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Foundations of Deaf Education - Coggle Diagram
Foundations of Deaf Education
1) Francis Green
Father of a deaf child, who was looking for education for his child and others
Translated writings from the founder of deaf education in France, Charles Michel de l'Épée
He wrote two books and many articles but they were somehow forgotten, and unknown to Gallaudet and Alice Cogswell's Father
Advocated for free schooling of children who were born deaf
Had much trouble finding any books or writings on deaf education
Appealed to Massachusetts clergy to have a count of the number of deaf residents; the results were a significant undercount
He sent his son to the Braidwood Academy in England where he used sign language with classmates and also received speech therapy; Green was amazed by the school and wanted to learn more
For mysterious reasons, he eventually changes his tune about the Braidwood's, likely due to their secretive ways and refusal to let people observe
2) Cogswell's Approach
Cogswell's idea for a deaf school looked very different compared to Green's despite the fact that they were both working towards deaf education
Instead of free public schooling, Cogswell wanted his daughter to be in a school with children of respectable members of the community, who could pay tuition
He expected taxpayers to subsidize the school's expenses out of kindness, just because the students were deaf
Just like Green, Cogswell asked for a count of the deaf population of Connecticut; the results were again an undercount but Cogswell considered them a high number
Gallaudet began working with Cogswell to help establish a deaf school in Hartford
Cogswell held a meeting of notable men whode l'Épée. These men plus some small donations from their relatives and business partners were able to fund the school fully.
3) Gallaudet's "Mission"
Gallaudet was chosen to go to Europe to find out some information on deaf education and bring it back to America
He was not compensated for the journey and at times had to beg for money to get by on his trip
Gallaudet held on to the viewpoint that deaf people needed to be educated so that they could understand religion and be allowed into heaven
Gallaudet noted some oral speech methods being used in a London school and wrote back to Cogswell about a deaf man who was able to lip-read very well
He noted that some deaf people he came in contact with used "nearly our alphabet"
Gallaudet didn't make any notes about his visit to the Braidwood Academy, possibly because they didn't let him into the classrooms
He attended an exhibition by deaf teachers Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc and their pupil Goddard; it was presented in French and so Gallaudet didn't understand much but was amazed by the use of blackboards
4) Common Sense Philosophy
Gallaudet and other Connecticut clergy agreed with the Common Sense philosophy that humans are innately endowed with correct ideas and intuitions by our Creator, opposite to what Enlightenment philosophers believed
Gallaudet's Yale principal and mentor, Timothy Dwight taught students that this idea held much reason
The idea of "Common Sense" was very liberating to deaf people. It supported the idea that deaf people are "moral agents" just like anyone else