164 education
Family support at school is important
Parents and families have a major role in the education of their deaf child.
Parents have experience they can share with the school to help teach
deaf children. Parents can also work with the community to make schools
better for deaf children. Schools with active parents’ groups can talk about
the educational and emotional needs of families with deaf children.
Such schools
are often
better schools.
As parents become
I am a little worried
because I have never had
a deaf child in my class,
Mrs. Gomez.
more aware of their
child’s right to education
and ability to learn, they
will themselves begin to make
demands on local schools.
Angela is a smart
girl. I know she’ll
do well here. And
I can teach you
some signs until
you find a deaf
person to teach
you and the class
how to sign.
Good schools prepare a child to make a living
Many parents worry about the future for their children who are deaf or
cannot hear well. How will they be able to earn a living and support
themselves and their families?
Some schools for the deaf train their students in vocational skills they can
use later to find a job or start a business. Both sewing and carpentry are
common trades taught in vocational programs. There are also training
courses that deaf children can go to after completing school, in computer
skills, motor repair, printing technology, accounting, cooking, agriculture,
and art. In fact, it is almost impossible to find a career in which a deaf
person has not excelled!
At a residential school for the deaf in Romania, the children come
from all over the country — sometimes from small villages more
than 200 kilometers away. The children spend 9
months of the year at school, so it becomes a
second home for them.
At school everyone uses hearing aids, learns speech
and lip reading, and is taught to work with clay
to make pottery. Many of the children leave the
school when they are 14 years old and later earn
their living as skilled potters.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)