WEBVTT

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[Music]

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[Screen play by, Stuart D. Ludlum; Production assistant, Bernard Haber]

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[Photographed and directed by Nat Campus]

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[Music]

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[Narrator:] This is a story of children. Happy, intelligent

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children who can't hear.

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It's the story of how deaf children can

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be educated to live happily in a hearing world.

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A child who is deaf from birth doesn't imitate speech

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because she can't hear.

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And until she's taught to speak, she

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can't make herself understood to children with normal hearing.

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They don't want to play with her.

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She's unusual, peculiar.

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But our story is different.

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It starts with a school where deafness

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is given human intelligent handling

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by specially trained people who are devoting

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their lives to this work.

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It starts with parents who realize

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that their natural desire to protect and help

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their handicapped child may be depriving her

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of a chance to develop a normal personality.

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In this big roomy nursery, deaf children

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learn to play together.

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They're all deaf, so no one's an outcast.

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No one's unusual or peculiar.

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Everyone's friendly.

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Everything's fine.

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[Music]

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[...]

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Here no one is isolated or overprotected.

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And it's not long before they learn

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to get along with each other and look out for themselves.

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[Music]

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[...]

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Gone are the tantrums. In their place, a happy willingness

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to cooperate and follow orderly routine.

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[Music]

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[...]

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There's no problem when hands need washing.

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[Music]

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[...]

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And the job is done completely without further urging.

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Progress indeed.

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[Music]

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[...]

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These happy little people, thoughtful, considerate,

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completely at home in this pleasant environment,

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are ready to discover the wonder of words.

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First, the child is taught how the names of simple objects

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appear on the lips when spoken by the teacher.

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Then they try to imitate, observing, imitating,

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matching toys, shapes, colors, and, finally, matching words.

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This is the start of lip reading.

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Some children have a slight degree of hearing.

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And every effort is made to utilize it.

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They're taught to feel the vibrations of words.

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And soon they try, for the first time, to speak.

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[Speaker 1:] Muriel.

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Bo.

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[Muriel:] Bone.

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Bo.

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[Speaker 1:] Bo.

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[Muriel:] Bone.

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[Speaker 1:] And.

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[...]

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[Muriel:] Um.

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[Speaker 1:] And.

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[Muriel:] Um.

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Car.

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Car.

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[Narrator:] Good for you!

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That was a very nice try!

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And you shall get a star for doing so well.

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A compliment.

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Encouragement is important at the start.

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[...]

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Before the children are old enough

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to have their hearing tested.

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They got accustomed to hearing aids.  Which

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will help to speed their learning if they're not

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totally deaf.

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As a group, the class imitates the teacher.

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[Speaker 2:] Woo ooh.

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Woo ooh.

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A ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba ba.

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Ahh.

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Ahh.

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[Speaker 3:] Ba ba ba ba ba ba.

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Ahh.

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Ehh.

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[Narrator:] These children who are a little older

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have not yet begun routine schoolwork,

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but they're being prepared for it while improving

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their lip reading and speech.

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They're taught to associate classroom activities

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with spoken and written word.

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[Speaker 4:] Bud, show me the sentence that says,

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Louise has a green and white bow.

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[...]

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[Narrator:] By pointing to the correct words or objects,

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he proves that he has read the teacher's lips correctly.

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Though the going may seem slow and tedious at times,

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progress continues.

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[Speaker 4:] You're a big boy.

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How old are you?

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[Bud:] I'm five.

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[Narrator:] Just five and doing very well.

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It's hard for a person who can hear

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to realize how difficult it is to imitate

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sounds you can't hear.

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A mirror is put to use in helping

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to teach the formation of difficult sounds.

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And with the aid of the audiometer,

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a record is kept of the hearing of each child

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so that every use can be made of what sense of hearing she has.

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And as they get older and more proficient in lip reading,

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they practice with pictures.

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The teacher looks at pictures and describes them

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while the children watch her lips.

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[...]

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Then she lets them see the pictures,

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and they try to identify the ones she has talked about.

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In this way, they develop their lip reading ability.

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No, that's not the picture you're talking about.

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Nope.

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No.

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[...]

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Yes, that's it!

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Deaf children must learn the construction of sentences

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through reading and writing rather than through hearing.

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And, therefore, they learn to write at a somewhat earlier age

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than hearing children do.

