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The Village school is different from other schools. It does many commonsense things that are not common in other schools, public and other. First of all it adjusts the school to each child instead of making each child adjust itself to an inflexible system. It recognizes the fact that every boy and girl has individual aptitudes, capacities, tastes, physical and mental possibilities and habits. It undertakes the teaching, training and molding of the children as it studies and learns what these are. In this study of each child the school has the help of the research laboratory, the physician and hospital, its family history, conduct and habit reports from cottage officers, and, best of all, the years of accumulated experience and wisdom of Mrs. Nash. Then, with all of these things as a foundation, it patiently and persistently, day after day, month after month, and year after year, teaches to that child just those things it is able to learn and can make use of when it is grown up. The result of this system is seen all over the Village and at the Colony. Under experienced supervision the boys and girls are doing or assisting to do all of the work of the Village. It can be seen too, in the public and other schools of our own and other countries, where Vineland Training School methods have been adopted.

All of the activities of the Village center around the school. It is in the school the children are taught and trained for future citizenship in the Village. It is here that, through habit and character training, nature studies, music, games and plays, elemental instruction in the "3 R's," physical education, domestic science, industrial arts and manual trades, and personal hygiene, they are led through paths of happiness to fields of usefulness.

Billy came to the School when he was seven and a half years old. He was born of unmarried parents. His mother, a drunkard, died in childbirth. He had never gone to school; could not read, write, or spell. The Psychological Laboratory found his mental age to be five and a half years and reported him trainable in academic and industrial work. He used bad language but otherwise his personal habits were clean. His cottage matron reported him obedient, selfish, imaginative, and liking attention. A year later her reports contained "takes part in entertainments frequently," "much improved," "no trouble in cottage," "helps dress two boys every morning."

His school reports, beginning a month after his admission, threw further light on Billy. The first: "Good handwork in kindergarten; uses initiative and judgement in play; has a good singing voice." Six months later: "Handwork improving; likes to show off; is making an express wagon in woodwork class; can write from copy." Three months later: "Reads 12 or 15 words; has sung several solos; reactions seem normal; good memory." Three months later: "Reads about 28 words and spells them; a leader in games; work about the same; cannot write; behavior good." Six months later: "Grasps ideas quickly; can print name poorly and copy printed words; learned brush-making quickly." Fifteen months later: "Reads five pages of primer and knows several number combinations; good work in physical education class." During the next three years: "Writing improved; poor conduct in physical education class; improved in basketry and brush class; is learning to set a table and iron in domestic science class; has made a birdhouse; much interested in nature study; can name twelve trees and recognize six insects; knows interesting facts about twelve birds; spelling and writing improved; learning to print; uses tools well."

Billy was now fourteen years old and had been at the School six and one half years. His mental age had marched with slower step; it had progressed from 5.5 to 8.8, an advance of 3.3, while his physical growth covered 6 years and 6 months.

Billy's mental horsepower had reached its limit. The load it must carry would be increased, inevitably, by his physical growth during the next six or seven years. His machine was not built for the outer lanes of travel for there it would impede traffic and be a source of danger to himself and others. Slow moving machines must keep near the curb or, too slow even for that, be taken off the highway.

There are no speedways at The Training School. Its roads are broad and smooth; most of them for one-way traffic; and there are many watchful and experienced traffic officers to regulate and control it. Speed on its roads is not a synonym for progress. So far as human experience and science could determine Billy's physical machine might be a ten-ton truck eventually, but both had agreed that his intellectual motor had reached its utmost development. It was already requiring help, which only The Training School could give, to keep it from going off the road and getting stalled in the sand.

Long ago the Village discovered that low gears can move heavy loads if there is a master mechanic to adjust the mechanism and direct the operation. The study of the mental, physical and spiritual qualities of these human machines is the work of and begins in the school of the Village. To what practical ends the results of that study have been applied is seen in the every day life of the Village and its colony, Menantico.