PETITION: BSL for Mary Hare Schools


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1. ABOLITION OF ORALISM @ Mary Hare Schools
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1a. We call for Mary Hare Group (Mary Hare Secondary School, Mary Hare Primary School and Mary Hare Sixth Form College) to abolish oralism & auralism i.e. the cruel method of forcing spoken English only on Deaf children and children with hearing impairments and not using British Sign Language (BSL) in the classroom.

1b. Mary Hare should be a leading beacon in encouraging other schools not to use oralism/auralism alone. Speech training should only be accepted by the Deaf community and the BSL community as long as BSL is used to aid one's development in spoken English.


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2. NATURAL LANGUAGE APPROACH
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2a. At Mary Hare, the natural approach to education SHOULD be taught through BSL, the natural language of Deaf Children and children with hearing impairments.

2b. BSL should be used as a REAL language at Mary Hare. When Mary Hare converts to a bilingual school, educational interpreters will be provided (the Mary Hare Group should provide this) for teachers who are unable to learn BSL quickly.

2c. Mary Hare should be the centre of excellence in the development of BSL education in the UK and the world.

2d. Support should be provided for parents whose children are at Mary Hare in BSL training and acquistion and awareness on how using BSL improves their children's spoken English - and of course, their intelligence.


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3. DEAF EMPOWERMENT and DEAF INCLUSIVENESS
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3a. 51\% of the Board of Governors should be Deaf BSL Users.

3b. Upon conversion to the bilingual approach, the Mary Hare Group should set a target for 51\% of its workforce to be Deaf and fluent in BSL


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4. MARY HARE TO SUPPORT THE PROPOSED BRITISH SIGN LANGUAGE ACT
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4. Mary Hare should support future pro-BSL language legalisation.