Best Deaf School?

[jackiesolorzano]

That's a self contained program in the public schools system, not a School for the Deaf.

Yes I do know that, like I mention I have gone to observe it several times and know many kids that attend the program. And the person who started this thread mention Uni, so I thought I would share my thoughts. If you go back to the first post you will see where they mention Uni for their mainstreamed program. The only other option here in southern California is Riverside which has a very bad rep out here.

 

[shel90]

well, do deaf schools teach English?

No we dont..we just slack off and let the kids figure out reading and writing on their own. Of course, we teach English...it is a VERY critical part of the curriculm and core of deaf education.

We have 2 reading specialists at our school, use the reading programs used at the public schools, we promote literacy constantly...problem is that many kids come to our school at an older age from the public schools sooooo delayed with their literacy skills and WE have to work with them more intensively than we normally would to get them caught up. Sometimes, we get some caught up and sometimes we dont. Someone came up with the idea to put ASL in writing (ASL glossing)...my school rejected that cuz it is VERY important to us that our students achieve higher literacy skills in English.

I would suggest u visit a deaf school and spend a day or two observing what they do to get an idea.

 

[shel90]

I see...I can understand that.

I think education standard is pretty poor at my deaf school. I think teachers are decent...but the method school want them to do is messed up I guess. Remember, I am talking about middle or high school level...Cross word for high school level and it's not sometimes, it's practically everyday. That's messed up, in my humble opinion.

But I think I am just unlucky, there weren't many students in same level as I was, I guess. It's not like they can put me in appropriate level classroom because I was probably one of 4 or 5 high school students out of 40 that are at a appropriate pace like hearing students. For some reason elem school, I feel like my peers were on same level or something, and somehow it changed when we entered middle school. I think maybe because students ended being mixed instead of being in the same level hurts some of us.

Aren't most of your students live in dorm? I thought more deaf students live in dorm rather than at home. But I guess it varied from state to state.

As I look back, I can't recall having someone to help me with my homework when I was in elem school, weird. Most of homework was just drill I guess so generally I had no problem other than boredom that come with homework...

Homework was so bored that it actually caused me some stress doing homework in elem school. Was that normal? I am just curious.

I sort of feel like I was being punished for being "smart" at my deaf school (however, when compared to public school, I am really just an average student) . So there are still some scars in my heart from being a student of deaf school. But I guess I am glad to know that at least there are some decent deaf schools out there.

We have more day students than dorm students cuz the parents prefer to keep their kids with them which is understandable but problem is many of the parents dont put the work into learning their childrens' primary language which is ASL. Would make a huge difference ...I already see the differences between the students whose parents who are fluent in ASL whether deaf or hearing and the ones whose parents dont even bother or dont have the time/energy to learn ASL. Oh well..

 

[jillio]

Yes I do know that, like I mention I have gone to observe it several times and know many kids that attend the program. And the person who started this thread mention Uni, so I thought I would share my thoughts. If you go back to the first post you will see where they mention Uni for their mainstreamed program. The only other option here in southern California is Riverside which has a very bad rep out here.

A very bad rep with whom? The oral mainstream educators?

 

[jillio]

No we dont..we just slack off and let the kids figure out reading and writing on their own. Of course, we teach English...it is a VERY critical part of the curriculm and core of deaf education.

We have 2 reading specialists at our school, use the reading programs used at the public schools, we promote literacy constantly...problem is that many kids come to our school at an older age from the public schools sooooo delayed with their literacy skills and WE have to work with them more intensively than we normally would to get them caught up. Sometimes, we get some caught up and sometimes we dont. Someone came up with the idea to put ASL in writing (ASL glossing)...my school rejected that cuz it is VERY important to us that our students achieve higher literacy skills in English.



I would suggest u visit a deaf school and spend a day or two observing what they do to get an idea.

Exactly....and deaf school programs differ in many ways from self contained programs inthe public school system.

 

[jillio]

We have more day students than dorm students cuz the parents prefer to keep their kids with them which is understandable but problem is many of the parents dont put the work into learning their childrens' primary language which is ASL. Would make a huge difference ...I already see the differences between the students whose parents who are fluent in ASL whether deaf or hearing and the ones whose parents dont even bother or dont have the time/energy to learn ASL. Oh well..

***nodding agreement****

 

[shel90]

Exactly....and deaf school programs differ in many ways from self contained programs inthe public school system.

I worked for a self-contained deaf program at a public school in 99 as a teacher's aide. Oh my god...it was the worst I have ever seen. Got oral kids, sim-com kids and ASL users lumped together in one class for language arts. I am talking about around 13 kids ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade all together for 1 language arts class with 1 oral deaf ed teacher and she forced the ASL users to use phonetics to learn how to read and write. She called the ASL users troubled kids cuz they were always acting out...well, DUH!!! If I was 13 years old, didnt have any oral skills and I was in a language arts class with kindergarteners, 1st graders and so on, and with a teacher who refused to learn sign..I would have a shit fit everyday in the classroom! I felt so bad for those kids which was why I quit after 5 months working there. It was sickening to see that.

 

[jillio]

I worked for a self-contained deaf program at a public school in 99 as a teacher's aide. Oh my god...it was the worst I have ever seen. Got oral kids, sim-com kids and ASL users lumped together in one class for language arts. I am talking about around 13 kids ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade all together for 1 language arts class with 1 oral deaf ed teacher and she forced the ASL users to use phonetics to learn how to read and write. She called the ASL users troubled kids cuz they were always acting out...well, DUH!!! If I was 13 years old, didnt have any oral skills and I was in a language arts class with kindergarteners, 1st graders and so on, and with a teacher who refused to learn sign..I would have a shit fit everyday in the classroom! I felt so bad for those kids which was why I quit after 5 months working there. It was sickening to see that.

