A experiment in infant education

Abstract

Investigates the case of a 19 months old, mentally and physically healthy girl child. Observed that the secret of unlocking the mental powers of the baby mind lay in securing the baby's 'interested' attention to matters of educational value. Found that, using a picture book, the baby was able to recognize and pronounce all the capital letters at the age of 19 months and 13 days. An attempt at teaching her to read showed that at the age of 24 months she had a reading vocabulary of over 200 words. Observed that the baby mind was capable of facts beyond the powers of older minds and that this power displayed itself in its highest perfection only when the baby's physical vitality was at its best. Found that the baby mind was naturally intensely active. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)