Jeffrey W. Pollock
Jeff W. Pollock
Compiled & Written by Jodi Becker Kinner
Published in 2012
Updated in 2021
Published in 2012
Updated in 2021
The Utah Deaf Education Controversy:
Total Communication Versus Oralism
at the University of Utah
Total Communication Versus Oralism
at the University of Utah
The document "The Utah Deaf Education Controversy: Total Communication Versus Oralism at the University of Utah," which Jeff wrote for his Master's level "History of Higher Education" at the University of Utah, is attached.
Jeffrey W. Pollock. The Utah Deaf Education Controversy: Total Communication Versus Oralism at the University of Utah. May 4, 2005.
Jeffrey W. Pollock. The Utah Deaf Education Controversy: Total Communication Versus Oralism at the University of Utah. May 4, 2005.
A Protest at the University of Utah
In 1962, Dr. Grant B. Bitter, a hard-core oralist and professor, implemented oral training in the teacher preparation program within the Special Education Department at the University of Utah, which sparked a fierce debate between oral and total communication. The curriculum significantly impacted the oral philosophy movement at the Utah School for the Deaf and the mainstreaming of deaf education under Dr. Bitter's leadership.
The oral-only curriculum troubled the Utah Association for the Deaf (UAD) and the local Deaf community. They demanded that a total communication curriculum be incorporated into the program and a meeting with the University of Utah authorities to express their concerns about the situation. However, UAD, particularly Lloyd H. Perkins, was rebuffed mainly in their attempts to meet with them. Their pleas for a meeting were not taken seriously.
The controversy was made public in November 1977, when members of the UAD protested outside the Utah State Board of Education office and in front of the Park Building on the University campus, led by W. David Mortensen, the UAD president and perhaps the best-known political activist. The Utah State Board of Education did not endorse a motion until April 1979, requiring the University of Utah to hire a faculty member to teach total communication courses. However, the focus was still predominantly oral at the University of Utah.
In 1985, under the guidance of Dr. Thomas C. Clark, a creator of SKI-HI, a new Deaf Education program was formed at Utah State University, emphasizing total communication as part of UAD's ongoing goal. Under the guidance of Dr. Freeman King, the program was adapted in 1991 to an ASL/English Bilingual program. For UAD, it was a major victory. UAD had been battling for years to get this program off the ground.
The oral-only curriculum troubled the Utah Association for the Deaf (UAD) and the local Deaf community. They demanded that a total communication curriculum be incorporated into the program and a meeting with the University of Utah authorities to express their concerns about the situation. However, UAD, particularly Lloyd H. Perkins, was rebuffed mainly in their attempts to meet with them. Their pleas for a meeting were not taken seriously.
The controversy was made public in November 1977, when members of the UAD protested outside the Utah State Board of Education office and in front of the Park Building on the University campus, led by W. David Mortensen, the UAD president and perhaps the best-known political activist. The Utah State Board of Education did not endorse a motion until April 1979, requiring the University of Utah to hire a faculty member to teach total communication courses. However, the focus was still predominantly oral at the University of Utah.
In 1985, under the guidance of Dr. Thomas C. Clark, a creator of SKI-HI, a new Deaf Education program was formed at Utah State University, emphasizing total communication as part of UAD's ongoing goal. Under the guidance of Dr. Freeman King, the program was adapted in 1991 to an ASL/English Bilingual program. For UAD, it was a major victory. UAD had been battling for years to get this program off the ground.
Dr. Grant B. Bitter, The Utah Eagle, October 1967
Jeffrey W. Pollock's Biography
In 2007, Jeff Pollock established and directed the Davis Applied Technology College ASL-Interpreting Program. In various capacities, he has been a consultant for the Utah Interpreting Program since 1995, as a former member and chairperson, and (2012) co-chairperson of the UIP Advisory Board. Jeff’s career has included teaching ASL, Linguistics, and Deaf Studies at the high school, community college, and university levels, coordinating interpreting services for the University of Utah, and as an instructor at the U of U ASL Teaching Program. Jeff has a Bachelor of Science in Biology and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership and Policy, and he is a Certified Deaf Interpreter.
He has served on the Utah Interpreter Certification Advisory Board and Advisory Council for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Jeff has a passion for snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, wakeboarding, waterskiing, motorcycling, and other sports involving standing or sitting on something and going fast! He has competed in three Deaflympics (1999 Davos, Switzerland; 2003 Sundsvall, Sweden; and 2007 Salt Lake City, Utah) and would have competed in 2011 Vysoke, Slovakia if they weren’t canceled. He is a certified snowboard coach.
He has served on the Utah Interpreter Certification Advisory Board and Advisory Council for the Utah Schools for the Deaf and the Blind.
Jeff has a passion for snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding, wakeboarding, waterskiing, motorcycling, and other sports involving standing or sitting on something and going fast! He has competed in three Deaflympics (1999 Davos, Switzerland; 2003 Sundsvall, Sweden; and 2007 Salt Lake City, Utah) and would have competed in 2011 Vysoke, Slovakia if they weren’t canceled. He is a certified snowboard coach.
