Cp37/.9 C52r Cherry A Report on Special Education Sty* Sfhrarn of % (ttnilwttmi 0f Hortly QIarnltmana C5R iJ A Report ON Special Education Issued by the State Superintendent op Public Instruction Raleigh, North Carolina Publication No. 233 A Report on Special Education Prepared By ANNIE M. CHERRY, Director of Experimental Programs in Elementary Education. Issued by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction Raleigh, North Carolina 1941 CONTENTS Page Foreword _ _ ___ 5 Chapter I: Introduction 5 The Faith That Is Within Us __._._ 5 Public Education a State Function 8 Clarification of Terms... ■_ _ 10 Statement of Purposes 11 Chapter II: The Present Situation 13 In the Public Elementary Schools 14 The Nature and Extent of the Problem 14 The Educational Opportunities Available for Meeting Growth Needs of Exceptional Children 16 Type Programs in Progress 18 A Program for All Exceptional Children in a City Administrative Unit 18 A Sight-Saving Class _... 25 Occupational Groups in a County-City Administra- tive Unit __ 31 A Program of Democratic Living for All Children 35 A County-wide Professional Study Program Intro- ducing Guidance 44 Present Significant School Practices Affecting Child De- velopment 48 Contributing Services of Various Allied Groups 52 In the Residential Schools — ■. 59 Descriptions of Programs in Progress 60 The State School for the Blind and the Deaf 60 The North Carolina School for the Deaf- _ 62 The Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School 64 The Eastern Carolina Training School 66 The State Home and Industrial School for Girls 67 The North Carolina Orthopedic Hospital School 70 The Caswell Training School _ 71 Cases of Other Handicapped Children 74 General Comments 74 Educational Implications 77 Chapter III: The New Program 82 Outline of Proposed Program.. 86 The Task Before Us... 98 FOREWORD Universal education is one of the tenets of American Democracy. But this attempt at universal education, the education of all, has practical limitations, one of which is the encouragement of education en masse with too little regard for the individual child. Even in this program of education for all it is doubtful if the present general practice of education en masse is an absolute practical necessity. May it not be due in part to one's philosophy of education or to an unawareness of the real problem? The children who deviate from the normal are the ones who at present fail most completely in having their educational needs met. It has been said that the most retarded child in the public schools is the child with a superior intellect. This bulletin on Special Education is concerned with the deviates or the exceptional children. They fall into three major divi- sions: the physically handicapped, the mentally different, and the socially or emotionally maladjusted. No statistics are needed to convince one of the seriousness or bigness of the problem. In every present school situation may be found children who belong in one or more of these groups. This bulletin is the work of Miss Annie M. Cherry. Most of the data deal with the situation in 1939-40. The programs described under the head- ing "Type Programs in Progress" are for that year. No doubt in most instances these programs have been improved, and undoubtedly there are other programs throughout the State that are just as promising, if not more so. Those presented here are indicative of what may be done. It is hoped that this publication on Special Education may add to the awareness of the problem, and that it may be suggestive of some things which may be done. A very wholesome and stimulating philosophy charac- terizes and permeates the entire bulletin. State Superintendent of Public Instruction. October 21, 1941. v9 0- Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Ensuring Democracy through Digital Access (NC-LSTA) http://www.archive.org/details/reportonspeciale1940cher Chapter I: Introduction The Faith That Is Within Us Upon the principle of the equal right of every individual to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" this government of ours was founded. For more than a century and a half, it has been the American dream to establish this capstone to human happiness and to make it secure for all people. This conception of the right of the individual to equality of opportunity is unique and fundamental to our whole scheme of national life. In order to preserve this principle inviolate, it becomes the primary func- tion of education in this great democracy which we call America to help guide each individual in his training for such efficiency — civic, economic, moral, political — involving a well-rounded social, emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual development as his capacity makes possible. The supreme goal toward which all efforts should be directed is to enable every child, regardless of his gifts or limitations, to develop increasingly all of his potential powers to the highest level of which he is capable and to help him live happily and successfully as a worthy contributing member of the social group. This then defines our duty. Although we like to believe in the principle long ago enunciated, "that all men are created equal", frankness requires that we ad- mit this is not in all respects true. When it is applied to the children of school age alone, this fallacy is pronounced. Records show that a large number of our school children are handicapped economically, physically, socially, culturally, mentally, and emo- tionally. The background of many often fastens upon them either an inferiority or a superiority complex which is frequently difficult to overcome. There are some who feel that they have no talent and that success for them is impossible; while others assume an exalted opinion of their ability and their achievements without valid reasons. In many instances, even the versatile child with many talents and aptitudes is badly in need of in- telligent guidance. There are boys and girls who are sick, hungry, cold, homeless, and friendless; there are others who are mistreated, forced to do manual labor in excess of their physical strength and ability, robbed of childhood, turned perhaps into delinquents because of unfortunate circumstances — apparently forgotten and neglected. Suffice it to say, there are certain children in every school, both elementary and high school, whose 6 A Report on Special Education normal growth along the definite lines of physical, social, emo- tional, and mental development has not been well-rounded for various reasons and so has not kept pace with their level of maturity. Similarly, "equality of educational opportunity" does not mean that all children must be treated the same way or given the same uniform or stereotyped curriculum to master. Recently it has been interpreted by the N. E. A. Committee on the Economic Status of the Rural Teacher "as a fair chance to make the most of life" and considered as "one of the expected privileges of those who live in a democracy". Since research and careful study, as well as improved technics of measurement, have found all chil- dren to be so different from what they were once supposed to be — so different that machine-like methods of class instruction will not prove satisfactory in helping their personalities unfold normally and naturally at their own rate and commensurate with their ability — it is evident that their education must be under- taken in a different way. An effective program of education, therefore, must not only recognize the many individual differences of each child, but must also make ample provision for meeting adequately the distinct needs and interests of each individual child in the group in keeping with his capacities and abilities. In fact, the true test of the adequacy and the efficiency of such a program must mean the excellence of the training provided for each individual child with reference to what he can do best from every standpoint of his growth — physical, mental, social, and emotional. In terms of this point of direction, one would assume that all methods, means, measurements, and other aspects of the learning process should be selected and interpreted. In order to help accomplish this task, the thoughtful teacher must necessarily conceive of education in terms of desirable child growth in all of its aspects rather than in terms of subject- matter accomplishment, and must measure her success in terms of her ability to project a program that will contribute vitally to the development of each individual child in the group. She must be concerned, and rightly so, with much more than routine teaching of textbook subject-matter— as was true a generation ago, and still is in many school systems. She must also realize the importance of helping each individual child achieve those vital things which now seem most promising for the well- balanced, harmonized development of his total personality, to the end that he may make the most complete participation possible Introduction 7 in the civilization of which he is a part. Likewise, she must ex- press an unlimited belief in the capacity of every individual to grow, to achieve, and to help make desirable changes in himself — a belief that every human being has potentialities that can be used to his own advantage and that of society. This confidence is fundamental, for it breathes life, spirit, and warmth into the whole program of guidance and adjustment. All members of the teaching and administrative staff need to develop both a similar faith in individual pupil power to make progress along some definite lines and a willingness to give them an opportunity to do so. Such a conception of education will also entail great modifi- cations in curricula, as well as in activities, practices and tech- niques, materials of instruction, means and methods of guidance, pupil promotion, and all pertinent administrative changes in- volved. This may mean that some of the old subject matter of education will be adjudged of little or no intrinsic value to the best development of the children in question. If so, it should be omitted so that room may be made both for the gradual un- folding of the potentialities of each individual child and for showing him something of the problems he will have to face as a citizen of a changing world. In this event, we must be willing to view the situation critically and then to direct our whole energies toward making the necessary desirable adjustments needed to promote his program of integrated living and learning on the highest plane. This will bring educators face to face with many crucial questions that will demand intellectual security and promptness in the answering if we are to be safeguarded from the evils of wasteful competition and from the prejudices, fears, and frustrations that are part and parcel of our present insecure and chaotic civilization. For the most part, educators and statesmen alike are prone to consider "equality of opportunity" for America's children mainly in terms of administration. It would be futile at this point to minimize the importance of equalizing on a sound basis such highly desirable conditioning factors as those relating to the administrative aspects of the work, for example — proper housing, transportation facilities, and so forth. However, in the last analysis, the chief focus should be riveted upon the appropriate program of fine educational experiences that is actually provided for the specific growth and development of each individual child concerned. This should be recognized as the care of the entire 8 A Report on Special Education problem, and all other matters in this connection should be viewed as contributory means toward its proper solution. Thus it would follow that, in varying degrees, there would be in operation a dynamic program of education in every school that would help each individual child to experience fullest growth possible in terms of his abilities and his present and emerging social needs — looking toward the happiest adjustment he can make in life and the most constructive contribution he can make to society. This then would represent the true democratic func- tioning of our schools for the good of all. Public Education A State Function Public education as expressed in the Constitution of North Carolina is a State function. In 1933 by legislative enactment, the total responsibility for operating the public school system in North Carolina for an eight months' annual term became the sole obligation of the State. Since the State has accepted this im- portant task of financing all of the public schools, representing approximately 900,000 children, it is only logical to assume that the State is likewise obligated to provide an adequate and an appropriate program of education that offers reasonably equi- table, but not necessarily identical, educational opportunities to each child, both white and Negro, within her borders. In order to be true to her trust, this responsibility must also include taking into account the proper care and training of every excep- tional child and making ample provision for those facilities which his special condition demands. While practically all children have certain educational needs in common, it must be remembered that many pupils have special needs which require individual attention. As a natural outgrowth of this change, many thinking people — those directly and those indirectly concerned with the solution of this problem — are asking educational authorities these search- ing questions : "How well are the needs of children — all children — being met in North Carolina today? What provisions have been made for meeting the specific needs of the handicapped children, the problem cases, and the otherwise unsuccessful children found in our schools? If such conditions exist, as are reported from time to time, what is being done to remedy them ?" In answer to these pertinent inquiries, the record shows that this important part of the work was not overlooked when the present educational program for the State was being planned. Introduction 9 Among other suggestions made to the Governor and to the General Assembly of 1937 by the State Superintendent of Public Instruction relative to the improvement of the public schools at that time, he expressed the belief that "the State should recognize the responsibility for providing better opportunities for excep- tional children, both the bright and the retarded." Later that same year further evidence of this convicition was given, when he said, 'Too long have we neglected the unsuccessful school child, and in too few instances has provision been made for the suc- cessful advancement of each and every individual child enrolled in our schools." A similar recommendation was presented in the Biennial Report of the State Superintendent for 1936-1938, as follows : As stated in my report to the General Assembly of 1937, something should be done to give the exceptional school child, both the fast moving type and the one that is normally slow, a better opportunity to prepare him- self for society. Under our present graded system, which is inevitable where large numbers are given in- struction, the curriculum is organized for the average child. I believe we should not only instruct these aver- age children, but that we should also provide instruction appropriate for these children having exceptional mental abilities. As a logical follow-up in this connection, the General Assembly of 1937 appointed a Commission to study this whole question and "to determine ways and means of providing more suitable and adequate instruction in the public schools for exceptional children." For seemingly uncontrollable circumstances, it was not possible for the committee to function. Under the authority of legislative enactment in 1939, the work of the Commission was continued for another period for the purpose of further studying the situation before making a report of their findings and recom- mendations. However, no funds were provided to finance any of the activities connected with the project. In light of this fact, it is obvious, therefore, that the potential efforts of this group have been cramped and curtailed from the outset and that the results to be expected likewise may be limited to the point of diminishing returns to the individuals to be served. Moreover, the record further points out that over a period of years the people of North Carolina have given tangible expression to their interest in the welfare of exceptional children by making special provision for the more unfortunate groups. For the most part, the needs of these individuals are being served by the 10 A Report on Special Education residential schools that were established officially through legis- lative action, namely : The State School for the Blind and Deaf, The North Carolina School for the Deaf, The Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School, The Eastern Carolina Training School, The State Home and Industrial School for Girls, The Orthopedic Hospital School, and The Caswell Training School. Clarification of Terms Since there is often a misconception among educators, as well as the public generally regarding the true meaning of the term "exceptional children", it seems wise to clarify our thinking along this line at the outset and to establish a common basis of understanding upon which to move forward together. "What children constitute this group?" is a question asked frequently. By many they are considered only those children with very special talents and abilities along either general or specific lines ; by some they are variously termed the below-average, the dull-normal, the slow-learning, the over-age, the unsuccessfuls — in other words, the mentally handicapped; while by others they are re- ferred to as the problem children, the trouble makers. However, there are numerous educational groups throughout the country who are in consonance with the all-inclusive classi- fication adopted by the White House Conference and accepted by the Senior Specialist in the Education of Exceptional Children, U. S. Office of Education; namely, the physically handicapped, the mentally different, and the socially maladjusted. These three main divisions include eight distinct major groups of "exceptional children", as follows: The Physically Handicapped 1. The crippled 2. The deaf and hard-of -hearing 3. The blind and the partially seeing 4. The speech defective 5. Children of lowered vitality or delicate children, in- cluding cardiac cases The Mentally Different 6. The mentally retarded 7. The mentally gifted The Socially or Emotionally Maladjusted 8. Children presenting serious behavior problems The last interpretation presented has been accepted for our consideration in the discussion that follows. In this connection, Introduction 11 it is to be understood that "special education" and "education of exceptional children" are used interchangeably to refer to the special educational facilities and opportunities provided, both in our public schools and in our residential schools, for those chil- dren who have exceptional problems and, therefore, need special help in order to develop fully their capacities or to overcome their limitations. It must also be remembered that these terms include those children who are a part of the regular class group as well as the ones working in separate classes or individually. Statement of Purposes In order to plan wisely and well a comprehensive, long-view program of special education that will bring about improved educational opportunities on a State-wide basis for all exceptional children enrolled in the public elementary schools and in the residential schools of North Carolina, it is necessary (1) to determine the nature and extent of the problem itself, and (2) to view critically the nature and scope of the work that is being projected at the present time in an effort to meet this need. It is expedient not only to find out what is current educational practice in North Carolina today, but also to what extent it is in consonance with our expressed fundamental beliefs regarding democratic living and learning. Since definite and detailed statistical and descriptive records concerning the present status of special education in the various schools of the State are not available from the annual reports submitted by city and county superintendents at the close of each fiscal year, or from other sources, it is impossible to obtain a true and accurate picture without making a special study of the total situation. However, as a beginning point in this direction, an effort has been made by the writer of this report to assemble as much pertinent information along this line as was possible in a brief period of time, and to make the findings available as a basis for further study of this problem in its relation to the new program. In an initial attempt to discover where we are in our present stage of growth and development, in terms of educational think- ing and practice regarding special education, only a cursory glance at the situation from a cross section view could be made. There- fore, much of the material herewith- presented is of necessity general in nature and limited in breadth of scope. Some of the information was secured firsthand through personal visits to eighty-three individual classrooms during the spring term, and 12 A Report on Special Education through private interviews with teachers, principals, and directors of the programs in the local situation and with similar groups during the Summer School Sessions. Other material was gathered from official records and reports on file in the various offices, State and local, and from questionnaires filled out by teachers attending the various summer schools in the State. Although great care has been exercised in the assembling of these facts, there is no assurance that inaccuracies have not occurred. Major activities in this connection have been concerned with finding out, as far as possible: 1. The present educational opportunities available for meeting the specific needs and interests of the physically handi- capped, the mentally different, and the socially maladjusted in the public elementary schools and in the residential schools of the State. 2. Present practices in relation to certain selected factors basic to an adequate program. Chapter II: The Present Situation Since the findings of the famous White House Conference on Child Health and Protection held in 1930 were made available to the American public, many who are responsibly concerned with and interested in the right care and development of boys and girls have become conscious of how inadequately this country is providing proper educational opportunities for our exceptional children. In addition to the three-quarters of a million children exhibiting behavior problems at that time, the report also pointed out that there were one-half million mentally retarded children and equally as many gifted or superior children. To this list were added the thousands of handicapped children of one type or another. The extent of the problem itself staggered our best thinking. Today there are approximately 22,000,000 children ranging in age from 5 to 14 enrolled in the elementary schools of the Nation, public and private. According to the study made in 1938 by the Advisory Committee on Education, appointed by the President of the United States, the following startling facts indicate that our problem has not yet been solved: 1. There are 800,000 children between the ages of 7 and 13 years who are not going to school in the United States. They are not going to school because schools are not avail- able for them to attend, or are so located that attendance is practically impossible .... 2. One and a half million handicapped children are not re- ceiving the right kind of education which is indicated as desirable for their particular needs. In reference to the magnitude of the problem facing educators, Dr. Elise H. Martens, Senior Specialist in Education of Excep- tional Children, United States Office of Education, truly sounded the nation's "clarion call to arms" in behalf of this host >of chil- dren needing special consideration when she said, in part : The great summation of all these figures presents a challenge calling for united and persistent effort in or- ganizing an educational program which will meet the varying needs of this army of children who will one day become an army of adults and a very real part of the vast citizenry of our democracy. Shall they be a contributing part of our social life, or shall they become liabilities that will drain the resources of society? The answer which we make to that question will be ex- pressed in the provisions which we are willing to make for them while they are still children; in the sincerity 14 A Report on Special Education with which we shall undertake to capitalize their powers and minimize their handicaps; in the effective- ness with which we plan to educate them in those things which they can do and prevent the helplessness that results from lack of training; finally in the skill with which we diagnose their difficulties and avert the un- social attitudes that result from maladjustment. The exceptional child is most certainly an economic factor. Shall we spend our money to educate him aright to social efficiency, or shall we spend it for almshouses, hospitals, reformatories and prisons to house him when he is grown? State school departments, school superintendents, and supervisors cannot get away from the insistent prob- lem presented by the presence of these children in their communities and the obligation of making some educa- tional provision for them which shall be in keeping with their needs rather than with our convenience. Some are facing the situation squarely and are attempt- ing to provide some special instruction for one or more types of exceptional children in their communities. Others recognize the existence of the problem but stand helpless and hopeless before it, feeling that the children are too scattered and finances are too low to admit of a solution. Still others are hiding their heads in the sand, as it were, and refuse to see that there is a prob- lem. What then can North Carolina answer in response to the direct challenge made in regard to meeting the educational needs of her exceptional children? Let us look more critically at the situation that exists and then evaluate what has been accom- plished as a result of the various activities that are being pro- jected in the public elementary schools and in the residential schools of the State. IN THE PUBLIC ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS The Nature and Extent of the Problem At the outset, it is obviously important that all those who are responsible for planning and helping to provide maximum service for the different types of exceptional children in the public schools of the State should learn as much as possible regarding the extent of the general problem as indicated by our present available records. Statistics are of value in this connection in that they not only indicate the prevailing tendency, but also point out the general direction in which the program is moving. The The Present Situation 15 objective evidence set forth may be of further value in focusing proper attention upon the immediate need for more intelligent, constructive action relative to stimulating the improvement and enlargement of appropriate educational opportunities for all children with exceptional problems. In the white public elementary schools of North Carolina during the school year 1937-1938, 465,435 children were enrolled in the seven elementary grades and the ten special-class divisions. Of this number 66.2 per cent were of normal age for their grade and 2.4 per cent under age. It is a rather disconcerting fact to record that 3.2 per cent were four years or more over-age, 4.5 per cent were three years over age, 8.5 per cent, two years, and 15.2 per cent, one year. In other words, 31.4 per cent of the whole number were older than the normal age for the grades in which they were placed and were retarded from one to four or more years. In all of the regular elementary grades there was a wide range in age-grade status and distribution. Out of an enrollment of 83,731 pupils, the first grade presented 15,710 pupils who were over-age for the grade in which they were located — or 18.8 per cent, the smallest per cent of retarded children in the elementary schools. It is interesting to note that this percentage increased consistently in each higher grade until the sixth grade was reached, when a slight marginal decrease became evident for both the sixth and the seventh grades. However, the ratio ex- ceeded the 28 per cent level for all of the grade groups, except the first grade, and finally reached 38 per cent for the fifth grade. The growth in over-ageness of the two combined special groups of 60.2 per cent was even more increasingly significant. Here again there was a variation in steadiness. According to the official report, there were 473 out of 821 pupils enrolled in the primary-special class, or 57.6 per cent whose ages ranged far in excess of the normal age for children of this level. Similarly, this was true of the grammar-grade-special group, who had 411 over-age pupils out of 647, or 63.5 per cent of the total number. For various reasons, more than 100,500 elementary school children, or 21.6 per cent of the total elementary school enroll- ment, experienced failure at the close of the 1937-1938 school term. Strangely enough, the first-grade group stood at the head of this line of discouraged boys and girls by having not only the largest number of these left-overs or repeaters, but also the largest percentage of the total number of failures for the entire elementary school system, and with the exception of one special 16 A Report on Special Education group, the largest percentage for the individual grade enrollment. To be exact, 26,551 first graders, representing 26.4 per cent of all the left-overs for the term and 31.7 per cent of the total mem- bership for this grade group itself, were unsuccessful. The other extreme was true in relation to pupil promotion. While the record shows that the lowest rate of acceleration existed in the first grade (68.3 per cent), the highest rate oc- curred in the seventh grade, when an 82.1 per cent efficiency level was reached. In spite of the 10.4 per cent mount made by the second grade