A Local Push for Deaf Education
A Walla Walla citizen advocates for the establishment of a specialized local school for deaf children, challenging the state-run asylum model.
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Editor Statesman: It is a subject of congratulation to the friends of humanity that some intelligent citizens have taken into consideration the practicability of establishing a school in our city for teaching the deaf. Perhaps it is a truth not generally known that the art of teaching those unfortunate beings who have been born deaf has arrived to so great a perfection that they are actually taught to read, write, and speak. There are two systems of teaching the deaf—one practiced by state institutions, the other by day schools. The day school has attained the astonishing means of instructing them to speak with the tongue and become useful and intelligent members of society. I have received letters from teachers such as Jennie B. Holden, who suggests that I start such a school locally to show the work's value. We owe it to these children to provide an alternative to the state asylum.
“Of all the intellectual acquirements of man the noblest is that of vocal speech.”
This letter highlights the historical tension between institutionalized 'asylums' and the push for community-based day schools for the deaf. It reflects early 20th-century advocacy for inclusive education that paved the way for modern special education policies in Washington State.
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