The Gallaudet School for the Deaf is a school where deaf and hard of hearing people can go to collage and get a degree. This school has been around for more than 100 years and has quite a history. Through the years, it has been recognized by Presidents and dignitaries.
The School was not originally formed for the benefit of the deaf students. In 1854, a man named Platt H. Skinner came to Washington DC with 5 deaf, orphaned students. Skinner tried to convince rich men to put money into a school for deaf children. In order to gain more money, he collected 11 more deaf students from their parents from the DC area. Unfortunately, Skinner was not focused on the best intentions for the children.
Amos Kendall was one of the men that Skinner had taken advantage of by accepting money that was supposed to be from the school. Mr. Kendall, after finding that Skinner was only using the children for his own advantage, took Skinner to court for an investigation. After they found Skinner was guilty, the 11 children were returned to their parents and Amos Kendall took the 5 deaf, orphaned children under his own guardianship showing his love for the kids.
The school's leadership then realized the need for a school for the deaf. This is just like what our God does; He takes something that seems bad and turns it into good (Romans 8:28).
In February 1857, President Pierce signed a federal law which established the Columbia Institution which was to be a school for the deaf, the dumb and the blind. Two months later, in April 1857, Edward M. Gallaudet was appointed Superintendent of the school. At the age of 20, Gallaudet was appointed Superintendent of the Columbia Institution. Interestingly enough, he was not the first choice for the role of Superi...
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...s as all other colleges did. Female college students were admitted. Athletic programs were introduced.
As of today, Gallaudet college separates itself as one of the only higher education institutions that is focused on accommodating the deaf and hard of hearing. All of the programs and services at the school are specifically designed for these students.
The Gallaudet College has rightly earned a position of high regard. Though its beginnings were less than honest, the Lord moved other men to minister to a group of people who needed to be treated equally.
Amos Kendall should be remembered for his love for the students. Edward Galaudet – from the age of 20 – dedicated himself to the school and its students.
Works Cited
http://www.gallaudet.edu/about_gallaudet.html http://www.gallaudet.edu/a_historical_timeline.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/gallaudet_university
Gallaudet was Clerc's interpreter and Clerc gave many speeches. They spent the next seven months traveling throughout the east, from Boston to Philadephia. They also interviewed parents of deaf children. The first school was established at Hartford. It opened on April 15, 1817. Gall...
Alice Cogswell - The Beginning of American Deaf Education - Start ASL. (n.d.). Retrieved September 19, 2016, from https://www.start-american-sign-language.com/alice-cogswell_html
In the following chapters, there is an extensive amount of knowledge to learn about how Deaf culture is involved in our modern world. The pages assigned give us an outlook of how Deaf people are treated in our daily life, and how we should learn from it. Its gives a clear line between what are myths and what are facts, to those who are curious about the Deaf community or have specific questions. This book has definitely taught me new things that I could put to good use in the near future. In specific chapters, my mind really opened up to new ideas and made me think hard about questions, like “why don’t some Deaf people trust hearing people,” or “do we need another ‘Deaf president now’ revolution?” I realized many new things in the course of reading this book, and have recommended this to my family.
Throughout the ITP program and the lower level ASL classes the name Gallaudet is driven into our heads. We know of the University named after him and how he was the man to bring education to the Deaf in America. What was not before mentioned is that there were two Gallaudets. The first thing I learned from this book is the importance of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and his son Edward Miner Gallaudet. I fact I had believed for some time now that E.M. Gallaudet was this extraordinary man that everyone loved and the named a university after him. It is unfortunate that this was not made clearer in the past. Now all I see is a man who took the only path that he knew how to take.
Years later in 1969 there was another act to create a Model Secondary School for the Deaf and it was established that same year. Today both schools are part of Gallaudet’s Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, which is designed to spread educational opportunities for deaf students nationwide.
