Library Collections: Document: Full Text


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

Page 1   All Pages


Page 1:

1  

THE attention of the writer was first called to the education of the deaf by the loss of hearing of his daughter, four years ago, and his efforts to preserve her articulation, which have been to a great degree successful; subsequently, by the discussion of the subject before a Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature, on the recommendation of Governor Bullock that the State should undertake the education of her own deaf mutes. This discussion has led to an inquiry into the management and method of teaching and the results accomplished at the American Asylum for the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb.

2  

G. G. H.

3  

EDUCATION OF DEAF MUTES.

4  

HOW SIGNS WERE INTRODUCED INTO THIS COUNTRY.

5  

THE education of deaf mutes in schools or asylums was commenced in Europe about the middle of the last century; but it was not until fifty years later that the attention of benevolent men in this country was directed to the subject. Dr. Coggswell, a prominent citizen of Hartford, Conn., had a deaf-mute daughter Alice, whose situation excited the sympathy of many friends, and led to inquiries as to the number of deaf mutes in the country. To the surprise of all, there were found to be about four hundred in New England, and about two thousand in the whole United States. It was at once determined to found an institution for the instruction of this hitherto neglected class, and the Rev. Mr. Gallaudet was sent abroad to ascertain what had been done, and what were the best modes of instruction.

6  

Mr. Gallaudet was a friend and neighbor of Dr. Coggswell, and much interested in Alice. He was graduated at Yale College in 1805, and was subsequently tutor; he studied law in Hartford, served as a clerk in a store in New York, and finally prepared for the ministry at Andover, and was at this time just ready to enter upon his profession. In the words of his friend and eulogist, Dr. Peet, of the New York Asylum, "he was a singularly good and useful, rather than great man, somewhat deficient in boldness and originality," -- to which all who have seen his portrait on the walls of the American Asylum will assent.

7  

Mr. Gallaudet sailed for England in May, 1815, and the day after his arrival in London applied for admission to the Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, of which Dr. Watson was the Principal, and which was then, as now, the largest in the world. After some delay, his application was granted by the Directors, on condition that he would engage as an assistant for three years, on the usual terms. This condition he refused to comply with, and went to Edinburgh, where he made a similar application to Mr. Kinniburgh, the Principal of the Asylum in that city. Mr. Kinniburgh was a pupil of Thomas Braidwood of Edinburgh, and had given bonds to him that he would not communicate his art to any teacher for seven years, four of which only had expired. He was, however, willing to instruct Mr. Gallaudet, if permission could be obtained from the widow of Mr. Braidwood. Application was made to her, but she refused to waive the penalty of the bond, and Mr. Kinniburgh was reluctantly obliged to decline Mr. Gallaudet's request. Mr. Braidwood was the uncle of Dr. Watson, and founder of the English schools. His mode of teaching was by "the art of articulation," and the schools then in operation in Great Britain were taught either by his family and relatives or by teachers instructed by them. Children of the poor were supported by charity, while for the education of the wealthy large sums were paid, and to secure these wealthy pupils the art was kept a secret.

8  

Mr. Gallaudet was thus thwarted in his plans, and the system of articulation lost to this country for a generation. While waiting in London for an answer from Dr. Watson, Mr. Gallaudet called on the Abbé Sicard of Paris, who was at that time lecturing upon his system of teaching deaf mutes by signs. Mr. Gallaudet informed the Abbé of his mission, was cordially received, and promised every facility in learning the French system, if he would visit Paris, and place himself under the instruction of the Abbé.

9  

Mr. Gallaudet spent a few months in Edinburgh, studying French, and reading Sicard's treatise on the instruction of deaf mutes, and in the spring of 1816 went to Paris, where he was at once admitted into the school, without any conditions. Here he remained about two months, when M. Clerc, one of the Abbé Sicard's assistants, offered to accompany him to America. His proposition was gladly accepted, and in the month of August, 1816, they arrived at Hartford, bringing with them the French system of signs, with its peculiar idioms of construction, instead of the English method of articulation. M. Clerc continued an assistant at the Asylum for many years, and is still connected with the school where for more than half a century he has faithfully labored.

10  

THE AMERICAN ASYLUM.

11  

During the absence of Mr. Gallaudet, an act of incorporation was granted to the Connecticut Asylum, and subscriptions were asked to this new charity, "its views having nothing of a local kind, its constitution inviting to the direction of its concerns individuals of any of the States." $26,000 were raised, only one fourth of which was contributed by citizens of the State of Connecticut. In the year 1819 a grant of land was made to the Asylum by Congress; and the same year the name of the institution was changed to the American Asylum. In the act changing the name, it was recited, "that the institution was originally founded for the relief of the deaf and dumb, wherever situated." $287,000 was realized from the sale of these lands, and constitutes the greater portion of their present capital, which is $ 290,000, of which $82,000 is invested in real estate and buildings, the remainder in dividend-paying stocks.


Page 2:

12  

The Directors "were bound by the terms of the grant from the general government to appropriate its annual income to the benefit of the deaf and dumb of the United States"; (1) and, in order to carry out its provisions, agreed to expend the funds equally among pupils from all States that should send them, and "to extend similar advantages and equal privileges to all its pupils, in whatever State or country they may have been born." (2)


(1) Twentieth Report of the American Asylum, for 1836, p. 22.

(2) Thirty-Eighth Report, for 1854, p. 21.

13  

In pursuance of the terms of the original subscription, and of the obligation incurred by accepting the grant from Congress, the Asylum has received pupils from most of the United States, and has spent the income of the fund towards defraying the current expenses; the deficiency being divided equally among all the pupils, and paid by their friends or the State by which they were sent. Massachusetts was the first to avail herself of these rights. In the year 1819 she sent twenty pupils, and from that time has made annual appropriations for the same object. For the year 1866, $18,000 were appropriated for the education, clothing, and travelling expenses of pupils sent to the Asylum, the average number being nearly one hundred.

14  

The charge for the first year or two, while the number of pupils was small, was $200 a year. This was soon reduced to $150, then to $115, and in 1826 to $100, at which sum it remained for nearly forty years, until 1863, when it was increased to $125, and in 1865 to $175. The principal of the fund was first encroached upon some years since by the erection of a wing, and subsequently by the increased cost of living.

