Chapter 31: More Resources

This is the first I have heard of a hearing child with Deaf parents having issues with English, though it makes perfect sense.

"The little boy speaks okay, but sometimes he reverts to an English version of the ASL sentence structure."--pg. 187, p. 1

I wonder if this is typical and how long it takes for such children to reach the English-speaking level of their peers.  I knew a girl in middle school and high school with Deaf parents and she spoke normally.  My mom had her little sister in first grade and she spoke normally, as well.

The authors sure do like listing off resources.  I notice that all of the materials they listed were published between the late 80's and early 2000's.  Were the 90's an important time for Deaf research?

Quiz: Chapters 16-30

I answered all of the questions correctly.  I think this information stuck with me because most of it had some sort of emotional/opinionated aspect to it as road blocks to Deaf people's maximum potential were really highlighted in this section.

Chapter 30: Reading Sources on Deaf Topics

I am not sure how to respond to this chapter as it was mainly facts.  I have not looked for reading material on Deaf topics; I will have to look into some of the suggested sources.  I do not know anything about the legal agencies in my community who support the Deaf community.  I guess I have some research to do!

Chapter 29: Pros and Cons of Deaf Residential Schools

I can see pros and cons of Deaf residential schools.  As great as the pros are (qualified teachers and a community of peers with which children can communicate), if I was a parent of a Deaf child, the cons would win for me and I would look into Charter schools.  Childhood is about more than education.  A parent-child relationship should be more than financial support and occasional in-person encounters.  I would not want to send my children to any type of boarding school whether it was a residential school for the deaf or a prep school.  I think it is more than just what the parents want.

"They believe that they can offer their children something that no dorm parent or teacher can.  They want their children coming home to them every afternoon; they want to talk with them directly about their everyday concerns and monitor their homework; they want to tuck them into bed at night."--pg. 178, p. 1

It's not a mere "want," it's a need.  Parents raise their children, it is what makes them "parents" as opposed to sperm donors and surrogates.  That's just my opinion on the matter.  If it was an option, I would look into moving to a city with a residential school for the Deaf that my child could attend during the day.  If that wasn't an option, I would stick to Charter schools.  

Chapter 28: Deaf Schooling in the Old Days and Now

I went to middle school and high school with a Deaf girl who was being mainstreamed in the public school system.  She had two ASL-using friends:  one met her in elementary school and took ASL classes during her lunch periods and could use ASL comfortably by middle school; the other friend had Deaf parents.  Her friends would interpret for her during lunch and such when she interacted with other students and she had an interpreter who went to all of her classes with her.  I'm pretty sure her usual interpreter knew what she was doing as she gave off an aura of confidence and was the same woman who taught the Deaf girl's friend ASL. Occasionally she would have other interpreters who seemed very unqualified.  I remember once at a school play a woman who looked very stressed and confused attempting to finger-spell everything being said.  I am not sure how much the Deaf girl got out of the public school system, but I know the only people she ever directly communicated with were her two friends and her usual interpreter.

I like the idea of the Charter schools.  The issue with Charter schools, however, is that they require lots of parent support and interaction, and apparently the parents of the Deaf just do not care for the most part (I am thinking about how they often let their children go without language until they start school and how they do not make an effort to learn to sign themselves most of the time).  The original Deaf schools before the take-over of oralism (which I cannot understand the reason for it happening in the first place) seemed to work well based on the chapter with the exception of how time-consuming they were.  After comparing this chapter and my personal experience, I am of the opinion that mainstreaming is probably not the best choice, but that a Charter school-like option should be available to Deaf children with uncaring parents.

Chapter 27: Closed Captioning vs. Closed Interpreting

If the trend in closed captioning changed to a trend in TV interpreters, I do not see how it would effect hearing people who were not using closed captioning in the first place.  Just as you can turn closed captioning on and off, why wouldn't you be able to turn the little interpreter in the corner on and off?  I think having both options of closed captioning and closed interpreting would be great.  I cannot think of any reasons why other hearing people would not also support it.

"Some deaf people prefer interpreters on TV.  A few programs, notably Christian and Catholic-oriented ones, feature them in fairly unobtrusive oval 'inserts' in the lower right-hand corner of the screen."--pg. 165, p. 2

On youtube there is a closed captioning feature that is provided purely by technology.  If people do not speak very clearly, the captions are mangled nonsense.  It is amusing but I can imagine it would be very frustrating if you were trying to use the closed captioning for constructive purposes.

I think it would be a good idea for select showings of all movies in movie theatres to have captions.  This way if you find captions distracting you can attend a showing without them, and if you want the captions you have options of captioned showings to choose from.

Chapter 26: Deaf Distaste for Reading

For me, I think that reading with my parents when I was little is what groomed me to enjoy reading.  Most Deaf children do not get this (I am still curious as to how it is possible to read to Deaf children).  If Deaf children are only exposed to reading and writing in educational settings, it makes sense that they wouldn't want to do it for fun, especially if they do not have a proficient grasp on it due to not enough time spent on it and "drilling" methods.

"If they never get beyond 'bad, mad, pad, and dad' or drills in sentence diagrams, they won't stick around to luxuriate in the delights of Jane Austen or Shakespeare.  Why bother?"--pg. 159, p. 4

I can see where it would make sense that reading is one thing that Deaf people and hearing people experience in the same way...if they had the same English backgrounds, and they do not.  I do not understand why anyone would think not being able to hear would make someone less intelligent.

