As Sir James Whitney marks 150 years, grad reflects on the changes she’s seen

Jennifer Endicott (back row, third from left) graduated from Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf in 1993. During her 14 years there she made lifelong friends. She says long-lasting relationships are common in the deaf community because of how scattered its members are. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Endicott

By Allen Steinberg

BELLEVILLE – Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf is one of the oldest schools in Belleville, but how much do most residents know about the beautiful building on Dundas Street West that they drive by so often?

Meet Jennifer Endicott, a Sir James Whitney graduate who has used her experiences during 14 years at the school to help shape her career teaching American Sign Language and Deaf Culture at Trent University in Peterborough.

Jennifer Endicott, a graduate of Belleville’s Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf, teaches American Sign Language and Deaf Culture at Trent University in Peterborough. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Endicott

“It was my peers there that influenced me into where I am today,” she told QNet News in an interview this week.

Born in Peterborough, Endicott, without her family, moved to Belleville at a young age to attend the school. Besides Sir James Whitney, there are but two other schools for the deaf in Ontario; Ernest C. Drury in Milton and Robarts School for the Deaf in London.

School was her first experience living among deaf people; the other members of her family are hearing and did not sign. Being at Sir James Whitney throughout her childhood and teen years allowed her to reflect on how the deaf and hearing communities were different, she said.

“I have some close friends that I grew up with that I keep in touch with to this day due to the deaf community being so small and scattered. Communication was very important to me, since at home, no one in my family knew how to sign. To be able to communicate in my language, it’s so much easier, and I’m able to have in-depth conversations instead of struggling to understand.”

When she was at Sir James Whitney, American Sign Language was not taught in schools for the deaf. Instead the students learned Pidgin Signed English, a hybrid of sign language and spoken English that forces deaf students to speak.

“I was taught Pidgin Signed English by hearing teachers, and had to learn American Sign Language among my peers,” she said. After she graduated, ASL became standard practice at Sir James Whitney and other deaf schools, she explained, adding: “Children today are very fortunate.”

The prohibition of ASL in the period when Endicott was at school can be traced back to inventor Alexander Graham Bell. Bell’s wife, Mabel, was deaf, and Bell believed that keeping sign language and deaf teachers out of classrooms would help “cure” deaf students.

“Over time, Sir James Whitney slowly brought back Pidgin Signed English, but true sign language, American Sign Language, wasn’t officially taught until after I graduated,” Endicott said. “Now there are deaf certified teachers, (educational assistants) and students using the (ASL) curriculum to thrive, and their English writing skills are amazing.”

Sir James Whitney School for the Deaf was established in 1870, originally named the Ontario Institution for the Education of the Deaf and Dumb. The school’s name was changed twice more; it became the Ontario School for the Deaf in 1913 and finally Sir James Whitney in 1974. The historic school has seen a lot, notably its grounds being closed in the First World War to make war machines for the Canadian Forces. Photo by Allen Steinberg, QNet News

Because most Ontario colleges and universities weren’t able to accommodate deaf students, Endicott said, graduates of her time tended to go south of the border, to the Rochester Institute of Technology – which has an institute for the deaf – and Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., which is specifically for deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

Endicott (back row, centre) with her small kindergarten class in 1979. In her time at Sir James Whitney, she said, the student population was about 300 from kindergarten to Grade 12. Photo courtesy of Jennifer Endicott

“I was accepted to both schools but sadly, my parents felt it was too far. So I settled with living on my own and working odd jobs for three years. I do have regrets. I wish I (had gone) to Gallaudet and embraced the culture and language they provide. Fortunately, my dear friend Keelin roped me into taking ASL workshop training, and from there over time, I became an ASL teacher.”

As a professor of ASL, Endicott said, she is pleased to pass on her skills to her learners. Most of them are hearing, though she has had some deaf and hard-of-hearing students.

“I have been teaching for 12 years now, and I truly enjoy it. I’m so lucky to have great students who are enthusiastic to learn about ASL, the linguistics, deaf culture and more. They are deaf-aware and approach the community with an open mind. A few of my students have become interpreters themselves.”

She still visits Sir James Whitney when she’s in Belleville, she said. Over the years, the student population has decreased significantly. In the 1950s, when the school was still named the Ontario School for the Deaf (it was renamed for Sir James Whitney, premier of Ontario from 1905 to 1914, in 1974), there were about 1,000 students. Nowadays, enrolment is about 100.

“In this day and age, our government and school boards don’t really make it known to parents that our schools (for the deaf) exist, unfortunately,” Endicott said. “We live in a society focused on listening and speaking methods. Our student attendance numbers would be high if parents knew of this option. Again, this is thanks to Alexander Graham Bell’s influence.”

Doctors often recommend hearing implants for deaf children. But Endicott argues that deafness is not a condition that needs to be “fixed.”

“Most doctors and audiologists are fixated on listening and spoken methods, thinking sign language will inhibit speech,” she said. “It honestly doesn’t. I can speak and hear a bit myself. Sign language enhanced my understanding of both.”

Today, Jennifer is a strong advocate of the deaf eco-system, keeping in close contact of her peers in the community. She manages the official Sir James Whitney alumni Facebook group where contact information, photographs and memories of old are shared.

There will be a giant reunion this summer as the school marks its 150th anniversary. DJ Kitt, an up-and-coming deaf DJ who graduated from Sir James Whitney a year after Endicott, will be in attendance.

The school is hosting special events each month to mark the anniversary. This month, students performed a Beauty and the Beast musical in which they signed their parts in place of singing.