QUIZ
I thought the "Deaf Awareness Quiz" on page 185 was pretty easy. The only question that tripped me up a little was number 7, I think the wording is what did it because I understand MCE and some people still do use them. This quiz was over all a good review.
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Chapter 30 :)
Information about deafness
The main place I have visited to get information on deafness and the deaf community has been the WKU libraries. I have found multiple interesting and helpful books in the Gary Randsdell Library on campus. I also frequently use the internet for information and signing tips. I would like to know more about laws and regulations that apply to deaf individuals, and I may seek out other libraries in the community.
The main place I have visited to get information on deafness and the deaf community has been the WKU libraries. I have found multiple interesting and helpful books in the Gary Randsdell Library on campus. I also frequently use the internet for information and signing tips. I would like to know more about laws and regulations that apply to deaf individuals, and I may seek out other libraries in the community.
Chapter 29 :)
A Movement to Close Residential Schools
Chapter 29 was FULL of so much information! I was very unfamiliar with residential schools and what they're all about before reading this chapter. I am still a little confused, there were so many pros and cons for each school; this chapter emphasized just how difficult it is for parents to choose a school for their Deaf child. It is sad to read that state budget cuts are causing the educational quality of residential schools to drop. I was also surprised to read that residential schools are not as challenging as schools for the hearing. But I feel like residential schools offer children the opportunity to meet and connect with other Deaf children, as well as become proficient signers because they are constantly immersed in Deaf culture and ASL.
I don't watch the news much, so I looked up news for residential schools closing on the internet. I found an interesting article about alumni rallying to keep a residential school for the Deaf open in Iowa. This article included many emotional quotes from students about the importance of this school to their education. Here is the link to the article: http://thegazette.com/2012/07/31/school-for-the-deaf-graduates-want-residential-campus-to-remain/
I definitely think that choosing the right school for your Deaf child is a struggle. I think it would be so hard to let a young child go away all week to a residential school, but I also think that this is a good way for Deaf children with hearing parents to become proficient signers. I think being a hearing parent it would be more difficult to choose an effective school because many hearing parents don't understand true ASL. Like the book says " check into the schools. Visit them. Ask tough questions." pretty much do your research!
Chapter 29 was FULL of so much information! I was very unfamiliar with residential schools and what they're all about before reading this chapter. I am still a little confused, there were so many pros and cons for each school; this chapter emphasized just how difficult it is for parents to choose a school for their Deaf child. It is sad to read that state budget cuts are causing the educational quality of residential schools to drop. I was also surprised to read that residential schools are not as challenging as schools for the hearing. But I feel like residential schools offer children the opportunity to meet and connect with other Deaf children, as well as become proficient signers because they are constantly immersed in Deaf culture and ASL.
I don't watch the news much, so I looked up news for residential schools closing on the internet. I found an interesting article about alumni rallying to keep a residential school for the Deaf open in Iowa. This article included many emotional quotes from students about the importance of this school to their education. Here is the link to the article: http://thegazette.com/2012/07/31/school-for-the-deaf-graduates-want-residential-campus-to-remain/
I definitely think that choosing the right school for your Deaf child is a struggle. I think it would be so hard to let a young child go away all week to a residential school, but I also think that this is a good way for Deaf children with hearing parents to become proficient signers. I think being a hearing parent it would be more difficult to choose an effective school because many hearing parents don't understand true ASL. Like the book says " check into the schools. Visit them. Ask tough questions." pretty much do your research!
Chapter 28 :)
Deaf Education
After reading this chapter and learning about Deaf education in this book, I am even more on the fence about what I would do if I was the parent of a Deaf child. I know I would want them to learn ASL and as early as possible! I think the more difficult decision would be where to send them to school. I think I would definitely move to a larger city, because from what I have read there are more opportunities for a good Deaf education in bigger cities. I don't think I would home school my child because then they wouldn't get to interact with other children as often. But I think I would bring a tutor into our home to act as a positive language role model as well as help me and the child's father learn more ASL.
Charter schools sound like a favorable option, I like how they "combine the best features of deaf schools (a rich bilingual-bi cultural environment and an ASL -based-education) and mainstreaming." Another reason why I think I would choose a charter school is because they are "directly answerable to the parents for the progress and well-being of its students." I would want to be involved with my child's education which is something charter schools support, as well as an ASL-based learning environment which I am also in favor of.
