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College of Educational Studies

The Doubting Dance: Contributions to a History of Parent/Professional Interactions in Early 20 th Century America. Phil Ferguson. College of Educational Studies. Chapman University Orange, California pferguson@chapman.edu. THIS MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN ALTERNATIVE FORMATS UPON REQUEST.

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College of Educational Studies

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  1. The Doubting Dance: Contributions to a History of Parent/Professional Interactions in Early 20th Century America Phil Ferguson College of Educational Studies Chapman University Orange, California pferguson@chapman.edu THIS MATERIAL AVAILABLE IN ALTERNATIVE FORMATS UPON REQUEST

  2. Center on Family, School and Community Family/School Linkages Family and Disability Studies Family/Community Supports Building Community Supporting Families Developing Professionals Chapmen University School of Education

  3. CATEGORIES OF NARRATIVES Family and Disability Studies • RECEIVED NARRATIVES • GENERATED NARRATIVES • FOUND NARRATIVES • (INFERRED NARRATIVES)

  4. SETTING THE CONTEXT: Overcoming Parental Resistance Professional Portrayals of Parents in Early 20th Century Parents Pleading for Services and Separation BUT ALSO Allows the Inference of Parental Resistance Narratives

  5. Overcoming Parental Resistance in Boston “There is no one so ill-fitted to train a backward child as the parent. . . . We cannot get away from the unpleasant reflections which follow the use of the word imbecile. It is very difficult for parents to realize that their child is feeble-minded.” Lincoln, 1902/1903, p. 90

  6. Overcoming Parental Resistance in New York City “The present method [of labeling children as backward and putting them in ungraded classes], however, has its advantages in that there is less opposition to the segregation of feebleminded children where all are classes as backward than there would be if these unfortunate children were placed in a room known to be maintained for the express purpose of caring for mentally defective children.” Farrell, 1914, p. 59

  7. The Institutional Context Fairview: Opened in 1908 as the Oregon State Institution for the Feeble-Minded From 1908 to closing in 2000, almost 10,000 people had lived all or part of their lives there. By 1930, Fairview had close to 1000 inmates and stabilized there for almost a decade Finding the narratives of doubt and pleading

  8. Three Themes from the Fairview Correspondence and Admission Forms Getting In Getting Out Getting Cut

  9. GETTING IN Would you please let me know how my little boys are? Is Frank well and contented? Or does he seem to miss me? Does Lee take any interest in his surroundings? Id so hope they are well and happy. Please tell me just what you think of them. It was very hard to send them away but . . . I am trying to be contented. I hope to hear from you soon.

  10. GETTING IN LESS THAN ONE MONTH LATER FRANK WAS DEAD. THE ENTIRE CONTENTS OF THE SUPT’S LETTER TO THE MOTHER READ AS FOLLOWS: “Frank died this morning a t 10:50. Please let us know what disposition you wish of the remains. I sent it to Lehman and Clough undertakers.”

  11. GETTING OUT A PARENT’S PLEA: “Now Dr., please stop and think one minute. Doesn’t a mother’s love go to (sic) deep for her children to be separated from them the way I have from Albert. Now please let us hear a kind answer as soon as you can for Dr if I had only made a visit to the institution first, I do not think I would have been willing to place him there. Please let us know right away what we can do.” A SUPERINTENDENT’S REPLY: “The boy needs institutional care, and it is far better that he remain here.”

  12. GETTING CUT A PARENT’S AMBIVALENCE. “Those papers [i.e., the “consent” form] came to me a few days ago and I sined [sic] them and sent them back. And will you please see that my daughter is took good care of in that awful operation. If she should die I don’t know if I could stand it for I would feel like it was my fault for giving my consent to have her operated on. A SUPERINTENDENT’S REPLY (over 1 month later): “Hazel is well over her operation and may go home anytime you can arrange to come for her.”

  13. References Farrell, E. E. (1914). A study of the school inquiry report on ungraded classes; continued. The Psychological Clinic, 8, 57-74. Ferguson, P. M. (2008). The doubting dance: Contributions to a history of parent/professional interactions in early 20th century America. Research an Practice for Persons with Severe Disabilities, 33, 48-58 (actually published in April 2009) Lincoln, D. F. (1902/1903). Special classes for feeble-minded children in the Boston public schools. Journal of Psycho-Asthenics, 7, 83-93.

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