“A Fight for True LRE”

Deaf/HoH children are frequent victims of the achievement gap and it is always blamed on their inability to hear. Yet the research shows that it is actually the deprivation of language that impedes their ability to stay on track with their hearing peers. Therefore the debate for what ‘Least Restrictive Environment’ really means for these students continues. Due to the barrier of natural acquisition of language for deaf and hard of hearing students born to hearing parents language acquisition merits the majority of concern. The proper education setting would make this critical distinction. It is an environment that should be made to be conducive to the student not the other way around. At the primary level it is evident that a separate school with highly skilled professionals in deaf education is the best option for bridging the achievement gap between deaf and hard of hearing students and their hearing peers by providing a linguistic foundation for future success in each student over a mainstream setting or a segregated classroom within a public school.

Ms. K’s LRE Classroom Provides... Language Development & Literacy Skills

Establish a language foundation: the distinction between ASL and English must be evident in every lesson. Once a student has their first language mastered, in this case ASL, they will be able to use that knowledge to transition to their second language, in this case written English (Ramsey & Padden, 1998). Additionally, this will allow students to have linguistic agency while languaging therefor making them conscious users of their language (Swain, 2006). Lessons that encourage meaning and comprehension over regurgitation of word for word translations are key.

Social-Emotional Development

Develop a proud Deaf identity. Surrounding deaf and hard of hearing students with ‘typical’ peers does not automatically make socio-emotional development prosper if there is a language barrier. With that being said, deaf and hard of hearing students who have established confidence in their identity through language acquisition, literacy skills and have Deaf models in their life will develop successful socio-emotional skills.

My name is Kelsey Koenigs, a second year graduate student in the EdM Education of the Deaf program through the School of Education here at Boston University! I am an alum of the Deaf Studies undergraduate program here at BU and plan to use my education to go into Family Services with a focus on Early Intervention programs for deaf children born to hearing parents.

References Ramsey, C., & Padden, C. (1998). Natives and Newcomers: Gaining Access to Literacy in a Classroom for Deaf Children. Anthropology Education Quarterly,29 (1), 5-24.

Swain, M. (2006). Languaging, agency and collaboration in advanced second language proficiency. Advanced Language Learning: The Contribution of Halliday and Vygotsky .