15  

By the original design, the Board of Directors was to be composed of individuals from different States, who should show their interest by contributing to the funds of the asylum. The by-laws provided that the contribution of five dollars should make a member for one year, fifty dollars a member for life, one hundred dollars a director for life; and that the life directors, with ten others chosen by the society, should manage its concerns. Originally one fourth of the directors were from Massachusetts; but for the last twenty years they have all lived in Hartford. If the original proportion of directors from Massachusetts had been continued, more radical changes in its method of instruction would probably have been made.

16  

The State of Massachusetts is represented in all other asylums and institutions which it supports or aids, and has also a visitorial power over all charitable or educational institutions in the State; but neither Massachusetts nor Connecticut has any representative in the Board of the American Asylum, nor any visitorial power over it.

17  

Pupils were originally admitted to the Asylum at the age of fourteen; this was changed to twelve, and in 1843 they were allowed to enter when only eight years old. But parents are not advised to send children under ten or twelve years of age. (3) In March, 1867, twelve was the average age of pupils of the Junior Glass.


(3) Fiftieth Report of the American Asylum, for 1866, p. 15.

18  

Five years has been the usual limit of the course of instruction, although always deemed too short a term.

19  

In the European institutions children are admitted when they are from four to ten years of age, the average age of admission in all the institutions being seven years.

20  

At Hartford, besides instruction in the ordinary branches of a common-school education, the boys are taught shoemaking, cabinet-making, and tailoring, and the girls sewing.

21  

All other schools for deaf mutes in this country have been conducted on the same system as that pursued at Hartford, and most asylums in other States are taught by teachers who have been trained at Hartford, and who, with great fidelity, have carried on a uniform system of instruction. In 1860 there were in operation twenty-two institutions for the education of deaf mutes in the United States, and two more were about to be started, averaging one for each centre of a population equal to that of Massachusetts.

22  

SIGN LANGUAGE.

23  

There are various systems used in teaching deaf mutes, and the advocates of each claim for their own peculiar advantages. Each aims to teach the English language, and to give to the deaf mute a means of communication with those around him. The system used in our asylums is the French, and is a language of signs or pantomime, and is called by its teachers the natural language of the deaf mute. The manual alphabet, or the spelling of words upon the fingers, is used to some extent, but pantomime is the chief medium of communication. Another system discards all pantomime, and uses simply the manual alphabet, with or without reading from the lips. While a third, sometimes called the German system, uses only articulation, and reading from the lips, or the spoken word addressed to the eye instead of the ear.

24  

The mental capacities of deaf mutes are naturally equal to those of other children; but it is the universal testimony of teachers that they have no innate ideas or sense of moral accountability; and that few enter school with any knowledge, save what they have obtained by observation.


Page 3:

25  

To the Twenty-Second Report of the American Asylum are annexed several questions addressed to a number of pupils whose average age on joining the school was about fourteen. "Before you were instructed in the Asylum had you any idea of the Creator? "The answers, substantially alike, are given by thirteen pupils. "No, I did not know that a Creator existed. I had no idea of God at all before I entered the Asylum." "Had you reasoned or thought about the world, or the beings and things it contains?" "I never attempted to suppose who had made the world, nor how it had ever come into existence." "Had you any idea of your own soul? ""I never conceived such a thing as a soul, nor was I ever conscious that my mind had faculties and operations different and distinct from those of my body." Their answers show how little their friends at home had been able to teach them.

26  

These pupils therefore enter the Asylum with less cultivation of mind than children ordinarily possess on entering infant or primary schools. "They are not only utterly ignorant of words, but destitute of most of the ideas represented by words." (4) "Their mental faculties are but little developed, and they have no medium of communication but a few simple signs," (5) and those "are crude, imperfect, and semi-barbarous." (6) "Their eyes are indeed open, but they have hardly been employed as avenues to the mind. Thought is as yet unawakened, except upon the most trivial subjects, and even the language of signs is unknown, save in its rudest form." (7)


(4) Forty-Seventh Report New York Institution, for 1866, p. 48.

(5) Forty-Sixth Report American Asylum, for 1862, p. 13.

(6) Twenty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1845, p. 55.

(7) Forty-Fifth Report New York Institution, for 1864, p. 61.

27  

"The chief object of the instruction in these schools is to teach these pupils the English language," (8) to elevate their minds and hearts, and enable them to communicate with the world at large. To accomplish this end "the natural language of signs "is used in our American Asylums. What is this natural sign language? There is an innate propensity in man to attach signs to thoughts, so as to communicate them to others, that is, to make use of language. Among men thoughts are ordinarily expressed by audible signs or spoken words; when the senses of speech and hearing are wanting, the mental and moral powers are limited to the perceptive faculties and the affections; wants and feelings are expressed by visible language or signs, and these signs do not relate to immaterial objects, but are intelligible to animals, idiots, infants, and uninstructed deaf mutes. Upon these few natural signs the institutions build up a language of conventional signs, and "strive to elevate to as high a degree of excellence as possible this language, so as to make it a complete medium of communication between the instructor and the pupil on all subjects." (9) And as it "is almost entirely destitute of pronouns, conjugations, adverbs, and the moods and tenses of verbs, these must be taught, and the difficulty can be more easily conceived than described." (10)


(8) Thirty-Sixth Report American Asylum, for 1852, p. 1.

(9) Twentieth Report American Asylum, for 1836, p. 18.

(10) Sixth Report American Asylum, for 1822, p. 3.

28  

The Abbé Sicard attempted to give to this language a development equal to that of speech, having a distinct sign for every spoken word, with necessary signs to denote grammatical characters. This plan would seem to have some advantages over the signs now in use; but his system has been gradually changed, and the "sign language perfected by forty years of familiar use has been adapted to the expression of abstract thoughts and nice shades of ideas, as well as the simpler and more patent conceptions." (11) Attempts have been made to describe these natural signs in books; the best work of this kind was published by Sicard in 1808, but it was of no practical use, "for it is a herculean and often vain labor even to describe the principal of the unintelligible signs of this pantomimic dialect." (12)


(11) Forty-Second Report New York Institution, for 1861, p. 28.

