The Birmingham age-herald., 1924-05-18
BLIND AND DEAF
 GETTENDER CARE IN FINE SCHOOLS
Two Institutions Main
 tained By State At Talladega

Talladega it's schools for the education of, the deaf and blind for both races. These are not eleemosynary institu- tions as frequently termed, but in them the state is practically duplicating the work that it is doing for seeing and hearing pupils in it's public, schools. The courses of study practically paral- lei those of the public schools, and when a pupil& has completed the pre- scribetf work he has the same education as the average child who goes through the public schools and high schools. In other words the state is doing flor the deaf and blind partially what it does for the great mass of children who fill it's public schools. However, it is not fully doing for these handicapped chiI- dreH all it does for those possessing all the faculties. In noting what is-faught in the schools there are several items of importance neglected that are deemed essential to other children. Domestic science is an accepted necessity in all first-elass public schools now, but such classes are not maintained in the deaf and blind schools. where they would prove of greater value than to any other claxs.
 Deaf and blind children have the same desires of other children. Prac- tical1y everything thnt another child likes they like. In sports and athletics they can undergo the same training and exercises that other children do. In fact. the deaf enjoy all the sports, and baseball and football are about the only things barred to the blind. And while the blind cannot play football they can have pleasure with a football. A cam pus full of blind boys can derive much enjoyment from a football They toss 1t about and catch it, and at times lose it. But lost bah is not for long. A blind boy will pick up a hand full of gravel and throw it about The min ute particle hits the ball he will recog- nize the different sound and follow its direction, and soon find the ball, An adequate athletic field properly equipped is badly needed at the Alabama School for the Deaf and Blind.
 Courses Fer Boys
 In the industrial arts the deaf boys are taught carpentry, woodwork, print ing and given instruction in farming and gardening. There are many things that should be added, such as tailoring, shOemaking and any and everything that Is a profitable occupation. There are very few things that a deaf person cannot do.
 The deaf girls are taught all the work of q well equipped sewing room, housework, etc.
 The girls at the School for the Blind are taught plain and fancy sewing, crOeheting, knitting, weaving, basket work and other things. In sewing the blind girl ean do about all any other girl can do; in fact, they excel the average girl. While for sewing a spe- eiaI needle is provided, with a place in the side of the eye where the thread can be put through, but if the neees- sity arises a blind girl can thread a needle. She does it with her tongue.
 The boys at the Alabama School for the Blind are taught to work with cane, I piano tuning, furniture repairing and polishing, and there~i is no end to what J they can do if the proper facilities are provided. One of the best automobile and electric workers in TalIadega is a blind man. He can take an electric motor to pieces and repair it, and put every part back in place without mis- placing a single one. Recently he over hauled an automobile and the only as- sistance he needed was in lifting the engine out and putting it back AlEthe ! parts were taken out and cleaned, all wiring removed and replaced. He de- 4 teeted defective parts and had them re- | plneed. All the work was done at night in a back yard. He had no need for a light.
 Tn the purely educational work as aforesaid, the work practically paral- IeIs that of the public schools. The deaf are taught by two methods: : the manual or sign language, and oral or | spoken lauguage. Some remarkable re- suits are achieved, especially in the oral work, where pupils who have never talked have been taught to do so. They are also taught to read lips. The writer recalls an instance of a few years ago in which the proficiency of lip reading l was we'll illustrated, He met two per I sons at the same time-one deaf and the other q speaking and hearing per- son. In the introduction, he confused the names and after the formalities were over and company of several l people were seated, he found himself in conversation with the deaf person but not knowing it, thinking all the while he was 4aIking to the new-made ac- qllaintanee who could hear. As the conversation progressed, the party sit ting on the front porch, something in I the street attracted attention, and he turned his head, but talking all the while. As he turned his face back the other party to the conversation re- marked, You turned your face away and [ did not understand what you said" She had been reading his lips so perfectly and talking so well that he did not realize that he was talking other than to q person with normal faculties of speech and hearing.
 School For Deaf
 The institution known as the Ala hama School for the Deaf was estab- Iished in 1858 by the late Dr.. J. H. | Johnson as a private school. Only a few pupils were enrolled, but it's neces- sity as an adjunct to the state eduea- tionaI system was soon recognized, and in 1860 the state of Alabama purchased the property and took over its support, retaining Dr. Johnson as principal. Tn | 1S61 the instruction of the blind was undertaken. and they were placed in the same building with the deaf, but had separate instructors.
 The schools had a steady but slow growth. neither parents nor the state recognizing for a time their obligations to the deaf and blind children. How. ever, by 1888 the schools had grown to such proportions, their worth being more and more recognized, that the deaf and blind were separated and new buildings for the School for the Blind erected east of the School for the Deal on the same street.
 In 1892 the School for the Negro Deaf and Blind was opened in new