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The McCowen Oral School For Young Deaf Children

Creator: Mary McCowen (author)
Date: 1893
Source: Available at selected libraries
Figures From This Artifact: Figure 2  Figure 3  Figure 4  Figure 5  Figure 6  Figure 7  Figure 8  Figure 9  Figure 10

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HISTORICAL STATEMENT.

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The McCowen Oral School for Young Deaf Children was established in Chicago in 1883, under the name of "The Voice and Hearing School for the Deaf," its first location being at No. 3363 Indiana avenue.

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The principal, Miss Mary McCowen, was formerly a teacher in the Nebraska State Institute for the Deaf and Dumb at Omaha, where she acquired the sign-language and used it in the class- room. Led by previous long experience in the public schools to believe that better results ought in some way to be obtained for the deaf, Miss McCowen made a thorough study of the history of deaf-mute instruction and of the methods then employed, and began giving her leisure time to experiments in different directions. During the school year of 1881-'2 a number of audiphones were presented to the Institution, and the superintendent, knowing of Miss McCowen's experiments, asked her to make use of them, and afforded her every facility for making a thorough test and experiment as to the possibilities of developing latent hearing by this means.

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EXPERIMENTS IN DEVELOPING LATENT HEARING.

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The results of these continued experiments were so satisfactory that in September, 1882, the beginning class in the Institution, numbering about twenty, was, at her request, assigned to her for oral and aural training -- the first instance, so far as known, where a class of deaf pupils were taught exclusively by the auricular method or the persistent use of latent hearing, which latent hearing has since been proved by tests in numerous institutions of this country to exist in not less than ten per cent. of their pupils.

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During the latter part of the year the use of the audiphones was almost wholly discontinued, from the fact that the pupils had discovered that without the audiphones they could really hear, and were happy to be relieved of the necessity of holding the instrument in position, which was necessarily wearisome and had become irksome to them.

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The results of this year far surpassed all expectation, and believing that if such improvement in voice and language could be obtained where the pupils used the sign-language exclusively, except during the few hours in the class-room, much more might justly be expected where pupils were surrounded entirely by speaking people, Miss McCowen severed her connection with the Nebraska Institution, and in October, 1888, opened in Chicago her private home School.

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PRIVATE SCHOOL.

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Although the School was originally intended for the education of that class of the deaf having hearing susceptible of training, the totally deaf were not refused admission, and after a time they formed, as they still do, a large proportion of the most successful pupils of the School, lacking only in that more perfect modulation of the voice which even a slight degree of hearing makes possible.

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EARLY EDUCATION FOR THE DEAF.

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Convinced that one cause for the comparatively meagre results in many institutions was the fact that pupils were not admitted until the most impressionable years were past, this School, from the first, gave special prominence to the necessity for earlier education for the deaf, and in its first circulars announced that pupils would be received at the age of five years. A few months' experience, however, made it evident that even this involved too great a loss of time, and soon a pupil was received at the age of four, and then one at three, since which time the very early education of the deaf has been advocated and the Infant Kindergarten Department has been a special feature of the School, in harmonious relations with the more advanced classes, thus forming the ideal home school.

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RAPID GROWTH.

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Within six months the School outgrew its first quarters on Indiana avenue and was removed to 63d and Wabash avenue, into a large residence with spacious and attractive grounds thus securing necessary room for outdoor recreation. As time went on, the increase in numbers justified the increase in school-room facilities, and to the latest and best apparatus of every kind were added, for the more advanced pupils, a shop for wood-carving, a regular font of type, and also a typewriter.

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Later this property was purchased, and in 1888 it was thoroughly remodelled and refitted, and more roomy quarters were provided for the increasing Kindergarten department.

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DESTROYED BY FIRE.

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In February of the following year, during the temporary absence in the city of the principal, the building and contents were totally destroyed by fire, although, fortunately, without accident or injury to any of the family. Returning in the evening, only smoking ruins were found. Before bed-time, however, a house had been rented, partially furnished, and provisioned. Thanks to the neighbors and friends, who brought in supplementary supplies of all kinds, for temporary use, the children retired comfortable in their new home, and the next day school work was resumed.

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