EDUCATION: INSTITUTION FOR DEAF-MUTES. [In Continuation of E.-4, 1889.]

Appendix to the Journals of the House of Representatives, 1890 Session I, E-04

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1890. NEW ZEALAND.

EDUCATION: INSTITUTION FOR DEAF-MUTES. [In Continuation of E.-4, 1889.]

Presented to both Hottses of the General Assembly by Command of His Excellency.

No. 1. EXTRACT FROM THIRTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT OP THE MINISTER OP EDUCATION. Deaf-mute Institution. The school at Sumiier, where the mutes are taught to speak, and to read from the lips the speech of others, had forty-two pupils at the end of the year —the same number as at the end of 1887. The total expenditure was £3,253 ss. Bd., and the amount contributed by the parents of the pupils was £253 lls. The expenditure was made up as follows: Salaries, £1,135 ss. lOd. ; board, £1,272 6s. lid. ; rent, £575; travelling, £151 3s. Bd.; sundries, £119 9s. 3d. It is proposed to remove the school to the neighbourhood of Eiccarton, where a site of ten or eleven acres has been acquired by the Government for the purpose, and a sum of money will be put upon this year's estimates for the erection of a suitable building.

No. 2. Bepoet of the Dieectoe. Sib,— Stunner, 22nd May, 1890. I have the honour to forward herewith my tenth report of the Institution for Deaf-Mutes. The process of preparing and cultivating the educational ground of this establishment was again gone through during the year 1889, and the yield of elementary knowledge in the lower classes and of advanced information in the higher was on the whole satisfactory. We began the year with forty inmates, and at the end of the midwinter fourteen days holiday this number increased to forty-two, made up of twenty-five pupils from the South Island, sixteen from the North Island, and one from South Australia ; or, specifying more definitely the various localities from which the pupils are sent, as we have done in previous reports, the numbers stand thus: From the Provincial District of Otago, twelve, viz., one from Orepuki, one from Invercargill, one from Stirling, three from Mosgiel, one from Lawrence, and five from Dunedin; from the Provincial District of Canterbury, eleven, viz., one from Fairlie Creek, one from Methven, one from Yaldhurst, one from Kaiapoi, and seven from Christchurch and suburbs ; from the Provincial District of Nelson, two, viz., one from Waimangaroa and one from Westport; from the Provincial District of Wellington, eight, viz., one from Marton, one from Bulls, and six from Wellington City ; from the Provincial District of Taranaki, one, from Patea; from the Provincial District of Hawke's Bay, one, from Napier; from the Provincial District of Auckland, six, viz., three from the Thames, one from Gisborne, and two from the City of Auckland. The health of the pupils was exceptionally good, not a single one having been laid up for more than a day. This happy result is, I believe, partly due to the constant motherly care bestowed upon the children's minor ailments, such as colds, &c, and to the critical examination of their appearance to which the pupils are daily subjected. Ten fresh children entered at the beginning and eight pupils left the institution at the end of the year, six of the latter for good, and two for twelve months. The brightest of these six is a lad of sixteen, whose parents left him here for the full term of eight years. In him we have a splendid example of what can be done for even the totally deaf-born, by education and training. Not only is he very intelligent and highly honourable, but his mental development has reached the stage from which it will be easy for him to further improve himself by the aid of books and the dictionary. Four others are well advanced also. Their mental development will amply suffice for their entering upon some industrial occupation or for giving valuable help at home. The remaining pupil is- a lad of seventeen, who came to school only four and a half years ago. Though not so well on as the others, yet his progress is highly creditable, and his father will no doubt find his services useful at home. I—B. 4.

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Ten years have now elapsed since this school was first opened (10th March, 1880), and, as a site for the erection of a permanent institution has recently been purchased, and an adequate sum may be put o.n the parliamentary estimates to carry out the project of building, this maybe considered an opportune time to inquire into the real worth of the work already done—not so much to assert in any way the right of our claim on the public purse as to bring evidence that, as an act of grace on the part of our legislators, the expenditure of some portion of the public income for this most humane branch of education is reasonable, expedient, and fully in accordance with the critical views of this enlightened age. To recur to facts then. Apart from the forty pupils now in the institution, there are thirty-one children who have been under the educational and moral influence of this school for a certain time, and are therefore old pupils. To obtain reliable information about these old pupils, I addressed letters to a number of their parents, inviting replies to the following simple queries : (1.) Does your son still make use of the spoken language, as he did when returning home from school ? (2.) Do his brothers and sisters talk to him? (3.) Can he read the lips faster now than before ? (4.) Is his education of permanent benefit to him? (5.) Is he employed at home or elsewhere, and are you satisfied with his work and conduct ? (6.) Is he cheerful ? (7.) If engaged in any occupation, please state the kind of employment, and what wages he earns. I append copies of all the replies received, and will deposit for a short time the original letters with the Secretary for Education. The study of the condition of the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the imbeciles has recently been brought prominently before the notice of the British public by the publication, at Eyre and Spottiswoode's, 32, Abingclon Street, Westminster, London, of the report of the Eoyal Commission on the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb, &c. I recommend that our parliamentary library be supplied with a few copies of this report, and I desire to call the especial attention of the medical profession and others to paragraphs 20-29 of that report, on the causes of blindness, and remedial suggestions. The Commissioners' summary of recommendations on the education of the deaf and dumb I enclose as part of this report. I have, &c, The Hon. the Minister of Education, Wellington. G. Van Asch.

