The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-07-24

shouted at him, but they could have
shouted into a photograph with bet
ter effect Mrs. Holden knew. the
young man, and she said that when he
started he was more dense than her
dullest pupil. This goes to show to
what a degree of perfection the study
may be carried.
The morning session in Mrs. Hol-
den's class begins with a short exer-
else in calisthenics. Then the smaller
children are seated before black
board and the morning journal is
taken up. The children are taught to
read the day of the month Then
there are words written on the board
for which there are illustrations in
various parts of the room. For in
stance, a child pronounces the word
moose" spells it, and then points it
out in picture They all know what
horse is. They are taught the lit
tie things that other children learn
naturally in the early steps of life.
There is cook stove in the room used
for cooking, and the children know its
uses. They are taught everything
that is practical. They are shown
flowers and vegetables.
They know that birds are made to
sing. They know when a bird is sing
ing. They can see but not hear the
melody of the songster, and they watch
the vibrations of the throat with rapt
attention. There are three birds in
cages in the room. One is from Java.
This the children do not like because
he has a beak like parrot and they
fear he will peck them.
The little ones are as eager to learn
as their instructors are to teach.
They watch every movement of Mrs.
Holden with the avidity Of hawks
They understand everything she says
and stranger going into the class
room would never dream at first
glance that the little scholars have no
hearing. Mrs. Holden claps her
hands or stamps her foot and imme
diately the class is all attention. If
one should stumble over an answer
or present an improper one, all hands
are up. each pupil bubbling over with
the solution. The work of the little
ones does not stop with the dismissal
hour They go right along at home
and one or two have something new
to spring on the teacher each day.
They were having an exercise on
addition. Mrs. Holden would ask how
much 4 and made, and the little one
would chalk down 4 plus 3, and then
the answer. One little girl went to
the board and wrote 10 minus equal
8. This was a surprise to the teacher,
but she immediately patted the little
one on the back with encouragement.
The most difficult sound to over
come is that of k. The vowel sounds
a, e. and u, are also acquired after
considerable difficulty. To show how
earnest are the scholars one of them
spent a solid half day in trying to
pronounce the letter k The letter X
is also a hard one to pronounce. The
pronunciation is aided by placing the
index finger in the mouth. In the
study Of the lip language Mrs. Holden
places the fingers of the scholar on
her throat while her own fingers are
on the throat Of the child. This
transmits sound by vibrations. There
are number Of similar little tricks
20 aid the work and the result is more
than pleasing. The children seem to
feel instinctively the loss they sustain
in the absence of speech, and they try
to make up their deficiency. They
come nearer and nearer 10 the goal
every day.