Examining the educational instruction of the deaf individual from its Benedictine beginnings to its present condition at Gallaudet University, this book traces the historical pedagogical affinity among Pedro Ponce de Léon, Juan Pablo Bonet, Charles Michael de l'Epée, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and Edward Miner Gallaudet. The author provides the historical and philosophical basis for Jewish and Christian beliefs concerning the condition of deafness and then introduces Ponce de Léon, credited as being the first teacher of the deaf. The essence of this Spanish Benedictine monk's methods and manner of teaching have been continued by those who succeeded him. The author traces this development from Spain through France and then to the United States.