Should Deaf Schools be Shut Down?

[Bottesini]

And we have to see if the bus services and the hiring of bus staff were the responsibility of the public schools or the deaf schools before we assign blame. Usually the staff who work on the buses are paid very low and usually underqualified which is VERY unfortunate for the kids riding on the buses. I was watching utube videos and saw so many videos of bus drivers abusing hearing students or even not paying attention to what the hearing kids do to each other on the buses. It was an eye-opener!

I agree with you completely and it needs to be fixed.

 

[shel90]

I agree with you completely and it needs to be fixed.

Oh yea big time!!! Both in deaf and public schools. I hope since the implementation of strict background checks has helped improved these problems.

I remember getting bullied and harrassed on the bus in middle school. It sucked big time.

 

[Bottesini]

Oh yea big time!!! Both in deaf and public schools. I hope since the implementation of strict background checks has helped improved these problems.

I remember getting bullied and harrassed on the bus in middle school. It sucked big time.

Yes. It did. Me too again!

 

[Angel]

And we have to see if the bus services and the hiring of bus staff were the responsibility of the public schools or the deaf schools before we assign blame.

The rape occurred on a bus by the Louisiana School for the Deaf. It says "Pastorek has said that the reported assault began on the back seat of the bus and continued when the boy locked himself in the bus restroom with the girl.

A chaperone, who was a residential adviser at the school for one year, ignored or did not understand another student’s attempt to tell her about the rape while it was happening, Pastorek said.

After the incident, Pastorek fired the chaperone, who did not know sign language when she was hired, he has said."

Source

 

[shel90]

The rape occurred on a bus by the Louisiana School for the Deaf. It says "Pastorek has said that the reported assault began on the back seat of the bus and continued when the boy locked himself in the bus restroom with the girl.

A chaperone, who was a residential adviser at the school for one year, ignored or did not understand another student’s attempt to tell her about the rape while it was happening, Pastorek said.

After the incident, Pastorek fired the chaperone, who did not know sign language when she was hired, he has said."

Source

Glad that woman was fired. It showed that the school took action but why did the school hire her if she didnt know sign language? Strange!

 

[jillio]

Glad that woman was fired. It showed that the school took action but why did the school hire her if she didnt know sign language? Strange![/QUOTE]

Agreed. She was supposed to be chaperoning, but could not even communicate with the students. That sounds negligent to me.

 

[faire_jour]

My daughter recently attended a summer camp at our residental school for the Deaf. We stayed in the dorms. The dorm workers did not know sign and were unable to understand the speech of the deaf children who used spoken language. I have no idea how these kids are supposed to communicate with the adults.

As for the sexual abuse,as a parent my number one concern is the availablity of alone time with adults (which is significantly increased by living in the dorms) and mixed age groups. The rape could only take place at a Deaf school (or private school) because a mainstream school would not have a six year old and 16 year old on the same bus. They would be seperated.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

My daughter recently attended a summer camp at our residental school for the Deaf. We stayed in the dorms. The dorm workers did not know sign and were unable to understand the speech of the deaf children who used spoken language. I have no idea how these kids are supposed to communicate with the adults.

As for the sexual abuse,as a parent my number one concern is the availablity of alone time with adults (which is significantly increased by living in the dorms) and mixed age groups. The rape could only take place at a Deaf school (or private school) because a mainstream school would not have a six year old and 16 year old on the same bus. The would be seperated.

Not necessarily. I was bussed to a mainstreamed school and the age range of the kids on the bus was anywhere from 3 yrs old to teen or even adulthood. Some of the schools for developmental delays took kids until their 21st birthday. Likewise, alot of the kids started school very early; some as young as 2-3 yrs old.

Sexual abuse can happen anywhere, however.

 

[faire_jour]

Not necessarily. I was bussed to a mainstreamed school and the age range of the kids on the bus was anywhere from 3 yrs old to teen or even adulthood. Some of the schools for developmental delays took kids until their 21st birthday. Likewise, alot of the kids started school very early; some as young as 2-3 yrs old.

Sexual abuse can happen anywhere, however.

By mainstream school I mean the neighborhood school that the child would attend if they had been born hearing. In my experience, high school kids and elementary children are not bussed together.

 

[shel90]

School Bus Aide Accused Of Sexual Abuse - Topix




Williston school bus driver charged with sexual abuse of child... | KXNet.com North Dakota News

School bus aide charged with sexual abuse

News uncovers 225 more cases of school bus abuse

The City Education Department hid 225 complaints of abuse aboard public school buses to keep the numbers down, a Daily News investigation found.

Bus Driver Is Charged With Sexual Abuse - New York Times

It happens all over the place not just at Deaf schools.

 

[Buffalo]

Yes but a deaf program in the home district would not be a mainstreamed program.

There would be very few deaf students in a home district. How would it works for a 6 years old deaf boy and a 17 years old girl?? Day school for the Deaf would be possible in a very large city but not in smaller cities or towns. Hence, that is why I support a state school for the Deaf but I want to see big improvement in the quality of education

 

[deafdyke]

Pastorek has said that the reported assault began on the back seat of the bus and continued when the boy locked himself in the bus restroom with the girl.