(12) Twenty-Sixth Report New York Institution, for 1845.

29  

"Any intelligent person would find himself beset with not a few difficulties were he to attempt to learn from written descriptions only all the motions of a fencing-master or a teacher of gymnastics. But all these are but a drop in the ocean when compared with the countless number and ceaseless variations of the movements of the body, hands, head, eyes, countenance, &c., &c., which are required in the peculiar language of the deaf and dumb. But the skilful use of signs is far from all that is required. A teacher must not only know the language of signs, but the various exercises, the contrivances which are resorted to, and the ingenious modes of illustration which have been devised to aid the pupils in the more difficult part of their progress." (13) "It may seem almost incredible that there are many professional teachers, who have spent the best part of their lives among the deaf and dumb, who are incompetent to carry on a discursive conversation in sign language." (14) We can easily understand why the instructors, most of whom are graduates of colleges, should need "five or six years of application to acquire and practise this art." (15)


(13) Twelfth Report American Asylum, for 1828.

(14) Hawkins on the Constitution of the Deaf and Dumb, p. 78.

(15) Forty-Third Report American Asylum, for 1859, p. 21.


Page 4:

30  

The idiom of the sign language is different from our own, or even the French, which it more nearly resembles; it is inverted, the subject is placed before the quality, the object before the action, and generally the thing modified before the modifier. This is the language used as a means of teaching the English language; the process of instruction is the old method employed in "teaching any child a foreign language by means of his previous acquaintance with his mother tongue." (16) Whether the end proposed is accomplished, a reference to the reports of the American Asylum and the New York Institution will show. "Pupils think in natural signs, and they converse among themselves by this means almost exclusively when left to their own choice." (17) "Both students at college and deaf mutes spend six or seven years in the study of languages which are not their vernacular tongue. The deaf mute acquires a better knowledge of the English than graduates of Latin and Greek." (18) "They are always foreigners among their own kindred and neighbors, nay, more than foreigners, for our speech is for them absolutely unattainable." (19) "They can only study written language as we do the foreign or dead languages, receiving instruction through their own vernacular of signs." (20) "There are few mutes deaf from birth, however well educated, who do not understand signs more easily and readily than writing, and find it more easy to communicate by signs than writing." (21) And in a letter recently received from Dr. Peet, the oldest as well as one of the ablest instructors of deaf mutes in this country, he says "congenital deaf mutes have no distinct mental ideas of spoken words, and do not use them in their private meditations as the direct object and machinery of thought." Says Professor Day: "I have met with two, and only two, deaf mutes who appeared to think as much as men ordinarily do in words. I have seen others in respect to whom it might possibly be true that they think nearly as much in words as in signs. The great mass, however, of even the most promising pupils think mainly, I am satisfied, in pantomimic signs, with at most only the incorporation of familiar words and phrases. The slowness with which they do it, and the fact that, when repeating a para graph from memory, they make a sign for every word, seems to forbid any other conclusion." (22)


(16) Fourteenth Report American Asylum, for 1830, p. 17.

(17) Twenty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1845, p. 59.

(18) Forty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1865, p. 18.

(19) Forty-Third Report New York Institution, for 1862, p. 24.

(20) Forty-Fourth Report New York Institution, for 1863, p. 26.

(21) Legal Rights, &c. of Deaf Mutes, by Dr. Peet, p. 28.

(22) First Report of Professor Day to the New York Institution, p. 194.

31  

In order to obtain a more distinct idea of the value of these signs, and of the idioms of this language, we requested our friend Amos Smith, one of the most intelligent graduates of the Hartford Asylum, to give a literal translation of the signs used in the Lord's Prayer, which he did as follows: --

32  

"Father your and mine Heaven; name thy hallowed; kingdom thy come, men and women all; will thy done, Angels obey people all like; day this, day every give bread, drink, clothes, things all; temptation we fall not; but devil bondage deliver; for kingdom thy, power thy, glory thy forever. Amen."

33  

Mr. Smith has also kindly furnished us with Messrs. Smith and Chamberlain's translation of Deacon Packard's recitation: -

34  

"Our Father Heaven, God, name thy hallowed, kingdom light come, angels obey law like done, now day bread, clothes food continually, forgive us trespasses as we forgive. Lead us temptation not, but deliver devil, for thy kingdom, thy power, thy glory, forever. Amen."

35  

Professor Bartlett of the American Asylum gives us the following translation: --

36  

"God, Father our -in- (23) Heaven, name thine hallowed -be-, kingdom thine come, will thine -be- obeyed -by- people -on- earth as -by- angels -in- Heaven. Day this, food and things needful give thou. We, commands thy transgress, forgive thou, others us offending we forgive in like manner. Us -into- temptation -to- fall permit thou not; but bondage, Satan deliver thou: for kingdom thine, power thine, glory thine, now and evermore. Amen."


(23) The signs for the words enclosed in brackets, Professor Bartlett says, are not made, being necessarily supplied by the idiom.

37  

To show the ability of the deaf mute to translate their vernacular into English, we copy a short passage given in the sign language to the highest class in the American Asylum, on the visit of a Committee of the Massachusetts Legislature,. on the education of deaf mutes, made February 13th, 1867, with their translation.

38  

At the time of the visit made by the Committee the High, Class consisted of nine pupils, of whom four were from Massachusetts. Only three of the nine were born deaf, and of the six who once had the sense of hearing two became deaf at the age of twelve years or upwards, one at the age of nine, and one at the age of four years. Their average age was seventeen years; the average length of time they had been in the Asylum was five years, four months, and twenty days.


Page 5:

39  

They were under the instruction of Mr. Bull, who had been a teacher in the Asylum for many years.

40  

The names, ages, etc. of the members of the class were as follows: --

41  

1. John O'Harra, of Milford, Mass., fifteen years old, entered the Asylum at the age of eight and a half years; lost his hearing at the age of one year.

42  

2. Daniel W. Cary, of Gardiner, Me., seventeen years old, entered the Asylum at the age of ten and a half years; was born deaf.