at the outset, there was a more or less steady in- crease for each succeeding grade, with only slight variations in two of the intermediate grade groups. A close-up view of the two special groups indicate that here again fewer of the children involved experienced success than one might reasonably have a right to expect. The grammar- grade-special group achieved the lowest record of 65.2 per cent for the entire elementary school and the primary-special exceeded the first grade — or the next in line — by only one point. On the basis of the above data, conclusive proof has been produced to establish the fact that there are some children en- rolled in every elementary grade throughout our school system who are unsuccessful for various reasons, and who are, there- fore, needing special help of one kind or another in order to find the proper solution to their specific problems. Each year many teachers and principals are no doubt confronted with this search- ing question : "What can we do to meet intelligently the needs and interests of these pupils and thereby enable them to move forward rapidly and successfully and escape the blighting effect of repeated failure?" In answer to this perplexing problem, school administrators and teachers have a two-fold task to per- form: (1) to study each child in question and discover all they can about his specific growth needs, and (2) to help meet these needs so far as possible by providing a school program that is best suited to his level of maturity. The Educational Opportunities Available for Meeting Growth Needs of Exceptional Children In the process of adjusting to an ever-increasing range in abilities, needs, and interests of those enrolled, school officials are finding it necessary not only to extend the school facilities and offerings, but also to broaden the objectives of the educational program to include more desirable aspects of child development. More and more, the schools are accepting the responsibility for The Present Situation 17 changing their courses, their methods and techniques, and their organizations to meet more fully and wisely the varying needs and interests of boys and girls of different abilities and back- grounds. For the most part, the educational opportunities that have been available thus far have centered chiefly about the mentally re- tarded and the socially maladjusted groups. Prior to 1937, no provision as to personnel, finance, and instructional organization was made by any organized school group for the blind and hard of hearing, the crippled, the speech defectives, and the mentally gifted. However, it must be noted that certain remedial defects of the physically handicapped have been given individual attention in varying degrees by some schools. In one city school a special class for the delicate children was conducted for a period of time. The reports secured firsthand from a number of schools in the State, varying in type from village consolidated schools to city units, indicate that various approaches have been used from time to time in a conscientious effort to find a solution to phases of this important problem. Chief among these have been special classes, ungraded classes, opportunity classes, and remedial sub- ject groups. Certain systems of classification, clinical service, and individual aid have also been in operation. During 1937-1938, 569 primary children were enrolled in special classes scattered over the State in seven county and ten city ad- ministrative units; while 422 grammar-grade children were at work in seven county and equally as many city administrative units. The unofficial record for the school year just closed does not show a considerable observable change in this respect. In the main, the general pattern remained the same. However, authen- tic reports have come from many of the individual school units that promoted special classes last year to the effect that this type classification has been discontinued by them this school term. In spite of this, there is no evidence that the needs of the children have been met more adequately than before the establishment of special classes. Nor does the record cited earlier regarding the failure of the children previously enrolled in these groups indicate that this type organization has served them successfully. Although North Carolina has not yet established a State-wide public school program for meeting adequately the needs of all types of exceptional children, there is evidence that a number of school systems are facing the issue boldly and in turn are trying to meet the challenge presented by this large and important 18 A Report on Special Education group. Furthermore, it is generally understood that com- mendable programs have been projected by school units as a whole and by individual teachers within the system itself in an effort to face the situation fairly. In many school situations throughout the State there are teachers and administrators with vision who have the courage continually to reorganize and develop cooperative democratic programs based upon the distinctive growth needs of the indi- vidual child. Accounts of such definite contributions to education should be made available to other teachers in the field. The different types of programs which follow are illustrative of how certain school units have adapted, in varying degrees, their organization, procedures, materials of instruction, and subsequent activities — looking toward the development of meaningful ex- periences that will carry the members of the particular learning group progressively forward in more desirable ways of living. TYPE PROGRAMS IN PROGRESS A Program for All Exceptional Children in a City Administrative Unit When plans were made by the Greensboro City School officials for the year 1937-1938, special consideration was given to the development and the projection of a more balanced school pro- gram that would better serve the needs of all the children enrolled. This objective involved taking into account the large number of boys and girls throughout the system who presented specific problems of one type or another, and adjusting the curriculum offerings, methods of teaching, and classifications in such a way that these children might experience more desirable growth, achievement, and happy living. In order to fulfill this additional service, the School Board created the position of helping teacher for the exceptional chil- dren in the system and appointed a well-qualified person to serve in this capacity. Such an appointment represented the first official school action in the State to meet this obligation on a broad, all-inclusive basis. Within the last two years under the leadership of the helping teacher assigned to this special task, the Greensboro City School System has made a fine beginning toward initiating a definite program that takes into account all eight groups included in the major divisions listed for exceptional children and attempts to make provision for their individual differences. During this The Present Situation 19 time the theme has been "Let us set the child in our midst and know him". In this connection, a conscious effort has been put forth "to study the whole child — physically, mentally, socially, and emotionally — and to guide his interests and abilities into the development of the most worthwhile citizen as far as his capaci- ties permit". As an outgrowth of this goal, the following major objectives were set up: 1. To work toward the growth and development of an inte- grated personality for every pupil. 2. To adjust the curriculum to meet the needs of all children enrolled. 3. To prevent, if possible, retardation in the skill subjects. As the long-view goal in mind was to develop a type program that would prevent retardation in the schools, the initial program of work for the exceptional children in the system was centered largely about a survey of the causes and the extent of the present problem. Among the first considerations in an effort to eliminate this condition was the development of a systematic and con- tinuous plan for the discovery and appraisal of existing pupil needs. Accordingly, questionnaires calling for pertinent data regarding pupil status were filled out by all elementary teachers in the system. The tabulated results served not only to locate those grades in the nine elementary schools that had the greatest number of failures, but also to discover specifically those indi- vidual children who were not having a successful school ex- perience. Furthermore, the record showed that the largest number of retardates were in the first grade and that 2 per cent of the total enrollment in the nine schools checked were retarded from one to four or more years. This general survey work was followed by diagnostic indi- vidual and group testing in order to find the cause of each individual disability. A comprehensive Child Study Summary Record was compiled for each exceptional child and filed with his other individual personal records. Based upon the belief that a one-track curriculum for all pupils would not lead to successful achievement, the information thus assembled was used as a guide in planning more intelligently a program to meet his specific needs. Various significant factors that influence the learning process were likewise taken into account. In order to further accomplish the objectives set forth at the outset, the program as a whole was divided into four phases: remedial, corrective, special, and preventive. 20 A Report on Special Education Remedial. The plan and method of remedial instruction called for the formation of adjustment groups in different sub- ject matter fields to be integrated with the regular classroom work, and involved diagnostic testing, planning remedial work with teacher and pupils, group and individual teaching, and check- ing improvements. For example, those pupils who ranked below their grade and were unable to read materials on their grade level worked in special guidance groups for both corrective and remedial reading. After each case was studied and diagnosed by means of test data and other reliable information, carefully planned remedies adapted to the level of his scholastic ability were applied to meet the discovered needs. Although special em- phasis was given to reading, similar individual and group work in other subjects was also attempted. This was an endeavor to help the academically handicapped child become successful in his daily work, without segregating him from the larger group and thereby emphasizing his shortage unduly. As a further service in this connection, a beginning has been made toward building a Materials Bureau for the use of retarded children. It consists of reading books and materials on varying interest and difficulty levels and helpful aids for constructive drill work and develop- ment in vocabulary training, reading techniques, and other subject-matter difficulties. Corrective. At the outset, the corrective work was focused upon the accomplishment of three specific activities : 1. Finding out the physical defects of individual children and securing corrective measures for each, if possible. 2. Providing especially for examination of those children with defective speech, followed by appropriate training and practice leading to the correction of the defect and to the proper speech development. 3. Stressing correction of posture through carefully chosen games the first year and by combining the work with the developmental and corrective speech program. Special. The suggested plan for special work involved making specific provision for the growth and development of the more gifted children, those children with limited abilities, and those presenting behavior problems. Here an attempt was made to recognize the diversified interests and abilities of the individual pupils in the above groups and to develop a more satisfactory curriculum for meeting some of their expressed needs on their own maturity level. However, no very definite changes in the The Present Situation 21 present curriculum have been effected to date, as a result of the proposed program. Preventive. To the end that each school entrant's needs may be met satisfactorily, the helping teacher is directing her efforts and enlisting the active support of the school group. The fol- lowing activities projected in the interest of a preventive program should bear productive fruit : 1. Meeting with mothers at "Summer Round-Up" in various schools and discussing with them reading readiness and some of the implications for child growth; holding indi- vidual conferences with those who have handicapped chil- dren, and sharing with them helpful bulletins regarding the growth and development of the young child. 2. Carrying forward a cooperative speech development pro- gram in a first and a second grade, and compiling a bulletin on Choral Speaking for Development of Speech, with special attention given to posture and other vital aspects of the work. 3. Checking vocabulary requirements for first grade. This has already contributed to the reduction of academic achieve- ments expected. 4. Appointing special committees to study during vacation period the reading materials needed for pre-primers, the integration of reading and the social studies, the relation of child development to reading readiness, and other allied topics. It should be stated here, however, that the com- mittee work did not materialize on account of unavoidable changes in personnel being made too late to effect desired results. The following brief statements, compiled from the Summary of Results and other reports made by the helping teacher regard- ing the most satisfying accomplishments during the two-year period, are likewise indicative of the scope of work attempted thus far: 1. A system-wide survey of retardation was made in order to locate the causes and to provide necessary remedies. Through a study of individual differences, as an outgrowth of the survey results, increased interest was aroused in the prevention of a similar condition from developing in the system. Greater interest was also stimulated in the needed changes in the first-grade program. 2. The work in remedial reading has grown throughout the elementary schools. Twenty-seven groups in twenty-two grades were tested, followed by the organization of adjust- ment groups as an aid toward eliminating the deficiencies located. Plans and materials adapted to suit the different reading levels were provided and the necessary oral checks 22 A Report on Special Education were given at regular intervals. As a result of the work accomplished through the administration of the remedial reading program and the proper adjustments of pupils within the grades, two special grades were discontinued and all but six pupils were considered eligible for regular grade placement. During three months of remedial training with certain groups, the pupils scored higher than those to whom no special help had been given. On the whole, satisfactory gains were shown and pupils were enabled to move forward who otherwise might have been retained. 3. A diagnostic study in spelling was made throughout the sixth grades. Remedial measures were used to advantage with many of the groups involved. 4. Seventy-five cases of extreme disabilities were examined and detailed records were made of the findings. 5. The Stanford-Binet Tests were administered to twenty-two pupils. After the study was made, suggestions were offered regarding next steps. 6. One hundred thirty-three pupils with defective speech were tested in order to locate their specific handicaps. The de- fects discovered were classified as follows: stammering, lateral lisping, infantile speech, and those speech difficulties resulting from deafness, spastic cases, retarded mentality, and malformation of the organs of speech, such as soft palate, cleft palate, and tongue tie. Appropriate remedial or corrective practice exercises for each case, followed by systematic check ups, were given. Once a month on regular schedule, the helping teacher worked with each child indi- vidually at varying length periods, but not exceeding forty minutes. Although the time limit between contacts with the pupils made satisfactory results a rather slow process, definite improvement was shown with those who were served during the two-year period. It was found that there were three very deaf children who needed lip reading instruction. 7. Through the cooperative efforts of the helping teacher and the City Health Department, a hard-of -hearing testing pro- gram provided by the State Board of Health was secured for all the children in the elementary schools of the city, both Negro and white. The results obtained from the hearing acuity tests through the use of the audiometer indi- cated that 477 pupils had defective hearing and were unable, therefore, to profit maximally from the school program offered. 8. Those children experiencing eye difficulties were tested. Whenever it could be arranged, all necessary corrections were made. See the Sight-Saving Class for the program of work carried forward in the interest of those children with serious eye defects. 9. A study of malnutrition cases was continued as formerly. This was carried on through the Health Department. The Present Situation 23 10. Teachers were given definite help in classifying their pupils and in overcoming problem situations. 11. Various bulletins were compiled for the use of the teachers in the interest of the program. Notably among these were : The Child Study Summary Bulletin for Exceptional Chil- dren, A Diagnostic Child Study Chart for Enrolling Adjust- ment Groups, A Choral Speaking Anthology for Speech Development and Correction, Helpful Hints for the Excep- tional Child, and Studies in Retardation regarding Defective Speech, Reading Readiness, Remedial Reading, Special Classes, Remedial Groups, and so forth. Appraisal. Suffice it to say, Greensboro has taken the initial step forward along this line and is leading the way for the State as a whole in organizing the first school-wide program in the interest of all children who have problems or who are not making a satisfactory adjustment to their environment. Within a two-year period the duties of the helping teacher in charge of the work have been expanded until now she is the official Director of Training for Exceptional Children. Prior to this time, however, her work has been chiefly that of a helping teacher for those individual pupils who were unsuccessful for various reasons and for varying time limits. The efficiency of such individualized training is dependent upon a definite follow-up program being maintained by the regular classroom teacher who works closely with the special teacher in carrying out directions and suggestions of value in further help- ing the individual child overcome his difficulties. As time has passed, many of the classroom teachers in the system have recog- nized more and more the great need for this specific work with children experiencing problems and have assumed their personal responsibility in relation to it. However, too much of the obli- gation was left to the helping teacher to warrant as closely an integrated program from resulting as was desirable for the im- provement of the child participating. Now that the function of the person guiding the work has been enlarged to the extent that her direct focus of effort is centered upon helping the teachers meet this problem more adequately, it is to be expected that the ultimate objectives of the program will be accomplished more quickly and with less dissipation of time and energy. Work with groups in special classes of mentally retarded chil- dren has gone forward continuously, but not always with very satisfactory results. To date none of the segregated special 24 A Report on Special Education classes has been tested scientifically and assigned for special training by a teacher who was specially trained for that particular work. There is a place in the world for these children to fill — a work for them to do. They should receive their share of educational attention. This must be recognized by the school. Measures should be taken to give these children the type training, both kind and amount, that they can do successfully on their own maturity level and that will better equip them to live happily and profitably. Shop work and other suitable trade instruction should be made available to them as a preparation for vocational activi- ties. A practical course in home making and better living could be arranged in the elementary schools in connection with the junior high school and at no extra cost. All in all, a program should be planned for them that will more nearly fit their life needs and interests, as well as abilities, and yet will not be stig- matizing in effect. In the administration of such a program the teacher must of necessity be free to adapt the methods, also the amount and type of experiences offered, so as to promote optimum growth on the part of each individual child. This would likewise involve the establishment of standards of accomplishment in keeping with his ability to make progress. If the type program as conceived by the Director of the Train- ing of Exceptional Children is properly coordinated and efficiently carried forward by all concerned with the education of the chil- dren, it should aid each exceptional child to make those desirable adjustments that would result in a maximum of life satisfactions. More and more, the teachers, the pupils, the school officials, the parents, and the community must work together cooperatively to find the causes of the difficulty and then endeavor to bring about a wholesome learning condition that will promote desirable, all-round pupil growth and will eliminate the necessity for con- tinuing to maintain the type remedial and corrective program herein described. Furthermore, the full significance of this division and all that it entails as a worthwhile need in the depart- ment of instruction must be recognized, and the program of work set forth must be regarded as a logical and integral part of the curriculum and not as a minor phase of it. In order to prevent repetition and stagnation and to better insure a happy, successful adventure through school, it is to be hoped that in accordance with the plans of the official in charge, full provision will be made for an early diagnosis and study of each pupil at his school entrance and for the establishment of a The Present Situation 25 desirable developmental program that will be carried on, if neces- sary, through a prolonged span of years in the primary school by (1) shifting the emphasis from the teaching of skills to matura- tion and readiness ; (2) providing a balanced program of instruc- tion in the traditional subjects and the arts, based upon the individual child's maturity and social fitness at the time; and (3) substituting informal letters and conferences with parents for formal report cards. Such an arrangement may involve the organization of a junior-primary grade for those children whose all-round development will not permit their successful moving forward at the time with the regular first-grade program. If so, it should be effected by skillful and intelligent planning. A Sight-Saving Class Statistics show that about twenty per cent of our school children have some defect of vision. Moreover, the most con- servative estimates indicate that a small group, about one child in a thousand of the elementary school population, have defects so serious that they should not continue in the regular school without special educational tools. Many communities have found that one child in five hundred more nearly approximates the ratio. The needs of these children differ greatly from those of the normally seeing children; so appropriate procedures must be made effective to take care of their distinct needs, if the school expects to make progress in solving the problem of sight conser- vation. The welfare of this exceptional group demands our best planned endeavor based upon intelligent understanding of the problems inherent in the situation. Here again Greensboro has blazed the trail and has won the merited distinction of having established the first and only sight- saving class in the State for the benefit of the partially seeing children in the city system who, because of seriously defective vision, cannot be educated profitably under conditions provided in the regular grade or who, by attempting the prescribed school work, similarly might increase their eye difficulty. The work was begun in 1937 under the direct financial sponsorship and leadership of the Greensboro Kiwanis Club and with the coop- eration of the Superintendent of the City Schools, the City School Board, and the State Commission for the Blind. The sight-saving class is located in the Central Junior High School and serves pupils from grades one through eight in the entire school system. During its existence sixteen children have been enrolled. However, there are eleven in membership this 26 A Report on Special Education year, with all grades represented except the fourth and the sixth. As the work is largely individual, the number per teacher must necessarily be small. The teacher in charge of the class since its organization had special training at Columbia University for the specific work involved. This included specialized courses of in- struction in sight-saving and the hygiene of the eye under educational leaders in this particular field, followed by supervised observation in the sight-saving classes being conducted there according to accepted standards of excellence. Furthermore, she attended daily lectures at New York Medical Center given by some of the most eminent eye physicians known, in order that she might have some understanding of the most common eye diseases and their treatment and, therefore, know better how to help the pupils conserve their vision. The teacher of the class works cooperatively with the Health Department and the opthamologists of the city in an effort (1) to locate the children with eye difficulties who are eligible for sight-saving instruction, and (2) to promote an adequate eye- health program that will meet their all-round needs. According to the record on file, this, in brief, is the procedure followed: A pupil is admitted to the class upon the recommen- dation of his opthamologist. On entering the school and again in the -fourth and seventh grades, each pupil's vision is tested by the City Health Department. The names of those who have serious visual handicaps are turned over to the educational authorities. The teacher of the class then investigates each by consulting the pupil's own eye physician, whose recommendation de- termines where the pupil shall be placed. If the pupil is admitted to the sight-saving class, the teacher follows the opthamologist's recommendation in the conservation of the pupil's vision. The eye physicians of the city are to be congratulated upon their cooperation in the work. Not all suspects can be detected through the Health Department as each client is not tested annually, and it is only through the alert opthamologists that many learn of the advantages of the class. A cooperative plan of conducting the class is in operation, whereby the work is coordinated with that of the regular class. In this way, the pupils have all of their oral work with the regular classes, but return to the specially equipped room for the preparation of their assignments and other work that requires close use of their eyes. They also participate in all of the social and recreational activities, such as trips, class meetings, audi- torium programs, group discussions, and general activity and The Present Situation 27 play periods that are an outgrowth of the work carried on in the regular grade. No exceptions are made to the general plan, unless the work assigned conflicts with the program recommended by the doctor for a particular child. Since emphasis must be centered upon individual work in this situation, the teacher is an indispensable helper for each pupil. Among other services, it is her special responsibility to teach arithmetic, reading, spelling, and writing to each pupil. At times one may find her reading to the group specific assignments, made in the regular class, that are not available in large print. Or she may be enlarging, by means of a special typewriter, certain materials for use of individual students, such as tests, memory work, dictionary work, and so forth. Then again she may be engaged in helping different children master certain techniques of the touch system in typing in order that they may develop a more satisfactory way of preparing their written work. "Eye hygiene is taught in the class in order that the pupils may know how and why to properly care for their eyes. Pupils are encouraged to become ear-minded, — that is, to listen to stories, to hear news and plays on the radio, and to attend lectures. During the school day pupils in the class are not permitted to use their eyes for close work more than twenty or twenty-five minutes continuously. They are encouraged to engage in a different type of activity, such as clay modeling, mass painting, and typing, or they may rest their eyes by simply looking in the distance for a few minutes. Even if continued use of diseased eyes does not harm the eyes themselves, it does place the child under such a nervous strain that he cannot react normally to situations that he must of necessity meet." Such an arrangement affords an opportunity for the pupils not only to work under more or less normal conditions with maximum efficiency and minimum strain, but also "to mingle and compete with other children as do those of normal vision". At the same time it safeguards the possibility of their developing a feeling of inferiority that might result from segregation or from failure to achieve success. All equipment and procedures are carefully scrutinized and appraised from the standpoint of their influence on the eye health of the children involved. In order that their specific needs may be met with comfort and efficiency, this classroom, with a possible exception, is specially furnished with modern equipment that has been approved according to accepted standards for such classes. Not only does such an environment promote better conditions for 28 A Report on Special Education eye hygiene, but it also stimulates the improvement of and the provision for better postural habits. Adequate, well-diffused, and