An interesting note to the topic of Deaf Education in Canada can be found in the attached document, entitled Ontario College of Teachers 2013 Registration Guide: Requirements for Becoming a Teacher of Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing in Ontario. This document outlines the necessary qualifications that must be held by a teacher wishing to instruct Deaf or Hard of Hearing students within the Ontario provincial school system.
Within the outlined pre-requisites for teachers of this particular speciality, there is a section entitled Deaf and Hard of Hearing . The paragraph states "You must provide evidence of a hearing loss of 70 decibels or greater" (Ontario College of Teachers, 2013, pg. 4). To clarify, this specifically states that in order to become a teacher for Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing children, you must have a significant, documented hearing loss yourself.
A number of questions arise from this discovery. Why should Hard of Hearing/Deaf teachers be required to provide documentation of their audiological status, while teachers of hearing children are not required to do the same? Can this be considered discrimination/audism? We should also take into consideration the difficulty experienced by Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals in seeking admission to programs qualifying them to teach Deaf Education. While precise numbers are not available, there are significantly less Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals than hearing individuals successfully entering, completing, and graduating with qualifications in Deaf Education, which begs the question 'are teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Ontario meeting the outlined requirements of the Ontario College of Teachers'?
Within the outlined pre-requisites for teachers of this particular speciality, there is a section entitled Deaf and Hard of Hearing . The paragraph states "You must provide evidence of a hearing loss of 70 decibels or greater" (Ontario College of Teachers, 2013, pg. 4). To clarify, this specifically states that in order to become a teacher for Deaf and/or Hard of Hearing children, you must have a significant, documented hearing loss yourself.
A number of questions arise from this discovery. Why should Hard of Hearing/Deaf teachers be required to provide documentation of their audiological status, while teachers of hearing children are not required to do the same? Can this be considered discrimination/audism? We should also take into consideration the difficulty experienced by Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals in seeking admission to programs qualifying them to teach Deaf Education. While precise numbers are not available, there are significantly less Deaf/Hard of Hearing individuals than hearing individuals successfully entering, completing, and graduating with qualifications in Deaf Education, which begs the question 'are teachers of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Ontario meeting the outlined requirements of the Ontario College of Teachers'?
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