Library Collections: Document: Full Text

W. P. Morse, seven years and eight months old, was born. a deaf mute. Six months after entering the school he could read from the lips, spell aloud, explain the meaning of two hundred and eight words, and commenced his fourth writing-book. Wishing a cracker one day, he said, "Please give me some rough white cake!" In seven and a half months he could spell over four hundred words, form sentences from them, add small numbers, and write home.

H. Jordan, seven years and eight months old, was born a deaf mute. Five months after entering the school he could read from the lips, write and spell like children in common schools, explain the meaning of one hundred and seventy words and about one hundred and forty sentences formed from these words, winch he read from the book and lips. He could count up to one hundred, and write.

A. Keith, seven years and eight months old, lost his hearing at two years of age; before lie became deaf, he spoke but nine words. On entering school he spoke twelve words, three or four of which were family names. Six months after he knew two hundred and twenty words, of which thirty-five were verbs, and thirty-nine adjectives; could count to two hundred, and add small numbers, as 25 + 7, 94 + 10.

The others are farther advanced.

CONCLUSIONS

We have thus endeavored to show, --

1. That signs were introduced into this country by pure accident without any examination into the merits of other systems; Mr. Gallaudet having been refused admission to the articulating schools of England, where he first applied, and subsequently admitted to the French school, where the sign language was used.

2. That the management of the schools for deaf mutes at Hartford is controlled by a foreign and private corporation, over which neither this nor any other State has any visitorial oversight.

3. That one great object in educating the deaf mute is to teach him the English language, and that this object is never accomplished by the teachers of the sign language. This is shown in their own words. Mutes are "always foreigners among their own kindred, nay, more than foreigners, for our speech is for them absolutely unattainable."

4. That, while other systems of teaching deaf mutes had been long practised abroad, no examination was made of those methods until after the report of Mr. Horace Mann, in 1843.

5. That in consequence of this report gentlemen were immediately sent abroad from New York and Hartford to examine these systems, and, although reporting strongly against the articulating system, recommended its being taught in certain cases.

6. That articulation and reading on the lips were then taught for many years, without faith in their success, and under such surroundings that failure was inevitable. That all regular and persistent efforts for teaching articulation and reading from the lips are now abandoned.

7.That the sign language is not required for teaching the pupil to receive and communicate ideas in our mother tongue both accurately and quickly, is shown in the cases of Laura Bridgman and Oliver Caswell, with whom the manual alphabet succeeded when signs failed, as also in the case of Julia Brace.

8. That nearly half of the deaf mutes in this State have either once spoken, or have now some power of hearing, and are proper pupils of an articulating school.

9. That it is not advisable to send children under twelve years of age to so large a school as the Hartford Asylum, and that such little ones, still needing a home influence, can be better taught in family or day schools.

10. That while the number of deaf mutes in New England increased largely from 1860 to 1865, the average number of pupils at Hartford decreased, showing a need of reform either in the school, the public, or the friends of the deaf mute.

11. That a very large proportion of the adult deaf mutes in the vicinity of Boston have shown by their evidence and petitions their desire that this State would undertake the instruction of its own deaf mutes.

12. That the school at Hartford must soon require expensive additional buildings to accommodate the increasing number of deaf mutes; that these expenditures will reduce the productive income which must be divided among a greater number of pupils, so increasing the expense of the State.

13. That a school for teaching articulation is in successful operation in this State, under the care of Miss Rogers at Chelmsford, where a limited number of pupils can be taught, if the same appropriation is made for their education as for that of the pupils of the Hartford school.

14. That, if a school for deaf mutes be incorporated by this State, it is believed that private benefactions will be liberally made.