Perspectives on Deaf Epistemologies

[...] there is a growing chorus of support for the assertion that teachers and other professionals need to be aware of the epistemic foundations of their disciplines to ensure that they are critical thinkers and are engaging in the use of truthful and accurate information in the classroom and other learning environments (e.g., Fenstermacher & Soltis, 2004; Noddings, 1995; Phillips & Soltis, 2004). Perhaps there is also a connection to or a judgment about the ensuing statements, which have been motivated, at least, by the notion of Deaf epistemologies (discussed in Paul, 2009): * Individuals who are d/Deaf are visual learners. * All d/Deaf children/adolescents should be taught d/Deaf culture/history * Individuals who are d/Deaf learn differently from hearing individuals. * Anything based on sound/speech is not appropriate for d/Deaf learners. * Most of deaf education is focused on deficits, not cultural or individual proclivities. * Students who are d/Deaf should be taught mostly by Deaf teachers. * Models for teaching should be based solely or predominantly on patterns of interactions involving sign language using dyads such as Deaf mothers/teachers and d/Deaf children. * American Sign Language (or any sign language) is the natural language of d/Deaf individuals. * The Deaf brain or the Deaf mind is different from the hearing brain or the hearing mind. * There is no psychology of the Deaf or of deafness. * Mainstream theories and research are inappropriate or not sufficient for understanding d/Deaf individuals.