Deaf Education

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History​ ​of​ ​American​ ​Sign​ ​Language​ ​and​ ​Deaf​ ​Education​ ​around​ ​the World Ancient​ ​Egypt-​ ​c.​ ​3100​ ​to​ ​2686​ ​B.C. Unlike​ ​many​ ​other​ ​ancient​ ​societies,​ ​deaf​ ​and​ ​mute​ ​people​ ​were​ ​not harmed​ ​nor​ ​killed​ ​in​ ​Ancient​ ​Egypt.​ ​They​ ​were,​ ​in​ ​fact,​ ​believed​ ​to​ ​have been​ ​chosen​ ​by​ ​the​ ​gods​ ​and​ ​were​ ​respected​ ​and​ ​educated,​ ​usually through​ ​the​ ​combination​ ​of​ ​hieroglyphics​ ​and​ ​hand​ ​gestures. Egyptian​ ​God​ ​Ra,​ ​Maxpixel​ ​(2011) Ancient​ ​Greece-​ ​c.​ ​800​ ​to​ ​500​ ​B.C. Many​ ​famous​ ​Greek​ ​philosophers​ ​addressed​ ​the​ ​issue​ ​of​ ​deafness​ ​and​ ​muteness​ ​in their​ ​teachings,​ ​most​ ​famously​ ​Aristotle​ ​(right)​ ​in​ ​his​ ​work​ ​‘The​ ​Problems’.​ ​He​ ​wrote that​ ​deaf​ ​people​ ​were​ ​barbarians,​ ​because​ ​they​ ​could​ ​not​ ​speak​ ​Greek,​ ​and​ ​also stipulated​ ​that​ ​deaf​ ​people​ ​should​ ​not​ ​be​ ​educated.​ ​He​ ​wrote​ ​"Those​ ​who​ ​are​ ​born deaf​ ​all​ ​become​ ​senseless​ ​and​ ​incapable​ ​of​ ​reason”.​ ​Plato,​ ​however,​ ​disagreed​ ​and mentioned​ ​people​ ​using​ ​basic​ ​gestures​ ​and​ ​signs​ ​to​ ​communicate.​ ​He​ ​believed​ ​deaf people​ ​had​ ​intelligence​ ​and​ ​should​ ​be​ ​educated,​ ​though​ ​he​ ​did​ ​not​ ​mention​ ​an instances​ ​of​ ​deaf​ ​(or​ ​‘dumb’,​ ​as​ ​they​ ​were​ ​called)​ ​people​ ​being​ ​educated. Socrates,​ ​Wikimedia​ ​(2002)


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