Deaf education by deaf educator Ferdinand Berthier: facing baffling paradoxes and long-standing lessons

Abstract

The participation of deaf teachers in the education of deaf students is an old global phenomenon, although poorly established in Brazil. We will depict deaf educator Berthier (1803-1886) who started his career in 1829, at the Institute for the Deaf in Paris. We bring here some of his narratives and others about him. Through him, other deaf durations are present in their educational history. After a bibliographical research, we bring some narratives about his professor Auguste Bébian who began to show up with sign language. Due to this fact, Berthier got motivated to begin a docent career and to gather deaf students. Some of his analysis and concerns about education of deaf people still remain, although we also recognize that there has been significant progress, like the achievements made by the deaf social movements.