of, to backwardne
of pupils, 33.
Spiral method of instruction in a.
value in the general scheme, 95
Spiritual nature of the child, revelation
through study of physical condi-
tions, 29.
g-
I
I
Index.
137
stammering and stuttering, efforts toward
correcting, followed in Schleswig-
Holstein, 87.
Stotzner, Th., assistance in establishing
section for pedagogical hygiene, 14.
pamphlet of, on establishment of a. ss.,
13.
Striimpell, L., statement as to relation of
therapeutics and pedagogy, 30.
suggested study by teachers of his Die
padagogische Pathologic Oder die
Lehre von den Fehlern der Kinder,
116.
Studies, time and order of each in a. ss.,
82.
Sweden, status of a. ss., 20.
Swiss public welfare society, course for
teachers of special classes, 19.
Switzerland, status of a. s. instruction, 18.
Talkativeness as an evidence of deviation
from the normal, 33.
Teachers and principals of a. ss., lack of
training for the work, 114.
Teachers of the a. s., need of careful study
by, of individual defectives, 60.
paramount nature of the teacher's per-
sonality, 94.
reasons for failure of folk-school teachers
who become, 115.
the special qualifications necessary, 115.
text-books suggested for their study, 116.
Technical work in a. ss., 81.
Teeth of children, relation to proper de-
velopment, 57.
Text-book for a. s. teachers, suggestion of
leading ones for study, 116.
Text-books for use in a. s., present lack of,
86.
Trades, the training of defectives for, 105.
Training schools for teachers, discussion of
their relation to a. s. question as to
preparation of teachers, 117.
Training of teachers for defectives, estab-
lishment of courses by the Swiss
public welfare society, 19.
establishment of seminary in Rome, 19.
Transfer of pupils to a. s., need of careful
consideration on the part of the
teacher, 32.
from " repeating " classes at Mannheim,
46.
United States, status of a. s. instruction,
22.
Weak-minded children, proportion to popu-
lation, 79.
" Weak-mindedness," determination of what
constitutes, 32.
Wehrhan, Doctor, first president of the
German national association of a. ss.,
17.
Weygandt, W., advice against overloading
the defective child with religious
material, 101.
Witte, J. H., opinion as to a. ss., 27.
Work of children after school hours, rela-
tion to vitality, 52.
Workshops of a. s., general suggestions as
to, 77.
Women teachers of a. s., desirability of
their employment in some cases, 118.
their employment in England, 21.
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