Enclosure 1 in No. 2. EXTEACT FKOM BePOKT OP EOYAL COMMISSION ON THE BLIND, THE DEAF-AND-DUMB, ETC., OF the United Kingdom. Summary of Recommendations. 620. We recommend, —■ 1. That the provisions of the Education Acts be extended to the deaf and dumb, and power be obtained to enforce the compulsory attendance of children at a day-school or institution up to the age of sixteen. 2. That, where the number under any school authority is too small to form a class, or where the child is unable to attend an elementary school, the school authority sliould have the power, and be required, either to send a child to an institution or to board out such child under proper inspection, and to contribute to his education and maintenance such annual grants as would be equivalent to the contribution now allowed to be paid by Boards of Guardians; and, if there should be neither institution nor school available or willing to receive such child, the school authority should have the power, either by itself or in combination with other school authorities, to establish a school or institution for the purpose, and to educate such children, under proper inspection. 3. That, independently of the position of the parent, a capitation grant, not less than half the cost of the education of such child, with a maximum grant of £10, should be given for all in the same way as in ordinary elementary schools ; and that the fees payable by necessitous parents should not exceed those payable in the case of ordinary children, but that in all cases parents should contribute according to their ability. 4. That the age of entry should, as far as possible, be seven ; that pupils should, as a rule, bo admitted only once a year ; that the school attendance should be compulsorily enforced for at least eight years, without any existing limit of distance from school; and that power should be given to the local authority to pay the rail or tram fare of children when necessary. 5. That on admission the cause of deafness should be stated in the school register on the certificate of a medical practitioner. 6. That in all schools and institutions the general health, hearing, and sight of deaf children should be periodically inspected by a medical practitioner, and that those possessing some hearing capacity should be carefully and frequently examined, so as to test and improve their hearing, pronunciation, and intonation by mechanical means, such as ear-trumpets, &c. 7. That technical instruction in industrial handicrafts should be under the Education Department, as part of the curriculum in schools for the deaf and dumb after the age of twelve or thirteen, and that this training be continued to sixteen. After sixteen it may be left to institutions to apprentice their pupils or to send them to che technical or industrial schools provided for ordinary children. 8. That a special code for the deaf and dumb be issued, and that drawing, wood-carving, or modelling be made part of the regular curriculum of instruction for both sexes. 9. That every child who is deaf should have full opportunity of being educated on the pure oral system. In all schools which receive Government grants, whether conducted on the oral, sign and manual, or combined system, all children should be, for the first year at least, instructed on the oral system, aud after the first year they should be taught to speak and lip-read on the pure oral system, unless they are physically or mentally disqualified, in which case, with the consent of the parents, they should be either removed from the oral department of the school or taught elsewhere

