Power of Deaf and the Sixth Sense

Deaf community is a very challenging charitable institution that needs help. I think it is a need to help those people who are helpless. If i would choose a charity to help with. I will prioritize those charities in which the beneficiaries can't help themselves. Especially the elders and children because adults have no choice they need to work. 

Miriam College-Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf offers scholarship to deserving deaf students. From Pres-school to College.  Good thing that Miriam College Batch 86 (one of the alumni member is the famous TV anchor and Senator Mar Roxas Wife Korina Sanchez)  has the initiative to promote this advocacy and campaign to help the helpless.

During my last visit to this school I've heard some good news about its deaf graduates who became McDonald's Manager, UP fine arts Cum Laude, Malacanang Palace Chef and a lot more illustrious inspiring deaf around the world. That will inspire a lot of disable people, friends or family affected. That hope is just there if we were ready to dream and accept it. If this people can be like famous Beethoven who was deaf.  Milton was also blind but their names was made into history like this people above.  While my favorite daredevil comics movie was also a part of it. They develop its six sense when his eyes or ears were taken away from them in life misfortune. They can develop their other senses and skills. Like when somebody cut off your growth, you may grow on the other side. This is what i called the Power of  Deaf and the Sixth Sense.

We need to help them from especially the young ones. Who knows this children and youth would be the next superstar like Milton or Bethoveen? What to you think? Right now they have fund raising program that will rise 2 million pesos for the scholarship of these kids. 

The batch strongly believe that their faith and advocacy can move mountains. So we can also a part of it it may not be in a form of money but any form of help will do. Blogger Alvin , Fpj, Judy and Carol has experience the tour to this school and thanks to Azrael for inviting Us. Fpj teach me also cool basic sign language.

Contact for more Info: http://www.mc.edu.ph

Administrator

Carol C. Ui
Principal

Contact Details

MIRIAM COLLEGE- SOUTHEAST ASIAN INSTITUTE FOR THE DEAF

Katipunan Road, Loyola Heights
Quezon City 1108, Philippines

Telephones: (+632) 426-0171 or 925-7257

Email: mcsaid@mc.edu.ph

Press Release Info: Miriam College-Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf

(MC-SAID)

Maryknoll College Batch 86 Hosts 80’s Party for SAID scholars

In 1984, the sophomore batch of Maryknoll College jumped into the 80s club-house party craze and gave the party people a blast in “State of the Nation” – an apt title borrowed from the quintessential new wave song by the Industry.  Twenty-five years after, the fun-loving colegialas are back as the silver jubilarians of Maryknoll/Miriam College 2011 Homecoming.  With a promise to give back to their alma mater, Batch 1986 will stage yet another party that will bring back the 80s in “State of the Nation 2”.   This time, the party is not for sheer fun but for a more noble reason, that is, to raise funds for the education of Miriam College - Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf (MC-SAID) scholars. 

The Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf, started as a non-profit educational foundation in 1974, partnered with Maryknoll College in 1982, and was officially integrated into the Miriam College system in 2007.  MC-SAID, Southeast Asia’s first school for the deaf, adopts the Total Communication philosophy in educating deaf children --- an approach that focuses on the person’s rights to all forms of communication to gain competence and achieve success. 

Asked why the batch has chosen deaf students as beneficiaries of the fundraising project,  Olen Jalandoni, one of the organizers, explains that, “there is a need to help the doubly marginalized individuals”; meaning, the “disabled and underprivileged students who cannot afford to go to school.”  Needless to say, disadvantaged deaf students also deserve the right to quality education in pre-school, elementary, secondary, and tertiary courses to maximize their potentials and realize their own dreams. 

Members of Batch 86 have gone a long way from the wide-eyed teenyboppers to women who have found a deeper, more meaningful purpose.  The message is clear.  “State of the Nation 2” - a fundraising party for hearing impaired scholars is Maryknoll alumnae’s way of listening to the needs of others ---- and responding to them in the best way they can. 

