ON MENTAL AND PHYSICAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN EDUCATION. 10'J 



noted, the most common being overaction of the facial muscles. In- 

 cidentally by this time some information as to the child's hearing 

 powers, grasp of new ideas, and speed and range of response will have 

 been obtained. 



A child of seven to eight or over who cannot or will not imitate 

 may provisionally be regarded as below the ordinary elementary school 

 level. It is perhaps necessary to go into the question of will, in the 

 sense of a strong will not to do anything, but some indication of this 

 will have been obtained from the child's demeanour. 



In the case of a child who failed to imitate, one would have had 

 some indication as to how far, if at all, his attention had been fixed, 

 by watching the movements and listening to the instructions. Further 

 tests might be made in such a case by the use of various objects, 

 coloured balls, spelicans, a pocket knife, or as a supreme test a penny. 

 If these fail to attract attention the child may be either invalided or 

 excluded as, for the time being at any rate, ineducable, and if there if 

 satisfactory evidence from the demeanour and history of lack of atten 

 tion he may be classed as imbecile, especially if the inattention extends 

 to matters of common cleanliness. If some attention is paid, the child 

 may be tested with other simple movements, as folding a piece of paper, 

 turning over a picture-book, &c, or by asking him to sit down or open 

 the door. With no response the child may be regarded as below the 

 special school level; with a response the history needs to be gone into 

 to determine what opportunities the child has had, but at the best such 

 a one would be admitted on probation. These cases are revised within 

 three months of admission to a London special school, and in times of 

 great pressure if the home circumstances were fair the child might be 

 left at home for six months and then re-examined. 



Throughout it is most important to note all evidences of spon- 

 taneity — there is no worse sign than a child doing nothing at all. 

 The child whose imitative response had been adequate would be 

 asked to perform certain well-known movements, such as sitting down, 

 opening the door, &c. Here it is as easy to, at the same time, test 

 certain features of attention and memory by asking for the per- 

 formance in a specified order of several separate actions. Thus : ' Put 

 on your hat ' ; ' Take a pencil from the table and put it on the form 

 outside '; ' Come back and mind to shut the door after you.' A child 

 who performs all in the right order after being told once possesses a 

 considerable basis of power on which the teacher could build, and a 

 close examination would be necessitated in order to determine that he 

 was deficient and not merely backward. Most, however, fail to carry 

 out more than two commands. A usual result is for the child to put 

 on his hat, go outside, and have to be fetched back. Normal eight- 

 year-olds in Standard II. do all without hesitation. 



The examination may next be extended to the nature and use of 

 well-known objects. Suitable ones are a key, a knife, coins, &c, 

 and the statements of what a child would do with them are of great 

 value. The knife is practically always known and the key usually, 

 the coins depend on the value. The children at this age rarely have 

 experience in actual life of anything above sixpence or of personal 



