The Influence of Alexander Graham Bell
Most Americans know Alexander Graham Bell as an inventor of the telephone. But few know that the central interest of his life was education for deaf children or that he was one of the strongest proponents of oralism in the United States. Bell and his father before him studied the physiology of speech. His mother was hard of hearing, and while she had enough hearing to use an ear tube for one-on-one conversations, Bell often used the British, two-handed manual alphabet to communicate with her. He also knew the sign language used in the United States. Through articles, papers, speeches, and teaching, Bell's support of oral education profoundly changed the way deaf children were taught.
...to ask the value of speech is like asking the value of life.
Alexander Graham Bell