New Iberia enterprise and independent observer. (New Iberia, La.) 1902-1944, 1904-09-24
A SCHOOL FOR DEAF CHILDREN
AND Observation-Disclosures.

II The school bells are ringing a.
Of over Louisiana calling into the pub
'i lie schools hosts of Marys and Maj
garets, Freddies and Charles t
j.: say nothing of the thousands o
t others who answer to names tha
:, fall as sweetly on the ears of th
@ household as do these. Books an,
IS states are in demand and the edn
o cational ball is again being set il
& motion. Superintendent Of Public
Education, Prof. Aswell, has hat
r a busy summer attending teachers
d institutes all over the state infusine
new ideas into the mind of hund
reds Of teachers now ready for the
i. fray. The colleges and universities
to are getting ready for large at.
tendance of older Marys and Freds
who have bid goodbye to the high
school and have ambitions beyond.
All these signs Of activity for a
campaign of brain culture" are
are indeed most gratifying as evi-
dences of the "forward march" of
the present and following genera
tion Of this state.
Nor does the story end here, for
in more than a hundred other
homes in Louisiana where there is
a deaf child, preparations are just
as eagerly being made for return
ing to school of the silent member
of the family. Unlike his hearing
brothers and sisters he cannot run
across lots to the school house and
when school is out, go home to sup.
per, but he must take journey,
sometimes from southwest Louisi-
ana, sometimes from the extreme
northwest and from almost every
Parish in the state he must take q
ride in the cars to Baton Rouge
where his school is located And
a great school it isl A fine mass
i've building two or three times
as large as the State House
which it overshadows. There on a
beautiful plat of ground of 25 acres
is where the state provides a free
education to every white child in
the state who is too deaf to receive
instruction in the ordinary way.
There also for eight months in the
year remain these deaf boys and
girls; board, books, care and in
struction by trained specialists be-
ing supplied freely and generously
by the representatives of sympa-
thetic and whole hearted people
the state government. Not only
this--these unfortunate deaf child
rem become in sense the fortunate
deaf, for as recompense (possibly)
more is done for them in our noble
state institute than is done for
their hearing brothers and sisters
in the public schools, and why mott
In addition TO the ordinary school
course of reading, writing, arith-
metic, geography, etc.. the boys
are given daily instruction in some
handicraft which will be a founda-
ton for them upon which to earn
living if need be by following a
useful trade. The trades taught
al present are, printing and type
setting, (they publish little school
paper of their own) cabinet making
and carpentry, and shoemaking
nd thrc 1rfr ,,,.l1
probably be introduced, that Of
house painting, paper hanging aud
interior decorating, The girls are
Taught plain and fancy sewing aud
household science SO that npon
finishing the course the young la.
dies can go into the kitchen at
home and prepare palatable dishes
according to the most modern scien-
tific rnles of cookery.
The system of instruction nsed
in imparting all these things to the
deaf mutes embraces the so. called
sign language and finger alphabet
as wells as oral instruction and
lip-reading. Partially deaf child
rem or those who lost their hearing
through disease or accident after
they had acquired some speech are /
SO instructed as to retain what
speech they had and improve upon
it--still others who show exeep-
tional aptitude though born deaf
ran be tanght the use of their
vocal organs TO a useful extent
Behind oil these scenes Of educa.
tional activity sits the dovernor in
the capital with his finger on the
pnlse and smile on his face which
says "well done, go on with the
good woork" and scattered
throughout the state in every Par
ish are the members OF the state
who helped to bring it
Ill about and can now point with
pride TO the work we'll done.
The superintendent OF the Insfi-
ute for the Deaf at Baton Rouge,
Prof s. T. Walker, informs us
hat while the state has literally
provided for the schooling of every
white deaf child in the state aud
many are availing themselves OF
The provision, there are yet proba-
bly, rs many more deaf children in !
he state whose parents either do
lot know of the free character Of J
he school or through mistaken
love are deferring sending
heir children to school at the
proper impressionable age. The
'eader of this would be doing n ,
most humane and phiIanfhropic {
'ct by reporting the names Of par
'nts and their addresses to Supt.
Walker of any child known to Z
hem who is not attending school !
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