well-distributed illumination, both natural and artificial, supplies a maximum of uniform light throughout the day with a minimum of glare for the pupils. The indirect lights that were installed for use in this room are auto- matically controlled by a photo-electric cell, which is so set as to permit at all times a minimum of 30-foot candles of light in com- parison with about 10 in the regular classroom. Six outlets are also provided in order to insure a balanced light as well as a sufficient amount. As a further aid toward minimizing eyestrain, all desks, wood- work, walls and ceiling, furniture, and the like, are in dull mat finish. The desks are both movable and adjustable. Not only can they be moved from place to place in the room in order that each pupil may obtain the kind and amount of light best suited to meet his working needs at the time, but they can also be raised or lowered to the correct height for him and adjusted by means of a slide to the proper focal angle for his individual read- ing. Likewise, the books are printed in 32-point type on dull, unglazed, egg-shell tinted paper to insure more comfortable, happy reading experiences during the day. Special maps, globes, paper, pencils, chalk, and other special types of supplies and materials are available. Typewriters with large, bulletin-sized type are also provided as a definite part of the equipment for the use of both pupils and teacher. All are designed to make seeing easier and thereby to aid in conserving sight. The following Summary Report from the teacher at the close of the year's work is indicative of the all-round pupil growth that has taken place in a brief period: Although the class has been in operation for only two years, gratifying results have been seen. The progress of the pupils — mentally, physically, and socially — has been quite satisfactory. Standard tests, though not always an accurate meas- urement of a pupil's progress, are the best known means of measuring progress at present. According to these, all pupils made normal progress during the school year and several made far above normal. Judging from their past records, there is no doubt that the majority of them were greatly aided by the type of instruction offered in the class. There was evidence of physical improvement. Posture was improved, the degree of improvement depending somewhat upon the ability of the pupil to see the print The Present Situation 29 at the distance provided by the desk. However, using the blackboard instead of paper for written arithmetic, and substituting the typewriter for other written work whenever possible, did eliminate much of the bad posture that was necessary for them to assume in order to do their written work heretofore. There has been improvement in vision. One child has had his vision restored to almost normal through operations and is no longer a member of the class. Although he was in the class only temporarily, he could not have done his work in a regular grade last year while he was under treatment. A year's work was saved and the child's spirit was unbroken. Another pupil will be able to leave the class next year, if not sooner, as the result of operations. Upon entrance in the class, he rated three grades below average in reading ability. As he was able to see the print in the books last year, he is now an average pupil in the same grade as his former classmates. He has not only regained lost ground, but also his own self respect .... Social adjustment is something that cannot be meas- ured, but can only be observed. Those most closely associated with the pupils know that in many instances attitudes have become more wholesome and social ad- justments have been greatly improved. This is because the pupils work under much less strain. Improved physical environment has made adjustments simpler. The child who has learned to know his limitations and who has accepted his handicap with the determination to make the most of his abilities has a better chance not only to protect his eyes, but to conduct himself in a perfectly normal and wholesome manner among his associates. Appraisal. The program of work that has been organized and carried out thus far in the Greensboro Sight-Saving Class was no ordinary task. Freeing these exceptional children for more efficient pro- gress along several distinct lines of living and learning was ac- complished largely through the intelligent, cooperative planning and sharing of those several groups responsibly concerned with this particular undertaking. It is also significant to note that the unified efforts of the contributing participants were based upon a fundamental understanding of the problems underlying the situation. Furthermore, their focus was centered upon the satisfactory accomplishment of the goal set out to be achieved. As a result, it is not surprising that the individual adjustments made to date have been on a fairly high efficiency basis. 30 A Report on Special Education However, in this connection, care should be exercised to the extent that the school program in all of its ramifications offers sufficient opportunities to these children to practice democratic living in a functional way. Since it is necessary to depart- mentalize the work, there will be many serious omissions and commissions unless the day's activities are properly integrated and closely articulated with purposeful experiencing. Those in charge should watch this aspect of the program and prevent a further handicap from developing in these children. Appropriate procedures along all lines of growth must be made effective if the school expects to meet their all-round developmental needs and thus help them become well-balanced, integrated personalities. This presupposes that each individual child must be studied care- fully and that the cumulative data assembled must be used in- telligently, not only in planning his educational progress, but also in guiding him properly to make desirable adjustments when facing complex situations. Now that the school system has the services of a Director of Training for Exceptional Children, it stands to reason that the work with the partially seeing children will be extended to in- clude additional cases whose difficulties have not been very apparent heretofore. Such administrative activities as these will doubtless enter in: Securing transportation to and from school for those children who do not live on a bus line or do not have other means of getting to school ; financing a thorough eye examination by an opthamologist of those children showing visual difficulties who cannot pay the cost involved; making satisfactory arrangements for the proper transfer of children from one school to another in the system; and making other similar adjustments. It may also involve establishing an addi- tional class for high school students needing specific help, or continuing the present plan in operation through the high school years. In any event, the special sight-saving educational facili- ties should be enlarged as rapidly as the situation demands in order that the peculiar needs of all partially seeing children in the school system may be met. A close follow-up of those children who leave the class should be maintained and records of their progress kept on file in the school. If such a coordinated service can be established between the regular teacher and the teacher of the Sight-Saving Class, it will safeguard the best interests of each child by helping to prevent gaps and lapses from occurring as a result of using, means and procedures that are not suited to his particular handi- The Present Situation 31 cap. In the long run, the promotion of a consistent program based on his needs would represent, among other important factors, a great saving of feelings and attitudes that underlie the proper building of a well-adjusted individual. Occupational Groups in a County-City Administrative Unit The general statement made at the outset is applicable to the New Hanover County Schools regarding those elementary school children in the entire system from fourteen to eighteen years of age who had fallen out of step with the regular classes and were not progressing satisfactorily in their school work. Unhappily, the majority of these children had experienced failure from time to time and so had been unable to advance each year from grade to grade with their classmates; many had lost faith and con- fidence in their ability to achieve; while others, lacking in emo- tional stability, had developed a sinister feeling against school and society in general. All were in need of a program designed to meet their special requirements. It was evident that unless these children were given an opportunity to study the things which they were interested in and could understand, they would leave school. In order to meet the needs of these over-age, slow-learning children, the Special Department of the New Hanover High School in Wilmington was added in 1937. Under the leadership of a carefully selected person delegated to this specific task, a particular program was offered for their special benefit. "Life is a never ending process of adjustment", commented, the head of the Department when questioned about the work, "and suc- cess depends upon finding that thing to do that is best suited to one's interests and abilities. In spite of all their problems, we believe that under proper guidance and direction the majority of these children can be helped to overcome some of their difficulties. Consequently, we set as our major objective the guidance of these pupils (1) in developing all the powers within them; (2) in facing problems sanely without frustrations and conflicts ; (3) in finding their place in society; and (4) in making their contribution, how- ever small, towards the betterment of the community in which they live." During the first year the program was in action, there was an enrollment of 145 in the Department. However, for various reasons, 4 dropped out by the middle of the term. The major factor that entered into the selection of pupils for the classes organized was retardation. However, the results of achievement 32 A Report on Special Education and intelligence tests, administered and evaluated by the teachers, were used to some extent together with the teacher's general estimate of each pupil. Likewise, the records of the physical defects, as discovered by the regular physical examination given, were an available source of information in this connection. The only special work that was carried on throughout the first year with any degree of success was that done in the manual arts room. The teacher in charge felt that, though the children were not skilled, they had developed better working habits. Regular sewing classes for the girls were started the last half of the term and proved to be most successful. Those with the highest mental equipment showed ability and interest in learning to make their clothes while others who lacked the capacity for sustained effort liked to embroider with bright colors and to make small household articles. All of them manifested keen interest and pleasure in the art work that was initiated for the first time with the group. At the beginning of last term the name of the Special Depart- ment was changed to the Occupational Group. Provision was also made for the boys and girls to work in separate classes during the five-hour day program. The schedule was so arranged that about half of the time was used in studying the minimum essentials of a modified course in arithmetic, reading, English, and the social studies that were closely related to the practical work carried on in the shop and in the home making activities. The rest of the day was spent in the shops and the workroom, where the boys and girls had an opportunity for practice in repairing articles and making useful and beautiful things. Art, music, and physical education for both groups were also a definite part of the pro- gram. In addition to these activities, there were also classes for girls in various aspects of home making and better living. The Department maintains a file containing accurate and de- tailed records for each child. These include the results of the teacher's achievement tests and observations, the individual case history, the personality and interest inventory, the health record, and a record of the child's social behavior at school and else- where. The information gained from home visits is also recorded on the individual card which is kept for each child. By means of the data assembled, the teaching personnel has at their command a readily available source of information that can be used ad- vantageously in the interest of each child's program of living. The achievements that have been made thus far are cited in the last Annual Summary, as follows : The Present Situation 33 During the two years the Department has been in existence, we have seen a marked improvement in the pupils in many ways, the most significant of which has been in character development. Each student was keenly conscious of being a failure and used every mechanism known to psychiatrists in his effort to com- pensate, evade, or defend his actions. We truly feel now that there is a finer spirit of cooperation, that they ac- cept responsibility more readily, have greater confidence in themselves, have higher ideals, show more respect and consideration for each other and those in authority, manifest more pride in themselves and their work, and have developed a more pleasing personality. In fact, they seem happy and contented and enjoy going to school. A group of girls when asked what they con- sidered their greatest achievement for this year replied that they thought the development of their personality the outstanding improvement. In spite of the low scholastic record, the achievement tests each year show that most of the pupils made as much progress as they were capable of making. Of the number promoted to the high school in 1938, 90 per cent of them are passing their work. The home making, industrial and fine arts, and crafts exhibit held in May gave a fair idea of the types of special work this Department offers. Incidentally, the practical work and the homemaking courses hold their chief interests. It is certain that without these they would not consider remaining in school. The physical education program has made a good beginning and we think that the development of this phase of our activities together with music will perhaps meet a greater need of these pupils than anything else. A well rounded physical education program will assist greatly in producing a more integrated personality and a better citizen for our changing civilization. Appraisal. Here is a concrete illustration of how one school system, com- posed of both city and rural schools, organized a Special Depart- ment at one central point to serve the entire group of unsuccessful elementary children from fourteen to eighteen years of age en- rolled in all of the elementary-school units represented. The school authorities themselves will agree that they waited far too long to focus their definite attention upon the special needs of this over-age group who were not profiting by the regular school offerings. However, when they became aware of the situation, it reflects to their everlasting credit that they set about to 34 A Report on Special Education establish a new-type program designed to contribute vitally to the development of these children at the time. In this connection it was of significant value that a person who was well-qualified both by special training and successful ex- perience for work of this type was selected to be in charge. Although adequate housing facilities, equipment, and instruc- tional materials necessary to serve the newly constituted Department in its entirety were not available at the outset, these have been supplied as rapidly as possible. Each year the part- time services of additional teachers from other departments of the school have also been shared with this division. From the beginning, transportation has been provided for those children who were not accessible to the school. Manifestly, all of these tangible evidences of cooperative effort are indicative of the fine support given in the interest of those children who are facing acute problems of their own that must be solved one way or another. In the light of increased knowledge and better understanding of the group and their needs, the program should be revised. However, such changes could be effected more quickly and more satisfactorily for the good of all concerned if the teaching per- sonnel as a whole had a fundamental background for under- standing this type child and his special problems. Then the day's experiencing could be adjusted more skillfully to meet his specific needs and interests. It would seem that the special services of a professional worker would be of inestimable value to the teachers of this group, not only in giving them a new point of direction, but also in helping them coordinate their efforts and integrate the work on a more comprehensive basis. On account of the over-ageness of the group, a greater variety of vocational opportunities than is the case now should be made available for both boys and girls. Such well-chosen offerings would prove most helpful in furnishing them a broader and more practical outlook toward real living. There is also a distinct need for a very marked reorganization of the industrial arts program in keeping with the modern con- ception of the basic place this subject should have in a learning situation. The content should be enlarged to include those ex- periences that contribute more directly to the solution of vital problems of present-day life regarding food, shelter, clothing; and other similar needs. More important still, the on-goingness of the activity itself should be given special consideration. So fundamental are the permanent values to be derived from a The Present Situation 35 broadly conceived and intelligently executed program that the suggested changes should be incorporated as soon as it is prac- tical. The fact that a large number of the children left school at mid- term the first year the Special Department was organized should not be attributed directly to a lack of holding power of the new program in operation. Nor was it due solely to the various diffi- cult adjustments that had to be made. On the basis of firsthand observation, it seemed evident that the deadening effects of the Platoon System of work that has been carried forward in the elementary grades throughout the system for a period of years were largely responsible for the existing condition. However, a fine beginning has been made toward eliminating this undemo- cratic practice in the schools. It is to be hoped that soon every trace of it will be uprooted and that a program, adjusted to meet the needs and interests of each individual child enrolled in the schools and based upon an intelligent, sympathetic understanding of his total equipment, will be substituted for it. Then every child would be moving forward successfully and happily at his own rate of progress. All things being equal, such a program in action would help to prevent a similar devastating condition now exist- ing among the older children from ever developing. A Program of Democratic Living for All Children The program of work, initiated and projected by Miss Ada E. Valentine with a group of unsuccessful elementary school children in a village consolidated school over a period of years, is a venture in democratic living and learning for all types of children to be found in our public schools. Its main purpose is to enable every child to experience the fullest growth possible in terms of his abilities and emerging social needs regardless of his present equipment or stage of growth and development. Furthermore, it purports to give boys and girls new horizons, richer and more abiding interests, and loftier aims and ideals, which will help them to live ever better the life of each day as they face it. The work moves forward in a wholesome, natural way through active pupil participation in solving their individual and group problems and in projecting the next steps in more desirable ways of living. In this school experience one observes all of the worth- while features of the traditional program as an integral part of the day's activities. However, there are also evidences of more progressive procedures resulting in independent thinking and acting on the part of each individual child. The entire program 36 A Report on Special Education is based upon the guiding principle, generally understood by all, that children learn to do by doing. "In the philosophy expressed and in the principles underlying the program, there are no failures and no dependents, but an unmistakable and workable democracy of everyday living as evidenced in the freedom of the individual child to use his own God-given powers to their fullest extent and capacity as he achieves success in the worthwhile educational experiences the school provides for him." Special significance is given to the importance of happy, successful experiencing. Briefly, the most persistent major features involved in this program of creative living and learning include : 1. A Scientific Study of Children. In order to have an intelligent understanding of each indi- vidual child, his present equipment and needs, the school should have an accurate picture of what the child's back- ground has been to date — his physical and mental health, what social and emotional adjustments he has had to make, and the like. By means of personal interviews and con- ferences with parents and pupils, questionnaires filled out by both, observations, scientific achievement and intelligence test data, individual cumulative pupil records and case his- tories, group and individual profile charts representing the school behavior of each child in the group, progress reports of pupil personality development, official records of pupil attendance and age status, and other available statistical facts, pertinent firsthand information is assembled that makes it possible for many phases of the child's life to be examined in a most objective and thorough way. On the basis of the total findings, here each child's needs and in- terests in relation to the harmonized development of his total personality are treated with intelligent human under- standing. 2. Educational and Vocational Guidance of Children. If guidance is to be effective in ministering directly and intelligently to pupil growth, it must rest upon an accurate knowledge and complete understanding of all those im- mediate and remote factors which impinge upon and con- dition the present status, the human needs, and the opportunities of the individuals concerned. This program consists of studying the individual child scientifically, of learning to know his abilities and his limitations, and, in the light of this knowledge, of helping him to achieve a way of life fully satisfying to himself and to society. It is not an attempt to make all children follow the same beaten path; on the contrary, it is a distinct effort to help each child find the path appropriate to his own individual needs and aptitudes. The Present Situation 37 3. Healthful Living. School life to a child should mean a valid, creative, satis- fying experience that helps him to build those qualities that make for successful and healthful living. In this school situation we find an on-going, significant life of its own generating, always in full sway. The open sesame for par- ticipating in a normal, happy day is a diversified program, arranged by the teacher and the children planning together for their wholesome development in relation to educational achievement, health in general, recreational activities, and avocational interests. The freeing of all the energies and potential powers of the child, not only through individual and group development of a large variety of interests, but also through medical, surgi- cal, and dental service, through proper nutrition, rest, and exercise, and through the development of habits that will make him a healthy and socially acceptable person, is of primary concern. Since the possibility of instilling health knowledge and health habits is greatest in the school period of life, this program set out to perform these distinct duties toward promoting human efficiency and human happiness. In an effort to fully discharge these, every child is the bene- ficiary of the best medical, dental, and psychological ex- aminations available. Every possible opportunity for the development of right health habits and right living practices is a part of each day's work. As an aid toward providing such services, members of various groups coordinate their efforts with the school in a most effective and far-reaching way. The following typical health activities involving community relationships con- tribute vitally to the all-round growth needs of these children : a. Yearly physical examinations are given each child by the County Health Department, followed by the tuber- culin test. Without exception all positive cases are X-rayed. b. Through the cooperation of the Division of Oral Hy- giene, State Board of Health, complete dental service with follow-up program is given to all children in this group and to others throughout the school who are unable to finance such service. c. Under the leadership and direction of the local Lions' Club, a free eye clinic is conducted by a specialist for the benefit of those children in the school needing such service but who are unable to secure it without help. All necessary corrections are made regardless of the cost involved. As a result, the children given a thor- ough examination and properly fitted with glasses are now more happily and efficiently engaged in their task of moving forward toward successful and healthful living. 38 A Report on Special Education d. With the services of a psychologist and a psychiatrist, each child in the group is tested scientifically. e. In order that the younger children may have more comfortable rest periods each day, a sufficient number of cots have been provided. f. Recreational activities are participated in daily. g. Hot lunches are served to all children in the group and to the undernourished children throughout the school. Two pupil-maintained free lunch rooms are in operation daily to meet the needs of these groups. This is made possible through the cooperative service of the homes represented, certain organizations and individuals in town, the State and County Boards of Charities and Public Welfare, and the Works Progress Administra- tion. These contribute supplies (vegetables, meat, milk, and the like) and labor. In no case is any child pauperized, but instead he makes his contribution on the basis of his ability to give — much or little. A supervised indoor lunch period with all of its attendant health features is observed. 4. Participation as a Measure of Achievement. The focal point of the society in which these children, differing both in chronological and ability age levels, live and work together six hours each day is simply wholesome re- sponsibility — the responsibility of each child to himself and to each individual in the group as well as to the larger group itself. The whole conduct of the group involved is based upon the interaction of group and individual. The activities that go on in the room, the physical care of the room, the social relationships among the children and the relationships between the children and the teacher, their contacts with the school as a whole and with the community, all are used with the end in view of gradual progression in the business of living with people. 5. Utilizing Community Resources. In every community there are available environmental re- sources that offer productive possibilities for opening up the world in far-reaching ways. Miss Valentine uses these to introduce the children to the social, industrial, artistic, and natural phases of their surroundings and to give them a growing understanding and appreciation of the world in which they live. By means of direct observations and con- tacts, the children are led to investigate, interpret, enjoy, and utilize their environment from both a social and a natural science point of view and likewise to project them- selves into new fields of thinking, feeling, and doing. The Present Situation 39 6. Creative Expression. All children should have the right to live in a rich environ- ment, to exercise to the fullest all of their powers of ex- pression, and to have every avenue to their souls open and in use. In support of this conviction the teacher concerned has tried faithfully to help create conditions and provide materials which would arouse each child to live fully and happily and to express himself and his potentialities freely and effectively in some chosen form of his own best ideas, inspirations, and emotions. 7. Academic Work. Creative teaching is concerned with all of the complex situations one meets in everyday life and is not limited to any specific field of subject matter. In this situation em- phasis is placed upon learning through active participation in meaningful and purposeful experiences, growing out of real situations of vital interest to the child and through which desirable knowledges, skills, habits, attitudes, and ideals are developed. In order to carry forward his activities successfully, the child realizes a vital need for the mastery of certain tool subjects, techniques, and pertinent content material, and then sets about on his own initiative to learn those essential facts and skills necessary for the desired accomplishment. 8. Spiritual Training. The important role of spiritual values in the shaping of human life and conduct is considered here as a balance of all other values in a symmetry of life fashioned after the per- fect ideal. Here a conscious effort is made to start going in each child those enterprises, ambitions, and tastes that will fill both his leisure time and his work hours with clean, ennobling, and joy-giving activities. 9. Parent Education. Home and school, parents and teachers, must have com- mon objectives, purposes, plans, and similar techniques that are desirable if the child's life at school and at home is an integral whole. As a means toward developing a consistent regime and policy for each child to follow in his daily living, effort is put forth through a variety of desirable activities to establish better parent-child and parent-teacher relation- ships. 