Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 63.djvu/79

Rh trying struggles, victory rested with the teacher; and the taught, once initiated into the charm of the new occupation, was fascinated thereby. After about a fortnight of this constant forming of letters in the child's hand and pointing to objects thus designated—such as 'mug,' 'milk,' 'father,' 'mother,' 'walk,' 'sit,' 'water'—the notion that objects were designated by the signs was grasped; and a ceaseless quest for names of all the things with which she was familiar was begun. Miss Sullivan thus describes the moment of inspiration. "We went out to the pump-house, and I made Helen hold her mug under the spout while I pumped. As the cold water gushed forth filling the mug, I spelled 'w-a-t-e-r' in Helen's free hand. The word coming so close upon the sensation of cold water rushing over her hand seemed to startle her. She dropped the mug and stood as one transfixed. A new light came into her face. She spelled 'water' several times. Then she dropped on the ground and asked for its name, and pointed to the pump and the trellis, and suddenly turning around, she asked for my name. I spelled 'teacher.' . . . All the way back to the house she was highly excited, and learned the name of every object she touched, so that in few hours she had added thirty new words to her vocabulary."

An illustrative instance of these early lessons in which moral teachings and material rewards are mingled with letters and simple occupations is the following: Helen had been rebellious in regard to the use of her napkin. Miss Sullivan arranged the table fittings but omitted the cake which was the reward for spelling a word correctly. "She noticed this at once and made the sign for it. I showed her the napkin and pinned it round her neck, then tore it off and threw it on the floor and shook my head. [This had been Helen's behavior.] I repeated this performance several times. I think she understood perfectly well; for she slapped her hand two or three times and shook her head. We began the lesson as usual. I gave her an object, and she spelled the name. (She knows twelve now). After spelling half the word she stopped suddenly, as if a thought had flashed into her mind, and felt for the napkin. She pinned it round her neck and made the sign for cake (it didn't occur to spell the word, you see)." With this as the 'premier pas qui coûte,' the further progress, though at first slow, was direct and cumulative. On March 31 Helen knew eighteen nouns and three verbs; the next day she added eight more. On May 22 her vocabulary was estimated at three hundred words; on June 19 at 400 words; at the end of August at 625 words; at the close of her first year of instruction at 900 words. 'Open' and 'shut' were learned by the manipulation of a door; as early as June 12, while holding some worsted for her teacher, she spelled to herself repeatedly 'wind fast, wind slow'; 'in' and 'on' were illustrated by putting Helen