Chapter 31
How neat to hear of how a wife can help children at her job simply because her husband takes an ASL class! This is why I am sharing ASL with my family and friends; understanding any ASL can come in handy, you don't HAVE to be fluent. Anyways this chapter is great at responding to the man's needs by providing a great way to find helpful information. Amazon is my absolute favorite website so I was excited to see this little "tid bit" included. Amazon is actually where I purchased my FHPO book and while searching for this book I noticed they had numerous resources (books, videos, tapes) all including information about deafness or ASL. The authors again referred to the resources included in the last chapter, which reinforced how helpful they are! I like how the authors also focused on the area in which the man lived to help him pinpoint exactly where to search.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Chapters 29-30 + Quiz
Chapter 29
I'll start off by saying I loved the letter sent in by Barb and John Boelter. I felt that it was very appropriate for them to defend themselves and other parents of deaf children as well. My favorite piece of the letter was when they spoke out regarding the comment previously made stating that " [it] is insulting to parents like us who have recognized from the beginning that our daughter needs the support and guidance of the Deaf community to grow and find her own identity. We have sought out and listened to the advice of deaf people in connection with every decision we have made." I have previously commented that this book continuously degrades hearing people and it gets quite obnoxious, therefore I was grateful for this response. I understand that not every parent of a deaf child is this concerned with the success of their child, however not all parents of hearing children are either! It is inevitable to avoid these types of relationships. I felt it was great to read of the steps this family is taking not only to ensure the best education for their daughter, but the best family setting as well.
Though it hasn't always been difficult to send your deaf child to a residential school, I think today it is much harder. Like the Boelter's said " ...parents today who do recognize the social, educational, and emotional needs of their deaf children should not be penalized for what parents did in the past." With struggles such as "difficulty attracting the best teachers, setting up the most stimulating curricula, and offering the highest-quality programs," it is no wonder parent's prefer to mainstream their children or send them to schools for the deaf which allow them to remain at home (such as Kentucky School for the Deaf). If you can not have full confidence in a residential school, why take the risk of stripping them out of a loving family environment?
Chapter 30
I had always just assumed I could visit my local or college library to gather information regarding deafness; or I could just surf the internet. However, I had never before heard of The Gallaudet Encylopedia of Deaf People and Deafness, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, the mail order catalog provided by Bison Bookstore at Gallaudet, or ANY other of the resources provided. I was excited to learn of these as I am sure they will be extremely helpful in the future.
I'm honestly not sure about any local agencies that support the deaf in my hometown. If there were any I feel as if I would be aware of them, but I do know that the deaf population in my small town is just that, small! I've never met one deaf individual in my town and where I come from everybody knows everybody.
Quiz
I guess I am just pretty good with true/false questions, because before taking this quiz I certainly didn't think I would do as well as I did on the last one. I felt that the information provided in this unit was more in depth compared to the last unit. Also, I didn't find it as interesting. I didn't hate reading the chapters, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous unit. However, I obviously retained information based on the performance of my quiz. It is a good feeling knowing that each time I pick up this book I do learn something new. I really appreciate the quizzes at the end of the units because it allows me to reflect and reminds me that I now have new information that I didn't previously have!
I'll start off by saying I loved the letter sent in by Barb and John Boelter. I felt that it was very appropriate for them to defend themselves and other parents of deaf children as well. My favorite piece of the letter was when they spoke out regarding the comment previously made stating that " [it] is insulting to parents like us who have recognized from the beginning that our daughter needs the support and guidance of the Deaf community to grow and find her own identity. We have sought out and listened to the advice of deaf people in connection with every decision we have made." I have previously commented that this book continuously degrades hearing people and it gets quite obnoxious, therefore I was grateful for this response. I understand that not every parent of a deaf child is this concerned with the success of their child, however not all parents of hearing children are either! It is inevitable to avoid these types of relationships. I felt it was great to read of the steps this family is taking not only to ensure the best education for their daughter, but the best family setting as well.
Though it hasn't always been difficult to send your deaf child to a residential school, I think today it is much harder. Like the Boelter's said " ...parents today who do recognize the social, educational, and emotional needs of their deaf children should not be penalized for what parents did in the past." With struggles such as "difficulty attracting the best teachers, setting up the most stimulating curricula, and offering the highest-quality programs," it is no wonder parent's prefer to mainstream their children or send them to schools for the deaf which allow them to remain at home (such as Kentucky School for the Deaf). If you can not have full confidence in a residential school, why take the risk of stripping them out of a loving family environment?
