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Auxiliary School for exceptional children 1910 - Special work for these pupils (mentally retarded) was commenced in Lafayette school in the summer of 1910. Then transferred in September to Lake School. October 1910 to a class at Straight School but class room conditions have been bad. A small wardrobe room is used for a recitation room. The cooking and bench work is taught in the regular manual training rooms. The physical training is given in the basement play room. 1912 - From the Grand Rapids Herald, 20 Aug 1912, pg. 3. "Mrs. Cornelia Creswell, formerly principal of the auxiliary school of exceptional children, will become inspector of backward children. This position is a new one, having been created late last spring. 1914 - The high grade girls are able to take the same course for sewing given to the normal grades of the city. In addition to this they have basketry, knitting crocheting and embroidering. In wood work, we give bench work, but very little knife work. The middle grade classes do cardboard construction, weaving coping saw work and simple bench work. All children take some domestic science work, which includes cooking weaving, ironing scrubbing and even blacking of shoes. The children also have flower and vegetable gardens. In the fall the vegetables are used for cooking and for drawing and clay modeling lessons. In the English room, they are taught as much of the three R's as they are capable of taking. They reproduce the recipes given them in their cooking lessons, write nature stories, read from readers, have phonic drills. Their geography work is done largely directly from nature. The Montessori method of teaching writing through the sense of touch is used for some children who are unable to get it in other ways. If a child is not well nourished, he is provided with milk and gets little extra share of the food cooked. (Eventually, there would be such a class in almost every elementary school where these retarded children would remain until 16 years old). |
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