Laurent Clerc

Would you believe that the first outstanding deaf teacher in America was a Frenchman? His name was Laurent Clerc. He became a friend of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet and together they founded America's first school for the deaf.
He was born hearing, but when he was one year old, he fell into a fire. As a result, he lost both his hearing and his sense of smell. The right side of his face was badly burned, and was scarred for his whole life. The sign for his name was even based on the scar.
Meanwhile, in America, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet was studying to be a minister when he met a young deaf girl, Alice Cogswell. He was upset to learn that there were no schools for the deaf in America. He was very concerned about the lack of educational opportunities for the deaf. Therefore, in 1815, Gallaudet sailed to London, England to seek ideas on how to teach deaf people. However, he was unable to get help and he became frustrated. While he was there, he met a French educator of the deaf who invited him to go to Paris to spend three months learning at the Royal Institution for the Deaf, the school where Laurent Clerc was teaching.
Gallaudet accepted the offer, and went to the Royal Institution for the Deaf, where Clerc became his Sign Language teacher. The two worked and studied well together. When the time came for Gallaudet to return to America, he asked Clerc to come with him.
The voyage across the Atlantic Ocean took 52 days; however, Clerc and Gallaudet put the time to good use. Clerc studied English, and Gallaudet studied sign language. They discussed the school for the deaf which they planned to open. On the long trip, they had many conversations about education and deafness. The year after they arrived, they founded a school for the deaf in Harford, Connecticut.
At the school, Clerc led a busy life. He taught signs to Principal Gallaudet; he taught the pupils; and he taught hearing men who came to the school to study deaf education. At that time, the state would only pay for each student to stay at the school for five years. Therefore, Clerc had to teach his pupils as much as he could as quickly as possible. Once, Clerc came to Washington, D.C. because he was asked to appear before the Congress of the United States.
In 1819, Clerc married Eliza Crocker Boardman, one of his pupils. They had six children. He retired from teaching in 1858. Although he had intended to return to France, he never did. He died on July 18, 1869 in the United States.

Reading Comprehension
Choose the answer that you think is correct.

1. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet sailed to London because:
a.he needed to finish his studies to become a minister
b.it was the easiest way to get to France
c.he wanted to study their system of deaf education
d.he wanted to marry Alice Cogswell

2. From the information in this passage we can assume that:
a.Laurent Clerc was an intelligent man.
b.Clerc had difficulties learning language.
c.Clerc married Eliza in order to get his Green Card.
d.Clerc was paid well because he made such important contributions to society.

3. On their trip from Paris to America, Clerc and Gallaudet
a.played cards and socialized.
b.studied and discussed their plans for a deaf school.
c.founded a school for the deaf.
d.Gallaudet studied English and Clerc studied Sign Language.

4. Clerc did things in this order:
a.met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married, went to school in Paris.
b.met Gallaudet, went to school in Paris, moved to America, got married.
c.went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America, got married.
d.got married, went to school in Paris, met Gallaudet, moved to America.

5. The main idea of this passage could best be stated as:
a.Clerc managed his time well, and was able to teach a lot of information in a short period of time.
b.Thomas Gallaudet was indebted to Clerc for all that he taught him.
c.Clerc preferred teaching deaf students to hearing students.
d.Clerc, an educated Frenchman, had a great impact on American Deaf Education.

6. "After he graduated, the school [in Paris] asked him to stay on as an assistant teacher." From this sentence we can assume that:
a.the school thought that his learning disabilities would make it hard for him to work outside the school.
b.the school was impressed with him, and thought he would do a good job teaching other students.
c.the school wanted him to be prepared to teach Americans how to sign.
d.the school wanted other deaf students to have deaf role models.