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.
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