Grade 5 Up-This book not only addresses the controversy concerning the virtues of oralism v. manualism, but also focuses on deaf people's struggle for civil rights. The well-written text covers education of the deaf from ancient Greece to the present, with particular attention paid to the raging debate between Alexander Graham Bell and Edward Miner Gallaudet over the proper method of communication. Also included is a section dealing with the 1988 Gallaudet University revolt, when student protests were successful in seeing a deaf man appointed president of the university. The text is well organized, interest-holding, and thoughtfully presented. Informative black-and-white photographs of average quality appear throughout.
Christine A. Moesch, Buffalo and Erie County Public Library, NY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Gr. 7-12. Walker thoroughly documents the prejudice, ignorance, infighting, controversies, and conflicting philosophies that have marked the history of the education of deaf people since the Middle Ages, focusing mainly on education since the early 1800s. She attempts to maintain a balanced point of view by discussing historical and current practices (oralism, combined methods, total communication, residential school placement, signing exact English, and more), but her support for the bilingual-bicultural approach, in which deaf children are taught mainly in American Sign Language, seems evident. Walker states that this approach is still "a subject of hot debate," but she concludes that debate is healthy and new, improved methods may arise from it. She also chronicles the "Deaf Pride" movement and lists the achievements of prominent deaf Americans and Canadians. An extensive bibliography of sources on deafness and signing is provided. Chris Sherman
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