"A child miseducated is a child lost."

“A child miseducated is a child lost.”

           - John F. Kennedy

That’s what frequently happens to our American Deaf students. The focus of their preschool experiences is too focused on hearing & speech or learning how to talk. Sadly, speech is not equal to language that would also be critically essential for their cognitive and executive function developments. Consequently, they have either delayed or deprived language development.

The classroom for Deaf preschoolers is ideologically driven. I learned from this video, The Passion for Early Childhood, that the child should be focus of our teaching. A good teacher works to accommodate the child's unique needs and strengths, and adapts accordingly if it is not effective.

So, we lose the Deaf child when the child is miseducated.

What a sad double whammy.

Reference:

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010) The passion for early childhood. Baltimore: Author