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on the sign and manual system in schools recognised by the Education Department. The parent shall, as far as practicable, have the liberty of selecting the school to which his child should be sent. 10. That children who have partial hearing or remains of speech should in all cases be educated on the pure oral system. The children should in all schools be classified according to their ability. 11." [It must be understood that our suggestions are not intended to be applicable to all children now under instruction, and that the recommendations indicated will, by their very nature, have to be carried out according as circumstances permit.] 12. That there should be teachers in the proportion of one to eight or ten pupils in pure oral schools, and of one to fourteen or fifteen in sign and manual schools. 13. That in institutions the principal or head-master should reside in the school. 14. That the inspectors should be selected by the Education Department as far as possible from those who have had previous acquaintance with the work of inspection in ordinary elementary schools, and who, in addition, shall have become fully qualified by the knowledge of the systems of instruction practised both at Home and abroad. They should also certify that the teachers are properly qualified. 15. That they should see that the schools are properly furnished with all the appliances necessary and the internal arrangements requisite for the proper teaching of the pupils under the pure oral system where it is adopted. 16. That they should report on the knowledge of written language, speech, and the general efficiency of the schools, under whatever system. 17. That the individual examination by the inspector should be a means for merely testing the general progress of the scholars, and not for the purpose of paying individual grants, and that the grants should be proportionate to the higher cost of educating the deaf on any system. 18. That the different methods or systems of teaching should be left free from the control of the inspector so long as the result in written or spoken language is satisfactory. 19. We think that the present training colleges for the teachers of the deaf do not now fulfil all the conditions which ought to be required by the Education Department, nor can they be expected to arrive at that standard without Government assistance, examination, and inspection (all of which are enjoyed by ordinary training colleges), and with compulsory enforcement of two years' training for the students. We recommend— 20. That, if the Education Department should approve of them or of any other well-qualified institution, they should be recognised as training colleges for teachers of the deaf, and should receive a grant at least equal to that given to ordinary training colleges ; and that the examination of the students in training colleges for teachers of the deaf should be carried out by the inspectors specially selected by the Education Department for the inspection of schools for the deaf, supplemented by an examination in the physiology of the various organs of speech conducted by a duly-qualified medical examiner. 21. That, except in schools where the sign-and-manual system is exclusively used, all teachers should be in possession of all their faculties, and have had previous experience in teaching hearing children. 22. That trained teachers of the deaf should, as in Germany, receive salaries such as would induce teachers of special attainments to enter the profession, and on a higher scale than those enjoyed by trained teachers of ordinary children. 23. That, after sufficient time shall have elapsed to give full effect to the recommendations above given, the Education Department should enforce such regulations with regard to certificated teachers for the deaf as may be in force in ordinary public elementary schools, and that the certificates of any self-constituted, bodies shall not then be recognised. 24. That there should be one uniform schedule of inquiry of the deaf for the census returns of the whole of the United Kingdom. The inquiries should be made on a wider basis than heretofore, with reference to points selected and settled beforehand, which we have already indicated in our report. They should be carefully verified by a reference to the local sanitary authority, and should be made uniform for all parts of the United Kingdom. There should be one Government form of statistics to be kept in every school or institution for the deaf, which should be shown to the inspector, and a copy of which should be annually sent to the Education Department. 25. That the class should be spoken of as " the deaf : " the terms " deaf-mute " and "deaf and dumb " should be strictly applied to such only as are totally deaf and completely dumb. 26. That the deaf and dumb should be kept as far as possible from being a class apart. We think that the mixture of the sexes in school and especially in after-life is, in all cases, u'nadvisable. We also think that the intermarriage of the congenital deaf should be strongly discouraged, as well as the intermarriage of blood-relations, especially where any hereditary tendency to deaf-mutism prevails in the family. 27. That the children who are deaf, dumb, and blind should be taught in a school for the blind rather than in one for the deaf.

Enclosure 2 in No. 2. Replies to Questions put by Director to Parents and Friends of ex-Pupils. A. (1.) He still makes use of the spoken language. (2.) We all talk to him, and' understand him perfectly,- as he does us. (3.) I think he can read the lips better now than he did, and quicker. (4.) His education will be indeed a lasting benefit to him, for which I cannot be too thankful to you. He is like a schoolmaster to his younger brothers and sisters. (5.) He is still at the fishing