Chapter 30
I had always just assumed I could visit my local or college library to gather information regarding deafness; or I could just surf the internet. However, I had never before heard of The Gallaudet Encylopedia of Deaf People and Deafness, Laurent Clerc National Deaf Education Center, the mail order catalog provided by Bison Bookstore at Gallaudet, or ANY other of the resources provided. I was excited to learn of these as I am sure they will be extremely helpful in the future.
I'm honestly not sure about any local agencies that support the deaf in my hometown. If there were any I feel as if I would be aware of them, but I do know that the deaf population in my small town is just that, small! I've never met one deaf individual in my town and where I come from everybody knows everybody.
Quiz
I guess I am just pretty good with true/false questions, because before taking this quiz I certainly didn't think I would do as well as I did on the last one. I felt that the information provided in this unit was more in depth compared to the last unit. Also, I didn't find it as interesting. I didn't hate reading the chapters, but I didn't enjoy it as much as the previous unit. However, I obviously retained information based on the performance of my quiz. It is a good feeling knowing that each time I pick up this book I do learn something new. I really appreciate the quizzes at the end of the units because it allows me to reflect and reminds me that I now have new information that I didn't previously have!
Friday, November 23, 2012
Chapters 25-28
Chapter 25
This chapter mentions "the lucky ones whose parents are fluent in ASL and start school already knowing a language." Chapter 25 reminded me of a scenario I found myself in a few weeks ago when I went to job shadow a local teacher of the deaf. Immediately when I walked into the classroom, I was introduced to an amazing young man. He had a cochlear implant and could communicate fairly well, but was also very fluent in ASL. He was so outgoing, signing and jibber-jabbering away! It was absolutely astounding! A few moments later, we were joined by a, completely deaf, young girl. She timidly took her seat at the table and when the teacher started the lesson she appeared very confused and even with one on one attention couldn't grasp the content of the story they were reading. I wondered to myself how I could be in the middle of two children with similar conditions, however on extremely different levels of communication. After the kids returned to their classrooms, the teacher explained to me that the boy came from a very involved family who took all the steps necessary to make communication a possibility (as soon as they learned of his condition.) However, the girl wasn't so lucky. Her parents did not know ASL and never committed to learning the language. The only exposure she was consistently having was what she learned at school. No wonder she was having such a difficult time. I kept hearing Stacey refer to how she constantly encounters parents of deaf children who know very little to no sign language at all. No wonder so many children have language delays, parents are not educated enough nor motivated to put the effort into developing communication with their children. A solution to the literacy gap would be hard to accomplish, but I feel as if it should start in the home. Creating more programs for parents and raising awareness for the importance of ASL communication beginning as early as the English language would be an ideal start. Also by encouraging parents to take notice in the development of their children who weren't born deaf and not to ignore warning signs, earlier detection could aid in the process of breaching the literacy gap by enabling programs to be implemented as soon as possible. By putting ourselves in the shoes of a deaf child, with no previous language experience, walking into our first day of school, letting go of our parents hands we can all be inspired to help reach a common goal: communication for everyone.
Chapter 26
The reasons provided for why deaf people don't like to read were pretty obvious to me. One did stick out to me that I would like to touch on: "It was long considered more important for children to acquire good speech articulation than good reading and writing skills." Okay, I get that ASL has no traditional written form and that makes grasping literacy skills a bit more complicated. On the other hand, wouldn't speech development for a deaf person be on a whole new level of difficulty?!
Again, I'll reflect on the experience I had at the elementary school a few weeks ago. I shadowed a different girl first in her regular class with the deaf educator, then I followed her to her speech session. Huh? Didn't even know that completely deaf children saw speech pathologists. Anyways, when we went to speech the SLP explained to me a system for developing speech articulation in deaf children. It was extremely confusing and you could tell that the SLP wasn't very found of it. Basically, it was a chart of sounds with a picture by them resembling the mouth shape formed when you make the sound. This is how deaf children learned to make sounds and put them together. I was completely beside myself as the girl formed a few words. She was 100% deaf and I never even knew that this could happen. As awesome as it seemed to me, she was anything but happy. She struggled and you could just see the embarrassment on her face, she did not want to be talking. Getting to my point, I feel that it IS important for the deaf to grasp speech articulation, especially words like "stop" or anything that you might use on a daily basis. However, I do not feel that the value of speech articulation should be placed over the value of literacy. Reading and writing are things that you can have with you forever. It is not guaranteed that a deaf person will ever be able to speak, but being able to read and write could take the place of that! It is something that they can enjoy, communicate through, and even (not being stereotypical) escape through. It can be a replacement for hearing. By grasping the concepts of literacy they can learn so much and even experience comedy, romance, action, or even thrills.
