About 72 per cent of all the deaf pupils are taught the combination method, 26 per cent the oral method and 2 per cent the manual or al phabet method. About 83 per cent of all the deaf children under instruction or about 12,000 are in attendance upon institutions, about 14 per cent of these children or 2,000 are in at tendance upon day schools and about 4 per cent or 600 in private schools.
High school courses for deaf. students are generally provided. Gallaudet College, an in stitution for the deaf and named in honor of the American champion of the rights of the deaf, was organized in Washington in 1864 and is supported by the national government. See also DEAF; DEAF, EDUCATION OF THE; DEAF-BLIND.
Blind Children.—The efforts to develop a system of education for the blind have paral leled in many ways the efforts to develop a system of education for the deaf. For cen turies the blind were regarded as objects of pity and as unfortunate beings. There is au thority for the statement that a hospital for the blind was established by Saint Basil at Caesarea in the 4th century and that a refuge for the blind was established in Syria in the 5th century. There is no record of considera tion of any importance having been given to this type of unfortunate beings from the 7th century until the middle of the 13th century. It is recorded that King Louis IX of France established an institution for the blind about 1260. There are numerous records of individ ual efforts to teach the blind to read in the early centuries. These records show activities in Italy, Austria, Switzerland, France, England and Germany. It was not, however, until the close of the 18th century that success was at tained in efforts to establish schools to be de voted to the teaching and training of the blind.
The one pioneer in this great work, to whom the blind are indebted most for the laying of a foundation for a system of education which has resulted in training thousands of blind people to become self-supporting and to get pleasure out of life, is Valentin Hafly, a French man, who was born in Picardy in 1745. M. Haiiy became interested in a blind the name of Francois Lesueur. He had much interested in the blind because of various experiences which he had with them. He had even made an investigation as to the methods employed by other persons who had attempted to teach the blind. M. Haiiy is the inventor of the first system of embossed printing for the blind. It was through an experience with the
boy, Lesueur, who was employed in his office, that led to the invention of this system. When engaged in sorting papers on M. Hany's desk, the boy obtained a card which had been deeply indented by type. The boy was able to trace out several of the letters on this card with his finger and was, of course, greatly delighted to show his master what he had discovered. M. Hafly then made several experiments with the boy and in this way obtained the idea of devising a system of training for the blind. He submitted to the Academy of Science at Paris in 1785 a plan outlining his method of giving instruction to the blind. A committee was appointed by that body to examine into the matter, and, after making due investigation, they gave M. Hany credit for inventing the relief printing for the blind. In submitting its report, the committee stated : "We propose to the academy to give its approbation to the method which M. haspsesented to at and to ex hort him to make it public and to assure him that it will willingly receive any account that he may give of his efforts to carry it to the degree of .perfection Of which he is sus ceptible.• ' He undoubtedly established the first school in the world for the education of the blind. This school was known as L'Institution Na tionale des Jeunes Aveugles and was established in France in 1784. In 1791 this institution, due to the Napoleonic wars, was discontinued and was not again opened until 1815. Doctor Guillie was then made the head of this institution. In dustrial education was the basis of instruction given in this early school and it was continued under a larger and • more practical plan by Dr. Guillie. He obtained much new equip ment for the institution. The principal handi crafts which were taught in this school were spinning, weaving, sewing, knitting, chair caning, rope making, shoe making, harness making, etc. When the institution was closed under Napoleons rule M. Haiiy accepted an invitation from Tsar Alexander I to go to Saint Petersburg for the purpose of organizing an institution for the blind in that city. On his journey to Saint Petersburg, he spent some months at Berlin. King Frederick William III became interested in the blind and through the work of M. Haily the foundation for an institu tion was laid. He spent 11 years in Russia but did not succeed in establishing an institution.