A chaperone, who was a residential adviser at the school for one year, ignored or did not understand another student’s attempt to tell her about the rape while it was happening, Pastorek said.

After the incident, Pastorek fired the chaperone, who did not know sign language when she was hired, he has said."

Yes, this is not nessarily a "deaf school" thing......There was a case in NJ involving an MR girl being raped by a bunch of jocks with a broom and a bat.
Also, it's possible that the reason why "deaf school" assualts may seem more common is b/c kids tend to go to deaf schools as a last resort sort of thing.
Some of the worse off deaf schools may have a lot of very emotionally disturbed students.....I know that the case at the Washington School for the Deaf involved one very emotionally distrubed offender.

 

[Buffalo]

The problem with student residental facilities is that it encourages experiments in same-sex relationships.

That is why my alma mater has three separate recreation rooms for the boys where they can play. One for little boys and another for grade boys and yet another for the high school boys. Ditto for dorms. Us girls were stuck with one big recreation room (from little girls to high school girls) but it is different when it comes to dorms. I found out why when my classmate complained to the principal about this as it was hard to do our homeworks when little girls are running around the room. It is to prevent the homosexuality acts from high school boys down to the grade boys. The staff aren't the problem, it is the student on student. I once asked an openly gay classmate when we were in college about this. I asked him point-blank if the high school caused him to be gay or his hometown. He told me it is mostly his hometown.

 

[dreama]

I'm all for deaf schools. I wish I'd gone to one.

The problem with student residental facilities is that it encourages experiments in same-sex relationships.

talking about same sex relationships. My first experience with that was at the oral only partial hearing unit I went to which was a day school. So I don't think that these things can happen in any setting really.

 

[Bottesini]

There would be very few deaf students in a home district. How would it works for a 6 years old deaf boy and a 17 years old girl?? Day school for the Deaf would be possible in a very large city but not in smaller cities or towns. Hence, that is why I support a state school for the Deaf but I want to see big improvement in the quality of education

I live in a moderate sized city, and our public schools do have a good self-contained deaf program with magnet schools for different grades.

 

[dreama]

source

But does it specifically say they were at a deaf school when it happened?

I had a really bad experience at mainstream school. I got a letter supposedly from this boy I had fancied telling me to come to his home and take all my clothes off. I would have gone too but my parents wouldn't let me. It turned out that it was all a hoax. I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd gone.

Same group of boys more or less drove me out of that school as the bullying got so bad.

 

[jillio]

School Bus Aide Accused Of Sexual Abuse - Topix




Williston school bus driver charged with sexual abuse of child... | KXNet.com North Dakota News

School bus aide charged with sexual abuse

News uncovers 225 more cases of school bus abuse

The City Education Department hid 225 complaints of abuse aboard public school buses to keep the numbers down, a Daily News investigation found.

Bus Driver Is Charged With Sexual Abuse - New York Times

It happens all over the place not just at Deaf schools.

Thanks for the links, Shel.

 

[Oceanbreeze]

But does it specifically say they were at a deaf school when it happened?

I had a really bad experience at mainstream school. I got a letter supposedly from this boy I had fancied telling me to come to his home and take all my clothes off. I would have gone too but my parents wouldn't let me. It turned out that it was all a hoax. I shudder to think what would have happened if I'd gone.

Same group of boys more or less drove me out of that school as the bullying got so bad.

I also had an experience in a mainstream HS adapted PE class that at best can only be described as sexual harrassment. At worst, I shudder to think what could have taken place had a teacher not walked in the room when she did.

I'm sure sexual abuse happens in deaf schools, but it can and does happen in the mainstream as well.

 

[web730]

No way to shut down deaf schools at least most of them!

Believe that few of them will be shut down only on those where there has some serious attendance shrinking in the near future. (aka Montana and such)(money reasons, too)

In my time sexual abuse wasn't as high as Angel claimed with a source link. It was roughly 20% or so back then.

But nowadays it's probably bit higher, I'm mere sure yet like others said that it is in fact becoming more common everywhere outside deaf school (hearing & mainstream schools), anyway. Except for those few deaf schools I think they need to revamp their dorm staffs to ensure to protect the students from.

Also to stress more BiBi education on every deaf and other schools as well. More deaf staff yet also keep several good hearing staff.

Tousi, I like what California did (last summer) so hope other states beside Florida will follow up making it their new state law, too.

Boy, I had lot of great memories at ISD and am so thankful for that except that I wish we had some better early intervention back then although ISD improves that part now.

I experienced no such discrimination, great social life, great sports, good education, etc at ISD. Believe I would be much better off going there instead of attending local schools in a small city. Mom offered me the choice after returning back to Indiana as a pre-teen so I chose ISD.

Also what I learned some from FSDB via teacher/staff friends that they said they realized how beneficial it helps financially to have both deaf and blind at a residential school. It may help some smaller deaf schools which may need that to prevent a possible shutdown.

 

[Royale]

Yes but a deaf program in the home district would not be a mainstreamed program.

But will the school boards hire qualified and certified DEAF teachers? It is always imperative to have them as role models and peer supporters for the Deaf children.