The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1920-02-25

them at lessons. meals, or a game they
are apparently normal boys and girls
They laugh and talk. Sometimes they
all talk at once Just like any group
of happy school children. Their les
! sons are much less formal than those
in regular school, and they are en-
couarged to talk, so long as they do
not get too far from the school work
at hand, or do not forget politeness.
Arithmetic and other lessons are put
on practical basis. Learning to read
is for them matter Of being able to
| enjoy more stories. and their letters
| from home. Most of them are voracious
readers. The writer was interested to
| find that when they had a spare mo-
ment the older ones ran to get books
and were soon absorbed in primer Sto-
| ries or fairy tales.
children totally deaf, but a sense Of
| rhythm is taught them by means Of
| the piano. A little upright piano is
pushed out into the middle of a room
and several children stand at the back
with their hands against the instru-
| ment. A teacher plays two chords over
and over--frst a loud chord and then
soft one Through their unusually
! sensitive fingers the children feel the
| vibration, and say as she plays, "One
| two one, two" accenting the one, just
as the pianist has. When she changes
/
they feel the difference instantly and
change their count to zone, two three.
| They also feel and distinguish fast
and SLOW playing, and high" and
"low" notes. The sensitiveness of the
deaf to vibrations was shown when
the other day one of the pupils re-
marked:
Someone is playing the piano down
stairs"
Yes" said a teacher, "how did you
know"
Il can feel it coming up through my
feet" the child answered
Most of Miss Reinhardts family have
been deaf since birth, or lost their
hearing through illness. Where the
auditory nerve is altogether DESTROYED,
there is no hope of any return OF the
hearing. Injury to the ear drum does
not necessarily indicate permanent or
total deafness.
one child can hear sometimes if spo-
ken to directly in the ear. on some
days she will catch every word spoken
in an ordinary tone close to her. Al
other times. when the air is less clear
she can not hear a shout. Later, this
girl can possibly wear an acoustlcon
and hear more plainly, but while she
is still so young an instrument might
possibly injure the delicate hearing APP
paratus. ,...
established her school in Kensington,
and she says that the entire profit OF
II years is represented by the cottage
annex which she bought.
Work of this sort she says, can
not be profitable, because even II a
school were taking in large sums IT
would want to put the proceeds into
The work of developing deaf chill
dren should be endowed through a
number of schools for the deaf, she
thinks. SO that they can be continued
indefinitely. and for the sake OF prog
ress As it is, she and most of the
other heads of private schools for the
deaf, struggle along, trying to pay an
ADEQUATE corps of teachers, and &c
keen the household warm well fed and
comfortable on the amount paid IN by
the pupils. ,. t..,,- -.
sometimes Miss Reinhardt feels rs
If the financial end Of the game must
he A losing one, but on the other side
Of the scale she is winning SO heavily
in her efforts with the children ina
she is encouraged to keep on, hoping
that some wealthy and benevolent fairy
will finally come to the aid OF deal
| hi