Embracing the Deaf Culture in the Mainstream Classroom
Deaf is defined as partially or completely lacking the sense of hearing as to where Deaf culture refers to members of the Deaf community who share common values, traditions, norms, language and behaviors. According to the National Institute on Deafness and other Communication Disorders, three out of every 1,000 American children are born deaf or with hearing loss and 9 out of 10 of those children are born to fully-hearing parents. Most of these children who are deaf will attend public schools. By all, means teaching children who are deaf is not easy an easy task and can seem challenging for both the students and the teacher alike but it is certainly accomplishable. Therefore, in order for children who are deaf to succeed in a mainstream classroom, the teacher must first understand the Deaf culture and counteract stereotypes so that he or she may better serve students who are deaf. The article Deaf Culture Tip Sheet by Professor Linda Siple (2003) and Deaf Myths by the Minnesota Department of Human Services (2013) elaborates on these exact issues and provides a better insight on the culture of the Deaf community.
Article one Deaf Culture Tip Sheet written by Professor Linda Siple (2003) provides a detailed description on the Deaf culture and highlights some suggestions for effectively communicating with people who are deaf. The author first explains the different terminology within the Deaf culture that are used to label
Annotated Bibliography: Deaf, Not Disabled are The Deaf Another Culture, With Another Language? Or Should They Be Included in the New Disabilities Act? In the article, “Deaf, Not Disabled Are The Deaf Another Culture, With Another Language? Or Should They Be Included In The New Disabilities Act?”, author Maria Odom, talks about the different views of Deaf People.
In this book, Deaf in America, by Carol Padden and Tom Humphries, the two authors wrote stories, jokes, performances, and experiences of Deaf people. They also wrote Deaf culture and Deaf people’s lives from various angles. This book is great navigator of Deaf world for hearing people and even Deaf people as me. There are several factors attracting reader. To begin with, I could learn about backgrounds of deaf people and hearing people. Authors wrote about a Deaf boy who was born into a deaf family. Until he discovered that a girl playmate in neighborhood was “hearing”, he didn’t notice about “Others”. Authors
In the novel “Deaf Again” by Mark Drolsbaugh, the reader is taken on a journey through the life of the author himself, from birth all the way to present day. Drolsbaugh, a once hearing child but now Deaf adult, takes readers through the struggles and situations he faced as a child born into the Deaf culture, yet still forced to try and suppress his deafness when his ability to hear started to decline. The author shares his experiences of becoming “deaf again”, and how he had to learn for himself what being Deaf really meant in regards to not just in his own life but the people in it. Drolsbaugh’s novel explores many of the issues and debates surrounding Deaf culture, while still giving his personal views and understandings on what it really means to be Deaf.
Deaf individuals view their deafness as a cultural identity, instead of a disability. They feel that the will separate them from their culture and expose them to a world that does not appreciate their
There have been some reviews shown that “the barriers such as standardized testing, lack of support services, discrimination, and lack of awareness of deafness among principals in hiring positions are keeping deaf professionals out of schools.” The deaf teachers do not receive support as much as the hearing ones do, making it difficult for a deaf person to want to become a teacher and be continually motivated to complete the program to become a teacher and to ensure that they can also get a job. The journal emphasizes that the deaf students need the appropriate type of teachers, deaf teachers to be
The deaf culture can be seen from the perspective of one's own viewing, it makes you think about what is actually defining as “normal” and the decision of what is right and what is wrong. Deaf culture is a community in which the people share the same attitudes, and they share similar values and beliefs. As people of the hearing world, it's harder for us to see, and understand the deaf culture. As a hearing community, we take for granted being able to hear, and hearing and speaking is a big part in how we communicate with each other. For the deaf culture its the same but not as how others view it, the deaf culture uses symbols of the hand in order to communicate with others.
I decided to attend this lecture by social geographer Gill Harold titled “Considering the Models of d/Deafness – the importance of making space for culture”, as I knew very little about the Deaf Community. To begin with Gill asked us if being deaf was a disability and what did we think of when we heard the word ‘Deaf’. Personally, I had perceived deafness to be a disability. In addition to this, when I thought about Deaf people, the silence was the first thing that came to mind, along with sign language and lip reading. It would also appear that the field of deaf education is dominated by hearing professionals, hearing researchers, and hearing policymakers. Regularly these professionals have not taken a sensitive approach to the Deaf Community or their wishes for the future of deaf education.
