mine this one thing: Has the child sufficient common sense to be able to lead an independent existence? No mechanical computation of any kind of tests will help matters very much. The common sense of the examiner must strike the spark of common sense in the subject examined. "Common sense," as has been shown on page 183, is only another expression for the intellectual aspect of efficiency. The author may be permitted to repeat here what he considers the main criterion of difference between the feeble-minded and the potentially normal -a difference which the tests must assist in discovering -viz., that an ament can only acquire skill, even though eventually reaching a high performance level; a normal person may never develop much skill and may remain forever on a low performance level, but he possesses efficiency, which lifts him upon the plane of human fellowship. CHAPTER XV THE MEANING OF AN EDUCATIONAL CLINIC Various kinds of Clinics.-For the work here proposed the term "educational clinic" is suggested by the author. The reasons for choosing this term are as follows: We have been hearing a great deal lately of clinical work done for children in connection with the psychologic departments of universities. Medical schools and hospitals have established clinics for the examination of children, and have extended their work so that their examinations included mental tests, so-called, as the special function of the pediatrist, or the neurologist. There are also psychopathic clinics which have been opened for work with children presenting difficulties and being suspected of mental defect. When the mental testing of school children began to be introduced into organized school systems, like those of the larger cities of this country, they were thought to require the services of a trained psychologist or medical man. In the unformed state which characterizes the initial stages of any work of this nature, much confusion has necessarily arisen as to the functions and limitations of the various types of research agencies, clinical provisions, and types of investigators required. The author's views differ in a measure from those of others working in this field. It would seem to him that a distinction must be made between the different kinds of investigations and their purposes. Genetic Psychology and Child Study. It will be cheerfully admitted that the workings of the mind of the growing child have become better understood through what has been called "genetic psychology." There is no question about the psychologic aspect of the child problem and about the need of co-operation of trained psychologists, especially experimental psychologists. This, however, does not mean that the clinical work must be exclusively psychologic. Child study in its broader aspect goes beyond mere psychology. Child study has been helpful in showing the intimate relationship between bodily and mental states. The old proverb, "Mens sana in corpore sano" has assumed increasing significance with the revelations which have come to us through medical inspection of school children. It has been truly said that the child must be taken as a whole, as a body no less than as a mind, in order to receive his full understanding during the time of growth. Mental growth, spiritual growth, and emotional growth are paralleled and conditioned in a measure by body growth. But it would be erroneous to draw from this the conclusion that the medical side of a child's problem is the only or the determining factor of his growth. The Psychological Clinic. A "psychological clinic" (so far as it pertains to the child problem), especially one which is connected with a university, has its distinct function, or functions. One of these functions is to assist students in acquiring a practical understanding of child nature and of a child's mental growth. For this purpose a certain amount of actual child material will have to be worked with. The children thus examined represent, however, merely study types. They are being tested not so much for their own benefit as for the benefit of those who should learn from them, although naturally they may be helped individually if the results of the study lead to action in their behalf. It will suggest itself that the head of the department would carefully select children with whose types he wishes to familiarize his students, as the work will necessarily be in the nature of a demonstration. In a way, this work may be likened to the work in medical clinics and dispensaries where the students are invited to observe typical treatments and operations to familiarize them with the details of such work. For practical experience they may also be given certain cases to work upon under the supervision of their teachers. The author is, of course, well aware of the fact that dispensaries, clinics, and hospitals are used by the medical men also for postgraduate work and for further study. In the same manner the expert psychologist may wish to enlarge the functions of the psychologic clinic of a university so as to include a number of cases which would afford him possibilities of further research work. For the medical man these possibilities are not all directly connected with the medical college, but are found in the numerous private institutions for the relief of disease, the hospitals and dispensaries. Likewise university psychologists may find their field for further investigations on a larger scale in connection with educational clinics, which should be established in connection with public and private school systems. The second distinct function of a psychological clinic, as it appeals to the author, is to conduct investigations along specific lines. This would entail intensive work on selected, definite psychological problems with a great |