Education of the Deaf

Historical Background

Deaf people were of course a part of society in the United States and elsewhere long before the educational system recognized their existence. By happenstance, the education of the Deaf that was begun in the early 19th century by Thomas Gallaudet, a Hearing educator/minister, was influenced by the French and the French Sign Language used in the education of Deaf children in Paris. The major influence on both educational structure and American Sign Language was Laurent Clerc, a Deaf teacher who was working in the schools in Paris. Clerc and Gallaudet worked together to establish the first bona fide educational program for Deaf children in New England at the Hartford school, now called the American School for the Deaf (ASD).

The initial academic approach to educating Deaf children was founded on accessible language interaction. The language of instruction at the time was a combination of French Sign Language and the indigenous signed languages of the northeastern U.S. Deaf communities. Various children from different parts of New England brought what sign language they knew (from U.S. communities with substantial Deaf membership such as Martha's Vineyard) to ASD, and together with Clerc's influence, the American Sign Language (ASL) as we know it today was born. Similar to most of the spoken languages used in the United State, ASL has also been influenced by Western European spoken languages.

The influences on how Deaf children were to be educated included strong national forces that affected all schools. The role of the language of instruction and the content of the school's curriculum in the history of Deaf children has been at different times radically modified, rejected, reinsti–tuted, and is currently changing. In the early 1800s this discussion centered on changing the curriculum to emphasize whether skill in oral (spoken English) language should be the main outcome or whether a signed language should be the main carrier of content information. This discussion has continued into the 21st century. For over 100 years, the role of ASL as the language of instruction is still strongly debated in the field. The discussion of the role of language inside the education system is heavily influenced by factors such as: which language should be used in the classroom (ASL has typically been used outside of the classroom by Deaf children but not in the classroom by Hearing teachers), what is the main priority of education for Deaf children (spoken English or subject matter), and who (Deaf vs. Hearing teachers) should teach? Outside influences such as: changes in religious–based education to a more secular process (the Darwinian influence), the change in educational focus (from religion to training for the trades: the Industrial Revolution), the increased number of women in the teaching profession (change in status of the provision of education from male dominated to female dominated), to change in where Deaf children should be educated (Public Law 94–142, IDEA, in residential schools vs. regular Hearing schools), to the amazing increase in technological advances (TTY, video relay, cochlear implants, etc.) impacted Deaf children and Deaf adults everywhere. The various emerging opinions helped to begin the language controversy that continues today.

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