Deaf people who are teachers think about the nature of education a lot, I think.
I certainly do.
I see all kinds of viewpoints, even today. There are people who say that the point of educating Deaf people is that they can learn to communicate in English, which is patently ridiculous; there’s enough bobbleheads spouting empty things on weekday television. We need more than that.
I believe bilingual education is a definite answer to the question, but I think as a nation we have yet to fully question what we mean by that. Do we mean a two-language structure where we use ASL to teach English? Do we mean a 70′s style version of Total Communication, where people use everything possible from yoga to scented markers to communicate? Or do we mean a bilingual education that uses philosophy which parallels bilingual education developed and employed at existing bicultural and multicultural schools around the world?
I did research on the latter during grad school, and discovered that there are several differences between what we often call “bilingual” education in the Deaf community today and “bilingual” education for, say, English and French students. Here’s some examples of hallmarks of such programs:
*Students from each language-using group (ideally 50-50, but programs vary, of course! I guess in the Deaf community, this would mean deaf and hearing students, or we could employ a more complex model – after all, what group should CODAs fit in?) Social usage of a language is nearly mandatory for developing skill in that language. Modern technology makes this possible – imagine classes done on discussion forums or AIM for English, or VP for ASL.
*Two or more languages with complete k-12 curriculae for each language. It’s no good teaching English through ASL when the kids don’t know the rules of ASL yet!
*A well-established school structure including strategies for teaching in Language A and Language B
*A well-developed school library containing texts in both languages
*A balanced, bilingual staff with members of both cultures equally fluent in both and other languages
*A well-developed inquiry team examining teaching strategies and looking for problem areas
*Established testing at admission and graduation for success in both languages
*Most importantly, a clear picture of what a graduating, bilingual or multilingual student should “look like” – probably through teacher models
There are schools where teachers have hung colored paper on the walls, and students know by the color to communicate in certain areas that day by one language or another. That kind of linguistic ‘play’ could be incredible to witness and be part of – and teach students a lot about language and themselves.
Do our American Deaf schools need to emulate these kinds of models – providing education in other languages in the process, when available? It’s a challenging, strict kind of model, and does indeed require support from parents at home to be successful. And what of mainstreaming? Deaf schools and mainstream schools are often bilingual in some form or other, and there’s many Deaf schools with small groups of Deaf students signing (sometimes very local) forms of ASL.
Unfortunately, mainstreaming, while greatly improved in recent years, still isn’t a perfect option, either. We need more documentation on rates of high school graduation and college attendance on mainstreamed students. There’s very little available online.
I mean, assuming that going to college is part of the point of mainstream education… I’ve met some students for whom the assumption is simply never. There’s not too many Deaf adults working in mainstream education as full-time teachers, and there’s still students who graduate middle and high school not having met Deaf adults who are successful. I don’t think Jr. NAD (a great organization which I totally think should be everywhere) often gets contacted by mainstream schools for possible clubs, although other cultural groups are often invited and welcome. It seems to me both kinds of programs need data to prove their success. But I digress.
I’d like to see a Deaf educational system in America where Deaf children learn as many languages as they want to (we had French and Spanish in MSSD, I recall) and have structured education in English and American Sign Language. I want to see Deaf children able to understand how social forces from without and within affect the way they and other people see the world. To develop critical thinking skills, in other words. I want to see children become powerful, independent, and fully understanding of themselves. Bilingual programs show evidence of producing these kinds of results with hearing children. (And they do teach ASL to babies.) I’d love to see a growing tradition of Deaf Americans going abroad to meet other Deaf cultures and do work service, the way many Deaf students do in Europe. Sometimes we learn the most by going outside.
Maybe I have high demands. In the first decade of the twenty-first century, what are your dreams for the next nine? I’ve attended both mainstreamed and Deaf programs, and my ideas are deeply influenced by having attended both. Based on what you know – what works? Share your visions in the comments…
