Miss-Delectable
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- Apr 18, 2004
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http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=677945
Tomorrow morning my grandson will get the results of his 11-plus exam and the whole family is on tenterhooks. The Government is determined to bring down the curtain on academic selection and Ryan may be the last member of our family to take the test, but we're sure he'll make the best of the situation whatever the outcome.
David Cameron, the new Tory leader, went to both Eton and Oxford, but says he will not support a return to grammar schools and suggests instead a comprehensive structure in which streaming will ensure bright children of any category receive the best education available to help them achieve their aims.
How can we encourage parents of deaf children to get involved with arguments like this and discuss deaf education in line with the standards expected of their hearing peers?
Can we look for this in traditional deaf schools or in the special streams in mainline schools of the kind Cameron is suggesting?
At last year's prize day at the Ulster Museum, Belfast, organised by the NDCS for the deaf schoolchildren of Northern Ireland, I spoke to the headmaster of Cregagh Primary who had come along to add his support to the hearing impaired class from his school. He spoke warmly on the need for parents as well as teachers to be involved in children's education.
"It is not just deaf children to whom this applies," he said. "All children receive inspiration and encouragement from their parents as well as their teachers and the best results are achieved when we learn to work together on this."
One possible response to this proposal comes in an invitation to a conference on March 3 celebrating the launch of an exciting and educational DVD produced by the Deaf Association of Northern Ireland (DANI).
The DVD focuses on the importance of early language acquisition and development of both deaf children and hearing children of deaf parents. Development officer Janet Young says they have chosen 'Nurtured Beginnings - Broadened Horizons' as the theme of the conference and speakers skilled in bi-lingualism will attend from Bristol University and University College, London.
Janet and her team have been working for over a year on this project and are hoping to reach out to the many hearing parents of deaf children who are looking for ways to improve communication with their offspring and maybe answer some of the questions racing through their minds: "Can a baby born deaf grow up to be educated to college or university level and enjoy a happy and satisfying life? What is the best way to help my child achieve this?"
I have known Janet since she was a baby and have watched her blossom into an attractive, eloquent and confident young woman: an excellent example of good communication at both home and school. She and her sister Elizabeth are university graduates and prime examples of what can be achieved when bi-lingualism is practised from a very early age.
The ultimate aim is to stimulate the attention and intelligence of the deaf baby in much the same way that hearing children build up language through the subconscious mind before they even start to become aware of learning. These early years are crucial in stimulating the need and ability to communicate and provide an avenue through which thoughts and ideas can pass easily between the deaf child and its parents.
The DVD will make all this clear.
Tomorrow morning my grandson will get the results of his 11-plus exam and the whole family is on tenterhooks. The Government is determined to bring down the curtain on academic selection and Ryan may be the last member of our family to take the test, but we're sure he'll make the best of the situation whatever the outcome.
David Cameron, the new Tory leader, went to both Eton and Oxford, but says he will not support a return to grammar schools and suggests instead a comprehensive structure in which streaming will ensure bright children of any category receive the best education available to help them achieve their aims.
How can we encourage parents of deaf children to get involved with arguments like this and discuss deaf education in line with the standards expected of their hearing peers?
Can we look for this in traditional deaf schools or in the special streams in mainline schools of the kind Cameron is suggesting?
At last year's prize day at the Ulster Museum, Belfast, organised by the NDCS for the deaf schoolchildren of Northern Ireland, I spoke to the headmaster of Cregagh Primary who had come along to add his support to the hearing impaired class from his school. He spoke warmly on the need for parents as well as teachers to be involved in children's education.
"It is not just deaf children to whom this applies," he said. "All children receive inspiration and encouragement from their parents as well as their teachers and the best results are achieved when we learn to work together on this."
One possible response to this proposal comes in an invitation to a conference on March 3 celebrating the launch of an exciting and educational DVD produced by the Deaf Association of Northern Ireland (DANI).
The DVD focuses on the importance of early language acquisition and development of both deaf children and hearing children of deaf parents. Development officer Janet Young says they have chosen 'Nurtured Beginnings - Broadened Horizons' as the theme of the conference and speakers skilled in bi-lingualism will attend from Bristol University and University College, London.
Janet and her team have been working for over a year on this project and are hoping to reach out to the many hearing parents of deaf children who are looking for ways to improve communication with their offspring and maybe answer some of the questions racing through their minds: "Can a baby born deaf grow up to be educated to college or university level and enjoy a happy and satisfying life? What is the best way to help my child achieve this?"
I have known Janet since she was a baby and have watched her blossom into an attractive, eloquent and confident young woman: an excellent example of good communication at both home and school. She and her sister Elizabeth are university graduates and prime examples of what can be achieved when bi-lingualism is practised from a very early age.
The ultimate aim is to stimulate the attention and intelligence of the deaf baby in much the same way that hearing children build up language through the subconscious mind before they even start to become aware of learning. These early years are crucial in stimulating the need and ability to communicate and provide an avenue through which thoughts and ideas can pass easily between the deaf child and its parents.
The DVD will make all this clear.