Literacy of Deaf People

Daredevel7 said:
Yes, but I'm talking about if there is a large discrepancy between the literacy rates of hearing people and deaf people, then shouldn't this be an issue for the deaf community?
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Only for those who think it an issue. MAKING it an issue is entirely another matter. As Jiro says, this is a Deaf forum. Each which way but loose and all that.
 
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Beowulf said:
Only for those who think it an issue. MAKING it an issue is entirely another matter. As Jiro says, this is a Deaf forum. Each which way but loose and all that.
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If it were really the case that deaf people have worse literacy rates than hearing people, then it's an issue. But that's just me.

If it doesn't bother others, so be it.
 
Daredevel7 said:
If it were really the case that deaf people have worse literacy rates than hearing people, then it's an issue. But that's just me.

If it doesn't bother others, so be it.
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I didn't say that deaf people have worse literacy rates than hearing people.
 
Beowulf said:
I didn't say that deaf people have worse literacy rates than hearing people.
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I know. I don't know for sure if deaf people do have worse literacy rates than hearing people. However, I am saying if that is true, it's an issue to me.
 
Daredevel7 said:
I know. I don't know for sure if deaf people do have worse literacy rates than hearing people. However, I am saying if that is true, it's an issue to me.
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We all may want to keep in mind, when grade level tests are used for assessment, that the average hearing high school student graduates with a reading level of 6th grade. Average deaf students have been determined to graduate with a reading level of 5th grade. Neither one of these are "literate" by educational standards.

There are some problems with using grade level test results as a determination of actual level of functioning, though.
 
jillio said:
We all may want to keep in mind, when grade level tests are used for assessment, that the average hearing high school student graduates with a reading level of 6th grade. Average deaf students have been determined to graduate with a reading level of 5th grade. Neither one of these are "literate" by educational standards.

There are some problems with using grade level test results as a determination of actual level of functioning, though.
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I'd venture to guess that chasm will be greater if you compared the literacy rates after graduation from college, no?
 
jillio said:
Absolutely.
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On the other hand, the more bi-bi education prevails, we would/should see an improvement if the pendulum hasn't already started to move the other way. I guess I won't be around to see it go all the way the other way but I'll be there in spirit.
 
Tousi said:
On the other hand, the more bi-bi education prevails, we would/should see an improvement if the pendulum hasn't already started to move the other way. I guess I won't be around to see it go all the way the other way but I'll be there in spirit.
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It would appear that the pendulum has started to swing with the bi-bi movement, and we already know that litracy rates for the deaf were much higher in the heyday of deaf education when bi-bi was the norm. Unfortunately, the movement has not been around long enough, nor gained strong enough a foot hold, for us to have any definitive data right now. Like you suggested, that will take several years. However, the data we are seeing is very promising.

Knowing that you will be there is spirit makes my resolve to see this through even stronger!
 
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