 Five Lectures on Blindness. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by Yaz Pistachio. Five Lectures on Blindness by Kate M. Foley. Forward. The following lectures were written primarily to be delivered at the summer sessions of the University of California at Berkeley, and at Los Angeles in the summer of 1918. We are printing them, however, so that the information in them can be more widely distributed since they are the outgrowth of almost a quarter of a century spent in work for the blind and were written from the standpoint of a blind person seeking to better the condition of the blind. They were addressed not to the blind, but to the seeing public for the benefit that will accrue to the blind from a better understanding of their problems. The successful work of Miss Foley as a student in the California School for the Blind as a volunteer teacher and in recent years as a home teacher for the California State Library makes these lectures particularly important and authoritative. Milton J. Ferguson. State Librarian. End of Forward. Lecture 1 of Five Lectures on Blindness. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Five Lectures on Blindness by Kate M. Foley. Lecture 1. The Psychology of Blindness. In view of the widespread interest now manifested in the blind and their problems, an interest deepened by reports from the warring countries, I feel that a knowledge of the psychology of blindness should prove of great help to those wishing to take part in the re-education of the war-blinded soldiers. As early as 1773, Diderot wrote an essay on the psychology of blindness, and as this essay was written at the very beginning of blind education, it is interesting to note that his ideas coincide with the most advanced deductions on the subject today. However, as these deductions are not very numerous, and as the available literature is very scant, I shall be obliged to draw largely from my own experiences and that of other blind persons in presenting the subject to you. First let us consider the subject from the point of view of one who has been blind from early infancy, whose fingers are his eyes, and whose mental vision enables him to see many things not revealed by physical sight. A blind man once said, when asked if he would not be glad to have his eyesight, to improve the organs I have would be as good as to give me that which is wanting in me. This sentence sums up the whole aim of blind education. Dr. Eichholz, a noted educator of the blind, says, A blind man discerns the sensation from the real presence of an object at his finger's end, only by the force or weakness of that very sensation. So then let us consider that to the blind fingers our eyes, and remember that they have ten instead of two. As I have been blind since early infancy, my own case offers an illustration in point, so I hope you will not misunderstand the predominance of the personal note in these observations. Blindness does not lead to any refinement of the sense of touch, hearing, or smell, but to a greater keenness in the interpretation of the information furnished by these senses. Diderot says, And so the person in possession of all the senses regards the blind man as a marvel of intelligence and skill, just because, on losing his eyesight, his remaining senses come to the rescue, and he continues to live and move and have his being without the most precious of all physical senses. In the world of the blind child, eyesight plays no part, and so the other senses are made to do double duty, and the extent to which these may be cultivated is limited only by the mentality of the child, its early training and environment. I think hearing is the first sense to be cultivated, both in the infant and the adult suddenly deprived of sight. Through its ears the child recognizes voices, detects different footfalls, is enabled to measure distance with a fair degree of accuracy, and can form a very clear idea as to the shape and dimensions of a room. All this information is conveyed to the normal child through the eyes. Dr. Illingworth, a noted educator of the blind in England, says, Of course there is no doubt that blindness tends to a higher and more perfect development of the sense of hearing, even in the uneducated, on the same principle that nature almost always comes to the aid of her children in providing protective agencies of one kind or another. Even in the very lowest organisms, and naturally, for those who are blind, the sense of hearing is the first to fall back upon for this purpose. Thus it becomes more highly developed, because there is more frequent call upon and exercise of that sense. Another writer has said, but a distinction should be made between sensitiveness and an ability to use the sense, between native sensory capacity of the sense organ, and the acquired ability to use that capacity. The second sense to be developed in the blind child is that of touch, and this development begins at a very early date, supplementing the sense of hearing. Long before the child is old enough to read, its fingers have become its eyes, and each of the ten fingers carries its quota of information to the active brain, the amount and quality of this information increasing with the mental development. In addition to the fingers, the nerves of the face, and those of the feet contribute their share of information. The child learns to detect differences in climatic condition by the feel of the air on its face. I have often heard very young blind children exclaim, it feels like rain, it feels like a nice day, the air feels heavy, the wind feels soft, the wind is rough today. The nerves of the feet contribute their share of helpful knowledge, calling attention to differences in the ground often unnoticed by the eye, telling whether the path is smooth or rough, grass grown or rock strewn. The auditory and pedal nerves are mutually helpful, the ear recording and classifying the sounds made by the feet, often guiding them aright by recalling certain peculiarities of sound, whether the ground is hollow, whether the sidewalk is of board or cement, and whether there is a depression here or a raised place there. I often wonder how deafblind people walk as well as they do when they cannot hear their footfalls. I find walking much more difficult when on a crowded thoroughfare or when passing a planing mill or boiler factory. The last trio of senses whose development compensates in large measure for the want of eyesight is that of smell. Through this sense the child comes very close to the heart of nature. Of course the ear is charmed by the songs of birds, the hum of insects, the murmur of wind in the trees, or the sound of mighty waters. Through the fingertips he learns the shape and size of each flower and shrub and tree, traces the delicate pattern of ferns, notes wonderful rock formations, and finds the first blade of tender grass coaxed to the surface by the warmth of the spring sunshine. But all this does not bring him the keen pleasure he experiences when he inhales the fragrance of the rose, the perfume of flowers, with the dew still upon them, the smell of the freshly turned earth, the new-cut grass, or the blossom-laden trees. In the case of Helen Keller the olfactory nerves had been cultivated to a very high degree, and through this sense she is often able to recognize her friends. A little blind boy told me once that each member of his family had a distinct odor, by which he could tell things worn by them, or books they had handled. Laura Bridgeman is said to have selected the laundry of the pupils in her school by this unusual process. I frequently astonish my friends by telling them when I pass a drugstore, or hospital, a grocery, a confectioner's, or dry goods-store, a paint shop, a florist's stand, or a livery's table. I do not think the blind have a keener sense of taste than any other class of people, although this claim is often made, even by the blind themselves. We have, then, the senses of hearing, touch, and smell, each playing its part in the development of the blind child, and each playing it so well that the lack of eyesight is not keenly felt in early childhood, not until it is old enough to understand the thoughtless remarks of well-meaning people to catch the pitying tone, to feel a compassionate touch, does it realize that this lack of eyesight is to prove an almost insurmountable barrier to its future success? I was in my sixth year before I understood the meaning of the word blind. Up to that time I had romped and played with other children, climbed trees, jumped ditches, accepting bumps and bruises as a part of the game, and having no sense of fear, since some child always held my hand. In fact, in those days all the children held each other's hands, and it was easier going, so. Is it not a pity that, in later life, we feel so self-reliant we are unwilling to admit that the way could often be made easier if we resorted to the childish game of holding hands and moving forward together as we faced the more serious struggles of life? My first realization of the meaning of the blindness came when, one day, after hearing some people call me poor child, and expressing their sympathy to my mother, I asked if we were very poor, poorer than my playmates, and why I could not go to school. Mother explained that we were no poorer than the others, that the ladies did not mean it in that way, but were sorry that I could not see and did not think I could ever go to school. But my mother assured me that I was going to school, and that there I would learn to see with my fingers better than the ladies did with their eyes. My childish mind was aroused, then, and I asked everyone what it meant to see, and soon realized that I did not know what seeing really was, at least not in the sense the other children used the word. I was filled with wonder since my world had hitherto seemed so complete. I heard things or felt things or smelled things, and was satisfied, and yet there was another medium of knowledge entirely unknown to me, and until then unnecessary. How eagerly I looked forward to the time when I should learn to see, and my heart was filled with childish rapture, on the day when I entered the school for the blind at Berkeley. My first question, on meeting the superintendent, was, are you going to teach me to see? How well he performed this task, how wisely he guided my childish feet, how carefully he developed my eager mind, stimulated my ambition, and renewed my faltering courage. I did not realize until I was called upon to face life with its trials and opportunities, and here, where his work is so well known, I wish to pay my tribute of love and gratitude to Dr. Warring Wilkinson. He was my great-hearted, great-sold teacher, father, and friend. When I found myself in a place with children, some of whom were, like myself, blind from infancy, and others whose eyesight had been lost