Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-09-03
TRAINING THE DEAF
Wonders Are Now Worked in the
Teaching of Afflicted
Children.
THE NEW SCHOOL FOB ROCK ISLAND
Tedious and Trying Duties of the
lnstructors--Miss Wittig
to be Here.

The appointment of Miss Meta Wit
Zig, of Davenport, to open the new
school for deaf children in Rock Is
land marks a step forward in educa-
.ional work on which the city is to be
congratulated.
The sentiment against separating
young deaf children from home sur
roundings and massing them in in
situations has been growing steadily
and rapidly of late.
In June. 1897, Illinois passed law
providing for the education of deaf
children at home wherever demanded
by at least three, the state providing
aid to the amount of $3.50 per child
annually.
A mum Der of schools have been
opened under this law. There are
now in operation A schools in four
Wisconsin, Ohio, Illinois,
Michigan.
Competent Teachers Scarce.
The great trouble has been, how
aver. to find competent teachers. The
work of preparation is so tedious and
.rying, and the teaching so laborious.
md often times discouragiDg, that
| few are willing to devote themselves
TO it, most teachers of little children
| oreferring to devote themselves to the
ess difficult or more pleasant work of
the kindergarten or primary school.
The plan of the Gay schools for the
leaf, is to use rooms in the regular
school buildings, so that the deaf
| children may be associated with other
children on the play grounds. before
and after school and at recess, and
so be one with them, in-tead of a
class by themselves, set off from the
rest of the world, and marked as de
fectives.
They are taught to speak and to
know what is said to them by lip
ceading even though them selves deaf.
The process is slow, but by taking
young children who have not years OF
Dad habits to unlearn and whose
,Igans of speech are still flexible and
capable of development, the results
ready achieved verge on the marvel
us and prove beyond a doubt the
PRACTICAL value of the training. As
the work of the teachers is individual,
the classes at first must be small,
from three to five being all one teacher
can handle to advantage. Later,
the advanced pupils take the regular
school course, when classes may be
somewhat larger.
Miss McOOwen's Work.
Miss Mary McCowen. who was one
of the pioneers in this work, has car-
ried on a private school in Chicago
for years, training her own teachers
at first, but afterwards establishing a
training school to meet the insistent
demand for such instruction else
| where.
There is now, also, training school
in Milwaukee. but the demand for
teachers is constantly far in advance
of the supply.
Miss McGowen. who by the way is
a sister of DR.. McCowen of Davenport,
is an Iowa woman, graduate of the
state university and began her career
as a primary teacher in that state.
Afterwards being attached to the
work for the deaf, she taught first in
a state institution, and later estab
lished a private school where she
could have freedom to work out her
own ideas
In 1896 Miss McCowen's labors for
this afflicted class of children was rec
o ynized by her unsolicited appoint
ment as supervising principal of all
the schools for the deaf in Chicago,
now numbering 10 with an attend
ance of $50 pupils, a position which
she still holds.
Miss Wittig is to be congratulated
on the successful issue of her fou'
years of laborious and trying prepare
tory work leading up to this position
of usefulness, which will secure for
her not only professional recognition
Of satisfactory kind, but also the
most grateful appreciation of both
pupils and parents.