The Deaf Child

05.04.01 Siepee’s Monastery

49th clip - Title: Entering the Monastery - 6:01 m./4:35:17 h.

This clip/post focuses on the world’s first public (free) school for the deaf in Paris, France, known either as the INJS or the St. Jacques school. The formal name is, in English - the National Institution of the Deaf Youth. To view the video about this school as visited in 1992, please click on this link to go to my website post focused on that school or this link to the video posted at my deafhistory youtube channel.

I also would like to share a short anecdote to reflect many “mystical” or “omen signal” connections the myth directed me to notice within the “Deaf” Life we experience on earth. For example, in one myth discussion session in 2003, a participant brought up the Martha’s Vineyard topic in deaf history - which led me to notice that the initials of the name of the god in this myth, VisMa, is VM which corresponds to the reversed initials of Martha’s Vineyard - MV. And then I experienced a goose-pimpled realization, almost mystical.

Another stronger but similiar experience happened when I first walked into the St. Jacques school in 1992. The name of this chapter, Siepee’s Monastery, was coined before I traveled to Europe to visit various historical sites behind the myth. When I opened the large green doors at the front entrance, the first thing I saw was the high iron gates few feet away directly opposite me. Both the iron gates and the green doors enclosed a small “foyer” where visitors need to go to a booth on one side in order to gain entrance to the school. As you can see in the St. Jacques video (links above), I noticed the two letters on the gate - S and M . . . . Lo and behold - Siepee’s Monastery! Goose-pimples all over. I knew what they might mean and after asking a local deaf person from the school for verification, my gut instinct was right that S stands for sourde (deaf) and M for muet (mute). I then knew that the name for the 5th chapter of the Deaf Child mythology was exactly right - to the bull’s eye.

All right, enjoy viewing the Deaf Child’s first reactions when entering the Monastery for the first time. Click away . . .

Click here for YouTube if above is undownloadable, too slow, or wanting full screen. Thank you.

Myth Commentary: As in any myth/epic of an archetypal hero-savior, there are “way-stations” where the hero stopped by during her/his journey of “development”. Some of these places became obstacles or challenges to endure (for example, Hein’s Castle). Other places became refuges or temporary homes (for example, Siepee’s Monastery as for our Deaf Child. This 05.04 clip or scene is deemed universal because almost all deaf people underwent the similar experience of entering a “deaf” school (or class) for the first time. As in almost every clip of the myth (or the myth as a whole), it is probably not possible to stop analyzing the symbolism/applications/meanings the myth offers in connection to our dDeafhood, dDeaf experience, and Deaf history. That is why creating this myth over 19 years still is a long, slow, cerebral, and somehow sensual pleasure for me.

Deaf History Commentary: The connection between monasteries/monks and deaf education in deaf history is fascinating and document able. Words have been written about the use of sign language among the monks and its’ contribution to deaf education. Here are several links if the “curiosity got your cat.”

The wikipedia entry.
A book published by Cambridge University Press.
A 1997 book about Benedictine monks and sign language.
A journal article or the book by Susan Plann on the history of deaf education in Spain.

The use of a monastery to serve as the archtype symbolizing our earliest signing deaf schools in Europe AND of the monks as another archetype symbolozing our first signing teachers of the deaf is a way for me/us to give thanks to the ancient them for something fertile (sign language) they bequeathed to us, the Deaf, even though we signed among our families and friends long before that. It was the schools they established that “turned the wheel of motion” for us to form the earliest deaf communities in the last half of the 18th century in Europe. The manual alphabet ASL uses came from Laurent Clerc and the St. Jacques school (and Epee) which, in turn, was borrowed from the manual alphabet printed in the book printed in 1620 by a hearing Spanish monk, Juan Pablo Bonet.

Deafhood Question: (for a deaf person) Do you remember the first time you entered a residential deaf (signing or oral) school? If coming from oral school(s), any differences in arriving at the subsequent signing school? If entering for the first time, were you aware of the school or its’ use of signing beforehand?

(for hearing people) What was your impressions when you first visited a large school for the deaf (residential, state, day, etc) school? Like entering a foreign land? If you are a CODA, what are your feelings when entering one?

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Below is a thumbprint of a small poster I got in gratis, if I remember correctly, from the ALSF (Academie de la langue des Signes Francaise - click here for their website) which was housed on the fourth floor at the St. Jacques deaf school during the time I stayed there in the summer of 1992. As of now, I still do not have any information on who did the drawing or where interested people could get/purchase a copy.

Please click on it to enlarge for your viewing pleasure.

“Honor thy Deaf History”

June 21st, 2008 Posted by cnkatz at 05:13pm | C05 - Siepee's Monastery | 4 comments