Deaf Education

The American School for the Deaf was the first school dedicated to the education of Deaf children in the United States. Opened in 1817, the school used sign language to educate its students in the manual method, many of whom went on to found schools for the Deaf across the United States. There are now several options for Deaf education: Attend a school for the Deaf where ASL is used, attend an oral school where the goal is to teach students how to speak, or be mainstreamed, in which case a Deaf student attends a local public school. Each option has its ideological supporters and opponents who believe one form of educating the Deaf to be better than another, leading to much controversy.

Schools for the Deaf are environments in which students, teachers, and support staff such as principals, counselors, and coaches generally use American Sign Language. Because there is usually only one school for the Deaf in each state, students stay at school during the week and return home on weekends and vacations. Many Deaf students enjoy all-Deaf sports teams, Deaf teachers and administrators, and having equal access to information and activities where Deaf is normal.

In many ways, a school for the Deaf is exactly like a hearing school except that students learn and communicate in ASL. Schools for the Deaf have student dances and proms, sports programs that compete against Deaf and hearing teams, and extracurricular activities like journalism, web design, and other social opportunities. The California School for the Deaf in Fermont even has a program where students study and then visit foreign countries like China. Each school strives to educate its Deaf students to be active members of society, just like schools for hearing individuals.

Oral schools believe that deaf people must learn to listen and speak in order to function in the “hearing world” and thus rarely allow students to use sign language. Many years ago oral education used harsh methods to prevent students from signing, though attitudes have greatly changed since then. Oral schools tend to be small and private, with most programs serving students from kindergarten through elementary school, at which point students enter a school for the Deaf or a public school.

Learning to speak when you cannot hear yourself is a long and laborious process that requires much one-on-one instruction and support. With technological support such as hearing aids and FM systems, oral schools strive to train its deaf students to speak and “listen” by lip-reading. As you can see the manual and oral methods of deaf education are completely different philosophies.

The third option for Deaf education is to be mainstreamed, meaning a Deaf students attends a local public school. If there are several Deaf students at the school, they may have their own teacher of the Deaf in a separate classroom, or may take the same classes as hearing students with an interpreter who provides access to the information.