Many teenagers who can hear take it for granted; they can listen to the lectures of their teachers and easily communicate with friends and family. They go to a regular school with other people that can hear them. Or can they? Should hearing-impaired students attend the same schools as their hearing-able colleagues or be segregated into special schools?

We are a three-member team consisting of average teenagers. Our ThinkQuest project aims to provide a comprehensive guide to the question. We've been to schools like Pearl City High School, Oahu, Hawaii that intermix students that can hear and students that can't. We've also visited The Hawaii Center for the Deaf and the Blind, which is a segregated school specializing in the education of hearing and visually-impaired students.

Hearing impaired students are at a definate disadvantage, but some more so than others. Just because you are classified as being hearing-impaired doesn't mean that you can't hear at all. There are some hearing-impaired students who can hear, just not as clearly as most other people. To see what we mean, click here.

What do students without hearing impairments think of mainstreaming? Check out our survey and find out.

This site is split into three main sections: Inclusion of hearing-impaired students into a normal school, Miscellaneous data that could support either side, and segregation of hearing-impaired students into special schools.