Unlocking the Curriculum
Johnson et al.
of English competence, particularly in reading and writing. But more centrally,
it involves the provision of grade-equivalent access to all the curricular matter
of American education. Because the central focus of the program is the
development of English literacy and the provision of grade-level or above
achievement in all areas of the curriculum, the role of developing speech, while
not devalued, is not the central concern. For some deaf children, literacy will
be the sole form of proficiency in English. Because such children will have full
access to the content of the curriculum, they will be able to develop the
competencies necessary to have equitable options as adults.
A related issue is the customary use of the term "intervention" by contemporary
professionals dealing with deaf children. It is our position that intervention is
only necessary if some negative or pathological process is occurring that needs
to be eliminated or terminated. If ordinary language acquisition is permitted to
occur, there should be no need for "intervention." From this perspective,
however, there may in fact be a need to intervene with respect to the emotional
needs of the parents and family members in adapting to the deafness of their
children.
o We concur with one of the observations of the report of the Commission
on Education of the Deaf, that "there is nothing wrong with being deaf'
(1988:vi). Moreover, there are many positive aspects to membership in a deaf
community, to using an aesthetically pleasing language like ASL, and to
adapting effectively and successfully to modern American life. Accordingly, a
major part of all aspects of the proposed program will be to reinforce this view
among parents, children, and service providers alike, both by making explicit
the positive aspects of deaf life and by providing opportunities for interaction
with the deaf community.
o The "Least Restrictive Environment" for deaf children is one in which
they may acquire a natural sign language and through that language
achieve access to a spoken language and the content of the school
curriculum. Public Law 94-142 states that handicapped children must be given
an educational placement that provides them the "least restrictive environment."
In general, this has been interpreted as that environment most like an ordinary
environment. Combined with economic considerations, this concept has created
a situation in which an increasing percentage of deaf children are placed in
"mainstream" classrooms, sometimes with an interpreter, but often with no
special services. In most cases this is done without regard for the child's
linguistic background, so that most such children are poorly prepared to deal
with sign language or any other language when they enter school. They are
expected to acquire English through a one-way communication process.
Specifically, they are expected to get English, either through the speech of the
teacher or through the signing (usually actually a code for English) of an
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