Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1914-08-07

to be turned away from the visitor upon his en-
trance, their attention would not be diverted
since their organs of sight have to perform the
duty of the useless ears. Should they the
newcomer, however they will smile affection
ate welcome then direct their gaze more to
the lips of their teacher It is this concentration
of gaze which first betrays their physical handi-
cap. All the knowledge they receive must come
through the sense of sight, and their eyes are
ever the alert to catch the smallest movement
Of their teachers lips.
The oral-deaf department OF the Parker Prac-
tise school is under the direction OF Miss Mary
McCowen, the founder of the McCowen Oral
School for Young Deaf Children For more than
thirteen years this school carried on the pioneer
work for the deaf In Chicago, and since 1885,
when speech classes were organized in the pub
lie schools, has supplemented that work by con-
tinuing to teach the very young children. There
eight classes, totaling about ninety pupils.
under charge Of Miss McCowen and her assist
ants, the children ranging in age from i've to
sixteen years.
The caller probably will be ushered into one of
the kindergarten classes. Here he will find ten
or dozen contented little scholars seated In
baby chairs about low table. 1t is likely they
will be counting colored sticks, or making pat
terms with them, murmuring all the while tho
names OF the figures they are forming. The
teacher talks busily and naturally to the children
just as II they could hear, no other form of COM
munication than spoken language ever being en-
ployed This is necessary in order to so develop
the brains of the children that they shall think
and express themselves In spoken language as
naturally and unconsciously as hearing children.
Two not unreasonable questions may be asked
by anyone whose notice is called to this work
how and why do these children reproduce the
speech they never hear? And second what does
it do for the children when they are grown?
Let us watch one Of the baby classes The pro-
gram suddenly changes from the play with the
colored sticks and blocks. The teacher. leaning
forward arrests the attention of one of her pu-
pills, enunciating with perfect articulation some
simple word Instantly the chfId's expression
crystallizes to reveal pure concentration OF
thought. All the intelligence OF the childish men,
tally is focused through the eyes on the teachers
lips. Then gradually there terminates In his
mind sense Of the mental action that evoked
the motions Of her lips and tongue as she SPOKE
and this sense blooms into an imitation OF the
act, accompanied by the corresponding sound If
this is not correct the teacher repeats the word
and illustrates to the child Just bow 1t should
be made Usually he gets It more and more per
feet each time, and when the lesson is finished
he returns to his play, smiling from pure Joy In
the intellectual exercise.
Only the simplest words are given for the child
to reproduce at first. These are really not words
at all, but mere sounds. When individual sounds
are mastered they are then combined to form
words For example, suppose the child has
learned to make the sounds of the vowel "a" (ah)
and the consonant M" The teacher now places