Some of the unique customs I have observed among Deaf people that would differentiate them from most hearing people would be the communication between one another and the use of expressions. The difference in communicating between both cultures play a big role in terms of comprehending someone either in the Deaf or hearing community. For instance, Deaf culture can communicate by signing, gesturing, lip reading, writing or typing to one another, video phones, emails, and by a third person who is capable of signing. As for the hearing culture, the communication is verbal. Therefore, voice calling such as the speaker is allowed when using telephones. In order to get someone’s attention in the Deaf culture the person must tap on their shoulder
Cultural stereotypes used to consider deafness to be a great misfortune, but being deaf does not limit the abilities of a person. Members of the Deaf community consider deafness to be normal rather than a disability. A deaf people can do anything a hearing person can do, such as, drive, participate in group activities, communicate, and have normal lives. Deaf In the film “Through Deaf Eyes”, an HDTV documentary including interviews, personal stories, and historic accounts, the prejudice and affirmation of Deaf culture is revealed to show hearing people the reality of deaf life. Through this film, I have learned about education for deaf people, the Deaf President Now Movement, and about cochlear implants.
There are various ways to educate deaf students and one method is called mainstreaming. Mainstreaming is when a student with a disability, in this case being hearing impaired, is taught in a class with hearing students. Mainstreaming is supposed to be beneficial for the deaf student in both a social level, as well as on an educational level. Focusing on the social aspect of mainstreaming, it is important to look at deaf interactions with peers in the mainstream setting as well as the acceptance of deaf peers from the hearing students. Deaf students are more likely to succeed academically in the mainstream environment, but when it comes to peer relations and development of a healthy self concept, mainstreaming is not as successful.
According to this article, the Deaf World as a disability group has led to programs of the majority that discourage Deaf children from acquiring the language and culture. The Deaf world have four reasons not to construe as a disability are Deaf people do not believe they have a disability. The disability construction brings with it needless medical and surgical risks for the Deaf child. It also endangers the future of the Deaf World. The disability construction brings bad solutions to real problems because it is predicated on a misunderstanding.
Among their interest in the education of ethnic-minority Deaf college students, they are best known for their notable achievements in addressing various aspects in education of the Deaf. For example, Dr. Ila Parasnis has not only published and presented her works at different conferences but she has also edited several books on cultural identity and diversity in Deaf Education. As for Dr. Susan D. Fischer’s accomplishments, it mainly lies in the publication of 28 different citations in several journals as well as chapters in books that relate to the cultural diversity for deaf education (Author Detail). With all this in mind, it is clear that these professors have studied and gained in-depth knowledge for many years about the field of Deaf Education that they are able to speak about issues relating to the field as authoritative and credible figures.
The deaf culture has often been labeled as the deaf- and- dumb culture. This is not only an insulting term it is also very inaccurate. Deaf people are just as intelligent as hearing people. In the early 1800's when ASL was first brought about in the United States Being deaf was considered shameful
You many know a few famous individuals of the deaf and hard of hearing community such as Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing at 19 months who grew up to be a famous author and advocate, the famous German composer Ludwig van Beethoven, and even our very own former Seahawks fullback, Derrick Coleman. Have you ever thought how an individual that is deaf and hard of hearing is impacted in the school environment? We will take a look at the terms of deaf and hard of hearing, how it is acquired, the effects on learning with this disability, educational services that fall under IDEA and WA state guidelines. We will discover how teachers can create accommodations and modifications for success for these students and ending it with resources that can help educators, families and children that are affected with deafness.
It is quite a task to identify oneself within a “culture” due to the unique social, behavioral, and physical traits each culture represents themselves with. As I began learning about the hallmarks of Deaf culture such as “language, heritage art and history”, I began wondering about how the historical significance of each one impacted the modern choices of Deaf individuals (Holcomb 17). Our textbook Introduction to American Deaf Culture makes references to how important American Sign Language is to define the Deaf community which leaves me wondering how strong the foundation of Deaf culture would be if based on heritage rather than on language. Being Jewish I never learned Hebrew but knew all the prayers, values, and traditions to feel