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when the weather permits, and he is very handy, thanks to you again, in helping his father to fence and do many things about the place. Since he left school, taking the good with the bad, he has averaged 30s. a week. (6.) He is always cheerful, nothing puts him out of temper ; and he is a general favourite. B. (It) E. still makes use of the spoken language as taught him at school. (2.) All his brothers and sisters talk to and thoroughly understand him. (3.) We do not notice any difference. (4.) Emphatically Yes. (5.) He is employed at home, and both his work and conduct are excellent. (6.) Yes, he is very cheerful. (7.) He is chiefly employed in the garden. In conclusion, I may state that I am in every way satisfied with the progress made by my son while at school, his education being such that he can not only read a paper or book, but can thoroughly understand its contents, and also take part in any discussion on same. He can also assist his younger brothers and sisters with their lessons. His physical education has not been neglected either, he being very good at most outdoor sports. He has been selected by the 0 Match Committee to represent O in a football match against I on the 30th April. C. I am thankful to say my son is enjoying very good health, and is very thankful to you for the way you brought him on in his education, for I must say he is a very fair scholar, and is very handy in assisting his brothers and sisters with their lessons in the evenings, and seems very willing to do so. (1.) My son still uses the language that you taught him at school. (2.) His brothers and sisters can all talk to him, and he can converse with nearly all who know him. (3.) I think he can read the lips faster now than he could when he came home. (4.) I think his education is of great benefit to him, and Ido not know what he would have done without it. (5.) He is employed with me. lam quite satisfied with his work and conduct, and he is very steady in his habits. (6.) He is very cheerful and happy. (7.) He is engaged with me learning the blacksmiths' trade, and seems to like it very much. His wages are 10s. a week, food, and clothes. D. I received your letter with reference to H., and will gladly supply you with the information you require. I have kept him employed in the shop since he left school, and he is very useful to me in many ways, such as delivering parcels, driving the cart, and in doing such work as I point out to him to do. His education, through your method, is of the greatest advantage to him, as he can understand and converse with almost any one if spoken to plainly. He has greatly improved in speaking since he left school. (1.) He is still making use of the spoken language, and is always improving. (2.) His brothers and sister can talk to him nearly as well as they can to other children. (3.) There is great improvement in his reading of the lips. (4.) I feel sure that his education will be of everlasting benefit to him. (5.) He is employed at home, and lam very well satisfied with both his work and conduct. (6.) He is always cheerful and contented, He sends his best wishes to Mrs. Van Asch, the family, and yourself; and hoping the information contained in this letter will help you with your report. E.—(This boy has no brothers or sisters at home.) (1), (2), (3). When first he came home from school I often had to write to him, as I could not well understand what he said, although his mother could much better than I ; but now I can converse freely, and never think of writing anything to him. (4.) Yes; he enjoys to read the daily newspapers as well as anybody. He gets books regularly from the library, and apparently enjoys life as well as anybody else. He often speaks of school and the many happy years he spent with . I feel very thankful that the institution was started when it did. Without education he would have been a blank. (5.) He is thoroughly submissive, and will do anything he is asked by his mother and myself. 6. He is always cheerful and full of fun. (7.) His trade is the tailors'. He seems to like it well, and his employer told me to-day he was making very good progress. His master remarked, "It is customary for the junior apprentice to deliver all the parcels. To my surprise, he has never made one single mistake." F. In reply to your letter, I have much pleasure in being able to reply in the affirmative to most of your queries. My daughter is at the present time in service with a friend of mine, earning os. per week, with other favours in the way of clothing. lam greatly indebted to you for the interest you have taken in her education, and shall ever consider that her admission to your institution was one of the greatest blessings that could have been conferred upon her. G. My son J. is doing Well. He can converse with almost every one he meets. He speaks plainer now, and is far quicker in his actions, and takes care of himself. His education is of permanent benefit to him, and his knowledge is well instilled into the mind. He will not stay at home. He is working at garden-work and jobbing about. He is getting 4s. and sometimes ss. a day. He gets plenty to do, and he is liked wherever he works. H. I have pleasure in answering as follows : (1.) He still makes use of the spoken language as when he returned from school. (2.) Each member of the family speaks to him, and he replies in language. (3.) He cannot read the lips any faster than when he came home. (4.) There is no doubt that his teaching has been of vast importance to him ; it has caused him to take interest in