10. Evaluation of Pupil Progress. In an effort to evaluate individual pupil progress, success is not measured in terms of grades and credits, but in terms of the character, the culture, and the effectiveness of the personalities of the children. 40 A Report on Special Education Some of the most fundamental principles taken into account at all times in this school situation are: 1. The children are given every opportunity to practice bal- anced and unselfish acting and sharing in their solution of problems relating to the group as a whole or to any indi- vidual member. 2. Through careful teacher guidance each child is helped to analyze his own needs and interests, draw his own conclu- sions, and to set up his own program of ivork, play, study, and health, accordingly ; likewise he is helped to make those adjustments leading to permanent desirable changes needed in carrying forward satisfactorily his program of living. 3. No child is a complete failure, but on the other hand, he experiences growth in a real way and is successful from the beginning according to his capacities and his interests. 4. The whole community is the teacher's schoolroom, her laboratory; to the children, it is their world, their work- shop, their home. 5. As far as possible, everything that does not carry over into the life of the child and does not help to strengthen his moral, mental, physical, and social liber then is eliminated from the program. However, this understanding teacher guides the child in such a way as to help him include at the appropriate time those things adjudged worthwhile to his all-round development. 6. In evaluating pupil progress, the changed ways of behaving are considered as the real test of learning rather than the oral command of subject matter, and the emphasis is placed upon the actual living through a valuable experience. As a result of this satisfying way of living and growing, learning and working, there is every indication that desirable growth, development, and adjustments along many lines have been effected in the daily life of every child participating. Some observable evidences of the productive changes made in these children are: (1) the quickening of interest; (2) the improve- ment in ability to think creatively and critically; (3) the im- provement in ability to become socially minded; (4) the pro- gressive achievement in all phases of growth; and, (5) the growth in ability to make desirable changes in their program of living. In the last analysis, the all-important determining factor is the releasing and freeing of the creative power that is some- where imprisoned in every child. To a degree, improved indi- vidual pupil action along the following lines of right living is evident: cooperation, persistence, personal self-dependence in care of own things and in surroundings, right attitude toward school and school work, respect for older people, initiative, lead- ership, resourcefulness, profitable use of leisure time, fairness toward others and himself in games, civic responsibility, ability The Present Situation 41 to talk intelligently before group, interest and participation in group activities without self -consciousness , consciousness of rights of others, respect fon contributions of others, desire for knowledge and information concerning his everyday life and environment, keen powers of observation, desire to share with others, desire to create, ability plus a desire to read and write that prompts voluntary "doings", ability to plan and carry out own plans, ability to present worthy judgments, right attitude toward conduct, and a respect for feelings of others. The information assembled on the Attendance and Age Status Tables for the year reflects credit upon the holding power of such a program. Manifestly, the fact that 95 per cent of this group attended school every day — in spite of handicaps — is in- dicative of this. Appraisal. If we accept education as growth throughout all of life and as broad and as versatile as all of the processes of living, then we must adjust all methods of teaching and training to the intelli- gent understanding and knowledge of the child as an integral personality and of childhood as a stage of the continuous stream of living. Likewise, if our conception of behavior is the growth of the child in relation to his environment, then we must have the type of school where the child's total personality can expand properly and grow happily, naturally, and continuously, and where his character can develop maximally through doing pur- poseful things of interest to him under the wise leadership of a well-adjusted teacher with an alert, observing, learning attitude toward childhood and its problems. Therefore, in light of this, the work of Miss Valentine comes as a unique contribution in the field of educational endeavor. This genuine expression of educational art depicts a new atti- tude toward childhood and youth, an enlarged appreciation of the nature of young people and of the sound conditions under which they grow most richly and fully. It is an alliance between abundant living and effective learning ; it is a spirit that pervades over all and through all ; it is a way of life that should be within the reach of all children. Instead of being dominated by theories previously formulated and accepted, Miss Valentine strives to help boys and girls unfold normally and healthfully at a rate commensurate with their in- herent powers. Nothing helps accomplish this like a program that takes the child as it finds him, discovers just where he stands in all lines of his growth, and then sets about trying to 42 A Report on Special Education harmonize his attitudes and his abilities. Here the child's per- sonality is not sacrificed for outworn and outmoded rules and creeds, but is guarded zealously as his most precious birthright. It is her unchanging conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people, and that if the doors of oppor- tunity are thrown wide so that all boys and girls can develop the best that is within them, amazing results will be obtained from unlikely sources. So she labors to contribute vitally and directly toward leading boys and girls to develop within right ideals and aspirations, right purposes and motives that will cause them to think nobly as well as critically, co work effectively and to desire to serve the welfare of all as well as their own advancement, enjoyment, and well-being. Therefore, she seeks always to see the proper relationships in each situation and to guide each pupil's reac- tions intelligently through effective study and experiencing in enough real and vital situations so that each child may evolve ways of right behaving, may become self-directing, and finally may "build such dynamic outlook, insight, habits, and attitudes, as will enable him to hold to his course amid change." In truth, each day's experiencing is teeming with fruitful possibilities for helping all children to lose themselves in their own chosen in- terests, and then, through the proper guidance of the releases set in motion, to find a satisfying way of life by which to chart their own courses aright from day to day. In true perspective, this program of democratic living is neither curriculum centered nor child centered, but life centered; it is primarily concerned with neither the amount the child learns nor with the uniqueness of what he creates, but with his emotional stability and his ability to live completely and to get along with others well; it believes in developing control from within, not from without ; it emphasizes creation, not acquisition ; it subordi- nates subject matter to personality; it substitutes the social motive of group participation for the competitive motive of indi- vidual achievement; it considers the changed ways of behaving as the real test of learning rather than the oral command of sub- ject matter, and places its emphasis upon the actual living through a valuable experience; it measures its success not in terms of grades and credits, but in terms of the character, the culture, and the effectiveness of the personalities of the children. Finally, the true spirit of this school experience may be characterized thus : The Present Situation 43 And so, working and playing together, the children and teacher created a singing, happy home where love and work and friendship developed: Joy in Living, Skill in Doing, Ideals of Serving, Desire for Growing, Appreciation of Beauty, and Belief in and Reverence for the Goodness of a Divine, All-giving Power. Here we have a type of work which could well be used as a guide by all grade teachers. The entire program is based upon a long-range view of desirable maximum child development in all of its corresponding relationships. It offers protection against many serious handicaps and hazards of everyday life that pro- foundly affect his physical, emotional, social, and intellectual growth. Thus it contributes either directly or indirectly toward a better part in life by making it possible to care more adquately and effectively, not only for neglected children and those in danger of becoming delinquent, but also for all other children in the sys- tem. Such a school is an unmixed blessing, whether it serves as an adjuster of the average child, the supplier of the deficient experiences to those who need them, or the happy exercise ground for a superabundance of experience to those able to move ahead. In several important respects, this total school experience in- volves many crucial and highly significant features. Because of the distinctive values accruing from this type program which is suited to the best development of all children, it seemed de- sirable that an accurate account should be recorded of this effort to further educational progress. Therefore, a comprehensive, firsthand study of this project was made in order to determine those elements of greatest worth inherent in the developmental process and to preserve these for the use they may be in giving guidance and direction to present and future educational plans in North Carolina, and for the value they may be to others in initiating or furthering a constructive program. This experi- ment, however, was completed at the close of the last school term. For a detailed report of this program, see Publication No. 200, issued by the State Department of Public Instruction, Raleigh, North Carolina. A similar program has also been carried forward most suc- cessfully by Miss Valentine with a typical third grade group of forty children in a rural consolidated school. The same funda- mental tenets were adhered to as formerly ; the same philosophy of democratic living was expressed throughout the day's happy, successful experiencing together. 44 A Report on Special Education In spite of the short time this large group worked together on this new basis, it was significant to note that pronounced individual pupil growth along all lines was effected. This only- serves to furnish further proof that a program of creative living and learning in action, as described above, will serve equally- well all types of children to be found in our public schools — not only the average child, but also those with exceptional problems. A County-wide Professional Study Program Introducing Guidance Only recently has North Carolina become guidance-conscious. To many this consideration naturally raises several pointed ques- tions : "How will guidance fit into the picture we have conceived of education? Of what value will this new function be to those being educated? What changes will that entail in our present plan? Where shall we begin? How shall we proceed?" Before the schools subscribe to this new movement in any one particular, however, it is important at the outset that they view the vital aspects of the program as a whole and thereby get the proper perspective of the total picture upon which to base their decisions. Thus far many definitions of education have been propounded. Doubtless there will be many more viewpoints expressed as time passes. For our consideration at this point, Dr. William H. Kilpatrick's general interpretation of education as the "process of building self by guiding and enriching life so that more life ensues" seems highly significant and entirely adequate to follow as a foundation base at the present. Moreover, he states further that "self is but life summed up into one pattern. Life is but the self alive and active." If this major premise is accepted, then one must naturally conclude that all education is guidance — the master key that helps each child unlock the door that leads to the development of his better self. In order that the schools may take this into account and pro- vide fully for the continuous, harmonious growth of each child enrolled, the fundamental concept of education must be enlarged in the minds of all educators to include child guidance, not as a separate function but as an integral part of the whole — to be followed at the appropriate time by a specialized aspect of the term. Thus an all-inclusive educational program in progress notes from the beginning those significant facts and trends re- lating to every child and then seeks to make early individual adjustments that will prevent the fixing of bad habits, the ignoring of specific handicaps, and the stifling of outstanding The Present Situation 45 abilities. Instead of being unduly concerned with the amount of subject matter to be mastered, the teachers in such a program vision as their larger task the proper development of their pupils in good habits of work, worthy intellectual interests, wholesome social attitudes, high ideals of personal conduct, and a set of sound life values. From the time they enter school, children display distinguish- able traits, both native and those resulting from growth and training. However, schools are only beginning to realize the importance of studying the whole child, of learning to know his abilities and his limitations from every standpoint, and in the light of this knowledge, of helping him to develop a better inte- grated personality and a socially satisfying way of life. To give such guidance, teachers need more and more to understand child development at all levels of his growth, to study the most appro- priate ways of meeting individual and group situations, and how to project a program that will help effect the desired goal set out to be achieved. It then appears that those who guide our youth should be fully aware of the need for rendering appropriate guidance service on the most comprehensive basis possible. Not only should there be an awareness, but there must be actual training in how to attack the ever-growing problems as they arise. Supervisors and ad- ministrators in various school systems are becoming increasingly dependent upon programs of in-service professional training as a direct means for stimulating improvement and bringing about desirable changes in point of view and working methods on the part of their teaching staffs. Such an opportunity, all things being equal, will help them build a living, dynamic program of education fitted to the varying needs, aptitudes, capacities, and interests of each child in the group here and now. The following outline of the tentative county-wide professional study program in progress in the Mecklenburg County Rural Schools is indicative of what can be projected on a twofold basis in the interest of both teacher and pupil growth and development : Realizing the increasing need for a more definite program which would enable boys and girls to meet situations of life, the Professional Study Committee of Mecklenburg County Teachers' Association selected Guidance as the theme for study for the next three years. The following definition was accepted : "Guidance is a process of acquaint- ing the individual with various ways in which he may dis- cover, and use his natural endowment, in addition to special training available from any source, so that he may live, and 46 A Report on Special Education make a living, to the best advantage to himself and to society." AIM FIRST YEAR 1. Familiarize ourselves with meaning of Guidance in schools. 2. Evaluate our present Guidance Program. 3. Decide on what we can and will do. 4. Summarize and put into pamphlet form outstanding phases of work during year. METHOD OF PROCEDURE 1. Professional Study Committee appointed by Superin- tendent and Supervisor, composed of representatives from following groups: High School Principals, High School Teachers, Agriculture, Home Economics, Gram- mar Grade and Primary. 2. Committee unanimous in choice of Guidance as theme and requested assistance from the State Supervisor of Occupational Guidance, under whose direction they have worked. 3. Each local school selected two counselors, one high school and one elementary. High school counselor serves as chairman of high school group in following capacities : (a) Assists in group and individual counseling, and dealing with individual problem cases; assists home-room teacher in planning and working out details of home-room periods. (b) Serves on County Guidance Committee which meets upon call. (c) Has charge of all Guidance material and building up library reference material. (d) Member State and National Vocational Guidance Association. (e) Coordinates Guidance work. 4. Monthly county-wide meetings. General session one hour, departmental groups (9 High School, 8 Elemen- tary) one hour. Each department selected its chair- man and Program Committee at first meeting. In de- partmental groups, discussion of Guidance from stand- point of individual pupil development along following lines : (a) Guiding pupils in solving personal problems and making home and school adjustments. (b) Adjustment of failures, causes of absences and dropping out. (c) Adequate school records for individual students. (d) Development of civic responsibilities. The Present Situation 47 (e) Follow-up of high school graduates with view of better meeting needs. (f) Study occupational fields and aid in selection of suitable life work. (g) Development of experimental and exploratory units in field of work for inclusion in regularly scheduled subjects. (h) Recreational program and use of leisure time. 3. Evaluation of high schools using State Bulletin No. 6 and Guidance Service Section G. Appraisal. In consideration of the initial plans herewith presented, it appears that the Mecklenburg County rural schools are making an intelligent approach to the county-wide study of guidance as a logical part of the entire school program. Their immediate activities involve taking into account the present status of the program already underway in their schools and evaluating it critically in terms of a new concept of educational guidance. This procedure should be of undoubted value in giving proper direction to the projection of desirable next steps. The fact that the com- mittee in charge decided upon a minimum three-year period of concentrated study on this problem is indicative of the long look ahead this group is taking in a desire to find satisfactory con- clusions upon which to establish a constructive program and then to proceed on this basis. There is a definite need in our schools for a well-balanced edu- cational program that will help each individual child on his own level of growth search happily and inquisitively for proper solu- tions to his specific problems and at the same time enable him to bring about permanent desirable changes within himself. It is to be hoped that the consistent efforts of all the groups repre- sented in the Mecklenburg situation will be coordinated in such a way as to build a unified functional program from the first grade through the high school on an increasingly higher level. The professional services available from the regularly employed rural school supervisor in the county as well as from the State super- visor of Occupational Guidance should be of distinct service to the various committees in helping them formulate their detailed plans and make the proper orientation necessary to adequate functioning in school living. If this is effected, then educational guidance as an integrating factor in our schools will come to have a broader and a more significant meaning in the all-round de- velopment of better harmonized personalities. 48 A Report on Special Education PRESENT SIGNIFICANT PRACTICES AFFECTING CHILD DEVELOPMENT Although it is generally conceded by school people themselves that current remedial and corrective practices on the whole might well be improved, the efforts of those centers in the State that are forging ahead along this line must not be minimized. The brief statements of activities cited below are indicative of the most significant changes that are being made at the present time in various school units toward the improvement of school pro- grams in general : 1. A brief survey was made recently regarding (1) certain specific pupil and teacher needs that were met satisfactorily during the last school term, and (2) the professional ex- periences participated in by teachers during the year. Teachers cooperated by filling out information blanks that called for some of the significant features characteristic of a meaningful program. Others helped by giving their frank and unbiased reaction to certain fundamental principles upon which a program of democratic living and learning must be based. When the information was tabulated, the composite re- sults indicated that the schools represented have made a bare beginning toward meeting some of the vital needs of children along the lines suggested, — for example, a thorough physical examination of each child and the elimination of defects found ; facilities and necessary materials provided and used properly during the school day for resting and sleeping, for washing and drying hands, and so forth ; oppor- tunities for developing creative expression; and opportuni- ties for social growth through active participation in the program in a variety of ways. It was encouraging to note, however, that the progress to date has been on a sane but progressive basis. Moreover, a foundation has been laid for rapid expansion from this point, provided proper profes- sional guidance is available. As a natural consequence, it followed rather logically from the record that the teachers, on the whole, were in need of the following professional assistance: (1) Constructive services of various State, county, and community agencies ; (2) intelligent professional guidance in the solution of im- mediate problems and in the projection of desirable next steps ; and (3) sufficient materials of varied type to promote healthful living and creative expression. A close-up view of the total data compiled furnished further contributing evidence that narrowed professional experiences, re-enforced by limited professional guidance, were helping to prevent many teachers from moving forward more successfully to- ward meeting the needs and interests of boys and girls. The Present Situation 49 2 An increasing number of teachers are recognizing more and more the importance of using cumulative pupil records based on continued observation, scientific test data, and other available pertinent information to locate the specific difficulties of each particular child presenting a problem and to determine the type program best adapted to his present stage of all-round growth. And so in these more favored situations, the selection of the children who seem to stand most in need of special education is not dependent upon chance, but is based upon intelligent understanding. There are some classes that have had the benefit of superior psychological service and guidance from the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare, the University of North Caro- lina, the Caswell Training School, and other institutions. 3. In case of those children who are hard of hearing, have de- fective vision, or are suffering from cardiac or other troubles, it is found that certain adjustments in regard to seating arrangement, use of materials, amount and kind of recreational and concentrated school activities, proper rest and nutrition, and the like, are made frequently by teachers — if they are aware of the difficulty involved. 4. Similarly, proper attention is being given in some schools to such matters as physical, mental, social, and emotional health of the children enrolled. And so instead of forcing children into molds, the teachers in question are beginning to reorganize the courses of study, methods, and discipline to fit the children as they are and to make use of a broader and more inclusive curriculum based upon the fundamental needs of the group. Where this condition is present, different groups of pupils are traveling at different rates and covering different amounts and different kinds of sub- ject matter happily and satisfactorily under the wise guidance of an understanding teacher. Likewise, a flexible daily program is slowly replacing the formal, rigid, iron-clad, set-out-to-be-followed period-by- period schedule ; and larger integrated units of experience in real living are taking priority over small, unrelated, isolated units of subject matter set-out-to-be-learned as daily- ground-to-be-covered. Appropriate to this broader concep- tion of method are the newer grading systems and programs of evaluation which are being used to some extent by indi- vidual teachers. Increasingly, our schools are beginning to realize the importance of providing a stimulating school en- vironment in which creative teaching and learning can take place and which best conditions child development. And so there is a gradual breaking away from the old regime and all that it entails. 5. More and more teachers are showing a growing desire to understand children as developing individuals. Increasingly, we find those who study the child and his responses in order to secure leads for the wiser guidance of his all-round 50 A Report on Special Education growth. Likewise, there are some who use advantageously a variety of realistic experiences, firsthand contacts, and observations as a natural source for helping the child relate to his life what he is learning. 6. The educator today who takes into account the ability of the child to profit maximally from the total educational situation must also be concerned about the sort of grouping and the varied school opportunities and experiences that will best promote his development. This precludes the belief that education should be a continuous process without evident breaks and gaps between the grades or between school divisions. A fine example of this viewpoint in action is the Hayes Barton School of the Raleigh City System. Here all grade lines have been eliminated in the primary school. Each child is permitted to move forward at his own accomplish- ment rate without having an opportunity to experience failure of promotion in the first three grades. As soon as he completes the work in this division satisfactorily, he enters the grammar school. It is to be hoped that this plan will be projected on each succeeding level and eventually will be in operation in each division throughout the system. A similar organization has been initiated in a few systems within the past year or so; however, the type philosophy that was underway failed to warrant a measure of success to the project. No doubt by now, there are other school units in the State operating on a satisfactory basis. 7. Perhaps the greatest effort is directed toward helping chil- dren reach standard in the fundamental subjects. And so when the need arises, subject groups are formed and con- centrated work is launched. Various means are employed to accomplish this goal. Some teachers organize the work on an individual basis. Here an effort is made to help each child analyze his own needs, set up his own program of work, and then advance at his own rate. Others hold to small flexible groups, so that a child may be transferred from one to another when different levels of progress are evidenced. There are some teachers who functionalize their program. By so doing, they guide each individual child to participate in a vital activity for which he feels a definite need or interest and then use this need to help motivate him into the various subject-matter fields. In this instance, the materials made available are carefully selected with refer- ence to difficulty, stimulating content, and special appeal to the interests of the individual. If extreme care is not exercised to prevent it from oc- curring, there will be school situations in which the em- phasis is shifted inadvertently from pupil development to achievement gains. For example, in one school last year the music teacher spent one period in the afternoon helping those children in one grammar grade who were having The Present Situation 51 reading difficulties. Although easier material was used for this work, there was no evidence that the teacher was aware of the specific difficulty of each child in the group or that she was adapting her method to meet the existing needs. Nor did the children seem conscious of their particular responsi- bility in regard to any part of the program. This remedial plan, as carried out, was rather perfunctory in type and proved to be of very little, if any, direct value to the children involved. In this case the regular teacher could have used the hour with the group far more advantageously — even in spite of the crowded situation. It is an accepted fact today that our elementary schools are making greater progress in regard to the democratic re- organization and administration of the school program and the establishment of newer and more acceptable school practices than any other division of the school system. Like- wise, it may be said that the primary grades are leading the way in effecting those fundamental constructive changes upon which other school progress depends. The following activities, taken from a progress report on "Trends in the Improvement of the Kindergarten-Primary Work in North Carolina" that was made by Miss Hattie S. Parrott, Division of Instructional Service, State Department of Public In- struction, are of special interest because of the implications inherent therein for the building of a program that will better insure all-round growth, development, and success on a sound basis: a. In cooperation with the local Parent-Teacher Association, pre-school clinics are held during the spring term in the various schools of the State. At that time, physical examinations are given by the members of the Health De- partment to those children who expect to enter school in the fall. If possible, all defects are remedied during the summer months. In this connection, the Beginners' Day Program has been established as a regular part of the school work. Each school provides a program of activities for the day which tends to interest five-year-olds in "belonging" to the school. The parents visit the school with the pre- school child, and the time there is spent in becoming ac- quainted with the first-grade teacher, the school nurse, the dentist, and the local physician or the health officer. By interviews and examinations, information concerning the present equipment of the child is recorded for future use by the teacher. The introduction to the classroom is a pleasant one, and the pre-school child goes away for the time being and looks forward with keen interest to the day when he can enter school. The parents and teachers are better acquainted and work together to insure first- grade readiness to the school beginner. 