through various accidents, and yet others who could see to go about to tell the colour of our ribbons and advise us of the approach of a matron or teacher, my wonder grew apace. This process of learning to see was varied and absorbing, but I soon found that it had its limitations, and that, after all, eyes were very useful possessions, and without them I could know nothing of colour, could not picture the sky or any of the heavenly bodies, nor could I distinguish different people unless I heard their voices or steps, though no two had faces alike. I found, too, that some children who could see colours could not recognise faces, and I came to realise that vision, however slight, was greatly to be desired. I could distinguish light from darkness, and this enabled me to locate doors and windows, but colour, with its varying shades, was then and is now a mystery profound. But in my desire to see, to be just like other children, I resolved to learn all I could about colour, and so I memorised the list of colours, which ones harmonised, which were most pleasing to the eye, which were bright, which produced a somber impression. Thus I soon learned to speak of colour with a degree of intelligence, and to select my gowns with a view to pleasing the eyes of my friends. I soon learned to associate certain phrases with certain colours, for instance, blue as the sky, green as grass, yellow as gold, black as night, red as fire, and brown as a berry. I also learned that a colour had a variety of shades, and that at times colours were changeable, being difficult to distinguish blue from green at night. The sky with its starred phenomena was even harder to conceive, and I could not understand how clouds obscured the sun, or how old soul could put the blackest clouds to route. My ears and fingers continued to flood my mind with knowledge, and the want of eyesight did not distress me. When I touched an object or listened to a lesson, my mind stored it away for future reference, and often now, when recalling some facts in history or geography, I can hear the voice of the teacher who read the particular passage. I was eight years old when I first examined a horse, although I was familiar with the sound of its feet on the pavement, and knew whether it walked or trotted or galloped. The horse I examined had been driven a long distance, and so was very warm when my hand was placed upon its mane. The hair was damp and clung to the back, and there was an odor of steaming flesh. A fly was tormenting the animal, and as it tossed its head impatiently, I could hear the rattle of harness and the sound of its restive foot upon the ground. These impressions have always remained with me. My knowledge of the horse was acquired through the senses of hearing, touch, and smell, and so with the cow. I can hear its low, moo, moo. I can hear the milk dropping into the pail, feel the hard outer shell of the horns, and catch the odor that is ever present in the cow's domain. The cat and dog have their peculiarities, too, the mewing of the cat and the sounds heard when it purrs while washing its face, the dog's quick bark, and the sound it makes when panting for breath as it rests after a long chase. I know the animals have different colors peculiar to them, but this knowledge has no place in my mental conception of them. In judging people, the voice is my infallible guide. I am instantly attracted or repelled by a voice, and my estimate of character is rarely incorrect. By the voice I am able to form a very accurate idea as to height, weight, and age. So here again I do not feel the lack of eyesight. The voice is an unfailing index to character, and the trained ear is quick to catch the slightest variation in tone and can detect traits and moods hidden from the eye, because not registered upon the face. There is a strong voice, a brave voice, a voice full of hope and cheer, a tired voice, a crafty voice, a voice full of dull despair. And so here again I do not feel the lack of eyesight in noting differences in my fellow men. I know that there are distinguishing marks that heads are shaped differently and that hair and eyes have different colors corresponding to the various types, as blondes or brunettes. All this I know abstractly, but it is just one of the bits of information tucked away in memory's storehouse. I do not suppose many of you have ever heard a smile. I have. I hear a smile almost before the lips can register it, and to me the sound is as musical as the laughter of a very young child. I think hearing a smile must be like seeing the light in the eyes, and so lack of eyesight is no deprivation in this connection. All during my days at school I went on acquiring knowledge, learning to see many things, scarcely realizing the handicap of blindness because every help was given me, and I was surrounded by those whose condition was like my own. But when I went out into the world I found that many seeing people, so-called, had very little vision, although their eyesight was perfect. I found, too, that although I knew many things and was well equipped to earn my own living, my lack of eyesight was responsible for a corresponding lack of confidence upon the part of the public. This was a great disappointment, for I knew I could succeed if only someone would give me the opportunity. After waiting twenty years the State Library gave me the opportunity. This lack of confidence upon the part of the public is one of the most depressing features of adult blindness. Thus far I have considered the subject from the point of view of one who has been blind from early infancy. But now I shall view it from the standpoint of one deprived of eyesight in adult life, who is taking his first step in the dark. M. Diderot says, The help which the senses reciprocally afford to each other hinders their improvement, and so the adult whose movements are no longer directed by his eyes feels utterly helpless and bewildered, as one who finds himself on a strange road very late at night with no ray of light to guide him. As the blinded soldier is uppermost in our thoughts today I am considering the mental condition of an adult suddenly deprived of eyesight, not that of the man whose blindness has come on gradually. The first sensation, when thus plunged into total darkness, is that of unreality, and just as the light of day dispels the gloom of night, so the sufferer clings to the hope that at any minute he may open his eyes and find things as they were before the darkness settled down, and he sees all its weird shadows to fill his soul with dread. The continued darkness causes a feeling of depression and repression, very hard to combat, and so the sufferer is in need of first aid, in need of a friendly hand, and a cheery voice to help him through these trying days. Of this period, M. Bru, doctor of re-education of the blinded soldiers in Paris, says, the blind are, for the time being, put back into the helpless condition of children. They have to be sustained and given a new education for life. They have to begin many things all over again. Spiritually, they have lost their bearings and are adrift about in restless anguish. Physically their whole organism has been shaken by the wound they have received and must have time after such a violent shock to recover its equilibrium. Their power of judgment has often been temporarily destroyed. They are weak in body and uncertain in mind. This double weakness lays on those who surround them a double duty. Much will have been done when their material welfare has been assured, but the responsibility will not have been discharged unless they have also attained to the tranquility of soul and a sense of their own dignity. One must have confidence in order to give them confidence. Most of us have no idea what powers to meet new demands are inherent in our organs. We have within us capacities unknown even to ourselves inactive so long as they are not necessary. Awake and efficient as soon as there is need of them. They are reserves which most of the time we never call on. They are a horde which we do not touch. Our resources and our power of life are greater than we imagine. The sudden loss of sight gives, after a time, something like the lash of the whip to the whole organism. All the other senses are roused to greater sharpness. When the blind soldier fully realizes this he will perhaps arrive at a state in which I have seen some men blind from birth, the state of being proud of being blind. Why should they not be proud when they feel that they are as capable of accomplishing certain things of practicing certain trades as other men? If, with their lessened powers lacking the power that we consider of supreme importance, can they do things as well as we? Are they not, therefore, cleverer than we? Instead of talking to them of resignation incite them to revolt at the limitations of their condition. Inspire them to conquer circumstances. Insist that they can. Picture life to them, its beauty and its power, and tell them that it is good. In administering to the needs of this readjustment period the volunteers should be an optimist and should exercise common sense in guiding the adult over the first lap of the unfamiliar road. I have advised volunteers who are now in France and those preparing to go there to take riding boards, games, bright, pithy stories, and a lot of nonsense verse. I have told these Red Cross workers that they themselves must know how to laugh, must be able to rise above the horrors about them, for they are there to serve heroes, not cowards, heroes who will laugh with a sob in their throats, heroes who, after a short respite, will reach for a new sword with which to resume the battle of life. God grant that we may have new swords ready for them, swords of hope, swords of confidence, swords from which all the old prejudice and misconception have been removed, swords of occupation and independence. Of this readjustment period Clarence Hawkes, the well-known blind naturalist who lost his eyesight at the age of fifteen, says, the loss of eyesight seems, for a time, to upset the perfect working of the nervous system. The nerves have to adjust themselves to new conditions and rearrange the channels of communication. On first losing one's eyesight, one is impressed with the fact that all noises sound much too loud, and it takes several months for sounds to get toned down to their normal volume, and one never quite overcomes the tendency to jump at sudden sharp noises. As to the blind child, the senses of touch, hearing, and smell prove efficient carriers of knowledge, so these senses come to the rescue of the blind adult, and compensate, in large measure, for the loss of eyesight. Training does not increase the sensitiveness of a sense organ, it merely puts this capacity to better use. So the blind adult does not suddenly come into possession of wonderful powers, but in time his acquired