REPORT
…of the…
…from…
Oct. 1, 1896, to
Oct. 1, 1898.
To His Excellency, the Governor,
and the General Assembly of the State of Connecticut:
We respectfully submit the following report of the Mystic Oral School for the Deaf for the years beginning October 1st, 1896, and ending October 1st, 1898, and include, therewith, a brief history of the school from its beginning.
ENOCH WHIPPLE, AND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN ORAL SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF IN CONNECTICUT.
Enoch Whipple, who might be termed the pioneer oral pupil of America, passed away at his home in Ledyard, October 7, 1897, at the age of 71 years.
Though deaf from birth he was so well taught speech and lip-reading by his father. Jonathan Whipple, that no one in ordinary conversation would have noticed his infirmity, and when we consider that his father had never seen or heard of a deaf person having been taught to speak and read the lips, that all of his methods were wholly original, we can well see what a remarkable teacher he must have been, and what a really brilliant pupil Enoch was.
He retained his mental faculties to the end, and though his hands were palsied with age so he could not have communicated by signs, had he known them, he conversed freely with his family and friends to the last, and only a short time before his death spoke of the test in speech and lip-reading to which he was subjected at a national convention of common school teachers held in Hartford when he was a boy.
Horace Mann was present at this convention, and it was doubtless due to the impressions he received at that time, together with the observations he had made in the Oral schools of Germany, that his interest in Oral teaching for the deaf was aroused, which, afterwards, bore fruit in the establishment of the Horace Mann School for the Deaf in Boston.
During the controversy previous to the founding of the Clarke School at Northampton, a letter from Jonathan Whipple describing the methods he used in teaching his son, bore effective testimony in favor of speech for the deaf.
Enoch was not totally deaf, but he was too deaf to hear ordinary conversation, and had made no attempt to speak at the age that children usually begin, so there is no doubt but that he would have grown to manhood a mute, as all like him did in his day, had his father not undertaken his instruction himself.
Enoch first demonstrated the advantages of Auricular instruction, for his hearing, which was dormant as a child, became so well developed in after years that the advocates of the sign system tried to bring discredit upon his father’s labors by saying Enoch could hear.
Now it is well known that the smallest vestige of hearing, can be greatly developed, and this fact has given rise to the introduction of Auricular instruction in many schools for the deaf.
It is found, however, that in these cases the best results are obtained by first teaching speech by the Oral method, and later training the ear to recognize the words the child has already learned from the eye. Remarkable results, as in Enoch’s case, have been obtained in this way, and children who entered school as deaf mutes give promise of leaving them simply hard of hearing.
We thus see that Jonathan Whipple was the originator, in this country, of both the Oral and Auricular methods of teaching the deaf.
Enoch was offered a college education, but his father was unwilling that his son should pursue a course of studies which might conflict with his Quaker principles. We can readily see what a difference it would have made to the deaf at large had Enoch enjoyed the advantages of a college education. As it was, very little was known about him until Zerah Whipple, a grandson of Jonathan, and nephew of Enoch, grew to manhood.
It devolved upon Zerah Whipple to make the work of his family of lasting benefit, by establishing in 1871, at his home in Ledyard, the Whipple Home School for the Deaf, in which the Pure Oral method alone was used.
Zerah was an enthusiast and reformer in every sense of the word, and was endowed with those talents which enabled him to make a success of an Oral school in the very shadow of the oldest Sign school in the country.
He possessed marked literary ability, was a ready writer and an eloquent public speaker, and these accomplishments, no doubt, contributed largely to his success in teaching language and speech to the deaf.
He received pupils of all ages, and they came to him from every section of the country. Many of them were men and women grown, and had been educated in the sign schools and college then established. All were eager to learn to talk but, as their time was precious, Zerah thought there ought to be some easier way of teaching them speech than the laborious method used by his grandfather and himself with little children. His inventive by genius now asserted itself, and the Whipple Natural Alphabet was the outcome.
This alphabet consisted of pictorial diagrams which represented to the eye the elementary sounds in speech, and by means of it his pupils were able to reason out the pronunciation of many words by themselves. He was singularly successful in teaching speech to all of his pupils, but as many, even at the present day, fail with adults, we must attribute his success with them largely to the use of his alphabet.
During the first few years his pupils were drawn largely from the wealthier class. He had, however, from time to time, received applications from people of moderate means who were anxious for their children to enter his school, but who could not afford to pay for their tuition, so he applied to the legislature of Connecticut for state aid, and an allowance of $175 per capita was secured for all such pupils, resident in that state.
