Eaton weekly Democrat. [volume] (Eaton, Ohio) 1866-1875, 1870-08-18
Scenes In Deaf Mute School.

A BosToN correspondent of the Wor-
cester Spy gives this interesting account
of the public deaf mute school. in that
city, where articulation Is taught: Fsb51
One of the public schools here is for
deaf and dumb children. 1t was estAb-
lished last autumn, and the results of the
six months teaching are encouraging to
the teachers, and astonishing to outsiders.
There are between thirty and forty pu-
pills, girls and boys, from six years old to
sixteen. Some were born deaf and dumb |;
some became so while they were mere
babies, and few had learned to talk and
read q little before they lost their hearing,
A few of them had received instruction
previously at Hartford, or some other in
stitution I; but large majority came to
this school knowing not even their let
ters, and having no means, excepting nat
ural signs, of communicating with each
other. Here signs are not allowed, and
the children are taught to articulate. The
method of instruction is very interesting,
and must require almost superhuman pa
tience in the teachers. First the alphabet
is thoroughly taught. With large chart
on one easel and blackboard on another,
the teacher begins with those unfortunate
pupils who cannot hear sound she
makes She points to a letter, A for in
stance, and says it over and over again,
showing the children how the lips form
that they may feel the organ there, and
the motion when she articulates the
letter, showing them how to I'LL their
lungs and to make sound ; then the let
ter is written in its varying forms, capi.
tai, small, writing and printing; ana so
letter after letter Is taught until the al
phabet is mastered. Then comes short
words and sentences, taught In the same
slow, patient way. There is nothing
mora inf or mora tOr1phinO than
to watch lesson given to one Of these
children. The teacher wishes to teach
the child the words ION" and under"
She places book on chair, looks into
the child's face, who has already learned
book and chair, and tells him to say
these words. He says them, and In
| strange voice, but still quite plainly, and
touches them as he speaks. Then the
1 teacher laying the book on the chair,
says "On, on" until the child repeats it ;
then placing the book under the chair,
makes him say under; then she writes
both words on the blackboard that he
may spell them, and he writes them after
wards (reading, spelling and writing are
| taught at the same time in this way) she
then gives him an exercise, speaking as
she would to child that can hear, Put
your slate on the table," put your hat
under the table," and so on. The
| child repeats each sentence after her, and
then does the thing required-often max
ing mistakes, but trying until he under
stands and succeeds. fH..} E.y.t
The eagerness in young faces, the
| strained attention, the whole soul in the
eyes which are fixed with almost painful
| intentness upon the teachers lips the
struggle for speech; the passionate de
light at success, when the teacher says
"right," are strangely pathetic. 1t seems
as if some peculiar character were needed
for such teaching, and this school is fortu
nate in its teachers. The four ladies have
all, from various reasons, been interested
for years in the teaching of the deaf anC
dumb, and when this school was opened
intense sympathy with this form of aff1ic
ton led them to undertake this work
rather than something more easy anC
pleasant They seem to have infinite pa
tience with the poor little creatures VIII
have such fearful difficulties to contenC
with they have real enthusiasm in tn
work, and entire faith in its success; ant
4 they have reason for their faith, for al
ready they are teaching arithmetic ant
geography. 1t Is wonderful to see clas
called up before the blackboard on Wh1cl
are written fifty words without connec
ton, and each scholar in turn take