I would say that literacy therapy is more important than speech therapy.  Once grasped, reading is something that Deaf people would be able to do without struggle due to not being able to hear.  Speech, however, will never match the level of hearing people.  Unless a Deaf person has an individual interest in learning how to speak, I do not see a reason to make them attempt it.  It seems like it would be very frustrating, especially if you have no desire to learn the skill.

I think there is a fine line of political correctness in every aspect of life and the story of the Deaf man on page 161 is walking rather close to it.  It is almost as if he is asking for separate but equal--which has been ruled as inherently unequal in regards to race in 1954 and Massachusetts marriage terminology in 2004--and I am glad that the authors point out that this man's view is not universal for the Deaf community.  I personally think that qualified teachers with positive attitudes should teach, regardless of their status as Deaf or hearing.

Chapter 25: Why Deaf People Have Trouble with English

I agree with all that was covered in this chapter.  I think it is awful that some parents let their children go without language until they start school.  I can see where it would be difficult to motivate a Deaf student to work harder on English as it is not fair; hearing people have it much easier in that department.  I do not think the difference in fairness is something that can be changed.  Working with Deaf children very early seems like the way to go to prevent language delays,

"As far as preventing the "language gap" goes, the best remedy is action.  Get language to the child immediately, provide a language-enriched environment at home, and foster early reading and writing skills before the child starts school."--pg. 154, p. 3

but that would require parent motivation which mysteriously is not there the majority of the time.  Perhaps when doctors diagnose a child as deaf they should be required to give the parents a long speech putting them in their place and outlining their responsibilities for raising a Deaf child.  I would like more information on how to read to a Deaf child.  Would you sign in SEE instead of ASL?

Chapter 24: Why Deaf People are Wary

I understand why Deaf people feel they should hold the majority of jobs that involve the Deaf community as that is logical and I do not understand why a hearing person would think that they would be more qualified to do such things.  I am curious about what jobs Deaf people are prohibited from having, however.

"Deaf people, after all,, are still barred from many positions."--pg. 148, p. 2

It seems like, with the assistance of interpreters, Deaf people could do any job.  Which brings me to my wondering about why Deaf people would resent interpreters.  I suppose this is a job that Deaf people cannot fulfill, unless they are also oralists.  Interpreters make money yes, but I do not understand why that is bad.  They are providing a service.  Perhaps creating a test that interpreters would have to pass (and it is hard for me to believe that there is not already one out there) in order to be licensed would take away negative impressions of interpreters as it would make sure all of them are qualified and possessing positive attitudes.

Chapter 23: Educational Interrogations by Deaf People

I find it interesting that one of the first things the authors mention as to why Deaf people question hearing people who sign is that there is some paranoia as to whether or not the hearing person is trying to get in a position of power in the Deaf community and manipulate its members.

"Our experiences have taught us to be wary of certain hearing people who are skillful signers.  Some of them think they're about deaf folks; they use their skill to gain cachet in the Deaf community, and manipulate deaf people to satisfy their own craving for power."--pg. 143, p. 3

This seems far-fetched to me but I suppose this must happen on occasion for them to have mentioned it.  I will have to research more about cases where this sort of thing has happened.  As for the reason for questioning hearing people relating to the grape-vine of information about ASL education, I do not think this is gossip for the most part.  I would say that most people who want to discuss your ASL educational background do truly want to give you advice on how to further your education.  Grudges were mentioned, however (pg. 145, p. 1), but I would think you would be able to sense if a Deaf person is a bit of a busy-body just as you can sense if a hearing person is a busy-body.

I would say I have patience with foreigners who are not fluent in English.  I hosted an exchange student from Switzerland my senior year of high school and though she was pretty much fluent upon arrival, it still did not bother me when she occasionally did not know how to express something and I would try to help her.  I would imagine that as long as a hearing person shows interest and effort in ASL, Deaf people would be patient with them.

Chapter 22: Watching and Approaching ASL Users in Public

This is not a topic I had thought about before.  I suppose someone eyedropping on a conversation would be much more obvious than someone eavesdropping on a conversation since the first requires your visual attention.  I think that whether or not eyedropping is rude depends on what the conversation is about.  If it is something private I think it would be most polite to look away.  According to the text ASL users know that it is very difficult to have a private conversation in public, though.

"For all practical purposes, there is no such thing as a "private" ASL conversation in public--that is, within eyeshot of other people.  What two Deaf people are discussing is out in the open for everyone else to see."--pg. 139, p. 3

 Since the ASL conversations we might see in public will most likely be on topics that are not private, I think it is fine to watch if your reasons for watching are purely because of your interest in the language.  I also think common sense should be used when deciding whether or not to attempt to join a conversation, just as we use common sense when deciding whether or not to engage hearing strangers in conversation.

I do not have a name sign but I think it is nifty that they are given by peers instead of parents.  I wonder if Deaf parents give their children name signs or wait for other Deaf friends their children will develop to do the honors.

I imagine it would be frustrating to not have a form of whispering.  Using a jacket as a "sign-shield" (pg. 140, p. 1) sounds cumbersome and it seems like it would be much less subtle than whispering.  This is definitely a down side to purely visual communication.