Plus Curriculum gets final nod

THE JAMAICA Association for the Deaf (JAD) and the Organisation of American States, National Conference on Bilingual Deaf Education, came to a close with a number of proposals put forward on how to implement and properly monitor the use of the Plus Curriculum within JAD schools across the country.

The three-day event, which ended last Thursday, was aimed at educating stakeholders for the reform of deaf education in Jamaica. The Plus Curriculum is JAD's adapted version of the Ministry of Education's language curricula for schools for the deaf.

Suggestions

Some of the suggested plans to efficiently implement and monitor the curriculum, put forward by participating teachers, parents and students were:

A parent/child activity project. This strategy should include fun activities for both parents and children to carry out, while sensitising them about the curriculum's aim in the educational system.

The implementation of media related programmes, which caters to the deaf community. These programmes would include interviews and skits with persons living with the mentioned disability, as it would enforce the use of the language of the deaf community (sign language) for it to be better understood.

Consistent evaluation of the teachers' use of the syllabus by the principal or JAD officials, so as to ensure adequate knowledge is gained by students at their grade level, accordingly.

Executive Officer at JAD, Iris Soutar, disclosed that the curriculum is in the final phase of completion, and should be available to schools between September and December.

She added that with the implementation of this curriculum, deaf students will be better able, or more interested, in the learning process as more emphasis will be placed on education through visual means. She said this is so as, "deaf persons are predominantly visual learners in contrast to their hearing counterparts who have both sense benefits."

Soutar further noted that the aspect of our cultural language was missing from the ministry's curriculum as it deals strictly with standard English. This, she said, "is something that JAD had taken into consideration and, as such, incorporated into the Plus Curriculum. "We want the Jamaican sign language to be recognised, respected and used in classrooms as patois is a part of our culture."