52 A Report on Special Education b. Junior-primary grades are organized in many schools in order to provide more adequately for the needs of the immature children entering school before they are six years of age. No formal learning is attempted in these grades, but the physical, mental, and social needs of the children provide the basic foundation of the curriculum as developed. c. In order to train teachers for the work with children of pre-school age (children below six years of age), a kinder- garten unit in two of the training schools for teachers in the State has been organized. Children of kinder- garten age are admitted, and a curriculum is developed to suit their needs and interests. d. Special classes for immature and undeveloped pupils, in- cluding the subnormal group, are operating in experi- mental centers for the purpose of research and study in curriculum development. The chief purpose in this plan is to demonstrate the practicability of a curriculum made up of learning experiences in "better living" with little emphasis on formal learning from books. e. Many of the new elementary school buildings provide separate toilets for very young children. Junior equip- ment (toilets, lavatories, and drinking fountains) is also installed. Movable furniture (individual tables and chairs) is provided in practically all of the new primary building units. In some situations, buildings for very young children (called Primary Units) are constructed and fitted up to suit the needs of growing boys and girls of the pre-school and primary-school age. f. Local branches of the Association for Childhood Educa- tion have been organized in different sections of the State — bringing together nursery school, kindergarten, and primary teachers. g. Study groups are conducted for mothers of pre-school children and special institutes and lectures are provided for the parents and teachers who wish to better under- stand children at various age and growth levels, begin- ning with the child of nursery-school age. h. A nursery school has been established in connection with the Home Economics Department of the Woman's Col- lege of the University of North Carolina. Students in Home Economics may observe and participate in the nursery school program. i. Special libraries of literature in the field of pre-school education are available for students and educational workers in this State. CONTRIBUTING SERVICES OF VARIOUS ALLIED GROUPS The several youth-serving agencies concerned directly with promoting different aspects of general health and child welfare The Present Situation 53 are working in harmony with the schools on both a coordinated and a cooperative basis. These include such groups as public health units, extension services, child welfare groups, Parent- Teacher Associations, Federal agencies, and similar organizations. The following specific activities are typical of some of the most effective direct help rendered by them to the children on the elementary school level: 1. In cooperation with the Federal Surplus Commodities Corpo- ration, the distribution division of the State Board of Charities and Public Welfare, functioning through its district and local units, has provided free school lunches for 85,072 undernourished school children in 1073 schools thus far this year. Ninety-two counties out of a possible one hundred are participating in this service. Moreover, the Works Progress Administration has furnished special lunch room workers for those schools complying with certain regu- lations, and also supervisors to direct the work and hold it up to a high standard of excellence. As a further aid in this connection, garden and canning projects have been car- ried forward in many communities by local W.P.A. workers. Many schools have also had the services of one or more persons in the promotion of their sanitary program, work- ing under the jurisdiction of district supervisors and in cooperation with the school administration. It is not enough for the schools to have the tangible con- tributions of these various agencies. There are other im- portant educational considerations to be taken into account. Now that the administrative details in this connection have been worked out satisfactorily, those who are responsible for integrating these services more fully into the regular school program will no doubt continue to unify their efforts until maximum results are obtained. 2. Under the leadership of the official school groups, the Home Demonstration Agent, and the Parent-Teacher Associations, some of the rural communities in North Carolina have con- ducted over a period of years cooperative garden and can- ning projects in the interest of the school hot lunch program. To the generous supply of canned goods provided by the community at large are added various contributions from the different homes represented. The larger children cook and serve the lunch under the guidance of the teacher in charge. This community-wide hot lunch plan enables every child to have the benefit of a hot dish each day during the school term. The educational outcomes thus far have been invaluable to all concerned. Halifax County Rural Schools present a fine example of how this type of coordinated pro- gram — initiated by the former county superintendent of schools and the rural school supervisor — has been developed and operated cooperatively on a county-wide basis for a period of twelve or more years. 54 A Report on Special Education 3. Pre-school clinics are sponsored each spring by the school officials and the Parent-Teacher Associations. Concen- trated effort is put forth to make the day's activities con- tribute to a better preparation for each child beginning school in the fall. Effective follow-up work is often done with those children who have defects to be remedied during the summer months or who need to take certain immuniza- tion tests. 4. The local city and county health departments assist the schools in promoting child-health services by providing general direction and guidance, consultation, educational materials, and other pertinent help when it is needed. More attention is centered, however, upon such activities as: conducting physical examinations of all pre-school children prior to school entrance and of other elementary school children periodically during this period ; administering im- munization tests; checking for evidences of certain devas- tating diseases among children; controlling the spread of contagious and communicable diseases ; and promoting other similar health measures. Some health units conduct most successful tonsil clinics during the summer months for the benefit of those children who are unable financially to pay the full cost of such an operation at a regular hospital. Various local organizations often cooperate by sponsoring those cases who cannot meet even a minimum clinic charge. It must be admitted, how- ever, that many needy children have been deprived at times of such a service, due to the fact that the organized medical group intervened and blocked the original program. When such a plan is operated on a sound basis, such interference should not be tolerated by thinking citizens. Constructive follow-up work often fails to claim a pro- portionate part of the time given to the total school health program, due largely to a lack of personnel staff sufficient to meet the immediate demands made upon the services of the department. More emphasis should be placed upon (1) the thorough examination of all children who most need it at the time; (2) the correction of conditions causing ill health; and (3) an even more intensive preventive program on an educational basis than is the general practice now, including the continuous supervision of the child from his infancy until he reaches school age, and the development of intelligent cooperation on the part of the home and the school. Moreover, the school health departments, working in close harmony with the local physicians and the school group, would make another most significant contribution to child welfare if they assembled a complete register of every physically handicapped child in the area served. Whatever is needed to help effect these vital additions to the excellent program already in operation should be made available without further delay. The Present Situation 55 For many years the State Board of Health has served the various needs of children on a very high plane. Perhaps no single activity has left a more pronounced immediate and long-view educational imprint on the elementary school children of the State than the dental health program, initiated and projected by the Division of Oral Hygiene under the leadership of Dr. Ernest A. Branch. Although the chief emphasis has be'en directed toward prevention in its proper relation to personality development, due con- sideration has also been given to such factors as research, education, examination, and correction. The following Summary Report on file in the Director's office presents an accurate picture of the work participated in by the Division of Oral Hygiene and the general plan of operation followed : Mouth Health Teaching in the Schools of North Carolina The four essential factors in arriving at and carrying on the present plan and set-up for the teaching of mouth health in the schools of the State are as follows : a. North Carolina has a dentist, recommended by the North Carolina Dental Society and appointed by the Governor, as a member of the State Board of Health. b. North Carolina is the only State having a law requiring that a dentist be a member of each County Board of Health, provided a dentist lives within the confines of the county. c. North Carolina is one of the few States that have, in their Boards of Health, Divisions of Oral Hygiene on an equality with other divisions and directed by licensed dentists who devote their full time to the work. d. The Division of Oral Hygiene of the North Carolina State Board of Health has, in addition to the Director, a staff of thirty licensed dentists and an educational consultant. The Director is responsible for the activities of the Division. He supervises and directs the dentists in the field, teaches mouth health in the teacher-training institutions of the State, lectures to civic clubs, and meets with appro- priating bodies to secure outside funds to help finance the program. The dentists on the staff go into the schools and teach mouth health didactically and through demonstration. The didactic teaching is graded and fitted to the different grades and groups. In the lower grades the story method is used and the stories are illustrated with stereopticon views, 56 A Report on Special Education blackboard drawings, posters, models, et cetera. In the home economics department foods and food values in their relation to tooth and bone building are stressed, and in the science department the dentists take up tooth histology. After the didactic teaching has been done, the mouths of the children in each grade are inspected. The children are classified by their grade teacher as to their ability to pay. The dental office is now set up, especial care being taken to make the appearance of the office and the dentist contribute to the constructive educational value of our activity, and we are ready for the demonstrative part of our teaching. In this teaching the necessary dental corrections are made for the underprivileged children without any cost. The dentist's teaching in the classrooms is supplemented by follow-up educational material. This material consists of mimeographed sheets for each of the elementary grades. Stories, pictures, the presentation of scientific information, and other methods are used in teaching the value of clean, healthy mouths .... Another phase of the educational program is a dental news service for grammar grade and high school papers. Mimeographed sheets, containing a story illustrating some phase of caring for the teeth, are sent in whatever quantities are desired to schools publishing mimeographed papers. These sheets go out twice monthly during the school year. A method of visual education which has been very popular and successful in teaching mouth health is the puppet show which the Good Teeth Council for Children and the Carolina Playmakers help us in promoting. This play is presented to approximately 175,000 children every school year. Sgt ifZ 5(5 SjS The financing of the Division of Oral Hygiene is from the State Board of Health, the Children's Bureau of the Federal Government, and appropriations by counties, cities, Women's Clubs, Parent-Teacher Organizations, individuals, et cetera. This latter money is secured through the presentation of the needs and benefits of the work to these organizations by the Director of the Division .... The arrangement for mouth health programs in the coun- ties of the State is that the county pays one-half of the expense and the State Board of Health pays the other half. The length of time spent in the counties depends both upon the needs and the amount of the appropriations by the counties, together with the allocation to the State Board of Health for this activity. Mouth health programs were conducted in sixty-one coun- ties and four city units during the school year 1937-1938. The 3,676 lectures which were given by the dentists on the staff were attended by 164,886 children. The necessary dental corrections were made for 68,282 underprivileged The Present Situation 57 children. Thousands of referred children are finding their way to the offices of private practitioners, according to verbal reports from dentists in private practice. 6. The State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation was set up for the purpose of providing rehabilitation service for those physically handicapped individuals in the State who are sixteen years of age or older and are in need of specific help. Although the crippled children of normal elementary-school age are not eligible to be served directly to any great degree by this division, they receive too many courtesies therefrom not to record it here. In fact, it may be said that the Rehabilitation Department more or less considers all physically disabled as their special wards, and so they never hesitate to render whatever service they can to them whether it is their particular responsibility or not. 7. In many communities various local civic organizations and social agencies are extending a vital service to the excep- tional children by re-enforcing the efforts of the school in far-reaching ways. Chief among these activities are: providing special medical treatment, also visual and dental services for certain cases ; furnishing eyeglasses for indigent children; furnishing funds for special equipment needed, such as cots for general rest periods, necessary furniture and other materials for the use of children with defective vision, playground and gymnasium apparatus, and so forth ; sponsoring specific school projects; helping needy cases; in- forming the general public concerning various aspects of the school program and enlisting their active support; occasionally furnishing transportation from the home of the handicapped child to the center set up to meet his needs. 8. The two active mental hygiene clinics in the State, located at Charlotte and Winston-Salem respectively, are making articulate their activities with those of the school groups and other agencies concerned with child growth and are thereby rendering valuable services to childhood. The first volume of the Mental Hygiene News, published by the Mental Hygiene Society in July 1939, carried the following articles regarding their specific contributions : Charlotte Clinic Continues Service The Charlotte Mental Hygiene Clinic is completing its second year of operation as a Community Chest agency. 58 A Report on Special Education At the request of the other agencies and school authorities the Clinic accepts adult as well as children's cases, although the greater part of its work is still in the field of child guidance. The Clinic is governed by a board, elected from the Charlotte Mental Hygiene Society. The society itself car- ries on an educational program in the community, interpret- ing the work of the Clinic to the public at large. Clinic referrals come from other chest agencies, the county welfare and health departments, the public schools, and private indi- viduals. Society members work with the clinic staff on specified committees to advance the general program. One committee has made a special study of the need for remedial reading work in the city schools. This project was suggested by the large number of pupils with reading diffi- culties who were referred to the Clinic. The school princi- pals have been most interested and cooperative. Because of its limited financial resources, the clinic board and staff have decided that they can be of greatest service to the community as a consultation agency. A modest per- centage of direct treatment cases is handled regularly, however, and it is their intention to increase the number of these cases as rapidly as the available psychiatric services will permit. The staff includes an executive secretary, a psychiatric case worker, and an office secretary on full-time service, and a psychiatrist, a psychologist, and a medical examiner on part-time basis. Child Guidance Work Serves Winston-Salem The Child Guidance Clinic, which has been the major pro- ject of the Winston-Salem Hygiene Society, has now com- pleted eighteen months of service . as a mental hygiene facility for children in this community. A total of 256 children have been referred to the Clinic. Of this number 104 have received full study and treatment. Full service at the Clinic means the cooperative work and examinations of the entire staff: social worker, psycholo- gist, physician, and psychiatrist. One hundred children have been accepted for psychological tests and for advice relating to the results of these tests. Thirty-five cases have been carried for consultation. Seventeen cases were with- drawn before treatment was carried out. In thirty instances cases have been carried in cooperation with some other agency, thus sharing the responsibility for carrying out treatment plans. Causes for referral to the Clinic do not always indicate the exact problem as it is defined after examination, but they do portray the original need for assistance. The 99 full-service cases came for these reasons : The Present Situation 59 Behavior problems 53 Retarded in school 15 Personality deviation 11 Educational problems 13 Habit training 4 Training programs for children with a physical disability 2 Guidance for gifted child 1 99 The work of the Clinic will be materially improved when the community can offer such facilities as children's case work, boarding and foster-home care, vocational training, and increased recreational and leisure-time activities. IN THE RESIDENTIAL SCHOOLS There is an amazing number of children of school age through- out our country who cannot be educated properly or profitably in the regular day classes of the public schools. It is heartening to note, however, that every State in the Union has made some pro- vision for the education of her seriously handicapped children by establishing residential schools for their benefit. Even though the programs followed are widely divergent in regard to offerings and facilities, methods and techniques, organization and adminis- tration, as well as accomplishments, the one main objective to- ward which all efforts are directed is practically the same. Likewise, there is often a wide variation in the time element involved, in the number served, and in the amount and kind of educational opportunities provided for the exceptional children and for those more fortunate ones. Those atypical children for whom special educational facilities of a residential type are considered essential are the blind, the deaf, the crippled and delicate children who are confined in a hospital for physical treatment, the socially maladjusted types of a serious nature, and the low mentally deficient. Some of these cases could have been avoided; others must be regarded as in- evitable. Be that as it may, each one presents a separate and distinct educational problem that must be taken into account. Moreover, appropriate plans and procedures must be developed whereby the specific needs of each individual case and type may be met advantageously. If these changes are not forthcoming, both the child and society will suffer for this deficiency. As early as 1845, North Carolina recognized her responsibility along this line and promptly took legislative action that resulted in the establishment of the State School for the Blind and Deaf. 60 A Report on Special Education From time to time, special plans have been made for other handi- capped groups until now seven residential schools are maintained for the benefit of five different types. In spite of the continued progress that has gone forward, North Carolina does not claim that her residential schools in operation are serving all of the children in the State who should have an opportunity to profit by the program offered. With the exception of the list of the blind that was assembled by the Blind Commission, no complete official roster of the different types eligible to attend these schools has ever been compiled. Con- sequently, the actual number to be served is an unknown fact. In the second place, the equipment and facilities available now in the various schools are not considered sufficient to meet the known needs at the present time — inaccurate as the record may be. There is a long waiting list for practically all of the insti- tutions. These two items alone point out quite clearly that the nature and extent of the total problem have not been viewed in true perspective. Until this is done, adequate long-view plans that are based upon the existing needs cannot be developed in- telligently. The brief descriptions herewith presented of each school pro- gram in progress is indicative of the nature and scope of the work that is being carried forward in the interest of these several groups : Descriptions of Programs in Progress STATE SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND AND DEAF The State School for the Blind and Deaf, the oldest school in the State for handicapped children, was founded early in 1845. On May first of the same year, the school began its work with only seven pupils in very modest quarters in the capital city. In this conjunction a special department for the Negroes was opened in 1869 on a separate site. However, since 1895, when the white deaf children were moved to a new home in Morganton, the white blind children alone have received their training in the Raleigh institution. Today both groups occupy more adequate plants that are equipped with modern facilities and situated on excellent new sites with sufficient space to meet the needs of the insti- tutions for some time. Additional improvements along various lines are being made as rapidly as possible. The school enrollment has grown steadily since its beginning. This increase has been attributed largely to the cooperative efforts of the State Commission for the Blind, working in The Present Situation 61 harmony with the State School itself. Among other activities, this Commission made during 1936 perhaps the first complete survey of all the blind in the State. The present enrollment includes 180 white blind, 98 Negro blind, and 100 Negro deaf. The following excerpts taken from the 1936-1938 Biennial Report of the Superintendent give a general picture of the work carried on within the school for the white blind : The State School for the Blind and Deaf was origi- nally planned to be a special division of the public school system, which would take care of the blind and deaf and furnish to them public school education similar to what was furnished to seeing and hearing children in the State. It furnishes classes in literary work up through the high school grades, preparing the children thor- oughly for entering the higher institutions. The high school has been on the approved list of the Southern Association of Colleges and Secondary Schools since 1925, and no question has been raised as to its eligi- bility. The School also furnishes excellent music opportuni- ties for the blind in piano, voice, violin, and orchestra work. Industrial divisions for both boys and girls furnish good opportunities for learning trades in which many make a living after leaving school. For the girls there is a department for sewing and also arts and crafts, which all girls are required to take. Piano tuning is offered for the boys and shop work is required of all boys. This work includes chair caning and mattress making and, to a limited extent, broom making. The School has an excellent health program, retaining for its work each year a regular practicing physician, a firm of eye, ear, nose, and throat specialists, and also a graduate nurse in charge of the infirmary at the school. The physical education department fits in with this work. One teacher has charge of the gymnasium and swimming pool and also outdoor games and plays which aid greatly in the health program of the insti- tution .... The faculty consists of fifteen literary teachers, six music teachers, four teachers of industrial work, and six in the health work .... Last year we changed the school from eleven grades to twelve grades above the kindergarten, which has greatly improved our literary work. This gives us practically an ideal arrangement for furnishing the best possible opportunities in literary training and also pro- vides more time for work in music, industrial work, and other departments .... 62 A Report on Special Education According to the course of study prescribed for each grade, the academic work is more or less formal in type and centers about subjects rather than pupil activities and experiences. The daily schedule that is followed from day to day further supports this belief. The United States Government appropriates $125,000 per annum to the American Printing House for the Blind. All schools of this type are allowed to draw their supply of books and some teaching materials from this source. This aid has been of particular value financially and educationally to the North Caro- lina State School. At the request of the school authorities, Columbia University through its Division of the Handicapped is at the present time making a survey of the school as a whole. This activity should prove helpful in planning next steps more intelligently. THE NORTH CAROLINA SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF The North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton, created by a special law passed by the General Assembly in 1891, is a free public school operated for the benefit of those children who are handicapped by deafness. However, it must be remembered that for a period of forty-nine years prior to its opening on October 2, 1894, the deaf children in the State received their training at the Institution for the Deaf and Dumb and Blind at Raleigh. According to the revised By-Laws governing the work of the school, ''it shall be the aim of the school in its total pro- gram to attain, among other things, the following specific objectives: 1. To seek in every way to help each deaf child become a well- rounded individual who fits into American community life .... 2. To so equip each child vocationally that he or she may be as nearly as possible self-sustaining. 3. To develop in each child, as far as possible, a strong healthy body, intelligent attitudes toward health, and wholesome health habits. 4. To secure for each child, as far as possible, a formal edu- cation through twelve grades on the same level as other public schools in the State. 5. To develop in each child full capacity in speech-reading. 