That's my whole point. Self contained programs are administered by hearing educators, and therefore are totally lacking in professionals in deaf education. Just because a school system draws enough students from neighboring system to enable them to ahve a self contained program doesn't mean that the quality of education improves. You simply have a whole lot of deaf kids in the same place getting substandard education. I fail to see how that is an improvement.

 

[shel90]

That's my whole point. Self contained programs are administered by hearing educators, and therefore are totally lacking in professionals in deaf education. Just because a school system draws enough students from neighboring system to enable them to ahve a self contained program doesn't mean that the quality of education improves. You simply have a whole lot of deaf kids in the same place getting substandard education. I fail to see how that is an improvement.

Yea and their parents believed in the special ed director who set up that program. She didnt have ANY background training in deaf ed..no wonder. :roll:

So stupid!

There is a deaf ed program in Baltimore County that is better-run cuz they use ASL but I am seeing the same thing ..kids of different grades being put all together in one class for some subjects ...it shouldnt be allowed.

 

[jillio]

Yea and their parents believed in the special ed director who set up that program. She didnt have ANY background training in deaf ed..no wonder. :roll:

So stupid!

There is a deaf ed program in Baltimore County that is better-run cuz they use ASL but I am seeing the same thing ..kids of different grades being put all together in one class for some subjects ...it shouldnt be allowed.

**nodding agreement** I don't see how they can call that an appropriate education.

 

[shel90]

Yes I do know that, like I mention I have gone to observe it several times and know many kids that attend the program. And the person who started this thread mention Uni, so I thought I would share my thoughts. If you go back to the first post you will see where they mention Uni for their mainstreamed program. The only other option here in southern California is Riverside which has a very bad rep out here.

Have u gone and observed the classes at Riverside? Is your opinion based on what u saw or what others told u?

 

[jackiesolorzano]

Have u gone and observed the classes at Riverside? Is your opinion based on what u saw or what others told u?

I haven't gone recently but I did go and observe the classes about 5 or 6 years ago.

I have talked to parents who have sent their children there.

I know that at my current school district when a child cannot make it in a mainstream program Riverside is the only option.

Where I live there are more options but where I work which is about 40 minutes east of where we live there are not a lot options.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

A very bad rep with whom? The oral mainstream educators?

No most oral educators do not even know that Riverside exists.

 

[jackiesolorzano]

I worked for a self-contained deaf program at a public school in 99 as a teacher's aide. Oh my god...it was the worst I have ever seen. Got oral kids, sim-com kids and ASL users lumped together in one class for language arts. I am talking about around 13 kids ranging from kindergarten to 8th grade all together for 1 language arts class with 1 oral deaf ed teacher and she forced the ASL users to use phonetics to learn how to read and write. She called the ASL users troubled kids cuz they were always acting out...well, DUH!!! If I was 13 years old, didnt have any oral skills and I was in a language arts class with kindergarteners, 1st graders and so on, and with a teacher who refused to learn sign..I would have a shit fit everyday in the classroom! I felt so bad for those kids which was why I quit after 5 months working there. It was sickening to see that.

I have seen those type of classrooms too. Where they had preschool to 5th grade all in one class. It is awful. I usually see those types of classrooms in smaller areas.

 

[shel90]

No most oral educators do not even know that Riverside exists.

U are kidding, right? That's hard to believe cuz if they studied deaf ed, they should have been educated about deaf schools too just like I was educated about different kinds of programs. Come on..what's wrong with the deaf ed programs out there? Just focus on one philosophy that's it?

 

[jackiesolorzano]

U are kidding, right? That's hard to believe cuz if they studied deaf ed, they should have been educated about deaf schools too just like I was educated about different kinds of programs. Come on..what's wrong with the deaf ed programs out there? Just focus on one philosophy that's it?

No I am not kiddy. The program I went through which is John Tracy exposed us to all the available programs here in CA, one day out of week we would go visit all the prorams TC and oral. We also had to observe/volunteer in a TC program for 40 hours. We did our student teaching in oral classroom because that is what our focus was on.

The oral teachers that I am talking about, I really do not know where they got their training.

 

[shel90]

No I am not kiddy. The program I went through which is John Tracy exposed us to all the available programs here in CA, one day out of week we would go visit all the prorams TC and oral. We also had to observe/volunteer in a TC program for 40 hours. We did our student teaching in oral classroom because that is what our focus was on.

The oral teachers that I am talking about, I really do not know where they got their training.

No exposure nor no classes covering Deaf Culture?

 

[jillio]

No most oral educators do not even know that Riverside exists.

If they don't know that Riverside exists, how is it that all these mainstream "failures" are referred? And how is it that they are making the judgement that the "bad" kids are sent there?

 

[jillio]

I have seen those type of classrooms too. Where they had preschool to 5th grade all in one class. It is awful. I usually see those types of classrooms in smaller areas.

That's strange. Self contained programs are usually in metropolitan areas, because they can draw from several school districts.

 

[jillio]

No I am not kiddy. The program I went through which is John Tracy exposed us to all the available programs here in CA, one day out of week we would go visit all the prorams TC and oral. We also had to observe/volunteer in a TC program for 40 hours. We did our student teaching in oral classroom because that is what our focus was on.

The oral teachers that I am talking about, I really do not know where they got their training.

I'm sorry, but if they did not expose you to the Deaf Schools in CA they did not expose you to all the programs available. And 40 hours? That's all?