Transcript Laurent Clerc - Deafed.net Homepage

Contact: Dr. Karen Dilka
Eastern Kentucky University
 Date submitted to deafed.net – May 29,
2007
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Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 “other institutions may therefore, be established
until at last, not a deaf and dumb adult in United
States may remain uneducated.”
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc

 Born on December 26, 1785
in La Balme-les-Grottes,
France
 Son of Marie Elizabeth
Candy and Joseph Francis
Clerc.
 Born into an important
family.
 Clerc’s father, Joseph Francis
was the royal civil attorney,
justice of the peace and from
1780 to 1814 served as the
mayor of the village in La
Balme-les-Grottes.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
• Clerc fell from his high chair into a fireplace. His
right cheek was severely burned. This resulted in the
damage of his abilities to hear and smell. It was not clear
if the damage was from the accident or if he was born
with these disabilities.
• Clerc’s name-sign comes from the scar that remained
on his face.
• Clerc’s name-sign is the middle and index fingers
brushed downward across the right cheek.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 In 1797,Clerc’s unclegodfather whom he was
named after enrolled
Clerc in The Royal
Institution for the Deaf
and Dumb in Paris,
France. Clerc was twelve
years old.
 The Royal Institution for
the Deaf and Dumb in
Paris, France, was the
first public school for
deaf in the world started
by Abbe De L’Eppe.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Clerc’s first teacher, who became
his lifelong friend was Jean
Massieu.
 Clerc was an excellent student and
graduated from The Royal
Institution for the Deaf and Dumb.
 While Clerc was attending The
Royal Institution for the Deaf and
Dumb, Abbe Sicard was in prison
expecting to be put to death for
sympathizing with King Louis
XVI. Massieu encouraged Clerc
along with the other students to
petition the courts to release Abbe
Sicard. Sicard was released from
prison.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 An assistant teacher, Abbe
Margaron tried teaching Clerc
to pronounce words. Clerc had
difficulty pronouncing certain
syllables. Clerc’s difficulties
infuriated Abbe Margaron and
he gave Clerc a violent blow
under the chin. This caused
Clerc to bite his tongue so
badly that he said that he
would never learn to speak
again.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 In 1805, Clerc was chosen to become a “tutor on trial” at
The Royal Institution for the Deaf and Dumb in Paris,
France.
 In 1806, The Royal Institution for the Deaf and Dumb
asked Clerc to stay on as a full time teacher. He was a
dedicated teacher and was promoted to teach the highest
class. His salary was about $200.00.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
.
 In March 1815, Sicard traveled to England and
brought Massieu and Clerc with him.
 In London, Sicard, Massieu and Clerc demonstrated their
teaching methods.
 In 1816, Clerc had become Sicard’s chief assistant and
was teaching the highest classes in the institution.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 On July 10, 1815, Thomas Hopkins
Gallaudet attended their seminar.
 Gallaudet was introduced by a member of
Parliament to Sicard. Sicard introduced
Gallaudet to Clerc.
 Clerc and the others asked Gallaudet to
attend daily classes at their institution and
he accepted the invitation.
 Gallaudet was given private signing
lessons by Clerc.
 Gallaudet was impressed with Clerc and
asked him to go to America with him and
help him establish a school for the deaf.
 Sicard did not want Clerc to leave, but
after much discussion decided to allow
him to to go to America with Gallaudet.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
dissuade
him
 Sicard did not really want Clerc to
leave, so he went and convinced
Clerc’s mother to persuade him not
to leave.
 Clerc was greatly motivated to go
due to his empathy for Alice
Cogswell and the deaf Americans
who were receiving no education.
 Despite his mother’s objections,
Clerc decided to go.
 Gallaudet had to sign a contract
with Sicard saying that Clerc
would only be in America for three
years.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Gallaudet and Clerc left for America on June 15, 1816 on
the Mary Augusta ship. The voyage lasted 52 days.
 During the voyage, Clerc taught Gallaudet “the method of
the signs for abstract ideas” and Gallaudet tutored Clerc
in the English language. Clerc already had some English
writing skills.
 Clerc and Gallaudet arrived in Hartford, Connecticut on
August 22, 1816.
 On August 22, 1816, Clerc met Alice Cogswell and
communicated with her through sign associations. He
thought she was an intelligent girl who wanted the
knowledge, but was without a language. This really made
Clerc want to carry out the mission he had come to
accomplish in America.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Clerc, Gallaudet and Dr. Cogswell delivered many
speeches and demonstrated their teachings to get public,
legislative, and financial support.
 October 1816 to April 1817, Clerc, Gallaudet and Dr.
Cogswell went to Boston, New York, Philadelphia, New
Jersey and other places and was able to raise 12,000
dollars from the public for the school.
 The Connecticut General Assembly voted an additional
5,000 dollars for the school.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 On April 15, 1817, the
first school for the deaf
began with rented rooms
and seven students
including Alice Cogswell
being the first to enroll. It
was called The
Connecticut Asylum at
Hartford for the
Instruction of Deaf and
Dumb Persons.
 Clerc was the head
teacher and Gallaudet was
the principal.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 In January 1818, Clerc went to Washington D.C. to get
support from Congress. He sat next to the Speaker of the
House of Representatives which was Henry Clay.
 Clerc was the first deaf person to address Congress.
 Clerc was well-received for his work by the President,
who had attended one of Sicard’s demonstrations in
London with Clerc.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 On May 3, 1819, Clerc married Elizabeth Crocker
Boardman, one of his earliest pupils.
 Clerc and his wife, Elizabeth had six children.
 He took his son Francis to France in 1835 and his son
Charles to France in 1846. This was the last time his
visited France.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 This is a custom designed coinsilver pitcher that was presented
to Clerc by people who were
Deaf in Connecticut in 1850.
 The engraving on the pitcher
says. “as a token of grateful
respect by the Deaf mutes of
New England. Lover of his kind
who left France in the year of
1816 to promote the education
& welfare of strangers who like
himself were denied the gift of
speech.”
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Many of Clerc’s students went on to be well-rounded
productive citizens and educated deaf leaders.
 Clerc students and trained teachers founded other schools
or taught in them using Clerc’s teaching methods. The
first school that modeled after The Asylum at Hartford for
Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons was in New York.
The second in Philadelphia. The other schools were
Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Tennessee, Virginia,
and Quebec in Canada.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Clerc completed 50 years of teaching and 41 of those
were in America.
 He retired in 1858 at the age of 73.
 Although he was retired, he continued to an advocate for
deaf education.
 In June 1864, at age 79, Clerc was the guest of honor at
the inauguration of The National Deaf-Mute College,
now Gallaudet University.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Clerc did not attend college but did received honorary
degrees for his pioneering work in deaf education.
 Clerc received an honorary degree from Trinity College,
Hartford, CT.
Louis Laurent Marie Clerc
 Clerc passed away on July 18, 1869. He was 84 years
old.
 Clerc and his wife, Elizabeth are buried at Spring Grove
Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut.
 On April 17, 1998, Clerc’s and his wife’s tombstones
were restored due to them being vandalized.
References
 http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/
exercises/exreading/reading7.html
 http://clerccenter.gallaudet.edu/Literacy/
MSSDLRC/clerc/index.html
 http://members.aol.com/geoski7clerc/main
html.
 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LaurentClerc
 Moores, Ronald, F., Educating the Deaf: Psychology,
Principles, and Practices (5th edition). Boston. New
York: Houghton Mifflin Company.