Terminology and methods in the education of the deaf. Questions for the experts

As an outsider interested in the methodologies currently used to educate deaf children, I have many questions about the ambiguous terminology, continuing controversies, and lack of unbiased, scientific research. The questions concern issues such as the difference between Deaf and deaf, the feasibility of the ASL/ESL proposal, and the disappointing lack of definitive answers and unbiased evidence favoring any one particular method.