Dominicans: pioneers in deaf education

For a Catholic school for deaf children, the goal is to integrate its pupils into the mainstream of society, as CLAIRE MATHIESON reports.

Learners from the Dominican-Grimley Primary School learn through specialised teaching methods that will help integrate them into society.

There is a “definite need” for schools that aim at providing top quality education while caring for the whole person. This is the vision of the Cape Town based Dominican-Grimley School for the hearing impaired.

Based on the Dominican education tradition that goes back more than 700 years, the Dominican-Grimley school has dedicated its services to the hearing impaired of Cape Town for 148 years. It has seen various buildings, much growth and method changes but today, based in Hout Bay, the school serves 94 learners through preschool to matric.

Principal Maria Kerbelker said the school fills an important need in the area. “There is a definite need for those children who cannot cope and who cannot be accommodated in mainstream schools. The hearing-impaired learner needs a smaller class, specialised language teaching, audiological management as well as speech therapy.”

Mrs Kerbelker said the difficulty a deaf learner faces is often made harder because of late identification of deafness and severe socio-economic conditions. “It is essential that these learners are given intensive language teaching in a specialised environment.”

The goal of the Dominican-Grimley school is to provide a teaching environment conducive to the oral method which calls for the maximum use of modern electronic amplification in an acoustically orientated building.

Furthermore, due to its out-of-town-location, it is important to give young learners a feeling of home, as well as freedom from feeling confined. Many of the learners are boarders. Mrs Kerbelker said she was very proud of the facilities the school was able to provide the learners.

The school welcomes all deaf learners regardless of their religious affiliation. Despite the low number of Catholic learners, the Catholic ethos is instilled in the students through religious education and the Dominican motto of “Veritas” (meaning truth). “Staff members, regardless of their own religious beliefs, are expected to uphold the ethos,” said Mrs Kerbelker, adding that the learners are encouraged to “share and care” for others as many of them are from extremely deprived backgrounds.

Bishop Thomas Grimley, vicar-apostolic of the Cape of Good Hope from 1861-71, had been actively associated with the education of the deaf in Dublin, and secured the Irish Dominican Sisters for work in South Africa in 1863. The superior of the pioneer sisters, Mother Dympna, began to teach deaf-mute children almost at once upon her arrival at the Cape and shortly afterwards the Grimley Institute for the Deaf and Dumb was founded under the patronage of Bishop Grimley. This work for the deaf was entirely voluntary and without government recognition until 1908.

Mrs Kerbelker said the Dominican Sisters were pioneers in the work with the deaf education, and the methods of teaching have continued to improve and develop.

“In the 19th century, the manual system involving the use of both finger spelling and conventional signs was the recognised method of teaching the deaf. However, in the early 20th century, lip reading and speech gradually took the place of the signs,” she said.

To keep up with the best teaching techniques, the school’s teachers receive continuous training at school as well as attending courses and seminars.

The school is also closely connected with both the

Tygerberg Hospital Cochlear Unit and Carel Du Toit School and Parent Centre.

While the school is specially equipped to provide the best environment for hearing impaired students, the school also prepares senior students for life after Grimley.

“Career guidance is offered from Grades 10 to 12, but more specifically to Grade 12 learners,” said Ms Kerbelker.

“The school looks out for opportunities—either further education or jobs directly following completion of the learners’ school career. There are established links with various companies and with the National Institute of the Deaf.”

The school will deal directly with colleges if the need should arise and career guidance is provided to students to find career paths best suited to the individual. Mrs Kerbelker said that while careers which require hearing as an essential part of the job are not suitable for the learners, the school encourages learners to “aim high”.

“We have enjoyed a 100% pass rate to date. Learners write the National Senior Certificate exam, where no allowances are made except that our deaf learners are not required to do a second language. The second language is replaced with an alternative subject from an approved selection,” explained Mrs Kerbelker.

Ms Kerbelker said the child’s needs are catered for in small classes by a dedicated team of educators. “Learning takes place both inside and outside the classroom as we believe children learn through personal experience.” In addition, all children are encouraged to participate in sport—forming part of the school’s philosophy of developing well-rounded children.

Mrs Kerbelker said the children are given the opportunity to learn to communicate in English, which will enable them to succeed in both tertiary education and in the work place one day.

“Our goal is to enable the deaf child to integrate into the hearing world.”

While the school hopes the learner will be able to attend a mainstream school, the Dominican-Grimley school is designed in such a way that the learner will be given the best possible start to life.