Do we have a challenge ahead of us to avoid becoming Hearing?

GrendelQ said:
That's pretty much the question behind all of this, isn't it?

It's easy to blame the education system in general, teachers, education methods, the government, and parents when you see studies showing the typical deaf high school 12th grader scoring at the level of a typical hearing 4th grader. But, those sorry stats and high risk of low literacy apply to all deaf kids -- from the deaf child of hearing parents with CIs using spoken English to the unaided deaf of deaf child who uses ASL at home and school. No setting is currently providing the outcomes we want to see, from mainstream and unit settings to AVT-based schools for the deaf to bi-bi schools for the deaf.

What's not easy is determining how to fix the issue of literacy. The school is working closely with Gallaudet's VL2 program, Boston University and other partners to find ways to change the curriculum, the way deaf kids are taught to read and write, and improve literacy. I look forward to seeing the new curriculum as it rolls out.
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Is your daughter's school still using the MVL writing program?
 
GrendelQ - you're absolutely right, there is no single one reason why the Deaf kids are not performing up to par which is why general studies and statements are not very informative. But you said "At my daughter's deaf school -- known as being academically rigorous -- a (mostly Deaf) parent group banded together a couple of years ago and successfully protested and changed the curriculum." -

What change? What changes were made to the curriculum?

And you're absolutely right, in that it requires all tools to ensure a Deaf child's success in school, not just some of them.
 
KristinaB said:
Behind every child who succeeds in school academically in all subjects and who does well and graduates on grade level is a very supportive family and totally dedicated teachers. You cannot have it without both those components. The child must want to be educated and accept the responsibility, the parents or guardians, MUST be there to help that child and the teachers must work hard to teach that child what is to be learned. A teacher cannot do it alone. The school is not totally responsible for the education of that child. It must be done in conjunction with a parent's/guardian's involvement.

I do not know the specifics of Shel90's job, just that she is a dedicated teacher of the deaf. She has a passion for her students that I only had in a few of my teachers in public school. For her job, or any other teacher of the deaf, they have more responsibility than a teacher in public schools. They not only have to teach the child in all required subjects, they must also make sure to sometimes use 2 different languages to do this.

Heck, I've had teachers who couldn't even grasp the English language. In fact, I had a Chemistry teacher who was let go due to the extreme problem of understanding him. He was from India. His replacement was from Uganda, Africa. The language barrier did not get easier for the hearing kids and I was even more behind. There were no terps for me at all. The school district did not feel that me having a moderate to severe hearing loss needed any help. I failed Chemistry.

But, back to my original thought here, the students, whether in a deaf school, or hearing school, MUST be willing to learn and willing to work hard, the parents/guardians MUST be willing to help that student, and the teachers MUST provide them with the education mandated by law. Now, since this crappy NCLB Act was passed, teachers are not even able to teach what the students need to get on in life, they are required to teach so that the child can pass the state exam. Got to hand it to those teachers who stay dedicated after that.
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The parental part is not applicable to residential schools where students go home only on weekends.
 
shel90 said:
Is your daughter's school still using the MVL writing program?
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I don't know MVL, is it the shapes-based decoding program? I've never seen it in use in her class, if so. Her class currently uses a 'Fundations' system for reading and writing.
 
Bottesini said:
The parental part is not applicable to residential schools where students go home only on weekends.
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If they go home at all. The school for the Deaf in Belleville Ontario is very far from Toronto and Ottawa plus many deaf kids from other provinces go there. They probably didn't go home on weekends. That is one of the reasons my mother didn't send me there.
 
Seems I just can't win at all. Sorry for being so ignorant.
 
DeafCaroline said:
If they go home at all. The school for the Deaf in Belleville Ontario is very far from Toronto and Ottawa plus many deaf kids from other provinces go there. They probably didn't go home on weekends. That is one of the reasons my mother didn't send me there.
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Yes. That is one of the things that really drove the early mainstreaming demand.
 
In Freakonomics, the sole indicator of academic success in "normal" children is the presence of books in the home. Why? Children model their parents' behavior. Deaf children need successful Deaf role models. How can a Deaf child reach a destination he/she doesn't even know about?
 
KristinaB said:
Seems I just can't win at all. Sorry for being so ignorant.
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I liked your post! I thought you had some really good points, no ignorance. I think others just added to what you expressed with additional situations, not in opposition.
 
