Founded by parents...providing excellence in education, one child at a time
School for the Deaf
32 Norway Street
Longmeadow, MA 01106
P. 413.567.0374
F. 413.567.8808
Click for Hours & Directions
32 Norway Street
Longmeadow, MA 01106
P. 413.567.0374
F. 413.567.8808
Contact Us / Directions
The Benefits of a Diversity of Teaching Methods
September 06, 2011 at 9:25 PM
The question, “Do states need schools for the deaf?” has recently been posed in the New York Times. The Times hosted a discussion in their chatroom which drew numerous postings about this question.
Many of the postings supported the need for schools for the deaf. A mainstreaming focus also had strong supporters. Some of the postings suggested that cochlear implants had effectively eliminated the need for specialized services. Others strongly supported the use of sign language in a specialized placement.
At the Willie Ross School for the Deaf we have learned that a diversity of methods in teaching the deaf, all working in harmony, is required to meet the educational needs of our even more diverse population of students.
The recent story in the Times has placed the emphasis on the method of “communication,” when the emphasis should be placed on “education.” The article fails to differentiate between the role of amplification, communication and education.
This controversy does point out that, once again, the education of the deaf and hard-of-hearing is being debated around communication and amplification issues. One would hope that in 2011 we would have moved past this. Among all of its negative implications, the notion that all deaf children are the same or should be educated in the same setting or that any particular setting should be encouraged over any other setting is outdated.
As educators, academic excellence should be our primary mission. We should be concentrating on how deaf and hard-of-hearing children learn best and what type of setting will maximize the opportunity for cognitive and intellectual growth.
In the long run, the great equalizer in our society between all populations is an education. Current research points to the importance and need for instruction by a teacher of the deaf for achieving the best academic outcomes. The current relentless pursuit of mainstreaming of all deaf and hard-of-hearing children should have us carefully consider the fact that deaf children would receive their primary instruction from a general education teacher. We should not advocate for integration at the expense of education.
At Willie Ross we believe that an incremental mainstreaming approach is the right service for some of our students who attend school alongside hearing peers at our Partnership Campus in the East Longmeadow public schools. For other students, the environment of our main campus is appropriate, where students learn in an environment designed exclusively for them. In both settings we offer both spoken language and a language of instruction that is spoken language and sign language.
The idea that models of instruction should be dominated by a particular methodology or a particular communication method is a historical artifact. We have found that the use of a singular methodology does not fully respond to the needs of our students.
We need to emphasize those individual needs of our students and to value all approaches in helping deaf children learn. And we need to end the discouragement of approaches and remove any prohibition that might interfere with a deaf or hard-of-hearing child receiving a full and complete education.
