AMONG THE BLIND.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 81, 5 April 1923, Page 8

AMONG THE BLIND.

A CHEERFUL COMPANY. INDUSTRY AND ENERGY. A MORNING AT THE JUBILEE INSTITUTE. Possibly there is no form of physical affliction that excites so much sympathy as blindness, yet' many of those whc "walk in darkness" as we undcrstanc it —or. at all events, those of the blinc who have been educated in self-help-do not seek for and are impatient of pity They are independent anrt self-reliant and unless you are very dull of percep tion you will readily discover that wher you go among them. You will note alsc that they are both cheerful and indus trious. and in this they set an example to shame many of the discontented anc idle in our midst whoso sight is whole If "there is no loss but has its gain,'' if is surely exemplified among those people whose eyes nil] sec no more the sights ol earth, for the loss of one sense seems tc so sharpen all the others that theil affliction is marvellously minimised What would you think of the sight of 11 number of blind children reading, writ ing, working out sums, making all sorts of useful articles, marching, running skipping, and even playing a merrj game of ball? You may sec all that and more of the activity and industrious ness of such people at the Jubilee Institute for the Blind. THE BLIND BOY AXD THE BOOK. ■Sitting on a form in the grateful warmth of the sun, out in the wide, asphalted yard of the home, is a boy oi about 12 years, reading aloud to another of the same age, who is rapidly knitting a sock. As the reader's hands pass over the book of Braille, surely and without pause, his voice rings out across the yard every syllable distinct, thrilling with the interest of those pictures his mind paints in response to the rapid passing of his fingers oier the raised dots that spell him out the talc. lie is reading tales of real romance from "The Story of the World," depicting the adventures of voyageurs and explorers who form the heroes of real life. He reads beautifully—pronunciation, intonation, and punctuation all perfect—and you may tell by the changing cadences of his voice that he is following with the most intense interest the thrilling adventures of great men. Xow and then, at the recital of a particularly absorbing passage, the busy lingers of his companion pause in their work of knitting whilst he listens with an air of the most rapt interest. "Hardship, disaster, failure; these were to be his lot. . . . Hut he was made of the stuff of heroes—not to be wearied, not to be overcome, not to be deterred." And so he read on while his companion knitted, absolutely absorbed, ignorant of any onlooker. Who could say these boys were not happy as their minds depicted scenes of stirring adventure — mind-scenes perhaps more wonderful than could be depicted by those whose imaginations arc limited by their very faculty of sight! SI'EED WITHOUT SIGHT. In the office of the secretary is a young lady whose swift and sure movements give no sign of the lack of any faculty. With quick, nervous fingers she is tidying a desk, putting things in their right places, and preparing for dispatching correspondence. Sitting before a little six-keyed machine, she taps away at a Braille shorthand machine to the dictation of the secretary, at the rate of SO words a minute, the writing coming out on a tape, in the form of raised dots. Then she changes to a seat in front of a ordinary typewriter, deftly secures paper and carbon, and inserts them in the machine and rapidly types from the shorthand on the tape, reading by an occasional light brush of her lingers. The letter is completed and handed to the secretary for perusal and signature —a perfect production! This young lady took down and typed for the visitor a long extract from print, her work proving neat and accurate from start to finish. She has liven blind from the age of eight, following on an operation to save her life when suffering from complications caused by meningitis. She is as cheerful and self-possvssed as any tvpiste who works by the blessin-j- of sight. LITTLK BUSY BKKS. There are a number of children in "tie of the schoolrooms, of various ages. ranging from four to about ten years, under the supervision of a charming young lady, whose gentleness and skill endear her to her young charges. She is justly proud of her attentive pupils, who at this moment are busy pinking miniature bikes and islands on plasticine board". At her behest two of the little fellows go to a relief model of geographical features and quickly "feel out" mountains, bnvs. isthmuses, promontories, r'vers. bridges, and lakes as requested, others ,1.. sums by means of small nlutr-. like type, on a perforated board. Vnt all ..f these little people are totally blind, but in none is the sight ke"i enough to read or t-. write in the ordinary wnv. Then (be teacher musters her pupils for marching, and tliev move out. first in single and then in doubl" file, perform various evolutions, and thoroughly cnjo<" a frolic with the rone, skippin? with all (he time and precuiin of sighted children. It is onL- a ser.tfinv of the eves of these children thai fell the visitor they are wholly or almost sightless, and one is lost in wonder al Ihe skill and patience which has brought about such surety of movement. Already these little ones knit, sen- m-I make bend and bisket ornament-. The scope of the insliftiiion is shown !,.- ;],,, f,,,,( that among (hem are little folk from places so far scattered as Chri-.tehirrcu Wellington. Reefton. T> a t r; , \'., n i rr „„,] i Hellensville. ' j PROMISING PUPILS. ! Tn the room adioining are pupil. „fl a hio-her class. presj,l,. f | „,-,,,. Ilv „ kin , lh . ; grey-haired teacher. iv|.„. ' like her' younger colleague, rules nob the "oldeni gift of love, lucked 1.,- -I, i|i ~,.',l .f .-,-,„ i pathetic insight. We ma>- tele* here as 1 an example of the class, one twelve-vear-i oVI child with a head of ,-;,.],. ,-„,! ],„;,-. i She is quite blind. Tb- le-icher bnsi (with what justifiable prid-!l disrjaved ! a delicately woven h.-iskef of artistiej design made hi- Ihe little girl. Xow shel says nnietlv: "Elsie, get your book out. please."' Little E!s : e -miles and produces the book from a desk in front of her.' and. opening the pa-res. begins to read! with that perfect proiuinciition.punctuation and clarity which marked the reading of the boy before referred to. her little fingers fall, but only some of what should be!) gliding softly over the raised dots whose inventive language has dope so much to lighten the darkness of t!)c blind. Three of Klsic's fingers are missing. She lost i heiu with her eyesight' when some careless person left a dvna-l mite cap lying about for a child to use' a hammer on. Nothwithstanding this] additional handicap, Elsie is the best

