Uproar over Memphis Oral School for the Deaf article
There was an uproar from deaf people on social media last night over a local news feature on the “Memphis Oral School for the Deaf” and their reopening plan.
The second and third sentences of the article says, “There is no sign language. Instead children are taught listening, speech and language skills so by the time they are in kindergarten, they can transition into school with their hearing peers.”
The article showed several small children in a classroom setting wearing face masks with a teacher wearing a face mask.
The article said teachers would sometimes cover their mouths to force students to use their ears.
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Deaf comedian Harold Foxx, who was born and raised in Memphis, tweeted that when he was 4 or 5 years old, he visited the school with his mother and that they didn’t allow ASL or lipreading, and that they are still on it in 2020.
[Tweet “Born and raised in Memphis, after I became deaf by meningitis around 4-5 years old. My mom and I went to visit Memphis Oral School for the Deaf couple of times and it didn’t work out. ASL and lip/speech read not allowed isn’t new to us and it’s 2020 they are still on it. (facepalm emoji) They are still stuck on Dr. Alexander Graham’s method.]
I looked at the MOSD website, and one of its featured images and quotes said, “Giving deaf children the chance to be independent. No sign language is used.”
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The school is based in Germantown. Tennessee School for the Deaf is based in Knoxville, which is on the opposite side of the state.
https://twitter.com/beccamals/status/1291444006581424129
https://mosdkids.org