Milan Conference of 1880
The Milan Conference of 1880 set the standards of Deaf Education around the world for 130 years, and continues to echo in the Deaf Community as one of the greatest atrocities in the history of their culture. The conference was organized and hosted by strong supporters of the oral/aural method of instruction, who ensured the successful vote in favour of oralism by:
In the years since the Milan Conference, evidence has been brought forward of the manipulation of the vote for oralism, including claims such as:
As a result of the apparent methods of manipulation at the Milan Conference, eight resolutions were passed for the education of Deaf children around the world. As seen on www.milan1880.com, the resolutions passed were as follows:
Summary of the Eight Resolutions
With the passing of these eight resolutions, the banning of signed languages and the emphasis on oral/aural methods in the classroom has resulted in the widespread belief that all Deaf individuals should learn to speak, that hearing is the 'ideal' over deafness and that signed languages are a lessened, incomplete form of communication that should be discouraged. It was not until July 2010 that a formal retraction and apology for these events was announced at the International Conference for the Education of the Deaf (ICED) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
The Milan Conference of 1880 set the standards of Deaf Education around the world for 130 years, and continues to echo in the Deaf Community as one of the greatest atrocities in the history of their culture. The conference was organized and hosted by strong supporters of the oral/aural method of instruction, who ensured the successful vote in favour of oralism by:
- Selecting who would be invited to the conference, the vast majority being fellow supporters of the oral/aural method
- Holding demonstrations of "successful" oral method students
- Encouraging the ridicule and mocking of speeches supporting the use of signed languages
- Including only 2 Deaf delegates within the 164 delegates invited to the conference
In the years since the Milan Conference, evidence has been brought forward of the manipulation of the vote for oralism, including claims such as:
- Demonstrations of the oral method were long rehearsed by students, and questions were always answered correctly, sometimes even before the question had been asked
- Audience members were not permitted to ask questions of the students participating in the demonstrations
- Students participating in these demonstrations were revealed to have become deafened post-lingual, meaning they had learned to speak prior to losing their hearing
- Only 13 delegates that were invited and attended the conference were supporters of the use of signed languages in Deaf Education- the vast majority of those invited to the conference were from countries that strongly supported oralism
As a result of the apparent methods of manipulation at the Milan Conference, eight resolutions were passed for the education of Deaf children around the world. As seen on www.milan1880.com, the resolutions passed were as follows:
Summary of the Eight Resolutions
- Resolution 1: instruction by the oral method in deaf education must be preferred- voted 160 to 4 in favour on 7/9/1880.
- Resolution 2: effectively sealing the fate of sign language in the education of the deaf- voted 150 to 16 in favour on 9/9/1880.
- Resolution 3: providing the education of poor deaf children and adults- unanimously voted in favour on 10/9/1880.
- Resolution 4: creating guidelines on how to instruct deaf pupils orally- carried on 11/9/1880.
- Resolution 5: the need for instructional books for deaf oral teachers- carried on 11/9/1880.
- Resolution 6: to ensure the long-term benefits of oral instruction- carried on 11/9/1880.
- Resolution 7: the optimal ages for oral education and length of instruction- carried on 11/9/1880.
- Resolution 8: phasing out of sign-language-using pupils and to create segregation of sign and oral pupils if necessary-carried on 11/9/1880.
With the passing of these eight resolutions, the banning of signed languages and the emphasis on oral/aural methods in the classroom has resulted in the widespread belief that all Deaf individuals should learn to speak, that hearing is the 'ideal' over deafness and that signed languages are a lessened, incomplete form of communication that should be discouraged. It was not until July 2010 that a formal retraction and apology for these events was announced at the International Conference for the Education of the Deaf (ICED) in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Resources used for this information include the following:
Sturley, N. (2005). Retrieved from www.milan1880.com
Youngs, M. (2013 , October 01). Milan conference presentation.
Sturley, N. (2005). Retrieved from www.milan1880.com
Youngs, M. (2013 , October 01). Milan conference presentation.
