Feral Children
A feral child, also known as a wild child, is one who has “lived away from human contact from a very young age” (Keith, 2008). Some are raised by wild animals, others are left in the wild to survive on their own or isolated by humans, usually their own parents. Of the numerous cases of wild children that have been found, not one is exactly alike. Most cannot speak a language perceived by any other human, and have little to no social behavior. Many do not walk up right and do not progress very far, if any at all, in their education.
In one particular case, a strange boy was found in the forest of Hertsworld in Germany the summer of 1725. At about 12 years of age, he was walking on all fours and fed on grass. He could not speak, and when approached, he would run up trees. After a length in the House of Correction in Celle, he was taken to the court of George. Once there he was first treated as a guest, but when seated at the table, he repelled the king with his complete lack of manners. From then on he was given the name Peter but was most famously known as ‘Peter the Wild Boy”. After breaking free and returning to the forest in the spring of 1726, Peter was brought to London where …show more content…
Although people are still not sure how to teach them, we are learning more and more with each wild child we discover. Peter was repelled and treated as if he were a pet, where Genie was taken in by doctors and researchers and loved by them. She was taught, not just tossed aside and sent away as was done to Peter. Though she never learned how to properly speak, she was capable of sign language and learned to show clear emotions, while Peter never learned to speak. Genie was taken back under the care of her mother, and Peter was left to wander on his own. I believe that today we have a better understanding of what feral children need then we did in Peter’s case in the
A feral child, also known as a wild child, is one who has “lived away from human contact from a very young age” (Keith, 2008). Some are raised by wild animals, others are left in the wild to survive on their own or isolated by humans, usually their own parents. Of the numerous cases of wild children that have been found, not one is exactly alike. Most cannot speak a language perceived by any other human, and have little to no social behavior. Many do not walk up right and do not progress very far, if any at all, in their education.
In one particular case, a strange boy was found in the forest of Hertsworld in Germany the summer of 1725. At about 12 years of age, he was walking on all fours and fed on grass. He could not speak, and when approached, he would run up trees. After a length in the House of Correction in Celle, he was taken to the court of George. Once there he was first treated as a guest, but when seated at the table, he repelled the king with his complete lack of manners. From then on he was given the name Peter but was most famously known as ‘Peter the Wild Boy”. After breaking free and returning to the forest in the spring of 1726, Peter was brought to London where …show more content…
Although people are still not sure how to teach them, we are learning more and more with each wild child we discover. Peter was repelled and treated as if he were a pet, where Genie was taken in by doctors and researchers and loved by them. She was taught, not just tossed aside and sent away as was done to Peter. Though she never learned how to properly speak, she was capable of sign language and learned to show clear emotions, while Peter never learned to speak. Genie was taken back under the care of her mother, and Peter was left to wander on his own. I believe that today we have a better understanding of what feral children need then we did in Peter’s case in the