Correne B. Reyes

Few things in life are more heartbreaking than a child waking up in middle of the night grieving and signing, “I miss my mama.” While her aunt is always there to offer comfort and consolation, it will conceivably take a while before Correne, still a 12-year-old seventh grader, can truly come to terms with her loss.

In the aftermath of the recent demise of her mother, an incident that is potentially incapacitating to even the strongest of people, Correne Reyes manages to keep her emotions at bay and splendidly continues to excel academically. Born deaf, cause unknown, on 25^th of June 1998 in Quezon City, Correne has been studying in Miriam College – Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf since preschool. She consistently garnered academic honors, managed to stay at the top of her class from third grade onwards, and expects, with sufficiently valid reason, to graduate from elementary school a valedictorian this year.

It is not always all work and no play for this well-rounded youngster. During her spare time, she reads books and comics, watches cartoons and the National Geographic channel, plays console games and surfs the Internet. She shares with her friends and classmates information that she accumulated from the media and interjects her own opinions regarding certain issues.

When asked how she feels about the world in general and hearing people in particular, she mentioned that while communication will always be her greatest challenge, there is nothing that cannot be done as long as there is a way. Communicating through gestures and pen-and-paper are fine as long as it effectively gets the message across.

Possibly due to the influence of her aunt whom she lives with and is currently working as a teacher, Correne harbors hopes of finishing college. Her favorite subject is Mathematics and she hopes to be gainfully employed as a teacher when she grows up.

Mary Antonette Lorenzo

Regardless of what society dictates that she, as a deaf child, can or cannot do, an eternally cheerful and headstrong fifteen-year-old high school freshman with a passion for dancing confidently sashayed her way through life, seemingly unfettered by the expectations that the world may have imposed upon her.

And the world has been imposing expectations even before she was born. With her mother having contracted German measles during pregnancy, Mary Antonette Lorenzo (or Maan as she is affectionately called by friends and family), born in Ilocos Norte on the fourth of October 1996, came to the world without an ability to keenly discern sounds amongst the auditory torrent that normally greets newborns. When she came of preschool age, the dearth of quality schools for the Deaf in Ilocos Norte prompted her parents to send her to live with their relatives in Quezon City so she can attend Miriam College – Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf where she has been studying on a scholarship since then. This living arrangement is also necessitated by the fact that her own family has been beset with financial difficulties; her relatives have to help out each other and even then, there are definitely times when things are harder to come by. Despite the potentially debilitating nature of her situation, she does not let it deter her. Maan consistently exhibited her mettle and determination to excel and finish each level with honors; she triumphantly graduated last year from elementary school a valedictorian.

Maan is a well-rounded student. Not only is she excelling in academics; she is also shining in her extracurricular endeavors. She performs in various presentations as a prominent member of the DAT (Dance, Arts, Theatre) Club and being extremely physically fit, she often leads her team to victory in interschool competitions.

When asked about her most cherished dreams, Maan grinned and declared that she desires to continue into tertiary education at Miriam College. Having the time of her life and truly enjoying her stay at school, she hopes to hang on and become a Physical Education and Science teacher at MC-SAID.

Miriam College-Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf

(MC-SAID)

Historical Background

Begun in 1974 as a non-profit educational foundation, the Southeast Asian Institute for the Deaf (SAID) is recognized as a forerunner in Total Communication.  The dream and dedication of a group of parents, educators of the deaf from Gallaudet University, deaf individuals and friends that started the program, has expanded and today challenges the deaf community to an even more far-reaching dream.

