This class deeply upset me. Because, as I said on my reaction card in class, I have Deaf family. The thought that schools are forcing Deaf students to "develop spoken language without sign language through the auditory-oral method" is horrible to me. It is belittling to the Deaf culture, to my family.
My mom used to work at the California School for the Deaf. Its where she met my dad and his two deaf children, my half brother Nathan and half sister Hillary. Being deaf or being a hearing person in the deaf culture has been part of my family from before I was even born. All people in my family were taught how to respect a deaf person the same way one would respect a hearing person. Friends around me would say "Oh I'm sorry. That must be horrible living with such a disability" but I have NEVER thought that being deaf was a disability. It was just the way I was raised. People can disagree with me, I am all for a friendly debate, but I lose respect for people like that.
My mom told me a story of when she taught at the school. She met an older kid, around 14, who told her that when he was little his parents put him in one of those "no signing" schools. He couldn't for the life him "learn" how to speak or talk. Because he just wasn't able to. Finally after years of not being able to comunicate with his parents, with the world, his family finally decided to send him to the California School for the Deaf, where he learn finger spelling, and signs, and about the deaf culture. For the first time in his 14 years of life, he was finally able to tell someone how he was feeling. He could participate in friendly "banter" and jokes, and ask questions.
He went home during the school's break and was finally able to tell his parents, who had also been learning how to sign, about his life.
He asked his mother one night after dinner if she remembered the first time they flew on an airplane, he was 4 and so excited. His mother responded, signing "yes." The 4 year old him, the past him, the non signing him, hadn't been able to communicate with his mother and tell her how great and exciting it was for him to be on an airplane! Like every 4 year old feels. The only difference between him and any other 4 year old was that he wasn't able to tell his parents about the clouds, or how cool it was that he was on an airplane. He thought back to that day and proceeded to tell his mother about the wonderment and happiness he felt of being able to fly in the air. The story brought tears to his and his mother's eyes.
After a decade he was finally able to go back to that day and communicate to his parents, and tell them what that experience was like for him.
You can't force a deaf person to "speak" or "hear" and shouldn't punish them because they can't. Taking away their right to learn how to communicate with others is what should be punished. If this was my family I wouldn't stand for that. In a way, having deaf family makes the whole deaf community my family.
I believe that is why this pisses me off so much. You're not "teaching" them anything, you're taking everything away.
You're forcing 4 year olds to go through life without being able to tell the people they love about that excited airplane ride, or that cool police car that just sped by.
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