Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1901-11-12
TEACHING THE DEAF
Interesting Meeting to be Held in
This City Saturday
Afternoon.
MISS MOoWEN, CHICAGO, TO SPEAK
Work to be ExempIificd by Clas.
Conducted by Miss
Wittig.

Teachers of the three cities have
been invited to attend a meeting to
be held at the Irving school building
IN this city next Saturday afternoon
at 2:3O at which an interesting pro-
gram will be carried out. The oc-
casion for the meeting will be the
presence of Miss Mary McCowcn, of
Chicago, originator of the system of
oral instruction of deaf children in
use in Chicago and the one put in
practice by Miss Meta Wittig in the
school established in this city. Miss
McCOwen has consented TO come here
while on n visit with her sister. DR..
McCowen, of Davenport.
The program Saturday afternoon
VIII consist of an address on Causes
of Deafness" by DR.. Emily Wright,
OF this city, practical illustration of
the work done in the school here by
Miss Wittig and her class, and an adj
dress BY Miss McCowen upon the
Aims and Purposes of Oral Instruc-
ton for the Deaf" The latter will
explain the methods of instruction
eXemplified by Miss Wittig. She is
said to be an interesting speaker on
the subject which lies so near her
heart.
Years In the City.
Miss McCowen began her work in
Chicago in 1883 by opening Il private
school for the purpose of working
out methods by which she believed
the deaf and dumb might be taught
to speak. Through her effort and
the success which followed the work
has grown and has gained public ia
vor TO the extent that she was asked
in 1898 TO accept the position which
she now holds. Miss McCowen is "A
graduate of the Iowa state university
and began her career as n primary
teacher in the public schools of that
state. Afterwards being attracted
to the work of the deaf, she taught
first in a western institution. and
later established a private. school
where she could have freedom to
work out her own ideas.
In June, 1897, illinois passed a law
providing for the education of deaf
children at home wherever demand
ed by at least three, the state provid-
ing aid to the amount of $3.50 per
child, annually. \ number of schools
have been opened under this law.
There are now in operation A schools
in the states of Wisconsin, Ohio, Hi
nois and Michigan. The great troub-
lie has been, however, to find compe-
tent teachers. The work of prepare
tion is so tedious and trying and the
teaching so laborious and often
times discouraging, that few are will
ing to devote themselves to it. most |
teachers of little children preferring
to devote themselves to the less diff
ficult and more pleasant work of the |
or primary school.
The plan of the day schools for the |
deaf is TO use rooms in the regular |
school buildings, so that the deaf |
may be associated with 9TH
er children on the Fairgrounds be-
fore and after school and at recess, |
and so be one with them, instead of |
a class by themselves, set off from
the rest of the world and marked as
defective. They are taught to speak
and to know what is said to them by
even though themselves
leaf. The process is slow, but by
taking young children who have not
years of bad habits to unlearn and
whose organs of speech are still
iexible and capable of development,
he results already achieved verge on
he marvellous and prove beyond
loubt the practical value of the
raining. AS the work of the teach
RS is individual, the classes at first
must be small, from three to five be-
ng all one teacher cun handle to adj
'antage. Later, the advanced pupils
AXE the regular school course, when
classes may be somewhat larger.