43  

3. Ira H. Derby, South "Weymouth, Mass., seventeen years of age, entered at the age of eleven and a half years; was born deaf.

44  

4. Patrick Sullivan, North Providence, R. I., twenty years of age, entered at the age of thirteen and a half years; lost his hearing at the age of four years.

45  

5. Eugene W. Wood, of Webster, Mass, nineteen years of age, entered at the age of thirteen; lost his hearing at the age of nine years.

46  

6. Willie L. Hill, of Athol, Mass., sixteen years of age, entered at the age of fourteen and a half years; lost his hearing at the age of twelve. (Articulates perfectly.)

47  

7. Miss Mary A. McKay, of River Point, R. I., seventeen years of age, entered at the age of eleven years; lost her hearing at the age of two years. (Articulates perfectly.)

48  

8. Miss Elmina D. Clapp, Newburg,N. Y., sixteen years of age, entered the Asylum at the age of ten years; was born with imperfect hearing, but now reads the lips somewhat.

49  

9. Miss Clara Dewsnap, Lakeville, Conn., sixteen years of age, entered the Asylum at twelve, at which age she lost her hearing.

50  

To this class, thus constituted, the following exercise was given by Hon. Mr. Fay, the Chairman of the Committee: --

51  

"Mr. Day said, a few days ago, in Boston: 'I noticed lately that the Kentucky Legislature voted to remove their capital (from Frankfort) to some. place "hereafter to be designated"; in other words, that it shall be put on wheels, until, in their mode of doing things, the location shall be raffled for.'"

52  

This sentence was interpreted to the pupils by Mr. Bull, their teacher; everything, the proper names excepted, (which were spelled out by the alphabet,) being communicated by the sign language. The words "from Frankfort" were omitted by Mr. Bull. The actual number of words given out was therefore 51. The interpretation by signs began at 4 o'clock 3 minutes and 15 seconds, P. M. The first exercise, that of Miss McKay, was finished at 4 12' 30", or in 9 minutes and 15 seconds. the last exercise, that of O'Harra, was finished at 4 15', or in 11 minutes and 45 seconds. The average time was about 10 minutes and 15 seconds. the following are the exercises, as copied from the board by Mr. Redpath: --

53  

No. 1. -- Written by John O'Harra, in 11 minutes and 45 seconds.

54  

"A few days ago, Mr. Day told some gentlemen in Boston that he read in the newspaper that the Legislature of Kentucky agreed to remove their State House. So they put it on a cart, and went carrying it to some place where they would establish it. But they changed on playing dice. Finally, the other gained the victory, so they might establish the State House in the place which they found." (72 words.)

55  

No. 2. -- Written by Daniel W. Gary, in 11 minutes and 15 seconds.

56  

"A few days ago, Mr. Day told some of his friends that he had read in a newspaper that the Legislature of Kentucky moved their State House on the place where they wanted to place it. They raffled with the dice that they might establish it as they decided." (48 words.)

57  

No. 3 -- Written by Ira H. Derby, in 10 minutes and 45 seconds.

58  

"A gentleman by the name of Day lived in Boston. He read a newspaper about the Governor of Kentucky, and Mr. Day talked to some gentlemen of the Governor of Kentucky. Some gentlemen of Kentucky were talking about the State House, and their State House was carried to some other place by a wagon." (54 words.)

59  

No. 4. -- Written by Patrick Sullivan, in 10 minutes and 15 seconds.

60  

"Some weeks ago, in Boston, Mr. Day told the Legislature about the new Governor of Kentucky. The Governor had been selected for a State House of the State of Kentucky. The State House was put in a wagon and was removed to that place. The man raffled something, and the State House was established in that place." (57 words.)

61  

No. 5.-Written by Eugene W. Wood, in about 10 minutes.

62  

"A few days ago, while Mr. Day was in Boston, he read a newspaper and told gentlemen that the Legislature of Kentucky voted to remove the State House to another place. They could not tell where it was better to remove it. So they raffled and then placed it where they were informed." (54 words.)

63  

No. 6.-Written by W. L. Hill, in 9 minutes, 45 seconds.

64  

"Some days ago a gentleman by the name of Day told some of his friends that he had read in a paper that the State House of Kentucky was to be removed from its present site. But not agreeing with each other where it should be transferred, it was decided to shake for the situation." (55 words.)

65  

No. 7. -Written by Miss McKay, in 9 minutes, 15 seconds.


Page 6:

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.


Page 7:

82  

The question naturally arises, Cannot deaf mutes as well as other children be taught the English language, without first learning tins difficult pantomimic dialect? the advocates of this system reply, that children learn language unconsciously, and by distinct and separate sounds in different words; while to the deaf language does not come in words, but must be addressed to the eye by signs. Hence the great difficulty of teaching a language of words to the deaf mute. To this we agree; the first steps must unquestionably be by signs, but just as we would teach any child. When the mother reaches, out her arms to her baby, and with a smile says, "Come to mamma," the little one springs forward with outstretched arms. It does not understand the words, but comprehends and answers to the sign. But there is a great difference between the child's language of signs, by which it expresses a child's wants and desires, and that complicated pantomimic dialect, built up by forty years of thought, skill and labor, intended to be perfect, full, and comprehensive, but which in reality makes the deaf mute a foreigner to his own friends, and to his own literature.

83  

We believe that signs are needed only in the beginning of instruction; they should be early translated into words, and as soon as possible laid entirely aside. Words should be made their own exponents, and they will gradually become the language in which the deaf mute will think, speak, and read.

84  

We do not now refer to the subject of articulation, -- whether the child shall be taught to utter the sound with the lips, or spell it upon the fingers. The point which we urge is simply this, that ideas and thoughts shall be expressed in words common to all, and not in pantomimic signs, the language of the Asylum. That words possess a power which signs can never have, that they convey ideas to a mind which cannot be taught by signs, is shown in the instruction of several blind deaf mutes.

