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[Vol. XX. No. 499 



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THE PROGRESS MADE IN TEACHING DEAF CHIL- 

 DREN TO READ LIPS AND TALK, IN THE 

 UNITED STATES AND CANADA.' 



BY ALEXANDER GKAHAM BELL. 



The total number of teachers of the deaf employed in the 

 United States in 1890 was 641, and in 1891, 686. This is an 

 increase of 45. When we come to analyze the details we 

 find that this is an increase exclusively of articulation 

 teachers. This is shown by the following facts. In 1890, 

 there were 213 articulation teachers employed, whereas, in 

 1891, there were 260, — an increase of 47 articulation teachers. 

 The first statistics upon this subject were collected by the 

 Annals in 1886. In that year we find articulation teachers 

 constituted 32.8 per cent of the hearing teachers in our schools 

 for the deaf. In 1887 they constituted 40.5 per cent; in 

 1888, 44 per cent; in 1889,45.7 percent; in 1890, 45.2 percent; 

 in 1891, the latest returns, 50 per cent. Indeed, they con- 

 stituted one more than 50 per cent. There were 260 articu- 

 lation teachers to 259 hearing teachers who were not engaged 

 in articulation work. 



In regard to the proportion of deaf pupils taught speech, 

 the increase during the past year has been very marked. In 

 1890, there were 3,682 deaf children in the United States 

 taught speech; in 1891, 4,245, an increase of 563, In 1890, 

 41.3 per cent of our pupils were taught speech; in 1891, 46 

 per cent. I am sure that this increase is due very greatly 

 to the stimulus of the first summer meeting of the American 

 Association to Promote the Teaching of Speech to the Deaf. 



Of course, the statistics in the Annals include the whole of 

 our pupils, old as well as young, and it has occurred to me, 

 therefore, that they may not give us a true indication of the 

 extent to which the California resolution is being carried 

 out in the country at large; and that a better indication 

 would be obtained by statistics concerning younger pupils 

 alone. I therefore sent out a circular letter of inquiry to 



1 Address delivered at the conference of the superintendents and princi- 

 pals of the schools for the deaf of North America, held at Colorado Springs, 

 Aug. 8-11. 



the superintendents and principals of American schools for 

 the deaf, requesting: — 



1. The total number of new pupils admitted during the 

 school year just closed. 



2. The number of new pupils taught speech ; and 

 8. The number of these taught by speech. 



Replies have been received from schools containing 7,987 

 pupils, or 80 per cent of the whole number under instruction 

 in the United States and Canada. 



The following table shows the results of the inquiry: — 



Speech- Teaching in American Schools for the Deaf, 1891. 



A. Complete returns were received from these schools. 



B The returns received from these schools did not state 

 definitely the number of new pupils taught by speech. The 

 Canadian schools marked B refer to the two Roman Cath- 

 olic schools in Montreal. They return 126 pupils, or 41 per 

 cent of the whole, as taught by speech ; but do not state how 

 many of the new pupils were so taught. 



C. These schools did not reply to the circular letter of in- 

 quiry. 



It is encouraging to note that while 46 per cent of the 

 whole number in our schools last year were taught articula- 

 tion, 70 per cent of the younger pupils were afforded an 

 opportunity of learning to speak. The statistics published 

 in the Annals are somewhat defective because, while they 

 give us the total number of pupils taught speech, they do not 

 give us the number taught by speech ; so that we have no 

 statistics by which we can measure the progress of the oral 

 method of teaching in America. 



Professor Joseph C. Gordon of the National Deaf-Mute 

 College, in some editorial remarks prefacing a volume enti- 

 tled " The Education of the Deaf," about to be issued by the 

 Volta Bureau, says: "The returns of pupils taught by speech 

 are incomplete. The number reported for 1891 is 963, or 10.4 

 per cent of the school population." The above table indi- 

 cates that the percentage, in the case of the younger pupils, 

 must be very much larger. Out of 836 new pupils admitted 

 during the past school year, 336, or 43 per cent, were taught 

 by speech. 



This percentage, however, is probably excessive, because 

 the table shows that those schools which have done ths most 



