Darryl Hackett, 44, is now living in Ottawa and working for the Department of National Defence as a software system developer, a post he’s held for the last 10 years.
He was born deaf. The only deaf child and the only boy in seven children. He went to the School for the Deaf when he was five and graduated from there in 1985.
He doesn’t lip read, so the Star spoke to Hackett with the help of his sister, Lynn Kendall.
He’s upset the school he graduated from 25 years ago closed.
He enjoyed his time there and made good friends. Some of those friends lost their jobs when the school closed.
“I felt upset and disgusted by the decision because I felt the government should not have made the decision without any consultation from the parents of deaf children, the Newfoundland and Labrador Association of the Deaf and the educators of the deaf,” Hackett said.
He said the reasons government cite for closing the school aren’t justified and believes the province severely restricted enrollment giving an excuse to shut the school. Just four children resided at the facility in the last school year.
He doesn’t feel government has been honest with the public about the services the children will get in the public school system. He worries the specialized services these students require won’t be available, efficient or effective.
“There is already a lack of certified and qualified interpreters for their deaf children which has not been addressed by government yet,” he said. “Un-qualified and un-certified interpreters can not do those jobs because they would affect the education of the children.”
During his years in Ottawa, Hackett said the move to inclusive schools has not been without problems. He believes enrolling deaf children in mainstream schools doesn’t eliminate prejudice.
“I have witnessed how and what the mainstream programs have done to deaf children and they have turned out not too well for them,” he said. “Just a few of them are doing well.”
