The First Schools for the Deaf in Great Britain
In 1760 Thomas Braidwood began to teach deaf pupils in Scotland. At almost the same time
de l’Epee began teaching through sign in Paris, while Heinicke in Leipzig emphasized the
strict oral approach where only speech was used with, and accepted from, pupils. Conflict
arose between the German and French systems when Heinicke declared all other methods
to be useless and pernicious and no less that “folly, fraud and nonsense.” (Scott, 1870).
Braidwood’s fame is based on his success in developing speech in his pupils, not all of whom
were deaf; but the tradition deriving from him, later to be known as the English Method,
was something of an intermediate between the German and French methods. Savage, Evans
and Savage (1981) claim that the perceived total oralism of Braidwood is something of a
myth, and consider that Watsons’s account (1809), which describes the uses of sign in
education, reflects Braidwood’s original approach. The Royal Commission (1889) made a
similar claim in setting out the history of deafness: “The first school for the deaf and dumb in
Great Britain was started on the combined system in 1760 by Braidwood in Edinburgh”.
This combined system was the English one of speech AND signs. Green testifies that signing
was in existence in the original Braidwood school:
Observing that he (his son) was inclined in company to converse with one of his school
fellows by the tacit finger language, I asked him why he did not speak to him with his mouth?
To this his answer was as pertinent as it was concise: “He is deaf.” (Green, 1783). A
summary of the methods of Braidwood is provided in Arnot’s History of Edinburgh (1779):
He begins with learning the deaf articulation or the use of their vocal organs and at the same
time teaches them to write the characters and compose words of them. He next shows them
the use of words in expressing visible objects and their qualities. After this he proceeds to
instruct them in the proper arrangement of words or grammatical construction of language.
The deaf (Mr Braidwood observes) find great difficulty in attaining pronunciation but still
more in acquiring a proper knowledge of written language. Their only method of conversing
is by sings and gestures. Their ideas are few, being entirely confined to visible objects and of
the passions and senses… the connection between our ideas and written languages being
purely arbitrary, it is a very hard task to give the deaf any notion of that mode of conversing,
their being only heiroglyphical.
When we visited this academy we found that the boys not only could convers by the help of
the artificial alphabet they learned by putting the fingers into certain positions, but they
understood us, although perfect strangers to them, by the motion of our lips.
Braidwood himself did not write an account of his teaching method or theories. He moved to
London in 1783 and the first charitable school for the deaf opened in 1792. The Times wrote:
For these poor children, totally deaf… have through the benevolence of this society been
taught not only to speak, read, write and cypher but also to comprehend the meaning and
grammatical arrangement of words whereby they are enabled to hold converse with those
about them and with each other. (4. May, 1798).
In 1814 the school was being run by Braidwood’s nephew, Watson. Clerc visit Watson’s
school:
As soon as Clerc beheld this sight (the children at dinner) his face became animated; he was
as agitated as a traveller of sensibility would be on meeting all of a sudden in distant regions,
a colony of his countrymen… Clerc approached them. He made signs and they answered him
in signs. This unexpected communication caused a most delicious sensation in them and for
us was a scene of expression and sensibility that gave us the most heartfelt satisfaction. (de
Ladebat, 1815)
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Describe how Braidwood taught his deaf pupils.
Find words and expressions in the text that show that people pitied deaf children.
Use your knowledge of deaf history and say why you think people were so surprised
that the deaf could learn to speak, write and communicate in signs.
Sign Language the study of deaf people and their language. Kyle & Woll1985. Cambridge University Press.