I wish to make an urgent plea for the energetic efforts of all parents of deaf children to improve the speech-teaching conditions in their respective localities. At present, very far from all that is possible is being done to give deaf children a ready command of spoken English, and a working ability to understand when spoken to. The persons who have the most at stake in this matter, and who should be most active and persistent in demanding from the school authorities and legislatures better facilities for the acquisition of speech by deaf children, are the parents of those children. In each locality these parents should organize into "Parents' Associations." These local associations should, in turn, be connected by a statewide organization composed of representatives from each local association. These state organizations could then be combined by representation in a national organization of all the parents of deaf children in the United States. Such complete organization once effected, the reasonable demands made in the interests of better results in speech teaching would quickly be complied with by the respective schools and the legislatures or boards of directors that control them. The associations could induce their local papers to aid in a campaign to educate public opinion by printing facts concerning what is done elsewhere. If all parents of deaf children only knew what might be accomplished, and were so organized as to permit them to present their wishes forcibly to those able to change conditions, the deaf child would quickly come into his own. XVIII A PERSONAL MATTER FOR EACH PARENT Let some parent in each locality make it his or her business to get the names and addresses of all other parents of deaf children in the vicinity. Induce them to come together some evening and choose a chairman and an executive committee of three. Let these four people make a point of studying the education of the deaf as conducted in the most advanced communities. Let the executive committees of the several local associations get together once or twice a year for a sort of state convention of parents. Let them invite leading educators to address them, and let them appoint committees to visit schools in other states where different methods are employed. If such a movement was once started there would be found plenty of subject-matter for discussion, and plenty of opportunities to work for a betterment of conditions. The author of this little book would be glad to give any aid in his power to such a movement, and to place the results of his twenty-five years of experience at the disposal of any parent, or parents' organization.