BLIND, EDUCATION OF THE. 



HUNT), EDUCATION OF THE. 



nude to provide an uyluui, ami moans were taken to call public atten- 

 tion to the object. Mr. Miller communicated with the Al>l>e H.iiiy, 

 and in many way* rendered important services during the infancy of 

 the inrt tution. The chief end in the formation of the contemplated 

 asylum, next to imparting ordinary inatniction (orally, it is presumed), 

 and imbuing the mind* of the object* with religiou* truth, was to place 

 them under *rch Btiperintendence a* ahould train them in those trade* 

 in whi h the blind " are bent fitted to excel ; " at the tame time re- 

 warding them for their labour* according to tht-ir j>r. Kr<' and pro- 

 ficiency. In later year* the directors of the asylum hare extended 

 their riews, devoting increased attention to the intellectual culture of 

 the pupil* : but Btill the nuiti object appear* to be that of training 

 them to habits of manual labour. The economical character of the 

 Edinburgh Aiiylum must be a striking feature to all who compare it* 

 expenditure, considering the amount of good it accomplishes, with that 

 of imilr institution*. We have frequently heard of the excellent 

 management of the public charities of Edinburgh ; but in none is such 

 management more visible than in thin. In 1806 the directors formed 

 a separate establishment for females, and tinoe that time they have 

 opened a school for the instruction of the young Mind. It is by early 

 training only that the blind, in common with others, can be brorght 

 under an effectual mental and moral discipline. By giving instruction 

 to the young in the higher departments of knowledge, and by thus 

 railing the intellectual character to the elevation of which it i* capable, 

 we are of opinion the directors will discover that the art* in which the 

 blind are best fitted to excel are not the ordinary mechanical trade*, 

 to which, in our British institution*, and too generally abroad, all 

 higher considerations have been sacrificed. Why are not their mental 

 powers, which are unaffected by their physical calamity, cultivated ? 

 Such cultivation will qualify them for occupations in which they may 

 succeed as well as those who posses* the advantage* of sight. The 

 enlightened pilicy of the directors of the Edinburgh Institution has 

 placed them in the first rank among the benefactors of the blind : their 

 school for the young is a most interesting section of their establish- 

 ment ; and it may be hoped that ninny of its pupils will be trained to 

 higher occupations than those of basket-making, weaving, &c. We do 

 not anticipate that all the blind can be exempted from manual labour, 

 any more than that all other men are fitted for employment* requiring 

 * a high degree of intellectual vigour, and acquirement* which even the 

 greater portion of mankind are unable or unwilling to make : but we 

 do not hesitate to affirm that the blind have been systematically trained 

 in arts in which they never can enter into competition with seeing 

 persons; and that they have not been sufficiently educated in that 

 kind of know'edge in which they might have become at least a* perfect 

 as those who possess all their faculties. The former part of our pro- 

 position is allowed by the directors of the Edinburgh Asylum, who 

 say that " when they (the blind) become as skilful workmen as their 

 circumstances admit, they still labour under a disadvantage unknown 



to other*." An argument which might with great propriety be used 

 to enforce the advantage of mental cultivation in preference to manual 

 dexterity, i* the loss invariably attendant on the manufacture* carried 

 on at the asylums. It appear* to i from our examination into the 

 expense* of different establishment*, that the more extensive the scale 

 on which the manual art* are conducted, the greater the losses, from 

 waste of material*, a succession of learner*, Ac. On the score of cheap- 

 new therefore it is desirable tha' such operation* ahould be confined 

 within a* narrow limits as may seem prudent, and that intellectual 

 education should be extended a* widely a* the talents and qualification* 

 of the pupil* will allow. Instead of the account* of such institution* 

 showing so great an amount of positive losses, we should not only see 

 this item reduced, but fin.i the pupils qualified for a sphere of useful- 

 ness superior to any which they can ever reach by any attainable 

 degree of dexterity in manual occupation*. 