85  

Julia Brace was born at Hartford in the year 1807. At the age of four years and five months she had an attack of typhus fever, and lost the senses of both sight and hearing, though her smell and touch were unimpaired. Previous to this she had been perfectly healthy, with the full use of all her senses and faculties, and was a promising child. She had been to school, could read and spell words of two syllables, and say her prayers. She retained her speech about a year, and could pronounce a few words for about three years. She entered the American Asylum in 1828, at the age of eighteen. (24) "It was an object of much interest on her admission to try the effect of some experiments in teaching her language, and the Professors indulged the hope, that ultimately they might devise some plan to communicate even some abstract ideas, and especially moral and religious truth." A few natural signs she learned rapidly; but as the language of pantomime is addressed to the eye, little further progress could be made. After she had been an inmate of the Asylum twelve years, her name being entered in the catalogues as a pupil, Mr. Weld the principal says: (25) "We cannot speak to her of mind, or of spiritual existence in any form, and if we should attempt it successfully she might not have the ability to make us aware of our success." "The hope was entertained that her curiosity would be excited, and that a way might be discovered to convey to her mind the great idea of the Almighty Creator. The attempt was not successful, and, though several times repeated, has not as yet resulted in exciting her mind, fixing her attention, or giving us any encouraging indications."


(24) The average age of the pupils on admission was then from 16 to 18. See Twentieth Report American Asylum, for 1836, p. 25.

(25) Twenty-First Report American Asylum, for 1837, pp. 15, 29.

86  

Laura Bridgman was born at Hanover, N. H., in 1829. When she was two years old she lost the senses of sight and hearing entirely, and of smell partially. Dr. Howe first heard of her through a report of the American Asylum, when she was nearly eight years of age, and shortly after she entered the Asylum for the Blind at South Boston. Using the few signs she knew, she was taught their synonymes in words spelt out upon the fingers. These words were formed into sentences, and gradually her language grew, until at the end of the first year she had attained such dexterity in the use of the manual alphabet, that only those accustomed to it could follow with the eye the rapid motions of her fingers. At the end of the second year she had about the same amount of language as children generally possess at three years of age. She spelled her thoughts upon her fingers when she supposed herself alone, and in her dreams. The lady who instructed her for several years says: "After three years' instruction she could understand perfectly any story which would be intelligible to a child of her age. I could read a page from a book with my fingers as rapidly as I should read aloud to a company of thirty persons in a good-sized room. No fingers have ever yet been able to move too rapidly for her. She reads all the books in raised letters in the library for the blind without difficulty. When she meets with a new word she asks some one the meaning, as I should if I had no Dictionary at hand." Laura reads and understands the Bible, and was admitted to the Baptist Church several years ago, after a satisfactory examination of, the grounds of her faith.


Page 8:

87  

On the eighth day of March, 1847, the following sentence, taken at random from Mr. Bowles's book, was read to Laura Bridgman: "The hills are rich with pine forests, and these grow thicker and the trees larger and of greater variety, as also the valleys wider and seem more fertile, as the road progresses into Oregon." 34 words. Time occupied 50 seconds. Laura then took her writing tablet and wrote it down from memory, as follows, in eight minutes and forty-five seconds: "the hills are rich with pine forts, and those grow thick, the trees are enlarged and of greater variety, and also the valleys widen, and seem more fertile and the road progresses into the Oregon."

88  

The word "forts" for "forests" is evidently a slip of the pencil. The general correctness is remarkable, and the time occupied was about the same as that of the slowest pupil in the exercise at Hartford. At the same time another sentence of thirty words was read to her in 35 seconds, which she repeated in 30 seconds.

89  

Oliver Caswell was born November 1, 1829. He lost his senses of sight and hearing when he was three years and five months old. He continued to speak for a short time, but at the end of six months lost all power of articulation. He entered the Blind Asylum September 30, 1841; he then used a few signs, but these were soon laid aside, and by the end of a year he had learned about a hundred nouns and some adjectives. His temperament was lymphatic, while Laura's was nervous; but he was a patient, persevering worker. He can now converse on all common topics, and in the language of familiar conversation he rarely requires the explanation of a single word, but does not hesitate to ask when a word is used which is new to him. He writes a good letter, though he is called in the Forty-Third Report of the New York Institute for Deaf Mutes (p. 32) "the dull Oliver Caswell." Both of these children were taught words by the manual alphabet.

90  

In 1842, when Julia Brace was nearly thirty-five years old, she was taken to South Boston. "There was, however, about her inexpressive face and her attitude and demeanor an entire passivity, denoting habitual inattention to external objects. She was pleased to learn new words, but could not remember the words any length of time, the natural result of the long inactivity of her brain, and of her having passed the age when the perceptive faculties are vividly and almost spontaneously at work." (26) It was, however, perfectly obvious to her teachers that there was no natural incapacity for the use of language, and they fully believed that, had she been taught at an early age by the same method as Laura Bridgman, the same results would have followed.


(26) Tenth Report Perkins Blind Asylum, for 1842, p. 60.

91  

ARTICULATION.

92  

Hitherto we have aimed to show that, if the deaf mute is to be taught the English language, this can be better accomplished by the manual alphabet, and without the use of the pantomimic language of signs. Our next topic, Articulation, or teaching the deaf mute to speak and read on the lips, is separate and distinct.

93  

When Mr. Gallaudet visited France articulation was taught in all the English and in many of the European schools, and although, before leaving home, lie had commenced to teach Alice Coggswell to articulate, and apparently with good success, he returned with all the prejudices against this system which Sicard had inherited from the Abbé de 1'Épée, and which seem to have originated with the latter in a personal dispute between himself and Heinicke, the German teacher of articulation.

94  

It was therefore stated at the very founding of the American Asylum, that articulation would form no part of the course of instruction, and that the teachers would "not waste their labor and that of their pupils upon this comparatively useless branch of their education"; (27) and again, twelve years later, that "All efforts to accomplish articulation are now considered useless, and are wholly abandoned." (28)


(27) Third Report American Asylum, for 1819, p. 7.

(28) Twelfth Report American Asylum.

95  

"Until 1844 no teacher of deaf mutes, excepting Mr. Gallaudet, had visited any part of Europe for the purpose of inquiring on the spot into the value and results of the method there pursued, and Mr. Gallaudet derived his knowledge of the German system from books only." (29) For a generation our institutions had been pursuing one system, without any accurate knowledge of other methods, until Mr. Mann, then Secretary of the Board of Education for the State of Massachusetts, visited the German institutions, and upon his return made a report of the system of educating the deaf mutes in Germany.


