The Deaf Part 11

[149] The first seems to have been the Boston a.s.sociation, formed in 1894.

[150] In several of these a.s.sociations membership is over a hundred. In Milwaukee there is also a similar society known as the Wisconsin Phonological Inst.i.tute to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, which was organized in 1878, and incorporated in 1879, as a philanthropic society. See Report, 1878, p. 5.

[151] On the subject of church work among the deaf, see Proceedings of National a.s.sociation of the Deaf, i., 1880, p. 19; iv., 1893, p. 53; vi., 1899, p. 58; vii., 1904, p. 153; Empire State a.s.sociation of Deaf-Mutes, xii., 1888, p. 31; Conference on Church Work among the Deaf (Protestant Episcopal), i., 1881, p. 5; ii., 1883, p. 4; iv., 1887, p.

3; v., 1888, p. 23; Report of Diocesan Commission on Church Work among the Deaf, 1886; Church Mission to the Deaf (New York), 1873, p. 14; 1886, p. 3; 1888, p. 3; _Annals_, xxix., 1884, p. 24.

[152] Direct relief may be afforded in some cases, and in others visits made to hospitals, prisons and the like, where deaf persons may be found, without regard to religious affiliation. a.s.sistance is also often rendered in acting as interpreters in court, though this work is frequently shared in by instructors of the deaf. In one or two instances, as we have seen, homes for the deaf have been established by religious bodies.

[153] In the Protestant Episcopal Church there are now some twelve clergymen engaged in this work, ten of whom are deaf, and more than twice this number of lay helpers.

[154] In New York there is a Society for the Welfare of the Jewish Deaf, which was organized in 1910, and incorporated in 1913. Laws, ch. 313. It is controlled by a board of from seventeen to thirty governors, and is interested in the educational, industrial, social and religious concerns of the deaf. See _Hebrew Standard_, March 15, 1912; _Jewish Charities_, Jan., 1912. See also Proceedings of National Conference of Jewish Charities, 1908, p. 28.

[155] Its first meeting was at the New York Inst.i.tution, after a call had been issued by several of the leading educators. In 1897 this body was incorporated.

[156] The organization was effected at Washington. See Report of Columbia Inst.i.tution, 1868, p. 16.

[157] A convention of articulation teachers was held as early as 1874.

Another meeting was held in 1884. See _Annals_, xix., 1874, pp. 90, 217; xxix., 1884, pp. 154, 237; _Volta Review_, xiv., 1913, p. 394. In 1894 was formed the a.s.sociation to Promote Auricular Training of the Deaf, which was subsequently merged with the larger organization.

[158] The a.s.sociation has a board of fifteen directors, and an advisory board of twelve.

[159] This was organized in 1897. Proceedings, p. 36. It is known as Department XVI, or the Department of Special Education. Both instructors of the deaf and of the blind are represented, those interested in the education of the feeble-minded having also been included up to 1902. In addition to the three general organizations of educators of the deaf, there have been several local conferences, as of the princ.i.p.als of schools in the Southern states and in New York, and of teachers in the state of Michigan and of the city of New York.

[160] Its first publication was by the instructors of the Hartford School. Publication was omitted in 1849, and from 1861 to 1868.

[161] For other publications that have appeared in the interest of the deaf, see "Periodicals Devoted to the Interests of the Deaf," by the Volta Bureau, 1913.

PART II

PROVISION FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF

CHAPTER VIII

THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF PRIOR TO ITS INTRODUCTION INTO THE UNITED STATES

Among the ancient peoples generally the deaf and dumb, especially those so by birth, were deemed as of deficient mentality, and were accounted, intellectually, as little better than children, or, indeed, as idiots.

Though treated, it seems, for the most part humanely, they were regarded not without some aversion; and their affliction was not infrequently looked upon as a visitation of the G.o.ds, some of the hardy races even destroying their deaf offspring. For a long period there were scarcely any serious attempts to give instruction to the deaf.

Allusions to the deaf and their state with respect to education are found in certain of the Greek and Latin writers, and occasionally in those of other languages. Herodotus speaks of the deaf son of Cr[oe]sus, and Hippocrates has reference to the deaf as a cla.s.s. Plato and Aristotle also make mention of the deaf, the latter considering them incapable of education because of the absence of the sense of hearing.

Among Latin authors we find an account by Pliny the Elder of a deaf man who had learned painting.

It is only after the fifteenth century that we have more or less authenticated accounts of the instruction of the deaf, and many of these are hardly more than a pa.s.sing reference here and there. It was, moreover, well after Europe had taken its present political appearance that the modern att.i.tude towards the deaf and their instruction began.