In the Edinburgh Asylum, the whole machinery seemed to be of a 

 high order ; the devoted attention of the different officers i* risible in 

 the discipline and happiness of the inmates, and there can be no doubt 

 that the institution is effecting great good. The young blind an in 

 structed in reciting the scriptures, in spelling, in grammar, in vocal 

 and instrumental music, in reading, by means of the sense of feeling ; 

 in writing, arithmetic, mathematics, history, geography, and astronomy. 

 The mean* by which instruction in these various branches is conveyed 

 have been mentioned ; in all institutions of this nature they must be 

 generally the same, varying perhaps in some of their details. Several of 

 the mechanical contrivance* for conveying scientific knowledge to the 

 pupil* are the invention* of Mr. Johnston, the former secretary (nephew 

 of Dr. Johnston, who was named as one of the founder* of the ii 

 tion),in conjunction with Professor Wallace, a gentleman who was deeply 

 interested in all that concerned the institution. An orrery, a comet- 

 arium, and raised maps of the heavens, all so constructed a* to convey 

 information by the touch, while the reasoning powers are at the same 

 time addressed, are among the inventions of these gentlemen. The 

 map of the world i* described a* comprising " the eastern and western 

 hemispheres, represented on each side of a circular board. The land 

 is made rough, the seas, lakes, and rivers smooth. Towns are repre- 

 sented by small pins. Mountains are. ridged, and boundaries simply 

 raised. Degrees of latitude are marked round the edge of the circle, 

 of longitude along the equator, which is raised above the surface of 

 the earth. The orrery represents the orbits of the planets by brass 

 circle*, and the planets themselves are shown by spheres indicative of 

 their relative dimensions ; the spheres slide upon the brass orbit*. 

 The ecliptic exhibits raised figures of the signs of the zodiac, the 

 degrees of the circle, and the days of the month, all tangible, and 

 adapted to the learner who has to depend upon touch for his impres- 

 sions. The arithmetic board is 16 inches by 12, and contains 400 

 pentagonal hole* with a space of a quarter of an inch between each. 

 The pin is simply a pentagon, with a projection at one end on an angle, 



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The Arithmetic Board. 



ami on the otlin- i-n.l n the side. Being placed in the board, with a 

 corner projection to the left upper corner of the board, it represents 1 ; 

 proceeding to the right upjier corner it is 3 ; the next corner in succes- 

 sion is 5 ; the next 7, and the last 9. In like manner the side projec- 

 tion, by being turned to the sides of the hole, progressively gives 2, 4, 

 8, 8, 0. The size of the pentagon, and a drawing of the pin, showing 

 the projections on the side and angle, are given with the board above. 



By the use of this board the pupils may be carried to any extent in 

 arithmetical knowledge, and make their calculations with as much 

 wtisfaction as those who see. The last improvement* in the Arithmetic 

 Board were made by William Lang, at first an inmate of the Edinburgh 

 Asylum, afterwards of that of Glasgow. Further to illustrate it* use 

 an example i* given below of a sum in multiplication, which will be at 

 <>nce understood on comparing it with the board above; this example 

 show* 259x4 = 1030. The pentagon* represent the pin* with their 

 projections as supposed to be in the holes of the Arithmetic Board. 



We have the testimony of Dr. Uuillid, that the blind study the 

 rxact science* under great advantages, and with remarkable success ; 

 but we cannot agree with the doctor that the blind, any more than 

 In dair-roytiit have a natural disposition for mathematical studies. 



The eminent success of Smmderson, Moyes, Cough, and others, afford 

 sufficient proof that blindness is no great impediment to such pursuits ; 



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there may possibly be some advantages consequent on the degree of 

 abstraction which appears necessarily to accompany blindness. On this 

 supposition however we do not lay much stress, because we cannot 

 admit that there is naturally any compensative principle by which men 

 who labour under one defect or deprivation, are enabled to exercise 

 the powers which are left to them with greater accuracy than others 