The story on page 161 makes me sad. I assume this is point on to what deaf kids experience at some point throughout schooling. I do agree with the man, it would be great if actual deaf people TAUGHT! It's even more sad that the amount of deaf individuals who know enough English literacy to pass is on is very small. Imagine the impact actual deaf teachers would have on the development of deaf education! This is why we should be motivated to enhance the availability and quality of reading and writing training to the deaf, looking for innovative ways to make learning appealing, and recruiting more trained deaf educators. You have to start somewhere and only hope that it lights a spark.
Chapter 27
I'll be the first to admit it, I HATE, HATE, HATE subtitles!! They are so confusing and such a distraction. Whenever I watch a movie with subtitles, I focus more on them than I do the actual movie. The most annoying part of the subtitles is that they are usually so far behind the pace of the show, but if they were any fast they would be nearly impossible to catch. One time at church I saw live captioning as an ASL interpreter interpreted the songs and message. Even then, I focused more on the interpreter than the service. As a hearing person without knowledge or respect for the deaf community, I would be totally against interpreters on every TV channel. "How dare they cut out a block from the screen where I can't see?" BUT, now that I have a deep respect and love for this culture, I feel that it would only be fair to have interpreters on every channel. It would definitely be something to get used to, but we have this awesome ability called "sensory adaptation." This will enable us strange creatures to eventually, well get over it/used to it, and able to ignore a small section being taken up by an interpreter for the benefit of the deaf. Or how about this, let's create a deaf channel where TV series and movies are recorded with an interpreter or ASL styled subtitles?! Completely deaf friendly without murdering the views and ratings. As far as movies in theaters are concerned, alternatives like 3D are already offered, why not offer movies with interpreters on certain dates? This gives deaf people a great opportunity to participate in normal activities without discouraging "hearing movie go-ers."
Chapter 28
"is it possible to go back in time? No." This quote was incorporated into the final paragraph before discussing "The Charter School Option." Darn, that's discouraging. The beginning of this chapter painted a picturesque history of the earliest schools for the deaf. It states that the educators" taught, making themselves understandable to their students, using the simplest, most basic equipment, and their knowledge, experience, empathy, and drive." Wouldn't it be nice to get back to this way of schooling? Since this isn't exactly realistic, as we were so bluntly informed, I suppose that choosing the most suitable path of education for your own deaf child would be difficult.
If I were to have a deaf child, this is the plan of action I would most likely take: Putting my child's needs first and foremost, I would research the best options available near the area we were residing in. If in fact there happened to be an accredited/highly noted deaf school nearby (not residential) or charter school I would prefer for he or she to be enrolled there. Even if it were a commute or my family had to relocate I would feel that it would be necessary. This is due to my thoughts that children with issues such as being deaf should be around those most similar to them. In this case, they can grow up in an environment which enables them to make connections and established relationships. Also, deaf schools often have sports teams and extra curricular activities just like other schools do. By participating in these activities with other people who are similar it would be easier for my child to develop personal skills and be comfortable. Furthermore I feel that actual deaf schools offer the best option as far as educational success. Employees at deaf schools (I would hope) are there for the sole purpose of helping the deaf learn. Their career should extend beyond just a degree, they should have a passion for what they do. Lastly,the benefits of a charter school include parent involvement. By taking advantage of this education opportunity I, as a parent, would be surrounded by other parents who actually care about the progress of their child and don't just put the responsibility on the teachers alone. The opportunity for the highest level of education possible, comfort, and involvement for my child would specifically lead me to take the necessary steps to enroll them in a school for the deaf or charter school.
