Van Asch College
Encyclopedia
Van Asch Deaf Education Centre is located in Truro Street, Sumner
, Christchurch
, New Zealand
. It is a special school for deaf children, accepting both day and residential pupils, as well being as a resource centre providing services and support for parents, mainstream students and their teachers.
The school was founded in 1880 and it claims that it "was the first fully government funded school for the Deaf in the world." Formerly called the Sumner Deaf and Dumb Institution, Sumner Institution for Deaf-Mutes and Sumner School for the Deaf, the school was renamed in its centenary year as van Asch College in honour of its first Principal, Gerrit van Asch. It is now known as the van Asch Deaf Education Centre.
In 1958, the Boy's House was burnt down in the early hours of the morning.
The old main building was centred near the hills and Evans Pass.
(now New Zealand's third official language). Children were taught exclusively via oral methods, forcing them to learn to lipread and speak, with punishments being given for use of sign language.
In 1992 the Board of Trustees had its first deaf chairperson.
In 1993 the first Sign Language tutor was employed.
In 1997 the first deaf teacher was employed.
Sumner, New Zealand
Sumner is a coastal seaside suburb of Christchurch, New Zealand and was surveyed and named in 1849 in honour of John Bird Sumner, the then newly appointed Archbishop of Canterbury and president of the Canterbury Association...
, Christchurch
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
. It is a special school for deaf children, accepting both day and residential pupils, as well being as a resource centre providing services and support for parents, mainstream students and their teachers.
The school was founded in 1880 and it claims that it "was the first fully government funded school for the Deaf in the world." Formerly called the Sumner Deaf and Dumb Institution, Sumner Institution for Deaf-Mutes and Sumner School for the Deaf, the school was renamed in its centenary year as van Asch College in honour of its first Principal, Gerrit van Asch. It is now known as the van Asch Deaf Education Centre.
History
In 1904, an Act of Parliament forced parents to enrol their deaf children at the college (then known as the Sumner Institute).In 1958, the Boy's House was burnt down in the early hours of the morning.
The old main building was centred near the hills and Evans Pass.
Oralist beginnings
Up until the late 1970s, the philosophy of the school was to prevent the students from using sign languageNew Zealand Sign Language
New Zealand Sign Language or NZSL is the main language of the Deaf community in New Zealand. It became an official language of New Zealand in April 2006, alongside Te Reo Māori....
(now New Zealand's third official language). Children were taught exclusively via oral methods, forcing them to learn to lipread and speak, with punishments being given for use of sign language.
Bilingual teaching
In the late 1970s, the school switched to bilingual teaching and currently, in addition to presenting the curriculum in NZSL, Sign Supported English and oral (aural) modes, the College now offers the facility for deaf and hearing-impaired students being educated in mainstream settings to learn about NZSL as part of a Deaf Studies curriculum.Deaf Staff
The employment of deaf gardeners, cooks and cleaners has been credited with having a significant effect on the transmission of signs between generations, with children picking up signs the auxiliary staff used to communicate with each other, despite disapproval from teaching staffIn 1992 the Board of Trustees had its first deaf chairperson.
In 1993 the first Sign Language tutor was employed.
In 1997 the first deaf teacher was employed.