KristinaB said:
Seems I just can't win at all. Sorry for being so ignorant.
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You're not ignorant at all!!! and you are speaking directly from your own experience and that's very valid I'd rather take the word of someone speaking from experience than someone quoting from studies that don't properly convey all the issues involved. You've made very important points like: 'But, back to my original thought here, the students, whether in a deaf school, or hearing school, MUST be willing to learn and willing to work hard, the parents/guardians MUST be willing to help that student, and the teachers MUST provide them with the education mandated by law. Now, since this crappy NCLB Act was passed, teachers are not even able to teach what the students need to get on in life, they are required to teach so that the child can pass the state exam. Got to hand it to those teachers who stay dedicated after that."

I'm in total agreement with you.
 
sallylou said:
In Freakonomics, the sole indicator of academic success in "normal" children is the presence of books in the home. Why? Children model their parents' behavior. Deaf children need successful Deaf role models. How can a Deaf child reach a destination he/she doesn't even know about?
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:thumb: I SO agree with this. I've seen that both at home and in so many studies.
 
sallylou said:
In Freakonomics, the sole indicator of academic success in "normal" children is the presence of books in the home. Why? Children model their parents' behavior. Deaf children need successful Deaf role models. How can a Deaf child reach a destination he/she doesn't even know about?
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You are so right - I read a book a day as a kid and my parents encouraged this greatly. My first words were "my books" - the first time I was allowed to take the city bus alone was to the library. And in fact, my mother never hired babysitters, she would drop me off at the library and pick me up at the end of the day. I loved it. Books are so instrumental in education and both hearing and deaf kids need to stop facebooking and gaming so much and start reading a lot more.

but by destination, what do you mean? Destination to where?
 
Well, books are going by the wayside more and more every year with the presence of the internet. Maybe academic success will be tied to the internet instead of books?
 
Who reads a full book on the Internet? No one. The internet reduces one's attention span as we switch from books to snippets of info here and there on the internet that is written by people who are not very good writers. Sesame Street used to be blamed for this - reducing a child's ability to focus for a long period of time because they would jump from one subject to the next so fast in their show.
 
sallylou said:
In Freakonomics, the sole indicator of academic success in "normal" children is the presence of books in the home. Why? Children model their parents' behavior. Deaf children need successful Deaf role models. How can a Deaf child reach a destination he/she doesn't even know about?
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Do Kindles and Nooks count? Or do they have to be actual paper books? :lol:

kokonut said:
Well, books are going by the wayside more and more every year with the presence of the internet. Maybe academic success will be tied to the internet instead of books?
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No, that'd be ADD. :lol:
 
rolling7 said:
Re-read my post, please. I posted of my experience here in Houston and the number would be close to 15% who communicate in ASL-only. Perhaps you don't know of any and perhaps you don't know of any hearing people who can't read/write, however, as posted, I've met plenty. Is it your position that all deaf and hearing know how to read/write?
For the child/minor it would be the responsibility of the parent(s) but you already knew that. For the adult, it would be their own responsibility. The rectifications are out there and, no excuse, the deaf/hearing person can get busy finding them and using them.
It will always be a proven fact that people who can not read/write will be oppressed. Those deaf you refere to as not being oppressed are NOT ASL-only, they know how to read/write, which in turn means they have learn a second language, English (our their mothers tongue). Hearing people who speak and THAT IS ALL, are as Shel90 says, oppressed. People who use ASL and THAT IS ALL are oppressed.
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So, you are saying that 15% of deaf in the Houston area do not use English in any form...including written? They never read a newspaper, a job description, a store advertisement, closed cap on T.V.?

Where did I say that all deaf or hearing can read and write? However, I think you would be hard pressed to find one that, while perhaps not literate, cannot read or write at all.

I never refered to any deaf as not being oppressed. The deaf have been oppressed for centuries, and are still so today. But the reason for oppression has nothing to do with literacy. It is the oppression that causes illiteracy.
 
DeafCaroline said:
Who reads a full book on the Internet? No one. The internet reduces one's attention span as we switch from books to snippets of info here and there on the internet that is written by people who are not very good writers. Sesame Street used to be blamed for this - reducing a child's ability to focus for a long period of time because they would jump from one subject to the next so fast in their show.
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Er, I somewhat do. I download books from the internet and read them on my internet-connected nook. And I easily read a books-worth of content on sites like AD every day.

I'm pretty sure koko's point was a bit tongue in cheek, though.
 
shel90 said:
Those people are oppressed NOT because of spoken English and NOT because of ASL.


It is because they ARE illliterate!!!
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And they are illiterate as a result of oppression as a result of their deafness. Has nothing to do with ASL.
 
that's different though. you downloaded from the internet and onto your Kindle. you dont read full books on your internet browser, right?

We learn to read and write well from reading books written by people who know how to read and write well. Whether it's in print or on a kindle, no difference.
 
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