The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-08-27
TEACHING THE DEAF.
THE FIRST SCHOOL FOUNDED IN THE
SEVENTEENTH CENTURY.

Earliest In the United States Established
by DIR. Thomas ii. GaIiaudet at Hart
ford In 1sl7-systems OF Instruction
and Their Friendly Rivalry.
The earliest recorded attempt to found a
school where the deaf could be educated
was made in tho early part of the seven
teenth century by the learned John But
Ter, contemporary of Milton and Bacon
lie, however, says of the project: 81 soon
perceived, by falling into discourse with
some rationale men about such designe,
that the attempt seemed so paradoxicall,
prodgious, and Hyperbolcal that it did
rather amuse than Statistic their under
standings" Indeed, it was not until more
than century later, when De l'Epee,
Heinicke and Braidwood founded schools
In France, Germany and Great Britain re.
spectively, that any permanent institu-
tons were established for the education OF
the deaf
lt Is very rare occurrence when deaf
person is mute for any other reason save
the lack of the instruction which hearing
child receives through his ears RecogniZ-
ing this fact and that speech is the most
distinctive gift of man, Heincke and
training of the vocal organs of their pupils
and to teaching them to read the speech of
! Others by noting the movements of the lips
and tongue. On the other hand, the Abbe
De l'Epee based his method of instruc-
| ton upon the fact that all human beings,
when deprived of speech, either through
deafness or ignorance of the language
| spoken about them, resort to signs to make
N hni in re cax N
a code of signs by which they can COM
| municate with one another and with the
surrounding tribes He therefore conven-
tionalized and systematized signs and In
vented new ones when natural gestures
failed to convey the idea
| With this system of conventionalized
signs, brought to this country by DR.. Thorn
as II. Gallaudet, school was opened in
Hartford in the year 1917. 1t had been
found, however, that the sign language
did not solve the problem of giving the
deaf means of communication with the
world in general Very few people under
stood this language, while it's construc-
ton, so far as there was any, and It's con-
ciseness-a single gesture frequently rep
resenting complete sentence of spoken
ernacular-rendered it unfit for repre-.
guage The method Of spelling the
words with the fingers by means of fin
ger alphabet was then pressed into service
in conjunction with signs This is the
same as writing in foreign characters on
the blackboard or upon paper, except that
1t Is more rapid and more convenient. In
this way the reading and writing of gram
matical English could be taught, and both
the manual alphabet and the sign language
are employed in certain schools today.
For many years after the founding OF
the Hartford school no speech was taught
there, though today the teaching of articu-
lation Is an important factor in the
work. In 1867 largely through the efforts
of Horace Mann, who some years previous
" had visited the schools of Europe, two
institutions were established in this coun
try where the deaf could not only be taught
to speak, but be taught by speech without
the use of the manual alphabet or the sigr
language One of these was in New York
CITY and the other in Northampton, Mass
and they are today large and hourishint
institutions.
After the establishment of these institu
tions there sprang up in this country II
the ranks of the teachers of the deaf {
division which already existed in Europe
On the one side were the ardent advocate
;, of the sign language as means OF instruc
ton and explanation, while on the othe
were the opponents of signs, who employed
the manual alphabet, writing and speech
only. The controversy has been wage'
with moro or less energy ever since; bu
), like all the ideas of cruder and less al
yanced age the sign language has beel
V gradually crowded out, until now 1t Is en-
tirely excluded from many schools an
used but sparingly in others.
A single argument brought forward D
the son of distinguished advocate of tn
'e ancient method in support of this Ian
y ouape Is enough to indicate Its ultimat
ID fate though It has served noble purpos
in it's day. He says, 1T is fact wort
- noting that the signs used by the Indian
of North America are identical in man
l. instances with those employed by the dea
20 mutes of today" No one will question
u tho truth of this observation nor den
that IT Is worth noting, but we have reache
a stage i'm the worlds history when we ca
Law aside the tools of savagery. Throug
IS propress In enlightenment we are fortu
:, nately able now to give our deaf children
q hetter means of communication with me
10 than that employed by the American III
q dian or the African savage 1t Is friendl
IL struggle, in which the old school advocate
of the sign language are the defensive part
5 and the oralists the aggressors. Both ar
s. however, engaged in the great work
ameliorating the condition of an upfo
10 tunate class and have much that Is con
d. mon ground where they can clasp hane
:, with hearty approval. r,.,
lie In the schools for the deaf In the unlte
to States today three systems of instructio
We are used. The methods employed are
a the first system, signs and the manu
alnbabet; second system, speech and u
Sc manual alphabet; third system speet
ia only Writing is of course employed
ie all the systems. John Dutton wright
Century.
~ Patriotic Fasting.