The Deaf

PART I. Position of the Deaf in Society

POSITION OF THE DEAF IN SOCIETY

CHAPTER

I. THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES 3

Meaning of Term "Deaf" in the Present Study--Number of the Deaf in the United States--Age when Deafness Occurred--Ability of the Deaf to Speak--Means of Communication Employed by the Deaf.

II. THE DEAF AS A PERMANENT ELEMENT OF THE POPULATION 13

Increase in the Number of the Deaf in Relation to the Increase in the General Population--The Adventitiously Deaf and the Congenitally Deaf--Adventitious Deafness and its Causes--Possible Action for the Prevention of Adventitious Deafness--Adventitious Deafness as an Increasing or Decreasing Phenomenon--The Congenitally Deaf--The Offspring of Consanguineous Marriages--The Deaf Having Deaf Relatives--The Offspring of Deaf Parents--Possible Action for the Prevention of Congenital Deafness--Congenital Deafness as an Increasing or Decreasing Phenomenon--Conclusions with Respect to the Elimination or Prevention of Deafness.

III. TREATMENT OF THE DEAF BY THE STATE 63

General Attitude of the Law towards the Deaf--Legislation Discriminatory respecting the Deaf--Legislation in Protection of the Deaf--Legislation in Aid of the Deaf--Tenor of Court Decisions Affecting the Deaf--Present Trend of the Law in Respect to the Deaf.

IV. ECONOMIC CONDITION OF THE DEAF 75

The Extent to which the Deaf are a Wage-earning and Self-supporting Element of the Population--Views of the Deaf as to their Economic Standing--The Deaf as Alms-seekers--Homes for the Deaf--Conclusions with Respect to the Economic Position of the Deaf.

V. SOCIAL ORGANIZATION OF THE DEAF 91

Social Cleavage from the General Population--Desirability of Organizations Composed of the Deaf--Purposes, Activities, and Extent of Such Organizations--Newspapers of the Deaf.

VI. POPULAR CONCEPTIONS CONCERNING THE DEAF 99

Viewed as a Strange Class--Viewed as a Defective Class--Viewed as an Unhappy Class--Viewed as a Dependent Class--Need of a Changed Regard for the Deaf.

VII. PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS INTERESTED IN THE DEAF 107

General Societies Interested in the Deaf--The Volta Bureau--Parents' Associations for the Deaf--Church Missions to the Deaf--Organizations Interested in the Education of the Deaf--Publications Devoted to the Interests of the Deaf.

PART II. Provision for the Education of the Deaf

PROVISION FOR THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF

VIII. THE EDUCATION OF THE DEAF PRIOR TO ITS INTRODUCTION INTO THE UNITED STATES 119

IX. HISTORY OF EDUCATION OF THE DEAF IN THE UNITED STATES 129

Early Attempts at Instruction--Beginning of the First Schools--Early Ideas concerning the Schools for the Deaf--Aims of the Founders--Extension of the Means of Instruction over the Country.

X. ORGANIZATION OF THE INSTITUTIONS AND GENERAL PROVISIONS 171

Arrangements in the Different States--Semi-Public Institutions--"Dual Schools"--Provision for the Deaf-Blind--Provision for the Feeble-minded Deaf--Government of the Different Institutions--Procedure in States without Institutions.

XI. THE DAY SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF 187

Inception and Growth of the Day School--Design and Scope of Day Schools--Extent and Organization of Day Schools--Arguments for the Day School--Arguments against the Day School--Evening Schools for Adults.

XII. DENOMINATIONAL AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS 202

Denominational Schools--Private Schools.

XIII. THE NATIONAL COLLEGE 206

XIV. PROVISION FOR EDUCATION BY STATES 209

XV. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS FOR SCHOOLS 242

Extent of Constitutional Provisions--Language and Forms of Provisions.

XVI. QUESTION OF THE CHARITY CONNECTION OF SCHOOLS 248

Institutions Sometimes Regarded as Educational: Sometimes as Charitable--Charity in Connection with Schools for the Deaf--Arguments for the Connection with Boards of Charities--Arguments in Opposition to the Connection---Conclusions in Respect to the Charity Connection of Schools for the Deaf.

XVII. PROVISIONS CONCERNING ADMISSION OF PUPILS INTO SCHOOLS 262

Rules as to the Payment of Fees--Provision for the Collateral Support of Pupils--Age Limits of Attendance.

XVIII. ATTENDANCE UPON THE SCHOOLS 268

The Proportion of the Deaf in the Schools--The Need of Compulsory Education Laws for the Deaf--Present Extent of Compulsory Education Laws.

XIX. METHODS OF INSTRUCTION IN SCHOOLS 277

The Use of Signs as a Means of Communication--Rise and Growth of the Oral Movement--Present Methods of Instruction--Courses of Study and Gradations of Pupils--Industrial Training in the Schools.

