A MODERN MIRACLE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1049, 11 February 1911, Page 11

A MODERN MIRACLE.

THE EVOLUTION OF HELEN KELLER'S GENIUS. Miss Helen Keller's appearance again as an authoress revives interest in her uniquo personality and- the educational luiraclo by which her ruined childhood was reconstructed with such beautiful results, says an Australian, writer. The storjr of v the process will romain long an inspiring' source of truth and encouragement to teachers and mothers,' and all who concern themselves with 'thc\formation of ■ mind and character. Helen Keller was born in ISSO, in- Alabama, and at tho ago of nineteen months had both her sight and hearing destroyed by inflammation of tho brain. Her case was remarkably similar to the famous ono of Laura Bridgman, who lost tho uss of her eyes and cars at the age of 2G months from scarlet fever. More than seventy years ago Dr. S. G. Howe, tho American philanthropist, devised the method by which he opened up communication with the imprisoned intellect of Laura Bridgman. Ho has left tho scientific records of his progress for . tho guidance of all who undertako tho training of tho blind and tho deaf.

His method was to concentrate all his attention on Laura Bridgnian's unimfiaired sense of touch, and to give ; her anguage through it by means of raised type and tho manual alphabet of dtaf mutes. Amongst ■ Dr. Howe's pupils at tho ;Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston was Anno Mansfield Sullivan. Born in ISG6, sho had become almost totally blind, and entered tho institute: at the ago of fourteen. ' Later on her sight was partly restored, so that sho could apply in teaching what sho had acquired practically in learning. When tho parents of Helen Keller camo to realise that they must mako an effort to do for her what had been dono for Laura Bridgman they were fortunate enough to secure as her "special governess this gifted lady, who had been practically equipped for her task under Dr. Howe himself. Tho results of the coming together of this remarkable teacher and Helen Keller, who proved to be an equally remarkable pupil, are set' forth in n valuablo scries of letters writteiS by Miss Sullivan to a friend, an export in the management of tho blind.- Thcso letters aro tho direct confidential records of Miss Sullivan's struggles to find her way to an entombed soul. They givo the most graphic account of tho whole of her momorablo feat. The first letter is dated March 6, 1877,' and describes tho newpupil. "Sho is large, strong and ruddy, and as unrestrained in. her movements as n young colt. You see at a glance that she is blind. She rarely smiles. She is unresponsive and even impatient of caresses from anvone except her mother. She is very quick tempered and wilful. Ono thing that impresses everybody is Helen's tireless activity.: Dear child, her restless spirit gropes in tho dark. Her untaught, unsatisfied hands destroy whatever they touch, because they do not know what e]6o to do with things." Miss Sullivan describes the child's keen 6cent for presents and sweets of all sorts. With tho doll that sho had brought for Helen she spelled D-o-1-1 in tho signs of tho manual alphabet into the childs hand, and acted similarly with the introductory gift of 'cake. Helen imitated the spelling well, and pointed to her presents." The next informative letter runs:—"l had a battlo royal with-Helen this morning. Helen's tablo manners aro appalling. Sho puts her hands in our plates and helps herself, and when the dishes' oro passed she grabs them, and takes out whatever she \<;aiiU. This morning I would not let her put licr hand in my plate. She persisted, and a contest of wills followed. Naturally, tho family was'much disturbed and left the room. I locked the dining-room door and proceeded to cat m.V breakfast, though tho food almost choked me. Helen was lyin? on tho floor kicking and screaming, and trying to pull my chair from under me. Sho kept this up for half an hour, and then sho got nn to see what I was doing. I let her see (that is, understand) that I was eating, but did not let her put her hand in the plate. She pinched me. and I slapped her every lime, sho did it. .... After a few minutes sho came back to her place, ami began to cat' her breakfast with her fingers. I gave her a spoon, which slin threw, nit the floor. I forced her nut nf tho chqir and made her pick it up. Finally I succeeded in

