who was the deaf person who traveled to america in 1817 to help set up a school for the deaf 1.1
History of deaf education in the United States In 1812 in New England, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet met a little girl named Alice Cogswell, who inspired him to create a school for the deaf in the United States. In 1815, he traveled to Europe to gain insight on their methods of teaching deaf students.[11] He attempted to learn from the Braidwood system, but the administrators wanted him to sign a contract, remain at the school for several years to be trained in oralism, and agree to keep the teaching methods of the school a secret; Gallaudet refused this.[11] He attended a lecture in France by Abbé Sicard showcasing two successful pupils of Paris' National Institution for Deaf-Mutes, Jean Massieu and Laurent Clerc. Gallaudet spent several months at the school, and he convinced Clerc, a thirty-year-old assistant teacher, to return with him to Hartford, Connecticut. Back in America, they established the Connecticut Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, which was later named the American School for the Deaf, in 1817. Gallaudet was the director, and Clerc was the first deaf teacher in America. Alice Cogswell was one of the first seven students.[12]
National Theatre of the Deaf The history of the NTD has been recorded in a variety of sources. Helen Powers, a journalist, wrote extensively about the NTD in her book Signs of Silence. The NTD has been discussed by D/deaf individuals in their published biographies such as Lessons in Laughter: An Autobiography by a Deaf Actor by Bernard Bragg and in primary sources such as personal interviews for newspapers such as Silent News (a publication for the D/deaf), journals such as the Puppetry Journal, and television shows such as Deaf Mosaic which aired regularly during the 80s and 90s. Additionally, several scholars have included details about the NTD, its formation and development, in their academic dissertations when obtaining advanced degrees.[5]:24-25; 41-42; 55-56; 70-71; 83-84; 95-96; 109-110; 117-118