Successful Ministry to the Retarded[ETowns] - Elmer Towns

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The retarded have a low level of conceptualizing and generalizing; therefore, the pictures mustmeet both the mental and chronological age of the retarded.The alert Sunday school teacher will place himself in a position to recognize potentially usefulpicture material. Magazines represent a vast source of study pictures which should be utilized.Louis Rosenzweig and Julia Long suggest colored pictures of things familiar to the retarded, suchas food, clothing, animals, toys, people - boy, girl members of the family. 18Also, books can be an important source of excellent picture materials.EXHIBITSExhibits, which can show a variety of materials related to a unit of work, should be consideredan integral part of the given unit and planned in such a way that they contribute to the solution ofproblems that may have arisen in class. Certain guidelines should be followed for more effectivelearning:1. Do not clutter the exhibit. Retarded persons, especially hyperactive, feel a certainuneasiness in complexity.2. Place the most important objects in strategic positions.3. Allow the students to help in the planning and development of the exhibit.4. Give attention to eye level; secure effective lighting.5. Discuss the exhibits with the students.Other visual-aid resources that can be used effectively are blackboards, charts, marionettes,models, murals, objects, posters, slides, filmstrips and maps. All these must be used in a mostsimplified form, yet advanced enough to satisfy the differing needs.CREATIVE ARTDavid is retarded but, happy and content, takes crayon in hand and begins to draw. Hiscrayon moves about on the paper without association with an idea. He paints a line and calls it adog; the next minute the same line is a house. Perhaps he draws Mommy with legs dangling froma pudgy body, and he may even include facial features.The Sunday school teacher should use large, thick crayons, blunt scissors, or double-handledscissors. Paints should be tube water colors which are dissolved in small cans, each with its ownbrush. (Long-handled brushes with thick bristles are good.) This eliminates washing brushes, atask too difficult for the trainable child. Fortunately, it also preserves paints.Expression and mood indicate individuality, and research has proven that trainable childrenpossess the capacity to express their feelings pictorially.How often have you been called upon to explain something in compelling terms and foundyourself inadequate? Retarded persons feel inadequacy much more keenly, for they have fewerwords and far less confidence. How can we assist them? Although retarded persons are notcreative in the general sense, they love crafts because this handwork peculiarly satisfies some oftheir unexpressed needs. Therefore, the teacher should expose a retarded pupil to variousmaterials and let him express himself as well as be is able, always being careful not to judge himaccording to adult standards, but by Ms own individual scale of development.Typical of all human beings, the retardate gains a feeling of confidence and self-satisfactionthrough the simple task of making something himself. Therefore, the church school teacher must
e sensitive to the ability of his pupil in order that the pupil may experience confidence andachievement through the medium of art.The teacher must show the retarded bow to do things. It is not sufficient merely to giveverbal directions, but be must reinforce them by actually helping the child with his project.Guiding his hands and assisting him in his movement are necessary requisites for the teacher oftrainables. However, be should not help when the pupil is capable of doing things for himself.Objectives given for arts and crafts for the trainable mentally retarded person have beendeveloped by Eleanor M. Healy:1. To help the retarded child to find joy and satisfaction in expressing himself.2. To develop creativity by providing a stimulating art program which will achieveexpression and success for the mentally retarded child.3. To develop manipulative skills by experience with many art processes and materials.4. To sustain and nurture an awareness of the world about us. 19The church school teacher will add a fifth objective: To develop spiritual growth in, the life of theretarded.These objectives can only be achieved when the teacher's planning is careful, for be can onlyfoster spiritual development by correlating arts and crafts with the lesson. Much of the printedchurch school curriculum material is not suitable for use with the retarded because as thechronological age and physical age of the retarded increase, the mental age stays on a much moreeven keel, bringing added problems to art expression. 