Aisha Pereira 1

American Sign Language Barbara Koch Deaf Children in Public Schooling October 29, 20 !

"hen #arents ha$e a child the% ha$e man% choice to ma&e on ho' to raise that child, but 'hen the child is deaf or hard of hearing the% ha$e e$en more decisions to ma&e ()he% could* get the child im#lanted 'ith a Cochlear im#lant and mainstream them as if the% are no different than a hearing child, ha$e the entire famil% learn ASL and become integrated into deaf culture, as 'ell as man% other o#tions( Another ma+or decision that the famil% of a deaf child has to ma&e is the decision of ho' to educate the child( )he% could home school them

Aisha Pereira 2 as man% families of hearing and deaf children do, or the famil% could find the closest school for the deaf, and lastl% the% could enroll the child in #ublic school( )hese decisions are not eas% to ma&e and most #arents are not #re#ared to e$en thin& about them until the% ha$e a child and doctor tells them that the bab% failed the hearing test( ,t is the famil%-s +ob to decide ho' that child 'ill communicate 'ith the 'orld, 'hether the% 'ill be strictl% oral, a mi.ture of both oral and signing or ASL alone( /rom there, the ne.t choice is schooling and there are man% different factors that can #la% into 'here and ho' to educate their deaf child( Some of the factors are sim#l% choices that the #arents ha$e to ma&e and others are things li&e* ho' oral the child is, the child #ersonalit% and learning st%le, as 'ell as 'hat t%#e of sign if an% the% 'ill be using( )here are t'o ma+orl% acce#ted #aths for deaf students in #ublic schools, the first being mainstreaming( )his method is 'hen a deaf or hard of hearing child ,s #laced in a #ublic school in a regular class 'ith hearing children, 'ith the assistance of an inter#reter, note0ta&er or other ser$ice to hel# them 1Ber&e2( 3an% #eo#le #refer this 'a% of educating because the% don-t 'ant the child to feel that the% are that different, and +ust 'ant them to go to a regular school 'ith regular students( 4o'e$er most of the time in this method, the student 'ould still ha$e to ta&e s#ecial education courses 'ith s#eciall% trained instructors for a least #art of their da%, and because of this the student ma% feel isolated and #erha#s not be as integrated sociall% as their #eers( 5(((deaf #u#ils 'ere significantl% more li&el% to be neglected b% their #eers and less li&el% to ha$e a friend in the classroom617unes2( Although, this is not to sa% that deaf students are al'a%s isolated and al'a%s struggle to ma&e social connections, but it is more li&el% to ha##en and if it does then there is a high chance that the students academic #erformance 'ill suffer because of it( 5,f deaf #u#ils are re+ected or feel isolated in mainstream schools, their education ma% ultimatel% suffer6 17unes2(

Aisha Pereira 3 )he second #ath that is used 'hen a deaf student is enrolled into a #ublic school is called inclusion or a 5center6 #rogram( )his method is different from mainstreaming in the 'a% that, the deaf student is into #laced in a regular classroom for hearing students and e.#ected to ada#t( ,nstead the% are #ut in a class 'ith onl% student such as themsel$es, 'ith s#ecial instructions and curriculum designed for deaf or hard of hearing students( 5(((center #rogram functions li&e a regional educational #rogram for the deaf, bringing together deaf students from all o$er a geogra#hical area6 1Ber&e2( )his hel#s the communit% sa$e mone%, because the% can ha$e the entire #rogram at a single school and ha$e the &ids from the area bussed to that #articular school, instead of ha$ing se#arate #rograms at each school that needs it(
Center

#rograms ma% be s#read out among different schools to accommodate

communication needs 0 e(g(, one school ma% ha$e a total communication #rogram* another a cued s#eech #rogram, and a third an oral #rogram6 1Ber&e2( One ma+orl% #osti$e asc#ect of inclusion, is that if the student is in a #ublic school and is in a self contained classroom, the% can reall% get the full school e.#erience as 'ell as the education that the% re8uire( 5)his allo's the deaf and hard of hearing students to #artici#ate in an% of the school-s e.tracurricular acti$ities, such as s#orts or clubs619ducation O#tions2( ,n conclusion, being the #arent of a deaf or hard of hearing child in$ol$es man% hard decisions and none of them seem eas%, but there are man% o#tions and #laces to get hel# and information( 9ducating deaf students is a $er% contro$ersial to#ic and man% #eo#le ha$e strong o#inions on 'hat is the right 'a% to do it( 4o'e$er , don-t belie$e that there is onl% one 'a% to go about educating a deaf student or an% student for that matter, the right 'a%( 9$er% student deaf or hearing 'ill learn differentl% and react to different en$ironments in their o'n 'a%( )he onl% 'a% to ma&e the right choice id b% doing research and finding out 'hat 'ill 'or& best for each indi$idual child( Some children ma% learn and thri$e better in a deaf

Aisha Pereira 4 school, or being mainstreamed into a #ublic school( )here are so man% o#tions and decisions to ma&e that it #ossible to find the right 'a% for each student, it +ust ta&e some effort to find the right one for each student(

Works Cited
Ber&e,:amie( 53ainstreaming and Center Programs; Distric0"ide 9ducation of the Deaf(6 About(com; Deafness( Dec( 200<( )he 7e' =or& )imes Com#an%( 20 Oct( 20 !( htt#;>>deafness(about(com>cs>mainstreamcenter>a>mcenter(htm(

7unes, )(, ?( Pret@li&, and :( Olsson( 7(#(( "eb( 0 Oct 20 !( Ahtt#;>>'''(education(o.(ac(u&>ndcs>#a#ers>nunes#ret@li&andolssonBdeafsocial(#dfC( 3cDonough, 3(( 7(#(( "eb( Oct 20 !(

Ahtt#;>>life#rint(com>asl 0 >to#ics>mainstreaming0 (htmC( D9ducation O#tions for Children that are Deaf or 4ar of 4earing(D Signing Savvy( 7(#(, 2E A#r 20 2( "eb( E Oct 20 !( Ahtt#;>>'''(signingsa$$%(com>blog>F >9ducation O#tions for Children that are Deaf or 4ard of 4earingC(