PHYSICAL DEVIATIONS AMONG CHILDREN IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS. GlV 



Children -with a defect in development form the largest class of cases- 

 noted in every group of schools, and such form of defectiveness is largely 

 associated with nerve disorder and mental duluess. It is, however^ 

 noteworthy that a considerable proportion escape the two later evils. 



Of the development cases . . .52 per cent, present nerve-signs. 

 ,, „ ,,.... 39 „ were reported as dull. 



„ „ „ with nerve-signs 43 „ „ „ „ 



Under conditions of less favourable training the proportion of de~ 

 velopment cases with nerve-signs and the proportion who are dull rises. 

 It seems, then, that efficient training and education do much good in 

 preventing evils from arising in such cases. 



Comparing 10,000 children in elementaiy day schools of upper or 

 middle social class with 26,000 in poorer day schools, we have found in. 

 the latter a smaller proportion with defect in development, nerve disorder, 

 low nutrition, or mental dulness. 



The thin, pale, delicate children — 4 per cent, of the children seen — 

 were almost entirely confined to the class ' development cases.' Could 

 we remove these defects we should probably have a smaller proportion 

 of children thin and delicate as well as fewer with nerve disorder and 

 mental dulness. 



Among children with defect of the body those with ' small heads ' 

 form an important group of 2 per cent, of the children seen ; the condi- 

 tion falls mostly upon girls, and was found unequally distributed, rising 

 for girls in Strand to 7 per cent., in City 6 per cent., falling in Ber- 

 mondsey to 3 per cent., and in certified industrial schools for gii-ls rising 

 to 6 per cent. Such cases were more common among the English than 

 the Irish or Jew children. 



Cases presenting some defect were least frequent among the children 

 in the Jew free schools of Whitechapel, and most frequent among the 

 Irish schools, as seen. 



Eye cases were very frequent in all schools : many needed spectacles 

 who did not use them, and ophthalmia and its results were prevalent in 

 many instances. 



The children reported by the teachers as dull in school were 7 per 

 cent, of those seen, and 40 per cent, of the children presenting some 

 defect that was described in the schedules. The greater the number of 

 defects seen in the groups of children, the higher rises the percentage of 

 mental dulness. 



After inspecting a school and tabulating the resiilts of observation it 

 ia easy to prepai'e a report comparing the child-material seen with the 

 average, showing the effects of training the brain and the mental powers 

 of the pupils. 



The evidence accumulated tends to show that, while general educa- 

 tion has effected excellent results, much remains to be improved concern- 

 ing the care of the mental and physical conditions of children, especially 

 as to conditions of unevolved brain power, which are remediable by better 

 classification and training in certain cases. 



This inquiry is directed to obtaining a definite statement of existing 

 physical and mental conditions by observation of 100,000 children, and 

 the causation of such weakness and defects as are more common among 

 them, and the means of removing such defects which lead to ill-health 

 and mental dulness. A methodical arrangement of investigation and 



