The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1890-06-05
THE DEAF AND DUMB.
THE WORK OF THE YEAR AT THE IN
STI1UTE Has BEEN VERY
SATISFACTORY.
Wonderful Progress of the Pupils Under
Careful Superintendent and an
Able Corps of eachers.

Deaf and Dumb Institute yesterday.
The school will close tomorrow.
The work of the year has been sat
isfactory. The examinations just
closed were more rigid than ever be-
fore and show decided advance. The
principal teacher prepared a systematic
and thorough course in language and
the other English branches, and this
was put in operation last fall. 1t is
somewhat new departure in the edu-
cation of the deaf and attracted the
attention of the profession throughout
the country to the Texas school. By
it the classes are thoroughly graded
and the work required of each grade
definitely outlined. The teachers
have adjusted their work to the re-
quirements of this system with
zeal, advancing their pupils step
by step and leaving nothing
undone. The aggregate results are
thus in harmony the one portion with
the other, and next fall the work can
be taken up where it was left off at
the close of this year. The teaching
of the English language is all i'm
portant in the education of the deaf;
it is made the basis of everything else,
and all other branches are ordered
with reference to attainments in it,
A hearing child by association absorbs
mastery of English expressions con-
stantly increasing his stock, while his
deaf brother who plays at his side, eats
at the same table. and sits in the
family circle learns nothing, his mind
being closed to ordinary COM
munication and surrounded by
inexplicable mysteries. What the
hearing unconsciously learns from
innumerable sources the deaf
mutes learn in school by conscious
effort and the process is slow and
tedious as but one avenue to the
mind, the eye, can be utilized. The
difficulties to be overcome may be
readily appreciated when it is known
that it takes a deaf child about five
years in school to acquire sufficient
amount OF language equal to that
possessed by hearing child upon
entering school. During the first
few years the pupil is almost wholly
dependent upon his teacher for the
language which he acquires, and our
mother tongue, Astounding greatly in
idioms and a variety of complicated
phraseology must be unfolded
to the child systematically; its
elements must be placed with
reference to their comparative
difficulty. This requires not only
scholarship on the part of those who
teach, but also a thorough acquaint-
ance with the processes by which the
deaf acquire knowledge of the En-
glish, for to the deaf many expressions
have not the same relative difficulty
that they have to the hearing. The
aim in this school is to give the pupil
an ordinary public school education
and fair knowledge of some handi--
craft, to the end that he may not only
support himself but also take his
proper place in society and perform
the duties of good citizen. The
classes are as follows: The high
class and second and third classes,
taught in different branches,
by Principal Blattner, Geo. Begg
and Geo. H. Putnam; the fourth
class, taught by Carrie Howard; the
fifth class, taught by Annie Goggan;
the sixth class, taught by Emily
Lewis; the seventh class, taught by S.
]. Thomas; the eighth class, taught
by Harris Payton; the ninth class,
taught by VIM. Thornberry the tenth
class, taught by VIM. H. Lacy; the
articulation class, taught by Lizzie
Lloyd; and the art class, taught by
frankie Pasgrelle. The high class
have this year studied English and
United States history, physical de-
scriptive geography, arithmetic and
English grammer and composition.
Some of the pupils in this class gain
ing distinction are Mollie Woolverton,
of Erath county; Maria Jones,
of McCulloch county; George
Brooks, of Johnson county, and
Robert Hodges of Palo Pinto county.
The second class have studied Texas
history, geography, arithmetic, gram
mar and composition. Some of the
leading m embers Of this class are Liz
zie Holt of Wise county, Thoma
Rogers of Coryell county, Willie
Barnes of Lampasas, Anna Self of
Travis county and Eddie McDannold
of Hardeman county. Some of the
lesding pupils in other classes are
Lizzie Dingler of Tyler, Lizzie Payne
of McIennan county, John Young of
Erath county in the third class, Mat
tie Boyer of Milan county, Louis
Durham of Hamilton county, James
Richardson of Hill county, Martha
Brock of Tom Green county, Tilden
Smith of Johnson county, Hunter
Cooley of Fort Worth, Laura Devices
of Wise county, Billie Faulker
of Denton, Willie Wood of Marshall,
Robert jraham of Limestone co., Eva
Dorchester of Sherman and Henry
Potts and John Dawes of Parker
county, in the intermediate and pri-
mary classes; Thomas Williams of
Hill county, George Straley of Lam
pasas county, Jackson Ball of Wise
county, Hattie and Laura Packet of
Knox county, and Marcia Jones of