(29) Twenty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1845, p. 26.

96  

Mr. Mann's report caused so great "a clamor," that the American Asylum at once sent their Principal, Mr. Weld, and the New York Institution sent Professor Day, now of Yale College, formerly a teacher at the New York Institution, to examine into the German system, and visit the European schools. The spirit in which they made their examination is forcibly stated in a discourse delivered by Professor Wagner, Principal of the school at Gmünd, at a convention of teachers of deaf mutes. After commenting upon the report of Professor Day, he says: "He, Mr. Day, came among us deeply imbued with Chinese prejudices; with his watch in one hand and his purse in the other, he visited our schools, and observed narrowly and with distrust our mode of instruction and its results. What report of it has he made at home? He has ridiculed our work. He says: 'Your way is good for nothing, -- it costs too much money and time. Indeed, I have found it so miserable that a real feeling of delicacy forbids me from fully exposing it. Chinese!' he adds, 'let everything be as it has been. I would, however, advise you to begin the method of articulation with some classes of deaf mutes.' If," continues the Professor, "they should follow his counsel, they would lay the foundation of an entire change, which would soon be accomplished." (30)


(30) Thirty-Third Report American Asylum, for 1849, p. 43.


Page 9:

97  

Mr. Day says: "The difference between the best German schools and our own is very striking, so striking, indeed, that I feel unwilling to state in full my convictions on the subject." (31) "It is not to be denied that the German method of instruction is attended with certain advantages. It aids a small number, who once were able to speak like others, to retain the spoken language they still possess, and to recover that which they have lost. It affords assistance to the smaller number, who still retain a considerable degree of hearing." (32) -3-


(31) Mr. Day's Report, 1845, p. 190.

(32) Ibid., p. 207.

98  

Mr. Weld closes a long and able report of his mission by a comparison between the German and French or American systems, and says: "On the whole the merits of the German method have been far less striking and beneficial. I can then recommend no fundamental change. Yet," he says, "there are some classes who might be benefited by receiving instruction in articulation; these are the semi-mutes and semi-deaf pupils." And at the next meeting of the Directors, in May, 1845, it was voted, "That, in view of the facts and results obtained with regard to teaching deaf mutes to articulate, they would give it a full and prolonged trial, and do in this branch of instruction everything that was practically and permanently useful." (33) -1-


(33) Twenty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1845, p. 120.

99  

Professor Morel, of the Royal Institution of Paris, examined some of the German institutions in company with Mr. Weld, and gives the result of his observations in a note to Mr. Weld. In conclusion he says: "Instruction in articulation ought to be introduced into the schools for deaf mutes. I believe that the essays which have been made hitherto in France and other countries have been made with neither zeal nor perseverance, nor on conditions favorable enough to bring forth satisfactory results. Would it not be easier to introduce instruction in articulation into a new school, than. into an old school where the language of signs has acquired a great development? It is certain that in our schools the mimic language intervenes too constantly in the relations of the masters with the pupils, and of the latter among themselves." (34)


(34) Twenty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1845, p. 127.

100  

How this "full and prolonged trial" of the German plan, "under a systematic and thorough course," was conducted, and what were its results, we learn from subsequent reports. There were at this time thirty pupils in the institution who retained some little speech or hearing. Upon those two classes of persons "daily instruction" was bestowed in articulation; "but they were taught by signs, as it was easier for them to learn the signs used in the school, and acquire knowledge through them, than to depend upon speech." (35) A few years later we read, "Each hearing teacher gives twenty minutes daily in school hours to the proper subjects of his own class, and a part of those taught by deaf mutes," (36) making perhaps five minutes a day to each pupil for instruction in learning to pronounce and read from the lips a foreign language. The results they report "were encouraging, and to a limited extent successful; the speech of several of the pupils was improved in scope and distinctness, and also their ability to read from the lips." Are not these results much greater than could have been expected from the amount of time and labor bestowed, and the manner of instruction given?


(35) Thirtieth Report American Asylum, for 1846, p. 19.

(36) Thirty-Ninth Report American Asylum, for 1855, p. 11.

101  

But there were objections to this system for "while the teacher is occupied with the speaking portion of his pupils, he can give little or no attention to the remainder; consequently the time spent in this way must, to this latter portion, be in a great measure lost." The Directors, therefore, employed a young lady "to devote her time to this department of instruction out of school hours, and at such other times as would least interfere with the regular exercises of the school-room"; but these articulating pupils continued "to be classed and taught with the deaf mutes in the usual method." (37) We are prepared to hear that this experiment was not successful, and that about 1863 the teacher of articulation was dispensed with, and all regular efforts to teach articulation and reading from the lips were abandoned.


(37) Forty-Third Report American Asylum, for 1859, p. 11.

102  

The experiment failed, (but not the system,) and will always fail if attempted in a school where the sign language is the vernacular. A fair trial can only be made where articulation and reading from the lips form the only medium of communication taught, and the only one allowed. The two cannot be carried on together. The language of signs is without doubt more attractive to the deaf mute, and will be the language of his life, if he is encouraged in its use. If the trial is to be made, if the experiment is to be fairly and honestly tested, it must be in schools established for that purpose, and under teachers earnestly and heartily engaged in the work, and at least hopeful of success. Hartford has no faith in the system. It has tried it and has failed. The Professors are satisfied with results secured by the present system and strongly and conscientiously opposed to any change. Had the experiment a chance of success under such circumstances?


Page 10:

103  

According to the statistics furnished by the American Asylum in 1857, out of 1,076 pupils received in that institution 542 were born deaf, 483 lost their hearing by sickness, and 51 from unknown causes; 236 lost their hearing under two years of age, 107 between two and three, and 140 over three years of age.

