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Music Education For The Deaf And Hearing-Handicappped Analysis

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“Music Education for the Deaf and Hearing-Handicapped” is an intriguing work by Timothy J. Brown, which can be found in the collection of essays, Spotlight on Making Music with Special Learners. Not only is this work stimulating as a reader, but it also relates to my experiences at Nazareth College, where I completed an American Sign Language class as well as student teaching experiences. Through my analysis of this article, I have recognized that the hearing community has struggled with music education for the Deaf or hard of hearing. Many encounter problems because the supported literature and resources are few and far between. Others, however, make little effort for this hard of hearing community. To some, music education of the Deaf is a fruitless pursuit, reasoning with the thought, why teach someone who cannot hear the music anyway? Thinking in this way, however, is neglecting for any individual and is surely unacceptable for school districts. Considering the congressional law PL 94-142, …show more content…

As a teacher, you can help the hard of hearing students by wearing a FM microphone, which may already be required by the school district. Standing close to the child or placing them near speakers or the piano will also greatly influence their education. Additionally, modification of lesson plans and your teaching style will need be to be addressed. Bringing American Sign Language into any song or other activity you teach is generally a good idea. Displaying text on the board or giving the student a personal textual context will satisfy not only the different learning styles you will encounter in your classroom, but also positively impact the hard of hearing student. This article also suggests to keep the music and activities relevant to both communities of hearing and hard of hearing in your classroom. This will allow you, as the teacher, to avoid unrealistic expectations for the hard of hearing

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