Parents of deaf children need reliable information and access to a range
of high-quality educational options in order to make informed choices about
their children's future. Auditory/oral education should be one of the available
options. The Smith-Clarke program is committed to preparing knowledgeable,
skilled teachers in this area to serve children in early-childhood and
elementary programs.
Program Description:
The Smith College-Clarke School for the Deaf Graduate Teacher Education
Program, now in its one-hundred, eighth year of continuous service, was
the nation's first program to prepare teachers of deaf children on a pre-service
basis. The program which leads to the Smith College degree of Master of
Education of the Deaf (MED) generally requires thirty-eight to forty-two
semester hours of course work and practicum, and takes one calendar year
of full-time involvement for completion. Part-time degree and certification
candidates are also enrolled and my spend up to four years to complete
requirements. The program provides professional preparation of teachers
of deaf children for all academic levels. Students normally begin their
work with a summer session of introductory course work. This is followed
by a reading period and an academic year of intensive study and practicum.
Courses of study concern language development and literacy, anatomy and
physiology of hearing and speech mechanisms, communications science and
skill development. computer literacy and educational applications of word
processing systems, planning and implementation of education programming
for deaf children. Emphasis is upon an auditory/oral approach to education,
but courses, and practicum experiences concerned with manual communication
are offered. The practicum is designed to provide student teachers with
experiences at several academic levels from preschool to high school in
settings that range from residential schools to fully mainstreamed programs.
The program is one of only two in the six-state New England region, but
actually serves a national (and international) constituency. Each year
approximately ten to fifteen full-time students are enrolled. For 1996-97,
all of these students are receiving $18,000 tuition grants funded jointly
by the U.S. Department of Education and Smith/Clarke trustees. Room and
board fellowships are also available.
Because the program is fully approved by the Council on Education of the
Deaf (CED), and the Massachusetts Department of Education under the NASDTEC/ICC
agreement, graduates are legally entitled to certification from all states
participating in this compact. Program graduates are currently teaching
in forty-eight states and thirty-seven foreign countries.
Please fill out the form below if you would like further information.
Additional Information
Favorite Listserv:
edudeaf@lsv.uky.edu - a managed, "no-flaming-allowed" list on which parents
and professionals can discuss educational and technological matters that
concern children who are deaf.
Favorite Web Site:
Web sites are far to numerous these days to list a favorite. Visit ours
at Smith if you would like to become better acquainted with us. http://www.smith.edu
If you wish to know more about the wide-ranging services available from
Clarke School for the Deaf, check out their web site at
http://www.clarkeschool.org.
Suggested Professional Reading:
Moores, Donald, Educating the Deaf: Psychology, Principles and Practices(4th
ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996.
This is the latest edition of a text that provides the novice with
a fine introduction to the many facets of this unique field of education.