104  

According to statistics furnished by the New York Institution in 1865, out of 559 pupils in that institution from 1854 to 1864, 207 were born deaf, 217 lost their hearing by sickness, and 135 from unknown causes; 75 lost their hearing under two years of age, 74 between two and five, 40 at five and upwards, that is, 114, or three tenths of the whole number of pupils, must have spoken and preserved for a time some memory of language. This does not include those who have still some hearing, which would probably increase the number of this class to nearly one half. Yet Dr. Stone informs us that only about one twentieth of the pupils in the American Asylum can profitably be instructed in articulation. The smallness of this number can be accounted for by the wide-spread opinion that language cannot be preserved to a deaf child, and the consequent want of effort on the part of the parent to teach the child until it is old enough to be sent to Hartford. Meanwhile language is to a great extent forgotten, memory of sound lost, pantomime substituted for speech; the organs of articulation by disuse have lost somewhat of their flexibility, while the difficulty is greatly increased by the unwillingness of the child to make the necessary effort.

105  

Dr. Kitto felt this reluctance. He says: "Although I have no recollection of physical pain in the act of speaking, I felt the strongest possible indisposition to use my vocal organs. I seemed to labor under a moral disability which cannot be described by comparison with any disinclination which the reader can be supposed to have experienced. The force of this tendency to dumbness was so great, that for many years I habitually expressed myself to others in writing. Signs as a means of intercourse I always abominated, and no one could annoy me more than by adopting this mode of communication. In fact, I came to be generally considered as both deaf and dumb. I now speak with considerable ease and freedom, and in personal intercourse never resort to any other than the oral mode of communication." (38)


(38) The Lost Senses, by Dr. Kitto, p. 20

106  

My little daughter lost her hearing at five years of age; her articulation was very imperfect, much more so than that of most children. She knew most, but not all, of her letters. The severe attack of scarlet-fever which deprived her of all hearing left her for a year very feeble. Her vocal organs were weakened, her speech grew gradually more indistinct, and she became disinclined to talk. We were told by teachers of deaf mutes that nothing could be done to preserve her speech, and that our only course was to send her, as soon as she should be old enough, to one of the Institutions, and educate her as a deaf mute. But she could speak, and, encouraged by what we heard from Dr. Howe of the German system, we determined to use every effort to retain what language she then had, and, if possible, to add to it. Our task was arduous, and at times we were almost discouraged; but the results of four years of labor have assured us of success. Little Mabel has nearly as much language as children of her age, can speak so as to make herself understood, and can understand any one who will speak to her slowly and distinctly.

107  

Our little one represents a large class that might be trained in the same way, and with like results. Other cases have lately come under our own observation, of pupils older and further advanced, who have been taught by this method. Of one of these, a young man of eighteen, we have spoken in our account of the Chelmsford school; of another, a young girl of fifteen, we would shrink from speaking had she not, by years of patient labor, learned to converse even with strangers with such ease, grace, and simplicity, that it seemed wrong, from motives of delicacy, to pass her without a word. We believe in each of these cases it was from Dr. Howe that the parents received encouragement to pursue a system which has resulted so successfully.

108  

EARLY EDUCATION OF DEAF MUTES.

109  

We have already referred to the difference between the ages of commencing the instruction of deaf mutes in European schools and in the American Asylum. In the former the average age of admission is seven, while in the American Asylum the Directors advise that "school education should not commence earlier than ten, or be deferred later than twelve years of age, and for many reasons the latter age is preferable." (39)


(39) Fiftieth Report American Asylum, for 1866, p. 15.

110  

The objections urged by the Principal of the Hartford Asylum against receiving pupils under twelve years of age are that home influences are peculiarly important to the little child; that as but six years are allowed for instruction, greater progress can be made between the ages of ten or twelve and eighteen than at any other period, and that at an earlier age than twelve the pupils could not be taught a trade by which they might in after life gain their own support.


Page 11:

111  

Home influences are no doubt of great value to the deaf mute, but they generally reach only to the education of the affections. The reports quoted show that in most cases before entering the Asylum no effort has been made to instruct the mind of the child, or to train its mental powers. Indeed, the parent is cautioned not "to attempt the more difficult and abstract terms, lest, from his imperfect acquaintance with the language of signs, he should communicate false ideas, or weary and disgust the mind. (40) There are also many objections to sending a little child to a large asylum, that would not obtain were it sent to a small family school of fifteen or twenty pupils, or to a primary day school in Boston, where there are a sufficient number of children to form such a school. It would seem peculiarly important that the little deaf mute should commence its instruction at as early an age as possible. If the effort is to be made to save the speech early lost, or to teach articulation to the congenital mute, the earlier the child is placed under instruction the better. The organs of speech are more flexible, the powers of observation quicker, the memory more retentive. A child will acquire a foreign language with much less difficulty than an adult. We have seen little children speaking four languages with equal facility.


(40) Twenty-Seventh Report American Asylum, for 1843, p. 11.

112  

The importance of these views, and the necessity of early education in preparatory schools, have been deeply felt at Hartford, and in 1854 and 1855 the buildings of the Asylum were enlarged for the purpose (among other things) of organizing a juvenile department, with accommodations for thirty or forty children under ten years of age. The Directors report that such an arrangement will enable them "to receive the children of parents who are able to pay for their support, and who are anxious to have them at school before they reach the age of eight. A longer time than six or eight years is requisite thoroughly to educate deaf mutes, and, if provision was made to extend the time by the State, the objection to receiving any pupils under ten would be removed. We ought to secure to the American Asylum the credit of taking the first step in this direction, and of thus offering the advantages of instruction to such young children as contemplated a thorough and extended course of training." (41) We find but one further reference in their reports to tins department, and presume the plan was abandoned, as the new building is now used for other purposes.


(41) Thirty-Eighth Report American Asylum, for 1854, p, 25. Thirty-Ninth Report, for 1855, p. 10.

113  

The State of New York in 1863 provided "for the education of deaf-mute children between the ages of six and twelve, whenever the county authorities were satisfied that the parents were in indigent circumstances, and that their health, morals, and comfort were endangered if left at home." Under this law, thirty were at once received into the New York Institution for the Deaf and Dumb. In the last report of the Directors of this Asylum, they say: "These little children, many under seven and eight, were but a few months before barely able to make their physical wants known by uncouth signs, and not always able to do that clearly. After a few months of instruction and social communion with their fellow-pupils, they generally become keen-looking, vivacious, quick in comprehending signs, able to relate with graphic detail in signs each his own experience, and to enjoy with keen zest such relations by others. The promptness and correctness with which some of the younger division of this class, in appearance almost infantile, and only a few months under instruction, answered by writing a number of simple questions, were especially interesting." (42)


(42) Forty-Seventh Report New York Institution, for 1866, p. 52.