Before this their education as a cla.s.s was not thought of, and while no doubt there have always been sporadic instances of the instruction of the deaf, it is only since the middle of the eighteenth century that the deaf have come generally into the birthright of their education.

Yet it is not so great a matter of wonder that the movements for the instruction of the deaf took organized shape so late in the world's civilization. Learning or schooling was in no sense popular till some time after the pa.s.sing away of the so-called dark ages. For long it was rather the privilege of the rich and powerful. The great ma.s.s of the people were not deemed worthy of learning, and education itself in any general application did not have a recognized standing in society. After the Renaissance, however, had ushered in a new age, and when the desire for learning was the master pa.s.sion among many men in Southern and Western Europe, it is natural to suppose that efforts should have more frequently been made to instruct the deaf child; and after this time we are prepared to find an increasing number of instances of the instruction of the deaf. This was all the more true when an air of mystery was felt to surround these silent ones, and to bring the light of the new learning to these afflicted creatures was considered well worth the attempt.

The earliest instance recorded of instruction given to the deaf in the English language is that of the Venerable Bede about the year 691, who tells of a deaf person taught to speak by Bishop John of York, related as though it were a miracle. After many years we meet accounts of other cases. Rudolph Agricola (1443-1485) of Groningen, Holland, and later a professor at Heidelberg, cites in his "_De Inventione Dialecta_" a deaf man who could write. In Italy a little later we find certain deaf children whose instruction is mentioned by Pietro de Castro; while in the sixteenth century Girolamo Cardano (1501-1576), the distinguished physician of Pavia, attempted to state the principles of the education of the deaf, demonstrating the use of a written language for them, and advocating the teaching of speech. He further invented a manual alphabet, which was one of the first of its kind. In 1616 Giovanni Bonifaccio also wrote regarding the "art of signing" and speech for the deaf.

But it is to Spain that credit is to be given as being the first country of Europe where there are recorded accounts of successful instruction of the deaf. In 1550, or perhaps earlier, Pedro Ponce de Leon of the Order of St. Benedict taught, chiefly by oral methods, several deaf children in the convent of San Salvador de Ona. Great success must have attended his efforts, for in addition to the Spanish language and arithmetic, his pupils are reported to have mastered Latin, Greek and astrology. About this time there lived a deaf artist, known as _El Mudo_, and he had very likely received instruction in some way. In 1620 Juan Pablo Bonet, who had had several deaf pupils, instructing them largely in articulation methods, published a treatise on the art of instructing the deaf, called "_Reduccion de las Letras y Arta para Ensener a Hablar los Mudos_;" and he was the inventor of a manual alphabet, in considerable part like that used in America to-day. Sir Kinelm Digby of England, visiting Spain about this time, saw Bonet's work and wrote an account of his pupils.

In 1644 appeared in England "_Chirologia_, or the Natural Language of the Hand" by a physician, Dr. John Bulwer, who had perhaps also observed the results in Spain. This was followed in 1648 by his more important work, "_Philocophus_, or the Deaf and Dumb Man's Friend," mostly describing a kind of process in articulation and lip-reading. Bulwer's friend, John Wallis, a professor at Oxford, seems to have been the first practical teacher here, instructing two deaf persons by writing and in speech, and showing them to the King. In 1653 his "_Tractatus de Loquela_" was published. Along the same line was the writing of Dr.

William Holder on the "Elements of Speech," published in 1669, in which he advocated articulation teaching. In 1670 there appeared a treatise by George Sibscota on "The Deaf and Dumb Man's Discourse," but this was really a translation from the writings of a German named Deusing. In 1680 Dr. George Dalgarno of Scotland published his "_Didascalocophus_, the Deaf and Dumb Man's Tutor," in which preference was given to the use of a written language and a manual alphabet, of one of which he was himself the inventor. In 1698 appeared "_Digiti Lingua_," written "by a person who had conversed no otherwise in above nine years." Some half a century later we find the name of Henry Baker, son-in-law of Daniel Defoe, who gave instruction in speech.

