Winterport High School - Riverside Yearbook (Winterport, ME)

Page 18 text:

16 THE RIVERSIDE for it, cut out and make it without assistance. The boys turn their at- tention to the caning of chair seats, mattress making, and the tuning of pianos. In the physical training of the blind, the system known as educa- tional gymnasticsu has been found productive of the best results. The gymnasium for their use is equipped the same as that of any other school and the pupils derive much benefit from it. The sightless student is not de- prived of the study of music. He willingly and gladly gives his full at- tention to this subject, which is in a thorough and well-graded course. The instruction of the deaf, dumb, and blind proceeds like the methods invented by Dr. Howe for the world- famous pupil, Helen Kellar, the first person thus afflicted who was ever taught the use of language. As soon as they have learned to use a sufficient number of words, they receive the same physical, manual and literary training as the other blind students, the only difference being the presence of a special teacher for each pupil. Their education begins with the con- struction of several articles, to which are attached cards bearing, in raised letters, the names of the articles. In this manner they become familiar with objects that surround them. The teachers converse with their pupils by making the letters of each word in the child's hand. Thatany blind child should be de- prived of the manifold advantages of such a home by reason of the lack of money seems heartless. The school for the blind is the first step in the direc- tion of making useful members of so- ciety who might remain so long un- aided that the best possibilities' of their lives would be permanently blunted or destroyed. The difference betv een the neglected and the edu- cated sightness student is almost in- credibly great. While one goes through life like an unkept creature, the other, gladdened by the warmth of knowledge and fitted for perform- ing duties and general usefulness, takes his position in society and en- joys the privileges and fulfills the obligation of citizenship. The blind man who possesses a spirit of independence and is an earnest seeker after knowledge can- not be considered by any one asan object of charity. In bringing this essay to a close it must be added that the blind have availed thmselves of the advantages offered by the schools and have proved that in the stream of life, they are not mere straws, thrown upon the water to mark the direction of the current, but that they have within themselves the power of strong swim- mers, and are capable of striking out for themselves, of struggling with the waves, and directing their own independent course to some extent. Thus, they have furnished a remark- able illustration of what may be af- fected by the energetic development and exercises of faculties, the germs of which are in every human heart. MILDRED A. MCDONOUGH.

Page 17 text:

THE RIVERSIDE 15 abfes them in the vocations in which their fellowmen are engaged. In 1831, Dr. Samuel Howe, a physician, a thinker and a great phil- anthropist of Boston, undertook the task of educating the blind. As no school for this purpose existed at this time in America, he visited and studied the European institutions. Thus, the school which he established in his native city, combined the best features of the various European es- tablishments that he had visited, but different from them in many ways. His aim was to make the blind as much like normal human beings as pc-ssibleg to raise them to an in- tellectual and social equality with their fellowmen, and to render them independent, self-respecting citizens of the republic. He wished for the sightless student, with habits of study properly formed and a mind well- trained, to be capable of taking his place among seeing competitors and to gain through associations with them. The education of the blind begins with the kindergarten, carries them through the various grades and pre- pares them for admission to the lead- ing colleges and universities. The kindergarten methods follow the usual line of studies, the only omission being drawing and painting. The daily exercises and occupations are especially adapted to the training of the tiny hands which must act as interpreters to the brain throughout life. The appliances for the special use of the blind are few in number and made as simple as possible. An arbitrary point system which can be both written and read by the sight- less pupil serves him in his class room work, globes and maps in relief, and in some instances dissected, assist him in geographyg frames made of metal or wood with movable types en- able him to cipher rapidly and to solve complicated problemsg although spe- cial attention is paid to mental arithmetic. The type writer is ex- tensively employed by the students and instruction is largely oral. The teachers are selected with spe- cial care, since it is important that these should be earnest, unseliish and in sympathy with their work as well as thoroughly prepared for it. It is their constant aim to adapt to the use of the blind, whatever has been found of value in the instruction of seeing boys and girls. There is also carried out a system of physical and manual training, the educational importance of which, in developing the mental facilities of a pupil no less than his physical powers is fully recognized. The work with the kindergarten gifts and occupa- tions prepares the way by the method of training the hand, first in the use of soft materials in knitting, crochet- ing, and sewing, and later, in the manufacturing of articles of wood, when the pupil has reached the most favorable age for this work. The girls continue this Work in sewing and in a short time are able to draft a pattern for a garment, esti- mate correctly the amount required

Page 19 text:

THE RIVERSIDE 17 000006000000000000000000000000 VALEDICTORY 000000000000000000000000000000 000000 000000 Members of School Committee, Supt. of Schools, Teachers, Parents, Cnssmates, Friends: ' On an occasion such as this it is natural for us to look not only over the past, but also into the future. It behooves us not only to congratulate ourselves on the advantages that have been ours, but to ask ourselves where and how we are going to put them to use. There are still too many who enter the arena of life with only a mearer knowledge of what will confront the1ng who are ignorant of the weapons they bear and unacquainted with the obstacles in their pathway. Four of the most important things which help to overcome these cb- stacles are: Character, Scholarship, Leadership and Service. Character is in truth, what a person really is. Few people are fully rounded char- acters. Some rise to dizzy heights in some lines while they grovel in the dust in others. The world needs sane balance if it is to have the best char- acters in it. And how different men are. Some become afflicted with a swelled head and make no efforts to- wards self-improvement. This is a mania common to Sopho- mores and is called sophomoritis, but only in a few aggravated cases does it persist beyond a few years. The mental trend even then is at least hopeful. A greater menace to progress is the malady of magnifying your own weaknesses. Contact with others emphasizes the weak spots and folks get to brooding about them. That's all wrong. Common sense suggests attention to them. The wise man substitutes the ideal opposite for the weakness and strives to compel himself to realize the possibility of attaining it. 1t's a mark of weakness to yield to an obstacle. Foryremember it is the hard things that fit us to do the big things in life. The great men of the world are for the most part men of low estate. Goaded by poverty they have learned to make the most of oppor- tunities. When such men get a chance there is nothing that can hold them back. Adversity is the ink in which they write narnes that endure while nanes more lightly inscribed perish. It is a law of nature that struggle makes men strong. There is no good stopping place of weak resistance if you once begin to decline and follow the course. l With the loss of self-respect you also lose mental and moral stamina. With these gone you are-just a con- venience to be uesd when neded. To be in demand you must be of the positive, constructive type that be- lieves in itself and is not afraid to look the world in the face. The definition of Scholarship is given as attainments in science and literature. It is said that Bacon considered