sense perception enables him to do many things that are too considered impossible of accomplishment. But to the casual observer, anything done without eyesight is considered little short of marvellous. The adult soon learns to recognize voices and footsteps, to measure distance with a fair degree of accuracy, and in many cases to go about alone with only the friendly cane for company. Many of the blind have what is defined as a sense of obstacles, and it is sometimes called a sixth sense. Dr. Illingworth defines this sense as an exceedingly subtle kind of instinct that enables a blind individual to detect the presence or proximity of a person or object under circumstances of absolute silence, and very often to know the nature of the object. Dr. Illingworth believes that this remarkable power is of electric origin and latent in everybody. This power seems to have its seat in the nerves of the face and is possessed by the blind adult as well as the blind child. This sense of obstacles, this touch at a distance, enables a person to tell when he is passing tall buildings, fences, trees, and many other obstructions. Mr. Hawke says the sixth sense, if such should be, probably depends upon three conditions. Sound, the compression of the air, and whether the face be free to use its sensitive feelers. The subject is still in its infancy and time may reveal many interesting facts concerning it, but for our purpose it is enough that the blind have a sense of obstacles and let us regard it as another proof that we are wonderfully made and divinely led. In a surprisingly short time the blind adult becomes accustomed to the new conditions. His organs perform their new functions and he finds life in sightless land to be, in many respects, very like life in the world of light and color, now only a memory. But a very living memory enabling him to recall the faces of his friends, the glow of sunset, or the rosy light of dawn in the eye of the mind whose vision is keener, clearer than mere physical sight. The follow-up mental pictures is yet another of the compensations and these pictures never fade, but come when familiar scenes or objects are suggested. The adult is deeply interested in form and color and likes to have them minutely described. This fact is not well understood by sighted friends and so the blind are often deprived of details which would give them keenest pleasure or painful memories. In this connection and by way of conclusion I shall give a poem written by one of our pupils who lost his eyes when a drummer boy in the Civil War. This man learned to read raised type after being blind fifty-three years. His poem follows A blind man's soliloquy What then is blindness? This and nothing more The window blinds are closed The outer door Closed shut and bolted And the curtains drawn No more comes light of stars Nor mornings dawn Nor one lone ray From day's meridian light And men pass by and say Within is night Not so, for memories lamp With steady blaze Shines on the hallowed scenes Of other days The flash prophetic flashing through The vistas of the future Brings to view Scenes passing strange But scenes that yet shall be Which I can see But which he cannot see Whose dazzled orbs Find nothing hid away Beyond the brilliant margin of today To me The radiant world forever gleams With the rich halo Of my boyish dreams As I have loved No wrinkles know My dear one's eyes Nair lose their cherished glow The hair of gold Nair turns to silver hair The young are young The fair are always fair With reason strengthened Feelings more intense The senses multiples of former sense Vicarious servants for dead sight Become I see the city Come I catch its subtle undertones of trade I hear of fortunes lost And fortunes made In sounds to him a mystery profound Who seeing Knows not vision's muffles sound Distinct to him Must sound become to whom Life walks in darkness Call it not in gloom Tis only an exchange of good For good A new plant growing where the old one stood Old blessings taken And new blessings given Sweet compensation Thou art born in heaven There is not silence unto him Whose soul In darkness sits and listens Like a scroll On which the secrets of the world are traced Blindness is but A sea-shell kindly placed Beside the ear And in its varying tone Who will Secret all his own And thus misfortunes bless For blindness brings A power to pierce the depths of Hidden things To walk where reason and fair fancy Lead To read the riddle of men's thoughts To read the soul's arcana In each subtler tone And make men's joys and sorrows All my own Nor can I sit repining At my lot as bitter Or unjust or curse the shot Which tore away my sight The world is kind And gentle to her sons Though I am blind Smooth paths of enterprise Have always stood open for me And doing what I could With hand or brain With simple earnestness Have gathered what was doomy of success O you Who sit in darkness moaning o'er Your dead and vanished vision Morn no more Keep in the current Be you brave and strong The busy world is singing Join the song And you shall find If you know duty shirk Who will may prosper If he do but work And as a last thought Permit me to quote the concluding words Of Clarence Hawke's wonderful book Hitting the Dark Trail If night Has overtaken me at noonday Yet have I found beauty In night The sun at noondide Showed me the world in all its wonder But the night has shown me the universe The countless stars And illimitable spaces The vastness and the wonder Of all life The perfect day only showed me man's world But the night Showed me God's universe End of Lecture 1 As a forward to this lecture I shall quote from a paper entitled Blind Children and How to Care for Them Written by Dr. F. Park Lewis An eminent oculus of New York City And a man who has devoted much time And thought to the blind And their needs Dr. Lewis says It is the mind and the spirit which control And when these are great They dominate and rise superior To mere physical deficiencies The inspiration of great ideals Must be held out to the blind Even more than to the seeing From the very beginning It is not enough That the blind man or woman Shall have physical strength But his training must be so well balanced As to give him poise As well as vigor It is not suffice That the blind man shall be as well educated As his fellow who sees Handicapped by the loss Of the most important of his special senses He must supplement this deficiency By a better training of his mind And body It is not enough that he should have the good character Of the average man His word and his reputation Should be beyond question He should be independent and proudly unwilling Except when absolutely necessary To accept that for Which he cannot in some way Return unequivalent He must be taught to reason With clearness and logical precision For he must succeed by the aid Of his mentality and character Rather than by his manual exertions These facts are emphasized here Because if such qualities Are to be secured The training which produces them Should begin in the cradle If I could bring it about A copy of the foregoing lines Should be framed and placed on the desk Of every teacher of blind children And such teachers requested to Read these words at least once each day In considering the development Of the blind child We must recognize the fact that In mental attainment, at least He is the peer of the child who sees But in order to bring this about The early years of the child Must be carefully supervised And his training calculated to fit him For the tremendous task awaiting him A task requiring the courage of a Spartan The wisdom of Solomon And the patience of Job Unfortunately the parents of blind children Rarely understand the importance Of this early training They are too often too absorbed In their own sorrow at having a child So afflicted Too sure that loss of eyesight Means loss of mental vigor To realize that their own attitude Their own self-pity May prove a greater handicap To the child than blindness itself If a child lives in a house Where he is weighted upon And made to feel that mere existence And the ability to eat and sleep Are all that may reasonably be expected Of him and that he must depend upon His family for everything He will grow up helpless, selfish And awkward and no amount of later training Will entirely counteract the pernicious effect Produced in these early formative years When placed in school with other children He will be very sensitive to correction And may become morbid and unhappy Thus giving a wrong impression Of the blind in general If on the other hand The child is taught to be self-helpful Permitted to join in the work And play of other children Made to feel that with greater effort He may do just what they do He will soon become cheerfully alert And hopefully alive to all the possibilities Of his peculiar position It is true that natural disposition Has much to do with one's outlook on life But cheerfulness and a certain form Of stoicism may be cultivated And to the blind child These qualities are absolutely essential If he is to attain any measure of success In later life It would be foolish for me to ignore The difficulties and limitations In the path of everyone deprived of sight Either in infancy or adult life But I know that these very limitations And difficulties may aid In forming a character whose quiet strength And unfaltering courage Cannot fail to win the admiration And cooperation of all who witness Its tireless efforts for success But in order to achieve success Let me repeat That such training must begin At the earliest possible date You may never have thought of it But the blind child has no model No pattern It must acquire everything It learns nothing by imitation The normal child copies the gestures And mannerisms of its parents And so learns many things unconsciously And with little or no instruction But the blind child must be taught To smile, to shake hands To hold up its head, to walk properly To present and receive objects And the thousand and one details Of daily living so naturally acquired Under ordinary conditions Long before it has reached school age The blind child should be permitted To romp with other children To take bumps and bruises As a part of the game And should be encouraged to run, jump rope And join in all harmless sports Thus acquiring that freedom of movement Muscular coordination And fearless bearing So necessary if he is to cope successfully With the difficulties awaiting him His toys should be chosen To instruct as well as amuse And in this way He should be made familiar with the different forms The square, the circle The oblong, the triangle And the pyramid The Goddard form board And Montessori insets are invaluable At this period He should be trained to recognize The difference between smooth and rough Soft and hard Light and heavy Thick and thin He should be given plasticine or clay