6. To develop in each child, as far as possible, capacity to use normal speech." The Present Situation 63 Under the leadership of an educational director and two as- sistants, a staff of thirty-five grade teachers was responsible for carrying forward the academic work of the school for the 372 pupils enrolled in the primary, grammar, and high school divisions during the term 1938-1939. The State prescribed public school course of study was followed; likewise, the same adopted textbooks were used. Since the oral or speech method is employed throughout the school, every child who enters the institution must be taught orally before he can make progress in the regular work outlined. Consequently, special preliminary courses are given these children at the outset that will enable them to develop language understanding to lay the foundations for speech, to stimulate and develop residual hearing, to secure correct voice placement, and to develop speech-reading. How- ever, if it is necessary to continue the concentrated oral training for some children over a long period, teaching speech and speech- reading becomes a major activity rather than a minor one. Through the cooperative efforts of all concerned, the work of the vocational department has been coordinated with that of the school in a most acceptable manner. For the most part, the vocational program is not launched until the seventh grade, when those boys and girls who have an aptitude for certain vocations start their trade practice instruction. Last year there were three organized special-vocational classes in the grammar school and one manual-vocational class in the high school. The director in charge of the work reported that definite instruction in the following activities was given during the past biennium: For the boys: General shop work, woodworking and car- pentry, tailoring, printing, dairying, garden- ing, and poultry raising. For the girls: Applied arts, home making, cooking, sewing, and dress making. With the cooperation of the State Bureau of Labor, the majority of the boys and a number of the girls who completed training during this period have secured employment in the various industries. In order to carry out a program of vocational training that will enable each student to have his full chance, it was further stated that the work of the department should be opened to students earlier and that it should also be expanded to include instruction in different trade areas, such as: machine shop work, auto- mobile mechanics, vocational agriculture, home economics, and 64 A Report on Special Education handicrafts. In this connection, a demonstration home for the girls' work where various courses can be integrated with actual practice is considered a definite need, also additional modern equipment for the different activities in progress. A full-time director of physical education is employed by the school. The major portion of her time is spent doing corrective work in its various phases with the girls, directing organized play, and teaching swimming to all the girls and to the boys under twelve years of age. The athletic work with the boys has been made possible by the voluntary service of several faculty members. In addition to the services rendered students on the elementary and secondary levels, a teacher-training department is main- tained for the purpose of training young women to teach the deaf. To be eligible to enter this normal training class, a young woman must have had at least two years of college work, must have good health, also normal vision and hearing. The school authorities have followed the standards set up by the Conference of Executives of American Schools for the Deaf in the selection of their teaching personnel. As a result, each teacher at the school has had one year of special training in a recognized institution engaged in training teachers of the deaf, in addition to four years of college training, and also holds a college degree. It is to be hoped that every precaution will be used throughout the day's program to make it unnecessary for the students to practice the sign language as a means of communication ; but, on the other hand, active speech participation should be encouraged at all times as the best avenue to attain ease and facility in the use of the English language. Furthermore, every opportunity should be given these children to have varied contacts with both children and adults who are not handicapped as they are. This will be a fine way to help orient them on a sound basis into the outside world in advance of their occupational approach to it. STONEWALL JACKSON MANUAL TRAINING AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL The 1907 State Legislature authorized the establishment of a school that would attempt to salvage human waste by giving a fair chance to the boys of the State who needed its care and direction. Accordingly, with the aid of a small appropriation from the State and with additional help from certain local and State groups, the Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and In- The Present Situation 65 dustrial School opened its doors at Concord two years later with one student. During the thirty years that have passed, the record shows that nearly 5,000 delinquent boys have come under the direct influence of the institution and have thereby been given a better opportunity to make the proper adjustment to society and develop into more acceptable citizens. From the beginning they are treated as human beings and are "made to feel that they are not peculiar children but just normal boys who, perhaps from lack of training and proper environment, have picked up or acquired habits which are not acceptable nor desirable." Likewise, the school has endeavored to build for them that type home "which would approximate the activities, the environment, and the requirements of a good home." The day's routine is so organized that all of the boys go to school half the day and work the other half. However, the en- tire program is arranged for the intellectually normal who have developed anti-social attitudes. Consequently, the mentally deficient in the group find themselves unable to cope with the general set-up of the institution and so present additional problems to the school. Surprising as it may seem, no provision has been made to date for studying the individual cases scien- tifically and then planning a program to meet their specific needs on the basis of the findings. The management recognizes this deficiency in regard to special problem cases and recommends that such boys be sent to a central clinic for psychological and psychiatric study and then placed in an institution capable of dealing with them. Regular school attendance is required of all the boys at the institution. Classroom work follows the usual traditional pro- cedure and centers about the different subjects taught in each grade. Special emphasis is placed upon definite study of the assignments made. During the past fiscal year 486 boys, ranging in age from eight to eighteen years and in grade placement from first grade to seventh grade, were enrolled in the school. With the exception of two boys in the sixth grade and eight boys in the seventh grade, all of them were over-age for the grade in which they were located. The widest range occurred in the second-grade group with a one to ten-year variation, and the lowest in the seventh grade with a one to four-year difference existing. The following account of the activities participated in by the boys during out-of -school hours is typical of the work program that is carried forward there : 66 A Report on Special Education Every boy has something to do. He soon finds his level of work that interests and holds him. Each one has a part to perform in the activities in the operation of the school. The bakers set the dough and bake the bread; the laundry boys gather the clothes and return them clean, fresh, and ready for use; the dairy boys bottle and deliver around 175 gallons of milk daily, so as to have ready one quart per day for each boy and suffi- cient quantities for cooking; the vegetable gatherers bring in daily an abundance of vegetables for table use ; the farm boys cultivate the garden and crops ; the poul- try yard workers busy themselves to furnish eggs and poultry for use; the shoe repair force keeps shoes mended and fit for wear; the plumbing force stops the leaks and repairs the breaks in the cottage homes and other buildings ; the sewing room boys make the clothes for our cottages; the printing of cards, blank checks, stationery, and so forth, aside from publishing our weekly magazine, The Uplift, is done by the boys in the printing department; the carpentry shop and machine shop have their complement of boys making repairs to buildings and machinery. As each department is essential in the operation of the school, each boy is taught the importance of his part, not only in his own department, but its effect upon the smooth working of the whole system. With few exceptions, the boys do not find time to indulge their inclinations that have made them out of touch with the social order of their community. As a whole they for- get to be bad in rendering a necessary service to others. The most casual observer can see a complete change of attitude. On this basis the school has operated for nearly thirty years and has returned a majority of the boys to their homes where they take their places in almost every occupation that builds the progress of the State and moulds her sturdy citizenship. A very careful follow-up of all the boys who leave the insti- tution on parole is made from time to time by the school authorities, and a record is kept of their accomplishments. Ac- cording to the detailed reports on file, there are many individual cases who have "kept their own counsel" and are making splendid contributing citizens in their several communities. THE EASTERN CAROLINA TRAINING SCHOOL In an effort to serve the boys in Eastern Carolina who were needing definite guidance, the Eastern Carolina Training School located near Rocky Mount was established by a special act of the 1923 Legislature. According to the last report on file, it had an The Present Situation 67 average resident population of 130 boys for the year and a normal capacity for 150. The. educational status of the group ranged from first grade through the ninth, with an age distribution from ten to nineteen years, and a general retardation spread of 90 per cent for the combined grades represented. For a period of eight months an elementary school is in opera- tion for the benefit of the boys enrolled in these grades. The work in progress and the plan of procedure used are fashioned along traditional lines with specific emphasis upon the mastery of subject matter apart from its use. Although there is no or- ganized high school for the students of this level, a special class is arranged for those who wish academic training. For the most part, the older boys spend their time participating in various activities of interest to them about the school. "Be- sides the farm and dairy work there must be cooking and cleaning, laundrying and the repairing of clothes. The farm machinery and automobiles must be kept in repair. The build- ings themselves must be checked constantly. Painting, re- placing windows, plumbing and electrical appliances must be looked after. So every day in the year boys are doing these jobs and thereby learning how to do things." Recreation plays a significant part in the life of the boys. The work of this department is under the leadership of a director who is definitely responsible for planning and supervising the play and recreational activities for the different groups. In addition to the usual organized games, various forms of entertainment, such as plays and games, motion picture shows, and so forth are pro- vided. Besides the two afternoons during the week that are given over entirely to recreation, every boy has a specified time each day for play. THE STATE HOME AND INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL FOR GIRLS The State Home and Industrial School for Girls at Eagle Springs is familiarly known as Samarcand Manor. During the biennium 1936-1938 it had an enrollment of 220 girls, varying in chronological age from ten to eighteen and in over-ageness relative to educational grade placement from one to nine years. Each young girl on admission to the school is studied very care- fully as an individual case during the initial period of observation and is given special consideration by the classification committee of the institution, composed of the social investigator, the psy- chologist, the physician, the recreational leader, the principal of the school, the occupational director, and the chaplain. 68 A Report on Special Education After a thorough diagnosis of the various aspects of her stage of growth and development has been made by these staff mem- bers, the complete reports submitted are viewed as a whole by the entire group and analyzed in detail in order to determine, if possible, what program would best fit her specific needs and interests at the time. All pertinent studies that had been made by the welfare agencies prior to the child's enrollment, and other available records of value are also used in this connection as a further means toward developing a constructive plan for her proper care and guidance. This tentative follow-up program is subject to revision and adjustment at any time that desirable changes are needed to help the individual child attain more ac- ceptable goals in her program of living. Medical treatment, academic training, recreational activities, and vocational guidance are all planned and carried out with this objective in mind. As a definite means toward adapting the school curriculum to the needs of each individual child, the school as a whole has been organized into two main divisions, the academic and the voca- tional. For the period reported there were 24 girls enrolled in the academic classes and 183 in the different vocational groups. The academic school offers direct, individualized instruction to children in grades four through eight who show an ability to achieve along this line. Here the Dalton Plan has been instituted as the method of procedure to follow in teaching the prescribed course of study for our public schools. The following excerpts from the school report regarding the academic work in progress are self-explanatory: In order that, with a limited number of teachers, we might be able to teach girls coming in at all times of the year and ranging from the fourth through the eighth grade, we adopted the Dalton Plan. By this method the girls of the segregated medical group were also enabled to keep up their school work without interruption. In accordance with this plan, each girl when she en- tered school was given a carefully planned typewritten assignment of the work of the first month. The teachers were not to hold any formal classes, but were to be ready at all times to give any help asked for. As soon as a girl finished an assignment in any subject, she was given a test on that subject. When she had passed tests on all her subjects, she was to be given the assignments for the next month. This plan went into effect at the beginning of our school year in September 1937. Since that time we have enrolled eleven in the eighth, four in the seventh, six in the sixth, one in the fifth, and two in the fourth grade — The Present Situation 69 twenty-four in all. Nineteen of these had been in school long enough to attempt the Stanford Achievement Tests given in April. Sixteen passed these tests, some having made much more than a year's progress as shown by the tests. Of the three who failed, two were poorly pre- pared so that their ability to pass was doubtful from the first. ' We feel that on the whole the Dalton Plan of instruc- tion has been more satisfactory in our grades than the former class method of instruction ; however, one of its weakest points is in the little opportunity which it affords for group participation in projects. We fear that the individual student is somewhat handicapped through this weakness, but that its merits overbalance its weak- nesses for our group. For those girls who have not yet completed the first three grades, but who would profit by further work in the three R's, a special ungraded class has been organized in which the funda- mentals in these subjects are taught. A similar class for certain children in the vocational school has also been arranged. An effort is made for this formal work to be an outgrowth of a need based upon their daily experiences in life situations. The vocational school was organized to meet the needs of those girls who the school authorities feel reasonably sure have reached their maturation level in regard to academic achievement, but could be benefitted by vocational guidance and training in classes developed to stimulate interest and skill in manual activities com- mon to their local communities. The school promotes extra-curricular activities as an integral part of the training for more wholesome use of leisure time. Although the girls are encouraged to participate in the various interest groups on their own level, membership is on a voluntary basis. The following organized activities, some seasonal and others year-round, are contributing to the growth and develop- ment of those sharing in them: Scout troops, playground, dra- matics, glee club, home makers' club, nature study, toy orchestra for small children, and Dixie girls. While the institutional program of specialized correctional training and treatment claims the major attention of the school, emphasis is also centered upon working out plans and adjusting situations in the home environment that will better enable each child to succeed when she returns to the community on parole. The authorities in charge consider this vital phase of the total rehabilitation period one of significant value in helping to ac- complish maximum restoration for each individual under treat- 70 A Report on Special Education ment; so its importance is not minimized nor overlooked in the general scheme of things. THE ORTHOPEDIC HOSPITAL SCHOOL The Orthopedic Hospital at Gastonia, with a maximum capacity of 160 beds, has been in operation since 1921 for the benefit of indigent crippled children sixteen years of age or under who are mentally sound and whose deformities, in the opinion of the surgeons, can be either cured or improved. During this time the physically handicapped boys and girls who were temporarily hospitalized there had an opportunity, while they were undergoing their corrective treatment, to continue, to a limited degree, some of their school work under the guidance of one teacher employed to serve the entire group. However, definite educational facilities were not provided as a State func- tion for this group until the 1939 General Assembly enacted legis- lation to this effect and appropriated sufficient funds for the establishment and maintenance of a school within the hospital itself on a twelve-months' basis. Accordingly, the State's newest and, in many respects, most unusual unit in the system of public education began its period of service in July with five teachers allotted by the State School Commission and with a total pupil enrollment of 128 — 83 white children and 45 Negro. The report for October indicates that 148 children out of an average daily population of 159 registered at the hospital for the month were enrolled in the school, with grade levels ranging from nursery school through high school. Since the pupil membership for each grade group varies from week to week, due to frequent admissions and dismissals of patients, many adjustments must be made constantly by both pupils and the entire hospital personnel. As a result, the teachers often find it necessary to adapt their procedures and program of work to conform to the routine changes that occur from time to time. Recently, sixteen N.Y.A. helpers were em- ployed to assist the school in varying capacities. The purpose of the school, as set forth by the authorities in charge, is not only to enable these children to continue their education on the grade level consistent with their home school and to prevent any loss of time from school that otherwise would be occasioned by hospitalization, but also to give them the bene- fit of those particular activities that involve therapeutic and rehabilitating values. Upon admission to the institution, follow- ing a clinical diagnosis at one of the State clinics, the children The Present Situation 71 are sent to a receiving ward for approximately three weeks. During this probationary period a further inventory of their physical and educational needs is made by the hospital and school staffs in an effort to discover their limitations in detail. All available school records are also studied as an aid in properly classifying each individual pupil. Recommendations are made by the physicians in charge regarding proper rest, exercise, oc- cupational therapy, and the kind and amount of school work that each pupil can participate in profitably. The schedule for the day's work is so arranged that the formal subjects are taught during the morning hours, while bedside teaching in the wards and the special activities are left for the afternoon period. In so far as possible, the curriculum provided is similar to that prescribed for the regular public school and centers about the subject fields. If it can be arranged to ad- vantage, group teaching is done in the various wards. Music classes are taught frequently in this way and are enjoyed greatly by the children who put forth every effort to participate in one way or another. The special departments of the school that are now fully organized and functioning are : occupational therapy, music, "Cheerful Children" (the school publication), and the library. All of the children participate in the music program, while about 40 per cent are making use of the library facilities. An opportunity to share in the craft activities is available for all children above the second grade. For those who are not able to go to the shop, craft work is taught on each ward one afternoon period during the week. A gymnasium is provided where, under the direction of skilled orthopedic surgeons and nurses, corrective exercises are given as an aid to restoring the use of crippled arms and legs. THE CASWELL TRAINING SCHOOL The Caswell Training School at Kinston was created by legis- lative enactment in 1911 for mentally defective boys and girls between the ages of six and twenty-one years and for mentally defective adults who meet certain specific requirements. Among the vital purposes of the school as prescribed by the Consolidated Statutes, the first one set forth was "to segregate, care for, train, and educate mental defectives." Within less than thirty years the institution has grown in physical proportions many times its original size. It has likewise gone forward in the presentation of a program better suited to the needs of the State's most un- fortunate children. 72 A Report on Special Education An integral part of the program is the academic division, or the school department, in session for nine months under the leader- ship of the principal and five regular teachers. According to the record for 1938, the 326 children participating in school activities were grouped into five main divisions, namely: kindergarten, pre-primary, primary, intermediate, and advanced. As there is a wide variation between the mental and chronological ages of these children, the course of study for the different groups does not correspond similarly to that set up for regular classes so labelled. On the contrary, an effort is made to adjust the work, as far as possible, to meet the mental maturity level of the group. For example, one would find the intermediate boys and girls attacking first and second-grade work, while the advanced group would be studying North Carolina history and geography and other related subjects. However, the academic work seldom ex- ceeds the fourth-grade level. Each year a specific school project is selected and carried out by each teacher in her classroom activities and progams. A study of North Carolina was the general theme about which the academic work in all departments of the school was centered at this time. Twice a week the advanced girls are given practical lessons in domestic science. As a result, some of the girls have learned to bake bread, cakes, and pies. Each girl participating made an apron, two towels, several napkins and table mats to be used in the cooking class ; while some of them were skillful in doing very lovely embroidery that found a ready sale. The craft and manual arts activities have brought great satis- faction to the children. We are told that the accomplishments have been markedly outstanding. The boys have shown improve- ment in their rug weaving and woodwork ; however, the latter is operated on a very small scale on account of inadequate room and equipment. Some work has been done in clay modelling by boys and girls. The girls have been given training in drawing, paint- ing, embroidering, crocheting, basketry, appliqueing, rug weav- ing, cut work, needle point, and all kinds of plain sewing. Some of the youngest girls in the kindergarten group made aprons, quilts, napkins, and table runners ; while "others were very happy in the completion of simple gingham bags put together with stitches made uneven because of lack of muscular control." Music is happily participated in by all of the children. Some of the activities enjoyed are: group singing, preparing and pre- senting operettas, cantatas, and glee club programs, playing in- strumental selections on the piano, and the like. The Present Situation 73 In addition to the time spent in school, all of the children who are capable of having a share in the day's program are kept employed in one of the different departments under the careful supervision of the person in charge. The record shows that "the children do all the sewing and mending — all garments are made here except overalls. They do all the laundry, milking, some farm and garden work, take care of the buildings, help prepare vege- tables and wait on tables, work in the hospital as nurses' helpers, and help take care of hogs, cows, mules, and chickens. The boys help make the mattresses and help run the sterilizer where cloth- ing, mattresses, and bed clothing are continually being sterilized." The full-time services of a psychologist have contributed vitally to the general program of work carried forward. The following excerpts from the last Biennial Report are indicative of the type activities engaged in by her in the interest of the children's general welfare: Examinations were given to institutional and extra- mural cases. All those who were newly admitted were thoroughly examined to determine their mental level, special capacities, and personality make-up in order to effect adequate building and school placement, and to give the staff a better understanding of the type of training to be given in each case. Re-examinations were given to those not examined for a number of years, to those who needed further study in order to help them make a better adjustment in the institution, and to those referred by the heads of the different departments be- cause of various disciplinary and other problems. * * * * Case conferences were held once a week in the office of the psychologist, where the psychological findings of the newly admitted individuals to Caswell Training School were discussed, the adjustment problems of others con- sidered, and plans worked out toward more effective ways of dealing with them .... At these conferences the psychologist, on the basis of her psychological find- ings, recommended ways of dealing with each particular case including building and school placement for those newly admitted. Consultation service was also rendered to the heads of individual departments and to other employees who needed help in their work with the children .... Regularly, one evening each month a talk was given to the employees of this institution, followed by a round- table discussion. These talks and discussions have been intended to give the employees a better understanding of the nature of mental deficiency and to aid them in their contacts with the children in this institution. 