Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1885-10-08
TEACHING DEAF CHILDREN.
Mr.. Alexander Graham Bell ExDIains
His Methods and His Plans
THE PROPOSED ORGANIZATION OF A NORMAL
SCHOOL, OR SCHOOL OF RRsEARCH-MR BELL.
SPEAKS OF THE NECESSITY OF TEACHING
LANGUAGE no YOUNG CHILDREN.

THE PROPOSED ORGANIZATION OF NORMAL
SCHOOL, Or SCHOOL OF REsEARCH-MR BELL
SPEAKS OF THE NECESSITY OF TEACHING
LANGUAGE no YOUNG CHILDREN.
There was gathering yesterday afternoon at
the house No. 1874 18th street, where the little
school for the instruction of deaf and dumb
| children, conducted by Mr.. Alexander Graham
Bell, of telephonefame, is located. This gather
ing included many persons interested or en-
gagged in educational work. The object of the
meeting was to hear q talk from Mr. Bell de-
scribing his past efforts In behalf of deaf and
dumb children, and disclosing a new plan for
giving wider scope to his work. Mr.. Bell
spoke informally. He rehearsed the history Of
the school, the work it has gradually come to
do and the objects before It in the future.
Many years ago, he said, he became interested
in the education Of the deaf, and anxious for
an opportunity TO- see what he could do in
baby or child extremely young to experiment
With WITH; 1t It's, 50 happened" ne continued,
consulted as TO what ought to be done, and
offered TO undertake its general education, al
the education of the deaf before. began to
study general methods, but found great diff
culties in all, because all methods studied
Here was a child>Of ave. In many Institutions
children are not admitted till they are ten
could get hold Of, and finally decided to adopt
the method that was no where in use; that was
the method proposed by George Del Garneau
teaching deaf child to read and write in a
natural way, just as we teach hearing children
to speak their mother tongue. Instead of COM
writing to the child, as would speak to hear
ing child; :! would write to the child all
hearing child. AS George Del Garneau pre-.
dlcted, the child came to understand the writ
Ing, Just as hearing child comes to un-
that the child wanted to write himself At
first, OF course, he did not have ready COM
mand Of bis hands and fingers. He would
make known by gestures and signs what he
wanted to write, and would write 1t. Then
would erase my writing and have him trace it
learned his letters SO he could be able to put
new new words together. The experiment with
TINS single t child was great success; Del Gar,
of teaching speech. adopted the system de.
vised by my father OF visible speech. That boy
IN mon, one year was using writing materials. He
municate to his friends. The floor would be
strewn with little scraps of papers on which he
messages were grammatical. some of them
were very odd indeed. Shortly after that the
need of developing the speaking telephone
instruction of the deaf, and for a number of
years, and until within two years, I
instruction Of the deaf. About two Years ago e
school at Kendall Green. Il was brought 70 my my
attention that this boy had q remarkable
knowledge of written English"
FIELD FOR WORK
Mr.. Bell related how inquiries as to the
method of this boys early training led to his
publication in Prof. Fays journal devoted to
the interests of deaf mutes of an account of the
way In which the boy was taught. After this
parents of deaf ana dumb children anxi-
GUS to do something for their children at home
article and had afterwards received notes from
them stating that they were delighted with the
progress made BY their children. This, he
with children at a very much younger age, than
that at which they were admitted to the insti-
buttons for the instruction of the deaf and
dumb. He thought he saw also great field for
the deaf child in not teaching 1t language.
try to eliminate from our consciousness the
form, it is hard to realize what remains, yet
The printed page Of a book means no more to
him, without instruction, than page of Chi
does to u.s. nv HSw s then does his mind
hearing children, you viii be astonished
veloped by hearing the Experiences Of others a
The deaf child is cut of in . great degree from
the experiences of Others. II LEFT to grow up in
able. In order to understand 1t, We must con-
slider what our minds would be If we eliminated
everything we ever heard of or read Of That
is the condition of the deaf child that grows up
without ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS of q depth that
cannot be realized meagerness of conception
of abstract things hardly conceivable. It is an
ignorance that Is dangerous. and upon that
danger to society rests the chief argument in
favor Of the public Instruction Of the deaf"
Mr.. Bell discussed the necessity and POSSIBLE
ity of teaching the deaf child q language and
referred to the eaeerness of child of four or
it ACC uired it at that age The field before them
was to devise methods of teaching language
The best years tor the acquisition Of language
were before any attempt was made to instruct
them in the institutions.
AN EXPERIMENTAL SCHOOL.
After correspondence with parents he said he
induced two or three of them to employ q
teacher and to open q school. He undertook to
go into the school every day and make sug-
gestions. Then they carried out another idea
aid formed a parents class. The parents came
and met with him for an hour every day, and
they studied what could be done for the child
rem. The latest important feature added to the
scnool was the admission into the parents class
last year Of two students SO they might have
struction. They had invited and proposed to
invite experienced teachers Of the deaf to lee
ture to them. The interest taken in the work
had made 1t seem feasible and advisable to sup
plement the parents class by a corps of stu
dents who would devote themselves to the in
n Of the
organs. He referred to the thorough methods
Of instruction of the deafin Germany and Italy,
The statistics showed that this method OF IN
struction was not in much use in the United
States In 1883 only fourteen per cent of the
deaf children in this country were being
taught to use their vocal organs, while eight
cen per cent were given occasional instruction
in their use leaving 50 per cent who received
no instruction at all. In the ordinary normal
schools of Germany instruction was given to
the student in the mechanism Of speech and
the anatomy OF the vocal organs. Those show
ing special aptitude and knowledge as to the
vocal organs were picked out as teachers of the
deaf. There is no school In America where
teachers of the deaf are trained, and no atten-
ton is paid to the mechanism Of speech The
could have large percentage of deaf children
Instructed In the use OF their vocal organs, they
must have teachers who know something about
the mechanism OF speech. To this subject he
said he had devoted much study, and IL was
while investigating It that he had developed
action in introducing this matter In the normal |
schools in Milwaukee and In Cook county, |
Illinois. Last winter, when delivering q course |
Of lectures to parents on the mechanism of
speech. 1t occurred to him that he might invite |
some graduates Of the Normal school here and |
he was Rratified at having class Of forty-five
come in response to his invitation.
PRoPoSED SCHOOL OF REsEARCH.
He proposed now, If possible, TO organize .
corps ofstudents who would devote themselves
to this work OF teaching articulation. There
were now four children under instruction in
the school. More wanted to come In, but
could not be admitted. He did not believe In
the congregation OF detective children. What
were they TO do with others who could not
come int He proposed with the students Of 4
last year to do work outside, at the homes Of the
ohil0ren. He nrDu1sod havn fhfn ect,<<,I