South Dakota attempting to close school for deaf kids.

[NOW tense]

School: Debating deaf education

School helps socialize, train students

Kim Bearon • February 21, 2009

Like many, I pay taxes, have voted in elections, own my home, am married and have beautiful children. We love living in South Dakota. It's the perfect place to raise a family.

Or so we thought until the governor announced his proposal to close the School for the Deaf. Our two sons, ages 4 and 6, are deaf and attend that school. When the school's misguided superintendent announced plans to boost its outreach program by directly serving public schools that would be burdened with the enormous task of educating over 400 deaf students scattered in isolated, mainstream programs, my husband and I said to each other, "We're outta here."

My husband and I are also deaf. I'm a product of mainstreaming, and I can personally attest to the fact that this proposal will not work. I attended a large public high school with 2,000 students in Iowa, with an interpreter and a resource teacher who could sign. Sign language classes were offered to any interested high school students who wanted to learn how to "communicate" with the deaf.

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20090221/VOICES07/902210311/1052/OPINION01

Saving money by getting rid of a school for deaf kids. I think that is sad. Way to go South Dakota! :mad:

[Double T]

1. Nothing South Dakota does surprises me. South Dakota will probably.......

direct the deaf kids toward the street traffic. South Dakota is home to some of the most corrupt credit card companies on earth. I suggest someone needs to call for new elections in South Dakota as your legislators have failed you miserably.

[Ilsa]

2. Can we throw South Dakota out of the US? Excommunicate them?

How cruel, to close a school for disabled or differently-abled children. (I have a disabled child also.) Heartless bastards.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

3. Mainstreaming is a pendulum that swings back and forth in education. I thought it had

pretty much reached is zenith, but apparently not. Its done with the best of intentions and depending on who you talk to is either a great success or a flaming failure. The families of those being mainstreamed are often its loudest opponents and many times they are vilified as self serving etc. by those who support mainstreaming.

I would not jump too hard on SD, this is probably an self started initiative within the education sector there. Well meant, but IMO dumb