Deaf children get etiquette lesson

[Miss-Delectable]

The Daily Journal - www.thedailyjournal.com - Vineland, N.J.

The young gentlemen of Vineland Public Schools' deaf education program practiced their etiquette skills Tuesday by taking coats from their female peers and helping every lady to her seat.

The program's nine students spent a week learning the rules of etiquette in their Petway Elementary School classroom to prepare for their special lunch at the Garden Room on Landis Avenue.

"It's kind of like a date," third-grader Isabella Jimenez said through an American Sign Language interpreter. "You can't be sloppy. We want to look pretty and behave while in a nice restaurant."
While Vineland isn't the only district in the county with deaf children, it does have the only outreach program that connects deaf students with their surrounding community, said Tara McMenamin, program teacher.

"We keep telling them, 'You're just like everyone else, you just can't hear.' They have the same opportunities as everyone else," McMenamin said. "We try to make sure, through this program they have all these other opportunities, opportunities others take for granted."

The students take trips once a month to learn different life lessons. Some lessons are for later in life, but good manners can be used every day, said Jen Lilla, another program teacher.

"A lot of these kids are getting experiences they haven't had before, and they'll use them in life," Lilla said.

That's what schools should be doing. And I mean give students lessons in etiquette. So many are lacking in that nowadays

 

[pek1]

I concur, but how can the schools do it when they don't get reinforcement from the parents. If the parents are "too busy," then they shouldn't have kids.

 

[Babyblue]

I concur, but how can the schools do it when they don't get reinforcement from the parents. If the parents are "too busy," then they shouldn't have kids.

Where does it say they do not get positive reinforcements or any reinforcements from parents?

 

[jillio]

Education should most definately include the development of social skills. Interaction with one's peers is the key to this. Unfortunately, too many deaf children in the mainstream setting are restricted from true interaction with both peers and teachers, and therefore, do not have the opportunity to develop their social skills. IMO, just another failure of the push for mainstreaming.

 

[Chase]

Education should most definately include the development of social skills.

Absolutely.

About those skills being reinforced at home, they were. Social skills were also important in my girlfriend's early education and home life . . . but we obviously lived in two different adult social worlds since.

Of course I was on my best behavior when visiting Oregon and upon moving here. I got surprised looks for opening doors for her and taking off my hat inside.

I'd pull out a chair for her in a restaurant, and she'd go to another one, leaving me standing there holding a chair. This happened several times. When I said, "This chair's for you," she'd indicate she supposed I was pulling it out for me to sit.

If we went somewhere in her rig, I'd walk her to the driver's side to open the door, and she'd look surprised and ask if I was going to drive.

I know part of the death of adult social amenities was feminism and the push for sexual equality, but my girlfriend is now used to courtesies and likes them. But decades of not seeing them in action perhaps speaks to a need for expanding education in social arts? Nah, probably not.

 

[Reba]

In my humble opinion, social skills should be taught at home, and reinforced at school. Parents should be modeling appropriate etiquette on a daily basis. Kids should acquire basic good manners before they show up at school.

 

[Boult]

In my humble opinion, social skills should be taught at home, and reinforced at school. Parents should be modeling appropriate etiquette on a daily basis. Kids should acquire basic good manners before they show up at school.

(looking back at my childhood years) I agree...

 

[Buffalo]

In my humble opinion, social skills should be taught at home, and reinforced at school. Parents should be modeling appropriate etiquette on a daily basis. Kids should acquire basic good manners before they show up at school.

Too many parents don't teach their deaf kids because they don't know sign language and even not talking to their deaf kids much. Therefore, I'd rather see that the deaf kids get their social skills from their deaf school. I agree with Jillio - mainstreaming the deaf kids and they mightn't learn any social skills.

 

[shel90]

Too many parents don't teach their deaf kids because they don't know sign language and even not talking to their deaf kids much. Therefore, I'd rather see that the deaf kids get their social skills from their deaf school. I agree with Jillio - mainstreaming the deaf kids and they mightn't learn any social skills.

I agree with you and Jillo. I see so many deaf kids coming from the mainstreaming programs to our school lacking in soical and etiquette skills due to restricted communication both at school and at home. If the parents dont want to bother learning ASL for their kids, then send them to a signing program so the kids can have some communication access one way or the other.

We, teachers, end up having to wear the hat of the parents by modeling appropriate social and etiquette skills. I guess nowadays, schools are parenting these kids.

However, I see improved social skills in almost all the kids who have been referred from mainstreaming programs and the public say that Deaf schools are lousy. Well, public schools can be lousy too. :roll:

 

[VamPyroX]

I remember doing this in my 6th grade class in elementary school.

My teacher spent a few weeks going over etiquette stuff with the deaf students.

At the end, she took us all out on a field trip to a restaurant... The Spaghetti Warehouse.

While we were there, she "graded" us on how we performed... which fork, spoon, & knife was appropriate... where to sit... how to act... etc.

Sadly, my family isn't very well knowledgeable about these things.

 

[josey]

The students take trips once a month to learn different life lessons. Some lessons are for later in life, but good manners can be used every day, said Jen Lilla, another program teacher.

"A lot of these kids are getting experiences they haven't had before, and they'll use them in life," Lilla said.



I agree that school and learning needs to be both books and experiences of living . We ask children not to run not to shout and not to hit or bite and have some other types of manner's everyday . We also teach them loads of other things that are meaningless and if gives a break from boring classroom time