SAID stands as an expression of the benevolence of MIRIAM COLLEGE to allocate space for a school that has struggled for 33 years to find a “place in the sun”. In June 2007, SAID was integrated into the Miriam College system.  It now operates as one of the basic academic units of Miriam College.  MC-SAID is considered the first school for the deaf in the Southeast Asia to adopt the Total Communication philosophy in educating deaf children. The ultimate goal of SAID (now known as MC-SAID) is the mainstreaming of its graduates into the regular college and eventually in the working community.  The school aims to develop the maximum potential of the deaf child for a full and happy life.  Miriam College has helped realize this objective by offering a Mainstreamed College Program for deaf high school graduates.  The program was conceived as a stepping stone in concretizing the plans for providing higher educational opportunities for the deaf.  The motivating philosophy underlying this program of integration is the simple premise that children who are deaf have the right to dignity, individuality, uniqueness and to an opportunity to become fully participating citizens within their cultures, to the degree permitted by their abilities and capacities.

Vision-Mission

MC-SAID is a special school designed to develop deaf Filipinos who:

• as committed and responsible Christians, live their moral principles with conviction while respecting the beliefs and values of others.
• as special learners, strive for academic, social, cultural, and vocational competence and can respond intelligently and creatively to the challenges or a changing world despite their handicap.
• as members of society, use their knowledge and skills to help their fellowmen attain a better quality of life.

Philosophy of Education

Being ever mindful that a deaf child’s handicap is language deprivation, MC-SAID has accepted the Total Communication philosophy, a multilevel approach to the education of deaf children and is now an accepted practice in many of the educational programs for the deaf.  The philosophy implies the right of the deaf child to all forms of communication available in order that the child may develop goals of language competence and scholastic success.

Schools that accept Total Communication focus on the child’s abilities rather than his disabilities.  Adherence to this philosophy means a constant endeavor to communicate with the child in a way that he can understand.  Early exposure to signing doesn’t mean that access to speech and lipreading should be closed to the young deaf child as a foundation for subsequent linguistic growth and also as input for cognitive development.

The full commitment of MC-SAID to the Total Communication philosophy and approach to learning for the young deaf Filipino has survived.  It opened the minds and hearts of these young deaf children and their parents to new means of communication essential for normal psycho-social development.

Curriculum

Miriam College was granted government recognition by the Department of Education for the Pre-Elementary, Elementary and Secondary Special Education Courses for the Hearing-Impaired in 2009. 

At MC- SAID, special learning areas such as Speech, Auditory Training, Rhythm and Sign Language which are essential components in the education of a deaf child are integrated in the curriculum.

Programs and Services

• Academic Program from Preschool to High School              
• Speech Program
• Guidance and Counseling Program
• Sign Language Classes
• Faculty and Staff Development Program
• Christian Formation Program
• Scholarship Program
• Tutorial Program

Scholarship Program for Students who are Deaf

It is recognized in all countries that education of students with disabilities, specially in the tertiary level, is probably the most expensive.  In the future, it is hoped that some financial support will be seen as a government and institutional responsibility and a deaf student’s right.

Tuition and school fees have kept MC-SAID in continued operation for the past years; however, these fees depend largely on the fluctuating size of enrolment.  The present financial situation in the Philippines makes it more difficult for the school to accommodate children from low socio-economic status.

In response to one of the stumbling blocks of the Basic Education program and the Mainstreamed College Program for deaf students which has remained to be a major problem to this day—a channel of steady support for the disadvantaged deaf students to help them complete their Elementary, Secondary and Tertiary Courses (where deaf students concern themselves not only with cost of tuition fee but with interpreting and note-taking fees as well), Miriam College has developed a scholarship program for deaf students.

The Scholarship Program for the Deaf aims to support three (3) deserving deaf students in Miriam College to earn an Associate in Computer technology by subsidizing the cost of tuition and support services and ten (10) deserving deaf students enrolled in the Elementary and Secondary Programs at MC-SAID by partially subsidizing the cost of tuition and school fees.

The Program is based on the philosophy that every deaf child regardless of financial status should be given an opportunity for education and a chance to develop his potentials in order to prepare him for life in a world of work.  It is centered in the belief that all students with disabilities deserve a quality education that challenges them and prepares them for a world more respecting and accommodating of differences.

