TRANSACTIONS OF SECTION L. 625 



3. Discussion on the Policy of (jiving the Board of Education authority 

 over all Exchequer Grants for University Education. Opened by Prin- 

 cipal E. H. Griffiths, F.R.S. 



4. Report on the Curricula and Education Organisation of Industrial and 

 Poor Law Schools. — See Reports, p. 214. 



5. Discussion on Grammatical Terminology. Opened by Professor 

 E. A. Sonnenschein, D.Litt. 



This paper dealt with the following topics : — 



(a) The history of the movement from 1908 to 1910-11, when it received 

 the general approval of the eight associations of teachers represented on the 

 committee. 



(6) The need of a reform if the teaching of grammar is to be intelligible and 

 effective. Evidence from the Continent and from America. 



(r) How it has come about that different terminologies are employed in 

 dealing with different languages. The common assumption that in order to 

 understand properly the usages of a particular language we must re-classify these 

 usages from a new point of view. Argument in favour of a different procedure. 

 The limitations of the scheme. 



(d) On what principle should a scheme of a terminology suitable to all the 

 languages taught in schools be constructed ? 



(e) Illustrations of the advantages of the scheme of terminology drawn up by 

 the Joint Committee. 1 



(/) The desirability of securing the support of examining bodies. 



MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4. 



The following Report and Papers were read : — 



1. Report on the Mental and Physical Factors involved in, Education, 



See Reports, p. 177. 



2. Discussion on the Diagnosis of Feeble-mindedness. 



(i) On the Nature and Definition of Mental Defect and its relation to the 

 Normal. By A. F. Tredgold, L.R.C.P. Bond., M.R.C.S. Eng. 



Before we can satisfactorily discuss questions of diagnosis, training, and 

 administrative care, it seems so essential that we should have clear ideas as to 

 what mental defect really is, and what is its relation to the normal, that I 

 propose to attempt to deal with this aspect of the matter. 



The idiots are so palpably deficient in what we regard as the essential 

 qualities of mind, that, from remote times, they have been set apart as an 

 abnormal group of mankind. But closer knowledge has revealed the enormous 

 variations in human mental capacity, and shown that just above the idiots 

 there are the imbeciles, just above these the feeble-minded, above these again 

 the dull and backward, then the ordinary average mass of mankind, next those 

 of talent and marked ability, and finally, individuals of the highest order of 

 intellect. 



1 Report of the Joint Committee on Grammatical Terminology. London : 

 John Murray, 1911. 6d. 



1911. S 3 



