Teachers of the deaf "have poorer language skills" than their pupils

[rockin'robin]

DEAF children are the only pupils in Scottish schools being taught by teachers with poorer communication skills than their own, Holyrood's education committee has heard.


Currently, teachers who support deaf pupils only have to achieve the most basic levels of British Sign Language (BSL) before being allowed into the classroom.

Colin Spivey, team leader with the Scottish Government's learning directorate, told the committee there were no plans to increase qualification levels because it was preferable to expand the available pool of teachers rather than introducing "constraints".

But Stewart Maxwell, an SNP MSP and convener of the education committee, told Mr Spivey he was "rather taken aback by that comment".

He said: "I cannot think of any other subject where we would accept that the teacher was less able than the pupil in terms of their ability to communicate with each other.

"I cannot think of a parent anywhere in Scotland who would find it acceptable that their child was more able than their teacher within the public sector education system.

"The idea that somehow it is placing a constraint on the recruitment of teachers by making sure they are adequately qualified to teach those children seems to be a bizarre statement to have made."



"The idea that somehow it is placing a constraint on the recruitment of teachers by making sure they are adequately qualified to teach those children seems to be a bizarre statement to have made."

However, Mr Spivey said the Scottish Government were not "hearing noises from the system" that there were insufficient qualified teachers.

He said: "There is no evidence coming back through the system, either through inspection or through what we are hearing centrally from local authorities, that there is a shortage of teachers.

"However, clearly the numbers have gone down and we need to understand whether that is because there is less demand or there is a real impact that needs to be looked at."

The committee also discussed concerns that too many deaf and blind pupils were being pushed into college courses after leaving school rather than securing a job or going on to higher education.

Mr Maxwell said: "It does, at the very least, concern me slightly that there is the risk that young people with a sensory impairment have been put into college courses for the wrong reasons... and have been circulating in the college sector rather than getting on and getting out into the world of work."

Dr Alasdair Allan, Minister for Learning, Science and Scotland's Languages, told the committee he accepted pupils with sensory issues were over-represented in the college sector, but added: "They have done very well in that sector."

http://www.heraldscotland.com/mobil...r-language-skills-than-their-pupils.127209344

 

[deafdyke]

Why not send the kids to Donaldson's or Mary Hare? Again this does not surprise me. Pro mainstreamers are assuming that a) mainstream schools are better then they are and b) that there will be adaquate safety net provisons in place. The safety net is NONEXISTENT in the mainstream...... there are some good exceptions but overall....
As for being shipped off to college......that's a symptom of the problem. If they'd been properly educated at Deaf Schools or blind schools, they wouldn't need it... Maybe the mainstream isn't as good as people would have it!

 

[Bebonang]

I don't like having the Teachers Of the Deaf being criticized as "having poor language skills than their Deaf pupils".

It look like they are trying to put the Teachers Of the Deaf to blame for their language skills. The hearing boards want the d/Deaf students to be put into the mainstream schools. That is uncalled for to discriminate against TOD. The TOD are trying to teach the Deaf students to learn on the subjects they need in order to go to college or to the training schools for jobs. Most of them go on to Gallaudet University and others go on to community college where they have ASL interpreters or if BSL in UK. We need them so that we can understand much better than hearing teachers who don't sign to communicate with us on the subjects that we need to learn.

So Deaf teachers stay in spite of what hearing people think. ASL or BSL is not the same like English language. But it help us go through what we can understand clearly enough to make out. I know it is about college for Deaf student to attend. There are Deaf professors at Gallaudet University. That is not the same (Deaf professors) as Teachers Of the Deaf.

I am upset over this label meaning that Teachers Of the Deaf are lower like they are nothing comparing to hearing teachers.

 

[Bottesini]

I don't like having the Teachers Of the Deaf being criticized as "having poor language skills than their Deaf pupils".

It look like they are trying to put the Teachers Of the Deaf to blame for their language skills. The hearing boards want the d/Deaf students to be put into the mainstream schools. That is uncalled for to discriminate against TOD. The TOD are trying to teach the Deaf students to learn on the subjects they need in order to go to college or to the training schools for jobs. Most of them go on to Gallaudet University and others go on to community college where they have ASL interpreters or if BSL in UK. We need them so that we can understand much better than hearing teachers who don't sign to communicate with us on the subjects that we need to learn.

