Rethinking the Education of Deaf Students: Theory and Practice from a Teacher’s Perspective by Sue Livingston (review)

Reading Sue Livingston's book brought to mind Johnny Appleseed, the legendary American who scattered seeds as he strode across the Midwest; flowering and fruiting trees sprang up after his crossing. One might become a legend today, if one could just load a large van with copies of this book and stop off everywhere deaf students are being taught to leave copies of it with their teachers. The book is honestly that good. Its title, Rethinking the Education of Deaf Students, should be taken literally. What the public and teachers of deaf students and the teachers of their teachers think that deaf students can learn is the key. Livingston makes it clear that "... we teach, first and foremost, human learners who just happen to be Deaf" (xi). The gift book approach should work too, because like seeds, the ideas and examples and advice in this book are the kind that germinate and grow and bear fruit.