158 education
Residential schools
Deaf children live at these schools and return home only for weekends
or holidays. Children at residential schools often learn skills for work,
like computers, mechanics, art, and farming, as well as reading,
writing, and math.
...and who can
tell me what
12x12 is?
I’ll never
remember
all this!
Come sit with
us at lunch
and we’ll help
you with it.
Families sometimes worry about their children when they are far from
home. Communicating with families of other students, visiting their
children at school, and meeting the children’s friends and teachers can
help parents feel more comfortable when their children are away at
residential schools.
Like anywhere else where children live, there are chances for abuse at
a residential school (see Chapter 13 for information on abuse). Parents
must encourage their children in residential schools to communicate
their problems to teachers, house parents, and others.
Most deaf people who have studied in residential schools found the
experience good. Even though they missed their families, the school gave
them more opportunities to communicate with a larger group of people,
and the deaf students created close communities with other students and
the staff.
Day schools for the deaf
These day schools teach
only deaf students. The
children live at home
with their families and
continue to interact
with hearing children
and adults in their community.
Helping Children Who Are Deaf (2004)