Right to use sign language in educational programmes

The words of George Veditz, former president of the National Association of the Deaf, seem as fresh today as they did 100 years ago:

"Right now let me say that a person who thus disregards the opinions of the educated and organized deaf has no license to pose as an educator of the deaf nor as the head of a school supported by the taxes of the people and of which they pay their share. And right here let me say that the organized deaf do not understand their own might. It is in their power, if united, to dictate to the schools what methods of education should be pursued therein. Their cause is so palpably just that public, legislators and parents must in the end side with them." 

We must always remember Veditz's words were during a dark time of our history when Deaf educators saw their jobs being eliminated and replaced by arrogant hearing educators who did not know sign language. Many of the state funded schools for the Deaf were overrun by people advocating for only the oral education method regardless of whether the Deaf child benefited from it.  Sign language was not taught and in many cases harshly forbidden in the schools.

I will echo the words in my beautiful sign language, along with millions others who share it today, "Never again!"