The Evening statesman. [volume] (Walla Walla, Wash.) 1903-1910, 1903-07-24
Effort to Be Made to In.
troduce Lip Reading
TEACHER FROM MORTIFIED, MINI.
Brief Details of Modern Method of AS.
sisting Unfortunate
Children.

himself in the promotion of private
schools for the deaf in an effort to in
troduce lip reading among the dea
children of the state, has finally ar
ranged to have a teacher from Miss
Bakers school at Mortified, Mimi
visit this city, and early in August
she will spend few days at leas1
among the deaf children of the city
The teacher is Miss Ina Smith. anC
she has been engaged in the work fol
a number of years, being deeply in
terested in overcoming the defect oil
loss OF hearing in the young. Miss
Smith comes with the purpose of or
ganizing school in lip reading, and
will remain if pupils can be secured
TO pay the expense of teaching She
offers to spend her time for very little
more than cost of living, and assist
in promoting the new system of teach
ing the unfortunates of Washington
Anent the possibilities of the es-
Establishment Of school of this sort in
Walla Walla it is pertinent to say that
number Of such schools are main
tanned in different states. and all with
splendid success. In San Francisco
past the experimental stage.
The class which is conducted in
San Francisco forms a part of the
Harrison Primary School on Grove
street. 1t is in charge of Mrs. Jennie
Bright Holden, who came from the
east with a well earned reputation for
the great good she had accomplished
in the noble work She has a class
of twentyfOur, the scholars ranging
from three years old to nineteen. The
teacher assisted by her husband. Mr..
A. n. Holden, who is also an adept in
the work, and without his assistance
progress with so large a class would
be extremely slow
Mrs. Holden had her training in the
Wisconsin Pathological Institute and
she employs what is known as the
German oral method. Never before
had this been tried until her advent.
There is an organization known as the
Parents Association for Promoting
Teaching Of Speech to Deaf Children.
This society, composed mainly of
those whose children were afflicted
made application nearly two years
ago to the school board for an auxil-
larry class and Mrs. Holden was sent
for to Wisconsin. A visit to her class
will show the wonderful progress she
has made
She has a room full Of bright
youngsters, all eager to learn, all pa
tient, studious and thoughtful and all
trimming over with love for their kind
and gentle teacher Some of the lit
tie ones are so we'll along in their
studies. so clever in their knowledge
of lip language that at the beginning
of next term they are going to take
their places in the regular classes of
the schools
In other places the sign manual is
taught the deaf and dumb. The latter
learn to read and write and receive
good educatiOns. But, alas, they can
converse only in signs, and this pleas
ure is limited. Only their teachers
and those similarly afflicted to them
selves can understand them. When
such a person enters the classroom
in the Harrison primary school the
sympathies of the little ones go out
to him and the bright eyes are sad
dened. These pupils of Mrs. Holden
are not confined in their conversation
to their teachers. They can under
stand any one who speaks the English
language cOrrectely, and it is little
short Of wonderful to receive their
answers.
The younger the children were the
more clear was their enunciation,
showing that no time should be lost in
making up natures deficiency. One
little girl of II, pretty, intelligent and
possessed of charming manners,
proved a revelation.
ASK her anything said Mrs. Hol-
den. "She has studied we'll and can
tell you all about the discovery of
gold"
In answer to queries, she told that
her name was Belle Mcpherson and
that she was II years old She told
that Marshall discovered gold in a
place called Colombia, and that the
discovery was made in 1S4S Her
memory was keener than that of an
ordinary child blessed in all her
senses.
There's little chap there whose
sense of hearing IN being developed.
He is 5 years of age, a midget in size,
and he speaks what little he knows
hhole PLAINLY tHdH any one else. he
understands in the lip language read
lily, and Mrs. Holden can talk to him
from behind The sound vibrations
strike the ear, the teacher standing
close enough to him for this, and
lis ready replies seemed almost phe-
nOmenal
When Senator Welch's bill was be-
lore the legislature there was a grad
late from this school of speech who
was stone deaf and yet carried on
conversations with anybody and ev-
arybOdy. And his infections were al
ways correct and his emphasis exact.
Not few of the legislators were there
who doubted that he could converse
as he did and still be unable to hear
These doubling Thomases on more