EMENDATIVE PEDAGOGY. — This is the branch of p. whose object is the education of children who differ to varying degrees from normal children and are commonly called, by the general term, «irregular».
The irregularities of greatest interest to the educationalist are psychic ones, which may be divided into: 1) delays, arrests, and alterations in psychic development, ranging from simple mental weakness to the highest degree of deficiency, educationally irrecoverable; 2) arrest or delays in the development of language: aphasias, dysarthrias due to central, cerebral causes (congenital lesions or lesions acquired through diseases of the brain), or to peripheral causes (defects or difficulties of the phonatory apparatus, stammering, lisping, cleft lip, etc.); 3) disorders of a characterological or behavioral nature: incipient or manifest mental illnesses (schizophrenia, epilepsy, psychoses, cyclothymias, etc.); disorders connected with constitutional or endogenous factors (amorality, antisocial behavior, impulsiveness, psychosexual abnormality, etc.); disorders connected with environmental and exogenous factors (hyperemotionality, inhibitions, neuroses, tics, enuresis, etc.).
Here it must be noted that such manifestations may be connected with constitutional nervous fragility, upon which environmental factors may trigger reactive manifestations either in the direction of aggressiveness or in that of inhibition; and, moreover, that environmental factors may also act upon subjects who are normally developed physically and characterologically, as a cause of irregularities, especially when their action is very prolonged or affects the child at a very early age. These environmental factors may depend on the structure of the family unit (abandoned children, orphans, illegitimate children, children of nomads, etc.) or on unfavorable family educational influences (children of amoral parents, of sexually promiscuous women, of prisoners; children living in educationally disturbed environments, etc.; cf. Scuola italiana moderna, cited in the bibliography, p. xxiv). Also of interest to the educationalist are physical irregularities of a neurological nature and sensory irregularities: defective or absent sight; hearing impairment (deaf-mutism).
The causes of irregularities may be: 1) hereditary factors; but this occurs rarely, and it is dangerous to exaggerate their power; 2) infectious factors: hereditary syphilis (among 100 irregular children, 12.5% are certainly hereditary-syphilitic, 13.5% probably so, and 14.7% suspected); tuberculosis; viral infections (poliomyelitis, epidemic encephalitis, or encephalitis caused by exanthematous diseases); 3) toxic factors: alcoholism; 4) traumatic factors (obstetric trauma with cerebral lesions or impairments; cranial trauma after birth); 5) deficiency factors: lack of iodine, avitaminosis; lack of sunlight; 6) environmental factors: family, school, social disturbances (cf. ibid., p. xxii).
For the treatment of irregular children, two disciplines must bring their studies and efforts together: medicine, with the assistance of related sciences, and pedagogy, with the assistance of psychology.
Leaving aside the part concerning medicine, the education of irregular children requires of the teacher: 1) a kind of vocation, so that he may be firmly convinced that he is at the same time performing a highly social and charitable duty and office, and may thus be more capable of overcoming difficulties and periods of possible depression; 2) an unconditional love of childhood and a conscious dedication or gift of all his energies to his mission; 3) assiduous study of the various stages of the child’s organic and psychic development, in order to discover the inner motives of his behavior and conduct; 4) careful and continuous observation of his pupils, diligently and methodically; 5) the acquisition of a certain ingenuity in order to apply general rules fruitfully to individual cases; 6) finally, reflection that many irregularities have somatic alterations as their cause; that changes of mood, whims, irregularities of conduct, restlessness, and even violence have endocrinological conditions as concomitant factors, upon which it is possible to act; and that a commendable state of nutrition is also a valid element psychically.
For particular treatments, v.: CIECHI; FRENASTENICI; MINORATI PSICICI; PSICONENTROSI; SORDI. For the education of wayward children, V. RIDUCAZIONE.