The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-07-05
Teaching Deaf-Mutes.

Sarita NJ Brady. in Hasper's Ma gazine.
Let us imagine ourselves IN the primary
class at Kendall Green, watching a beginner
take his first lesson. The teacher, a lady--for
surely nothing but a Womanis patience conld
avail heFe-eals the boy to her and shows him
some familiar objeet-say a pen; and when he
recognizes it the first step is made; they both
know what it is, and he knows they know IT, SO
far, she has only taught him the object; now she
shows him its printed equivalent, PEN. Insensi
bly, trained to memory fOr shapes, he SOON re-
members that black lines shaped in that way
mean thar object. Now, if the object is not pres
ent, how can he rocall it to hera By spelling
p on his fingers. So she then teaches him
those letters Next she teaches him to write
pen ON the blackboard; and, lastly, 10 sub
stitute for the rude pantomifnes they have
both necessarily used up to this time, the sign
for pen. This is not the work of one lesson nornf
one day-far from it; wa should be tired looking
long before little hero gets ms far as spell
ing on his fingers. But gradually, AFTER many
delays and innllmeFable repetitions, so much Is
secured New objects are introduced, then their
qualities are specihed-.big PEN white catsr
next the action of those Objects the pen
writes" the cat eats and lastly, the various
lenses of verbs-'always most tedious process,
as 1t is almost impossible, with such limited
means, to present clearly the difference between
past present and future action. One way of do
ing this is to teach the pupils to count up to thr
ty-one-the number of days in m0nth-and
then connect the action with a past present or
future date The protean s'ough' puzzles them.
as does also the use of the same word with diff
ferent meanings
Tirasume as the work is, its results appear
sooner than would expect, for the children
learn to read write and speak fin their languagel
simultaneously Little boys who can hardly
reach the blackboard write excellent hands and
spell accurately. An exercise among the moro
advanced scholars which witnessed required
them to write sentences introducing words from
the days lesson An example of the use of the
word ',astonished' was amusing; it was, "a
boy went to the woods; he astonished sDme
apples on tree, meaning he took them BY
surprise
Here is a composition exactly as it was writ
ten by boy twelve years old, member Of this
class
"A boy went to the woods. He saw a yellow
bird standing ON the grass. He want TO caught
the yellow bird He put over the bird The
bird would not out He caught the bird and
went away and give for his mother He tell his
mother about the yellow bird His mother was
glad and gothic bird and into the cage. Anoth-
er q yellow bird was glad to meet the bird Two
birds talked about sing sweet. The mother
charmed the bird sing The boy again go to the
woods, He saw an old house are weak. He
try climed up. The house with the boy fell to
the ground. He soon died on the ground His
mother hoped the boy get the bird His mother
waited. The boy no come It His mother to go
to the old house. She saw the boy dead and she
was very cried and hurt in her heart