With which to model And be urged to reproduce his toys Thus assisting in the muscular development And intelligent use of his fingers Another essential equipment As soon as possible The process of dressing should be taught The child may learn this more readily If a doll is used as a model And he is required to put on its clothes Each morning and remove them Just before his own bedtime This important process Should be made as interesting as possible And each successful effort Greeted enthusiastically Each failure carefully pointed out Its cause discovered And its repetition prevented When possible In this way he acquires systems Learns to put his clothes away in a certain place And to locate them again Without assistance His little fingers should be kept Constantly employed stringing beads Putting pegs in a wooden board Cutting paper with kindergarten scissors And modeling with plasticine If thus occupied He will escape the mannerism's peculiar to the blind child Whose only amusement has been In his eyes, shake his hand before his face To see the shadow Rock his body back and forth And whirl around in dizzy circles I've found just such a child A girl of eight years Who had never done anything for herself And whose parents refused To send her to school It took me some time to win the child's confidence But when I did I had no trouble to correct many of her habits And I soon taught her To dress herself and learn to read When I asked her what she did all day Before I brought her the beads And the little scissors And she answered I just sat in my rocker And rocked back and forth Shaking my hands And when I asked why she did not play And act like other children She began to cry And said Nobody ever told me nothing else to do Till you came When six years old You were not blind Or to a special class If there is such a department In the public schools of the city in which it lives The necessity of sending the child To school thus early Cannot be too strongly emphasized And education of blind children Should be made compulsory Just as in the case of ordinary children This is a measure which should be Considered by all those interested In child welfare The unwillingness of parents And a way to boarding school at so early an age Is one of the strongest arguments In favor of the special classes In public schools But it is not possible to have such classes In the small cities and towns And very often the home conditions Are often unsuitable For the proper development of a blind child And so in every state A residential school Is an absolute necessity Such a school should consist Of a kindergarten, primary, intermediate And high school department And the life of the children Should conform as closely as possible To that of a large family In a well-ordered home Those in charge of the children should be impressed With the responsibility of the task They have undertaken And should do their utmost to assist In the work of fitting the little ones For the preliminary skirmish In the battle of life All children should have constant supervision During the formative period But more especially does the blind child Need watchful guidance In his work and at his play Little habits must be broken Awkward movements discouraged Self-confidence fostered And every effort made To develop the child along sane And normal lines So that in later life He may have the poise and bearing So often lacking in those who are blind From early childhood It is sometimes claimed That it is not essential That a teacher of the blind be possessed Of more than an ordinary education And this is why so many schools For the blind fail to turn out Capable, cultured, self-reliant Boys and girls. Dr. Illingworth, the noted English educator Gives the following qualifications For a teacher of the blind A sound education Self-control in a high degree A boundless enthusiasm A determination to succeed Should be kind and sympathetic And at the same time firm And should be true to his word These are qualifications Which should be possessed alike By the blind teacher And sighted teacher And only teachers so qualified Should be entrusted with a divine privilege Of bringing light to the minds Of these helpless little ones I wish to add a few more qualifications To Dr. Illingworth's list And they are these A broad, comprehending sympathy A sense of humor And a heart brimming with love For all children A heart capable of sharing the joy And grief of every child heart And I wish to emphasize in a special manner One of the doctor's qualifications Namely, a boundless enthusiasm And to add yet another A living, breathing faith That teaching is a divine calling And that the opportunities For good or ill are limitless To be successful A teacher should be able to bring himself To the level of his pupil I once heard a man say Of a great teacher He had the heart of a boy And understood our every thought and feeling In many schools for the blind The inspirational value of a blind teacher Is overlooked or ignored In this connection Dr. Illingworth says It is almost as impossible For a seeing teacher to realize What it is to be blind And know all the difficulties of his blind pupil As for a congenitally blind person To enter into And share with one who can see The beauty of a glorious picture Or landscape Dr. Illingworth continues It takes a seeing teacher To become what might be called A naturalized blind person That is, one able to see things From the blind point of view He is never in the favorable position Of a blind teacher who can say to a child Do it so I can do it, I am blind like you In the residential schools Dr. Illingworth recommends That the ratio of blind teachers To seeing should be one to two He says Their very presence is a continual Inspiration and incentive to the pupils And he adds The education of blind children In those subjects in which The methods of instruction are necessarily And essentially totally different From those of the seeing Is best in the hands of a properly Qualified blind teacher The wisdom of this recommendation Is recognized in the largest schools Of England and France And some of them have blind Superintendents as well America is slower to recognize The ability of the blind But this period of reconstruction And readjustment through which we are passing May quicken their sense of the Importance of employing blind teachers And superintendents whenever possible Superintendents are no longer Required to perform clerical work All these details are left To stenographers and bookkeepers Neither is the superintendent Expected to teach But he should be a scholar A man of culture With broad vision and high ideals And with a sympathetic knowledge Of the difficulties to be met And overcome by the students in his care It should be the aim of the residential school To train its pupils along lines Best suited to their individual needs And when possible To fit them to become Partially self-supporting If not wholly so The child in a residential school Knows very little of life Outside the buildings Knows little of the trials And struggles going on in its own home Perhaps Its days are well-ordered It is clothed and fed And is not expected to practice self-denial Or to exercise any of the qualities Of courage or fortitude Which the exigencies of later life demand Clarence Hawke says Courage a blind person Should have above everything else He must be literally steeped in it It will not do to have Just the ordinary, temporary supply Allotted to the average seeing man He will run out in a single day But he must have courage that is perennial A ceaseless fount of it Courage for the morning Courage for the noon day And courage for the evening Life is a battle and a struggle Which never ends He must fight for hope and cheer Laughter and happiness every inch Of the way along life's path Another writer has said Courage is the standing army of a soul Keeping it from conquest, pillage And slavery But the child in the residential school Knows little of all this Has little occasion to know Dr. Park Lewis says The added importance of having Blind children educated with those who see Is that they may realize more keenly The difficulties of life which are to be met And which have to be overcome They will not always find kindness And courtesy And they must be prepared to adjust Themselves to the harder conditions When they arise When the child finishes the required Curriculum of the residential school And goes forth to his place in the world He is often unprepared for the struggle Unable to adjust himself To the altered conditions Lacking, impatience, perseverance And pluck, the three P's Of which Clarence Hawks so often speaks And without which he claims No blind person can successfully Overcome his handicap The need for this preparation Is better known to obey For this preparation is better known to A blind teacher or superintendent And for that reason If for no other his presence In the school is desirable He knows the value of higher education To the blind and he will urge The pupils to fit themselves for college Reminding them that blindness Is a physical, not a mental Handicap. And who is better Qualified to fire the youthful mind To strengthen the wavering Ambition and arouse the latent Enthusiasm than one who has made The effort has fought the fight And won gloriously Although Dr. Warring Wilkinson Who was the superintendent Of the California school for the blind For over forty years And his brother Charles, who taught For the same period, although Neither of these men was blind They were true teachers and college men And understood the value of Scholastic attainment to the blind As far back as I can remember They urged us all to prepare For college and to stimulate This desire they kept in close Touch with the work of the university And often brought essays written By the advanced students to Encourage us in our literary efforts Assuring us with a little practice We could write as well Often too they would Take classes to hear a lecture On some subject under discussion Thus forging the first link Between the school and the university In whose shadow our young lives were spent In preparing us For a competition with seeing students Mr. Charles Wilkinson used to say Never ask for quarter Because of your blindness Do your work so well That people will say not How wonderful this is Considering your affliction But how perfect in spite of it This thought has remained Constantly with me Struggling and encouraging me To overcome difficulties That would otherwise have been impossible To surmount It is of vital importance That the blind should have pleasant Well modulated voices And for this reason Elocution should be included In this course of study In recent years a number of Blind students in eastern schools Have been trained as readers And public entertainers A line of work in which I sight Reading aloud should be encouraged among the pupils