Chapters 22-24
Chapter 22
I know it is considered very impolite to stare, but it has always been extremely difficult not to stare when there are odd situations in public (well for me atleast). Growing up, and even today, it is easy for me to be enticed by ASL users in public. I often stare and wonder what in the world they are saying. It is kind of like at the nail salon- girls, you know what I'm talking about- the Asian ladies are constantly jibber jabbering in their (whatever) language and just full of laughter. It's hard for me to just ignore it besides they COULD be talking about me, right? But, my mom gets so frustrated and goes on and on about how I just "rudely eye-balled" them my entire appointment. Anyways, I am glad this chapter cleared some things up for me, such as "There is no such thing as a private ASL conversation in public." Now, I don't feel so bad. Also, now that I have some basic ASL instruction, it is good to know that it isn't necessarily bad manners to enter a conversation (at the appropriate time). I've always wanted to be apart of it instead of a simple onlooker staring in complete awe! This brings me to my next point... my biggest, and yes corny, wish! I want a name sign SO bad! I totally thought that this one deaf guy I met at a DCE a few weeks ago would give me one after a solid hour and a half of conversation. Come on, Chaz! However, I am sure deaf people don't just give a random person/ a person they just met a name sign, so I understand. But, if any deaf person wants to make me feel pretty darn important/happy/special/crazy excited, step right up and give me a name sign! (It would be greatly appreciated)
Chapter 23
When the deaf community/ deaf individuals question where you learn ASL and from who, is it considered gossiping? I 100% don't think that this should be considered gossiping, and if it is, then I feel like it is a positive form of gossiping. Before signing up for classes at WKU I did some "research" through some older friends who had already taken general education courses there. I asked them which courses to take, the ones I would learn the most, and what professors they preferred. This was all to benefit me, not to gossip and chit chat about professors or to put anyone down. I don't recall any negative comments being made about certain courses, only positive opinions being shared about the "good" courses. Negative "chit-chat" is what I consider gossiping. I don't think this is the intention of Deaf people. I believe that when they become very interested in your ASL background they are simply doing it for your benefit and for the growth of their language. I feel as if they want ASL students to get the best possible education, after all, it is not common to meet an individual devoted to studying ASL. By expressing their concerns or praises of different instructors they are guiding you on the path of success.
Although I don't know much about ESL programs, if I were to meet a foreigner who spoke some English, I would be very curious as to where they learned it. Furthermore I would like to guide them in the right direction to better their understanding and progress of the language. I feel like this is how it is between most Deaf people/ sign language students. I am sure it is unrealistic to assume that all deaf individuals would be so welcoming and helpful, however I feel that if the majority of the deaf community would be a little less harsh (simply going by the tone I am getting from the book), students would be more eager to further pursue ASL, thus resulting in a larger number of high qualified educators and an increasing rate of ASL programs.
Chapter 24
Respond to the following statement: “Deaf citizens rightfully resent hearing people’s learning ASL so they can take Deaf peoples jobs away while increasing their own power in the Deaf Community.”
In my last post I discussed the desire deaf individuals have for the success of ASL students. While, I don't believe it is EVERY SINGLE deaf person's desire, I am a little peeved by this quote. I think that this is a strong generalization. A person having no exposure or knowledge of the deaf community, besides reading this book, could have a somewhat disturbing idea of the deaf created by this quote. I feel as if this book continuously reiterates the fact that "Hearing people" take no interest in the deaf community and have little respect for their culture. So, this puzzles me. Do they WANT us to learn ASL in order to create a community in which they feel apart of or do they NOT want us to learn it so we won't take away their jobs? All Hearing people aren't evil as this book sometimes depicts, and I don't believe it is the goal of ASL students to take away jobs that the Deaf rightfully deserve or to gain power in the Deaf community. Personally, I am taking ASL in order to serve deaf individuals that I might encounter along my career path as an audiologist. When a deaf child comes to me for hearing tests, screenings, in search of a cochlear implant, or hearing aid I would like to be able to make their day by communicating with them in a language that is familiar to THEM. I don't want to take away a job position that I feel like a Deaf individual is better suited for simply because I know ASL. I feel like this is my first frustrated reaction towards this book. I have remained open-minded and mostly agreed with the arguments presented, but I have mixed emotions towards this argument. I don't feel as if deaf people should "rightfully resent" us until they understand our goals and know us on a personal level. STOP stereotyping "Hearing people." Many of us respect the "purity" and who is to say interpreters are only trying to "make money off Deaf people's language" ?? Geez!!