reader in her class, and her woven work the neatest of all. Another little girl Frances, reads from the Braille qrite as nicely almost as the others have. Not any ordinary child of any ordinarj school reads' with the apparent sym pa thy and understanding of these. wh< see only with the mind. Three boys ii the same class are laboriously spellinf out their first lessons on the typewriter They feel patiently for the keys, tapping them timidly. Time, patience and prac tice will make them almost as experl as the very capable young lady who ii assistant to the secretary, and they wil go out into the world and compete witi sighted people, and easily hold their own XIljH BLIND CHILD'S PROGRESS. In almost every respect the education ol" the blind child is the same as that oi the children who are physically more fortunate, excepting that they do theit work in Braille. Otherwise, with certain modifications, their school syllabus is similar to that of the pupils of our public schools, up to Standard VI. Additionally, those with an aptitude for music are taught; there is also tuition in singing, and it is remarkable what an amount of musical ability there is among them—another of their several compen Rations for the loss of sight. The physical development of these children receives careful attention. They not only march, skip, run, and play games almost as freely as their whole sisters and bro but they learn to swim as well and every week they spend some hour? at the tepid baths. In the preparation for their later battle in life under handicap, they are taught remunerative occupations, such as piano tuning, baßket and mat making, netting, halter plaiting, chair caning nnd strawberry box making, in all of which the blind, owing mainly to the wonderful sense of touch which they develop, reach a surprising degree of skill. So they go on, these children (nf the dark, from general to technical education, and when they leave the institution they are competent to earn their livings and grateful in the knowledge thereof. SATAN" FIXDS NO MISCHIEF HERE. Leaving the children, with a sense oi gratification at the provisions made for their welfare, an inspection is made of the workshops, where older of the blind people are engaged in profitable industry each bending an apparently happy face over busy fingers—lingers that never seem to seek a second's relaxation from the task in hand. You might search the city and not find such concentration on employment among those possessing sight. .Most interesting, perhaps, is a young piano tuner. He moves among bis tools, selecting this and that by the merest touch, and handles the intricate parts of a piano's interior as though he saw it all revealed in the full light of day. Tlie blind tuners trained at the Institute not only put a faulty instrument in harmony, but they do all*ordinary repair work, such as taping, pin-making and lifting, felt-cutting and glueing, stringing and unstringing, and replacing ivories. Over thirty tuners have been trained i,. the Institute and now pursue their occupation to profit out in the busy world, and they are in great request, especially by piano dealers, for their accuracy and dependability. The young man seen at work by tJie visitors on this occasion was "as happy as a sandboy." In explaining bis operations he frevjtiently laughed, and it was peculiar to hear his oft-rei>eated "Do yon see?" when drawing attention to various details. There were many other interesting glimpses to be obtained of the various activities of the adult inmates, including the manufacture of cane and willow baskets of all kinds-from the dainty shopping receptacle of a lady to huge baker's and linen baskets -chair caning, machine knitting, bead work, and the making of netting and strawberry boxes. The blind workers of the Institute turn out thousands of yards of netting for luggage racks for the railways, and they manufacture no less than 850,000 strawberry boxes a year.