Most Frequently Asked Questions

1.      If you are deaf, are you mute?

No.  Deafness refers to the inability to hear and understand speech and other sounds.  It does not affect organs for speech and intelligence.  Deaf students are deaf; they are not ‘deaf and mute’; neither are they ‘deaf and dumb’.

2.      Can a hearing aid help them communicate?

To some extent, yes, but let us keep in mind that hearing aids amplify sound but they do not affect the ability to process sound.

3.       Are there no other assistance you can tap to help finance the scholarship?

Currently, we have individuals and organizations providing support to the scholarship program.  Assistance provided is done on an annual basis.  Any decrease in donations to the scholarship program is certainly a challenge to our work for the deaf children.

4.      How do we choose the scholars? Criteria of selection

There are operational guidelines set by the Scholarship Committee to be able to qualify for scholarship. 

For the College, the Scholarship Program is managed by the Miriam College Scholarship Committee chaired by the Associate Dean for Student affairs (ADSA) assisted by the Program Coordinator for Learners with Special Needs.  The committee receives and deliberates on applications and monitors the scholarship program.

For MC-SAID, the program is managed by the Scholarship Committee, composed of the Principal, Assistance Principal and the Guidance Counselor.  The Committee screens student-applicants and deliberates over their applications.  Once approved, the grantees are monitored by the Office of Student affairs throughout the year and are given guidance on their academic performance.

The funds are administered by Miriam College.

5.      Do you have students who graduated and became successful in their field of endeavor?

MC-SAID’s track record speaks of gainfully employed graduates in the different fields, among them in education, culinary arts, private and government agencies.

Our graduates also excel in the different colleges and universities.  About four have graduated with honors at Gallaudet University in Washington, DC (the only university for the deaf in the world), made it to the dean’s list at Miriam College and most recently, an MC-SAID graduate became the first deaf cum laude of UP’s College of Fine Arts.

6.      What is the level of competence of deaf students vs those who are in regular schools?  

 Are they able to cope with the main stream?

Given the appropriate support services that deaf students need (ex. interpreter, notetaker, tutors), deaf students have greater chance to cope with the mainstream.

The Department of Education uses the same academic curricula for hearing and deaf students, with the inclusion of special subjects such as speech, rhythm, and auditory training.  Though modifications are done for the deaf, the same minimum learning competencies are required for promotion of both groups of learners.  The main difference in educating the deaf lies in their basic problem of communication.  Due to the deaf’s inability to hear, serious language difficulties are encountered; thus, affecting their level of competence as compared to students who do not have hearing impairment. 

7.       What kind of scholarship does the institution need? (types of scholarship merit, 

              academic, financial and others)

            Currently, the only type of support we provide for our students is financial assistance. 

            We are hoping that we could provide academic scholarship later on.

8.       Why are we supporting deaf students, not the ‘regular scholars of Miriam College or students from MAE?

Being in a developing country, deaf children from poor families are doubly marginalized (poverty and disability) and do not have access to quality education; thus, limiting their development and potential to rise beyond the handicap brought about by their disabilities. Education is a step to facilitate the deaf person’s integration in our society and to becoming empowered members of the community.   By providing assistance to these students, we have provided them equal chance for learning and empowerment through education.

Miriam College Bank Accounts:

Peso Account

Account Name:           Miriam College Foundation, Inc.

Bank Name:                 Bank of the Philippine Islands

Branch:                          Katipunan Branch

Account No:                 3081-1112-42

USD Account

Account Name:           Miriam College Foundation, Inc.

Bank Name:                 Bank of the Philippine Islands

Branch:                          Katipunan Branch

Account No:                 3084-0375-31

Swift Code:                   BOPIPHMM

Reminder:  Have the depositor fax his/her bank validated deposit slip to 426-01-71 with his/her/organization’s/company/s name so Official Receipt can be requested by MC-SAID.