And frequent speed tests given Thus stimulating in them A desire for reading The school at Berkeley Has included business methods In its course of study And this is an excellent thing Because the day is not far distant When the ability of the blind To fill positions as typewriters Stenographers, telephone And dictaphone operators And salesmen will be recognized And this time comes Let us hope that our young people may be ready And eager to prove their worth In these lines of endeavor If the students are made to feel That they are blazing a trail And making it less difficult For others to follow Their ultimate success is assured Having outlined the aim and purpose Of the residential school And shown it to be a necessary factor In the education of the blind in every state I wish to call attention To some of the advantages to be derived From coeducation of blind And seeing children As early as 1900 Chicago started a special class For blind children as a part of its public School system, thus inaugurating The movement in this country If not in the world Since that time many large cities Including Boston, New York Jersey City, Rochester Milwaukee, Detroit, Cleveland Toledo, Cincinnati The class in Chicago was started through The efforts of John B. Curtis A blind teacher and the superintendent Of public school classes of Cleveland Toledo and Cincinnati Mr. R. B. Irwin is a blind man And so it is not strange That a blind teacher of Los Angeles Should be the first to recognize The need for a blind person To be a blind person To be a blind person To be a blind person To be a blind person Should be the first to recognize The need of such a class in this state The State Library was glad to further This forward movement in the education Of blind children and permitted me To devote a great deal of time To organizing the class And it provided the books and some Of the apparatus for carrying on the work Of the first year. It still supplies many of the books Though the Board of Education provides Its own apparatus. Dr. Albert Shields, superintendent Of the Los Angeles City Schools Was glad to have a class for the blind In the city, since he has seen How successful the work was carried On in New York, when more Than two hundred children attended Special classes, and this In spite of the fact that New York Has two state schools for the blind When the home conditions are favorable And a special class is available It is wiser to permit The blind child to remain with Its parents to attend school Each morning with its brothers and sisters In this way there is no break In the family relation And the child does not grow indifferent To home ties, as so often happens When he is sent to a residential school Mr. Irwin says The special class is the twentieth Century emphasis on the integrity Of the home. On January 2, 1917 The Los Angeles class Started with eight pupils enrolled And on June thirtieth This year the number had increased To seventeen, with a prospect Of more at the opening of the fall term Teachers for very special classes Are generally chosen from the Regular school department Their work being usually directed By a blind supervisor In pursuance of my work, as home Teacher, I found a number Of children for whom there was no room In the state school at Berkeley And before the special class was organized I taught these children in their homes Or at the library. Miss Frances Blend, a grade teacher Asked to study with me Since she wished to teach the blind Here or in the east. I sent her to teach the children And in this way she acquired The necessary experience Learned to read and write braille Rapidly and gained an insight Into the psychology of the blind child So when the board of education Needed a teacher for the special class She was ready and eager For the task. Since then Miss Blend's sister Has qualified and is now the Second teacher in the blind department Eight to ten children being Considered all that one teacher can Properly care for. Among the poor of every large city There are children whose parents Conceal them for fear that they may Be sent away to school. These are known as hidden children And I found one such child Tucked away under the bed And told she always hid there When she heard strange voices. She was a little Mexican girl And spoke no English. She is now one of the brightest children In the class and her parents are Delighted that they need not part with her. In the special class The children are trained to speak Intelligently of things which they Do not see with the physical sight So that they may be able to converse Naturally upon ordinary topics And need not have to plead ignorance On the ground of never having seen This or that object. Their minds are filled with a love For all beautiful things Especially flowers and pictures And they are frequently taken to parks And museums. They are told about the stars, the blue sky, Sunsets, the majesty of the ocean And all the other wonders That enchant the eye. And they are taught to speak of seeing These things because they really do see Them with the mental vision. The boys of the Polytechnic High School Made a wonderful dollhouse for the children. A house of four rooms, Fully furnished throughout. The children made their own rugs And baskets, tables and chairs. And one boy modeled a bathtub Of plasticine, perfect in design. The house has a sloping roof And it is thatched And I must confess that my first Real knowledge of roofs was gained From examining that roof. And I must confess that my first Was gained from examining that one In the dollhouse. It has a chimney too and a stove pipe And so the children learn a great deal From this miniature home for their dolls. In their special classroom The children are taught Braille reading and writing And a great deal of time is given to these branches. They are taught all sorts of Handwork, basketry, Weaving, knitting, modeling And chair caning. And when old enough they are sent To other children to sewing, cooking, Sloyde and music classes. As soon as possible they recite With the regular classes, Their lessons being previously read Or explained by the special teacher. This gives them the contact with normal Children so necessary To the development of the blind child. Those not in favor of special classes Claim that this competition Is too severe a strain And that it is unkind and unwise To place blind children with those Whose physical advantages and opportunities For study are greater. But we have found that the plan Works admirably. The special teacher trains her pupils To be self-reliant and helpful Insists that they join in the games Of others assuring them that With greater effort they too May play and it is delightful To watch them at recess or at noon Each blind child affectionately Led by a seeing child The latter calling the teacher's attention To the successful performance of some fate On the part of his blind playmate. In the classroom too The spirit is the same. The blind child remembering things For the one who sees. And the seeing child using his eyes For the one who is blind. The special teacher trains the memory Of her pupils to the highest possible degree Impressing upon them That their minds are vast storehouses In which to keep all sorts of knowledge Tucked away for future use And that it is disastrous to blind children To forget. In mental arithmetic they usually Lead the class. Their presence in the school is of the greatest Help to the others with whom they work In class. Their success in overcoming difficulties Is a stimulus to the pride And an incentive to the ambition Of the seeing child. The presence of the blind children Is a constant reminder to them of their Superior physical advantages And they are ashamed to have them outstrip them As they so often do in intellectual Work. And so the presence of the blind child Is sure to result in untold good Not only to the child so handicapped But to the entire school Removing, as it must The belief, now alas So general, that when eyesight Is lost, all is lost Trained side by side With its sighted companions Doing the same work as well Better, the later success of the young Blind seeker, after knowledge Is practically assured. For, as I have said, in mental Attainment, at least, the blind child Is the peer of the child with eyesight. Here, beyond Caval, the chances are equal. To my mind The coeducation of the blind And seeing is a step in the right direction A very forward step Since it will ultimately bridge the gulf Of misconception and skepticism Now separating these two classes. A gulf which must be bridged If we hope to arrive at a sane And satisfactory solution of the problem Of finding employment Not only for the returned blind soldiers But for the thousands of intelligent Blind men and women Who are waiting eagerly, hungrily For a chance to prove their ability A chance to earn their daily bread When blind and seeing children Are trained side by side From the kindergarten through the grades Into high school and on to college Perhaps the barriers to solve The blind boy and the seeing boy Are comrades. They have played together, worked together And together they have planned their future The seeing boy knows the blind boy Will succeed because he has seen Him victorious in many a mental skirmish Just this May, right here In the university at Berkeley A blind student graduated fourth In a class of more than One thousand students It may be interesting to note In passing that there are seven Blind students now attending the University and that the state Provides three hundred dollars a year To defray the expense of a reader For each student. New York was the first state To provide readers for blind college Students and this was brought About through the efforts of Dr. Newell Perry, a blind graduate Of the University of California Now a teacher of the university Of California, now a teacher Of mathematics in the California School for the blind. Dr. Newell Perry was largely instrumental In the passage of a similar bill In this state, and so once again The blind are indebted to a blind teacher For advancement. But all the children in the special Classes will not care to go to college And for those who do not Other work will be provided Manual training given And all sorts of trades encouraged Here, too, they will have the added Stimulus of studying side-by-side With their sighted companions It is my earnest hope that someday This state will establish a technical School for the blind. In such a school, a deft-fingered Intelligent blind boy could learn Electric wiring, pipe-fitting, Screw-fitting, bolt-nutting, Assembling of chandeliers And telephone parts, trained As a plumber's helper and taught To read gas and electric meters By passing the fingers over the dial In short, a variety of trades And occupations could be pursued With profit to the school And to the students. But while waiting for the establishment