Intercultural approaches for teaching the Deaf

http://jimspoliticalthoughts.blogspot.com......

This Sunday, as students arrived at the North Carolina School for the Deaf, instead of allowing them to go to the dining hall for dinner, as was required, students were detained to the campus chapel, held for 3-3 1/2 hours (for 2 hours with no food). The entire time, the Dorm Representatives, all of whom were Deaf, were not allowed into the chapel building, and there was not a single Deaf person to communicate or explain the situation. Why were they held? Because of a rumor of a protest planned for the next day.

This debate is not about the protest, it's legality or lack thereof, or anything else that happened as a result of the protest. This is about the reason for the protest.

Dr Linda Lindsey, director of NCSD, is responsible for the education of hundreds of Deaf students. However, she, for four years running, has refused to even attempt to learn American Sign Language. Instead, she opts to tow around an interpreter (the terps have, unfortunately, become targets of the derisive attitude simply because of their being tools for Dr Lindsey) and talk to the students in such a manner that they feel belittled. Among other things, one thing that several blogs and vlogs (video blogs) have agreed on is a quote of Dr Lindsey saying that "it doesn't matter if the students finish a grade because they probably won't go to college".

http://berkeoutspoken.blogspot.com......

The students were protesting that Dr Lindsey had finally fully crossed the line and was being fully audistic (Audism being the belief that one is superior to another based on ability to hear). They were demanding that the school change it's method of education to the same successful method used by schools sponsored by the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD).

This method is known as bi-cultural Deaf education, which is a field related to the field of intercultural communications. Instead of teaching students through a single language (Be it English or ASL), they support teaching through both mediums. Not only should there be classes on proper English grammar, reading, writing, and literature, but there should be classes ALSO about proper ASL grammar, syntax, and Deaf literature as well.

Studies have shown that children can start learning sign languages even earlier than they can learn spoken languages, and other studies show that those who learn early on are more enabled to learn other languages because they have a language base. (These studies can be readily accessed at the RID website, and you can even find youtube videos of babies using ASL).

Intercultural approaches have proven successful before. In the post-WW2 era, diplomats were trained to learn the language and major cultural differences, but they received no training in the minutiae or life interactions. Subtle differences in cultures that most people don't recognize until they are in the middle of the culture they were dropped into often led to hostile feelings toward the diplomats.

In an effort to improve relations, the government gathered together people who had been successful in reaching different cultures and successful culturists, and they developed a training method that involved not only linguistic studies, but in-depth studies of the countries the individual diplomats were going to. The result was that we were successful in maintaining good relations with key countries, even during the Cold War.

This same method should be required for those educating the Deaf. They should learn the language, and immerse themselves into the culture before they start teaching the Deaf anything.

I feel deaf people are useless for society and I believe that everything against is justified because the deaf are special. They should be disgarded at birth, some on them. Take 300 for example, being deaf is for compassionate individuals to go awwww. poor baby, me IDC. Vote for me to get this off of the site, because there is no debating this.