After reading this chapter and learning about Deaf education in this book, I am even more on the fence about what I would do if I was the parent of a Deaf child. I know I would want them to learn ASL and as early as possible! I think the more difficult decision would be where to send them to school. I think I would definitely move to a larger city, because from what I have read there are more opportunities for a good Deaf education in bigger cities. I don't think I would home school my child because then they wouldn't get to interact with other children as often. But I think I would bring a tutor into our home to act as a positive language role model as well as help me and the child's father learn more ASL.
Charter schools sound like a favorable option, I like how they "combine the best features of deaf schools (a rich bilingual-bi cultural environment and an ASL -based-education) and mainstreaming." Another reason why I think I would choose a charter school is because they are "directly answerable to the parents for the progress and well-being of its students." I would want to be involved with my child's education which is something charter schools support, as well as an ASL-based learning environment which I am also in favor of.
Chapter 27 :)
Closed Captioning
Chapter 27 really made me think. I think this ordeal with closed captioning to be very interesting. Before taking this course and learning more about ASL, I just figured every Deaf person could read and that the closed captioning was nothing but helpful. I don't usually turn it on because it distracts me a little, I think that if there were interpreters on every channel people would get a little annoyed. I do think it would be great for deaf people to be able to have any channel signed to them in ASL. It would be nice if there was a way to have this ASL visible to only the Deaf, like the idea with the decoder boxes and micro chips discussed in this chapter.
The only time I ever watch television with captioning is at the gym or at a restaurant. Working out at the gym (on those rare occasions) is when I notice the most captioning errors. From a Deaf ASL user's standpoint I can't imagine how frustrating it would be to want to watch the news to find out what is going on in the world around you only to have jumbled short, often misspelled captioning. The event of 9/11 is what comes to mind for me, I was frightened and confused and I could hear the news reports. If I was Deaf and not very comfortable with English, 9/11 and the days that followed would have been even scarier and more confusing.
The matter of movie theaters having closed captioning is another tough and controversial matter. I think that theaters should be aware of the Deaf community and offer movies with captioning. Maybe not every theatre but atleast those in larger cities.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Chapter 26 :)
Why Don't Some Deaf People like to Read?
Chapter 26 was a longer chapter that was full of interesting, useful, and sensitive information. This chapter provides so much information on how Deaf-oral education and Deaf literacy education. There was lots of information about past unsuccessful methods for teaching English to ASL users, but I am really interested in the methods used currently to teach Deaf people English.
In the opening of the chapter there were a number of reasons listed that suggested why some Deaf people don't like to read. A couple of the reasons that really stuck out to me were that: there was a "language deprivation during the earliest years" of the person's life. This concept has been brought up multiple times in this book. I just can't imagine how difficult it would be to try to essentially be forced to learn two new languages (ASL and English) later in life after not being previously being exposed to any formal language. Another reason that stuck out to me was the idea that there is "low expectations for deaf students" in schools. This is really sad to me that the education system could have low expectations for a student! In my opinion I think that Deaf people are just as intelligent as anyone, they just learn differently. I mean of course spelling will be more difficult because you can’t encourage Deaf students to sound words out that they have never heard.
There were two common misconceptions about deaf people that this chapter outlined: the “silent book worm”, and “the illiterate dork.” I agree with the authors on this in the aspect that, the silent book worm misconception came from people thinking that the deaf couldn’t enjoy music, radio, television, or chats so they much love to read became adapted. The latter of the two misconceptions is much more ignorant and disappointing. I think I think this chapter presents the concept perfectly when it says “literacy skills are not a true gauge of intelligence.” I think this misconception came from hearing people seeing that some deaf people don’t like to read so they made the stereotype that Deaf people can’t read.
The “battle” of literacy versus speech-therapy is a little sad to me. I am a future speech-language pathologist so of course I think that speech- therapy can provide people with great benefits. After reading this chapter and considering the pros and cons of each I think literacy should come before or accompany speech therapy. I feel this way because reading will help Deaf people for their rest of their lives. Literacy will help Deaf people stay better informed, and possibly feel more comfortable writing and spelling. I have read that even if speech-language therapy is effective for Deaf individuals, they often never voice.
