It is not feasible to undertake the education of the classes of mental defectives known as idiots or imbeciles in the public school. These types of mental defectives must generally receive their training in institutions established in accordance with modern scientific standards for the educa tion and care of such children. The children who are classified as morons may be segregated and educated in special classes provided for them in the public schools. Mentally defective chil dren who come from homes which are able to give them proper care when they are not under the influence of the school and who may be trained to become either wholly or partially self supporting may generally be afforded necessary educational facilities for their proper education in the public school system of the city or dis trict in which they live. All mentally defective children who come from homes which cannot give them the protection and care which is essential to the best interests of society should be educated in institutions organized for this type of children. The tendency throughout the country is to utilize to the greatest extent pos sible the public school system for the education of this type of children.
There has been recent legislation upon this subject in the States of New Jersey and New York. In 1911 the legislature of New Jersey enacted a law making it the duty of the State board of education to ascertain the number of children in the public schools of the State who were three years or more below the normal grade. This law further provides that in each district in which there are 10 or more such children the board of education for that district shall establish such special classes as may be necessary for the education of these children. No class may contain more than 15 of such chil dren. An important feature of the New Jersey law is the State aid which is accorded each dis trict in the State which organizes one of these classes. The State authorizes an apportionment of $500 for each teacher employed in giving instruction to a class of children of this type. This State aid offers great encouragement to a community to organize such classes and enables a community to meet the expense of maintain ing such classes without burdensome taxation. The commissioner of education for that State reported that, for the school year ending 31 July 1917, 162 classes had been organized. The establishment of these classes in New Jersey is compulsory. This appears to be the first State in the Union which has enacted a statute mak ing it mandatory upon the local school author ities of an administrative unit to organize classes for children of this type. The training
school for subnormals at Vineland, N. J., is one of the notable institutions of the country for this type of children.
The New York law enacted in 1917 is also a mandatory statute and is modeled somewhat after the New Jersey act. The commissioner of education is authorized to prescribe regula tions to govern the taking of a census by the school authorities by each city and each school district. The local school authorities must take such census. The law further provides that each city and each union free school dis trict shall establish such special classes as may be necessary to provide instruction adapted to the mental attainments of children who are three years or more below normal. This, of course, requires provision for all mentally defective children as well as for the retarded children. No more than 15 pupils may be placed in one of these special classes. The school au thorities of a city or district which has less than 10 children are required to provide for their instruction in another city or district which establishes classes or schools for such children. The financial aid given by the State is $300 for each class organized in a city or district.
The major work in a course of study for this type of children is industrial training. This type of child may be trained to become an effi cient domestic worker and may be also trained to do very satisfactory work in agricultural lines. The institutions and the public schools which maintain courses for these children have demonstrated that large numbers of them may be trained to become self-supporting. To illus trate the type of course of instruction which is maintained for such children, I quote the fol lowing from the official report of the superin tendent of the Rome Custodial Institution: sense training; form, color, co-ordination and numbers; articulation and language ; weaving ; sewing, knitting and crochet ing; sloyd; carpentry; painting; gardening; farming; domestic arts (dressmaking); music (vocal and instrumental) • dancing; entertain ment; Sunday School; chapel; farm colonies; domestic colonies; parole; discharge (or failure and permanent custody).
The institution located at Waverley, Mass., the one at Vineland, N. J., the Rome Custodial Institution, Rome, N. Y., and the State Normal School at Oswego, N. Y., maintain courses for the training of teachers for this type of school. Undoubtedly other institutions for this type of children also maintain such courses.