So Deaf teachers stay in spite of what hearing people think. ASL or BSL is not the same like English language. But it help us go through what we can understand clearly enough to make out. I know it is about college for Deaf student to attend. There are Deaf professors at Gallaudet University. That is not the same (Deaf professors) as Teachers Of the Deaf.

I am upset over this label meaning that Teachers Of the Deaf are lower like they are nothing comparing to hearing teachers.

No. It means the teachers of the deaf are hearing people with poor signing skills.

 

[rockin'robin]

I don't like having the Teachers Of the Deaf being criticized as "having poor language skills than their Deaf pupils".

It look like they are trying to put the Teachers Of the Deaf to blame for their language skills. The hearing boards want the d/Deaf students to be put into the mainstream schools. That is uncalled for to discriminate against TOD. The TOD are trying to teach the Deaf students to learn on the subjects they need in order to go to college or to the training schools for jobs. Most of them go on to Gallaudet University and others go on to community college where they have ASL interpreters or if BSL in UK. We need them so that we can understand much better than hearing teachers who don't sign to communicate with us on the subjects that we need to learn.

So Deaf teachers stay in spite of what hearing people think. ASL or BSL is not the same like English language. But it help us go through what we can understand clearly enough to make out. I know it is about college for Deaf student to attend. There are Deaf professors at Gallaudet University. That is not the same (Deaf professors) as Teachers Of the Deaf.

I am upset over this label meaning that Teachers Of the Deaf are lower like they are nothing comparing to hearing teachers.

You have again misunderstood the article.

 

[Reba]

I don't like having the Teachers Of the Deaf being criticized as "having poor language skills than their Deaf pupils".

It look like they are trying to put the Teachers Of the Deaf to blame for their language skills. The hearing boards want the d/Deaf students to be put into the mainstream schools. That is uncalled for to discriminate against TOD. The TOD are trying to teach the Deaf students to learn on the subjects they need in order to go to college or to the training schools for jobs. Most of them go on to Gallaudet University and others go on to community college where they have ASL interpreters or if BSL in UK. We need them so that we can understand much better than hearing teachers who don't sign to communicate with us on the subjects that we need to learn.

So Deaf teachers stay in spite of what hearing people think. ASL or BSL is not the same like English language. But it help us go through what we can understand clearly enough to make out. I know it is about college for Deaf student to attend. There are Deaf professors at Gallaudet University. That is not the same (Deaf professors) as Teachers Of the Deaf.

I am upset over this label meaning that Teachers Of the Deaf are lower like they are nothing comparing to hearing teachers.

Teachers of the Deaf in mainstream schools usually are hearing. This is the key sentence:

"Currently, teachers who support deaf pupils only have to achieve the most basic levels of British Sign Language (BSL) before being allowed into the classroom."

That means, the teachers are not fluent in BSL, yet they're allowed to teach deaf students.

It's the students who are deaf, not the teachers.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Teachers of the Deaf in mainstream schools usually are hearing. This is the key sentence:

"Currently, teachers who support deaf pupils only have to achieve the most basic levels of British Sign Language (BSL) before being allowed into the classroom."

That means, the teachers are not fluent in BSL, yet they're allowed to teach deaf students.

It's the students who are deaf, not the teachers.

This give deaf students the messages that they're not worth the time or money to get the education they're entitled to. So nothing has really change in any country since I went to school.

 

[Bebonang]

Okay, I misunderstood. I thought that the Teachers of the Deaf is for the Deaf teachers in Deaf schools. For mainstream schools, we called them Special Education Teachers, not TOD. Anyway, I am getting confused about the label of what to call them between hearing and Deaf teachers. I give up.

 

[whatdidyousay!]

Okay, I misunderstood. I thought that the Teachers of the Deaf is for the Deaf teachers in Deaf schools. For mainstream schools, we called them Special Education Teachers, not TOD. Anyway, I am getting confused about the label of what to call them between hearing and Deaf teachers. I give up.

This a Scottish school , so they use a difference title than we do. At least it not teachers for the 'deaf and dumb ' . Some countries still call deaf people 'dumb'' . GRRR!

 

[LoveBlue]

This a Scottish school , so they use a difference title than we do. At least it not teachers for the 'deaf and dumb ' . Some countries still call deaf people 'dumb'' . GRRR!

I think, and I could very well be wrong, that "dumb" was used for non-vocal/mute people. Still a bad name, but was not used for deaf specifically.