The story in chapter 26 about the Deaf man who struggled with reading was very eye opening for me. It breaks my heart that the hearing teachers looked down on their students. Deaf of hearing any educational professional should respect their students and encourage them. His suggestions for what may have helped him learn English better were so simple, it is disappointing that his teachers gave not positive feedback to their students, and especially accept the students ASL. I can not imagine having a teacher that did not accept my native language; it is a part of who I am. This story is another reminder of the importance of good quality and good hearted teachers.
Something I read in this chapter that I had never known before is that in the past, Deaf students were sent to the library as punishment!! This seems so crazy to me because if you punish a child in the library then how can you expect them to ever go to that place for knowledge or see books as being interesting? Another new concept mentioned in this chapter is that “many deaf viewers watch, but don’t understand TV captioning. But then again it goes so fast, and is English structure how could we?
Chapter 26 was a longer chapter that was full of interesting, useful, and sensitive information. This chapter provides so much information on how Deaf-oral education and Deaf literacy education. There was lots of information about past unsuccessful methods for teaching English to ASL users, but I am really interested in the methods used currently to teach Deaf people English.
In the opening of the chapter there were a number of reasons listed that suggested why some Deaf people don't like to read. A couple of the reasons that really stuck out to me were that: there was a "language deprivation during the earliest years" of the person's life. This concept has been brought up multiple times in this book. I just can't imagine how difficult it would be to try to essentially be forced to learn two new languages (ASL and English) later in life after not being previously being exposed to any formal language. Another reason that stuck out to me was the idea that there is "low expectations for deaf students" in schools. This is really sad to me that the education system could have low expectations for a student! In my opinion I think that Deaf people are just as intelligent as anyone, they just learn differently. I mean of course spelling will be more difficult because you can’t encourage Deaf students to sound words out that they have never heard.
There were two common misconceptions about deaf people that this chapter outlined: the “silent book worm”, and “the illiterate dork.” I agree with the authors on this in the aspect that, the silent book worm misconception came from people thinking that the deaf couldn’t enjoy music, radio, television, or chats so they much love to read became adapted. The latter of the two misconceptions is much more ignorant and disappointing. I think I think this chapter presents the concept perfectly when it says “literacy skills are not a true gauge of intelligence.” I think this misconception came from hearing people seeing that some deaf people don’t like to read so they made the stereotype that Deaf people can’t read.
The “battle” of literacy versus speech-therapy is a little sad to me. I am a future speech-language pathologist so of course I think that speech- therapy can provide people with great benefits. After reading this chapter and considering the pros and cons of each I think literacy should come before or accompany speech therapy. I feel this way because reading will help Deaf people for their rest of their lives. Literacy will help Deaf people stay better informed, and possibly feel more comfortable writing and spelling. I have read that even if speech-language therapy is effective for Deaf individuals, they often never voice.
The story in chapter 26 about the Deaf man who struggled with reading was very eye opening for me. It breaks my heart that the hearing teachers looked down on their students. Deaf of hearing any educational professional should respect their students and encourage them. His suggestions for what may have helped him learn English better were so simple, it is disappointing that his teachers gave not positive feedback to their students, and especially accept the students ASL. I can not imagine having a teacher that did not accept my native language; it is a part of who I am. This story is another reminder of the importance of good quality and good hearted teachers.
Something I read in this chapter that I had never known before is that in the past, Deaf students were sent to the library as punishment!! This seems so crazy to me because if you punish a child in the library then how can you expect them to ever go to that place for knowledge or see books as being interesting? Another new concept mentioned in this chapter is that “many deaf viewers watch, but don’t understand TV captioning. But then again it goes so fast, and is English structure how could we?
Monday, November 19, 2012
Chapter 25 :)
Chapter 25 was full of very interesting and useful information! As a future speech- language pathologist, understanding the English language as well as speech sounds is very interesting to me. After our class discussion a few weeks ago about Deaf culture and reading this chapter, I now understand the importance of having positive language role models. This chapter emphasizes how important it is for children to know a language when entering school, as Deaf educator Sam Supalla points out"you can't learn a language in the classroom unless you already know a language."