Overall, the eugenics movement was meant to discourage Deaf people from socializing, intermarrying, and reproducing with each other. But these goals are very much unachievable. When Deaf children are growing up in a residential school, they have no choice but to socialize with other Deaf children. Since they all pretty much use the same language, socialization is not a problem for them. Because these children grow up with others who use their language, they tend to remain close to their friends and often intermarry. Many people, including A. G. Bell, were opposed to Deaf marrying other Deaf. Bell said that sign language "causes the intermarriage of deaf-mutes and the propagation of their physical defect" (Lane, 1996:382). Bell also claimed that society was condoning the spread of "a defective race of human beings" by allowing Deaf people to socialize with each other (Jankowski, 1997:53). Since others too saw deafness as a physical defect, they agreed with Bell and started adopting oral schools for the Deaf where signed language is prohibited. If oral schools ended up being the only schools for Deaf, then their signed languages would have diminished along with a part of their heritage and culture. A long time ago, m...
...azing life stories as a deaf family successfully living on the frontier. In 1880 Edmund was asked to be the first president of the National Association of the Deaf. Edmund declined stating this role could be better served by a younger person. Edmund continued his strong bond with the deaf community. Whenever he would hear of a new deaf family moving into the area, he would go out of his way to find and meet them, and welcome them to the deaf community. Edmund Booth advocated for deaf rights, especially for school children, to the end of his long amazing life in 1905, at the age of 90.
“It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was as I lay in my crib at the close of that eventful day and lived over the joys it had brought me, and for the first time longed for a new day to come. I had now the key to all language, and I was eager to learn to use it” (Keller 146). The ability to actually comprehend words and associate those words to thoughts and feelings rejuvenated her. Keller was reborn that day, with a new ‘vision’ and a new direction. What started that day, culminated into Keller becoming the first deaf person to earn a bachelors degree.
...eople of all over were coming together and making a difference, including in the hearing world too. The hearing president resigned, so a deaf president was elected for the university. Deaf pride surged through the entire world as the deaf community had been noticed, and acknowledged, worldwide.
With the deaf community having a signed language that is natural and practical to them, they were able to learn and communicate with others. So it boggles my mind to have someone like Alexander Graham Bell, who had a deaf mother and wife, and a Scottish immigrant would want to stifle and change the deaf community to fit in with everyone and not have the tools to make them who they are. I see it as Bell saying that you cannot get anywhere in life by being different yet Bell was different himself. Having them
While the benefits for the hearing are great, there are better benefits for those who are Deaf. Jarashow stated that it was essentially frowned upon if a Deaf child was using sign instead of trying to use what ability they had to hear. This seems counterproductive and if they emphasized more on teaching Deaf children ASL, there would be better outcomes for them in the future. Instead of focusing on trying to make everyone the same, they should focus on giving these children the best opportunity possible despite their
Deaf President Now is the protest movement that happened in 1988. This protest was labeled as the “ Civil Rights Movement of the Deaf.” The DPN movement was and still is a huge monumental mark at Gaulladet. Leaders and supporters of the Deaf community urged the Board Of Trustees to elect the first deaf president.What really enraged the students is the message behind the board’s selection “ no deaf person was qualified enough to head their own school.” Spilman also stated “Deaf people aren’t able to function in a hearing world.” On March 6,1988 is when it all began.
...people making decisions for the deaf community. The past resulted in the strengthening of unity in the culture. “They claim the right to “personal diversity”, which is “something to be cherished rather than fixed and erased” (Tucker, 1997).
The Gallaudet School of the Deaf is a University in Washington D.C. The school was first intended for the deaf and the blind. Mason Cogswell had a daughter, Alice, who was deaf. He, like any father, was worried about her education since she could not learn like normal children. Cogswell found out that in England Thomas Braidwood had started a deaf school, so he sent the most trusted person he knew to investigate the school. He convinced his neighbor and member of his intellectual circle, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, to go to England and check it out. Thomas Gallaudet was a known genius. He was a reverend who started Yale University at fourteen. Three years later, at age seventeen, he graduated first in his class. Gallaudet was pleased with his findings and came back with a companion the two started the first school for the deaf, the American School for the Deaf. Alice was the first student and the school still educates today.
So today, I have shared with you my journey in deafness. Being deaf can be hard, but it is not the end of the world. I can do what anyone else can do such as talk, play sports and hang out with friends. Every person’s journey is different. For me the key to success is perseverance.