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http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=153242
OUTSIDE the Stephen High School for the Deaf and the Aphasic, located in a corner of Prabhadevi, are the crowds and the commotion of the Siddhivinayak temple nearby. Inside, is a world of silence.
The children in this school are hearing and speech impaired, but no child here feels undermatched with anyone from a ‘normal’ school anywhere.
How did they get to this level of confidence? Their school simply made its syllabus at par with that of regular schools.
The school was founded in 1957 by Dr Joe D’Sa, a ear-nose-throat specialist, and Nancy D’Sa, his wife. And it began with four students in the drawing room of their house in Girgaum Chowpatty.
Nancy, a trained pianist, taught the children music and Joe, the usual subjects. Later, the Archbishop of Mumbai, who was also patron of the school, gave them land at Prabhadevi so the school could expand its activities.
In 1996, when the couple realised they were getting too old to take care of the institution, they invited the Montfort Brothers of St Gabriel, pioneers in education for the deaf and blind, to take over the school.
Today, the only English-medium school for the deaf in the city, it attracts students from places as distant as Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Dahisar and Dombivli.
‘‘Other schools for the deaf teach their students on a level much lower than regular schools,’’ says Mohini Dama, who has taught here for 25 years.
‘‘Their Std X studies equal Std VII in regular schools. The problem starts when the students pass out. They enter regular colleges (the city does not have any college for the deaf) with Std VII knowledge. The jump is too much for them to make and most drop out after the first year.’’
‘‘At Stephen High, the focus is on preparing students not just till their last year here, but for the world beyond the school,’’ says Principal T V Joseph.
They also discourage the use of sign language while teaching, preferring oral teaching through speech. ‘‘Sign language is the easy way out and we don’t use it,’’ says Olivia Moraes, who’s taught here for 18 years.
‘‘We teach using normal speech, just like in regular schools. They have to learn to lip-read. They’re not going to be protected all through their lives. People are not going to use sign language wherever they go. We prepare them for that,’’ says Moraes.
Which is why when Stephen High students participated in an inter-school quiz, they were yawning through the questions.
‘‘The quiz was so easy. The quizzes in our school are far more difficult,’’ says Viswajit Nair of Std VIII.
That Stephen High brought back the winner’s trophy doesn’t come as much of a surprise to its teachers. The only allowance it makes its students is eliminating the second and third language (Hindi, Marathi) in the syllabus.
‘‘The Board gives us a choice of these or Typing and Book Binding,’’ says Joseph. ‘‘And the Std IX and X classes go on for one-and-a-half years each, instead of the one year in a regular school.’’
An average of six to seven children appear for regular Board exams every year. ‘‘We’ve always had a 100-per-cent result,’’ beams Moraes.
Students then leave for regular colleges like HR, Elphistone and Wilson, among others. Some leave for further education in universities abroad, like the Gallaudet University for the Deaf and the University of Utah, both in the US.
Right now, Stephen High is trying to get itself an LCD projector. ‘‘It will really help, as we can then use CDs for teaching as well. Textbooks are usually not enough,’’ says Joseph.
‘‘We’ve been trying to raise funds for over three years now to expand the school to include Std XI and XII as well. We need the money mainly for constructing two floors of classrooms for the college and for staff salaries. There are no colleges for the deaf in Mumbai yet, and it would be great if we could start something,’’ says Joseph.
Then he remembers something else. ‘‘We would also like to take the children to see Iqbal. I’ve heard it’s very inspiring’’.
OUTSIDE the Stephen High School for the Deaf and the Aphasic, located in a corner of Prabhadevi, are the crowds and the commotion of the Siddhivinayak temple nearby. Inside, is a world of silence.
The children in this school are hearing and speech impaired, but no child here feels undermatched with anyone from a ‘normal’ school anywhere.
How did they get to this level of confidence? Their school simply made its syllabus at par with that of regular schools.
The school was founded in 1957 by Dr Joe D’Sa, a ear-nose-throat specialist, and Nancy D’Sa, his wife. And it began with four students in the drawing room of their house in Girgaum Chowpatty.
Nancy, a trained pianist, taught the children music and Joe, the usual subjects. Later, the Archbishop of Mumbai, who was also patron of the school, gave them land at Prabhadevi so the school could expand its activities.
In 1996, when the couple realised they were getting too old to take care of the institution, they invited the Montfort Brothers of St Gabriel, pioneers in education for the deaf and blind, to take over the school.
Today, the only English-medium school for the deaf in the city, it attracts students from places as distant as Kalyan, Ulhasnagar, Dahisar and Dombivli.
‘‘Other schools for the deaf teach their students on a level much lower than regular schools,’’ says Mohini Dama, who has taught here for 25 years.
‘‘Their Std X studies equal Std VII in regular schools. The problem starts when the students pass out. They enter regular colleges (the city does not have any college for the deaf) with Std VII knowledge. The jump is too much for them to make and most drop out after the first year.’’
‘‘At Stephen High, the focus is on preparing students not just till their last year here, but for the world beyond the school,’’ says Principal T V Joseph.
They also discourage the use of sign language while teaching, preferring oral teaching through speech. ‘‘Sign language is the easy way out and we don’t use it,’’ says Olivia Moraes, who’s taught here for 18 years.
‘‘We teach using normal speech, just like in regular schools. They have to learn to lip-read. They’re not going to be protected all through their lives. People are not going to use sign language wherever they go. We prepare them for that,’’ says Moraes.
Which is why when Stephen High students participated in an inter-school quiz, they were yawning through the questions.
‘‘The quiz was so easy. The quizzes in our school are far more difficult,’’ says Viswajit Nair of Std VIII.
That Stephen High brought back the winner’s trophy doesn’t come as much of a surprise to its teachers. The only allowance it makes its students is eliminating the second and third language (Hindi, Marathi) in the syllabus.
‘‘The Board gives us a choice of these or Typing and Book Binding,’’ says Joseph. ‘‘And the Std IX and X classes go on for one-and-a-half years each, instead of the one year in a regular school.’’
An average of six to seven children appear for regular Board exams every year. ‘‘We’ve always had a 100-per-cent result,’’ beams Moraes.
Students then leave for regular colleges like HR, Elphistone and Wilson, among others. Some leave for further education in universities abroad, like the Gallaudet University for the Deaf and the University of Utah, both in the US.
Right now, Stephen High is trying to get itself an LCD projector. ‘‘It will really help, as we can then use CDs for teaching as well. Textbooks are usually not enough,’’ says Joseph.
‘‘We’ve been trying to raise funds for over three years now to expand the school to include Std XI and XII as well. We need the money mainly for constructing two floors of classrooms for the college and for staff salaries. There are no colleges for the deaf in Mumbai yet, and it would be great if we could start something,’’ says Joseph.
Then he remembers something else. ‘‘We would also like to take the children to see Iqbal. I’ve heard it’s very inspiring’’.