We believe that the visual and performing arts ... are and should be an essential part of deaf education, from nursery level onwards. Why? Because deaf people are visually oriented people. The school environment needs to cater for visual expression and visual learning. The thousand questions a toddler will ask - how can we make it possible for a deaf toddler to express these thousand questions? How will we answer them - unless we visually communicate and educate. |
We believe that Sign Language ... is the best way to teach deaf children. We believe that sign language must be respected as a language, must be taught as a language and must be used as primary language to teach English as secondary language. We believe that teachers in a deaf classroom and interpreters in a mainstream classroom must be trained professionally in sign language (as you would expect a teacher of French to be trained professionally in French) and in the ways of teaching deaf students. |
We believe that family life education ... is as important for deaf students as it is for hearing students. We believe that it is time to acknowledge that health information produced for the public is of little use to the deaf unless it is interpreted into sign language and presented visually. As of now deaf students, out-of-school youths and adults are left vulnerable to misconceptions, unhealthy life style practices and risky behaviours. |
We believe that sport ... is and should be an essential part of deaf education. In addition to all other arguments for school sport, for the deaf there is the added benefit that it levels the playground between the deaf and the hearing and provides success experiences otherwise rare in their typical school environment. |
We believe that vocational training ... is essential and provision must be made for deaf students to access vocational training. How? By providing interpreting services tailored to the individual student's need. We believe that the foundation for vocational education can begin at primary level - in terms of skills and in terms of identifying and fostering individual potential. Why? Because tertiary and even secondary education will only be achievable for very few deaf students - in the foreseeable future. |