7Natalie Perry gives some suggestions for using crafts:1. The craft should be useful.2. The craft should be simple enough to learn with detailed instruction and practice.3. The craft should be one that can be done outside of school.4. A simple craft should be at least one more step toward learning a more useful craft.5. The craft should be of interest to the child. 20The teacher must remember that their capacities are limited, and their perseverancespasmodic. However, their delight in what they have been able to express is Unbounded and theirsatisfaction in its completion is its own reward.CREATIVE MUSIC ACTIVITIESWhatever the trainable mentally retarded is presently learning can be emphasized, and pastexperiences can be reviewed, by the use of music. 21 The value of music in varied forms canscarcely be overestimated, for through it may come the release of pent-up emotions, thedevelopment of an innate ability on the part of some, and the sheer joy of singing, playing orlistening by everyone. It creates a pleasant atmosphere, provides security, stimulates imagination,and helps to develop the vocabulary.7 Practically nothing has been done by the church to provide arts and crafts for older persons, especially theadolescent. The authors, experimenting with coloring, enlisted the help of a student artist, Margie Bodle, to drawpictures of fashionable ladies for her female students to color. It was observed during the year that these werepreferred by her students in the twenties. One student refused all coloring, except the fashion pictures. A fleetingobservation was made that the higher the level of the trainable, the more conscious they were of doing "baby"pictures or activities. The authors feel the "educable" would profit most from specifically designed materials.
Page 2 and 3:
CONTENTSCHAPTERIntroductionPart I F
Page 4 and 5: since three hundred mentally retard
Page 6 and 7: probably learn those things which p
Page 8 and 9: age forty, her chances of producing
Page 10 and 11: Professionals are fond of telling t
Page 12 and 13: An accurate definition of the "trai
Page 14 and 15: Teachers can use visual materials t
Page 16 and 17: 6. Positive reinforcement should be
Page 18 and 19: ealize just how desperately these c
Page 20 and 21: However, Ms teacher must deal with
Page 22 and 23: he can perform well. A single perfo
Page 24 and 25: pupils. Teachers must be careful to
Page 26 and 27: in teaching trainable mentally reta
Page 28 and 29: 9. The picture-and-question combina
Page 30 and 31: are able to conceptualize. The auth
Page 32 and 33: PART IISuccessful MinistryChapter 5
Page 34 and 35: their children's handicap." He ment
Page 36 and 37: has never been disciplined not to b
Page 38 and 39: BUILDINGS AND EQUIPMENTThe well-pla
Page 40 and 41: 6Who Shall Teach theMentally Retard
Page 42 and 43: Those in special education become a
Page 44 and 45: the media or method through which h
Page 46 and 47: The teacher divests his pupil of ye
Page 48 and 49: Can I set limits, then relax and al
Page 50 and 51: etter lead the person in learning e
Page 52 and 53: a way that His redeeming love is ev
Page 56 and 57: Most mentally retarded persons enjo
Page 58 and 59: 8How Shall the Family Be CounseledR
Page 60 and 61: place, attempting abortion, permiss
Page 62 and 63: school with a neighboring family, b
Page 64 and 65: Some will make an adequate adjustme
Page 66 and 67: church family "has been no problem
Page 68 and 69: criticize his every deed. Randy is
Page 70 and 71: If there is any starting point with
Page 72 and 73: Appendix OneHistorical Survey of Me
Page 74 and 75: 8. Children love repetition.9. Chil
Page 76 and 77: general intellectual functioning, (
Page 78 and 79: SOURCE: J. V. Hottel, The Tennessee
Page 80 and 81: 8. Ibid., p. 56.9. Ibid., p. 57.10.
Page 82 and 83: 17. Ibid., pp. 18-22.18. Louis Rose
Page 84 and 85: 24. Ovid. Decroly, La Classificatio
Page 86 and 87: Cruiksbank, William M. et al. A Tea
Page 88 and 89: Koenig, Frances. "Implications in t
Page 90: UNESCO. Organization of Special Edu
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Successful Ministry to the Retarded[ETowns] - Elmer Towns

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