Other countries of Europe were hardly behind England in their interest in the deaf and their instruction. Spain, besides the names we have mentioned, had notably Ramirez de Carion, himself a deaf man, who lived not long after Bonet. Italy had in particular Padre Lana Terzi, who in 1670 published a work on articulation; and also Fabrizio d'Acquapendente and Affinite, who in their writings threw out references to speech for the deaf. In Holland there were Peter Montans, who about 1635 issued several tracts on speech; Jan Baptista Van Helmont, who in 1667 wrote on speech and an alphabet; and John Conrad Amman, formerly a Swiss physician, who in 1692 gave out his "_Surdus Loquens_," which was enlarged and republished in 1700 as "_Dissertatio de Loquela_." The name of Amman is especially notable, not only for his instruction in speech of several deaf children, but for his influence on later oral methods.

In Switzerland we find at Basel in 1531, or perhaps a few years sooner, an account of a deaf person who was instructed in speech by [OE]colampadius, the Reformer and friend of Luther; at Geneva in 1604 of a deaf child instructed by St. Francis de Sales; and also in Geneva in 1685 of a deaf person who had probably received instruction.

In Germany we have a regular succession of names of those who either attempted to instruct the deaf or who wrote of this instruction, some of these names being among the earliest of those in Europe who showed an interest in the matter. In the year 1578 we meet the name of Pasch, a clergyman of Brandenburgh, who taught his daughter by means of pictures.

In 1621 Rudolph Camerarius wrote a book on speech, and in 1642 Gaspard Schott mentions a case of successful instruction. In 1701 or 1704 Kerger at Liegnitz in Silesia taught some pupils orally, having what seemed a temporary school. In 1718 Georges Raphel, who had taught his three deaf daughters, wrote a book explaining his process of instruction. Among other names appearing earlier or later were those of Morhoff, Mallenkrot, Wild, Niederoff, Lichwitz, Shulze, Ettmuller, Arnoldi, Lasius, Heinicke, and Nicolai. Of all these much the most renowned is that of Samuel Heinicke. In 1754 at Dresden he became interested in the deaf, and a few years later started a school near Hamburg. In 1778, at the instance of the state, he moved to Leipsic, his school thus being the first public school for the deaf to be established. He was also the author of several books on the education of the deaf. Heinicke was instrumental in bringing the oral method into favor, and in many respects, so far as its present use is concerned, may be said to be its father. He was in fact one of the greatest teachers of the deaf, and the influence of his work has been felt in no small measure in America.

In France, too, there were great names, though they were late in appearing; Pere Vanin, Rousset, Ernaud, de Fay, Pereire, Abbe de l'epee, Abbe Deschamps, and others.[162] Of these Vanin, Pereire, Deschamps, and de l'epee are the most notable. Vanin about 1743 instructed some children by means of pictures and a manual alphabet. Rodriguez Pereire, a Portuguese Jew, had several pupils at Bordeaux before the middle of the eighteenth century, and though his methods were kept secret for the most part, he appeared to have met considerable success, in 1749 giving an exhibition before the Academy of Sciences. Abbe Deschamps in 1779 published at Orleans a work on the instruction of the deaf, largely favoring the oral method. It is to Charles Michel abbe de l'epee, however, that is given the highest reverence of all the initial workers for the deaf, being the founder of the first regular school, and receiving nearly equal distinction for his impression on early methods of instruction--this being especially true in respect to America, where his influence in the introduction of the sign language has been greater than any other man's. The abbe had become interested in two deaf orphans in Paris, whom he attempted to teach, and in 1755 established a school near the city, conducting it at his own expense. This proved a success, and he decided to give his whole life to the instruction of the deaf. He wrote several works on their education, the chief one being "_La Veritable Maniere d'Instruire les Sourds et Muets_," published in 1784.

The achievements of de l'epee were soon far-famed, and the people were taken with their novelty. Many honors were offered him, and his work was brought to the notice of the French Academy and approved. In 1791 his school was adopted by the state. The successor of abbe de l'epee was abbe Sicard, and the work continued to flourish in France.

Not long after de l'epee and Heinicke had started their schools in France and Germany respectively, Thomas Braidwood, in 1760, opened a school in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 1784 a school was established in Rome, in 1788 in Madrid, and in 1801 in Genoa. In the early years of the nineteenth century other schools were started over Western Europe. Thus by the time that the work for the education of the deaf was to enter America, in the establishment of the first school in the second decade of the century, there were already in Europe a number of schools in existence.[163]

FOOTNOTES:

[162] In 1751 Diderot published his "_Lettre sur les Sourds et Muets_,"

in which there is reference to the education of the deaf.

[163] For accounts of the early work for the education of the deaf, both before and after it was taken up in the United states, the following may be referred to: Thomas Arnold, "A Method of Teaching the Deaf and Dumb Speech, Lip-Reading and Language", 1881; "The Education of Deaf-Mutes", 1888; E. M. Gallaudet, "Life of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet", 1888; H. N.

