Stammering, Its Cause and Cure Part 16

Another man was section foreman when he took his course at the Bogue Inst.i.tute. Today he is manager of one of a great chain of big retail stores and makes more in one day than he used to make in two weeks.

Another case is that of a young man from New York State, who gave up his position to come to the Bogue Inst.i.tute and be free from stammering. Six weeks later he went home. Like the other young man mentioned above, he met with a success--surprise--he was re-employed by his old employers--and he, too, was given a 25 per cent. increase in salary.

So, you see, freedom from stammering pays--pays splendidly and continuously for all the rest of your life. It pays in satisfaction, in contentment, in happiness and ability to a.s.sociate with others on a plane of speech-equality.

It pays in better salaries and bigger earning power--in opportunities opened and chances made possible to you that are closed to the one who stammers.

The world's successful men and women do not stammer. The happy, contented people do not stammer. The money-makers do not stumble and stick and stutter when they talk.

To be successful you must know how to talk. If you stammer today, make your plans to get out from under the handicap--remember that it will pay you and pay you well.

CHAPTER VI

THE HOME OF PERFECT SPEECH

The Bogue Inst.i.tute of Indianapolis is truly the home of perfect speech. For in no other place can be found the things that are found here. Nowhere else is there that silent sympathy with the moods of the one who stammers. Nowhere else is there that home-like atmosphere, that all-pervading spirit of helpfulness and cheerfulness and good-will.

No matter how discouraged the stammerer may be, no matter how tired or nervous or self-conscious--no matter how shy or shrinking from the gaze of others--no matter how timid or filled-with-fear the mind, the att.i.tude begins to change within an hour after his arrival.

For this is the home of perfect speech. Success is in the air. Every step I take counteracts the tendency to fear and worry and strain. I know what the stammerer needs. I know the things that need to be done to quiet the hyper-nervous case. I know what to do to banish that intense self-consciousness and make the student self-forgetful. These things have been learned by experience. And these gained-by-experience methods start the student in the right way from the very first hour.

Pupils Are Met at the Train: We are glad to meet pupils at the Union Station, where all trains over steam roads arrive, if the student informs us beforehand (either by letter or telegram) the road over which he is coming and the time he will arrive in this city. There is no charge for this, it being merely a part of the courtesy extended to students who are unfamiliar with the location of the Inst.i.tute. A small bow of blue ribbon should be worn as a means of identification.

When You Arrive: If you have not written or telegraphed us to meet you at the railway station, as soon as you arrive go to the telephone booth and call the Bogue Inst.i.tute and a representative of the inst.i.tute will be sent for you promptly.

Your Baggage: The transfer of baggage from the station to the Inst.i.tute will be attended to by our office. The Baggage Transfer makes regular trips to the Inst.i.tute for the purpose of looking after the baggage of new students as well as those who have completed the course and are leaving for home.

Entrance Requirements: It is necessary that every student entering the Inst.i.tute be of normal intelligence and at least eight years of age.

Every student must also be of good moral character and must be able to speak the English language sufficiently well to take the instruction.

When a stammerer has been cured in one language, however, he is cured in all languages. Rich and poor are here treated with equal kindness, courtesy and respect. We believe in those who are here to be cured, regardless of their station in life, and we believe in helping them accomplish that purpose in as short a time as is consistent with the results which they desire.

Grounds and Buildings: The Inst.i.tute Building and Dormitory stand in a large lot, ideally located, in a desirable residential neighborhood away from the dirt, dust, noise and clamor of the city and yet not so far out as to be in the least removed from the city's activities.

Board and Room for Students: The Inst.i.tute maintains its own Dormitory and Boarding Department under the direct and immediate supervision of the Inst.i.tute authorities. To the right of the Main Dormitory Building as you enter will be found the Dormitory for girls and women, while on the left are located the General Offices and the Dormitory for boys and men. Every facility has been provided for the comfort and happiness of our pupils while at the Inst.i.tute. Room, board, heat, light, hot and cold baths and all other comforts and conveniences are provided.

Sleeping Rooms: The pupils' sleeping rooms and apartments are large, well-lighted, and well-ventilated. They are comfortable both summer and winter, ample facilities being provided to heat the entire building comfortably at all times.

All of the sleeping rooms as well as the entire Dormitory and cla.s.s-room are lighted with electricity. Each room contains furnishings necessary to make the room comfortable and home-like. Bath and face towels are furnished without extra cost, as is all necessary bedding and linen. Commodious and s.p.a.cious bathrooms, with running water, and modern equipment are furnished for the exclusive use of pupils.

Dining Room: Two large, airy and well-ventilated dining rooms are located in the Main Dormitory Building. Here are served all meals, made up in the most appetizing manner--wholesome menus planned for the special needs of the type of students who come here. There is no dieting, but meals are carefully balanced and highly seasoned dishes or injurious food combinations are eliminated.

Every meal is prepared under the direct supervision of an experienced chef. Under this direction our pupils are served with some of the most delicious and healthful viands which can be put together--all of which is evidenced by the students' enthusiastic approbation of the Inst.i.tute table fare.

Scrupulous Cleanliness: Every part of the Inst.i.tute Buildings is kept scrupulously clean--every day in the year. In this respect the Bogue Inst.i.tute surpa.s.ses many of the best hotels.

Library: The leading papers and magazines are constantly available and we encourage students to keep in touch with the world of events by regular reading.

