SCHOOLS FOR DEFECTIVES

1703

SCHOOLS OF COMMERCE

special branches. Among the summer-schools of the universities that of the University of Chicago is unique in having the regular work of the entire university carried on during the summer-quarter (twelve weeks) as during any of the other three quarters of the year. The various universities allow credit towards a degree for the work done during the summer-session, so that teachers who cannot give up their positions are thus enabled to carry on work resulting finally in the securing of a university degree. Recently a considerable number of summer-schools for the pursuit of some branch of natural science have been located at places suitable for their particular purposes. Another important type of summer-school is that for the professional training of teachers.

Schools for Defect'ives. Defectives may be conveniently grouped into the classes of the deaf, the blind, the deaf and blind and the feeble-minded or idiotic. It is only within the last 60 or 70 years that much attention has been given to their education and care as a special class, but they are now generally cared for both in this country and in Europe in special schools maintained by the state. Under such instruction the majority become self-supporting, particularly the deaf and the brighter ones of the feeble-minded class.

In the case of the deaf the chief difficulty is to teach them the use of language without the aid of sound. For this purpose the three chief methods that have been used are that of sign-language, in which a separate sign is made to represent each different object or idea; that of the manual alphabet, in which our ordinary letters are symbolized by signs made on the fingers; and the direct, intuitive or oral method, in which the pupils learn to understand oral language and to speak it by watching the movements of the teacher's lips in speaking and by imitation of the movements of the vocal organs. The oral method is difficult, but in many cases excellent results have been secured by it. Most schools use a combination of several methods. Among private schools for the deaf the Wright-Humason School in New York is one of the best.

The first American schools for the blind were those of New York, Boston and Philadelphia, established about 1833, in each instance through private capital and enterpise. It is very important that the teaching of blind children should begin at an early age, lest the natural development of the mind be hindered through lack of activity Here, also, various methods of teaching have been employed. Reading from embossed print has now been largely superseded by an alphabetical system of dots instead of letters, devised by the blind themselves. This system is easier to

read by touch and easier to write than the letter-system. Recent inventions have made possible . the rapid production of whole libraries for the blind in this latest braille system. The National Printing House for the blind at Louisville, Ky., keeps a large supply of books on hand. The task of teaching the blind is much easier than that of teaching the deaf and dumb.

There have been some remarkable instances of the successful teaching of the deaf-blind, particularly the cases of Laura Bridgman and Helen Keller.

Of the feeble-minded there are all varieties and gradations, and some can be helped or entirely cured by proper surgical treatment. They should always be separated from the insane. Some are incapable of much instruction and cannot be made self-supporting. In general the feebleminded person lacks initiative and controlled and purposive action. Industrial and kindergarten training are each found very valuable for all classes of defectives.

Schools of Com'merce. Commercial education in the United States is conducted by four classes of institutions : private business and commercial schools ; public high schools : endowed schools, which often have an industrial as well as a commercial bias; and colleges and universities. The need for special commercial education increases with the complexity of modern business methods. It is felt in the secondary more than the primary school. Elementary education is much the same for all; but the secondary school may tend to prepare exclusively for the college and not for a business vocation. The need of secondary commercial schools was met by their establishment in Vienna as early as 1754, in Brussels in 1834, Trieste 1877, Leipzig 1898, Aix-la-Chapelle 1900, Cologne 1901, Frankfort 1901, Milan and Lorraine 1902. In 1904 the enrollment at Cologne showed 778 students, at Frankfort 54Ó and at Leipzig 395. A higher commercial school opened at Tokio, Japan, in 1885; and another at Kobe in April, 1903. Japan also has commercial schools graded A and B according to the difficulty of the curriculum. In 1904 there were 48 of these schools, at which children of an age of not less than ten years, provided that they have finished a four-years' course in the ordinary primary schools, are allowed to attend. In Germany there not only are commercial schools, such as have been mentioned, and realgymnasien in which modern subjects are emphasized but even commercial universities at Aix-la-Chapelle, Frankfort, Cologne and Leipzig. These universities have 2,841 students, of whom 1,015 ^are matriculated. In American colleges and universities in 1904 there were 1,537 regular students of commerce in all. Courses in commerce were attended by 6,835 men and 5,430 women.