The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1855-02-18

large ssylum at Syracuse whore the purposes Of thu
institution can DO more fully and effectively carried
The present building stands little out Of the city
iimts, few rods back fron the turnpks II 10 plain,
Inc any other boarding school, II you visit It to SEQ in
operation, Dr. Wilbur takes You rst into small build
ing disconnected with the main one This you at
first, perhaps conjecture to be . gymnasium for two
ladders to the ceiling while third il laid across
horizontally, connecting them and under 1t is mat
seated perhaps dozen boys and girls Of six to sixteen
years old apparently playing with the blocks coiored
to the children constantly in loud, but CHEEKY kindly
tones if stimulating them to go with their work,
vacant stare the low retreatng foreheads
hibit the personal neglect you expected One two
eyed but nearly all look intelligent, and al neat
some quite pretty You novelty to them and they
follow you vita gratiaed eyes; most of them laughing
heartily. This is the first indication they give you
being idiots for they and sensible they would
understand that vsters not always matter of
joicipg.
yet scarcely taught even to their senses That
girls eyes wander restlessly over everything in the
room but your handkerchief before them and sh
will never notice it, separate IT her vision from the
Of objects that fit before her dull
Shout at that boys ear, and he will hardly pay more
attention TO It than to post Put an cicle, rcd
hot coal in his hand and he would with pain but
he would not know enough to turn his hand 70 let
it drop. Throw yonder club at him, and he would not
Lift finger to himself but would laugh insanely
IS struck him down. and never know what hurt him
desperate task indeed to teach these eyes to see,
cara to hear, and benumbed brains to think
The teacher hangs one of the boys the ladder by
the hands He has but to let 60 to drop few inches
teach him that. He clings tightly to the round and
perhaps cries at the pain the act gives him. but he does
not move The teacher puts his arm around him and
Lifts him up lifts his hand places 1t on the next round
and cheers and encourages him in kind loud voice
Then the other hand And after repeated lessons IL il
at last almost forced upon his sluggish m'nd that he
can use his hands and feet to reach the focr.
Another, who has been months at the institution
is called to show his requirements. His delight
s e ddsr own
IT, over it, backwards, forwards, head foremost feet
foremost ana finally throws himself into the teachers
arms with exuting burst Of rrepressibe laughter.
He has been taught do only what can be taught to
dogs and CATS but with less natural intelligence than
they il is a wonder that he can be taught at all.
Another means of r0usng and fixing the dormant ia.
Guilty of attention by throwing from hand to hand
ball or stick, boys play "catch' Two who have be-
At IL
mental effort the simple act requires when such intel
lects are called upon to performs it.
The tie circle around the first table being taught
to put first white, then one red bead alternately
upon string. Then two whlA and two red &c. They
do not learn it immediately nor in hour day,
perhaps not in q week or month. But when they do
learn they have gained idea of numberthe Arst
all their lives. And when they have learned it-such
darkened brains 1t is like the thought that occurred to
the Greek philosopher in his bathmakng him leap out
half dressed and run through the streets shouting
pupil that is grateful to you for thought this
idiot that has learned the Of thoughts
at all.
Thus the system proceeds It begins with the simplest
OF all mpressionsthe very foundation Here is .
OF circular blocks Of different Sizes and there is OF
taught put each in its appropriate place. and thus he
makes his first comparison and gets his first idea of Size
st s
comprehension of differences in color. Another set of
various shaped blocks teach him form.
When ne has advanced thus far he can be taught to
recognise word printed on card But he recognises
it as you do face by its general aspect not by its com
ponsnt parts Upside down, or right side up, i is =.
trace it on the black board When he can do this he
stand when they 90 ar,t to school Thencsforth his
education is much like theirs, only requiring infinitely
more patience and perseverance and gsntleness
dozen more assembled. Some are sitting at their
desks and books. At one end Of the room is class
spelling simple words and at the other another class
naming places, As they pointed out, outline
map The studies are like those of other schools but
not the pupils. Time after time do the stless
turn away and the dull eyes in vacant stupidity
But the teachers whole heart to be set max
ing them comprehensive rouses, questions, answers,
encourages, smiles mods and c0mmends in rapid success
Saici' Fsnne% ss spsl f'H IT, DEAR rhini Harr,,
that's good boyi' "You can tell that Kitty!'-pat-
ting one on the head, smiling encouragement to the
other and cappng her hands to the attention OF
thirdfor all the world as If they were sound asleep
and she bound to force the information into their
drowsy and out Of their sleepy mouths in order to
wake them up. Sound asleep they are, intellectually
and they would remain IL her look and voice not
every Mt reteratng something to arrest aud tx
their irregular, wandering train of thought.
At last the slow, hestatng answer comes, given with
feet lisp early childhood, for few OF the idiots when
art brought here speak distinctly Great ID Eddie
triumph 4 the az to BE- right Besides the
with sympathetic exuaton-for in these simple natures
there is implicit trusting confidence aud lack Of
jealousy that we educated and wise people are Strangers
Everything in the studies is made as simple a. posi-
BILE When the name Of an object is to be spelled the
object itself is shown that they may understand the
connection between the word and the thing Abundance
Of pictures maps globes and models Illustrate the geo
graphical and historical lessons. In short pains
spared to strengthen the two faculties especially weak
in idiots-concentraton and conception.
Pass into the last room At the black board boy
OF ten is copying outline drawing with remarkable
fidelity. Another win write his NAME and yours, If
requested Another is performing difficult in long
division Here Is girl Of fourteen who cannot speak
the simplest word without exertion than it would
cost to haoo across the street yet she Will name the
different countries Is you point them out on an outline
globe describe their Inhabitants, productions and ply
sca condition. There is boy who, besides his idocy,
was pronounced deaf and dumb from his cradle, and
here from the Asylum for Mutesyet In less than
three years he has learned the elements of English
grammar and will parse you sentence and give you the
syntax And here is another little fellow with par.
alyzed arm, who can set down and work out an alge
braic formula better than most boys who possess all
their faculties When the idot master grammar and
mathematical it is clear that he is idiot longer. He
carry out train Of reasoning and reflection, an
Plato and Newton had different process whereby to
attain the greatest phiosophic truths.
II strange aud yet it strikes you that somehow
these advanced pupils have more stad and sober look
than those whom you at first. But II H. As they
exchange mere animal nature for human one, they
gradually lose that perpetual manifestation of gee
Characteristic Of diocy 1t is not that they have made
intellectual progress at the expense of physical for thsy
are plump and rosy. II isno that their deveopement
opening il does OF enduring AMI deep happi
ness have made them grave. But IL Is because wise
Providence partially compensates the poor unfortur ate
who lacks everything else. by the pleasing, iudcrous
images that occupy his vision and dance in perpetual
succe sson before his bewidered BRAIN
OF course while the education of the intellect goes
that OF the moral is not neglected Moral duties
ncucated at each STEP and such spiritual truths
taught rs can be made comprehensive
Tie ply steal teaching and exercise Is not the least i'm
portan part Of the school From being helpless british