This chapter really reinforced the importance of early deaf/ HOH detection. If the Deafness is detected in the neonatal unit, or in the very early toddler years then the parents (if the child is lucky) will begin learning ASL and signing to the child. As this chapter emphasizes, if the child is forced to start school with no language skills, it "can have a disastrous effects on their educational development."
I really like the point made in this chapter about "Deaf English," and how "it is not the writing of ignorant, unlanguaged persons, it's the writing of persons whose first language is ASL." I feel that if more people (teachers and parents) were better educated about ASL and its form then they would better understand how to teach as well as understand Deaf people's struggle with English.
The use of computers for promoting good literacy sounds very interesting to me. I would like to know more about how Deaf people con become computer literate without becoming English-literate. I feel like if the student learns to understand things from the computer it is a positive thing, because computers have become a big part of people's lives.
I think that the literacy gap would become smaller if more educators and families learned more about ASL. Just from past experiences, the better I understand/know someone the better I can teach them.
I think the reason so many children (both deaf and hearing) show up to school with language delays is because they do not have positive language models at home. The language you are exposed to as a child is proven to have a major impact on language development.
This chapter really reinforced the importance of early deaf/ HOH detection. If the Deafness is detected in the neonatal unit, or in the very early toddler years then the parents (if the child is lucky) will begin learning ASL and signing to the child. As this chapter emphasizes, if the child is forced to start school with no language skills, it "can have a disastrous effects on their educational development."
I really like the point made in this chapter about "Deaf English," and how "it is not the writing of ignorant, unlanguaged persons, it's the writing of persons whose first language is ASL." I feel that if more people (teachers and parents) were better educated about ASL and its form then they would better understand how to teach as well as understand Deaf people's struggle with English.
The use of computers for promoting good literacy sounds very interesting to me. I would like to know more about how Deaf people con become computer literate without becoming English-literate. I feel like if the student learns to understand things from the computer it is a positive thing, because computers have become a big part of people's lives.
I think that the literacy gap would become smaller if more educators and families learned more about ASL. Just from past experiences, the better I understand/know someone the better I can teach them.
I think the reason so many children (both deaf and hearing) show up to school with language delays is because they do not have positive language models at home. The language you are exposed to as a child is proven to have a major impact on language development.
Chapter 24 :)
"what's the real situation?"
Chapter 24 was a little discouraging, I understand that Deaf people don't want hearing people to take their jobs as teachers and interpenetrates of the Deaf but after reading this chapter I get the feeling that many Deaf people don't want hearing people to learn ASL at all. It is very sad to me however that hearing people want to learn ASL and take over Deaf peoples jobs for power. This just seems so wrong and unethical, I don't understand why someone would do this.
I also understand Deaf advocates side, of not wanting hearing people to learn ASL. I really liked the French example which was referred to from chapter 23, it mentioned "fad signs" and how they often "appear, blaze briefly, and die out." This chapter talked about Americans adding English words to French prefixes, this takes away from the beautiful French language. I can see how ASL relates, because hearing English speaking people add English twists onto ASL, which takes away from the unique culture of the Deaf.
Chapter 24 was a little discouraging, I understand that Deaf people don't want hearing people to take their jobs as teachers and interpenetrates of the Deaf but after reading this chapter I get the feeling that many Deaf people don't want hearing people to learn ASL at all. It is very sad to me however that hearing people want to learn ASL and take over Deaf peoples jobs for power. This just seems so wrong and unethical, I don't understand why someone would do this.
I also understand Deaf advocates side, of not wanting hearing people to learn ASL. I really liked the French example which was referred to from chapter 23, it mentioned "fad signs" and how they often "appear, blaze briefly, and die out." This chapter talked about Americans adding English words to French prefixes, this takes away from the beautiful French language. I can see how ASL relates, because hearing English speaking people add English twists onto ASL, which takes away from the unique culture of the Deaf.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Chapter23 :)
"Where did you learn Sign Language?"
I found this chapter to be very interesting! I have been asked at deaf events who my teacher is, but I have never really been drilled about it. I don't think that I would be too uncomfortable though, if more questions were asked, because as the book mentions often they are just curious. I do not think it sounds like gossip when they refer to effective and poor ASL teachers. I think this is more of a help to students and a nice gesture, because by recommending good teachers the Deaf community is opening up the opportunity to better learn ASL. I do understand that "ASL is the language of Deaf people" I understand that "it belongs to them and they feel protective of it." It saddens me to know that not all hearing people who are "native ASL-quality" have the best interests of Deaf people at heart. I really want to learn effective sign because I am going to be a speech-language therapist and I would like to one day have the opportunity to work with Deaf students and their families.
