Editorial

Editorial THE FUTURE If the education of deaf youth is to pay meaningful dividends, a hard look must be taken at the needs of the business world in the '80s and '90s, if this is the world the school leaver enters. The Reagan plan is to "unleash" business which, it is assumed, will lead to greatly increased job opportunities. While business wants to be "unleashed" in the sense of having taxes and restrictions reduced, industrial leaders are not so happy about the reduced government role in educating and training the work force. To get down to specifics what does this mean for the deaf school leaver seeking work? The Labor Department claims that of the eight million unemployed in the U.S., four to six million lack the communication, education, and personal skills and traits needed to be employable. What percent of the deaf unemployed are among these four to six million? The problem is compounded by automation which will change or eliminate 45 million of the 103 million jobs now existent in the economy. Printing is a specific example relevant to deaf people. In the past this industry employed 16% of deaf workers. This figure has dropped to less than 3% today. Large papers such as the Washington Post and New York Times are even paying their printers $25,000 to $45,000 to quit. The point is that microprocessors and other electronic devices, e.g., robots, are eliminating huge numbers of unskilled and semiskilled jobs. Realistically these are the only jobs most deaf workers can qualify for as long as they leave school with no better than third- to fifthgrade educations. Furthermore many of the jobs being eliminated are in manufacturing where most deaf workers are employed. Business Week indicates that semiskilled and unskilled jobs are opening in fields such as food service, caring for the sick, hauling garbage, filing and related activities where the average pay is poor ($3.91/hour). Lower level jobs in mail service, banking, and the white collar area are being automated out. What this means to the education of deaf youth is that we cannot continue with the status quo. To turn out youth who read at a third- to fifth-grade level and who have no marketable vocational skill is criminal negligence. Vocational rehabilitation under Reagan's policies will lack the resources to "carry the ball" when these youth leave school. A number of options are possible. One is tax credits to businesses which train and hire deaf workers. Such a program would have to involve minimal red tape and significant financial incentives. Another option is "targeted jobs." For example, blind people have a monopoly on vending stand operations in public buildings. Similar monopolies could be requested for deaf workers. A third approach would be to "beef up" vocational education as is represented by good current programs such as the St. Paul Technical-Vocational Institute. No more money should be thrown down the drain represented by "busy work" industrial arts and antiquated "shop" courses. While a giant increase in vocational rehabilitation services makes sense, if accompanied by more accountability than the present closure system represents, such a recommendation has little or no chance under Reagan policies. The usual outcries are sure to result from these recommendations, namely "do not stereotype deaf workers," "no special jobs," "we must train generalists," ad infinitum . Unfortunately, these objections are but euphemisms (e.g., how much of a generalist can a deaf youth reading at grade level 3.3 be?) in the absence of more operationally stated solutions to the problem. Mr. Martin Adler, Director of the Helen Keller National Center, deserves great credit for the job he is doing representing the interests of deaf-blind adults with Congress. Aside from his efforts, very little else is being done to meet the needs of this population. In view of the huge increases in the number of deaf-blind youth due to enter adulthood in the next few years, Mr. Adler deserves the support of all of us. New hope for additional help comes from the recent Convention of Deaf-Blind Persons held at Gallaudet College under Mr. Art Roehrig's coordination. McCay Vernon Editor 802 A...