In course of time the State of New Jersey also sent beneficiaries to his school, and so continued to do until there was a school for the deaf within its own borders. The progress of these pupils was so gratifying that New Jersey offered to equip and liberally endow a school with Zerah at its head if he would remove his school there, but he could not be induced to desert his native state.
As the school grew a necessity for better accommodations arose, so a large country residence, beautifully situated on a commanding eminence near the village of Mystic, was purchased, and, since then, this has been the home of the school. This was an ideal location, and the school continued to grow and prosper until the summer of 1879, when, at the early age of thirty years, the career of Zerah Whipple was cut short by his untimely death. The loss to the school was irreparable and the world lost one of its most enthusiastic, earnest and successful Oral teachers of the deaf.
His widow and other members of the family continued to maintain the school with varying success, but its numbers gradually diminished, and, as the private pupils continued to be withdrawn, the school suffered financially. An attempt was made to remedy this difficulty by sending out agents to solicit new pupils, but this plan, although started in good faith, proved most disastrous, for the agents salaries were so large in proportion to the amount per capita received by the school, that the result was a decrease, rather than an increase, of the income. This was the underlying cause of the misfortune which occurred in 1895, and which necessitated a complete change in the management, or a suspension of the school. The former course was adopted, the property was transferred to new parties, the school was reorganized under the name of The Mystic Oral School for the Deaf and the amount per capita for state pupils increased to $200.
Experienced teachers and competent helpers were secured and the school opened with every prospect of success. A most encouraging year ensued, the school began to increase in numbers, many improvements were added, and there seemed to be no reason why from this time forth steady progress should not have been made, when it was learned that His Excellency, the Governor, had in his inaugural address recommended that “the appropriation of state funds be withdrawn from the Mystic Oral School and that suitable provision for the state pupils therein be made elsewhere, as the State of Connecticut does not need two schools for the instruction of its deaf wards.”
The school was thus placed on trial for its existence, and a prolonged struggle ensued, Five different hearings were held before the Committee on Humane Institutions; at the first of which, Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, who has done more for the deaf than any other person living, appeared in behalf of the school. The statistics and arguments which he presented in his eloquent address were not only of valuable assistance at the hearing, but, printed in pamphlet form and distributed among the members of the legislature at large, they aroused intense interest in the Oral education of the deaf
Hon. Frank B. Sanborn of Concord, Massachusetts, a member the State Board of Charities, showed his interest in the cause by his presence at one of the hearings and by giving material aid with his pen.
One of the most touching appeals in behalf of the school was a letter from Miss Daisy M. Way of Kansas City. She told what the school had done for her and urged the legislature not to withdraw its appropriation. It would be impossible to mention the names of all, who, coming to the assistance of the school at this time, were, by their influence, instrumental in preserving an Oral school in Connecticut.
There was considerable opposition at the hearings by the State Board of Charities of Connecticut and other friends of the Hartford school, but the arguments in favor of the school were so strong, that the Committee, after a personal visit to both schools for the deaf in the state, recommended that there should be no change in the legislation of two years ago. Their recommendation was approved by the legislature and a special appropriation made for the school.
It is a significant fact that during the controversy applications from new pupils kept coming in, so that the publicity to which the school was subjected proved of benefit rather than harm, for it brought the knowledge of speech for the little deaf child to almost every home in the State.
To perpetuate the life of the school and insure continued progress the Committee on Humane Institutions recommended that the school be incorporated. This was done in 1898.
The enrollment of pupils is at the present time larger than ever before in the history of the school, and includes in addition to those from Connecticut, wards of two other states, and a private pupil from Canada.
Vermont has recently passed a law adding the Mystic Oral School to the institutions to which the beneficiaries of that State may be sent.
The school has now entered upon a career of prosperity, and it is hoped that all the expectations of its friends may be more than realized.
PRINCIPAL’S REPORT.
The number of pupils enrolled during the two years ending September 30, 1898, was thirty-eight. Of these, thirty-five were from Connecticut, one from Canada, one from New Hampshire and one from Vermont. The largest number present at any one time was thirty. Six have left school, two of whom were dismissed on account of lack of mental ability, and sixteen new pupils have been admitted. In addition to these, three ladies who had lost their hearing, availed themselves of the advantages offered by this school to learn lip-reading. Of the pupils enrolled five had attended public schools for the hearing, where they had been unable to accomplish anything. Since their admission to this school they have made good progress. Fifteen of our number had considerable hearing, but not enough to be educated in ordinary schools. In a sign or combined school for the deaf little notice would be taken of their hearing, so that a Pure Oral School is almost a necessity for this class of pupils.
The health of the pupils has been remarkably good. There has been no illness worth mentioning, except several cases of measles.
