Laurent Clerc and Thomas Gallaudet Deaf Education Research Paper

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Laurent ClercLaurent Clerc was an important figure in the history of Deaf education in America. He was born in 1785 in a small village in France. When he was just a year old, he fell off a chair into the fireplace in the kitchen. He was badly burned on his face and his sense of smell and hearing were totally damaged. The accident left him Deaf (Laurent Clerc Biography).Laurent grew up in a time when Deaf people in France were not given many opportunities for education or employment. He did not attend school until 1797, when he was 12 years old. However, the school was strict and the teacher had no patience for Laurent Clerc’s special needs. The teacher even struck the child under the chin after being frustrated by Laurent’s struggles to speak correctly (Laurent Clerc Biography). The blow was so devastating for Laurent that never again tried to speak.Things would have continued to go badly for Laurent—but, fortunately, he was able to attend the Royal Institution for Deaf and Dumb Youth in Paris, which was one of the few schools in the world at that time that provided education for Deaf students. He was a student there, and then he became a teacher there (Laurent Clerc Biography).It was in England that Laurent Clerc met Thomas Gallaudet. Gallaudet was interested in learning about Deaf education, and he had traveled to Europe to investigate different approaches to educating Deaf students. While in England, he attended a lecture given by Clerc (Sundsmo). As an American educator, Gallaudet was impressed with Laurent's intelligence and communication skills and asked him to come to America to help him start the school for the deaf in Connecticut.

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Laurent agreed, and the two men traveled to America in 1816. They founded the American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut, which was the first school for Deaf children in America. It was originally…

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…life and work were an inspiration to many in the Deaf community. He overcame significant barriers to education and employment and devoted his life to improving the lives of Deaf people in America. His legacy continues to live on today through the many schools and organizations that he helped establish, as well as through the continued use and development of Sign Language as a means of communication. He is especially remembered and honored at Gallaudet University.On an interesting side note, Clerc married one of his first students, Eliza Crocker Boardman. Marrying one’s pupil would most likely raise a few eyebrows today, but back then no one seemed to mind. No one ever questioned Clerc’s character, for that matter. He was remembered as a kind, compassionate, and honorable human being when he died. Moreover, he and Eliza had six children together, the first of them born in 1819 (Laurent Clerc Biography). This suggests the Clerc family was on pretty good….....

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