Do you know the average cost of attending medical school in the United States? It is roughly $60,000 a year. That is a lot of money in any economy and requires that the student have access to various resources.
Like everyone else, deaf people have a right to access education and if they don’t have the resources, they won’t be educated or trained. Even when they get access to the funds, accessibility options in the school might discourage them from participating.
People who hear sound sometimes struggle with all the processes they must go through to get an education. Deaf people also have these struggles and in addition, have some of their own too.
However, over time, there have been methods the deaf community uses to access education and training opportunities. We will check out these opportunities while also examining what can be done to improve their access to education and training opportunities.
A Life Without Education
You might wonder why deaf people put in the extra effort to be educated. You might wonder why people passionately advocate for better access to education for deaf people. The reason is rooted in the importance of education to individuals and society.
People who aren’t educated usually don’t have a voice. In many societies, the uneducated are left to their demise when legislation and economic policies are made. If you don’t have basic education, you might not know you have a voice.
One of the most well-known disadvantages of not being educated is a higher chance of unemployment. Most societies relied on trained people to carry out certain tasks. Most employers don’t want to start training a new employee from scratch, so they ask for trained people upfront.
One scary element of being uneducated is the vulnerability it brings. When people aren’t adequately equipped to take on the outside world, they become vulnerable to exploitation. Females might end up in prostitution and men might end up in gangs. Both sexes might also be exploited by employers of labor.
A life without education or training can be likened to sending a soldier to the war front without a weapon. The soldier is bound to run into difficulties that would’ve been avoided with training. Deaf people recognize this, which is why they have come up with ways to gain access to education.
How Deaf People Access Education and Training Opportunities
Image by MD GovPics on Openverse
Education for the deaf has always been a complex discussion. On one hand, they deserve all the rights the hearing community gets, including education. However, educating the deaf cannot be done the same way hearing people are educated.
With these complexities, deaf people have found ways to access education from as far back as the 1500s. So, how have they gained access to education and training all this while? Let’s find out.
They Plan
It was once said that only someone who thinks he’s fireproof runs into a burning building without a plan. Getting educated or trained can be the best and worst experience for different people. What makes it manageable, is how prepared they are for the challenges ahead.
Deaf people plan for everything. Unlike hearing people, they don’t just grab their keys, and drive around town hoping to bump into a pizza place. This also applies to accessing education.
Deaf people research educational institutions and training programs to find the ones that are deaf-friendly. No person who is hard of hearing wants to be caught in an accessibility nightmare after paying for tuition.
However, with all the planning they do, there is little they can do about increasing the number of suitable institutions with proper facilities and training opportunities. That is a job for every member of the society.
They Consult
Deaf people might seem like people who keep to themselves a lot. While that is true under certain circumstances, they are also very social in environments that are welcoming to them. This social tendency helps when accessing training opportunities.
They use their social ties to gain insight into getting education and training opportunities. They can get advice from education specialists in their community.
Taking this route reduces the chances of running into accessibility challenges as they seek education and training. These experts also help them know their rights as deaf individuals and come up with realistic and productive solutions.
The challenge is that experts who understand the peculiarities of deaf individuals aren’t as many as they should be. Also, consultation can be expensive which can prevent some deaf individuals from considering it an option.
They Get Help
When all else fails, a deaf person might need help from a hearing person. The use of a disability officer or companion depends on the unique needs of the individual. Some deaf people are capable of handling all the quirks of schooling or training on their own while others will need help.
A disability officer might also be provided by the school or institution the deaf person is attending. Some schools assign hearing students to hard-of-hearing students. The role of such a student is to make the whole schooling process as smooth and accessible as possible.
The challenge with getting help, especially professional help is cost. It is an added cost for the deaf person or the school. This can hinder a deaf person’s access to education or training.
What You Can Do
These methods that deaf people use to access education aren’t perfect, neither are they widely available. There are still many schools that have no preparation for deaf individuals, and fewer organizations that focus on making training opportunities available for deaf people.
So what can you do?
The first thing you can do is be more aware and educated about the needs of deaf people. You can’t help them if you don’t know what they need. One way to be more aware is to learn American Sign Language (ASL) and SignBee Academyis just the platform to do that. You’ll find ASL learning resources that will enhance your learning process.
You can also advocate for better education and training opportunities for deaf people. For example, if you are a student, you can organize awareness campaigns, educating the school administrators on the need to have better accessibility for deaf people.
In all this, remember that deaf people have all the rights the hearing population has. One of those rights is to get an education or training.
Thumbnail Photo Credit to: Image by Sean MacEntee on Openverse
