Thomas Gallaudet Research Paper

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Thomas Gallaudet was a young healthy man. He had family In Connecticut and in 1814, he decided to go visit them and noticed that his younger siblings where leaving a girl out. He decided to go see why, he found that this young girl, Alice Cogswell was deaf. Him not knowing sign language tried to communicate with her by writing in the dirt. He was wearing a hat and so he decided to point to his hat and write H-A-T. She understood, which the inspired him to teach her more. Alice’s father, Mason Cogswell who was a doctor, paid for Gallaudet to travel to europe. Europe was one of the few places where the idea of a school for deaf children had be established. Thomas traveled to England 1st and met with the Brainwood family who ran a school for deaf students. At this school they were expected to master lip reading and speech. When Gallaudet tried to figure out and get pointers on how they taught, they refused to help him because he couldn't pay them. Thomas wasn’t satisfied with the oral method they were using. While he was in England, he met Abbe Sicard. Abbe Sicard was the director of the institute Royal desSounds in Paris, France. Thats where he met Laurent Clerc and Jean Massieu. They were well educated. He went to France with them. During this part of his …show more content…

On their journey back to america from France, Clerc taught Gallaudet sign language and Gallaudet taught Clerc english. With both their minds together, the established The american school for the deaf in 1817.Clerc became the 1st deaf teacher for deaf students in the United states. Gallaudet later married one of the Graduates named Sophia Fowler. They had 8 kids and the youngest one, named Edward Miner Gallaudet, When edward was 20 he traveled to Washington D.C to run a school for deaf kids. Seven years year Abraham Lincoln signed the charter to establish a national college for deaf students . Gallaudet was named in honor of Thomas

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