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If, as I believe, Miss Sullivan is right in her opinion that "Helen's remarkable command of language is due to the fact that books printed in raised letters were placed in her hands as soon as she knew the formation of the letters," the discovery is one of enormous importance to teachers of the deaf, for it shows us a method of instruction capable of application to all deaf children, whatever other means of teaching may be employed. Let books be used in the school-room from the very beginning of education. The subjects should be adapted to the age of the child, but the language not chosen with special reference to his misfortune. From the multitude of books printed for the use of hearing and speaking children we can surely, more easily, make a suitable selection for the use of our pupils, than Miss Sullivan could do, when she was limited to books printed in raised letters for the use of the blind.

The great principle that Miss Sullivan seems to have had in mind in the instruction of Helen is one that appears obvious enough when it is once formulated, and one with which we are all familiar as the principle involved in the acquisition of language by ordinary hearing and speaking children. It is simply this: That language is acquired by imitation. This means that language must be presented to deaf children before it is understood; the children must be familiarized with the model before they have anything to imitate.

In regard to Helen Keller, Miss Sullivan says:

"I talked to her almost incessantly in her waking hours; spelled into her hand a description of what was transpiring around us, what I saw, what I was doing, what others were doing -- anything, everything. Of course, in doing this, I used multitudes of words she did not at the time understand, and the exact definition of which I did not pause to explain; but I never abbreviated or omitted words, but spelled all my sentences carefully and correctly."

In communicating with our pupils also, let us use English, and English alone. Not English stilted in expression and carefully lowered to the level of the deaf child's comprehension, but ordinary idiomatic English -- such as we employ with ordinary hearing and speaking children.

In oral schools this is already done, the spoken language of the people being the language of communication and thought. In manual schools let written English be the language of conversation. Spell upon your fingers the complete and idiomatic expressions you would say to your children if they could hear. In both manual and oral schools supplement your English conversation by the reading of books.

Present volumes of words to your pupils in the shape of printed pages, and you will get that frequency of repetition to the eye that is essential in order to impress the language on the memory. Little of the language at first will be comprehended, for it is obvious that the deaf child must see the language before he understands it, just as a hearing child must hear language before he can imitate it. Ordinary children learn to understand by frequent hearing, and deaf children will come to know the meaning of words and phrases by constant seeing; just as Helen has come to know their meaning by incessant repetition to the sense of touch.

The chief lesson, I think, to be learned from the case of Helen Keller is the importance of books in the earlier stages of education, as a means of supplementing and re-inforcing the instruction of the teacher.

The success in her case gives force to the theoretical opinion I expressed in my paper upon "Reading as a Means of Teaching Language to the Deaf:"

"I would have a deaf child read books in order to learn the language, instead of learning the language in order to read books."

Alexander Graham Bell