getting lior back in her chair again, and hold the ppoon in her hand, compelling her to tako tip (lie fcod with it and -put it in her mouth. In, a few minutes- sho yielded, end finished her breakfast peaceably. Then wo hp.d another tussle over folding Iter napkin. When she had finished she- threw it on thp floor and ran towards the door. Finding it locked, sho began lo kick and scream all over again. It was another hour before I succeeded in getting her napkin folded. Then I let hcv out into tho warm sunshine, and went up to my' room and threw myself 011 my bed exhausted. I ha(l a good cry, and felt better. I suppose I shall have many /such battles with tho litfflo woman.before sho learns tho. two essential things I can teach her—obEdienec and love." Miss Sullivan now advised that she and her charge should bo separated from tho rest of tho family for a few weeks, as tho preliminaries of enforcing ins necessary minimum of obedience weretco painful to all and should bo kept, as private as possible. So they moved into an old garden house on the estate. A brief fortnight, by March-20, wo got the following letter:—"My heart is singing for 'joy this morning. A miracle has happened. The. light of understanding has shouo upon my littlo pupil's mind, and behold all things arc changed. Through the manual alphabet tho child was slowly learning a fow nouns, but with difficulty, confusing "mug" and "milk" and having no idea that everything ha.s.n name. An hour a day was devoted lo tho systematic attempt to teach now words. "But you must not think this is tho only timo I spell to Helen; for I spell in her hand everything wo do all day long, although she has no idea yet what, the spelling means. This bold policy was conceived and persevered in because of a sound analogy. The, ordinary infant learns language because it hears the spoken words throughout tho day. For tho greater part of.the speech going dto round it passes by iincomprehcnded. But slowly tho work of ■ comprehension begins from tho wealth of tho material, from tho frequency of tho repetition, so. that tho ordinary child knows tho meaning of a good slock of words before it can uso any. Miss Sullivan went to tho very root of education when sho kept spelling everything they did all day long into tho hand of Helen. In this way sho was Giving her tho equivalent; of tho experience out of which children learn to understand' talk and finally to produco it. Tho next,letter gives u further insight into tho thoroughness of her method. "Mrs. Keller wanted to get a nurso for Helen, but I concluded I'd rather be her nurse than look after a stupid, lazy ntgress. Besides, I like to hnvo nolen depend on mc for everything, and I find it much -easier to teach her things at odd moments.than nt set times. On March 31 I -found that Helen know eighteen nouns and thirteen verbs." .In a fow days another, strido is recorded, for tho letter of April 5 runs':—"l must write you a lino this morning, because something vory .important has happened. Helen has taken the second great step in her education. She hns learned that everything has a name, and that tho manual alphnbet is tho kcv,> to ovorything that sho wants to know/' Tho old confusion between "mug" and "milk" still continued with obscurity ns -to whether "drink" .meant drinking tho mug or the milk, or both. Miss Sullivan took her pupil to a source of cold water, and while tho child filled her mug she spelled w-a-t-e-r into her free hand. • "The word coming so closo upon tho sensation of cold water rushing over her hand seemed to startle her. Sho dropped tho mug, and seemed, to stand as ono transfixed. A new light came into her face. Sho spelled w-a-t-c-r soveral times. '. . . All tho way back to tho houso she was highly excited, and learned, the name of every object she touched, so that in a few hours sho had added ,30, now words to her vocabulary. . • Hero.-. aro somo of. them :— Door, open,..shut, give, go, come, and a great .many more. .\ " , . ,'.'..' In this way the pent-up brain of tho child was put into communication with tho external world. Her progress proves that the human brain is built up in readiness for all its elaborwo functions. A mighty mass of impulses from within is ready, to come into p|ay ; lwhon called forth by tho impulses from without.. Education is iilthon art and science, of putting tho brain into tho.-most harmonious relations with external experiences. It became abundantly plain in tho sequel that.Helen Keller's intellectual gifts w.ould havo hiado her a notable, woman if sho hnd uovcr experienced tho misfortuno and tho rescue that ha.ro mado her caso so remarkable. Tho conjunction of two such fine types of womanly genius is an extraordinary featuro of the collaboration of Miss Sullivan and Miss Keller. It might so easily havo happened that Miss Sullivan gnro the best years of her lifo only to.let a little light. into .a dull and moroso nature. But that sho should havo found a pupil worthy of her gives a high poetic quality to tho wholo educational romance. "In tho spring of 1890." writes ; Helen Keller, "I learned to speak from Miss SaraTi Fuller, of the Horace Mann school. It is an unspeakable boon-to be able, to speak in winged words that need no interpretation."

Most resolutely Miss Helen Keller set herself to take am advanced education, and, indeed, tho whole of life, as if she were neither blind nor. deaf. The story is inspiriting, and makes tho worthiest sequel for tho uninue start. Perhaps the most interesting point in her later career is the expressiveness of her fine English stylo. Miss Sullivan's niothofl must have helped her to attain this distinction. "To much explanation," says Miss Sullivan, "directs tho child's attention to words and sentences, so that he fails to tret tho' thought as a whole." And, again, "I see no senso in faking conversation for tho sako of teaching language. It's stupid and deadening to pupil and teacher. Talk should bo natural, and .lioyo for its object an exchange of ideas." "I never taught language for the purnose of teaching it, but invariably used language for the communication of thought.".. These words from a woman whoso achievement make 3 her a practical authority should bo. well weighed by all educators. In the best hands tho new education is trying to act up to.theso precepts, and to escape from tho appalling verbal pedantry that still is. the ideal of most of our education. The fearful abuse of parsing and analysis in ourschools is a picco of tho bad educational, practice that Miss Sullivan denounces' indirectly when sho says that sho never taught language for the purpost of teaching it, ,but 'invariably used language for tho communication of thought. In excuse, for tho gross abuso of parsing, and analysis in our State schools it may bo pleaded that teachers on whom are foisted s'omo of our hugo classes must-devise prolonged operations of verbal oakum picking to. keep the unfortunate crowds of children occupied. A large part of our education consists of herding the children simply, and.they would bo much more healthy herded in tho'open air. What with our English spelling, and our stupid weights and measures and money, and • our fatuous grind ■ of grammar, our educational methods aro riddled with waste. There is indeed room for a miraclo on the national scale corresponding with that worked out!between Miss Sullivan and Miss Helen. Keller, but the national miracle. will need a Jong and earnest propaganda to get itself accomplished, to get education out of its tedious useless formalities, and make it wakon tho young neonlo to the stupidity of grindiiis over all theso unreformed issues instead of facing tho roform with firmness and intelligence. Anglo-Saxon dullness over thtso crying reforms is tho strongest proof of the'failure of our educational methods, arid of tho urgent need of a national educational miracle to deliver us as Helen Keller was rescutd from intellectual darkness and void. ■- . i