One returned to school determined to learn to read well, in order to study reports on potato culture, in which he had become very much interested. Another, who could not sign his name nor read a word, has returned to school and is working diligently. He is getting the beginnings of reading, writes in a fair hand and spells a little. A third is ready to work in the grades, but because of a tubercular condition is kept in the class. A fourth was returned to the grades, but was unhappy there and asked to be taken back. A fifth shows great improvement in self control, which he utterly lacked. He will be returned to the grades as soon as he can be thoroughly trusted, as he has made two classes in one term. A sixth, who is over sixteen, now works in an office and is attending night school. GROUP II. One has made progress and is being tried out in the grades. GROUP III. The class work shows no appreciable difference. SUMMER SCHOOL. E. A. S. On June 10, 1914, the Farm School on Hunter Island was honored by a visit from Dr. Maxwell, Miss Farrell, Dr. Taylor, Dr. Straubenmuller and Mr. Hirsdansky. At this time it was decided to continue the work throughout the summer, and to establish a regular Vacation School and Playground for the boys of all the Ungraded classes of the Bronx. The Child Welfare League of P. S. 4 agreed to meet the cost of transportation for fifty children and to give them the benefits of farm training. The Summer School term extended from July 6 to August 16. The children came by special trolley car to Pelham Bay Park, thence by wagon to Hunter Island. The activities of the morning and afternoon were combined to give a day as complete as possible. In the morning the classes assem 20 UNGRADED VOL. I, No. 1 bled for nature study and actual farming in the field. This was followed by bathing. The lunch hour was a particularly happy one. The children ate their lunches sitting in the big farm wagon or under the trees, or in the hammocks which they themselves had made. Then all assembled for a quiet hour, some to read, some to listen to stories, while others preferred to lie on the grass and hear the phonograph and perhaps to fall asleep. Then all were ready for a swim. It was with great difficulty that the last little straggler was helped on with his clothing and hurried off to catch the wagon before it left. Rainy days were a problem. Some of the children solved it in their own way. Because of lack of housing facilities, transportation arrangements had been made only for pleasant days. On days when the children were not met, many of them walked the entire way, a distance of about seven miles. The wisdom of expending so large an amount of money and energy upon a handful of children has been questioned. Putting aside mental gain, it would seem that the gain in health, the softening in unhappy little faces as the term drew to a close, and the jyo with which they are anticipating another year of farming were answer sufficient to the most critical. E. A. S. Bringers of hope to men, Eager and radiant, Glad in the right; 'Tis from these souls aglow What, though they fight to lose Morning will find them still Seeking the Light. What, though this stress and strain Brothers of all that live May our heart, touched with fire Leap to their call. Their voices, clear and strong, Ring like a rallying song, "Upward, against the wrong! Bear on the light!" Volume I UNGRADED JUNE 1915, Number 2 "MENTAL AGE” AND “PHYSIOLOGICAL AGE” IN INTERPRETING THE BINET AND SIMON AGE SCALE. It is safe to say that practically all the users of the Binet and Simon Age Scale for Measuring Intelligence have noticed and shared in the dissatisfaction with the way of scoring the results of the test. Goddard was the first in this country to advocate enthusiastically the use of the Age Scale, and also the first to propose considerable alterations in its form. Since then many have tried their hand at revisions of all sorts. Recently Thorndike has shown that according to Goddard's own figures more age value should be given to some of the tests which are placed on the upper levels of the scale. This has relieved some of the tension for those who put great faith in the Age Scale, but feel that the upper tests do not represent "mental age" as successfully as do the lower. Many others disagree entirely with the term "mental age," objecting to it on account of its obscure meaning, or to the idea that mental advancement can be stated with the exactness of chronological age. These interpreters are content to think of the calculation of results as simply a way of grading the test in numbers. They regard the numerical statement as merely a score of the individual's performance on a given occasion. They do not even accept it as a score without taking into account the conditions existing at the time of the test, including the attitude of the subject and his ability to control his responses. For these a convenient statement of the results of a test takes some such form as: "Binet and Simon Score, 9.2." For purposes of exact statement, especially when exchanging information, it would seem to be imperative to state in some way the form of the Age Scale used, as: "Binet and Simon (Goddard) Score, 9.2." It would seem to be equally imperative to add a brief note as to whether the subject cooperated willingly or was handicapped in any way in his relations to the examination. The record will then take such form as: SAMUEL PERELMANN Age, 10 years, 5 months, 74 days. Binet and Simon (Goddard) Score: 9.2. Subject, co-operated well but was handicapped by choreiform movements. Such a record has manifest advantages in avoiding a disputed point, while presenting the face value of the test. |