No deaths have occurred at the school, but we are grieved to record that Joseph Zsenyhyi, a dear little boy of seven years, was killed by the cars near his home at Bridgeport during the summer of 1897.
Miss Ellen Cheney, who had been with us two years, and who showed herself well adapted for the work, resigned in the summer of 1897 to be married. Miss Josephine Drake, who did such good work in art, was unable to return this year, and Miss Lyman
has charge of her department. Three young ladies have pursued with us a special course of training in methods of teaching the deaf, and they have all been retained as regular teachers. At present Miss Nellie L. Cobb, of Wellston, Ohio, a graduate of the Ohio University, and Miss Elizabeth H. Strickland, of New London, Conn., are taking the course.
All pupils are instructed by the Pure Oral method. We persevere with each one until he is able to speak and read the lips. Some of our most fluent talkers are those who gave little promise at first, and it was months before much was accomplished with them. In a combined school speech and lip-reading with each of these would have been given up, and he would not have been included among those whose “capacity and adaptability allow him to acquire them.”
The children are first given exercises whose object is the training of the senses, and they are taught to understand words and commands when spoken by the teacher. Simultaneously, combinations are given, and as soon as these are acquired language is begun.
The Whipple Natural Alphabet, invented by Zerah Whipple, is used to assist the pupils in obtaining correct positions for the different sounds. Language forms the basis of instruction in all the classes. The children are encouraged to use new words and sentences in school and out, as fast as learned, and no word is considered mastered until it can be used correctly in both its spoken and written form. The more advanced studies pursued are Arithmetic, Geography, History, Literature and Current Events. Our aim is to give our pupils an education as nearly as possible like that of their brothers and sisters. Nature studies have, been introduced and all have taken great interest in making collections of the natural objects found in this vicinity. They are thus gaining a love of nature which will tend to lave a lasting influence on their lives.
Drawing from objects and casts in pencil, charcoal and ink, has been quite a feature of our work, and several of the pupils show marked artistic ability. One had private lessons of Mr. C. H. Davis, of Mystic. This year we are pursuing the Prang System of Form Study and Drawing.
The lessons in Wood Carving and Manual Training We been continued. The girls have taken a regular course in sewing, and they are learning to cook and do general housework, and the boys are taking great interest in farming. The location of our school is especially adapted for these must useful of occupations.
A great effort has been made to form a reading habit among our language pupils, for we realize that this will help them to acquire language here, and will form the key-note to their advancement in after life. The library has been increased to about three hundred volumes, and a special effort has been made to select books within the comprehension of the children.
Our pupils ranged in age from five to twenty years. From observations thus far made, we find that the younger they enter the more spontaneous and natural is their speech.
The school is non-sectarian. All, who are old enough, attend church in the village if their parents desire. Each teacher has her class for an hour every Sunday afternoon for moral and religious instruction. The children all look forward to their Sunday evenings, which they spend in the parlors with their teachers. Those who can hear enjoy the music and the others have a pleasant hour with their books.
This is a family school. Teachers and pupils live in the same house and eat at the same table, and everything is done to make it as much like a home as possible.
For the first time in the history of the education of the deaf, its teachers have met with a large body of educators in other lines of work. The National Educational Association met in Washington, D. C., in July, 1898, and three representatives of this school were present, besides one pupil. This prattling little girl was a revelation to many who were unfamiliar with the possibilities of Oral work.
We wish to extend our sincere thanks to many friends, who, through their interest in our cause, have given us material aid to carry on our work. The State of Connecticut allows only $200 a year per capita, and it is necessary to practice the strictest economy to accomplish what we wish and keep within our means.
Children’s clothing, books, toys, etc., are very acceptable, and add greatly to the children’s comfort and joy.
Many improvements have been made during the time covered by this report, but the school has increased in numbers so that its present quarters are inadequate, and an additional building is a necessity. Contributions of money to help us carry out our plans will be gratefully received.
We have persevered under great discouragements, for, since our last report, the life of the school has been at stake, and yet we feel that our faith in the cause we have at heart has helped us surmount all difficulties, and that now, since the school has been incorporated, and placed on a firm foundation, its progress will be sure and steady.
Respectfully submitted,
ELLA SCOTT.
REPORT OF THE BOARD OF VISITORS.
We, the Board of Visitors of the Mystic Oral School for the Deaf, beg leave to herewith submit the following report of the present condition of the school:
At our last visit we noted a number of improvements in buildings and grounds. The house had been newly shingled and the interior made most inviting with new paper and paint. All the different rooms had a comfortable, homelike appearance.