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Their first sentences are generally

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written on the blackboard as news items.

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These items are their own ideas and are

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drawn from their own lives and the things they do.

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Once the sentence is written, they try to read it aloud.

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[Speaker 5:] Mother and I went to a store.

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[Narrator:] Not perfect but good.

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And her slight faults are corrected immediately so

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that good pronunciation habits will be firmly implanted.

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These are the nine-year-olds.

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After reading and writing comes arithmetic.

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And their method of study not only

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improves their lip reading, it also

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teaches them the mechanics of mathematics with special stress

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on speedy calculations.

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For even though they must read lips and then work out

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the problem, they're given the same amount of time

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to get the right answers as students with normal hearing.

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No more.

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Let's listen to Rose Marie.

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[Speaker 6:] John had 12 rabbits.

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Five rabbits ran away.

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How many were left?

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[Rose Marie:] There were seven rabbits left.

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[Narrator:] Good for you, Rose Marie!

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Now we look in on the 11-year-olds.

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All girls, for at 10 years of age,

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the boys move to a school for boys.

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These girls are studying geography

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and the social sciences.

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The teacher is telling a story about transportation

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and asking a question.

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This discussion-question technique not only

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broadens their education, but it also improves day by day

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their all-important ability to read lips and develop speech.

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[...]

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[Speaker 7:] Can you tell me about the covered wagon?

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Joanne, tell the class why the covered wagons travel together?

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[Joanne:] Because there were many Indians and the people

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who hate each other.

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[Speaker 7:] That's fine, Joanne.

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[Joanne:] Thank you!

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[Narrator:] That is fine for a little girl who might otherwise

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never have learned to speak.

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As the girls grow older and their speech improves,

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they converse with ease.

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Those who dedicate their lives to this career of teaching

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deaf children possess tireless patience, sincere and unselfish

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consideration, and deep personal charm

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that shows up in their work.  A combination of qualities that

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makes an enduring contribution to the development

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of personality, charm, and character in the children.

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[Music]

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But lip reading and speech are not

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the end point in this remarkable kind of education.

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The children get out and see the world they live in.

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The world of art and science.

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[Music]

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Here's a younger group visiting the zoo

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to see the kind of animals that populate the world.

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And enjoy the antics of the seals, all part of

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growing up and learning.

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And what they learn is practical too.

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For they learn how to run a home.

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So that it will be a delightful place in which to live.

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[Music]

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They learn to sew with the skill of experts

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so that they can make their own clothes

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or make their own way in the needlework trade.

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[Music]

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They learn the newest professional methods

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and techniques in millinery as well as garment making.

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[Music]

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These students are learning how to make art products.

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Decorated wastebaskets, and other items that

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are sold at school bazaars.

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And here's a girl who's learning the bookbinding trade,

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an industry in which many of the school's graduates

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find positions.

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[Music]

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They're also welcome in factories

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and in industrial plants.  Because they

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work hard to learn how to handle intricate machines

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with skill and efficiency.

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Silk screen work is popular with girls

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with a flair for the artistic.

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And in this school, they turn out colorful, decorative work

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that ensures successful careers in the commercial world.

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[Music]

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When boys reach the age of 10, they go to other schools.

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One of these, the New York School

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for the Deaf at White Plains, teaches various industries.

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Here are two boys learning to be automotive mechanics.

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And this lad will soon be able to take a job in a printing

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plant as a Linotype operator.  A job in which his handicap is

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no drawback.

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[Music]

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And this one is learning to be a pressman.

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These are learning to be bakers.

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And thorough their training is too,

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for the school makes certain each trade is taught with

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up-to-the-minute methods and exacting standards.

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[Music]

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The business of shoe repairing also

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offers opportunities for deaf boys

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to earn their living in private industry.

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[Music]

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And so this school and the Lexington School for the Deaf

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continue do their share in preparing young men and women

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to live happy, useful lives as

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self-supporting American citizens.

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[Speaker 8:] Let us stand and say the pledge to the flag.

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[...]

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[School body:] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United

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States of America, and to the Republic

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for which it stands, one nation, indivisible, with liberty

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and justice for all.

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[Music - Samuel Francis Smith, "AMERICA
(MY COUNTRY, 'TIS OF THEE)"]

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[The end] [Campus film production]

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[...]