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matters outside his immediate locality, and given him a great zest for the newspaper. (5.) He is employed at home, and takes great interest in the animals, and I am satisfied with his work and conduct. (6.) Considering his affliction and his consciousness of it, he is as cheerful as I could expect him to be. (7.) He is not engaged in any business, but works regularly on the farm. I. I received your letter about my son, and will be glad to answer the questions you ask: (1.) My son still talks the same as before. (2.) We always speak to him, and we have no difficulty in making him understand everything. (3.) lam sure he does. (4.) I cannot estimate the value of his education high enough. He talks to all the neighbours, and he takes an interest in all branches of farm-work. (5.) He is employed on my farm, and the neighbours can testify that he is more valuable on my farm than any other hand. His conduct is excellent, and some of the neighbours would be very glad to employ him at high wages. I sometimes let him go to stack for them, or to put a binder in order. He always got 10s. per day. lam truly grateful to you for having taught my son at Sumner. He is now able to travel about and take care of himself. He thoroughly enjoys the society of his friends. He is a well-known member of the Bine Club, and the work of the farm is a pleasure to him. During my illness he carried on as I would have done myself. J. (1.) I am pleased to say, through your careful tuition, J. is able to speak well, and is easily understood by almost every one. (2, 3, 4.) It is pleasing to me and all her people, and must be very gratifying to you, to know that a girl who knew nothing of language until she came under your care can now speak and act better, in fact, than many who were born with all their senses. I regret very much that we were not fortunate enough to have her with you when she was years younger. (5.) She is living at home. She is all the assistance I have. I could not manage without her. (6.) She is lively and cheerful. (7.) Dear sir, you can, if you wish it, make mention of J.s name. She is a credit to you and all belonging to her. Bless the day she went to Sumner ! I shall always feel grateful to the Eev. T. J, : through him she went to you. K. I will answer all questions to the best of my knowledge. (1.) Yes. (2.) Yes. (3.) Much faster. (4.) Yes, in many ways. (5.) She works at home when not at work elsewhere. She is good at washing, starching, and ironing, and I am very well satisfied with her work and conduct; she can also do any kind of needlework. (6.) Yes, she is very cheerful, and whatever she does it is done willingly. (7.) She often goes out to work by the week at sewing. When out she earns from 7s. to 10s. per week. L. (1.) Yes. (2.) Yes ; and it is far superior than to talk with the hands, as any one can understand her more or less. (3.) She reads them well, but her eyesight is rather bad. (4.) Yes ;it has set her up for life. (5.) She is employed at home, and is preferable to two servants. (6.) She is quite cheerful now, and can go into town shopping for herself, which she could not do before. The school has entirely changed her disposition for the better. lam truly thankful that it was ever her privilege to finish her education at the Sumner Deaf-and-Dumb Institution. M. I shall be very pleased to give you any information I can about my son. G. is getting on very nicely. He has been with the Eev. W. the last eight months. He milks the cows, attends to the horse and buggy, or does anything about the garden. They are quite delighted with him. He understands them all very well. I think he reads the lips faster now ; all of his brothers and sisters play and talk with him. He is very cheerful. Mrs. W. gives him a lesson every night, and it is keeping up his education. He is a smart lad. lam not sure of the wages he is getting; it is more a home than a situation. Mr. and Mrs. W. say they never had a better boy. If ever I hear of any one afflicted like him I will do all I can to direct them to your institution. It has been a blessing to my boy. N. It will give me very great pleasure to answer the several questions referring to the mental and social condition of my eldest son, who had six and a half years' training in the Deaf and Dumb School, Sumner, presided over by yourself. He has now left school over three years. In answer to question (1.) Yes; no other means of communication has ever been used. (2.) Yes; invariably. (3.) I do not think he can do so any faster, which is, I think, mainly owing to his not having sufficient understanding of language. (4.) Yes; most decidedly. His education is of the highest importance to him. (5.) He is employed at home, and helps me with the threshing-machine, and contracts of all sorts, and I am highly satisfied with his work and conduct. He has at the present time taken a contract for potato-digging, at which he earns at least 4s. per day. (6.) He is the most cheerful of the whole family. (7.) He earns the same as ordinary hands, from ss. to 6s. per day, and lls. per 1,000 with the thresher. It is a matter of great thankfulness to us that he has been enabled to receive the education he has, through the praiseworthy efforts of Government in starting a deaf-and-dumb school, and, although it has been a heavy tax to contribute so much to his and his brother's support there, I think it is money well spent. O. Alluding to my daughter L.'s language : She-mends a little. Her brothers and sisters understand her in most things. They can talk to her, but as for myself, I can talk to her, but do not 2—E. 4.

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understand her in many things. Her sister can talk to her quicker than you. She writes all letters home and abroad. She is employed at home. I could not do without her ; not a finer cultivated girl in A . lam very satisfied. P. I will answer your questions in the order they come. (1.) C. T. always uses spoken language when "speaking to me, or others with whom he comes in contact frequently. If any one cannot understand him very well he always writes what he has to say. (2.) He lives away from his brothers and sisters, but he often writes them. (3.) Yes, most decidedly. (4.) Yes. He knows now, to a certain extent, what is going on in the world : he always reads the papers, and talks to me about what he reads. His education also helps him to use his brains in whatever work he is about. (5.) He is employed with me away from home. lam most satisfied with his work and conduct; he does everything thoroughly. The other men say that if any work that they are doing together pleases him they know it will satisfy me. (6.) Yes, fairly so; but he is not of a very cheerful disposition. (7.) C. T. works with me as a farm-labourer; he gets 6s. per week, and extra at harvest; also board and lodging. He has been with me two years, and has saved about £15. Q. —(From the employer to whom an ex-pupil was apprenticed to learn dressmaking.) She could speak so that we all understood her. She understood everything that I told her concerning the work. I think what education she received will be of great use to her in any occupation she may follow. She was very quick at learning anything she was instructed to do, and extra smart with the needle. Had she not been taken away from the business so soon, I would say, from my short experience with her, she would have made a clever assistant. She was neat in her person and work, of good conduct, and apparently of a very pleasing disposition. [Approximate Cost of Paper.— Preparation, Nil; printing (3,300 copies), £5 15s]

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