234 



The Journal of Heredity 



Bolsehvism, pointing out that "the 

 different levels of intelligence ha\e 

 different interests and require dif- 

 ferent treatment to make them happy, 

 and we are committing a serious 

 fallacy when we argue that because 

 we enjoy certain things, everybody 

 else could enjoy them and therefore 

 ought to have them." Social equality 

 is psychologically impossible. 



MENTAL LEVELS OF SCHOOL CHILDRE.V 



"We must now consider what is the 

 wise procedure with the various low 

 levels of intelligence. Aswe stated in an 

 earlier lecture, all work looking to 

 the eventual control of this problem 

 of social efficiency as conditioned by 

 mental levels, must begin with the 

 children. When children enter school 

 their mental le\el should be determined. 

 Several groups will be found. At the 

 top are those who are exceptionally 

 intelligent, well endowed, who test 

 considerably above their age. This 

 group subdivides into two: first, those 

 who are truly gifted children and 

 second, those whose brilliancy is coupled 

 with nervousness. The superior men- 

 tality of the truly gifted will mark 

 them throughout life. They should 

 have the broadest and best education 

 that it is possible to gi\e, not necessar- 

 ily hurried through the grades at the 

 most rapid rate but while advancing 

 somewhat faster than the average 

 child, they should be given a broader 

 experience. There should be oj)por- 

 tunities for them to do many things, 

 in each year, that the average child 

 has not time to do. 



"The ner\'ously brilliant group is a 

 \'cry important one. It contains those 

 children who are brilliant in school 

 but whose brilliancy is evidently due 

 to a very high-strung nervous system. 

 It is a case of the well-known but 

 little understood relationship between 

 genius and insanity. While these 

 children may i)robabl\' not be called 

 insane they are nevertheless in a 

 stage of nervous instability which, 

 while it happens to make them keen, 

 acute, and quick, and they gi\c the 

 appearance of brilliancy ; on the other 



hand it is an exceedingly dangerous 

 situation since experience has taught 

 that a little pushing or overwork may 

 very easily throw them o\'er defi- 

 nitely on the insane side. These 

 children should be treated with the 

 very greatest care. 



"A second group comprises the 

 moderately bright children, a little 

 above average and yet not enough 

 to be considered especially precocious. 

 They should, however, have their 

 condition taken into account and they 

 should not be compelled to drudge 

 along with the average child. 



"Then comes the average child for 

 whom our school systems are at present 

 made, and the only group whom 

 they adequately serve. The question 

 whether the training that we are 

 gi\ ing this group in the public schools 

 is the best that can be devised is not 

 for us to discuss here. 



"Our next group is the backward. 

 Those children who are not quite up 

 to age, who have considerable difiiculty 

 in getting along with their work and 

 yet who do get along after a fashion. 

 This group should l)e carefulK' watched 

 from the start and e\entualK' they will 

 differentiate again into two dixisions, 

 possibly three. Perhaps some of 

 them may later on catch up with the 

 average child. Some of them will go 

 through their whole educational career 

 with the same slowness, nevertheless 

 they will get through. There are still 

 others, who while only a little backward 

 at this first examination, later on will 

 show that they are actually feeble- 

 minded children. 



"Finally there is the group of defi- 

 nitely feebleminded. In many cases it 

 will not be possible, at this time, to pre- 

 dict what their final mental le\el will be. 

 This group will ultimateh- (li\ide into 

 several grades according to their 

 mental level. There will be the morons 

 with their three or four subdi\ isions, 

 that is to say, tho.se who have a 

 mentality of eight, those of nine, or 

 ten or eleven, perhaps of twelve. 

 Then come the imbeciles with their 

 mentality of sex en and six and five; 



