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The Education Of Deaf Mutes: Shall It Be By Signs Or Articulation?

Creator: Gardiner Greene Hubbard (author)
Date: 1867
Publisher: A. Williams & Co., Boston
Source: Available at selected libraries

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66  

"Mr. Day, a gentleman of Boston, told some gentlemen that he read in a paper that the Legislature of Kentucky had voted to remove the State House to another place. But as some difficulty occurred in deciding the place to which it should be removed, they settled the quarrel by raffling." (51 words.)

67  

No. 8. -- Written by Miss Clapp, in 9 minutes, 45 seconds.

68  

"A gentleman by the name of Mr. Day read aloud a newspaper to the audience at Boston, which said that the people of Kentucky had agreed to remove the State House to some place, but still they don't know where they should remove it. So they cast lots, and then they found the right place where the State House should be placed on." (63 words.)

69  

No. 9. -- Written by Miss Dewsnap, in 9 minutes, 45 seconds.

70  

"Mr. Day of Boston said that he read in a paper that a Committee in Kentucky had voted to build a new State House. The Committee cast lots to see whether it should remain where they built it, or remove it to some other place." (45 words.)

71  

THE HARTFORD TEST APPLIED AT THE SCHOOL OF MISS ROGERS IN CHELMSFORD.

72  

On the 1st of March, 1867, the same test was applied to the only pupil of Miss Rogers of suitable age to attempt it. This was Roscoe Green, of Providence, R. I., 18 years old, who lost his hearing at the age of seven years. He had been instructed before that time in the primary school, but since then had only attended school for about seven months before entering the school of Miss Rogers, where he had been under instruction since June 22d, 1866. His whole period of school instruction, therefore, since he lost his hearing, was less than a year and a half, or not a third part as long as the average of the High Class at Hartford. His age is about a year above their average.

73  

The mode of giving out the passage was as follows. Miss Rogers placed Roscoe Green about fifteen feet from her, and read him the passage, which he read on her lips and repeated. The only word spelled out to him by the manual alphabet was "Kentucky." After this reading was completed, (the time occupied being six minutes and thirty seconds,) he was told to write it down from memory. This he did in two minutes and thirty seconds; making the whole time occupied just nine minutes.

74  

The following is the passage as written by Roscoe Green: --

75  

"I noticed Mr. ___ was the other day in Boston, saying that the Legislature of Kentucky had decided to remove their Capital from its present position to a location to be decided upon hereafter, or in other words to put it on wheels; that is, the location is to be raffled for." (51 words.)

76  

In order to show how rapidly the single operation of writing down the words from the immediate dictation of the teacher could be performed, the following passage was given out. It may be found on the first page of "Every Saturday" for March 9th, and had never been seen by teacher or pupil.

77  

"Without knowing the language of a people we never really know their thoughts, their feelings, and their type of character; and unless we do possess this knowledge of some other people than ourselves, we remain, to the hour of our death."

78  

This was written down by Roscoe as follows: -- "Without knowing the language of a people, we never really know their thoughts, their feelings, and their type of character, and unless we do possess this knowledge of some other people than ourselves, we remain to the hour of our death." (44 words.)

79  

The time occupied in writing the above was a little less than five minutes from the time the reading began. Miss Rogers began to read a few seconds after four o'clock, and the writing was finished a few seconds before 4 5'. The number of words taken down being nearly as many as were actually interpreted at Hartford, and the time occupied being less than half as long, the rapidity of communication was twice as great in the case of Roscoe Green, while the accuracy of the transcript made from reading the lips of the teacher is almost as perfect as if the printed page had been placed before him.

80  

When we consider the results obtained by instruction in the sign language, we cannot be surprised at the dissatisfaction expressed by the deaf mutes of this vicinity with the present method of instruction, nor at the desire that some other system should at least be tried. In Boston and the adjacent cities there are from 150 to 175 deaf mutes, over 40 of whom are between the ages of 5 and 15. Of the adults 93 have signed petitions to the Legislature praying for the removal of the pupils from Hartford. Nor are we surprised at the strong expression of Dr. Kitto, a deaf mute himself: "Signs as a means of intercourse I always abominated."

81  

Great and good results-have been accomplished by the deaf-mute schools in tins country; thousands have been instructed, not only in various branches of education, but in many mechanical arts. So that, instead of being a burden to the State or their friends, they can support themselves and families, and amply repay the cost of their own education.

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