By
Tara Smith
July 25,
2014
The
Impact of Education on Deaf Culture
There are a
tremendous amount of questions that surround Deaf history and
education – focusing specifically on what will best serve
individuals and the Deaf community as a whole. Noted by Mowry,
“Current educational policies do not take into account the important
role of the Deaf community and culture in enhancing Deaf people’s
lives” (Mowry, 1994, p. 647). A significant way to be involved in
the community and having access to the “Deaf Way” comes with
exposure. If students are being mainstreamed and not able to connect
with other individuals who are Deaf, students are unable to foster
growth and emotional wellbeing (Mowry, 1994). Here I will examine a
few areas of Deaf Culture and education, first looking back in
history at the Gallaudet University uprising, to the impact a
child’s education has into access to “Deafhood.” Taking a step back,
we will take a brief look into this area in Italy and take into
account where we are now with education in the United States.
In the 1960s, the
Gallaudet University uprising occurred. As an institution dedicated
to providing a higher education of people either Deaf or hard of
hearing there was an uproar because they had not been led by a Deaf
president, since the institution was founded back in the year of
1864 (Fleischer & Zames, 2011). As this change came into place, it
was acknowledged that it was essential to having a Deaf president in
the educational system to show that Deaf people are leading
themselves. This moment in history established a foundation for
future movements (Fleischer & Zames, 2011).
Looking at the
changes in the education of Deaf children, we can see Marcia
Bernstein’s experiences to understand the evolution of modern
education. She first taught Deaf children from kindergarten to high
school in Manhattan during the mid-sixties and later in the Bronx in
the late sixties. At this time, Oralism was the main teaching method
used at this time and she shared that she felt swayed into thinking
that sign language was “bad” for Deaf children (Fleischer & Zames,
2011). She left and later returned in the late seventies, finding
that the method changed to “total communication.” In her experience
she struggled with seeing this as being helpful for the students
because of the profound differences in English and ASL. Research
indicated that Deaf children of Deaf parents were able to better
understand the concepts of language and grammar in comparison to
children with hearing parents. After this was discovered, ASL became
a tool used more often and fundamental in the education of Deaf
children (Fleischer & Zames, 2011). As this change took place within
the school systems, there was an impact on the education system and
an ability to create an environment to aid in the development of an
individual being apart of Deaf Culture.
Paddy Ladd notes that
sign language users have opportunities to create communities to
celebrate a cultural and linguistic environment. This is an area of
both pride and comfort as noted by being able to adapt from one sign
language to another and have a global way of communicating (Ladd,
2003). When looking at the education system for the Deaf, there are
many different programs implemented. Residential programs are more
than a school where many children who are Deaf attend school. They
are a place to foster the language of the Deaf community as a whole.
Here the language of ASL is shared throughout multiple generations.
Individuals in this system who are raised by Deaf parents become
role models both culturally and linguistically for Deaf individuals
who have hearing parents. Once they have been apart of this
community the individuals are involved in Deaf Culture in a new way
unlike they could be exposed to at home (Supalla, 1994). It is
fascinating to note that throughout much of history of Deaf
education we see that ASL has been greatly oppressed as a language
which often is due to misconceptions about the language itself and
the area of bilingualism overall (Supalla, 1994). Without providing
opportunities in the classroom setting to utilize ASL, the
consequences demonstrate that individuals struggle to acquire ASL as
their first language. Beyond this issue is that as children are
mainstreamed in a school setting, they may not gain access to ASL at
all. There are many aspects that need attention in the school
systems of Deaf children to provide opportunity for ASL exposure and
opportunity (Supalla, 1994).
Deaf schools allow
newly Deaf entering children to become accustomed to Deaf norms,
traditions and values that will then be able to be passed down to
the following generations (Ladd, 2003). In contrast to the United
States, Italian families are provided with the choice to send their
child to a residential school or to a hearing school. If the family
chooses to send their student to a hearing school they do not
receive opportunity to learn sign language or to know other Deaf
people (Corazza, 1994). From looking at perspectives in the US and
in Italy, there seems to be much concern in the way the impact of
attending a hearing school will have on individuals being apart of
Deaf Culture and opportunity to be apart of the Deaf community.
There are varied
opinions in the way schools are set up and what the education inside
the system exactly looks like from the literature. Where do we go
from here with all of the concerns and questions that arise when
looking at Deaf Culture and education? One proposed model addresses
educating Deaf children focuses on using ASL for instruction within
the classroom and teaching English through reading and writing as a
separate language. This program was presented as being preschool
through high school. There are guiding principles outlined in the
program from family support to providing educational opportunities
to enable the students to learn the same curriculum as their hearing
peers (Johnson, Liddell & Erting, 1994).
In a study that
examined the social networks of Deaf students, two groups of
individuals were looked at. The social networks of high school
students in a residential setting and those in a mainstream setting
were the concentration areas for the study (Mowry, 1994). With many
Deaf people born into hearing families, it is essential to have a
community in which Deaf people can learn about Deaf Culture. As we
have seen, the educational background for each individual can vary,
with unstable opportunities to gain access to the Deaf community (Mowry,
1994). The study found that both groups of Deaf students showed
comparable proportions of the social networks, favoring friends as
their number one supporters. The differences that the survey showed
included the number of friends also being Deaf showing higher for
the group in a residential school verses mainstreamed. Along with
this was a higher involvement in Deaf organizations for social
activities (Mowry, 1994). As the education systems continue to
change in the United States, it would be imperative to understand
the impact these changes have had and will continue to have on Deaf
Culture.
References
Corazza, S. (1994).
The history of sign language in italian education of the deaf. The
deaf way: perspectives from the international conference on deaf
culture. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
Fleischer, D., &
Zames, F. (2011). The disabilities rights movement (ed.).
Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Johnson, R.,
Liddell, S., & Erting, C. (1994). A brief overview of "unlocking the
curriculum".The deaf way: perspectives from the international
conference on deaf culture. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet
University Press.
Ladd, P. (2003). Understanding
deaf culture in search of deafhood. Clevedon, England:
Multilingual Matters.
Mowry, R. (1994).
What deaf high school seniors tell us about their social networks. The
deaf way: perspectives from the international conference on deaf
culture. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University Press.
Supalla, S. (1994).
Equality in educational opportunities: the deaf version. The deaf
way: perspectives from the international conference on deaf culture.
Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet University
Press.
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