Something mentioned in this chapter that I was unfamiliar with before was the American Sign Language Teachers Association( ASLTA). I agree that this is a great organization that keeps ASL teachers sharp on their signing skills.
I really liked the passage in this chapter relating a tourist inFrance Western Kentucky University
I think if I were sitting down to dinner with a friend, and a person from another country asked to sit and talk because they were learning English, I would definitely welcome them. They are taking the time to learn our language and be a part of American culture, I would not wasn’t to turn them away.
I found this chapter to be very interesting! I have been asked at deaf events who my teacher is, but I have never really been drilled about it. I don't think that I would be too uncomfortable though, if more questions were asked, because as the book mentions often they are just curious. I do not think it sounds like gossip when they refer to effective and poor ASL teachers. I think this is more of a help to students and a nice gesture, because by recommending good teachers the Deaf community is opening up the opportunity to better learn ASL. I do understand that "ASL is the language of Deaf people" I understand that "it belongs to them and they feel protective of it." It saddens me to know that not all hearing people who are "native ASL-quality" have the best interests of Deaf people at heart. I really want to learn effective sign because I am going to be a speech-language therapist and I would like to one day have the opportunity to work with Deaf students and their families.
Something mentioned in this chapter that I was unfamiliar with before was the American Sign Language Teachers Association( ASLTA). I agree that this is a great organization that keeps ASL teachers sharp on their signing skills.
I really liked the passage in this chapter relating a tourist in
I think if I were sitting down to dinner with a friend, and a person from another country asked to sit and talk because they were learning English, I would definitely welcome them. They are taking the time to learn our language and be a part of American culture, I would not wasn’t to turn them away.
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
Chapter 22 :)
Watching ASL in Public
Now that I have been more formally introduced to ASL I am very eager to see people signing and even get the chance to be a part of it. As this chapter mentioned "signs can be read straight across a crowded room, a campus quad, or from a balcony window several stories up" so people who are deaf rely on people's non comprehension of ASL for confidentiality. Something I read in this chapter that I had never thought about before was signing in an environment (such as Gallaudet) where most people know ASL. It would be really hard to have a private conversation. One thing this chapter suggested was to use a jacket as a "sign-shield" I thought this was a clever way to visually whisper. :) Although I do think it would be hard to get used to, not being able to whisper in public. I think whispering is one of those things that we don't really realize how much we do. I think it would be a little frustrating to know that everyone always has the ability to know what you are saying in a public place.
I think that I would be afraid to "eye drop" in a conversation in public. I am a rather shy person and I think it would be too afraid that they would think I was being rude. If it looked like casual conversation I think I would at least say hello and see that kind of vibe I get before diving into a conversation.
I found the exert on name signs to be rather interesting, I am familiar with name signs but I do not have one. One question that arose while I was reading the information about namesign is... do people have more than one namesign?
Now that I have been more formally introduced to ASL I am very eager to see people signing and even get the chance to be a part of it. As this chapter mentioned "signs can be read straight across a crowded room, a campus quad, or from a balcony window several stories up" so people who are deaf rely on people's non comprehension of ASL for confidentiality. Something I read in this chapter that I had never thought about before was signing in an environment (such as Gallaudet) where most people know ASL. It would be really hard to have a private conversation. One thing this chapter suggested was to use a jacket as a "sign-shield" I thought this was a clever way to visually whisper. :) Although I do think it would be hard to get used to, not being able to whisper in public. I think whispering is one of those things that we don't really realize how much we do. I think it would be a little frustrating to know that everyone always has the ability to know what you are saying in a public place.
I think that I would be afraid to "eye drop" in a conversation in public. I am a rather shy person and I think it would be too afraid that they would think I was being rude. If it looked like casual conversation I think I would at least say hello and see that kind of vibe I get before diving into a conversation.
I found the exert on name signs to be rather interesting, I am familiar with name signs but I do not have one. One question that arose while I was reading the information about namesign is... do people have more than one namesign?
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