In this issue:

March is Women’s History Month

Download the new Women’s History flyer[PDF], which includes some suggested titles for your students’ celebration of women’s history.

Less than forty years ago, women’s history was rarely incorporated into the K–12 curriculum. While women have worked tirelessly to shape, change, and mold history, they were often left out of the history books. The Women’s Movement of the sixties changed this as women began questioning their invisibility, developing high aspirations, and achieving dramatic new social and career opportunities.

To celebrate influential women throughout history and their important achievements, this month—March—was declared Women’s History Month by Congress in 1987. Celebrate this time with your children and students by checking out a few Women’s History titles from the DCMP collection:

• Women First and Foremost (volume one of three)
• Bloomers to Ballot
• Margaret Mead: An Observer Observed
• Barbara Jordan

See the DCMP’s Women’s History flyer [PDF] for an additional sampling of titles from the DCMP media collection.

Deaf History Month: March 13–April 15

Thousands of Gallaudet students participated in the “Deaf President Now” movement in 1988. Learn more about the movement that is one of the catalysts for Deaf History Month in this episode of Deaf Mosaic, available from the DCMP.

Deaf History Month is one of those rare observances that packs so much historical significance that it spans two calendar months. One may wonder, though, about the significance of the beginning (March 13) and end (April 15) dates.

March 13 is the anniversary of the victory of the “Deaf President Now” movement, when Gallaudet University students staged a protest demanding a deaf president for their university. April 15, the last day of Deaf History Month, marks the day The American School for the Deaf in Hartford, Connecticut opened its doors in 1817.

An archival photo of the American School for the Deaf, founded on April 15, 1817. Learn more about ASD’s history by viewing the biography of Laurent Clerc, available from the DCMP.

This is a wonderful opportunity to expand your awareness of the contributions of historical deaf leaders through captioned media. Included in the DCMP collection are titles focusing on historical figures, such as Laurent Clerc or Thomas Gallaudet, and present-day deaf leaders, such as Robert Davila and Nancy Bloch.

You may also be interested in reading the following articles from the DCMP’s Clearinghouse:

• Captioning For Deaf People: An Historical Overview [PDF]—Learn about the history of closed captioning. (From a presentation by Malcolm Norwood.)
• Finding Deaf Herstory and History: Resources for the Classroom [PDF]—Learn about how deaf people have played a role in every major American historical event… and why you never knew it!
• Malcolm J. Norwood [PDF]—Learn about the “father of closed captioning.” Also available is this one-of-a-kind interview with Dr. Norwood, available to everyone from the DCMP.

More Read Captions Across America™

The fourth-annual Read Captions Across America™ (RCAA) day was celebrated in schools and libraries across the country on March 2, the birthday of Dr. Seuss. However, the DCMP encourages everyone to read captions every day of the year!

As an incentive for children to continue reading captions, we present two new captioned (and described) Dr. Seuss titles: Dr. Seuss on the Loose (which is a collection consisting of three Seuss titles: The Sneetches, The Zax, and Green Eggs and Ham) and The Hoober-Bloob Highway.

Every year, more and more people support our efforts to encourage building literacy through reading captions. Check out what Susan Elliot (pictured), 2009 Colorado Teacher of the Year, has to say about reading captions:

Susan Elliot, 2009 Colorado Teacher of the Year. Susan, who is deaf, is currently one of four finalists in the running for the title of National Teacher of the Year.

“I have taught in public school programs at every level, and I know that captioning is essential for all deaf and hard of hearing students… Comprehension and retention of abstract concepts is greatly enhanced when students can see visual representations simultaneously with captions… Students who are required to learn from media that is not captioned do not have a level playing field.”

Check upcoming editions of the DCMP Newsletter for more on RCAA.

Recommend Media to the DCMP

Our media collection has thousands of accessible media items—many were suggested by teachers and parents like you. It’s easy for you to tell us about your students’ media needs.

Visit dcmp.org/recommend for several ways to recommend media.

Welcome New DCMP Board Members

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Stuart Wittenstein (President, Council of Schools for the Blind) and Ms. Cheri Dowling (Director of Advocacy, American Society for Deaf Children) as the newest DCMP Advisory Board members.

Visit the DCMP Advisory Board page on our website for complete bios of these, and other, DCMP board members.

STAY TUNED!

Watch the DCMP website (and your e-mail) for information about new titles relevant to both Women’s History Month and Deaf History Month.

The Described and Captioned Media Program is funded by the U.S. Department of Education and administered by the National Association of the Deaf.

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