should remember that the child draws his impressions of the character
and the feelings of those about him from the expression of their faces,
and many almost unconscious little acts and gestures. Avoid very
carefully any appearance of being impatient, or bored, or contemptuous
at his failures. Try to understand the difficulties under which he is
working to maintain his place in the world. Do not humor his whims, or
spoil him by indulgence, yet treat him with the greatest consideration
and fairness. Above all, be cheerful and, at least apparently,
interested in his doings and sayings.




XVI

SCHOOL AGE


The question of what is "school age" for a deaf child is answered very
differently by different people. Most of the state institutions for the
deaf in the United States, Canada, and Europe will not admit children
younger than six years of age. Seven years is still the age of admission
in some institutions, but the tendency is to lower the age limit. In
some schools children of five are admitted, in a few those as young as
four, and in two or three small schools babies of two and three are
received. Any statement here must, therefore, be taken as only the
expression of the author's opinion, resulting from more than twenty-five
years of active teaching, combined with wide observation.

It would appear that, where home conditions are not bad, either