The number of pupils, 34, was larger than at any previous visit, and the children seemed happy and anxious to show us what they had learned.
The school is equipped with an efficient corps of teachers, whose successful labors were manifested by marked improvement in the speech and mental development of their pupils.
The patronage of the school has so increased, that the capacity of the home has been taxed to the utmost, making it necessary for some of the teachers to avail themselves of outside accommodations. An additional new building is in prospect, and we trust that the beginning of a new year will see definite plans in progress for the completion of the same.
The school has been duly incorporated, and we believe that its interests are worthy of continued support.
F. M. MANNING,
THOMAS E. PACKER,
HENRY B. NOYES,
JOHN T. BATTY.
PRODUCE, ETC., FURNISHED BY THE SCHOOL FARM.
A small farm of about sixteen acres is connected with the School. One horse, four cows, one or two pigs and from one hundred to two hundred fowl are kept on the place. At present we have four cows which give on an average about thirty quarts of milk a day. No butter is made, but the milk and cream are used on the table. At the beginning of ‘96 we had about two hundred hens and a small flock of ducks. About one hundred hens and the ducks have been used at the school leaving at present about one hundred fowl.
The fruit is quite a feature of the place. We had about an acre of strawberries. They furnished the table abundantly, and the surplus were either preserved for winter use or sold at the grocery stores, thus reducing the cost of provisions. There are perhaps one hundred apple trees on the place. They are young but have begun to bear. They yielded all the fall apples we used, and some for winter use. A large pear orchard furnishes all the pears we can use in the fall and some for canning. A goodly number of quince trees yield an abundance of fruit for canning. We had but few peaches, so a dozen trees were planted last year. One man all of the time and sometimes two men are employed on the farm. Very little hay is cut, but there is a large pasture for the cows, and the rest of the land, aside from the school yards and a very small tract of wood land, is in cultivation or in orchard.
Potatoes, turnips, beans, cabbages, tomatoes, onions, radishes, lettuce, corn and oats were raised and consumed by the school.
In the expense account no estimate is made of anything obtained from the school farm.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Dr. Alexander Graham Bell, for stenographer during legislative hearings, $27.40.
Edith Emerson, cash, $6.00.
Grace Emerson, cash. $4.00.
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad, passes and reduced fares for teachers and pupils.
Town of Groton, repairing road.
A Philadelphia friend, sixteen iron bedsteads.
Miss Abbie E. Tucker, games, toys and books.
Mrs. A. E. Turner and King’s Daughters of Watertown, Mass., clothing for the girls.
Mrs. Danforth, games for Christmas.
Clark Brown and Son, use of sleigh for sleigh ride for the children; assistance on the farm.
Mrs. Robert Ruth, barrel of vegetables and apples for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
S. B. Emerson, two barrels of apples and two cases of maple syrup.
Miss Maud Emerson, dining room furnishings, ribbon and nuts for the children.
Mrs. James Pollard, hothouse flowers.
Miss Carrie T. Cundall, house plants, clothing and patterns for the sewing class.
Miss Frances W. Gawith, Book on Gymnastics, and loan of model sewing book.
Mrs. Walter T. Fish, clothing and magic lantern.
Miss Perran, scrap books and cards.
Kenneth Emerson, tumblers.
Rev. Mr. Griggs, exhibition of stereopticon views.
C. D. Noyes, maple syrup.
Freeman Scott, wheat grits.
T. E. Packer, hooks and toy.
Mr. Button, pieces of new cloth.
William Crandall, peaches.
Volta Bureau, Publications; U. S. Bureau of Education, Publications; New London Day; New London Telegraph; Mystic Press; Mystic Daily Times; Subscription to Sabbath Reading, Estelle M. Dey; Kentucky Standard; Michigan Mirror; West Virginia Tablet; Index and Review; Maryland Bulletin; Kansas Star; Nebraska Deaf Mute Journal; Colorado Index; What Cheer, Providence; The Little Deaf Child, Chicago.
TERMS OF ADMISSION.
The Mystic Oral School is an Oral school for the deaf, incorporated under the laws of the State of Connecticut.
It is supported by legislative appropriations and private contributions. All children resident in the states of Connecticut, New Hampshire and Vermont who are too deaf to be educated in the common schools, are eligible for admission to the Mystic Oral School as beneficiaries of the state in which they reside.
Applications in each case should be made to the Governor of the state in which the child resides.
The charge for board and tuition of private pupils is $300 per year. Arrangements are sometimes made for receiving adults who are desirous of learning to read the lips.
The school opens the second Wednesday in September and continues for forty consecutive weeks.
Return to QUAKERTOWN Online