Of such a school, there is much to be done By way of preparation. We must prove the truth of Clarence Hawke's assertion that blindness Is, after all, but a 25% Handicap in the race of life. But it is a handicap No matter what profession is adopted. I analyze the handicap thus 24% of it Is the prejudice and unbelief of the public And the other 1% Is the lack of eyesight. I believe this is not too strong. In speaking of the handicap Clarence Hawke's continues A blind person in order to Succeed equally with the seeing Must put in 125% of energy Before he can stand abreast Of his seeing competitor. But in order to prove blindness To be but a 25% handicap We must train our blind children From their earliest infancy We must not sidetrack them We must plant their feet Firmly on the high road of life Encourage their first faltering steps Teach them to go forward fearlessly With head erect And shoulders squared Warn them of pitfalls and hidden thorns Show them the wisdom of making haste Slowly when the path is steep Or uneven Impress upon their minds the importance To others of their success And above all train them To have confidence in themselves Teach them to realize that because Of their struggles and limitations They have a mental equipment and reserve Force possessed by very few Of their more fortunate fellow beings Thus trained and fortified Our young blind people will work Like Trojans to prove their ability To those who doubt it And succeed in removing one obstacle After another until they stand ready To take equal chances with any Who may be pitted against them The hand of the sightless worker is steadier And his courage greater Because of the years of struggle And constant effort of which his sighted Competitors can form no conception And those in charge Of the education of the blind Whether in residential schools Or public school classes Have a Herculean task before them But if their hearts are in the work If they are alive To their wonderful opportunity for service And if they have faith In the ability of their pupils The future successes of these Handicapped young people Is practically assured As with the nation today So with those interested in the Welfare of the blind We look to the children for the Fulfillment of our highest ideals And hope in their advancement To see our dearest dreams come true I am often called visionary And I am proud to confess That I have a vision, a wonderful vision Of the future of the blind It may not be realized during my lifetime But if some of the children I have inspired Will take up the torch and carry on Unfalteringly I shall be satisfied Meantime I walk by the light of my vision Along rough roads Across strange streams Of hills that are steep and rock-strewn And though my courage sometimes fails And my strength seems unequal To the task The light shines clear and steady And I go forward in the glad assurance That one day my vision will be realized My cherished dream For the emancipation of my people The emancipation of the blind Must come true End of lecture two Lecture three of five lectures On blindness This LibriVox recording Is in the public domain Five lectures on blindness By Kate M. Foley Lecture three The re-education of the blind adult With special reference To the blinded soldier A voice came in the darkness And lifted the curtain of mind I saw that fingers could be Also eyes to the blind I touched, I thought I saw And the dark shades rolled aside And to you my heart Pays tribute, dear teacher, friend, and guide These lines were sent to me By one of my blind pupils After he had learned to read and write The braille characters They express the purpose of re-education And indicate the means By which it may be attained Rehabilitate, reconstruct, re-educate These are familiar terms In this hour of stress And world conflict To the minds of many These words may present problems That are entirely new But to the social worker And those whose lives have been spent In the service of the handicapped men And women of our civil communities The problem presented is no new one The only difference being that Whereas hitherto Only a few recognized the problem Today, stirred by the knowledge Of war and its frightful consequences Everyone is eager to share In the rehabilitation movement Now sweeping over the land The re-education of the blinded soldier Is, after all, Only the re-education of the blind adult And he has been with us Low these many years Adult blindness has increased Alarmingly in the past half-century And the problem of providing For this unfortunate class Has assumed proportions The prospect of having to care For thousands of blinded soldiers Has led to a consideration Of the blind and their possible rehabilitation And much good Should result from the united effort We extend a cordial invitation To all to come over To Macedonia and help The California State Library Has been engaged in the re-education Of the blind adult Since it opened its books For the blind department In December 1904 At first it supplied books to those Who already knew how to read But soon it became evident That this field of usefulness Could extend to the adult Suddenly deprived of eyesight And not eligible to a school for the blind And thus the need for home teaching Became apparent long before The State Library could employ such a teacher I realized this need Even before leaving school And it was my privilege to teach As a volunteer for twenty years Prior to my appointment as home teacher For the State Library During that period I taught the blind of this And neighboring states And before books were made available By the State Library I copied stories And poems suited to the tastes Of my individual pupils In this way I came in close touch with the blind And their problems And my every waking moment Was devoted to their service Heavy burdens in the load And too few helpers on the road I clung to the belief That some day help would come And I should be permitted to enlarge My scope of usefulness And reach all who needed re-education And this hope was realized In July 1914 When the State Library asked me To accept the position of home teacher Of the blind of the state As early as 1890 Pennsylvania started Home teaching in this country But its work was privately maintained Since then other states Have established such departments Massachusetts New York Ohio Illinois But these have special appropriations For carrying on the work Our State Library is doing it Out of its general appropriation And as a phase of its extension It is the only State Library Maintaining such a department In connection with regular library work Some of the large cities have reading rooms In their public libraries Where books are loaned on application And where reading is taught to those Who can go there for lessons The duties of the State Library Home teachers are manifold This department has steadily grown In importance Until now it is recognized As the very bone and sinew Of work for the blind in this state Some of the teacher's duties are First, to teach raised type To all who cannot see to read ordinary print A person need not be totally blind In order to read in this way As many learn who can see to go about alone Second, to search for and when possible Place either in the school at Berkeley Or the special class in Los Angeles All blind children who have reached The age of six years Third, to conduct a campaign For the prevention of blindness And conservation of vision in adults and children And lastly, to set forth the needs of the blind Convince the public that its attitude toward them Is often an added affliction And correct a few of the many mistake and ideas Concerning those deprived of eyesight Who are necessarily somewhat handicapped In the race of life The importance of this last duty Can not be overestimated And so my next lecture will present this subject In its many phases With the hope of creating a better understanding Between the blind and the seeing An understanding which will not only help The blind adult now in our midst But aid materially in the reeducation Of the blinded soldier My task is not an easy one But I love my work and my pupils And I have come to know that the public needs Not so much to be instructed As to be reminded Our first borrower was a lady of ninety years And so we realized at once That there was practically no age limit in this work Thus proving the truth of the well-known saying We are never too old to learn A man of ninety, with hands toil-worn And crippled from rheumatism Was able, after a few weeks of study To read with pleasure His only regret being that he had not learned Twenty years before When blindness first came upon him When it is considered that during all those years The man had not read a single word His progress is truly remarkable And the fact that he is reading has stimulated others Who, on account of their advanced age Hesitated to study the raised types The requirements for study are simple A love for reading, persistent application And a determination to succeed If a person did not care to read with his eyes He will certainly not be willing to learn with his fingers This is a fact not well understood And it is very generally supposed That all blind people want to learn to read Among our elderly borrowers Are doctors, judges, ministers, teachers and authors And to them the reading has given a new lease for life There are invalids among our elderly people Men and women in wheelchairs with crippled limbs Sometimes deprived of the use of one hand But they are reading and their pleasure is beautiful to see One woman of eighty-seven Who has not walked for four years And blind one year, learned to read last January And since that time she has read twenty books Besides knitting squares for the Red Cross The type read by the elderly borrowers And those with toil-hardened hands Or suffering from some nervous affection Was formulated by a blind man Dr. William Moon of London About eighteen forty-five And is called moon type The characters are large and distinct Many of them being shaped like the ordinary printed letters They are easily learned And this type is invaluable Not only for old blind people But in cases where, in order to restore lost confidence A quick return is imperative Dr. Moon lost his eyesight in early manhood And spent the remaining years of his life perfecting his system Printing books and pamphlets And going about teaching the poor of London Thus inaugurating home teaching for the blind Moon type books have been printed in many languages And thousands of men and women have been blessed and brightened By the unique philanthropy of this blind man His son, Robert Moon, brought the type to Pennsylvania And that state and ours lead in the number of moon books in circulation Often when a borrower has read moon for six months or a year He is able to learn Braille His fingers being trained by the moon To remain