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From: James.Womack@f14.n300.z1.fidonet.org (James Womack)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Re: Mensa
Message-ID: <15848@handicap.news>
Date: 30 May 91 04:03:21 GMT
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[This is from the Silent Talk Conference]

Dennis, I enjoyed your response to me. Thank you. It was very informative.
I just want you to be aware that what I was describing was the reason
why so many Deaf people son't do well on written tests. It is not the
fault of the test makers and such. The educational system with its
focus on  speech andthe utterly artificial method of teaching to English
to the Deaf child is and has been for two hundred years a failure.
With a few exceptions-usually with post lingugally deafened persons.
What happens then is that you get a person who has little true mastery
of English being tested with an English based test. Now you mentioned
the Mensa test being at the newspaper level (you said about 7th grade).
Ok, good. Now do you know that the average Deaf person graduates from
high school with a 3rd to 4th grade reading level? That's what I was
referring to as the reason why so few deafies would be members of Mensa.
Not for lack of potential ability, but because educational system has
and is failing them. This is what I and certain other people on this
echo rail so much against to the chagrin of some. Oh yeah, heheheheh;
by the way, do you knwo that chagrin originally meant the rump of a
horse? It later got associated with rough hide materials and came to
mean abrasive and unpleasant.

Well, in any case, I just want you to be aware that I don't want to
seem to be knocking Mensa. They have nothing to do with the deaf education
situation, but the fact they would probably attempt to make an ASL
test says probably fresh unabiased blood like them probably should
be in involved. You take it easy, fellow.

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