Table Of ContentAN APPLICATION OP GENERAL SEMANTICS TO ENGLISH INSTRUCTION
FOR MENTALLY RETARDED PUPILS
A Thesis
Presented to
the Faculty of the School of Education
U niversity of Southern C alifornia
In P a rtia l Fulfillm ent
of the Requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Education
by
Emma lin e Casserly Ha_tcher
June 1950
UMI Number: EP56141
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This thesis, written under the direction of the
Chairman of the candidate’s Guidance Committee
and approved by all members of the Committee,
has been presented to and accepted by the Faculty
of the School of Education of the University of
Southern California in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree of Master of Science
in Education.
nm, 17. 1950________
Dean
Guidance Committee
Chairman
4 c. 14/4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE . . ........................... 1
Importance of the pro blem .......................................... 1
Inadequacies of our language ...................................... 2
Terminology versus human adjustment ........................ 5
Uniqueness of individuals ........................................... 6
P itfa lls of hasty conclusions ....................................... 7
Stim ulating co rtic al reactions ............................ • 8
A lleviation or elim ination of co n flicts . . . . 8
Method of procedure .................................................................. 9
Organization of the remainder of the th esis . . . 14
II. HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE PROBLEM . . . . . . 15
Origin and S c o p e ................................. 16
Psychological im plications ................................................ 18
Developments in education .................................................... 21
Contributions in language .............................................. 22
Contributions in remedial reading ............................ 23
Contributions in speech correction ....................... 25
Contributions in psyehiatry .......................................... 26
Summary....................................................................................................28
C onclusions...........................................................................................28
I I I . INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AMONG MENTALLY RETARDED
NINTH GRADE PUPILS IN ENGLISH.....................................................30
i i i
CHAPTER PAGE
Typical handicaps among mentally retarded . . . . 31
C linieal c la ssific a tio n of types of handicaps . 31
Nature of the p r o b le m s ..........................................................37
Methods used in diagnosing pro b lem s..................................41
Testing w ith psychometric scales ............................. 41
Testing with projective instrum ents ........................ 42
Analysis of case h isto rie s and
cumulative records ......................................................... 43
Personal interview .............................................................. 43
Supplementing Semantic principles ........................... 43
Methods used in remedial treatm ent . ,v .......................44
Fernald kinaesthetic method of reading . . . . 46
Monroe phonic tracing method ...................................... 46
Gates visual w ord-reeognition method . . . . . 46
Hegge-Kirk phonics in graduated d iffic u lty
m e th o d ..................................................................................... 47
N atural or a c tiv ity m e th o d ........................................... 46
Incidental .method ............................................46
Systematic experience m e th o d ............................. 46
Combination m e th o d ...........................................................46
Play t h e r a p y ............................ 46
Choral reading . ...................................................................49
Occupational t h e r a p y ......................................................... 49
Psychotherapy in oral and w ritten composition . 50
CHAPTER PAGE
B ibliotherapy ............................................................................ 51
Psychodram a................................................. . ............................51
Extensional d iscip lin e of General Semantics . . 51
Summary..............................................................................................52
Conclusions . . . . . . ............................................................. 53
17. UTILIZATION OP SEMANTIC PRINCIPLES FOR PERSONALITY
INTEGRATION . 55
Changing attitu d e s of self-deprecation ................... 56
O rientation to the continuum of personality • . 56
Importance of relaxation . . . . . . . . . . . 57
F alsifying environment by id en tifica tio n . . . 53
Developing social relation sh ips ................................. . 59
Related needs . . ........................................................................60
Related in te re sts ...................................... 60
Related a b ilitie s .................................................................. 61
Reeducation in moving toward people............................... 62
Language-fact relationships of non-identity . . 63
R elationships of non-allness ...................................... 6k
R elationships of self-reflexiveness of
la n g u a g e ............................ 65
Summary . -........................................................ 66
Conclusions . V . '. . .' . ^ . . . . . . . . 67"
7. COORDINATING REMEDIAL ENGLISH INSTRUCTION WITH
MENTALLY RETARDED PERSONALITIES.................................................68
CHAPTER PAGE
E stablishing rapport .............................................................. 69
Pupil a c c e p ta n c e ............................................... 70
Teacher p e rm is s iv e n e s s .......................................... 70
Structuring the c l a s s ............................................................. 71
Role of the te a c h e r ...................................................................72
Role of the p u p i l ........................................................................73
Selecting the basic u n i t ..........................................................75
Value of sociogram s...................................................................75
Psychological conformity w ith regular classes . 76
Developing the u n i t ........................................................................77
M o tiv a tio n ......................................................................................79
O bjectives . . . . . ................................. . . . . . 79
P erform ance......................................................................................83
C h e c k -u p ...........................................................................................84
Summary...................................................................... 86
C onclusions...........................................................................................86
VI. EVALUATION OF OBSERVABLE RESULTS ...................................... 88
Pupil growth and d ev e lo p m e n t................................................89
Sample case summaries . ..........................................................90
General conclusions and recommendations ................... 101
BIBLIOGRAPHY . .............................................................................................103
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
I. Results Obtained from Structuring a Ninth Grade
Mentally Retarded English Class with Regard
to Classroom O rganization................................................ 74
II, Number and Percentage of Mentally Retarded
Pupils in Remedial English with I.Q .fs of
5 0 -7 5 ..................................................................... 92
I II. Number and Percentage of Mentally Retarded Pupils
in Remedial English with Specified Handicaps . • 93
IV. Number and Percentage of Mentally Retarded
Pupils with Previous Work Experience . . . . . . 94
V. Number of Mentally Retarded Pupils in
Remedial English that Reveal Approximated
Gains in Communicative S k i l l s ..................................... . 95
LIST OF FORMS
FORM PAGE
1. Common Symptoms of Typical Handicaps
Among M entally Retarded Children .............................. . 33
2. G etting Acquainted S h e e t ....................................................... 38
3. C linical Reading Techniques Adaptable to Remedial
English C la s s e s ..................................... 80
4. Ready Reference Remedial Chart . . . 91
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SCOPE
Society can be only as strong as the sum to ta l of i t s
individuals; thus i t must concern its e lf with the problem of
education for a ll i t s members. The m entally retarded
children, comprising one of the m inority groups, cover a
wide range of d iffic u ltie s encountered in the study of
individual differences. Since the basis of General Semantics
is a system of thinking in terms of proper evaluation as the
foundation for cultural in tegration of our tim es, i t highly
regards the concept of individual differences. The fle x i
b ility of its application, from the object or animal level
of thinking to the in fin ite order of abstraction, provides
an expedient tool of learning th at can be used by children.
In view of th is , the purpose of the present investigation is
to discover the observable re su lts of applying its basic
principles to p erso n alities encountered in remedial English
in stru ctio n .
In th is chapter, the plan is to tre a t the importance
of the problem, the procedure, and the organization of the
remainder of the th e sis.
IMPORTANCE OF THE PROBLEM
The purpose of th is section is to reveal the p artic u lar