in a prescribed space And his confidence in their ability fully established This is a potent factor in mastering a dotted system As the progress is generally slow and laborious Especially for elderly people The fact that an adult can learn to read with the fingers Seems very wonderful to the uninitiated And indeed it is a long step forward But the ability to substitute fingers for eyes Is only one of the marvels wrought Helen Keller has truly said that Idleness is the greatest burden of the blind And this is why our work with them is so acceptable Though the reading is, after all, only the means to an end While training the fingers to perform their new functions I strive to renew hope and courage in the hearts of the pupils Assuring them that they may still do many things That were possible before their blindness Self-reliance and helpfulness minus self-pity This is the formula I use when urging the pupils To make the most of life For when a man is sorry for himself He is on the road to despair His condition is well-nigh hopeless When the pupils are able to read and write once more After having given up all hope of ever doing so Their confidence is restored And a way is open to new and hitherto undreamed of possibilities Old aims and pursuits relinquished when the eyesight failed Are once more remembered and discussed And in many instances resumed Thus bringing back the light, not to the eyes Not to the mind through work John Newton says You cannot shove the darkness out of a room But you can shine it out I see this miracle performed every day Yet to me it is ever new, ever wonderful Stimulating me to greater efforts for my people Because the blind are my people And their joys and sorrows, triumphs and defeats Find an echo in my heart When the raised alphabet is mastered Books are sent from the State Library to the homes Through the mail, free of cost And thus there is no expense incurred And as this service is tax-supported There is no element of charity connected with it At present the State Library employs two home teachers And the number will be increased as the need arises One of these, Mrs. Catherine J. Morrison Is stationed at Los Angeles Having been appointed to take my place there When I was transferred to San Francisco last October The arrangement for this transfer was one of the last Official acts of the late State Librarian My well-loved Chief, Mr. Gillis, was devoted to the blind And extended the service to this section At the earliest possible moment The State Library selected me as home teacher Not only because of my years of experience with the blind But because, blind from early infancy I was familiar with the handicaps and discouragements That overwhelmed the adult But recently deprived of eyesight The pupils have confidence in a blind teacher Because they know that every step in their difficult path Is familiar to her feet The qualifications for a home teacher are Briefly these Personality, adaptability, tact, a sense of humor A broad, comprehending sympathy A strongly hoping heart Unlimited patience And a determination to do what is best for her pupils No matter what the opposition Or how hard the task may be He who can plant courage in the human soul Is the best physician And this is one of the chief duties of the home teacher Some knowledge of nervous diseases is also essential And is often necessary to exercise the greatest care And patience in giving the first few lessons As an unwise word Or a failure to understand conditions May lead to untold misery This is especially true in cases of sudden blindness As the pupil is often afraid to move about his own room Confused by the altered conditions And bewildered by a multitude of sounds hitherto unnoticed It is absolutely necessary to have the co-operation of the family And I am often obliged to insist That changes be made in the household arrangements In order to help a pupil through the trying period of readjustment This is sometimes fraught with difficulties for both pupil and teacher But the latter should never lose sight of the comfort and benefits of her charge And should care nothing for unreasonable objections or selfish protests The blind adult is a need of someone who, while recognizing the undeniable calamity and loss Is yet ready to lend a steadying hand, encourage the uncertain feat to their old free movements Lead the troubled thoughts into other channels And find new methods of doing old things Thus encouraged the blind adult will soon resume his normal attitude Realize that much good work may yet be done And that others have blazed a trail which he may follow if he will But if his family and friends feel that, because eyesight is lost All is lost and tell him that because of his affliction he can do nothing He will do nothing But if they tell him he has a handicap and that they will help him to work it off All his fighting blood will come to the rescue and he will say with Emerson The king is the man who can I give this sentence to all my pupils and their spirit leaps to the call And holding to my hand for the first few uncertain steps Trusting in my assurance that very soon they will find their way along this new path Then shoulders straighten, the bowed head is lifted The darkness is dispelled by the light of purpose Soul sight replaces physical sight And the pupil is ready to face life again, undaunted and unafraid What a wonderful privilege, what a rare opportunity for service To the teacher alive to the possibilities of her unique position When the song goes out of your life you cannot start another while it is ringing in your ears But let a bit of a silence fall and then maybe a song will come by and by To live by a song is all very beautiful and wonderful But to live by a song is braver and worthier And in the case of the blind adult the readjustment period may be called The interim between the song and the song During these trying months the blind adult should not be left alone to fight his way out of darkness through blood into light He should have immediate and competent care at the hands of one who is familiar with his needs And familiar too with the possibilities of his altered condition An occupation, however light, is an absolute necessity Enforced idleness is an added affliction and one not easily born The government realizes this fact and its program for the blinded soldier includes many forms of handcraft to be taught in the hospitals Netting is taught and the soldiers are encouraged to whittle I was glad to see this latter occupation included in the first aid program as I have recommended it for many years When a man whittles he whistles, maybe not just at first But some day almost before he realizes it he finds himself whistling And he is then well on the road toward a sane acceptance of the new conditions I have found whittling to be as soothing to masculine nerves as knitting or crocheting to feminine ones The ability to use the hands in some light work removes the feeling of helplessness and enables the adult to keep his mind on his fingers And this effort at concentration is often the means of preserving reason And reviving in the soul the desire to take up the struggle of life again At this stage the adult should be induced to learn to read raised type and to write letters to his friends There are several writing devices by means of which a blind person can once more use pencil or pen And the ability to do this marks another milestone in his progress When the adult is able to read and write once more perhaps to use the typewriter he feels encouraged and begins to ask what other blind men are doing And to wonder if avenues of usefulness still remain open to him Whenever practicable I induce the men to resume their former occupations or suggest other lines of work suited to their altered condition One young man who was an electrical engineer before his blindness now wires houses in Los Angeles His work always passing the inspector despite the opposition of the sighted competitors He has his own shop and there he assembles chandeliers, repairs motors and changes storage batteries It takes him longer to do the work than formerly but his character is the same and his heart sings with the joy of the task And he is working off his handicap in the hope that others may follow where he leads In May he cleared $150 above all expenses Another young man supports two small children raising poultry designing his own roosts, coops and troughs Another man is making goods selling janitor and sanitary supplies to hotels and apartment houses Two of the men are doing well in a house-to-house canvas for brushes of various kinds Several men are in the real estate business and one has bought a home and is supporting his aged father Another does expert work with the typewriter and dictaphone I encourage the women to knit, crochet, sew and cook by proving to them that this is possible without eyesight And I feel certain that through such efforts many a domestic tragedy has been averted I induce the older men or those who cannot take up any line of business to work in the garden, chop wood, cut lawns, go to the nearby stores and make themselves a necessary factor in the household The possibilities of our work and the real good accomplished cannot be told in words But its effects may be seen in many homes where men and women strengthened and encouraged are once more assuming their rightful places in the household sharing the work and the responsibility just as in the days before blindness came upon them In order to bring the work within reach of those to whom it is not possible to give oral instruction we have a correspondence course for pupils in this and neighboring states In this way we are reaching people from Humboldt to San Diego County in this state and the list includes persons from Arizona, Washington, Nevada and Oregon This course is well known to every county librarian in the state and even custodians of very small branches send us the names of blind persons in their vicinity Among the correspondence pupils is a man who was superintendent of a power plant before losing his eyesight and he still holds the position despite his handicap He tests meters in three powerhouses daily walking a distance of three miles in order to reach them all I taught him to read and write two systems to use a writing board and he has now mastered the typewriter He is a brave man silently fighting his way along the dark trail and I am privileged in being permitted to guide his unaccustomed feet over the rocks and crevices I have long since learned to avoid Another of the pupils is in the insurance business and is also one of the four-minute men in his country's service I could give you many more instances of the splendid courage of these men and women who though deprived of the most important of the special senses in adult life are cheerfully doing their best wasting no time in straining after the