The problem is still that... in the Netherlands and all around the world you have parents consciously choosing bilingual education, but then...
It's a difficult choice, because you should really be saying...
A new system was recently put into place in the Netherlands, 'Appropriate Education'.
That means that children who are having no problems, whose development is going well, move on to a regular school.
Imagine if there are parents who want a deaf school for their child, that's impossible.
They have to go to a regular school.
So now is really the time to think about a to be newly created system. Trying to create a group of children who go to regular schools.
So for each region, or in smaller regions, have one school, in a central location, which deaf children from that region can attend. So more deaf children can be together.
Because: you can't always do language alone.
You need a group for that. You need fun, being able to talk in sign language and play, et cetera.
Being all alone with an interpreter, no. You can't learn a language from an interpreter, can you?
No, that doesn't work.
And then there's the added factor of children starting to feel ashamed, being all alone with an interpreter.
Nowadays, using the CI, understanding speech and speaking can go reasonably well for children. So signing has become less of a necessity.
But it's the same in Friesland, the children there don't necessarily have to speak Frisian.
But because the parents do, because everyone there does it, the children naturally go along with it and find it normal.
Frisian's status is good. But sign language's status is low.
Sign language is seen as something for people who are mentally challenged.
With an attitude of: oh, they can't speak. And only then: well, then I'll have to sign.
Why not this attitude: I can speak. And I can sign as well.
That remains an issue.
But for parents... this new system might also have opportunities for new initiatives.
But I have to say I completely understand parents' frustration.
I completely understand that terrible frustration.
Because they're not getting any support from within deaf education.
And parents' associations haven't started any captivating initiatives yet.
Something has to happen now, but what exactly is hard to say.
But I keep saying: Do you want bilingual education? Form a group.
Try to form a group.
If that doesn't work out, okay, parents can take different measures to come together regularly, as a group.
Organize weekends, for example, or camps, those kinds of things.
In order to nurture sign language, because that's important.