Dixon, "A Method of Teaching Deaf-Mutes to Speak, with a Historical Introduction" (including a translation of Bonet's work), 1890; J. K.

Love, "Deaf-Mutism", 1896; Henry Barnard, "A Tribute to Gallaudet", with other papers, 1852; Heman Humphrey, "Life and Labors of T. H.

Gallaudet", 1857; H. W. Syle, "Retrospect of the Education of the Deaf", 1886; J. A. Seiss, "The Children of Silence", 1887; J. R. Burnet, "Tales of the Deaf and Dumb", 1835; E. J. Mann, "Deaf and Dumb", 1836; J. N.

Williams, "A Silent People", 1883; W. R. Scott, "The Deaf and Dumb, their Education and Social Position", 1870; History of First School for Deaf-Mutes in America, 1883; Addresses delivered at the New York Inst.i.tution, 1847; H. P. Peet, Address at Laying of Corner Stone of North Carolina Inst.i.tution, 1848; Proceedings of Laying of Corner Stone of Michigan Inst.i.tution, 1856; Collins Stone, "Address on History and Methods of Deaf-Mute Instruction", 1869; Addresses Commemorative of the Virtues and Services of Abraham B. Hutton, 1870; _American Annals of the Deaf_ (especially early numbers, often giving accounts of individual schools as well as of the general work); _North American Review_, vii., 1818, p. 127; x.x.xviii., 1834, p. 307; lx.x.xvii., 1858, p. 517; civ., 1867, p. 512; _American Journal of Education_, (n. s.) i., 1830, p. 409; _American Annals of Education_, iv., 1834, p. 53; _Literary and Theological Review_, ii., 1835, p. 365; _American Biblical Repository_, viii., 1842, p. 269; _De Bow's Review_, xvii., 1854, p. 435; _National Magazine_, ix., 1856, pp. 385, 487 (Sketches of Humane Inst.i.tutions); _Scribner's Magazine_, xii., 1892, p. 463; _a.s.sociation Review_, ii.-v., 1900-1904 ("Historical Notes concerning the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf"); Proceedings of Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf, i., 1850, p. 99; v., 1858, p. 275 (H. P. Peet, "Memoirs on the Origin and Early History of the Art of the Instruction of the Deaf and Dumb"); iii., 1853, p. 277; iv., 1856, p. 17; ix., 1878, p. 195; American a.s.sociation to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf, v., 1896, p.

27 (P. G. Gillet, "Some Notable Benefactors of the Deaf"); National a.s.sociation of the Deaf, iii., 1889, p. 21; National Conference of Charities and Corrections, 1907, p. 512; _Californian_, iv., 1881, p.

376; Iowa Bulletin of State Inst.i.tutions, viii., 1906, p. 175; xii., 1910, p. 24; Transactions of Royal Historical Society, viii., 1880; Encyclopedia Americana, 1883 (History of the Education of the Deaf in the United States, given in _Annals_, x.x.xi., 1886, p. 130); various reports of the several schools for the deaf in America (as that of New York Inst.i.tution, 1839, p. 8; 1843, p. 11; 1876, p. 48; American School, 1844, p. 25; 1867, p. 13; Pennsylvania Inst.i.tution, 1843, p. 9; 1892, p.

64; Kentucky School, 1857, p. 8; 1867, p. 13; Michigan School, 1858, p.

40; Illinois School, 1868, p. 42; New York Inst.i.tution for Improved Instruction, 1869, p. 26; Mississippi School, appendices, 1907, 1909, 1911); "Histories of American Schools for the Deaf", edited and with an introduction by Dr. E. A. Fay, 1893 (containing accounts of individual schools, and a most valuable work).

CHAPTER IX

HISTORY OF EDUCATION OF THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES

EARLY ATTEMPTS AT INSTRUCTION

The first instance of which we have record in America of an attempt to teach the deaf was in 1679[164] when a man named Philip Nelson of Rowley, Ma.s.sachusetts, tried to instruct a deaf and dumb boy, Isaac Kilbourn by name, in speech, though with what success we do not know.[165] These, however, were the witchcraft days, and the work of Nelson seemed such an extraordinary thing that the ministers of the community are said to have made an investigation, fearing that witches might be involved in the affair. The next instance of which we have mention occurred in Virginia a century later, when John Harrower, a school-master of Fredericksburg, had in his school from 1773 to 1776 a deaf boy named John Edge, reference to whose instruction is made in his diary.[166]