How the Blind Are Educated
Work Being Accomplished by Infinite Patience with the Physically Deficient Pictures from
Photos Made at the Nebraska School for the Blind.
-
7.V""U I
' m I m at &
SI
QKOGRAPHY CLASS AT THE NEBRASKA SCHOOL. FOR THE BMND
Photo by u Start Artist.
u I M flrt school
TM for th Mind
a I miFiLnlzetl Id
thin country
wns heKim by
Dr. Kimuel O. Howe In
rooms In hiH father'
house, ItoHton, Muss.
Thin develoed Into
what Is now the Pcr
kltm InHtltullon and
Massachusetts 8chool
for the Hllnd, the most
famous Institution of,
Its kind in America, IC
not on the globe. It
Was brought Into promi
nence particularly by
the oil neat Ion of Laura
Krldgman, tbe reiiorta
of whose progress issued
by Dr. Howe were
sought In all civilized
renters of the world.
I'harle Dickens added,
to ItH fame by his Amer
ican Notes, whllo Ita
present director. Dr. M.
AnmcnoH, has added to
Its prominence by hid
education within ltd
walls of Helen Keller.
Since the founding ot
thia sc hool In IKS! othera
tiave been established in
various states, until
there are now In tills
country forty-two sucJi
scIuhs, with, an enroll
ment during the lost
year of 4.3M pupils. Tha
course of study la prac
tically the same In all,
being that, with a few
modification. In use throughout tha publlo
schools of the country.
The Nebraska School for the Blind, le
gally known as Institute, waa established
In 1K75, with Prof. Samuel Bacon as super
intendent. Himself a blind man. he Is typ
ical of w.hat can be accomplished by abllty
coupled with porseverance, by a sightless
person. A college graduate, he was also
the first superintendent of both the Illinois
and the Iowa schools for the blind. Past
HO years ot age, be now resides on bis farm
but a few miles from Nebraska City.
It Is detitrable that a blind child enter
school early In life, before the various pe
culiar habits too often noticed among b ind
persons have heroine fixed, as it Is found
difficult, and often impossible, to break up
such habits. Six or seven years of sge is
early enough, unless the school Is provided
for work with kindergarten methods. At
home It Is probable that the sightless child
has been so humored and petted that he is
practically helpless, and It Is the first work
of the school to encourage him to do for
himself. Simple work with the fingers,
such as stringing beads or buttons. Is given
him. He is taught to feed himself and to
be neat In his habits. Obedience very often
: . . XXXPl
! .' :.' 'X'XiPf-S' ' 'X: iX- v.'
TEACTIINQ A BLIND BOY THE ALPHABET Photo by
a Staff Artist.
has to be taught, though not much diffi
culty Is usually experienced, as he Is In
fluenced by the example of those about him.
Soon will begin, the work of learning to
read. The teacher places a finger of the
pupil upon a letter embossed, or "raised,"
upon the surface of the paper, and the
name of the letter is told him. After a
greater or less number of trials, depending
on the aptitude of the child, he la able to
distlngulHh the various letters by the senna
of touch. It la the old "alphabet" method
of former days, the modern "word" and
'sentence" methods not being found gen
erally practicable In the teaching of sight
less children, their field of "vision" being
limited to the small area covered by the
tip of their finger.
The usual work of the common schools is
taken up. Number work is done by the
aid of blocks and other objects. As the
child progresses, mental exercises of In
creasing difficulty are given until the pupil
finds little difficulty In carylng in mind
problems that to the average boy or girl
In the common schools would seem an Im
possibility. The mind of the sightless child
Is not distracted by the multitude of ob
jects Impressing themselves through the
sense of sight upon the attention of his
lb I
r '
li'l.lii;irnti
-iBaiflN? fornix
TEACHING THE BLIND TO USE A
III llii
iiftliiUAAAWj
i-r , ') If
BLIND MAN AT THE PIPE ORGAN Photo by a Srtatt
Artist.
mora fortunate seeing brother or sister. In
geography, maps with a relieved Burface
are used, rivers being Indicated by a shal
low groove, while cities may be shown by
means of tack heads of varying slie and
shape, denoting relative Importance. Aa
text books on the various subjects are now
available in the embossed system, the
teaching of grammar, algebra, geometry,
history, etc., presents little difficulty. These
books may be had in either the "lloe" or
"point" system. In the former the letters
resemble In outline those with which we
are familiar in our ordinary ink-print books
and papers, while in the latter the letters
are represented by a dot, or combination
of dots, partly punched through the paper.
For example, the colon (:) of the ink-print
book. If embossed, would be the letter "1"
of the "point" system, while the period (.)
would be the letter "c," and the upper dot
of the colon, or the period Inverted, would
be the letter "e." Two colons placed side
by side (::) would give the combination
"th." Taking three colons (:::) we have
what Is known as the "number sign," Indi
cating that the character following is a
figure rather than a letter. Thus we say
a letter is one, two or three points long.
TTPEWHITER Photo by a Staff Artist.
while It cannot be more
than two points htRh.
The letter "n" would be
represented by two
periods, thus .. or two
dots on the lower line,
while two dots on tho
upper line Is "a." Ne
braska would be made
as follows:
Tho point system la
rapidly displacing the
"line" system for two
reasons: It can readily
be written by means of
a simple device, hence
Is used for taking noto
by the student, and for
correspondence; and can
be read by a persin
losing eight later In l'fe,
while the "line" letters
must be learned In early
childhood.
A considerable amomt
of literature Is now
available for tho blind,
the outpat of the Amer
ican Printing Hons - for
the Blind at Louisville,
Ky., supported by the
interest derived from
$250,000 set aside for the
purpose by the federal
government in 1S79, and
invested In 4 per cent
bonds.
Music Is taught, not
by "ear," . but from
music written In the
music "point" notation.
This Is often written by
the pupil hlmeelf, the
teacher dictating from
an ordinary musical
acore. If it be work for
the piano, the pupil seated at the instru
ment reads his music with one hand, play
ing with the other. A few measures only
are assigned as a lesson, but with regular
daily work and practice many Boon acquire
a considerable repertory.
Piano tuning is found a profitable trade
for those having the requisite aptitude,
though, comparatively few blind can be
come successful tuners, lacking in either
"ear" or mechanical skill.
Carpet weaving, broom making, ham
mock netting, etc., are taught and afford
a more or less remunerative occupation.
Girls are taught to cook, knit, mend, etc.
The Nebraska echool has at present an
enrollment of sixty-three, though eighty
could be accommodated, and it Is to bring
bef jre the notice of parents of blind chil
drert the advantages of the school that
the tour by Its members about to be under
taken was planned. During the last sum
mer a letter was received by the superin
tendent from the superintendent of tha
Boston school. In which the latter says:
' "I have learned from a lady In England of
a blind boy In wtajtern Nebraska, 17 years
of age, . desirous of attending a school."
The boy Is now In school, doing well.