girl in her new bathing suit dips down and pops up through the waves, but she is alone and makes no sign that she has seen the others.
Grania thrashes soundlessly in her bed as she feels the press of water from above. She forces her arms and legs to move. She rises to the surface. In the morning she wakes and finds herself in bed with her sister, snuggled close. Warm and covered, safely tucked, deep down inside the blankets of Tress’s bed.Mamo sits in her rocker in the parlour, alone in the house. She has slept poorly, the night before. Bernard is next door at the hotel, Patrick with Mrs. Brant in the hotel kitchen; Tress is at school. It is a fine September day but Mamo does not go out to the veranda. Even so, with the windows open, she is alert to a change in the air. Autumn has begun. In the early morning, she placed her gift inside the child’s new canvas trunk before the trunk was loaded onto the back of the wagon. Agnes and Dermot have not yet returned from Belleville.
Mamo feels as if the creases in her face won’t yield, as if her lips won’t speak. She can do nothing but sit by herself with the school newspaper, The Canadian Mute , on her lap, and think of the child during each step of her journey.
The child, the child. She looks down at the paper and reads: “Every child should get a letter from home at least every two weeks. Some pupils seldom, if ever, hear from home and this is shameful. On the other hand, it is better for parents not to write too often, as it keeps the mind of the pupil from its work.”
Mamo’s stationery is ready in the drawer of her bureau, upstairs. Wearily, she turns the newsprint page.
“Every year we are sent an exceptionally bright lot of lads and lasses and, if their parents will give us time, we hope to make manly men and noble women of them.”
Mamo sighs. She reaches for and unfolds a separate sheet, the official instructions sent from the school. For the third time, she examines this as if it is a document from a foreign land:
The Ontario Institution for the Deaf and Dumb All deaf mutes between the age of seven and twenty, not being deficient in intellect, and free from contagious diseases, who are bona fide residents of the Province of Ontario, will be admitted as pupils. Length of schooling is seven years, or in the case of a late arrival, until the student reaches the age of twenty. There will be a vacation of nearly three months duringthe summer of each year. Parents, guardians or friends who are able to pay will be charged the sum of $50 per year for board. Tuition, books and medical attendance will be furnished free. A qualified physician visits the Institution every day and a trained nurse is always in attendance. There is a well-equipped hospital where every sick child is given the best of treatment.
Deaf mutes whose parents, guardians or friends are unable to pay the amount charged for board will be admitted free, but clothing must be furnished by parents or friends.
At the present time the trades of Printing, Carpentering, Shoemaking and Baking are taught to boys. Female pupils are instructed in General Domestic Work, Tailoring, Dressmaking, Sewing, Knitting, the use of Sewing Machines and such Ornamental and Fancy Work as may be desirable. Manual Training in woodwork for boys, and Domestic Science for girls have been introduced.
Good, says Mamo to herself, thinking of her own skills and how she learned them in the old country, taught by the generations before her. Good. All of this will help Grania in her future.
Most pupils receive training in the sign language every afternoon. Articulation classes are held between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
When pupils assemble in the classrooms each morning, the teachers will open by prayer. At one o’clock, the pupils assemble in the chapel. After prayers, they will be dismissed in a quiet and orderly manner and they will again proceed to their regular classes. Prayers are those prescribed for use in the Public Schools of
Grania thrashes soundlessly in her bed as she feels the press of water from above. She forces her arms and legs to move. She rises to the surface. In the morning she wakes and finds herself in bed with her sister, snuggled close. Warm and covered, safely tucked, deep down inside the blankets of Tress’s bed.Mamo sits in her rocker in the parlour, alone in the house. She has slept poorly, the night before. Bernard is next door at the hotel, Patrick with Mrs. Brant in the hotel kitchen; Tress is at school. It is a fine September day but Mamo does not go out to the veranda. Even so, with the windows open, she is alert to a change in the air. Autumn has begun. In the early morning, she placed her gift inside the child’s new canvas trunk before the trunk was loaded onto the back of the wagon. Agnes and Dermot have not yet returned from Belleville.
Mamo feels as if the creases in her face won’t yield, as if her lips won’t speak. She can do nothing but sit by herself with the school newspaper, The Canadian Mute , on her lap, and think of the child during each step of her journey.
The child, the child. She looks down at the paper and reads: “Every child should get a letter from home at least every two weeks. Some pupils seldom, if ever, hear from home and this is shameful. On the other hand, it is better for parents not to write too often, as it keeps the mind of the pupil from its work.”
Mamo’s stationery is ready in the drawer of her bureau, upstairs. Wearily, she turns the newsprint page.
“Every year we are sent an exceptionally bright lot of lads and lasses and, if their parents will give us time, we hope to make manly men and noble women of them.”
Mamo sighs. She reaches for and unfolds a separate sheet, the official instructions sent from the school. For the third time, she examines this as if it is a document from a foreign land:
The Ontario Institution for the Deaf and Dumb All deaf mutes between the age of seven and twenty, not being deficient in intellect, and free from contagious diseases, who are bona fide residents of the Province of Ontario, will be admitted as pupils. Length of schooling is seven years, or in the case of a late arrival, until the student reaches the age of twenty. There will be a vacation of nearly three months duringthe summer of each year. Parents, guardians or friends who are able to pay will be charged the sum of $50 per year for board. Tuition, books and medical attendance will be furnished free. A qualified physician visits the Institution every day and a trained nurse is always in attendance. There is a well-equipped hospital where every sick child is given the best of treatment.
Deaf mutes whose parents, guardians or friends are unable to pay the amount charged for board will be admitted free, but clothing must be furnished by parents or friends.
At the present time the trades of Printing, Carpentering, Shoemaking and Baking are taught to boys. Female pupils are instructed in General Domestic Work, Tailoring, Dressmaking, Sewing, Knitting, the use of Sewing Machines and such Ornamental and Fancy Work as may be desirable. Manual Training in woodwork for boys, and Domestic Science for girls have been introduced.
Good, says Mamo to herself, thinking of her own skills and how she learned them in the old country, taught by the generations before her. Good. All of this will help Grania in her future.
Most pupils receive training in the sign language every afternoon. Articulation classes are held between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
When pupils assemble in the classrooms each morning, the teachers will open by prayer. At one o’clock, the pupils assemble in the chapel. After prayers, they will be dismissed in a quiet and orderly manner and they will again proceed to their regular classes. Prayers are those prescribed for use in the Public Schools of
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