74 A Report on Special Education CASES OF OTHER HANDICAPPED CHILDREN According to the record set forth in the Biennial Report of the North Carolina Tubercular Sanatorium, 150 children were en- rolled for treatment during 1936-1938. However, no provision was made for the educational training of these children while they were being rehabilitated physically. With the exception of a few individual classrooms here and there, very little in the way of direct education is being done for the child who has a serious speech defect. The same condition is true for the epileptic child of school age. Most of them are excluded or are withdrawn from school. Moreover, those who are in attendance at the State Hospital do not have an opportunity to receive the type schooling best suited to their particular diffi- culties. It stands to reason that North Carolina should extend such privileges to these children and that a program should be worked out cooperatively with the hospital authorities and the schools to help serve their all-round needs. General Comments In each of the residential schools cited, it is evident from the foregoing descriptions of the programs in progress that the general pattern followed is similar in many respects. However, there are distinctive variations occurring in practically all of them. Some are significant and vital to the life of the program itself; others are ear-marked by a left-over touch of the tradi- tional that fails to identify the activity itself with meaning for the individual child. These differences are not difficult to dis- cover. As time passes, it is to be expected that more and more the different schools will present democratic programs from every standpoint and will thereby give boys and girls a better oppor- tunity to make progress toward the desired goal of better living. In order for these schools to meet the peculiar needs of the children for whom they were established, it is apparent that the educational program must be individual and flexible in character, permitting day by day adjustments to changes in enrollment, to the health requirements of the children, and to the process of character development. Likewise, it must be administered with a minimum of stress and a maximum of enjoyment. At all times an effort should be made to preserve a wise balance in regard to academic, recreational, and creative opportunities. These various conditions require skillful planning in order that the proper The Present Situation 75 adaptation and orientation of the curriculum may be effected profitably. If, in turn, they seek to develop an integrated program on an increasingly higher level that will give each individual child an opportunity to participate in a variety of broad, balanced, edu- cative experiences and activities of value to him for his fullest, all-round growth, then it may be expected that the schools will realize their prime objective in full measure. The development of those activities that are closely related and interwoven with the day's experiencing should furnish desirable outlets for student interests and abilities, and also aid in the promotion of their growth in character. A formal, academic education apart from its use will not accomplish this. Each child should be helped to develop maximally his abilities and then to make wise use of them in his daily living practices. Thus by magnifying his assets and minimizing his lacks will he become a better integrated and adjusted individual to face life and its tasks. When children live under the same consistent regime on a 24-hour basis, there are many opportunities available that can be used to advantage for their right development along all lines of their growth. The school should canvass the total immediate environment for the educative possibilities, and then be on the alert to capitalize upon the resources at hand and make every experience engaged in count for education. Through their meaningful participation in the necessary duties of school life, children of different maturity and interest levels can be guided so as to enrich their own lives in many ways and also to raise their standards of living. However, there is a limit beyond which it is dangerous to venture, if the possible values to be accrued therefrom are negated by a lack of integration and proper meaning. This is inevitably true when the school program is separate and apart from the work activities participated in by the group. Unless these can be made to function properly in their daily living and contribute to their all-round growth, there is no sound reason why they should be given an undue amount of em- phasis in the day's experiencing. In fact, if such practice is indulged in to excess, our residential schools will deserve the criticism that will naturally follow as a result. A recent report from the U. S. Office of Education regarding this administrative problem gave expression to the belief that "exploitation of the pupils to help support the institution should not be permitted." It was further stated that "the use of certain institutional activities to a limited extent, as a basis for the in- 76 A Report on Special Education struction of pupils, may be considered quite legitimate; but no pupil should be allowed to continue regular work in a given pro- cess beyond the point of its instructional value to himself." After all is said and done, the schools exist for the children and not the children for the schools. And so the welfare of youth should become the pivot about which all efforts are centered. Consequently, those in authority must view impartially all crucial matters related thereto and then act upon them in good faith. In varying degrees, all of the residential schools in the State have followed rather closely the suggested course of study for the public schools. Furthermore, it is obvious that the traditional focus upon subject matter-accomplishment is considered of prime importance. As is the case in any school situation, public or residential, there is no justification for grinding all high school students in a given group through the regularly prescribed re- quirements for college entrance unless they expect to continue their studies in an institution of higher learning. Nor should each child in a so-called grade be expected to master the same kind and amount of knowledge, if his needs and interests do not warrant it at the time. The fact that a student is not concerned about continuing his educational program after he reaches a cer- tain age, or has completed the elementary school work, is no legitimate reason for the school not providing appropriate edu- cational opportunities to meet his needs. Such implications are out of balance with the purpose for which the individual schools were created. According to the reports presented, there is no record of the establishment of a vocational department as a part of the total educational program in any of the schools listed, except the State School for the Blind and Deaf, the North Carolina School for the Deaf, and the State Home and Industrial School for Girls. With- out doubt the boys at both the Eastern Carolina Training School and the Stonewall Jackson Manual Training and Industrial School would profit greatly from similar training. The vocational offerings for the boys at Raleigh and at Morganton and for the girls at Samarcand should be enlarged to include training in a broader variety of different trade areas that are best suited to the several types of exceptional children represented. A similar program should be made available for the boys at Rocky Mount and at Concord. This would not only furnish increased occu- pational opportunities for some, but it would also introduce others to different types of work that may hold unforeseen interest for them on a creative basis. In this connection, the development of The Present Situation 77 desirable hobbies that can be continued later as leisure-time activities would help many children discover and release their hidden powers and then express in acceptable ways the "spirit that is within." If the entire program of a residential school is to be effective in serving the needs and the possibilities of the individual children maximally, educational guidance must be given the same place of dominance that is being sought for it in the public elementary schools. This will involve an intelligent study of each child. In addition to other means used as an aid in this connection, the clinical service needed in each situation should be made available for every school. However, it must be remembered that the "findings of such a comprehensive analysis of individual traits are worth the time spent in securing them only if they are put into usable form and if they actually contribute something in planning the pupil's educational progress." In addition to the training and guidance offered these students while they are in school, special attention should also be given to their proper placement into suitable positions and likewise to a close follow-up of their careers in the field. Such a service would be of inestimable value in helping them continue to attain success and happiness in their new approach to a life undertaking. It would also aid the school not only in avoiding pitfalls previously encountered, but in making the necessary adjustments to their own program. To help prepare society to meet these boys and girls, particu- larly the socially maladjusted, in an understanding way when they leave the different institutions is another important function of the school. A wisely guided transfer from a school that under- stands and cares to an indifferent, unconcerned outside world is essential if a continuation of their harmonized growth is more or less assured. However, this cannot be effected satisfactorily without the united effort of the different local religious, civic, educational, and welfare agencies in the several communities from which these young people come. EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS In surveying the field briefly, it would appear that the future of exceptional children in the State is more hopeful than it was a short time ago. Although the progress made in research, in legislation, in health and general welfare, in governmental services, and in educational opportunities and facilities has not been at an accelerated rate, it is evident that these factors to 78 A Report on Special Education date have all helped to lay a foundation for the further expansion and development of a more adequate and educational program. We should be ready to move forward to this end. On the other hand, much of the time, effort, and money ex- pended on the education of exceptional children at the present time is not bringing maximum returns in desirable child growth. It is unmistakably true that many of our schools unconsciously are training these children to experience failure by expecting them to attempt that which is beyond their capacity and present achievement level, or outside of their field of interest, or both. There are others who are unconsciously making behavior problems of the slow-learning, the gifted, the physically handi- capped, and the poorly adjusted cases by failing to take their difficulties, as well as their interests, into account when planning their program of work and when dealing with them. Generally speaking, the public and the residential schools have not quite kept the pace commensurate with that of other agencies at work on this problem in the State. For example, the program administered for crippled children presents a fair sample of this lack of integration and cooperation. According to recent statis- tics from the U. S. Office of Education regarding legislation relating to orthopedic children alone, more than 100 laws were passed between 1900 and 1929 which affect the welfare of this group. The Social Security Act of 1935, a Federal law which made provision for their medical care and welfare, is rendering direct service in every State in the Union. Furthermore, a com- prehensive vocational service is available throughout the country for those sixteen years and older, as a result of the Federal pro- visions for adult rehabilitation. Here again every State has taken advantage of this opportunity and has developed a creditable program. Be that as it may, North Carolina delayed legislative action until 1939 regarding special educational opportunities and facili- ties for her crippled children who attend the Orthopedic Hospital for treatment. The program underway has been in progress too short a time for anyone to properly determine and analyze the educational practices being projected thus far. However, it is an assured fact that when these children are sufficiently rehabili- tated to enable them to return home and continue their education in the public schools, no special provision is made for their trans- portation to school except in those cases when the school buses pass the home on their regular school route. If they reach school at all, they do not find the necessary curriculum adaptations, such The Present Situation 79 as corrective physical education and occupational therapy, in keeping with their varying abilities, nor the subject-type equip- ment particularly needed to aid them in becoming further rehabilitated physically and socially, as well as intellectually. There is no record of home instruction being offered for those so handicapped that they must remain at home. Apparently no coordinated follow-up work is maintained. All of the different agencies responsible for and concerned with each crippled child's general well-being should develop and promote cooperatively with him a program of living and learning that is best suited to him as a growing and functioning individual. Al- though the nature and type of the physical defect will determine the possibilities of all phases of development, the maturation and the interests of the child should serve as guides in planning the learning activities. Upon his return to the local school, recom- mendations should be made by the hospital authorities in coop- eration with the local doctor or the school physician regarding exercise, rest periods, nutrition, therapy, and the amount of school work advisable. A transfer report should also be sub- mitted by the principal of the hospital school. Such a procedure would contribute vitally to the continuity of the individual child's educational program. In the case of a regular school entrant, he should be examined carefully by the school physician and similar information given. Thus when the teacher becomes aware of the corrective physical program needed, she can better help in ad- justing the educational work to aid in the corrective treatment. It is evident, therefore, that an adequate program for physically handicapped children must be individual and flexible in character in order to permit the desirable adjustments necessary to their specific health requirements, and subsequently, to their all-round growth and development. Similarly, this type of educational service prescribed for the orthopedic crippled should be broadly and liberally interpreted by school authorities to include the peculiar needs of those atypical children who are handicapped or disabled in any manner, and also those who are gifted. A commitment to the policy that every child should have a chance to live the fullest life of which he is capable makes it mandatory upon us to adapt the school program to his specific difficulty or ability and then help him to make the necessary adjustments directed toward complete living. Upon close observation and further investigation of the special class work carried forward last year in a number of school systems in various sections of the State, it was found that, on the 80 A Report on Special Education whole, there was no fundamental basis used for making changes (1) in the grouping of the children to be served; (2) in the organization and conduct of the school; (3) in the methods and procedures ; and (4) in the content and materials of instruction. When such questions as the following were asked, the same lack of consideration for pertinent information was also evident : 1. What specific individual pupil needs were to be met by the program underway? 2. What standards were used to evaluate individual pupil needs ? 3. What were the observable evidences of the productive changes made in each child? 4. What means were used for recording changed pupil be- havior ? 5. How was pupil progress evaluated? For the most part, out-of-date methods for the selection of ex- ceptional children for the special classes are still in use. Ap- parently some of the schools are most concerned with conduct and so are interested in that type of behavior which contributes to smooth running-classrooms. As a result, teachers often classify a child as a problem because he is disorderly, inattentive, careless, disturbs the work of the class, does not participate in school activities, is not interested in any of his school work, or the like. On the whole, the majority of such cases focused upon represent vio]ations of adult authority and the adult moral code. Once a child is labelled a "problem case", the record shows that he often continues to receive this behavior rating by all suc- ceeding teachers and finally by the general public. It is even true that he is sometimes so exploited that his picture, along with the other members of his class, is photographed with high officials in front of the State Capitol and then placed in the daily papers under captions that brand the group for life. Thus a temporary form of maladjustment can be so exaggerated that it becomes a fixed part of the personality development. It is not surprising that these children dislike school and drop out as soon as possible. Such a situation is to be deplored. It must be remembered that all children are problems at times. Therefore, the chief concern of the school should be centered on finding out the underlying cause of the difficulty and how to eliminate it, rather than on the visible evidences of the malad- justment. In other words, the child rather than the behavior symptom should be made the point of departure in a compre- The Present Situation 81 hensive consideration of such problems. Making adequate pro- vision for appropriate educational opportunities and facilities for these children would greatly increase the holding power of the school for this group as a whole and would likewise reduce the number of potential dependents and delinquents. It is now generally conceded that the habits and attitudes formed during the early years of life determine future success or failure to a much greater extent than was formerly thought to be the case. Therefore, if the proper education of handicapped children par- ticularly is neglected during this impressionistic period, the community will pay a heavy toll in social and economic waste. It is important that the academic attainment of every child in the elementary school should be brought up to maximum ex- pectancy in terms of his ability to make progress. Since a variety of factors, such as health, emotional status, general en- vironmental background, special reading strengths and weak- nesses affect growth, it must be kept in mind that all children of the same mental or chronological age are not expected to attain the same accomplishment level in the different subject-matter fields. However, it cannot be too strongly emphasized that those children who continue to fall below the success level for them, all things being equal, should be studied from every phase of their growth in order that the specific causes of their difficulties may be discovered and remedied, if possible. This would not only focus attention on the proper procedures necessary to meet the existing needs of the individual child, but would also help to eliminate further disintegration and maladjustment by making it possible for him to experience successful performance of his responsibility along various lines. Therefore, an effective program for this group would require that the school re-examine its standards and expectations in terms of the new goals discovered for them through the investi- gation suggested above. Then, on the basis of new insights, the school would provide experiences which would not be based on traditional interests and demands, but on the genuine needs and interests of those constituting the group. Chapter III: The New Program Obviously in our American system of mass education, the needs and interests of a host of children have not been met. The general trend of society today shows that something should be done to make the educational program meet more adequately the demanding needs of a changing world. There are great gaps in education which will prove fatal to our society if we cannot find some way of combating them successfully. In the long run, it will pay us unlimited dividends in human welfare if every child is guaranteed an appropriate program of educational activities, regardless of his residence or mobility, abilities or handicaps, wealth or poverty, race, creed, or other similar differences. One of the major persistent problems our country faces today is the proper development of a program of education that will enable "all the children of all the people" to burgeon out the best that is within them — not all, as one of our great statesmen once admonished us. According to the Constitution, "The people have the right to the privilege of education and it is the duty of the State to guard and maintain that right." To a degree, every State recognizes the supreme importance of this obligation and requires that certain school facilities must be provided for all the children of school age within her borders. Not only the nature and quality of the offerings presented, but also the extent to which the children take advantage of the educational oppor- tunities available are coming more and more to claim the intelli- gent consideration of those who are charged with the leadership of our school systems. In this direct relationship one of North Carolina's most pressing educational problems is to discover desirable ways and means of meeting adequately the present and assured needs of the host of unsuccessful children enrolled in our schools. The needs and interests of this neglected group, involving as they do the welfare of 31.4 per cent of all the children in the elementary grades alone and an unknown number who are eligible to receive training in residential schools, should challenge the best thinking and coop- erative planning that our educational leadership and educational statesmanship have to offer toward finding a proper solution to the significant demands at hand. When the total situation is viewed against the present status of educational opportunities and facilities available for all exceptional children in the State, the time for concerted action is past due. The New Program 83 When the spotlight is turned on the school and its offerings are viewed in true perspective, those dealing with education are forced to realize that, good as the schools are, they do not measure up to their full obligations in assisting all pupils to secure maximum growth and that something ought to be done. The majority of us fail to comprehend the significant role edu- cation has to play in this world drama and so we often exert a complacent influence toward certain aspects of the total situa- tion. The school is challenged now to institute changes — to pro- vide a community wherein democratic practice will not lag behind democratic theory. Unfortunately neither the school organi- zation and administration nor the curriculum content and the type pupil activities engaged in always square with a sometimes excellent statement of philisophy subscribed to by the school. Frequently there are outstanding inconsistencies between the accepted objectives and the success in attaining them; however, the relationship between actual school practice and fundamental beliefs is much better geared than formerly. It will take an honest facing of facts as they really exist to shake some of us out of our smugness, and it may take even more to force others to become active participants in a concerted at- tempt to make the highest functions of the school serve the best interests of each individual child for whom it exists. Probably no fundamental changes will be made until first, we in education fully appreciate the gravity of the situation and gain a more thorough understanding of the fundamental problems of child development; second, we take the initial step forward in adjust- ing our program in consonance with the child's stage of growth and development at the time; and third, we share with the parents and the public generally the fundamental concepts un- derlying such a program and then guide them into a full recog- nition of the importance of their sharing actively in its promo- tion and development. It is generally conceded that our schools, both public and residential, need a vital and dynamic program of education, geared into the realities of democratic living and learning and based upon the needs and interests, as well as abilities, of the individual children. Then — and not until then — can we claim that our schools are operating democratically on a functional basis. However, in order to put this type of program into operation, they need (1) a better trained personnel — both teach- ing and administrative — free from the clutches of traditional methods and goals to organize and conduct the school in terms 84 A Report on Special Education of more complete living for all children; (2) the necessary- materials of instruction and a stimulating environment as aids in carrying it forward; (3) also the wise guidance and service of an understanding person whose responsibility it would be to help teachers with such problems as evaluation, adjustment, projection, and so forth — when such services are desired. Fur- thermore, it seems that if the schools eventually are to effect this change State-wide, rather than in isolated centers, our teacher-training institutions, our State Department of Public Instruction, our homes, our health and welfare agencies, and our schools themselves mu?t become focal points of creative effort in shared cooperative educational planning and direction. Certainly our public schools should be the human engineering laboratories in which our children can be afforded a fair chance to develop fully their individual capacities and potentialities. Herein lies our greatest opportunity for future service. The coordinated efforts of all contributing groups will then be ex- tended not only to eliminate, if possible, all physical handicaps before a child enters school, but also to help other serious forms of difficulties from developing either before or after school entrance. This will involve early detection, treatment, and pre- vention of such cases in their embryonic stage of development. Disintegrating factors present in the home and likewise in the community will be studied to determine the possibility of im- proving such conditions through school activities and public opinion. The opportunity for reducing mental and emotional maladjustments by better handling of administrative and class- room practices on a democratic basis is within the province of every teacher. A systematic study and observation of each child enrolled will also help teachers to deal intelligently with the individual differences involved and thus prevent their working at cross purposes in regard to the proper integration of pupil personality. In spite of the increased interest in the problem, as expressed by various professional and lay group activities in several areas in the State, legislative enactment to date has made no financial provision for the State Department of Public Instruction to in- crease State supervisory services to include a professional assistant whose specific duties would be to help develop a more satisfactory preventive and corrective program for children who are needing special services from any of the standpoints previ- ously cited. At the present time practically all efforts projected The New Program 85 along any of these particular lines have been or are being made by teachers with a limited amount of special training, if any, for the specific tasks involved and with very little, if any, profes- sional assistance or guidance in solving the problems at hand. A psycho-educational service should be made an integral part of the expanding in-service teacher-training program as a definite means toward helping those who are responsibly and intimately concerned with the complex problems in the field of child development. Such a service should be designed to assist the teachers, administrators, parents, and other related groups in developing a more thorough understanding of the needs of children, in studying problems of curriculum adjustments and school organization in relation to the individual pupil needs cited, and finally, in developing an intelligently conceived pro- gram in terms of each child's growth and development. However, a program of this type will be successful to the degree that the adults working with children can be guided to feel that those factors determining growth and development are dynamic, never static, and that all behavior is symptomatic and has real meaning only in terms of the child's total growth and development. The school should be the key agency in promoting constructive child development programs and in enlisting and coordinating the efforts of all forces at work in the interest of desirable child growth. In light of the increasing demands made upon the various groups in regard to remedial and preventive pupil activi- ties, it becomes more and more important that representatives of all child welfare agencies in a community should attempt to interpret their basic problems and solutions to each other and then to cooperate intelligently in the organization and promotion of a unified program. Such an arrangement would better insure the full service of each group without duplication of effort or infringement of responsibilities. Likewise, the groups involved would be better able to guide children in finding better ways, more economical ways, more efficient ways, and more normal ways of living the good life. Only when all of these agencies — the school, the home, and the general public — are ready to work together harmoniously as contributors in a cooperative enter- prise will there be a sound basis for the harmonized development of wholesome, well-balanced, integrated personalities in our schools. One of the most hopeful outcomes of an intensive, constructive program with the exceptional child is the increased interest in 86 A Report on Special Education and sympathetic understanding of individual pupil problems leading to a more intelligent expansion and direction of the entire school program. As corrective and remedial work with those who deviate from the so-called normal progresses, there is coming gradually a widening of interest and breadth of scope to include a preventive program for all children. Therefore, in order to fit the exceptional child properly into the picture and insure for him a more acceptable educational opportunity, the school people themselves must become consciously aware of their direct responsibility to each member of this group as an integral part of the whole and then effect through various channels those changes necessary to secure for him appropriate training. Mani- festly, it is also reasonable to expect that the major consideration should be given to both the remedial and the preventive aspects of this problem of immediate concern. As a beginning effort in this direction, following is an outline of a new State program for the education of exceptional chil- dren: A Proposed State Program for the Education of Exceptional Children Generally speaking, an attempt to present a progress report of what has been accomplished in any undertaking only serves to determine with greater clarity what remains to be done. This has been equally true of the general view that has been taken of a few pertinent facts regarding the work projected to date in both our public and our residential schools in the interest of the State's exceptional children. Not only has it served to cite the real advance that has been made along some lines toward the development of a balanced program for each individual child ; but it has also pointed out the shortages, the discrepancies, the inequalities, and the lack of balance and coordination that exist in regard to certain vital factors. Moreover, it has made us aware of the way in which the very roots of the program itself should reach back into the heart of the State-wide educational system and tap sources vital to its effective functioning and its future growth. In fact, all studies that have been made to date constitute an index of the great seriousness of the need of educat- ing exceptional children, as well as an undoubted challenge to enlarge research, to refine methods of enumeration, to establish findings, and to adjust the educational program in accordance with the findings. The New Program 87 In recognition of these and other problems that have been emphasized from time to time in the body of this report, the program in the future must seek to expand and grow to the end that each child, regardless of his physical, mental, and social status, is given every opportunity to develop fully and live ex- pansively as a contributing member of society. However, before determining the kind or type of plan that is appropriate to offer, it is necessary to have a clear comprehension of the purposes which such programs are to serve. These general aims should then be pursued in accordance with those guiding principles that are formulated specifically for organizing and governing the development of a unified State-wide plan for all types of excep- tional children on a progressive and democratic basis. These fundamental policies should influence the nature and the scope of the activities engaged in, as well as those aspects of the work relating to organization, administration, personnel, curriculum offerings, materials of instruction, supervision of program, co- ordination of related services, and other essential items. Obviously, in this connection, attention should also be given to finding out what specific educational facilities are available in the State at the present time for atypical children and what addi- tional State services will be needed for carrying out a worthy program of special education. Thus with the foundation laid upon which to build a con- structive plan, it is reasonable to expect the logical next step to result in the organization of a sane, progressive program. Such a procedure carried to completion, however, precludes the fact that the State Department of Public Instruction must accept the definite responsibility for the stimulation, organization, promo- tion, and supervision of the program in its entirety, as carried out in both the public and the residential schools of the State. This obligation will of necessity entail the services of a full-time director for the education of all types of exceptional children, and the aid of additional specialists as the developing program demands from time to time Likewise, it will involve the active, cooperative support of local educational authorities, leading to the proper integration and coordination of those forces in the State directly concerned with the education and general welfare of all atypical children. Briefly stated, the general functions to be served by this division should include: (1) stimulation of effort in this field of service; (2) development of standards for the program; (3) clinical service; (4) organization and admin- 88 A Report on Special Education istration of the State program; (5) supervision of instruction; (6) coordination of related services; and (7) promotion of progressive legislation and practice. For our immediate consideration, a two-year program of activities is herewith proposed as a tentative, initial guide in promoting and projecting the work on a sound basis: A FIRST-YEAR ORIENTATION AND EXPLORATION PROGRAM. Outline of necessary steps to take in planning the program : 1. Establishing cooperative contacts with interested State and local groups and interested individuals through group and individual conferences. 