I know it is considered very impolite to stare, but it has always been extremely difficult not to stare when there are odd situations in public (well for me atleast). Growing up, and even today, it is easy for me to be enticed by ASL users in public. I often stare and wonder what in the world they are saying. It is kind of like at the nail salon- girls, you know what I'm talking about- the Asian ladies are constantly jibber jabbering in their (whatever) language and just full of laughter. It's hard for me to just ignore it besides they COULD be talking about me, right? But, my mom gets so frustrated and goes on and on about how I just "rudely eye-balled" them my entire appointment. Anyways, I am glad this chapter cleared some things up for me, such as "There is no such thing as a private ASL conversation in public." Now, I don't feel so bad. Also, now that I have some basic ASL instruction, it is good to know that it isn't necessarily bad manners to enter a conversation (at the appropriate time). I've always wanted to be apart of it instead of a simple onlooker staring in complete awe! This brings me to my next point... my biggest, and yes corny, wish! I want a name sign SO bad! I totally thought that this one deaf guy I met at a DCE a few weeks ago would give me one after a solid hour and a half of conversation. Come on, Chaz! However, I am sure deaf people don't just give a random person/ a person they just met a name sign, so I understand. But, if any deaf person wants to make me feel pretty darn important/happy/special/crazy excited, step right up and give me a name sign! (It would be greatly appreciated)
Chapter 23
When the deaf community/ deaf individuals question where you learn ASL and from who, is it considered gossiping? I 100% don't think that this should be considered gossiping, and if it is, then I feel like it is a positive form of gossiping. Before signing up for classes at WKU I did some "research" through some older friends who had already taken general education courses there. I asked them which courses to take, the ones I would learn the most, and what professors they preferred. This was all to benefit me, not to gossip and chit chat about professors or to put anyone down. I don't recall any negative comments being made about certain courses, only positive opinions being shared about the "good" courses. Negative "chit-chat" is what I consider gossiping. I don't think this is the intention of Deaf people. I believe that when they become very interested in your ASL background they are simply doing it for your benefit and for the growth of their language. I feel as if they want ASL students to get the best possible education, after all, it is not common to meet an individual devoted to studying ASL. By expressing their concerns or praises of different instructors they are guiding you on the path of success.
Although I don't know much about ESL programs, if I were to meet a foreigner who spoke some English, I would be very curious as to where they learned it. Furthermore I would like to guide them in the right direction to better their understanding and progress of the language. I feel like this is how it is between most Deaf people/ sign language students. I am sure it is unrealistic to assume that all deaf individuals would be so welcoming and helpful, however I feel that if the majority of the deaf community would be a little less harsh (simply going by the tone I am getting from the book), students would be more eager to further pursue ASL, thus resulting in a larger number of high qualified educators and an increasing rate of ASL programs.
Chapter 24
Respond to the following statement: “Deaf citizens rightfully resent hearing people’s learning ASL so they can take Deaf peoples jobs away while increasing their own power in the Deaf Community.”
In my last post I discussed the desire deaf individuals have for the success of ASL students. While, I don't believe it is EVERY SINGLE deaf person's desire, I am a little peeved by this quote. I think that this is a strong generalization. A person having no exposure or knowledge of the deaf community, besides reading this book, could have a somewhat disturbing idea of the deaf created by this quote. I feel as if this book continuously reiterates the fact that "Hearing people" take no interest in the deaf community and have little respect for their culture. So, this puzzles me. Do they WANT us to learn ASL in order to create a community in which they feel apart of or do they NOT want us to learn it so we won't take away their jobs? All Hearing people aren't evil as this book sometimes depicts, and I don't believe it is the goal of ASL students to take away jobs that the Deaf rightfully deserve or to gain power in the Deaf community. Personally, I am taking ASL in order to serve deaf individuals that I might encounter along my career path as an audiologist. When a deaf child comes to me for hearing tests, screenings, in search of a cochlear implant, or hearing aid I would like to be able to make their day by communicating with them in a language that is familiar to THEM. I don't want to take away a job position that I feel like a Deaf individual is better suited for simply because I know ASL. I feel like this is my first frustrated reaction towards this book. I have remained open-minded and mostly agreed with the arguments presented, but I have mixed emotions towards this argument. I don't feel as if deaf people should "rightfully resent" us until they understand our goals and know us on a personal level. STOP stereotyping "Hearing people." Many of us respect the "purity" and who is to say interpreters are only trying to "make money off Deaf people's language" ?? Geez!!
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