How the Time is Spent: The order of the day is as follows:

6:30 AM......................................Arise 7 to 8 AM................................Breakfast 8 to 9 AM............................Special Study 9 to 11 AM................Morning Treatment Period 11 to 12 AM....Progress Tests, Special Examination and Personal Instruction 12 to 2 PM.........................Luncheon Period 2 to 4 PM........................Cla.s.s Instruction 4 to 6 PM...............................Recreation 6 PM........................................Dinner 8 PM.........Children's Junior Cla.s.s Retiring Hour 9 PM.........Children's Senior Cla.s.s Retiring Hour 10 PM...................Adults' Last Retiring Hour

There are no cla.s.ses on Sat.u.r.day afternoon nor on Sundays or holidays.

There are no evening or night cla.s.ses at any time and no student may enroll who is not in a position to devote all the needed time to the pursuit of the work. There is no part-time course, permitting the student to work or go to public or high school while attending the Bogue Inst.i.tute. The work here is too important to become a "side-issue." We insist that it be the student's regular and only absorbing activity.

LECTURES: From time to time during the year, open lectures are given by myself and a.s.sistant instructors dealing with the fundamentals of speech or kindred subjects aimed to make for the students' rapid progress. These lectures are important and must be attended by every student.

A CAREFULLY-PLANNED COURSE: Every step of the student's course from the time of arising in the morning to the time of retiring at night, is planned for the best results. Experience has taught us what is best and the day's program is built upon the lines of greatest progress in a given time. There are no haphazard steps in this program--each activity accomplishes a desirable and necessary result. These are the things that make for sure and rapid success--and which insure that every day shall show progress over the day before.

In the work of the Bogue Inst.i.tute every student's course is under my direct and personal supervision and direction. I am, of course, necessarily aided by a.s.sistant instructors, each of whom was selected with especial reference to his fitness for the work which is entrusted to him.

Every Teacher is a Specialist: Each one is a specialist--a master, backed not only by a thorough experience in the Bogue Inst.i.tute, but also having served an extended apprenticeship under my personal instruction.

Every specialist responsible for any department of our instruction must meet certain rigid qualifications. First, they must be well-educated, refined and of the best character. They must understand the stammerer's difficulty from a moral and mental standpoint as well as from a technical standpoint. They must maintain a naturally sympathetic, cheerful and helpful frame of mind at all times and must be able to prove that the training under my hand has thoroughly qualified them to serve the pupils of the Bogue Inst.i.tute.

The long period of training and apprenticeship, which has always been an outstanding feature of our methods, could be done away with, should I desire to cheapen the instruction. Inexperienced instructors could be employed for less than half the compensation of the experts I now employ--but these things could be sacrificed only at the expense of results. For many years the superiority of the Bogue Inst.i.tute faculty has been nationally recognized and this reputation we are today maintaining--and improving, where this is possible.

CHAPTER VII

MY MOTHER AND THE HOME LIFE AT THE INSt.i.tUTE

The home life at the Bogue Inst.i.tute cannot be mentioned without also mentioning my mother and the work she has done and is doing to make this truly a home life. This is her work and she has succeeded. She represents the pivotal point around which that home life turns and she is the guiding spirit that makes the Inst.i.tute a real home for those who come here. It is her beneficent smile that makes you feel at home when you arrive, her kindly influence which makes you feel at home during your whole stay and her smiling G.o.d-speed when you go, that makes you wish it were not time to leave.

Under Mother Bogue's direction, the Inst.i.tute is a busy, happy, cheerful and well-ordered home for the big and happy family that it houses.

Music is here for those who wish to play. Games and books and magazines for those who would thus entertain themselves and others. We are acquainted with the truth that "all work makes Jack a dull boy--and Jill a dull girl"--and wholesome and worth-while amus.e.m.e.nts and diversions are provided for all ages and all occasions. These amus.e.m.e.nts are for those who wish them--those who do not can always find rest and quiet in their own rooms.

Rowdyism is absent. The hoodlum is not here. We find no difficulty in establishing standards of conduct that become the lady and the gentleman--and the regulations that are in effect are based upon the belief that those who come here can and will measure up to these standards.

Unity of Purpose: One of the distinct advantages of the plan whereby all students live in the Inst.i.tute Dormitory is that all who are here have come for a purpose and bear that thought in mind. The student who sits beside you at the table is here for the same purpose as yourself.

You are both working for the same thing--working earnestly, enthusiastically, seriously--and withal, successfully--to be cured of stammering.

What does this mean?

It means that the very atmosphere of the Inst.i.tute is saturated with energy, enthusiasm and the spirit of successful endeavor.

Determination, application, success--these things are in the very air you breathe. The spirit that carries an army to victory is here--to carry you to victory and success.

Absolute Privacy in Treatment: There is absolutely no publicity connected with the attendance of any student at the Inst.i.tute. Many students have attended without even their families or friends being aware of the fact. Others have come leaving behind the impression that they were visiting friends--which in truth, they were, as they afterwards found those connected with the Inst.i.tute to be sincere and worth-while friends, indeed.

Even in carrying on correspondence regarding the course, no one need know anything about your intentions, for upon no occasion does the name of the Inst.i.tute appear on the outside of any letter or package addressed to you. Only the name "BENJAMIN N. BOGUE" appears to identify the letter.

At no time will your name, address or any information about you in connection with your name be published or discussed in any public manner whatsoever without your permission.