XX. COST TO THE STATE FOR EDUCATION 293

Value of the Property Used for the Education of the Deaf--Cost of the Maintenance of the Schools--Form of Public Appropriations--Cost to the State for Each Pupil.

XXI. PUBLIC DONATIONS OF LAND TO SCHOOLS 299

Grants by the National Government--Grants by the States--Grants by Cities or Citizens.

XXII. PRIVATE BENEFACTIONS TO SCHOOLS 303

Donations of Money--Gifts for Pupils--Present Tendencies of Private Benefactions.

XXIII. CONCLUSIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE WORK FOR THE DEAF IN AMERICA 309

APPENDIX A 325

TABLE WITH RESPECT TO HOMES FOR THE DEAF IN AMERICA.

APPENDIX B 326

TABLES WITH RESPECT TO SCHOOLS FOR THE DEAF IN AMERICA.

I. PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS 326 II. PUBLIC DAY SCHOOLS 329 III. DENOMINATIONAL AND PRIVATE SCHOOLS 331

INDEX 333

INTRODUCTION

Society as a whole knows little of the deaf, or the so-called deaf and dumb. They do not form a large part of the population, and many people seldom come in contact with them. Their affliction to a great extent removes them from the usual avenues of intercourse with men and debars them from many of the social activities of life, all tending to make the deaf more or less a class apart in the community. They would seem, then, to have received separate treatment, as a section not wholly absorbed and lost in the general population, but in a measure standing out and differentiated from the rest of their kind. Thus it comes that society has to take notice of them. By reason of their condition certain duties are called forth respecting them, and certain provision has to be made for them.

The object of the present study of the deaf is to consider primarily the attitude of society or the state in America towards them, the duties it has recognized in respect to them, the status it has created for them, and the extent and forms, as well as the adequacy and correctness, of this treatment. Hence in our study of the problems of the deaf, the approach is not to be by the way of medicine, or of law, or of education, though all these aspects will be necessarily touched upon. Nor is our study to deal with this class as a problem of psychology or of mental or physical abnormality, though more or less consideration will have to be given to these points. Nor yet again are we to concern ourselves principally with what is known as the "human interest" question, though we should be much disappointed if there were not found an abundance of human interest in what we shall have to consider. Rather, then, we are to regard the deaf as certain components of the state who demand classification and attention in its machinery of organization. Our attitude is thus that of the social economist, and the object of our treatment is a part or section of the community in its relation to the greater and more solidified body of society.

More particularly, our purpose is twofold. We first consider the deaf, who they are, and their place in society, and then examine the one great form of treatment which the state gives, namely, the making of provision for their education. This we have attempted to do in two parts, Part I treating of the position of the deaf in society, and Part II of the provisions made for their education. As we shall find, the special care of the state for the deaf to-day has assumed practically this one form. Means of education are extended to all the state's deaf children, and with this its attention for the most part ceases. It has come to be seen that after they have received an education, they deserve or require little further aid or concern. But it has not always been the policy of the state to allow to the deaf the realization that they form in its citizenship an element able to look out for themselves, and demanding little of its special oversight. They have a story full of interest to tell, for the way of the deaf to the attainment of this position has been long and tortuous, being first looked upon as wards, and then by slow gradations coming to the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship. In this final stage, where the state provides education for the deaf only as it provides it for all others, and attempts little beyond, the deaf find themselves on a level with citizens in general in the state's regard.

In Part I, after we have ascertained who are meant by the "deaf," and how many of them there are, we are to find ourselves confronted by a question which is of the foremost concern to society; namely, whether the deaf are to be considered a permanent part of the population, or whether society may have means at hand to eliminate or prevent deafness. After this, our discussion will revolve about the deaf from different points of view, regarding them in the several aspects in which they appear to society. We shall examine the treatment which the state in general accords the deaf, how they are looked upon in the law, and what changes have been brought about in its attitude towards them. This may be said to be the view of the publicist or legalist. Next, we shall attempt to see how far the deaf are really a class apart in the life of the community. This will involve an examination, on the one hand, as to whether their infirmity is a bar to their independent self-support, that is, whether they are potentially economic factors in the world of industry, how far their status is due to what they themselves have done, and to what extent this result has modified the regard and treatment of society; and, on the other, how far their want of hearing stands in the way of their mingling in the social life of the community in which they live, whether the effect of this will tend to force the deaf to associate more with themselves than with the rest of the people, and what forms their associations take. These will be the views respectively of the economist and the sociologist. Then we shall consider the regard in which the deaf are popularly held, the view of "the man in the street," and whether this regard is the proper and just one. Lastly, we shall note what movements have been undertaken in the interests of the deaf by private organizations, and to what extent these have been carried.

Continue reading The Deaf free in the Wunder reader →