Another reason why Deaf Schools aren't exactly high acheiving?

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deafdyke

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I was doing some research on this site: SchoolMatters - Home
A lot of the Deaf Schools have a very high economicly disadvantaged rate
Before I get accused of bashing a certain socioeconomic class, it IS a fact that kids who fall below the poverty line, do tend not to acheive academicly. That has been borne out with countless research. There wasn't info on all the deaf schools listed.....
Atlanta Area School for the Deaf has a 100% rate of ecnomicly disadvantaged students, as does Georgia and Indiana School for the Deaf (which is amazing considering it's a good deaf school)
Lousiniana School for the deaf has 87.4%, Arkansas has a high rate in the high school (92.7%) ..a bit lower in the elementary (79.6%) New Mexico School for the Deaf has 97.4%,
Gov Baxter and Oklahoma both have 67%, Kentucky has 52.3% and Idaho SDB has 56.7%
The lowest rate of ED population that I found was NY SSD at 40.2% and Delaware School for the Deaf at 44.3%
Those are really high numbers! I do think that part of the "oral sucesses" has to do with socioecnomic status. Look at the sites for Sunshine Cottage and Atlanta Speech School.....They specificly mention that their graduates go to public AND private schools....there's not a lot of poor people who can afford private schools. Not to mention there prolly aren't a lot of poor people who can afford to move near a good oral school or have really good health insurance or can fight for an oral placement.
And wouldn't it be SO ironic if it turned out that the poor dhh kids who ended up at deaf school got a better education then mainstream oral kids?
 
If this is a deafdyke thread, then it must be because the schools aren't in the suburbs.
 
deafdyke said:
...And wouldn't it be SO ironic if it turned out that the poor dhh kids who ended up at deaf school got a better education then mainstream oral kids?
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You did the research, so please let us know--did it turn out that the poor dhh kids who ended up at deaf school got a better education than the mainstream oral kids?
 
I foresee some fighting...... That thing I saw on the news about ESP being true... Me!!
 
Delaware School for the Deaf is in the suburbs...between "large" Wilmington and "small" Newark. Then again, most of Delaware is either suburbs or rural. :P
 
Actually, poverty does impact the academic achievement levels for all children, but there is a variable that is not being considered here. Most economically disadvantaged kids are hearing and they attend public school. The classrooms are overcrowded and there is not sufficient time to devote to single students. Additionally, an impoverished home is not likely to be one that accentuates a learning environment. Toys that help with development are not purchased, there are very few books or reading materials in the home, the parents are likely to be a high school drop out or barely graduated themselves and therefore, do not value or stress education, and do not encourage academic achievement in their children.

Of course this is not true for ALL economically challenged homes, but it is true for a majority of them.

When we use statistics to support a point, we have to use all of the variables that could have accounted for the findings and not just blame on thing. Don't look so much at the school as at everything in that child's environment. It all has an impact.
 
Before I get accused of bashing a certain socioeconomic class, it IS a fact that kids who fall below the poverty line, do tend not to acheive academicly. That has been borne out with countless research

I agree..it is a vicious cycle with many families, not just deaf children from hearing families.
 
LinuxGold said:
Did you go to DSD?
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No, I'm late-deafened (mid-30's). I've known about DSD for many, many, ... years because it is "close by". I just took my first ASL class there last night.

Did you go to DSD? Have you seen the new campus they're building?
 
shel90 said:
Before I get accused of bashing a certain socioeconomic class, it IS a fact that kids who fall below the poverty line, do tend not to acheive academicly. That has been borne out with countless research

I agree..it is a vicious cycle with many families, not just deaf children from hearing families.
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Absolutely.
 
shel90 said:
Before I get accused of bashing a certain socioeconomic class, it IS a fact that kids who fall below the poverty line, do tend not to acheive academicly. That has been borne out with countless research

I agree..it is a vicious cycle with many families, not just deaf children from hearing families.
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Yep, I agree with that and it same all over the world. There loads of stuff about this in UK education news, much more than usual, they are trying to close that gap between rich and poor in education.

Also they say gap started before kids go to school for first time. It about resources parents got at home to teach kids basics like letters and numbers, colours and objects, etc.
 
Speedy Hawk said:
Yep, I agree with that and it same all over the world. There loads of stuff about this in UK education news, much more than usual, they are trying to close that gap between rich and poor in education.

Also they say gap started before kids go to school for first time. It about resources parents got at home to teach kids basics like letters and numbers, colours and objects, etc.
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Exactly. Kids in the lower socioeconomic groups start out with a strike against them. If that child also happens to be deaf.....well, you know what the effect is.
 
What lower SES hearing kids and hoh/deaf kids have in common is a lack of appropriate role models with whom they can identify. How can these kids know what's possible when they don't see someone like them achieve it?
 
sallylou said:
What lower SES hearing kids and hoh/deaf kids have in common is a lack of appropriate role models with whom they can identify. How can these kids know what's possible when they don't see someone like them achieve it?
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Quite true, sallylou. Another good reason to send a child to a deaf school where they have successful deaf role models available every day.
 
jillio said:
Quite true, sallylou. Another good reason to send a child to a deaf school where they have successful deaf role models available every day.
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There are overlaps in terms of role models. Different people are role models to different people in different ways. Just cause a child is deaf doesn't automatically mean that only other deaf people could be role models for them. Even some hearing adults could still be role models for little deaf children in their own way. Or vice versa, even some deaf adults could be role models for little hearing children and so forth. It doesn't necessarily only have to be an one way street nor does the role modeling have to be based just on a "deaf to deaf" or on the "amount of hearing they have" basis.
 
I appreciate what you wrote but once again, I do think there's couple different perspectives going on here.
I think - because of the history of deaf people as a group involving discrimination, educational history, languages stolen, punishment, eugenics etc. - I think that it is important that deaf children have deaf role models to see - YES, I can do; YES, I am valuable the way I AM; YES, the stories, insights, contributions and history of deaf people are significant. I think this is very very important with any cultural and historically discriminated group-
 
Hohtopics said:
There are overlaps in terms of role models. Different people are role models to different people in different ways. Just cause a child is deaf doesn't automatically mean that only other deaf people could be role models for them. Even some hearing adults could still be role models for little deaf children in their own way. Or vice versa, even some deaf adults could be role models for little hearing children and so forth. It doesn't necessarily only have to be an one way street nor does the role modeling have to be based just on a "deaf to deaf" or on the "amount of hearing they have" basis.
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I think all deaf children should meet deaf adults. They dont have to click with them but know that there are successful deaf adults out there.
 
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