Agrees with school for the deaf closure

Dear Editor;

In a recent edition of The Southern Gazette, the cartoonist panned the closure of the Newfoundland School for the Deaf. 

This is the same cartoonist, I believe, who drew a cartoon saying how Hibernia South was only going to be good for St. John's and nowhere else in the province long before any work has been announced for the project. 

While the cartoonist has every right to express their opinion, it is my opinion that theirs is the wrong one once again.

While the Newfoundland School for the Deaf was indeed an important institution in the province at one time, the fact is there where no students there for this coming school year and there where none projected to be there for the next few years. 

Why continue to operate this building when no one's attending it? The money used to keep that place running can now be used on other things such as helping deaf kids in a regular school system.

As a person with a disability, I am glad that I was able to attend the regular school system during all my years in mandatory school (1987-2000).

In real life these kids are going to have to adapt to real life and go out get jobs and whatever, why shelter them all their lives? When they can go to a regular school, if they need help with things, I'm sure that teachers at their new school will help them out the best they can the way my teachers did.

In closing, I applaud this move. This is about putting these kids into the real school system, which would benefit them more so than being in a secluded school.