Excerpt from Perkins Institution: A Survey of the Work for the Blind in the United States From Its Beginning Until Now; Reprint From the Annual Report for the Year Ending August 31, 1926 I have found a statement to the effect that bringing blind pupils and deaf pupils together in social contact might tend to neutralize the class consciousness of both, which the superintendent making it felt inevitably followed their separate massing in institutions; and another statement that for a period of years the Iowa College for the Blind actually admitted as pupils varying proportions of children with almost perfect vision, perhaps with the hope that this leaven of sight would help nor malize the rest. It did help the blind somewhat but hurt the seeing; and being deemed unjustifiable in any case was finally stopped. Once the semi-private schools were well begun their multiplication as public state institutions west and south was rapid - too rapid indeed to be altogether wholesome, even where distinct from the deaf. A few superintendents reported amid their various struggles in making a start that it would have been better policy to consider a school already estab lished a regional one for a section of states. And so it probably would have been until each state had had the benefits Of deliberation. Some of them would not have located in small towns or out on the wilds, as a few did merely because somebody had donated land there. Certain com munities did sink state pride and send pupils a while for schooling to ad jacent territory; and at least six states and the District of Columbia still do so. Others either pioneered all over again, sent out a questionnaire or a visiting committee or, as in the case of Ohio, got Dr. Howe to Open at Columbus a specimen school. One zealous blind man, Samuel Bacon, started institutions in three states; another, William H. Churchman, even planned and superintended more than one and wrote reports that are still standard. Generally speaking, each new venture began much as the three pioneers did; - that is, either trained or borrowed pupils already trained and, having demonstrated on tour the educability of blind youth. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.