Although he fancied he would like to be a lawyer, F finally decided to go in for graduate work. Some uncertainties prevailed in connection with his acceptance by some of the graduate schools because, although he had been three times a college freshman (a point never brought out in the newspaper accounts of his educational progress), he had completed but one year of college residence.
Eventually he was awarded a graduate fellowship in Teachers College, Columbia University, for study toward the Ph.D. degree in education, and he completed a year of work there, accomplishing, in addition to the class work, a minor experimental study, a report of which was subsequently published. For the following year he was appointed Assistant in Psychology at Barnard College. At the last moment, just before the beginning of the new term, he decided to shift to law, which was one of his boyish ambitions. He was enabled to return to Chicago for this purpose.
Chess, bridge, and racing continued to intrude themselves into his activities, although he was pledged to abstain from them. His marital affairs did not run smoothly; contrary to his promises he incurred additional indebtedness; but he continued to carry on his law studies with passable records. Then he suddenly became seriously ill and was discovered to have an inoperable abdominal cancer. Again his educational career was interrupted and he returned to New York for care and treatment. Before another year was over, in December, 1938, he died of this affliction, at the age of 24 years.
In spite of a brilliant mental endowment, early discovery, much educational encouragement, and material assistance, a Bachelor's degree and a few chess prizes and bridge victories represent F's final achievement. The chief causes of this relative failure to make the most of his potentialities appeared externally in the form of character traits. His parents said of him that it was never necessary to stimulate his desire to learn; they also reported him to be "willful and head-strong." These unpropitious traits were as a matter of fact apparent in his early school days. They became magnified as he was given freer opportunity for self-expression and activity. We know so little about the identification and genesis of character traits that the case makes little or no contribution to our understanding in this direction. It is not known how early the physical disability that finally terminated the picture had been operating; it may even have been at the bottom of what appeared socially as a personality defect.
[1] This chapter was written by H. L. H.
CHAPTER TEN CHILD G
Child G is a boy, born in Brooklyn, New York, May 26, 1923. Records of his test scores that are available date from 1930, at which time he was 6 years 6 months old. A record of his development has been kept by his parents, who take an unusual interest in educational problems. They have freely and intelligently coöperated in the frequent objective examination of G, and have consulted with teachers concerning problems of adjustment and educational development.
FAMILY BACKGROUND
G is of Hebrew parentage, and all four of his grandparents attended Hebrew school. His paternal grandfather was a tailor, his maternal grandfather an installment dealer. G's father is a lawyer; in an Army Alpha test he made a score of 178 points. His mother, before her marriage, was a typist and stenographer. There are among the relatives a doctor, a lawyer, a rabbi, a college professor. A cousin stood highest in a city-wide achievement test given to public school pupils in New York City. His only brother, younger than he and the only sibling, has an IQ of 150-155 (see [below, [G'S BROTHER'S RECORD]).