114  

Massachusetts provides a good education for her hearing children, between the ages of five and fifteen. Have not the little deaf mutes an equal claim upon her kindness and care? And yet for them no provision is made, until they are eight or ten years old. These little ones are left in solitude and in silence, unable to receive any ideas from others, or express more than their simplest wants.

115  

Between two and three years ago Mr. Packard, a deaf mute, opened a small day school in Boston, and soon had a class of twenty-three little ones too young to enter the Asylum at Hartford. Application for aid was made to the School Committee of Boston, and refused.

116  

NUMBER OF DEAF MUTES.

117  

The very imperfect returns of the census show that throughout the country there is one deaf mute to every 2,275 inhabitants. By the census returns of 1850, there appeared to be 1,403 deaf mutes in New England; and by the corrected returns of 1860 there were reported to be no less than 2,000 deaf mutes. In Massachusetts alone there are probably not less than 730. The number of pupils in Hartford in 1850 was 210; in 1860, 264; in 1865, 267. Average attendance in 1860, 222; in 1865, 212. One in nine of the deaf mutes in New England was under instruction at the Asylum in 1860.


Page 12:

118  

In 1860 there were 2,077 deaf mutes in New York. The number of pupils at the Institution for Deaf Mutes was 348; in 1865, 450. Average attendance in 1860, 300; (43) in 1865, 406. One in six of the deaf mutes was under instruction. In five years in New York there was an increase of 106 in the average attendance of the pupils; while at Hartford there was a decrease of 12.


(43) Twelve of these were from New Jersey.

119  

One in seven and a half of the deaf mutes from Massachusetts attended the school at Hartford in 1865. In the city of Cambridge, the same year, one fourth of the inhabitants were between the ages of five and fifteen, and one in five attended the public schools.

120  

From these statistics it appears that, while the number of deaf mutes in New England and the number of pupils at the New York Institution are increasing, the number in the school at Hartford is decreasing; that, while New York provides for the education of one in six of the deaf population, New England provides for only one in nine; and that Massachusetts provides for the education of one in five of her entire population in the public schools. No class needs instruction so much as the deaf mutes, or so fully repays the cost to the State; yet Massachusetts makes provision for the education of not more than one half.

121  

The school at Hartford is already full: only a few more pupils can be conveniently accommodated without an increase of buildings. If these are erected, it will cause a further encroachment upon the productive property of the Asylum, and, the reduced income being divided among a greater number of pupils, it will leave a smaller sum for each one, and so increase the sum which must be paid by the States for each pupil. The expense to the State must therefore be greater for the future than in the past, should our deaf mutes still be sent to Hartford.

122  

THE ARTICULATING SCHOOL OF MISS ROGERS.

123  

In October, 1864, Miss Harriet B. Rogers, sister of one of the teachers of Laura Bridgman and Oliver Caswell, had placed under her charge Fanny Gushing, a little deaf mute, whom she was to teach the manual alphabet and articulation. Miss Rogers soon found that, if she was to teach articulation successfully, it must be by itself. It was an experiment, and Miss Rogers was unwilling to take the responsibility without the approbation of the child's friends. She consulted Fanny's parents, who agreed that the manual alphabet should be given up, and reading from the lips substituted. In a few months she became so interested in her work, and so convinced of its ultimate success, that, at the suggestion of Dr. Howe and other friends of the deaf mutes, she opened an articulating school for deaf mutes at Chelmsford.

124  

The articulation of most of the pupils is very imperfect, and almost as unintelligible to strangers as the sign language; perhaps to some signs seem preferable to the indistinct utterances of these pupils. But few children, even with the ear to guide them, learn to talk plainly until they are four or five years old, and these little ones should have at least an equal chance. That articulation and reading from the lips can be acquired by deaf mutes, so as to be made a medium of intelligible communication with those around them, has been in individual cases unquestionably proved, and we see no reason why the same method should not be generally successful. That the lessons in articulation have not thus far retarded the progress of these children in other branches, we can show by a comparison with older children who have been under instruction at Hartford for the same length of time, and with this advantage, that what the Chelmsford pupils know, they know in words.

125  

With the exception of two pupils, these children could communicate only by the few natural signs common to all deaf mutes when they entered the school. Sometimes natural signs are used at first to teach them the meaning of words, and when no longer needed are thrown aside.

126  

No new signs are being acquired by the pupils, and in their recitations and at table conversation is carried on by articulation and reading from the lips. When by themselves they sometimes accompany their words by. signs, but words 'are constantly gaining the ascendency. Their thoughts, as far as can be ascertained, are in words, and their teacher has several times heard them talk in their sleep.

127  

At Hartford, the class that entered on September 15, 1866, when five months at school, had acquired one hundred and fifty nouns, forty adjectives, and twenty verbs; the pupils could count to thirty, and write single words and a few simple sentences, but could not write their ages on the blackboard.

128  

At Chelmsford, W. S. Langdon, seven years and a half old, (44) lost his hearing at five and a half years of age. After spending six months at school he could read from the lips, write, spell, and explain the meaning of two hundred and eighty words, and about one hundred and fifty sentences formed from these words, and count to one hundred backward and forward. In seven and a half months he could spell over four hundred words, and form sentences from them; he added small numbers, and wrote home every week.


(44) The ages given are the ages on entering the school.


Page 13:

129  

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.

130  

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.

131  

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.

132  

The others are farther advanced.

133  

CONCLUSIONS

134  

We have thus endeavored to show, --

135  

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.

136  

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.

137  

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."

138  

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.

139  

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.

140  

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.

141  

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.

142  

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.

143  

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.

144  

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.

145  

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.

146  

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.

147  

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.

148  

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

Page 1   All Pages

Pages:  1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11  12  13