Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-12
TEACHING THE BLIND |
WONDERS OF MODERN EDUCA-
TON FOR THE SIGHTLESS.
Children Now Rendered Capable Of
Helping Themselves Despite
Their Affection.
From the Omaha Bee.

From the Omaha Bee.
We're Joining to walk, Mr.. Nicholson,
were Joining to walk. and l can tom
corners all by my lone
The little boy who said that to the
visiting principal In an uptown school
was not a convalescent Or a cripple, but
chubby. joyous. healthy little fellow
of seven, whose mother had always car
ried or wheeled him because she feared
that he would acquire too many bumps
and bruises if she let him walk about
alone in the darkness in which he lived.
She had always kept him at home and
wouldn't send him to an institution for
the blind, because she couldn't bear the
thought of his being away from home
for five days In the week. She had tried
to teach him, but the problem of little
Henry's future was troublesome. This
fall a notice she received solved it for
her.
This notice. which was sent to all the
known mothers of blind children in New
York, said that classes for the 1nStruc-
ton of blind children would be opened
by the board Of education in five schools
in the city; that in these classes the
children were to be taught to read and
write with the object Of fitting them to
work with seeing children IN the proper
grades.
That the mothers OF other little Henrys
were waiting for such an opportunity
and welcomed the establishment of
day school for their children is shown
by the fact that all of the five classes.
which are limited to ten pupils each. are
well attended and that every day, as the
news spreads, additional children seek
admission. The scheme Is an innovation
in New York, Cincinnati and Cleveland
this fall. but it has been practiced in
Chicago for almost nine years, and in
Milwaukee for two.
Psychology Of the Blind.
The New York work is in charge of
Miss Gertrude E. Bingham, who has
trained her corps of special teachers for
this work herself. She has taken up
with them the study of the psychology
of the blind as well as the Braille and
the four-point system of reading and
writing. She has managed the entire es-
tablishment Of the five classes-three in
Manhattan and two in Brooklyn-and has
provided for a separate press where the
books for this work are to be printed.
The text of the books is translated into
the language of the blind and copied on
brass plates. These are kept In stock and
copies are made only when they are need
ed. They are bound by the printer him
self and sent to the pupil direct from his
shop.
The books are about IL by inches and
are printed on heavy brown paper, and
four OF them go to make up an average
reader. AS all the children are at differ
ent stages of their education. the variety
of books needed Is great and the printer
is always busy.
The purposes OF these classes are mani
fold. AS already intimated they are to
afford an education to the child whose
parents will not send him to an institu-
ton and who cannot afford to provide
children to be taught to be Independent,
but they are to be fitted also to enter
into the work of their normal neighbors.
General Training.
Even before they have learned to read
and write they attend classes in elocu
ton, singing, nature study or perhaps
history, and as soon as they are able they
are sent into classes in composition, gram
mar and reading. Geography and arith-
metic are usually the last subjects they
learn because of the great amount Of IL
illustrative work which they involve.
Drawing is also taught by means of up
holstery tacks stuck into excelsior cush-
ions. The child feels the outline and tries
to copy it. often with remarkable re-
suits.
When the children are advanced into
the regular schoolroom the special teacher
is not relieved of their care. It becomes
her duty then to help them with their
clear whether the regular teacher can pre-
sent only in such way as to be intelligi-
BILE to the child with seeing eyes.
For instance. the day before the geog
raphy lesson the special teacher, having
ascertained what countries. rivers. noun
tains and towns will be talked about,
outlines map on the blind child's cush
lon in upholstery nails and gives him
little preliminary lesson, 50 that he may
be familiar with the ground covered the
in arithmetic that the children are to
learn the special teacher explains to her
charge on his own pegboard just what
the new principles involve. The work of
the special teacher Is to be the charts,
the illustrations, the map and the black
board for the blind children under her
care.
But this is only in the case Of the more
advanced pupils. those who are excep-
tionally bright and those who have had
some training either at an institution or
at home. With many children who come
to these dasses the instruction must begin
at the very beginning; often they must
first be trained in the use Of their hands
and limbs as we'll as the control of their
finer muscles and tactile sense organs
Some of them have, like little Henry,
never been allowed to walk about alone,
and a great many have never had occu-
patton for their little fingers.
Pegs and Holes.
They begin by learning to put pegs into
holes on a square board at first the OBJ
ject Is just to get them In. That trick
being mastered. they try to put them in
regular sequence and finally to make pat
terms with them and to count as they do
1t. This is also the first step leading to
the Braille point system
All this work means patience for the
teacher. courage and tact. Sometimes,
when the children are mentally deficient
as well as blind, the task of teaching
them anything seems almost unsurmount-
able The beginners need a great deal of
encouragement. and If the teacher doesn't
seem to give them this they give 1t to
one another.
In the uptown class there Is a twelve
before and who has never even heard of
counting, reading and writing. She is
very restless and eager to learn, but she
does not seem able to acquire the first
knack OF fitting those pegs into the holes.
Instead OF being chagrfned that the little
boy next to her. who arrived some time
later, Is advancing very rapidly she is
overjoyed at his progress and spends all
of her time talking about it and pushing
him on with her praise.
MARY can't learn, Mary can't learn"
she says, but Rudolf, he's a good boy,
he's smart He'll go up soon and then