Individual Differences : Part 5

The Science of Human Nature: A Psychology For Beginners
by William Henry Pyle

(Page 13 of 15)

Results. In scoring the papers, allow one credit for each blank correctly filled. It will be noticed that the boys excel in the "Trout" story. This is doubtless because the story is better suited to them on the ground of their experience and interest.

Joe and the Fourth of July

Joe ran errands for his mother and took care of the baby until by the Fourth of July his penny grew to be a dime. The day before the Fourth, he went down town all by himself to get his fire works. There were so many kinds he hardly knew which to buy. The clerk knew that it takes a long time to decide, for he had been a boy himself not very long ago. So he helped Joe to select the very best kinds. "When are you going to fire them off?" asked the clerk. "I will fire them very early to-morrow," said the boy. So that night Joe set the alarm clock, and the next morning got up early to fire his firecrackers.

The Trout

The trout is a fine fish. Once a big trout lived in a pool close by a spring. He used to stay under the bank with only his head showing. His wide-open eyes shone like jewels. I tried to catch him. I would creep up to the edge of the pool where I could see his bright eyes looking up.

I caught a grasshopper and threw it over to him. Then there was a splash in the water and the grasshopper was gone. I did this two or three times. Each time I saw the rush and splash and saw the bait had been taken.

So I put the same bait on my hook and threw it over into the water. But all was silent. The fish was an old one and had grown very wise. I did this day after day with the same luck. The trout knew there was a hook hidden in the bait.

Doctor Goldsmith's Medicine

This is a story of good medicine. Most medicine is bad to take, but this was so good that the sick man wished for more.

One day a poor woman went to Doctor Goldsmith and asked him to go to see her sick husband. "He is very sick," she said, "and I can not get him to eat anything."

So Doctor Goldsmith went to see him. The doctor saw at once that the reason why the man could not eat was because he was so poor that he had not been able to buy good food.

Then he said to the woman, "Come to my house this evening and I will give you some medicine for your husband."

The woman went in the evening and the doctor gave her a small paper box tied up tight. "It is very heavy," she said. "May I see what it looks like?" "No," said the doctor, "wait until you get home." When she got home, and she and her husband opened the box so that he could take the first dose of medicine, - what do you think they saw? The box was filled with silver money. This was the good doctor's medicine.

Importance of Mental Differences. (1) In school work. One of the important results that come from a knowledge of the mental differences in children is that we are able to classify them better. When a child enters school he should be allowed to proceed through the course as fast as his development warrants. Some children can do an eight-year course in six years; others require ten years; still others can never do it. The great majority, of course, can do it in eight years.

It may be thought that a child's success in school branches is a sufficient measure of his ability and that no special mental measurements are needed. This is a mistake. Many factors contribute to success in school work. Ability is only one of these factors, and should be specially and independently determined by suitable tests. Children may fail in school branches because of being poorly started or started at the wrong time, because of poor teaching, sickness, moving from one school to another, etc. On the other hand, children of poor ability may succeed at school because of much help at home. Therefore special mental tests will help in determining to what extent original mental ability is a factor in the success or failure of the different pupils.

As far as possible, the children of the same grade should have about the same ability; but such is seldom the case. In a recent psychological study of a school system, the author found wide differences in ability in the same grade. It will be seen that in the fourth grade pupils are found with ability equal to that of some in the high school. Of course to some extent such a condition is unavoidable, for a pupil must establish certain habits and acquire certain knowledge before passing from one grade to another.

Copyright 1917 by Silver, Burdett & Company.