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Concordia School of the Deaf Written by: Cindy Chou Gr. 6 – Based on a school visit Friday, March 6, 1998
As I entered the narrow halls of the Concordia School of the deaf, I felt a thrill rush through me. There were bulletin boards on the walls, and in each of those bulletin boards were filled with work, mostly drawings, that the kids had done. Suddenly the bell rang, and I saw that there were two parts of the bell; it was like two lights next to each other, and one was green, the other red. I learned that it was the fire bell, too, since the students were all (at least) partly hearing-impaired, and it was easier to catch their attention with the bells being different colored. Most of the students were born with disabilities, but many of them had other sicknesses later, too, which bothered their growth. The whole school was as big as half the size of our gym! Our teacher had told us it would be small, since there were only about 40 students who attended, so I guess it was pretty much what I expected. 
Then we got a tour of the school. There were about 7 classrooms, each with about 4 students in it. They had 4 computers in a tiny room sitting in front of a classroom. A row of normal-sized lockers were also there, on the side of the quiet halls. Later I interviewed the principal and a few other faculty members. "This school is filled with students who not only have problems that include hearing, but also other disabilities, such as understanding the things we say," said the principal. "Here the students speak Cantonese and are learning to speak English. They are also very fortunate, because many other kids who are disabled are often neglected in the family and moved to China, where their other relatives can also look after them." I learned that there was one student who was graduating and attending University next year, and she was going to be a teacher at a school for special education, too. They attend school from 9:00 to 4:15. The bell rang again; it was time for break, and all the students filed into the assembly hall where we had gathered when we first entered the school. We started the game; everyone had a partner and was to remember the sign language of the questions we were supposed to ask the students. After everyone had finished, we gathered for a group photo and the teachers announced the winners and gave out prizes. I have learned quite a lot here on my trip to the Concordia School of the deaf, and I hope you have, too. Let us pray for these unfortunate kids and have faith in them to be successful, not to be discouraged and never give up.
By: Cindy Chou |
