In the anthropological examination it is customary to begin by taking the principal measurements (total stature, sitting stature, weight, thoracic perimeter, perimeter of the head, and its two maximum diameters) which furnish the data needed to give a fundamental idea of the child's physiological constitution and racial type, and to determine the normality of his growth. Many other measurements may be taken (spirometry, dynamometry), according to the custom of the school, and, in private schools, according to the object which the Principal has in view, in the way of contributions to science. For instance, in a school for defectives the examinations as to general sensibility, speech, muscular strength have an importance of the first order, and equally important is the accurate and minute inspection of the different organs, for the purpose of discovering possible malformations. There are various special objects to be attained by gathering anthropological data, and accordingly every school based upon modern scientific principles has its own "Biographical Chart" drawn up according to special forms containing the necessary measurements and observations, and the examiner has only to follow the directions of this guide and to fill in the required information obtained from the individual pupil.
INQUIRY INTO ANTECEDENTS IN PASTORELLO'S BIOGRAPHIC CHART
| General Information Regarding Pupil's Family | |
|---|---|
| Name And Surname of Parents | Employment |
| Father | Father |
| Mother | Mother |
| What degree of relationship, if any, exists between the parents? | Ancestry |
| Father | |
| At what age did the parents contract marriage?................. | |
| How old were the parents at the time of the child's birth?..... | Mother |
| State of Health | Moral and Financial Condition of the Pupil's Family |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
| From what diseases have the relatives of the pupil died? | Is the family interested in the education of the children? |
| Have there been any predominant diseases in the family? | |
| Education | Family Habits, Eccentricities and Vices |
| Father | |
| Mother | |
Here, for instance, is the anthropological form used in the great orphan asylum in New York:
| NEW YORK JUVENILE ASYLUM Anthropological Examination and Measurements.—No. of page | ||
|---|---|---|
| Date of entrance | Minimum frontal diameter | |
| Sex | Height of head | |
| Age | Inspection: cranium | |
| Date of birth | Face | |
| Name | Eyes | |
| Total stature | Ears | |
| Sitting stature | Gums | |
| Total spread of arms | Teeth | |
| Weight | Palate | |
| Prehensile strength, right hand | Uvula | |
| Prehensile strength, left hand | Strabismus | |
| Power of traction | Limbs | |
| Thorax | Antero-posterior diameter | Body |
| Transverse diameter | Genitals | |
| Maximum circumference of head | Lung | |
| Maximum antero-posterior diameter | Heart | |
| Maximum transverse diameter | Special notes | |
This form has signs of modernity: in fact, it concedes the greater part of the research that is to be made in the first objective examination to anthropological observations, limiting the observations of a physiological nature to those of muscular strength—it being well known that all functions in general, and especially the psychic functions, cannot be determined with reliable accuracy except after repeated and prolonged observations. Furthermore, the modern tendency in anthropologic research is revealed by the preference given to measurements of the body in its entirety, giving first place to those of the bust and limbs, from which the important ratio of their development is obtained (standing and sitting stature, total spread of the arms), and the weight. Furthermore, there is a notable absence of measurements of the face, measurements which it is the modern tendency to abandon where the subjects of research are children, since in this case they have no physiological or ethnical importance, because the face of the child varies from year to year, and has no fixed index like that of the cranium. A study of the facial measurements might be of importance as contributing to a knowledge of the evolution of the face through successive years; but such knowledge can be obtained, so far as is needed, from "special studies and researches," without making obligatory a form of research that is both troublesome and dangerous (the application of pointed instruments to the faces of children). The best method of examining the face is by photographing the full face and the profile at intervals of one year. Accordingly, the biographic form used in the "Children's Houses" contains only questions of an anthropologic nature of importance in relation to growth (see the form of the Biographic Chart of the "Children's Houses," page ([423])).
The greatest importance attaches to the stature and weight. Indeed, while all the required measurements are taken once a year on the occasion of the child's birthday, the total stature and the weight are taken once a month upon the day of that month corresponding to the child's birthday. The numerous other physio-pathological and psychic notes, the examination in regard to speech, etc., are obtained partly from the diaries and partly from the physician, according to the necessities of individual cases.
The photograph should complete the examination of the pupil. The methods of observation adopted in the "Children's Houses" represent, I think, the ideal method for the accurate recording of individual characteristics. Since the pedagogical methods there employed are themselves founded upon the "spontaneity" of the manifestations of children, it may be said that they represent the technical and rational means of proceeding to a psychic examination of the child.