2. Securing preliminary survey data from schools in counties wishing to cooperate. 3. Administering a testing program in such centers (a) for mental deviates and (b) for the physically handicapped. 4. Making an interpretative analysis of survey data, also infor- mation gained from mental and physical tests given, and using conclusions reached as a basis for planning the de- velopment of the program to be projected in the school centers selected. Although the program should include broad considera- tions of the total situation, special emphasis should be placed on those particular phases needing immediate atten- tion. This would involve: (a) making a list of the most important needs and the most urgent problems as revealed by the study; (b) selecting the most outstanding needs or problems and stating them as definite objectives for the year; (c) setting up a general plan for reaching each ob- jective; and (d) determining desirable measures of evalu- ation. 5. Making tentative plans for work with classroom teachers on adjustment of individual problems, and for initial de- velopment of a constructive program of in-service training for teachers concerned. A SECOND- YEAR PROGRAM. This program will be based upon the accomplishments of the previous year's work, defined in terms of and in direct relation to the contribution made to individual child welfare, looking toward an enlarged and an enriched service. All things being equal, the following activities should prove helpful in taking next steps successfully. The New Program 89 1. Making a comprehensive State survey regarding special education. In making tentative plans for projecting a long- view program of special education, an accurate picture of the total existing situation is the first prerequisite necessary (a) in revealing the need for increased attention to educa- tional adjustments for certain groups of unsuccessful chil- dren in the State, and (b) in planning intelligently a State- wide program that will better serve the needs and interests of the individual children concerned. In order to compile pertinent statistical data to be used as a basis for extending the work over a broader area, a comprehensive State sur- vey is needed. This will involve the thorough and accurate assembling of such significant information regarding the nature and extent of the problem as : a. The number and geographical distribution of exceptional children (1) enrolled in our public schools ; (2) enrolled in our State residential schools; and (3) those of school age not enrolled in any school. The age-grade distribu- tion of each of the above groups according to rural and urban areas. This will require an all-inclusive official State-wide census of exceptional children to be taken according to each classification. To date no attempt has been made to discover and enumerate all children in the State who have special problems of one kind or another to be solved. The present need for a complete roster, together with a definite description of each case for basal use in formu- lating plans for their right care and development, is obvious. b. The educational opportunities and facilities available to meet special requirements of exceptional children. c. The training and experience of present teaching person- nel at work with unsuccessful children. d. The curricula offered in teacher-training institutions for the preparation of teachers of various types of excep- tional children. e. The professional guidance available for projection, pro- motion, and integration of program. f. The extent of State support — the provisions set up in the School Code of North Carolina relative to State aid for definitely locating and educating handicapped chil- dren — and also the methods of apportionment of funds to local communities. 90 A Report on Special Education 2. Setting up a tentative long-view State-wide program in terms of present needs as revealed by State survey. On the basis of the composite findings set forth by the general survey, a broad, constructive program that takes into account the total picture as presented should be de- cided upon and then set up in such a way as to stimulate and promote the enlargement and proper integration of all those contributing factors as they relate directly and in- directly to child growth. This is, indeed, the pivot upon which the continuing success of an ever-advancing State- wide program of education revolves. In order to give the desired point of direction to the plans in hand, it is as- sumed that those in charge will project at the outset certain major and minor guideposts by which to chart their course. 3. Developing plans and procedures for carrying out objectives in certain selected areas. Diagnosis and an intelligently planned program. After locating the specific exceptional children in a given area, the next step in any constructive remedial program is to' make as accurate and as complete a diagnosis as possible of the strengths and weaknesses of each child under con- sideration and to interpret the findings in terms of educa- tional outcomes. This will necessitate assembling the fol- lowing distinct types of knowledge: a. Scientific information regarding each child's present equipment and needs as a means of determining the ex- tent of his deviations as well as his abilities. b. An intelligent understanding of the various types of maladjustments and the functional details of the defects discovered. c. The direct and indirect causes of these specific difficul- ties. d. The type psychological adjustment necessary for each individual case. e. The vocational opportunities available for people with different handicaps, and the vocational adjustments necessary in each situation. f. The follow-up service needed for further adjustment after the child leaves school. With this background of detailed information regarding the personnel of the group and the pertinent educational problems encountered in their connection, a definite but The New Program 91 tentative program of appropriate treatment and instruction that is broad enough in scope and sufficiently intensive in service to meet the general and specific needs of the indi- vidual children involved should be planned cooperatively by the participating groups. For example, one serious class- room problem of today is the careless, defective speech of many children. In order to solve this problem satisfac- torily, teachers must be able to discover the exact speech deviations used by the children and to plan an effective speech program for the correction of them. However, in this connection they are often confronted with such per- plexing questions as: "What are the specific difficulties my children are experiencing? How can I best set up a program that will actually function satisfactorily in their lives and supply the lacks expressed ? How shall I go about it?" Perhaps the most important aspect to be considered in the development of a program based upon all-round child growth for these children is that of prevention. In addition to those broad basic considerations that have been referred to elsewhere in this report, an intelligent approach to con- structive amelioration would also include a study of preven- tion with respect to those handicaps that are available, the proper care and treatment for those handicaps which have already appeared, those problems relating to techniques of instruction and techniques of learning for the various groups, larger aspects of curriculum work, and other re- lated topics. The conception of education as growth under guidance assumes that education is a continuous, active process and should go on as long as life lasts. If this viewpoint is accepted, it follows that the children themselves, as grow- ing individuals, are the starting point in building a socializ- ing-integrating curriculum, their interests and needs in relation to fruitful living being the center. Such a curricu- lum should include the whole body of experiences which condition and make up the total activities of the child for which the school assumes responsibility, arranged in sequences corresponding to pupil growth, needs, interests, and abilities. Record keeping. Increasing recognition of the wide variations in child development and some knowledge of the 92 A Report on Special Education influence that the many environmental factors entering in have upon child life have led to the distinct need for the assembling of cumulative pupil-personnel records. There- fore, the development of a well-planned and integrated system of record keeping through the active participation of all individuals involved should prove most profitable to the school in helping (a) to discover and study the specific needs and interests, also the abilities, of pupils in all aspects of their growth; (b) to determine the causes of behavior difficulties and failures; (c) to identify those chil- dren who need special help because of their exceptional problems, including the all-round gifted pupil and the pupil with special abilities; and finally, (d) to project a well- balanced educational program for each individual child on the basis of the total findings to date. Such vital individual pupil records should contain pertinent cumulative data con- cerning the pupil's health, school performance and be- havior, interests, personal difficulties and needs, particular strengths, home environment and heritage, and other sig- nificant facts. The information assembled should be made available to all properly qualified persons engaged in or concerned with rendering direct service to the particular children considered. Appraisal of program in progress. All educational prac- tice needs to be constantly evaluated and revised in the light of rapidly changing standards that are based on in- creased knowledge of child development as an outgrowth of the best developments in research and in practice. More- over, all programs should be modified and enlarged from time to time, if necessary, to administer to changing pupil needs when they are discovered. Such direct questions as those listed below may be of value in centering attention upon important aspects of the program in operation: a. How effectively is the work being done day by day? b. Are the expenditures for special education producing results in all-round pupil growth sufficiently satisfying to warrant the continuance of the program on the present basis? If not, what desirable changes should be effected? c. How adequate are the educational provisions that are being made to meet the existing needs? The New Program 93 Training teachers to meet new problems. It is generally conceded today by thoughtful educators that the efficient administration of the education of exceptional children in both residential and day schools requires the services of highly qualified teachers. However, the vast majority of our teaching personnel at work with the various types of children represented in the different schools have had little or no specialized training for the specific tasks involved, in addition to the regular preparation required for the teach- ing of average children. Nor have they had the equivalent in a program of in-service training and experience under professional guidance. Among the significant investigations undertaken by the U. S. Office of Education during 1936-1937 under the Pro- ject in Research in Universities was the study made in regard to opportunities for the preparation of teachers of exceptional children in the United States. According to the findings presented in Bulletin 1937, No. 17, North Caro- lina listed only one institution in which a unit of courses was offered for at least one of the eight types of excep- tional children. The North Carolina School for the Deaf at Morganton makes available a special 1-year curriculum for teachers who hold a degree from a 4-year college of A- rating, followed by a second year of teaching under super- vision at minimum salary. Satisfactory completion of the work leads to a special diploma for teaching the deaf. To say the least, the opportunities available in North Carolina for specialized training in this whole field are limited. As a result, it is necessary at the present time for those teachers who are interested in certain types of special edu- cation to seek their specific professional training elsewhere rather than in our own teacher-training institutions in the State. This educational lack should be viewed in relation to the total existing problem, and then plans should be made to remedy the situation in the most opportune way possible. Moreover, the satisfactory promotion of a democratic program of living and learning for all children is depen- dent, more or less, upon a teaching personnel who has developed not only a broader educational outlook, but also an ability to translate it into practice. It is the professional group that must produce the expert services that are de- 94 A Report on Special Education signed to guide and assist children in experiencing, in learning, and in living happily and successfully. It is this group that must study continuously and experiment to the end that the concepts and practices of education are im- proved each year and kept up to date to meet the persistent demands of economic and social change. To find the means and to develop the techniques that will make it possible to realize the ideals set up for the right development of chil- dren become a challenge to us to explore new fields of educational thought and activity. As a means to this end, it is necessary for all concerned to understand the basic developmental levels, the processes of growth, the varieties of behavior that can be expected of children as they grow from year to year, and as much as possible about the mechanics of human behavior. It is an assured fact that all teachers need to make a continuous study of children. A well-rounded plan to follow in this connection should include opportunities for intelligent child study and discussion under guidance, continuous observa- tion of child life in relation to their environment, individual conferences with parents and children, investigation and analysis of children's problems, needs, and interests, and other pertinent activities. It should be the function of such a study to help teachers and administrators working cooperatively together to see the child as a whole organism in continuous process of change. Futhermore, they should come to realize that it is impossible to check the child from day to day in terms of completed character, since the child is daily in the course of becoming and acquiring. Life situ- ations can be set up in such an appropriate way that through group cooperation, guidance, and leadership all are helped to understand the significance of new problems en- countered, changing methods, and the basic philosophy on which they are founded. Thus by pooling experiences, by reading with the same end in view, by thinking in harmony, there should be created an attitude, a feeling of mental unity that will foster the cause of maximum child growth. Out of this study should develop a desirable philosophy of education as a basis for the making of a socializing-integrating cur- riculum that will serve each child wisely and well. In light of new needs and new demands, the time is at hand when our present teacher-training plans and pro- The New Program 95 cedures on both in-service and pre-service levels should be examined critically and the findings evaluated carefully. Then a new-type program, involving a corresponding varia- tion in the offerings to both groups, should be projected that will prepare teachers to fulfill their changing func- tions. The following suggestive questions should prove helpful in analyzing the situation : a. What new demands are being made upon the teacher of elementary children? b. What then is her function in meeting present-day needs ? c. What type of teacher-training program on both levels is needed to serve a teacher more adequately in meeting her new obligations? d. What professional services and experiences should be provided that will aid the in-service teacher in a demo- cratic way to fulfill her changing function? 4. Making a directory of cooperating public agencies and their corresponding types of services, looking to the organization of a coordinating council for work on special education. There is an increasing awareness of a direct need to coordinate and integrate further the ideas and efforts of the various educational agencies and institutions in the State interested in the welfare of our in-school youths, and thus to promote and advance the activities that are being carried forward in their behalf. Increased cooperation with these allied groups working in related fields, and with other organizations likewise concerned about these boys and girls and their problems, should produce valuable aid in helping both the public and the residential schools serve childhood more effectively and more intelligently. Therefore, the organization of these forces into a coordinating council not only would facilitate matters for all concerned, but it would also tend to prevent lost motion and wasted effort on the part of any group. The making of a comprehensive State directory of all groups that have some contribution to make to the physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being of children should be the initial step in the right direction. Therefore, each county and city administrative unit should set up, first of all, a brief schedule which would yield a reasonably accurate picture of the various public agencies available in the State, county, and local community to promote child welfare, to- 96 A Report on Special Education gether with their corresponding types of services, and the mechanics for bringing these services in contact with the schools. The next important function of those at work on this problem should be to assist, as far as possible, in effect- ing an interchange of services and a close articulation of purpose among those particular groups listed. Although it will require constant experimentation and adjustment to facilities, environment, and individuals them- selves, various ways and means can be employed success- fully to establish fine relationships and to bring about a mutuality of aim and solidarity of effort among the dif- ferent participating units. An alert school official will depend upon a variety of methods to knit and weld them strongly into a cooperative and public-spirited organiza- tion, studying each individual situation to determine the most effective line of approach. The bonds will be strengthened gradually, as those working together for a common cause learn through education and experience the value of cooperative activity. Thus it may be seen that in time the isolated contributions of separate individual groups may be slowly woven into a unified, coherent whole of distinct worth to childhood. The North Carolina Council of Youth-Serving Agencies, organized chiefly in the interest of out-of-school youths, may be regarded as an excellent working plan to follow in the development and promotion of a similar organiza- tion for boys and girls in school. It is a cooperative under- taking that the State may well point to with pride and satisfaction. 5. Helping to promote and establish educational clinics at strategic points throughout the State that ivill be properly staffed and equipped to serve the varying needs of the dif- ferent groups of handicapped children. It is a recognized fact that the determination of each child's specific needs for special education requires careful scientific investigation. Therefore, a suitable clinical pro- gram should be set up that will make available competent psychiatric, psychological, educational, social, and medical services and facilities for those cases who would profit by them. The kind and extent of the clinical aid to be pro- vided will depend, of course, upon the particular situation to be served and the related contributing services of dif- The New Program 97 ferent agencies that can be furnished with reference to the total program. Thus the type of organization to be effected will vary according to the size of the local community, the needs involved, the present child guidance program in operation, if any, the coordinating services rendered by the participating agencies in relation to all-round child growth, and other significant problems. All in all, such clinics not only should be staffed and equipped to serve the varying needs of the children, but should also be located in places accessible to the different groups involved. In the light of scientific truth and of the changing ob- jectives of education, a bureau of child guidance should constantly redetermine its own purposes and evaluate its outcomes in terms of desirable child growth. It should serve as a challenge to the administrator and to the teacher "to make the educational program function as a continuous process which will develop boys and girls into thinking participants in a democracy." Our school organizations face the task of finding satis- factory means of intensifying all efforts toward a correct interpretation and application of the principles of our modern philosophy of education. When this is done, a posi- tive approach to the problem will be made. Coupled with an awareness of the situation will be the desire to find the right solution and then to put it into effect. As a result, there will be in operation a broader and a deeper preventive and constructive program of physical, mental, and social health for all children in our schools. Promoting progressive legislation and an adequate financial program. The public schools of North Carolina are responsible by law for the education of all children entrusted to their care. Moreover, this public function is financed out of State funds for a minimum period of eight months each year. However, sufficient State aid has not been provided as yet for the special educational services needed to develop an adequate program for all those children who present excep- tional problems of one type or another. For example, there is a great need for assembling accurate data regard- ing the total existing situation and for developing ways and means to satisfy the demands as discovered. Such an 98 A Report on Special Education activity cannot be effected satisfactorily without financial support. The time is at hand when we should focus our attention upon an appropriate constructive program that will func- tion in terms of life and the things that make for useful and worthy living for all children eligible to attend our schools. Coupled with this should be an adequate school finance program. They go hand in hand. In this connec- tion, the promotion of State legislation that will increase the facilities of special education and will provide sufficient funds to administer it is one of our most pertinent admin- istrative problems at the present time. This shortage should not be overlooked any longer. Not until equality of educational opportunity has been provided for all types of exceptional children can the State claim to have in opera- tion an adequate educational program for all her children. With the beginning that has already been made, North Carolina can now use more advantageously her resources and facilities. The Task Before Us As the tempo of technological change increases, the problems of intelligent social control that confront the world today become more critical. These can be solved only by mastering the tech- nique of living and working together in such a way as to permit the all-round development of the individual and the enrichment of the group. In a democracy the creative thinking necessary for intelligently controlling social change should be the responsi- bility of the many rather than the privilege of the few. It follows then that our American youth should be guided in the proper development of their individual potentialities so that they can think creatively and act cooperatively in helping to attack our social problems in an intelligent manner. "The democratic faith in human equality," says the eminent John Dewey, "is the belief that every human being, independent of the quantity or range of his personal endowment, has the right to equal opportunity with every other person for development of whatever gifts he has. Democracy is a way of personal life controlled by faith in the capacity of human beings for intelligent judgment and action if proper conditions are furnished." This is a familiar article in the democratic creed. It is a fundamental truth that we need to capitalize upon for the good of all. The New Program 99 Even in this modern era, it is an avowed fact that our society has not yet placed an adequate and an approved value upon its human resources. This position will maintain as long as certain strategic groups continue to hold widely divergent viewpoints regarding the issues involved and fail to consider each child as a potentially valuable contributor to the social group. There are those who regard the exceptional child as a neglected re- source, whose inherent possibilities for expanding growth should be given an opportunity to blossom and fruit to the maximum degree in order that he can make his unique contribution to the general welfare of all. By others, he is considered as a misfit, a discard, a failure, or what not — in general, a liability to society. In this large group of human dynamos lie much poten- tial ability and power which the world needs. Failure to dis- cover and to use the best possibilities of these unusual individuals is one of our major sources of waste today. Both the educa- tional system and the social order should endeavor to salvage their latent powers and then to help these deviates, however talented or handicapped they may be, to develop into desirable producers as well as consumers. There is no virtue in "faith without works," nor in activity without meaning. It is agreed that our schools have a basic responsibility to aid in the elimination of the confusions and the turmoil which beset our society. This profound duty has been clearly defined and interpreted. Time has been given for reflec- tion. Now it needs to be translated into immediate, constructive action. Organized education must become more sensitive to the demands at hand and build vital programs that are rooted and grounded in the democratic way of life. If children are to grow up as responsible citizens in a democratic society, they must be given opportunities from the very beginning of their school life to think critically and act on their thinking, to make wise choices, to meet situations involving alternatives, and to participate actively in both group and individual activities — always, of course, on their own level of development and under the skillful guidance of an understanding teacher. Public education is a recognized right and privilege of "all the children of all the people." It is to be hoped that a State pro- gram may be made effective whereby no child in North Carolina of school age may be prevented from utilizing his full capacity for education and life adjustment and from exercising his powers to the maximum level in the interest of the common good. Mani- 100 A Report on Special Education festly, the special education of all exceptional children must constitute a very definite and indispensable part of the total plan that is designed to serve the school population. Thus in the process of helping to build a better social order, the schools must play a vital role in helping young people to find meaning and significance in life. This crystallizes our supreme objective. We all are blind until we see That, in the human plan, Nothing is worth the making if It does not make the man. Why build these cities glorious If man unbuilded goes? In vain we build the world unless The builder also grows. UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 00034021736 n FOR USE ONLY IN THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION Form No. A-368, Rev. 8/95