Educational
Aspects of Deaf Hispanic Children
Ana
Cintado
Kent
State University
Introduction
Due to recent shifts in
demographics, many educators of the deaf in the United States will be working
with d/Deaf Hispanic children and their families more frequently than in the
past. As members of the fastest growing and largest minority group, these children
pose unique challenges and special needs that require the immediate attention
of professionals. In a society that expects them to be both trilingual and
tricultural, effective resources, curriculum , and instructional strategies are
essential.
Purpose
Obviously, the most ideal
situation for these children would be the provision of Hispanic educators of
the deaf who are familiar with both the language and culture of this
population. However, given current trends of professionals in the field, this
situation is also unrealistic. In fact, the majority of educators are
classified as hearing, middle-class, Anglo-Saxon females who have earned a high
degree of education. Therefore, the goal of this site is to provide these
teachers with information and strategies that can be used to help lessen the
severity of problems among these students.
Questions:
1. As teachers of the deaf, why should we be concerned with this population?
2. Who are "Hispanics" and what are their general characteristics?
4. What factors affect the school performance of this population in general?
5. What problems are specific to d/Deaf Hispanic children?
6. Which language/modality should be used in instructing and assessing these students?
7. What aspects should be addressed in the curriculum of these students?
9. What are effective resources that can be used in the classroom?
10. What are other Internet resources for teachers of d/Deaf Hispanic children?