fruit just over fates barbed wire fence Our work carries us into hospitals and alms houses and through the cooperation of charitable organizations we find the poor and in addition to teaching them to read we endeavor to better their condition and the charities are always glad to second our efforts The teacher in Los Angeles goes regularly to the county hospital and county farm and up here I teach in the San Francisco hospital relief home and in the San Leandro infirmary and it is a great joy to minister to these lonely friendless souls In the relief home I have a splendid class and I go there once a week and read to all men in the ward blind and seeing before giving the lessons two of the men are knitting one is making squares for the Belgian baby blankets and the other a muffler for the Navy League When I asked for volunteer knitters one old colored man said Madam my hands are not steady enough to knit but I can hold the yarn for some man to wind I am also teaching in the state industrial home for adult blind in Oakland and I look upon the afternoon spent there as the red letter day of the week I go from there each Tuesday with a fresh supply of courage and inspiration The men collect funny stories to tell me and the women show their appreciation in countless little ways The State Library is proud of its borrowers in this institution and not long ago had some pictures taken showing the men reading and the women knitting It is an inspiring sight to see the men waiting for their lessons They come in from the shop where they have been sorting broom-corn, sewing or tying brooms Young men and old all eager to avail themselves of the services of the teacher anxious to learn everything possible that will help to broaden their outlook on life fine brave fellows all of them Many have become blind within recent years victims of industrial accidents in factories quarries or mines The thought of the blinded soldier has roused these men to renewed effort in the hope that their success as broom-makers may encourage other blind men who must learn a trade after the war and their broom shop is a wonderful place to visit with seventy blind men and a blind foreman to inspire and encourage the workers The business of the institution is principally wholesale although some of the blind men have worked up a good retail trade in Oakland The sales of the institution average sixty five hundred per month With increased capital, more material and a larger plant it could handle three times its present business The board of directors will ask the legislature to increase the appropriation to enlarge the plant and to provide an industrial teacher to go into the homes of the blind teaching them weaving, basketry, chair caning and knitting the home to market the products deducting the cost of material from the amount paid to the workers This industrial teacher is greatly needed and it is hoped the legislature will make it possible for the home to enlarge its sphere of usefulness and provide employment for many who are not inmates but who need to contribute to their own support The men of the home are not alone in their desire to help in the hour of their country's need More than a dozen women are knitting for the men in the trenches They are an auxiliary of the Navy League Their work is the finest of any turned in by the thousands of knitters in the Bay Region They knit socks and sweaters, helmets and mufflers One of the women made five pairs of socks in one week with never a dropped stitch anywhere This same woman made three sweaters in ten days, all perfect garments The wife of the superintendent is the teacher and two of the blind women help the others by picking up dropped stitches, straightening puckers and suggesting easier methods to the inexperienced workers Those who cannot knit snip rags for the ambulance pillows hem red cross handkerchiefs and so on hospital quilts In addition to this a blind invalid in San Francisco rips up work poorly done by seeing knitters and the members of our wonderful auxiliary make perfect garments from the used wool This stimulates them to do their very best for they know they are proving to the public the fingers of the blind worker are deft and sure and that given the opportunity they can knit as well and often better than their more fortunate sisters They feel too that they are doing their best to promote the comfort of the soldiers doing it evenings after working in the shop all day where they cane chairs and make toy and whisk brooms I'm sure we need not go to the hospitals of France in search of blind heroes We have them right here in our midst and are proud of them The State Library permits me to devote all the time necessary to keep the women supplied with wool and return the garments to the Navy League The library regards this as part of its campaign of enlightenment and it is confident untold good will result both to the public and to the blind In addition to their work both men and women read a great deal and dozens of books are mailed to and from the home each day and so the State Library is doing its share towards the reeducation of the blind adult has been doing it for the past thirteen years it provides the best books available in the various types it has over eight thousand books in circulation and its list of borrowers numbers more than one thousand the key note of this department is service and each borrower is made to feel that his success is of vital importance to the library and when a new reader is added to the list a note is usually sent welcoming him to the family circle for we are all like one large family circle with common aims, common interests and a common goal namely to spread far and wide the gospel of home teaching to do our best in order to help others similarly placed and to prove ourselves worthy of the help so generously given by the State Library another potent factor in the work of reeducation is the Matilda Zeigler magazine a periodical in raised type published since 1907 through the generosity of Mrs. Matilda Zeigler head of the Royal Baking Powder Company of New York this magazine is printed in New York City and sent to the homes of more than twelve thousand persons in the United States and Canada it is like any other magazine with current events timely articles, short stories, poetry, a woman's page and a page of humor in addition to this every month there is an article telling of the success of some blind person the account written by the man or woman in the form of a letter to the editor and the manager Mr. Walter G. Holmes is a man with a heart of gold he has his finger on the pulse of the blind of the country and he believes in them, loves them and brings out the best that is in them every number contains a map of some of the warring countries and so the readers are kept in touch with all the vital issues of the day many a man is induced to learn to read raised type just to read this magazine and so Mrs. Zeigler's philanthropy cannot be too highly commended and her name and that of Mr. Holmes are enshrined in the hearts of the blind her service to them is incalculable the government is making extensive preparation for the re-education of our blinded soldiers both in the hospitals of France and the hospital school at Baltimore the grounds and some of the buildings in this school were given to the government by Mrs. T. Harrison Garrett of Baltimore and no expenses being spared in providing every care and facility for the training and comfort of the blinded soldiers who are to be rehabilitated and returned not to the battlefields of France but to the battleground of life the government plans to begin the re-education in the hospitals to continue it at the ports of embarkation and complete it in the hospital school at Baltimore the training in this school is to be patterned after that of St. Dunstan's in London where the work of re-education under the direction of Sir Arthur Pearson himself a blind man is meeting with the greatest success the Red Cross Institute for the Blind is on the same grounds as the hospital school and is supplementing the work of the government in a most able manner typewriting, dictaphone, switchboard operating telegraphy, osteopathy, massage and salesmanship are to be taught to those who are fitted for these branches and trades and occupations including piano tuning, winding coils for armatures used in electric motors joinery, mat and mattress making broom and basket making, rug weaving and shoe cobbling are to be taught to those who are not fitted for the professions the government will send over to France at least one blind teacher for each base hospital to raise inspirational value to the men during the first trying months of the re-adjustment period blind teachers will be employed in this country too and the government is already looking about for those best qualified for such positions all blind soldiers will be given an opportunity to learn to read and write the raised system and provision is being made for an enlarged circulation of books and for newer publications to be embossed in the universal Braille system and for the work the volunteers who learn to write Braille can materially assist by copying short stories, timely articles and nonsense verse to be distributed among the blind of their communities and for the pleasure of the returned soldiers when the men have been a sufficient time in the hospital school they are to be returned to their own cities and towns and the government through its agent empowered to find employment for handicapped soldiers or to secure work for them in existing industrial institutions and plants in the various states it is also planned to have placed capable blind men in shops with the seeing whenever possible I say whenever possible for it will take time and much effort to persuade employers to include blind men among their employees but the day is not far distant when the public will see the wisdom of providing work for its handicapped men and women and condemn those who fail to cooperate with the government in securing positions for all those qualified to fill them the government is generous in its appropriation of funds to carry on this reeducation but it does not include the civilian blind in this program the blind adult in civil life must be employed or cared for by the civilian population and this brings me to the discussion of the attitude of the public towards the blind since three fourths of the blind of America could be gainfully employed right now if the public would only believe in them would only give them an opportunity to prove their ability with his remaining faculties keenly alert with the courage and fortitude born of many trials the blind adult is prepared to face life squarely undaunted and unafraid asking only to take his place on the firing line to march shoulder to shoulder with his seeing brother and to do a man's work in the world